S.L.I.C.E. {Game Thread/ Closed, Started}

[DarkRawen]

"Er... Have you been in this line of work long? So long as people know what they're doing, survival rates aren't actually all that bad. I mean, I've been doing this for almost five years; teamwork and ingenuity can get you through a lot."

Will shrugged. He hadn't been intending for anyone to react like that, but what could one do? "Do I look like I've been in this line of work for a long time?" he asked. However, he wasn't sure whether or not his tone held enough of emotion to make it apparent that he was joking this time. Probably not. "That's a no. I'm new to this whole business. Also, I was joking, I don't know enough to actually have an opinion." He then turned to Lucas, somewhat annoyed that his joke had been taken that way, when that wasn't what he meant. Will frowned. "Can we leave soon?" he murmured. "I don't want to talk more."

 

[Ultraman950]

"Well whatever it is, it sure is nice and fine to see another halfie on the team. Ain't never thought I'd see another set of ears like these here in my lifetime. Come on miss, no need to be so nervous."

Ana winced as the half-elf man reached out to touch her again. She was really frail compared to these military types, and she was surprised they couldn't see that, frankly.

"Please stop that," she said. "I-I bruise really easily..."

What was it with humans and touching, anyway? They had a touch for everything. Even a simple greeting couldn't go without roughly grabbing the other person's hand and shaking it. Why?

 

[Ruedyn]

"I-I bruise really easily..."

"Excuse me, Johnny, I believe? She wants to be left alone." Came a voice from behind. His pale skin, white hair, and feathery wings gave him away as an angel, and his white trench coat with a red cross wrapped around his left bicep marked him as a Templar. A normal enough combination. He stood head and shoulders above most people, with intense purple eyes.

While he was busy making a scene of himself, a man who had his features obscured by a dark purple hoodie, sneaked next to Will;

"I don't want to talk more."

"Sir, I'm sorry but my master wishes to speak with you. He's in your room." And with that, he phased back into the crowd looking for their rooms, another body to the mass of people. He was a trained sneak, if nothing else.

 

[Deu Sex]

As Johnny heard a voice call out to him, he turned himself around. His eyes widened like saucers when he saw the angelic wings that accompanied the man. After staring in for awe in a moment, the boy quickly turned his body around to face the angel. He took his hat off, placing it onto his chest, and then bowed his head. "Ah, y-yes! Most certainly s-s-s-sir!" The halfbreed seem barely able to contain himself as he stuttered. In his hand he tightly gripped the silver cross. "I a-apologize for any rudeness m-ma'am!" He turned and bowed his head to Ana, uttering a prayer under his breath and held his cross tight.

 

[DarkRawen]

"Sir, I'm sorry but my master wishes to speak with you. He's in your room."

Will stared at the hooded man, until he disappeared into the crowds. He then lifted his glasses slightly as if there were something on them. "So, that just happened. Why?" He wasn't sure whether or not this was the so-called curse part of the "family curse", him going crazy or something like it. "Lucas, did you see that?" he asked his brother, and when he saw that Lucas indeed had, he continued. "I'm not going to my room alone with some strange guy being there, no friggin' way. So, let's go. Now." He nodded to the others as a sort of good bye, and whatever the brothers had brought started hovering a bit above the floor. Will started walking, dragging Lucas along with an invisible hand, making it so that he was actually dragged across room, and into the hallway.

 

[Ruedyn]

"Err... Yeah, no need for that, friend." The angel rubbed the back of his head. He forgot that Elves worshiped his race, but he didn't regret helping her.

"I believe you've found your room already, right miss?" His eyes softened considerably. He wanted to help her,she looked frail, and he found himself wondering why she was even there.

"If you need my help, please feel free to find me. My name is Samael. Yeah, that one." He added the last part with a smile, and walked away.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Inside of Wills sparsely furnished room, the man in a blue robe stood, staring past the wall at something seemingly fascinating. He turned when the boy entered.

"Good to see you, finally. Your aunt spoke highly of you." He was smiling as he pulled down his hood. His face was attractive enough, but generic. His voice was accented lightly, British it seemed.

