Re: [Saga] [Notice Conquest][Part 2] Eviction Notice: Invisible Interplay

Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:33 am

The member 'Brood' has done the following action : Dice Roll

#1 'Reflex Check' : 15, 5

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 20, 9

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#3 'Reflex Check' : 1, 8, 2, 18, 11

Thu Oct 06, 2022 7:23 am

OOC: (-eh is a cough; -ee is a wheeze)

Before Academia had even a moment to respond, Brood began coughing wildly, having stopped himself from drooling so he could focus on the task ahead. This strong coughing fit alerted Academia to change the plan on the fly.

"What's this? A good point? Color me surprised. Indeed, the two of us shall enter instead of our illustrious leader. I feel his talents are better suited elsewhere. For the time being."

Brood himself made no protest to the rejection of his participation. This didn't seem like something that would require his tactical mind or physical prowess. In that way, it truly didn't matter to him anymore.

But he wanted to witness his new crew member's talents. But he could wait for a good thing. It made no difference to him.

That being said, Academia was already beginning to use his ability. His superior analysis of the structures around him. He wasn't the type to do things directly.

He would much instead prefer to stack the odds in his favor before any job or altercation. It was the thing he did best.

Without warning, Brood reached up and snatched the young mink, plopping her down by his side safely before placing his hand atop her head.

"Make-ee sure you bring-eh back my prize undamaged." He spoke starkly.

Academia could do naughty but bow his head, and cover his right hand over his chest as he did so.

He'd take a moment to dust his white dress shirt off, before running his hands over his blood-red vest. Smirking before his gaze laid itself on the Mink once more.

"As mediocre as your skills happen to be, for where we are in the world you'll have time to grow into them properly as you sail with us. Do not let us down." He bragged momentarily as he closed his book and removed something from his lower back pocket.

He'd pull out a small, octagonal, compass-shaped box that had a brassy finish, though it looked rusty in some places. He'd take out a brass key from inside his vest's outer breast pocket, setting it into a small hole that was in the center of the box itself.

Winding up the key, as though he was messing around with a toy, several gears whirled, whizzed, and clicked before thin spindly legs jutted out from the corners of the small box.

The object would then open up, revealing a transponder snail which would then pilot the small spider-legged mechanism, crawling towards the hand of academia before leaping over onto Aya and settling on her shoulder tightly.

"Alright, we will go with a portion of your surprisingly well-articulated plan of action. That is to say, you can slip in through the back. I shall make my way to the front. But rather than infiltrate, I shall provide you with a distraction of sorts." He wore a prideful grin on his face.

A visage of pure arrogance draped itself across his features flawlessly.

"Boss, we can use this to accurately measure her practical field usefulness." There was a clear malevolence in his words that made no secret of his ulterior motives.

Brood took a moment to think on the suggestion, his curiosity leading him to lower his newfound overprotectiveness. It was true that incompetence would not fly in their line of work. It was only fair she had a trial of her own especially since most members of the crew had undergone similar circumstances.

This was not a crew for the faint of heart.

"Eh-Proceed."

Academia held out his wrist, where another tiny snail was housed. Clinging onto his wrist while housed in a device similar to a watch.

"By any measure of a metric, you don't need our aid in pulling off a heist. So we will not provide you with any noticeable assistance beyond what I am giving you now. If you can't manage a task like this, you're better off serving differently." He scoffed in an overly cartoonish manner.

"That transponder will allow you and I to stay in communication, however. Any questions?" The turned-up corners of his lips remained as he spoke.

"Ee~ No. Quit fuckin'-ee stallin' and get me my fuckin' documents!" Brood's voice boomed erratically.

Causing Academia to quiver in fear and titillation.

"Right as ever, Boss. Ahem." Academia spoke in a flustered manner, adjusting his tie and smoothing it down as he continued. "Let's go wench, it's time to prove you're worth more than being relegated to crew mascot. Or an Ona-"

He paused before turning on his heels and making his way toward the building's front entrance.

{ 766 | 3865 | 5000 }

sucré @ gs

Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:31 am

Aya's paws lifted uncertainly as Brood begin to cough, each time jostling the little mink. Though she was perfectly at home with most heights, her perches had never really coughed before. Even a little shaken up the arboreal girl wasn't in danger of falling. She simply seemed surprised, and unsure how to handle the curious hacking fit.

