One Hell of a Town: Main Thread [Exploding Cars And Whatnot]

**Sylvetic** · 03-04-2012, 08:30 PM

The City's not too bad a place, when you get down to it. Self-interested super-corporations and giant monster attacks eventually become an acceptable part of day-to-day business. There's restaurants to grab a meal from, and plenty of places to go if you're looking for work, whether you're a businessman or a bounty hunter. People tend to wander, in search of new structures to explore and faces to meet; those that would criticize them as being unsatisfied with themselves find themselves doing the same, in time, and eventually, all of them have a story of their own.

One such story begins with a tree.

Elise lay, arms supporting her head, on one of Yggdrasil's upper branches. She looked out, beyond the limits of the park; from her current position about three-fourths of the way to the top, she could see beyond the rooftops of buildings beyond the adjacent street. Unlike the eponymous tree of myth, this massive tree had no inherent magical or sacred properties; still, many considered it an important part of the area's history, and respected it enough to colloquially impart such a name.

She stood calmly, and allowed the wind to push her backwards off the limb. As she accelerated head-first towards the ground, the energies latent in the area surrounded her, affording a sudden surge of power and a familiar, enticing warmth. Splashes of light green bled through her dark hair, and her descent slowed; she rolled forward slightly, spreading her limbs to generate drag, and another gust of wind reversed her acceleration, lifting her skyward like an errant autumn leaf, exposing her to the sun which shone brightly overhead.

As she ascended, she turned slowly to gaze at the area below.

People from all walks of life shared laughs, meandering along the paths in the park, playing catch, or eating under the pavilion. Cars made their way up and down the city streets, skidding through turns and honking immediately at any perceived mistake.

Shadows shifted in alleyways, and covered brief glints of a sinister, dark-red glow.

The sheet of wind that carried her upwards began to give way beneath her light form, and she drifted back towards the tree much slower than she'd ascended. Elise grinned, bringing her hands inward to form a frame with her index fingers and thumbs, and superimposing it over the perimeter of the park to isolate it, in her mind, from the rest of the City.

“The brightest star of them all.” The image of brilliant sunlight reflecting off the pond at the north end expanded her grin into an idiot, toothy smile; though the park was simply a simulation of nature surrounded on all sides by concrete jungle, she remained fixated on it nonetheless as she came gliding back down to the same branch she'd left. “One day, everything will be like this.”

Upon her landing, she immediately stumbled back to her resting position on the inner part of the branch, looking for an interesting spectacle in the city below to prevent herself from drifting off to sleep entirely. Judging by the sheer volume of people visible from her current location alone, there had to be something interesting going on somewhere, right?

It was, after all, just another day in the City.

**Dragon Fogel** · 03-04-2012, 08:47 PM

"I AM BARBAM GLADIO, THE GREATEST SWORDMAN IN THE WORLD!"

Most of the parkgoers stared at Barbam as he walked to the central square. Several of them had to cover their eyes at the sunlight reflecting off of his amazingly-polished armor.

"MY SWORD HAS FELLED MIGHTY BEASTS, POWERFUL SORCERORS, AND EVEN ENTIRE ARMIES!" he roared. "DOES ANYONE AMONG YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO CHALLENGE ME?"

Most of the crowd simply looked on in awe at his face, or continued to shield their eyes. But a few brave, or perhaps foolish, souls stepped forward.

A broad grin crossed Barbam's face.

"Tell me your names," he said to his challengers. "You shall be remembered for your courage."

**Travosh** · 03-04-2012, 08:55 PM

Silas walks alone. Metaphorically speaking, as the City is a crowded place. But despite that such a man carried his own aura of separation with him as he walked with his head down and the hood on his brown sweatshirt up through the park. Why might someones hood be up on such a sunny, warm day? Why would someone be wearing a sweatshirt in such weather anyways? Paranoia? Fashion statement? Pretentious douchebag? All very fine choices, but none correct. The real reason was simply that Silas preferred to keep the hood up.

