Tomorrow is Always Fresh, With No Mistakes... (Open)

[Kia Mason]

It was about ten thirty in the morning when Kia Mason had decided to skip school, she was a bit nervous about being found out by the school officials, but she felt the need to be badass and ditch school like a boss. It has been one month, a peaceful month, sure there was the occasional heartless but it has been normal in Castle of Dreams, To the angsty teen, normal was starting to get pretty boring. The all-girls school in the world was full of bickering females that want to start rumors and pull hair, Kia was tired of that so she decided to take a little field trip to another world, Radiant Garden. Running her trembling fingers through her golden hair, she kicked open the Gummi Ship door and stood up out of her seat. I guess I'm ready to face another world... She thought, grinding her teeth together she attempted to jump out of the Gummi Ship like a true badass, but she ended up tumbling down the stairs of the ship, quickly falling onto the gravel pavement.

Kia cursed many unladylike words under her breath as she slowly sat up, narrowing her eyes at her newly scraped knees. "So much for trying looking cool..."The Half-Djinn muttered, tugging on the cuffs of her long socks to hide the blood that was now running down the white socks. Kia turned to her side to see a few low-class boys marveling at her ship before laughing at her fall, then running away. The teenager raised her arm and shook a ineffective fist at them before sighing and using the staircase as support to stand up. After a minute of wincing, Kia turned around and clicked a button on her keys, causing the staircase to disappear and the ship doors to close. The Half-Djinn leaned back on the Gummi Ship and looked around, whistling at the marvelous architecture and scenery.

Radiant Garden was a beautiful world, she wondered why she had never taken the time to visit. It looked like Enchanted Dominion but much better. The homes were beautiful and there were fountains almost everywhere, It could have been called Fountain City; In Kia's mind anyway. There were small cafes, secondhand shops, and shops that crafted and sold weapons. Rays of light from the sun had a reflection in the fountain water which made Kia grin and relax her tensed nervous muscles from earlier. The teenage girl thought about reflecting on her life before being a boring and dull schoolgirl, but then decided that it was just best to relax and not dwell on the past. She was beginning not to mind the crimson colored long socks, the sounds of the fountain water started to calm her down. even though she was in the middle of town square she slid to the gravel pavement and slowly shut her eyes before leaning her head back on the ship's hard exterior drifting into sleep...

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold Darkson, Ysl'Dae Esmeraldis and Schwartz arrived in the Radient Garden during the early morning. The Lancelot touched down and the three unbuckled their belts. Ysl'Dae and Schwartz exchanged glances with each other, before looked up at their leader. Marigold looked at the both of them and a smile formed on her lips. The interior of the ship was filled with an intense amount of energy, excitement. They were all excited to be out into a new area and with the thought of conquest on their minds, they wouldn't miss a beat. Marigold stood up from the pilot's seat and threw on her black, furred coat.

"Ysl'Dae, Schwartz, stay on the ship. I need to perform a personal recon and see what sort of people I'm going to be expecting. After all, the people must be introduced to their new queen, am I right?" She spoke smoothly and with an air of confidence. Her allies furrowed their brows at her suggestion, but ultimately knew they couldn't argue with her, even if they wanted to.

"My Queen, we shall guard the ship and wait for your return. However, I needn't stress that if you do require our assistance, we're just an earshot away." Ysl'Dae said and bowed her head deeply Marigold, her emerald green hair falling over her pale face and green eyes. She looked towards Schwartz, who sat in her chair and pouted, with her arms crossed against her chest.

"It's not fair! Mistress, why do you get to go out and have all the fun? Knowing you, you're probably going to get into some really nice fights and I wanted to taste some blood... Ugh, it's not fair!" The pale-blue haired girl whined. Her face was covered by a scarf and her bangs were long enough to hide her eyes. She remained stubborn and didn't turn to look at Marigold.

Marigold laughed softly and blew several kisses to the both of them. She then applied her lipstick, took her pack of cigarettes and made sure she had her lighter, and exited from the ship. Marigold knew for a fact that Ysl would be able to keep the eager Schwartz calm, so she wasn't worried about them one bit. After exiting the ship and locking it all up, the woman walked forward into the town. The place was set up just like any other city, with a small town. Marigold took note of all the little shops and even noticed that there were shops that sold armaments.

"How quaint. This is more than likely a hub world of some sorts. There are sure to be others who are like me out there... Interesting." Mari thought to herself and pulled out a cigarette. She lit the stick and took in the soothing nicotine. A stream of white smoke came from her lips and while she walked through the town, she decided to do some people watching. However, along the way, something delicious tickled her nose. She smelled blood coming off of someone and started to look around. The woman couldn't pinpoint who it was exactly, but she decided to follow her nose nonetheless.

[Changeling]

Meanwhile inside the weapons shop, a heated argument concerning service warranty was beginning to take its toll on the parties involved. Raised voices threatened to escalate even further to raised fists. It would be dangerous if a fight broke out there, what with all the armaments just hanging on the walls and sitting in plain view, some protected by glass cases, but the rest was simply hanging, ready to be pulled off their mounts at a moment's notice.

Although, as much as people didn't want to see the shop trashed due to a miscommunication, a stranger -- looking quite like the soldier type with a full-body suit that could blend into the shadows, body armor, a helmet that completely covered his face, and a rifle slung across his back -- intervened, not because he wanted to keep the shop in one piece, but because he had struck a deal with the proprietor of the establishment. All he had to do was... 'keep the peace', and he'd be paid for his troubles.

