Insanity's Edge: Cold Openings [IC, Closed]

[Almaniania]

(Note: The OOC Thread for this RP is here.)

October 1, 2012- 7:34:59 AM
Hyde Academy, Sydney, Australia

Shit.

I ran down the hallway, knowing full well I was already a few minutes late for the first class of the day. I was also fairly pissed off as well, because my tardiness wasn't for the regular reasons. Yes, I sometimes slept late and yes, I sometimes forgot to set my alarm at all. Anyone who lived my kind of life would probably have the same issues. Today's problem? I was up and getting ready to go, but then I was attacked right as I walked out of the door. Those damn Oni... with their shrieks and their scissor-like claws. What was the classification again? Right... Onius Scissorus. Well, fuck those Oni for attacking me outright. I noticed them and I was going to let them slide for once, but nope! They decided the right thing to do was try to tear me limb from limb. Well, I showed them... though I will have to clean off my swords before I use them again. I chuckled a bit and continued running, somewhat praying I wasn't totally late. I pushed open the door and saw the teacher at the front, standing. Damn it, I was officially late. She stopped talking and started to turn towards me.


"Mr. Castille... thank you for finally joi-" I watched as the teacher halted quite suddenly in her speech and stared me. I'm honestly not very surprised. I noticed a few students look at me bewildered. I still wasn't surprised. I would be staring at me too if I was them... after all, my jacket was still tattered. Sure, I took a shower to get off all the blood, but those Oni got a few good shots on me, specifically my face. I placed on my best sheepish grin and shrugged.

"I uh... I kinda fell into a bush." I replied. Some students snickered in response, but the teacher didn't look so pleased. She glared at me for the longest time and then smirked. I sighed, knowing what was next.

"Well Mr. Castille, since you seem to have time to play in bushes, you also have time for a detention." She replied. "Also, you're to go to the Principal's office for tardiness. Again." I shrugged and closed the door behind me, slightly annoyed. As I slowly trudged back down the stairs, my phone began to ring. I didn't even have to look at the screen to see who it was. I pulled out my phone and answered it immediately.

"Hello Mr. Wilson." I stated flatly. I heard a chuckle on the other end and a clearing of the throat.

"We heard you had some trouble at home today." So they were fully aware of what happened. That just annoyed me all the more.

"Yes. Thanks for the help." I replied sarcastically. I heard another clearing of the throat, this time for authority purposes.

"You were able to handle them."

"Yes, but now I have a detention and I'm going to the Principa-"

"Forget that. We'll get you out of both of those. We have something new for you to do." I reached the bottom of the stairs and slowly made my way towards the door. "We have completed the basic training of a new recruit."

"No." I stopped dead cold in my tracks, just outside the main door. I heard silence on the other end for the longest time. I already knew what they wanted me to do... and I don't do well with other people usually. I stood there for a few minutes and tapped my foot, hoping to get out of having someone help me with a new mission. It's not that I don't like new recruits. I love them. They help make the world safer after all. There's not even a problem with splitting the payment. I've gained enough money to last me quite a while should I ever feel the need to retire. The problem comes with having to cooperate with them. They're so eager to learn and get into the action that sometimes, rash decisions are made. I'm concerned what could happen to me if they got hurt. It's selfish... but it's for both my good and theirs.

However... it was starting to get quite boring with the fact that I don't know anybody else here who is a Seer, let alone a WID member. I sighed and whispered a small prayer. "Fine." I finally said, knowing full well how elated they were. "I'll go and find him then and I'll let him know of the mission." I flipped my phone closed immediately after that, only catching a word. Did he say "another?" Maybe it was just my imagination. I shrugged and proceeded to walk into the school to find the new kid in the WID.

[Len Hyet]

Benjamin looked down slowly ignoring the whimpers of a man who's vocal chords had been crushed by an expert blow to the trachea. He ignored the gurgling of a man's blood gushing from his slit throat. He ignored the shallow, quick breaths of a woman hiding under her desk. What he focused on was the man who had propped himself upright against said desk, spitting blood and curses with equal frequencies.

The Doctor turned soldier turned assassin turned hitman, turned to the man propped against the desk. He squatted, gazing into his eyes. A bloody knife dangled from Silva's left hand as he slowly spun it, finger over finger. The blade itself was a marvel. Beautifully worked steel, with ripples that looked almost like the breath of a monster, and a hilt that looked like the body of an angel. It's name was Angel's Breath. Unoriginal perhaps, but it seemed aptly suited for the blade, which like that which it was named for had taken many lives from this world, and saved many others.

"Юрий, почему вы пытаетесь обмануть господин Кингсли?" He asked quietly, seeming genuinely curious.
Yuri, why did you decide to cheat mister Kingsley?

The man spat a plethora of curses and a stream of blood at Silva. In turn, Benjamin backhanded the man's sternum. It had been broken into seven, perhaps eight, pieces earlier in the fight by a punch from the gun for hire, and this backhand hurt it even more. Yuri half screamed and half gurgled, another group of rapid fire curses came from his mouth. Suffice to say, the man compared Silva to several less than dignified creatures, his mother to a pile of excrement, and his father to a homosexual dog. Silva sighed.

"Yuri." He said, this time in English. He knew Yuri spoke English, Mister Kingsley, Benjamin's employer, was English.
"Yuri why did you cheat mister Kingsley?"

The man laughed.

"You will kill me no matter what. Let me die on my feet you sack of dog shit." Silva sighed.

"Now, Yuri, actually I'm just curious. Mister Kingsley doesn't give a damn. He just wants you dead. Now if you want to die standing, like a man not some coward, then answer the question."

"For money you idiot. Why else?"

"Well to be honest I'd hoped the human race had changed a bit. You know, honor over money, all that. I guess not. Good-by Yuri."

