The Arm - Act Zero: Beginnings In Darkness [NDE, Easy]

[Jikken Kaze]

Kaze awoke with a groan, and a dull throb in the back of his head, making his eyes feel like they might pop out of his head. His arms were up above his head, tied to a loosened rope, not helping his aching head. He tried remembering how he got here, and came up with a big fat blank. The last thing he could recall was accidentally turning drink into a fine mist, being teleported into a table, trying to grab the wine that was on said table, and getting knocked out. He tried reactivating his armor, but, like every other time he found himself in this sort of situation, he wasn't able to call on his powers.

"Go figure." He struggled around a bit, trying, and surprisingly succeeding in his efforts. The pain in his head didn't do very much to impede his task to escape, because what else would he try to do after waking up in what seemed to be a cell. He could hear someone talking outside. Apparently he was in something called 'won oh for'. Truly, these people were engenius masterminds, coding even their prison cells. He rushed over towards the door. Once he heard the voice die out, he tried opening the door.

If he somehow managed to open it, he would run out and try activating his armor, thinking that the room might be the reason that he was powerless, like that one theater in Germany. But what was more likely to happen, not being able to open the door, was that he would just have to wait for whoever was making those ominous footsteps. Spooky. If he wasn't so lacking in fear, or common sense, he'd actually be worried. So he would wait by the door, waiting for it to open. The moment it did, he would lunge out with a fairly decent kick, yelling out a cheesy action movie yell as he did so.

[Gaius Magnus]

OOC: I would like a post from Takara before I respond.

[Takara Takeda]

Takara now stood in Athens the feeling of a cold chill throughout her whole body wasn't something that she could deem as pleasant. Immediately she could tell that the message she had just opened had been infused with reiatsu and somehow managed to teleport her to her current location. Whoever had been able to make such a thing possible had to either be incredibly intelligent of immensely powerful which Takara more than likely would find out at some point in the near future. For now though she could see that she wasn't the only one in the area and that she was in fact right in front of a building that looked to be hosting a party.

That was when she realized that all around her everyone that she saw were Mod Souls. She could sense all of their reiatsu and how similar it was to her own the only reaction being a warm smile that almost never graced her face and the sensation of her heart nearly exploding from pure joy. She couldn't have hoped to have found all of them even with Kazura's resources more than likely not until she made a more bold move to inspire them to come to her. It seemed though that many of them hadn't taken the time to dress for a party, but given the nearly immediately teleportation it made sense.

Takara wished to speak with all of those in the area both inside of the building and outside all around her. It seemed that she wasn't the only one that wished to speak though as a young looking Mod Soul approached her and she immediately had to plug her nose with her left hand so that she could actual stay near him. He smelled almost as if he was a bottle of liquor and nothing else it was horrendous for Takara as she could smell far better than even a dog. How he spoke to her though was quite shocking and infuriating to boost. Takara had some experience with others treating her badly and speaking to her in rude ways mainly due to Jak, but never had she been so rudely addressed by one of her own people.

Takara reacted out of her insult slapping the boy across his face just prior to his friend grabbing him and pulling him away. Takara wasn't physically strong and didn't wish to ever inflict harm upon one of her own and yet this one needed to know that speaking to her or anyone else here wasn't going to be tolerated least of all by her. As his friend pretty much dragged him away inside the building Takara unplugged her nose and began walking over to the group of Mod Souls that she had seen blushing at his comment. "Hello it's a pleasure to meet all of you my name is Takara Takeda. My I speak with all of you?" Takara asked being someone completely different than the normal prideful individual in Karakura and more of the loving, cheerful young woman that could only been seen near Jak and apparently others of her race.

[Gaius Magnus]

Tog's smile stayed on all the time as Hebika conveyed her own story. His smile did not shrink, nor it changed. His warm, friendly look didn't change either. He listened to her very carefully, but as she finished her story, he started laughing, with a good, deep, rich laughter. Indeed, it was honest laugh, but it was by no means evil or insulting, simply, Tog found a piece of Hebika's story extremely funny, so he laughed. But he meant no harm, and no insult, not at all. He laughed and laughed, but finally, he somehow stopped himself, and drying tears off of his face with a tissue from his pocket, he spoke. "But you see, Miss Nara. Your story is honest, as much as I can see, and I can recognize a lie when I see one. But you made one mistake. You see, Miss Nara, not to be insulting or anything, but I must just say that I am not into you the way you perhaps think. I apologize if I was misinterpreted, but I was merely being friendly. You see, I already came with my partner. And just as he is my partner in crime, he is my partner in life, and in - love." He sighed. "I just hope you don't judge us for that. Even in spiritual society, a thing like me and Hilfred is often frowned upon." Tog then shook his head, still smiling, but a bit nervous, and looked around. "Speaking of Hilfred, where is he?"