Grabbing the hot-headed customer by his collar, he swung him around so he'd face the hired hand. The stranger's visor popped forward with a click, and the inner mechanisms pulled the freed parts upwards to reveal a set of scowling eyes. "I think it's time for you to cool off a little before you do something stupid." Zulu said, sounding a bit condescending.

Not appreciating being pulled mid-rant, the customer pulled out a revolver and emptied the chamber into the changeling's chest, much to the horror of the other patrons. However, that same horror showed in the shooter's own eyes when Zulu simply flinched and intensified his glare. "What did I just say?" He made a chop with his hand to disarm his assailant, quickly following up by raising him from the floor and tossing him against the shop's door. It broke of course, and the customer rolled outside. Scampering to his feet, he made a rude gesture at everyone in the shop before running away with his tail between his legs.

Zulu picked up the revolver and handed it to shopkeeper. "No," he said, sliding the gun over to his champion with a grin, "You keep it. Think of it as a bonus. And here's a little something for your troubles." He gave Zulu a few bills and some ammunition for his newly acquired gun, which he tucked safely into his vest.

With a nod, Zulu walked out the doorway and ventured towards a ship that had docked while he was dealing with business, intent on doing a little survey of what else there was to do in the Gardens. He kept his visor open to get a wider view of his surroundings as he walked. There was a lack of any concern for his wounds, as he did so. The bullet holes seemed to be deep, but he was simply trotting about like he had just come out of the spa, feeling refreshed. Today was a good day, he thought while twirling the revolver with his finger.

[Kia Mason]

Kia mumbled meaningless words in her dreamlike state before waking up to a loud noise, the teenage girl gasped and frantically looked around in many different directions to see where the loud noise was located. After a few mere seconds, she gave up and leaned back on the Gummi Ship with a small thud. Was somebody actually shot at? Wow, who knew this beautiful world can be dangerous? Especially with criminals? The Half-Djinn shook her head and stood up, wincing as her bent knees made her cuts even bigger. She had to go get some sort of medical help or else the cuts become infected and filled with disgusting pus.

The blonde limped over to one of the fountains in the square and took a seat. She slid out of her slacks and quickly took off her long socks, placing one toe in the fountain water to test it before placing both of her legs into the water. Ah... She thought, placing both of her hands on her lap, enjoying the cold water running past her legs. But of course, a loud cracking sound interrupted her relaxation. This was in the same location as the loud noise, Kia groaned and turned to her left seeing a few bewildered citizens running out of a store while an injured citizen runs away.

Kia shook her head and rolled her eyes, so Radiant Garden wasn't a vacation spot? Got it. After splashing water on her scraped knees (Which made the blood disappear, but didn't stop the bleeding). She turned around and stood up from the fountain. Maybe it was best to leave, she didn't want to be an innocent bystander- Haha, innocent. She was the complete opposite of it. Anyway, as she was about to walk back to her Gummi Ship, she heard something. A rather familiar noise, something she hasn't heard in a month of being just a regular girl.

Maybe the man that ran away from the weapon shop had a dark heart, or was just a plain idiot with dark intentions. Thanks to him, black creatures popped out of nowhere and started to roam around the shop, scaring the customers. "Heartless, shit!" She cried, the teenage girl feared the heartless more than anything. Kia turned away and breathed in and out of her nostrils. She felt as if she couldn't breath, she felt as if she was locked in a room with no space. Either way, Kia had no choice but to make them go away since it looked as if she was the only one around the world that had combat experience. It was time to actually be badass!

Kia extended her arm and summoned Seraph Blade one of her many swords. She has been training with her swords secretly, but not on heartless, but now was her chance to prove that she wasn't afraid of the... The heartless took note of the teenage girl and her large sword and charged at her, Kia shrieked and bolted to the alleyway trying her best to get away from the three fast Neoshadows and four Lance Warriors that were chasing her. She was a pretty slow runner to say the least and wasn't able to get away from them, as she ran she bumped into someone.

Kia quickly caught her fall and looked up at the stranger she bumped into, The woman was blonde just like her but instead of having plain features like Kia, She was beautiful but was smoking a cigarette, The Half-Djinn kept looking behind her, "Ha-Hi! Do you have fighting experience!?!" The teenage girl asked frantically still looking behind her, she had left her shoes and socks at the fountain and was now barefeet with new-formed blood running down her legs. "Doesn't matter!" In a panic, she summoned Blade of The Ocean and tossed it to the woman, before running behind her and quickly hid behind her acting as if her body would shield her from the creatures., peeking from over her shoulder, watching as the heartless charged after them..

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold didn't have to travel too far before the sounds of conflict arose. Her ears picked up the sounds of a man crashing through a door, after a series of bullets were shot inside of a shop. Marigold turned her attention towards the sounds of chaos and saw the man as he ran away, giving the finger to someone. If Mari had to put a finger on it, the person who the man was running away from had to be the rather large man wearing the black armor. She noticed he had taken a few bullets and rose an eyebrow. Right away the man interested Marigold, more than the scent of blood and she had the right idea to go check the man out. However, something else accosted her back when she was ready to go speak with the man.

