Echo of Time: Awakening [PG14]~

[Black War Dragon]

ECHO OF TIME
AWAKENING
By: War​

Long ago, in a world stars away, there was an ancient civilization known as the Saints, holy people tasked with protecting the flow of Light. You see, it is from this planet – referred to in legend simply as the Sphere of Creation – from which Light flows into every other world in the universe and even further into time and space, linking together countless dimensions and realities via the Web of Cosmos. This delicate flow remained untainted for countless millennia, thanks to the incredible power of the great Sphere of Creation sages, valiant men who dedicated their entire lives to the upholding of the intricate fabric that balanced the Light and the Darkness.

Naïve were those who honestly believed the golden era would last forever. Abundance spawned greed; greed evolved into despair, suffering and violence. The emerging force brought about cosmic abruptions that like a silent assassin in the dead of night, slowly and meticulously began to spread into the Web of Cosmos. The Darkness, a natural power in the equation of life, was disturbed by the dangerous spread to the point of infuriation. The Darkness was infected by the souls of evil that became. Soon, an unrelentingly devastating force known as the Eternal Darkness came into being, destroying countless worlds across the Web of Cosmos, spreading closer into the center, the Sphere of Creation. The great sages failed to acknowledge the threat in time and paid the brutal consequences.
In the dead of night a legion of evil souls invaded the Sphere of Creation, leaving death in their path, slaughtering innocents without discrimination.

A young maiden carrying an unborn child, awoke to the horrifying sight of a dark specter, second before it could end her life. Then, to her complete shock, the tip of a sword emerged from the monster’s chest. The monster collapsed into the ground, revealing a small boy, greatly resembling the young maiden, who held open the palms of his trembling hands. The young maiden knelt as best she could and dearly held the small boy as her eyes filled with tears. A loud explosion interrupted the heartfelt moment, signaling a mother’s instinct. The young maiden grabbed the little boy from his tiny hands and fled her burning home.

Outside was a bloody invasion. The sages did the best they could to protect the Sphere of Creation and with their combined effort succeeded but at a terrible price, the death of thousands in a single night. The Eternal Darkness was hurled into the darkest and most forbidden depths of the Web of Cosmos, never to be seen again, or so they hoped. In the eve of destruction a prophecy was revealed: A girl born in that fateful night would be blessed with the power of Light to combat the Eternal Darkness’ inevitable return.

The great sages searched for the prophesized new-born after the wake of the assault and from the rubble a young maiden was pulled. The young mother lived only to deliver and name her baby girl, Seya. In her last breath, the dying mother reached for the sky as if it had taken something from her. “My…snnn,” she mumbled before falling into eternal sleep.

Seya was groomed by the holy sages to become The Princess of Light, the goddess whose burden it was to keep the balance they once did. Seya spent the entirety of her young life preparing for the day the Eternal Darkness returned and one day it did. A powerful avatar known as Raseo, bearer of the Eternal Darkness, invaded the Sphere of Creation much more thoroughly than before. He single handedly wasted the sages while his legions massacred the rest of the population – only Seya, Princess of Light, remained a thorn in his path.

Seya confronted Raseo in an even match that lasted an apparent eternity. Through her power, she created holy bindings that managed to suppress Raseo’s evil aura at the cost of their dual imprisonment. So long she maintained pure concentration, Raseo could not move. This lasted eons, bringing about another golden age until Raseo broke free in a moment of weakness. Raseo smashed Seya with an attack of dark energy so devastating it crushed her very essence into various pieces, leaving Seya as an empty vessel, a ghost. Fearing the worst, Seya managed to scatter her essence, key to her godly power, across the Web of Cosmos and managed to flee into a faraway dimension.

Upon her arrival at Earth, Seya searched for fabled young warriors destined to become the Guardians of Light, chosen by the Light to help Seya on her quest to restore her essence and bring balance to the universe. She found six kids and together they endured many hardships that forced them across dimensions and then endured the destruction of Earth and later Seya’s very demise at the hands of one of Raseo’s personal warriors.

During the battle of the Bridge, an unknown force rearranged reality and erased the memories of Seya. It has been three years since the Earth should have been destroyed. The Guardians of Light had but memory fragments of their journey across the skies.

Without Seya and her legendary Guardians, Raseo acted unchecked conquering many worlds across the Web of Cosmos, bringing despair to the hearts of many civilizations. Not a single obstacle in Raseo's path yet Earth remained untouched. In fact, Earth had seen the induction of two more young warriors into the Guardians of Light. Three years, a world restored and a forgotten Goddess ... Nothing was as it seemed, how could it?
~


Hunter
Apartment Complex
7:00 PM

A dozen floors between him and the ground, with a sorrowful yet thoughtful expression, Hunter sat on the ledge of an apartment complex rooftop overlooking the entire downtown district of the well-lit New Arc City. For the past few moths, this old beat-up building was home or something fairly close to it. It didn't matter. After coming back from deployment, Hunter wandered the streets in search of answers to the fragmented questions that haunted his mind. It was almost as if his memories were locked and the key thrown to be forever lost in the depths of the ocean. He desperately searched for those memories like a diver in search of treasure. Lately, he found himself lost in thought trying to make sense of the hollow in his mind. Three years ago ... Something happened ... But what?

"Do you plan to sulk the entire evening ... young man?" A short, old gentleman wearing glasses - as he could barely see - approached Hunter, slowly dragging his feet across the rough rooftop. Hunter turned his head to the side, acknowledging his elder's presence. "I do not sulk old man," he responded.

The old man had offered Hunter a place to live after the latter saved him from a very suspicious assault one night. The old man suffered from the wear of age and his memory did not do him well but he'd always remember that night like if it were yesterday. It was late at night, he had just closed his diner and was well on his way home when a group of thugs verbally assaulted him and would have killed him if it were not for the young man with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie that watched from across the dark, deserted street. The boy's expression as he lifted his hood was remarkably cold. From the shadows that graced the wall he leaned against, the young man pulled out an unusually large case that matched almost his own height and within seconds he was using it to, one by one, defeat the old man's attackers. Shaking, the old man adjusted his glasses to better see the dark angel that stood before him. The boy introduced himself as Hunter and the rest is just history.

The old man never and to this day hasn't questioned Hunter on the contents of the case he now keeps safely stored next to his bed. He trusts him and even employed him at his diner, where Hunter washes dishes and takes out the trash. He doesn't mind.

"Boy, within months you've mastered all that has taken me a lifetime to learn in the Way, why do you insist on limiting yourself to my humble home?"

Hunter paused, he wasn't sure how to answer. He couldn't answer because he didn't know himself what it was he searched for but he was content here. "I had a friend once, I can't remember his name or his face but I know him ... Do you know what it's like to live with fragments of memories you will never complete?"

"Age has not been kind to me. I, too, have lost memories precious to me. I will never remember because I can't. Hunter, you hold great power. I've witnessed your might. You aren't human Hunter, I know that much. You and only you will find the answers you so desperately search for but you lack initiative."

"Old man, I grow tired of you riddles ... What exactly are you getting at?"

"The Lantern Festival, Hunter. I hear Ayes will be there."

"Ayes? The mayor's daughter?"

"Yes, Hunter."

"You're delirious, old man."

The old man stood next to Hunter with his hands behind his back. It was several minutes before he turned and headed back toward the stair way. He chuckled as he exited the rooftop and said, "That may be, kid. That may be."

Ayes, hu? The old man knows something that he's not telling me. I've a feeling I'll need my case.

Hunter retrieved his case from inside the apartment and headed back to the rooftop. Holding tightly to the case handle, he stood on the ledge and looked down before leaping into the streets.

"Hunter!"

Hunter turned to the apartment complex lobby entrance. It was the old man. "You forgot something," he said, "your jacket, boy, you'll catch a cold in that muscle shirt."

Hunter simply shook his head in disbelief. "I'll put on the damned jacket because I want to not because I'll catch a cold."

"Suit yourself. Boy, try and smile once in a while. You never know who you will meet, like that red head who comes by the diner once in a while ..."

"Red head? The hell are you talking about old man? I don't have time for this."
~

((OOC: Further instructions on the DT.))

 

[DVB]

Diego Vendrix- Keeper of the Monkey Staff of Wisdom
University Dorms, Zuri
7:00 PM

Diego had yawned as he stared at the sky through his dorm room window. Been a long week at the univeristy, so it was now time to relax and enjoy the festival. The week had not been difficult, but it had been strange. He had meeting folk who had been giving the strangest sense of deja-vu. Well, more like catching glimpses of some. The red-haired woman was one... there was also that arrogant guy and a few others... Even his friend Zuri had been bringing feelings of deja-vu... alongside the usual feelings beyond friendship...

