Perseverance:The Chronicles of the AERT(STARTS)

[kalad1]

In 1982, Japan, and Tokyo in particular experienced an influx of threats and emergencies that standard police or military groups couldn't handle. Mad scientists, demons, mutants, all sorts of strange things began cropping up. When police groups or military groups were sent out, they were decimated, for they weren't properly prepared or equipped to handle such battles.
In response, the Abnormal Emergency Response Team(AERT) was formed, along with the Military Organized Response Team(MORT). These groups were made of the elite of the elite and were specially trained to deal with these threats. Soon after their founding, the situation was under control.

It is now 2026, over the past forty-four years, the AERT has gradually lost prestige, while MORT soared to greater heights. Now, the AERT has become a dumping ground for all the freaks, wierdos, crazies, and just plain unliked people that can't be kicked out for some reason or other. MORT has changed from a safeguard against the abnormal into a highly effective strike force for anti-terrorist purposes and are well known for their suits of powered armor that they wear into battle.

However, non-standard threats are beginning to pop up again, and at alarming speed. While MORT does a relatively good job, they just aren't prepared. The most effective weapon the city has, is the AERT, which many government officials view as a threat just as big as the growing problem. With a group of fresh recruits, will the AERT live up to its legacy or fall under the political pressure?

Alright, you are a new member of the AERT, for some reason, you've been dumped into this position and are soon to be in a position of more importance than anyone will admit.



Name: Amelia Archon
Age:26, looks around 16-18
Gender: Male brain in a female android body.
Looks: http://www.ghostcircles.com/matt/images/random/diva.jpg like that, though most of the armor and equipment comes off if she wants it off.
Personality: Fully accepting of her new status as a female(sorta), Amelia is fairly nice, has the occasional tomboyish tendencies, and is quite reliable.
Race: Human brain in Prototype A76 Female Combat Android body.
Abilities: She has greater than human strength and speed as well as a custom set of combat armor and weapons. Also, she is the AERT's main source of funds and some equipment.
History: Amelia was born Arthur Archon, son of David Archon, a genius inventor and head or Archon Inc. His mother, Emily Archon was gone most of the time on business trips, and as time went on, got increasingly paranoid, becoming convinced that her husband was cheating on her. Eventually, she snapped and tried to kill Arthur's father. In the process, she accidentally injured sixteen year old Arthur's body beyond repair and was carried off to an asylum. To save his son's life, David transplanted his brain into the modified body of an experimental android. For the past ten years, Arthur adjusted to being Amelia and tried out for a police job. The superiors, not keen on the idea of having a "robotic freak" in the force, stuck her in the AERT.
Other: YARHARHARHARHAR!

Amelia
_________________________________________________
I walked down the street, carrying my large steamer trunk with my right hand over my shoulder, getting more that a few stares at the display of strength. It saddened me slightly, I'd felt the sensation before, the feeling of being unique, one of a kind. It really brought on a form of lonliness.

Shrugging it off, I kept walking, I was almost to my new home, the headquarters of the AERT. Certainly not the most glamorous position, but a job is a job. I fully realized that I was put in the AERT because people didn't want to deal with my... unusual status. Their official excuse was that they couldn't monitor my vitals, but that was obviously just an excuse.

Shaking myself out of my reverie, I stood before the HQ building, opened the doors and set down my trunk with a large bang as it hit the ground. I glanced at the map of the building that was on the wall, noting how it was larger than I thought it'd be.

Deciding to see if anyone was here first, I shouted out, "Hello, is anybody here?"

[VirtualPlay]

Name: Michelle Randeth
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Looks: Somewhat like this (http://www.virtualplay.net/img/rpg/michelle_love.jpg) or this (http://www.virtualplay.net/img/rpg/michelle_comp.jpg) normally (the latter for the hair). She's about 5'8", skinny and slightly physically weak in appearance (though she's nowhere near it in reality), with brown hair that reaches just down to her shoulder blades which she usually keeps in a ribbon, and blue eyes that need glasses ('cause she's nearsighted). Her normal clothes vary. She's known to wear pleated skirts and sweaters over polo shirts. However, usually she wears anything from skirts and matching shirts, to shorts and a sleeveless top, to knee-length dresses, to jeans and a t-shirt. She's especially fond of blue (in general and in what she wears).
~ When she transforms into her "Magical Girl" outfit, she looks more like this (http://www.virtualplay.net/img/rpg/michelle_magic.gif) (minus the big gun and computer...for now). Basically it starts with a two-piece leotard-material cadet blue base (bottom and strapless top); it has a wide, open skirt that's white on the outside and light blue on the inside, with a gold trim around the edge of the outside and a zipper-like attachment in the front where the skirt is open; it has two "sleeves" that are gold gloves which have a blue band at the elbow, white sleeve, and opens up to a split gold poof of shoulder; her boots are knee-length and gold, with a blue band at the knee (like on the sleeves/gloves). She also has a blue ribbon in her hair, and she still needs to wear her glasses.
Personality: She's very geeky. Very. She isn't a social outcast, though, and has quite a few friends. She just really, really likes computers and math and such (and science if you just count physics). She's very friendly, though, and would more often than not put her friends before her computers (of which she has four).
Race: Human - Magical Girl
Abilities: She is very intelligent and can build very advanced technological things (like big guns and computer systems) without really thinking very hard. She also has some Telekinetic powers, and is able to move objects by moving her hands around at them in a certain way (her hands and the object(s) glow when she does this) as well as create a shield around herself or others. However, she can't fly (unless she builds a jetpack to do that for her).
History: She had been destined to be a magical girl since she was born, and gained her powers when she was 12. However, the ancient "evil" overlord that she was destined to destroy, which would have been a challenge for her alone, was easily vanquished by the MORT when he rose up again, since technology had advanced further than the "evil" lying in wait had. Disappointed that she never really got to use her powers as she wanted to (besides her intellectual intuition, which she had since she was born), she offered to join MORT, but was shoved into AERT because MORT didn't like the idea of having a "little girl" on the team. She's spent the last six years being very unhappy at having almost nothing to use her powers for, although she still lived her normal life, well, mostly normal.
Other: Character idea based on Riley (http://www.angelmoxie.com/riley.html) from Angel Moxie (http://www.angelmoxie.com/).

----------

Michelle
~~~~~~~~
I was getting rather excited. Six years being in AERT—six whole years—and finally they call me to HQ for something interesting, not just some stupid roll call. Plus, now that I'd finally graduated high school I was free for the whole summer (I probably would have been out of there earlier if it wasn't for those dreaded Lit. classes).

Now I sat in the main hallway of the building, where everyone was supposed to meet before being taken away to the real "meeting room." I had my laptop plugged in and was using the wireless signal to do some last-minute research on the people invited. Unfortunately I was distracted by the doors opening and a large banging sound coming from that direction. From where I was sitting there was a protrusion from the wall that blocked my view of the front door. I didn't want to make myself known just yet if it was one of those weird people that were coming...

"Hello, is anybody here?" I heard the voice of a girl about my age call out. I sighed with relief, put down my laptop and stood up, then walked out into the wide-open space of the hallway. I could see a girl standing there, again about my age, with shortish blond hair and wearing bland khakis and a very midriff-revealing bland tank top. My first thought was 'We gotta do something about that wardrobe,' as I glanced down at my blue jeans, light blue hoodie and darker blue t-shirt.

"Hi, welcome to AERT (æ-urt)!" I called out happily, walking over to her. "We're here kinda early, but the others should be coming soon." I found myself surprisingly not shocked at all when she lifted her huge trunk with one hand and started walking down the hallway. "Superhuman strength, huh?" I commented as she stopped in front of me and placed her trunk down a little more quietly this time. "So why'd you get sent here instead of MORT (mört)?"

She looked at me and said, "Because I'm an android." I could have sworn there was a hint of sadness in her tone, but I didn't see why.

"An android, that's cool," I said, then stopped. My brain was finishing processing that information: 'Android...robot person...robotics...technology!' "Omigod, you're an android?! COOL!" I walked around her, looking her over, "Wow, wow, wow, you look so real, I never would have guess you were an android. I wish I could build something like you. Hey, hey, do you think I could...think I could..." I stopped when I saw the look of shock on her face.

"I...I'm sorry," I said, moving away and blushing slightly. "I'm just really into technology and...and I've never seen and android before and..." Suddenly I stopped. "Oh silly me I never introduced myself." I held out my hand tentatively, "Michelle Randeth."
~~~~~~~~

[Outlaw JT]

edit - dangit! I hate when someone posts while you're typing making your entire post invalid. I'll type a new one later today.