Marigold saw the image of a short, blond-haired girl. The woman raised an eyebrow towards her, as she seemed frantic about something going on. When she looked up from the girl, she saw that there were a group of black creatures that sped towards them. Mari took a final puff from her smoke and blew out, before she dropped the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out with her boot. When the girl tossed her the blade, Marigold caught it in mid-air and stepped forward. She waited until the creatures were within 30 feet of her, before she made her first move.

She smiled and took in a deep breath. When the creatures got into range, she let out an earsplitting scream that was her Inverted Shift. Marigold changed the pitch and tone, so that it wouldn't affect the little blonde-girl who sought solace behind her. The scream would more than likely cause the creatures to stumble about and leave large openings for her to go in and get rid of them all.

[Changeling]

It wasn't even a minute after his little tussle with a hothead and already something was amiss inside the shop. He looked back to see people frantically evacuating, but his interest didn't peak until he heard a shrill scream from a short blond girl when she was noticed by... what were those things? He didn't get to have a good look at the creatures, but they most certainly resembled humans. Quite possibly, they were demons. Yup. They're always demons. There had to be a price on their heads, and that was good enough for the mercenary.

He scrambled after the girl while loading his new gun. He took his other pistol in hand, and a sense of badassery quickly filled him with pride. Oh how he loved dual-wielding. He peeked around a corner to see another girl shielding the one who just ran away. The creatures attacked, but Zulu waited to see what they'd do first. And was he quickly intrigued. The other woman screamed loudly. So loudly in fact that the attacking creatures were taken off balance. Of course, he was somewhat affected as well. His ears rang sharply at the shout, feeling arguably worse than having a magnum shoot right beside his ears.

Though it was but a minor inconvenience. Nothing to be concerned about. While the creatures were recovering still, Zulu rolled out of cover and raised his two guns and fired a volley at two of the humanoids, spending about half of each guns' magazine, taking one of the shadows out and severely injuring the other who was wielding a crooked lance, despite the fact that it took all three hits to head from the new gun. "THIS REVOLVER SUCKS!"

[Kia Mason]

Kia watched as the woman made some sort of attack with her own piercing scream, Kia's hands flew to her ears when there was really no need. One of the Neoseekers was stunned but rushed forward towards the woman, The teenage girl couldn't handle being the one hiding right behind the woman. The girl's other arm glowed with an azure hue, she stepped back a few steps so she wouldn't hurt the woman with her now glowing arn, Suddenly, Kia's arm wasn't made of pure flesh but more of  lightning that you see in the sky when it's raining, real electric.

Six more of the tall and lanky Neoshadows had appeared, and one guy carrying a gun has appeared as well. Was he the man that shot the gun and disrupted the peace? Kia was pretty quick to make assumptions about strangers but maybe many of the men here had guns so it couldn't be him... He did look quite dangerous, covered in all metal but she was willing to give him a chance after he claimed that the gun he was wielding 'sucked'.

The Half-Djinn with her Lightning arm and her Seraph Blade, she rushed at three of the newly formed Neoshadows. The girl's energy arm had suddenly turned into a metal sword that had electricity surrounding it in an aesthetic fashion. She charged at one lanky Neoshadow and slashed at it with her Energy Arm horizontally before stabbing it in the midsection with her Seraph Blade, The teenage girl saw another one charging towards the woman, "Oh no you don't!" She exclaimed, rushing towards the Neoshadow with both large swords. The heartless quickly turned around and backhand slapped her causing her to fall flat on the ground, That was unexpected! The heartless slammed it's arm in her direction and she was too stunned to dodge, taking the hit she stood up and slashed her swords in it's direction while it mercifully dodged her attacks. Hopefully, the other two can handle the other ten heartless.

Abilities Used:

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold found the attempt of the Neoshadow to rush at her rather adorable. Her Inverted Shift, which was the scream itself, would have caused the creature to move in reverse. This meant that any form of movement or attack it tried to do to her for the next few moments would done in the opposite direction and with the opposite limbs. Marigold smiled and took advantage of its stunned, confused stupor of the Neoshadow, by lunging forward and stabbing the beast right through with the borrowed blade. She drove the blade deep and when she confirmed the kill, turned on the creature that smacked the young girl. Marigold dashed forward and swept at the legs of the Neoshadow. This would cause it to be knocked over onto the ground, where she'd proceed to stomp the beast right on its head.

The entire time, Marigold hadn't forgotten the second addition to their little party. Marigold assumed it was the man in the armor from earlier and smiled a small, devilish smile. Along with that, she counted the numbers of the enemies they had to face and counted around 10 or more. This would be a perfect job for her team, but she wanted to see how far she could go with these two newcomers.

[Changeling]

Zulu grinned behind his mask at the sight of more approaching enemies, counting up the collective kill counter to a dozen, more or less. He finished off the weakened lancer with the last of the bullets of the revolver before holstering it in his vest, feeling betrayed by the inanimate object for promising him a powerful shot. Half of the group splintered off to him, lead by another one of those things with the crooked lance, which... tripped... flat on its face. Feeling ashamed for the guy he ignored it, but dodged the lance that came flying towards him, embedding itself into a brick wall. That would have been dangerous, the changeling admitted to himself.

He pulled out the lance, and swung at one of the humanoid shadows, just to get a feel for the weapon. He spun with the lance facing outward in an attempt to hit some of them. Two managed to jump out of the way while the other two made two satisfying pings against the metal. Seeing a dazed shadow nearby, he gently pressed his personal pistol against its head and pulled the trigger. During that time, the lancer that stumbled had sneaked up behind him and grabbed its lance, much to Zulu's annoyance.