"I'm... Well, that's unimportant. I'm a wizard of some renown, and I've taken an interest in your powers. Enough so that I'm willing to make you one of my champions." He stopped, letting Will get on with his questions. He expected a why are you here, what do you mean, why has the world gone grey and everything seem frozen? The last one happened as he began talking, and would turn off the second he felt the conversation was over.

 

[Ultraman950]

Ana looked at the angel man in silent awe, shrinking away from him until the bundle on her back touched the wall and twitched again. She didn't even feel she should look directly at him, where before, she at least managed to look people in the face, if only for a moment.

"I believe you've found your room already, right miss?"

She swallowed and nodded before answering. "Y-yes, sir. I-I just need to unpack. It shouldn't take long, i-if you need me for something..."

"If you need my help, please feel free to find me. My name is Samael. Yeah, that one."

Ana bit her lip and shied away again, at a loss for words. She almost wondered who she would run into next, if Archangel Samael was here, and speaking to recruits...

 

[Pappytech]

"If you need my help, please feel free to find me. My name is Samael. Yeah, that one."

Unable to resist, Lyra raised an eyebrow at the angel's retreating back. She may not have been as familiar with her lore as she ought to be, but even she recognized that particular name. He was here? At SLICE? Just walking around, and consorting with fresh recruits?

"Damn," she muttered with a slight scowl, only half-aware of the fact she was speaking aloud, "just what the hell do they going on here?"

Then, with a shake of her head, her grin was back. "Heh, come on now, Johnny," she chuckled mischievously, giving the half-elf an affectionate punch to the shoulder. "No need to get so worked up over a celebrity, eh? Just do your job, and everything will be fine, right?

"Besides," Lyra continued, turning to face the white-haired girl, "there's nothing to worry about, right? Sorry if we were bothering you, Ana. Just wanted to make some conversation before starting to get settled in, you know? Don't feel like you have to stick around if you've got something you need to go do; I'm sure there'll be time for icebreakers and party games later." To punctuate her words, Lyra flashed a thumbs-up in Ana's direction.

 

[DarkRawen]

"I'm... Well, that's unimportant. I'm a wizard of some renown, and I've taken an interest in your powers. Enough so that I'm willing to make you one of my champions."

The world around them seemed to have stopped. Will turned to look at Lucas, and upon seeing his brother frozen in time, he got startled, making the baggage he was carrying drop a few inches before pulling himself together. He looked back at the man in the blue robe. "What did you do to Lucas?" he asked, trying to remain calm and focused. Will knew that he was in no position to actually make a bargain -the other guy had stopped the time or something like that, hard to counter- but was more worried about Lucas.

"Unfreeze him. Make him move again." This situation was troubling, the very least. Was the man speaking the truth, or was he trying to trick him? He sounded off, using a word like champions, and calling himself a wizard just like that.

"Who are you? And why would you approach someone like me? There's probably a lot of other people who would be better suited, you knowing my aunt doesn't really explain much. Do you want to give me an offer?" He simply let part of his telekinesis form around the man's neck, being noticeable, barely. It was a warning, rather than a threat. It made Will cringe to even do this much, but he still felt a need to do it, not leaving himself completely open. He swallowed, and his unsure eyes met the wizard's.

"So. Lucas, and then the questions. If you for some reason actually are speaking the truth, I'll consider the champion thing."

 

[Deu Sex]

Johnny nodded his head as the angel spoke. "If y-ya insist sir!" As Samael walked away, he lifted his head back up. The boy placed his hat back on his head and loosened the grip on his cross, letting it dangle around his waist. As he felt someone jab him on the shoulder Johnny turned to face Lyra. "It's just so...awe-inspirin' to see a real angel in the flesh." He said, his voice still sounding rather stunned. "But yeah, everythan' will be dandy. You seem like a pretty friendly gal, miss Lyra."

 

[Terratina.]

Haytham had finally found what he needed, just in time for the angel's entrance. He walked over to the rather talkative girl, one of the few that were sadly a few door away from him. But, she was another one of the military types here, just like him. And that half-elf was of course enjoying the female attention. That was Haytham's job. He left the room in a messy state and wandered over to the little group with a mischievous smile on his face. "Hey, I'm Haytham. And before you ask - yes, I'm another halfbreed. I dare ya to guess which supernatural being took a fancy to a human."

