Chaos Sonic

Vic was a bit disappointed that he couldn't join in with the autopsy, but he did make it clear he wanted to see the G3 footage of it later, which, he already knew there was going to be footage... it was obvious. Nevertheless, once the meeting was complete, he took the time to leave the room and activate the nanobots in his watch as the Override armor enveloped him once more. "Now... let's see if our esteemed casino owner has for us." “Catty Key told me you were coming. What do you think? At the very least, if nothing comes of this today, it would be prudent of me to at least get the official opinion of G3 as to our updated security measures. Think of it as a White Hat gig, if you’re so inclined. And failing that, well, I’m just glad you can keep a promise.” "A White Hat gig... I'll approve of the terminology you wanna use for this." Override muttered to himself, before chuckling and crossing his arms. "I'd say I'm impressed. I'd have to fully see your new security protocols to really get a feel for em, but it's a start for sure." "Hopefully we won't have unexpected guests crashing through the ceiling anymore," Tidebinder said. "I agree, we should start in the security room and work our way outwards from there." "Sounds like a plan." he nodded. "Lead the way and let me know what I can do to help improve it." Tidebinder took Override down to the security room "the normal way, this time," which involved an elevator with a keypad lock and a id card lock on the security door itself that required someone inside the room to authorize the entry. "All hydraulic, of course." Minos' hole in the ceiling was patched up, though it did look like a rush job. There were a few people besides Legion working the various computers, though Legion of course got the main screen, receiving viewpoints of Gibbons members all over the city. It was even evident that Tidebinder had some of Legion on her. Right in the middle of all of it was her own point of view. Override took notice of everything present and nodded. "Seems like everything's running up to an efficient code." he said, lifting his left arm and proceeded to open a holo-pad in front of him. "But let's see how much it is..." The one holo-pad soon separated into about five separate ones, just floating around the armored hero, as he tapped at two with one hand, while another seemed to be having input from another source... P.I.X.E.L. no doubt. "Now... let's see how good this set up you've made is, Legion..." he smirked under his helmet. The security system was pretty standard for a casino, but under normal circumstances of it being created by superpowered individuals, it was a bit more secure... but then again... this wasn't anything for the technopath and his trusty A.I. sidekick "Well, color me impressed..." Override chuckled, still tapping at his various holo-pads, like an artist at work. "Seems like everything is truly in tip top form here. But..." he paused, proceeding to make a link with the mainframe for a moment. At this point, he tried his best to locate any gaps that needed filling and where they'd be located. Tidebinder arched an eyebrow. "But?" "But..." Override repeated, after his contact with the mainframe and immediately slid the holo-pads to the side and pulled up three specific areas. "I have three spots here that are of interest and could be fine tuned to not have gaps. First: the roof. It's practically open aside from the people you have at the ready up there... and like last time, they'll be taken out almost immediately. You need to up your security up top almost immediately." He slid the one holo-pad towards Legion. "Second: we have the security systems that cover about level two of the casino, seems to be faulty. Have whoever you can get on that pronto, the more security breaches we fix, the better your security will be." He slid the second pad to Legion. "And lastly, there's apparently a spot open within the mainframe itself. Not many people will know its there, unless they know how to find it. Close that backdoor on the mainframe's system and you should be golden."

Ziun watched the leech creature grab a hold of Chris, after the coordinated assault between them that had transpired. Meanwhile, one of the other tentacles went towards the pile of corpses. He knew that probably wouldn't be the most ideal thing to happen right now... After all, it seemed to get something back the last time it did that... he thought, sighing slightly before moving closer towards the leech creature. In an instant, he proceeded to pelt the creature's exterior with icicles again. Same time, he also aimed directly at the tentacle going for the corpse pile. Once it was hit, Ziun immediately started to web it to the ground like he did the others, luckily it worked. "Fantastic... now... let's deal with these, shall we?" he muttered to himself, proceeding to cast another Acid Splash... but this time on the pile of corpses. Granted, there were plenty in number, but the acid did start to melt a good few away. "We get rid of methods on you replenishing yourself... and then..." Ziun turned on his heel back towards the creature and returned to pelt the icicles at it, all while making sure to keep himself from hitting Chris. "These aren't doing a lot in the grand scheme of it all... BUT! ...I believe that this will just tenderize the tough skin it has..."

"Very good, very very good! I knew you'd not resist the call to arms! Which is why, kukuku, I made sure to snag, er, recruit a couple of special guests to serve as competition just for you! I saw em wandering the park and knew it was destiny. I'd like to introduce you toooo, drumroll.... Members of the strongest team themselves, Kira and Valerie!" Trevor eyed the two that Tia introduced as members of the strong team... Team HERO. Needless to say, the sorcerer was intrigued in the grand scheme of it. That, along with Kayasee, who slunk over to their side... it was going to be a three on three match. It did make him wonder how this was going to work... then again, he wasn't sure the others would imm-... “I’ll do it, sure. Just, um, maybe go easy on us?” "I look forward to our competition and, well, um, I may be new to this but I shall do my best, and I ask you hold nothing back!" ...nevermind that answered that question. Trevor shrugged a bit before giving a bit of a smirk. "Allow me to echo what our dear Fen said." he spoke, tipping his hat slightly before removing it and giving a small bow. "Trevor Masters of Team Manna, sorcerer apprentice of Balthazar Blake, sorcerer of the 777th degree. A pleasure to make your acquaintances." He stood up right, flipping his hat back up to his head before giving a smile. "I have one question though... aside from the rules saying even teams, what other rules of engagement are at play here?" he asked, all the more curious about this small bout that would be taking place momentarily.

Ziun noticed that Lana had gotten a bit closer now, having be in front of this creature. He moved a bit closer and immediately cast Mage Armor on the axe-wielder. "There we go, now you should be able to weather any more blows from this creature with relatively more ease." he said with a small smile. Now... the attack on the leech like creature. The bard's celestial mandrill returned to his side, running up after it's initial assault. "I want you to do whatever you can to cause it pain and distract it from the others, aye?" he said, seeing the summoned creature simply nod and rush forward into the fray again, scratching and biting at the creature. While this happened, Ziun simply continued to launch icicles at the creature, really trying to separate it's focus from Lana. Eventually, however, the leech ended up flinging the mandrill off it, causing it to fade away as all his summons did. "Right... guess that's one less distraction..." He did, however, take this time to cast an Acid Spray underneath the creature's... "feet"? Nevertheless, the area directly under it was now full of acid and all mushy. Once that was done, he continued to pepper it with icicles, hitting the creature all over now. It did start to sustain multiple wounds all over now, but right now, he also noticed two of it's tentacles were free... and the other one seemed to be going in for an overhead smack. And Ziun, right now, did not feel like wanting to be swatted like a bug. "Whoa!" he yelped, dodging to the right as the tentacle came down hard. Ziun moved slightly and immediately cast more webbing onto it to hold it into place. "How much more does this thing have in it??"