'There has to be more in this city than all the others. The rumors are too numerous to be simply that. Rumors.'

How right he likely is, and with his decision on finding better and stronger creatures, Silas turned his head up to face the day and pulled down his hood, grey-white hair free to breathe in the light, and immaculately held down despite being inside a hood.

'I AM BARBAM GLADIO'

'Oh what the hell is this joker after.'

A worthy thought to have at such an outburst. Silas seemlessly blends into the back of crowd, quietly adding a few inches to his height to see over the people, his long jeans hiding the fact that this new flesh was a horrifying amalgam black and brown.

**Pharmacy** · 03-04-2012, 09:11 PM

The scuffle at the airport was incredibly unpleasant, especially when they demanded her to take off her especially nice hat. Eventually, that unpleasant trouble passed. Shannon was determined to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment from her vacation like a happy orange. It was going to be worth all the airplane travel, all the money, and everything!

As one can see, Shannon was pretty excited at the whole prospect of vacations.

With a skip to her step (which was incredibly obscured by her swaddling clothing), Shannon decided to explore this City. Oblivious to the grime and sorrows of this impoverished city, the tourist took a pamphlet and began thumbing through them.

Aw, the pamphlet was sooooooooooo confusing. Maybe, a nice person could explain more to her about this town. Just as she decided to skip into the crowd, she hear a particular blade-wielding man declaring his name and intentions for honorable combat. He was very loud. Also very confident sounding. Perhaps he was the one who can help her understand!

Shannon excitedly clapped to herself for such a genius idea (and to look at the floppiness of her awesome gloves). Thus, this foreigner (by all means) decided to shuffle over to Barbam Gladio, Holder of Swords, Grower of Beards.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiii" Shannon cooed excitedly through her plentiful teeth, "Do you know what is this place?"

**Sylvetic** · 03-04-2012, 09:31 PM

In front of Barbam Glado formed a group of people, half prospective challengers, and half people simply confused or awestruck by the sight of a massive, sword-wielding incandescent light bulb standing in the park.

A few feet beyond that group stood multiple isolated outfits of confused park-goers, eyebrows collectively cocked at the man's sudden appearance. "You're... who?" Some of them continued their confused inquiries, while others simply shrugged and went on about their day.

The wave of confusion that the shining warrior brought with him didn't taper off with distance. Elise, still perched about some two hundred feet off the ground, was equally baffled by Glado's challenging shouts, and watched the spectacle intently with her head tilted to one side; the approach of what looked to be a hodge-podge of bouncing clothing caused her to raise her hands and shrug to herself, almost losing balance.

"Should I... like, do something about this?" She pondered briefly, before resolving to intervene if his presence became a major disturbance. Elise shifted her position to get a better view, sitting upright with her legs hanging off one side of the branch.

**The_Codfish** · 03-04-2012, 11:14 PM

He had lived in the city for a little over a year by now. He had learned the local language, got himself some new clothes, and even made a few contacts during his stay here. Currently, he was living in a small motel. He never stayed in one for too long; his work often forced him to keep moving from place to place. Thankfully, it was always easy for him to settle into a new home.

Simeon was bored. Whenever he couldn't get his next fix, Simeon was bored. And his boredom always seemed to get worse in-between jobs. He'd moved to the city in search of better game, something more challenging than a mindless animal. And he'd found the perfect prey. Other people, and Simeon uses the term lightly when it comes to the inhabitants of the city, were so much more exciting to hunt. Not in the least for their ability to actually think and fight back. Animals were predictable, but Simeon found it much more difficult to guess at the actions of other people. It was always guaranteed to be an exciting endeavor whenever Simeon set out to find his next target.

Then there was the taste. People always offered up a much more varied platter of flavors. This made them irresistible to Simeon. Unfortunately, there was a limit to Simeon's own capabilities. He was an excellent hunter; not the best, but quite competent. And whatever he lacked in skill, he more than made up for in other areas. But the more interesting dishes always seemed to be above his own skill level. Superhuman. And Simeon lacked the proper tools to take them on himself. So he was forced to settle for the normal, and again Simeon uses the term lightly here, civilians of the city. And he was getting bored of them.

