MISSION: Dietrich Player Test

[Guest]

{This is an alternate, OOC, VR-based RP - there are a lot of rules here that don't work in MDA - and everything will be explained as the Mission goes on X3}

Six pods stood around her. With a small smile on her face, Hild Schwarz placed her hand on the center console. A second later, a single bar of light scanned up and down the palm, reading her specific handprint. She smirked, and watched them slide down several holes, reaching a lobby that stood below her. She was having a few guests today, it seemed. She looked at the list of names that was on the table next to the console.

• YuuKoyama
  
• Riku
  
• Sal
  
• Isabella Galicia
  
• HeiBai
  
• Tataki Masu
  

Her guests were here, below her feet, waiting for her to bring them up. She smiled softly, and looked up straight, seeing the pods arrive, with her guests within. She stepped forwards, and pressed another button, the podium in the middle of the futuristic room rising above the people. She turned to address them all, staring down at them through her single blue eyes.

"You have been gathered here - for a single purpose. The main villain needs a player. And you six have opted to take the reins, and take over the life of this villain. I commend you all on that." She smiled widely at the group, and flourished her arms.

"I wish first for you to step forwards... and tell me about yourselves. That will be the first test of many." She depressed the button on the console, and slowly descended towards the ground with a coy smile on her face. Oh, how she wished Aurel was here to watch this!

[Guest]

Amusing. He had signed up to this mess only because he was pressured to, but now ... it was so amusing! Just what was this madness known as 'reality' to him? He didn't know ... and honestly, he didn't care as he entered forth into this new room. For now, he was just ... there? Constant enigma, permanent paradox, as shown in his name and the window(s) to his soul.

Still, the well-attired man flushing past the prime of his life merely grinned now that the 'host' ... well, really 'Hostess' made her entrance, or was it they who made their own entrance? Such trivial things, either way, as the one in charge around here clearly posed a question. A rather peculiar question, for such a being surely had access to everyone's personal information? Or was that not the case? Regardless, it was there and surely, one of them had to answer.

The man of an oriental descent shifted a bit uncomfortably, for the silence from the others at this time was, indeed, unnerving. There was a sort of unnecessary pause after the wry smile of their Hostess emerged(and she lowered herself down to their level), which was more than quite idiotic. If they were here to try for the role, surely they had to be willing to divulge what information needed readily?

"My name is Hei Bai. I am no one. Nothing. Just a single speck of singular human existence in the grand scheme of things. So I suppose you could say that what existence I have, I wish for it to become greater in a way. Simplistic, yes. But nonetheless suitable. For what I do understand about myself is wrapped and warped in avarice and fury." he spoke with a calm cadence, a repetitive almost lulling rythym of words coupled with a graceful voice, soothingly light. A voice most unfitting of such a blackened beast as himself, but nonetheless blessed with to forever deceive. That and the amiable smile, ever present upon his expression. After all, it seemed he was the first to speak, and he did so gladly to make it clear his intentions, he wanted this role for his own sake, not for any others ... and the wellbeings of those who opposed him mattered not.

[Envy]

Albino looked towards the direction of voice, which spoke to all of the people in that room. The number of competitors seemed small enough but that didn't mean a thing. All of those people wanted the part, so the smaller amount wouldn't decrease the difficulty of this trial much. ''At least for them'', he added quickly into this train of thought. Now to find a perfect mindset. Riku's plan was to think this as an audition. Issue number one: showing that you have confidence. No one would want an insecure villain.

However, this chance was sweeped right off his table when someone else opened his mouth faster. Riku immediately towards the person. His tone of voice and his choice of words were a little contradicted with each other. At least from Riku's opinion. He felt like this person would be a potential threat.''This paradoxal person took the first turn. He shall die''. Riku kept his thoughts inside his head, for rather obvious reasons. He needed to look confident. To look like he had already won.

''I chose to be next one to reveal something about myself. My name you already know, which is Riku Silver. I use that name more often, so let's use it here too. And I'm here because I know that I am the right person for this job. I have guts to do what is neccessary. I am a man with thousand faces, voices and personalities. There is nothing about me that wouldn't qualify as a right person. I am a manifestation of that person. You need to know nothing else''. Issue number one: fixed with style

[Guest]

Isabella was trembling. She was far outside her comfort zone, plus… Too many questions. She gave everyone else a quick once-over, then their host. She flinched when she heard that one term: villain. Just one more problem with this situation…

She couldn’t say she was angry. She had opened her mouth a few times to speak, but kept hesitating. There were too many questions unanswered, and they kept popping up. Where she was, how she got here, what was really reality or not… Good thing two others had taken the opportunity to speak. It gave her some time to store the swarm of confusion until later.

After Riku finished, she paused a moment. Maybe she was too polite for the job. Maybe. But her mind was working, and so she was at least catching up to them. Perhaps it was just her, but they seemed to hold back, and speak in broad terms, rather than specifics. They were confident, she’d give them that, but they were too confident. They were too sure of themselves. She knew she couldn’t match that, even if she tried to fake it.

Her mind was spinning, sorting through any and all situations she’d ever run into, that might even be remotely similar to this. This entire situation is inconveivable, implausible, impossible…

“No, nothing is impossible,” she mutters, taking a step forward after another awkward silence. Two steps forward, feet at a 60 degree angle… Fuck etiquette.