He blushed slightly.

He had look on the wall calendar. He looked at the day marked. It was almost a few years since that day.

One day he woke up from what seemed to be a long sleep and realized DX was no longer there but a more determined drive. There was also a somewhat large memory gap. What spooked was what appeared on his bed on that day.

This golden and ornate monkey staff.

He had no idea where it came from, but he felt it was connected to the incident. He had since then been practicing using it as a weapon and was good at it. He had lost the weight he had those years ago and was more atheltic.

"Something is going to happen probably," Diego said as he looked at the staff before taking it with him. He always took it with him where he went. He exited his apartment and began heading out to the Lantern Festival.

 

[Alliance]

Kessandra Andrews
Twin White Lion Gauntlets
Apartment, Zuri
7:00 PM

Kessandra chewed on the end of her pencil thoughtfully. The time was ticking away, counting down to the Lantern Festival. The colored lanterns were beautiful against a dark sky, and it was thus the image she was going to capture given the opportunity.

She looked at the sketch. Small boxes dotted around her empty landscape, with the tall towers of New Arc stretching towards the top of the page. She’d always loved the visual. And now she reckoned she could have the skill to capture it accurately.

She didn’t know what had triggered her new love for the arts, particularly drawing and painting. Maybe it was so she could uphold the proud tradition of the district of Zuri, with its fine arts. Maybe it was to make her parents proud after Sarah left.

Maybe it was to fill the gap that had puzzled her all these years.

Three years ago – nearly exactly, in fact – she’d woken up and felt like she’d forgotten something. Forgotten something big. And then, ever after, she’d see people walking down the street or around the school and think ‘I know that person!’

It’d been on her mind a lot lately, so she did more and more drawings.

The strange gauntlets didn’t help. They’d appeared that morning three years ago, and had puzzled her ever since. They were essentially gloves, but with mechanical support and, most puzzling of all, a silver lion on the back of each. She’d read more books than she was willing to admit trying to find where they’d come from. Not a single thing remotely like them in any book she’d ever read.

She looked at the clock. It was time for her to depart for the festival.

With a smile, she grabbed her little satchel and her little sketch pad. Taking her pencil out of her mouth, she put it in her bag as well. She wouldn’t need much. She’d be lighting lanterns anyway.

Leaving her room, she headed for the door. “Going out, Mom!” she called, getting out her keys from her bag. There was a muffled call from down the hall, and Kess fumbled with her keys.

This lock is the most annoying thing ever!

 

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
Valiant Hawk Scythe
McNamara Residence, Chevalier
7:00 PM

Carly sighed as she continued sketching. Business wear was not her forte, and the fact that the particular style was so restrained and conservative bored her even more. All the minimal details, the stiff, serious-looking fabrics...it was so boring to design business attire. Carly preferred fields where she could go crazy with her taste and preferences, without being criticized negatively. Unfortunately however, that was how it was...some of her teachers, Stella Gold... Even though she had been accepted into the prestigious design university, not everyone had accepted her.

Why do business clothes even exist anyway? They should be abolished...

On Carly's paper was a sketch of an outfit, consisting of a black long-sleeved button-down shirt tucked into a high-waisted black pencil skirt that went down to mid-thigh length. She tried to follow the usual image of business attire, but she couldn't help it. Knee-length was boring and crisp, white blouses were too...librarian. She wanted the outfit to be her own and not something designed out of what she thought were pointless guidelines. Still, despite its color scheme...it looked like something was...missing. Like the outfit wasn't complete.

She leaned back on her soft chair as she closed her eyes, recalling the dreams she recently had. The green-eyed boy with the long brown mohawk, he had appeared again, and this wasn't the first time he did. For several nights, she had been experiencing strange dreams, seeing different people...different things...for three years already. Ever since that day she woke up, she felt like she forgot something important...and what appeared on her plush carpet didn't make matters any better. A scythe, taller than her height of six feet, one inch, made of what seemed to be a gleaming bronze metal and at first glance, what looked like pale green glass, except that it...wasn't. Where the handle met the curved blade, it shifted from being straight to being shaped like...a hawk, with its wing essentially being the scythe's blade.

Carly opened her eyes and looked at the scythe again, which leaned on the wall next to her drawing table. Paddy had thought that it was just something she fancied and bought at a merchandise store, to which she outwardly agreed. It made things less complicated and she didn't have to drag Paddy into the mess that was her mind, as if she were torn apart and sewn and put back together...

That's it!

Carly smiled as the thought popped into her head. Picking up her pencil, she erased some of the black shading on the upper parts of the blouse's sleeves. She then sketched gaps, followed by string details that held the two parts of the sleeves together, showing gaps of skin. Drawing a line across the skirt's hip area, she worked in a lace-up corset design in the middle of the strip covering the waist to the hips. On her sketch's legs, she added fishnet stockings and completed the outfit by fixing up the boring pumps with crossed straps and small silver studs on the straps. She added a few silver studs on the edge of the shirt's collar, as well as the cuffs. After she was finished, she held up her finished design, grinning. She liked it a lot more now. So what if everyone hated it? Haters gonna hate, she thought. At least it was her own work.

Her phone rang, and she quickly picked it up. It was Patrick, her older brother whom she affectionately referred to as Paddy.

"Hey, Carly...are you still stressing out on that sketch of yours?" Her older brother by ten years asked. Paddy, though he was only thirty-one, now owned the family business and was now often away, being very busy, but he always called Carly to check on her.

"I'm actually done, Paddy. Stupid business attire won't give me a break, but yeah, I think I pulled it off." Carly replied, leaning back as she smiled.

"Then go have some fun, little sis. There's that Lantern Festival tonight, right?" Paddy asked.

"Yeah, in about..." Carly started, before looking at the clock in her room. 7:20.

"Uh...forty minutes." She finished, to which Paddy chuckled.

"Then I better hang up now...you wouldn't want to be late!" He laughed.

"Damn, you know I drive pretty fast now! I don't drive like any other girl!" Carly countered, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I don't want you killing yourself, Carly. Remember what I taught you? Drive safely, OK? Love you." Paddy replied, unfazed. Carly sighed. Her brother was right, he really did care for her after all.

"Fine...alright. Love you too, Paddy." She said, before hanging up. Taking her finished design, she tucked it into her leather folder, along with the rest of her designs. She then got up and stretched, before going to one of her windows and opening it, feeling the cold late November breeze blow past her as she undid the ponytail she wore while sketching and let her thick crimson waves loose, letting them fly in the wind for a while, before closing the windows again, heading for her bed and picking up her black leather jacket, which was spread across the black silk sheets of her bed, and put it on. She then returned to her drawing table, put away her folder, pencils and papers and put on her usual black fingerless gloves, which she had taken off before working on her designs. She then took her black, silver-studded bag and opened it, dropping her phone inside and taking out a black newsboy hat, which she put on. Before she headed for the door, however, she took one last look at the scythe, before going back and taking it.

Once she left her room, she headed down the stairs to the ground floor, before heading for the door.

"Miss Carly? Heading for the Lantern Festival?" She heard the family housekeeper, Maureen, ask, to which she looked back and nodded.

"Yeah...Lantern festival. Can you have the gates opened?" She replied, still holding the scythe, to which Maureen gave a suspicious look.

"Maureen, relax. It's just a good-luck prop, I promise." She tried to reassure. Maureen shook her head and sighed.

"Alright, fine. I'll buzz Alex." She relented, before opening the double doors and allowing Carly to leave. Once the twenty-one-year-old was out, she headed across the courtyard to where her red convertible was parked. Unlocking it and hopping in, she looked behind her and saw that the electric gates were opening. She then started up her car, ready to head to the Festival.

 

[GoldenHouou]

OOC: Yeah, I know I said I probably wouldn't be able to get this in today but what do you know, I did. A bit rushed but 'ey, it's still a post!

---

Michel Lefèbvre
Wielder of the Stallion Boots of Gaia
University Classroom
Around 4:00 PM

Michel was half lying on his table, head resting against his arms and eyes firmly closed, completely lost in a dream. Every now and then he would grin and mumble something close to incoherent, sometimes even chuckle, before shifting his head and falling silent… for about half a minute before the mumbling’d start again. The girl sitting in the row next to Michel’s was blushing deep red, the pencil she was holding shaking in her hand and making any lines she tried to draw with it unnecessarily curly. The reason? She alone was close enough to Michel to hear the things he mumbled about. She was the only one realizing just what kind of dreams the teen was having.