 

[Ruedyn]

"So. Lucas, and then the questions. If you for some reason actually are speaking the truth, I'll consider the champion thing."

"I suppose my assurance he's fine means nothing, then...? Fine." Merlin snapped his fingers, gaining the attention of the newly awakened Lucas.

"Welcome, Lucas, to a business meeting. I was talking to your brother about his powers, and how they could best help the war effort. With me." Merlin grinned widely, returning to Will to answer his volley of questions;

"Since you seem to care, I am Merlin, magus of legend. And yes, I spoke the truth earlier, your powers seem like they could do a lot of good, especially with how this war is going to go. I'm offering you safety, until the final battle, and in return you work for me." His grin had become a smirk, and he clasped his hands together loudly.

"SO, do we have a deal? You can tell me by NOT taking my head off. Better men than you have tried." Merlin sat, thinking about these times while scratching his chin.

 

[Ultraman950]

"Don't feel like you have to stick around if you've got something you need to go do; I'm sure there'll be time for icebreakers and party games later."

Ana smiled a bit and nodded before going into her depressingly sparsely-decorated room with her heavy bag and starts unpacking. Most of her possessions were more simple, dark clothing, mostly with hoods or hats, to protect her sensitive skin. There was a locket with a cross on it that she kept with her at all times around her neck, under her hoodie, for luck. In it was a verse from the Bible, Matthew 28:6. She couldn't remember exactly what it said, but she was sure it was appropriate.

She would have to draw some pictures to make the room look less... depressing. It was too much like a hospital. She'd had enough of those.

 

[IFS]

"Welcome, Lucas, to a business meeting. I was talking to your brother about his powers, and how they could best help the war effort. With me."

Lucas was confused and disorientated by the shock of being pulled out of the frozen time. When the wizard said his name he was suspicious as to whether or not he was being honest, though Lucas knew little of Arthurian folklore he knew that Merlin was supposed to be a powerful wizard, which the whole time stop thing seemed to confirm that bit. He decided to remain quiet and let Will talk to the man, it was Will he was trying to make a deal with after all.

 

[DarkRawen]

The wizard had spoken to Lucas, having unfrozen him. Just seeing Lucas moving made him smile for a short while. The man in the robe then turned towards Will again, intend on answering the questions, and Will gave him what he had left of attention.

"Since you seem to care, I am Merlin, magus of legend. And yes, I spoke the truth earlier, your powers seem like they could do a lot of good, especially with how this war is going to go. I'm offering you safety, until the final battle, and in return you work for me." His grin had become a smirk, and he clasped his hands together loudly.

Merlin? Really? Either that was an ambitious lie or the person in front of him was an influential man. Him stopping time meant that the latter was very likely. Still, it made it perhaps harder to believe this man was interested in him. The supposed wizard of legend continued.

"SO, do we have a deal? You can tell me by NOT taking my head off. Better men than you have tried."

Will looked towards Lucas, halfway making sure he was okay, and halfway asking what to do. However, his brother seemed a bit confused, and he didn't say anything. The look in his eyes said he wasn't intending to either. Was he leaving Will to deal with this alone? Was he to decide this himself? He glanced at Lucas one more time, asking for a lead or something, before sighing, and looking back at Merlin. The slight grasp around Merlin's neck was released. "Why not. I don't get why you'd ask me, but okay. I'll be your champion."

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

John felt some weird events transpiring in the rooms around him, and became anxious. He pulled a lead ball bearing out of his pocket and tossed it in the air. It began falling but stopped, and began to orbit John's head. This was a focusing exercise he had been taught by a CIA consultant that was feeding his cell information. John got up and began to pull basic effects out of his dufflebag, a poster (ranger motivational), a calendar, some books, an alarm clock, a cd player, an mp5, etc...

He set his room up as best as he could, had a smoke, and went to sleep.

 

[Ruedyn]

"Why not. I don't get why you'd ask me, but okay. I'll be your champion."

