Clockwork Souls [IC]

[Astolfo]

[quote]Out of the frying pan, and into the fire.[/quote]

 

Zeta certainly felt like that his current scenario kept getting worse every moment. Although Aegis had surprisingly taken the fact he was an automaton very well, which made him feel very happy, being accepted as what he was for the first time by outsiders, it soon turned for the worse. Almost the very moment he had woken up, Johannes had dragged him roughly by his shoulder, and into an empty hall. As he was pinned to the wall, he had a resigned look on his face. The Empathy Bird didn't surprise him, having learned about it, although it intrigued him someone owned one. As Johannes - through the bird - interrogated the injured boy, he froze for a moment when he realized that Johannes had figured out, but then lowered his shoulders when he realized it was probably obvious to anyone nearby. Sighing, he looked at the man - probably from Ai Mercas judging from his appearance - with a piercing look. "I am certain you already know the answer, and thus, my answering it is pointless." Speaking drily, he regarded the man. "So, what are you going to do with your knowledge? Will you spread it and destroy what little I have? Will you torture me for my Cores? You don't seem the kind of person to do that, nor do I expect you to answer honestly. But I want to hear it from you, because I want to hear what you will say."

 

At that moment, Isaiah came up to him, with a contraption bound to his head. Zeta realized the man had been most likely spying, at least for a little bit, judging from the superior tone in his voice. The eye-pieces covered his real eyes, and Zeta didn't trust him, as something felt… hard about him. Someone who was a pragmatist. His suspicions came true as he brought forth a multi-barreled gun, aiming it at the two of them. As the predictable "request" was spoken, the boy could see right through it. He was not going to leave without getting a True Core. With a hard voice, he commanded Johannes to move.

 

The Ai Mercan certainly didn't seem to appreciate the intrusion, and he let Zeta go, but the boy didn't escape. The gun-wielding senior seemed cold, and more than willing to fire the deadly weapon. Zeta couldn't just leave Johannes behind. Johannes seemed to think otherwise, calling Isaiah out on a bluff, before telling him to go away. Summoning a shield, he blasted the senior down the length of the hall, who appeared to have been ready to shoot the bird. Gritting his teeth in anger at the thought someone would end lives with such a nonchalant face, Zeta moved to go yell at the senior, when a pulse of pain struck him, bringing him to his knees, gasping. As he was breathing, trying to get a hold of himself again, a girl with the appearance of an engineer flew at him, with a winged automaton strapped to her body. Turning to move, he nearly made it, but she snatched him off the ground with ease. Hurtling through hallways, with everything blurring, Zeta could barely tell where they were going, but assumed it would be her room - her haven. The girl seemed to be a senior, and the fact that she snatched him meant she was either eccentric, trying to score a point, or overheard about the Cores - the worst-case scenario.

 

His worst-case scenario assumption turned out to be true, much to his exasperation. As she laid him on the bed, he had been taking in information carefully, filing away what he could. When she revealed her name to be Caeil, a brief flash of memory came to his mind, and he just barely remembered the girl in his class. Proceeding to declare that he would never forget the name, he wondered what she had wanted. The worst-case scenario had come true at this moment, where she said that she wouldn't tolerate lying, and commanded Zeta - who she described as "man of the machine", which stung slightly - to tell her what Isaiah had wanted. When she ended by saying if the senior had wanted a True Core, that she wanted it, the boy couldn't help but sigh. Four days in, and he's been attacked, revealed his being an automaton, his Daedalus Weapon, the fact about his Cores, and had been harassed by three people about them.

 

Looking up at her with a slightly annoyed expression, he spoke. "Seems you haven't gotten the newsflash. I'm an automaton - partially. You've figured that out. I'm pretty sure you can figure out the rest. However, what do you hold over me to make me give up my knowledge? It is not for the ears of most anyone in this entire school. Are you the next Daedalus? Even if you are, I would not give up the knowledge, as it is much more precious than that, at least to me and where I come from. Let's say I don't have a Daedalus Core. What would you do? What if I do have a Daedalus Core, but I cannot or will not give it up. Then what would you do?"

[Aix]

Deciding that he had done enough and didn't really need any more of the action, Ezeltainn had departed for the library after Zan'In was taken and down and when he saw that everyone was okay. In the hallway, he met his homeroom teacher and gave her a greeting before heading on forwards. He'd rather not stay much longer in the halls, upon arriving here, he had realized that his combat skills were far from top notch.

 

The library was considered a classroom, that had been made clear before, so it was an excellent safe zone to hole himself into with various books as well as displays to look at. Almost diving in through the entrance, Ezeltainn saw another one of his classmates at a nearby table.

 

"Hey, Helen, what's up? Can I sit here?" Glancing at the books Helen had, he spoke up again with interest. "Are you interested in Draszera?"

[Maeriberii Haan]

"Shit, he saw through my bluff! "
 
Caeil was not ready to fight, and she realized that no mere commoners could have a Daedalus core with them, so if she did something to him, there's a possibility that it would start a chain reaction that would end badly for her. And that's if he did have a True Core, if he didn't have them, she had just made some additional enemies for no actual reasons.
 
Caeil started to panic inside, but she managed to keep her composure, barely.
 
 
"If I just let him go, then everyone will ridicule me to no end. I'm not brave enough to take it from him by force, and that doesn't account for the possibility of him retaliating.
 