[kalad1]

Amelia
__________________________________________________ _
I took the hand offered to me, shaking it. "Amelia Archon." I replied, giving my own name. Upon saying my name however, I saw Michelle's eyes widen before she replied, "Archon? As in Archon Inc.? One of the most technologically advanced companies in the world?"

I chuckled a little nervously, a little bit of blush showing up on my face. "Uh, yeah, my old man was the one who made my body." Pulling the trunk forward, I opened it up, showing that half of it contained my battle getup, which bore the conspicuous engraving "D. Archon" on each piece. "He also made these."

She got a look of delight in her eyes and glanced at me, obviously asking for my permission to handle the equipment. "Go ahead, none of it is dangerous without being hooked up to me or in my hand." She looked at variuos pieces, turning them over and scrutinizing them, paying attention to every detail. after she was done looking at the pieces, she looked up from them and asked, "Wow, these are really advanced. How... how do they work?"

Suprised, I thought for a sec before replying, "I'm not exactly sure on the details, but basically, they link up to my power source and my control system, enabling me to use them."

[Haruko]

Name: Kaede 'Ten' Yoshida
Age: Looks around 20, but says she's around 18..but she really never gives out her real age. But she is really 20 years old.
Gender: Female
Looks: Around 6 foot even, Kaede has her mom's long black hair[that goes down to her mid back] and soft, fair skin. What she acquired from her dad, however...are eyes she calls 'out of this world', since they're naturally a bright red color. And even though Kaede doesn't show them, because of her clothing, she has these natural tatoo's with blood red lines that seem to make some ancient runes..which she also gets from her dad. She covers it up by wearing a red long sleeve shirt and khaki pants. She wears black and red sneakers only because it's easier to move around in them. And she also wears a cloth-khaki belt around her waist to hold her gun and a few magazines.

At times, Kaede also wears a deepred short sleeve shirt, but that shows the markings on her arms.
Personality: Mostly shy and sometimes distant, Kaede tends to care for who she works with a lot, but when she's in battle, she trys to care more for herself unless someones life really is in risk. Otherwise, Kaede is nice and is willing to listen to anyones complaints...but mostly hides her own feelings in. And she can be a bit sarcastic at times aswell, but it's normally to cheer someone up or to point out the obvious.
Race: Half Demon, although she looks fully human..unless you count her eyes.
Abilities: What Kaede majorly inheirted from her father, her eyes, is also key to her most used ability. Kaede's eyes can serve two purposes...using them when having direct eye contact can give the opponent a 1 minute dream that can seem longer than a minute to them[the longer though, the more energy it takes Kaede to use]. She decides if this dream would be a nightmare or a peaceful dream. This can only be used 3 times a day though...and is the most drainning, so she rarely uses it.
Kaede's other power uses both her eyes and the marks on her body. Using both, she can copy the opponents movements, or can even be used to copy an allies movement[like to quickly make bombs or reload her gun.]. She can't copy abilities though, so far. This does take away her energy, but not a lot if used sparingly.
Besides those, Kaede has been taught to be agile and can use a gun well.She can also use daggers[small daggers, moreso knifes] well to some degree, she's been teaching herself on how to use those recently.
History: Kaede never really has lived a simple life, since when her grandparents first saw her[from her mom's side]..they pushed her and her mom away. Ever since then, she's had no contact with any other relatives. Her dad, a demon, pushed Kaede to start trainning her powers when she was young, as more as a self defense more than anything, since Kaede was picked on at school because of her eyes and markings on her arms and legs. With her mom having no objections, her dad started to teach her the 2 techniques she had inherited from him, the 'copy' eye and the 'dream' eye. Both strained little Kaede out, to the point where she would pass out. However, by age 12, she was about to use both techniques well. It was then when her aunt on her mom's side, who also happened to be her godmom, came from being in service with AERT for a while. It was then when her godmom and dad taught her how to dodge things and to shoot well. Kaede joined AERT when she was around 19, believing that if she joinned and did well..her grandparents and other relatives would accept her and her family again.

Kaede's last name is her mom's last name, and the reason why she chose Ten['Heaven' in japanese] for her codename..well..thats a secret to her aswell.;)
Other: Kaede only gives out her codename to people she works with in AERT because she doesn't want other people to get attached to her. Also, for the first year she worked in AERT, it was more dealing with paperwork than any fighting.
Oh yeah...Kaede doesn't really care what a person is.



Kaede 'Ten' Yoshida

'Finally!!'I thought to myself as a I pulled around one of those suit-cases on wheels. I only packed clothing and my most favorite possessions, not included the gun I kept on my belt. Normally I'd walk into AERT with a short sleeve shirt on, maybe a ponytail, and with a pocketbook. That was then, when I was working as a receptionist for one of the big guys behind AERT. After a year of being buried in paperwork all day and stupid office jokes, I got used to the people around me, enough to show them my so-called 'tatoo's'. Enough to tell them I was a half demon.

Now I was working with a group of new people. I wore my longsleve crimson red shirt, and my khaki pants. I made sure no 'tatoo' was visible. The only other thing that would make them thing I even had a trace of demon blood was my pair of bright red..almost an orangey-red...eyes. I reached into my pocket as I grabbed a keychain I got from another receptionist as a Good Luck! present...it was like a mini-rubix cube. It was attached to the keys to my apartment that I owned.

"here we are."I told myself in a whisper tone, myself standing infront of the HQ for AERT. I slowly walked inside, and noticed 2 girls talking-one who wore a somewhat-revealing shirt, and another one that looked like one of the computer geeks we'd make fun of at lunch time. Except she seemed a bit younger than me and had a certain feeling to her that felt..somewhat magical -- not in a demon sense though. I wondered to myself if they were supposed to be in the group I was placed in as I sat down, keeping my suitcase nearby.

I guessed they noticed me though when I started to mess around with the mini-Rubix Cube as the geek-girl sorta looked at me.
"Hey," I told her.
"Hi! Welcome to AERT." She told me, as if I didn't know where I was. "We're sorta early, but the others should be here soon"
"I know where I am..I've been working here for the past year. And it's better to be early than late" I replied, making sure not to keep eye contact with her. I didn't want another accident like the one a few months ago to happen again..where I unknowingly used my 'dream' eye technique on a fellow co-worker.
"Oh..Nice eyes" She smiled, looking more over at the other girl than me. She seemed fascinated with the stuff the other girl had to offer. She seemed to be carrying very advanced weapons with her, compared to my gun. "Contacts?"
"Nope. Real."
"Oh..cool!"She said, not even asking if I was a half demon or even had demon blood in me. "My name's Michelle Randeth."
"Call me Ten." I said. I knew what she was going to say next...it was what everyone else said to that answer.
"Ok..Why just Ten?"
"Because it'd be easier that way...if you got captured and you had to name me..you'd only know Ten, and not my real name. It'd make it harder for them to search up my data."



Gwahhh..only 2 hours of sleep last night. Thats not healthy, I tell ya. :sleep:

And the font used for Kaede's name in the beginning of the post is 'Teenage angst'

[Krystalline Kabutops]

Name: Eric/Elysia Calphon
Age: 20/10
Gender: Male/Female
Looks: Male (Except he has jeans, a black, long sleeved shirt, a trenchcoat and combat boots) (http://maj.com/gallery/ShipOfFools/GreekMythos/aries.bmp) Female (The middle one, but with the second-from-the-right's hair. Also, she wears denim kiddie overalls and a light pink t-shirt to start, but for the most part Amelia acquires her clothing.) (http://maj.com/gallery/ShipOfFools/Miscellaneous/azumangadaioh.jpg)
Personality: Eric is generally a nice guy. He doesn’t pretend to know everything, and is usually easy to get along with, He may be sarcastic at times, but they’re just words. However, he severely dislikes being given orders from anyone. Assignments, yes. Orders, no. When Elysia, he can get very cocky and argumentative, to counterbalance what he feels to be his demotion in social standing. Once he finds out that his condition goes both ways, this is lessened somewhat, although by no means does it dissapear.
Race: Human o.0
Abilities: Eric has extensive knowledge in the paranormal field, ranging from cryptids (Unknown animals, like Nessie and Bigfoot) to ghosts to aliens. He has several devices and charms at his disposal, which he keeps in Amelia’s vehicle. Aditionally, whenever someone says “Elysia”, he turns into a young girl. He is turned back when scalding-hot water is poured on him (This fact is unknown at the beginning of the RPG, although the government’s scientists are close to figuring it out by then, and an overturned pot of water at the right time could reveal it…). Finally, Elysia is able to phase through any inanimate objects. That would mean she can't go through people, cyborgs, or concious robots. Eric cannot do any of this.
History: Eric was fascinated by the paranormal as a kid, and trained his body to help with catching cryptids. He graduated college at the age of 17, with a degree in technology. He spent the next three years working for the government, until an accident with the ectoplasm from a young girl’s ghost gave him his “condition” and phasing abilities. Shortly thereafter, he was reassigned to the AERT, being too unorthodox for regular government work (Can’t go on many field assignments if you’re too short to drive).
Other: His favorite cryptid is the Tatzel Wurm, and he’s still trying to catch one for a pet.