Well, at least until their teacher, a very strict looking woman with impeccable posture had finally had enough. She adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat, walking up to Michel with a ruler in hand. Everyone’s gazes were following her, some with anticipation, some with horror, some with cruel amusement. Michel was probably the only one unaware of the terror that loomed over his sleeping form.

“Young mister,” she began with her voice raised, hoping he’d wake up and get the hint. He didn’t, though it did appear he heard her words, at least.

“Mmmh, no need to be so formal with me, girl,” Michel mumbled in reply, a devious smirk in place. “Unless you fancy a little roleplay, ‘cause that totally flies with me~“

The girl next to Michel tore her gaze somewhere else to hide her ever-reddening cheeks. The teacher glared.

“We’re in the middle of a class,” she breathed, clearly trying to hide her irritation. Michel just chuckled.

“Mh, ‘s alright, we can do it under the tabl-OWW!”

Michel sat up with a jolt, holding his head and praying to God the area of impact wouldn’t swell. He had an important festival to attend to later tonight, after all. He rubbed his head and checked his fingers for blood – oh God, imagine if he actually bled, that’d mess up his hair so bad – before snapping back to the present. The other students were looking at him funny. One cute girl was giggling and- Wait, other students? Where was the girl, who-

Ohh.

“Aww, damn,” Michel instantly blurted out when the cruel truth struck him. He was pouting now, looking up at their teacher with a sort of an accusatory look. “You couldn’t have waited just a little more before doing that? Like, ten minutes or so? Things were just getting hot. I was just about to-”

The teacher was not amused. Rather, she was boiling over.

“We do not care, mister Lefèbvre. We’re here to study, and... fantasizing about the teacher is highly-“

Michel almost choked on the very air he breathed.

“Wait, wait, woah, what, wait! Hold on, time out!” He gasped, hands raised in front of him and eyes wide. “I didn’t fantasize about- God, no offense, but you don’t kinda fit the bill of what I’m looking for. See, that mole on your cheek? Looking kinda bad and honey, red’s so definitely not your color. That and yeaahh, I kinda don’t date anyone over forty. It’s sort of my motto.”

“I peg your pardon!” The teacher gasped, looking almost if she could just burst in flames any minute now. “I’m twenty six!”

Aaaand I’m dead.

~

Michel sighed as he was finally released from the classroom. He stepped outside absolutely exhausted and swung his shoulder bag in place, cleaning out his right ear. God she had raged. It had been ridiculous, wasn’t like he was really banging anyone in the middle of a class, and how was he supposed to know her real age? Wasn’t his fault she aged badly. Ugh, old people. Impossible.

Shaking his head, Michel pulled his sunglasses from his shirt’s collar and tucked them on. Yes, he was wearing a shirt today. He always did in school, apparently it was mandatory. He had learned that the hard way.

Michel checked the hallway’s clock, concluding that everyone else in his class had left about half an hour ago by now. Actually, scratch that, most people of every class had probably left by now. How’d he ask anyone out to the Lantern Festival now? Those two hot chicks from one class above were probably gone by now as well. Carly and… Stella, right? Yeah. He knew he should’ve asked for their phone numbers when he had had the chance, though something told him the latter wouldn’t give out hers. Eh.

The teen had just exited the school building when a familiar person caught his eyes. A girl with short, black hair was walking away from the school, all her attention stolen by a book she was holding. The girl was in the same year as Michel, though the two only shared a few classes. Michel grinned. Perfect.

“Yo, Claireee!” Michel cheered as he ran up to her and nonchalantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Whatcha reading?”

“A book,” the girl sighed, closing it and turning to her friend with a raised eyebrow. “Why, do you care?”

“Not really,” Michel shrugged, letting go of the girl in favor of walking next to her.

“Thought so,” Claire sighed as she put the book away, before turning to Michel with a smile. “So, what’s up?”

“Well, you know the Lantern Festival’s today, right? So turns out I kind of haven’t got a date yet, sooo-“

“-so you want to take me there?” Claire finished, tilting her head as the two continued their walk through the schoolyard.

Michel chuckled and scratched the bag of his head a bit sheepishly.

“Yeaaah, about that… I kinda need you to take me there. My car’s being painted and uh, I don’t dare touch our family car. My sister’s always using it. Always.”

“Aaah, what’s this I’m hearing?” Came a voice from behind. As the two turned, Michel spotted another one of his friends. A guy some centimeters taller than him with blond hair and a rather… unique style. Michel wasn’t really sure how he got in the school in the first place. Neon green just wasn’t a color people should be allowed to wear, period.

“You really gonna have a girl drive you?” The guy grinned as he caught up to the two.

“Don’t really have a choice, Mike,” Michel shrugged. “I’ll make it up for her though, no worries."

“No, I mean,” Mike leaned in closer as if to whisper, though he still talked so loud anyone passing by could hear. “Are you really going to let a girl behind the wheel?”

Michel nodded, brows raised.

“Good point.”

“Hey!” Claire chimed in, feigning anger. “I’ll have you know I’m an excellent driver."

Michel grinned. “Prove it.”

“Eight PM, my place?”

“I’ll be there.”


Claire's place
Around 8:00 PM

“I do have an amazing explanation for these, you know,” was the first thing Michel said as he met up with Claire as agreed. He was pointing down towards his shoes which, for all intents and purposes, were not ones any sane person would wear publicly. They were huge, heavy, and made up of extremely tough minerals in addition to the more normal leather. On their side was an engraving of a stallion standing up on its hind legs, its front hooves high and ready to crush skulls.

Fine shoes, but not ones you’d want to show up on a date in.

“See,” Michel began as they walked towards the car “On my way back home I stepped on a puddle, and when I got back home what do you know; my sister had taken my shoes. I mean it’s normal for her to borrow my stuff without asking, but this time, I dunno what she’s gonna do with all forty pairs but man, there was nothing left.”

“Except those?” Claire questioned, nodding towards the footwear in question.

“’Cept these, yeah.”

“I don’t believe you,” she informed matter-of-factly as she started the car.

Michel sighed and sat next to her. “But it’s the truth. I swear, it’s like fate wanted me to wear these or something.” He insisted, before letting out a laugh. “I mean, come on. You know me. You think I’d like to look like some freak who forgot to drop their larp gear at home?”

She gave him a puzzled look, before she nodded and turned to look at the road. “I… guess that makes sense. I thought you didn’t believe in fate or destiny though?”

He didn’t, not usually. But something in these boots had been bothering him ever since they had appeared on his bedside three years ago. He knew he hadn’t bought them, and nobody in his family would’ve taken a second look at stuff like them, so it definitely wasn’t any secret present or anything either. He had, for a short while, even considered throwing them away, but every time he had tried he had felt… bad. Wrong, somehow. He had felt like he’d be throwing away a part of himself, if that made any sense. It was stupid, really, he hardly cared for other people and yet he was getting all emotional over a pair of shoes that weren’t even all that fancy? Inconceivable.

“I don’t,” Michel finally confirmed, deciding to push aside all psychological mumbo-jumbo for tonight. He was leaving on a date now, he’d better get his mind in gear. “Doesn’t mean it can’t happen. I don’t believe in going two days without a shower and lo, people still do it. Actually, between me and you, I think Mike went without one for five days once. Sure smelled like it.”

“Your comparisons don’t make any sense.”

Michel grinned, fixing his glasses. “That’s okay, I’m hot.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “And modest.”

“Especially that.”

As Michel quieted down for the ride, he couldn't help but feel strange. He had been trying to escape a certain feeling for three years now, and while he usually managed to push it away, there were times when he wasn't able to. This was one of those times. No matter what he might tell himself, no matter how much he might smile and grin and joke around, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had forgotten something important. It wasn't any chick's birthday, and it wasn't any sale he had to go partake in. It was something bigger, and it made him feel guilty. He hated it.

Hopefully, watching the lanterns with a pretty girl would ease his mind.

 

[Monster Guy]

Stella Gold
Golden Ox Shield
Gold Mansion; Chevalier
7:00 PM

Stella smiled proudly as she finished sketching. She put her pencil down, and admired her creation. In general, business wear is regarded as boring to design by most of the other students, and for the most part, they're right. Most of the style consisted of suits that were restrained and conservative, limiting what you could do with the outfit. However, Stella was not most students. She knew there was a way to make business attire creative, while still looking professional, and without shocking the workplace. That was what the professor was looking for, after all.

Stella laughed at how quickly she was able to get this sketch done. "It's perfect!"