"You act as though it's just you. No, you were merely stop two on my recruitment list. Good to hear however, I'll be sure to get Zeke to send you some Iscariot garb. And, a general tip for tomorrow, watch out for the black cross." And with that, he left, the world had it's color returned almost instantaneously. Jarring, but nothing he could do about it.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There was little else to do, for the rest of the day, as the higher ups were silent. Some slept, some socialized, others did other things. Regardless of actions, all heard a voice over the PA system in what most would assume was 5 in the morning. It was the Irishman from their introduction.

"Good morning, kiddos, today you get to head out for your first mission! Please report to your divisions' headquarters, which is the corresponding floor. As a reminder, every fifth door in the barracks hallway is an elevator." He turned off the PA system, wondering how many would survive...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D2

This floor seemed to be mostly done, though there were a few workers in the background, with eyes glazed over and slack jawed, it was clear there was mind control at work here. The whole floor was designed to look like a cross from an overhead view, a very wide misshapen cross, wide down the middle with a few rooms jutting out around the middle.

"Men." the division leader started, a young hispanic man wearing a suit, who looked about as average as humanly possible, "We have received a message from the Templars, apparently there is demon activity near our location, a rally if you can believe it. As such, we will be sure to eradicate them there. Be warned, although these are standard demons, they are still VERY difficult to kill." the rest of his speech were logistics, armory location, etc. It was time to prepare for these men. Their last order was to meet at the ground floor.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D3

The atmosphere for D3 was different, less military, though the floor was shaped the same way. The floor seemed to actually be done, and had furnishing. Not much, but it had some. Their speaker, the head of the division, was a middle aged pudgy man, who seemed to be wearing a suit of knights armor. Oddly enough, there were no Templar symbols, or anything else identifying him as more than a weirdo with a suit.

"The grunts have a mission, and luckily, so do we. Ours involves a warehouse, weapons dealers, and Abaddon. We plan to take out their commander TODAY, weakening them significantly. Git your shit from the armory if you aren't packing already, it's around the corner. You know where the elevators are, report to ground floor when ready."
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D5

This floor was smokier, less completed than the second one, and looked like it might collapse at any second. It was a safe assumption to those there that perhaps the budget had run out. The speakers chain smoking certainly wasn't helping. The scrawny elf didn't seem like he could fight well, but perhaps looks could be deceiving? He seemed to be wearing fatigues, so who were they to judge?

"Ladies and gentlemen, our mission today will require stealth and cunning. Luckily, if you're here, you have at least one of the two. Division 3 and our division will be working together today, as we are to take the place of arms dealers, who are trying to make a quick buck. This will require assassination and very good acting. Be sure to stop by the armory, we have guns and magicians on hand to lend very convincing illusion spells to our mission. Report to ground floor when ready."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D6

This floor was completely done, well furnished, and seemed to radiate pure arcane energy. The speaker was a man who covered his features with a dark purple hoodie, and his accentless voice could be heard in all corners of the room.

"Brothers, sisters, we have our mission for the day. Our resident Division 2 will be attacking a demon rally. We will lend as much aid as able, our spells are more than a match for those filthy demons after all. Prepare your spells, runes, etc, as we will head out as soon as they are ready. Report to Ground floor when ready."

 

[Pappytech]

"The grunts have a mission, and luckily, so do we. Ours involves a warehouse, weapons dealers, and Abaddon. We plan to take out their commander TODAY, weakening them significantly. Git your shit from the armory if you aren't packing already, it's around the corner. You know where the elevators are, report to ground floor when ready."

Lyra grumbled as she stumbled down the hallway, still half-asleep and more than a little irate. Granted, she probably should have seen this all coming, but still. Five in the morning? Jeez, and on day two! Apparently the big names in SLICE wanted to get things started as soon as possible.

But in any case, she was up and about now. There wasn't much sense in complaining about the early hour anyhow, not when there was a mission to be prepping for.

Fiddling with the last few buttons on her duster, Lyra marched down the corridor, shaking the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes. The familiar weight of a holster around her hip, not to mention the vest and grenades tucked beneath her coat, served as very real reminders that things were about to get serious. From here on out, she'd have to treat things with the gravity and severity they deserved; anything else could wait until after the mission was completed.

Nodding to the attendant manning the armory, the woman made her way inside, her eyes sweeping the shelves and racks of military hardware before her. Mmmm... The loudspeaker hadn't exactly given much information about today's task; odds were she'd have to use her own intuition to select additional armaments. Warehouse, arms dealers, and Abaddon... Yeah, she'd be needing a bigger gun.

