Solice City

Solice city. Sunday 8:00 pm.
July 18, 2013
Location: Warehouse.
GM
It was a night of laughter. A night of boredom. Basically, it was a dreaded night because it was the night before Monday, and no one likes Mondays. As for you. Maybe this is a night of excitement. A night of fear. A night that will change your life forever. Well.... if you don't think it'll change your life forever, then your wrong. You are about to take the plunge into a new world. Can't really say it's a beautiful one, but it is one full of riches, fame, power, and of course death. It's simple really. Pay attention to the words of the hunter's. They are your friends but they might also be your potential killers. Let's not get to deep into that shall we? Let's talk about your introduction. I'm sure you've met him. The man in the suit. Or the man at the bar. Or the man that just happens to bump into you. That man, is known as a scout. He's searching for talent. Not just any type of talent. He picks a person with talent based on their soul. You don't believe me? Well that's why your here isn't it? To find out if the man was crazy? To find out if you should take the injection that was inside that needle? All will come to light. The first being the fact that the man was right. But,.....He didn't tell you the price. Most people don't when they want something from you. Hehehe. Anyway. Tonight you learn, what they want you to learn. Then, you decide for yourself whether it's worth it. Or if your going to run, because truthfully, you can die and, even worse, loose your soul.
Prologue:

Axl Nui Koi
Axl walked on stage with his two team members. He was the center of attention as people were staring at him. You would think at a gathering like this, there would be noise of small competition being held, but there was silence. The tension was thick. So thick some people were actually having anxiety attacks. Axl could see everything through his cold stare that surveyed the crowd. 'They keep getting younger each month.' He thought to himself. Seeing faces of children probably barely starting their high school year. The current veteran number two, was a seventeen years old, but she progressed pretty fast. This gave him the impression that they think younger souls are a better show. He exhaled softly as a sigh that only his team could have. He flipped of his black hood to reveal his face. He glanced to his right and saw Asher, his right hand man and his damage dealer. He was calm as usual. Axl knew he probably thought ill of the fact that they were recruiting kids these day. Then, without moving his head, he looked at Eva. He couldn't really tell what she was thinking based on her lazy look. It had different effects on people. Some people were scared of her cause she was ruthless in battle. Others just thought she was lazy. As for Axl, he thought she was just bored but, then again, she could be all three of those things at once. He looked back at the crowd with cold eyes and started to speak.

"Welcome," He said in a low uninterested but stern voice, to express his authority and his lack of feelings for people in the crowd. "All of you are probably wondering why your here. Well, if your here then you must know your reason already. You were promised fame, fortune, and power. Everything you've ever wanted in your wildest dreams. You came here hoping for that miracle and I'm pretty sure about 90 percent of you think its a load of crap. Let me tell you something. It isn't. If you haven't realized i......" He was cut off by someone in the crowd. "What do you mean it isn't? I was given this weird vaccination gun and I can't even use it. This is bullshit. I'm pretty sure everyone here agrees with me. Right!!!?"

Axl let out another sigh and lightly said, "Asher." Of course he knew what to do. He had to transform and quickly knock that guy unconscious before Eva lost her temper at the kid. He was probably only 17. No need for him to die tonight. Just had to knock him out and throw him somewhere after the organization erased his memory. Asher would handle it better than Eva. She'd probably kill him. He made sure to pay close attention to the crowd. He was slightly happier. With Asher's transformation and in-human speed, mixed with the knockout he dealt to the kid, his point wouldn't have to drag on forever. Once in a while he would get people like this guy. People that would help his point prove more realistic. He than continued with his speech. "As I was saying. If you haven't realized it yet. The injection guns you received, or 'Soul Re-leaser', as we call it, are locked and can not be used. That is because I don't want people who don't know the rules walking around with this type of power without hearing the rules. I will not answer questions. You will pay attention. I'm sure you understand. If you don't. We don't care." He waited for Asher to go back to normal and rejoin him on stage. "My colleague here just used a power called soul release to activate a soul form. Anyone who takes the injections can achieve a form like this. Each form is different. It depends on your soul. Everyone's is different. That is all you need to know about that. The next topic is why do you have to release your soul and achieve this form. Well that's simple. You all will compete in a competition for money. It's an underground sport, similar to cage fighting except no cage. You will fight it out with your powers and get prize money as well as what we call soul points. Usually we give out 5 but, since I'm feeling generous, I'm giving you lot 20." He didn't really feel generous. He was just tired of seeing newcomers die so quickly.

"When you run out of soul points three things can happen. One, you will be at the mercy of the victor. Two, the victor will control your soul and make you his servant. Three, you will run for your life and we, the hunters, will track you down and kill you. Once you inject yourself there is noway out. Noway besides death. So if you want to leave and forget about your dreams of fame, power, and riches, then you can go through the door to your right. There they will confiscate your soul injectors and send you back to your pitiful normal lives. You may do this now." He said waiting for people to leave. More than have the room left. He couldn't blame them. He basically just told them to sell their soul for hopes that could be taken away. It was better this way. Weak souls should leave so they live longer. He then turned to the remaining people. There was about 20 of them. He raised his left hand and clicked a button on what looked like a car alarm.

"Inject yourselves now." He waited while hearing the sound of moans and grunts. The injection is thicker than penicillin but the pain goes fast. After the noise was down he continued. "Now that you have released your soul you will spend the next day finding your trigger. Your trigger will help you to use your power. You have 5 days. On Friday you will receive a random message. Read it. You will show up at the location to fight your first match. There will be camera's around to make sure you don't run. If you run. We kill you. When you bet soul points, don't bet high. If you loose those points, I remind you, you are not in control of your life anymore. Last of all. Don't let people see you using your power. If you do. We will kill you. This is the contract. Fulfill and live longer. You can buy your freedom after 20 matches. If you have the money. Depends on how valuable you are. It also depends on if you want to stop. After your first match you will receive not only messages about your matches but others matches as well. When you leave, go to the door on the left. You will do a medical screening and blood drawing. Then you are free to go home." After this he left having Asher and Eva follow him. His job for the night was done. He knew he sparked up many questions in the crowds heads but it was better that he just gave them the just of things. The less people know, the easier it is to sleep at night. That's at least what he thought.
Prologue end.

Part 1. The hardest hunt. The hunters gather to do their job. You on the other hand, think about what happened on Sunday and try to find your trigger before your first match. The date is Wednesday, July, 21.
(ooc: Everyone can post after Asher, the second GM post)

Day: WEDNESDAY - 6/21/13
TIME: 8:30 PM
Location: HQ, Solice City

Asher walked through the hallway, not even bothering with the passing familiar colleagues. This was a matter of important business, something that the Hunters need to take care of ASAP. No buts, ifs, waits, or whatever. They need to do it now. It's evening, probably the perfect setting for a "Bringer of Bad News" scenario, and that's what Asher is in right now. The bad news? It's to be revealed soon enough. However, Asher needs to get to the person who he has to reveal the information to.

It's not hard to find Axl. Usually he's in his office, doing something. Paper work, jotting down notes in modifying this silly contest, etc. Asher has some papers with him as well, those related to this bad news mentioned in the earlier paragraph. Not even bothering to knock, Asher opened the door to see Axl in his chair, the computer monitor covering his face. "Axl." Asher began. "We have some bad news here." A large understatement, Asher. "Some bad news" doesn't cut it. His mind chastised him, something Asher had done in order to better himself at martial arts.

"We have something... new here. We have a 'Rogue Soul Killer.' The guy kills anyone, and I mean anyone. He's killing any person that we give to him as a challenge or who was sent as a challenge himself. Not just a quick death; it'll be usually a brutal one. Signs of torture and stuff, you know- Law & Order, NCIS, that kind of stuff." Asher explained. "He won't stop when winning a fight against any Soul Killer that wagers short of all his or her Soul Points; he'd kill them anyway. There are also reports of the guy murdering anyone out of the Soul Killer contest as well." Asher dropped the files on the desk, his mind being reminded about all those crime investigation shows. "I haven't told Eva, yet. Of course, I think you'll report this to her as well. I believe that this would be a job for the Hunters." Saying that last statement, Asher couldn't help but smirk. Not in a sadistic way, but knowing that he's stopping more pointless murders,

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Seriously, Eva probably would have pulled that kid out from the crowd and have used him as an example to the others of what not to do, especially in front of her. Yet, Axl and Asher took care of the situation before she could draw her sword and set the rules herself, not liking 'weak' people asking unnecessary questions. She let out a deep sigh before slinging her sword back onto her shoulder, the dull side of course, since she didn't like sheathing such a beautiful weapon.