He struck with a quick elbow to its face and wrenched the weapon from its clumsy hands before hopping a bit back only to thrust the weapon through its owner's chest. Not waiting to see the outcome, Zulu refocused on the three remaining Neoshadows and waited for their next move. Three portals opened up under them and they sunk into it. The portals closed and another nine opened up around him. This was going to be harder than he thought...

[Kia Mason]

Kia was thankful that the woman had finished off the accurate and swift Neoshadow for her, she took the woman as more of a secretive and stoic individual that only looked out for herself, but they were all in this together no matter what. She turned to look over at the metal-clas male who had joined them and saw that he was in deep trouble. More incoming heartless that were out for hearts had just circled around him, eagerly waiting for his next attack.

"Since you have Blade of the ocean, you can swing the sword from afar and it'll transform into a water whip, whipping the heartless from afar," Kia explained smugly, seeing that the woman knew how to handle her sword, she probably knew what heartless were, right? Waving her lightning arm, she ran to the circle and began slashing away. Using her Lightning-Arm-Sword, she bashed the blunt side side of the weapon upside a fellow Neoshadow's head, silently hopping the woman was using the sword whip thing.. The Neoshadow turned around and used it's shadow-like claws right across her face. Kia winced, not wanting to look weak in front of the two adults that were fighting with her.

The teenage wiped the two scratch marks from her face with her closed fist and slashed at the Heartless using both of her swords now. Stabbing and swinging at anything that got in her way, she finally stopped and saw that she had made at least four of the nine disappear.

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold listened to the girl as she explained how her sword worked and found the weapon just as interesting as her own, Ticking Clock. She decided to put the whole whip form to the test and saw that the armored man had been surrounded by a group of creatures. Mari swung the blade outward and held it to her side, which caused it to transform into its whip version. Then, she jumped forward, spun in the air, used the momentum to propel her further and in that same motion, swiped across the backs of three creatures in the group. Should the attack not kill them, it would definitely break them away from the circle and cause them to focus on her.

"Looks like Schwartz was right. I am going to have all the fun on this excursion." She thought to herself and smiled softly. She looked upon her opponents and readied herself for whatever would happen next. However, she noticed that the girl who gave her the weapon, started to steel herself more and fought off the creatures with no problem. That reduced the numbers by a good amount, so that left only the possible three Marigold might have not killed and whichever extras remained surrounding the armored man.

[Changeling]

His Resonance Detonator was ready to discharge the moment one of those shadow things popped out of their portals, but just when he was about to unleash the kinetic pulse, his three assailants were struck down by a whip, courtesy of the elder blonde. He looked to her, somewhat impressed and disappointed at the same time. "For the record, I had them," he said to her nonchalantly before executing the lancer who was struggling with his own weapon that got embedded on its chest just a moment earlier.

Zulu ran up to the youngest of the fighters, noticing her peculiar weapon and two shadow creatures bearing down on her from behind. He holstered his pistol to allow a spike to protrude from and cover his fist. "Pardon me, miss." he said as politely as he could manage in the middle of a blood lust before grabbing the blade of her electrified sword. Almost instantly, he could feel the electricity pour through him wildly like an enraged bull in his veins. It was painful, as it always was, but at the same time, it felt strangely euphoric.

He pointed the spike at the two attackers and the energy that was introduced to his system was shot out like he was a Tesla Coil. He didn't stop until he was sure the shadows were fried to a crisp. "Was that the last of them?" he asked, releasing the blade. The girl shouldn't have been harmed or drained in an unnatural way. He only took what the sword was emitting and redirected that power through the spike on his fist, nothing more.

[Kia Mason]

Kia looked around to see if there were any more heartless in the area, "No, looks like they're gone," She answered the male's question with uncertainty. "Heh, we did pretty good, I honestly didn't know that normal citizens like you two knew what heartless actually were." The Half-Djinn turned to the woman that was holding her sword/whip, "You have spectacular skill with swords, strange that I just used spectacular in a sentance, heh."

Then she turned over to the metal guy, "And you have great urm, fighting skill..." She honestly didn't know what to say since she honestly never paid attention to him fighting, The girl wished she saw him fight though.

Kia shook her arm and it turned back into bone and flesh, she de-summoned her Seraph Blade into its respective elements. Once it disappeared, the teenager crossed her arms and regarded the two adults. "You two don't look like average citizens," She said aloud, "Who are you?"

(Apologies for the wait)

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold merely let out a non-amused sigh when the man told her that he had his situation under control. She didn't care, all she cared about was her kill count, since she felt as though she had gotten rusty during the trip. Nevertheless, there were only two creatures left and the man who wielded electricity fried them up real good. They were all dead after that and Marigold checked her pulse, by placing to fingers on her wrist. No change in heart beat. A lack luster battle. Should Ysl'Dae and Schwartz come, they more than likely would have wiped out the creatures in a flash.

"I've never fought those pawns in my entire life, up until now." Marigold said, finally breaking her silence. Either way, the woman turned her eyes onto the armor clad man and the young girl. The thought of being called a "normal citizen" bugged the woman greatly, but she expected nothing less, seeing she was in a new land, where no one knew her name. Marigold merely smiled, not saying a word in reply towards the girl's comments, rather Mari turned the blade reverse handle and handed back to the young woman.

