Revolution: Inverse

Sallete finally saw Angie i the distance, but the girl turned around and ran away. Now all was pointless, Angie was faster than her, she would normally be unable to catch up with her, let alone do it with the Engine Sword on her shoulder. She put the blade down, leaving a dent on the floor, and sat on the ground, depressed. What to do now? She could very well have lost a friend, and all of that over a silly assembly worker! That was unfair, at least.

She could see Angie's friend where she had left him. Thought the engineer had a feeling she would need to meet him at some point, right now she didn't feel like doing anything that reminded her of Angie, so she just got up and headed back to the office. Maybe she would bump on "Miss Candole" again maybe that would cheer her up...

Jacqueline had just departed from headmaster Kaestner's office, enthused by the conversation that had unfolded between herself and the sickly ol' bubble of snot. She had actually quite enjoyed her little self-imposed tour throughout the administrative building, as its structural layout was quite pleasing to the eyes. It was comprised of a long, overarching hallway that branched into each individual office. The main hallway was lined with a complex design of platinum columns, which arched into an odd, sporadic pattern of swirls and cogs that lined the ceiling. Between each pair of columns, a large, orange-tinted window nested itself, and on each sill, the administrative department had positioned a nice, potted plant of colorful proportions.

While she had been marveling the complex and tasteful design of the administrative department, the resounding noise of low footsteps echoed throughout Jacqueline's left eardrum. She turned to see what had drawn her attention, and found it to be none other than Angie's own reject of a friend, with her straggly, yet "workable" short hair, and her signature engine sword which she never seemed to put down. Jacqueline forced a smile, and greeted her with a swift hello, "What keeps you here? You didn't forget anything, did you?" She drew herself closer to the girl, "My mother always told me about forgetfulness. She told me it would turn me into an ogre or something!"

Sallete wandered to the office looking down, when she heard a sweet voice asking her if she forgot something. So she DID stumble on the girl after all! Just like that, she was cheerful again. She could even feel her heart beating rapidly again. Well, it was never easy for Sallete to maintain sadness, or, that said, any "low" emotion. Hapiness and excitement always took her back. Actually, there was another "high" emotion that got stuck easy on her, but she rarely needed that.

-Oh, honey, I doubt such a pretty face could possibly become an ogre one day.

She winked at the girl and drew herself too closer to her, raising her hand, ready to pull the girl into a hug if she did hold it.

-Oh, I believe I didn't introduce myself in the office, I'm sorry, I forget these social protocols around beautiful women sometimes. My name is Sallete Deschain, but you, Angel-Eyes, can call me Sally, and this pretty boy here is Amaranth.- she pointed at he Engine Sword -The only boy I have had feelings for. And what can I call you?

Karmen couldn't get a word in before Angie had taken off leaving the ornithologist just standing in the hall in her lingering, metaphorical dust cloud. There was no way that he was going to catch up to her now, but that was fine. He had left his wallet back at the dorm and he figured some food would be nice. He didn't know when exactly Angie wanted to meet up, but the sooner the better. She would probably spend some time dodging all around campus, working her way to the monument where they could get their community service task. That would probably be enough time for him to get back to the dorms and retrieve his wallet. He'd buy Angie some food as well as compensation for possibly being late. Looking the direction of the voice, he couldn't see anything, but the sense of urgency seemed to die down. Was the girl not going to give chase after all? What a waste of time. "Gah, there's been too much of that going on lately," he muttered to himself thinking about all the morning reading time he had missed out on. Regardless, he decided to simply continue on his way. He walked and walked until he was back outside the administrative building. The morning was still decently fresh; the stench of chemicals seemed to have dulled on him thanks to his lack of prolonged exposure, for Jacqueline always wreaked since she had no mind to not get stuff all over her. If she was going to do that sort of stuff, the least she could do was be tidy about it.

The sound of his shoes echoed throughout the air as he navigated the sidewalks back to the dorm. Most people were in their morning classes, and those without said morning classes were probably asleep. Karmen preferred it when the sidewalks weren't so full; it made it easier to get around more quickly. It had only been about several minutes before the science dorms came into view. He walked straight up to the front door, rumors of what had happened earlier floating around upon the lips of those few who lingered in the lobby of the building. Karmen ignored them and headed up the stairs, wondering how much copper he had left even.