After Simeon had finished unpacking everything in his newly rented motel room, he decided to spend some time in the city's park. If you were looking for a place to relax, the Park was the perfect place to do it in. At least, that's what other people always told him. He never went to the park; the only thing he ever saw from there was the huge tree that grew at its center. The place reminded him of home, in the way that a fishbowl reminds a fish from the sea of home; not very much. The place was a cheap facsimile in comparison to the brutal wasteland Simeon hailed from. Simeon doubted he'd find anything interesting there.

But as Simeon sat on one of the many benches which surrounded Yggdrasil's thick base, he was pleasantly surprised to find some sort of armored giant trudging around challenging bystanders to a duel. A newcomer to the city? He must be, else he wouldn't have chosen a place like the city park to find a challenger. He'd have had a lot more luck in the Arena.

Simeon spotted some sort of figure dressed in thick layers of clothing approaching the giant, Barbam, for directions. Tourists. If she wasn't careful, the big lug might take her approach as a challenge. On a whim, Simeon decided to step in before such a misunderstanding could take place. A fight would be interesting, but if the large brute went and attacked some random traveler, all that momentum would be lost. "Miss, if you're looking for directions, you're asking the wrong person." Simeon said casually as he got off the bench and approached the heavily clothed woman. "This is the City's Park, by the way. Home to, if not the most famous, is at least its tallest attraction." He stated as he gestured towards Yggdrasil. "Also, if I may suggest, you might want to step away from the large man waving a sword about, if you want to avoid getting hurt."

**~ATH** · 03-05-2012, 12:10 AM

Oh. Oh god. This Barbam fellow seems really dangerous. A predator of a much higher caliber than myself. Though that's not saying much, Caganiel thought with a grim sort of humor. He was in the back of the crowd surrounding Barbam. The crowd pushed up against his gigantic form, and he barely felt anything. Still, that was more than enough to freak him out. So many people. The waves of movement nearly overloaded his senses. Panic took over his motor control. But he mustn't run. He was a shark, sharks didn't run. And so he simply walked away.

He got a lot of looks from people, and he was aware of every single one. He was so different to them, after all. He was... a monster. His thoughts drifted for a while. What was he even doing here, anyways? He tried to remember. The day he left the lab. What had been his motive back then?

What was his motive now? He pondered over everything that had ever happened to him since. Everything was so fuzzy. It was all like a dream.

Suddenly, he became aware of blood. Blood everywhere. He could smell the blood. His muscles tensed up, and his heart rate quickened. He was getting hungry, he knew. Soon, he wouldn't be able to control himself. The smell of blood and his hunger combined would cause him to lose any semblance of the fragile control he was already struggling to exert on his predatory instincts.

Wait. Blood? His slow brain finally made the connection. Blood... in a peaceful city like this? It couldn't be. Were people really killing each other, even in such a calm-looking place?

He couldn't get away, after all. He couldn't escape the blood. There will always be predators around.

If he had tear ducts, he would have wept.

**aggressiveTurtle** · 03-05-2012, 01:55 AM

Across the street from the Park, 64 stories up...

Looking down on the World Tree made Big Lin smile; she doubted the view would ever get old. Her father's old office was just as he'd left it: big, dark and empty, save for one slightly uncomfortable swivel-chair behind an ornate desk of carved jade. The entire eastern facade of Amalgamated Acquisitions Inc. was glass; it reflected the vivid greens of the Park during the day. It was important that people associated the park with AAI-- people tended to distrust massive real-estate empires, and although the company was fairly successful at intimidating/blackmailing/bribing the news media, rumors about rampant corruption and black-market smuggling rings were difficult to fully suppress.

