BURN BURN

[bury the year]

OOC THREAD

 

5:00 - Berlin, Germany

 

It was still dark out. Only thin fingers of sunlight stretched out from above the horizon, laying themselves tiredly across Germany. It was a Saturday, the day when people were supposed to sleep in and enjoy themselves on a day of respite. However, at least one of these people was already wide awake and getting ready to leave.

 

Cory Diedrich stepped out of the small bathroom in his apartment, clad only with a towel around his waist and a yawn on his face. He hated early morning appointments, no matter where they were. He had been to Moscow, Austin, Port-au-Prince (that last one wasn’t fun) and more, and no matter where he was hired out to, it always started with an early departure. Today was different in a way, though: it was the first assignment he’d be out on with Freya.

 

Berlin was what, eight hours behind Canberra? That was going to be difficult to get adjusted to, especially because he had never really traveled outside of the NEU. Cory was mentally prepared for the red-eye, but physically his body was groaning to curl up next to Freya again. They had had the perfect night: a delicious dinner, a movie that neither of them really watched, and then...

 

He drew a smile, and quickly changed into a T-shirt and jeans, the only noise coming from early-morning traffic. It was something they agreed on the night before. If he left after Freya woke, there would be tears, lots of awkward hugging, and the inevitable missing of his plane. So, making sure not to step on that particularly creaky plank near the doorframe, Cory slunk out of the apartment with his luggage trawling behind him, only stopping to look through the door of the bedroom behind him. He could make out her sleeping form, her long strawberry-blonde hair tangled around her and a peaceful smile on her face.

 

It was the kind of image that made one realize why they fell in love.

 

Not wanting to sour the moment with regret, Cory turned and let the door swing close with a soft click. ‘This is it,’ he thought with a slight smile dancing across his lips. ‘Be faithful, Freya. Hope you come and visit.’

 

08:00 - International Airspace

 

Chewing on the chocolate danish that he was given as part of the inflight breakfast, Cory stretched his legs out in the first-class seat he was in, courtesy of the Australian government. They certainly were doing well at making a first impression. It had been two hours since having left Germany, and he still wasn’t awake. He usually never got first-class, or any class: he would usually just have piloted an Exframe to his destination. However, that would be a non-issue, since the few bounties he had carried out over the last year wouldn’t exactly have good connotations there.

 

He was part concerned and part excited for his new Exframe, though. It was going to be a custom model, the only one of its type in the world, and hand-manufactured by Shikura Industries, a very well-renowned manufacturer based in Japan. That was where his excitement stemmed from. Cory’s anticipation was from the fact that he was expected to pilot the thing immediately, without any warming up. It was going to be difficult.

 

Sighing, Cory turned his attention to a leatherbound portfolio on his lap. “PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA,” it read. “DO NOT READ WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORITY.”

 

He smirked. That warning wouldn’t dissuade anyone who wanted to get the info within. Cory already had memorized the folio’s contents, as he had been instructed. It contained a scant set of files: one page of introductions, three pages of his new Exframe’s schematics, and seven additional pages, one each on the members of Flood. The German knew the names and backgrounds by heart now. Two were from the NEU, one was from Japan, two were from the UNAS, one was from South America, and one was from Australia. They were a motley group, to be sure, and he knew that their motivations were as diverse as their nationalities.

 

‘Still curious on why Australia just doesn’t get mercenaries from their own base,’ he thought idly while taking the last bite of his danish.

 

“Coffee, sir?”

 

“Sorry?” Cory slapped the folio shut and slipped it aside before looking up at the stewardess on the aisle, who was rolling a cart filled with piping-hot coffee and other breakfast amenities. “Oh. Yes, please. Much appreciated.” He gave a slight toothy smile, and the young stewardess tittered before pouring a cup and placing it on his tray.

 

“There you go,” she winked, and wheeled her tray off. Cory watched her retreating figure until it passed between the curtains separating first-class and economy, and turned back to his files.