Keeping his word, Silva heaved Yuri to his feet. Set him down, stared deeply into the man's eyes, and moved Angel's Breath behind the man's head. Gently, he slid the blade into the back of Yuri's skull, severing the brain stem. Benjamin smiled as Yuri's final breath caught in his throat, then Silva released the man to collapse, dead. The hitman turned and walked out, stopping only to kick the dying man's head in, ending his suffering. The man with the crushed trachea would live, but have trouble speaking for several weeks, if not months.

Once out of the building, Silva made a left and walked quickly but calmly toward a garage a block away. A car was parked there, for him to take to Germany.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

October 1, 2012- 7:34:59 AM
Hyde Academy, Sydney, Australia

A girl was wandering through the hallways of the Hyde Academy. Quite frankly, it was because she had a terrible sense of direction, and because the Academy was quite big, so she easily got lost. Thankfully, very few times had such a thing actually caused her trouble. It seemed like this would be one of those times, though, since she was fairly late to her first class of the day. That was most certainly not a good thing. Either way, she continued looking around. She thought about simply skipping it and not getting in trouble for being late, but then someone might see her and she would get in trouble for skipping classes, so she decided against it.

The girl, called Lyra, continued wandering the hallways of the school, a white aura visible around her. Well, visible, yes, but only to the monsters called Oni and those who possessed talents similar to her own, called Seers. To anyone else, Lyra was just a girl with odd hair coloration. Regardless, the fact was that this aura, the Sanctuary, was active, which was the reason Lyra was not quite too worried about being so late to class. She was still aware that it was a bad thing, though, and wished to get there soon.

As she wandered, she spotted another student on the hallways. She approached hastily, not quite caring about what he was doing outside class. That was not her problem, and while she herself was respectful of the rules, she wasn't going to just rat out on him, that wasn't polite and he wasn't hurting anyone. Besides, it might get HER in trouble as well. Either way, when she was close enough, she tried to get his attention.

"Ah... Excuse me?" She said to him. "Um, would you know where Classroom..." She continued, but trailed off upon noticing that his clothes were all tattered and his face hurt. She wondered what could have happened, but upon noticing that she had been staring, she blushed and took a step back. "Ah, I'm sorry!" She said apologetically. "What... What happened to you?" She asked, concerned. Perhaps her time could be better spent helping him get to the infirmary? Not that she knew where it was.

[Almaniania]

I sighed as I walked back inside. Damn it. So it seems that I was going to have a lot of work to do after all. I groaned and slowly made my way to the courtyard in the center of the Academy. I needed a break after all. As I trudged along, I got lost into my thoughts. I was fairly pissed off. It wasn't easy helping a new member of the District get their powers in order and not trying to be a show off on the first run. I've heard awful stories of accidents that occurred just on the first day alone. The rate was not a good one, and the other person who was responsible for them usually got in a load of trouble. Oh well... maybe he won't be too awfu-

"Ah... Excuse me?" I blinked and looked at the girl in front of me. She was starting to ask about a Classroom but suddenly her questioning turned into blushing and apologies. I smiled in response and chuckled.

"I uh... I kinda fell in some bushes." I grinned sheepishly. Not the greatest answer, but there were worse. "It's alright, I promise. Just a few scratches is all." I grinned and adjusted the fedora on my head. "Now, what was it you wanted to..." I slowly stopped speaking and stared at the girl for a moment. I noticed something faint surrounding her. My smile faded in a sudden instant and my brain suddenly began to turn rapidly. She couldn't be... no, I'm just seeing things is all.

...But I was definitely hearing that screech that came from the other end of the hall. I quickly turned and noticed them... god damn it.

"GOD DAMN IT!" I screamed and pushed her out of the way. Suddenly, I fell back to the ground and caught myself, barely dodging one of the Scissor guys again. I backflipped and looked at them. Seriously... why now. I looked over at the girl and started dodging the swipes of blades.

"Look... I know I look crazy right now, and it looks like nothing's there... but I need you to run, okay?" I state, hoping she would just take my word and run.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Lyra simply nodded at him when he stated that he was alright. He didn't seem like it to her, but she was willing to take his word for it. When he began asking about what it was that she meant to ask in the first place, she suddenly remembered about the fact that she was late to class, and was about to ask, but obviously that wasn't going to appen, since Alvino didn't even finish before pushing her out of the way for some reason or other.

It was then that she saw them. The Onius Scissorus, or whatever they were called. She had been told about them, but she hadn't ever really fought them. She could definitely see them though, that was a fact.

A fact that Alvino seemed to be unaware of. Of course, she didn't blame him. If he could see them as well, though, then she had no reason to hide her talents from him, did she? In fact, she was going to help him.

She shook her head at him. "I can see them too. We're not crazy." She stated, smiling slightly at him, and then turned to the Onius Scissorus. And then... She started singing. Quietly, but loud enough to be heard, she sang a small song, a prayer of sorts it seemed to be, her voice creating a fragile perfection. The song, however, did not last more than a few seconds, and the one Onius Scissorus that was headed towards her suddenly caught fire.

White fire.

[Almaniania]

I dodged another slice. Thank god, that one was close. I listened as she spoke and-

"...Wait what?" I replied as I turned my head. Suddenly, I got smacked backwards and crashed into some lockers. I groaned and slowly got up. Well shit... so she was a Seer too!? This must be the person the Boss was talking about! If so, then they totally got their genders wrong. Again. Dear god, when will they get better intelligence in Oceania? I mean seriously... wait. Shit. Not important. I stood up and dusted myself off. I mumbled a word and suddenly, Katanas appeared in my hands. I grinned and faced down the Oni that smacked me.

"Alright you bastard..." I stated as I slowly inched my way closer. "Time for you to learn who has the sharper-"

BOOM! I whipped my head over to the girl and I noticed the other Oni suddenly caught fire... and it was white? Slowly, it let out a screech of utter pain and burst into ashes.