"Thank you for the experience." She said in a cold tone. True enough, Marigold hadn't used a sword in a while. She was used to her sickles and her lovely scythe, which more of than not, didn't work like a standard blade. Mari snapped her fingers and the sound echoed loudly. Within moments, Ysl'Dae and Schwartz made their presence known. Ysl'Dae came down from the sky, performed a flip, and landed gracefully on her feet. The emerald green-eyed and emerald green haired woman stood a few more inches taller than Marigold, placing her at 6'3 in terms of height. Schwartz writhed inside of Marigold's shadow, before she formed out of it, as if it were water. The girl's face couldn't be seen due to her large, blue scarf and her long blue bangs, that draped over her eyes. She stood at 5'4" and crossed her arms across her shoulder.

"You two are in the presence of Queen Marigold Sanguinis de Darkson. We are her voices in times where her actual voice isn't needed for conversation. It is a pleasure to meet you." Ysl'Dae bowed towards the armored man and the young girl. She bowed deep enough for Marigold to straddle her shoulder and sit forward to face the two unknown people. She crossed one leg over the other and when Ysl'Dae stood, it looked as though Marigold looked down upon the both of them. "I am Ysl'Dae Emeraldis, the Right Hand for our Queen. The one to the left of us, is Schwartz, the Black Plague and Left Hand for our Queen." Ysl'Dae explained, as she introduced all three of them formerly and with as much respect towards the two others, as they were likely confused as to what was going on.

"Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you all, or whatever. I can tell by the scent of the place, that a battle just finished up. Where the hell are we, anyways?" Schwartz asked. She scratched her head, annoyed just a little bit. Schwartz was definitely the least humbled between the three.

While the introductions went on, Marigold fancied herself another stick. She went into her coat pocket, pulled a cigarette out, then placed it in her lips. Ysl'Dae raised her finger and a plume of green fire appeared and light the cigarette. Marigold, not forgetting her own manners, pulled the pack out and offered one to the man and young girl, if they wanted one.

[Changeling]

Zulu couldn't help but smirk at the 'regular citizen' remark. That was way too far from the truth. At least where he came from; 'regular citizens' there meant someone uninteresting or unimportant enough to not worry about getting shot on purpose. Mostly they were just unlucky bystanders when they did get shot. He didn't pay much notice to the young girl's remark about his fighting skill. What he did was nothing compared to what he was capable of, but it did bring him a little bit of enjoyment. To that, he uttered a, "Thanks. You weren't too bad yourself, for a bud," to her.

He turned his attention towards the other woman who spoke for the first time since their impromptu team-up. She had a voice that betrayed a little bit of herself; a trace of regal upbringing, and not one of those fairytale types. His hunch was justified when two others joined them at her call, and told them that she was a queen.

Marigold Sanguinis de Darkson. Yeah, that didn't sound dangerous and/or ominous at all. With a name like that, she could easily be called the 'Crimson Flower of Darkness'. Her viciousness in combat, mixed with her natural beauty, did seem to suggest that that would have been a great title for her.

"A pleasure to meet you," he said with a simple nod as he casually reabsorbed the metal spike on his hand. Being offered a little smoke, he took one and thanked the woman before pulling out a lighter and igniting the stick. As he was in the process of taking the cigarette, his visor popped forward and pulled back, revealing his eyes, then the lower part of his mask unhinged to show the rest of his face.

He took a puff before he went on with his 'introduction'. "I'm Zulu. Just another hired gun," he turned to the blue-haired girl, "and we're in the Radiant Gardens. Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you; I just got here not too long ago."

With the threat gone, the people who had fled had began to flock back to assess the damages and take a peek at their protectors, although timid, as shown by their reluctance to come anywhere near the battlegrounds. Within the crowd, Zulu saw the guy that had shot him in the shop. The changeling brought two fingers to his eyes before turning his hand and pointing to him with a sneer. A light chuckle escaped him as he saw the guy visibly shake and slowly sink into the crowd.

[Marigold Darkson]

The young Kia girl apparently had to run off and head to school. Marigold and her two followers watched as the young girl headed off to do what she had to do, but soon turned their attention back to the man known as, Zulu. Apparently he was a hired gun, whose knowledge of the area they were in was the name of the place. Radiant Garden. The name continued to echo in Marigold's mind. The name was beautiful and reminded the young woman of her garden back on her planet. An entire continent under her control, that grew nothing but beautiful, man-eating flowers. A cold laugh escaped from Mari's lips, as she remembered how hard people attempted to stop her from using sacrifices to create the thing.

There was a group of people who gathered around the scene. They all gazed upon the figures that were seemingly the heroes of that spotlight, something of which made Marigold smile insidiously. However, she couldn't manipulate the thoughts and emotions of the people around her. She attempted to, but something shocked her. A shock that let her know that her powers were stunted severely and that she was back to an amount of power akin to her being a teenager again. That didn't please the queen one bit. She bit down into her cigarette, took a long drag, then blew the smoke through her nose. The people who looked upon Marigold, shivered slightly at the evil she was able to express just by her sheer anger alone. She gently nudged Ysl'Dae.

"Yes, my queen." She nodded to her and turned to Zulu. "Sir Zulu, do you know of any places that our queen can go to? A calming place with not a lot of people around? She's feeling rather... Creative with so many... Tools around." Ysl'Dae spoke and wanted to avoid conflict with the townspeople at their first visit. She hinted towards the murderous intention Marigold felt at Zulu, in hopes he'd catch on and tell them of a place where they could all talk in peace.