 

‘You still got it, Cory.’

 

21:00 - Canberra, Australia

 

Although it was already technically nighttime, the sun was just beginning to set over the Australian capital. Getting out of his taxi after thanking the driver in lightly-accented English and a generous tip, Cory pulled his two bags onto the curb and flopped down, admired the site in front of him.

 

The Pacific Coordination Center, known as PCC, was a recently-constructed building, only within the last year. It was built to herald the idea of Pacific unity that became increasingly aware across the globe, and the symbol of a thin triangular tower extending up from the center of the circular two-story building was certainly interesting. It was only compounded upon by the setting sun reflecting off the modern steel panels: Cory thought it was funny that he went from sunrise to sunset in a single plane ride.

 

The Flood members had been given orders to congregate outside by 22:00 and no later. For some reason, though, Cory suspected himself to be the first one out there.

 

“Guess I got nothing to do but wait,” he said to himself in German. “Hope everyone else isn’t already inside.”

 

[spoiler=OOC Notes]Your first IC goal is to post as your character, leaving their home country and arriving outside the PCC with Cory. Once everyone arrives, we’ll proceed, but feel free to socialize with other characters until then. Also, don’t feel like you need to write this long of a post: I rarely do anyways. x3

 

[Dad]

3:00 a.m., Okinawa, Japan. Kenshin Road, Fresh River Apartment Complex, Room 14-A

 

Once, twice, and in mid buzz, his alarm stopped. Smashing his finger into the "wake" button, Theodore was already fully awake, preparing himself for this momentous evening with a routine two-hundred sit-ups. "One hundred ninety-nine. . .two-hundred," he said with a huff. Sitting up straight now, the evening sun shone brightly through his apartment windows, right onto the bright red and white marked documents on his bed. He jumped to his feet and slammed the manila folder closed, before sliding it into a silver suitcase near his bedside table. Under instructions, he packed only a few changes of clothes, including his pilot's suit. Quickly slipping on his long blue jeans and a white muscle t-shirt, he reached in a closet and grabbed his favorite shirt (this one actually had sleeves). An all white, red letter-embroidered shirt that simply read his father's words in Japanese, "Waga hadou tenichi kyokatsu," he recited out-loud to himself (which means, all of heaven and earth shall recognize my potential).

 

Ten minutes. Ten minutes it took him to pack and prepare, leaving him exactly thirteen minutes to spare before his plane would take off. After kissing his mother's picture, he quickly brandished his suitcase and keys, and strolled out of his apartment, locking it behind him. "No time to eat," he thought to himself. "Can't be late for my first assignment."

 

Dashing outside, and down the nearest flight of stairs, his cab was already waiting. "Oi, oi! Theodore! We're gonna be late!" called the driver from the front seat of the white cab. Smoke plumed out of the car windows and the sound of loud rap music filled the early morning air. Throwing his bags into the farthest side of the cab, Theodore slammed his door and ushered the driver forwards. "You must be Mr. Hitaka. Get me there in five minutes and there's something in it for you, Mr. Driver," he said cautiously.

 

"Eh? I'll make it three! Haha!" The driver cheered himself on, flying through morning traffic and through back-streets. In five minutes and six seconds, the Airport had come into view. "Too bad. But because you tried so hard, I'll be polite and give you a tip," Theodore said chuckling.

 

The driver peered through the taxi glass window. "Really!? How much?" he questioned excitedly.

 

Theodore laughed again. "Here's your tip: the fastest route to any destination is a straight line." And with that, he slipped out of the cab as the driver continued to rage on, only barely grabbing his suitcase.

 

12:00 a.m., International Airspace

 

"First class eh? What a gesture," he said quietly to himself. Peering out of the window to his left, he absorbed the view. The seas were beautiful, and the moon's light danced elegantly upon its surface. "What a night. I can't wait to meet some new faces. I wonder what they're?" he thought. With a mere hour remaining in his flight time, he drifted off to sleep.