After turning around and looking in all directions, Tog turned to Hebika, and he was slightly concerned. "I am quite sure that he is probably somewhere cutting a deal, but I would rather be sure. Miss Nara, I hope you don't mind if we return to the bar to see where he is?" Then, Tog offered her a hand again, and then they walked back to the bar. Tog approached bartender, and asked him about Hilfred. Hebika could hear the entire conversation. "Sir, did you see where the mister who was at the bar went?" "What mister?", asked the bartender. Tog was now more nervous. "Hilfred. The mister! The one who was with me!" Bartender shrugged. "How would I know? I don't keep track of everyone. I know whom you're talking about, and well, I don't know where he went." Tog was silent, he merely nodded, and then turned back to Hebika. "Miss Hebika, I am really concerned. I don't particularly like to be away from him, and I feel bad now. We should have all stayed at a bar. Even if he is somewhere cutting a deal, Miss Nara, would you mind searching for him with me?"

However, regardless of what Hebika would have told, a scream was heard in the room. Like somebody screamed "NO!" in other room. And then, another scream followed. Tog suddenly lost color, turning pale as a ghost. But he barely hesitated. He knew from where the scream came, and even Hebika could recognize it was Hilfred's. But, seeing as they were in silent disco room, only three people could hear it. Hebika, Tog, and bartender. But as bartender didn't show by any action that he even heard it, it left only Tog and Hebika. And Tog dashed to the door, and out of the room, chasing, running to get to where the scream came from. Now it was Hebika's choice, whether to follow him, or to stay...

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Elsewhere, Kaze would be quite surprised, as the door actually opened when he tried it, and he could get back. He would find himself in a plain and empty corridor, with doors on both ends, and his cell was right in the middle of corridor. Dimly lit by neon lights, corridor seemed rather old, but that was probably unimportant for Kaze. His plan to activate his armor, however, would not work. It was not only his cell. He couldn't activate his Technique, nor any other technique for that matter. He was doomed to struggle unarmed. However, now he had a choice. Which door to pick. Left, or right? That was the question, and that was Kaze's choice. Except it was not much of a choice. If he tried left doors, he would quickly discover that they were locked, and no force he could possibly produce could open them. So, Kaze had the options of turning to the left door, or remaining locked up in here. Choice between those two seemed quite easy. Just as it actually was.

If Kaze tried to open left door, he would find out that it was actually unlocked, and that it lead to a descending stairwell. It was old, made of stone, and was spiral. It descended for several floors, and on each floor, there was a door, but as much as Kaze would try, he would find that they were all locked. Only if he descended all the way down, he would find a door that was unlocked. Through it, he could step into a room that was quite cool. Simply put, it was cooled to a lower temperature. In it were dozens of fridges, and crates and boxes. It looked like a larder. While it had no windows, there was perhaps something that Kaze could use to escape. Because on the ceiling, there was a vent behind the bars, possibly leading into ventilation system. And it was big enough that he could squeeze himself through it. He merely needed to find a way to do it.

But, did he really need to do it? If he looked around, he would see a wooden box, with a dim brown light shining out from it. I inspected, it would be quite amazing. Because it was filled to the brim with ice cold beers! Surely Kaze could stay in here and have some...

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Takara has gotten a warm welcome. Previously, it was quite rude behavior of a drunkard, but a group of Mod Souls she approached were quite friendly looking, and all seven of them were in fact, quite cool. To her greetings, they all responded together with a loud "NICE TO MEET YOU TAKARA!", and then proceeded to all introduce themselves at once. In that cacophony of voices, she couldn't really catch anyone's name. But, they suddenly grew silent, and Takara could see that they all looked at something behind her back. If she turned, she would see what they all silently stared at, or better to say... at whom. Behind her stood a young, lean man, in a black suit with white shirt, with white shoes, with silver long hair freely falling to his shoulders, and his cold blue eyes staring Takara down intensely. However, no bad intentions were readable from him, and he addressed Takara: "Miss Takara Takeda, am I right? I am sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I am under strict instructions to escort you inside. Our host would like to speak with you. Please come with me, it's this way." Regardless of what Takara would think, the man turned and headed straight for the main door, checking if Takara followed. And from group she was talking with, she could hear a whisper - "he is with organizers", so it seemed the man was important. But what was more important, what would Takara do?

[Gaius Magnus]

OOC: Bump!

[Hebika Nara]

Hebika simply continued to smile casually, even as the other mod soul had his own moment of mirthfulness. And of course that little laugh had an explination, and for a moment she was confused, her brows lifting for a moment before the man actually began to explain himself, and it was Hebika's turn to put on an amused little smile. "....." And suddenly she paused, and she thought. And she could think very very fast. she thought about how honestly, she was about to say that it was somethign rather silly. Attraction hardly always had to be sexual, only humans thought otherwise. And it was VERY clear that the man was attracted to her. It didn't mean that he wanted to fuck her, or had any notions of romantics, it simply meant that he was drawn to her. Wether that fact was based on her own personality or the simple fact that she was a mod soul really didn't matter.

But she held her tongue, and simply smiled. She decided that honestly, there was no point in correcting him. It was.... more convenient for her if he thought he had corrected her, and she gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head, as though embarassed. And of course, if he truly did sense a lie, then he would be perplexed indeed. "I must have been mistaken." She would note, unaware as to how literal the other mod soul had been. And if he TRULY was good at sensing these things, he would perhaps be a little itnrigued at the white lie in there. If he was REALLY good, he might even be able to tell that she wasn't even being snide about it, but that she had recognized a misunderstanding on his part and had simply decided not to correct him. A lie with rather good intentions.