People liked to talk. No way to stop that. Rather, change the conversation-- make it about the nice park the company sponsors, the lovely new benches they installed, the great huge tree at the center. Lin sometimes wondered if Yggdrasil knew that it was owned. It was a centerpiece in a garden-- the garden had technically been constructed around the ancient tree in a strategic move to incorporate the civic icon into the AAI brand, but it was nevertheless part of the property.

A slight ping sound caused Lin to swivel around in her chair to face her desk; her computer monitor provided a live feed of updates from various departments within the company, the most recent one reading "SECURITY: Dispatched units to investigate possible disturbance in park square." She thought nothing of it; such issues were far beneath her station. Her upcoming meeting with an executive from the Arena drifted to the front of her mind.

**~|CptPorkins|~** · 03-05-2012, 05:37 AM

"Hey. Hey, You in there?"
Todd snapped back into reality, his vision still blurry and unfocused " Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm good. What were you saying?" He muttered, focusing on the man in front of him. "I was talking about the and your not listening any more are you." And the man was true. Todd, while intelligent, had a horrible tendancy to let his gaze, and subsequently his attention, wander. At this moment he was slowly scanning the park, and the people which went about their business. He Saw the world tree, he saw the tall sky scrapers which surronded the park, ad most of all, he saw the crowd gathering in the centre square. "Dude, i swear, if you ditch me again we ar-" Todds aquantince finished his sentence half way, watching as the gangly man slowly stood, eyes locked on the gathering. After giving a half hearted wave, he left the cafe, stepping between the groups of people wandering around.

Todd paused at the edge of the crowd, standing on tip toes to see what was happening, The dark goggles he wore muting the colors of the people around him. On a whim, he pulled the burnt and scarred welding goggles down to his neck, reaveling his dark eyes. Those closest to him cast him a strange look, before returning their eyes to the show, watching as the hulk of armor and muscle stalked around, calling for challengers. Somewhere, deep in his mind, something told Todd to stand up. A voice, unheard up until now, coaxing him to challenge the man. Without a moments thought, the young man made his way to the center of the group, pushing past and through people.

**AbsolutlyAngelic** · 03-05-2012, 02:35 PM

As walked around, humming a tune she picked up somewhere. She wasn't entirely sure where. She wasn't completely sure of where she was going, either. She just felt like going for a walk. She saw the Park from a distance. I should go to the park She thought. There was always something going on there. Plus, if she got into a fight, she knew there'd be someone to back her up.
"And so I go."
Even from where she was, As could hear the Park. The voices of people, the rumors slyly sneaking into another's ear, someone claiming to be the best swordsman. As tilted her head. Actually, that was a bit new. She grinned and started heading faster. Oh god, she couldn't miss this. There was no way.

**Travosh** · 03-05-2012, 04:13 PM

'A tourist? Asking THIS guy for something? What kind of misinformed fool do-' Silas' internal monologue was cut off, something was disturbing the crowd, he could feel it in his bones. It also didn't hurt that with a quick, rippling motion that occurred within his face his eyes began changing, gaining width ever so slightly and changing how they functioned to represent more that of a snakes. In less words, heat vision. The crowd, which while normally was a blob of different colors centered around the massive ball of energy that was the swordsman, was being shunted aside by another highly colored individual. Even more odd was this tourist, who's heated outlines didn't make much sense at all.

'Now this might prove interesting.'

**AbsolutlyAngelic** · 03-05-2012, 04:39 PM

As walked into the Park with an amused expression on her face. She sniffed the air; confusion, confidence, fear, food, drinks, and... something else. Something different. As looked around. It looked like a normal day, but... She spotted someone with strange eyes. As blinked in surprise. The eyes were normal.
must have been my imagination....
But a good werewolf knew to trust their senses. Yet, As could tell that while there was something odd about the eye-person, it wasn't responsible for the odd smells. Or, not all of them at least.
She made a mental note of the smells, then went to find the confidence. She didn't have to go far.