 

09:00 p.m., Canberra, Australia, Pacific Coordination Center

 

Hopping out of his cab, Theodore lay his suitcase down softly, and stretched. "Oi. I forgot I was going back in time. I wonder if we'll have time for a nap?" he said chuckling aloud.

 

The PCC was an astonishing sight, unfamiliarly odd compared to the typical Japanese architecture he was used to. Outside, another casually dressed gentlemen waited patiently. Approaching silently from his left, Theodore eyed the PCC building, expecting some kind of welcome committee.

[shadowferret]

6:00 AM: Honolulu, Hawaii, Pacific Rim Territory

 

He had a dream that night. When he got out of bed he immediately had walked over to the window and looked up. The sky was tinted with a red-orange hue, and the actual sun was being blocked out by dilapidated buildings. When he looked down his eyes were greeted with a scene of gangsters attacking a street vendor.

 

Humberto Goza awoke from his dream with a jolt. The terror in his mind wouldn’t go away until he confirmed it. The man slowly walked over to the window and pushed aside the cream colored curtains. What met his eyes were a shining blue sky and the bright yellow sun. This place was much better than where he came from, Mexico City. The streets were lined with pavement and not dirt; the sky wasn’t tainted completely by the pollution; war wasn’t waiting around every other corner.

 

“Thank god… that nightmare is all behind us…” He turned away from the window and gazed at the figure still laying in bed. His lover and soon-to-be wife was still asleep, neck-deep in the covers and shrouded in her long brown hair. His eyes didn’t leave her for a whole minute, but he snapped out of his trance immediately when he remembered what today was.

 

Finally the day came where he gets to meet his new employers. He had spent many a day soldiering it up for the United North American States, but the stress of fighting on the streets he grew up on became too much for the man. Humberto took his fiancée and fled to Hawaii just a week ago. The apartment he rented was fairly cheap, so the whole deal seemed pretty agreeable right off the bat.

 

As he reflected on everything that’s happened in the last week, Humberto Goza dressed himself in a white button-up shirt, a solid brown tie, black slacks and white tennis shoes. He carried a simple businessman’s suitcase at his side, which really had nothing in them but a change of clothes and the documents he had received from the new clients. He had spent hours looking over those few pages. The introduction was somewhat short and sweet, and the profiles of his future coworkers were very detailed and in-depth. However, neither of these had interested him nearly as much as the schematics of the ExFrame he was expected to pilot. The introduction was the intro, nothing special there, and he had figured that he’d rather meet the people and make his own impressions rather than make judgments about them based on a few pieces of paper. No, this ExFrame was quite a piece of work, from what he read and understand. Really, in his heart he was more excited about piloting the thing than actually working for the people who gave it to him.

 

Humberto ducked back into the bedroom and kissed his still-sleeping lover on the cheek before walking out the door and heading straight for the main street. It only took about three minutes to get a cab. The driver had a very polite tone in her voice when she asked where he was headed, so he didn’t mine giving her a fairly large tip as he exited the vehicle.

 

“It’s a new day in a new place. Let’s just see how much excitement I’m in for tonight…” The smile on his face stayed all the way from entering the terminal until he was seated in the plane.

 

10:00 AM, International Airspace

 

“First class… pretty fancy, guys. You’ve already won a few points in my favor.” Humberto made a mental note to thank whoever he was going to meet for the awesome accommodations during the flight. The flight attendant offered him a snack and a drink, the latter of which he denied but the former he took gratefully. After consuming the airplane food which was better than legends said it would be, he quickly fell asleep, wanting to make the time go as fast as possible until the meeting tonight.

 

9:30 PM, Canberra, Australia

 

Another taxi ride and generous tip later, Humberto found himself in front of the Pacific Coordination Center, a majestic building that seemed to have some kind of symbolic meaning he couldn’t be bothered to figure out at the moment. The excitement made him feel as if he was about to burst! He took a few slow, silent steps toward the building. The sun’s final dying rays behind it took his breath away. Though one glance around informed him that he wasn’t quite alone.