But.... they didn't really get the chance to play this game anymore. With the sudden dissapearance of Tog's partner (Though Hebika personally was more familiar with the term 'mate' seeing as it was geneder neutral) brought an element of worry to the whole affair. Hebika remained calm, but determined. Her eyes immediately began to scan the area, and she was not hindered by her inability to use her abilities. She began scanning the room, and in the span of a second, was reading every single face. Just because the others didn't SEEM to hear the racket, it didn't mean that none of them did. she was looking for any outliers, anyone that seemed to be keeping tabs on what was going on. And more importantly she was scanning the bartender, who seemed awfully uncaring regarding this situation.

But regardless of her findings, when Tog suddenly rushed off, Hebika would sigh softly. She hated running. IT tired her out very quickly... Looking woefully down at her legs, she took a breath and then bolted after Tog in order to serve as...... what? This place had a lock down on her powers and unlike MOST of her kind... she had no ability to fight without her soul modification. And she felt nervousness stab her through the chest. She may very well be as good as dead right now. She had... well.... nothing. She was slow, weak physically. She didn't even have spiritual pressure or soul strength to rely on. Her abilities lay entirely on forcing her will on others and relying on her ability.

She was a sitting duck, and suddenly she wished she hadn't entered this stupid building.... or even answered that stupid letter....

But there was no backing out now.

[Jikken Kaze]

And the door opened. "Huh.... That was easy." He said to himself idly. As the door creaked open, the mod soul staring at it, Jikken snapped back into focus, jumping out of the dingy room, with a jump kick, hoping to hit something, but luckily, there was nothing there. He looked around for a few seconds, looking gruff and serious. After a few seconds, before slowly losing his very serious fighting stance. Truly a fearsome sight to behold. He spied two doors across from him, a left door, and a right door. Decisions, decisions.

He walks over to the right one, and tried to open it. He grunts in effort, trying to get it open. He grunts harder, grabbing the handle with both his hands, trying to turn it. Using his maximum effort, he puts both his feet on the door, pulling from a crouched position vertically, not realizing that being on the door was hindering his progress. Slipping off the handle from the sweat of his effort, he slips off and collapses on the floor. "Ow...." He groans, rubbing his head, lying on the floor.

Pulling himself to his feet, he decides that he was too good for that door anyway. He looks to the other door. "Alright, time for door number.... that one." He says, not counting to two. By choice! Stepping over to the threshold, Kaze doesn't waste his time going easy on this thing. Taking a wide stance, Jikken rubs his hands together, placing both of them on the handle, and tugs as hard as he can. The door opened without any effort, flying open so fast, that the poor mod soul doesn't have any time to react, and the bottom of the door slams into his left foot.

Needless to say, Jikken was on the floor again.

After the pain subsided, Kaze, very carefully, opened the door again, staying far away from its murderous toe killing path. It was a cobblestone stairwell. "I hate stairs...." He said, once again talking to himself. He descended, gingerly climbing down each step with a hobbled grace that he could only have thanks to his mashed toes. If he wasn't so used to pain, he'd have a much harder time doing this, given this was one of the few time he's ever been on stairs. He much prefered using his mod soul powers for this mundane nonsense.

There were doors on each level, and for each one he found, he tried to open them, and each one adding 'could not open door', to his list of failures. Still, he was not discouraged, as he kept trying until he found something. And find something he did. He managed to open a door. "Yes! Take that door! Nothing can stop the mighty Jikken: Kaze for long!" He said, entering the unlocked room. It was cold, and like the temperature, his mood dropped as well. "I hate the cold...." He muttered, not realizing how weird it was that a guy dressed in next to nothing hated chilly environments.

He walked around, noticing all the refrigerators, not realizing what they were, and continued onward, looking for something of interest. Then he saw it. Over in the corner, could it be? Yes, it was! A glowing light appeared around it, and two angels floated around it, singing in harmony. He ran as fast as his injured foot would allow him. In a plain wooden box, beer, the ONLY thing that humans did right. He grabbed one, unscrewed the cap, and started chugging it. The angels were still singing for him, so he idly decked the closest one. They quickly screamed in shock and fear, scattering like birds. He was finished with the bottle in less than ten seconds, all ready piss drunk, having no tolerance for the drink. He threw the empty glass across the room, already unscrewing another one by the time it hit the wall. If his captors weren't quick, they'd be out of beer in no time at all.

[Takara Takeda]

The warm happy welcome that Takara received from these few Mod Souls was like a wave of hot water running over her body as it brought rays of light throughout her soul that for the longest time had been engulfed in sorrow. She didn't know how she was brought here nor how she was found or even how all of the others were found by the host of this gathering yet if nothing else Takara owed that individual for the simple bliss of this moment. All of her suffering for even the most brief of moments was gone and she was truly happy to just see others of her race that were happy and well.

All she could do was smile at the moment as they all greeted her back and began to introduce themselves it was as if she was living one of her dreams. Sadly the few moments of bliss seemed to shatter like a panel of glass though as they all froze both their bodies and what they were saying all seemed to stop completely. Takara felt like her blissful experience was slipping away in that instant and realized a moment later that there was a new smell spreading over the area around her it was the scent of a man and based on it she could approximate that the male was directly behind her.