When Axl finished his speech, she followed him and Asher for a while, whistling and looking around at random things that might grab her attention. But seeing how she found very little in the building they were in, filled with working people, work, things she wasn't too fond of, she grabbed a small bottle of beer and opened it up before sneaking outside, which she usually did to get away from doing serious things. It's one of the reasons why she didn't have an actual other job other than a Hunter. The way she entertained herself on normal days was simply watching TV, drinking, and taking walks around the city, fully clothed, although she hated it because it always restricted her movements.

She walked outside the building she was in, secretly escaping the two people she worked with, and stretched her arms outside after taking another sip of her drink, "What a nice night... Yet it was ruined by that one kid who had to scream out loud. Tch. How the hell am I supposed to go to sleep with that moron's face in my mind now?" She grumbled, finishing up the can of beer and tossing it into a near by trashcan.

It was probably illegal for a normal person to go walking around, half naked, with a sword in hand, who reeked of alcohol, but it was night time. If someone did find her, she'd have much more of an advantage over normal humans anyways. It was about time she got out anyways, so this was the perfect opportunity to get some fresh air after staying cooped up inside for so long, on 'work' days and on normal days.

A moment later of walking in the area, she thought that maybe she should go back to check on Asher and Axl, "Hah, who knows what those two kids are planning without me. Probably something really idiotic and stupid." She let out a drunk-sounding laugh, although she was perfectly in control of herself, "Ah... what ever... I can catch up later..."

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Noah sat in his chair of the apartment that once belonged to his 'childhood friend.' He had a pen in his hand, and all he was doing was clicking it, over and over again. This obviously indicated that he was quite bored and had not much to do, "How boring..." He murmured with a pouting face before he simply tossed the pen out the open window, probably falling into a bush below.

Noah was more than bored. He had been bored the past few hours, finding no one interesting, and nothing interesting to do. He already messed with the bank, murdered a few innocent people on 'accident,' and used his manipulation powers well enough to the point that he had already broken just about all the bones in his left hand which was bandaged up, but was already healing fast, past the point of abnormality.

He then looked across his room, the wall behind his bed being filled with darts that pierced far and deep into the wall, along with papers of horrifying looking drawings like something you'd see from a nightmare. He took up another pen in his right hand before flipping it upwards, then seeming to make a motion for it to go somewhere, and before it could hit the palm of his hand again, it lunged itself towards the wall, hitting one of the pictures of a black rabbit, terribly drawn like a child had grabbed a set of black crayons and just scribbled anywhere, the lines seeming to have formed a rabbit shape.

"Dull." He repeated another word, getting up from his chair before hearing a noise outside and leaning out the window. Apparently, it was a couple, walking together near his apartment, and when they saw him, they smiled and waved, though their small dog barked obnoxiously at him.

A small smile came to his face as he waved back, but his wave was a little... odd... Well, thats because he wasn't waving. His power was manipulation, and since he liked having 'fun,' this was his way of having it. The dog the two had stopped barking and turned towards the man and attacked him while the female had no control over herself and just stood there, looking up at the sky with blank eyes as the rabid dog continued to attack the helpless man.

After seeing this, Noah gave out a crazy and insane sounding laugh as he sat back down in his chair, spinning around and around and saying to himself out loud, "What fun, what fun~" He paused, almost immediately and then remembered that killing innocent humans wasn't allowed, but then the same smile came to his face. The sadistic smile of his, "And to think that those fragile ones will do something about me? Interesting... I'd like to see them try." He sat up right in his chair, still smiling to himself. He just found his new set of chess pieces, and decided to make the city his chessboard, "Your move first~" He said, as if he was talking to someone although he was the only one in the room as he bent back one of his left hand fingers and a snapping noise was heard. Still, a smile, "Ouch." He giggled.

Axl sat in his office. He was going through files on his computer to check up on the newcomers blood and compatibility test. He had five name's that really spiked his interest. The first was Kamina Harina. He liked this kid. Reminded him allot of himself. He was born in the slums. He had allot of warrants out for his arrest. Well, not anymore. Contenders only face one law, the hunters, any other form of law had to be cut. So Axl proceeded to erase all of his criminal records. 'Fresh start kid. Don't waste it.' He thought to himself.
The next names were the Pyke twins. Annabell and Chester. Tragic story with them. Grew up rich and had everything stolen from them, but still, they fought on. The interested him to say the least and he himself, who was family oriented, was very accepting of their goal.
'Hmm.' He thought as he scrolled names. 'Lucas "Soki" O'Connell. Master thief. Hehe. Orphaned at age ten. Took care of himself anyway he could till now huh. Should be a good fighter. He might even be strong and daring enough to join our ranks. I'll have to keep a mental not of him.' He thought while jotting down notes. The notes weren't of people but of little things. Like what type of fighting style he predicted they would have. It was his job after all to hash out fights for the new ones until they earn the right to challenge people. He gave a rough sigh and scratched his head. Thinking about why, out of all the extra jobs, did he get that one. He shruged it off and looked at the last name on the list of female newcomers.
Kyra Anderson. She joined because she needed money for school. She looked innocent but if the organization picked her then she must've had some potential. He was reading through the profiles when suddenly Asher came storming in, looking like one of those t.v. cops that had just picked up a case. Asher's secondary job was to scout problems afterall, so this didn't really faze Axl. "What's wrong?" He said in his usual calm tone.
"We have some bad news here." Asher said in an urgent tone. Axl gave a light chuckle. "Is it ever good?" He asked, not really looking for a response. "What is it?" He said as he stood up from his chair grabbing his sword, the Kusanagi.
"We have something... new here. We have a 'Rogue Soul Killer.' The guy kills anyone, and I mean anyone. He's killing any person that we give to him as a challenge or who was sent as a challenge himself. Not just a quick death; it'll be usually a brutal one. Signs of torture and stuff, you know- Law & Order, NCIS, that kind of stuff." Asher said using his usual comparisons. He always did have a will to take down evil. Axl didn't mind. Asher was a good partner and a huge damage dealer. Axl thought of himself as the speed and Eva as the finishing touch. "So what." He said coldly. "People always die in this competition. Sometimes in a real gruesome way. That's how it is." Axl knew there was more. Asher wouldn't barge in if there wasn't.
"He won't stop when winning a fight against any Soul Killer that wagers short of all his or her Soul Points; he'd kill them anyway. There are also reports of the guy murdering anyone out of the Soul Killer contest as well." Asher said while dropping files on Axl's desk. That's all he needed to know. Whenever paperwork was involved, Asher did his homework, and there was nobody that could gather info like him. Axl thought he could if he tried, but that would mean boring work and Asher seemed to like it.
Axl and Asher left the office and continued to talk. "What about Eva?" Axl asked. "Does she know?"
"I haven't told Eva, yet. Of course, I think you'll report this to her as well. I believe that this would be a job for the Hunters." Asher replied. Axl smiled at this. He liked his cliche hero of justice attitude. Everyone that worked for the organization had something that helped them feel like they weren't doing dirty work. Even him.
He didn't say anything. He just led Asher outside where he knew Eva would be. That's where she had been since Sunday when work ours happened. "Eva." He said, looking at the woman who seemed to hate wearing clothes with calm eyes. "Let's go."
He wasn't much for debriefing and Eva wasn't much to care what the job was. They headed off to the location of the Rouge Soul Killers home. He had Asher brief her along the way. "This guy is a rabid dog. We are the poatchers. Prepare to kill him." He spoke in a dreadful tone. He always did this. He had to make sure that they were ready to take another persons life once more.