“My name is Isabella Maria Galicia, Sergeant Major in the Amestrian military. My position is the Head of Military Intelligence is West City.” When in doubt, start with the basics. “I am the youngest child, the only daughter, of two mechanics in Rush Valley. I am a trained alchemist and fighter, and have had far too much time to mull over the small parts of life that everyone takes for granted and simple. I am intelligent and calculating; I analyze as much as I can from every detail possible in order to achieve what I need.

“I’d like to say, however, that I don’t subscribe to the terms ‘hero’ or ‘villain.’ Much like good and evil, they are but two sides of the same fictional coin, used to justify actions of all kinds. I believe in only one force: the Greater Good. If you require someone to be evil in the sake of evil, then, by all means, I withdraw my candidacy. But, if you require someone to take action for the greater good, to act as part of something greater than themselves, then I’m willing to take any and all actions required.” She stops herself, her voice trembling slightly but strong with annoyance and anger. She looks over at her right arm, trembling, and grips it tightly with her left hand. When in doubt, reveal your hand and hope for the best.

“What people don’t realize,” she continues after a pause, speaking in a calmer tone, “is that change does not come without sacrifice, and for every high there must be a low. For every golden age to occur, there must be a war or time of hardship. The two that spoke before me will likely bring nothing but terror and destruction in their wake, being the very least that a villain needs to be. But I believe I can offer something better: a question, a conundrum, to those who hold themselves to be the righteous. To make them doubt their very core, their beliefs, is just as much a victory than causing an army to retreat, and can have a more dramatic effect on them.

“If you want a real villain, a proper villain, one who will blur the lines of good and evil, and, even if defeated, will still be successful in some shape or form, then I think I can accomplish that.”

She takes a deep breath, exhaling heavily before taking a step back. She had been honest, which probably wasn’t the smartest decision. But, even so, she couldn’t deny that she would be excited to play an antagonist.

[Guest]

Tataki listened to the orders being given by Madame Furher herself feeling honored to be in her presence. He allowed for a few to go before him after all it was the respectful thing to do. The first seemed a little not right n the head, Tataki would keep a close eye on him just in case he would do anything drastic to the fuhrer, not that he didn't believe in her abilities to protect herself but for the reason that it was his job and responsibility. The second seemed confident, a little too confident. Over confidence led to arrogance and arrogance led to mistakes. He was sure to fall in this he knew this for certain. Mistakes were not tolerated but where learned from if you had the chance though even in death you could still learn he supposed. The third's speech was rather good though perhaps long and straight forward, though this was a sign she could possibly be trusted she still had a way to go with her sloppy form in greeting the Furher.

It was finally his turn he stepped forward placing himself in front of the Furher. He did a proper salute. Feet at a 30 degree angle legs and back uniform and his outfit clean and ship shape. "Brigadier General Tataki Masu Head of Eastern HQ at your service Mame," he said politely before continuing. "I do my job with dignity and a strict code. I will not put my subordinates in places of danger that I am not willing to put myself through first. I complete my orders when given them and will pursue to do them in the most perfect fashion i see fit unless ordered otherwise. I put the safety of our country and its future above all else."

"On a personnel level I have two brothers together we are triplets but severely different in comparison. I was born in poverty and clawed my way up the ranks of the Amestrian Military to become who I am today. I take my job seriously and find fun when there work to be done very annoying and quite bothersome. So if you want someone who is sure to get the job done I am your man." he finished, saluting he took his place back in the line up and stood in parade rest formation.

[Guest]

Hm. The others hadn't spoken, it seemed. Hild sighed softly, and looked among the four who had.

"It seems that not all of our guests have spoken. That is too bad - it seems that I'll have to remove them from play." She shook her head, and sighed softly, pressing a single green button on her console. The tubes suddenly sealed themselves, and a light green haze entered the pods, as they slowly descended back into the foyer. Chlorine gas. Completely lethal to humans. Pity - that child-like chimera was REALLY cute! Hild sighed softly, and looked down at the survivors, studying them closely.

So, there was Tataki, the rigid soldier. She liked that, Dietrich was a rules person at heart, and even though he enforced the rules onto Creta, he still followed his own personal guidelines.

Next, Isabella. She was talking about the "Greater Good." Hild admired that. In fact, so did Dietrich. In fact, her entire speech was... rather amazing. It was a real villain's monologue. She'd have to get Aurel to think about that one later. With a small laugh, she focussed her thoughts onto Riku.

A thousand faces, voices, personalities? That was good for a villain, a man who hid behind a mask of hate, someone who ruled his country from behind a veil. She appreciated that.

And finally, Hei Bai. God, what could she say about that? It was short, sharp and sweet, and she loved it all. With a small giggle, she stepped forwards, and walked toward the four.

"Good, good. All spoken like true villains, in your own ways." She tilted her head to the side, and thought a little more.

"I'm going to test your ambition and physical reserves next." Her eye was steely, and she pressed a button on a small remote control, a platform rising up in a pyramid shape, and four briefcases appeared, each at different levels, all hung from wires out of the ceiling. She smiled softly and spoke loudly.

"Each of those briefcases holds something - by themselves, they are no threat. But together, their power is enough to kill a single person - something otherwise impossible for all of you in this world." She smirked, and flourished an arm.

"Go. Work together, or go it alone. Either way, I want to see those four briefcases before me, a winning individual or team holding them." She threw paintball guns onto the ground before them.