 

“Hola, companeros. How’s it going?”

 

Best to make friends rather than enemies if I’m going to be working here for a while…

[Dad]

A light footsteps behind Theodore beckoned him to turn around, just as a new face introduced himself. "This place is pretty busy tonight. You must be a pilot too," Theodore said offering a hand shake. "Name's Theodore, of Okinawa, Japan. How are you brother?" The new face was that of a Hispanic man. He appeared to be nearly six feet tall, and carried a very positive demeanor about him, at least, that was Theodore's first impression.

 

So far things were going smoothly. The environment was enjoyable in Australia. The familiar feeling of home came about as Theodore realized what he was doing, who he was becoming, and how this would shape his life. Things could only get better, and he would use these opportunities to make (hopefully) life-long allies. It was something about a bunch of people coming together to fight for a cause, a greater cause (in ExFrames) that made Theodore excited. If everyone of the Pilots was as kind as this man before Theodore, working together on the battlefield would be as easy as taking his rifle apart and putting it back together blindfolded. Well, for Theodore of course.

[Otaku-sama]

Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, UNAS. 0727 hours

 

After a cussing out a wake up call he didn't ask for, Gui managed to make himself decent with a shower. He felt like crap from last night, emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet. Normally, he wouldn't be this sick, but last night he had to finish all his absinthe, since he wouldn't be able to bring it onto the plane. He took a quick shower, dressed and threw the rest of his stuff into his suitcase, including an unopened folio. After making a quick stop at the hotel's complementary breakfast and signing out, he left for the airport, which was only a walk away. He had insisted that he received a hotel next to the airport so he wouldn't have to wake up early. However, when he reached the entrance to the terminals, a massive line of tourists trying to pass security stood between him and his flight. This would be a long day for him.

 

International Airspace. 1236 hours

 

The flight was dragging on event longer than he thought. Despite his first class seat and the in-flight movie, he was incredibly bored and hungover. To make matters worse, this airline didn't have any decent booze, only dollar store vodka. He couldn't bring himself to watch the movie, he knew cinema had already turned to crap before he was born. His headache started throbbing and he knew that something had to be done. He walked into the lavatory and extracted a small plastic bag taped to the inside of his pant leg. Inside were a few brown, shriveled pieces of brown fungus. He managed to smuggle them past the tired security guard for such emergencies as this. He popped them into his mouth and returned to his seat. He strapped himself in. In a matter of minutes, the movie became much more entertaining.

 

 

In front of Pacific Co-ordination Centre, Canberra, Australia. 0936 hours

 

Gui was thankful he took his shrooms on the plane. Not only did it make it much more enjoyable, but he saved himself a world of trouble at the airtight Australian customs. Still feeling the effects of the drugs, he approached the shining PCC, utterly fascinated by its shifting shape. The way the sun hit the building created triple rainbows. The building was surrounded by colourful ponies with long flowing hair, each going about its business.

"Whoa...Should've came to Australia if I knew it was like this..." Gui muttered to himself, shielding his dilated pupils from the sun. He found a concrete bench near the entrance and sat down, his eyes wide and full of wonder.

 

OoC: Yea, those were some serious shrooms he had. The effects will wear off once things get serious though, for the sake of the plot.

[shadowferret]

"Hey there, Theodore. I'm doing alright. My name's Humberto Goza." The Hispanic extended his hand to meet the other pilot's. Humberto gave him a firm handshake, trying to signal the start of a new camaraderie. The man he had just met had an interesting skin complexion that hinted at being of African descent, but his facial features seemed to scream out another ethnicity he couldn't quite place. Theodore looked like a man who you wouldn't want to mess around with. Humberto mentally noted that he was glad he didn't read the personnel files, because meeting someone like this is much more interesting when you know nothing about them.

