O Palácio Flutuante

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

The summer came and went and soon enough, the chilly season of fall had crept in and was slowly taking over from the hot and humid. The nights had grown shorter and with that came the ability to host longer, darker galas for those that enjoyed such events. And as it turned out, one such event had become the primary focus point for quite the heist plot.

Scourge had done his homework and found out the dates of the O Palácio Flutuante’s celebratory events. The earliest one and the one that everyone agreed would work the best was on the Fall Equinox; a gala to bid farewell to the warmth of summer and welcome in the cool, colorful months of fall. It also didn’t come with a theme, outside of a generic invitation of anyone to dress accordingly. While the former Dread Master couldn’t recall precisely what was and wasn’t worn by other attendees, he advised that everyone dress to the nines and try to look as attractively delectable as possible. While having four people increased their odds, they were still up against dozens of other men and women that Genesis could come upon and take an interest in.

The gala began promptly around seven at night and while it was on a weekday, it didn’t seem to have an end hour. The people that attended these kinds of events most likely didn’t need to worry about getting up early and going to a nine to five occupation on the last day of the work week. Luckily, their foursome was able to manipulate their own schedules as need be as well. There was a magical portal that had been set up in northern Fiore for attendees and Scourge had been advised to use that to arrive at the meeting location. There would be transports running near constantly to O Palácio Flutuante so there wasn’t any rush to get there quickly but if they wanted to make an impression and catch Genesis’ attention, they would have to arrive sooner rather than later to scope the place out and get an idea of their plan of attack. And now that they had the side assignment to acquire information for Serilda and Mythal, they would need to get an idea of how to best acquire that information, be it through sheer observation or something more substantial.

They agreed to meet at Lusty Titans, offered by Ruzatz and Agatha. As Scourge had correctly assumed, offering Ruzatz as a reference for an additional pair of guests had been met with interest and a formal invitation. It seemed the operators of O Palácio Flutuante had a decent idea of what Lusty Titan did as a primary operation outside of its bohemian appearances. Once Mercury would arrive at the guild, she’d find Scourge already inside. He had pulled out all of the stops; he was wearing a clean white shirt and tight white vest beneath a black jacket that also seemingly acted like a cape with red lining. He had a white bow tie, perfectly wrapped around his neck and a pair of white gloves over his hands.

“Well you look like a dream,” he complimented her, a playful smile on his face as he reached within his jacket and pulled out a small bouquet of roses, offering it to her. “A bit extravagant but I do so enjoy going the extra mile on my first dates.” He gestured to the empty lobby of the guild hall. “One of Ruzatz’ guildmates -- or is it lover? I’m not quite sure -- stated that he and Agatha would be right down.” As he turned his gaze back to Mercury, his face lost its normal impish look and settled into something more serious. “Actually, I’m glad we have a moment alone. I was hoping to talk to you.”

He cleared his throat. “I appreciate you coming tonight. I was… surprised when we last saw one another. I hope it’s no offense but I wasn’t aware that you’d been experiencing panic attacks. Of course, that’s not business but Serilda took me aside and just made me aware of it and…” he trailed off as he realized he was rambling a bit. “I just want you to know that if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. I believe you’re capable of anything, if only because you’ve shown me as much, but I would never pressure you into doing anything you wouldn’t want to do. So if you’d rather stay back and work as overwatch on the mission, I would understand. Or if I’m making a fool of myself, please tell me now -- I’m quite terrible with this whole sympathy thing.” He laughed softly, almost bashfully. It was clear he was trying his best to reach out and show compassion but it was just as obvious that it wasn’t his best or most defining feature. But Scourge was making an attempt, for Mercury’s sake.

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

His words, while overly complementive, were perhaps the most truthful statements that had ever left his mouth about her and, frankly, to her. Mercury had the rare ability to seemingly wear whatever type of wardrobe she desired and look absolutely outstanding. Her black dress was no different and Scourge showed no reservation in giving her a full twice-over. There were very few times that he could honestly say that he was jealous of other people and this was the first time he would say he was envious of Vandrad but to have the Xocili by his side was… well, it was quite lucky indeed. She gave him a once over and complimented his ability to clean up well too and his grin widened, giving a turn and putting on a small show for her. “Believe it or not, there was a time I was more accustomed to tailored suits than the usual wear you’ve seen me in. My role of Caecilius was quite demanding for a time so I had to learn quite quickly how to properly attire myself for such events.”

He handed her the bouquet of roses, much to her delight. She insisted that Vandrad would have a lot of work ahead of him to catch up on the standard that Scourge had set. It even made her envious of what their next venture would be, if roses were present on their first. “Well you did say he needed constant reminders that there were other interested parties. I’m just doing my part to assist you in spreading the message, as it were. As for our next date… we’ll, I suppose we’ll both just have to see. It’s been quite some time since I courted and wooed a fine, luscious lady as yourself so I may need to reach into my bag of tricks and see what I pull out.”

As he addressed the other members of their party and their current whereabouts, he remarked on the guild member that he hadn’t been able to properly define. As Mercury explained it, it was a safe assumption that everyone that was a part of the guild had slept with one another or, if they hadn’t, they had probably been properly ‘initiated’ by either Ruzatz or Agatha or possibly both. And as Mercury believed it, Scourge would most likely be completely taken by the pair of guild masters so she would have to keep his attention for the time she had. “Now hold on; I’ve seen plenty of Agatha through several different pieces of promotional material and I’ve seen Ruzatz in the files for the Dread Master. And that’s not to say that neither of them are unattractive -- they are both gorgeous -- you are my date and I will give you just as much attention until one or several of us manages to lure Genesis away. Gods, I hadn’t considered that -- what if he wants two or more of us…?” An aspect that had gone over his head until that very moment.

But given that they did have a moment alone together and didn’t need to be focusing on the mission or sharing the space with others, it was the perfect time for Scourge to bring up his concern. To call it a concern wasn’t to define it correctly; if anything, he wanted to ensure that Mercury was okay. He had practically thrown her into the plot without asking if she wanted to, designing the entire heist around the two of them rather than taking into consideration her feelings. His worry wouldn’t have even come to any viable place were it not for witnessing her panic attack then and there at Serilda and Mythal’s home. Bringing it up brought a small blush to her face, most likely out of surprise and slight embarrassment over what had happened and over Serilda sharing information with him. As he attempted to lighten the moment with a small joke, she smiled once more and warned him that he was dangerously close to experiencing a feeling. “Yes, truly awful, isn’t it?” he countered, building upon the joke and chuckling softly. But after the moment of reverie, she softly continued, understanding his surprise at what he witnessed and apologizing for it. As she explained it, a lot had happened after her kidnapping at the hands of Thana and it had affected her in a way she never expected. But as she looked back into her eyes and stated clearly that she was doing better, he could see it, his worries assuaged in an instant. There was always the chance that she would have a panic attack but if she hadn’t wanted to partake, she would have said so. And, as she put it, there was nowhere else she’d rather be. He returned her smile. “No apologies necessary. It’s strange for me to be so connected to people, my concerns generally focused on my own business. But it’s not an altogether bad thing; after all, if you could break the cold, hard shell of Vandrad du Wolff, who's to say that you can’t warm this cold bastard’s heart as well?” His words were teasing but his tone was genuine, expressing his admiration and overall compassion for her all at once.

He would have continued, happy that she had settled his doubts and focusing more on ladeling flirtatious comments all over her. But in a move that he could not have possibly expected, she reached out and took a hold of his shirt, pulling him down towards her. For the briefest of moments, he wondered if she was pulling him into a hug -- an aggressive hug but one nonetheless. That consideration went right out the window the moment her lips found his, his eyes widening in surprise. It was a drawn out kiss but not fed by desire or wanton lust. No, if anything, it was an appreciation that he could feel resonating off of her. And Gods if he didn’t lean into it, meeting her affectionate force with one of his own. And something deep within the confines of his mind engaged. He had no clue what it was but there was a definite switch that had been flipped.

Despite how sweet and tender it was, it was quite auspicious that his pants were on the baggy side. Once she parted, she remained close to him, thanking him for his consideration. He was left speechless, honestly more compelled to try and lean forward and steal another kiss. And so he did so, planting another equally soft but not nearly as long one on her. Once he pulled away, he hovered just as close as she had. “You’re welcome, love,” he said softly back. And finally he was free, Mercury reaching out to adjust his shirt after she had used it as the fulcrum to bring them together.

Only then did Agatha speak up, having arrived with her husband in the midst of Mercury and Scourge’s moment. The former Dread Master turned to address their current hosts and was… well, taken aback. Yes, he’d seen Agatha in several different pieces of media or informational packets but he was simply not prepared for the living sight of her in a dress that did everything to compliment her form and presence. For a man that had quite literally fought gods and goddesses, he felt he was standing before a true to form goddess. He was not struck as hard as Vandrad had been the first time meeting Agatha but he was quite impressed. Hell, even the sight of the Ruzatz was enough to make him stop. The guildmaster of Lusty Titans was dressed in a red suit that matched exactly with his hair, sporting a black shirt beneath and what could only be described as a literal gold tie.

Agatha and Mercury approached one another and hugged, the Silver Wolf wizard insistent that Agatha’s choice of dress was sure to guarantee a success for their operation. After they had exchanged greetings, Mercury turned to Ruzatz and complimented his attire as well, causing him to grin. “Look who’s talking. You look absolutely exquisite. If we weren’t intentionally going out of our ways to try and seduce someone else, I would say that I should spend most of my time trying to seduce you.” He returned her hug, happy as always to be in the company of the Xocili.

With the three of them caught up, Mercury turned back to Scourge and properly introduced him to the married couple. The former Dread Master stepped forward and held out his hand for Agatha’s, taking it gently and bowing his head to kiss it appreciatively. “It is my true and earnest pleasure to make your acquaintance. And if I may be so informal, you look decidedly ravishing. You are far more beautiful than I ever expected.”

“Ah, a former Dread Master with manners,” Ruzatz said with a laugh.

Scourge righted himself and held out his hand for Ruzatz. “Perhaps the only one. The rest found their joy in the dark. I much prefer to be out and about.”

The Prime Sin took Scourge’s hand in a tight grip. “All the better for it. Vandrad describes you quite dismally but if I may be so bold, you are hot.” Ruzatz complimented Scourge, giving him a once over.

“Coming from someone as crowd-stopping as yourself, that’s quite the compliment,” Scourge returned the affirmation. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you and Agatha for a long time.”

Ruzatz chuckled. “Out of personal interest or in hopes of confirming that I’m indeed the Prime Sin of Lust?” he asked, being quite upfront with his expectations.

“Both, honestly. But far more on the latter nowadays. Though I firmly believe in the sanctity and protection of mankind, I’ve never heard a bad thing about you or your guild.” Finally the two released their hands. “But we can leave old business for another day, especially when we have jaw-dropping dates that we’re not paying nearly enough attention to.”

Ruzatz’ grin only grew wider as he turned to look at Mercury. “I like him. You haven’t called dibs yet, right? Because I feel our marriage could use another charming male presence.”

“Now that is a tempting offer. Were it not for a pressing obligation, I would simply suggest we take this party somewhere more private and truly get to know one another.” It was Scourge’s turn to look Ruzatz up and down, obviously checking him out.