"Your weapons. Use them wisely -but fairly." She nodded, and returned to her pedestal, watching the arena carefully. Who would realize ambitions? Who would help someone to accomplish their goals? Who would decide to back-stab their comrades? This was all in the air, and important to the psyche of this character.

[Guest]

A gun? No wait. The shape was too peculiar to be a proper firearm. That meant it was some variant of a gun, but it most likely didn't shoot literal bullets. Whatever it was, Hei visibly cringed at the sight of it, a mistake on his part, which coincided with a professional error when it came to interviews: He listened.

As a matter of fact, his one thought prior to reacting visibly to the sight of the iconic weapons on the ground was one of jealousy, 'It must be a nice thing: Family.

...

I wonder. Just what ... what ... what the look of absolute and sheer TERROR must be on their faces if I were to skin them alive! No, wait. Concentrate. Don't be distracted. You were trained to suppress urges, not bask in the cravings of them. BUT. We have weapons! GUNS! Well. Guns of a sort. Maybe some sort of air soft gun? That looks like a gas canister attached to the ba-OH! PAINTBALL GUNS! THAT'S! IT! How could I have been so idiotic as to not ever recognize PAINTBALL guns. My god, I've lost my touch with these sort of things, maybe I should go ask Nikol-'

Halt. A sort of convulsion as the name reached his mind, as though guns were triggering some sort of reawakening and resurfacing of traumatic events to the eyes and minds of his competitors. Or more accurately, the large throbbing vein on the side of his head, while he pinched the bridge of his nose, head lowered just a bit to contemplate on his thoughts.

'Focus. Focus. Focusfocusfocusfocus. Ignore the muscle-bound nimrod that is ungraciously your partner and undeserving of your aid. Pay attention. Weapon. Kill. Four. Briefcase. Gun. Individual. Team. Winner. Loser.

Is that it? East, West, Central. Approximate height of 15.4 meters. No. Wait. Do we use metric or the other system? Approximately 50 feet high. No wait. That's the Central HQ facade height, or about. This place is ... 8.4 meters high? 27.6 feet?

... Why in the name of crimson lupines am I trying to determine the height of the ceiling?'

To put simply, if one were to peer inside the maddening vortex of Hei's mind, this sort of large web of discussion was occurring. As a matter of fact, the thoughts were so pressing to him, he entirely missed out on the Hostess's form of praise, more heavily lauded to the last two speakers than the first two, or in his own mind it would seem, since he WAS a greedy bastard. Gloved hands shifted, his left hand now pressed against his chin, as he was clearly in thought. For an individual such as he, to be able to not hear the direct orders of the one who they had called out to for the role, and yet take a fairly good guess at what was going on was rather amusing. Still, back to the conversation at hand within the dark-garmented fraud.

'In this world, I don't have my same capabilities ... a pity, but necessary precaution, I suppose. ...

The first briefcase, the left most one. It seems to be the lowest, but ... unless one of us can jump about five feet into the air, I don't think we could snatc- … OH! What if we shot the wire-It SHOULD be hanging on a wire-with this paintball gun? B'ah! Who am I kidding, that would take a stupid amount of accuracy. … … A stupid amount of accuracy from ME, not necessarily from … THEM. … Ah. Well.

Crap. They probably have bad impressions of me to begin with, what’s the chance I’ll be able to convince them we should ‘work together’ to advance this trial? Nil. Most likely. Absolutely nothing. I don’t know them well enough to be able to establish decent connection with them …‘ his silent mullings continued, as he paced a bit back and forth, around one of the paint ball guns, the closest one to him, that is. He made no move to reach for it, and his calm strides made it clear he was in no rush to grab the thing, though, it wasn’t completely unintentional that he was pacing close by the weapon.

’Only option? No. Three courses of action. Wait! Fou-Ah, that’s right, I can’t just kill them. Otherwise this would be too simple and ridiculous. So three. Separate myself completely and wait to see who makes a move: In other words, be the waiting tiger and scramble for the briefcases when they’re on the ground.

Worst choice. And my mother said I wasn’t rational. Next is to suggest working together, and go through with my words, make us all pass. This is just the beginning, no need for anyone to get cut. Terrible. They’re competition, I can’t be the philanthropist here and now! Last option, work together, scramble for the briefcases, and present it to our lovely Hostess? Sound choice if I want to be the only one who passes, but difficult to execute.

Oh, decisions! Decisions! DECISIONS! What to do, who what when where and WHY! Most amusing. What can I permit? My victory. Victory means not losing. That means, the second option would be best. Even if the others want to cut any one of us out to make things easier. BUT WAIT! What’s to say that all of them want to be the only one? No guarantee. We’re all human. Well no. Three of us are for sure human, I’m one of them and know enough about the other two. One of us is something else, maybe? What was his name? Silver. OH! The Homunculus! YEAAAAHHHH! That’s right! There’s a bloody monster FREAK from the olden days! Hahahaha, poor ol’Riku might not know me! But I got treated to some info on HIM. Envy, he’s envy. But, what else beyond that?

Nothin’. I got nothing. How ironic. I was first to speak in the beginning, or more accurately, I jumped at the chance, and I greeted our Fuhrer in such a lackadaisical manner that she probably got pissed at me and INTENTIONALLY gave us guns to spite me. Oh, cruel. Cruel. Cruel world. Why must you always spite me? Why? Don’t answer that, because … I FUCKING LOVE IT! The adversity and misfortune of Fate, dispensing all sorts of mayhem upon my life! It's all too cute, and makes me all warm and fuzzy. All the more reason to HATE. HATE! HATE! … … … … …

Ah … back to square one. Well, better pick this damn thing up.’