*~\Eric/Elysia Calphon/~*


I sighed as I stepped off of the bus, onto the sidewalk in front of the AERT building. So much had happened in the past few days, and my mind was whirling. I had been transformed by a blast of ectoplasm, gained the power to phase through most objects, gotten a new legal name and status, and been reassigned to the AERT. The last one really hurt.

I had been rising quickly in the ranks of MORT, almost making it to the position of Top Paranormal Investigator. However, the ectoplasm had changed that. Apparently, the guys at MORT couldn't handle having a ten-year old girl as their boss, so I had been reassigned.

I phased through the door as I entered, carrying my trunk behind me. What little conversation that had been going on between the group of people already in the lobby petered out. Ignoring the stares they were sending me, I pulled my trunk up to them and put it down, then sat on it. They parted a bit, trying to get a better look at me. To my right were a couple of girls, looking to be around 18 to twenty. One looked like your typical computer geek, the other
tall with short-cut, blonde hair.

On my left was another girl, appearing to be in the same age range, but with long black hair, and bright red eyes. She avoided looking at me directly, instead focusing on my clothing.

"So, what's your name, little girl?" The blonde asked, bending down a fair ways to my level. I bristled slightly, but avoided saying anything. I didn't want to make a bad first impression with these people. "Elysia Calphon." I replied, a little coldly. She smiled at me. She began to say something, but was cut short by the computer girl. "Well, I'm Michelle Randeth. Nice to meet you, Elysia!" She said brightly, shaking my hand. The red-eyed girl, still avoiding my eyes, merely said "Ten."

"So, Elysia... You must be a very smart kid, to have been able to get in here!" Michelle said, looking at me appraisingly. I sighed. "That's because I'm actually twenty years old." The blonde looked at me, seemingly encouraging me to go on. "See, I'm a paranormal expert, and I was messing around with some ectoplasm a few days ago. The experiment backfired. I got hit with the ectoplasm, and turned into a ten-year old. Still, I can phase through things now, which isn't so bad." I failed to mention exactly who I had previously been, because I didn't want to weird them out too much yet.

"Well Elysia, I'm sorry to hear that, but at least you get a second childhood, eh? That's not so bad." The blonde smiled, and I returned the gesture, a little wanly. "By the way, sorry I didn't say earlier, but my name's Amelia Archon." She extended her hand for me to shake, and I looked at her for a second. "Archon? One of THE Archons?" She nodded, obviously used to this kind of thing. I pulled an unopened envelope out of my pocket and handed it to her. "I was told to give this to you." She took it, looked at it for a moment, and then slipped it into her pocket to open later.


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[Roy Karrde]

Name: Jacob Karrde
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Looks: He has black hair that is cut short and very light; he brushes his hair so that it faces the front part of his face. He has hazel eyes and a light beard although he trims it a lot to keep it neat. The skin color on his face is a light tan yet on the rest of his body it’s a whole lot lighter due to a lack of sunlight. He wears regular blue jeans, and a very light blue shirt with out a collar; he keeps his shirt tucked in all the time. He always wears a belt with small pockets in it around his waist where he keeps objects in to tinker with and to use on other things when the need arises.
Personality: He has a problem with authority; he always has since he was young. He likes doing things his way and only his way. He also has a problem adjusting to change this is his first real time away from home and out into the real world so he will be antsy and some time snap at people.
Race: Human
Abilities: Ever since he was a kid he was always interested on how things worked and explosions, he would take apart objects and try to put them back together to see if he could make them blow up, As a adult now he has a skill in which he can help craft a weapon out of almost anything * I know it sounds like a McGyver type of thing but it’s not, his ability will only deal with bombs really nothing else * He’s also experienced with weapons and can use any weapon with experience almost no kickback.
History: He grew up in what would be considered a normal modern day nuclear family, a mother, father, himself, and a sister. Yet he always remained secluded back in his room taking things apart and rebuilding them, when he became older he took a interest in firearms and remained in the library for days on end reading up on every type of weapon possible. When he turned 21 he decided that he wanted to do something with his life and decided to put his skills to use with the AERT, yet it took him a few years to get the courage to join.
Other: The reason he joined AERT over MORT was that his grand father also served in AERT, and he wanted to prove himself that he could be a member in the group too.


Jacob Karrde

Here I was standing outside of AERT, not really the place that I was aiming for, but my grandfather joined and he was the toughest man I ever knew so in his memory I joined AERT. Now I was here and for the first time away from home and out on my own. I know that in a young man’s life being away from home can be exciting and exhilarating but this was flat out scary. I would have to rely on the knowledge of stuff that I had studied for most of my life to prove myself to everyone else here who allready had special talents. Hell it was a chore to even get in here since I had no special talents or anything to really differ me from anyone else.

I sighed taking in large gulps of air and exhaling out of my nose to get myself ready to go in and stop my shaking. After a few more times I walked in and took a look around. The lobby looked nice and spacious; so far so good I hadn’t made myself look like an idiot yet. In front of me were three girls all three of which looked like they should be in high school still.

Now was when I was getting worried my heart began to pump faster and I began to sweat, what if this wasn’t AERT maybe AERT moved and this was some female girl building, or worst yet what if I went to the girl division of AERT! I smiled slowly trying to make it seem like I belonged here and smiled slowly waving to a girl with weird contacts in her eyes. A geeky girl near her waved back. I slowly picked up my suitcase and began to move forward making myself not look like even more of a jack ass than I allready was.

“Hello is this the..” I began to say when my foot hit something solid. I had been keeping my eyes straightforward and didn’t even check to see if something was in my path. The thing I stepped into bent my leg forward, I had just about egnough time to drop my suitcase and throw my hands out when I noticed that the thing I hit was a trunk, with a young girl standing in front of it. She had no idea that I was right behind her, and she was so small I didn’t even see her. I stumbled over the trunk my hands flailing to catch myself. She didn’t even have a warning when my hands landed on her back with the amount of force I was going and her lightweight I shoved her straight to the ground unintentionally.

“I’m sorry, I’m Sorry” I quickly apologized as I picked myself up off the trunk. I looked down at the girl that I had smashed into the floor and helped her up before looking at everyone else. “Hi I’m Jacob, Jacob Karrde”

[Darkmaster Kagemusha]

Name: Gabriel Curin (pronounced Shoe-rin, very little emphasis on the 'r')
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Looks: 6'2" tall with short, spiky black hair and eyes that are so dark red, they almost look black. His entire body is covered with small, round, pockmark scars, though they are all only miniscule white spots, so they don't really mar his appearance. He wears baggy black clothes with designs that are the same deep red as his eyes, as well as a black leather gauntlet around his right arm that has a metal plate rivetted on, and he has black combat boots that he has put metal plates on the toes and heels of.
Personality: Generally a pretty nice person, but he does have his moods, and has a somewhat short temper, though he can control it if he really tries. He really likes working with metal, especially making katanas, which he has become quite good at in his spare time.
Race: Traces of demon blood, but by no means half demon.
Abilities: He controls heat--not fire, heat. He can heat up things near him, including the air and things he holds, and he's pretty much immune to heat.
History: When he was little, his parents were killed in a mysterious fire, which he escaped, and he was put into an orphanage, where he learned about metal work from a very old man who was homeless, and stayed around the alleys by the orphanage to rummage for the food picky children wouldn't eat. There was a group of boys and girls, older than he at the time, who would always beat him up, since he was young and shy. They once locked him in a tiny concrete room and left him there, and he became so scared that he panicked, and in turn, heated the whole room up so much that the concrete exploded, and the millions of minute granules of concrete buried into his skin, though the heat did nothing, which amazed the paramedics who picked him up. MORT studied the area, thinking it had been a terrorist attack, but couldn't find any cause for the explosion, and thought that young Gabriel was a freak, and so gave him to the AERT to take care of.