"Or just let me kill them... These people wouldn't know what even hit them..." Schwartz said darkly and just high enough for all four of them to hear. Zulu was definitely in the presence of good company.

[Changeling]

Turning back to the trio after watching the youngest one leave, he took notice of the Flower's subtle signs of rising agitation, and the effect it had on those who had their eyes on her. The tallest of the three turned to address him and brought it to his attention that perhaps it was time to go somewhere a little more private for the sake of those around them. He knew of a few places that fit the criteria, but didn't immediately divulge any of them. Instead, he drew a breath and exhaled the smoke, acting as if he was still thinking.

When the spirited one suggested to... clear the crowd, Zulu pulled the cigarette from his lips and smirked. "Not a bad idea," he said in a cold tone, casting a sweeping glance across a section of the crowd. "Unfortunately, that'd be bad for business. Dead clients hardly ever pay you for your troubles." The cigarette found its way back into his lips, glowing brightly as air was sucked in, being converted into the smoke that escaped from his nostrils.

"Besides, there are others in this area who are capable of fighting back, and though I don't doubt your proficiencies, there may be too many of them to be taken on simultaneously. Feel free to try your luck, if putting your queen in danger is the first thing on your mind."

The cigarette was dropped and stepped on before Zulu turned around and made a gesture to the girls to follow him, if indeed the blue shorty held herself back from her blood lust. He was following the dock, walking towards a lone tree bare of any human life. It was far enough away to keep anyone from wandering too close, but it was too open for his liking. He turned to a wide, shadowy alley,  unusually free of trash and other unpleasant things normally found in such niches of towns and cities. The walls were high, and the dead end made it a good spot for some privacy, though he wasn't sure if royalty would appreciate its simplicity.

He stopped just shy of the entrance and leaned casually against a wall with its paint chipping from being weathered down for a long time. Folding his arms across his chest, he turned his attention back to the girls. "Is this a good place? Or would you rather be in a more scenic area?"

The crowd hadn't followed them, and no one ever came close to the area as far as he noticed during his short time in the Garden. To say it was more isolated than private would be accurate, but maybe it was something they preferred.

[Marigold Darkson]

The three women laughed when Zulu mentioned how dead clients didn't pay for their troubles. Schwartz walked towards the man, hands on her swaying hips. Though he couldn't see her eyes due to the scarf and hair, Schwartz could see him perfectly. She tilted her head as she looked up at him and grinned ear to ear beneath her scarf.

"Guess how much a single human organ goes for? You could harvest every person we killed here, plus pawn off their belongings and so forth. People are walking piggy banks. You just have to break them in all the right places." She said in almost a whisper to the man. "But you're right... There are others who could fight back and right now, we're not trying to make our queen look tyrannical. Yet. We'll follow your lead." Schwartz said and she turned her back to Zulu, as she joined Marigold's side once more.

The three followed behind Zulu, with Schwartz giggly under her scarf. The people were in danger with Marigold there, but part of what the man said was correct. By this time, just by Marigold's aura and power alone, people should have been bowing to her involuntarily, however, that didn't happen. They just looked upon the queen with fear and nothing more. Schwartz smelled something fishy about this new universe all together and wanted to leave. She hated having to start over from scratch. Either way, they all followed Zulu, walking past several places. Mari herself looked around and surveyed the area, while Schwartz kept an eye on their six and Ysl'Dae facing forward at all times. They eventually came to a dark alleyway, freed of trash and with a dead end. The armored man asked if they'd prefer a more scenic route.

"The queen says this is perfect enough. Thank you, sir Zulu." She bowed to the man, but really, it was her way of letting Marigold off her shoulder. The queen gracefully touched the ground with her boots and finished off the rest of her cigarette. She threw the butt on the ground and stepped on it, letting the smoke come out of her nose afterwards.

"Zulu, a hired gun from another world, who agrees with our Black Plague on the killings of innocents. You must have had an interesting back story. Care to tell me about it?" Marigold asked with general curiosity, though her eyes didn't face him when she asked the question. However, her voice carried with a sweet, yet ominous air. She wondered what made a man like Zulu on his homeworld and what it would take to have someone like him on her side. Immediately, the thoughts of conquest came up and she looked towards the dead end of the alleyway. A perfect place to set up shop. Her lips formed a cruel smile, as she waited for an answer.

[Changeling]

Zulu's forehead scrunched into a frown and his fist tightened visibly when asked about his past, but he loosened up quickly soon after. Sighing deeply, he said, "Some things are best left in the shadows where they belong. But I feel that you'd give me the same treatment when I ask about you, and I'm curious about new acquaintances myself, so alright."

He shifted his weight on one foot as he diverted his gaze to the horizon. "I grew up in a war-torn territory where various factions were fighting for control. I was just one of the grunts they sent to die for a cause that I didn't even believe in. I was pretty good on the front lines, sometimes coming back as the sole survivor, only to be reassigned and sent back straight into the fire. It got old eventually, so after my unit got peppered with artillery, I simply left.

"Put myself up for hire, making it clear I didn't care which side I was fighting for, so long as the money was good. There was only one thing on my mind then: Survival. Because my battlefield was always changing, I too had to change with it for obvious reasons. I heard about a project that would help me do that, and I volunteered to be a test subject."