Approximate time for him to rant and reason through this all while then having a mental breakdown(x 2) and then build up of mental blocks: 17 seconds. And this is during Fuhrer’s Hild explanation and tossing the guns onto the floor.

The Xingese, dark-suited to boot and hat and all, stooped over to pick the paintball gun. And not by the handle, but by what would be the long tubular end from which paintballs are ejected. Even though he was acting, it was well-known in the Amestrian military that there was a Xingese militant, who despised his own nation, who killed gleefully (though he could moderate himself when the situation called for it) and did not like to use firearms mostly cause he sucked … even after basic military training(hence why he utilized a close-range firearm that didn’t need ‘quite’ as much accuracy). So, since rumors are always blown out of proportions, he decided to use that to his advantage since one, no one has ever seen him USE a gun, and two, none of these people knew him personally(Hell they all worked in different areas in Amestris).

”Ara ara ara! What is this, it’s not an actual gun … is it?” he spoke aloud, confused, as he seemingly always was, while gingerly handling the gun. There was no swiftness, dexterity or masterfulness in the way he held this gun, after all he hadn’t ever used a paintball gun in his life, which helped tremendously.

”Suppose we could shoot the briefcases down with it?” he passed the question nonchalantly to the others, a bit curious to see how they would act to his own ‘incompetence’ with firearms, and with an idiotic suggestion that could possibly work(if they could SEE the damn wires). He was damn good at acting, having spent years impersonating others and always putting up a good show that unless one KNEW specifically, they’d never notice it was horribly incorrect. Hell now, he was sticking his damn finger in the barrel, as though trying to see how large the hole is without judging on eyesight alone.

So much for his confidence and madness, he seemed like a fool, now. No, he didn’t seem like a fool. He WAS a buffoon. Really, for having spoken first, he had humiliated himself since he couldn’t come up with a solution to back his bold boasts, though that wasn’t too bad considering he was a brain-dead man-child to begin with … not really, but still.

[Guest]

Looking down at the guns with disdain. She’d handled paintball guns before, in whatever reality she had done it in, but her experience largely stopped after she had learned the internal mechanics of them. Not that it would do her much good right now. She had bigger concerns right now.

The objective was clear, and obvious, and the method of obtaining the objectives was their purpose. But it was the rules… To be told to use their weapons wisely, but fairly, was rather vague. Or, at least “fairly” was. She tilts her head, figuring each gun has a very finite amount of ammunition. That could account for “wisely.” As for fairly…

What were the rules? What happened when one gets shot? This certainly couldn’t be a game of Calvinball, could it?

She smirks. “If it isn’t, I’m certain I could make it into one.”

She watched as Hei Bei walked over and picked one of the guns up, fiddling around with it like a small child. At least he knew which way the gun sh—

And, he just stuck his finger down the barrel…

She sighs, looking at the other two, who seemed to have hesitated as much as she has. The best idea would be to disarm the first man, but anyone can be a crack-shot at point-blank range. Plus, it’d give the other two time to move…

“Ambition and physical nerves,” she mutters, wondering what the test was truly about. Maybe she was over-thinking it, but she couldn’t afford to act as she normally would. She couldn’t react, unfortunately, as there was no one to react to. She’d have to act first, and try to warp things into her favor.

After all, all’s fair in love and war…

Step one: arm her allies and disarm her enemies.

Running forward, she manages to grab one paintball gun, fumbling when she grabbed for a second. “Don’t waste time on perfection, just move.” With a swift kick, she slides the third in between Riku and Tataki, and continues moving forward.

“Too many SNAFU’s,” she says to herself. She didn’t leave the impersonator completely disarmed like she wanted to, nor did she arm the General, and the buffoon was smart enough to arm himself already. Still, no treaties had been made, and, if she was lucky, someone would be “disqualified.”

She continued running towards the platform, in order to accomplish Step 2: gain an upper-hand. Running up the platform, she makes it a good distance up before jumping back towards the base. Reaching out, she grabs onto the lowest hanging briefcase, pulling it down along with part of the wire it was suspended on, which caught her by surprise. She landed with little grace, but recovered quickly enough to allow her to start running with a slight limp, towards Hild on her pedestal. Shooting the briefcase, she marks it with a yellow splatter, before tossing it up to their game master. Whether this counts as a “point” was, much like her briefcase, up in the air. The most she could do was that it met the parameters – whatever they may be – and simply survive.

[Envy]

This situation was getting more and more confusing. First their hostess killed few of the people who hadn't opened their mouths. Then she tosses some objects which resembled paintball guns and gave some vague advices, which didn't include the very likely catch around this test. And the paradoxicalness of that foreigner was about to reach a critical mass. He couldn't possibly be so stupid after the speech he gave earlier on. Just more reasons why he should die. Unless he really was that stupid and would suffocate into his own tongue.

More importantly, something was going on. At it was significant enough to wake Riku from his thoughts. The chick had just grabbed two of the remaining guns and kicked the last one somewhere between him and the general. Also, he was now sure from at least two of the languages that she speaks. Riku didn't waste any time as he leaped towards the gun, which was still sliding. His fingers snatched it like it was the 15th time he had done that trick and rolled from his own motion, which ended into a kneeling position. It really was a paintball gun. His eyes wandered back to the action girl, who had already acquired one of the briefcases and was running towards the hostess. Riku gave a small grin to the floor. ''If the action IS required, then just watch''.