On the paper, was a sketch of an outfit. Which, for the most part, evoked the image of a traditional business suit. A blouse tucked into a high-waisted black knee pencil skirt that went slightly past the knees, and a blazer that was the same color and material as the skirt. What made it different was that the blouse was not button down, not long sleeved, instead having short frilly sleeves, and most importantly, it was pink. Additionally, the buttons on the blazer were shaped like gold flowers. The high-heeled shoes were the same color as the blouse. It was also accessorized by a simple pearl necklace. "I would totally wear that if I were in business."

Stella looked at the time. It was only 7:00 PM. There was still time to kill, and getting this sketch done called for a celebration. She also remembered that tonight was the night of the Lantern Festival. Now, she really didn't care about that. Watching a bunch of people launch lamps into the air was not her idea of fun in the slightest. However, the stores in the area were likely having sales to commerate the occasion. This would be a good excuse to go shopping. Even though, anything was a good excuse to go shopping, really.

There was also something else that got her attention. A large golden shield, with an outline of an Ox painted in the center, hung from her pink bedroom walls. Stella had no idea what it was, or how she came upon it, but she decided to hang on to it. Figuring it was likely an antique, and therefore valuable, she could probably sell it somewhere. (Not that she needs the money.) Maybe tonight she'd find someone who would buy it.

Her mind made up, she ripped the completed design out of the pad, and put it into her pink folder, along with the rest of her designs. Then, she put her pencils, sketchpad, and folder away. Then she grabbed a pink hand bag, and grabbed her essential items; her pink 3DS with some games, a compact mirror with a small make up kit, a hairbrush, and a pink wallet with all her credit cards and cash, and put them in the bag. She then grabbed her iPhone, and made a call.

"James, I'm going out. Please get the car ready."

"As you wish Miss Gold." Said the voice of a man on the other end of the line.

Then Stella put the phone into her bag, and zipped it up. Lastly, she grabbed the golden shield hanging from the wall. Despite it's size, and her lack of physical strength, the thing was surprisingly easy for her to carry. With the shield on her arm, she took off to the garage where her limo would be waiting. Her stiletto heels made a clacking sound on the marble floor as she walked, which echoed through the large empty mansion.

 

[Black War Dragon]

Hunter
Wielder of the Red Lightning
New Arc City Plaza - The Lantern Festival

People of all ages congregated on the streets, readying to partake in the city's trademark Lantern Festival. Every year, thousands of people gathered in the central plaza, a beautiful maze-like walkway made of stone, adorned with cherry blossoms and clear blue ponds.

Hunter walked steadily along the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets and "equipment" case strapped to his back. He made his way down the busy streets completely oblivious to the dozens of window-shoppers he passed by. As he made his way toward the central plaza, Hunter lowered his guard if ever so slightly and how could he not? The simple harmonious sight of it all would do the same even to the coldest of souls. Hunter walked alongside a pond. He stopped himself and turned to the clear blue water to see his reflection. A little boy threw a pebble into the pond before speeding past Hunter. The 20 year old wasn't bothered by the little boy's mischief but he wasn't pleased either. He understood that kids were just that, kids.

Among the crowds, Hunter noticed men wearing suits and heavy black attire in the area, never together but dispersed enough to seem suspicious. Red flags went up in Hunter's mind. What could these thugs possibly want at a time like this? Hunter was about to find out. He targeted one of the guys in the suits; he'd follow him and see what information he could get. Hunter casually walked by the suspicious gentleman until he was discreetly close enough to follow his steps. The man paced around before making his way out of the plaza, Hunter following closely behind. The man entered an old building and went straight for the stairway. Hunter went in after the man keeping a safe distance between them as to not cause alarm. Hunter raised his leg and placed his foot on the first step. He looked up at the spiraling staircase. He couldn't see the man anymore. Impossible! He was just here.

Hunter turned but saw no one else in the building. He looked back up and cautiously made his way up the stairs almost step by step, ensuring his "prey" wouldn't see or hear him approaching. Hunter made his way past the first several floors before finally arriving at the end of the stair way. A red door stood between him and the man of interest. Hunter reached for the knob and slowly began to turn when suddenly he heard steps coming from the lower levels.

Dammit!

The steps were eerily light but loud enough for Hunter to pick up on them. It was a trap. It had to be. Hunter quickly jumped over the hand rail and held onto metal bars that ran underneath the stairs. As the steps became clearer, Hunter readied to surprise his stalker. Hunter could feel the vibration of the steps through the metal bars. As the person reached to where Hunter hid, they stopped. The person was directly above Hunter. Controlled breathing. Nerves of steel. Hunter quickly flipped over the hand rail and sprung on his pursuer, covering their lips with one hand and threatening to attack with the other. It was a second before Hunter realized he was on top of a girl. He quickly lowered his fist and rapidly questioned her.

"Why were you following me?" Hunter asked.

The girl, whom seemed to be in her early twenties, didn't seem particularly phased at the fact that a stranger lay on top of her, literally assaulting her.

"You messed up my pigtails," she said, "and I wasn't following you so can you please get off?"

Hunter hesitantly got up and offered the deep-blue eyed stranger his hand.

"Gee, thanks. You really know how to impress a lady..." the busty girl said as she got up and wiped her black miniskirt.

"Don't flatter yourself, I wasn't."

"Right, and cats talk."

Placing her hand on Hunter and gently pushing him aside, she reached out to the door knob and opened the red door before turning to Hunter, "Mildred," she said with a big grin on her face as she walked out to the rooftop.

Hunter didn't know what had just happened but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to stay. His cover was blown. He headed back to the plaza where he'd await for Ayes to make her appearance on the center stage.
...

Once more, Hunter aimlessly mingled among the crowds. He was suspicious about the thugs who seemed to be preoccupied with something. He noticed how they communicated on their bluetooth headsets and then desperately looked all over the place as if they searched for something or someone. They couldn't be planning anything disastrous, it would be too obvious. The fact that people weren't too bothered by their presence meant they had to be some kind of authority...
Body guards? Perhaps. After all, Ayes would be here tonight. But then what about the thug he followed earlier, and then Mildred? He felt threatened by her presence.

Hunter shook his head, too many thoughts, too much speculation. Nothing felt right. He needed to make sense of his life and what happened back then, during the time his memory fades. Not quite sure how, Ayes was his answer. It would be another while before the mayor's daughter made her anticipated appearance, Hunter decided to ease as much as he possibly could. Besides, like his old master said, no telling who he'd meet tonight...
~

 

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
New Arc City Plaza - The Lantern Festival
7:40 PM

Carly looked at her phone's clock as she parked her convertible just outside the plaza. 7:40, enough time to look around and perhaps grab a drink or two. Taking her car keys and dropping them into her bag, she opened her car's door and stepped out. Several people had already arrived around the plaza, though not everyone seemed to be heading there yet. Pushing her bag up her shoulder, she stepped onto the sidewalk, heading for the nearest pub.

------
7:55 PM

Carly was scowling as she returned to her car, a number of shopping bags in tow. Much to her chagrin and bad luck, all the pubs weren't selling beer or even any alcoholic drinks for the night, just a few mocktails at best. She did find some good stuff at a few stores however, including a pair of black knee-high, lace-up boots decorated with gunmetal-colored studs, a black velvet mini with black lace trimming its hem, a new cropped black leather jacket with studs forming a shape of a skull on its back, a dark metal skull ring with emerald eyes and a few sets of the latest black eyeshadow, among others. Opening her trunk, she placed all of her new purchases inside, and then closed it again. She took her lighter and a cigarette from her bag as she headed for the plaza.

The crowds grew thicker as Carly entered the plaza. Puffing her last breath of peppermint-laced smoke into the cold air as she walked, she noticed some men wearing seemingly identical black outfits here and there. She dropped her cigarette and crushed it with her boot as a few children ran past her, laughing. Looking at where she saw one of the black-clad men, she realized that he was no longer there. Weird. She thought. This was the first time she noticed such...similar people anywhere, like they dressed almost exactly alike but were not exactly together.

Shaking off what she thought she saw, she continued walking among the crowd, noticing a few more of the similarly-attired black-clad men around and later on coming to the conclusion that perhaps they were just security personnel after all, or maybe a bunch of people who went through a stroke of bad luck and dressed almost alike. However, one head caught her eye in the crowd. A long, brown mohawk, like the boy in her dreams.

Being six feet and one inch tall, Carly easily spotted him and instinctively headed towards him. The boy stood close to the stage, and Carly had to walk through a thicker crowd to reach him. Once she got next to him, she placed a hand on the guy's shoulder and took a look at him.

Wait a minute...