Victor sat there in the meeting room, sipping away at his coffee, just listening into the Director's morning spiel... “Okay, so: We’ve got people monitoring the Archangel and her associates after the Moray Clan’s little stunt on Sunday. We’re following up on people who were there, making sure they’re not about to do something… unwise. Catty Key’s in contact with the Zodiac and making sure they’re not doing anything out of the ordinary, and obviously we’re following up on anything that snake Ophiuchus says too." The issue with the Archangel was concerning to say the least. What was the Moray Clan up to and what were the Fates doing? Seemed like the Fates were doing a lot lately, first with Atropos with Tinker... then with the entirety of the Fates with the Archangel... It was a situation where he did somewhat feel a sense of impending dread when it came time for Clotho to come back for that favor she was promised... It shot a chill down his spine, as Victor hoped he didn't wrangled into anything insane... "Which leaves… Last week, Override returned to us with a tip that Arcturus, a former Gibbons member, was about to make a play for Tidebinder’s seat at the table. Tidebinder’s signature on the S-Class Addendum Accord came with the condition of protection against this exact sort of scramble for power, which means we’re obligated to provide some measure of assistance. But, given the exact nature of Tidebinder’s… business, we’re not going to send the whole kit and kaboodle to her aid. In fact, we know some of you might have hesitations about working with the gangs in this way, so hopefully this can just be sorted out by some plucky volunteers. The rest of you are being added to the security force surrounding our excavation-” “Autopsy…” “our- G3’s autopsy of Project Rubicon. You’ll proceed to the operation site and report to Snapshot when you get there. If we’re covering all our bases, we should have everything covered that we can plan for. Everything else, well, stay flexible and hope for the best.” Now these were the two options Victor had to select from for today: help Tidebinder or protect the Rubicon autopsy. Truth be told, he did like the idea of watching over Rubicon, namely due to him unable to be there to face it the last time. However, Aeon spoke up before he did, expressing interest in guarding Rubicon's autopsy. Which meant if anything, to maximize things, he'd need to... Finishing up his coffee, Victor sighed and made his decision. "I'll swing to help Tidebinder, although it kills me to miss out on an opportunity to see the autopsy myself." he shrugged. "At this point, whether we like some of these gangs or not, it's a situation where we're getting lower on time and we need hands on deck. If we can keep ourselves in their good graces, and hopefully they stay in ours, we can move forward with potentially keeping the end of the world from happening... just my take on it."

“Trevor, how much of this is familiar to your world? I- when my parents took me to the fair as a child, we would always get one new thing, and that would cap off our adventure for the day. My mother was the sort of person who would follow the trends; she would try and find the best thing to share. Here, though…” "A good question to be sure..." Trevor chuckled, sighing with a faint smile. "If I'm truly honest, aside from the warping roller-coaster and carousel, everything definitely reminds me of my world..." He looked at everything and shook his head slightly. "The amount of vendors and attractions here definitely remind me of my home, before my dive and adventures into the Ever." The sorcerer paused at the ending part of Melissa's statement. "Honestly, that there sounds like a marvelous idea." Eventually, their search for food brought them to Melissa ordering an original flavored funnel cake. Trevor took a piece himself after Melissa and Fen did, and he was delighted on how it tasted. "I honestly can't tell you the last time I had one of these... I guess I'm going to have to get one myself now." he laughed, moving past the group and returning moments later with a funnel cake of his own. He was already munching on it and enjoying it as the others were talking... though he caught the last thing that Fen asked. "have any of your ever eaten a chimera before?" "Chimera? Hmmm..." Trevor swallowed what he had in his mouth before continuing. "Can't say that I have... but then again, it's not a delicacy that I have back in my world. It does sound interesting for sure, though." Also sounds like it would have side effects... my all means, Masters, why don't you attempt to eat some? Trevor looked at his grimoire and shook his head. "I'm not going to be a guinea pig for you just to see the reaction this brings..." Eventually, they came across another attraction: the Bumper Boats, as well as their new friend, Tia, who seemed simply ecstatic that they were here. Though to Trevor, the simple generalization of the Bumper Boats seemed like another attraction he was aware of: Bumper Cars. Though it seemed this version had a bit more of competition to it, which did make a smile appear on the sorcerer's face. "oh so um, would you all like to go do this?" Trevor, who was now polishing off the last bit of his funnel cake, nodded with a smirk. "Absolutely! It sounds like it will be a fun time for all involved. Count me in, Fen!"

(Will fix this later when at computer) BGM Nothing... there was nothing... Just simply darkness existing in this void... Gene almost was reminded of his initial entry into this world... but this time it was a bit more, serene... calm... soothing... It was... peaceful... It sure beat the flattening he had found himself in underneath that Chimera only moments ago. At this point... he wanted it to continue on, after all... it seemed like this way, he was better than being around to hinder the others. That's all he was doing, wasn't it? Part of him remembered what he had thought when Marshall had "died" against the Guardians... Could it be that he was right along? That his step father was... right... Part of him really wanted to dismiss it, to punch the ground and vow not to ever think of this again... but the other half, the half that had been through the wringer in his past life and even in this new one... no, that one took that thought and ran it through the inevitable truth: he was right, that he wasn't going to amount to anything... ...however, Gene let out a sigh, feeling himself awaken. He slowly started to sit up... apparently he was dragged out, probably thanks to Abby. He heard the victory cheers of not only Sabrina, but also Marshall (in her own way). It was done… the beast felled… So why didn't Gene feel like celebrating with them? He looked at his hand with the Dragon Sign on it, sighing again. "...still not enough..." he muttered to himself, finally getting up and moving and bit aways from the party, sitting on some debris that was near. Granted, once the beast was defeated, Gene did feel a bit stronger after the essence dropped into their Dragon Sign, but he still felt useless. He kept staring at his Dragon Sign and thought about something… He remembered River mentioning that while they could only have two Runes, lest they basically destroy themselves from the power of the many gods’ blessings, they could swap them out with another. This was a thought he could potentially get behind. He paused, glancing over at the party and thought hard. Abby's Runes are wind and heal… she's a designated healer… I could do the same, but I was never good at being a support like that… he thought with a sigh. Marshall is water and fire… makes sense with the steam attacks… Meanwhile, Sabrina is fire and wind… With me having wind and water… We don't need three with wind… The easy part of figuring out which Rune needed to go, but what to replace it with was another story. Gene honestly didn't want to keep having elements overlapping within the team. That's when he remembered the Guardians… Runes of sound and of lightning… Like a jolt of lightning that hit his system, Gene had it. “Water and lightning… the perfect storm…” he muttered. Now was to… figure out how to do this. Gene looked at his hand and shrugged. His conclusion: if he had to focus to get Aqua Star to his hand, and focus to charge and perform his moves… Then he'd simply focus. He closed his eyes, his breathing slowly getting slower pace, holding his hand out. F-Focus Eric… Manifest the fact that you want to shift wind for lightning… Gene thought, his mind focusing on just this thought alone: Shift wind with lightning. The Rune on his hand began to appear above it, before fading and replacing itself with a different Rune, this one being of lightning. Once it grafted itself upon his sigil, he opened his eyes and felt it… A surge of electricity that this new Rune granted. He gave a smile, nodding before finally standing up and returning towards the others. “H-Hey… sorry about that…” Gene spoke up, his hand rubbing his neck slightly. “I'm sorry I-I let the creature t-t-take me out like that… Ill make sure it doesn't happen again…"