**~|CptPorkins|~** · 03-05-2012, 08:41 PM

Before he got to the very front of the crowd, Todd froze. 'Okay, what am I doing?' He thought to himself, having come back to reality again. Peering over the heads of thos in front of him, he soon realised what he was about to do. Without a moments wait, he took a handful of steps back, distancing himself from the very edges of the crowd, and thus from the Sword fighter. He knew what he was about to do. He knew that something had asked him to do it. But the reason why he continued was still a mystery. There was one thing he was able to determine from his previous predicament: The voice was back. That same tone, slightly commanding, yet still calm and gentle. Its remenants echoed within his ears, matching the sounds of the crowd and city in intensity. Slowly, it faded away, leaving him alone with his thoughts, something which he'd seldom heard or dwelled on. Todd watched the group, absorbing the little details. The strange cuts of clothing, eye colors, emotions. Things that would normally be glanced over and forgotten. Absentmindedly, he summoned his blade, a straight razor, still shiny and new since the day he found it. Todd still wondered about its origins. It was just there, in his hand one day, and would always appear there when he wanted it. It was a miracle of magic. Or science. Or a combination of the two.

Soon his attention wandered back to the center of the group. From his new position in the crowd, he could see a lot more. It was then that Todd noticed the swordsman wasn't t alone in the ring. There were two others in the center, a man in more formal attire and...someone else, clearly not from this part of the city from the way she dressed. From what he could gather through their body language, the man was stopping the other from continuing forward. 'Why should he stop them? If they want to fight, let them.' Todd thought, attention no purely focused on the scene in front of him.

**Travosh** · 03-05-2012, 09:14 PM

Silas had indeed changed his eyes back to normal, having the people locked into his brain to observe without them being covered in blobs of yellow, red, and orange. For now, his eyes removed themselves from the massive Barbam towards his decided oddest of targets, the girl with a searing white center to an abrubtly normal colored edges. Zeroing in on her face and decidedly flaring nostrils. Was she going to challenge the swordsman? He supposed with a core like that it might melt his damned oversized sword if he cut into her, but that didn't seem like a prudent way to fight.

'Perhaps when all this is done and over and the swordsman is feeling tired, I'll have myself a meal.'

**Dragon Fogel** · 03-06-2012, 12:16 AM

Barbam glared at the duo who had stepped up to him. It was becoming clear that they had no interest in fighting.

"If you are not here to challenge me, I suggest you stay back," he said to Shannon and Simeon. "My opponents are growing impatient, and if you remain here when our battle begins, you may be in danger."

A smirk crossed the swordsman's face.

"Although, if you think you can defeat me, then by all means, you are welcome to try."

**The_Codfish** · 03-06-2012, 01:07 AM

"I'll have to decline, sir." Simeon said politely as he waved away Barbam's offer for a duel. "As you can see," he continued as he motioned towards the rest of his body, "I am unarmed and, unlike some other denizens who reside within this city, I do not possess any supernatural talents for battle. As ill prepared as I am now, I would not pose much of a challenge to you and your blade, I'm afraid."

Simeon actually had left all of his tools back in his motel room; although, even if he had brought them with him, Simeon would have declined the giant's proposition anyway. The methods Simeon used in battle were.....improper to use in public, at least outside of the Arena; not that he couldn't fight fairly, but for a mammoth such as this man, specific techniques would be needed for a man like Simeon to take him down. The entire problem was compounded by the sight of a security guard unit coming their way. Their intention was clearly to investigate what was causing the ruckus in the park. It seemed unlikely now that Simeon would be able to enjoy a proper show.

"Well, if I may make a suggestion to you, Mr. Gladio, you may want to bring your business to the Arena. If you want a proper battle with anyone who isn't just a random civilian." Simeon said as he turned around to leave. Considering the pace at which the guards were approaching, Simeon doubted he'd get to see any action unless Mr. Gladio the Beard Grower was audacious enough to defy the authority. If he could at least open up the chance to observe the warrior in action at the Arena, Simeon was confident that Mr. Gladio would offer up quite the spectacle.