Homunculus left his position with a great running speed towards the platform. Fortunately he had used a gun a few times while in one of his disguises. While approaching the closest briefcase, Riku's head was asking the easiest way to bring it down. He was pretty sure that one of the catches included the ammo of these guns. He ran past the object, but intentionally. It was too high to be reached with a jump from that point. Instead, he would get a nice boost thanks to the shape of that platform. Riku turned around, crouched with tensed legs and took a great jump towards the briefcase. He saw the wire and shot one paintball towards it, one meter away. Fortunately it hit and already decreasing Riku was able to catch it with a free hand. The landing was a bit awkward and involved a few more of those rolls. He was able to balance himself before the platform ended.

He didn't stop to think but ran towards the side where Isabella was. Though he was smart enough to stop after reaching appropriate distance. She could open fire and they weren't even sure if being hit by one of the balls would affect anything. ''Hey you! Would teaming up sound good? I'm pretty sure that the section where it's all-out battle is just around the corner''. Riku was sincere in his words. Teaming up would be a good idea to do before anyone else would figure that out. Even though it would cause him to puke when all of the excitement of this event would be gone.

[Guest]

Tataki listened intently to the directions of their next test. Maybe too intently. They were to use the weapons wisely but fairly. Fairly possibly meaning not using more than one and wisely was just plan obvious. Tataki though he had a gun wasn't much of a fan of them himself. He preferred the use of swords and his own two hands. He watched as Heibai walked over and picked up one of the guns. He seemed to not know what he was doing. But Tataki knew better, the man was a militant of course he would have at least some knowledge of guns. He was obviously lying. Tataki was about to move in for his gun when suddenly Isabella managed to pick up one gun and then fumbled another and finally kicked a third in between him and Riku. Tataki went for the gun but wasn't fast enough to obtain it. Damn. He looked to the one that had been fumbled racing toward and swooping down and picking it up.

One of the three had a case already and another was going for another one. Tataki thought quickly looking at Heibai. THATS IT!

"Sorry but I need you," he said racing over and planting a foot into him. He wasn't kicking him rather he was using him as a launch.

Doing this he launched himself up and seeing the wire shot it and grabbed his own case. Plummeting back down to the ground he rolled to his feet. He hurt but he had his own case. He brought the case up, he would utilize it as a shield just in case being shot meant you were out. Plus its not like paintballs shot faster than bullets. He felt a little bad for Heibai and him using him like that.

"Do you need help getting yours?" he asked though still keeping up his defense. it wouldn't be good if he took offense to how he used him. But now he was offering actual help to him. Not necessarily as a team up but because he thought it was right. He started off ambitious now he was looking for a little team work. He could have shot him instead...

[Guest]

OOC: Why use ME as a platform? Oh well.
OOC2: Mass editing required. I misread Tataki's post, and posted accordingly. Now editing to make things more sensible here. Apologies and cookies in advance.

IC:

Oh? One of his opponents had given lowest case to the Hostess, and two were fighting over the next highest briefcase. But, alas, they both got their own, with the Human one using HIM as a stepping stone. But, most peculiarly, he was now asking to team up? Or, at least offering him a hand in nabbing a briefcase, but no guarantees after that. This Brigadier General ... could he speak Xingese? That would be most useful, since only the one of 'Envy' could for sure.

"I don't need much help in getting the briefcase, as much as passing this test." he muttered, a bit grimly as odds WERE against him, since he wasn't an expert shot with guns and hadn't made an attempt for the briefcases. The whimsical man spoke only to the Brigadier General, not wholly sure if he knew the language that was supposed to be his own native tongue, though with the distance currently between them, it wasn't unlikely that the homonculus heard, and probably understood.

The only briefcase left now was the fourth and highest one, nearly 25 feet high, just a couple below the ceiling. No way in hell Hei could shoot that down. Or. ...

"Ah. But I are a GREEDY bastard. 'Warped by avarice.' Did I not say?"

The gun was now held in his left hand, as he spoke the language of pigs, a bit of a gentle smile upon his face. When the left hand snapped to and aimed, true he admitted he was a bad shot, but this weapon would be enough as he fired forth at the briefcase. A few controlled shots at the fourth one, 25 feet above the ground, while most shots impacted the briefcase, it certainly increased strain on the wire such that when that one miracle shot impacted, it cleanly split it.

While eyes were probably watching the briefcase fall, the Xingese was on the move. His body may have not been the same, but his mind remembered and he would push this body, whether it was his or not, he never cared for his corporeal form, to the limits, flying past the Brigadier General(and accidentally bumping into his gun with his right arm, which may have knocked it out of his hands, IF the grip wasn't too tight) and towards the pyramid. He jumped, and kicked off this end of the pyramid into the wall to his right, and repeated, ignoring any intereference, including someone throwing something at him, or shooting him, as he had long grown accustomed to physical pain(his mind, anyway). These two jumps covered quite a distance, as he focused on getting up to grab the final briefcase. Fortunately, his gun was still clenched tightly by his left hand, and now his right hand snagged the the handle of the briefcase. So far, there seemed to be no response(as he began his free-fall descent) from the others. But even if they responded now now, his grip was tight and sealed, and until his arms were brutally injured or cut off, he would not relinquish his hold on case and weapon.