Takara began to turn around to face the individual that had for whatever reason brought the others to a stand still yet felt a conflict of emotion course throughout her as time continued. She was irritated and slightly angry that those she had been speaking to felt the need to cease the interaction between all of them and yet she could sense that the male behind her which would in the next moment come into her view was also a Mod Soul. She never expected or at least not so soon to be surrounded by her own kind and even in this moment couldn't keep joy from overwhelming all of her other emotions.

The male behind her was well dressed with long silver hair. He didn't bother to introduce himself instead he confirmed that she was in fact herself and then apologized for interrupting the conversation that she had only just entered into with the others. It seemed that the host of the gathering wished to speak with her. She was to meet with the host as soon as possible. It didn't seem like Takara had a choice unless she wished to be exceedingly rude to the individual that she already felt the need not only to meet, but thank for gathering all of them together. "Please lead the way then." she spoke happily to the man as she waved to the small group she had been speaking to hoping to see them again later on in the evening.

[Gaius Magnus]

As Hebika was slower than Tog, he would quickly leave her well behind, sprinting to his destination. However, in the distance down the corridor she could see him open a door to their right and enter through it. And as she ran there, she could feel an odd sense of... security. Even without any energy sensory, she could feel a presence so bright, yet extremely powerful, and somehow, it would make her fell safer. Which was a good thing. Especially given that as she neared the door, she would see how, with a loud crashing noise, something flew through the wall near that door, and slammed into the opposite wall, and then fell to the floor. Hebika could quickly identify that the object was in fact Tog, beaten up and hurt, but at least, alive. Through the hole in a wall, she could also see into the room which was a destroyed toilet, and would in there see, laying in debris and his own blood, Hilfred, not moving at all. And she could smell something. Something terrible. It smelled like dead, rotten meat, and acid, and reeked of death. One thing was certain. This was not coming from the sewers, despite the fact that toilet was ruined. No, it was something else entirely. But what? For a mere moment, it seemed like death was there. Like all the warmth was gone, and only that deadly stench was there. Its foulness would make Hebika sick, maybe even force her to vomit. It was somehow dirty, and dark.

But it was merely a moment, and it passed, with that bright, powerful presence felt once again. And soon, Hebika could see what was the source of that stench. A huge monstrosity, over two meters tall walked through the wall carelessly, widening the hole that already was there. It was unlike anything Hebika has seen before. It was not only tall, but unnaturally big and buffed. On its purple skin, she could easily seen blue veins, pulsing. On creature's back, and around ankles and wrists, there were remnants of black fabric, which were once possibly a suit, but now were destroyed rags. And dirty black hair obscured creature's face by casting a shadow over it, but Hebika could see its eyes, burning with intense yellow light. However, creature paid little attention to Hebika and instead looked at Tog. It spoke, and its voice was loud, rough and slow, as if there was a trouble in creature's mind to put sentences together. "GIVEEE MEEE... MOOOOAAAAAR!" In response, Tog coughed out some blood, and then weakly responded. "There is none, you sick fuck." This seemingly enraged the creature, and it quickly kicked Tog, once again slamming him into the wall, and he did not move anymore after that, he obviously passed out.

The creature itself turned to Hebika, aware of her. It seemed that creature thought her to have whatever it wanted, so, it started to walk towards her, one slow step at a time. "YOU... GIVEEE..." However, it barely made two steps towards her, when Hebika sensed a movement in the air, as if something flew by her ear, and almost simultaneously, something slammed into the creature, knocking it down on the floor, the fight ensued, and it seemed as if the creature wrestled with an invisible opponent, and whatever or whomever that was, quickly won, pinning the creature to the floor face down. The creature struggled to break free, but it seemed unable to free itself. It is at that moment, Hebika would hear a soft whisper in her ear. "I am terribly sorry Miss, but could you please move a bit?" And Hebika could sense it. The voice was also the source of that bright, but powerful presence. And it came in the form of a man. Well built, good looking, with dirty blonde hair and freckles on his face, in mid twenties, wearing pitch black suit and black shirt underneath it. And behind him, Hebika could see several others, all wearing suits. Once she would let them through, the blonde man would quickly inspect Tog and Hilfred, and men who came with him quickly loaded them on the stretchers. As they left, carrying them off, the man came to Hebika.

"My name is Gaius Magnus, Miss, and yours would be?" His face was somewhat serious, but his voice was warm, somehow calming. Waiting for her answer, he then continued. "Well, Miss, I am at least glad you aren't hurt. Truth to be told, your friends are massively lucky. Even if they are severely injured, they are at least alive. Doc will patch them up real quick, so no permanent harm is done. For them at least." Then, he walked over to the creature, and looked at it. Then he looked back at Hebika. "C-17. Also known as "superglue" back at the time. When we were slaves to the Soul Society, this was used to fix us more firmly to our Gigai bodies. It also gave us one hell of a kick, so some used it to get high. However, abuse causes forceful fusion of pill and body, causing this. Sadly, there is little to be done with him. Best I can do is put him out of his misery." Then, with a flash, a sword appeared in Gaius' hand. With a quick motion, he stabbed the creature in the nape of its neck. Rather than spilling the blood, creature instantly went limp and then disintegrated into the ashes. With another flash, the sword vanished, and Gaius addressed Hebika again. "I believe we have many things to talk about Miss. So, would you accompany me to my office?" Gaius was leaving for his office, but it was Hebika's choice, if she wanted to follow him, or to simply go back to the part, or, if she wanted, leave this place entirely. The question was, what would her choice be?