Damn. Of all the days for his luck to wonk out, it had to be today. It had to be now. Of five straws, he'd managed to draw the shortest. Perfect. Just perfect. The others looked at their own straws first, and then at each other's. Eventually, everyone's eyes managed to land on the measly straw he clutched in his fist.

"No way..." he muttered. "No way!"
"You lost fair and square, Nic," one of the boys responded, a large grin upon his face. "You lose, so now you have to do it!" The other three boys echoed similar sentiments. Nic sighed heavily, shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world now rested upon them. Why god, why?! Why me?!

"Just do it Dominic," said the boy closest to Nic. He put his arm around Nic's shoulder, a gesture of support. Of sympathy. "Just get it over with. We've all had to do it before."

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Don't push me," Nic sputtered, shrugging the boy's arm off and pivoting on his heel, facing away from the group. "Just be ready to run if anything goes... down." He almost bit his tongue on "down". I'm just overthinking this. It'll be okay. Nothing ever happens.

Across the street was a local mini-mart/gas station combo. It was almost 9pm and the streets were empty, as was the lot outside the mini-mart. Eerie. No one was filling up gas. Not yet. The shop itself seemed pretty empty as well. If he was going to do this, he'd have to do it now, before things got busy again.

"Ha ha, Nic's scared!" The grinning boy jeered, pointing at Nic's back and snickering.
"Shut up, Kaleb. Shut. Up." He balled his fists and took a deep breath, gathering his resolve. Let's do this.

Leaving his gaggle of friends behind, Nic made his way over to the mini-mart, hood up, hands in his pockets, trying his best to look nonchalant. As he approached the mini-mart's glass front doors, he inconspicuously scoped the place out. No one was inside. Even the cashier who was supposed to be manning the register was nowhere to be seen. Nice. This might be even easier than he'd originally thought. He'd just have to be quick...

The moment he stepped upon the black rubber matting in front of the mini-mart, the glass doors slid open of their own accord, welcoming him in. A chime echoed throughout the store. Nic almost froze, body tense, staring at the cash register and the "employees only" door behind it.

Even after a few seconds, no one had come out in response to the tone. The only sound in the room besides Nic's heart beating in his ears was that of the store's hot dog machine, slowly rotating its meaty bounty in an attempt to sucker some poor fool into buying one. He'd tried those hot dogs before—didn't leave the toilet for an entire night.

Sighing in temporary relief, Nic fully entered the store, the automatic doors closing behind him. Inside were a few rows of assorted goods: candies, chips, jerky, gum, various sweets and concoctions, and other unhealthy goodies. He also noticed a glass box full of baked goods a little further down, towards the middle aisle. They actually looked pretty tasty, but he wasn't here for that. He had a mission.

It was then that he spotted his goal: the back aisle, with the liquor. He moved swiftly, a grin coming to his face as he ran his fingers along the cool glass of the refrigeration units. All he had to take was one bottle and he'd fulfill the requirements of the bet, but at this rate, with the store completely empty, he might be able to walk out with three or four. Yes! The prospect of showing up all his friends filled him with delectation.

Without further hesitation, he opened the refrigerator door, grabbing bottle after bottle and stuffing them in his pockets. Four in total. Not bad. He took a quick peek over his shoulder. The store was still empty. Sweet. He turned his attention back to the task at hand, gently closing the door in front of him. This was going impossibly well, better than he could have ever hoped.

Creak. His head snapped to the side. Did he just hear a noise? He listened intently, holding his breath. Other than the hot dog machine droning on, there was nothing else. The store was still empty. Sighing again, he stood, holding his bounty of liquor secure in his hoodie pockets. This was almost too easy.

As he approached the exit, his heartbeat quickened, a smile touching his lips. I'm going to make it! However, before he could turn towards the glass doors and exit the store, the "employees only" door opened.

His smile melted away, to be replaced with an expression of sheer terror. A woman in a mini-mart apron stepped out of the back room. Her hair was as black as night, eyes harboring a sort of unwieldy ferocity. Her entire demeanor was completely and utterly unnerving.

Their eyes met.

This was the worst possible scenario. Nic and his friends hung out around the mini-mart all the time, so they know most of the cashiers. They even gave them names. There was Fatty—obviously, he was overweight. There was Ciggy—he stepped outside to smoke so often that you could set your watch by it. There was Coffee—she would always drink coffee. She even offered them coffee for free once. And then there was her.

They called her Scary. She'd never done anything to them, but... something wasn't quite right about her, though the boys could never place their finger on it. It was as if she were an outsider to their world—a demon, masquerading as a human. Playing nice. She was really truly scary.

And there she was, in the flesh. Staring down a thief who obviously had four large bottles of alcohol stuffed in his pockets.

"Oh no," Nic uttered. Panicking, he made a curt turn for the exit, breaking eye contact and showing his back to her. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. No time to think, only move. He picked up his pace. Outside, his friends had looks of unadulterated horror upon their faces. Looks he could only mirror back at them. Things weren't going so well.

He only made it as far as the automatic glass doors.

One moment, he was hustling forward, looking out towards his friends. In the next, he was on his back, staring blankly at the off-white tiled ceiling of the mini-mart. All the wind had left his lungs—he couldn't breathe. His mind had not yet caught up with his body, his vision spinning. What the...

Swallowing the bile that had risen in his throat, Nic managed to regain some modicum of control over his vision. Incrementally, he began take notice of his body's current predicament. His back hurt, as if he'd been slammed to the ground. He had a headache. He was struggling to breathe. After a moment of gathering his wits, he used his elbow to prop himself up.

What just happened?!

He looked around him. First towards the aisles. Empty. Then towards his friends, who were outside across the street. He could faintly make out Kaleb. He seemed to be... ... pointing? Pointing at something. It was a moment before he regained full control of his cognitive faculties. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear out the haze that had settled over his thoughts, he realized the significance of Kabel's motions. He was indeed pointing. At the checkout counter.

Nic went completely cold then, the blood draining from his face, tears welling at the edges of his eyes. Slowly, he turned his head in the one direction he hadn't seen fit to look. Towards the cash register.

There she was. Scary. She just stood there, pressing buttons on the register and writing the results in some sort of binder. Next to her, sitting on the counter, were the four bottles he had had in his pockets. Just to make sure his eyes did not deceive him, Nic patted his hoodie down.

Empty. She had to be extremely fast... he didn't even feel the bottles leaving his pockets.

He froze, completely unmoving. Unequivocally, he was at Scary's mercy. Under her control. He could feel it, like a downed calf in the presence of an alpha wolf and her pack. I'm going to die... At that thought, the tears that had dammed at the ends of his eyes broke, streaming down his cheeks. I'm going to die!

And so he sat there, looking up at her and bawling his eyes out, for what seemed like an eternity.

Scary didn't even seem to notice him. She kept hitting buttons on the register and recording the results, as if the boy didn't exist—as if he wasn't even worthy of her acknowledgement. After a while, she seemed to have had enough.

With a slam, she closed the binder. Nic flinched. She gazed at the downed boy, and their eyes met once again. If you excluded her fearsome glare, you might say that Scary wasn't actually all that scary. She looked like a pretty nice person. It was her eyes that gave her away—then and now. She locked gazes with Nic but for a moment before pointing at the door.

"Get out."

Nic ran for his life.

Elizabeth Sorrow watched the boy run off at her command, shaking her head slightly. She'd almost attacked a child; fighting prepubescent kids, regardless of their having attained a soul form, just wasn't part of her modus operandi. Shame. She looked down at her finger nails, buffing them on the front of her apron. I guess I am in need of a worthy opponent.

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Day: WEDNESDAY - 6/21/13
TIME: 11:53 Am
Location: Outside the Coffee Shop, Solice City

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Day: WEDNESDAY - 6/21/13
TIME: 12:08 Pm
Location: The old Warehouse, Solice City

"Hit me again!"
Fwom.
"..Hit me again!"
Fwom.
"Hit m-"
"-Chester, this isn't working!"
"-Just do it!" Chester shouted back, panting eagerly. Annabell huffed at him and shot one last fire ball.
Fwom, psheee. The fireball hit Chester's face. He fell back words, screaming. "Chester I warned you.." Annabell reminded him, putting one hand on her hip while the other scratched her hoof. Really, the only reason why she was still in her soul form now was because of how annoyed she was at him. Still, she wanted to help her brother find his trigger as soon as possible, but his stubbornness made it difficult. Chester sat back up with an ash covered face. He rubbed it away from his eyes, and coughed. "Alright then. Fine. My triggers aren't the same as yours." Chester mused, standing up and rubbing the black off of his cheeks. "Think Chester; what's one of the things you are most annoyed by?" Annabell asked, shifting back into her human form. Chester placed his hand on his chin, looked to the side and began to think.