Ruzatz cackled. “Oh you are bad and I love everything about it.” As the Prime Sin composed himself, he gestured idly to the elevator they had come down on. “Monica is, understandably, pissed she can’t join. I did try to argue with our coordinator that as a doubly married man, I should be allowed to bring both my wives. But he pointed out that most of the guests that would be at the event have second, third and more wives and if they were all invited, there would simply be no room to move. It’s fine -- I think her and Chishan are going to do some sparring and she’s finally going to see if she can’t lay that stud.”

Scourge’s brow rose. “Chishan is here? That is… quite a surprise. I hope he’s doing well then?”

“Thriving, for the most part. There was some time of grief, understandably but he’s dedicated himself to finding any other surviving members of the Order. He knows of one other but hasn’t managed to get a hold of him, much to Monica’s chagrin. But we’ve done what we can to make him feel welcome. Some of us more than others,” he said, shooting Agatha a grin and a wink.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” It honestly seemed like Scourge and Ruzatz could go back and forth the entire evening and there was no reason to believe that they wouldn’t. But there were pressing matters and it seemed that the former Dread Master had finally collected himself enough to refocus. “Now then, with introductions aside, I’ll give you an idea of what we’re heading into. O Palácio Flutuante is the name of several buildings erected on floating islands just north of Embrant. Constructed as a private escape for the wealthy, powerful and not-all-together legal, it has several businesses of note under its flagship. Several casinos, brothels, strip clubs, restaurants, hotels and even a few that I haven’t visited or heard about. The Fall Equinox Celebration is taking place in the central casino/hotel called Castelo Nas Nuvens or Castle in the Clouds. The entire building is the site for the celebration, meaning that every floor outside of the restricted levels, is open to the public and going to be actively filled with people. There is simply no telling where Genesis is so we’ll need to make sure we stand out wherever we are. I suggest we start in the casino and see what kind of regard we can arouse there.”

“There’s also the extra matter that Field Marshall Sinclair asked us about. She wants to accumulate as much information about the people attending as possible, so as to help them build upon their criminal records. While people watching and mental notes might prove useful, I assume there’s going to be a guestlist stored digitally. We should attempt to acquire that to pass on to the Rune Knights. They will have magical dampeners there and the best magical technology that exists, so we'll also have to deal with those once one of us has secluded Genesis. Speaking of our target, you've been given his image. He will not be hard to miss. If you find yourself being chatted with by him, make sure you do what you can to keep his attention. We need to seduce him and find a reason to get him alone for an extended amount of him. He is quite driven sexually so I imagine that will require, at the very least, a little bit of foreplay if not outright sex. I hope that is alright with everyone and, if not, we'll adjust accordingly. Once one of us has him alone, we'll disarm the defenses and clear out the building of guests so that we can send a signal to Blade, Hosrius and Grubar. They will be standing by in one of their ships in the sky above the northern waters of Embrant. They'll come in and do their thing after that.” With that summary provided, he smiled to break up the seriousness of his tone and outline. “But moreover, have fun. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us all and while we need to be aware of what we’re doing, we should still try to enjoy ourselves. So whenever you are ready, you can place your hand on my body. I already scouted out the meeting spot so I’ll be able to teleport us there instantly.”

“Anywhere on your body?”

Scourge gave the man an impish grin. “Quite literally,” he stated as he brought one of his hands to his head and placed two fingers against his forehead.

“Mmm. I love your future husband, Mercury, but Scourge here might be the most fun guest you’ve introduced me to yet,” the Prime Sin of Lust replied. Deciding to behave himself, he placed his hand on Scourge’s chest, though he did make sure to get a proper feel of the muscle definition beneath. Once everyone had placed their hands somewhere on Scourge, he would close his eyes for only a moment before they were all whisked away.

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

“Hunky, huh?” Scourge gave an impish little smirk. “Well you and Mercury are far too kind. And here I thought I had been lacking in my calisthenics lately. But please, just Scourge. The lord part was already a bit extra for me.” Once he’d made his introduction to Agatha, he moved over to Scourge, with whom he connected very well. Considering that they had practically been destined to be enemies given Scourge’s prior occupation, he was quite delighted to find that the Prime Sin was not only open about who he was but quite flirtatious as well. While the two of them went back and forth Agatha and Mercury seemed to enjoy watching the show. As Ruzatz insisted that he wanted to include Scourge in his marriage, Mercury openly invited him to take his shot, while Agatha stated that her and Ruzatz’ other wife, Monica, would eat him up and that she, herself, was thinking quite the same.

This was… a lot of sexual tension in one room for Scourge. Despite his bravado and his experience with having to woo, seduce and sway, it was safe to say that he was a little outdone by the two experienced husband and wife. Even Mercury seemed to just feed into it. “I’m suddenly wondering if it weren’t in our best interest to have arranged a meet and greet beforehand to let out all of this… uh, tension.”

“Oh you mean a playdate? Yes, perhaps that might have been intuitive. But then again, that means we just have to let the tension build until it… explodes,” Ruzatz said with a flirty little grin, allowing his eyebrows to waggle a bit.

Needing to move things along, lest he be tempted to delay their leaving, Scourge quickly jumped into the explanation of what they would need to do. They’d mostly covered the game plan beforehand but it was always better to review before heading out, if only to make sure all the details were absolutely correct. Once he’d laid it all out, he asked that they all lay a hand on him so that he could teleport them to the meeting spot. Ruzatz, unsurprisingly, asked about the entirety of his form being available and the former Dread Master confirmed as much. Ruzatz took that opportunity to insist that Scourge was proving to be more fun than anyone else Mercury had brought to meet them yet.

Mercury in turn suggested that Vandrad had plenty that he could learn from Scourge. And after that, she asked Agatha if they should ‘split cheeks’ in a manner of speaking. Before the former Dread Master could even consider that it wasn’t something overtly sexual, he had a hand on each cheek of his rear, hands that felt the need to squeeze to check how firm he was as well. “Well that was unexpected but certainly not unwel-”

Before he could finish, Ruzatz decided to change positions, now taking up the spot on the opposite side of Agatha and Mercury. It caused the former Dread Master to inhale sharply as his goods were suddenly held and handled. “Well I figured since the ladies got a feel, I should too,” Ruzatz insisted with a grin. “And I must say, Scourge, I am impr-”

The former Dread Master didn’t wait to hear the end of that sentence. Having, somehow, focused enough to find the waypoint he had established, the four of them would blink from the entryway of Lusty Titans to a small living area. “Well we are here, time to jump on the transport, lest you’d rather start an orgy right here.” Ruzatz offered.

“Well, that does sound enticing… but I suppose we should get on with it. We’re getting poor Scourge all… excited,” Ruzatz said with a smirk, glancing down with clear intent before finally stepping back and releasing his hold on the former Dread Master.

Counting that the women would do the same, Scourge would gently gesture towards the door leading to the hallway just outside. “One last thing; be sure to address me as Caecilius Moriarty. They don’t know me by my real name,” he explained as they turned the corner of the hallway. It opened up to a large landing platform, with several elegantly dressed men and women moving about. There were transports; small covered magical vehicles that looked like eggs with windows more than anything else. What was surprising the most was the size; based on what all the other people were doing, it seemed they could only fit two people. “I believe it’s a security standard. Last time it was the same thing,” he explained to the group. “Twenty minute flight and we’ll be there.”

“Naturally it would make sense to ride with our respective dates then,” Ruzatz added, confirming with Scourge with a nod. “Alright my love, shall we?” the Prime Sin offered his arm to his wife and led her to the shortest line. Scourge likewise would do the same for Mercury and soon enough, each pair was on their own pod and soaring through the air.

“Well, I certainly was expecting a lot but not that much. I’m going to be showering in cold water for a week,” Scourge admitted with a small laugh as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m also sorely glad I didn’t wager anything against you over Agatha -- she is quite stunning. I can’t even imagine a man like Vandrad was able to keep his jaw hinged when he saw her.”

The two of them would talk back and forth for the twenty minute ride before finally O Palácio Flutuante came into view. The spectacle of rock, metal and technology looked not dissimilar to a floating gem, with lights from all of the buildings and vehicles illuminating the entirety of the floating dream. As the pods soared down to the landing pad, they were helped off by several employees, offering hands to any that had baggage for an overnight stay.

Now on the surface of the hideaway, the four of them were able to meet up again. “That tall building right there,” Scourge said, pointing to the massive tower in the center. “That’s Castelo Nas Nuvens. So we’ll just follow the crowd in and from there, we’ll see what we can see.” With that said, both men once again offered their arms to the women and on they would go, falling in with the crowd heading in the same direction.

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

“Perhaps it was the naivete that has infected me through my connection with Vandrad. Though my suspicions were there, I suppose I figured that Ruzatz and by extension Agatha would try and… I suppose keep it mellow for the sake of not revealing themselves. But they are quite loud and proud. Not that I’m complaining of course; I am quite a fan of being fondled by two gorgeous people, even if it won’t amount to much of anything this evening, though I suppose that’s still to be determined. But I’m rambling, please do show this moment; I would so love to have some more ammo.” With that he leaned over so that he could watch her summoned tablet to view said first meeting. There was quite the kerfuffle happening in the background and it was obvious that it was within one of the old Order of Souls bases. But when Agatha’s voice spoke up, the former Dread Master was treated to the sight of the beautiful woman, who looked like she had just rolled out of bed. He watched with amusement as Mercury stared at the redhead before turning her gaze to Vandrad, who looked like the earth itself had opened up in front of him. Scourge cackled heartily at the sight as Mercury explained that Vandrad lost all reasoning and was barely able to form a functioning sentence when talking to her. Then she let slip that since they’d slept together, he was able to compose himself better.

“Wait a minute,” Scourge said, waving his hand slightly. “They slept together? As in sex? As in Vandrad had sex with someone other than you?” The surprise was evident on his face. “A man like that, I figured no one else would ever convince him to break that obstinate wall of his. My word, I think I actually have a bit more respect for him… and for you, no doubt the driving force behind that! And here I thought I was pressing my luck for even flirting with you. Oh the wonders we can experience moving forward.” His impish grin took on a new depth with this newfound knowledge and it was a wonder at all that he didn’t make good on his comment right then and there. Clearly he understood that Mercury and Vandrad’s relationship was a bit more on the open side but he simply assumed it was narrow and generally driven by Mercury. Now with his eyes opened, it was clear a whole assortment of wicked thoughts and intentions ran through his mind. But it was hardly the place nor the timing for them to get into anything physical like he may have considered -- after all, if he was going to make a move, he would want more time and space to really make an impact.

As the floating hideaway came into view, Mercury whistled and leaned forward to admire the sight. She admitted that wherever they went on their next date would have a very hard time standing up to both the sight and the splendor of the floating islands. Scourge chuckled. “Come now, you think this is the only criminal organization I’m planning on infiltrating and toppling that has a hidden base? Maybe I’ll take you along to the underwater metropolis owned by slave traders out of Dongxia, though that one might be a bit more exciting than you’ll bargain for; they aren’t too keen on guests and I’ve earned quite the reputation for speaking out against slavery as Caecilius. Though it would be quite remarkable to watch you manhandle all those men trying to make a slave out of you; that sounds like quite the foreplay.” Feeling a little bold and dangerous, Scourge reached over and gently slid the back of his hand against her bare thigh that was left open by the slit on her dress. He may not have the time to truly fool around with her but she’d done plenty to entice and tease him -- turnaround was always fair play.