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Indeed, Jikken was allowed to drink to his heart's content. He could finish entire case if he wanted. And if he could, he could do this. But, as he got piss drunk after bottle one, he would down only a bottle or two more, before passing out entirely, in that larder. He would be sound asleep, drooling around, but not for long. Which would be good for him, seeing how larder was cold, and Jikken was extremely underdressed, given that he was barely even dressed. However, few minutes after Kaze went out, a man entered the larder. It was the same tall man from before, the one that knocked him out, though Kaze didn't know it. He was dead asleep after all, right now. The man looked at Kaze, then at the empty bottles, and then sighed. "Lord, this dude can't drink for shit..." Then, he effortlessly picked him up and carried him away. It seemed like being unconscious and knocked out has become quite a routine for Kaze...

He would not awake as he was carried through the corridors, nor later, when he was, by several men, dressed into something more appropriate, and then delivered to a simple room that had only a table and two chairs in it. He would remain asleep through all of that. However, the man that carried him previously, soon walked in, and then, he sat opposite of the chair in which Kaze was sleeping. The man studied Kaze for a minute or to carefully, and then walked out of the room. He was gone for a few minutes, during which Kaze remained asleep. Then, the man returned, and took his seat. He looked at Kaze again, and then, he slammed his palm against the table and yelled: "WAKE UP!" This, of course, would be enough to wake up Kaze, though, it would be shock for him, waking up in unknown room with unknown man seated across him, and dressed in a black tracksuit and sneakers that definitively weren't his. However, man across him addressed him: "I am sorry for waking you like that, dude. But, I gotta get you up pronto, because we need to talk." He then offered Kaze his hand across the table, for a handshake. "I know who you are, Jikken Kaze, and I believe that you in turn should know who I am. My name is Kasper, and I am pleased to meet you."

After that, Kasper got up and stretched his arms out, and then returned to the table. "You don't need to worry about anything Kaze. Are you aware that everyone here is just as same as you, that everyone here is a Mod Soul? And that this entire thing is staged in order to do something good? Truth to be told, you are an odd one. But I went info we got on you. You could do a world of good. So, I will extend to you an offer. Simple one at that. There will be a meeting here, of sorts, soon. Would you like to attend it and listen to what is said there? Perhaps you would understand a lot more if you did that, you know? I promise, nothing bad will happen to you? Oh, and a side note, we are missing something on you. Mind telling me are you with Xcution or not?" beside being asked that question, Kaze now had a choice. He could attend the meeting, yes. Or he could refuse. But what would refusal bring him? And on other hand, what would the meeting bring him? Maybe both options were good for him. Maybe neither. but anyway, he had to decide...

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Man nodded to Takara's answer and then he led her through the main door. After a short corridor, they entered the massive room, hall, whatever it could be classified as. With incredibly loud music playing, the party was getting on for real. As far as Takara could see, there were hundreds of people there, partying, and even more so, they were all Mod Souls. it would even be irritating for her energy Sensory, so many signatures at one place, but regardless, this was a great sight. For a race that rarely gathered, to gather like this, and then throw a party, this was unprecedented. How did the host pull this off, was a mystery for Takara. However, her guide quickly led her to the elevator. Elevator was, surprisingly, save for the door, made of glass, and as they slowly ascended, she could see the party below her in its full might. Her guide looked down through the glass and said: "It's beautiful, is it not? To be free. Free from the hunt, from all the dangers, from hiding in shadows. If only we could have this freedom forever..." Saying that, he remained silent for the rest of the ride, which actually, due to the elevator being slow, took a few minutes.

However, when the elevator arrived at the desired floor, her guide led Takara out of the elevator, and then, he led her through a complicated network of corridors, and into a simple room finally. The room was simple, empty white walls, a window, desk with two chairs on the opposite sides and nothing else. Her guide offered her to sit down. "Please Miss Takeda, take a seat." Then, he walked around the table and took a seat as well. He seemed very polite. "Now, I haven't introduced myself properly. My name is Peregrine Isaki, Pi for my friends. I am terribly sorry that we are forced to spend any time in this dreadfully ugly room, but however, I am required to ask you a few questions in order to confirm your identity. It's not that you could be an intruder, oh no. It's just that we need to be entirely sure that your identity is true." Pi quickly raised his hand to cut off questions at this point, they would have to wait. "For reasons that our host will disclose later, it if great importance that you indeed are who you should be." Pi then smiled at Takara. "Now, if you don't mind?"

Pi reached into his jacket, and pulled out a photograph. He then proceeded to place it on the table and slid it to Takara. When Takara looked at it, she would be shocked. For on the photograph, there was a faceshot of a man she very well knew. The father fo their race. The Creator. The one who gave life to the code. To all Mod Souls. Pi gave Takara a moment, and then, he slowly asked her. "Do you know that man? Who is he? What is your relation with him?" Takara was faced with those questions now. But why were they asked now? Who were these people, and how did they know everything they did? Was this something shady, or something good? To begin finding out, Takara needed to provide answers to these questions. But what would she answer, if she would answer at all?