"Well... I know that your guts annoy me.." Chester grinned, thinking he had just came up with something clever. "But we already tried that. Please Chester, we don't have all the time in the world.." Annabell sighed. The girl started walking around the abandoned warehouse, waiting for her brother's decision. She knew it was going to take a while, obviously, so she decided to keep herself entertained until then. Annabell sat upon a work bench and began to play around with the electric tools. While pressing on and off buttons and all sorts of mechanics , she was too busy to notice the stranger creeping up behind her.

"Uh.. God this is a lot harder than a thought.." Chester huffed, pacing back and forth slowly. "Well, I know that bad grammar annoys me. A lot. But I don't think that's gonna help me change into my soul... But checkers maybe? I know I hate that. Maybe we could play some checkers, An-" Chester turned towards where he thought his Annabell was sitting. But strangely enough, his sister was gone. Chester paused, and raised an eyebrow. "...Annabell?"

"Over here." Annabell growled, having taken her soul form. Annabell was covered in a dark red color, holding the head of the man who had just assaulted her. Chester's eyes widened as he ran to her. "Anna! Anna what the hell did you do?" Chester screamed at her, staring down at her hands and glancing around the Warehouse, praying to god that no one was around to see this. "I.. I don't know. One minute he had a knife to my neck, the next.." Annabell kept herself from grinning. Chester covered his mouth, glanced around the room again and then back to her hands. God, the smell...

"Alright, alright I don't think anyone saw that.. A-and even if they did, you can say it was self defense. It was self-defense, right Anna?"
"..."
"...Anna?"
"I think I'm going to love this job..."

Axl proceeded to lead Asher to Eva's usual spot: the bar. It's not surprising that she would've stayed there; Asher knows her all too well by now. They've been at this for a long time. Axl told Eva to come with them, and Asher had to debrief Eva on the problem. "There is a Soul Killer gone rogue. While there is a bit of killing- sometimes brutal." Asher stares at her for a moment, ironic that he's telling EVA of all people this. "The guy is breaking the rules because he's killing anyone outside the contest, and even those who didn't lose all their soul points." Asher explained, nonchalantly.

He sighed after that, wondering if Eva even heard him. Normally, Eva wouldn't care for this, but he just told her anyway because she liked... well, brutally beating up people up to the point of killing them. Might as well do it with their rules.... Asher thought. Just as he was going to have another thought, the trio arrived at the house. "This guy is a rabid dog. We are the poatchers. Prepare to kill him." Axl warned.

Sighing, Asher nodded as he looked for any witnesses. Then, he took the form of his soul. "I'm ready." Asher said.

~Aarin Mataya
Aarin looked at the man whom challenged her, she didn't exactly care, hell, she didn't know where the poor soul came from. All she knew was he singled her out for a fight. She soon rose from the chair she was sitting in staring soullessly as she walked into the ring, "Ready when you are" she said coldly and in a more masculine voice than her usual as she thought to herself, "Break!"

Soon her appearance began to change her hair bradded up with her bow applied that it wouldn't move, and her clothes soon were replaced with a longer, more victorian era dress as soon her boots were placed over her feet, and finally the armour she used was finally placed as her sword materialized. She looked at the man, whom looked like a simple soul killer with an Orpheus soul, she smirked a little as she thought, "too easy" she thought before she raised her sword, "En garde" she said in a monotone voice as the fight began with her opponent charging at her to which she stuck her hand out, "Zionga" she said in a bored tone as a jolt of lightning shook and riddled the man's soul appearance as he soon fell, yet as she eased up a little, he got back up and attacked her again, causing her to raise her sword and take a the side of the man as she electrically charged her sword causing major damage to the point that the soul and man fell as she stepped back looking at the man, "give up?" she asked in a cold manner as the man spat back,
"Go to hell"
"Yes or no answer."
"Fine. I give"
"Good. I didn't wish to injure you further"
After saying that Aarin crouched down and offered her left hand out to the man as he returned to his human form as he took her hand and stood up and nodded, "thank you" the man said as Aarin just nodded before noticing the team of hunters, "what's going on there?" she asked herself as she watched the three.

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"Eva. Let's go."

Eva heard her name get called. She was outside the bar, ever since the night Axl made his announcements and what such. She remembers going there the night after, drinking quite a lot, and then blacking out. The owner probably let her stay a few hours, but after a while, he probably threw her outside, though she was actually sitting on a bench in front of the building.

After hearing his voice, despite how much she drank, Eva sat right up, as if she didn't feel anything at all, which she really didn't. She didn't look like she was tired or was drunk from every alcohol she had drank, including all the nights from before. She immediately hopped off the bench, and without saying any words, followed him and Asher, as she always did.

While they walked, she heard Asher say, "There is a Soul Killer gone rogue. While there is a bit of killing- sometimes brutal. The guy is breaking the rules because he's killing anyone outside the contest, and even those who didn't lose all their soul points."

"Heeeeeh...." Eva seemed to have let the sound escape from her mouth in a slow motion, "Cool, I suppose. I'm guessing we're supposed to handle this?" She grumbled a bit. Eva was a lazy woman, that was obvious. Even though she loved to shut idiots up, she wasn't the type to move when she didn't have to.

Finally, the three arrived at the right house as she grabbed her sword, which was still not sheathed, and leaned it on her shoulder, the dull side of the blade so she wouldn't hurt herself. The only time she did that was when she absolutely had to fight, and that didn't happen to often.

"This guy is a rabid dog. We are the poatchers. Prepare to kill him."

Hearing this, Eva let out a small laugh, then smirked, "A rabid dog or not, he's still going to die in the end anyways. What's the point in hesitating huh? Go on then, get him. I'll congratulate you two once you're done with the job." She chuckled, always known to be sitting out half the time when they would battle.

She then saw Asher take his soul appearance, and laughed even harder, "Honestly! This guy should be a simple small fry! Is there really a need to take on such a powerful form, Asher dear? Well, call me if you need anything! I'll just be out here and watch the show!" She waved and took a few steps back, leaning onto the wall that was around the house and whistling a cheerful tune while spinning the sword in her hand around like it was a toy. She was lazy, and she most definitely wasn't going to take place in any battle unless she needed to. In this case, she was just going to relax unless one of the two forced her to, and even then she'd be quite lazy. This was quite obvious, seeing how she took out another beer bottle from her jacket and opened it up, beginning to drink it, probably a little too fast.

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Noah sat up right in his chair again, his smile fading from his expression a second time, no... he's smiled, and had it fade over and over again, nonstop like an everlasting loop. Perhaps that's why people avoided him? He didn't know, nor did he care. Noah was a strange man, and he accepted this. He accepted the shadow's voices long ago when he was just a simple child, ever since that nightmare.

Just thinking of it made Noah twitch. One of the very few things he feared in the world was that nightmare. He didn't care how childish it may have founded to people, he hated it. No, not hate. He feared it. When he began to think of it, it made him shiver a bit, but then grow frustrated and angry as he picked up another pen from the desk and threw it at the all again, lining up with the others that had stricken into the wall.

But unlike those times, he didn't use that manipulation ability of his. It was the sheer force and anger of the throw that hit the wall that pierced it, like the others.

Noah's breathing was harsher than ever and sweat was dripping from his forehead. With an angry growl, he wiped everything on his desk onto the floor, and clutched his fists. Just thinking about his past, most of which he didn't know, made him angry, and for an unknown reason which only got him more frustrated.

"How annoying... Such a pester... Nuisance..." Noah murmured to himself before taking a deep breath and calming himself. He looked out the window, a frown still on his face, and said again, to no one else but him, "This part isn't fun... Tch, I hate it."