With the others being able to do more to the one creature, Ziun made an effort to turn back and make his way towards them again. He made sure to heed Chris' warning, namely because he didn't feel like being grabbed yet again. Right now, however, he had somewhat of an idea on how to keep this thing occupied: the webbing. With that on the creature's tentacles, it would be preoccupied with that, along with being hit by every side. Speaking of which... "Hear the verse and rhyme that I sing... Come forth and assist thy master..." To his side, appeared the celestial mandrill he summoned prior. "Give us a hand with this, if you please." Ziun gave his commands, as the mandrill simply nodded and rushed forward towards the creature. Meanwhile, Ziun began to conjure and launch more icicles at the creature, watching the mandrill go for the creature's back... only to be swatted away by the tentacles. Should've been expected, though now he watched as the creature's hand was preparing to strike at Lana. Despite the icicles assault, it still was going through with this. "Aim for the arm!" he shouted, as the mandrill let out a loud sound and rushed in again. The conjured creature landed on the arm, proceeding to scratch and bite at the creature's arm, and although it didn't do much in the realm of damage... it threw it's aim off... it would definitely give Lana enough time to dodge. "Perfect, now, let's swap to this then!" Ziun shifted his conjuring to the webbing as he started launching it at the creature, hoping to keep these tentacles in place. A couple did get all webbed up, however it seemed to know what he was doing, and thusly, a lone tentacle began to shoot directly towards him. Ziun immediately dropped to the ground to avoid the appendage, before conjuring an icicle and stabbing it in it. It didn't go all the way through with a piercing, but it did damage enough. "I'll be happy if I never see another leech again in my life..."

Ooooooh challenging, I like that! For the list, I won't be counting Hisui due to them having the starters of other regions. So without further ado: Kanto Fully Evo - Charizard Mid Stage - Wartortle Base - Bulbasaur Johto Fully Evo - Typhlosion Mid Stage - Croconaw Base - Chikorita Hoenn Fully Evo - Sceptile Mid Stage - Marshtomp Base - Torchic Sinnoh Fully Evo - Torterra Mid Stage - Monferno Base - Piplup Unova Fully Evo - Samurott Mid Stage - Servine Base - Tepig Kalos Fully Evo - Greninja Mid Stage - Braxian Base - Chespin Alola Fully Evo - Incineroar Mid Stage - Dartrix Base - Popplio Galar Fully Evo - Rillaboom Mid Stage - Raboot Base - Sobble Paldea Fully Evo - Skeledirge Mid Stage - Floragato Base - Quaxly

It appeared that this abomination had another little skill handy... the corpse that it drug ended up feeding it, to which it simply just started healing the wounds it had inflicted on it, slowly but surely. Ziun wasn't too thrilled with this revelation, nevertheless, he figured they'd make it out like they had been the last few floors. He watched it try and go after Lana again, a singular tentacle being free from the webbing he had put on the other tentacles. "I suppose it's safe to act as a distraction then..." Ziun muttered, sending off another flurry of icicles in the creature's direction, one aimed at the singular tentacle, while the rest hit the areas where the wounds were being healed at. Keep the pressure on this area for as long as he could. The creature stopped for a moment, with the tentacle recoiling back slightly after being hit and proceeded to launch itself right towards the bard, whilst continue it's charge towards Lana. "As expected..." he said, diving to his left to dodge. Once he rolled back to his feet, Ziun immediately cast another Acid Splash, this time on the tentacle, which seemed to cause it to sizzle and flail around. This seemed to garner the attention of the abomination as it officially stopped in it's tracks of heading towards Lana, now it started looking directly in his direction and proceeded to move towards him with a loud screech. "...well, I did say I'd distract it..." he chuckled nervously, as he proceeded to start running away from the creature, whilst shooting icicles at it, doing his best to keep the damage up. Now while he was being given chase, the bard noticed that the other creature start to shift in response. "...of course, the moment I start running towards the direction... it starts to move..."

After basically feeling like a "Gene Frag Grenade" (just minus the entire body turning into shrapnel), Gene laid there almost certainly about to take another massive hit by the chimera. This wasn't going smooth for him whatsoever, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. Perhaps he was being a bit too overconfident in his own abilities at the time that led him to getting to this point. If it was... he would surely and definitely make a note of it and try his best not to end up making that same mistake. Same time, he wondered... if he should've took this moment and did what Marshall did in the previous trial and just... come back after it. It was a truth that right now, he seemed to be more of a hindrance than help. Maybe... However, instead of being trampled like he thought he would... he felt himself basically being sucked backwards like being in vacuum and proceeded to slide right near Abby. He was a bit dumbfounded but was relieved to an extent. After that, she ended up giving the young man some healing... it wasn't 100%, but he was better than what he was. He finally got his bearings in order about the time Abby nudged him with her hammer. "Alright, back in you go. Thank me later." Apparently, however, later would be sooner than they both thought. The Chimera took to the air, leaping upward and was planning to both him and Abby into floor paste with the huge bear arm as it began to fall ungracefully. Gene only had moments to come up with a solution to this problem. ...d-damnit... c-couldn't have given m-me a couple minutes... he thought, biting him thumbnail slightly as he watched the falling Chimera. The creature was in the air... which meant it's movements would be a bit slower, least if it's a creature of that size. And unlike most depictions Chimeras, this didn't have any wings, which meant it wouldn't be too mobile in the air. Meaning... potentially... it's ability to evade would be pretty difficult. ...o-okay... so maybe... if we keep it in the air and attempt to deal with it that way, it could work. And between myself and Sabrina... w-we're the fastest... but the problem is... h-how can I get up t-th-... A light bulb flashed on for the young swordsman as he glanced down at the hammer that was in Abby's hand. He glanced at it, then back up at the falling Chimera. "...I-I...hope I'm fast enough for this..." "A-Abby... does the p-phrase 'Fastball Special' ring a bell...?" Gene asked, looking at her, then at her hammer. "Mm? Not really, I'm not much of a baseball girl." Abby looked at Gene. Then her hammer. Then the Chimera. "But... I think I see what you're thinking. Hop on and get ready to fly." With a strong metallic thud, Abby planted the business end of her hammer into the ground, at such an angle that Gene would still be able to get his feet onto the other side of its head. Gene nodded firmly at Abby, putting his feet on the other side of the hammer's head. "...it's a hell of a gamble... but I gotta at least try." he said, giving her a thumbs up, signalling that he was ready. "Abby Airlines, taking off... NOW!" With a might belying her short frame, Abby swung forward, launching Gene toward the beast as if he were himself some sort of projectile. "And don't forget to roll when you land!" The now flying Gene gripped his blade tightly, as he soared upward towards the beast. As he anticipated, he was fast enough... and with the added bonus of Abby's hammer launch, it did increase it a bit. He inhaled slowly, exhaling following right after as he [Focused] himself, careening towards the Chimera's bear arm. "Weapon Art - Quick Strike!!" He unleashed this charged strike, being quick on the draw and striking the arm before he even collided with it. It did it, to an extent... It was a clean cut and dealt damage, but it did not severe the arm, unfortunately. But now... he was in the worst predicament possible: under the Chimera, both at the mercy of gravity. ...s-shit, s-shit!!! he thought, gritting his teeth slightly as he panicked and tried to think of a way out of this. Abby tried her best to keep him alive, and yet he was here trying his hardest to stay alive and may just end up pulling a Marshall anyway. D-Damnit... a-a-all that work and effort... DAMNIT!!!! Gene thought, the look of panic fresh on his face. Casting Water Wall? Not enough time for the maneuver, nor was there enough time to successfully climb up the creature to evade the impending fate. To him, while he dealt damage, Gene thought this was all for naught. Abby risked herself to save his life and for what... just to have him throw it away like this. It wasn't as fair as he wanted it to be... but what else could he have done? He was way over his head with this... Gene simply closed his eyes, his Aqua Star blade dematerializing from his hand. "...I-I'm sorry guys... i-i-if I was a bit stronger..." he muttered to himself. Both the swordsman and Chimera crashed down... the beast landing on top of the young man as if he were a a cushion...