 

Humberto Goza's thoughts were swimming around his head rapidly now. It was fairly late at night to be meeting in a place like this, but it could only be expected of a group who was about to be entering a battlefield soon. He hoped that his new comrades and he will get along in the future, but there never is any way to be sure of how people's different personalities will mesh together. This Theodore man was an interesting character to be sure, but Humberto tried not to let his first impression rule his overall relationship with him. With a last smile, Humberto opened his mouth once more to continue the small talk, but was interrupted by the sight of another person approaching. He turned slowly to the new man who didn't quite look okay, and opened his mouth once more. "Hello there, comrade!"

[bury the year]

Well, he wasn’t the only person anymore, that much was for sure. As Cory sat idly on the curb, first one, then two then three people arrived, all within a period too short for him to really react to each individually. The first was a powerfully-built black man in his forties, from the look of it, wearing a long red shirt over jeans. When he turned his back to get

 

‘Really, dude? The whole throwing-Japanese-over-everything went out a good decade ago, I thought. You’re at least 40; you shouldn’t be into fads.’ Not voicing that last thought out loud (Cory at least had some degree of prudence), he pushed himself off the curbside in a single fluid motion, regaining his balance at the end from almost falling onto his ass. “‘Ey,” he stated simply as he strolled over, barely waving a hand in greeting as his sneakers scuffed across the worn asphalt. “Guess you’re here for the same thing I am- oh?”

 

Despite his best intentions, it seemed like he was beaten to the punch, as another taller man pulled up in a taxi. He was Latin American, from the looks of it, and compared to Cory and the first man’s build, he was pretty damn skinny. As Cory watched, the man went over to exchange greetings with the first, who must’ve been Theodore Baigun based on their talking.

 

“Hello there, comrade!”

 

Cory frowned slightly. “You a Commie or somethin’?” He held the look of gravity for about a second before cracking a grin. “Eh, ah could really care less. Cory Diedrich, ‘n you?” He raised his right hand out in expecting a high-five-to-handshake that was his customary welcome, but some movement in the twilit sun out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he lowered his hand once more. “Actually, hold that thought. Seems like we have lucky number four.”

 

Taking a few long strides over to the new arrival, Cory gave the new man a quick glance over. He didn’t look good: he was visibly perspiring, even in the somewhat-cool evening air, and his pupils were wide and glassy. One of the files in Cory’s portfolio mentioned a pilot having an addiction of some sort, but he forgot which one. Maybe he had found his target.

 

“Dude, y’okay?”

[Dad]

Theodore couldn't help but crack a smile and a laugh as the German man he barely noticed after arrival, made a smart comment about his shirt, and who then turned to the new arrival. Theodore too at last noticed the man over on the bench. He appeared to be in a daze of sorts, lazily eyeing the world. "What a dream he must've had," he thought to himself.

 

"Pleasure to meet you Humberto. And you Cory. Wise cat this guy, eh?" Theodore was already getting more hyped by the minute. With this class of people (a smart ass, a kind hearted soul, and a fire starter (that being himself)) it was sure to be a strange meeting of sorts, all worth it.

 

So far, it was the four of them. Theodore, Humberto, Cory, and the unknown dazed fella over on the hardened bench. It was like a gathering of family members you've never met in your entire life, and can't tell you're related to them in any way. And yet, somehow, they had a distinct feature that could only be found in your bloodline. What the hell kinda family is that?

[Otaku-sama]

Gui was staring at the clouds, which stared back with big eyes of its own. Then, out of the herd of ponies came shining men with monocles and comically large top hat, each one asking if he was okay. Gui stared at them for a second; then spoke.

"How'd you guys get all shiny like that? Are...Are you guys wizards? I would like to learn magic please! Teach me the ways of this mysterious and...and wonderful realm!" Gui responded with wide open eyes. He suddenly stood up and walked a small distance to the centre of pavement. He put his hands in the air and took a deep breath.

"What a nice place!" he said to himself. He noticed that the sky was fading from a light pink to blue streaked with orange clouds. The ponies' heads stretched to form torsos, then their long bodies shrunk into human legs. The triple rainbow faded into oblivion. The wizards lost their top hats and darkened. A single tear leaked from Gui's eye.