Before he left, he threw a look towards the heavily clothed tourist. Another newcomer to the city, like Barbam. It didn't hurt for Simeon to make a connection once in a while with a stranger; no matter how 'normal' a person was in the City, there was always an opportunity for excitement in every interaction. "Miss, if you're looking for a tour of the city, you would have had better luck making arrangements with your travel agency."

**Agent1022** · 03-06-2012, 01:49 AM

A city is a huge place.

So why was it that inevitably, people gravitated to really small, cramped places? The growing crowd surrounding the park was enroaching on the road now, neatly blocking Colleen's usual commute to work. Curiosity was what it was, she decided, curiosity and ignorance. The crowd jostled her as she pushed through, resolutely ignoring the growing chaos in the center of the park. She had enough problems to worry about, like staying alive, fed, sheltered, not poor, keeping her job without being late, destroying the machines, office or otherwise, paying the rent, keeping the place clean... all that that took precedence over worrying about some crazed man in a shiny suit swinging an absolutely massive sword, dammit. She kept making her way through the crowd-

-and found her path blocked by a police car. Looking around, she could see interspersed in the crowd an increasing number of blue uniforms. And black uniforms. And riot shields. She'd seen what the security forces in the city would do to someone they didn't like the face of, much less someone they were ordered after.

The crazed man in the shiny suit swinging the absolutely massive sword suddenly jumped up on the list of priorities.

**AbsolutlyAngelic** · 03-06-2012, 07:42 AM

As smirked. Well, things were certainly getting interesting. She wondered how good the swordsman was. He was certainly boastful, but that didn't mean much. There was muscles, so he wasn't just some novice. But the boy who challenged him... And then there was the others. They seemed normal. That was strange. She shrugged and walked a bit closer. As wondered when the fight would start. It seemed like the swordsman was quick to anger, which would normally mean his sword would start swinging any second.
maybe I should fight him... As wondered, but decided against it. No, she wasn't supposed to do anything to attract attention. People would see.
Later As decided. After everyone get's bored of his bragging, she'd put him in his place. If she still wanted to.

**Travosh** · 03-06-2012, 03:50 PM

Panic.
The natural feeling when security as obvious as these began marching their merry way down the park's pathway. Silas knew he shouldn't actually have anything to fear in a new city, but it certainly didn't mean he couldn't slip up his hood and gain some anonymity. Someone appeared to be attempting to talk sense into the massive Barbam and the ill informed tourist. But as the man said, he did not appear to have much to offer Silas' taste.

With guards still advancing, Silas decided maybe a hood wouldn't be the best of disguises and decided a bit more might be required. Slipping his way through the crowd until he was once more in the wide open spaces of the crowd, Silas slipped in behind step of a male tourist walking decidedly away from the gazes of the crowd. Waiting for a few more yards of distance, the action was taken. Silas' hand penetrated the civilians back, directly through the poor mans spine. Before death could even occur, between the man and Silas' body tentacles erupted from Project 12, horrific black spined things that drew their bodies together and into one. To anyone, it would appear as if the tourist never left, but Silas mysteriously disappeared.

'Mark Ingram... Bus operator, day off, unmarried, no kids. Perfect.

**~ATH** · 03-06-2012, 08:27 PM

A huge neon diner sign caught Caganiel's attention. It glowed at him obnoxiously, and Caganiel was only reminded that he wanted food. Without a thought, Caganiel pushed himself to the diner, like a slave to hunger. The glass diner door betrayed the insides: loud, bustling, annoying. Caganiel pushed open the door, and it crumpled inwards and flew to the wall on the other side. All eyes were upon him at that moment. He jerked out of his trance at this moment, and he looked around. The people overload only became apparent to Caganiel just then, and he felt a twinge of panic as he realized what he did.

"...oh. Um, I'm sorry. I'll fix this right away."

He calmly turned around, picked up the door, tried his best to flatten it, and put it back in its frame. He stood back and admired his craftsmanship.

"There."