The sentiment of not doing anything physical was clearly not shared by Ruzatz and Agatha. While they certainly hadn’t lost any composure in terms of their decor, there was a naughty little grin on both of their faces as they exited their pods and walked back over to Mercury and Scourge. Choosing not to comment on it at the moment, though Scourge did give the two a shit-eating grin, Scourge pointed out their destination and with both men linked to the women, they joined the parade of guests that were walking along the guided path. There were staff members and guards lining the streets and guiding the crowd down an underground tunnel, letting them know that it was the most direct path to the Castelo Nas Nuvens. Down they went through a wide but fairly generic stairwell until they reached the underground tunnel.

To say it was alive with color and technology would be putting it mildly. As Scourge had stated, the floating island escape was a visionary of pure magical ability and magical technology. It was, more than likely, a veritable paradise for someone like Mercury. The tunnel opened up into a wide, darker path, with neon lights -- purple, pink and blue -- running along the walls and outlining several businesses that had set up shop along the way. Large, round lights of tubed color hung from the ceiling to give off better illumination. Plenty of guests stopped to look at the attractions around them. There were digital, holographic displays of naked women dancing about, promoting the strip clubs and smaller casinos that peppered the path. There were even a few glass windows where poles had been set up and some of the most beautiful men and women occupied the inside, gyrating and moving to the music that filled the entire hall.

“Despite the fact that most of these guests came here for the soiree, the ones in charge still set up ‘side attractions’. A lot of men and women are simply coming as decorum dictates and have no intention of spending any jewel so they build these to try and raise their heart rate a little, get the blood circulating to other places other than their intransigent minds,” Scourge explained, even as they passed by a full glass wall with several partially naked strippers putting on a show. “There’s a reason the gala doesn’t have an end time -- they fully expect some guests to show up rather late.”

“Well you can’t hardly blame them,” Ruzatz mused, eying all genders of strippers alike and with interest. “And while the thrill is there, I am far more interested in seeing the main building.”

They would only have to walk a few more minutes before another stairwell with guides and guards appeared, the staff signaling guests to head up. They would find themselves on the street again, standing right before Castelo Nas Nuvens. “Those airships ferry people to and from other casinos, made specifically for people that are staying in any of the luxury hotels. I would have booked us all rooms but given that we probably won’t be staying overnight…”

“A real shame. Agatha and I have a long-standing checklist of hotels we’ve had sex in. We would have loved to cross off ‘foursome on a secret floating paradise’ off the list,” Ruzatz said with a grin.

Soon they entered the main lobby. It still had a lot of the same neon features but the lights were much brighter here, allowing people to actually see one another a bit more clearly. They were swept up into a line leading up the stairs towards the upper level. Several dimly lit passageways branched off from the main circular room and a round check-in table rested in the middle, where several attendants were.

After a few moments of waiting in line, they were summoned up to the desk. “Name?”

“Caecilius Moriarty and his date, Mercury Arseneault,” Scourge introduced himself, pulling out a small business card and presenting it to the clerk.

“Master Moriarty!” Another voice spoke up to the right, a managerial looking man who had been helping with a couple of other guests. He had loose but slicked back hair, a neatly trimmed goatee, a thick pair of glasses and a striped suit on, accented by a gray vest and a white, blue and gold tie. “Imagine our surprise when we heard you were returning. We were concerned after our last meeting.”

“Well, it did take some time for the sting to wear off, Balt, but I felt it was time I put aside any personal feelings and allow myself the opportunity to visit your wonderful establishment as a guest. Besides, my lovely date here was hoping for something exciting this evening,” Scourge explained, sliding his hand down over Mercury’s lower back and over her rear, giving her and the man a wicked grin. “Mercury, Ruzatz, Agatha -- this is Balt Aftorn, the floor manager for Castelo Nas Nuvens. He’s a good man.”

“Master and Mistress de la Cavalleria, it is an honor to have you joining us this evening,” the floor manager said, bowing his head to both of them before turning to Mercury. “And to you, Miss Arseneault, I wish you the best of luck with such a devilish man such as Master Moriarty.”

Scourge laughed. “This one is the muse for my devilish charms, Balt. I’d be a sanctified angel were it not for her,” he stated and, as if to get his point across, he gave Mercury a gentle but undeniably loud smack on the rear. “But it’s great to see you still have a sense of humor.”

Balt took over for the clerk and pulled out two pitch black business cards, not unlike Scourge’s. “Master and Mistress de la Cavalleria, here are your business cards. Please present them whenever you opt to return. We’ll provide information on how to learn more about our events and locations of transport via mail delivery in the coming days. And Miss Arseneault,” he said, pulling out an extra card and handing it to her. “Should you ever wish to come without the notorious Master Moriarty, we’ll take good care of you.”

“I think our dear Mister Aftorn is trying to make a play at your date, Caecilius,” Ruzatz spoke up, sporting a shit-eating grin.

“It wouldn’t be the first time, would it, Balt?” Scourge added in, grinning at the manager.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the floor manager said, playing coy. “Please, enjoy your evening.”

With that out of the way, Scourge led them away from the check-in desk. “We’ll start at one of the mid-tier lounges. They’ll have craps, blackjack, poker and a few other games. That’ll give us a place to start observing and listening. If Genesis is out and about, no doubt people will start talking about it.” With that, Scourge led the group down the dim passage, following the swirling neon lights that ran along the walls. Despite not walking on an incline or stopping to ride a lift, somehow they found themselves on a higher level of the building and entered a smoky, dim casino lounge.

“Alright, let’s split up here but stay within eyesight of one another. Ruzatz and Agatha, why not hop into the craps tables here? It’ll give you a wide range of the room plus, as new and famous guests, it’ll draw the most attention to you. Mercury, my love, I see a card table opposite the bar that has an empty chair. How about you sit your fine and firm ass there and I’ll get us and our other couple some drinks?” Scourge’s voice was low and quiet but somehow, even with the music playing overhead, he was able to dictate each and every word so they and only they could hear him.

Scourge was just about to slide his hand off of Mercury when he stopped. “Oh right,” he muttered. Then he turned and in one swift motion, practically dipped Mercury and kissed her, deeply and passionately. It was far more exciting than their previous ones at Lusty Titans and he held it for a long moment before he pulled away. “Apologies. I have a bit of a reputation as a flamboyant playboy so I have to play the part,” he whispered to her before he righted her gently.

“Do me and Agatha get the same treatment as well?” Ruzatz asked jokingly.

But now it was the Prime Sin and most likely his wife’s turn to be surprised when Scourge stepped forward and repeated the exact same movement with first the man and then Agatha. As he righted the gorgeous redhead, Scourge adjusted his collar and grinned at the three. “Like I said. A reputation to uphold,” he said, winking at the married pair before he cleared his throat and spoke at a more normal decibel. “Best of luck. I'll get us some drinks to get started," he said before he moved towards the bar.

“Well then. I know who I’m doing after all of this is done for,” Ruzatz said with a shaky, excited chuckle. “Shall we, darling?” he offered his arm to Agatha and once she entwined herself with him, would lead her over to the craps table.

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

Everything about the casino, thus far, had the atmosphere of a club on adrenaline. The music was thumping in the background, though not so loud that it was impossible to hear one another. Lights flashed from all corners and from several different electrical hubs, enchanted to change color or spectrum or even consistency depending on how they were strobing. It was a party that was exciting and energized and it fueled everyone that journeyed inside to party down, drink plenty of alcohol and spend their jewel like it meant nothing -- and for a lot of the wealthy patrons, it really didn’t. People had no problem walking directly past others, brushing shoulders and even for some of the guests that were dancing, shaking their rears or fronts against whoever passed by. Everyone in the group, even while standing on the raised platform above the casino floor, would have plenty of men and women dancing beside them, not a care in the world but the vibe of the music.

Now that they were in without issue, it was time for a game plan that still allowed them to dabble and have some fun. Putting Agatha and Ruzatz at the craps table would give them a perfect line of sight to the entryways, as well as allowing anyone to see that Agatha was there -- minor celebrity or not, she would be noticed and spoken about quickly. Hopefully with that, people’s lips would become a little looser at the prospect of rubbing elbows with a genuine well-known artist. In the meantime, so as to avoid her accidentally winding up in shared media, Scourge suggested that the two of them go to the card table and take up a spot there, giving them perspective over the back of the room and the bar. With the motion settled, Scourge moved to get them drinks before turning and making quite a move on Mercury. As he pulled away, he explained himself and she, in turn, seemed quite upset over the fact that they would have to be physical so that he can keep up his appearance. “Kissing, fondling me, me fondling you -- so long as you don’t start going down on me at the card table. That happened once before and it was very hard to explain,” he gave her a wicked grin before finally lifting her back. And then he proceeded to call the Prime Sin of Lust on his bluff and kissed him as well as Agatha, the former Dread Master quite literally getting a taste of each person’s tongue.

Now satisfied that he had turned the game back on them after he had been manhandled before, Scourge moved through the crowd and to the bar. Opting to err on the side of caution, he ordered four whiskeys on the rocks, theorizing that everyone was probably at least able to drink down whiskey as a starter. He brought the two drinks over to Agatha and Ruzatz, handing the lady her drink first by sidling up behind her and reaching around to place it in front of her, taking a moment to slide his hand over her stomach sensually. He then reached over and around Ruzatz, meeting the Prime Sin’s grin with one of his own. With the married couple squared away at the moment, he went over to the poker table, where Mercury had taken her place on the chair and had just received her chips. Much akin to what he’d done to Agatha, Scourge came up behind her and reached around the Silver Wolf mage to place her drink on the coaster. But his hand wandered a bit, giving her a gentle but firm grope on her chest while leaning in to bite the side of her neck softly.

As he came around to stand beside her and watch the ground, he was grinning, quite proud of himself. “Alright baby,” he said, resting his hand on her back. “I’ve given you a good luck squeeze. Now show daddy how you clean house!”

---

Several miles away from the floating set of islands was a space-faring vessel, cloaked and hovering in quiet mode. Within its cockpit was Blade, sitting in a chair beside the driving seat, Hosrius who was occupying the seat in front of him and Grubar, who was leaning up against the back wall and standing.

“This sucks,” Grubar said with a grumble.

“Grubar, we’ve had to be on stakeouts longer than this. We haven’t even been here all that long,” the Jirian spoke up. In his hand was a book, opened about halfway and his gaze remained on the words written rather than lifting away.

“Yeah but most stakeouts don’t involve people I actually like. I know Mercury and Agatha can hold their own, it’s just… bah!” he threw his hands up dismissively.

“You don’t need to lie, Grubar. You’re upset because you think it might devolve into a firefight and you live for that kind of action.”

“Listen, I ain’t had a good gunfight since we went and stomped the Nazru! And frankly, I can’t imagine much else is gonna top that. The Nazru, Hos -- the friggin’ Nazru! They were what every kid was scared of ‘cross the whole galaxy and we took them out.”

The Jirian chuckled. “Well, realistically it was our magically-inclined friends that took them out. But I suppose there’s no shame in claiming participation in such a noble act. We did do our part and that says a lot for a couple of bounty hunters with no magical powers.” Finally Hosrius looked up and over at Blade. “You’ve been awfully quiet, Blade.”

The lone alien seemed to snap out of a trance, his eyes having been focused out at the sky beyond. “My apologies. I’m used to long periods of silence so I’ve taken up the ability to go into a meditative trance during said times. I was just reviewing the mission details in my head.”

“They’ll be fine,” the Jirian once more assured everyone.