Wait..retaliating...
 
...retaliating...nah, that won't work.
 
To be honest, I don't really need a true core for now.
 
....Ah, that gave me an idea."

Caeil then smiled, and moved her sight into the boy again.
 
"Alright, boy. I have a deal for you, since it seems that you really valued your secret, even putting your life at stake for it.
 
How about I stop asking and bugging you about your secret,
and heck, I'll protect you whenever I'm able to, in exchange for something.
 
I need you to help me collect some fake cores, and help me with my contraption as my part of the deal.

 

You can refuse, but.....

 

..expect missing some body parts next morning. Sounds fair, right~"

 

Caeil declared her offer to the boy, while her smile became something more sinister, hiding her hesitation and worry inside.

 

"If this failed, I have no other choices but to dig for information in my own way. Shaming myself in front of all the other students, in front of that smug face is not an option.

 

....I should think more about my actions the next time things like this happened again."

 

Then someone knocked the door of her room.

[The Warden]

Well, that just happened. While Johannes was making short work of the Isaiah boy, who left with a bit more than just wounded pride, someone else had come along and snapped up Zeta. That boy must have a magnet that attracts trouble somewhere in that body of his. But now that he thought about it, Johannes had heard a revving noise as he was dealing with Isaiah. The most likely thing would be that another egghead had claimed Zeta, probably hunting for his cores. These people were sickening. Sure he himself did interogate the boy, but that was to learn the truth. he had no desire to tear th kid apart for something that didn't matter. Though in retrospect, if Zeta does die then Johannes had first dibs on that sword.

 

"Can you smell any traces of exhaust? What am I? A Schnauzzer? Can you? Okay, I think I can smell some trail, it's coming from that turn in the hallway just a little bit down from here. That's all I reckon. Then I'll just listen out."

 

These darn mechanics, they're such parasites.

 

[hr]

 

Johannes' feet lightly touched the ground as he followed the various twists and noises of the building, until he came to the dorms. "-uld you do? What if I do have a Daedalus Core, but I cannot or will not give it up. Then what would you do?"

 

That sounded like Zeta, and it was coming from... a girl's room? Well, it's like a female to make a quick in and out rather than a direct confrontation, like this one: Johannes knocked politely on the door. "As much fun as it would be following your selfish desires, Zeta STILL requires medical attention. Now if you would be so kind to surrender him I WON'T have to break the door down" he declared.

[encapturer]

The test run was successful.  Amelia had successfully encountered a Senior attacking a junior, and fled back to the dorm complex.  'Thinking of it like that makes me seem like a coward,' Amelia thought to herself.  Not that she could be described as anything but during her last encounter.  The senior was using a blade, which used Animus to increase it's cutting power.  Amelia had jumped into the middle of the fight just as the senior was making the finishing blow, blocked the sword with Claw Crusher, and shoved forward, pushing the senior off balance.  With this opening, Amelia raised the pointed end of her weapon forward, opened the claw, and crushed the sword.  Then... she had to flee, as the senior was pissed.  Fortunately, she was able to escape before he could use whatever else he had up his sleeve.  At least her peer was able to escape due to Amelia's interference.

 

"I'm gonna need a better plan if I'm going to keep this up," Amelia said, as she climbed the stairwell to her dorm room.  She carried Claw Crusher with her, while it wasn't heavy when she carried it on her arm like an oversized gauntlet, she kind of wished that the it could hover up the stairwell without having to stop in order to not go flying through the wal.  Once at her hallway, Amelia discovered a surprise waiting, there was another from her class outside of her dorm room - Johannes, if she recalled correctly.  He had that bird with him, after all.  What was more surprising was the fact that he was threatening to tear down the door.  Her dorm room door.

 

"And what's so important that you'd want to tear down my door?" Amelia asked, crossing her arms.  Well, arm, since her right arm still was using Claw Crusher.  She didn't hear who was inside the room, so she tried to keep a level head in case there was actually a good explanation; the last thing she wanted was to fly off and start attacking people unprovoked again.

[Astolfo]

As Zeta carefully scrutinized Caeil's face, he noted a flash of something which seemed to be alarm, even if it quickly subsided, when he had spoken. His eyes narrowing in suspicion as he saw her thinking, he analyzed her next words to judge any possible tricks. [color=#DAA520][font=courier new]"How wonderful of a deal."[/font][/color] His voice indicated he really didn't think so. [color=#DAA520][font=courier new]"I get you to stop bugging me, which you will most certainly do anyways, unless you would rather get yourself into more trouble, I get protection from you, which will be more like spying, if I'm one to say anything, and I get to help you collect fake cores? Hm… No. As for the threat, while you may be able to try, it would certainly be a great deal of trouble as well as pain for you, because one, I'm not as weak as I appear, and two, I am not alone either. In addition, you are not the kind of person to do something as such. While you may be ambitious and hasty, sadistic or brutal does not come into play. If you are done wasting my time, I would like to go back, except for the fact you conveniently carried me to your room, which is god knows where in relation to mine."[/font][/color]

 