Vanessa followed her friend into the headmaster's office and quietly listened to him explain why they were all called here and also their punishment. Then Angie and a male student who was also called here made clear of their distaste. Vanessa couldn't help but agree with them, however she felt that it would be rude to speak out of turn against someone of authority like the headmaster. After the headmaster rejected their reasons and gave his own, Angie and the male left. Now only a girl whom she did not know, Sallete, and a barefooted girl whom Sallete had been ogling as soon as she arrived. But then her friend suddenly seemed rather shocked at Angie blaming her for the disciplinary actions, and ran off after her. Vanessa sighed and went after her friend.

Vanessa found Sallete speaking to the barefoot girl. She approached the two of them and as she did the combat suit which she never got a chance to take off made heavy footsteps that could probably be heard from the other side of the hallway. When she was fairly close to the two of them Vanessa removed her helmet wiped a few drops of sweat off her forehead. It was incredibly hot in that well-insulated helmet.

"How many times have I told you to cut the shenanigans Sallete?" Vanessa scolded her friend as she lightly smacked her upside the head again, then she took a deep breath and turned to the other girl, "My name is Vanessa. Pleased to meet you."

Angie was in her dorm room before she realized where she was. She stood in the center of her room, which was very tidy despite her appearance being...not tidy. The monotonous carpeted floor was free of any dust, dirt, or stray papers. Her bedpost leaned up against the only window i the room, so the sun woke her up every morning, which she liked. Birds often roosted in the trees outside her window, so it was like she had her own little piece of Karmen hanging just outside, and that made her happy.

A trunk sat open, it's contents tidy as well, up against her desk. Her desk held the remnants of last night's homework (which wasn't done yet). On the opposite wall hung a shelf that supported many of Angie's own creations. Metals, rocks, and other such things lined the shelf, which she often looked upon to see her progress as an engineer.

"I suppose, since I'm here, I could bathe or something," Angie suggested to herself, shrugging her shoulders before stripping. Her body was filthy, and her hair felt grimy, something Angie didn't particularly like. She skittered across the hall in a towel and jumped into the shower, immediately relieved by the hot water running down her body. The dirt and the grime seemed to come off easily, but even so, Angie scrubbed herself until her skin was raw. The gray in her hair also washed out after the second, fierce round of scrubbing, leaving it white as snow. A genetic mutation at birth gave her this odd, white hair. It made her look older than she actually was.

Angie returned to her room, feeling refreshed and clean. She didn't mind being dirty, she actually kind of liked it. Still, all that was just so she could have a fresh, clean feeling whenever she bathed. Angie didn't want to dally feeling clean though, she quickly dressed in a gray T-shirt and blue jeans. If she was to be working in community service, she wanted to be comfortable.

Angie left her room, stretching her muscles as she walked, slowly moving into a jog to get her blood pumping again. She didn't want to keep Karmen waiting, and if she was lucky, she would get there first anyway. The engineering department was closer to the monument anyway, and Karmen was probably taking his sweet time.

Angie eventually arrived at the Redd Monument, but didn't see Karmen or any of the others there. So, she sat down on a nearby bench and waited. They would show their faces eventually, but Angie was mostly waiting for Karmen. He could already be here, but Angie didn't care about that part.

Jacqueline stuttered, entirely incapable of responding to the troublesome engineer's awkwardly endearing greeting. Somehow, however, she managed to spit out an odd coagulation of words that seemed to form a coherent sentence: "I go by Jacqueline Candolle, but nobody really calls me Jacqueline. Maybe the name is too long, She sneezed, cringing away from Sallete in an effort to not cascade the girl with saliva and snot. Jacqueline had learned, through experiences with Karmen, that often times, her friends did not appreciate it when chemicals touched their skin. "But feel free to call me whatever. I don't mind."

Awkwardly hesitant, Jacqueline accepted the eccentric girl's embrace, and then continued to speak in her sniveling, almost teary voice, "By chance, have you gone over to the Redd Monument to take a peek at the available community service credits? We should probably do it quickly before all of those other mean people take the good ones!"

The hole, which ruptured the entirety of Jacqueline's heart, had been mended. Where Karmen had hurt her, Sallete had healed her. The young botanist had been satisfied, satisfied that she had found an adventurous friend who didn't seem to mind the horrific stench of chemicals and ooze. Just when things couldn't get any better, another girl approached, to whom Jacqueline replied: "I'm Jacqueline, but nobody really calls me Jacqueline!"