"Farewell magical world! Farewell!!!" Gui shouted to the sky before sitting on the ground and burying his hands in his crossed arms.

[Quiksilver]

OoC: Because Angel was exiled from her country a while ago, please excuse me for not posting in her homeland.

 

8:30 A.M.- Casablanca, Morocco

 

Angel groaned as sunlight battered her well-tanned face, somehow working it's way past the shades she had put up just for that reason. After a few feeble attempts to turn away from the light, Angel finally denounced it as a lost cause and opened her bleary brown eyes to the world. The first thing that greeted her was the sight of a rather badly-decorated hotel room. Well, of course. That was where she had bedded after last night. She chuckled slightly after realizing it took her a second to remember this, and then gave the window a dirty look- she hated the Moroccan sunlight. It reminded her too much of her home.

 

Slowly, Angel extricated herself from the bed, finally managing to sit upright on it's corner. The traitorous light now framed her body in a golden halo, emphasizing her perfect form and the messy, yet lovely hair falling down her face; she was quite beautiful. At least, the man she had brought here last night thought so.

 

In the end, that was a mistake. He had actually tried to pocket her golden ring. After a brief scuffle, he had ended up in the hallway, at 1:00 in the morning, a gun ushering him out firmly and a twisted knee making him difficult for him to do so, and thus Angel had spent the rest of the night alone. He was a lucky bastard. Lucky the gun hadn't "accidently" went off. Next to his head.

 

So yes, it probably was a bad idea bringing the man here, but what could you say? A girl wanted to party after completing a difficult job, and if a man approached her in a bar and offered her a drink- well, actually several- wouldn't the polite thing be to take him home for the night. Not that the reason she was partying for was quite legal, of course...She had spent the day in Novo Graça, helping the police deal with some unruly natives, and while that might have sounded legal, the furtive looks and discreet gestures convinced her that her hiring was not completely authorized by the African Federation. Not that Angel cared. The money from that job was one step closer from getting away from all this bloodshed and war. And Angel hoped that her latest job would be the clincher in that deal.

 

Speaking of which...she should probably get ready for that job. She had to be in Morocco by tomorrow, and plane tickets weren't cheap. Time was also a luxury she couldn't afford; it took around half a day to get from Morocco to Canberra, Australia, and her meeting time was at 10:00 PM, and most of the people she worked for were big on punctuality; getting there exactly on time equated to getting there late in most of their books'. And so, despite her body's wish to roll back under the covers, she threw on a pair of clothes and starting packing up.

 

9:35 P.M.- Canberra, Australia

 

Angel bounded down the airplane and breezed past Customs with rather more happiness than she had had in the morning. She had managed to catch a few winks on the plane, courtesy of the first-class seat she had been given (she was liking the job so far) and it had considerably brightened her mood. She still wanted to kill the next man she saw, but other than that she was fine.

 

Hailing a taxi (there was a man driving, but Angel ignored that fact), Angel arrived swiftly at the Pacific Coordination Center, barely enough time to marvel at her surroundings. Passing a few bills to the driver, she exited the car and approaching the building; the sun was dimming, retreating past the horizon, but in it's failing light Angel could make out several figures near the entrance. Three of them seemed to be standing, whilst one sat on a bench. Perhaps they were the so-called allies she was going to be required to work with? Angel wrinkled her nose at the thought, but approached them nevertheless.

 

"Hola," she said, her eyes passing over each of them in turn. They were all male, but each seemed to be of a different nationality. Among them, Angel recognized the telltale features of a European, a African (perhaps American?), and interestingly, a Hispanic. The man sitting on the bench she couldn't make out, since Angel's eyes were more focused on the three standing men, though the one sitting seemed to be getting up as time passed.

 

"I assume you are my fellow Exframe pilots, yes?" She said, a Brazilian accent evident on her voice.