Hearing a knock though, his ears twitched, listening in, but he remained facing Caeil, analyzing her face for any possible hints of [i]anything[/i] that might happen. An intent to attack would be revealed in the eyes. Thoughts and emotions would be in the eyes. As a famous person said quite a while ago, eyes were the windows to the soul. Zeta knew that it would also work on him, but he learned how to mask his true intents in most cases back at Crescent Isles. When he heard Johannes and his bird though, a flash of surprise came across his face. [i]Johannes certainly seems to care more about me, whether it be for my secret or out of true kindness. Either way, I'm out of this situation.[/i]

 

Zeta heard a second, feminine voice though soon afterwards. It seemed, judging from the words, that the girl outside was Caeil's roommate, and Zeta could hear a resonating hum from a relatively powerful machine outside, and made the connection of it belonging to the girl, as Johannes didn't have anything of the sort, at least the last time Zeta saw him. Getting up, he sprung backwards, landing on his feet lightly. Calling out to Johannes, he spoke loudly. [color=#DAA520][font=courier new]"I'm coming Johannes."[/font][/color] Regarding Caeil with a dry expression, he turned to leave, and finally get out of this place.

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]

Caeil just watched silently as Zeta walked away from her room.

 

After assured that the boy and the other person in front of the door were away, Caeil immediately climbed the window of her room, activated her contraption, and flew into the open sky.

 

"DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT! Now I can't even show my face to others, can't handle all the shame...

 

 

.....Maybe I should try relaxing more in the bathtub....

 

..That's it. No more games, no more play. If those casuals will keep acting like a high smug, then I'll-"

 

A large thud. 

 

While she was musing to herself about the previous events, she didn't realize that she was heading into a wall, so she crashed into it, and while neither her or her automaton was badly hurt(due to her flying at a low height), the flight function of her contraption broke again, and Caeil decided that the flight function sucked.

 

"....I will not remake the flight function ever again....

 

Ah well, better find a way to sneak into my room without anyone noticing."

 

Limping and dizzy, Caeil slowly walked into the main building, hoping that no one attacked her along the way, or worse, laughed at her.
 

[The Warden]

Johannes knocked again impatiently on the door as another classmate approached. She was... Amelia, as he recalled. It seems that this was her room, so, she shared it with whoever kidnapped Zeta. "I'm just rescuing someone your room mate kidnapped, don't mind me" he replied.

 

Oh, it looked like negotiations was over as Zeta left the room, and the girl was nowhere to be seen. "Come on" Johannes sighed (Polly acted that out), "Let's get you tot he infirmary, and then to the engineering bay for your other problem" he added and led Zeta away.

 

As they marched down the hallway, Johannes kept his eyes forward, though Polly kept his trained on the young man. "This basically answers my theory about you, though don't concern yourself; I merely asked out of happen-chance curiosity. Though from now on you should make your automaton half a little less blatant, lest more catch on to what I did. Granted, as I heard you speak a bit more, I think I now know where you're from. It does answer why you've been constantly trying to hide the accent."

[encapturer]

"Caeil kidnapped someone...?"  Amelia said in disbelief.  However as Zeta left the room and walked away with Johannes, Amelia couldn't help but facepalm.  'Well, guess I should go ask what this is all about,' Amelia thought as she entered the room.  The empty room.

 

"Caeil?" Amelia called out.  She placed Claw Crusher on the floor and deactivated it, then took a peek in the bathroom.  No one there.  No signs of her automaton, either.  "...What is going on here?" Amelia asked herself, as her eyes scanned the room, eventually falling upon the open window.  She took a look out, but didn't see anyone; though it was obvious what had happened.  Caeil had decided to fly out of the window.  Amelia had no idea why, chalking this event up as Caeil just being Caeil.  She was bound to be back soon, but it was getting late, so Amelia decided to call it a day and get some rest.  She will need her energy for the coming days...

[Astolfo]

As Zeta left Caeil's room with a relieved sigh, he looked up at Johannes. Complying as Johannes said he would take him to the infirmary, his eyes narrowed when he heard what sounded like a jab at his being part-automaton. "Was that really necessary?" As he heard Johannes', or rather Polly's next words, he was relieved when it was revealed that he wasn't interested in Zeta for any deceiving reasons, or at least so he said. When he heard the recommendation about keeping his automaton part more secret, he looked at Johannes drily. "So you want me to keep it secret, but we're going to the engineering bay? Wonderful." He froze though when he heard the next part of what Johannes-Polly said. Sighing partially in exasperation and partially in despair, he looked at Johannes with a piercing gaze. "So you're perhaps the only non-staff member who knows all of my secrets. I hope it stays that way, and I trust you, but am I misguided to do so? It's already a disaster with everything that had happened, it will probably be school-wide news by next week."[hr]

Johannes hid an aside smile, for it amused how that trick somehow works. "So, it is true then? I couldn't identify your accent before, as it wasn't one i've encountered. With Ai Mercas we tend to mingle with a lot of other countries, so learning the accents was easy. So that begs the question as to why the..."
 