-Oh, Jacqueline, that's a beautiful name. Beatiful as a flower, beautiful as you. Couldn't suit better. I'll call you Jackie then, just to speed up things, ok?

Sallete's heart skipped a beat when she heard the tone on Jacqueline's voice. So she was touched by the words of the two in the headmaster's office? Apparently she caused as much ruckus on the science department as Sallete did on the engineering. It was good to meet a like mind, specially now with Angie mad...

-No, I actually haven't gone yet, but it would be awesome to accompany such a stunning girl...

And then a harsh tone and a slap to the head told her Vanessa had caught up with them.

-Hey, I already told you, they were suposed to help us on our project! Do you intend to weld all the pieces of a 30 feet mecha by your own? I sure don't.

"I think it would be best if we make haste!" Jacqueline tugged at Sallete's arm, her tears now dry, and her heart mended, "Remember what I told you about punctuality! Maybe we'll even be able to find Karmen and that one they call Angie!" Up until now, Jacqueline had been entirely ignorant of the damaged bond between Sallete and Angie. She observed the eccentric engineer's visage cringe for if only a moment, but didn't truly associate it with much. Regardless, she coaxed Sallete and Vanessa out of the building with haste, temporarily halting their conversation for a far more convenient time. Jacqueline had remembered the last time she had been sentenced to community service, and the Redd Monument community board had been almost desolate that day; unable to complete her requirements within the days allotted due to a lack of community requests, she found herself in an uncomfortable and stressful position with the entirety of the administrative office.

And thus, she ran far and wide, across each corner of Wallen in search for the Redd Monument on her own bare feet, hoping Sallete and Vanessa were following close behind.


Prologue - The First Coda of Many
City Heart: Wallen

Location: Wallen, Cantha - Trade Quarters - Redd Monument

Points of Interest: Labyrinthine Sewers, Fauress Manor, Coast of Dreams

** A point of interest is a location you can travel to from the City Heart you are currently within. These points can lead to a variety of different battles with unique monsters or critters hunted to gather specific materials for crafting and synthesis; they might also lead to the location for a given Side Event, or perhaps even a Main Event.

Exchanges: Community Board, Blacksmith, Tailor, Apothecary, General Store, Synthesizer

** The points y'all know and love in all of our other statistical roleplays.

Background: Wallen's Heart


The soles of her feet growing tired, specked with a variety of bronze-coated dirt and that same ol' phosphoric filth, Jacqueline finally collapsed in front of the Redd Monument -- a heroic statue of the ancient founder of Wallen, Cantha -- who stood strong, with his head and monocle gazing high into the clouds, and his cane, made out solid ruby, supporting his bronze-ton weight with the utmost success. Jacqueline had forgotten how graceful the heart of Wallen had seemed to the naked eye, yet as soon as she laid her eyes upon the monument, she could remember it in all of its beauty and perfection.

The circular plaza, which stood perhaps even one-hundred feet above the rest of the city, was dotted with a sporadic arrangement of tents and stands, which each held high hopes of trading their assortments of nuts and bolts with the citizens of Wallen. The plaza had no true, cemented-in-the-ground buildings or shops of its own, but the wide variety of portable shops offered much more than a simple store in terms of gear, making Wallen the perfect resting spot for adventurers, which was made quite apparent, as many of the people lounging around the plaza were armed in either swords, guns, or some other sort of protective armaments.

In the midst of all of the commotion, however, Jacqueline had spotted Angie sitting on a bench adjacent to the bulletin board of community requests. Perfect! She could hit two birds with one stone and make friends with an unfamiliar student all while acquiring her community service job. As she lifted herself back up from the ground, and sprinted off to the board in a cheerful, almost childish step, she shouted out a clean greeting to the isolated engineer, "Why good morning, Angie!" Jacqueline made special effort to pronounce her name correctly, "Have you taken a look at the bulletin yet?" She inquired, her gaze becoming particularly distressed as she took a peek at the community requests available, "Oh jeez, it looks as if there's only one available job right now. We might have to group up into one big ol' bundle of monkeys if we want to get our community credits done on time!"


Community Board

Horrifying Disturbances
Location: Labyrinthine Sewers
Estimated Time: 2
Extinguish all of the foul creatures causing a bunch of ruckus down there!