"...What the Fu-" I started... and then I got smacked again. Once again I crashed into the same lockers and groaned. Damn it. This was not my day. I slowly got up and took a deep breath. I'm pissed off now. I slowly started walking towards the Oni and broke into a run.

"Alright... you wanna fuck around you son of a gun?" I stated calmly at it as it shrieked at me. "Well fine... let's see you handle this!" I suddenly moved to the right and ducked just in time to dodge a swipe at my neck. I stepped to the left and slid into a halt right behind him. With one swift motion, I made an X on the Oni's back and sliced it open. The Oni shrieked awfully and burst into ashes. I breathed a sigh of relief and groaned as blood fell from another scratch on my face.

"Damn it." I mumbled quietly. I heard more shrieks at the other end of the hallway and I noticed four more Onius Scissorus approaching. I looked over at the girl and grinned.

"Well... it seems like class... and school in general... will just half to wait, won't it?" I stated with a smile.

[Mexican Liberation]

October,1,2012-7:34:59 AM
Hyde Academy,Sydney,Australia

Riiiiing

The bell had rung

"Damn" I said whisperly

"I'm late..."

But then I had remembered that I actually had a good excuse...this time...

I continued slowly walking down the halls as the monotonous noise of smashing lockers deminished...a noise that I had not recognized for 4 years until last month...as I passed each class I could see the teachers taking a quick glance at me,then at their class...they always do this to me...but why me?Is there something special about me or something?

Then it hit me...I was one of the only kids in the school who can actually see...certain things...they're playing dumb with me,want to make me think that I don't know what they're talking about,of course I know what they're talking about,no need to be secretive!They say that the Oni outnumber the humans in this school by at least 2 to 1,but humans cannot see them,and I am one of the few who actually has that special "gift".I think that "gift" is a load of hooey.Ever since I recieved this wonderful 'gift',nothing but bad has happened to me and other people,that and the fact that these Oni people,as they call them,actually kill humans just for the hell of it...great...it's bad enough I get to see these things crawling around as I shower,now I actually have to worry about these things killing me in my sleep!Oh well,at least I know I'm not the only one...in the school,well,at least I think so.Some other students said that there is this other kid who can see these things too...I don't know if it's true or not,but at least there's a chance I could meet this guy...to meet someone who actually knows what I'm going through,and is actually going through it themself.I've been told that this guy is a year younger than me...but he's a pro at these Oni thingies...well...I hope he is...Alvino...they say his name is...well...better not to look a gift horse in the mouth when I do meet this guy...if this guy even exists...

"I'll just tell them that I was stuck in that dumb therapy program,they'll let that one slide for sure!I mean,why wouldn't they?Since I got here,every Monday,Wednesday,and Friday I had to go to that miserable counsling session!What a waste of time!It's already bad enough that people think I'm crazy,what,so now they want them to think that I'm a crybaby too?They said that I'd be graduating from those horrible sessions next week...that's what they said last week about this week,and the week before about last week!*Sigh* at least a few things came good about them...they gave me a good excuse for when I'm late for a class...and they provide the perfect little charades game for when I'm bored...if you know what I mean" I continued talking to myself...giving an evilish grin as I finished my last sentence

I then stopped talking to myself,as a small circle of hall monitors was approaching me

Back to my thoughts

I found it rather strange that I was transferred here from America...when I first heard of it,I dreaded it...my first reaction,was why?Why send me to Sydney?Why send me to Australia?Why not Paris?Why not Europe?I heard they had plenty of other academies there...but no...they had to send me to Australia...but then,as I got more familiar with everyone,I actually started to enjoy being stuck here...in fact,I kind of want to live here...after I graduate...the people are friendly,the climate is nice and the cities are lovely...quite underated by the tourism board I must say...but still,I really miss my old friends in the Americas...doesn't mean I can't keep in touch with them...I email my friends in South America,Skype with my friends in Canada and I have several pen pals in the USA,I try to keep contact with all of them whenever I can,after school mostly,since I don't have that many friends here...I wonder what it is that I don't have any buddies here...is it my new cologne?Is it my breath?Something I said?What is it?Oh well,at least I'm back to my horrible life of anti-social misery...

As the hall monitors had passed,I took a moment to look at my watch...and my new WID ID card...

I couldn't believe it...it has been less than 8 hours since I officially became a full member of the Warriors of Insanity District...what an honor...I remember the big celebration they threw last night,how it amazed me,how it caught my eye...it was absolute amazement...and when they gave the honorable mentions,and called me first,the surprise I got blew me away...as they called me up,I stood out of my chair,looked at my pals from training,smiled,and walked to get the reward...as I recieved it,I took a moment to take it in...I had just recieved the highest honor any WID initiate could recieve...or so they said it was...as I shook the hand of the dean of the academy,my teachers,my recruiting officer,my counselor,and my WID superiors,they congratulated me,and I simply smiled and said "Thank you".As I got to the end of the handshake line,I couldn't help but feel the urge to go again...and maybe even give a speech on the podium with the mic at full blast...but then,I said to myself "Naw" and simply went down and took a seat,as I did this,I shook the hand of everyone who extended them at me...when I finally took a seat,I felt marveled by the amazing appearance of the reward...so shiny...so prestigious...I showed it to all my pals...and they showed it to their pals...and they all shook my hand and gave a quick and manly hug...this was indeed one of the best moments in my career...and my career had just begun...

But all that was behind me...that was yesterday,and now is the time for school,not memory lane...as I walked past a few fellow tardies,I cleared my head,for I was nearing my class...