The crinkled door, now sadly devoid of glass, simply fell down with a clang. Everybody was still staring, he knew it. He slowly turned around, and just stood there. He had never been this petrified before. The tension was palpable, one could have easily sliced through it like it was cheese. Finally, a woman opened her mouth and screamed. The fragile silence instantly broke, as everybody in the diner ran around screaming, including Caganiel himself.

"AAAAAAHHHH IT'S GONNA EAT US!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS A SHARK DOING HERE, I DON'T EVEN-"

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, STOP SHOUTING, PLEASE!"

The cacophony continued for a while, but one sound was louder than the rest - the sound of pots clanging rhythmically, and somebody somehow hollering over everybody, which was coming from the kitchen.

"OKAY SHUT UP EVERYBODY! CALM DOWN RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Everybody stopped and turned towards the mysterious figure. It was none other than the head cook, his intense aura radiating from him, silencing the entire diner.

"Listen, sharky. Do you know the motto of this diner?"

Caganiel shook his head slowly.

"Never turn away a customer. So, with that, please have a seat and order something."

Caganiel slowly walked over to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools.

"...Could I have a salad?"

**Sylvetic** · 03-06-2012, 08:46 PM

The immense tension that Caganiel's presence had kicked up failed to fade even after he'd calmly taken a seat. Things slowly settled down, but those who weren't openly rejecting his presence had stalled whatever conversations they were having before, holding drinking glasses and half-finished chicken wings halfway to their mouths with eyebrows cocked at the fish-man. A couple began to return to their table, but sighed and stomped out of the bar when they noticed a door had bowled it over and continued to the wall.

Others muttered amongst themselves. "Dude. His head... it's like, a shark head."

"Don't say anything. You'll piss him off."

The head chef began to take Caganiel's order, but paused halfway to his pen and pad. "You said a salad, now? I don't want to be offensive, but, that's not normal, is it?"

**~ATH** · 03-06-2012, 10:24 PM

"...I... Uh. I don't really like meat."

"I'm sorry?"

"I don't like meat, okay?"

"..."

The head chef was incredulous, and his jaw was rendered slightly agape. All of a sudden, he tilted his head back and roared out a hearty laugh. The laugh rolled and echoed throughout the diner, and didn't subside until a good while later.

"Hoo... that's a good one."

"Can I just have a salad?"

Truth be told, he had never eaten a salad. But he had always seen the employees at the lab eat them, and he had always wondered what it was like to... not eat other animals. He was tired of all the carnage he'd seen during his life as an ordinary shark. Mercifully, the head chef obliged.

"Sure, here's your salad."

Caganiel wasn't sure where to start. Is he supposed to just eat those leaves? He took off his headpiece, lifted the bowl to his immense maw, and carefully took a bite. He crunched for a bit, while people watched him.

"...Bleeeeaaaaagh."

The head chef laughed again. It may have been his infectious laugh, or it may just be that the mood finally lightened, because a few other people joined in in the laughter.

"You're a carnivore, a'intya? Why don't you just eat some meat? Wouldn't hurt you at all..."

Never had he been so embarrassed.

"...Fine. I'll just take a bag of fish sticks. To go."

He put on his headpiece, and started breathing again. When his bag finally arrived, he took the bag, paid what he owed, and stormed out of the restaurant. People looked around, and started talking again.

"...What the hell just happened?"