Her attention was unfortunately brought back to Academia, her surprise settling down into an invisible glower for mere seconds before she was plucked up again.

As Pikasso's feet touched the ground she stretched her arms above her head with a yawn, freezing up when Brood's hand rested on her head. She still wasn't at all used to someone being able to see her like this, let alone touching her. The short mink fluffed and frazzled where she stood, adjusting her shades in a demure fidget.

The bibliophile's voice put a serious damper on the moment. With a hum, she took another glance up at the building and did her best to tune out everything except the vital bits. It was more imposing of a task at her normal height, but that was nothing new.

Besides, this meant she could just get in, get it done, and be done with it without all the snide commentary or the pressure of being observed doing something she had only ever done alone.

Unfortunately, trying to figure out the simplest route had taken precedence over listening for the mink. The skittering metallic sound rapidly approaching was enough to pull her out of her thoughts, and as the contraption lunged onto her shoulder Aya stifled a yelp.

The petite panda grimaced and lifted her paws with a defensive but fleeting crackle. Her gaze darted from the snail to Academia, then to Brood and back. Her shoulders sunk and she eased with a quiet huff, her hopes for a bit less or an audience dashed by a snail.

"...Yuck."

She eyed the weird gadget distrustfully, inspecting the leggy little thing with clear distaste. Still, if Brood was approving it... The device disappeared from view as Aya reluctantly accepted the presence of the mechanical parasite.

Her ears folded back again with the volume of the sudden command. This seemed like it would be simple enough if she was careful. She was thankful for the interruption, as it was becoming more and more difficult for her to try to hide her annoyance with the prattling bookworm.

"... Just... try not to disturb me too much, would youtiea?" Aya tossed a pointed glare in Academia's direction, imperceptibly making a face before she turned away. As she turned, however, that same clear realization dawned on her again with one look up at Brood.

She gave a sheepish smile, hesitating momentarily only to give a teeny wave. Words seemed to fail her, but she didn't want to keep him waiting any longer than necessary.

" ...Right, ah, well... "

With a few steps in reverse Pikasso pulled away and glanced at the building.

"...be right back!"

Halfway through the coy goodbye the mink had already turned tail and began dashing off toward the rear of the structure. She was happy to be out of sight to most of the world. It was in that rush it dawned on her once more that she was now willingly sneaking into a government facility; exactly the sort of place she'd normally avoid like a plague.

Every bit of common sense she had was begging her to turn around, but that wasn't an option. She had signed herself up for this. Now, despite the belittling from her new crewmate she found herself inexplicably driven to give this task her all. Her ears perked as she went on the alert, silently scoping out the easiest entry as she rushed for the back.

The faster this was over, the better.

She was met with a glorious sight that already made her more thankful she was on her own. A glimmering beacon to ease of access for the sure-footed woman sat like a gift from above along the top of the back wall; the slanted pane of an open window on the upper floor.

Now it was just a matter of getting to it! It only seemed like common sense that important things would be kept higher up. At the very least, she'd be able to work her way down without the chance of alerting anyone to a phantom-plied outer door.

The invisible woman quietly tapped a claw against the surface of the exterior, happy with the way the sound dampened against the thick stonework. Secure, yes, but these walls could keep a secret.

It was a bit of a scramble to start the ascent, but Aya took to scaling the wall with all the ease of a natural-born climber. And with only limited marring of the drab outer wall, she made her way up towards the window.

{817/3,703}

Mon Oct 10, 2022 5:48 am

OOC: (-eh is a cough; -ee is a wheeze)

Watching the voluptuous figure before him, still capable of seeing her due to his overwhelmingly superior ability to utilize Haki, Brood sighed.

"Tell me, Academia-eh, how many times-ee have we been through this already-ee? The North Blue-eh has provided us with many new additions-ee and now already five of them have failed me."

He looked over towards his crew's head researcher and acting doctor, eyes descending into what one could only describe as a disappointment.

"The monkey-ee, the ghost bitch, my ex-lover-eh... all are dead. Failures…"

There was true pain in his voice as he reflected on all of those he had led in the past and where they ended up.