Blade nodded. “I am sure they will but I cannot help but be concerned. Genesis was Maker’s ultimate creation -- the culmination of all the knowledge he took from my people. I know he isn’t known for acting out violently unless pushed but there is still the possibility that this ‘O Palácio Flutuante‘ could be a walking deathtrap. Maybe it just acts as an entertainment hub on the surface but once inside, it becomes a nightmare.” He frowned and glanced away. “Perhaps I should have insisted upon going.”

“You heard Scourge -- we’re going there to try and seduce the guy. That means everyone there has gotta be ready to do whatever they can to get to him. I dunno about you but I ain’t that dedicated to getting him.”

“And that’s saying something, considering what he has done to get bounties before,” Hosrius added, drawing a hearty chuckle from Grubar.

“I just fear I’ve allowed comrades and allies to walk into something far more dangerous than I anticipated.” Blade glanced once more out at the sky, concern rife on his features as he imagined the floating islands, somewhere out in the evening sky. “I do hope they are all right.”

Meanwhile, even further away from there, there was one man who wasn’t worried about them being alright and was far more concerned about what kind of trouble they would cause. Vandrad’s fist slammed against the boxing dummy with such force that the room reverberated around him. His blue aura ebbed off of his form as the Fairy Tail Ace pounded his fists into the targets on the dummy in a flash of movement, the machine indicating proper hits. After another flurry of attacks, he took a step back and allowed his Cobalt Empowerment to melt away.

"Bastard is probably smug as a cat,” Vandrad grumbled as he imagined Scourge’s face. The former Dread Master had been all too pleased to tell him that Mercury had agreed to take part in a mission that involved seducing another alien. There were, of course, more defining, important layers to the objective than that but essentially that was what it came down to. Frankly, he didn’t care about her potentially sleeping with another person or any number of other people -- it was more about Scourge and Mercury teasing him about their spending time with one another without him present and what kind of trouble they could get into. He still didn’t fully trust Scourge, despite what he had done so far for Vandrad’s family and Mercury. "A man like that is always looking out for how he can gain.”

“Not necessarily. But he does currently have his hand inside your future wife’s dress and on her inner thigh. Scourge just likes to have fun and he recognizes that Mercury does too.”

Vandrad froze and turned around to look for the source of the voice. It had been a male voice but something about it had sounded… off. Almost like it was far away and yet it felt whispered directly in his ears. He scanned the room with his eyes and found nothing. "Computer, scan room for entities,” he spoke out loud.

The sensor array ran a quick sweep of the training room. “One entity -- Identification: Vandrad du Wolff.”

Vandrad’s eyes narrowed. Had he imagined that?

---

“Yeah baby, that’s how you clean house!”

Meanwhile, in the casino that was nowhere near a nightmare facility, Scourge celebrated yet another hand won by his date. He leaned in to plant a quick kiss on her as the chips were pushed in her general direction. He scooped up her empty glass and placed it inside of his as he pulled away. “I’ll get you another round. You keep doing your thing,” he told her with a wicked grin as he reached down with his free hand and gave her thigh a teasing squeeze.

As he turned to walk back to the bar, he took a quick gander at where Ruzatz and Agatha were. As expected, Agatha had amassed quite a group of people who were all too interested to talk to her, though many of them were just as transfixed on the Prime Sin. With any luck, they were using that time to get to know the people and get an idea of where and when Genesis might show up. Though, he also figured they were probably making arrangements to have any number of the attractive crowd to join them back at Lusty Titans afterhours. He smirked and shook his head as he came up to the bar and handed off the two empty glasses. “Another pair,” he asked the bartender, who took the glasses and went over to get some clean ones.

Scourge felt the presence of something walking up to him and had assumed it was either Ruzatz, Agatha or even Mercury. He didn’t immediately turn around until an unfamiliar -- yet still familiar -- male voice spoke directly to him. “Well if it isn’t Caecilius Moriarty.”

The former Dread Master turned…to find himself face to face with none other than Dorian Black, one of the last remaining Order of Souls members. He was dressed in a white suit, with matching vest and a black shirt beneath that was adorned with a forest green tie. The mischievous member of the Order smirked as he leaned against the bar and looked at Scourge. “I haven’t had the privilege of meeting you in person, Senhor Moriarty. But I’ve heard quite a bit.”

“Then perhaps you’ve heard that I am no longer attached to the organization that… aggressively overtook your own,” Scourge added, his voice calm but far more defensive than before.

Dorian was quiet for a moment before a wry smirk graced his lips. “Sim, sim. Nosso amigo em comum me disse, though he thinks I have disappeared. I’ve just been… deitando baixo -- laying low.”

That was a twist but one that could have turned out worse. If Dorian hadn’t heard from Chishan, who Scourge assumed was the mutual friend, then there wouldn’t have been anything keeping Dorian from attacking right then and there. That would have made things far more complicated. “I’m surprised you’re here. It seems like a strange place to resurface,” Scourge remarked, even as his drinks were placed down on the bar in front of him.

“Well a friend of a friend, another former employee, asked a favor and I couldn’t say no. I’m actually here with a date -- I believe she’s sitting down at the card table with the adorável senhora you were just with; yet another mutual friend, it seems,” Dorian explained, nodding towards the table. “I have to wonder if, perhaps, we are here for the same reason?”

Even as the two of them chatted, one of the players had indeed departed from the table with Mercury and another had taken their place. A woman with black hair as dark as the night sky, it hung down the side of her head and body in ravishing curls. She had red bead earrings that had black feathers attached to the bud. Red eye shadow had been done up on her eyes quite dramatically, matching her lipstick and practically glowing against her pale skin. Red sleeve-like gloves ran up from her fingertips to her biceps. A tight red, sleeveless dress hung over her body, attached by a choker around her neck and left almost nothing to the imagination, cutting deep enough in at the sides to show a decent amount of the sides of her breasts. The dress came down and thinned out, becoming more like a loin cloth as it covered over her front and rear. Intricate, crossed string wrapped around her lower back and bare thighs, criss-crossing and attached via small knots. Her black thong was easily seen gripping her hips and boots made of similar material as her gloves ran up from her feet right up to the lower portion of her thighs.

Despite how absolutely stunning and alluring she looked, she looked like she was ready to kill everyone around her. She tossed her jewel to the dealer and waited as he started to prepare her chips, arms crossed and looking away in agitation. Mercury, if she looked close enough, would start to see some similarities in her face to someone else but any option to think on the matter further would be interrupted by both Scourge and Dorian returning to the table.

“My dear, I’ve run into an old friend of ours,” Scourge said, directing the Silve Wolf mage’s attention to Dorian.

The former Order of Souls mage reached out to take her hand and placed a kiss on it. “Boa noite linda,” he said, greeting her in Engua. “Such a pleasure to see you again and while you are looking so wonderfully ravishing.” His date rolled her eyes, even as Dorian moved over to her. “I don’t believe the two of you have met. May I introduce you to Gren’s amigo combativo…”

“Vriko.”

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

“Ah this? Come now, I look like lixo total.” Dorian was quick to jump on the side of humbleness, which was saying a lot considering the last time they saw one another. And wasn’t it just that Mercury brought up that point in her next statement, assuring him that she would never complain about seeing him in the gold banana hammock but she did appreciate a finely dressed man. “Well you know I am always one phone call away and you can have me with or without the banana hammock. No mínimo, ficarei feliz em te dar minha banana.”

Deciding not to be rude, the former Souls member stepped over to the newest addition to the table and introduced her properly, or as properly as one could considering. “Alright, I don’t speak whatever the hell you’re speaking. What is amigo combativo?” she demanded to know, leering at the mustachioed man.

“It means lovely friend,” he suggested.

“It means combative friend. Hi, I’m Caecilius Moriarty, an old friend of Dorian and Gren’s,” Scourge offered, stepping around to offer his hand.

She glanced at the offered hand for a long moment, an unimpressed look on her face before she finally reached out and shook it quickly. “Well at least you’re honest, Caecilius,” she remarked before she turned her head to Mercury, who had begun to speak. She agreed that they hadn’t met and outlined the reason, which caused Vriko to narrow her eyes. The pause between the rest of her sentence and prison break was wide and the sister of Mythal was not so lost on her social abilities not to pick up on it. It was a telling pause and as her suspicions began to take hold, Mercury continued. She spoke of her pleasure to meet her and then name dropped Gren, Mythal and the bitch’s name all in one go while also raining compliments down on her. And then came the reveal of her name and Vriko’s eyes widened, somehow gaining even more size as she stated she was engaged to Gren’s son.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she practically hissed. “You’re Gren’s girlfriend? And you’re fucking him and his son? By the fucking Goddess, you’re as big of a slut as he is.” Absolutely unbelievable. When Gren had told her about Mercury, he had clearly left out a lot of details. Here Vriko had figured Gren was two-timing two women, which was surprising considering how considerate and caring he was. He’d insisted they knew about one another and were fine with the arrangement but one can only take the words of anyone in a love triangle so far. But one of those women was actively attached to Gren’s own progeny? And she was so young. And so fucking attractive.

That was a weird thought. Vriko gave a shake of her head even as Scourge spoke up. “I’m sorry, did you say that Mercury is also sleeping with Gren as well?”

“She was last I checked. He ain’t one for details but sounds like she was flooring him something good,” Vriko was more than happy to continue the conversation and push past the strange, uninvited thought that had come in her head for no reason whatsoever. Granted, the man who introduced himself as Scourge was also very easy on the eyes.

What the fuck was happening?! As Vriko wrestled with a surprising inner turmoil, Scourge turned to Mercury with a look of utter shock. After a long moment, a wicked, impressed grin spread across his face. “Game recognize game, baby,” he said, thrilled and clearly excited by the news. Still needing to play his cover, he took her face between his hands and gave her a long, deep kiss. As he pulled away, he lowered his voice. “I honestly can say I have never been more attracted to you.”

“And who the hell is this guy to you? Are you playing around behind Gren’s back? Or…?” Vriko paused, the pieces of the puzzle starting to connect. The sister of Mythal was not widely aware of the greater workings of the world and its societies but she knew enough to know what she was witnessing and hearing about was strange. Maybe that’s why her mind was rushing to keep up. Gren was in a relationship with Themesycia and Mercury but considering how casual that seemed, it was probably safe to say that it was casual outside of that as well? All three outside could probably watch as Vriko worked it out.

“It’s a strange world, Vriko. Best not to think on it too hard. Much easier to just roll with it,” Scourge said with a chuckle.

“See, that’s what I told her. Hell, that’s what Gren told her. She needs to expand her worldview, experience life rather than judge it behind a brilho e uma carranca,” Dorian interjected.

“You’re just saying that because you’re the one that put me in this ridiculous outfit,” Vriko hissed. She even made a show to point at several different facets of her dress and even cup her chest and hold them up in annoyance. “This thing gives no support and no protection.”

“Well maybe not the protection you’re used to but that’s the protection you aren’t meant to worry about tonight, certa?”

By that point, the dealer was staring at the group, wondering if they were going to keep talking or actually play. But as it seemed, they were leaving; Mercury checked her phone and told Scourge that their time playing had come to an end. Agatha had been reached out by one of the house managers and the owner of the casino was hoping that she would be willing to provide a short but no doubt memorable bit of entertainment for some guests in one of the other rooms. That factor caught both Vriko and Dorian’s attention. “So then you are-”

“Ah, don’t worry, Dorian. I’ll explain on the way,” Scourge interrupted quickly, offering his hand to help Mercury up after she had gathered her chips. She turned to the new pair and asked if they would be joining them, as hearing Agatha sing would be a reward in and of itself. “I already asked them to join us, actually. It seems we have similar business. Shall we, my love?” he asked Mercury, reaching down and sliding his hand to take a hold of her rear and guide her from there.