"Well...my class is right around this corner...wish myself luck..." I said to myself,no one else in sight,as I turned in the corner and started walking towards the third to last class in the row...As I walked,I saw a few Onius Scissorus' leaning against the wall...I simply walked past them,though I took a quick glance at them,I did nothing more,as I continued walking to my class.My teachers at training had taught me that the Onius Scissorus is usually not hostile,but will attack if provoked...one of the main things that provoke an Onius is showing agression,they told me,as well as optimism...they had told me that if I show no emotion,and completely ignore their presence,they will ignore yours...I've never been attacked by an Onius,but I have seen an attack happen...the victim was agressive...they died soon after...I've seen a buddy of mine come face to face with a Scissorus,but followed our teacher's advice,and showed no emotion,and slowly turned her head away,looking the other way...the Onius walked away...that's when I was convinced it actually worked...

I cleared my head again,and prepared myself for an advanced course in Advanced Observational Calculus...Advanced Placement...

[Old Sarthal]

Baal stood inside a gray, dingy room, in the basement of a London flat, staring into the eyes of a man strapped to the wall.

"Repeat after me."

"Repeat after me."

"I am a rooster."

"I am a rooster."

"Are you a rooster?"

"I am a rooster."

"Good."

Interrogation was not exceptionally arousing work, but toying with the captives afterwards was worth it. So far Baal had managed to hold on to a human-ish form during his meetings with London's resident mafioso, Don Capone, but the man had likely noticed the occasional change in hair length or eye color, and the one time when he had gotten distracted and accidentally sprouted gills. On the other hand, it was most probable that he simply didn't care. Baal's interrogations were one hundred percent effective, and the captives found it difficult to speak with the police after a few glimpses of its true form had turned their very minds into gibbering wrecks. As Baal walked out the door, it rather suddenly morphed into a pigeon. It would have to be a larger bird (or, given his appearance's temperament, birds) for the journey across the North Sea to Berlin, but this way it would have a chance to shit on a few landmarks in transit, another of Baal's hobbies. It had been dive-bombing Nelson's Column since it was erected. Quite a target.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Truth be told, Lyra wasn't quite as confident that her spell would work as she seemed to be, so she was quite relieved when the Onius Scissorus that was headed towards her actually burst into white flames and shortly after turned into ashes. Shortly afterwards, she turned to see Alvino finishing off the other scissor Oni. However, she let out a very small gasp when she noticed the injuries he had acquired now.

She knew she couldn't do much of anything about it while there were more Onius Scissorus still around, though, so she turned to them and nodded over at Alvino, before starting to sing once again, her delicate voice sounding for several moments, before a bolt of white fire shot towards the Oni from the air in front of her.

[Liriena]

October 1, 2012- 7:50:01 AM
Hyde Academy, Sydney, Australia

Another dull day in the always pretty and sunny Hyde Academy. Yet another six hours of putting up with stares and sniggers behind his back, followed by falling asleep under the influence of the teachers' endless classes on useless matters. Then, it was a many-miles-long walk all the way back to the Warriors of the Insanity District's HQ (yes, Moonlight Eden was a walker, for public transport had become one of his latest phobias after a particularly nasty incident with a homophobic homeless man that had calmly followed Moonlight's kind suggestion of jumping out of the bus, through the window and into the heavy morning traffic). Then it would be another night staring at five computer screens and four televisions, typing for around ten hours on an ugly white keyboard while speaking into an equally ugly white microphone (leave it to the WID to make his one passion in life a pain in the arse).

But, hey, who was he to complain?

After all, he had good food, a warm bed, an underpaid job and easy access to all sorts of great designers' clothes and amazing technological gadgets. Not to mention that the WID provided him with an endless supply of drugs to keep him from, say, jumping into the warm, shark-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean and ordering all creatures of the sea to take a bite...

Dammit! Another headache!

His entire line of thought, his inner monologue filled with complaints and pessimism, was gone. The dark feelings were gone, and a verbal tick followed the sudden turn in the rotten cogs of his mind.

"Clover!" Moonlight yelped, and he was instantly glad that the hallways were deserted as he walked in search of his first classroom, not really worried about being late as his lithe, slender body glided through the seemingly endless corridors, dressed in those tight but gorgeous black garments that made him look positively anorexic. His pale blond hair flowed in the air, his face almost emotionless, but not quite.

Almost there... He thought to himself, the grip on his small backpack tightening.

But then, as he turned the next corner, he was met by the sight of two fellow students fighting off a few...

Well, this is just great...That makes it four hours since the last time I met face to face with an Oni...How very bloody rich. He stiffled a groan as he walked up to them, his left hand already begging to hold the small bottle with his pills for stress.

"Hey, you Oni! Care to leave those two kids alone for a second and listen to someone who is absolutely not in the mood to entertain mischievous brats from other realms?" He shouted at the attacking Oni, his voice having a slight echo to it.

He was using his Persuasion. A bad idea, since his head was already having a rough day, but pills could solve that in half an hour.

With a second glance, he found that both fellow students were probably younger than him...and rather cute, despite being injured and in the middle of an intense battle in the hallways of a boarding school that reminded him of that damned place in London from where he had been expelled.

"Nice to meet you two, by the way." He greeted sardonically, eyebrows high as he walked up to the Oni, almost chuckling as they saw their assault interrupted and proceeded to remain motionless and quiet before the insane Englishman.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

After her bolt had been released, Lyra was about to begin singing again, when suddenly another student, who appeared to be older than either Alvino or herself, and somewhat underweight, showed up on the other side of the hallway and spoke. It did not take Lyra long to figure out that this person, too, was a Seer, able to see the Oni and, more importantly, able to face off against them. However, what surprised her the most was the ease with which, rather than dispatching the Oni, the other student simply ordered them to stop their attack, and so they did.

"Ah... Yes, nice to meet you too." Lyra said, stepping out of her awe. They didn't seem to be much of a threat for now, so she could help out Alvino now.