Blacksmith

Closed

Tailor

Closed

Apothecary

Closed

General Store

Potion x5 - Restores 20 HP upon use. [50 Copper]

Lesser Cantus Rejuvenation Cell x3 - Restores 10 CE upon use. [40 Copper]

Anti Poison Elixir I x1 - Removes 1 Poison Debuff upon use. [30 Copper]

Anti Paralysis Elixir I x1 - Removes 1 Paralyzation Debuff upon use. [30 Copper]

Brass Key x3 - Unlocks 1 adjacent Locked Chest upon use. [25 Copper]

Synthesizer

Closed

While Angie was seated on her little bench, she had a bit of time to think, waiting for Karmen to show up. Sure, there was a chance that those other people that she didn't want to talk to would arrive, but Angie could handle that. At least, she thought so. Regardless, if the bulletin board in front of her wasn't hiding anything, they may have to work together to get the community service done and over with. Something in the sewers, from the looks of it.

"Karmen isn't going to enjoy this," Angie said to herself, grimacing. The grimace got even wider when she heard her name being called. It was a voice she didn't recognize, but from the sounds of it, the girl was attempting to pronounce her name with some difficulty. "It's 'AN-jee,' not 'Ahn-jee.'" Angie said, sighing. She turned to look at who was calling her name and frowned. "You're the girl Karmen mentioned. Jacqueline, right? The one always causing him trouble." Angie stood up and walked a few feet away, giving herself some space. She also wanted to get away from Sally. She was still angry with the girl, and didn't feel like talking anymore.

Still, she folded her arms and watched the three girls standing by the bulletin board. She wanted to wait for Karmen to arrive. And once he did arrive, she would at least attempt to prevent him from murdering Jacqueline. There wasn't much community service available, so they would probably have to go together. As much as Angie didn't like it, it had to happen.

Angie sighed again, running a hand through her silky, white hair. This wasn't going to be very enjoyable. Not to mention Angie hated rats. She wasn't afraid of them, she just hated them. Since it was the sewers, there would likely be rats. Hopefully Karmen would realize that Angie was forcing herself through not only dealing with Sally and Jacqueline, but rats as well, and decide to come along despite his own displeasure with Jacqueline. At least then they would have some good company - each other.

Wallet in hand, Karmen trundled down the stairs in the dorm once more, pleased to see that he had a few spare copper for some snacks for himself and Angie. He pressed past the crowd of people who had gathered in the lobby--he wasn't sure what was going on, but he wasn't too particularly curious. There was no telling how much time he had already wasted, but Angie knew he was more lax. It wasn't his thing to rush about to get nowhere quickly. Down the sidewalk he strolled only to wind up stopping at an outdoor vendor--a dessert one at that. "Get me a couple of slices of pumpkin cheesecake please," Karmen requested of the vendor with a calm smile, putting both hands on the back of his head nonchalantly. The vendor wasted no time and handed him the black plastic tray covered with a clear plastic lid such that he could see the two pieces of divine dessert resting safely within. Karmen handed over the spare copper. "Two forks, please," he requested once more, pleased to see the vendor obliged. He departed, giving the vendor a slight wave in thanks before making his way for the monument.

The walk didn't seem to particularly long, but that was probably because Karmen was feeling rather aloof. However, any feelings of serenity were shattered when he chanced upon the Redd Monument only to find not only Angie, which was fine, but Jacqueline and Sallete as well. It was going to be a disaster. Taking in a deep breath, he approached Angie, not deigning to look at the other two. "Sorry I'm late, Angie, but I didn't know if you had eaten today or not. I got your favorite," Karmen said, chuckling nervously while offering her the cheesecake. It was then that he turned his head, a stoic gaze focused on Jacqueline mainly. "Well, I knew this was a possibility, but eh. Was kinda hoping to have some time away from you for a bit." He didn't intend for his words to sting; it was only logical for an angry person to want to cool off before facing the source of their anger. Still, the philosophy from before rung true in his mind. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could return to their normal studies and he could avoid Jacqueline like the plague. There would be no more playing hero after this incident, if that was what the headmaster so deigned.

"The name's Karmen, though I'm sure you knew, Sallete," Karmen stated coolly to the other engineer--the one that had been the source of Angie's troubles. "I suppose it's a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it could have been under better circumstances, you know?" Again, his words weren't the most lighthearted, but he wasn't about to flip shit all over the place. He just wanted to get the job done and that would be that.