“Suit up. Tidebinder is making moves to take Caesar’s place, which means the higher-ups here and the Peacekeepers want her signature on that ‘no-conflict-because-the-world-is-ending’ treaty. Correction: we’re calling it the ‘S-Class Addendum Accord’ now. We’re still getting the paperwork put together, so stop by to pick that up, too.” Wasn't any rest for the wicked, or for Victor it seemed. He started to duck into an alleyway, tapping on his watch as the nanites left the casing and began to suit Victor. "P.IX.E.L., the suit ready for operation, I take it?" he asked, as the armor now fully encased him. "Aye sire, it is running at 100% functionality after the updates you made." P.I.X.E.L. chimed back. "Shall I make sure your vehicle returns back to the workshop?" "I'd appreciate that, considering I'd rather not have that getting stolen... even though I can just fly with the suit." Override chuckled, taking off to the skies with a blast of his thrusters. First stop: G3 HQ for the S-Class Addendum Accord. Once the file was obtained and in hand, Override made his way back towards Caesar's Casino... or rather, now it would just be referred to as just Gibbon's HQ. Nevertheless, as he touched down, he noticed that caution tape was around the entrance of the building and it seemed, from what he could tell, the door was locked. What was more, no one was out there to greet him. Normally, at least one or two of the faction's members would be out here, but alas, it seemed this was not one of those times. "I suppose we'll just make ourselves known." Override shrugged, bypassing the caution tape and going through the doors himself once he bypassed the lock. Lo and behold, he triggered the alarms. "...yeah that sounds about right." The ear splitting seconds the alarm was active ticked by slowly, but soon enough they would be cut off and replaced with Tidebinder's "lovely" voice. "Oh, they sent you. Well, at least that means you know where to find me. Come on in. Watch your step. Mind the mess." Override eyed the "mess" in question, which was just the debris from the various slot machines that exploded during the raid. While it seemed, however, she was exaggerating the scale of said "mess", as a bulk of it was cleaned up... thankfully. "P.I.X.E.L., she in...?" "The control room we met her prior, aye." "Sounds about right, we left her there so meeting her there is accurate." Override nodded, as he flew in the direction of the control room. Luckily, they didn't have to worry about a water-logged casino this time, it was rough to say the least on that. As Override entered the room with his clanking feet announcing his each and every step, he could see that not only Tidebinder was here... but Legion was there also, still tapping away at his computer. He modified the security screens to show the perspectives of various Gibbons agents throughout the city, quite ingenious. Tidebinder was simply watching them when Override clanked in but soon switched them off. "I cannot believe Caesar never let us try this," she said. "He always wanted everything in his own palacial office. But with just a few upgrades..." She snapped her fingers, as though that demonstrated her point before changing the subject. "You have something for me." "I do..." Override nodded, producing the file for the Gibbon's new de facto leader. "I would assume no hard feelings about our previous encounter, but I feel like that would possibly be incorrect." "You and I have very different memories of what happened last time," Tidebinder said as she accepted the file. "I was considering saying the exact same thing the other way. Unless you mean the Project itself, in which case: Ha!" She laughed like the sound was forcibly escaping her body. "Did you really think that was going to end the world?" "Honestly it was a bit of both, but I digress." Override shrugged, before crossing his arms. "As for Rubicon ending the world, no. That wasn't going to be the end of the world, but the casualty rate of it was still high, nevertheless. And I'm fully aware you were not responsible for Rubicon's destruction, but I do hope that something like that won't happen again." "Oh, that would require a separate contract," Tidebinder said. "You'll have to come back with more paperwork if you want any sweeping promises like that. Besides, your G3 is in possession of the Project now." "That's why I wasn't expecting any promises, too much paperwork. And I'd rather not have to be a courier for the remainder of my day today." Override simply said. "Nevertheless, I do hope we'll be able to count on you rather than your prior boss." Tidebinder smiled. "You can rest assured that I won't make the same mistakes as my predecessor and immediately renege on a deal I only signed a week ago," she said. "That does mean I'll be expecting things from you, of course. I've only been in charge a week, and I've already got a thorn in my side. Someone else wants to lead the Gibbons. But I sign this paper, and that means you'll rush to my defense, now won't you?" "Someone else wants to run this show?" Override asked, before sighing. Of course, like the others, she wanted a favor... no good deed, he supposed. "You sign the paper and the G3 will do our best to assist as best we can... but who's wanting to run Caesar's ship aside from you?" "Some nobody," Tidebinder said, with some extra venom on top. "She defected to us from the Zodiac for some small privileges, and now she wants even more." She signed the papers. "There you are. We'll be seeing each other again, I'm sure." "I'll let the G3 know about the apparently individual trying to gain the Gibbon's seat." Override nodded, taking the paper and returning it into the file proper. "And so it seems we will be seeing more of each other now that this is settled. I'll just make sure to be of distance away from you and your water...I'd rather not have another waterlogged suit of armor."

Ziun wriggled and thrashed while being held by this abomination of a leech, as he kept trying his hardest to break free... unfortunately to his dismay, it was not working... as expected. However, help was on the way in it's own manner... “Alright, Ziun. Be ready to pull on this real hard on my signal.” "P-Pull? What good is that going to...?" “Now!” Ziun watched as the spool of thread had been jammed into his hands and when he pulled... he was immediately teleported out of the way... although his landing could've done way better. One face plant on the ground later, and the bard was already groaning as he stood up, handing Chris back his spool of thread. "M-My thanks to you on that assist..." he said, looking at the leech abomination that was attacking Lana. "Me thinks we should focus on the one for right now and take it out before moving to the second one... working together on that should help." Without much else after that, Ziun immediately began to cast a few icicles and launched them at the abomination's back. They hit the target's back true, aside from one that was knocked away by the tentacle it had... it was very unsettling the way it did that, but nevertheless, damage was done to it. Wounds were left by the icicles that hit it's mark, and this gave Ziun an opening for his next strike. Moving a bit closer to the abomination, he aimed for the open wounds and immediately cast an Acid Splash right into them. The acid splashed on the creature's back and it began to sizzle at the skin, perfect. However it still went for Lana and did not stop in it's approach. "Persistent aren't we?" Ziun scoffed, preparing to cast as much webbing as he could to hinder the creature's movements... more accurately, the tentacles. With those being webbed up a bit, he looked back at Chris. "You're up!"