Turning to him and visualizing his wounds, Aria began to sing once more, and closed her eyes, visualizing his wounds closing down slowly. And thus, her holy healing magic was put to work on Alvino, and slowly but surely, his wounds healed up, just as she envisioned. By the time she finished singing, he was alright. Good as new. Of course, though, his wounds weren't bad, as otherwise she wouldn't have done half as well as she did.

"Are you better?" She asked.

[Mexican Liberation]

(OOC:Screw it,I'm joining you guys )

As I walked closer to the door of my class,I heard screams coming from the halls below...

I looked down and saw several Onius's...and what appeared to be three students battling them...or as a matter of factly...wrapping the battle up...

The knob of the door was at fingertip's reach,but I had decided against this...

Seeing this as an opportunity to avoid period one for longer,I finally made my decision...

There was an important test today,but I did not care,I can make it up anyway,this is a golden opportunity...perhaps these students may be what I was looking for...they may hopefully be fellow seers...

I can't let this pass

I had to know more...

I looked both ways...left and right...a staircase lies about a thousand feet away to the left,and an elevator to the right...

Stairs too far...Elevator too slow...

I had no choice...

I took a few steps back

Parkour training...don't fail me now!

I then ran full speed to the rail (I'm on the second story,in case you didn't know)

Grabbed it...and vaulted over it,I was then at the mercy of gravity,as I fell towards the battle zone

As I got closer and closer to the ground,my heart raced,adrenaline pumping,thoughts rapidly passing...

You're gonna die!You're gonna hurt yourself!What are you doing?!Why do you want to meet these people?!

Is what my brain was telling me,as my lips remained sealed,and my heart on the brink of an attack

I landed on the hard,concrete ground...

I landed with a roll to the front,and as I got up from that roll and ran to them,I could feel the adrenaline in me...

I continued running even when I had seen the Onius's...

I tried to stop running when I had seen this strange white aura on this girl...I really did try to stop,but my legs refused

I tried to give a frantic "Look out!"

But all I could do was scream "ARRGGG" as I ran into her...

The next thing I remember is laying on the ground,coughing,staring blankly at the sky

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Lyra waited for her answer to come. However, before it did so, she heard frantic footsteps behind her, and could only turn around and hear the newcomer's frantic shout as he crashed into her, bringing her down along with him. As she was dragged down, she let out a small cry, thoroughly surprised, and, quite frankly, scared, of the student that had charged at her and tackled her just like that.

As soon as she hit the ground, she immediately moved away and stood up, dusting her mostly white clothes off and backing away from Aiden. However, upon noticing that he seemed to not be moving too much, simply coughing and lying there, looking blankly at the sky, she became concerned. True, he had just tackled her, but maybe he wasn't quite alright before doing that?

"Umm... Hey... Are you alright...?" She asked shyly, ever so slowly approaching Aiden. She hoped that at the least her aura would help soothe him.

[Mexican Liberation]

"Ummm...Hey...Are you alright...?" I heard while downed

I couldn't help but feel a strange sensation...I'm not sure what it was...I felt calm...and quite happy...it was as if...all was right..for some reason

I then noticed the white aura above me,and the girl I had crashed into standing over me

The pain that I had felt when I crashed...was no more...

I slowly got up,dusting myself

"I'm so terribly sorry...I hope I didn't hurt you or anything..." I said to her

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Lyra was still wary of the person that had crashed into her and tackled her to the ground, that went without saying. However, as he stood up, dusted himself off, and then apologized sincerely, Lyra understood that he wasn't a bad person, confirmed that he was not in control when he tackled her, and furthermore understood that he was quite repentful about what had happened. So, giving the other student a small smile, she shook her head.

"No, you didn't hurt me, don't worry about that please." She said to him.

[Mexican Liberation]

Relieved that she was alright,I became curious about who she was...and what was going on...

"So what's going on here?I heard yelling and rushed over here..."

I looked at her,trying really hard not to stare at the aura...I think that might be her power...just as darkness is mine...

[Almaniania]

Quietly I stood over the defeated Oni and I sighed. Damn it. My face was probably scratched up for good now... ah well. I groaned and shook my head in aggravation. The Oni disappeared into ash and I looked up back at the girl in the ha-

...No. I put my feet together and stood still, disturbed at what was at the end of the hall. My stomach dropped and a hatred filled my mind. I quietly stared down at the other Oni at the very end of the hall... and I knew full well I would not be able to catch him. One of these days though. One day, I'm going to catch him and make sure he dies like the rat he is. For now though, I simply sighed and turned my back on him, knowing full well he won't strike now... not after a fight like this.

I returned to the girl who seemed to have been joined by another person and she began to sing again. I felt my wounds slowly heal and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." I replied with a smile. "Yeah. I think I'm goo-" I suddenly jumped out of the way as another boy crashed into her. I blinked for a moment and I sighed as the two of them talked. I looked over at the hallway from before, and I noticed he had disappeared. Oh well... one of these days I'll catch that Oni. I turned back to the two of them again and I noticed the boy's aura...

And suddenly, it all clicked.

"You're Aiden." I began. "You're the one who I've been assigned to help you with an upcoming assignment from the District." I smiled and nodded. "I'm Alvino Castille, and yes, I have talked to the Boss for the HQ in Australia." My smile began to fade away as I turned to the girl. "Which means, you are NOT part of the District. Huh... I guess I'm going to be harking HQ about that. Our intel is clearly going downhill." I sheathed my Katanas and shrugged. "No matter. Again, my name's Alvino, and thank you again for healing my wounds." I finally turned to the other person who was a few years older clearly. By this point my smile had all but faded. "However... I do not know who you are, or where you're coming from." I smiled a bit. "Nevertheless, thank you for helping us with those Oni... would've been a pain to have to handle one more of those things."

[Liriena]

Moonlight suddenly giggled, and immediately knew that he needed to take his pills soon, or the first impression these people would get of him would not be pleasant. Damn his verbal ticks.