"Hmm." He replied to Eva. She was lazy, but good backup, plus she hated cowards so she was a good lookout for runners. There were allot of them. He proceeded with Asher inside the building. It was a nice place but deserted. This was done on purpose. He had called his repo crew to get everyone out the building. All except one person. "Asher. Buildings empty so fight hard if things go downhill." He said to his partner. He liked Asher to feel as comfortable as ever in a fight. The guy was a pacifist at heart. On the outside, however, he was a tank with swords. The walked to the floor the suspect was on and came to his door. "Back me up." He said as he stepped back and took out the Kusanagi, creating an X on the door before kicking it in. With lightning speed he rushed to the man near the window grabbed him, slammed him against the wall, and pointed his sword at his face.

"Noah Winss. You have been accused of murder. Double murder. Last of all, soul Murder. Your eyes say your guilty." Axl said as stared into the mans eyes with now red eyes. The right eye, Izanami. The left, Izanagi. It wasn't his soul form but an extension of his eye part. Izanagi handled the speed. Izanami the sight, and he could see everything clearly. "Your guilty." He said. "So you have to die.

Well Sunday had been quite a day, brought to an organization, given an injection and told they'd get a message when it was their turn to fight. Luke really didn't know how to take that, considering most of his life he spent in the shadows, and now brought to the light, well let's just say he wasn't exactly completely excited about it. Well it had been three days since then, Wednesday; such great fun to be told that they needed to find they're trigger, or some sort to bring out their soul. This again made no sense, but he wasn't going to argue. His thoughts being interrupted from a ringing noise; causing him to stir from his bed. "what.." He mumbled sleepily, noticing it was an alarm clock, that had probably been going on for hours now. He pushed it off the table causing it to stop as he just let his arm hang off the bed, his face in his pillow. "to early to get up...the moon's not even that high in the sky yet." He whined to himself. Though with some more huffing and groaning he forced himself out of his bed and into the shower.

After his shower, and some food, he found himself staring at an old picture of his family, at least before the death of his parents, eight years old Luke, in the middle being playfully smothered by his older brother, with his father and mother laughing in the background. He never use to let his emotions get to him overly, but for some reason this simple picture made his heart heavy. A cold shift in the air, or maybe it was just him, his head feeling with massive amounts of sorrow, and hatred causing a shift in his whole perception of things, a shift that began to take total control. Before he could realize what exactly was going on, the change had already happened; his soul form.

He looked at his hands, the gauntlet covered fingers of his new self, and the heavy weight upon his back. He reached behind him grasping two hilts in both hands and pulling them free, which in turn revealed his weapons. A oriental broad sword with Japanese wave patterns on the blade, in his left, and an unassuming red broad sword in his right. "This...this is me now.." He said this in a calm voice, before he scowled heavily swinging both blades and cleaving the shelve and picture in half. "Damn you...Damn you both! Why is it that you are my trigger, the sorrow, the sadness the absolute hatred of you two being gone!" He screamed at the cut in half picture, his parents separated at the shoulder. He could do nothing but stare at it, sorrow filling his heart, and his mind as he let out a growl of rage and proceed to tear his own living room to shreds, swinging this way and that; his sword connecting with every single expensive thing he had ever bought himself form the scores of his jobs.

Once he completely "reinvented" his living room, he let the sorrow fade, shifting back to normal his head bowed, but as he looked up at the mirror, all he could see was a smile on his face. "I found it.." He said to himself as he punched the priceless mirror from some ancient dynasty or some such, and walked towards the door ditching his place, but not before locking it; all his stuff may had been cut to pieces, but it was still his stuff; no need to risk some rival thief ripping him off. He had left his little condo for the streets of Solice city, deciding to treat himself to something or another after finding his trigger so easily. A nice walk would do him some good as well, nothing beat a nice quiet relaxing walk, or something like that; there wasn't much quiet to be had; but he could make do with just a walk, losing himself in the loud city noise, was just as good; and besides he still had all the time in the world until the message would come, hopefully.

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Day: WEDNESDAY - 6/21/13
TIME: 8:36 Pm
Location: The Streets, Solice City

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Kyra Anderson

Yawning quietly as she walked home, Kyra wondered just how she had let herself become this tired. It could have been the fact that she had stayed up all night to finish off her assignments, actually, it was most likely that.

She frowned a little as she heard voices from the park that she often cut through on her way home. And upon turning the corner she saw a group of children picking on someone who she couldn’t see.

“You’re such a loser, no wonder no one wants to be your friend.” Kyra decided that the boy was probably the ringleader of the group.

She froze as a couple of the people started to kick whoever was in the middle, feeling something slip inside her. Mentally grabbing hold of whatever it was, she strode up to the group. As she got closer she could see that the kid in the middle was a young boy, he was smaller than the others, maybe younger too.

“Hey!” She called out. The group turned to look at her. “Leave the kid alone.”

“Yeah? What are you going to do about it?” The one she had dubbed as the leader glared at her but she brushed it off.

“Let’s just say I have a good memory, it wouldn’t take long for me to phone the school in the morning and describe you all to the staff. And, well, you can probably guess what would happen then.” She tilted her head to the right slightly. “Hmm?”

Some of the more cowardly children fled and after seeing his support vanish, the leader and the few remaining ran away as well.

Nodding a little, Kyra then turned to the young boy, crouching next to him. “Are you alright?” She quickly scanned his body, only noticing a wound on his knee that was bleeding. The hold on whatever it was she was clasping in her mind slipped slightly and a few strands of her hair became paler.

She took a small first aid kit out of her bag and crouched down next to the boy. She then proceeded to clean the cut and stick a plaster on it. “There you go. You should be fine now.” She smiled at him.

The boy mumbled a quiet “thank you” before getting up and starting to run home.

With them now gone, she put the first aid kit back in her bag and walked swiftly towards the nearest alley. Breathing deeply, she dropped to her hands and knees in the darkness, letting go of what she was holding.

Immediately, she wished that she hadn’t.

She could feel something tearing out of her back and blood dripping down her skin. Some of her hair fell in front of her face and she could see that it was now white rather than its usual blonde. Once the pain stopped, she looked backwards. And out of character for her, Kyra cursed loudly. For attached to her back were two metal wings.

Hinata

Hinata wasn’t happy. It was his first day in his new job and he already hated it. If it wasn’t for the fact that he needed to money to pay for his apartment, he would likely resign. But alas he had to stick with it.

It wasn’t the job so much that bothered him. He worked in a small cafe towards the edge of the city. It was the fact that despite being male and clearly telling his boss that he was, they made him wear a dress of all things. A dress! “I suppose it doesn’t help that my name could be used for a girl or a guy...” He mused quietly as he walked home.

He glared at everyone who crossed his path and they neatly avoided him. Upon reaching the block of flats that his home was in, he all but ran up the stairs, needing to get inside before the control of his temper snapped.

After slamming the door shut behind him, he walked over to his mirror. It was the length of the wall, allowing him to see his entire body rather than just his head and shoulders.

Looking at his reflection, he ran his fingers through his hair. It was long, so long that it went past his waist. “Maybe if I cut it I would look less like a girl.” He frowned slightly as he remembered how most of the customers in the cafe had called him a ‘Pretty young woman’.

“Damn it!” He punched the mirror, causing it to crack, the broken glass cut upon his knuckles and they started bleeding. “I am not a fucking girl!”

At this, a small glow overtook his form for a second. It was an odd feeling, being divided in half and separated. Hinata wasn’t quite sure that he liked it. When the light cleared away there were two people where one once stood.

Both were definitely female.

One had white hair with blue eyes while the other had dark brown hair and amber eyes. The hair on the two of them reached their knees and both of them had cat ears and a tail.

Both parts of his soul stared at one another before speaking in unison. “Even my soul thinks I’m a girl!”