Johannes paused mid-sentence. He remembered how, despite the conversation being somewhat private the boy witht he goggles did overhear. Knowing how nosy he is now it would be out of the question to reveal anything else that would be best not spread. "As to why the place you are from is choosing to branch out now. But don't feel misguided to do so. This bird might be a big mouth, but he knows when to keep his beak shut on certain matters. Though if you do aggravate him then I can't be held accountable. They can be spiteful creatures, though don't offer him any food. Polly has a specific hatred from the Craven genus and freaks out when you attempt to treat him like one; such as by giving him a food offering. As for your other problem, the senior was beaten by freshmen. Whichever way he tries to spin it no one will believe him. See, you should know how reputation works, correct? If he claims that a freshmen summoned a True... a TDW from his body to cut him down, who would believe it? They think he would be making it up to make his defeat less pathetic. And frankly, if I didn't see it for myself I'd dismiss it as, pardon my Mercan, complete bulls**t. The boy with goggles has no idea about the fight and no evidence to go on. And I'd doubt that he'd just so happen to know the senior and form some form of alliance against you. The Seniors don't work that way; and I'm sure goggle-boy is smart enough to know he'd be backstabbed by the senior. The only thing you need to do is find ways to realistically dismiss the claims and cover your tracks. Few people know, and some pissant senior isn't exactly going to inspire a witch hunt."

[hr]After the duo arrived at the infirmary, Zeta proceeded to walk over carefully to the nurse, hiding his automaton part. As the medical student looked over his injuries, she clucked her tongue before waving a hand over, infusing Animus into him. The pain fading, he thanked the girl and left with Johannes. "For your note, I'm not going to an engineering bay for this. Thanks for your help though, but it's time to go our own ways." Smiling genuinely, he waved to the Ai Mercan gently, before turning to go back to his own dorm.

He was lost for a bit, but after some maneuvering, he managed to get once more to the mess hall, before making his way to the dorm. Thankfully, this time, no aggressive seniors were lying in wait for him, and he got to his dorm safely. Opening the door, he didn't notice Aegis anywhere, and wondered if she was still out, but dismissed the idea, as she seemed to be more of a rebel, and would probably go back instead of to classes. Looking around however, he didn't notice her at first. As he turned to the workshop she had set up a few days ago, his eyes fell upon a rather shocking sight. Aegis was walking around and making some explosive or similar, but she was doing so completely naked except for a towel around her mid-section. While he wasn't perverted, and understood the problem, he had never seen a girl's outline like this, and was unable to speak. Finally after what felt like an eternity, his face turning red for some reason, he motioned to Aegis, speaking in an embarrassed tone. "Uh… Aegis? You know… your clothes?"

[Merci]

Unfortunately, the young, aspiring mechanic was interrupted. But she wasn't attacked, laughed at, or anything else of the sort. Instead, both of her shoulders were grabbed by a familiar figure in front of her, who looked just as disheveled as she did no thanks to Johannes's attack. The guy was unusually close to her. So close, in fact, that their faces and eyes were mere inches away from each other, revealing the fact that both of them shared the exact same height, and his eyes were staring into hers at point-blank range with a sincere look.

 

"Caeil." Isaiah began. "Let's go out."

 

A second passed.

 

"As a team."

 

Oh.

 

With that clarified, he let go of her shoulders and took a few steps back to explain.

 

"Now that you know of Zeta's True Cores as well, I have no choice but to involve you in this. I trust that your talent is close, if not equal to my my own, so I'm sure that you'd be a good partner in helping me to obtain them." Isaiah continued on. "And if my perception of you isn't wrong, then there's no way that you would refuse my offer. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages...so then. What do you say, Caeil?"

[Aix]

"So how was everyone's first day of school?" Annika's innocent smile as she stood on the speaker's platform was truly frightening. "Good job surviving... well, it's not like killing is allowed. Oh, did I not mention that yesterday? Well, it's no fun for us if you guys died. Haha." Only the third years were able to agree with her, there was some very bad atmosphere amongst the freshmen, many of them were wrapped bandages. "Well, it's time to step up this game by introducing a new rule. Those who are defeated must grant one request from the victor! It has always been that only us in the Daedalus Council could order people around, but now you guys, the ones with promise, with a brilliant future as a high-ranking military commander, will be able to get a taste of that power!"

 

This roused everyone up. The freshmen became especially worried, even more so with the crimson-haired girl's next words.

 

"Anything, anything is allowed, even that which is outside of Britannian law. Those who do not comply will be punished by us in the Council and teachers, too, will be ordered to aid in enforcing rules." As she said that she pulled out a fearsome looking cat o' nine tails, a leather whip that expanded into nine strands to deal nine parallel lashes in one strike. "Please enjoy the rest of your breakfast." She said that knowing well that quite a few students had lost their appetite. "And good luck in class." It would probably have been more suitable to say "Good luck getting to class", gangs of seniors had already stood guard at the exits of the mess hall, ready to instantly take down anyone who took even a step outside.

 

[hr]

 

"Freed!" A voice called out. Freed turned to the girl with fiery hair who called out his name as she approached. "I hadn't seen you all day, yesterday."

 

"Ah, Sarah..." he smiled politely at her. "Sorry, I had a rough day. But, really, this game is really something... isn't it."

 

"Don't worry, my Prince, I'm sure we'll be fine," Sarah said, smiling slightly as she saw the blush that appeared on Freed's face. "I heard about a lot of people teaming up. Can I joined you?"

 

"I was just about to go look for people who would be willing to form a team with me," said Freed. "I'd be glad to have you on my side!" He then glanced over at the other tables. "Zeta! Would you like to team up with us?"