“Shall we, darling?” Dorian turned to Vriko and looked like he was about to make a similar movement. But she caught his hand before it got too far.

“Try it and I’ll cut it off,” she hissed at him.

“Worth a shot!” Dorian said with a shrug before he opted to offer her his arm. She rolled her eyes in annoyance but lamented, sliding her arm through his. With each pair attached to one another, Scourge would guide them out through the hall they had come from.

As luck would have it, no one else was currently in the long tunnel, giving them ample time to talk. “Our new friends here are also in hopes of meeting the owner. It seems he has a certain artifact that they’re hoping to… haggle on,” Scourge explained, doing his best to still make his comments generic, lest there were security cameras hidden nearby.

“Yes, Vriko and Gren had heard about such an artifact. They reached out to me as they know I have been a cliente recorrente -- returning customer. I have an open invitation and am allowed to bring a guest so I invited Vriko to join me in hopes of meeting the owner.”

It would not be hard to figure out that given Vriko’s state of dress, she had also come under the guise of seducing Genesis. There was a glance away on her part as Dorian turned to look at her over the matter, refusing to acknowledge him or the statement either way.

“As it turns out, we are hoping for the same thing. We came here with another couple -- Ruzatz and Agatha de la Cavalleria,” Scourge explained.

“The owners of Lusty Titans? I believe our mutual friend has been visiting them lately,” Dorian added.

The mention of the name caught Vriko’s attention, bringing her gaze back. During her time training with Serethar, there were very few names that stood out. But she remembered Ruzatz; he was one of two names that Serethar had insisted she must never antagonize or upset for any reason. As she had grown older and learned a little more about the pantheon that Faera belonged to, she’d discovered exactly where Ruzatz had control over. Lust, desire, sexual and sensuality. Aspects and emotions that she, herself, had never experienced or even thought about. Up until that evening, she’d never really found any one person attractive in her eyes. And now, suddenly, she was eying Mercury and Scourge and she felt a flutter within her core she’d never felt before. Was this Ruzatz’ influence?

She didn’t realize that she was staring at Mercury’s ass as she was lost in thought. Once she did realize it, her gaze darted away, hoping above all things that no one had noticed it.

When they arrived at the lobby, an attendant came up to them and insisted they follow him. With Agatha accepting the opportunity to perform, the rest of her party would be given exclusive, VIP seating to view the event. The attendant pressed his hand against a solid wall and it magically opened up into a hallway leading upwards. What, once again, felt like a rather short walk actually took them deep into the underbelly of the building and as they emerged into an open room, they would find a similar vibe to the alleyway from before. They arrived on a balcony, with its own private bartender and bar, and several chairs seated around smaller tables. The balcony overlook a colorful vibrant room that was absolutely throbbing with sound. Several tables were set up on the ground floor, with some open space near the back for those that wanted to stand. The balcony circled around the entirety of the room, sectioned off by walls. Carved, marble columns stood one either side of a stage that was ‘covered’ by an elegantly carved and treated archway, not unlike what could be found in Hosenka. Three holographic strippers were dancing on the stage to the music, already fully nude and moving around digital poles.

“Nice place, huh?” Ruzatz said as he stepped away from the bar to greet them. His gaze shifted to Dorian and Vriko. “New friends, it seems. Ruzatz de la Cavalleria,” he said, offering his hand.

“Dorian Black. I believe we have a common friend. Big, blond and hunky,” the former Souls member said as he took Ruzatz’ hand in his.

“Ahh, absolutely. It is always a pleasure to meet some of his friends.” Then he turned to Vriko. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss…?”

“Vriko. Just… Vriko,” she said, trying to temper her tone into its usual place but finding her voice wavering a bit. She offered her hand and he, in one swift movement, took it and placed a kiss upon the top of it. This time it was a tremble that carried itself down through her legs and back up. Yes, these new sensations absolutely had to be coming from this gorgeous man.

“May I be so bold as to say that you look devastatingly beautiful tonight, Vriko?” Ruzatz said, offering her a friendly, if not charming grin.

“I… uh… thank you.” Her usual obstinate attitude completely shattered, all she could do was find a way to thank him quickly and take back her hand. She could feel a blush threatening to overtake her face and turned to face the stage. “This music is grating,” she finally found something she could complain about genuinely.

“I’m sure it’ll only be on for a few more moments. I believe the owner is about to welcome everyone and then introduce my wife,” Ruzatz explained.

As if on cue, the music was lowered slowly and the images of the strippers faded into nothing. A big spotlight lit up the center of the stage. And from behind the curtain emerged Genesis. He was just as he looked in his images provided by Mercury, Hosrius and Blade, save that he was wearing a dark suit with a green vest, a purple shirt and a green tie. As he stepped onto the stage, the crowd erupted into applause, the thundering noise causing the very air to vibrate. He grinned wide and held up his hands, presenting himself for their adoration and then taking a deep bow. The applause continued on until he finally raised his hands once more and gently urged them to settle down.

“Good evening ladies, gentlemen and the beautiful techni-color rainbow in between,” Genesis’ smooth, vibrant voice reverberated inside the chamber. Indeed, the music had been shut off all over the island and turned to listen to the owner’s address. “I am Genesis, the owner and operator of O Palácio Flutuante. And it is absolutely wonderful to have you all here in celebration of the Fall Equinox.” Another thunderous applause followed before settling. “As many of you know, when the last owner passed away and granted me the rights to this property, I was a bit… green in terms of its operation.” A joke that earned him a loud laugh. “Following in the footsteps of my predecessor proved difficult, as he had made friends and connections with some, shall we say, shady people and businesses? Now I won’t pretend I am the most law-abiding citizen ever born but I had reached a point in my life where the thrill of being involved in organized crime just wasn’t… thrilling anymore. I’d grown tired; worse, I’d grown bored. So with that in mind, I looked at O Palácio Flutuante in a new light. A hub for organizations the world over to come together, experience a little improper but not illegal excitement and happily lose millions of jewel to the house.” Yet another laugh from the crowd. “I’ve worked hard over the past two years to make sure this place, this mecca, was something that was protected from those that once called it home and those that would take it for more malicious reasons. And it is thanks to you, our wonderful guests, that we’ve managed to scrub away the dirt and grime that used to cover O Palácio Flutuante’s reputation and make it a shining jewel. So above all things, I wish to offer my deepest thanks to each and every one of you.”

His words drove the people to stand, clapping for both themselves and his humble words. He let the moment carry on, nodding gently as he scanned the shadowed faces with pride. After several long moments of applause, he once more held his hand to quiet them, even as a microphone began to rise up from a trap door before him. The curtains were beginning to open and a half orchestra was revealed behind, prepped and ready. “But enough of listening to me talk, especially when we quite the honored guest tonight to kick off our celebration. Ladies and gentlemen, there are few words that can truly encapsulate our honored guest. charming, humble, a virtuoso and as beautiful as the dawn itself. Please everyone put your hands together and help me in welcoming Agatha de la Cavalleria!”

He would begin the applause, turning and waiting for her approach. As she came onto the stage, he would stay in place until she was very nearly at him before he would step to her and offer his hand and, like everyone else felt compelled to do, would take it up and kiss it gently. “Agatha, it is enchanting to meet you in person. I have followed you for years and am truly moved to have you here tonight.” When Genesis spoke this time, his microphone, wherever it was, had been turned off and it was just him talking to her one on one. “Thank you for being so gracious as to agree to perform. Truly, I can think of no one better to share the stage with.” With that said, he bowed and stepped aside for her to head up to the microphone.

“Well I’ll give him this,” Scourge said. “He sure talks a good game.”

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

The entirety of his family..?

It was a fact that Vriko simply couldn’t wrap her mind around. The look she must have bore on her face had to be a mix of horror, confusion and disgust. Mercury was even proud of it; though Gren was a proven special case and the woman even admitted that had she run into Gren before Vandrad, she may have very well been engaged to the elder. She called up Themesycia and the two pieces connected for Vriko, making her realize that Gren’s other woman was, in fact, Vandrad’s mother. This wild, insatiable, slut of a woman had slept with the mother and father of her fiance, along with someone named Simon. She was sad though, as she hoped to fill out her literal bingo card with Serilda and Mythal but it seemed they were the monogamous holdouts. She didn’t have much respect for the two Rune Knight leaders but in that moment, she gained just a bit more.

It was unthinkable. Worse, the fact that whatever was in the air that made this woman attractive to Vriko almost made her sick to her stomach. And she was having reservations about even whoring herself out for the same of some stupid artifact. Her malice settled for a moment, remembering that the artifact was not, in fact, stupid and was actually important. Gods, this night could quite literally not get any worse. As she wrestled with that and demanded to know who this other man was that Mercury was going around with and then had to piece that together. Mercury admitted it wasn’t her own design to sleep with Vandrad -- it seemed that his family had a large part in her corruption, as it were. Apparently the du Wolffs were persuasive, which was a hardly veiled way of saying that they probably seduced her into it. So Vandrad’s own parents, his extended family, had actively pursued the woman he had eventually become engaged to?

All this did was fortify for Vriko that families sucked. Her parents were terrible and Mythal was… well, he was Mythal. About the closest thing to family that didn’t bother her had been Gren and now seeing what he had been plowing, she was even reconsidering that. She couldn’t even deign to answer Mercury’s compliment about her legs in the outfit, ignoring the comment so as not to elicit any further ones. Her tumultuous mixture of disgust and attraction to Mercury was confusing and all she wanted to do was will herself past it. She had just enough fight to keep Dorian from assuming a similar position as Scourge and Mercury, only for the latter to offer the man an opportunity to hold her ass if he so chose. “A tempting offer and one I’ll happily take up later but for now, I’d rather not anger my devilish companion.”

She wouldn’t have cared either way, save for the gnawing desire to put her hand on Mercury’s rear. Gods this was disgusting; she hated herself plenty but this was adding a whole new level. Worse off, as she drifted into her own thoughts, her eyes were beset on the plump ass that swayed in front of her, both watching and not paying attention to it at the same time. Finally her reverie broke when Mercury remarked on Dorian and Vriko’s reason for being there, asking about the artifact and offering to help look for it -- apparently her job in her guild required her to get items of value. As much as she hated to admit it but if that was her speciality… “It’s a book,” she stated curtly, clearing her throat. “Unique looking piece of garbage. Black plates for pages covers, with golden hinges and locks. It has a lock on the front of it in the shape of a pointed octagon or star or whatever. The owner inherited it from the last guy but no one knows if he still has it or not. If you see it, you let me know. I don’t want you taking it back to your guild and holding it hostage.” That came out harshly and she could even hear Gren’s voice in the back of her head telling her so. “Sorry. It’s… important to me and Gren. It would be… helpful if you can keep an eye out for it. Thank you.” All the lessons in manners from the old bastard were annoying but if it helped their case, then screw it, she could try to be nice for five seconds.

“Well that was actually quite sweet for you, minha querida,” Dorian complimented her.

“Cram it, mustache,” she defaulted back to her usual stance.