[Hebika Nara]

From the moment that Tog was slammed into the wall, she felt a cold sweat and froze up. She stayed right where she was, and her incredibly fast mind was quickly realizing just how fucked she was. She could't do ANYTHING. Nothing! There were zero things that she could do! She had aa terrible form. She had no speed, no strength, her spirit was not even that strong. Her greatest and almost her ONLY powers were her main ability and the fact that she had high speed regeneration. So when Tog was knocked out, and suddenly that big beast was beginning to make it's way toward her, it took her zero seconds to turn on her heel, and start to run the everliving fuck out of there. She wasn't going to try and fight that thing. What was she gonna do? Nothing. Nothing is what she was going to do.

And when that man suddenly came in out of nowhere, suddenly there before her and then breaking down the monster before it had a chance to kill her, she simply pressed back up against the wall, her suit ruffled at this point as she remained quite flat against that wall, her heart pounding away as she watched the dirty blonde freckleface suddenly come up like prince charming infront of her. Which was all well and good were it not for the fact that she had seen that blade of his fuck the monster eleven ways to nowhere. That thing was dead. GONE. And sure he had a nice aura. so did Hebika. But Hebika had still slaughtered people that she felt needed to die. she wasn't a human after all. That nice aura didn't mean she was gonna live.

"Exit...." she gulped out, staring at him as she stayed as firmly pressed to the wall as she could, looking around rapidly before she looked back to him. "I... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry but I.... I can't stay here anymore. No.... not without my powers." She said softly, her voice shaking as honestly, this was it. That was it. This was DONE for her. She wasn't going to die for this. FUCK that. She wasn't gonna be here like some sitting duck and wait around for these bozos in suits to save her whenever she was in trouble. Look how well that had gone for Tog and his lover? They were fucked up. Maybe dead. Maybe damaged. Prettyboys here had arrived too little too late.

Clearing her throat and attempting to compose herself, Hebika shook her head. "Obviously the seal on this place has no effect on you or your men. But I am not a damsel. I do not... I CANNOT.... stand being saved. Mr....MAgnus..." Mod souls picked their own names. And his sounded awfully close to magnum. She vaguely wondered if it was son subconscious compensation. Ugh, if she wasn't so afraid she'd be rolling her eyes. "Unless you would like to lift this seal on me. Please... show me to the exit." She noted with that trembling voice of hrs, brows furrowed and her bright yellow eyes darting around repeatedly, as if expecting another attack.

This was definitely it though. If at ANY point she ever went to a place and she felt her powers nulled, she made a mental note to turn right back the fuck around. There was no way she would EVER allow herself to be exposed like this ever again. It was taking all she could right now not to just ignore the man and start running back for the exit she still knew about. Eerything else he said was ignored. Self preservation was on her immediate list of things to do. And everything else was.... meaningless.

[Gaius Magnus]

Gaius was quite surprised. The Mod Soul he saved was pressed against the wall. Surprise was obvious on his face as he turned to Hebika, and she could clearly see that he was quite surprised by her words. "Exit...." That simple word drew his attention, and his gaze met Hebika's, his eyes serious, and somehow concerned on that single word. "I... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry but I.... I can't stay here anymore. No.... not without my powers." With those words, Hebika would see the man's face grow serious and concerned entirely. As if a parent saw his child injured and in danger, and was genuinely concerned at child's well-being. His voice was still firm when he spoke, but it was serious, with a touch of concern that was on his face present in his voice. "Poor child, what have you gone through in this life? Please, relax, I mean no harm to you..." However, as it seemed, those words would have little effect on Hebika, and Gaius could see she was hurt, and afraid. "Obviously the seal on this place has no effect on you or your men. But I am not a damsel. I do not... I CANNOT.... stand being saved. Mr....Magnus..." Despite concern on the man's face, Hebika could see a faint smile on his face for a moment, before talking back to her. "You know, that is only partially true. The seal effects everybody here, my men included. However, it doesn't affect me since I am stronger than Jacob, who is maintaining it. Now, you the least needed saving. But for those two, it was the thing required. As for that poor soul... it needed release." Hebika could see that despite everything said, there was still concern on his face. In that, he was perhaps right to be concerned, as Hebika spoke further. "Unless you would like to lift this seal on me. Please... show me to the exit." On that, Gaius shook his head, slowly. "I am sorry, but that is enacted for safety. And even if I would like to lift it on you only, I am afraid that Jacob cannot selectively apply it. However, if you would accompany me to my office, it would serve the same purpose. Seal is only enacted on first few floors, my office is not in that area."

Then, he motioned for Hebika to follow him, or alternatively, she could chose to get out of the building. If she followed him, he would lead her through a door nearby, which lead to a stairwell, he silently guided her as they ascended for entire four floors, reaching the fifth. However, when they passed the third floor, Hebika would feel quite at ease, feeling as if something was restored to her, and she would feel warmer inside. At that moment Gaius addressed her. "Now, Miss, I am taking a leap of faith here, as we are now outside of sealed area. Therefore, I ask that you refrain from any hostile or destructive action, we are all kin here, and we do not need to redecorate the building." Hebika could see a smile on Gaius' face as he told the last part. Then, having her response, Gaius led her further upwards, until they have reached the desired, fifth floor, and then, Gaius would lead her through a rather complicated network of corridors until they reach a singular doors. Gaius opened them and led Hebika inside a cozy room that served as Gaius' office. A work desk and a comfortable big chair behind it, with two smaller chairs on the opposite side, and a couch in the one corner of the room, on the wall opposite to the couch was a fireplace and a single chair next to it, and the wall behind the desk was entirely concealed by a big book shelf, there were no windows, however, room was well lit by a crystal hanging down from the ceiling on a chain, roughly the size of a baseball. Gaius motioned to Hebika to take a place at either of the chairs in front of the desk, while he went around it and sat in big chair.