"Hunter?" She exclaimed. The guy she pulled over was the guy whom she often saw in a diner she often went to when downtown, before she headed for beer. His long brown mohawk, his green eyes...Carly always thought that Hunter looked familiar, like someone she saw in the past, but she couldn't point a finger at it exactly, nor could she really remember. She only remembered the same features on the boy in her dreams, one of a handful of people...but why?

 

[Monster Guy]

Stella Gold
Golden Ox Shield
New Arc City Plaza - Lantern Festival
7:45 PM

Stella checked her iPhone's clock as James, her driver, parked the limousine outside the Plaza. 7:45, plenty of time to do some shopping. She opened the cars door, and stepped out, as did James, because someone had to carry her bags. There was no way she was going ruin her image to exert herself lugging all those bags around. James, although older than Stella, was still an attractive young man in his twenties. He was one of the few employees that Stella liked. All the others were old and boring. Plus, she could easily take advantage of James.

The Plaza was starting to fill up with people. Pulling her purse over her shoulder, she stepped on to the sidewalk, and headed for the nearest boutique. James followed behind her.

---

7:56 PM

Stella was on her way back to her limo looking quite amused, and sporting a pair of rose tinted sunglasses that she thought were absolutely adorable. So what if it was almost 8:00 at night, they still looked good, right? She had found some other things during this shopping excursion. Some new dresses, a diamond necklace, and she went to the local Gamestop to pick up a copy of Kirby's 20th Anniversary collection, Persona 4: The Golden, and Persona 4 Arena, among other things. From the moment she entered that video game store, all the nerds inside had been staring at her as if they'd never seen a girl in their life. Stella couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

James was following some distance behind her, was carrying all of her shopping bags, and that golden shield she'd been trying to sell. Stella was slightly disappointed that she'd been unable to find anyone who would buy it, but it didn't matter, she'd just try again the next day.

Stella looked behind her, and saw how far behind James was. "Can you please move a little faster James?"

James was far behind, panting, sweating, and looking exhausted, while carrying all of Stella's things. "I'm trying Miss Gold, but all your purchases, especially this shield of yours, is really weighing me down..."

"Oh for gods sake James, you're a strong man. If I can carry it, you can too. Now can you hurry up?! I'd like to get home before all the drunkards come out."

And speaking of drunkards. Through the corner of her eye, she saw someone she really didn't want to see. Caroline McNamara, looking as tasteless as ever. What is she doing here?! This is supposed to be the upper class part of town! Stella also saw her approach an equally tasteless looking boy with a brown mohawk.

Stella walked over to them, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked. "Excuse me, you look a little lost." Stella said when she finally got there. She lowered her sunglasses slightly, and sneered at the boy with the mohawk. "The homeless shelter is that way." She pointed in a random direction, then looked at the redheaded girl. "So Caroline, I see you've taken in a client. He suits you perfectly. Tell me, how's the project coming along? Ooh, let me guess, you've included fishnet stockings and a corset design with a business suit?" Stella placed her hand over her mouth, and laughed at the thought of it. "Oh ho ho ho ho! How hilariously tacky."

 

[Black War Dragon]

Hunter
Wielder of the Red Lightning
New Arc City Plaza - The Lantern Festival

"Hunter?"

"Hm...? What's this...?"

Awestruck and confused as to how she knew his name, Hunter hesitantly raised his own hand and placed it on top of Carly's.

"How ... How do you know my name?"

He could of sworn he'd seen her before, met her even. Wait ... The red-head from the diner... But, that didn't explain how she knew his name or why her touch felt so right ... Familiar. He looked deep into her eyes trying to make sense of her thoughts and his own.

Just then, a "classy" girl in her very early twenties approached them. Hunter quickly withdrew his hand as the blonde, without hesitation, began throwing insults like charity. "The homeless shelter is that way," she said.

Hunter could careless what she said. He knew people like her, going through life without making the slightest effort, always things handed to them like overgrown babies. They disgusted him. He couldn't even bother answer the rich-girl's taunting. Hunter turned back his attention to the girl in front of him. "Friend of yours? ... She looks lost."

Aw, what the hell? He'd bite. Besides, it might do the little punk-girl good to have someone talk back to her. "Homeless shelter? Thanks, now If I may return the favor," said Hunter as he, himself, pointed a random direction, "the Drag Show is somewhere that way. With that get-up I'm sure the competition won't stand."

"Ho ho ho? What the hell are you? Some kind of mall Santa Clause reject?"

~

 

[Kiruria]

OOC: What better way to celebrate the Fall Equinox than to post in this RPG? Anyway, DVB, I hope you don't mind me bunnying Diego for a tiny bit.
IC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zuri Watkinson
Wielder of the Blue Flame Tiger Bow
University Dorms, ~7PM

Zuri gazed out over the horizon, where the last speck of sun had disappeared just a while ago. Around her, the room was becoming progressively darker, but still she refused to turn the lights on, liking the almost magical nature late-afternoon light always brought with it. At this time, she was glad to be alone in her room, that her roommate, Cassie, had gone out partying as usual. But after a while, she got tired of looking out the window, and instead began to slowly scan the room. Immediately her eyes fell upon her dresser, where there stood two pictures: one of her parents, who had passed away when she was three years old, and another of her grandmother, who had passed away just two years ago, just before she graduated from high school. She was an orphan now, without any living family left. What was she to do with her life after this?

The only time when Zuri had the slightest bit of hope was when she held a bow that mysteriously appeared to her three years ago, following some sort of dream in which a blue flame somehow was important. Why a bow? She was never any good with archery. She had kept this bow from then on, not to use it, but because it might have been a clue, something her parents might have bestowed upon her. Currently, that bow was hidden away behind some clothes in her closet, because she knew Cassie would be unable to stop talking about it if she ever saw it.

Besides those usual thoughts, tonight was a free night for Zuri. She didn't have any homework due tomorrow, and she never felt like attending the school parties Cassie always wanted to invite her to. But then she remembered something: the yearly lantern festival in downtown was tonight. She occasionally liked to attend this festival, for she would always allude it to helping the spirits of the departed find guidance in the afterlife. Especially now that her grandmother had joined the ranks of the dead, Zuri thought that tonight she might send a prayer to her, that she might advise her to be more open-minded with respect to spirituality in the next life.

Guessing that it might be cold outside later that night, Zuri withdrew an old-fashioned gray shawl from her closet, catching a brief glimpse of the top of her bow as she did so. It had been hand-woven by her grandmother several years ago, and had been one of her favourites to wear late in her life. But now it was Zuri's. After slinging her bag over her shoulder, she tied the lacy off-white ends of the shawl together on top of it, lifted her hair out from within it, and... After a moment of pondering, she grabbed the bow in her closet, along with the quiver of arrows that appeared with it, hiding both of them under her shawl (though the bow was still visible at the bottom). After one last look around, she exited the room and the university altogether.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Festival

Zuri didn't really care about meeting the mayor's daughter or taking a look inside the city hall or all that other boring government-related stuff. Instead, she walked around, getting a lay of the land, exploring which vendors were available. Gazing around with her usual distant demeanour and walking in smooth, gliding movements, she drew many surprised glances as she wandered around. One little boy pointed at her and shouted about there being a ghost at the festival.

The first vendor she stopped at was one of the food vendors, for she had not yet had supper. The other good thing about it was that very few people mistook her for a ghost while she was eating. The stereotypical ghost certainly didn't walk around with a plate of potstickers and a cup of hot chocolate. The only association between ghosts and food Zuri knew of was the Dumb Supper, a Halloween-time tradition during which families would prepare the favourite dish of a departed loved one, and leave it by their grave or an altar representing the person. And it was nowhere near Halloween now.

During the next few minutes, Zuri was sitting on a bench in a relatively dark part of the festival square, underneath one of the cherry trees, eating her potstickers and sipping at her hot chocolate. While doing so, though, she spotted a familiar person in the crowd. It was Diego, one of the very few people she considered anything close to a friend in college, carrying around his staff as usual. In college, she had passed by him several times in the hallway, met up with him a few times in the library, and even had several conversations with him. She had already known him from high school anyway. Anyway, by that time Diego had spotted her and went over to sit next to her.

"Hey Zuri," he greeted. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Zuri replied after swallowing a bite of potsticker. "Just grabbing a bite to eat before all the lanterns go up... Those lanterns always make think of beacons for the dead on their path through the afterlife. Of course, from afar they look like stars rising into the sky. Nowadays I alternate between actually attending the festival, and just watching them from afar as they twinkle in the night. Which reminds me, a while ago I was re-reading the story of Rapunzel--there was a scene in which the king and his people sent lanterns just like this into the air, all to guide the missing princess back home."