“Hot as fire and cold as ice. You play with my heart so fiercely and eu adoro isto.”

Once they had arrived at the balcony -- and Dorian and Ruzatz had been properly reintroduced -- the throbbing, annoying music finally settled and from behind the glittering curtain emerged the man of the hour. From where they sat, they got a good view of the entirety of the stage and they were close enough to make out some details but not enough to truly appreciate Genesis. Mercury, however, commented on the man-thing’s jawline, causing Vriko to look over at her with a cocked brow. The owner’s speech went off without a hitch and soon enough he was welcoming Agatha to the stage, his microphone cut off as he thanked her and complimented her for agreeing to perform. “I don’t have many engagements this evening so let’s say you and your husband join me in my penthouse suite? I’d love the opportunity to get to know you both a bit more intimately as well,” he replied to Agatha’s comment, his tone still modest but with a flirtatious undertone. With that, he finally stepped aside and granted her full access to the stage. As he walked towards the curtain, he turned and gave a generous bow and wave as Agatha once more asked for praise for him.

He came around the curtain and then turned. The curtain was made up of magical material, allowing him to look through it was clear as day while the front of it was solid and hindered. He watched in amusement as Agatha commented on how attractive he was and warned her husband that if she got lost, he was sure to be the cause. Genesis’ assistant ran up to him, her short frame barely reaching his midsection. “Excellent speech, sir. Truly one of your best.”

“You’re far too kind, Debrah. I’m just thrilled I got to share a stage with a knockout like Agatha de la Cavalleria. She is made of something else entirely. Make sure to update her and her husband’s cards to have access to my suite. Plan the authorization to last until tomorrow morning, at the very least,” he informed his assistant. If he had his way, he’d keep the two of them in his bed for the next few days but best not to jump to conclusions.

The short woman wrote down his instructions. “There are a few dignitaries from some of the larger corporations here. They’re hoping you’ll be willing to invest in their ventures benefitting from the war.”

Genesis sighed. “This idiotic war. No, Debrah, I don’t believe I’ll be meeting with them tonight. Tell them I have too many other engagements. Hell, feel free to tell them that I’m engaging with our lovely guest and I cannot be bothered to be pulled away from attending to her each and every need.”

“You are nothing but honest, sir,” the woman informed him.

“Thank you, Debrah. Now let’s be quiet and listen to her lovely melody,” Genesis commented as Agatha prepared for her first song.

“Oh, this is my absolute favorite,” Ruzatz said, clapping lightly as he leaned forward.The rest of the group seemed quite engaged in listening to Agatha perform but, considering she had no idea of who Agatha was, Vriko stood up and walked over to the bar. If she was going to have to deal with this crap, she was going to need something to drink. She pointed at a bottle on the rack, signaling the bartender to pour for her. There she leaned as the music started and… it hit a chord. Slowly, without even realizing it, Vriko found herself compelled to turn around, her gaze wide and open as she faced the stage. For a woman that had been raised in a dark, dank place, she’d never experienced music fully. She had caught snippets here and there, especially after she had been saved by Serethar and was on the run, but none of it had really sunk in. There had been more important things on her mind.

This was the first time she was hearing a song in its purest form -- not the garbage club music that had invaded and irrationally annoyed her. It was a woman singing from her heart, emotions and feelings that she had felt well and truly and had turned them into lyrics to express to the world. The entire world was forgotten around her and in the planescape of her mind, it was just her and Agatha, her words flowing through the air and directly into her ears. Words that reached in her places she had locked away, dark recesses of her emotional psyche that she had convinced were nonexistent or lacking due to her upbringing and her fate. Pieces of her that had only started to show after Gren had come into her life and forced her to address her damaged self and how to consolidate the pain she had been through. Images of Gren standing in front of her, ready and willing to put his life on the line to protect her flashed so bright and vividly that she almost felt like she was there again. She was nobody, nothing to him… and yet he had been prepared to protect her. It brought her back to the same problem she had been wrestling with since then; why had she pushed past him and done the exact same thing?

The sound of rushing air in her air brought her back, still standing at the bar as the audience clapped for the end of the song. Her face was also wet and as she reached up with her hand to inspect it, she found water. Tears. She had been crying. Hurriedly, she wiped away the water and did her best to hide the dismay, her makeup, luckily, tear-proof so the damage done to her presentation was minimal. She looked over at the bartender, who was staring at her. “What? Never been moved by a song before?" she snapped at him, grabbing the poured drink and downing it in one gulp. Then she practically slammed the glass down on the bar.

By that point, Agatha was already prepping her next song and was just getting into it. Vriko did her best to put it out of her mind until Mercury suddenly spoke up and insisted that, after knowing exactly how Agatha's performance was going to progress, she was going to go and get into some trouble. After planting a kiss on Scourge and blowing one to everyone else, she was off. Vriko watched her with narrowed eyed. What did she exactly mean by trouble? Better yet, what were her and the others needing Genesis for?

It didn't matter; while Dorian said their goals aligned, Vriko didn't trust him or them. She waited a few moments longer before she walked out the same way Mercury had, easily slipping out while the rest were distracted by Agatha's performance.

By the time she reached the bottom of the passage, Mercury was gone. Vriko glanced around a bit until she noticed the signs for the bathroom. She quickly hustled over to the ladies room and walked in just as another woman was walking out. Once in the dark enclosure, she became vividly aware to the fact that she wasn't alone and the few others in there were not publicly decent. Pairs of feet filled a few of the stalls and it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. Groaning in disgust, Vriko walked over to the sink and looked in the mirror briefly. Her eyes were red, agitated from crying. Gods how pathetic was she? Shaking off that moment of weakness, she reached in under her dress by her stomach. When she pulled it back out, she had a small fragment of a blade.

It had bothered her greatly to break off shards of her swords but Gren had assured her they could be fixed to the point of pristine condition. Sighing softly, she took the fragment between her fingers and focused. “Darkness God's Shadow Form," she muttered softly. Instantly her entire body was enveloped of shadow, melting down into a wispy formation of vapor. It adjusted and shot up towards the ceiling, escaping into one of the open vents. It seemed Gren had been right -- while there were magic dampeners in place to keep people from activating their own magic or complete magic items, utilizing the piece of the sword hadn't actually been nullified.

But she would only have limited time in that form. She had to get moving.

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

“Hey, where did Vriko go?”

Agatha was well into her second song by the time that the former Dread Master began to wonder. Mercury had left of her own accord, bent on causing a bit of mischief, as was her nature. She’d parted with Scourge with a passionate kiss and then blown one to each of the rest of them before heading off. He was hardly surprised; when there was trouble that could be caused, there was little doubt that the Silver Wolf mage wouldn’t hop to cause it. But based on the minimal he knew about Vriko, it didn’t seem like her kind of bag to run off. Then again, maybe that wasn’t very true. He turned in his seat to look back and found the raven-haired woman missing as well.

Dorian turned completely around and looked for her. “Filho da puta,” he cursed. “She must have run off to try and investigate on her own. She’s going to get the lot of us in trouble.”

“I doubt that,” Scourge remarked. “Think of how long it took the Rune Knights to find her. It wasn’t because they aren’t remarkable trackers -- she was just capable of staying ahead of the game. I can’t claim to know much about her but I have a basic understanding of her more recent history, just based on public records. No doubt she found her own way to do some sneaking around. I’m guessing she wasn’t as keen to bargain with Genesis?”

Dorian sighed. “I won’t claim to be a master of reading women… but I always had a feeling that she wasn’t going to go through with seducing him. Gren told me a bit but it didn’t seem in her nature. No, I imagine she thinks she can pull some kind of sleight of hand and rob him without being caught or, worse case scenario, intimidating him over the matter.”

“I’m guessing she isn’t aware that he is a notorious criminal wanted in several star systems then?”

Dorian frowned. “Star systems? What are you talking about?”

Ruzatz chuckled. “Oh he’s an alien. Like full blown extraterrestrial. Well, technically he’s an alien homunculus. Created by the guy that was working for the Dread Masters, the one called the Engineer… who is also an alien.”

Well there were no words to describe the utter shellshock on Dorian’s face. “Oops, I think I broke him.”

“Well, that is quite a lot to throw on top of a man without warning. But he is used to dealing with gods and demons -- I’m sure a few extraterrestrials won’t take him too long to wrap his mind around.” Scourge added in with a slight grin. Right about that time, his iLac chirped to alert him to a message. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Mercury-special device, clicking over to her message. She sent him a picture of a room and asked why a paper filing room would be in such a highly advanced building such as that? A curious question indeed -- paper was unhackable, making it far safer in terms of storage. It was relatively nearby, which meant that Mercury most likely was not. She must have been asking him to head over and investigate. A moment later, another message came in from Mercury, stating that she had made some changes to the permissions on their cards. He smirked as he typed back to her. Well aren’t you being naughty? I’ll check out the filing room -- keep me updated.

“Well gentlemen, it seems I’m needed. I shall return shortly and, hopefully, not in cuffs of any kind,” Scourge said, standing to his feet.

“Naughty. I’ll wait here for Agatha -- if I know my wife, she’s already talked Genesis into having a private session of bonding and if I’m lucky, she included me,” Ruzatz remarked as he sipped on his drink.

“I’ll uh… stay here too and try to wrap my head around all of… this,” Dorian spoke, shaking his head gently.

“Don’t worry, darling. How about I distract you? I’m sure I can come up with something to keep your mind off it,” Ruzatz said, already leaning over to Dorian with a wicked glimmer in his eye.

It was tempting to stay and see exactly how Ruzatz was going to entertain Dorian but he had a mission. Adjusting his coat as he stood, the former Dread Master walked down the pathway that had brought them up to the private section and entered the main lobby once more. He took a gander at the text message again and then quickly spotted the best door that could lead him there. He walked up to it and after a quick glance around, he flashed his card on the security panel. It flashed green, allowing him through and through he went.

Meanwhile, Genesis was completely enraptured by Agatha’s music. He stood behind the curtain, eyes closed, allowing himself to slip away with the dulcet tones of her voice. It wasn’t until he felt his own device vibrate that he was taken out of his reverie. At the same time, one of his personal guards came rushing up. “Sir, we think we have a breach.”

“Do we now? Let’s see,” Genesis remarked, reaching into his pocket and pulling up his phone.

“Our security panels are indicating that an authorized card moved through the halls heading right to the server room. No one should be heading back there, as the staff inside are all accounted for. Then I checked this,” the guard continued, turning the electronic pad to showcase vital signs. All of the server room guards were alive and well but there was indication of neuro-activity unlike that of someone that was awake. Unconscious then.

“Well time to backdoor in then,” Genesis stated as he pulled up the security application and activated his overwatch program. He flipped right to the server room to find a woman sitting there. She paused almost immediately after he had eyes on her and then turned, looking directly at the camera. With an impish grin, she blew him a kiss before the camera lost its feed. Genesis’ brows rose in surprise… before settling in with his smirk. “A naughty little bird. Do we have an imprint of the card that was used?”

“Yes, it seems to belong to Mercury Arseneault. Records show that she was Mister Moriarty’s guest.”

“Yes, that is hardly surprising. Caecilius -- or rather Scourge -- shows up for the first time in almost two years and he brings along a mysterious date,” Genesis said, already switching to a different program and looking up Mercury’s public information. There wasn’t a whole lot outside of her guild record, showing that she was an Ace at an independent guild called Silver Wolf. Oh and the fact that she was supposed to be dead, killed almost a year ago at that point. He smirked. “Oh what fun. First a show and now some direct entertainment. If I’d had a birthdate, I would think it was today.”