Gabriel Curin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked at an easy pace up to the AERT headquarters building, holding a large duffel bag in my left hand while cradling a silk-covered katana in my right hand. I'd been there only a few times before--the most memorable being when he was just a little boy, and was given to the AERT--and so I knew my way around. Through my work, travelling between AERT divisions as a metalworker or on rare occaisions, a special operative, I'd seen many people of AERT. As I walked in the front door of the building, I saw a group of five people. Four appeared to be female, though one could never be sure, while the fifth was male. As I advanced a bit farther, I recognized two of them--the girl known as 'Ten,' and Michelle Randeth. I had seen them both before, if only for a very short time, but enough for me to be comfortable in a working environment, and at the very least it would make the introductions shorter. I set down my duffel bag when I reached the group, and switched the sword to my other hand, though still holding onto it firmly. "Hello, everyone. My name is Gabriel Curin," I said, then turned and looked back and forth from Ten to Michelle. "I don't suppose either of you know exactly what all this is about, huh?"

[kalad1]

Amelia Archon
__________________________________________________
Having intorduced myself to the others, I picked up my now closed trunk and carried it to my room, which was a bit spartan, but spacious. I was feeling quite a bit better than earlier, feeling far less unique than before.

Putting down my trunk, I opened it and looked over my equipment, It'd be a good idea to test it out a bit and make sure it was all working properly. I checked a nearby map of the building and saw they had a shooting range/training room. I put my equipment on and was about to leave when a thought occured to me, Michelle had been practically elated to look at my combat equipment, maybe she'd like to see it in action.

Walking around a bit, in my full equipment, I eventually found her. Holding up the plasma launcher in my right hand, I said, "I thought you might like to watch me practice."

[RaZoR LeAf]

Name: Alberto Steel
Age: 53
Gender: Male

Looks: As a middle aged man he is begin to show his real age. He towers above at a massive six foot, four inches, but doesn't appear to be as frightening as he should be. His skin is of an average complextion, and is adorned with the wear and tear of life, along with a few pocks and small scars from various events in his past life. He's got jet black hair, or he did, he's greying now, so it's got 'platinum highlights' as he likes to call them. He's certainly aging gracefully, as he's still got a strong build and good figure, retaining all his muscle and little to no fat. He's also got a fully grey goatee, which though it makes him look older, also makes him look dignified. Fortunatly he doesn't dress like an old man, but nor does he dress like youth. He wears a pair of smart black trouers, and a dark green shirt, complete with black jacket and a pair of black boots.

Personality: Alberto alone isn't like most fifty year olds, he's got the heart and soul of a young man, and feels somewhat at home with the rest of the young people he works with. While that may be, he's still middle aged so he expects respect from others the same as he gives to them. He gets grouchy if he's treated differently because of his age, and sometimes gets quite irritated and angry, but never takes it as far as violence. What Alberto's problem is, that he possesses within him at least three other personalities.

Lorenna Martoni, an 86 year old woman is bitter and hateful of just about everything. She detests men, young women, children, puppies and pink bunnies, and anything else. She's got a spiteful tongue, throws insults whenever she can and is often reluctant of helping to the point of refusing to even move.

Desmond Smith, is an 18 year old boy with issues. Teen angst perhaps, but he's prone to outbursts of emotion, and has been known to self harm. Though nervous sometimes, he's a good listener and a good talker.

Malice, is an irregularity. It appears to be of demon origin, though it has never admitted or explained it's reasons for being 'within' Alberto's mind. Alberto himself believes it is Malice that has brought the other personalities in from outside. Malice is seemingly emotionless, using only cryptic responses and riddles to communicate.

Race: Human

Abilities: Alberto brings a huge range of knowledge and skills, though they are only accessible when a certain mind becomes active.

Alberto himself has the experiences of his father and grandfather before him, having been taught by them in reading. Able to read a wide number of human languages, including the long extinct Babylionian, and a number of demonic or otherworldly languages. He is also able to speak some of these languages fluently

Lorenna, claiming to have been a member of AERT in the distant past, is a scientists. Medicenes, testing strange compounds, whatever it is, she will be the one to check it out. She works alone.

Desmond has the unique ability of empathic healing. He can absorb the wounds of others, and heal them at double the speed on his own body.

Malice rarely does anything to aid, though it is known to possess telekinesis.

History: Alberto was basically born into AERT, following in both his grandfather and father's footsteps. Around the age of 40, he started experiencing wild mood swings, and his behavior drastically changed. Only with the help of a psychic, he found the presence of a mind mind within his own. It was fighting for control, but through a number of meditation techniques, Alberto was able to keep it under control. The demon, known as Malice eventually found a way to surface again, usually in times of stress or heightened emotion.

A few years passed, until Alberto 'woke' to find himself not in control of his body. Lorenna Martoni claimed to have been a high ranking member of AERT from the turning of the century in 2002, though her claims were convincing, no record of such a woman existed on file. Soon after, the mind of Desmond Smith also surfaced, lost and confused as to where he was, and suffering from personality issues himself of being inside someone else's body.

Alberto eventually learnt to control these personalities, and can draw one to the surface if need be, though more often than not, they draw themselves to the surface when he least expects it.

Alberto Steel

Moving swiftly through the corridors of the AERT building, Alberto Steel peeled the lid of his coffee and took a long gulp of the steaming hot liquid. He took the stairs down a floor, where a number, of what could be described as misfits, had began to gather from outside the facility. Scratching the back of his leg with one foot, he pushed open the door and walked in on the small gathered group.

"Apologies if I'm late" he said, finding a chair near the wall, sitting on it and putting his coffee on the sill "I've been bed ridden for the past few days."

"How's your leg now Steel?" a young girl asked. Alberto looked over to see Elysia Calphon.

Alberto leant over and rolled up his trouser leg. A large bruise sat on the shin, with a small scare running through the middle.

"Better. Atleast I can walk on it now. I just hope next time I turn into an angsty teen it's not in the middle of an accident."

He rolled it down again and turned back to his coffee. As he took another sip of it, a tall blonde haired girl entered, wearing some kind of weapon on her arms. Alberto saw the tell tale signature of Archon Industries in the development, and identified her as Amelia Archon.

"If we're all early, then we're going to be waiting a long time for our superiors. I'd pull up a chair if I were you." Alberto said, pointing at the chairs dotted around the room.

[Outlaw JT]

Name: Ricky Koger aka 8 or 8-Ball (as in section 8, crazy, psycho, schizoid)
Age: 25
Gender: male
Looks: short but spiky blue hair, his eyes are blue but he wears contacts to make them look red, slender athletic build, black pants, black silk long sleeve button up dress shirt, red vest with silver lining (literally lined with silver giving some protection against the supernatural), and a thin black leather trench coat.
Personality: Everyone thanks god on a daily basis that he is one of the good guys. Ricky is downright certifiably crazy. He is very playful and very clever. It's impossible to tell when he's being serious and when he's playing. Not even telepaths can read him very accurately.
Race: He's human but as a teenager he was part of a government experiment to augment soldiers with demon blood.
Abilities: Telepath (on people he can only read surface thoughts but it is very useful for communicating with willing subjects and ghosts and detecting supernatural aura's), Tactile-Cognitive (by touching things he can tell you who's it is, where it's been, what's happened around it. The more emotion attached to the object the more he can see), he is a master of a rare form of martial arts called Gunkata that is a combination of duel wielded gunplay and jeet kun do (designed to maximize attack radius while minimizing the target you present), short to mid-range marksman (not a sniper so he's not great with a rifle but he rarely ever misses with his pistols).
History: Ricky hails from a wealthy military family. His father is a general. In his early teenage years his abilities started to present themselves and he grew interested in becoming a soldier. He started training at age 12 which made his father very proud. When it became clear that his moralty held a certain flexibility he was enrolled into a special government program for training a new generation of soldiers. In essence, it was an experiment that tried many different methods of enhancing them to become better soldiers. Some were made cyborgs, some were given various drugs designed to alter their genetic structure. Ricky was injected with demon blood which heightened his gifts a little bit and slightly enhanced his agility and strength (he's about 120% stronger than he looks and 150% more agile). When he was 18 he joined the MORT as his father's pride and joy. That didn't last very long though. About two years into his service he was faced with a situation where a bank teller was being used as a hostage by a criminal. The criminal was completely shielded by the telle to the point where not even he had a clear shot. So, he shot the hostage in the leg so when the teller sagged he would have a shot. It worked and he nailed the criminal in the right eye but no one was very pleased by his willingness to shoot a hostage to stop a criminal. He was discharged from MORT and his high profile father disowned him. Thanks to his experience, training, and unique gifts he had no trouble finding a home at AERT. Since he joined them he has become a much more psychotic person (but not to the point where he hurts anyone for no reason). Many believe that he has just become his true self and he was holding back his personality to fit in when he was at MORT.
Other: *picks teeth with Other's bones* huh? What Other?