His fist once again tightened, but this time it stayed shut, as if to choke an invisible person until his head fell off. If they would take a look at his eyes, they'd see that they were filled with murderous intent. "What they didn't put on the pamphlet was that I had to become their mindless weapon. I was lucky the implant in my head failed when they tried to strip me of my free will. Of course, after figuring out their game, I had to... repay them somehow." A wicked grin appeared on his face. "Let's just say I helped them test out my new toys."

He casually glanced back to the trio with an expression that was unusually clam and inviting, eyes no longer harboring hatred, but instead neutral indifference. "What about you three? A queen and her two personal guardians? I'm sure there's more to it than that."

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold smiled at the frustration Zulu presented to her, when asked about his back story. She loved messing with people and loved digging deep into their darkest memories, to decipher what sort of person they truly were. Zulu was no exception. Not only that, but her very own presence coupled with Schwartz and Ysl'Dae, made it very obvious that they were more than just a roaming queen with her two guardians. When Zulu looked towards the horizon, Marigold turned to him and listened as he explained his a bit of background. She wasn't surprised to hear that he was from a war-torn world, where he was sent from one battle to the next, but what did surprise her was his ability to come back from each battle to the point of getting bored of the fighting. A smile touched her lips and she listened as he went on. Several key things went off in her head when Zulu mentioned about the changing of his battlefields and the how he needed to change with them. Adaptability was key to any sort of situation and Marigold was interested in knowing more about the implant he mentioned.

"He's so filled with rage, it's delicious. You can almost taste the death and darkness off of this man's aura." Marigold thought to herself, when Zulu showed his true personality beneath those eyes of his. She listened as he went on to explaining that the implant that would help change along with his battlefield, was really a ploy by the people who gave it to him, tried to control him with it. Mari ended up laughing at the end of his story, when Zulu said he repaid the people who tried to take his free will away, by testing out his "new toys" on them. She clapped softly and found herself amused by the whole story. Marigold wouldn't say what pleased her the most, but when he turned to face the three with his calm and inviting gaze, she returned the gaze with her own cold and emotionless stare. The only hint of emotion on the woman came in the form of her small smile. It was her turn for the Q&A and she was more than willing to oblige in telling Zulu a bit about them.

"I come from a world that is completely under my will. My parents were successful business people, with a lot of wealth and power, so they raised me on the principal of being smart and calculating enough to get whatever I want. After their..." Marigold's eyes darkened and a sickening smile formed on her crimson lips. "Unfortunate accident, I took over the family business with the rest of my family, along with Schwartz and Ysl'Dae. We took over our own birthplace eventually, but I wanted more. I wanted so much more that I soon took over the country and from the country, the world. I started many wars, which I ended with my own two hands." She smiled as she turned towards Schwartz and Ysl'Dae, who felt as though she were complimenting them too much and looked away with embarrassment. "And after ending the final war that the pathetic people tried to put up, I grew bored after years of sitting on my throne. I wanted a new planet to subjugate under my rule and now here I am, along with my two guardians." Marigold finished explaining and her features softened, showing the facade of a kind woman, who wouldn't dare hurt a fly. "Anymore questions?" Her voice was light, yet riddled with dark intent.

[Changeling]

Just from the first sentence of her back story, Zulu had already figured out how the whole thing would play out, but the way she continued to speak made him cringe on the inside; she was so boastful and proud of her accomplishments to the point that it sounded like the lies children tell to their playground buddies to sound interesting, and the ending sounded so much like a twisted fantasy.  Through it all, he was unmoving and held a steady gaze, not a single feature betraying his inner thoughts, though an eyebrow had raised slightly at the mention of an accident that befell the girl's parents. A corner of his lips had curled up into half a smirk. Destroying the ones who made her the way she was? So the two of them had another thing in common.

Marigold didn't try to keep her love of bloodshed and greed for conquest a secret, yet the way she asked if he had any other queries made her look so innocent; she had no problem in talking about her dark plans, but perhaps she could do with a little bit more caution as her overconfidence in her and her guardian's abilities may just become her undoing. Too many had fallen to their own illusions of power, only to be dispatched by the ones they called inferiors. It'd be a shame if she were to fall into that very same scenario. People like her, hell, even people like Zulu himself, wouldn't be missed if they'd perish, so why not make sure their legacy lives on to either haunt future generations, or inspire them? Of course to do that, one would have to be alive to build the legacy.

To her last question, Zulu simply said in reply, "Just one..." He threw casual, yet critical glances at Marigold's lackeys first before settling his eyes on the queen. Eyes narrowed slightly as if to issue a challenge. "I trust you have a plan for this subjugation plot of yours?"

[Marigold Darkson]

Marigold, when asked if she had a plan, couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself. Was he trying to insult her? A queen who had built everything she had from the ground up, who formulated hundreds of plans to get where she was now with conquest on her mind, indeed she had a plan She saw Zulu's eyes narrow and her own eyes formed into a sharp, deadly glare. Her smile had all but faded and her sinister aura made itself clear to all those who could see them. Marigold stared the man down, testing his resolve, because after all he was survivor. A survivor would be able to stare into the eyes of someone who were similar to them. Mari's eyes, in this case, should Zulu had the intent to challenge her with the stare, accepted the challenge but did one better and showed the man what befell those who challenged her. Her yellow eyes flashed dangerously, with the intent to stomp out those who got in her way.