"Umm...You are most certainly welcome..." Moonlight responded with a warm, sincere smile. "I'm Moonlight Eden. Blogger, student, Seer...oh, and a huge fan of Chinese food."

He chuckled before he set his eyes on the Oni, still completely immobile and awaiting further instructions. Persuasion sure was a fun power to use.

"Now, gentlemen...how about you go to this school's kitchen and perform a seppuku with whatever knives you can find?" He suggested to the otherwordly creatures, knowing full well that it was actually an order that they could not, and would not refuse. The Oni instantly obeyed, slowly walking away with lifeless eyes, looking more like the zombies of old films Moonlight's parents used to watch.

"Alright...Now that this problem has been put to rest, how about we go do something more productive, like getting to our classes...or maybe hang out. Whatever pleases you people the most." He said to the other three humans, this time not using Persuasion. It's not that he found it immoral to use Persuasion on humans, but Persuasion gave him horrible headaches, for starters, and his personal doctor had already told Moonlight several times that mixing pills for his headache with pills for his verbal ticks was like mixing Diet Coke with Mentos.

"By the way, I'm surprised you have never heard of me, Alvino Castille...I mean, not only do I work for the WID, but I also am a fairly well-known journalist...I'm sure you must have seen the video on Youtube of me giving Bill O'Reilly a tongue lashing on Fox News?"

[Almaniania]

I watched as the Oni went to perform their tasks. I was quite amazed by-

Did he say he was Moonlight? THE Moonlight? Well shit... this just got very...

"Interesting." I finished my thought out loud, knowing full well no one would get that. "I actually do know who you are Mr. Eden." I continued wearing a shit eating grin. "I just didn't recognize you is all. The District didn't mention you would be arriving today. I'll have to speak to Mr. Wilson about THAT as well." I sighed as I leaned against the wall. "Honestly though? I don't watch Bill O'Reilly or the rest of the CAC. As a Brit, and now an Australian, I feel quite bad for Americans who have to hear the screeching of O'Reilly or and Fox News. It's a wonderful country is what I've heard... but it's just kinda a mess right now, isn't it?" I stopped and realized I was speaking jargon again. "Apologies. When I say CAC, I meant Conservative American Crap." I flipped out my smart phone, pressed the 0 speed dial and waited a moment. After a few dials, I heard a click followed by a slightly exhausted "Hello?"

"...What the fuck." I started. My face had fallen at that point and I was fairly pissed off. "Your intel has been GOD AWFUL MAN! Not only did you not know about-"

"How Mr. Eden was going to be there?" My face clenched up as I listened to Mr. Wilson ramble. "You should really wait for me to finish before... ARE YOU HITTING YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE WALL AGAIN!?"

"...No?" I stopped bashing my head against the wall and sighed. "So there's four people on this mission then?"

"...What do you mean four?" I blinked and leaned against the wall with a smirk on my face.

"Yes yes... didn't you guys also send a female District member to help with this?"

"...No... wait." I heard a groan as he put two and two together. "Ass. You knew that she wasn't part of the District." I smiled again. I loved it when I was right... it felt so... right.

"No no no... you guys just figured that out." I said sarcastically. He coughed and I pressed forwards. "But I digress. What are we supposed to do now?"

"We talked to the Principal. I'll have a chat with him again and you guys can leave school. Take the girl along with you and make sure you finish the mission by the books this time?" I sighed and knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Oh come on... I swear that battle at Telstra wasn't my fault!" I was talking about the ANZ Stadium, where I and another District member engaged a number of Oni. Needless to say... there was a lot of destruction that day.

"Yeah yeah. Just make sure there's as little destruction as possible." I heard the click and turned to the others.

"I say we skip school. It's getting boring anyways." I grinned and adjusted my fedora. "Besides... we have a chance to go have some real fun."

[Liriena]

"Heh, you're funny." Said Moonlight as Alvino finished his rant against American Conservatism, an amused smile on his androgynous face. He then reached into his backpack and produced an iPad, courtesy of the WID. Moonlight thought this sort of contraptions were ugly and useless, but apparently his boss was in love with them.

Within seconds, his fingers were moving at a frantic pace on the screen, typing away as he filed a report on the recent incident, wrote a short article on his blog about the dangers of attending a certain boarding school in Sydney, and wrote on his "pill journal", explaining that, due to unexpected stress, he was going to have his Diet Coke and Menthos.

As he finished typing, turned the bloody thing off and placed it back in his backpack, Moonlight grabbed two small pill bottles from his trouser's left pocked. Swiftly, he opened both and took a heavy dose of both medications, groaning at the disgusting taste and wishing to whatever deity existed that he would be able to take sleeping pills tonight without dying.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Moonlight was finally ready to speak again.

"I'm surprised you have Wilson's number...he never gave it to me...He said that he was tired of waking up in the middle of the night to hear me crying over nightmares." Moonlight shrugged, speaking nonchalantly.

Another awkward silence.

"Anyway...shall we go now? I'm bored...I would have had those Oni kill themselves in a more elaborate way in front of us...just for my amusement...but I didn't want to traumatize any of you. I'm a crazy bastard, but I'm not a monster." He chuckled before suddenly biting down on his forefinger, hard enough to draw blood, the sweet coppery taste filling his mouth.

Shit...another verbal diarrhea.

[Prometheo]

Sydney, Australia
Darius chuckled softly at the Oni's remark. He and it had been engaged in this banter for about ten minutes now, and Darius had learned quite alot from this amiable Oni.
"And next I suppose you'll tell me DaVinci was a seer too?"
They both laughed at that.

To anyone else, it would look as if Darius were talking to the tree he was sitting under, taking in the hot sun perhaps a bit too much. But Darius saw a three-eyed, fat, squat, smooth-skinned, winged Oni hovering an arm's length away. Darius was was about to say something particularly clever to the Oni when it suddenly jerked its fat head in the other direction, causing its many chins to quiver.