Ricky Koger aka 8 or 8-Ball

He looked down at the assembly of people below him. Many new faces and some old that he had never worked in the field with but recognized from around HQ. All of their minds were laid out deliciously before him. Most were simply an array of surface thoughts but a couple of them definately had a supernatural aura to them.

Ricky had been there in the lobby since the second arrival but no one had taken notice of him yet. Of course, he was suspended upside down from a vent in the extremely tall vault ceiling. What cause was there to look up? The mischievous grin beamed a mile wide as he observed his fellow AERT agents.

As the old man entered, and from the surface thoughts Ricky was sure it was Alberto and not one of his alter-ego's, and took a seat Ricky decided it was time for introductions. Slowly he curled our from the vent till he was hanging by one arm. Before he could drop down, though, something caught his attention.

Almost completely inaudible to the average person, there was a quiet buzzing down below. Someone had accidentally let a fly in from outisde. He noticed the little girl, if only in appearance, swat at it as it passed her. For a moment he tried to ignore it but his eye twitched once and he just couldn't resist.

Without warning he let go and drew his guns as he fell. He fired a quick volley of shots at the wall above the head of the armored girl. The buzzing stopped but the armored girl sprang into action. She homed in on him quickly and fired at him as he fell. He twisted mid-fall, dodging the shot and putting his feet down to land.

As he landed he leapt forward over her second shot and rolled to his knee in front of her, raising his one hand to deflect her firing arm and the second to aim at her head. He let the gun pointing at her slide loose in his hand and flattened his palm to show he was not being aggressive against her. When he was sure she wasn't going to try to blow his head off he holstered both weapons again and pointed at the X he had etched in the wall with his shots.

"There was a fly. I hate fly's," Ricky said calmlywith a twisted grin.

"Holy heck 8-ball! What were you thinking?" Alberto blurted, now on his feet.

"Perhaps introductions might be in order as we all seem to have been assignd to the same project," Ricky said, seemingly ignoring Alberto. "All of you may just call me 8-ball or simply 8. Now, I have to ask for the sake of posterity. How many of you are truly what you appear to be?"

Ricky took a step back and turned so that he could see everyone in the lobby. His gaze turned from face to face but on some of them he paused for a moment and his eyes flaired mischievously to compliment his grin. The armored girl, the little girl and the quiet black haired girl could almost feel him wink as his gaze had paused at them.

[kalad1]

Amelia
_________________________________________________
Before I could get Amelia's reply, the older man had arrived and was evidently part of the team as well. Then the man with a death wish, 8-ball showed up. Inquiring as to whether we were all 'What we appeared to be.' I narrowed my eyes, this person obviously knew more than he should outright, most likely due to psychics. He might even know about.. that. "I for one am a human brain in an android body and if you speak further of it, I'll gut you like a fish."

I turned to get Michelle's attention once more, but another thing interrupted me, someone was at the front door, a person in an Archon Inc. uniform. Realizing what he was here for, I set down my weapons and walked up asking the delivery man, "So, pops sent the toys I asked for?"
Obviously nervous speaking to me, he replied, "Yes Ma'am, We uh, just need to get them in."
"Oh, let me handle that."

A short while later, they were gone and a bunch of large metal containers were sitting in front of the others who were obviously curious as to their contents. I walked to one, flipping open a panel, and entering a code into the revealed keypad. With a dull "Thunk", the box unlocked, and I opened it up, causing a slight hiss as the airtight container was opened revealing a BUNCH of fancy looking guns, and one or two old fashioned ones.

With a bunch of gaping looks as I opened the other four containers, I began naming off the weapons, "Pulse rifle, Luger, hand flamer, rail gun, grenade launcher, fusion charges, T-Bolt pulse cannon..." I turned to see mixed looks of fascination, joy, and disbelief throughout the assembled group. "With my pops backing us, we're probably a match for any MORT strikeforce out there, and most likely far better equipped to handle supernatural threats."

I let the others gawk over the weapons a bit before repeating my offer to Michelle, asking once more, "You wanna watch me practice?"

[Haruko]

Kaede 'Ten' Yoshida

'Geez..'I thought to myself. What did I get myself into? First there was this old guy who looked like he couldn't be of much use, besides his muscles and and figure. And now we had him, 8-Ball...who most likely needed to be in a insane asyulm more than AERT. Gabe was here too, I recognized him from working in AERT...him and the Jacob kid seemed the most normal out of the bunch.

"All of you may just call me 8-ball or simply 8. Now, I have to ask for the sake of posterity. How many of you are truly what you appear to be?"8 asked all of us. He then started to look at everyone, examining the crowd until he fixed his eyes on me, Amelia and the geek.
"I, for one, am a human brain in an android body and if you speak further of it, I'll gut you like a fish."Amelia told 8. I could care less if she was android or not. As she looked at the geek, someone knocked on the door. She set down everything she had and walked up to the delivery person as I could feel 8's eyes on me. I stood up and streched, and then glared at him.

"I'm a half demon."I told him, not wanting to tell at all. I didn't say anything else, hoping my eyes would threaten him enough, as I took my suitcase and rolled it over to look at the weapons Amelia had gotten. Nothing really impressive, mostly stuff from her dad. Amelia herself was talking to the geek about something as I sighed and walked down the hall to find my room.

I opened the door and plopped my suitcase onto the bed and opened it up. First out was my pillowcase, then my sheets, along with a quilt. Next was shirts, pants...and undergarments. I slowly put everything in it's place, getting a pillow and covering it, replacing the sheets with my sheets, and the blanket with my blanket. I then put my clothing away and then continued to take things out. A small photo album, a teddy bear from when I was younger..magazines for my gun, some reading material and another gun.

I made sure that everything was placed away safely before I laid down in my bed, staring up at the ceiling.
'We have an android..a geek..an old guy..someone who's mentally insane...2 somewhat normal guys'I thought to myself.'And me.' I laughed a little bit to myself. I missed working in the receiptionists' area..but I guess this would be ok too. I closed my eyes, hoping maybe to get a nap in before anything.

[Darkmaster Kagemusha]

Gabriel Curin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I couldn't help but chuckle when 8-Ball assassinated the fly John Woo-Style. I had never actually met him, but had quite often heard of his...unique nature. I wondered how long his insanity would take to wear down the rest of the team to the point where they would kill him. There were now slightly more intimate introductions, as a few people told the group what they were. I saw Ten walk off, probably to get away from everyone. She may have been the most antisocial person in our little group thusfar, but I certainly wouldn't want her to be my enemy.

I glanced idly at the crate of weapons that Amelia's father supplied. Those weapons may be effective, but I wouldn't trust them half as far as one of my swords, I thought. I picked up my belongings and went off to my assigned quarters, and as I did, I smiled a bit and gave my own introduction, if only to the air before me "I am myself, and that is all..." When I reached my room, I was greeted by emptiness and sterility--definitely not something I was used to. By no means was I used to lavish decorations and rich living, but nearly every place I had ever been had been influenced by those living there, or by the surrounding area, giving it a hidden personality. What I saw here was nothing--just cold, emotionless, and empty. I took some comfort in the fact that I had brought some of my own things that would change all that. I unpacked my clothes, most of which just versions of the clothes I was currently wearing, one black and red kimono, some battle gear, and one set of clothes that I wore when making a sword. All of these I carefully put away. I set up my sword rack and placed three swords on it, while the sword I had carried under my arm was still lying on the bed. I took one last thing from my bag, and set it on the small nightstand next to the bed. It was a small, flat piece of metal that stood in a wooden stand. The metal had been tempered in the same manner as a swords' edge to make the kanji for the word 'protection' stand out bright against the darker, softer metal. With this done, I set my deflated duffelbag in the closet, and picked up the sword lying on my bed and slipped it into the sash that was tied around my waist in the same style as the samurai. People called me crazy or ignorant for integrating ancient culture into my life where I could, but I found it very interesting. I then left my room, no longer desolate, and headed for the training room, knowing full well that there would be bamboo poles and cutting mats available, and hoping that they wouldn't be blown up by the time I got there.