"A rabid dog or not, he's still going to die in the end anyways. What's the point in hesitating huh? Go on then, get him. I'll congratulate you two once you're done with the job. Honestly! This guy should be a simple small fry! Is there really a need to take on such a powerful form, Asher dear? Well, call me if you need anything! I'll just be out here and watch the show!" Eva commented. Asher rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"You should be the last one to comment on my battle tactics, dear." Asher said. "Besides, none of the reports say how strong the bastard's victims were... I don't like to take chances on this one." Asher reverted back into his original form at that statement. "However, if you insist, I'll just go in with a handgun and go Call of Duty on the guy." Asher smirked as he left his companion- if you want to call her that- and entered the building. "Asher. Buildings empty so fight hard if things go downhill." Axl warned Asher. Axl did follow the protocol: evacuate everyone. That way, there was no one except the target, and then the Hunters won't have to hold back for civilian safety.

"Back me up." The martial artist nodded as he followed his partner into the room the suspect was in. Damn... Asher thought. It feels like NCIS all over again. He chuckled in his mind but then stopped immediately, knowing that there was work to be done. Quickly, Axl kicked in the door and slammed the suspect into a wall. A sword pointed at his face.

"Noah Winss. You have been accused of murder. Double murder. Last of all, soul Murder. Your eyes say your guilty." Axl stated, not showing any restraint on the truth. Then again, why should he? This guy's a murderer, of souls and of bodies. "Your guilty." He then said. "So you have to die."

Asher stood near the window and the doorway, carefully aiming a Glock-19 (equipped with a silencer of course) at the target. He had long, blonde hair that obviously was in a mess. It covered his upper part of the face, including the eyes. He wore a cloak, but that was just about what Asher can see from his point of view. There was, of course, a strange air around that man that Asher could feel from across the room. He trained his handgun steaily at the guy's face.

Luke's walk had been going wonderfully, or it had been until some small girl ran smack into him, causing him to take a step back to regain his footing as he sighed. "So much for a quiet day" He thought. He offered a friendly smile and went to offer a hand, but stopped immediatly as the girl began to yell at him. His left eye twitched slightly in annoyance. Once the girl finished, and got it out of her system he only raised a hand. "Before you continue, just quiet down; it was an accident on both parties, it's not like you were paying complete attention of where you were walking.

He then took a breath and shook a finger. "Second of all, you really should think about who you spat threats at, cause I don't mind putting loud mouths in their place." Luke than looked at the male bowed his head, and just side-stepped the two. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I'm going to get back to my walk, it was quite enjoyable before this interruption." He didn't wait around to hear the girl spat more threats or curses, or even challenge him to a fight god forbid. He stopped at a corner looking from side to side. He couldn't imagine what would possess such a petite girl to threaten him, regardless of it right now with the power he'd found himself he could care less; taking a left at the corner which he paused at. "Foolish people..." He mumbled under his breath not even bothering to look behind him, cause she would have to be a complete idiot to follow after him, besides; now that he left them both behind a calmness had returned, and hopefully it would stay that way, least there be a second trigger, because if there was; He was sure that young girl would find it, and he'd rather not get in trouble for murder in anyway. He stopped for a moment and took a breath, looking up at the sky and sliding his hands in his pockets. "Wonderful silence of the mind.." He said to himself, causing a few passerby's to look at him strangely, to which he could only chuckle at; Luke had found one of his triggers, and because of it; he felt much better than any of this foolish people going about their lives like little drones in a hive. They never stopped, unless it was already planned in their life, if only it was easy to be like that. He leaned against a wall deciding that his walk was going so grand, that he'd just enjoy people watching for now; maybe he could catch sight of something fun to do, maybe someone rich walking around like a fool with a full wallet.

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Day: WEDNESDAY - 6/21/13
TIME: 8:43 Pm
Location: The Streets, Solice City

Lucas once again had been enjoying his rest, until of course he was grabbed again but this time he felt strength behind the hand as she threw him towards the brick wall he reacted with good reflexes forcing his legs first and using them to spring to a fire escape flipping onto it and climbing all the way to the roof of the building. "Look as much as I'd love to teach you some manners, and to find you a nice goat boyfriend, I'm going to go ahead and get out of here before you draw to much attention to us so uh have fun with yourself!" He said pulling out three small pellets and tossing them hard at her, wither or not she was caught in the ensuing cloud of tear gas was another thing but it gave him time to start to run. This day hadn't gone exactly as planned. "Full girl! had to ruin it" He called angrily jumping to the next building over

He rolled the landing and planted his feet hard and started running again, he had really no idea of where he was going, just away. "Today, of all days, I just figure out my trigger and this little girl wants to fight, like it's my fault she was busy messing with that guy to see where she was going!" He continued to converse with himself anger starting to well inside as he pushed off the edge of another building as hard as he can to reach a smaller building with a lower roof. rolling towards the edge of the building grabbing the edge and dropping down to ground floor running right through the sliding door, and sliding behind one of the short aisles of things, he didn't pay attention to what was on it. "Damn girl, going out of her way to fight me; so ridiculous what do I look like a fucking idiot..." Lucas was covered in sweat panting a bit, feeling quite worn out after sprinting as fast as he could over rooftops. "People...think just because they gain power, means they can go out of their way to be cocky, such idiots; and people wonder why i constantly choose to do things alone.." He wiped the sweat from his brow, fixing up his hair that now laid flat on his head from sweat. "When I get a chance..I'm going to beat the living shit out of her.." He mumbled, not paying any attention to his surroundings except for a window; he was more worried with that girl finding where he went.

Elizabeth grabbed a handful of the peanuts she had in a bowl under the counter, swiftly yet elegantly consuming them one by one. She was idly flipping through a fitness magazine—scanning over a section titled "10 Ways to Sneak In a Workout"—when the sliding glass doors opened, the welcome chime sounding.

Deigning to look up from the text in her hands, she saw a shady looking figure run through, the doors barely removing themselves from his path before he made his way in. Moving with great haste, the figure—obviously male with a fascinating hairstyle and choice in clothing—slid into one of the middle aisles, wiping sweat from his face and fixing up his hair. He seemed to be talking to himself.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes in curiosity. Something was odd about this one. Of course, working the night shift, she saw her share of the weirdos, hobos, and the like, but this guy was different. He was older than the usual riffraff, in his early 30's by her estimate, and he didn't look like a homeless man, a thief, or some random vagabond or miscreant. Elizabeth's eyes widened ever so slightly.

Interesting.

That gait, that lofty swagger. That air of confidence. Not to mention he had a certain... glow about him. A barely-noticeable luminescence. This guy was a Soul Killer. Again, interesting. She wasn't sure why she didn't recognize it upon first laying eyes upon him—perhaps he was a newly born. That would explain it. They were always harder to spot, especially for her.

The guy hadn't noticed her presence yet. She didn't take it personally. For some reason, people failed to mind her ubiety if they weren't actively looking for her. Perhaps it was a side effect of her general style of fighting. She pursed her lips at that, the closest facial expression to a grin she had in her arsenal, keeping her eyes on her guest.

A Soul Killer, running in here like that? Elizabeth looked back towards the glass door, taking in the scenery outside of the mini-mart. The parking lot was for the most part empty, with a single car parked next to a fueling station, its driver refilling its tank. It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Grimacing, she looked back at her guest. He'd probably ran in here all sweaty and out of breath to get away from another Soul Killer, which means they were fighting—are fighting. She brought the fingers of her left hand together in such a way that her knuckles and joints popped faintly.

They better not do that shit in here.

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Luke could only let out a quiet groan; "She's here too?! why the hell won't she leave me alone!" He could hear her clopping around somewhere in the mini-mart checking his pockets to see which pellets he had left, and was saddened to notice they were only stink bombs. He bit his lip to stop himself from cursing loudly as he peeked around the aisle, thankfully it was clear; though he had no idea for how long; rolling to the next aisle only to peek around this one and see her. "oh fuck my life.." He mumbled in his native Irish accent, though he quickly covered his mouth and hid behind the aisle. "smooooth Lucas, 101 of being a master thief keep your mouth shut" He thought to himself. He didn't think he was going to get away this time; he had all but trapped himself in here, and regardless of it; he wasn't going to go soul-form even for this girl, "Hey over here you goat fucker!" He called out to her throwing the last two pellets at the ground in front of her feet....hooves whatever. the wafting stench would hit her soon; and would smell of the worse things she could possibly think of.