"Hee hee!" Angie giggled, accepting the cheesecake from Karmen, all thoughts of Sally and Jacqueline gone as she focused on the desert. "Thanks Karmen, you're the best," Angie said gleefully, sitting down to eat. Pumpkin cheesecake, she didn't get this stuff nearly as often as she wanted. It was a treat to her, a go-to-desert to make her happy. "Even if I haven't eaten, you know I wouldn't pass this stuff up," Angie said, in between bites, her eyes rolling up into her head, relishing the sweet taste. Angie doubted Karmen wanted to be paid back, they've been friends long enough to know better. This was probably payment for the communal cage Karmen asked her to make for him. Even though she said it was a gift.

"My favorite desert and my favorite friend, all in one package deal," Angie mused, smiling up at Karmen. "I think I can deal with almost anything now." Angie set aside her cake for a moment, standing up as if she remembered something. "Oh, Karmen, there's someone else here that you haven't exactly met yet." Angie walked over to where Vanessa was standing and pulled the girl over by her shoulders. Nessa was still wearing her battlesuit, of course. She never took the thing off, no matter how hot it got. "This is Vanessa. Nessa, this is Karmen. I told you about him before, remember? He's been my best friend since childhood."

Angie clapped her hands together, smiled, and returned to her cheesecake, making sure to savor every bite.

"I'm glad you're so happy but save one of those pieces for me, okay?" Karmen said with a laugh, his hollow mood seeming to vanish in midair. He couldn't bring himself to frown now; it was almost as if Angie's glee was enough to keep him civil at the very least. He turned to face the other engineer that Angie worked with often. The ornithologist had only heard small tidbits about her. "Sorry I didn't notice you before. It's nice to meet you formally, Vanessa," he said to the girl, extending his arm for a handshake. He hoped that she was a sane one, and the fact that there were no rumors surrounding her seemed to support the fact that she didn't have any screws loose.

Karmen took a very brief look around to make sure he hadn't missed anyone else. He felt a bit guilty for not noticing Vanessa, but he figured he had been so consumed with hate that his focus had been blurred tremendously. Now that he felt a bit more relaxed, everything seemed to be turning out fine, though he wasn't sure how he was going to get along with Jacqueline and Sallete. Just stay civil, Karmen. Not that hard, man, he thought to himself.

Vanessa didn't get to say much before she and Sally was taken by the botanist, Jacqueline, toward the monument. Vanessa took a few moments to admire the artful craftsmanship that had to go into this monument, before returning her attention to Sallete and Jacqueline. Angie had also been there and by she attitude she didn't seem to be happy to see Sallete. Then the male, who practically completely relieved the tension between Angie and the others with a single dessert. Vanessa remembered Angie mentioning once or twice that she loved pumpkin cheesecake. She wasn't kidding when she had told her it would instantly make her happy. The male was then introduced by Angie as her childhood friend Karmen, and he extended his hand out to shake.

"A pleasure to meet you Karmen." Vanessa replied with a slight smile, extending her arm out as well for the shake. She had to use her left hand which made the handshake rather awkward. She was still wearing her mechanized combat suit so her right hand...well currently there wasn't much of a right hand for her as her entire right forearm acted as support for her weapon of choice, the long barreled cantus energy cannon. But a shake was a shake, right?

Sallete let herself be blissfully dragged by Jackie, almost floating, though still somewhat counscious that Vanessa was after them, and wondering how long it would take for the friend to explode on her. Nessa had an air of possessiveness that Sallete kind of counted on to make fun of the girl.

Arriving at the plaza, Sally let go of Jackie's hand for a moment and headed to a nearby stand. She managed to save a few coppers, though only just a few, and was in a much too big mood for candy. She didn't even bother saying anything, just tossed the coins and pointed at her favored treat, a broad smile shining on her face. She could remember Papa Den buying her those beady candies when she was tiny little, and that always made her jump around like crazy, partially from happiness, partially from a sugar rush. Most parents would question the wisdom of giving such a hyper-active child sugar, but Walden Deschain wasn't one to care for the opinions of others.

Mere seconds later, Sally skipped around the plaza, waving her Amaranth behind like a small girl would to a teddy bear, humming a happy tone while a wooden straw moved fast in her mouth, her tongue doing avid job of the orange-flavored candy attached to it. It was a funny sight. It drew a hellish lot of attention, and would probably have maimed anyone dumb enough to get near her, but was still funny.

-LOLLIPOOOOOOP! - she announced gladly coming from behind her friends, sticking the Engine Sword on the ground, the blade's weight opening a wide chasm to accomodate it - Hiiiiii Angie, I'll be waiting for you to not be mad at me anymore, ok? Jackie will probably keep me occupied in the mean time.