"A please would've gone over well too..." Ziun shrugged, sighing slightly, but he did remember he offered the potions to the both of them prior, so it was only fair. Both healing potions dealt with, Ziun nodded as he gave them both a thumbs up. Honestly, right now what they needed to find at the end of their excursion was some gold or maybe even some items that could bolster defense and maybe even grant some healing. This wasn't a great thing to be doing thus far, especially after the couple of floors they went off with. A terrible start in his mind... But once their breather and healing moment ended, onward they went, and to the fresh new hell they arrived... He felt and noticed one glaring pattern for these floors lately: a lot of graves. First it was the sarcophagi, then the dead mounds, then another literal graveyard. But that wasn't the worst part of it... well, two dozen dead bodies are worse, but it wasn't any better than what they did in fact half as well. Two large figures... no heads, which was always a good thing to bring up in a creature. Their torsos had large mouths in them... which the sight did make Ziun shiver a bit at the sight. "...and I didn't expect them to be any more ugly." he muttered to himself, trying his best not to gag at the sight. “Well, uh, don’t get grabbed, I guess! And be ready for them to do something worse than that.” "Aye... will do." Ziun nodded, already watching Lana jump in again. He must be getting slow lately, otherwise he would've been able to cast his Mage Armor on her quicker than that. Oh well, he just needed to make sure he did it the moment the opportunity presented itself. He moved slightly towards Chris and cast the Mage Armor on him, before nodding. "That should help, now allow me to go assist our axe wielding compatriot." ...which is what he would've done, if he wasn't grabbed a hold of by the abomination of a creature. "Oh COME ON!!!!!" he groaned, his irritation like that of an impatient father waiting for their child. Well, there went any chance of Lana getting her Mage Armor as of present. "Bards need to stay off the damn menu!!!" he shouted, wriggling and writhing around, trying to escape this leech-like creature's grasp. "A little assistance here, Chris! Can't cast anything like I want right now!!"

"So dish ish where you wen." "I see that Kayasee has decided to partake in the fried delicacies this place has to offer." Trevor chuckled, though he turned back to the Merry-Go Round and was intrigued. If for nothing else, but the giant statue of the Great Dragon. That was the number one mystery he still couldn't understand in the slightest... barely anything when he looked for it. One day, perhaps, he or his allies could learn the ins and outs of this majestic beast, but until then... perhaps it would stay a mystery. Nevertheless, Trevor accompanied his allies and friends on the Merry-Go Round, deciding to hop on one of the wyrm stylized dragons. Naturally, he thought of going on a typical classic styled dragon, but he saw Melissa take that one, he figured it'd be better to be different than the others. It was a carousel, and it did it's thing... if it were a typical and normal one like Trevor was familiar with. However, it was not. While the dragons of all kind lifted up and down like normal, a portal would open up and before Trevor would stand new and various looking locales. One seemed to be... for all intents and purposes, a starry expanse... galaxies and stars... planets dancing around a sun... it was a beautiful scene. A portal opened again, this time sending him to an underwater experience. He wasn't sure if he was to hold his breath or not... but with this place and the strong magic and technology here, he didn't want to chance it. Old ruins under the water, various fish and sea-creatures that surrounded the waters... it was yet another beautiful scene. Another portal came to be, and this time... he was sent to an area where below him would be a building of sorts. His best guess to it would've been a fantasy guild hall, but he couldn't be too quite sure about that. But, like all good things, it would slowly come to an end as the last portal brought him back to where he started. Trevor noted the various scenery changes and views just in case within his grimoire as he walked towards the others. "well, I've uh, I've been to plenty of different places before but never so many at once. That was thrilling in its own right, so, thanks for the suggestion Melissa." “I think that’s got my stomach settled down for some food now, too. Fen, have you ever heard of a food called a funnel cake? I wonder if they have those here too.” "Seems we might all be in agreement then, wouldn't you say?" Trevor asked with a smile. "I'd say probably ask Kayasee where she happened to get her snacks from. We might be able to find some there."

Finally free from the bloody casing, Ziun finally was able to move around and no longer be bound to the casing of blood. He thanked his lucky stars for this, but all that remained was... the Blood Mage. He started to grit his teeth, looking over at the direction of the imposing figure, as he was fighting Lana. He hoped the blood spikes that were heading towards the Mage would've killed then, but alas, that wasn't the case... nothing but returned to a splatter of blood. However, this gave him an opportunity. Mustering some strength, Ziun began to close the distance between himself and the Blood Mage, although he found himself cursing himself due to not wanting to be attacked yet again... Luckily for him, it seemed to be that him and Chris started moving and working on this at the same time. The rogue seemed to be going low... so... "Guess I'll go high..." Ziun said, closing the distance and immediately casting Color Spray in the Mage's face whilst also calling forth a swarm of bats. "Enjoy this, why don't you!" The Mage began to swat wildly and blindly at the bats, not seeing much after the flash of colors invading their peripheral. Same time, it wasn't just this that occurred. While they did this, Chris delivered a blow on the Mage's ankles, cutting into them. It would seem that they were starting to get off balance. Perfect... Ziun cast a series of icicles right at the Mage's chest, watching the Mage immediately fall due to being off balance. "Perfect! Blinded, dealt with bats, cuts to the ankles, and now on the ground... but you are far from done!" He began to cast and place various amounts of webbing along the Mage's body to keep them in one singular place. "T-That... should do it..." The Blood Mage tried to push through it, starting to rip at a few of the webs, but alas... the Rage faded in the same manner as the other cultists... and the Blood Mage died there. "That was the last one..." Ziun huffed slightly, looking at Chris and Lana, lifting up a thumb slightly. "E-Everyone good...? S-Still in one piece?" he asked, concerned with everything up to this point but was still glad they made it through another floor.