Though now the problem was he had a twenty or so foot fall to deal with. Oh wait. That was a problem? NOPE! He just took advantage of the wall at his back, pushing off of that and flying ... headfirst. Cue a face meets the palm moment, for the others, who are now sure that this fellow is insane, as the briefcase met the floor and his right arm bore the impact of the crash. Just because his mind was accustomed to pain didn't mean that there wasn't anything, just a sort of tingling sensation from the afflicted areas, which he could feel at the moment. But, this wasn't a good position for him, he had his back to a corner, and there were three armed enemies all of whom had claimed a case.

"Well now. There's an easy way to win, Brigadier General Masu, sir." he spoke with a pleasant smile, aloud for all to hear, but only for two to understand. All the while, he was ready to move, if necessary, and wouldn't hesitate to use the items he held. Though, it was implied that the paintball guns were meant to the be only weapons, these cases could be used like that ... although that'd be a violation of the rules the Fuhrer had placed at the start? He'd probably waste his gun, to the eyes of the others, but it was well used in this circumstance: He probably couldn't shoot a moving target, unlike these stationary briefcases.

Now, there was a rotting olive branch being offered at the moment. As currently, things were stacked against his odds. It seemed that the second option from way back was the way to go, but would it work?

[Guest]

((Nevermind; found time in between my shower and when I had to leave to finish this up!))

Too many variables. Far too many. And now a peace offering? She tried to read Riku’s face, and he seemed sincere… Then again, she wasn’t the best judge of character to begin with. Still, she couldn’t help but think that there was far more to this man that simply being of “a thousand faces,” and she couldn’t afford to risk assuming anything else.

“You’re probably right,” she replies, eying the other two as they gain hold of the other two briefcases. It seems that they had some sort of partnership, though the good general spoke Amestrian, she figured the buffoon might’ve known something about him that she didn’t, considering he was speaking in a foreign language. Though the fact he said that last part aloud…

Too many possibilities. A figurative misstep, a feint… Something. There was a reason he was still here, so she could only assume there was a method to his false, or very real, madness.

"If they extend the olive branch," she says, "then we have all four cases, but we should keep our guard up nonetheless." She pauses, looking the two military men over. It would be nice to advance to the next round. But, then again, Riku was right: a free-for-all, or other competition, was likely around the corner. "However, if you think otherwise, we can always act accordingly..."

[Guest]

They... moved quickly? The single blue orb in Hild's head blinked once, watching the strange and motley group of people begin to work out, both by and among themselves, how they were going to go about this. So they were taking it slow, huh? First came HeiBai, who reached down and picked up a single paintball gun, and began to study it. She peered from her spot above them, and watched him carefully as he stuck a finger into the business end... Okay. That was certainly strange.

The girl sighed softly, and turned to the next flurry of movement. It was Isabella. She smiled softly at the control that the girl took. This was good, certainly good. When she kicked a single gun between two of the other contenders, Hild could see her intentions instantly.

Arm your comrades, and make your enemies think you're giving them an advantage. Perfect Villain material. She watched with a careful stroke, making sure that they were doing everything right. With a small yawn, she turned and followed Isabella, watching her jump, take a briefcase and throw it up to her. Hild stopped for a second to look at the case and sighed. Yes, there was one case in her possession. But the rules clearly stated that someone be in possession of all four and to then hand them in. She smiled and picked up the case, looking out over the room and just throwing it out and back into play.

"I want all four cases. Not just one at a time." Her voice was cold and steely, a strange perversion of the normally kind Fuhrer's words.

She saw the homunculus take the gun, before taking another briefcase off of the wires with a single shot. With a small laugh, she then watched him approach Isabella... and offer a partnership? She raised her hand to her mouth and giggled, before looking over at Tataki. She'd noticed something about him... and she didn't like it. He wasn't ready for this job. She sighed softly, and picked up a controller, labelled "Tataki". She sighed, and pressed the button, causing millions of volts to course through his body from a small chip implanted in his wrist. He'd already taken down a case, so his death wasn't in vain...

"There are only three of you left. This competition has just grown closer to it's fruition." She lowered her gaze solemnly, and sighed softly. Really, now... there were now three cases in play, and one still hanging from the ceiling. She shook her head, and sighed. She really did hope that things turned out well...

[Envy]

''Well, I think that...'' Riku was able to start before something happened to Tataki. His bod started to twitch uncontrollably, before falling to the ground with smoke coming out of him. ''How shocking'', he thought as he tried to hold himself from laughing. Riku was successful in that, but he couldn't help to smile. That was much more hilarious than the gas, but he didn't want to seem too odd. That could possibly affect the trust his current ally has. ''I think that we have an upper hand. And we need only two cases more to proceed. My idea would be to get the other two before that weird person can form a plan''. He scratched his head with the end of his gun. With his index finger off the trigger, of course. ''Only problem would be holding them, since you have two of those guns. Any ideas on that?''