"That'll buy me enough time to get out of here." He thought to himself as he ran towards the counter with a woman at it throwing down some money. "Sorry about the scratches and the lingering stench that's gonna be here, that should cover it thank you!" He called to her as his foot landed first near the cash register and he boosted off it towards the back of the mini-mart. One he was back there his head turned this way and that looking for his only hope. "There!" He called out to himself and ran towards the fire door. Though it wasn't like he thought it was going to be as he slammed into it full speed only to be stopped as if he hit a wall. "Ouch.." He groaned pulling back and rubbing his shoulder. "Just my fucking luck...attacked by some cocky little girl with an ego, and no way out of here." He turned around and leaned against the fire door. "Fuck it, I'll fight her, can't do it in soul form though.." He continued to rub at his shoulder. "for sure dislocated; hopefully that tear gas did enough damage to her sight to get out of here without causing to much damage, I maybe rich...but i don't wanna spend all my money on rebuilding a fucking stop and shop.." He muttered to himself as he awaited the inevitable clop, clop of his young opponent chasing him down.

Elizabeth Sorrow sighed. It was just as she'd thought.

God dammit.

When the horned creature burst through the sliding doors, Elizabeth brought her palm to her face. When the creature then proceeded to gouge out entire chunks of the store's tiling trying to come to a stop, she sighed, bringing her hand down from her face and doggy-earing the magazine page she was on. She didn't want to lose her place.

It was then that she and the horned Soul Killer met eyes. Elizabeth was not impressed. Another newbie. Couldn't they do this somewhere else? Elizabeth gave her a look that said "leave," hoping against hope that she'd take he hint. Of course she didn't, turning to clomp down one of the aisles. The older Soul Killer with the hair was an aisle down, hiding behind a section of organic chips. Elizabeth had spent hours painstakingly organizing those chips by brand and price a few days ago, and they were going to ruin it.

It was going to be one of those nights.

Still, nothing had exactly been broken yet. She could always buff those scratches out of the floor. If they'd just leave...

Suddenly, a plume of smoke exploded out from under the horned Soul Killer. Not a moment later, Elizabeth noticed the older Soul Killer hop up onto her counter like an acrobat. He dropped some cash and apologized to her for the damages. Damages? In response, she narrowed her eyes at him, but he didn't notice. He'd jumped through the air like a flying squirrel, headed for the emergency exit. Unfortunately for him, Elizabeth always kept that escape door chained shut. It was how thieves broke in the past four times.

The fire code be damned.

Sorrow closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb, slowly grinding her teeth in indignation at the audacity of these people. She tried to ignore them, she really did. These people were not worthy opponents, not yet. She didn't like to fight people who could not challenge her. Where is the fun in that? Where is the learning? The exchange of knowledge during combat?

But they were seriously pissing her off, flying around the room and bouncing off the walls like monkeys. At the moment, the older one seemed to be cornered in the back, and the horned one was clomping her way towards him, destroying the store in the process.

The straw that broke the camel's back was when the metal row that held the chip bags she had so meticulously placed in order fell on its side, spilling the chips and various other goodies all across the floor. The horned one stepped on them, crunching the bags underfoot, not caring for the damage she had caused.

Crunch.

Sorrow flinched.

Crunch.

She lowered her gaze, lips curling back from her teeth.

Crunch!

Something in Elizabeth's head snapped, like a rubber-band stretched past its limits. The facade melted away.

Fuck it.

With one hand to balance, Sorrow leapt over the counter, landing as softly as a cat, her heels making a muffled click upon contacting the damaged floor. Shadowing the horned Soul Killer, she discarded her apron, throwing it to the side. Before the offender could take another step, Sorrow grabbed her.

Her left hand grabbed the Soul Killer's arm, twisting and pulling backwards in one smooth motion. Simultaneously, she swung her right arm around the thing's neck, learning backwards with her entire body. It was a simple wrestling lock. The creature's arm was twisted painfully behind it—any further and the shoulder would be dislocated, thanks to the pressure she was applying at the neck. Their heads were close together now, but the creature had begun to struggle. It's hands were heating up, as if it were about to release some sort of... fire?

Sorrow smiled—it wasn't pretty. "I will accept this as your challenge to me," she whispered into the creature's ear.

What happened next occurred in a matter of moments. Sorrow delivered a deft kick to the back of the thing's leg, breaking its balance. Twisting at the waist, Sorrow was able to ride the momentum, swinging the creature up and over her shoulder—though she did not follow through. The creature was completely vertical now. Swiftly moving her arms to the thing's waist, she clamped down in a bear hug, mercilessly preventing any means of escape, and leaned backwards, completing the move.

A perfect Suplex.

Sorrow could hear the creature's skull smash into the fragile tiling of the mini-mart's floor—she was listening for it. That sound was it. That was what she lived for. That crunch of bone. That sharp intake of breath. The resulting blood-loss. She rolled to the side and got to her feet, quickly recovering her air of elegance by whipping her hair back over her shoulders with a curt flick of the neck. She licked her lips sensually.

It'd been way too long since her last fight.

The Soul Killer creature still seemed dazed, as it hadn't gotten up off the floor. Sorrow contemplated kicking it while it was down, potentially breaking some ribs, but that wasn't the objective—she wanted these people gone. Out of here. Now.

With one hand grabbing its horn and the other grasping a handful of the fabric that made up its outfit, Sorrow tossed the thing through the sliding front doors like a drunk through the doors of a pub, shattering the glass panes in the process. The creature rolled onto the rough unforgiving blacktop of the empty parking lot outside.

Sorrow followed, half-way stepping through the newly made glass hole in the wall.

"Get out." She uttered angrily. "AND STAY OUT!"

It was just one of those nights. And now for the other one...

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With a yawn, George tapped the space bar on his keyboard twice, rousing his computer from its hibernation. It was a moment before his several screens flickered to life, bathing the dark room in their milky luminescence. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, George took a quick peek down at his phone, which he held in his hand. He'd fallen asleep at his desk in the other room not ten minutes ago while jotting down his observations for the day. The phone was the only reason he was awake right now.

It had alerted him to some activity. Good job, phone. Good job. He didn't want to miss a single second.

His computer prompted him for his password. He entered it with one hand with as much speed as a lesser man with three hands. His screens came to life then, each one displaying a different scene, as if he were a some sort of guard manning an enterprise security camera network. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes flicking between the scenes. He had his monitors set up in a grid pattern on his wall—maybe twenty or twenty-five mid-size flat screens in total. Each one had a piece of tape stuck to it, which George had written on to remind himself which view was which.

The first screen showed what looked to be the front gates preceding a very large and ornate mansion. The road leading up to the gates was vacant at the moment, though there was a sentry supervising the only visible opening in the gate—where traffic was allowed to flow through. The tape on this monitor read: HOME FRONT GATES. George then looked at the fourth screen, skipping ahead. It seemed to be another perspective on the aforementioned gates. The tape on this monitor read: HOME FRONT GATES SIDE VIEW. There was no motion here either. Frowning, George looked back at his phone, tapping the screen.

"No way man. Don't tell me the spotter algorithm is effing up again" he grumbled, bringing the device closer to his face and squinting. He seemed to read something from the screen, something of import, because he hastily stuffed the device back into his pocket and started scanning his monitors again. "Her house," he mumbled, pointing to the first few screens. "Her usual routes," he continued, pointing to the some of the latter screens. "The mini-mar—"

His eyes and mouth went wide at the same time, an orgasmic expression overcoming his face. He pressed his head up close to the screen titled MMART DOME CCTV INSIDE VIEW. Eventually he was so close that his nose was mushed flat against the malleable LCD display. "Oh, there you are, my precious Lizzie. Working late tonight, are we?! ... Who is that guy?!" With a squeal that would make any pig proud, George hopped up from his seat, scrambling into the room from which he had just come, rifling through his things, searching for something. After about half a minute, he returned, carrying a notepad with markings on it. "Hmm, let's see, where did I leave off... today's Wednesday..." He flipped a few pages, folding them over the back of the notepad and sliding his finger down the front. "Six oclock, reading her favorite fitness magazine. Six fifteen, assisting customers..." He skipped down to the bottom of the notepad, his finger keeping his place. "Eight thirty, that local miscreant Dominic Albert and his loser friends try to steal liquor from my dear Lizzie..." He clenched his teeth at that, growling slightly and shaking his fist at the air. "I'll soon have them pay for causing my Lizzie undue trouble."