[Outlaw JT]

Ricky Koger aka 8 or 8-ball

His hunger for amusement and his natural curiosity peaked as two of the girls reacted to his direct question. The little girl who he knew to be a much older guy from his/her thoughts just ignored him but the other two..... The armored girl with the mind of a boy and the half demon, their reactions were priceless to him. A death threat and a direct confession out of earshot of the group.

After Amelia's care packages arrived, Ten departed from the lobby in search of her room. Shortly thereafter Amelia left to go train with a hyper Michelle in tow. He was terribly intrigued by both of them so decided to pass by both of them while waiting for their briefing to begin.

He followed after Amelia and quickly caught up, matching pace to walk side by side. He looked over with his mischievous grin and noted that she didn't seem as pleased as he was. That only increased his enjoyment.

"That whole gutting event? Sounds like a fantastic first date, Princess," he winked at Amelia. "Somehow, I doubt I'm your type though."

Before she could say anything else or make additional threats he quickened his pace and came to a corner ahead of them. He rounded and paused, looking back with just his head sticking out.

"Toodles Princess," he winked again at Amelia, his grin as mischievous and knowing as it possibly could be.

His smile was broad as he continued walking. Amelia was proving to be very entertaining but Ten was something different. He couldn't place his finger on it but something about her called to him. It almost felt like he was being drawn to her and he couldn't quite guess why yet.

Surely enough, he found he had navigated towards the hall with their rooms and he had no doubt the door he stopped at belonged to Ten. He gave a light tap at the door and when no one responded he slid the door open. He had been correct as he found her lying on her bed, perhaps trying to take a nap before their briefing.

"Mentally insane, hmm? I'm hurt!" his expression displayed mock despair.

"What do you want 8?" Ten slowly sat up.

"I'm not quite sure actually. It took a good bit of courage to admit your heritage to someone like me Kaede," his voice was different now, almost soft.

"And?" although not as hostile she was still leary of him.

"You know, I didn't know you were different the same way as the others. Their surface thoughts betrayed them. You, I could feel the demon blood in you. Perhaps it's just the traces of demon blood in me and perhaps it's just the aura you inherited from your demon parent, but I could feel that presence in you very clearly," his voice remained almost soft but a hint of his mischievous nature returned. "I suspect there is much more to you than meets the eye."

Again his grin was knowing and perhaps mischievous but not in the same way it was when he grinned back at Amelia. It was of a more serious sort. With Amelia, his expression was a way to further play with her suspicions and distrust of him. With Ten, with Kaede, it wasn't meant to disturb her at all.

[Krystalline Kabutops]

*~\Eric/Elysia Calphon/~*

I hurried off to my room, shutting the door behind me quickly. How could that "8" character know? He couldn't. I shook my head, deciding that paranoia was getting the better of me. There was no way he could know who I used to be.

I sighed, and rubbed my aching back. The fall that "Jacob" had had on me had hurt me quite a bit. I was unhappy to note that this new, tiny body was extremely fragile. I could feel bruises forming on my legs and elbows.

I tossed my bag on top of my new bed, and began unpacking. For the most part, my equipment had been shipped ahead. My array of paranormal items was set on rows of shelves traversing the room. Net launchers for cryptids, recording equipment for ghosts, and sensory equipment for detecting alien presences. To my satisfaction, a large cage was also set up in the room, equipped with the things I had anticipated a Tatzel Wurm would require.

I opened my suitcase, pulling out a few things I had brought along myself. Several sets of pants, a multitude of shirts, and multiple sets of underwear and socks were all packed away into the drawers I had been provided. As a final touch, I set up my laptop computer, a few pictures of my (Now ex) girlfriend, and my diplomas.

I pulled the equipment that required fitting off of the wall, and began readjusting it to fit my new body. I couldn't exactly tangle with cryptids of any size anymore, and my equipment would need to be modified to prevent hand-to-hand situations.

[VirtualPlay]

Michelle
~~~~~~~~
I watched as Amelia opened up one of the large trunks that had just been delivered. With a hissing as the thing de-pressurized, the door on front opened up to reveal a heck of a lot of weapons. Amelia was listing them off, but I wasn't really listening. Not that I needed to, I could identify them all without much difficulty. Given the resources, I could even see myself building some of them.

"With my pops backing us," Amelia said as I started listening again, "we're probably a match for any MORT strikeforce out there, and most likely far better equipped to handle supernatural threats." Then she turned to me and again asked, "You wanna watch me practice?"

Still mostly numb from the huge array of high-tech weapons I was looking at, I turned my head slowly and nodded. Other people seemed to have had the same idea to get "comfortable" and so the hall was already thinning out. Amelia picked up a few of the containers she had, but even though she was strong enough to carry them all, she still didn't have enough limbs to move them all at one time.

"Um, I think I can help," I said, stopping her from trying to take yet another box. Calming my thoughts, I focused on the energy inside me. Feeling the familiar power, I held out my hands and forced it onto the boxes that were still on the ground, pushing them up. As I had hoped, both the boxes and my hands glowed, and the boxes slowly lifted up into the air, hovering perfectly still above where they had been.

"Uh, you sure you got them?" Amelia asked. "Aren't they kinda heavy?"

"I once accidentally lifted my school bus, full of kids at the time, a foot off of the ground after I first got my powers," I told her. "This is hardly a problem." She seemed to accept that, and I followed her as she navigated through the hallways to her room, which happened to be next door to my own.

After dropping most of her stuff off, she thanked me and picked only a couple boxes of her stuff and led me through the hallways again, this time to the training areas. It was two training areas, actually, one was a firing range and the other more like a dojo.

Amelia attached the armor she had brought, and I sighed with amazement as it practically became one with her body. She attached the couple weapons she had brought with her in the same way, then started one of the shooting training courses that was programmed in the computer there. I watched, amazed, as she handled her firing with complete control.

"Sugoi, sugoi! That was awesome!" I said as she finished.

"Thanks," she replied, obviously unable to say anything more elaborate. "Um...well, I saw your ability and I was wondering..." She stopped for a moment, then continued, "D'you wanna maybe spar for a bit over in the other room?" I was about to say something about her gun when she must have got the idea from the look on my face. "Oh, don't worry, it'll be weapon-free, I don't really wanna hurt you."

"Um...okay, I guess so," I said, and we moved into the other room. Amelia took off her weapons, leaving just the armor on her body. "Well, now's as good a time as any to show you this," I said, then focused deep again. This time I pushed the energy out through my whole body and with a flash of light I felt my clothes change to my "magical girl" outfit. It was much easier to move around in, and now I had access to all of my powers which meant I could use more.

"Wow, that was cool," Amelia said. "So, are you ready?" She asked, taking a stance.

"I guess, though I've never really fought someone else bef-" I was cut off by a sense inside me telling me to move out of the way. I saw a brief image of Amelia about to hit me before I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding getting hit. I stood up quickly, and jumped back, as Amelia got up and turned towards me again.

The sense came back, but this time I was ready. I wasn't physically strong, but I still had my telekinetic abilities. I quickly envisioned a large force of energy coming and striking Amelia from the side, and swiping my hands to the side, I pushed her sideways out of the air. She tumbled, but she wasn't out by a long shot. Pushing a force at the ground, I flew backwards, flipping in midair.

"Woah, that was cool, if I do say so myself," I said to myself, smiling. Amelia came again, and this time I pushed a force back at her, countering her forward sailing. But this time it wasn't as easy; Amelia obviously had learned from my previous attack, and now I could feel her continually pushing against my force. It was rather weird to see her floating there, but I could tell that she wasn't about to give up. I, however, was running out of energy to pour into the force, and I knew Amelia was going to get to where I was.

So I quickly changed where I was pushing the force and instead pushed it to the side, in turn causing myself to half-roll, half-fly sideways. Amelia landed hard, exactly where I had been, but I could see, even though she was an android, that she was getting tired from all the energy exertion. I wasn't feeling all that energetic myself anymore.

"I think I'm spent," I said, and Amelia nodded. I dispersed my collected energy and felt my normal clothes reappear and replace my outfit. Still, it hadn't been a waste. First, I learned a little about how Amelia fought. But second I had that feeling one has after working out a certain part of their muscles; tired and spent, but with that definite feeling of getting stronger.
~~~~~~~~
Fight scenes take a lot of mental energy to put into writing.