[Astolfo]

As the next day came around, the newest announcement at breakfast would be quite a shock to Zeta. Hearing the red-head mention that you weren't allowed to kill, his mind flashed back to Zan'In, and he sighed. I really don't think some could care either way. Accidents always do happen. As Annika continued, she spoke of the new rule. Great, now the seniors get to officially order around others? Finally reinforcing her words by saying that everything was allowed besides stuff against the law itself, and threatening everyone who did not listen with punishment, the tone grew grim. The sentiment about enjoying breakfast and class seemed to be cruelly sarcastic, as his perceiving eyes noticed the seniors shifting and realigning themselves at the exits.

Zeta turned to go look for Aegis and Ezeltainn, who were undoubtedly his most trusted companions here in this battle school, when the green-haired boy - Freed, was it? - called over at him. "Zeta! Would you like to team up with us?" Looking over his shoulder curiously, Zeta looked over Freed, and a rather large-chested girl who seemed to be magnetically attached to him. "Sure, I don't mind. Know where Aegis and Ezeltainn went? I trust them, and if it's alright with you, I'd want them to join in." His clothes had been mended by now, as well as any other traces of being an automaton or owning seven Daedalus Cores. Smiling, as this was a small victory in the chain of unfortunate events, he walked over to the duo.

[encapturer]

Amelia woke up the next day refreshed and energized, ready to take on the day.  If she was challenged to a fight, she had no doubt that she could come out on top/// or at least escape if the foe proved too skilled in battle.  This time she wore Claw Crusher over her right arm as she went to the cafeteria for breakfast, clenching her fist.  She was energized, but she was also very tense - a battle could break out at any time.  Fortunately, she made it to the cafeteria without incident.  But she was not prepared for what waited for her there.

 

'Even more nonsense...!' Amelia thought as the new announcement was made.  She worried about the mental state of those in charge... what made them think this was a good idea?  Similar to yesterday, the senior students began to congregate around the exits, but they seemed more focused this time.  At least this time Amelia had some way of defending herself.  In fact, she figured she could probably make it to class riding Claw Crusher, but the other students might not have that luxury.

 

Amelia sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she will probably end up assisting the other new students here in their journeys from class to class.  "I'm a Feld, after all," she said to herself.  She began to take another bite of her breakfast, when her ears overheard conversation at the table behind her.  It was her classmates, Freed and Sarah, speaking of working together as a team.  Freed called over Zeta, who was keen on the idea of working together along with some friends he had made.  For just a moment Amelia felt something akin to envy - she had not made any real friends since she came to the school.  Even her roomate Caeil seemed to just tolerate her presence.

 

'No time to feel sorry for yourself,' Amelia thought, snapping herself back to reality.  'You have something that you need to do.'  Amelia turned around in her seat so that she was facing those at Freed's table.  "I guess you have some sort of plan if you're looking for allies?" Amelia asked.  This group was currently the only one actively trying to do something about being trapped in the cafeteria, so Amelia planned to help out.  Even now, she was working her brain in figuring out a plan to get out of this mess.

[a bad post]

In the hours after her fight with Sarah, Vickky had been repairing several things that had been damaged during that fight, a few of which had been her grade, the other (and argueably most important) was her pride. While most of her injuries had healed Vickky still had several bandages over her left eye where Sarah knocked her a mean hit with bo staff, as well as some other cuts and bruises from some other fights.

 

After the fight, some smartass seniors who'd been watching their fight decided they wanted to pick a fight with Vickky, who'd been banged up quite a bit... and that was how Vickky had recovered her grade. She now had a score of +1, and was ready to go the next day.

 

-In the lunchroom-

 

After the student council girl's announcement Vickky knew exactly who she wanted to team-up with, and immediately picked out the big-breasted girl out of the crowd.

 

"Sarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarah!!!!" Vickky yelled so fast the other girl's name became jumbled into a single incomprehensible word. Before the fiery red head had time to react, Vickky had sprung into the air and leaped on to her back wrapping her arms around the front of the other girl'd body. "So now that we're buddies ya wanna be my partner?" It was at this moment she noticed the other two people, one of which was the familiar green haired boy, and another boy that she wasn't familiar with yet.

 

"Well hello cutie pie," Vickky winked at Freed, before turning to Zeta, "hey there, I'm Vickky nice to meet you." Still on Sarah's back Vickky extended a hand to Zeta.. 

[Enrise]

Krieger was already started on his fairly appetizing breakfast that would sate his hunger till noon, and had no qualms about what was being said from the strange woman who appeared to hold some sort of power in the school. It didn't matter to him, he wasn't approached by anyone. Therefore, he couldn't fight, especially since he doesn't particularly go looking for fights. He actually hates fights, and people willing to go looking for them, which happened to be the case for the numerous senior gangs hanging around the exit. What more, the new rule of the loser granting the victor's request just poured the fuel tank into the bonfire. He spoke to himself with hushed whispers.

 

"Oh come now, is this all necessary? It's already bad enough the freshman are getting slaughtered, but this is absurdity."

 

"Feast on flesh, feast on dreams, feast on death. FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!"