“With such an open question like that, I worry I will not be able to supply everything you want to know. Like I said, Cassandra was rather secretive. If I know more than you do, it is only because I was inducted into their circle and have more time to investigate. That is something, though. I will not deny that. With all that in mind, let me tell you this: Whatever apocalypse Cassandra has foreseen, it is doomed to happen. Cassandra has given predictions before that have proven to be inaccurate, but those were off the cuff visions. Like I said, if Cassandra had bad information at the start, their power could only give them a bad output. This was known, even to them, of course, so if a portent like this were to show up, why would they not try to verify it beforehand before speaking out? So we have to believe them. The world is ending. There is no getting around that.” This did make Victor frown ever so slightly. It seemed like there was no getting around this impending doomsday. Of course, he did neglect to remember that Cassandra could only give a bad output. Therefore... this fact was inevitable. He cursed under his breath as Tinker kept going. “By the same token, however, we should also remember that they gave their proclamation for a reason. Maybe we can still do something about it. Not stop it, but… survive, I suppose. Put another way, you can’t be looking at this as a crisis of prevention, but mitigation.” Mitigation? he thought, thinking more on this word that was dropped. An action of reducing the severity of something... Was this the fresh perspective he needed? Don't attempt to prevent, but be ready to reduce the severity of the coming apocalypse? Victor wasn't too sure about it all, but he had to admit... that did make sense. “Cassandra had us contact you for a reason, too, of course,” "Still don't know why though..." Victor sighed, but relented on any further questions. This seemed like enough, so with that he did plan to take his leave. That was, until a Fate appeared with butterfly knife in hand... Atropos. This wasn't the best case scenario to have right now, especially when he didn't have his NOVA armor active and on right now. “Oh, perfect! Well, I’ll just follow you there, then, huh?” He decided to step in and take point, after getting the looks from Tinker. "Unfortunately, ma'am, we did just hand out the last burger a bit ago." Victor chuckled, speaking up. He moved and patted Tinker on the shoulder. "Same time, he's really beat from that. So maybe y'all can talk another time?" Atropos cocked her head to the side, and focused her response Tinker's way. "You just said you were going to your workshop. Maybe it's because I don't have a magic gadget brain, but lab work seems like a dangerous work if you're as tired as he says you are." "Well, perhaps some just like to nap in their workshop?" Victor shrugged. "Case in point, I nap in my workshop from time to time. So I totally get it." "Sure, but I wouldn't go to my lab to nap, I'd go home to nap. I'd go to my lab if it was convenient for me. And it is -- convenient for me, I mean. Besides," Atropos tossed her butterfly knife into the air and caught it while it was open before snapping it shut again. "I won't be long." "Well, sure that's fair..." Victor said, clearing his throat before moving in front of Tinker for a moment. "At the same time, how about you just ask him what you want right here and now? Surely the Fates wouldn't mind just not being in secret. After all, it's not like you're collecting a favor from anyone yet." The knife snapped open and shut again. "Oh, you know," Atropos said. "Headhunting. Caesar's dead, after all. Can't stand around waiting for the whole organization to fall to someone else's less deserving hands. That part's not secret. You can have that for free. But I'm not going to have the guy who can record everything be around important business deals if I can help it." "Funny, Clotho didn't seem to have nearly as much of an issue with that." he chuckled, noting what Atropos said. So the Fates knew? Of course they knew, it made sense. "But, nevertheless, I think the main thing is... you should probably make an appointment and return at a later time. It's a bit more proper, and if anything... in this day and age, we need to at least keep our manners, should we not?" Her head cocked to the other side. "That's... what I'm doing now?" "So we'll pencil you in about a month or two from now and you can return then." Victor smirked. "Or, you lose the knife, I accompany and you have my word that nothing will be recorded." Atropos pouted. "A month? Haven't you heard the world's about to end?" But the pout did not last long, and the knife slammed shut again, and she held it out. "But if it's this you're worried about, you can have it if you leave with it. Go ahead, study it. Tell your bosses all about it if you want." Victor clicked his tongue a bit, looking over at Tinker. "Okay... I honestly tried everything I can to get you out of this. Any ideas on your end? ...aside from just taking the knife and going?' Tinker looked a little more relaxed. "Honestly, I was worried it was the other sort of headhunting," he said. "But if she's unarmed, I'm happy to at least hear her out on her terms." Victor sighed and nodded. "Then I guess we'll be in touch then..." he said, giving Tinker a two finger salute before turning towards Atropos and taking the knife himself. "It seems Tinker will see you now. Truth be told, next time if you want to talk to folks... don't brandish a weapon." He walked past the Fate and sighed, just looking at the knife. "Impeccable negotiating, sir." "...I can tell the hint of sarcasm there, P.I.X.E.L. Remind me to dial that back on your next update..." Victor muttered to the voice in his earpiece. He didn't know what Atropos wanted with Tinker, nor how the hell they knew of his identity when he tried very hard to keep that from everyone except for the higher ups in the G3. Nevertheless, he figured to just play it cool for now. After all, he had the data and information from his talk with Tinker to digest and compile.

One of the cultists finally dropped... as a red mist started to escape from them. Ziun knew what this had to mean: Rage was ending. Thank the goddess above!! However, the other two were still running... er... more like hobbling, but either way, one was dealing with Chris... while the other... Ziun watched as his mandril had taken a fist to it and immediately shattered and dissipated. He cursed, seeing that this one hobbling towards him was still affected by Rage. "So now I just need to wait out the clock..." he muttered, as he decided to cast another icicle that was aimed directly at the cultist's chest and he started to wiggle and thrash about to try and free himself from the blood. While Ziun could only get everything but his legs free from the blood, meanwhile, the cultist had the icicle embedded in his chest, stepping back slightly but simply kept hobbling forward... further... further... until he was right at Ziun, preparing to swing down his readied blade. The bard began to grit his teeth, not liking the situation he was in (or he had found himself in this entire floor, but he digressed)... I hate that I can't wield the weapons I conjure nor wear the Mage Armor, because at this point... either one would be greatly appreciated... he thought, trying to piece together a plan. Then, inspiration struck him. The weapon could be used... just not wielded. Ziun proceeded to conjure up a cloud of daggers, though he was at the edge of the cloud, but he did what he could. Thankfully he cut it close, but the cloud of daggers did just what he needed: it made the cultist lose control of the sword. The moment this happened, he took the moment to swing at him with his free arm. "Ngh... you just don't quit!" Ziun groaned, lifting his free arm up and proceeded to block the punch... though it felt bad, a nearly broken arm... but it was better than being slashed at or through. "This... hopefully should do it!" Ziun immediately fired off another icicle at him, point blank. Ziun hoped it was the time frame where Rage would possibly drop. And thanking his lucky stars, the bard watched as the same red mist left the cultist and he watched as the one before him finally falling over. He let out a long drawn out sigh of relief, as the 'Rage Issue' was finally over. "Now... let's try and get the hell out of this!" Ziun groaned, still wiggling and thrash. Least this small problem was something he could easily handle.

It was a blast... scratch that, more than a blast... what would be higher than a blast? Irrelevant, namely due to Trevor having one dumb grin on his face. It had been too long since he was able to truly have a fun time with that. How long was it? Maybe it was before his training as a sorcerer under Master Balthazar? Yeah, it was probably about that time frame, he figured. But regardless of the twists, turns, and everything in between, Trevor was having... fun. He even lost his signature hat at one point, only to eventually have it fall back on his head when they twisted back in a different direction. After it all, he stood there with the rest of his team and just grinned from ear to ear. "That...that was..um...that was something much more...different than anything I have, uh, ever. Done before. Wow...I can see, well, I can see what you meant Melissa. That was..." "Not... much needs to be said after... a thrill like that..." Trevor huffed out with a slight chuckle. "But if anything else is like that... then we're in for a really REALLY fun day!" After a while, he noticed that Melissa was being asked by an attendant of the ride... “Yoohoo! You were in the front of that last Stomach Dropper ride, right? Can I interest you in a photo of your experience?” Trevor noticed the look on her face and could see she... wasn't too thrilled at the idea. "Perhaps another time for her..." he said, giving Melissa a knowing nod. "HOWEVER... if you have one of me, I'll happily take it. A fine beginning souvenir from the first trip here." He gave the others a quick glance and smirked. "So what next? Shall we find that merry-go round for Melissa? Or should we prepare to grab some of the delicious fried foods?"