Zuri paused to eat her last potsticker and toss the plate in a nearby trash can.

"I eventually want to be alone to send a prayer to my late grandmother when the lanterns come out, but I'd like to walk around for a while."

And with that she stood up, beckoning Diego to come along if he wanted to. As she did so, her bow nearly dropped from her shoulder, but she caught it just before it could hit the ground. Unlike Diego and his staff, Zuri practically never carried this bow around. Several times she thought about joining the archery club in college, but she was never sure about it. The only times she had ever used it was during a prayer or a ritual, in which she enjoyed shooting an arrow towards the moon, watching it arc down afterward. Damn gravity. During this festival, she would do roughly the same thing, which was why she bright the bow along this time. It somehow felt like such a natural part of her, but she had no idea why.

 

[Alliance]

Kess Andrews
Wielder of the Twin White Lion Gauntlets
New Arc City Plaza – The Lantern Festival
7:53 PM

There were many people within the plaza. People chatted and laughed, pointing out various things or people, being generally merry in all they did. The Lantern Festival was often a time of such good cheer. Like Christmas, in a way.

The cherry blossoms and blue pools that were scattered around the plaza were rather beautiful, and Kess admired them. They were so vivid and beautiful. She wished she had colors so vivid, so she could paint a sketch of them. But that couldn’t be helped.

She sat on a bench casually, pulling out her sketchpad. Taking out her pencil, she started sketching randomly to pass the time. She wasn’t sure what it might become, but she’d learnt to go with what came to her creatively.

After a moment she sat back and examined her drawing. Quite accidentally, it turned out to be her gauntlets, but not alone. She’d drawn a rough sketch – rougher than usual, but she wasn’t at home after all – of herself wearing her gauntlets, and some other people guidelines around her.

She scrutinized it. Her mind remade the image, and tried to think of how to continue. But the idea danced just outside the grasp of her mind. It was related to the gap in her mind. It had to be.

With a sigh, she put the book and pencil back into her bag. The festival wouldn’t properly start for a bit, and she personally had nothing to do.

She leaned backwards and examined the sky. Stars twinkled merrily, like the people below. Everything seemed to be as it should be. Or was it?

Much as she hated to admit – to her parents, to Sarah and even to herself – she felt that something was off about this year’s Lantern Festival. There seemed to be a sort of electricity in the air that no-one else seemed to notice. She supposed it was similar to that sinking feeling in your stomach before something horrible happened. This electricity seemed horribly potent.

Looking around, she saw men in black dotted around the crowd. But when she tried to follow them, they seemed to vanish into the crowd. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. The electricity in the air seemed to grow stronger whenever she saw them.

In her little search, she had a double take.

There were three people talking near the stage. And they all looked familiar, not that she could quite pinpoint where. Either they had gone to New Arc Preparatory – they looked more university age – or…

She knew them from elsewhere.

Her mind started working overtime trying to solve it. If she knew them from elsewhere, it had to be from that gap. It had to be!

She made up her mind. Before the ‘gap’ she’d have cowered away and done nothing to solve the problem. But this was after her mind gap. She was going to go talk to them.

Getting off the bench, she weaved her way through the crowd. She might not have been as small as she had once been, but she was certainly small enough to get through a crowd easily enough.

“Excuse me.” She said when she reached them. Her mind recoiled back instinctively, but it was a bit late to back away. “I was wondering if I knew any of you, since you guys seem familiar.”

 

[GoldenHouou]

OOC: Temporary dumping of the Random NPC Claire in order to come and interact with you guys. Sorry it's getting crowded in there, but can't hep it~

---

Michel Lefèbvre
Wielder of the Stallion Boots of Gaia
New Arc City Plaza - The Lantern Festival

With each step Michel took, the boots he was wearing started to feel more and more familiar. Warm. Trustworthy. It hadn’t taken long before Michel had completely forgotten about the festival area and even his date in favor of just staring down at his footwear. He was certain he had never worn the boots before and yet, it felt like he had. And despite their heavy appearance and large size, Michel never stumbled nor had any trouble lifting his foot. They were light, like they had been a part of his leg. Was this really the first time he had worn them? Or had he maybe… used them before in the past? Maybe three years ago during the time he couldn’t now recall? What had happened then, and why did it bother him?

“Mich, are you alright?” Claire asked from besides him, pretty as could be in her little red dress. Michel just shrugged. He really shouldn’t care about something like this. Tomorrow he’d get his old shoes back and these ones would end up back in the depths of his closet, never to see the light of the day again. ‘Sides, all this thinking business made his head hurt.

“Yeah, just thinkin’,” he replied, finally lifting his gaze to look around. The sky was beautiful and dark for now, just waiting to be lit up by the lanterns that would be let loose at the climax of the event. There were no clouds in the sky, and nobody seemed to be up for causing trouble tonight. The crowds were huge but everyone behaved. It was idyllic, really, bound to get anyone in a festive mood.

But it was boring. Michel never really cared for silent little events like this, he wanted loud music, booze and boobs. How was he supposed to get his mind in festive mood when there was… nothing to do? Well, at least the large amount of people just lazing past meant he and his shoes probably wouldn’t stick out that much.

“About what?” Claire asked, a little curious, once again snapping Michel back to the present. His behavior worried her a little. She knew full well it wasn’t like him to get lost in thought in the middle of something like this. Actually, if you asked her, she didn’t think Michel thought, ever. Period.

“Three years ago,” Michel replied with a lazy wave of his hand, like it hadn’t’ really mattered. Like it hadn’t really bothered him for years. Like three years would’ve just been a random number. Just then, his attention was once again taken by something; this time by a few men dressed in black, seemingly looking for something or… someone. A quick glance around told him there were a lot of them, spread all around the area.

Strange.

“Haha, I didn’t even know you could remember things from that long ago,” Claire joked, trying to get Michel to pay attention. He was being so weird today.

“Heey, I resent that!” Michel laughed in reply, much more like his usual self, grin and all. “Just ‘cause I’m good-looking doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

Claire seemed a little cheered up as well, and she allowed a little smirk to show, herself. “Oh, really?” She teased. “What’s one plus one?”

“A date,” Michel grinned, leaning closer. “Like this one.”

“One plus two?” Claire asked, ignoring him. She really didn’t consider this a date. She really only considered them friends just joking around.

“A threesome, look, I’m telling you I’m good at math!” Michel laughed.

“I give up,” Claire sighed, amused. “Want to go sit somewhere to wait for the big event?”

Michel just shrugged in reply, starting to search for a sitting place. He was pretty tall as it was, and the boots gave him a nice few cents of extra height due to their thickness, so it wasn’t that hard to look for a bench somewhere. Most of the sitting places seemed occupied, though, most likely filled up in the very first minutes of the event. Figured, people were lazy bastards.

In his search Michel’s gaze fell upon a bunch of familiar faces. Carly and Stella were there, along with some mohawk guy and another pretty girl. Seemed like there had been a small argument going on, interrupted by the arrival of the girl Michel didn’t know. Or at least he… though he didn’t. Had to admit she did look familiar. Well, the guy did too, but who cared. He was a guy.

Either way, Michel decided to butt in on the fun and started making his way towards the bunch.

And forget Claire in his rush.

“Mich, hey, wait, I can’t run with these shoes!” Claire shouted after him, but unlike Michel she was short and fragile (and wearing heels), unable to break her way past the crowds or navigate her way out like Michel.

“Ugh, that idiot, I’m so totally going to sock him…”

~

“Heeeya, there you are!” Michel greeted his upperclassmen with a grin and a raised hand, pretty much sticking himself between them and the mohawk guy like he didn’t exist. He wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders before they could escape and pulled a pouty expression on. “I meant to ask you two out tonight, but you had disappeared by the time I got off of… Anyway.” A smirk. “You should’ve told me you were planning to go on a date together. I could’ve brought a camera and some popcorn… and tissues for, well, y’know."

Then he looked at the younger girl. “Oh hey, and who’re you pretty? Have we met somewhere? I never forget a pretty girl. Oh, oh, lemme guess, you’ve had a crush on me and stalked me before? No? Well, would you like to start now~?”

 

[DVB]

Diego Vendrix- Keeper of the Monkey Staff of Wisdom
New Arc City Plaza – The Lantern Festival
7:53 PM

Diego had been wondering the area before finding Zuri. He smiled while a slight blus fell onto his face. The girl always had a large soft spot in his heart. He had been there when he heard her grandmother was lost and tried to be with her and comfort her.