**~|CptPorkins|~** · 03-06-2012, 11:15 PM

Todd stood, waiting for something interesting to happen. Around him he caught snippets of conversations, remarks on the situation at hand. "What's happening? I can't See." "That guy's gonna pummel them!" "Dude, let's go! I heard the cops are coming!" "What's up with the tourist?" 'Wait. Cops?' Todd thought, his mind slowly processing what would happen if he was caught again. Slowly, the young man backed out of the group, hoping to not draw attention to himself. Then he stopped. A plan began to form. He was low on cash, desperately low. He barely had enough to pay for his crappy, one room apartment. And what would be the easiest way to gain cash, other then mugging someone or resorting to thievery?
Hosting tours.
It made sense. He knew the unrestricted parts of the city well, since he spent most of his days simply wandering through the busy streets, not having any form of real employment. Cementing the decision deep in his mind, he stowed his Straight razor in his pocket, and broke through the inner ring of bystanders, watching the swordsman. Before the man could call him out, he half jogged, half walked up to the strange tourist and pitched his proposition. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you were lost. I happen to know the city well. If you would like, I can give you the full tour. For a small fee, of course." Todd said, putting on his best salesman voice, pushing his usual meandering way of talking to the back of his vocabulary. He hoped, no, prayed to god she's accept before Barbam noticed what was happening. There was no way in hell he'd be able to so much as dent the clearly thick armor the man wore.

**aggressiveTurtle** · 03-07-2012, 07:05 PM

The Arena representative shifted uncomfortably in his chair; in front of him, across the big jade desk, Big Lin sat framed by the City's skyline.

She flicked a bit of dust off the immaculately polished desktop before her, then leaned in towards the man. "Explain to me what you mean when you say, 'there are no more sponsorship slots available'." Lin was good at turning queries into demands.

He loosened his collar a bit. "It is in our regulations-- that particular fighter has the maximum number of sponsors allowed per individual, and they have already expressed that they are uninterested in dropping any of them to make room for you."

Lin lifted one perfect, narrow eyebrow, "Uninterested in making more money? That does not sound like any gladiator I know."

The Arena rep, who was in fact much bigger than Big Lin, tensed as he tried to articulate a response. "There are many other sponsorship opportunities available... other fighters--"

"Stop." Lin said, and he did. She sighed, "I will not have my company associated with these bloodsports unless it is by the best, by someone who captures the City's people and embodies the spirit of AAI-- complete domination."

The man balked at this; it seemed like an insane thing to say, but then again he'd heard the stories of AAI's brutal, dynastic business model and its ties to the criminal underworld. He looked like he really, really wanted to leave.

Obliging, Lin clasped her hands together. "Well, if your policies are truly so inflexible then I suppose our meeting is at an end." She spun her chair around to face the City once more. "Go."

He did, and quickly.

*~*~*Meanwhile, in the Park*~*~*

Park Security converged on the scene of Barbam's ludicrous display. This particular unit of Lin's security department was rather green in terms of actual fighting experience, which to Lin made the Park the ideal spot for them. They generally were charged with disbanding gatherings of unsavory hippies or shooing off the odd creeper-in-the-bushes, and were thus in typical AAI fashion over-equipped for the task, wielding billy clubs, riot tasers, and pepper spray (some suggested that their displays of force were excessive, but most agreed that it was in the best interests of the Park's purity and tranquility that unsavory types be ejected with at least some prejudice, lest they return the next day).

The team of six officers began dispersing the crowd, being rougher than necessary to those who did not readily comply; two of them approached the heavily armored swordsman with clubs drawn. "Yo, Mr. Shinypants, you're disturbing the peace. Be on your way."

**Dragon Fogel** · 03-07-2012, 07:28 PM

Barbam simply smirked at the security officers.

"I do not think you understand who you are speaking to, good sir."

In one sudden motion, Barbam grabbed the officer who had addressed him by the throat. The other readied his taser, but a swift strike by the Zesto blade cleaved the device in two and left the security officer staring at the sparks flying from the useless half of the device left in his hand.

He didn't have long to appreciate the accuracy of Barbam's strike, as he soon found himself knocked to the ground as Barbam flung his partner at him. The swordsman glared at the fallen officers before lecturing them.

"I am Barbam Gladio, the greatest swordsman in the world! If you seek to threaten me, then you had best have the skill to back up your words!"

As Barbam boasted, the other four officers approached cautiously. The two officers on the ground groaned and slowly got up. The swordsman simply laughed.

"Still looking to fight? A pity, I thought that would have taught you a lesson. Ah well, I suppose I'll have to deal with you quickly, so that I have more time to face a worthy challenger."

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