She didn't really care for personal space, and hugged the scientist from behind, lifting her off the ground and landing her (to the girl's surprise, softly as a feather) by her side. She took the lollipop from her lips and offered it to Jacqueline.

-Want a lick? It's orange. It probably has a little saliva on it already, but you are not disgusted of me, are you?

Just now noticing Karmen, Sallete looked at him, not taking her lollipop from offering-position, and tossing a quick look at the other scientist. Well, she was hoping for another girl, but what could be done, uh? He looked pretty alright though, and sure tried to be pleasant.

-Nice to met you Mister! I don't think the circunstances are that bad, but as you say, it's a pleasure too! - she then stopped a bit to think, bobbing her head sideways - wait a minute...Karmen?...isn't that a girl's name? Are you a crossdresser or something, 'cause that would be SWEET!

She remained entirely silent as the gross headmaster issued punishments for cleaning up the monstrosity and apparently raging machines. Community service for performing sanitation and taking safety measures? Dirge's lips remained pursed in a tight line, so much so that all of the color drained from her mouth. She refused to say a word as the man from earlier, and apparently his friend, left to go complete the task they had been assigned. She would not speak. Her nostrils flared just a bit before she turned to go. The punishment was ridiculous in its entirety, but had Dirge said anything, things would have ended on a far worse not.

She would not make things worse for herself.

Despite going straight for the building that held community service, she somehow managed to be the last of their group there. Their headmaster never said they had to do it together, but seeing them in a group made her wonder. Though their task was forced and painfully stupid, perhaps doing it with their company would be nice. There was a faster click of her heels as the violinist picked up her pace and made her way over to the gathering.

Vanessa glanced at her friend who had went off somewhere to buy herself a lollipop. Seeing the candy as well as Angie eating the pumpkin cheesecake made Vanessa want to get something from one of the stands herself, but she decided against it for it'd be rude to leave when she had just began talking to someone. However Vanessa mentally sighed when she heard her friend talking. She was getting fairly close to Jacqueline, and knowing Sallete that meant constant flirting was going to be ahead of the botanist.

Then her friend practically squealed when she spoke to Karmen. Vanessa didn't think he looked all that much like a crossdresser, despite his feminine name which she chose not to mention when Angie introduced him out of politeness. But apparently Sallete thought so. Vanessa sighed, Sallete seemed to be paying a lot of attention to the others now. The combat engineer approached her friend, giving her another smack with her left hand. "Stop bother other people so much Sallete." Vanessa scolded.

Jacqueline made a sheepish wave in Karmen's general direction, horrendously fearing eye contact with the stoic ornithologist, "I feel rather... uncomfortable," The young girl waved the lollipop away from her cheek, getting closer to Sallete's ear. I mean, like, whisper-ticklish close, "Karmen's really mean, you probably shouldn't insult his chromosomes so brutishly..."

Despite her efforts to maintain a sort of refined posture as Karmen approached her and Sallete, certainly all of her attempts had been in vain, as Sallete probably negated her quietude with an outward, social-butterfly-esque, screamish voice. Through Jacqueline's own experiences, she had determined that these types of people always seemed to get off on Karmen's bad side.

In an attempt to get straight down to business, Jacqueline stumbled over her big toe and landed in front of the bulletin board, making direct eye-contact with the identifier hooked up to the rightmost side of the screen. With a quick murmur of her name, the bulletin board began to emit an enticing, purplish-neon color.

Please select a job and drag it into your personal bag_

As her finger made contact with the glass, directly over the word "Horrifying," the job request seemed to float straight off of the screen and onto Jacqueline's petit little pointer finger. As her finger maneuvered over to a little bag-shaped icon, the request followed suit. Lifting her finger from the board, the job details dropped themselves right into the icon, almost as if she had just virtually pocketed a little note into a pouch or something similar.

"I've secured us the job!" Jacqueline turned back to the group and smiled with her little girlish, innocent grin, "We can head off whenever y'all are all set! The quicker we get this done, the better! Right, Karmen?" She mustered up the strength to gaze her hazel, almost emerald-green eyes straight into Karmen's field of vision, essentially forcing him to respond straight to her directly.

Jacqueline's favorite dessert was pumpkin cheesecake.