“Do you want me to shut down everything and have the guests evacuated?”

“Not necessary. Let Agatha continue her performance unhindered and let the guests go about their business. No need to send people packing away for something like this,” Genesis explained, now turning and walking towards the back exit. “I’ll go and deal with this personally.”

“Do you still want us to update Mister and Misses de la Cavalleria permissions and bring them up to your suite?” His assistant asked, having fallen in step with him and the guard.

Genesis sighed. “It is my great shame to admit that I may have to reconsider that. Let’s hold off on that for now. I’d like to see what this Miss Arseneault is up to first before I make any final decisions.” Truth was, he had several ideas. He had a feeling that getting the chance to be intimate with Agatha and her husband was going to be off the table, depending on what would happen in the next few minutes. As he approached the back entrance, he flashed his card to walk through…

Only to hit a solid surface, even as the security panel flashed red and chirped angrily at him. He took a step back, confused. He waved the card once more and it declined him yet again. “Mmm a crafty bird who can hack our technology.” This was getting exciting. “Alert security and staff that there is a slight hiccup in the security system. All doors that are off limits will be sealed for them. No reason to panic, just have them stay on guard.”

“But… how are you--?” The assistant started to ask.

Genesis reached up and swiftly moved his hand in front of the door, blindingly quick. As his arm came to rest at his side, everyone could see a black drawn outline of Genesis against the door and a moment later, the solid surface fell into the hallway. Genesis turned to look at his assistant. “And call our contractor. He’ll have to replace several doors.” The homunculus said with a small chuckle, the two fingers he’d used to carve out still sizzling slightly. “Escort Miss de la Cavalleria back to the balcony once she is finished and give her my utmost thanks for her generosity.”

With that, Genesis walked through the opening, perfectly fitting inside the outline, and moved through the hallway. Whoever this Mercury Arseneault was, she was looking to cause a bit of trouble. Luckily for her, he liked trouble and it had been so long since he’d dealt with a proper impish intruder. The thrill of seeing her turning and blowing a kiss to him filled his veins with adrenaline and arousal, the homunculus grinning in spite of everything that was happening.

When Vriko felt her inner magic return, she was taken aback. She shifted her shadow to dash through a vent and into a hallway, landing in the empty passageway. She once more took on her normal form, looking down and flexing her muscles as a test. It had taken Gren quite some time to teach her to feel the ‘magic’ that she possessed, learning how it cycled along with her bloodstream. As she understood it, it was different from other people, given her abilities. But she felt her strength renewed.

Loud banging caught her attention, her crimson gaze snapping up to look down the way. “Hey! Someone open the door!” A voice called out.

“If they could, they would. Something is wrong. Maybe a technical glitch?”

“Not again. You weren’t here when they installed these things but they were finicky back then. People would get stuck in hallways all the time, sometimes up to an hour.”

Vriko rounded the corner to see two guards facing the door. As she looked at them, one turned about idly and spotted her. “Oh cripes!” he exclaimed, reaching for his firearm. The sister of Mythal reacted quickly, dashing to him in the blink of an eye and sweeping his leg out from under him. As he hung in the air, she delivered a side kick into his chest with the same leg, sending him slamming into the wall. As the other guard whirled around, she kicked his legs out from under him and then pressed the heel of her shoes against his neck, pinning him to the wall.

“If you value your life, you’ll answer some questions,” she hissed at him, pressing her heel a little tighter to deliver her point.

He grabbed at her leg, trying to push it off and finding no purchase. Finally he nodded or nodded as much as one could with a heel buried in his neck.

“Good. I’m looking for something your master has in his possession. A black book with a star shaped lock on it. Where can I find it?”

The man gurgled slightly and she pulled her heel back just enough to clear his airway. He coughed a bit before he found his voice. “It’s uh…” he tried to think. He’d seen it somewhere, which meant it couldn’t be in the vault. Had it been one of the galleries? Her heel pressed back in when he didn’t answer and he fumbled through his memories trying to find it. Finally he did and he tapped her leg aggressively, earning himself some air. “The suite. It’s in Master Genesis’ suite!” he said between coughs.

Vriko nodded softly. If it had been in some kind of vault, that may have been a problem. But a suite… she couldn’t imagine that was that hard to break into. “Where is his suite?”

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

Whatever Mercury had done, it sent everything into lockdown.

As Scourge walked through the hallway, he could hear the voices of guards in adjoining hallways and rooms trying to get out and finding their ways blocked. The former Dread Master chuckled softly as he glanced down at his card… only to suddenly feel a surge of power. His power. It seemed that the Silver Wolf mage had also disengaged the devices that nullified their magics. Whether that was a wide-spanning effect or merely for the people in their group was up for debate. “Well she is certainly having her fun, isn’t she?” he asked as he approached the next door, waving his card to open it.

A guard was standing on the other side and he looked utterly perplexed that the door had opened, especially for someone he didn’t recognize. “Who are you? How did you open that door?” he demanded, already fumbling for his baton.

“Oh I’m nobody important. Just a guest looking to take a peek at that file room you have here. Mind pointing me in the right direction?” Scourge asked casually.

“An intruder!” The guard correctly assumed, finally pulling his baton free and snapping it open.

“I’m guessing that’s a no?” The former Dread Master’s answer came in the form of the baton coming right at him. With a smirk, he brought his arm up and  blocked the strike, bringing the baton to a dead stop before it snapped over his limb. “Well in that case,” Scourge shifted forward, bringing his other hand forward and slamming his palm into the man’s chest. The force of the hit sent him soaring backwards, his limbs flapping wildly as he flew backward several yards and crashed through the door at the opposing end of the hallway. It was enough to break the door inwards, practically knocking over the trio of guards that were on that side.

The guard who had been hit groaned lightly, the impact of Scourge’s hit and crashing through the door taking all the fight out of him. The other three guards looked at him then up at the perpetrator, who was already walking towards them with a slight smirk. All three went for their firearms, even as Scourge ignited in a bright pink aura, his hair stiffening upwards and matching the same color. As soon as the firearms were up and pointed, he was gone, only a trail of light indicating he had even been there. The three followed the trail with their eyes as it led towards and past them.

Scourge didn’t really give them a chance to fully turn before he dismantled them, a flurry of movement and hits that knocked two of them hard against the wall. The last one was kicked hard enough to turn him around but not take him out. Yet before he could recover, he found his ear suddenly and painfully trapped between Scourge’s fingers. Giving it enough of a wrench to cause the man to yelp, Scourge kicked the firearm out of the guard’s other hand and then stood there as the man pushed up on his toes and tried his hardest to reach back and release himself. “Now, now, let’s not get any naughtier. You don’t want to end up like your friends, right?” Scourge asked, gesturing to the crumbled masses on the ground. “Sore and probably with a few bruised bones. Don’t worry, I’m not here to kill any of you -- at least until I’ve assuaged my curiosities. Your leader talks a big game about being crime-free nowadays. I wonder if that is really the case and I believe that a certain filing room will help enlighten me. Shall we?” It was an unvoiced demand from the former Dread Master; the guard would lead him to the filing room or it was very likely he’d be missing an ear.

The poor guard didn’t have much of a choice. Even as Scourge walked through doors and encountered other guards, he utilized both the captive man and his own abilities to render any obstacles in his way unconscious, somehow still managing to hold the guard by the ear at the exact same angle. Once it became obvious that nothing was going to get in his way, the guard simply gave into the demands, pointing at junctions as he bit back the pain. Finally, after a few moments of walking, they came across a door that was in far more secure shape than the others. “Well look at that,” Scourge remarked, eyeing the barrier. “You’ve been a wonderful guide. I believe you’ve earned a rest.” With that, he released the man’s ear, much to his excitement. But that joy was cut off when Scourge delivered a chop to the man’s collar, forceful enough to shut down his bodily and conscious functions and render him down and out. Scourge moved quick enough to catch the man by the back of his body armor and gently laid him down on the ground, if only to keep him from smacking his face hard into the floor.

With his good deeds done for the day, it was time for a little light robbery. Scourge flashed his card once more and the door opened itself to him, revealing a room lined with filing cabinets. “Now this feels like a room with dirty secrets. Genesis, you clever little boy you.” Rubbing his gloved hands together, Scourge entered the room, eying the cabinets and trying to decide where to begin.

In most cases, Genesis may have been tracking Scourge as well. But his attention was solely focused on Mercury. She had deactivated the camera in the server room after rendering the staff’s cards unusable. Now on the hunt, the homunculus was carving his way through doors quickly and efficiently, switching between screens on the overwatch system to try and track the woman. Cameras lined every single hallway and room within the casino so it was not hard to follow after her once he rapidly cycled through to find her. She was moving quickly, seemingly on path to get to the trophy room. Perhaps hunting for something of his or his predecessor's? She certainly had done everything she could to make sure she could get in and out without anyone getting to her. Even with his ability to slice through metal like paper, he still had to go across the entirety of the casino to get to her.

Oh how exciting! He hadn’t dealt with a thrill like this in years! His rational side told him that he should forgo pursuing the woman and, instead, head to his suite and activate the safety lock on all the doors. That manual mechanic would forcibly open every single door on the casino, freeing the staff and allowing the guards to get back into the action again. But that was no fun, was it? No, she was trying to call him directly and it would be improper and rude not to partake in her invitation. She left the trophy room and headed in another direction. Rationally, if she didn’t find what she needed in the trophy room, then her next step would be the vault, no? That’s how he would have reacted if his prize wasn’t in one secure place. He grinned; it was clever but it would prove her downfall. The vault wasn’t so easily cracked open. Now confident that he would be on top of her -- and frankly he couldn’t help but imagine the many ways he would have enjoyed being on top of her -- in no time. He stopped focusing so much on his device and instead hastened his walk, cutting through doors and closing the gap that much quicker.

This, ironically, would prove his downfall. It took him several minutes to cross the casino but soon he was there. He cut through the door leading to the vault with such confidence and swagger, fully expecting to catch her by surprise. But as he walked through the opening with a devilish smirk on his face, he froze. She was gone. The vault was closed. He glanced around, wondering if she’d hidden in some small corner but found nothing. Quickly he brought up his device once more and noticed the alert, now rectified, for the vault being opened. She had opened it but now it was closed. Was she hiding inside? No, that would be suicide. The depressurization was one thing but it would trap her in a box that she’d have no way out of.

No, she had just cracked the code faster than he anticipated. “Mercury Arseneault, are you the woman of my dreams?” he asked in amusement as he switched back to the overwatch program. There were alerts everywhere, doors opening and recording different people for every one. She must have caught on to the fact that she was most likely being tracked and was now trying to cover her tracks. Did that mean she had gotten what she needed? He ran through the list of items and artifacts housed in the vault, any number of which would fetch her a pretty amount of jewel. She most likely didn’t have time to grab too many of the valuable resources.

This did seem like the perfect getaway cover. But something in him told him it wasn’t that simple. Hardly anything ever was. Or maybe he hoped it wasn’t going to conclude in being that easy -- it would be quite the tease if it was. Rather than commit to that thought, he decided to cover his tracks. He put his techpad back in his pocket and then closed his eyes, focusing. He reached from deep within and, as he did, his body began to shimmer ever so slightly. He grunted in effort, baring his gritted teeth as the front of his form began to expand outwards. A mass of matter pushed out from him and then swiftly took the shape… of him! As the original Genesis relaxed and caught his breath, he took in the sight of the exact copy standing before him.