"Whats the problem?", asked Darius, suddenly spooked. He started to stand, to back away from the unpredictable Oni known as "Wrath". Swinging it's head back towards Darius, it opened it's mouth and screeched before attacking Darius with a savage bite to the head. Latched firmly onto the top of Darius' head, it let out another screech.

Darius panicked, and began throwing punches at the squirming Oni attached to him. Placing his hands on either side of the Oni, about an inch away from it, Darius muttered an incantation that brought writhing black flames to his hands. Darius pressed them into the Oni, and Wrath let up with a howl of pain. Wrath zipped up, his small wings thrumming the air. Next, the Oni darted away, and Darius gave chase.

"Wrath! Dirty son of a bitch!" Darius couldn't believe his child-hood friend had just tried to eat his head. He thought they were past that. Honestly, though, he wasn't that surprised; with as much as he had researched about the Oni's various capers, trying to eat his head was soft-core. Darius got a glimpse of Wrath breaking through some bushes that lined what appeared to be a high-school campus.

Bursting through the bushes and recieving a few minor scratches to his arms and face (he was dressed in a band-tee and some shorts), Darius immediately spotted Wrath making his way for the school. He was shouting something over his shoulder in that strange language they have. Darius sprinted harder, and held up one of his hands, still enchanted with the black flames. A loud whooshing sound followed the burst he let fly at the Oni, causing it to fall in mid-flight, crashing right in front of a door into the building.

He kicked the Oni against the door, repeatedly, and stepped back. Smiling, he held his hands up released the rest of the enchantment, letting the black flames roll over the wailing Oni. When the deed was done, Darius looked up and through the windows on both sides of the door. Inside was a hallway, and a few students.
He hoped they hadn't noticed him chase down that Oni and perform that spell.

[Almaniania]

I watched with amusement as Moonlight took some pills and I simply nodded as he spoke. The pills definitely had something to do with his manner of speech... at least for the present moment. I chuckled in amusement as I leaned against the wall. So now there were four of us. This was going to be quite intere- WAS THAT FIRE!?

I saw as a black fire blasted from a boy's hand at an Oni outside. I jumped back in shock and watched as the flames rolled over the Oni. It seemed to wail in pain and slowly die. I stared at the boy quietly... and then something clicked. Suddenly, I took to flight, as I ran to the front door. I kicked it open and jumped sideways to land some ways away.

"YOU!" I said breathing hard. "I saw those flames!" I looked at him carefully and noticed an aura surround him. Dear lord... he was just like us. "You're... you have an aura!?"I stood up, surprised at the find. More than two Seers in one place was somewhat unusual... but five? And at least one of them wasn't part of the District!? I cracked my neck and looked over the other person. The Oceanian Board was gonna have a fit about this. There aren't a lot of Oceanian Seers usually, and the ones in the District are usually spread out thin. Five in one place in Oceania was highly unusual and also very disturbing. This meant one of three things. It meant either he was disobeying orders from the District, there's something big about to happen... or he wasn't part of the District at all.

"Who are you exactly?" I asked, taking a serious look. I'm concerned as to what is going on now.

[Liriena]

Moonlight had seen the battle taking place outside, and as Alvino stormed out and towards that other Seer, Moonlight followed, walking slowly towards both young men, humming a song by The Beatles. It's not that he did not care about the surprising turn of events. It's just that it was either acting calmed and nonchalant, or letting verbal ticks take a hold of him again.

Speaking of ticks... Moonlight pulled harshly on a strand of his long blond hair, grimacing in pain.

That was a slight physical tick he had. Well, to be accurate, it was more of a compulsion he had, something he had to do whenever he met face to face with a physically attractive person, such as that handsome bloke with long brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Mind introducing me, Alvino?" Moonlight asked as he reached the pair, a shy smile forming on his lips and...

Dammit...I'm blushing.

"Umm..." Well, this was just perfect. Now he was hesitating as he spoke to the cause of the blush on his cheeks. "Hi...I'm Moonlight."

[Len Hyet]

Silva flashed the border guard his passport, one that labeled him as a native born German Businessman, from Munich to be exact. The guard examined it with a bored expression on his face, having done this dozens of times today alone.

"Wie ist Ihr Name?" Asked the Border Guard.
"Fritz Weissmuller"
"Was ist Ihr Unternehmen in Deutschland?"
"Rückkehr von einer Geschäftsreise."
"Haben Sie Waffen oder Drogen im Auto?"
"Nein."
"Willkommen zurück Herr Weissmuller"

The man stamped the passport, flashed Silva a no doubt fake smile, and waved him on his way. Benjamin pulled off from the border crossing, his restored 1969 Mustang making a smooth purr as it went through the checkpoint, accelerating from a stop to eighty kilometers per hour in just a few seconds. The bright silver car took the exit a mile later, coming into the German portion of the divided city of Rheinfelden. He parked the car in front of a tall building, and walked inside, his hands in his pockets.

A woman looked up from the desk, and Silva knew by the lack of reaction she was no seer.

"Hallo Herr, wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?"
"Ich bin hier, Herr Schäfer zu sehen." He replied smoothly.

The building in question was a forward outpost for the European division of the WID. There were most likely no more than ten seers working in the outpost, and probably only five working inside the actual building at one time. Though Silva didn't like taking sides in combat, after all he only killed for profit, in this case a few of the workers had been getting on his nerves lately, staking out his Safe Houses, setting ambushes, they even took pot shots at him in his car. One of those idiots had even hit his Mustang! The nerve! He had paid a small fortune for that car! It was his baby! He'd spent a small fortune finding it, another repairing it, and a third bringing it to Europe. It had taken ten years to complete, and another year to convince the idiots in the European Auto Commission to put a damn licence plate on the thing!