Ziun couldn't do much against the raining blood thanks to the Blood Mage, and it now had started hindering his movement, and now he was facing down three cultists boosted with Rage… he was a sitting duck. He started thinking on what he could do, before coming with an idea. Another ethereal creature to summon, one that could assist him in breaking out of the blood and attack the cultists… Ziun came up with a single idea, before trying to figure out HOW to put his plan in motion, on the count that he was in a position of staring down three cultists, high on Rage, poised to attack. Thankfully, his prayers were answered, as Chris came in and began to assault the three cultists. One was struck at the wrist, one struck in the ankle, and the last given both strikes. And now, only two were focused on him… the one with both injuries and the one with the wrist. “Perfect…” he muttered, exhaling slightly. He closed his eyes, envisioning what he wanted. “Hear the verse and rhyme that I sing… Come forth and assist thy master…” What began to conjure forth was something that resembled a mandril… twas quite simply: a monkey. Without a second thought, the monkey did it's best to try and free Ziun, however, the cultists began their attack. “Forget about me for the moment. Attack the cultists!” Ziun ordered, to which the mandril simply howled a bit (if you would call it a howl), and proceeded to attack the cultists. The bard proceeded to strike as well, taking this moment to cast a series of icicles towards the cultists. He took aim specifically at the wounded areas left by Chris… the ankle and wrist for the one, and the wrist for the other. After the icicles, the mandril proceeded to attack at the one cultist’s wrist and ankle, keeping it occupied for the time being. This left the other to be dealt by Ziun. “Here… have another… on the house!” Ziun shouted, casting another icicle, delivering it straight to the cultist's head. It apparently simply… dazed… the target. He cursed under his breath, not liking the fact that this didn't finish him off. Thusly, he immediately cast an Acid Spray, hoping that would do something. It did… something, but not what he hoped. While of course, the acid was sizzling as they were covered in the liquid… but nevertheless, they were still simply coming forward, swinging blindly. “...how in the nine hells do you die?” Ziun groaned, still not being able to move like he wanted, meaning he would be getting struck. “For the love of…” he whistled towards the celestial mandril, to which his summon heeded his call, immediately going after the swinging cultist and attacking him. He was put in between a rock and a hard place… Ziun now officially loathed Rage and the Blood Mage who casted it.

Ziun had his back towards the Mages and his front was looking down the three Swordists. This bout of things was not going in his favor, but they wouldn't go further in his favor... as the Blood Mage proceeded to send out a bloodied weapon, poised to strike at the unsuspecting bard in the back. A fitting end for some, yes. However... Perhaps his goddess of music watched over him a bit more than before, and Ziun... stumbled on some of the bones and debris from the ground, moving and bit to his left. And it was a good thing he did, as this is when he noticed the impending blood weapon. "S-Shit...!" he shouted mid stumble, as he did his best to roll into the stumble, narrowly avoiding the blood and avoiding becoming a bard shishkabab. It fell immediately on the ground after missing the target, but now... "The swords... again with the swords!" he shouted, rolling out of the way of the Swordists. Ziun took the opportunity to fire off a few icicles at the cultist's legs, watching them lodge themselves into their legs... but alas... they kept going. Ziun cursed this Rage boost they had. But they were slow though, he had that going for him. This... is quite literally getting me nowhere. What I need, is for some friendly fire... he thought, finally a ways away from the swords, allowing him to get back up. At this point, he ran in the direction of where the Blood and Fire Mage were, as apparently the Fire Ball chucker moved to be with his ally. Perfect... Ziun made sure to position himself in perfect line between the Mages and the Swordists, before exhaling and producing a few illusory copies of himself, about four at the max. Of course, at first everyone would know which was the REAL Ziun. However, soon the copies and the real bard started moving and shuffling around. Now, if all goes according to plan... they'll fire, miss due to me moving out of the way and they'll hit their allies. Ziun remained calm, doing his best to win this gamble.

"The Stomach Dropper", now that was a name befitting the style of the coaster. Trevor couldn't help but enjoy the design of the coaster from what he could see and he was enthralled with what he saw. It was in sections that floated throughout the park and the many drops it had to jump across one spot to another... and none of them were connected directly. There was a rise in his spirits that Trevor hadn't had in a while: a thrill-seeking side of him he really never let out... not in a long, long time. But with them being guided, Trevor couldn't help just enjoy the sights and sounds... and of course, the smells of all the different foods... Speaking of... "I see. Hm, well, I'm not all that familiar with fried things so..." "You aren't? Oh Fen, you don't know what you happen to missing out on!" Trevor chuckled, waving his hand dismissively in the air. "Remind me after our bout with the Stomach Dropper, we'll get you acquainted and introduced to all kinds of fried foods... but do keep in mind to enjoy in moderation. Otherwise the end result won't be as great." Soon they were lined up for the Stomach Dropper... as Trevor noticed the video presentation of said coaster. “With a top speed of a hundred and sixty-one kilometers per hour, the Stomach Dropper really makes you feel that classic acceleration of nine point eight meters per second squared. And we haven’t even gotten into the free-falls yet.” Where as Melissa had one reaction on this, Trevor couldn't help but grin widely at this. It brought back memories from Arcana Cabana and those many coasters he rode in the Victorian Gardens. Needless to say, he was excited and pumped for this. Unfortunately, he wished his magic would've allowed him to make some small bags for his teammates and himself... after all, with a coaster like this, it would help if they had some sort of barf bag handy. Oh well... Finally they were being seated in the coaster train carts... and surprisingly, Melissa was up in the first car. He didn't take their resident God-fearing woman as a thrill-seeker, but he figured looks were deceiving. Regardless, he got sat in the second cart behind the first. "This is going to be a good one, I can tell!" he laughed, obviously more excited than he originally let on.