"Hey Zuri," he greeted. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Zuri replied after swallowing a bite of potsticker. "Just grabbing a bite to eat before all the lanterns go up... Those lanterns always make think of beacons for the dead on their path through the afterlife. Of course, from afar they look like stars rising into the sky. Nowadays I alternate between actually attending the festival, and just watching them from afar as they twinkle in the night. Which reminds me, a while ago I was re-reading the story of Rapunzel--there was a scene in which the king and his people sent lanterns just like this into the air, all to guide the missing princess back home."

Zuri paused to eat her last potsticker and toss the plate in a nearby trash can.

"I eventually want to be alone to send a prayer to my late grandmother when the lanterns come out, but I'd like to walk around for a while."

Diego just went beside her as they explored the festival. Diego couldn't help but feel anxious. Something was going to happen. He had been gripping his staff tightly and he felt a strange rush. The rush he felt when he was practicing fighting with the staff. Anticipation? Who knows?

"Hey Zuri. You have that feeling? I sense something is going on here..." Diego said before he noticed a group of people. A guy with spikey hair... his name was Hunter... Diego met him only once... Diego paid for his meal when they were at a diner... Something about the guy seemeed familiar...

Not just him. The blond girl with the fiery eyes... the voulmptius red-haired girl... the sleezy purple-haired guy... He did not recognize the posh girl, but something in his gut told him to keep an eye out.

"Zuri... remember how we have that gap in our memory. I don't know why, but these guys are giving me the strangest deja-vu. What do you think?" Diego asked her as he used the staff to point. He then saw something.

"That purple-haired guy... his boots... they remind me of my staff and your bow...

Okay, something is up. I think we should investigate," Diego said as he waited for Zuri to respond.

 

[Alliance]

Kess Andrews
Twin White Lion Gauntlets
New Arc Plaza – Lantern Festival
7:56 PM

A purple haired guy pushed between the two older girls, acting like the whole thing was some sort of joke. But it wasn’t a joke for Kess. Especially since he was making her mind do mental backflips with déjà vu. That fact that he wore boots that looked incredibly weird as far as boots were concerned didn’t help.

“Oh hey, and who’re you pretty? Have we met somewhere? I never forget a pretty girl. Oh, oh, lemme guess, you’ve had a crush on me and stalked me before? No? Well, would you like to start now~?”

You have to be kidding me. What on earth? Kess thought, confused.

“I’m Kessandra. I don’t know. No and no. Do those answer your questions?” she raised an eyebrow. “Because, well… I’m not the stalker type. Seriously.”

She crossed her arms and somewhat glared at him, while her mind whirred wildly. Pretty? The way he said it made it sound like some sort of nickname, and that sent her mind reeling. The gap in her mind started dancingly temptingly out of reach, as if telling her that it had the answer but wouldn’t give it. Ever. And she didn't like not having the answers.

Her mind seemed to be more aware than ever that her gloves - the lion ones - were in her satchel. She glanced briefly at the boy's boots, and the gap danced even closer. Now it was even more infuriating, but it didn't give her the answer. But she was closer, and that pleased her slightly. If only ever so slightly.

"Though..." she said slowly. "You are sorta familiar. That doesn't mean anything though."

She shrugged.

 

[GoldenHouou]

Michel Lefèbvre
Wielder of the Stallion Boots of Gaia
New Arc City Plaza - The Lantern Festival

The youngest girl Michel didn't know seemed sort of... startled by his appearance. Huh. She wasn't the 'jump at the sight of your own shadow' type, was she? He sure hoped not. Those were both annoying and difficult to charm. Maybe he was just so astounding she was left speechless? Yeah, he kinda liked that explanation.

“I’m Kessandra. I don’t know. No and no. Do those answer your questions?” She answered, her eyebrow raised. Michel thought it cute. “Because, well… I’m not the stalker type. Seriously.”

Kessandra as in... Kess? Why'd that ring a bell? Ugh, wasn't he supposed to stop with this whole 'I have a strange feeling' bull? It's not like her name was unique enough that he couldn't have met someone with the same name before.

"Aww," Michel mumbled in reply pretty soon, imitating a pout. "And I've been dreaming about a pretty stalker for a while too. Oh well."

She was glaring at her now, and Michel couldn't help but grin at her. She was cute when mad. But why'd she keep getting lost in thought? Was he as spacey looking a while ago with his boots? Yeowch, he'd need to stop that. Speaking of his boots, she was staring at them. Crap. Stupid boots, and very, very stupid sister for taking his favorite shoes. Nothing to give a bad first impression like some comicbook footwear. Ugh.

Just then the girl snapped back to present and addressed him again. Hah, he knew it, she couldn't not speak to him. The ladies were all like that~

"Though..." she began, still seeming to be partly in thought. "You are sorta familiar. That doesn't mean anything though."

Michel's grin reached from ear to ear at that.

"Hah, I knew you couldn't have forgotten your big bro!" He exclaimed, only to sort of... freeze in the place the second he realized what came out of his mouth. Wait, big bro? Where'd that come from? He and Kess hardly had the age gap for her to be one of the kids Michel took care of at the local Kindergarten before. So then, why...? Was she like, one of his childhood friends or something? Nah, doubtful; he spent his childhood in a far away place with a completely different language. If Michel hadn't been wearing his sunglasses, his confusion would've probably shone from his eyes.

Michel just quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. Eh, he was imagining things. Just like with the boots and the suited men and all.

"Yeah, I mean, name's Michel," he introduced himself, unwrapping his arms from his upperclassmen's shoulders in favor of offering his hand for Kess to shake. "You can call me Mich or 'handsome', both are used just as often. Oh and... don't pay any attention to these, 'kay?" He pointed down at his shoes. "Just some old junk I found like, three years ago. Haha, don't even know where they came from. Kinda had to wear them 'cause my shoes got stolen, I don't usually dress like this."

 

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
Wielder of the Valiant Hawk Scythe
New Arc City Plaza - The Lantern Festival

"Hm...? What's this...? How ... How do you know my name?" The boy with the long, brown mohawk asked as he placed his hand on top of Carly's, the latter raising an eyebrow.

"I've seen you at that diner, you do wear a name-..." She started to answer, before another voice cut off her sentence.

"So Caroline, I see you've taken in a client. He suits you perfectly. Tell me, how's the project coming along? Ooh, let me guess, you've included fishnet stockings and a corset design with a business suit?" Carly heard a voice, a voice she knew she despised. She looked to her other side and saw Stella Gold.

Fuck, why tonight?

Carly always disliked Stella ever since she started sharing classes with her. The blonde girl often taunted her about her fashion sense, manners and tattoos when she had the chance and criticized her designing skills a lot. While Carly wasn't exactly one who could stay within parameters, at least she tried as much as she could without boring herself. However, Stella was someone who liked to please, and all their teachers fell for it. Stella was the top student in her class, and she enjoyed flaunting it in people's faces. Carly was no stranger to her "whore" taunts, but tonight, just when she should be relaxing, the taunts came again at full force.

"Friend of yours? ... She looks lost." Hunter asked, to which Carly guffawed as she shook her head.

"Eh, don't mind her, she's a little...yeah." She replied, as she glared at Stella. More people had already arrived, including Michel, who was a guy a year below her, a younger blonde teenager, a dark-haired boy and a white-haired girl arrived. Some of them carried what looked like weapons, and in Michel's case, a pair of strange boots. Looking at all of them, she somehow felt some sense of familiarity, but she couldn't remember exactly what made it so. And the strange weapons...they reminded her of the scythe she left at her convertible's trunk. Things were getting weirder and weirder.

"Homeless shelter? Thanks, now If I may return the favor, the Drag Show is somewhere that way. With that get-up I'm sure the competition won't stand." Hunter commented, making Carly crack a grin. Now, this boy had a weird, but cool sense of humor...a good sign.

Did he just call Stella a drag queen? Man, he gets an "A" in my book. Come to think of it...Paddy told me...

"Hell yeah, Patrick...I mean Paddy, used to tell me that if a girl wore too much pink, then she's probably a...what do you call it...yeah, a guy in real life. So yeah, go collect your trophy, my flat little love." She joined in, laughing.

“Heeeya, there you are! I meant to ask you two out tonight, but you had disappeared by the time I got off of… Anyway. You should’ve told me you were planning to go on a date together. I could’ve brought a camera and some popcorn… and tissues for, well, y’know." Carly heard Michel's voice announced.

"Heh, had to get that business outfit done, unfortunately. Date Stella? Nah, I'm straight as a pin...besides, why Stella when this girl is so much prettier?" She replied, before placing her hand on the shoulder of the girl near Michel, the younger blonde girl. She looked at her and smirked.