Sallete put the lollipop back into her mounth. Well, it was never easy, but she was not going down so easy. It wasn't in her to give up. In fact that was what made her get where she was today. Sallete stood up from the average student, but there was no comparing her to her friends. Intellectually she was just plain slower, there was no denying that, and she never really felt bad for it. What she had, on the other hand, was an iron-clad burning determination. She had a certainly short attention spam, and couldn't keep focused on a subject or an academic matter for more than a few minutes, but once she got in her mind to do something, there was no stopping her. She had no shame, no fear or regret. She would go on, no matter how difficult, complicated or alien the project, she just tried and tried again until she got what she wanted. That was the reason she could stand on the level of her much superior friends, and that was the reason she wreaked havoc over her department constantly. That was how she got most of her many relationships too, and she sure seemed to like the cat-and-dog game.

-What? I'm sure I don't annoy people THAT much, or you wouldn't have this mecha-sized crush on me, would you?

She showed Nessa the tongue and tossed her a smile, turning to the others. Oh, Nessa was going to be MAD for that.

-So we are all working together? That's gotta be fun, uh? I'm DYING to see what these gorgeous little hands of yours can do in a fight, Jackie!

When Sallete responded to her Vanessa paused. She was infuriated with what she had just said, that she had a crush on her? Vanessa waited another moment before responding, much less verbally this time. She raised her left hand up and swung her arm sideways, giving her friend a hard slap across the face. It was fortunate that Vanessa was ambidextrous or that slap would have barely hurt. Then immediately afterwards she spoke in a rather loud voice.

"I do NOT have a crush on you, you idiot! You're the one always clinging to me and flirting with me every single day!" Vanessa spoke, an evident tone of anger in her words, "Ugh, I can't believe you Sallete."

Then without giving her friend any time to react Vanessa turned around and walked off but still stayed close enough to the group so she could follow them whenever they decided to finally go do that community service. Biting her lower lip Vanessa turned her head away so she couldn't see Sallete and took a deep breath.

Vanessa turned out to be immensely reasonable. The handshake was awkward but it made Karmen smile a bit. She was going to turn out to be just fine, he was sure. However, the moment was shattered by an extremely loud voice that belonged to none other than Sallete who had already attracted an enormous amount of attention to herself by swinging her weapon around like a maniac. Karmen's eye twitched as she mentioned the femininity of his name, something that irked him; he hated when people pointed that out--like he wasn't already aware. However, it was the mention of him cross-dressing that made his eyes widen. "I'm afraid I do no such thing. A name is just a name; leave it as such," he nearly growled at the rather loudmouth engineer. He didn't waste anymore words on the woman, and instead turned his attention to Jacqueline who was grabbing their assignment. They were going to be forced to work together. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Yeah, the quicker the better," Karmen replied to Jacqueline flatly, not bothering to hide the displeasure filling his mortal being. Things always seemed to last longer when it wasn't exactly his idea of a good time, like mandatory classes he didn't care for and had nothing to do with his major. He had a feeling this was going to drag out for a long time. Damn, this feeling needs to fly away already, he cursed in his mind, not breaking his gaze on Jacqueline. What did she even want? A staring eye contest? He wasn't unnerved in the slightest.

Angie gave Sally a sour look when she called Karmen's name girlish. She was displeased with the way Sally was treating her friend, and not to mention what she just said to her. Still, this wasn't enough to ruin her happiness from the cheesecake. She looked up at Karmen and saw that he was glaring at Jacqueline now. An impulse ran through her mind for a second, but she quickly threw the idea out. Karmen would not enjoy that one bit.

Still, Angie left Karmen's piece of cheesecake beside her and stood up. She grabbed her best friend's shoulders and forced him to face her, which wasn't too hard considering her strength. "Look at me," Angie ordered, smiling with her shining, amber eyes. "You and I are going on this service mission together, okay? It's just you and me. Don't even think of anyone else. Don't look at them, don't talk to them, don't think about them. You can do all those things with me instead." Angie's intentions were pure, that much was true. She wanted to keep Karmen from overreacting and potentially hurting Sally and Jacqueline. Yes, those two were certainly idiots, but that was no reason to hurt them. Angie knew they were innocent at heart.

"Okay?" Angie whispered gently, smoothing the feathered outfit Karmen so loved. She was used to calming him down, and Karmen was used to calming her down. Sometimes their anger got a bit out of hand, and it was the other's job to notice that and react accordingly. "You know the drill," Angie finished, taking her hands off of his shoulders and holding them out slightly, gesturing for a hug. Angie was unsure whether Karmen liked hugging her or not, but she didn't care about that. She always did this, and it always worked.