It was no secret that Brood failed more often than he succeeded. He knew deep down that he could never be the King of the Pirates. Even despite the fact that it was never his goal, to begin with.

If he wanted to protect his family. He would have to do so in a different way. He'd need a powerful ally that could stand toe to toe with the other world powers. He'd need to become a world power. That was his goal. To do anything he could in order to have his name mean something. To be considered a threat.

How little he knew of his current bounty and status would be a shock to many. He figured he got by in the North Blue due to his tenure on the sea.

But he'd soon learn that he was already considered a real threat by a high number of powerful individuals.

He just needed to slow down before he could recognize this fact.

"If only-ee... Junko-chan, Hasegawa-kun, and the others-"

Before he could finish, the academically trained man of brass spoke out with a voice far more concerned and far more compassionate than one would assume capable.

"With all due respect, Boss. We can not dwell on the past. Not anymore. We shame them if we do not… try harder."

Brood allowed the slight, given that the pair were in private and were not discussing things in a manner that went beyond their friendship. In the end, that was the truth of it.

The crewmates that sat at the top of the organization didn't simply work for Brood. They were all important to him in some way. They were his family. And in private he allowed for a lot more leeway than otherwise acceptable. He commanded respect, but he was more than aware of who in this crew truly had his best intentions at heart.

Academia himself would mimic the sigh his Captain had done prior, continuing.

"They are not… all failures. Once we finish setting up our base here in Notice… we can leave them behind to protect this place. They can not leave the North Blue… but they may be able to grow stronger here in time."

Taking a moment to focus himself, the well-dressed academic took the time needed to steel himself for the task ahead.

He'd gesture down to both sides of his waist, brushing his hand against the copper wire that was tied to two individual rectangular boxes that rested where one might place their pistols.

A sense of pride washed over him as he looked on. Gazing at the monolithic construct that housed the very thing they needed to take over this island without issue.

"I foresee big things in our future. You need only leave it to me." His eyes showcased his ironclad resolve. Turning on his heels, he'd make his way towards the main entrance of the building proper.

Brood watched on from across the street with bated breath. Eyes trained on the complex structure before him with intention.

Once through the entryway, dark brown, brass-toed, wholecut oxford-styled dress shoes clacked against marble floors so white, they looked brushed with snow.

The oak cross beams overhead kept the building aloft, and the pane windows dead ahead of Academia were easily identified as being too thick to penetrate with any semblance of effectiveness by traditional rounds.

Something he could do naughty but balk at. The smugness of his grin was hidden behind his respiratory mask.

Approaching the counter, he spoke softly, with a hint of elegance in his tone all the while.

"Greetings, I was wondering if you knew what it was like to have your eyes melt into their sockets and leak out the front of your skull?"

He was at least polite as he spoke.

[npc=misc]"Excuse me? Is this some sort of jok-"[/npc]

As per his usual antics, Academia cut her off as she spoke.

"I assure you I am being quite serious. Deathly serious I am afraid. Now you'd do best to quiet down. I have quite a few demands before we proceed."

He said he'd cause a distraction. He just never said what it would be.

He'd speak to no one in particular, at least it seemed that way. But in truth, he was speaking to Aya through their transponder snails.

"Do try and make haste."

Perhaps it was his overwhelming ego, but he was more than sure that things were going to get rather ugly rather quickly. Especially if a line started to form behind him.

Staying calm, he'd reach up and pull down his steak-punk-looking safety goggles. Covering his eyes effectively.

She likely didn't have a clock or even pressure before now. But he wasn't going to let her have an easy task. That was why, after five minutes, he pulled the ripcords on the boxes to his side, causing a murky yellow gas to shoot out of each box quickly.

This unknown gas filled the room and entered the slots of the windows so that not even the cashiers were safe from its influence.

Each victim began to cough and wheeze, their eyes watering from the smoke itself.

Though Academia was unphased by the assault. Even as guards became alerted to the commotion from the building.

Clearly, this was a robbery and a smokescreen was made in the lobby. Perhaps that made it an obvious distraction.

Who knew?