"Name's Caroline by the way, but you can call me Carly." She said to the girl as Michel started talking about the strange boots on his feet and how he claimed to have gotten them three years ago.

Three years ago? Wait a minute...

There was no mistaking it. Carly did know that she found her scythe next to her three years ago, for reasons she could not remember. Michel's boots had also appeared three years ago?

"Wait, did you say three years ago? I...have something kinda like that. Well, not boots but...can you give me a while? I'll get it. My car's parked close by." She said, before turning back and walking briskly through the plaza. She did not bother to look around this time, hardly noticing the black-clad men scattered among the crowd. Once she got outside, she headed for her red convertible and popped open the trunk, dug under her purchases and took out the gleaming bronze scythe. She then closed the trunk again and headed back to the plaza.

Carly noticed some eyes on her as she walked with the large weapon in hand. Undoubtedly, she probably looked pretty strange carrying it around, but nobody came forward to ask her about it anyway, so she continued on. Once she reached Hunter, Michel and the rest, she held out the bronze and pale green scythe.

"Yeah, I just found this thing three years ago too. Not boots, yeah, but...you get it." She said, tucking a lock of red hair behind her left ear as she did.

 

[Agent Tectonic]

Jonathon Varague
Wields: Mystic Sand Scorpion Claw
Lantern Festival

Looks like I've done too many good deeds I thought as I looked over my notes. Ever since I decided on my questionable life style, I kept a journal to keep track of my balance. Right now, I was showing six more good deeds than I should have. Luckily, tonight was the Lantern Festival, so opportunity and experience was plentiful. Actually, I thought, even if I did have too many good deeds, I still would have picked a few people. I got up from my little nook of an alley and walked around the streets.

It was my birthday a few days ago. No gifts. From anyone. I guess I should have expected it, living the way I do. I didn't matter to me though. All that mattered was just having fun and learning. I wandered the streets for a bit. Found a nice set of keys, three wallets and a PSP some kid had. Nobody noticed; not many people paid much attention I long ago realized. In fact, it made me realize just how important it was to pay attention to my belongings whenever I decided to reunite with them back at my mansion. Stuffing them in my bag, I saw and remembered that odd scorpion claw I had. I wanted to leave it behind before I started living like a bum, but I just couldn't part with it. Some part of me wouldn't let it go. Weird then. Weird now.

My night got weirder. I took a few more rights and lefts before seeing two people, male and female chatting. Nothing new, yet for some reason, they felt familiar. I knew for a fact that I didn't know them, yet I had some sense of feeling like I should know them. Creeped out but a little intrigued, I hung back, listening to their conversation and waited. They had introduced themselves as Diego and Zuri. They made small talk for a bit before gesturing towards another group of people and again that sense of familiarity sparked. I also took great notice in the guy's staff which would go for a nice price if sold to the right guy. It looked very unique, so I reckoned I could “retire” from the homeless life if I was any other person. I still hung back in the crowd and let them act as they saw fit; when they moved, I'd follow.

 

[Black War Dragon]

Hunter
Wielder of the Red Lightning
New Arc City Plaza - The Lantern Festival

It bothered Hunter the way Michel spoke to the younger girl. These people are nuts. And what hole did this pedophile crawl from? Still, they felt familiar.

Carly ran off somewhere only to reappear second later with a giant scythe. From the look of things, Hunter wasn't the only one with a "unique" weapon. For as long as he could remember, Hunter had been keeping a lance neatly hidden inside an instrument case. The lance was as big as he and made of black marble with a blood-red handle. He didn't always have it, he knows that. Three years ago something happened. But what? That's what he was here to find out, why he owns such dark weapon, why he cannot remember crucial events of his life and most important of all, how he's connected to these people.
...

"Sir, we've identified several possible criminals..."

"Criminals? What do you mean?!"

"Well, they have weapons ... In public."

"The entire place needs to be secure if my daughter is to make the annual ceremonial welcome."

"How should we proceed sir?"

"This is a peaceful celebration, I will not have it ruined by some ... Some ... Thugs! Arrest them. Tell Mildred to call me immediately!"

"Will do Mr. Mayor."

Click...

The city mayor's own daughter was to for her very first time ever give official commencement to the annual Lantern Festival. In a step to ensure the safety of his daughter, Mayor Gilford demanded that his entire secret service staff be on the lookout for suspicious activity during the festival. These people were no average thugs, they were highly trained professionals. A group of young adults merrily carrying around weapons could only mean trouble in their book.

Hunter noticed a group of thugs approaching, brutishly pushing themselves through the crowd.

"Hi guys! Nice evening isn't it?" one of them said. Looking directly at Carly the man continued, "That's a fine blade you got there ... Have any of you been drinking tonight?"

Hunter didn't like where this was going. The man seemed calm. He's trained Hunter thought. This is why he kept away from people. Relationships were trouble. With his lance cleverly hidden, he'd got in and out with all the information he needed.

"What's in the case, pal?"

The man was now speaking to Hunter. "None of your business," Hunter replied.

The man shook his head and chuckling said "Look around you guys, this is a family environment and you all decide to show up with sharp toys. That's totally fine if you belong to some larp group but understand that at this very moment, due to the special circumstances of this year's celebration, you're all disturbing the peace."
...

 

[Monster Guy]

Stella Gold
Golden Ox Shield
New Arc City Plaza - Lantern Festival

"The Drag Show is somewhere that way. With that get-up I'm sure the competition won't stand." The homeless boy snapped back. How dare he talk back to me that way! He's not even the least bit cute. Stella thought, glaring at the kid, being unable to look past the mohawk and shoddy clothes. He obviously doesn't know a lady of class when he sees one. "Well, well, well. Looks like the little orphan boy has a mouth on him. Why don't you run back home, I'm sure the headmaster won't be pleased to see you out past curfew." Stella smirked before turning her attention back to Caroline, and put her hands on her hips. "Don't be jealous because I can pull this look off better than you can. And really? You're going to go there? At least I can wear a plunging neckline, and still look elegant. You wear one and end up looking like a woman of the night. Then again, you wind up looking like one no matter what you wear." She stopped to take a breath before adding. "Look, I don't know how you mangaged to get into this university, but a walking fashion diaster like you would never make it in the fashion industry."

Stella was about to turn around and scold James for taking his sweet time taking her things to the car, when another blond girl who was obviously much younger than herself, showed up. Stella thought she looked adorable for age. "Excuse me. I was wondering if I knew any of you, since you guys seem familiar.”

Stella flipped her blond hair confidently, and turned to the girl. "Well, of course I do darling. I'm the type of girl everybody should know. My name is Stella Gold." Stella took a second to study her. "Hm... and you're not half bad. A little rough around the edges, but that can be worked with. How would you feel about a make over? I'll pay for everything of course."

Before the younger girl could answer, she heard a voice she heard way too many times “Heeeya, there you are!” The purple haired boy named Michel said as he wrapped his arms around Caroline and herself. “I meant to ask you two out tonight, but you had disappeared by the time I got off of… Anyway, you should’ve told me you were planning to go on a date together. I could’ve brought a camera and some popcorn… and tissues for, well, y’know."

Although Stella found him annoying, she had to admit, she found his attempts at hitting on her slightly amusing. But only slightly. He still needed to be taught a lesson. She laughed again. "Oh ho ho ho! Tell me something dear, are you trying to get into clown college?" She said to Michel as she pulled his arm off of her. "Because between that ridiculous hair color, the fact that you'd think I'd go out with her willingly, or the fact that you think you have a chance with me, your absolutely laughable!"

Stella looked behind her and saw that James was still struggling. Stella was getting fed up with this. "Alright that's it!" She went over to him and took the shied from him. "See? Light as a feather." She said as she lifted it up and down with no effort. "But if it's really that much of a problem, I'll carry the thing. Now come on, let's get out of here before whatever diseases these two have rub off on me." she said, pointing to Caroline and the mohawk guy.

James thanked her, and immediately took off towards Stella's limo, much faster than before. As Stella was about to follow him, Caroline came back carrying a Scythe. Stella stayed back to watch what was going to happen. And what does she intend to do with that? No one would buy that cheap piece of metal. Not when they can have my antique! Then, a man in a suit who was most likely with the authorities showed up to question why she was carrying that weapon around in public. They also questioned that boy she was with, and asked about the guitar case he was carrying. Stella figured it Iikely did not contain a guitar. He probably wouldn't be able to afford one. Ooh, this is perfect! They're finally going to get put in prison where people like them belong! She came back to take the younger girl, who's name was Kessandra, by the wrist to get her away from these ruffians. "Come along sweetie, you don't want to get involved with these two now do you?"