 

Krieger saw many of the students were forming teams, especially one green-haired lad with a few other freshman surrounding him; another lad, and three lasses. They appeared to be talking about forming a team and plans, or something of the sort. Krieger might have been only about 6ft away from them, but he didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation; he wasn't a part of their group, nor was friends with any of them, and it would be pointless for him to just suddenly intrude on their little group. However, some of the other students - freshman to senior - appeared to be looking at Krieger; either they want him to be an ally, or they want him as an enemy. He hoped that they were only looking at him because of how much he appeared to stand out; anyone with a giant sword will be pointed out in a crowd, it's just a fact of the matter.

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]Caeil

-Yesterday-[hr]

 

"Now that you know of Zeta's True Cores as well, I have no choice but to involve you in this. I trust that your talent is close, if not equal to my my own, so I'm sure that you'd be a good partner in helping me to obtain them."

 

"And if my perception of you isn't wrong, then there's no way that you would refuse my offer. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages...so then. What do you say, Caeil?"

 

After smugface Isaiah finished talking, Caeil broke out a hearty laugh.

 

"AH, what a good feeling it is to be right!

 

Prepare to be owned, mechanical foreigner!" Caeil thought to herself, while continued her laugh, until she noticed Isaiah confused look on her.

 

"Well yes. I accept your offer. Just contact me when yoy have a plan. I'm tired acting on my own without a concrete plan."

 

With that, she bowed to Isaiah, something that she wouldn't do on normal occasion, and proceeded to stroll back to her room.

 

[hr]That Night[hr]

"First of all, the flight function needs to go. 

 

....

....

 

 

...

...

 

...

..

Done! And now, I'll add the ability to do this, and this..

 

....

Ah, maybe I should just remake my Totenmesse as a rifle again for now."

[hr]Today, Cafetaria[hr]

 

"..That was really something" Caeil flatly responded to the new rules added by the school council. As she went to find Isaiah, she noticed that many seniors had  agglomerated into the entrances and exits of the room, ready to intercept the freshmen. 

 

Then, she found Isaiah was still finishing his food.

 

"Smugface, change of plans. I guess we need more people to join our cause, since I don't think we're able 

 

That, or do you have some unused cores on you? I think I can start something interesting here."

 

When she was finished, Caeil caught a glint of a man in a knight armor walking casually in one of the exits.

[InfernaLiza]

Wow, now you get to boss people around after you kick their ass? This school is brilliant....

 

As he was about to leave his table after eating his breakfast, Arthur saw the many groups of seniors crowded near the exits. No way am I going to let them take on more freshman... 

 

He quickly grabbed his newly modified sword, (which was now shorter and functioned like a revolver) and flanked around stealthily to the back left-hand side of one group of seniors. 

 

He then had his bot quickly move behind one of the seniors and light his clothes on fire, then come back and hover above his shoulder.

 

As the senior, and a few of his allies, began panicking, he charged behind one and grabbed him from behind, lightly pressing his blade against his throat.

 

"What were you planning to do? Attack freshman as they try to leave? Hah. Hell no, not while I'm around."

 

"Now all of you back away from this exit, or things will get nasty"

 

Arthur then proceeded to use his ThrowerArm to bash his captive on the head, effectively knocking him out and readied up, in case anyone tried to charge him. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]Caeil[hr]

 

As she waited for isaiah's reply, since he seems to be busy finishing his meal, Caeil looked around, examining what happened at the time in the room.

 

There were several doors to go in and out the cafetaria, but due to the redhead's announcement, they were packed with inconsiderate seniors waiting to prey on the poor freshmen. Not. 

 

Several students that was still inside tried desperately to break the lockdown, but most were easily wrecked by the more plentiful and experienced seniors. One did seems to be able to hold himself well against the senior, but Caeil felt unsure that he could survive all the seniors, especially alone. 

 

As for the rest, they seemed to create their own groups, and most seemed to be in a heated discussion on a topic, possibly on finding the way to break through the lockdown.

 

SInce Isaiah still hadn't finished his food yet, Caeil decided to continue looking around. She then just realized how big the cafetaria is, and the room was adorned with beautiful glass mosaics, not unlike the ones found in chapels and cathedrals back in her homeland.

 

Caeil decided to walk around for now, since it seemed like most of the seniors were too lazy to try fighting inside the cafetaria, and prefer waiting outside.

[encapturer]

Amelia watched closely as the armored Arthur did one of the most awesome, and yet most idiotic thing yet.  While thinking up a course of action, she didn't give a second thought to starting a fight inside the cafeteria  It was one of the safe zones, after all, and she didn't want to give the seniors a reason to be even more brazen with their attempts.  Two seniors from the other exits seemed to think Arthur's act of aggression was a sign for them to step in, and started making their way over to where he was, drawing their Daedalus weapons in the process.

 

"Well, looks like things are going to get real messy soon, so you might have your chance at escape," Amelia said to Freed's group.  However, there was no way she was going to leave Arthur alone to take on pretty much everyone, especially after his actions on behalf of the freshman class.  Amelia equipped Claw Crusher on her right arm once again and walked over to Arthur's position before the other two seniors made it there.

 

"This is quite the mess you've gotten yourself into," Amelia said to Arthur, now standing back-to-back with him.  She raised Claw Crusher up in front of her and opened the claw, causing the two seniors approaching from the other exits to hesitate a bit.  "I'm hoping you're not planning a sacrifice play, though," Amelia continued. 

