Per 
30/30
30 minutes until reality destabilization begins. All Agents prepare for Game Time!
Serena looks at the door to the warehouse, her hands shaking. She sighs and steadies herself, knowing there could be no more waiting.
The workday was about to begin. Serena was early of course, that didn’t make her any less anxious to go and meet her boss in the morning. She heads through security, an automated process but effective in most cases. The fewer people in the warehouse or knew about it the better her bosses decided. The automated security scans her from head to toe and proceeds to ask for identification. “Serena Navarro…”
“Welcome employee, please enter.” the security system responds followed by sounds of locks un-mingling and shifting. Serena enters slowly at first, every step closer to her bosses office faster and faster. Her pumps clacking the glossy floors of the office hallways like hammers hitting marble. Reaching her bosses door she has no time to wait and think, he surely would have heard her coming. She swings the door open, numbingly ready to take his orders.
“Serena we’ve had so many order cancels this morning and you’re just coming in at this time!? You know coming in an hour early and seeing if anything needs to be done is what a hard worker would do.” Her boss says with much emphasis on the word ‘time’. Serena swallows, “Of course sir, I’ll remember that from now on”
He wipes his teeth with his tongue while giving her a look of disdain. He is about to say something else but gets a call. Picking it up and listening with extreme focus, such focus that one might even forget to breathe. Serena looks at his name plaque while he handles the call, “Richard Carlos…MC&D Regional Manager…Gold…S2N87 could probably make that….moved to warehouse 21….IE4S2 then….only 2 minutes to get to it….1 minute…” she thinks to herself.
Carlos slams the phone down with executive authority, “I don’t know what’s scaring off all the clients but bring me DS92S/E3- ah, the mirror just go get the mirror quick!” Serena nods and speeds off to retrieve the item, “DS92S/E3J1S/99Y3T…3 minutes…need to go faster…faster” she thinks. While walking she can't help but run through all the other things in this warehouse that flow through her mind, “If I just had a crateload of 8Y9D5 I could pour gasoline all over Carlos and give them all matches, see if he could get out of that one with a phone call…no…what? You sound like a psychopath Serena…but if I were to…a gun wouldn’t do it.” She shakes her head snapping herself out of the sinful fantasy.
Serena reaches the mirror before completely drifting off into more thought. She unlocks the small safe and takes it out looking at its handle, “What does it say…” she wonders examining the strange letters. Before that brings her into the trap of more thought she quickly speeds back to her boss, the seconds lost still on her mind. She opens the office door, “My God Serena it took you long enough” Carlos says as he snatches the mirror out of her hand. “Right sorry sir…”
Carlos looks into the mirror and the letters along its handle begin to shift their form, he starts to fix his hair. “Serena, get to uhm…JT2…uh…the crystal. The tethers need to be re-empowered, so get to it”. “Damn…Witchcraft is so much work, what idiot would actually use it…” She thinks while leaving the office.
“Witchcraft is all I know” Joan replied lowly. “Yea then maybe you should give up the assignment already, you’re holding the rest of the class back!” a young man with robbed clothing shouts. Joan flinches, and backs up until she is up against the wall, her classmates waiting for a reply. She stays silent despite the expectation, deciding to look down and see if the floor offered an escape. “I don’t know why the elders even bother…” The young man says as he walks away with the rest of her peers.
Joan sighs and sits on the ground, she looks down the tunnel. Empty and cold, the tired wood supports holding up the earth around them. The makeshift hideout the few called home seemed to be forever lonely, even with others. She stays there for a moment, not looking away from the ground until hearing footsteps on top of her. “On the ground again I see?”, Joan looks up to see an aged man, his attire loudly proclaiming prestige in a spiritual manner. “Come with me, I want to discuss something” He walks away into a nearby room, Joan follows
The room has many books along one wall of various languages and symbols, in the center a large emblem of the serpent’s hand. “Joan I’m afraid I and the rest of the class cannot wait any longer, you need to open a Way. I’ll exclude the rule of only using traditional methods for you…but I need to see it done.” Joan shakes her head, “I can’t, I can’t do it. I just need a little more time…maybe a week then I can try.” The man sighs, “I need you to do it now Joan. There is no time left.”
Joan looks at the ground and begins to ready herself at the center of the room. She attempts some basic magic at first but fails to produce any results, then she moves onto witchcraft. Setting up the runes and symbols few care to remember in the modern age, when finished she stands back and looks at her work. “Okay…this is the best I can do…”, she begins the ritual, some of the markings begin to shift and move, others illuminate. Black shadow like limbs come from these markings and form into a sphere in the center of the room. They start to speed up around each other in the center and a peephole of light begins to appear in the black mass growing second by second. The sound similar to a small tornado filled with tar. “There its-“, the shadowlike figures begin to fall apart and the light disappears, the markings return to normal and silence returns to the room.
“Joan I think it’s time for you to consider a different path in our cause. You know there are many other areas that could use your assistance…” Joan doesn’t say anything looking at the floor silently, the man waits for a response but none comes. “Joan…don't see this failure with such dread, you have many other skills. I have something for you to do already as part of your new direction here, I think it’ll suit you.” The man opens a Way with ease and walks through, returning moments later with his hands enclosed around something small. “This will be your task for the meantime” he opens his hands revealing a small maggot-like creature that is making a crying whimper. “It was in the tunnels to the infested caverns, it was being attacked by some smaller insects. Watch over it will you?”