[Haruko]

Kaede 'Ten' Yoshida

"You know, I didn't know you were different the same way as the others. Their surface thoughts betrayed them. You, I could feel the demon blood in you. Perhaps it's just the traces of demon blood in me and perhaps it's just the aura you inherited from your demon parent, but I could feel that presence in you very clearly,"The voice he used to reply remained the soft tone, but also gained a...almost mischievous..tone to it, "I suspect there is much more to you than meets the eye."

I almost laughed a little bit at that one, it could be taken almost literally if you count the power with my eyes. I smiled a little bit too to his smile, and got up.

"Maybe, but I'm not giving you any more direct confessions."I told him. "You'll have to wait, like the rest, to learn about me. You already know more than you should." I guess I might've smiled a bit, and thought enough for him to hear with his telepathy.

'Now if you could please leave 8, otherwise I'll do something thats worse than gutting.'I thought, hoping he'd hear and get the hint. I'm not sure if he was bored, upset, or something..but he left enough so that I could close and lock my door. I sat back on my bed and looked around, and sighed. I grabbed my photo album and looked through.

"This one.."I took out a photo..

"Dad...please..I'm getting really tired.."I had told him. I had a shortsleeve shirt on and shorts..I was maybe around 8. Dad was help me learn my copy eye technique, him performing all of these difficult moves and I had to copy him exactly.

He shook his head."Just one more try, ok?"
"Sure dad.."

He then quickly ran through our backyard, which was a forest, and I used my copy eye to copy his agility. My tatoo's tingled slightly and my eyes turned into a shade of orange. He then jumped into the tree branches and I copied him exactly..but I felt as if anymore would strain me out too much, and I stopped on a tree branch, falling off of it.

"geez. Well..thats enough for today, Kaede."My dad had catched me. I remembered the sensation that overcame my body then as I went into a deep sleep from exhaustion.


"geez, I have to stop getting so caught up in these photos."I told myself as I put the photo back and placed my photo album away from my sight, and took out the mini-rubix cube. I started to play around with it again as I laid down, hoping the 'meeting' would start soon.



Wasn't sure on exactly what to do.... :sweat2: So character development is always good.:sweat2::sweat2:

[Roy Karrde]

Jacob Karrde

Stupid, stupid, stupid, how could I have not seen her sitting there? Now I had made myself look like an ass in front of everyone. I got up trying to make myself look normal and apologized to the girl before heading off to my own room. The less that I was around them the better. I quickly unpacked and sat down trying to let the stress wash out of me. Now came the hard part, I had to make it look like I had powers by doing something extraordinary, and that meant I needed to scope out some of the weapons this place had to see if I could duplicate them.

I slowly made myself out into the hallway and began to walk around the place, it was literally huge and I had a hard time finding my way around. I spent what could have been an hour or two just walking around, I was just about to give up on finding something interesting when I struck jackpot! Two people leaving a room after dropping off a bunch of airtight containers, like the ones you would keep weapons in. I quickly dashed into a door way so that they wouldn’t see me, and then walked up to her door.

Surprisingly the door was unlocked; I quickly slipped into the room and walked to one of the containers. A simple lock was in place on the containers it was a six-digit lock with a keypad. I first entered the most logical numbers with it being 1 – 6 and then 6 – 1 each time a robotic voice would reply. “Passcode Rejected”.

“Damn” I swore under my breath and studied the room, some clue any clue to the pass code could be in here somewhere. I continued to type in numbers wildly and nothing worked. After at least five hundred attempts, I heard voices slowly coming up the hallway. She must be coming back I realized in shock.

I slipped out of the door as fast as I could and turned running the other way. Any minute they would find out that I had broke in to her room and they would be after me. I charged down the hallway running as fast as I could, while at the same time my lungs tightened up and my throat seemed to close up.

I stopped in front of a random doorway panting and gasping in huge amounts of air. I turned and pounded on the door hoping the person was at home. “LET ME IN” I screamed my fist hitting the door over and over again.

The door opened slowly, a woman eyed me from the other side, who I had met before, I believe her name was Ten. “Good, a normal human” She sighed grabbing my shirt and pulling me in before locking the door.

[kalad1]

Amelia
________________________________________________
Michelle, like myself, certainly had suprises up her sleeve. I needed to be more careful, I almost overdrew my powersource trying to break through her attack, I would've been left running on auxilliary. That costume thing was cool too.

I walked back to my room, with Michelle walking beside me, making idle chatter between the two of us. I went into my room and she entered hers. I noticed the blinking light on the weapons box, someone had tried getting into it. Before I could check the data from the box's security systems, I heard the PA system call us into the briefing room, we hand a mission. Picking up the boxes, with a little help from Michelle, I got them to the briefing room, I wasn't going to let everyone use inferior equipment.

When we were all assembled, a man wearing MORT's trademark uniform walked in, looking VERY unhappy. Tunring off the lights, the projector showed an island that looked heavily fortified, and even had a large temple on it. "I'm none too happy to be here, but this situation has fallen into your jurisdiction. A week ago, the Emperor's daughter was kidnapped." The slide changed, showing a young woman. "We recently learned that a cult called the Sanguine Order are responsible for kidnapping her. Thinking they were a normal but well armed cult, we sent in MORT teams Alpha and Bravo, they were slaughtered by some sort of freakish monsters." The slide changed again, showing huge humanoid beasts clawing MORT agents apart and frying them with flame breath of some sort. "Since this is obviously supernatural, we are forced to hand it over to you, you will be dropped in at three points, one near their port, one near a village at the base of the mountain the temple is on, and one near an odd quarry in the back, all are likely hiding spots for the Emperor's Daughter." The only support you will get is the helicopter and it's pilot.

I sat there, slightly dubious of the whole situation, but he said one last thing. "You will leave in half an hour, get ready now." He then left. I turned around and started opening the weapon boxes. "Alright, what sort of weapon do you want?" I asked them as a group.

[Haruko]

Kaede 'Ten' Yoshida

"What was with the pulling?!"The kid said...After taking a good look at him, he was that Jacob kid from before, the one who fell ontop of the little girl who used to be a guy.
"Would you rather be in here, or out there...possibly getting in trouble for whatever you've done?"I replied to him. He was probably older than me..but even I admit that I act a bit too old for my age at times.
"I..I'm sorry, thanks."Jacob replied. He was normal, alright..and even if I wasn't normal at all....I loved being around normal people and not crazy people like 8 or old people who are probably starting to turn senile.

We stood there for a few minutes, with silence and uneasyness hanging around in the air. It ended as the PA system came on and announced that we had to be in the briefing room -- most likely we had a mission on our hands. I opened the door and let Jacob out before me, and I locked the door behind me, taking the keys with me. We walked down into the briefing room, where it seemed that most of our team mates were settled in and ready. I sat down and listened in.

"I'm none too happy to be here, but this situation has fallen into your jurisdiction. A week ago, the Emperor's daughter was kidnapped."A guy said...he was wearing a MORT uniform and seemed...not so happy about being around us AERT. He then changed the slide to show a young woman.
"We recently learned that a cult called the Sanguine Order are responsible for kidnapping her. Thinking they were a normal but well armed cult, we sent in MORT teams Alpha and Bravo, they were slaughtered by some sort of freakish monsters."The slide changed again, now to show some humanoid demon's clawing apart MORT agents...and using flame-breath on them.

'Serves them right'I thought as he said something about the agents being slaughtered.

"Since this is obviously supernatural, we are forced to hand it over to you. You will be dropped in at three points, one near their port, one near a village at the base of the mountain the temple is on, and one near an odd quarry in the back. All are likely hiding spots for the Emperor's Daughter."He said.."The only support you'll get is a pilot and a helicopter."

I sighed...but I could feel the bits of demon blood in me boil up at the chance to fight...this was it; maybe only one mission will be what it takes for my relatives to accept my family.

The MORT guy walked near the door, and said one last thing, "You will leave in half an hour, get ready now." He then left. Amelia, at that cue, got up and started to open weapon boxes.
"Alright, what sort of weapon do you want?"She said. I got up from my chair and looked at the weapons..a lot of them were plasma based weapons. I looked around for anything that didn't contain plasma. I found another gun, that had a silencer right next to it...and took both.

I then walked away after grabbing a few magazines for it. I didn't like plasma guns...some idiot shot my dad with one while we're trainning. My dad did live..but I still hate plasma-loaded weapons for that reason.

"Why didn't you grab a plasma weapon? If you don't know which is which or what does what..I'll help you."Jacob assisted, stopping me in my tracks.
"I don't like plasma weapons....ok?"
"But normal weapons won't help you, you'll need plasma for this mission."He told me,"You saw those MORT people being slaughtered."