{ 1,014 | 4,879 | 5000 }

sucré @ gs

Mon Oct 10, 2022 11:56 pm

The quiet of the climb was refreshing.

It gave Aya a bit of time to distance herself from the recent chaos and clear her mind to focus on the task at hand. Theft was a simple facet of life for the invisible mink. The passive habit wasn't normally fueled by greed, but rather, by the ease of plucking things from a world of people who were completely unaware of her existence.

It was easy to distance herself from the morals of it, considering the risk of dire consequence that dealing with people face-to-face came with for her. After all, she had to eat, and people lost things all the time!

Stealing just made Aya an unseen embodiment of the inevitable in her own eyes. She was a quiet meandering reminder that things not tended to were often made forfeit. At least, that's how she had rationalized it to herself.

Pikasso was trying to convince herself that this would be no different. She didn't care about stealing from the government... aside from the danger it posed. Her paws curled around the edge of the open window frame as she pulled herself up and took her first look into the building.

At least, that was what she had intended. Instead, she was brought nearly eye-to-eye with a lesser mink man in a suit, who seemed to be enjoying the view out the window as he sipped his coffee.

Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened as she froze up, fur standing on end. Even fully comfortable with her abilities, it was hard to convince her nerves that the man now staring straight through her eyes couldn't see her there.

Her gaze fell to the slanted pane of glass that was now letting the breeze flow through the pivoting window.

As the man enjoyed his coffee break unaware of the discord that was about to unfold at the front of the building, a movement close to him caught his eye. His tie seemed to be slowly untucking itself from its place in his suit jacket. He stared on with furrowed brows, trying to understand the perplexing phenomenon. The tie hung unnaturally in the air and crumpled at the end as the invisible girl tightened her grip.

All at once from her place awkwardly leaning into the top of the window with her feet on the sill, Aya wrenched back. She kicked both feet flat against the bottom of the sturdy pane and clung onto the fabric tightly. As gravity would have it, the man was unceremoniously flung forward. His coffee and face met the thick glass on the side mirroring his invisible assailant.

With the leverage of the small girl's weight and the pivot of the window, the baffled, coffee-drenched man was tossed out of the second-story window and Aya was subsequently swung into the room.

To her dismay, the momentum and release of the tie meant the mink was haphazardly pitched onto the ground below the window. Another rotation of the heavy pane brought the window to close right on the fluff of her tail.

Aya's eyes watered and she made a desperate clamber to free the aching appendage. Like salt in a wound, the snail on her shoulder nagged her to hurry. With her tail hugged protectively to her chest, she took a glance out at the man now laying sprawled across the ground.

He'd probably be fine. Average Lesser Minks weren't too tough, but it wasn't that big of a fall. With a shrug, Aya wrote it off and looked around the now-deserted room.

"... Yeah, yeah, I'm hurrying..."

She sighed, recognizing this as a breakroom and making for the door. Cracking it open and peering out, Aya waited for what felt like the right moment to slip out of the room.

It only took a bit of caution to avoid bumping into anyone while moving to check the next door. One of her fluffed ears pressed to the door, quietly listening to assure it was occupant-free. A large wooden desk sat in some sort of office space here, and though there were books on the shelves behind it, they seemed the type to be for show rather than actual use.

After quickly rifling through the drawers and the top of the desk and only coming up with a little stash of money, she moved on. The next room's walls were lined with cabinets. As Aya hastily threw one open, an assortment of filed papers slid into view.

"That'll work."

With a quiet sigh of relief, the runty mink began rummaging through cabinet drawers and stacks of papers on the tables, looking for anything she thought seemed relevant to what Brood was looking for. It couldn't hurt to come back with more than expected, just as long as she made sure she got what he needed.

Documents were quickly glanced over by the clear artist's discerning eye, then either put back or hidden and tucked into her arm. In truth, she wasn't really sure what good any of this was, but if it was here and they needed it, she'd find it.

She shuffled through, then hit gold. The delighted panda hugged the carefully procured pile of paperwork tight to her bosom, grinning to herself as she basked for a minute.

Aya returned to the door after hearing some sort of commotion to check how things were progressing outside the room. Her sensitive nose could pick up just the hint of something odd from this distance and it seemed people on the other side of the hall were panicking. She had no idea what he was up to down there, but she chose to ignore it as she occupied herself with looking for the quickest exit.