After calming himself, he reached over to his computer desk, grabbing one of the many disparate pens he had scattered all over the place. He spoke aloud as he wrote. "Nine O'one: weird man has appeared in the mini-mart during my Lizzie's shift." He looked back up at his screens, this time at a monitor labeled MMART DOME CCTV PARKINGLOT, before continuing his notes. "Parking lot is not empty. Someone is running towards the front doors—" He stopped writing abruptly, looking back up at the screen. His eyes did not deceive him as he had hoped. No, a Soul Killer had just appeared on the scene, and it was about to run straight into the store with Lizzie and the strange man.

"No!" He shouted at his screens, unconsciously standing. The pen and pad fell from his lap, sprawling across the floor in a most unceremonious fashion. "You're going to make her mad!" His voice sounded anguished. It didn't take long. As he'd predicted, the Soul Killer was flung from one screen to another to land painfully on the parking lot blacktop, a sight that made George snicker with amusement. Lizzie had thrown the thing out of the store. George watched as it reverted back to its human form, running for its life. He grinned, picking up his pad and writing furiously.

"My beautiful wonderful gorgeous magnificent studious sexy strong powerful mega awesome Lizzie kicked a Soul Killer's ass today! On my TV! Just for me!"

He couldn't control himself. He threw his pen and pad over his shoulder, spinning in his chair like a child, squealing. "Weeeeee! My Lizzie is so smart and strong and cool. She'll probably erase any footage of the short skirmish. God, my wifey. Marry me~e!" He leapt from his chair, sending the poor thing to spin off towards the other end of the room and crash on its side. He pressed his face against the monitor again—the one that displayed Elizabeth Sorrow looking over her messed up store.

The mystery man seemed to have made his escape after that other Soul Killer got shown what for. George brought his hands up to the front of the screen, pressing against the image of Elizabeth as if he were caressing her. "My pretty Lizzie. These new guys ruined your store. Maybe I should fight them for you?"

He shivered in ecstasy, playing out the scene in his mind. He'd defeat them and bring her all their soul points. Then she'd fall in love with him!

So. Perfect.

George sighed, dismissing the fantasy. He'd have to get a message that would set them up for battle first. Maybe he could ask one of the hunters?

He returned his attention to his screens. "I'll grow stronger for you, my Lizzie. I'll become worthy of your affections! Wait for me!"

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All of a sudden, Noah saw the door fling open as he stopped himself from throwing the pen at the wall, filled with dents, pens stuck in the crevices, and drawings of things you'd see in a horror movie. For a while, he stared at his doorway, the two male crowding it with weapons in their hands, looking like they were going to fight him, "What's this?" Noah asked, setting the pen gently down onto his table, thinking at first that they were thieves. But then, rethinking, he took up the pen and held it in his hand firmly, making sure he'd aim for the heart if anything went wrong.

"Noah Winss. You have been accused of murder. Double murder. Last of all, soul Murder. Your eyes say your guilty. You're guilty. So you have to die."

Noah blinked a few times before frowning and sitting back in his chair, "Honestly! I was just having a bit of fun was all! A human's life is worth so little, and they live for such a small amount of time doing nothing but consuming, can't I just get rid of them all? The population is quite dense here anyways. Ah... lets see..." Noah held onto his pen even tighter, "Should I start with you first? It'd be nice to kill a few strong ones here and there since the innocent ones are weak and barely put up any fight! Now, show me a nice game, would you?"

The blonde haired and insane looking man took the pen from his hand and tossed it in the air, high above his head. It should have fallen to the ground, but with a single motion of Noah's hand, it stopped in midair, and lunged itself at both Ashe in Axl. He didn't care who it hit, or if it hit anyone really. It just gave him time to switch his forms.

From a regular human-looking being, or someone normal at the very least, Noah slowly changed. It was a slow process, unlike most other switches from a regular person to a Soul. It sounded like bones were cracking, a horrifying sound that most people would fear or be disgusted at, then, a sort of skeletal looking pair of wings sprouted from his back. Before long, Noah wasn't even Noah anymore. He, "It", looked like a skeletal dragon, wings that spread far and wide, a body made only from bones, yet a red and yellow eye still distinguishing that it was Noah.

Although it could not be heard, only through a loud and menacing roar, Noah was telling himself, though it was directed towards those opposing him, who stood far below him now, 'If you play your pieces right... I'm sure you can win! But if you don't, I'll be saying checkmate!'

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"Hmm." Eva heard Axl say.

"Hah? What's that supposed to mean?" Eva asked, putting her arms behind her head, leaving her sword on the ground next to her, allowing anyone to openly take it, though things would go quite bad if someone tried, "I promise I'll jump in if things get serious, alright? Don't take me too lowly for that, dear."

"You should be the last one to comment on my battle tactics, dear. Besides, none of the reports say how strong the bastard's victims were... I don't like to take chances on this one. However, if you insist, I'll just go in with a handgun and go Call of Duty on the guy."

"There ya go kiddo! Much better!" Partially, Eva wanted to see how things went if he wasn't in his Soul form, an appearance that apparently made people much stronger than they were. Eva also wanted to see how strong their opponent was. It was trust, what he said, that they didn't exactly know everything on their target, so they did have to take caution. And finally, Eva just wanted to know how things would turn out if they weren't at their peak in the beginning, "Go on now! Get 'im!" Her words were slurred, as always, probably from the alcohol she had the night before, though she wasn't drunk.

Though, her opinion of their target immediately changed when she saw that he had taken on his Soul form, looking similar to a boned dragon, and broke the roof of his apartment. He didn't even seem human to her anymore. Eva was a bit concerned about this now, but told herself she'd lay back for a little while longer, 'If things go out of hand, I'll step in. For now, I'll let the two kids solve this out, if they can.' Though, she had faith they would. But not trust. Eva didn't trust anyone, even though many people didn't know that.

Instead, she clapped and laughed, "Haha! There's a worthy opponent! Now try fighting him like that boys!" She took a sip of the beverage she always seemed to have, like they were never-ending. That, or she always bought one in her spare time, "Give me a signal when you need me now! In the mean time, I'm busy! Good luck~" She chuckled before tkaing another sip. She wasn't busy at all, just lazy. But she wasn't laying back for nothing, 'I have to see how this goes first...' Eva knew she'd let neither of her comrades die on her, but she knew they'd pull through, maybe with her help, maybe not, but she had her faith in them.

Axl calmly looked at the man who he was holding against the wall, now sitting in a chair. 'He sure is quick.' He thought. Noah Winns was a dangerous person indeed. He had powers of telepathy that sent a pen darting towards Axl. He of course cut it in have letting the ink split with the pen. The distraction was good enough to let Noah transform. Axl was disgusted by the transformation. The bones of the man cracked until he was nothing but a skeletal dragon. He'd remembered that before this encounter Noah Winns wasn't the type to have a soul form like that. He couldn't help but to ask himself what changed.

Axl left that thought for later and reached out to grab the dragon, sending electrical currents through it. No effect. It seemed like the dragon was unfazed and he was batted away like a rag doll. Out side the window, or what was left of it after the transformation. This still wasn't enough to make Axl want to use his soul form. He rarely brought it out. Instead he flipped in the air to spin of the ground and landed towards Eva. He took off his coat and zipped down his zip-able shirt. Only half past his chest though. He looked at Eva and said calmly and quietly, "This could be kind o entertaining Eva." as he watched as Asher and the skeletal dragon began fighting it out above him. He snapped his fingers and with lightning speed charged towards them both, passing them and charging his sword with electrical energy to make a heavier cut that seem to just push the dragon down to the ground instead of cutting him. He decided to let Asher take the lead this time in order to changer their strategy.