A phone rang, and Gaius picked it up, he listened to whatever was told to him, but Hebika, even with her extraordinary senses couldn't hear what was being told to Gaius through the phone, however, he only responded with: "Alright." He then smiled, and his face was considerably less concerned, as if somebody gave him really good news. With significantly more cheerful voice, Gaius spoke again: "Well, Miss, now I got some good news. It was Doc on the line, your friends will be just fine. Doc is the best in what he does." Then, Gaius dived under the desk briefly, as if looking for something. He then reappeared, shaking his head. "Well, shit, there is nothing in my stash to offer you for drink. I am sorry. Well, Miss, how about we play a little game? I ask you something, and then you answer truthfully, and in turn, for every question of mine you answer, you can ask me one, and I will answer. So, what do you say?" However, Gaius did not wait for Hebika's response, instead, he asked the questions he wanted answers to. "Now, first, Miss, I didn't get your name. So, that would be my first question. Secondly, where does your allegiance lies? And third, how did you come to be?" These questions may be ordinary, but something was unusual. It seemed as if Gaius formulated the questions like usual ones, but as if he wanted to learn something... deeper. Now, for Hebika, this was a choice, whether to even play the game of her host or not, and if he chose to, how to answer his questions... And if she did that, what would her questions be?

[Hebika Nara]

Hebika narrowed her eyes venomously, still looking rather...incredulously at the man, but even so... she supposed it was a close second. Her eyes shifted off to the side in contemplation. It could very well be a trap. Though honestly, from what she'd just seen, if he wanted ill of her, he could do whatever he wanted right now. And she didn't sense any malcontent coming from him. At least not yet. with a soft nod, she conceded to his alternative. "Fine, your office it is." She noted softly, sighing for a moment as she gently rubbed her eyes, still very anxious.

As they walked she remained very ancy, very unpleased. It wasn't until they hit the upper floor that she felt... better. She perked up, feeling a sudden... clarity. She could feel it. That sensation of her power. almost immediately she ran her hand along her left arm, and immediately the ink in the tattoo on her left arm tore it's way out of her skin, immediately condensing, taking the form of a small snake wrapped around her wrist as the wound healed almost immediately, her body regenerating on the spot as Hebika let out a relieved little sigh, leaning in and gently nuzzling that cute little thing, smiling to herself as she was immediately calm and happy.

Once inside of the office, she continued to gently nuzzle the little snake, smiling as it slithered back and forth across her arm, very happy at finally being able to interact with the little thing, even going so far as to make little smooching noises as she played with it. It wasn't until Gais interrupted her, super rudely yo, with his questions that she glanced up, suddenly serious again as that little Ink Viper slithered it's way up her body to gently rest around her neck. Ah, so he wanted answers...

She paused, still ... edgy, but he HAD earned her trust. He was allowing her access to her powers now after all. She paused, gently running her fingers along that little snake for a moment as she thought his questions over. Well they were fair questions. And he was even offering to answer her own questions in exchange.... very well. she'd play his little game. "Hebika Nara. Although the name Hebika Sanamizu is sounding nicer and nicer these days." she noted idly, more to herself than him. She rolled her eyes a little at the next question. "Hmm, interesting. So you had access to all of our locations, but you didn't know where you were sending your invitations.... obviously I work for Xcution. Which you would know if that odd ability gave you any information."

She paused. "Allow me to hazard: The technique lets you transmit to all other mod souls, probably within a certain area, but doesnt let you know where the stuff you're sending goes?" She then waved a hand. "Don't answer that, it's rhetorical as honestly I'm not all that interested in the details. And as for your third question that's a bit silly isn't it? I was manufactured like..." She paused, eyes glancing to the side..... That strange little memory. She shoved it aside. "As far as I know. Like any other mod soul." she noted calmly.

She paused, thinking things over for only a moment. "Now, for the exchange. I'd like to know what your powers are. I'd like to know Why you brought all of us here. And lastly, I'd like to know what you know about the people you've gathered." She asked calmly. And of course, her little snake would be busy. Using it's born-in powers. A very high energy sense which it would be using, transmitting to Hebika all the while, in order to not only see if he was lying, but to also find out other information about him.

-10 reiatsu -5% Heart's Content
850 SP
Post 1/5

SPOILER: Click to show

{Ink viper Stats}
Strength:50
Speed: 50
Sppr:25
Reiatsu Strength: 0

La:100
Da:0

Instinct: 50
Senses: 25
Energy Sensory: 650
Healing E: 0

[Jikken Kaze]

Kaze woke with a jump as the man yelled at him to wake up, screaming in drunken fear. And kept screaming, till he ran out of breath. "I vin! Heheheheha!" Kaze called out in a drunken slur, thinking he was playing a game. Then he actually looked around the room, realizing that he wasn't where the beer was anymore. "Eyyyyyyyy, whas za big idea! Whesrs all mai beer?" He demanded, making exaggerated motions with his body, pointing at the man in the tracksuit, leaning on the table heavily, struggling to keep focus on him.