A woman's shriek rang out from the previous room. Pikasso peered into the open doorway just in time to watch the lesser mink faint in front of the same coffee-doused window the thief had entered from. She grimaced as the sound of footsteps picked up in her direction, and slipped back into the breakroom.

She wasn't willing to risk losing a clear escape route, so the mink made a dash for the window. As she politely stepped around the faint woman and climbed into the windowsill Aya tucked the stolen goods safely into her sweater. Her tail wrapped around them for the moment, holding the treasure close to her curvy little frame and keeping the fluff from further danger.

Down below, it seemed someone else had noticed the defenestrated man and was now crouched at his side trying to help him. With a bit of shimmying to one side of the ledge, she began climbing upwards toward the roof.

"...out. I'll be down soon."

Grousing sorely, the invisible mink pulled herself up onto the roof. It was a better vantage and allowed her to take a look to either side of the building to pick the path of least resistance. From there it was just a straight-down scramble to the ground, and she was home free.

{1,175/4,878}

Tue Nov 08, 2022 4:04 am

OOC: (-eh is a cough; -ee is a wheeze)

The plague spreader could do naughty but cackle maniacally as his toxins reached into the furthest depths of those who had the displeasure of crossing his path.

There was a sick pleasure that Academia especially enjoyed when it came to subjecting others to his concoctions.

He didn't care if you were an innocent bystander or someone whom he was hired to target specifically. So long as you suffered. That was more than enough for him.

And he did revel in the sheer carnage that he wrought in this instance. Was this overkill given the situation?

Oh absolutely.

But a sadistic man like Academia cared little for subtlety. That was not his forte. It was the "raccoon bitch" who had the power to be unseen. A rather niche market that she seemingly cornered the market on.

Lucky bitch. Having a power that helped her stand out, by not standing out? It was infuriating, to say the least.

So infuriating in fact that Academia decided to attempt and hinder her progress by any means.

“Your gagging and wheezing remind me so much of my beloved Chairperson, it is a lovely sound to hear,” Academia spoke with such malice as he watched the clerk struggle to breathe.

The woman clawed at her own throat, but it would do her no good. She was already dead, and the only cure available was nowhere to be found outside of the Dead Air itself.

He ignored the confirmation from Aya over the snail transponder, choosing instead to take a look at each of his victims as they struggled to cling to their mortal coils. His eyes scanned over every painstakingly intricate detail that he could ever possibly hope for in the process. Practically salivating at the thought of seeing the results of his experiment in real time.

There was an overwhelming sense of happiness that flooded into his being. The tantalization of the action consumed him in a way he couldn’t verbally express.

And yet, his fun was interrupted the moment the two glass entrance doors were swung open, and a pair of men wielding spears took a step forward to try and discern what the cause of the commotion happened to be. Unfortunately, though they had inhaled a small dose of the airborne substance, it was enough to cause them to cough and back away.

Removing a bronze-plated flintlock from his side holster, he’d quickly fire off two shots toward the guard on the left side of the entrance. Acing him in the skull and through the throat before mumbling obscenities underneath his breath.

Clearly agitated from the interruption of his personal time.

He’d make his way towards the sole survivor, pushing him hard and sending the man backward. He was struggling, but he was alive.

“This was just a senseless massacre, make sure you inform your superiors. The name is Academia the Reader. Do be sure to remember despite the concussion.” He spoke in a callous manner, raising up his foot and bringing his heel down on the man’s skull.

Not doing the action with enough force to kill the man, but he did render him unconscious.

Raising his wrist once more, he spoke into the transponder finally. His agitation dying down in the process, though his focus seemed elsewhere for now. He didn’t forget about Desmond’s little contest.

He needed some bounty.

“Where are you girl, did you return to the street level yet? Hurry up before the rest of the guard get here.”

Holstering his sidearm, he’d make his way across the street, walking past a small corner shop and ducking into a nearby alleyway. He could not locate Brood but was sure that his Captain was nearby somewhere.

He’d then tell his exact location to Aya, waiting for her to make her arrival.

But he was not going to have a chance to see her. For Brood had already found her.