"I do. You, as a man of battle, know one doesn't go into carnage half-cocked. I have a plan for my conquest and an interesting variable as shown up." Her glare remained, yet a tempting smile crossed her lips. She folded her arms beneath her chest and stood up straight, her queenly air filling the space. "This variable being you and how you'll factor into all of this. You and I are too far gone for any other world, why not go a little further and see your strengths to their fullest? After all, nothing says conquest like a giant battle for power. Am I right?" Marigold asked and as if on instinct, Ysl'Dae and Schwartz nodded their heads to themselves. Despite what appears on the surface, the three were a lot closer to each other, than any other person. "We went to hell and back, to bring down heaven and cut off the head of God." Marigold spoke calmly. "The words of my family and those who serve under me. Maybe you'll grow to repeat the same?" She asked him, her intentions for the man evident in her speech and tone. Simply put, she wanted the man in her plans.

[Changeling]

Indeed, he was a survivor, but at the same time he was a lost soul who had every piece of him weathered down to the bone.  His eyes kept locked on to her's like a wolf stalking its prey, never letting her stare him down into submission. Yet he didn't intensify his own glare, as seeing who had the capacity to kill with their look was never his intent. The intense glare she flashed him only served as a reminder of her always wanting to be on top. To weed out the resistance and control everything she could get her hands on. And it seemed that her eyes were now set on him to be her new property. To make this 'interesting variable' one of her followers. Her proposition was tempting, and to him, it was debatable whether or not it was worth everything he could lose, life being the least prioritized on the list.

However, only a fool would go grabbing at every promise made. He learned that the hard way so many years ago, and he only got out because of luck. Following his attempted mind control, he was more cautious of offers that seemed so grand. Regularly, his working for someone was sealed with cash, but Marigold had made it clear to him that she had a much more substantial plan for him. "Perhaps," he said to her, his tone flat, but carried a hint that he was considering the proposition. "I don't really care much about conquest, nor anyone else's plans and ideals. Aside from a fancy new tag, title, and of course the company of eye-candy, what else would there be for someone like me in your midst?" His words contained a trace amount of humor as his mood lightened up, however he kept his gaze, intent on letting it be known that he was in no way a weak-willed pawn for anyone to simply play around with and sacrifice at their discretion.

[Marigold Darkson]

The dominating and oppressive look in Marigold's eyes had lessened. She didn't have to test the armored man any further. After the stare down and this discussion, the queen had a good guess of what it was Zulu wanted out of everything she had planned. Mari smiled warmly towards the man, knowing that he must have thought she wanted complete and total control over him, much like the people he killed before. That was not the case. Mari always had a plan for her followers, but she always respected them. Anyone who was willingly volunteering their lives to commit heinous acts in the name of their queen, were treated with more respect than any other warlord's military.

"Behind all the glamour, would be the nitty-gritty. When you have too many people spreading their own ideals, vying for control, you have one too many people who will want to go to the extremes to see them through. I, on the other hand, believe there should only be one person to rule at any time. One person to have their own ideals seen through, because they fought to be at the apex of the food chain." Marigold took a pause and looked towards the horizon. "Because of this, I propose a war to end all wars." She moved her right hand outwards, which was the symbol of war in the eyes of Ysl'Dae and Schwartz. That same hand also pertained to Ysl'Dae's status as Marigold's right hand woman. "Your final war, Zulu, plus your final test to see just how well you'll survive. At the end of everything, when the dust clears and settles, you'll be awarded handsomely for surviving under my command. You'll no longer have to survive, for you have ended all the wars and can finally enjoy the large amount of wealth you've amassed during the campaign. This is my proposal to you, Zulu." She finished and turned back to face him. Mari didn't cut any corners and didn't hide any intentions from him. The woman flat out said he may die should he decide to serve under her, but should he survive he'll be awarded greatly. "What do you say?"

[Changeling]

Zulu's brows furrowed in thought, and eventually upon seeing her gaze shift, he looked to the ground in front of him, weighing out what she had said silently. Her vision, to him, meant nothing. It was just another ideal for him to ignore. He didn't care if she wanted to rise to the top, being the sole ruler; that was not his concern. He was beginning to wonder if she had listened to what he had said about his views on other's ideals, or if she simply let the words pass through the other ear.

She carried on preaching her visions to him, how she would end all wars by creating the last. His last war, she said. She expanded the idea by saying that he would never need to strive for survival after all was said and done, but was that something he wanted? No. Definitely not. Survival was the only thing he had left. The only thing to keep him going. Nothing could replace the ecstasy of coming back from the brink, stronger than ever. Wealth was not something he cared for as much as Marigold made it sound. He worked for money, sure, but he wasn't doing it to amass riches. He kept it to sustain himself, to make sure he could still strive to live through ever-worsening events.

Right then he was tempted to decline, however as he delved deeper, he realized that all those things would't come too quickly. It could be years, or even decades until her envisioned end of wars. Plenty of time for him to grow tired of the conflicts. Maybe even to the point that he would even want to end it all? That sounded unthinkable. He thrived on conflict. He was born into it, nurtured by it. Would he be able to let go of that addiction? Unfortunately, it seemed that the only way to find out was to actually take the journey. He had no plans aside from carrying on with his mercenary work, and a plan as big the one proposed would either be a great accomplishment, or a spectacular failure, both of which had ample entertainment value.

"Okay," He said finally. "Whether all this builds up to your specifications, or burn down in a brilliant blaze... I want to personally see how far this goes. Count me in."

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