[Merci]

"What, are you having some trouble with the seniors, Caeil?" Isaiah's voice asked in a rather full-of-himself tone, just as he stood back up from the table, having calmly finished his meal without any trouble whatsoever. With confidence in his stature, he looked towards the many more-experienced seniors blocking the exits, and shook his head in amusement. "If Jupiter II were with me right now, then clearing them away would be simple. But without it... And my Gantfall is designed for single opponents, its explosives insufficient for this many. Indeed, this seems to be a tough situation."

 

Then, turning back to Caeil, he suddenly revealed a second, mechanical core held in his hands. It was a False Core, a new one at that, and he handed it over to her without hesitation. "I assume you have a better plan?"

 

As he moved his gaze towards one of the exits, he noticed another student holding back one of the exits all by himself. What was his name, Arthur? Nevertheless, it was an impressive feat, but Isaiah couldn't help but remark to himself how...vulnerable he was. And if one were to look at all the others within the cafeteria, then they were just as vulnerable. These freshmen would never expect one of their own to attack them, now would they? Not in such a situation.

 

And his thoughts moved towards one of the new rules. Something that would be extremely convenient for these two.

 

"Caeil." Isaiah spoke out just as she was preparing to do something, hoping to convey his thoughts to her with but a glance and a gesture towards all the vulnerable freshmen. Then, he repeated the rule once more, "Those who are defeated must grant one request from the victor."

 

With that, he activated his Gantfall and pointed it towards an unguarded exit, the threat alone of being shot keeping the seniors back...for now. Hopefully, enough time would be bought for Caeil to complete whatever it was she had in mind.

[The Warden]

Johannes was once again sitting alone at his table, his head tilted into a stalwart fist as he read the paper. There was nothing of realistic interest in it. During time of conflict any informational rag was usually filled with propoganda about the evils of the others countries, and how great the country it was housed in was doing. And according to the paper all Brittanian Knight-Engineers were six foot four with pectorals that put watermelons to shame. Johannes snorted in derision as he closed the paper, and idly fingered at the letter received from home. It had hadn't even been a week and already mother worried. It was a cute sentiment, and no doubt it would have been longer if not for the firm hand of his father. Though of course there would be a small annotation from him, probably just a few short words of encouragement.

 

They would probably help now, as that red-haired tart has added a new addendum to the conflict that was instigated by the rather questionable wisdom of the Student Council. A free request? Punishable even by the teacher body that's absurd. Well, to be fair it would procure an interesting snowball effect. Beat someone, make them assist you in beating someone but you take all the credit, rinse repeat on the new victom until everyone at the school is quite literally in a pile beneath your feet.

 

The seniors were already lining up at the doorways, whilst the freshmen huddled together in the groups like lost sheep. "Weeds out the weaklings, like Ez. That little wienie just really rubs me the wrong way" Polly remarked as his creeply worm-like tongue continue to lap up what was left of Johannes' cereal.

 

Johannes swapped hands, using the free one to run a finger along Polly's tail. "EVERYONE rubs you the wrong way Polly. Stop calling me that. This is your inner monologue so you don't need to maintain the ruse. Out of principle I refuse to call you Little Jo'ey. That was a joke Jo. You might want to pick up on the concepts of humour some time. Humour is for people without the wit to make a uppercutting remark. Undercutting. I said what I said. Fine, suit yourself. By lord this milk is awful. Did they milk a edad cow? Brittanian milk isn't as hearty as Ai Mercan milk. It's all about the environment, and i hear the cattle in this country aren't kept as clean as the industry free realm of our land. Ugh, what a disgusting country. And those Squidgeons; complete whores. I wonder how it is that I never find the absurdity in the fact that I'm having an inner monologue with a bird. Well if the theory is right, you're talking to yourself. Touche."

 

He wasn't having this conversation for any particular reason for any more than the fact that he was waiting for the seniors to beat up enough juniors to be satisfied. If they were anything like Isaiah they'd be crushed easily, and it's best not to be a show off... in the first week anyways.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Stellar and Minori at their breakfast in silence, as they headed the next announcement. Apparently the victor of the next battle got the chance to boss around the loser for a bit. While Stellar considered it to be useful, Minori hung his head in dread, imagining all the horrible things they could do to him. His nightmares only got worse once seniors started barricading the exits, preventing the poor freshmen from escape... lest they valued their dignity anyway.

 

"Hmm, I thought that announcement was suspicious," Stellar noted, before turning to a scared Minori, "Don't worry; I'll get you out of this mess,"

 

"Stellar, I... thanks," Minori said in response, "Now if only I had Sigil with me, I could get my weapons and we could fight these guys off,"

 

"I can arrange for that," Stellar remarked.

 

She then scanned the area for some seniors she remembered fighting before, so that if she had to, she could overpower them like she did in her earlier years at Daedalus College. Stellar eyed up two in particular near the south exit, and approached them.

 

"Excuse me, gentleman; my friend and I were wondering if we could pass," Stellar told the seniors, "We need to get a few things,"

 

"Well, ya shoulda thought o' that before comin' 'ere, missy," one of the seniors said.

 

"Yeah; no-one but seniors are allowed beyond this point," Stellar was about to reply to that one when all of a sudden...

 

"ONE OF THEM IS A SENIOR, YOU DOLTS!!"