//Inspiration is taking her monthly day off//

[Guest]

(Don't worry. Work gives me nothing but time to think over things. Muahahaha!)
(Edit: Totally messed up on some of the speech. Changed color accordingly)

Hild’s reaction to the briefcase was a mixed blessing: there were, apparently, boundaries to this simulation. She had already run into one invisible wall, revealing that this was no sandbox, but rather an imitation. She held off on going after the briefcase, but only until she saw the general start to convulse. “Disconnect yourself from him. There’s no reason to mourn for a man you did not know.” Looking over at her partner, he seemed to be getting a kick out of the general’s death. “Figures…”

“We might outnumber him,” she says, “but that doesn’t mean we outmatch him. But, Mr. Thousand Faces, I do have a plan. Just grab my briefcase, and keep an eye on the idiot.” Walking over slowly, she picks up the dead general’s gun – with a slight look of disgust on her face – and pointed them both at Hei. “You’re in an unfortunate position, Mr. Hei, as we have the upper hand,” she says, shamelessly repeating what Riku said moments before. “However, if you would be so willing to hand those briefcases in, I’d allow you to move along with Mr. Riku and I.” She pauses, allowing him a moment to take it all in. “Of course,” she adds, “I’m going to have to mark those briefcases as mine.” Before he answers, she shoots both briefcases, smiling at the yellow splatters on them. She figures it didn’t matter so much as to who "owns" which briefcase, but still, it couldn't hurt to set it up in her favor. This is a match of wits, cunning, and ambition. And a win is a win is a win, with or without the throwing of fists.

[Guest]

OOC: Pardon the lateness of this post. Also took into account some logic prior to starting this, and now everything is set to go. ^^;;

IC: Poor Brigadier General Masu ... he was fried. Why, Hei had no idea, nor did he specifically care, as really he rejoiced a little that the number of competitors had been reduced. Even more fortunate for him is that, after having spoken aloud to catch the attention of all other opponents, he had drawn a bit closer to Tataki, awaiting his response, and depending on what it was he said, he would have offered to allow all four of them pass by giving in his briefcase there and then, mostly since it would be perhaps the safest of all courses of action. But then the Brigadier General died, and the first briefcase had been tossed back into play. ...

'H'oh ... Amestrians would say ... LUCKY!'

He was a man of action, a harbinger of death, an agent of war; his whole life was centered about action. The act, his motions, his movements, his gestures, and those of others determined the course of it. Life was but a splendid interconnection of endless verse of many, strung together to create one. Reality. Like the Alchemists say, 'All is one. One is all.' He was not an idle player in this wonderful script and game, no.

The moment the poor Brigadier General convulsed and fell to the ground, killed off from the competition, Hei grabbed hold of his briefcase, held so firmly in his right hand but now relinquished to be taken by someone ... anyone. That person being Hei, who neatly wrapped his left hand the second briefcase's handle, and held these two precious items ... yes ... two tightly. It was a bit cumbersome to have them both on one hand, but as a temporary measure, it was necessary, since he needed his right hand open to hold his gun. It also mattered not if he was shot at this time, as the angling for either Isabella or Riku made it impossible to strike his specifically and accurately … and also he wasn’t completely unaware, he would react the best he could to any attack they might try, avoiding direct hits, on his left arm or the briefcases.

Isabella was approaching him, no doubt affirming her partnership with Riku and telling him to retrieve her now in-play briefcase. Two issues. Hei was closer. Tataki had used him when he was in his original position, which was directly before the Fuhrer after he had retrieved his weapon. The Brigadier General, while keeping his distance for understandable distance, had come pretty close to here. In addition, after Riku Silver had claimed his briefcase and began negotiating with Isabella, she had already thrown her briefcase to the Fuhrer's platform and had moved away to no doubt keep an eye on the other competitors, which confirms that she is at least a respectable distance away from the Fuhrer herself and Riku ... Riku was to Isabella's left, a bit back away from the Fuhrer's perspective, which marks Hei as the closest one to the first briefcase. . . . . . .

Upon Isabella's approach to Tataki's body, Hei had already moved to the left side, and consequently closer to Hild's platform, and was standing before the gun. Isabella, at this point, had crossed across the room and was within a close range, babbling something about having an advantage. Hei was a man of action, a man of war. Despite his bouts of insanity and his fury, he was not wholly without reason, like his partner, Nikolaus. Since he held two of the key items, the briefcases, he had made himself an enormously large target to his collaborating opponents. The acquisition of a third weapon to their side was detrimental to him. So, Hei decided to render the weapon useless, the best he could anyhow. He stamped down upon the cord connecting the air tank, pressurized air, and no doubt rather strained since Tataki had only discharged the weapon a modest number of times, in comparison to say Hei who had to fire numerous times. Much to his pleasure, the toy-of-a-gun-though-still-painful was disconnected from this tank ... which was pointed towards Isabella. That meant a very large black air tank with large amounts of pressure was being sent in her general direction, and considering the short distance and the burst of speed, in addition to the momentum of the tank before coming within range of actually striking Isabella ... it was not surprising that for a moment this tank was soaring across the air, and at a rather quick pace. If Isabella did not move or attempt to lessen the impact, this disconnected air-tank, now defective since the container has an exposure to open air, would land squarely in her gut ... and that was bound to do some damage.

All the while, before he had snapped the weapon into an unusable state, he had heard her inane lecture about how she and Riku had an upper hand - Damn them - they WERE working together for sure. But would 'Envy' be willing to work together with just a mere human? No, it couldn't be. Envy, or Jealousy, was the most conniving of the Sins ... that meant the shrewd and devious Homunculus was only out for its own interests, if it obeyed the instinctual impulse that composed its very existence. Unless, of course this was a humanoid or human-based Homunculus, in which case it could possibly act outside of the convention of typical Homunculi at times. But it was Envy. There was a way to make this work, surely.