The man puts it in Joan’s hands before she can respond, “Now I must on my way, there is an important matter I must attend to at once.” He leaves through a Way and Joan is now alone with the pathetic creature. She sits down on the cold floor and stares at it, the maggot continuing to cry out and squirm. “I know…I know…”.
The sleek metal walls of the armory would be usable as a mirror if it was ever cleaned, Zelif sees his silhouette in it, barely making out his figure. 6’4” taller than most, his armor covering every inch of skin with purple accents running through it. A standard attire of purples, equipped with fundamental technologies for the job. Its design reminiscent of MTF special forces but its modifications giving it a rather aggressive and advanced look. Zelif sits down on a nearby bench, his leg beginning to shake anxiously, “So is he not coming? It’s almost time.” “I don’t know, but I’m not waiting. “, a man of metal says while looking through a catalog titled “Mariachi’s Merchants Annual #823”. His armor largely contrasting to Zelifs, the medieval plating’s which would normally be worn by a knight looking out of place in the advanced armory. The knight’s armor having runes all over its entirety, there hue being varying shades of purple.
Zelif gets up not being able to sit any longer, he starts to stretch his lengthy legs. “You would really go it alone?” he asks the metal man. “I’ve before. I’ll again… it’s easier sometimes too. You’ll find out.” Zelif nods in silence as he looks around the room, the others all getting ready in one way or another, some sporting the same armor as himself. All types of attire and armors are worn amongst the rest, the only rhyme between them being some appearance of purple. Zelif looks at the countdown on display in the armory, “27 minutes… if he’s not here in 5 I’m going home.” Just as Zelif finishes the thought his next is “speak of the devil” when he notices who’s just entered.
It's first noticed that he is without any clothing other than combat pants and a mask, his rosy white skin clear for all to see. Armed with nails painted a vibrant violet 20 times over, and enough tattoos to put most ink hobbyists to shame. One reads “#2657”, “#6212” another, this pattern repeating for the entirety of them. Two are prominently placed along his knuckles, each in bold lettering “#001”. The mask once that of a regular ballistic design, now looking even more ominous with the inclusion of an unknown acid that makes up his mouth. The acid manifesting in place of his lips, the mask repairing itself as fast as the acid chews it away. As he walks toward the pair his black combat pants seem to follow a second too late, tied tightly at the waist in spite the extreme oversize.
“So are you guys R.E.A.D.Y?” The man says knocking the marked knight on the helmet like a front door. The knight attempts to push the man away but he falls backward before being touched, landing on the ground like an inverted crab. “Okay Tin man’s got the heart, and how about…” he stays in the odd position and turns his head looking at Zelif, “Ready to kick some A.S.S?” Zelif brushes his arm and looks away from the man, pauses then responds “No.” The Man flips himself upright following the inverted position and quickly has his arm wrapped around Zelif’s shoulder. “Aww what’s the matter, nervous about your first time?”, the man says in a suggestive manner. Zelif shakes his head, “It’s not just that, you said to bring nothing along with me. I’m alright at hopping but-“. “Hey, listen here and listen close.” The man cuts Zelif off and points at the others in the armory while getting close to his ear, “It’s not the size that counts its how you use it, heard T.H.A.T before right? It’s the same here, you need to just have it, Use it right and you’ll always come out on top, alright?”
Zelif doesn’t respond thinking, “This guy is a f#!(@%! maniac, I should have waited for another master to be available” The man notices his apprentices jaded mood, “I of course don’t expect you to head in with nothing.”. He reached into his deep pockets and pulls out a very fine looking revolver, he tosses it carelessly to Zelif who just barely manages to catch it. “Since you’re so concerned about your A.B.I.L….I…T sex metaphor oh forget it….wait. Where is our fourth?”. The knight tosses the catalog and looks at the countdown, “I didn’t even know we had a fourth. But we need to get going now.” As the metal man says this the runes on his armor begin to activate, he extends his arms holding both hands together pointing up, then slowly lowers them while whispering various commands. As his hands lower he appears to grab onto something and spreads them apart, an image begins to appear in this gaping hole left by the knight's struggle. “Oh so about the gun, it will probably kill anything you shoot. It’s only got 5 shots though S.O. don’t miss.”
Zelif grinds his teeth beneath his mask, “This is a joke!” his mind reasons while looking at the fine revolver closely. “He’s going to get me killed just like the rest of his- “ the thought interrupted by the large blurred image shimmering in front of the Knight. “Number 27 its ready”, the Knight says to the odd man. “H.E.Y! Whoever’s got assignments near us now’s your chance to get there.” #27 shouts to the others in the armory. Some begin to talk amongst themselves while others check their various forms of organizers and maps. In only seconds the ones who are coming are ready and standing near the image, “So what should we know about the location? Any hazards or things to look out for?” Zelif inquires his master. “Oh right of course. Alright well first you need to look out for Data Redacted” #27 says this in a mocking manner similar to that of a serious commander. Some laughter is heard from the group, Zelif clenches his fists with anger from the joke. “Okay okay, enough let’s get serious. We are professionals…now I think we will need to plan for the Data Expunged!” The group bursts into laughter apart from the knight and Zelif, they begin heading through the image one by one. #27 smiles and looks at Zelif, he doesn’t respond and walks through the image with a thought, “Even if I only have 5 shots, I’m saving 1 for you.”