 

'I'd recognize that voice from anywhere,' Stellar mused to herself, 'It's been a long time,'

 

"OH!! Um... about that!" the other senior called back to this voice meanwhile, "Which one is it again?!"

 

"THE ONE WITH THE BADLY OVER-SIZED RACK!! GOD DAMN IT, YOU'RE SUCH IDIOTS SOMETIMES!!"

 

The second senior guarding the south exit studied Stellar from head to toe, and especially the chest, before turning to the first one.

 

"Must mean her. I'll lead her to Shakira while you hold off anyone that tries to follow. Agreed?"

 

"Gotcha, mate,"

 

"Good," the senior then turned to Stellar, "Alright, I'll let you go, but only you, and only if you follow me,"

 

Stellar nodded, and, after getting slapped in a buttock by a senior that couldn't resist, was guided down the hallway leading out of the cafeteria. Minori however was left being, albeit unwillingly, and thus had to make his own escape. He tried to arouse the now lone senior guard by playing the part of a sweet, innocent, sexy girl, but the senior was unmoving. He raised an eyebrow, but he was unmoving. However, Minori at least had a Plan B up his sleeve.

 

"Hey look, a distraction!" the senior played along with this for the moment, but when Minori tried to make a bolt for it...

 

"Awe nah ya don'" all of a sudden, the poor Minori was tackled down onto the ground, with roughly 195lbs of senior right on top of his back.

 

...

 

Meanwhile, Stellar was shepherded to the gym by the other senior, having had to run to evade a pair of hands clamping onto her buttocks. The shepherding senior got himself tripped up on arrival though, by none other than Shakira herself. She was a fearsome senior, dressed in a typical ninja attire. Her blood red scarf flowed behind her as a breeze had picked up, as did her raven black hair. She wore nothing on her feet but black pantyhose, yet spiked plates could be seen on top, as well as on her shins, calves, forearms, shoulders and back. Shakira wielded a total of three katanas, one of which she was holding the senior she was staring down with her cold, mud-brown eyes at swordpoint with, and more than enough shurikens to pin down several students at once. At Shakira's side were two automatons that resembled scorpions; significantly larger than the hummingbird automatons, but yet still not full-sized.

 

"You can stop threatening to grab her ass now, pig," Shakira spat, as the senior got up and dusted himself off, "How's the cafeteria holding up?"

 

"Not well," the senior responded, "Right now, the others're responding to this one idiot junior that thinks he can take the lot of us himself,"

 

"Fine then, we'll just have to lock the doors," replied Shakira, "Get moving."

 

The senior was all too happy to oblige, and already began locking the doors to the gym from the inside... well, most of them. He was at least smart enough to actually leave the gym before locking the final door, leaving Shakira and Stellar alone on the inside.

 

"So you've trapped the both of us in here too, huh?" Stellar queried, "Why?"

 

"Well, this is what you wanted, is it not?" Shakira asked spitefully, "Senior on senior? One on one? Mono en mono?"

 

"Yes, but... was the lock-down on the cafeteria really necessary?" all Stellar achieved by asking this was a look of pure venom from Shakira.

[Aix]

"Nice to have you with us," said Freed, patting Zeta on the back. "Ezeltainn's over there... but I'm not sure where Aegis is." The masked boy had found himself a corner to sit in.
 
"Sarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarahsarah!!!!" Sarah found herself glomped by the girl she fought yesterday. The girl proceeded to greet Freed as well, but Freed was pre-occupied.
 
Freed creased his eyebrows as he saw some seniors menacingly surround the boy. Fighting was not permitted in the cafeteria, but it would still work to give verbal threats to make the other party submit.
 
"Ah, excuse me," said Freed, parting the crowd and grabbing Ezeltainn by the wrist. "Let's get going now."
 
"Where do you think you're going?" growled a burly-looking senior as he put a stiff hand on Freed's shoulder, but with sudden surprising strength, Freed tore free and the senior stumbled a few steps back as he was forced to suddenly let go. Before any further action could be taken, he and Ezeltainn, completely ignoring the rest of the seniors, walked back to the table where Zeta sat.
 
"I'm sure we all can be on a team, right Freed?" asked Sarah as Freed returned with Ezeltainn.
 
"Yeah, that's no problem!" He gave Vickky a very honest smile before turning to look around at the rest of his classmates at the other tables. "Guys, remember that we do have a priority to get to class," Freed called out. "I'm sure Miss Letty wouldn't be happy if our entire class was late. Our best bet is to break through for now and rush to the classrooms." Then, turning back to his own newly formed team he spoke with great intensity. "Let's go."

[InfernaLiza]

After glancing at his new-found partner, he said to her, "Watch my back, and gather as many freshman that want to leave as you can. I'll hold them off, while you bring the freshman here. With more people we can take these guys easily." 

 

He then attached Wingbeat onto Fatalis and, as the seniors had no clue what that meant, he fired of a shot just above their heads. 

 

"Clear this exit or back away from it. If you back away, I get to fight for points, if not, who the hell cares? You're all going down."

 

Arthur knew he was fully out-numbered, but, he decided to hold his ground. "I'll tell ya what, I rather not beat the sense outta all of you, so, give me one of the biggest guys you've got. Then, if I beat him, you all back away and leave the freshman alone. We got a deal fellas?"