A Barrett M95, complete with three extra magazines, ought to do it.

In addition to the rifle, Lyra selected a pair of binoculars and some rappelling gear, stowing both of them in her backpack. Something in her gut told her that the tools would come in handy during the mission, and it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Though she was satisfied with her current set-up, the solider decided to linger a bit longer. It couldn't hurt to browse for a few more minutes.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

The screaming, the damned screaming, the voices so alien, the images so wrong, so unnatural, the chanting, the thoughts, the blood...
GODHELPUSWHYWONTITSTOP?
John's alarm clock went off and a minute later the Irishman started talking over the PA.

"Good morning, kiddos, today you get to head out for your first mission! Please report to your divisions' headquarters, which is the corresponding floor. As a reminder, every fifth door in the barracks hallway is an elevator." It stopped.

John dressed, checked his rucksack and pulled it on, it had his AK strapped to the side of it, he was never one to leave his weapons unattended. Then he looked under his mattress and pulled a black bag from under it, the bag had a few objects in it. He pulled a holster with his revolver from it. He checked that it was loaded and attached the holster to his belt. He slipped the bag back under the mattress.

John opened his door and looked outside his room for a moment, a few people were dazingly walking to their divisions. He walked into the hallway and locked his door behind himself. He took a second to remember which door led to the elevator for Division 3. He remembered and opened the door, the elevator took a minute to get there.

Division Three was different then he was used to it was somehow less serious. The floor appeared to be complete at least, some furnishing too. The head there, was a middle aged man, he was wearing a suit of knights armor, unmarked. He looked like he had been out of the field for awhile though.

After a few other people had shown up, he talked "The grunts have a mission, and luckily, so do we. Ours involves a warehouse, weapons dealers, and Abaddon. We plan to take out their commander TODAY, weakening them significantly. Git your shit from the armory if you aren't packing already, it's around the corner. You know where the elevators are, report to ground floor when ready." Ok, time to get to work.

John was luckily already carrying most of his kit on him. Though there was the armour, the stims, and the rest of the kit. He walked to the armoury and into a locker room attached to the armoury. He opened a locker with his name on it, he stripped down to his underwear and pulled his CBRNE on. He placed his clothes in his locker and began to fit his body armour over it. It was a quick job, something he had been doing for years. He checked for any tears and found none. He pulled his rucksack onto his back, attached his pistol holster to a piece of kit fitted to the armour, and attached his machete's sheath to another, with the machete already in it.. He pulled the hood of the suit up and grabbed his gas mask.

John walked back into the armoury where others were beginning to prep their gear, he put his gasmask on a table in the middle of the room and began to check his weapons, he found they were fine. He lowered his rucksack onto the ground and began to pull vials out of it, most filled with various liquids and powders. He pulled an empty flask out and began mixing the liquids into it, after about five minutes of him trying to get the right mixtures he downed it.

Johns eyes took on a yellowish silver sheen as he packed everything back into his rucksack, he quickly pulled his rucksack back on. He coughed for a minute before pulling his gasmask on. He once again made sure everything was free of leaks and tears. He checked the filter of his gasmask and replaced it with one on his belt. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled a filter from it to replace the one he used from his belt.

John saw a woman looking over the guns and he nodded to her before grabbing a few other things and taking an elevator to the ground floor.

 

[Terratina.]

Haytham woke up, got dressed and sped out as soon as he heard the call. The military atmosphere was a bit overbearing. But, he guessed it was a little too soon for any camaraderie amongst the troops. The orders were simple, kill demons, yada, yada, yada. The only weapons he needed were already on his person. Life as a merc taught him to travel light, with only the essentials - ammo, weapons, and so on. But he sprinted over to the armoury and grabbed some backup weapons, stuff like grenades and so on. In the end, he ended up looking more like a mule carrying a heavy load than an experienced soldier. Still, it couldn't hurt to be prepared and he sprinted down to the ground floor, but more slowly than before. Sheepishly, he waved to the people he saw before who were there. Nevertheless, he had a good feeling about this mission, simple as simple as.