[Dad]

Theodore turned around abruptly at the sound of a car door. Things had suddenly gotten more interesting as a fifth taxi peeled away into the night, and a lady of beauty stepped out from it's doors. She appeared to be American; that is until she spoke to the rest of the pilots there. A Brazilian accent hit Theodore like a ton of bricks, so she was probably from South America. And to top it all off, she referred to the ExFrames. The first female pilot on board.

 

Theodore smiled, introduced himself. "Yes, we too are ExFrame Pilots. Name's Theodore, of Okinawa. What might your name be?" he asked patiently.

 

He then gave a stare at the gentlemen who had arrived shortly before her. He stood at last, babbling on about wizards and magic. Theodore let out a chuckle as he watched the stranger fall to his knees in anguish as his magical world disappeared. He couldn't help but wonder if the dazed fella was simply drunk, had a medical condition, or for that matter, just toying with their heads. Either way, a crew like this was had a wide variety. This meant a wide variety of ExFrames ypes.t

[fenrir]

Unlike the others, Corinne was already there.

 

Considering she was born and grew up on Australia, she did not have to fly for the majority of the day to reach the compound, or do anything actually. So she spent most of the day shopping, something she didn't really do all too much in the first place. She bought some new cloths, and a new purse. Her old one was chewed up by her dog Madeline, the husky Australian shepherd mix quite tenacious, so she had to make sure to hide her new one when she inevitably returned home. Having nothing else to do she turned on the TV to see if anything good was on. One channel had classic movies, and so she spent the rest of her day watching terrible movies, like Con Air.

 

Then she realized she was late.

 

She quickly hailed a cab, and directed the short Mexican driver near the compound. After a few minutes, a small argument in Spanish (she only recalled the basics), and a few dead ends, she reached the compound. Once she payed the cab driver, she made her way to the group of people quite obviously near the entrance. Were they her co-workers? Oh jooooy! I can't wait to see what kind of stories they have to tell... With a skip in her step and a little grin, she made her way towards them.

 

However, they already seemed to be talking, and a funny man with strange eyes seemed to be staring at the sky above. She blinked and glanced upward; there was nothing. "Uhm... Sir, whatcha looking at?"

[Dad]

Before Theodore had time to even contemplate the excitement in his head, another cab pulled up to the PCC. Thankfully, a second lady exited it's doors. "Wow," he thought. "So many beauties, so little time[/i]."

 

She had the oddest skip in her step, almost as odd as the gentleman who was on the ground with his magical friends. Almost ironically enough, the first person she approached was the mesmerized victim on the ground. This was something out of a fairytale. "I think he's in some kind of trance," Theodore replied as he new member questioned about the magic world. "I take it you're a pilot as well. Welcome aboard," he said offering a handshake. It was always a good idea to befriend the few female allies you believe you would have. Besides, with women like this, there was no telling what combat roles they could play, and what "other" roles they might play secretively.

[Otaku-sama]

Gui found himself crouching on the floor in darkness. He slowly got back on his feet, noticing that he had a weird taste in his mouth and was being watched by strangers. Dazed, Gui dusted himself off while trying to remember where he was. After a little bit of confused looking around, he realized that he had one of the craziest trips he has ever had. He didn't see any authorities deporting him back to the hellhole that is the UNAS. He groped his waist for his flask and popped it open. Instead of the sweet smell of absinthe, it smelled like soda. He wondered why he would ever fill this with soda, even if he was high, before taking a swig. The horrible grape taste of the soda snapped his head back into reality. He glanced at the strangers looking at him. None of them seemed to fit in with the rest of the morning commuters, so Gui reasoned that they must be his fellow pilots. He decided to act as if nothing happened and take everything in stride. He turned to the closest pilot to him, who was an attractive Brazilian woman.

"Good morning to you. I suppose you are one of my co-workers. I am Gui."

[bury the year]

Locked until further notice for both personal and academic reasons. If you'd like details and info on whether I project this to reopen, please contact me through PM or any other method.