“I understand you have questions for me, but I would appreciate just a little bit more help with distribution if you would be so kind. I can answer what I can when I have free moments.” Victor thought about this for a moment, but it was only for a moment. He gave a little bit of a shrug and smirked. "Not like we're on a time clock here..." he chuckled at Tinker. "But a hero's work is never done... I'll help you out with this, then we'll talk. You can basically pay me back that way when this is all said and done." "So transactional!" Tinker joked. "But if that's how you would like things to be done, then so be it." "Hey, what can I say, I got my priorities" Victor smirked, proceeding to hand out a few of the burgers as requested. "Now, let's start handing these out, shall we?" It was a bit... different for Victor to be doing something like this. Handing out food to people that lived like this, it made him remember the times he was asked to help volunteer for one of those soup kitchens where they did this too. Of course, that was also about the time frame he wasn't exactly all heroic either... nothing but a hacker with one thing on his mind: getting paid and taking down corrupt bureaucrats. Even still, he didn't really make it a bit of a habit to do this either when he took on the Override persona either. Part of him felt bad because of it, but then again, no time like the present... right? After a while, a man came up and accepted the burger gracefully, but ended up seeming embarrassed when he spoke to Victor. "I hate to ask for more shit," he started. "but do you have a cigarette? I had a couple stashed away and now I can't seem to find them." "Hmmm cigarettes? Unfortunately I can't say that I do. Don't really smoke." Victor sheepishly chuckled. He glanced over towards Tinker, whistling. "Hey, do we happen to have any cigs?" ...probably not the smoothest move on his part... The man just got more embarrassed at that. "Hey, nah, you don't have to go announcing it to the world. It's fine. Thanks for the burger." "Well, the goal wasn't to embarrass you. Just new to this, so bear with me." Vic bowed his head slightly, a little embarrassed himself. ...smooth, McCoy... smooth... Tinker walked over all the same, though, and it didn't take long for him to suss out what was going on. "Didn't you say you were quitting?" Still sheepish, the man replied, "A month ago is a month ago. Now is now." After this little exchange between the two, Victor cleared his throat and continued. "Why pick it back up if you wanted to quit? Again, I'm new to this. If I'm intruding into business, just tell me to drop it and I will." The man dodged the question. "It's a bad habit, I know," he said, looking down at his burger, peeling at its foil wrappings with a fingernail. "I just think I'm allowed a few bad habits is all, given the circumstances." Victor sighed a bit, before nodding. He moved over and put his hand on the guy's shoulder, removing his sunglasses to look the guy in the eyes. "But you shouldn't throw all that progress away just due to some circumstances. A month or not, that's progress nonetheless and it's steps you want to take to prove to yourself that you can be better." Victor gave the guy a smile, backing away some. "Trust me, from someone who had a hell of a start in his life, breaking bad habits and starting on the right foot... it's not something to sneeze at." "Yeah, maybe in six months I'll try again," the man said. "Thanks again for the burger." Victor watched the man walk off, though he heard in his ear the all too familiar Scottish voice. "Helping out the public not fall back into old habits, sir?" He sighed, before muttering to where only P.I.X.E.L. could hear. "...you of all people should know... what some encouragement can do for a person who's struggling to find themselves." After a while, they finally got the burgers handed out, which meant now was the time for Tinker to hold up his end of the bargain. "So... any place we can talk privately?" Victor asked. "I think any place around here is bound to have a wandering ear or two," Tinker said. "But I know these people. I trust them." "Alright then." Victor moved slightly, taking what Tinker said as gospel. He tapped his watch for a moment, making a quick scan with it. He needed to make sure no one else was around to listen... namely anyone that was Zodiac related. "Give me one sec... just, making a quick scan of the area." "I don't think they'd be happy if they found out about that-" Tinker said, but the scan returned negative. "Yeah, well... more so just a safety precaution." Victor nodded, noticing the scan results were negative. "Good... now..." He took the moment to produce the pendant he wore under his shirt, letting Tinker get a look at it before putting it back in. "Our mutual friend, Sarah, provided me it. And while I've done extensive searches on it, I need to hear these things from a member of that order. And like you showed me before, you were... are... one of those members." "Are. Present tense," Tinker said. "Past-tense only in that its founder -- Cassandra, the reason we all gathered together -- died, but we're still carrying on their wishes, so present-tense in my mind, at least." "Word tense aside..." Victor shook his head. "I want to know anything and everything you all know. Starting with the biggest thing: how did Cassandra come to obtain that prophecy? What did they do to have it appear before them?" Tinker shrugged. "They were a Thinker," he said. "Same inscrutable way they got all their prophecies, or how Lachesis knew how far away Caesar was based on the light-speed delay of a Catty Key call. Thinker brains are build different, taking in all sorts of data -- data that might not even seem relevant -- and just spitting out an answer." "That tracks... even still..." Victor rubbed his chin. "Next thing I'll be asking: their initial disappearance years before the declaration of the end of the world... where were they? I assume you all had the same question when they made the Order, correct? ...well, depending on if the order was made before or after they returned, I suppose. Not the point..." "They were still around. Not like there was much space for them to go," Tinker joked. "It is easier to do so when nobody is looking for you, and, frankly, nobody was." "So they were still technically active, just... no one was looking for them. It makes sense. Disappear to the point where no one finds you just to continue operating." Victor nodded, crossing his arms slightly. "My next question is this: why didn't they just come out to both sides before then? Let's be honest, most already knew they were a Renegade Cape working with both sides... so why didn't they just come up to the heads before that initial declaration? They could've helped them out immediately..." Tinker frowned. "You are getting into questions I cannot answer," he said. "I cannot explain all of the actions of a dead person. If I had to guess, I would say it was a manner of logistics and secrecy. Imagine if one of the four major organizations in Scarlet City found out before the others, what might they have been able to do with that information!" "Right... right..." Victor paused, sighing as he ran his hands through his hair. Tinker was right... questions like that were not helping... not right now they weren't. "I'm sorry. But you happen to be right. If any of the organizations, more likely say the Gibbons... that probably would've pushed Project Rubicon further than what it already was." He let out a heavy sigh, before looking at Tinker. "What can you tell me? Anything... I'm over here struggling to put all these pieces together and despite my vast access to all the databases and tech... I'm coming up with barely anything."

Sooooo about that tail Gene thought he cut off... it was still there. Bleeding like crazy for sure, but it was still hanging there, swinging around. Speaking of swinging around, the five tails were coming back his direction for another strike. "Crap!!!" he shouted, diving to his right in an attempt of a dodge roll... though it wasn't the best direction for him to roll into. Rather than going opposite of the tails, he went towards them. Luckily, he got under them just barely, however on the back swing, he was struck and knocked over to the right. "D-Damnit... okay, n-not cool..." Gene groaned, as he got back up. He watched the tails and in the moment where he could get a chance, he made his move. He rushed towards the wounded tail and this time for sure... severed the tail. With that tail out the way, he immediately backed away, avoiding the flailing tails. Gene let out a heavy sigh of relief, trying to catch his breath. This was going in a direction he wasn't expecting, namely cause the using his environment idea was... well, wasn't going as great as he expected. That was on him, namely due to the size of this creature. In any case, after taking another breath, Gene activated his Weapon Art - Quick Strike and rushed forward again, hoping to slash through the remainder of the tails... however, try as he might, he couldn't get through the remainder of the four tails, but... he did slice another tail off. "A-And then there were three!" Gene said triumphantly, having just enough time to retreat back away from the remainder of the flailing tails.

Once again, Ziun found himself knock to the ground due to a fireball hitting the wall. This time, he obtained a scorched back... wasn't the best feeling in the world whatsoever. He was starting to tire of the fireball, but this was far from the main worry he needed to deal with now. Because now, he had the 'Swordist' trio coming for him. Albeit, it was only the two for the moment, thankfully the acid strike on the one slowed him down enough, but it wouldn't be long before they were all together and striking him. "This is truly getting me nowhere... alas, this is what happens when I forego physically fighting, unlike my last delve." Ziun huffed, his face wincing in pain due to the scorched back. Nevertheless, he conjured up a wall of ice that blocked the Swordists from him. It wasn't a high one, by no means, but this was something that would help him. They were raged up beasts in a sense, so they'd be too occupied with this to deal with him. True to his thought process, they did just that, starting to hack and break the wall. Ziun took the moment to move around to his left, circumventing the trio as he immediately got behind them. Once the raged up cultists broke the wall and realized what happend, it was too late. Immediately, the bard cast an Acid Splash right on the three of them. Naturally, it did some damage and hurt them to an extent, but they were still raging. "I curse the fact that I can't negate that affect... oh well." Ziun muttered, before casting an array of icicles at the trio to damage them even more, but still on they held on. In the meantime, however, Ziun began to slowly move backwards, not wanting to be in range for these Swordists or the fireball mage he had seemingly pissed off twice today.