That car was his pride and joy, and those idiots had put five bullets in the passenger side door. He had leaped out of the car, sprinted up the building the Sniper was hiding in, and ripped the bastard limb from limb for such an offense. In retrospect he probably shouldn't have, after all he tried to present the image that not all Oni were vicious killers, but it was his car.

The secretary typed a few words into her computer.

"Haben Sie einen Termin?"
"Sagen Sie ihm, es geht um Oni Geschäft." The woman didn't bat an eye, further confirming, in Silva's mind at least, that she had no idea what was really going on in this building. A moment later a surprised expression crossed her face.

"Er bat mich, seine 1.00 zurück bewegen 2 Stunden, um Platz für Sie. Bitte gehen Sie auf den Aufzug auf der linken Seite."
"Danke." Silva said, and entered the indicated elevator. He pressed the button for the top floor, and shot up. Some crappy German elevator music played, which furthered his convictions about stopping this madness. He placed his briefcase on the floor of the elevator.

Benjamin exited the elevator. A man seated across the room looked up, and his mouth formed a perfect O of surprise as he stood, babbling in German. Nothing more was needed to confirm to Silva this man was a seer, but the twin short swords he pulled from under his coat seemed to cement the idea. In a single superhuman stride Silva crossed the room, changing as he did so. The handsome man that had entered the building was replaced by a half wolf half man, thing, that tore out the Seer's throat with a single flick of it's wrist. Moving fast now, as the man had managed half a yell before dying, Benjamin burst through the door, changing back to his human form as he did so.

A guard to the left was tracking the quickly moving Silva with a gun, too slowly. One hand batted the gun, and indeed the man's arm, to the other side of the room. Benjamin's other hand took the man's throat out. Two more seers charged through a door, one threw a ball of something that looked suspiciously like fire, the other began a chant and took out an onion from his pocket. The second kind of magic Silva was, unfortunately, very familiar with. In short, the caster used an inanimate object to represent a much larger and, in Silva's case, more alive object. A voodoo doll was a subsect of this form of magic.

Armed with that knowledge and a burning desire not to have intangible claws slice through his body, Silva rolled under the fireball, picked up the dead Guard's gun, and hurled it sidearm at the caster. At such short range, it hit the man's arm, disrupting his casting and buying Silva the needed moment to slap the onion away, slide his claws through the fireball thrower's neck, and spin behind the caster. With a single brutal twist, he snapped the caster's neck.

Feeling mildly annoyed by the gore spattering the walls, Silva shifted back to human form, and walked through a door marked Herr Schäfer. The Herr in question was pointing a magically imbued shotgun at Silva as he walked through the door. A squeeze of the trigger, and the twelve gauge round impacted on Silva's bulletproof vest. A long time ago Silva had learned that while a normal bullet might not do too much harm to him, a magically imbued one would tear right into him, but be stopped by a bulletproof vest. Silva reached forward, and twisted the barrel of the gun shut. Schäfer tried to pull a bladed weapon of some sort from under his coat, and Silva kicked it, sending a short sword flying across the room.

"Sind wir endlich fertig? Ich möchte einen Vortrag haben."

The man looked stunned. Benjamin continued.

"Ich wollte nicht, jemanden zu töten, und zwar hatte ich nicht in eine ganze Weile, wenn Ihr Mann hat mich angegriffen. Entlassen. Stop. Aufhören. Zu unterlassen. Sie lassen Sie mich allein, ich werde nicht wieder hierher kommen und beenden diese."

Feeling slightly better, Silva walked out of the room and back to the elevator, taking from his briefcase a clean suit, identical to the one that was now hanging in tatters and covered in blood on Silva's frame. As the lift descended, he changed into it, carefully putting the old one in the briefcase. He stepped out of the elevator, nodded and smiled to the oblivious secretary, and walked outside to his beloved Mustang. He gave it a once over, sniffing for bombs or magical traces. Seeing and smelling none, he got in and drove off, heading toward the Polish border.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

When Alvino thanked her for her healing spell, Lyra simply gave him a small smile, and then looked around. She noticed that there were now four people there, herself included, and couldn't help but feel slightly nervous, since she knew that at least Moonlight and Alvino could see her Sanctuary, which was, well, prone to draw attention. To distract herself from that, she turned to Aiden and began thinking of how to answer his question, feeling somewhat relieved that Alvino and Moonlight were simply talking to each other.

However, she didn't answer him at all, because she then heard what Alvino said to him. From that, she understood that his name was Aiden, but what surprised her the most was the fact that he was part of the District, which meant that he, too, was a Seer. When Alvino addressed her again, stating that she was not part of the District, she simply shook her head. It was true that only thanks to them she had been sent to Hyde Academy, but she was not a part of them or even in training, even despite that. When he thanked her again, she simply nodded, smiling again. Helping others was one thing she always enjoyed.

When Alvino suddenly rushed off and out of the school, followed by Moonlight, Lyra was understandably surprised, and didn't know what to make of that, so she simply turned back to Aiden, to finally answer his question. However, she noticed him staring at her, and wasn't quite aware that it was due to the aura, which was uncomfortable. It made her get flushed again, and she turned around.

"I, umm, what happened is that I found another person in the hallway and then Oni attacked us." She said hastily. "I... I think we should probably follow them..." She said afterwards, and began walking towards where Moonlight and Alvino were.

When she stepped out of the school and into the outside, she felt the sun illuminating her, and looked up at the sky, a bright smile gracing her face as her deep blue eyes observed the clouds. The sky was always a very beautiful thing to look at, at least to her. She sometimes lost the notion of time just by looking up.

But she didn't this time. She instead looked back down, noticing Moonlight and Alvino approaching and addressing yet another boy. She kept her distance from them, though, as it didn't seem particularly safe to approach right now. And, being aware of the ammount of Oni and Seers around, she made the wise decision of turning off her Sanctuary for now.