The man introduced himself as Kasper, and he was so lucky that Kaze didn't know anything about movies, or he'd be ripping into that name like he ripped into beer that he didn't need to pay for. With Kaze's arm still across the table, Kaze didn't have to try very hard to shake the man's hand, which he didn't shy away from, not really caring too much. "Oh Yeeeeeah? An shmoos askn boot meh Kaspur?" He asked quietly. Not under his breath our anything, but enough to sound like he was trying to fall back asleep while laying his torso up on the table.

Then he heard the man mention mod souls, and his eyes flew open.

Kaze was sitting up straight in an instant, still pissdrunk, making his head swim a little. Then he slapped his face, four times on each cheek, sobering himself up. "Other mod souls? What do you mean there are other mod souls!?" Kaze demanded from the man, who claimed to be of the same race as he. It's not that Kaze had never met another mod soul before, he had met one once, but he vehemently denied that person was actually a mod soul. It wasn't possiable to him, he had remembered four others with him when he was created, and no others.

The scientist had made a mistake at the end however, and that's how he and the others escaped, destroying the lab and everyone related to the project that night. He couldn't comprehend that he might not be the oldest mod soul, or the last. In his head, he was the only one remaining, and if there was more, that spat in the face of his entire mindset for the past few months. He was drastically uninformed about, well, pretty much everything. And he hated that. He hated a lot of things, and suddenly having a race was confusing.

His head started to hurt in a familiar way, causing Kaze to grit his teeth. Jikken was trying to get out, feeding of his frustration and anger. Disgusting shinigami. He had to calm down, otherwise Jikken would get him killed since he couldn't use his powers here. He listened to the man explain himself, as he tried to reel in his anger. "Fine, I'll go to your meeting, but I wanna know why I'm here first!" He glared at the 'mod soul', he still didn't trust them enough to believe his claims. "First I'm teleported here, then you decide to knock me out, twice, and toss me aside without my powers! I want an explanation!" He was on the verge of yelling, speaking louder than necessary, holding his head with his hand. No matter what the man told him however, he would attend the meeting, should he be willing to take Kaze there.

[Gaius Magnus]

OOC: This is a bump for Takara Takeda

[Takara Takeda]

Takara followed the guide that had come to find her at the entrance of the building as he led her through the gathering of Mod Souls up to the host of this gathering. On her way there she could see that the entire building was filled with her people bringing a smile bigger than any other that had formed on her face since her awakening along with a warmth within her soul. She had always been so worried about the situation of her people and how few there were left yet seeing this many of them gathered together able to enjoy themselves brought her nothing short of blissful nirvana.

After a short amount of time walking the guide and Takara reached what seemed to be a glass elevator that would led both of them up to where the Host was without a doubt waiting for them. She still had very little to go on as far as who this Host could be or why they would want her. None of the other Mod Souls were suppose to be programmed with the knowledge of her title due to the fact that she was one of the last created by her father. So why she was being brought to the host specifically at least for the moment was a mystery.

Once the elevator started to bring them up the guide seemed to open up even a small amount as he began to talk. Takara could help herself from feeling a wave of emotions wash over her bliss at what had been said. This man wanted freedom more so than anything just like they all had right now and she could feel that his hopes of obtaining it were virtually gone. Time had crushed any hope that one day the Mod Souls would gain freedom and be strong enough that they wouldn't need to fear those that hunted them. Takara's brows intensified as did her reiatsu. "It won't be long now until we have our freedom."

Takara calmed herself after she spoke knowing that her emotions were actually getting the better of her and this was one night that she wished to enjoy. What followed after the elevator reached it's destination was further walking followed by move walking. Takara was in high heels like normal and even though she didn't have a problem with it her feet were actually starting to hurt. Finally they reached the room that she had led to she was quite surprised to see how little was in the room. However, other than that there wasn't anything to remark at due to there not actually being much inside of it.

Takara didn't feel the need to do anything else and because of all of the walking she wasn't in any sort of position to turn down the prospect of sitting in one of the seats. It was at this point that the guide that had brought her this far introduced himself as Peregrine Isaki or Pi. It seemed that she wouldn't be meeting with the host or at least not yet because Pi needed to ask her some questions to make sure she was who she claimed to be. All of this kept moving Takara closer and closer to the prospect that whoever this host was he knew her title. Takara sat with her hands on her lap looking at Pi as he proceeded with the questions.

Pi took a picture from his coat and placed it on the table moving it across so that Takara would be able to see it for herself. Takara was surprised to her a picture of her father the creator of all Mod Souls. What came next simply strengthened the idea that whoever this host was he knew what Takara had been programmed to do for the race. "That Shinigami is the Creator of the Mod Souls or at least one of them and my father." Takara normally would have attacked already pinning Pi to a walk or restraining him in some other way however this was different simply because he was a Mod Soul and Takara would never hurt one of her own people.