Within a few moments, Brood had leaped up out of the street and onto the roof of the building with a monstrous thud. Looking down at the small woman and staring at her in the same manner as he would anyone else he had murderous intent for. Even now, despite her being invisible, he’d reach out and place his hand atop her head.

Despite his harsh tone, it was clear he was satisfied with her performance in this instance.

“Good job, Ms. Ruiz.”

The praise left his mouth easily and upon hearing the tone from Academia that came through the snail on Aya’s wrist, the beast of a man would reach down and grab her by the hand. Hoisting her up so that he could speak.

“Shut the fuck-ee up. Meet us back-eh at the-ee ship. Got it?” His own manner of speaking was far harsher than anything that Academia could conjure up.

There was a lull of silence before the large sweetman spoke once again.

“Oh… and good job. Make-ee sure that you get-eh all of the eh-credit.” His final command before the connect cut off.

That was to say, before Brood reached down, grasped the snail in his massive hand, and crushed it into a sinew of slime and souls. He cared little for these little creatures, and once they served their purpose there was little reason to keep them around. Though, despite that belief, he never harmed his own personal snail. It already looked like him even when not in use.

And that was just too badass in his opinion.

“We have-ee to make a detour before we go eh-back to the ship.” He spoke to her calmly, hoisting her up and onto his shoulders. So that she could have a ride… and also extend her power to himself.

Below, Academia would do as instructed and made his way back to the Dead Air quickly, unphased by the chastising he had received. As it was outweighed by the praise instead.

As Brood and Aya took their exit as well, he spoke to her cautiously.

“You’ve proven-ee yourself for now, but if-eh you want to truly prove-eh you have got the-ee value to be part of eh-this crew. Well.. ee-you’ll have to-eh make sure the rest of this little scheme-eh of ours goes off ee-without a hitch. Think you can do that?”

The final act was close at hand. Now that the authorities were aware that some members of the, as of now named Primetime Pirates, actually made it to the island. Security efforts would surely increase a magnitude much higher than previously predicted.

Brood anticipated a bloodbath and he’d have it no other way.

{ 1,097 | 5,976 | 5000 }

sucré @ gs

Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:30 am

Aya felt the air escape her lungs when a towering figure made sudden contact with the roof near her. As her eyes turned up towards the piercing gaze aimed straight at her, the tiny panda girl froze up completely, caught up in a state of cautious déjà vu. Had she messed something up and not realized it? Papers crinkled reassuringly as she gripped them.

When a massive hand rested between the fluffed peaks of her ears, the invisible form relaxed. Aya exhaled with relief to try and usher away the panic that had gripped her seconds earlier. In spite of the lethal glare aimed in her direction, she found solace in the successful mission and the wordless approval of her efforts.

Wordless for a moment, anyway. Academia's voice made the Mink's ear twitch.

As Aya was lifted into the air she squeaked with surprise and used her free hand to assure the documents stayed held close to her. She hung like that without a word, happily letting Brood handle the transmission as she hugged the spoils of her infiltration.

The crunch of shell and slime made the clear panda grimace, leaning away to try to distance herself from the worst of the gastropod carnage. She didn't particularly like creepy crawlies, but she also didn't like the idea of getting snail goop in her fur either.

"A detour..?" Aya let her quiet curiosity linger in the air.

Another hoist brought her back to sit on Brood's sturdy shoulders. Aya shifted her weight to get comfortable, trying not to let a small sigh make enough noise to give notice. Of course, it couldn't have all been that easy! As she inhaled again she picked up the warm scent of caramelized sugar, which seemed to work wonders on the tiny Mink's nerves.

She silently pouted to herself, still unable to believe her responsibility-free life had taken such a turn in such a short amount of time. But if she had come this far without issue, what's to say she couldn't keep it up? Or that she didn't want to? Working seemed like it'd have perks, to say the least. Money, transport, company... Even if their interactions had been a mixed bag so far, having her presence known to others was comforting in some backward way.

That was something worth working for, wasn't it? As much as she was still reeling from it all, the answer seemed clear.

With one paw resting on his shoulder Aya watched Brood disappear before her eyes as he carried her off towards more unknowns.

"...I'll do my best!"

{430/5,308}

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