The message Karmen had attempted to convey cut through Jacqueline like butter. Fully understanding that he was in no mood to communicate with him, she turned away, in the direction that led to the sewer, "We should probably get going. I know we weren't the most cooperative of colleagues, but we'll manage because we're all good people, right?!" She smiled and spun around, attempting to awkwardly lighten the situation with her cheery tip-toeing and jumping.

She never looked back to examine whether or not the others were following her on her quest to the sewer, but she didn't feel the need to. Quite blatantly, they were stuck with her. They needed to fill their community service requirements one way or another, and with nothing but Jacqueline and an empty bulletin at their disposal, they were left with no choice but the former.

The Labyrinthine Sewers were given their name for a reason. Found at the only coastal border of Wallen, the entry tunnel that led into the fungal-infested darkness protruded from the cliffside walls of the city and delved into its innermost portions. Upon entering the waterways, through a small, cliffside stair that descended from the Redd Plaza and unto the side of Wallen's rockyside edge, the party found themselves amidst a massive, branching system of tunnels.

Each pathway, littered with a wide array of fungi, bacteria-infested sludge, and rust-like stains, flowed with a single strain of filth-coated water. The water, as one would expect in the middle of such a particularly uncouth location, was not particularly clean. In fact, the filth almost made it look radiant, as a slick-rainbowish coating of oil could be seen atop it.

Crouching unto the algae-ridden brick pathway of the sewer system, Jacqueline closely examined an odd pattern of white dots she spotted on the ground, "Take a look, Sal!" She coaxed her newfound buddy, "You see these here? These are remnants of Bogscale eggs! They must be the reptilians we've been asked to exterminate!" She restrained herself from commenting on the sheer, almost vile quality of the algae, in an attempt to keep Karmen calm. She knew he didn't find her floral jargon particularly attractive, that was for sure.

And then, from the darkest depths of the rightmost tunnel, a strange, groggling noise echoed between one sewer wall and the next, and the next, and the next. It sounded convincingly reptilian; a numerous bunch of human-sized lizards emerged from the oil-water, barring their large fangs and menacing, forked tongues at the party.

"I suppose I'm correct!" Jacqueline exclaimed, entirely unaware of the danger she had gotten herself into.

Prologue - The First Coda of Many
Side 01: Horrifying Disturbances

Location: Wallen, Cantha - Labyrinthine Sewers - The Nesting Crawlway

Objectives: Defeat all enemies!

Achievement: N/A

Background: Horrifying Disturbances

{~} {~} {~} {~} {~} {~} {~} {~} {~} A
{~} { } { } { } {B} { } { } { } {~} B
{~} { } {2} { } {5} { } {4} { } {~} C
{~} {1} { } { } { } { } { } {3} {~} D
{~} { } { } {6} { } {7} { } { } {~} E
{~} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } {~} F
{~} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } {~} G
{~} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } {~} H
{~} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } {~} I
{~} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } {~} J
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9

Bogscale Stalker (1)
HP: 30 / 30
CE: 40 / 40
ATK: 7
DEF: 4
INT: 0
SPR: 3
MOVE: 4

Bogscale Stalker (2)
HP: 30 / 30
CE: 40 / 40
ATK: 7
DEF: 4
INT: 0
SPR: 3
MOVE: 4

Bogscale Stalker (3)
HP: 30 / 30
CE: 40 / 40
ATK: 7
DEF: 4
INT: 0
SPR: 3
MOVE: 4

Bogscale Stalker (4)
HP: 30 / 30
CE: 40 / 40
ATK: 7
DEF: 4
INT: 0
SPR: 3
MOVE: 4

Bogscale Stalker (5)
HP: 30 / 30
CE: 40 / 40
ATK: 7
DEF: 4
INT: 0
SPR: 3
MOVE: 4

Grapefruit Fly (6)
HP: 25 / 25
CE: 35 / 35
ATK: 6
DEF: 4
INT: 0
SPR: 4
MOVE: 4

Grapefruit Fly (7)
HP: 25 / 25
CE: 35 / 35
ATK: 6
DEF: 4
INT: 0
SPR: 4
MOVE: 4

B = Bag

~ = Oily Water

Characters may start in rows I-J, columns 2-8!