"I don't care, I don't use plasma...I just don't like them."I told him, hoping he'd stop with that.

[Darkmaster Kagemusha]

Gabriel Curin
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I watched the lovely slideshow from the doorway. Such graphic images of slaughter made my heart race with anticipation. I fully entered the room once the MORT officer had finished his little speech, and stepped up to the crates of weapons the group was sorting through, and I couldn't help but laugh. Every weapon in the crates was a modern or semi-modern projectile weapon of some kind. I looked over at Jacob, trying to convince Ten to use a plasma weapon. "A weapon is only as useful as its wielder. If you put enough of your soul behind it, a toothpick can do as much damage as a plasma rifle," I said, chuckling a bit. "Besides, some people have preferances, and it's usually best not to discourage that," I added, removing my katana from its sheath, checking the edge with my finger to see if my quick training had done anything to its sharpness, and was happy to find no nicks or dull spots. I resheathed my sword and sat down in a chair, already in my training gear, which would be sufficient for the combat we would be facing; at least, if there was going to be flame involved.

[Roy Karrde]

Jacob Karrde

"I don't care, I don't use plasma...I just don't like them." Ten yelled at me, the anger visible from her voice. Her body seemed to be shaking she was so mad. Something was wrong with her something that went deeper than any weapon. I sighed giving up and grabbed two simple handheld plasma guns, some clips, and a couple of the newly created fusion charges.

I plastered a fake smile on my face and walked back to my room, I quickly packed up some of the stuff that would be needed such as bandages and extra clothing in a small backpack and swung it over my shoulder. I looked around at one last time at a room I never even got to fully check out and left. Walking down the hallway I let my mind wonder to things other than the mission like Ten and her quirkiness. I figured I would eventually make my way to the room where we were supposed to meet for this mission yet I found my way to Ten’s room.

Gulping I figured I should go on and check in on her, and walked in to her room. She seemed to be stuffing some extra stuff into a backpack just some random stuff like bullets and daggers things she would need on the mission. I looked around the room taking everything in. “Getting ready?” I asked she nodded in response.

“Wanna talk about the plasma stuff?”
“No”
“Just for a minute?”
“No”
“Okay” I sighed knowing that arguing with her was useless. I had met so many people like them before and when they set their mind on something they would not change their mind. I walked over to one of her shelves and picked up an old raggedy teddy bear. “Is he coming along too?”

“No” She said a hint of annoyance in her voice as she took the teddy bear and slammed it back onto the shelf with egnough force to make the shelf shake.

“He’ll miss you,” I said trying to lighten the situation, it didn’t seem to work as she slung the backpack over her back and glared back at me.

“I don’t care” She glared walking out of her room and slammed the door shut. I sighed picking up the bear and shoving it into my backpack just incase she changed her mind. I took one last look around, being in her room made me feel like I was in my sister’s room like it was some forbidden place boys couldn’t go into. I shivered and ran out as fast as I could running to where we were supposed to meet up at.

[Krystalline Kabutops]

*~\Eric/Elysia Calphon/~*

When the man had finished the briefing, I rummaged around in the box of weaponry that Amelia had pulled out. Obviously, my normal equipment wouldn't cut it, so I'd need something more substantial. I shuddered, thinking about the images of the men getting ripped to pieces. If they could do that to MORT agents, then my tiny body wouldn't stand the tiniest chance.

Unfortunately, by the time I managed to get through and pick a weapon, there was hardly anything left. A few gigantic firearms that I could never carry, some plasma weaponry that would most likely backfire, and a tiny, silver and black device, no larger than a child's average Super-Soaker.

I picked it up, looking all over for something to tell me what it did. On one of the sides, it said something about darts and neurotoxins. I surmised this to mean that it was a dart gun, the darts in which were filled with some kind of poison. Well, there were worse guns one could get stuck with, I supposed.

I retreated to my room once more, packing away the few things I thought I would need to take. Clothes, my laptop, and a few other neccesities like food and first aid. Finished, I lugged my bag up onto the top of the building, to the helicopter landing pad, where most of the others already were.

[Darkmaster Kagemusha]

Gabriel Curin
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I walked back to my room after our briefing, and set out my battle gear. I decided on more practical clothing, deciding against anything samurai-ish. I laid out a rather thickly padded fireproof vest, and heavy fireproof pants with padding along the sides, as well as my gauntlets with slots for senbon on the undersides. Throughout my life, I had discovered that for the sake of modesty, it was good to have fireproof clothing, since, while my body could take any heat thrown at it, and generate that much in return, clothes could not. Besides the senbon in the gauntlets, my only weapon was my sword. I believed the katana to be a work of art, and mine was no exception, in my eyes. It was perfectly balanced, curved, and sharpened, the hamon was lovely, and looked like splashing water, and the sheath was exquisitely painted by a woman I had met long ago--on one side, it had been painted to perfectly replicate the sword within, making it seem see-through, and on the other side, there was a bloodied, wicked version, depicting both the sword the takes life, and the sword that gives life, as described by Miyamoto Musashi. I never went anywhere without the sword, but on this mission, I would not risk the paintings and wrappings, so I took the blade out of the saya and tsuka, and put it into a plain wooden set that I had covered in fire retardant, though I doubted that would last long against the creatures we'd be facing. I put all of my gear on, and slipped my sword into my belt, then headed out my door, running my finger along the edge of the metal plate on my nightstand as I left. I quickly made my way to the roof of the building, not wanting to be too late. I got there and saw, Elysia, I believe it was, just settling into place, indicating she was just arriving, as well as Jacob, but I didn't see Ten, or Michelle anywhere, though I was sure they'd arrive shortly...unless Jacob fell on one of them on his way up, of course, I thought, holding in a chuckle.

[Haruko]

Kaede 'Ten' Yoshida

'He has no right touching my property.' I thought, angry at Jacob. He didn't need to touch anything of mine..Pfft. I sighed and hurried myself to the cafeteria. I placed my bag on a table and opened it, grabbing a canteen out. I'd fill this for the trip and quickly get something to eat for the ride to the island, since I haven't eatten anything since last night. I went over to a water fountain and filled up the canteen, sealing it tightly and locking it onto my belt when I was done.

I then rushed over and quickly paid for a bagel with cream cheese and a water bottle. Making sure my pack was closed tightly, I quickly went through the hallways, finding my way to the helicopter pad and eating my bagel at the same time. I found the helicopter pad before I finished my bagel, and it seemed that there were some people there.

Jacob, Gabe and the little girl-who-used-to-be-a-boy were there so far..No 8, Amelia, Geek-girl or Old-Man. I settled down and ignored Jacob mostly...eating the last half of my bagel and gulping down my water. I took out a napkin from my pocket and wiped whatever mess I made on my face, and whatever poppyseeds that got on my shirt. I then went and threw out my garbage and settled back down, waiting for the helicopter and for anyone who would come shortly.

Sorry for the short post.^^;;

[RaZoR LeAf]

Alberto shook his head, while the MORT officer tried to force a weapon into his hands.

"Don't bother trying. I'm not a fighter, I wouldn't be able to operate that gun if my life depended on it." he said.

The MORT officer eyes him suspiciously, then put the heavy load weapon back into the box. He rifled through the equipment and pulled out a small handgun. He cocked it, made sure it was loaded, then reached into a pocket and pulled out a handful of small ammo boxes.

"You're life probably will depend on it some where along the line. I expect you'd feel safer at least knowing you had something. This is just a standard issue hand gun, nothing fancy. No plasma, no energy pulses, just old fashioned bullets. I don't know how effective it'll be, but there's not a snowball's chance in hell we'd let anyone go unarmed."

Alberto took the weapon. It felt strange in his hand. None of his other personalities where used to handling guns either, so it was impossible to know if he was doing it correctly.

"I'm sure I'll cope."

Alberto left MORT to sort out their equipment, while he returned to his room to collect some of his own equipment. Bulling out a black bag, he threw a number of books in, mostly language and history books based around the Sanguine Order and similar sects. A whole bunch of scientific equipment followed it, he knew that should the ghastly women that inhabited his mind appear, she would only self harm if she didn't have any toys to play with. He slipped the gun into his trousers and pulled his shirt over it.

Pulling the bag together and throwing it over his shoulder, he grabbed a coat and headed up to the roof, walking the whole way through the stairwells in the centre of the building. On the roof, he saw a number of the others standing with similar bags, waiting nearby the large H on the floor. He looked up to the sky. There was no sign of the chopper yet, but the sky had started to darken.

"Looks like rain. Typical."