He was already on the move, at this point. While Isabella had started walking when the Fuhrer's steely voice resounded to inform them they needed all four of the briefcases, he had actually stomped on the gun and broken it when the briefcase was at rest on the floor, a mere few seconds time. In that time, he pushed himself forward, having the advantage of overwhelming and insatiable desire to win ... and the fact he was significantly closer (in terms of actual distance, it is perhaps negligible ... but the very fact it is there gives him an edge) allowed him to approach that briefcase first and stand with it in front of him, as he slams his left foot atop it.

Riku would be approaching him from his left, if he had tried to get the briefcase, Isabella was more in front of him, but still off to the right and not as close as Riku would be if he had actually tried to retrieve the case. The Fuhrer was to his back. Due to what had occurred, neither of his briefcases were marked, and if they were ... he would have seen the movement to bring the guns level to the before the actual shooting and instinctual move them away, to prevent them from being marked (of course, there was no guarantee he would avoid the paintball entirely, but he wouldn't allow it to splatter dead-center on the cases).

'Judging by how Isabella's responded to my comments in Xingese ... I'll take the risk that she doesn't know that language, though they she seems to know another language ... either Aerugese or Cretan'

"My name is Tien Hei. Take the briefcases. And win. I shall hold Miss Galicia back." he called aloud. There was a steel, metallic way he said these words. It was without the soothing gentle voice he had, or any of the ephemeral qualities he had displayed before. It was almost robotic, like he was functioning out of hard engrained rote memorization. … Even his eyes did not have the mischievous glare, his smile was gone. He was dead serious this time, and it seemed he meant his words. This dramatic shift would move anyone, and reveal one of the many aspects of Hei … his loyalty …

His gun was trained upon Isabella and just the central portion of her, not aiming for smaller and harder to aim targets, but aiming to just let the impacts of these paintball guns deter her from approaching.

If she tried to come to his direction, he would shoot her.

If she went left(his perspective) back to Riku, he would shoot her.

If she tried to speak in anything that wasn't Amestrian and he couldn't understand, he would shoot her.

But for now, he thrust his left arm, holding the briefcases out, to Riku, hand clenched, but willing to relinquish if Riku took the offer, as the fingers that had crushed many curled heavenward. His face was directly pointed at Isabella, but Riku was well within his vision and not just in the peripheral considering how small of an area they were of each other.

Hei was sincere, to a point. He was a loyal servant once to the Homunculus ... he was called ‘Hei Bai’ to the military, but that was a mere alias. In the inner circles, during the time of Father, his new name bestowed upon him when he became sentient was ‘Tien Hei’ and became his leeway into garnering trust … a name that surely the Homunculi knew, as he was a loyal pawn who would move to aid them whenever they needed it and sacrifice himself should the situation demand it without ever questioning them or the orders. He hadn't met Riku personally, but just as Hei was told of the Homunculus of Envy, no doubt the shape-shifting man of a thousand identities was told of his. And he should understand that, given Hei’s background and training, the Xingese would give up this chance, now favorable for him, to the lord and master without a moment's hesitation. He had good conduct, he was loyal to a ludicrous extreme, and he had taken plenty of bullets for the Homunculi when they ordered him to. A true 'Dog of the Military,' though in this case, obedient to the Homunculi.

In short. His offer was sincere, since the Homunculus knew him from that point.

[Guest]

It had all been made clear to the single eye of the Fuhrer. Through everything that she had watched, through all the actions that the players had made, she had chosen her Dietrich. With a small smile on her face, Hild pressed a single button on the podium, and an alarm sounded out. Another button press later, and the podium dropped to the ground, a small wall opening and Hild stepping forwards. She spoke loudly and clearly to the group.

"I've seen enough. I've made my decision." The players turned and looked towards her, and she smiled confidently at them.

"While you've been working at this mission, you've been graded on your RP style - not officially, but I have a small opinion on them." She moved a strand of hair behind her head, and smiled at them once more.

"Hei Bai. I enjoy your RP'ing and your humour, but it's difficult to follow your posts at times, and you don't always leave much room for others to react. While you would make a great Dietrich, it's difficult to see you being able to let the characters reply." She turned to Isabella next.

"Isabella Galicia. You're much the same, but your posting style is easier to follow and read." She smirked, and turned to Riku.

"I like your posting style as well, Riku Silver. But unfortunately, you're not as active as I'd like." With a cool nod, she walked up to Isabella, with a great smile on her face.

"So I give it to you, Isabella. You have shown the right sort of playing style, and I think that the character of Dietrich would fit you well. Therefore, you have earned the right to play the new major villain of MDA." She smiled, and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. She was happy to hand it over to the player.

Taking her hand off the woman's shoulder, she began to walk away and lifted a remote into the air.

"You forget. This is a VR simulation. Therefore, when you die, you wake up - and then you may leave. Thank you for your co-operation." Hild pressed a single button on the remote, causing the entire complex to suddenly disappear into explosions, each small explosion causing more and more to occur, the entire place nothing more than pixels and bytes.

"Goodbye."

{Well done Izzy! I'll PM you what you need to know soon enough - I've just got history left to write, and then you've got free reign to add and remove anything you want. <3}

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