“You head to the penthouse through the casino. I’ll go outside and survey it from the air,” Genesis A told his clone.

The other nodded before smirking. “By the way, has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”

Genesis A chuckled and waved him off. “Oh you’re too kind, you handsome devil.” With the playful banter over with, Genesis B turned around and jogged out of the room, heading back the way he had come to find a path to the penthouse. Genesis A, on the other hand, turned and faced the wall adjacent to the vault door. His arm moved once more to carve through the metal but this time he leaned forward and caught the outline before it fell outward. The outside world lay just beyond the metal walls of the vault room and the cool night air rushed in to meet Genesis. He leapt through the hole, still holding the outline, and allowed his wings to stretch and begin to beat quickly. As they gained momentum to hold him up, he floated back up to the hole and replaced the cutout from the outside and then retraced the outline but at a slight angle and with less heat. This allowed him to fuse the metal back in place, securing it without outright repairing it.

With that settled, Genesis once more closed his eyes before his entire body seemed to melt away. In truth, he had activated his biological camouflage, extending it over his suit as well so he disappeared completely. His wings carried him up and away from the casino, giving himself plenty of distance so that the sound of his wings wouldn’t attract attention. Once he had reached a fair distance away from the building and had reached a height slightly above his penthouse, he turned and enhanced his vision’s scope. While he didn’t have the ability to change filters, he could zoom in quite a fair distance; nearly ten times the human eye. From his angle, he couldn’t so a whole lot inside the penthouse but he did spot movement and the lower portion of a leg that certainly wasn’t his. His smirk only deepened and, using the telepathic wavelengths that connected him to his clone, began his approach at the same rate of speed.

Genesis B was, for all intents and purposes, quite entertained. By the time he had reached the correct level for his penthouse, the original homunculus had verified that Mercury was, most likely, in the penthouse. So rather than hurry to approach her, he took his time, sauntering down the hall that led to his suite. When he reached the door, he even took a moment to check his breath against his hand before he finally carved open an outline of himself and stepped through with the same confidence as before. And unlike the previous time, he was met with the sight of the alluring woman, who had opted to appear casual. She’d taken a beer from the fridge, picked out a book from his bookcase and lounged herself on one of his chairs, the long length of her leg peeking out from her dress as she looked as comfortable as a cat. Genesis wasn’t sure he truly understood what ‘love’ was but this was probably the closest he was ever going to get to feeling it about anyone. There was something about that slick confidence of the woman that practically radiated off her entire form that was so arousing, so attractive and enticing.

“Well fancy running into you here,” he stated for her, giving her a gentle nod of his head. “Here I was hoping I’d have a ravishing woman waiting to wrap her legs around me when I came home.” He walked fully into the room but instead of stopping at her, he continued into the kitchen. He, too, went to the fridge and pulled out two beers, popping off the caps of each with his thumb. As he extended one of the beers away from himself, Genesis A’s camouflage deactivated and the clone came into view, an exact copy down to the clothing, reaching out and taking the offered beer. “My thanks,” he offered his twin before he walked into the room Mercury was in, followed by his copy.

“And you’ve been so deliciously naughty as well,” Genesis A continued the thought as he slid down to sit on the chair directly next to her, lounging in her direction. Genesis B moved to sit on the chair across from her, equally as showy in his sitting. “I hardly would have guessed a dead woman would show up at my casino and make my security system look like it was crafted by an infant. I must say I’m thoroughly impressed; if I didn’t have a protective covering over it, you’d know exactly how impressed I was,” he remarked, his indication needing no explanation.

“I know your name from my system but you must do me the honor of introducing yourself properly. You deserve all the spotlight.”

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

“As much as I approve and appreciate the efforts of my staff, they would have been completely flummoxed after the vault. They, most likely, would have raced off to the exits as best they could to make sure they could keep you from escaping. And in all honesty, I did consider such a tactic but… I had a hunch. Or rather, I was hoping that you had opted to investigate one additional space. Here,” Genesis explained, gesturing lightly around him before rubbing his jaw. “I don’t like to brag often but it is quite the jaw, isn’t it?”

With the playful introduction out of the way, Genesis wandered over to the kitchen and extracted two beers from the refrigerator. Offering one outward, he watched with amusement as Mercury’s own gaze snapped to the spot where Genesis B was. So she did have some means of realizing where he was; how fun. His copy revealed himself and took the beer, wearing the same shit-eating grin on his face as Mercury reveled in the reveal and insisted that she had struck gold. “Baby you know it,” both of them said teasingly as they each took a swig from their drinks. Then they each moved into the living area and sat down around her, the original directly next to her and the other slightly in front of her.

Meanwhile, Scourge was up to his eyes in files. He’d been scanning through each document and taking snapshots on the device Mercury had given him, quite sure she’d be able to download the images and enhance them for later. A few of them he folded up and stuffed into pockets, wanting to provide tangible documentation to provide Serilda. The device chirped and a message popped up, the former Dread Master flicking over to it instantly. It was an image of… two Geneses looking at the camera of her eyes, looking amused and thrilled. Scourge grinned. “Looks like I was right,” he muttered to himself as he closed the device. He’d grabbed all he can and he quickly cleaned up the room before heading out the door.

He’d always figured that Mercury would be the one to lure Genesis in. There was no denying that both Agatha and Ruzatz were devastatingly attractive and given their positions and abilities, it was an easy bet that they could sway Genesis to join them in a private ‘conversation’. But for someone that was an active, wanted criminal beyond the scope of the world, the homunculus clearly was enthralled and excited by those that acted in similar fashion. Mercury loved to sew chaos in places she was given free reign and the leash had been fully undone. No, the former Dread Master had felt in his gut that the Xocili would be the one to lure Genesis to seclusion and would certainly do what she could to keep him occupied. He even felt himself getting a tad bit envious of the homunculus. As he walked down the hall, he reached out and pulled on the small lever for the fire alarm.

Immediately the lights on the ceiling began to flash and the music came to a screeching halt. There was no loud, annoying sound but as the house lights came up, it was clear that something was wrong. Scourge retraced his tracks to the lobby. It was filled with people, a mass of bodies pushing towards the exits to the street. He joined in the ocean, pushing through quickly before he found the circular desk of the check in area. He vaulted over it, just in time to see Dorian, Ruzatz and Agatha on the other side. Most of the staff had cleared out but there remained Balt Aftorn, looking confused by the three that had just leapt over the table.

“Balt!” Scourge called out as he walked over, throwing his arm over the man’s shoulder and surprising him. “I need a favor.”

“Unfortunately there isn’t a quicker way out,” Balt stated, assuming what the former Dread Master was looking for.

“Good to know but I was wondering; how do your airships know how to come here? I was told that this place is invisible to scanners.”

Balt stiffened slightly. Scourge smirked. “Come on, mate. Can’t hurt to spill the beans just a little?”

The house manager glanced between the gathered group nervously. “Well… there’s a signal. We can track ships within a three hundred mile radius and can send a signal to them. It guides them here and gives them access through the shielding.”

“Now that is nifty. Say, any chance you could send that signal to a ship that should be hovering nearby? I have their communication ID and--”

“What? No, I can’t do that. Only authorized airships are allowed.” Balt’s eyes narrowed. “What are you up to, Caecilius? Is this some kind of plot of revenge because we cut off business with you?”

“Hardly. I’m not quite that petty. But I’m going to have to insist on you sending that signal…” Scourge’s other arm was coming up, clearly preparing something.

“Actually…” Ruzatz spoke up, glancing over away briefly. He had noticed a sliding panel on the floor that probably led to a smaller room below -- most likely a place where the front-of-house staff kept additional computers and, perhaps, the ability to send out said signal. “Agatha, my beautiful wife, was wondering if you could give her a tour of the room below? She is quite curious about the inner workings of your house staff.”

Counting that she verified said curiosity, Balt would… surprisingly ease up, smiling warmly. “Why of course,” he said, pressing a button on the keyboard closest to him. The door slid open, revealing a staircase. Right this way, ma’am.”

As he descended below with Agatha, Ruzatz turned to Dorian and Scourge with a grin. “Don’t worry, she’ll convince him to send the signal. Hell, he’ll probably be all the happy to afterward. All we have to do is wait here and make sure no guards interrupt.”

“Or one of us interrupts,” Dorian remarked with an impish grin.

“Unsurprisingly, it is up to the better sex to guarantee our success,” Scourge said with a chuckle. “Guess us men will just keep watch.”

Up in the penthouse, both Geneses were all too happy to lean forward, take Mercury’s offered hands and plant a slow, sensuous kiss on her flesh. She properly introduced herself as the second in command in Silver Wolf and, clearly, not as deceased as the public believed, though she had every intention of keeping that matter in place until a later date. She also made sure he understood that his system was plenty secure but she just happened to be the enigma that could override it all. She stated her pleasure in meeting him/them and complimented his unique victory in managing to surprise her. “Well then I am honored to have surprised you,” both versions spoke at the same time, wearing impish grins.

After they reluctantly released her hands, she spoke once more, stating that she was surprised that their DNA was a perfect match for one another. She had no idea who was the original or who was the copy and stated plainly that Caecilius had planned the best date. Both Geneses looked between one another, admittedly surprised by her admission that she had read their DNA. Just from the kiss? A curious magic, making her even more intriguing. “This of it as a very advanced form of mitosis. We are two separate entities that can operate and calculate apart from one another but we also share a mental capacity, knowing and seeing through one another’s eyes. My name be Legion, for we are many,” Genesis A explained, adding in a famous quote so as to illustrate his point. “As for Scourge, I imagine he is just as amused as you are. He was always quite quirky, despite his associations.”

Mercury finally leaned back, taking a sip from her beer before stating that she was there and that he had come a long way to find her, even bypassing the opportunity to spend time with Agatha -- a feat even she didn’t dare think she could pull off. She wondered what it is that he wanted and both Geneses chuckled. “Funny, I was wondering the same thing about you,” Genesis B spoke. “Don’t get me wrong, Agatha is… there aren’t enough colorful words to describe her beauty and alluring aura. And I would have happily attended to her and her husband up here were it not for someone making quite a mess of my security,” Genesis A gave her a wicked little smirk. “From what I can tell, it was you who was trying to get my attention. And you surely got my erection…”

“Attention,” Genesis B corrected but it seemed like a half-hearted correction. “Was there something in particular you were looking for? Or were you just looking to have a good time? I’ll admit; it was quite thrilling to have to follow after you, chasing down your path through locked doors and the like. It’s been quite a long time since anyone has given me the runaround and I’m… quite intrigued.”

“After all,” Genesis A spoke up. “If you were looking to have a good time, there are other, more fulfilling ways to do that.” Both versions of Genesis let their eyes wander over her and damnit if they didn’t both lick their lips just enough to send a clear message.

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

“Perhaps not,” Genesis A replied to her comment about them not knowing what was or wasn’t fulfilling to her. “But on the same front, you may not know what makes us feel fulfilled.” She’d certainly gotten plenty of hints but he had a long line of former lovers and each one of them had their own kinks and desires that he’d been all too happy to help them out with. Still, there was no denying the thrill that came from listening to a woman speak with such confident sadism and the homunculi felt a very real chill run through their veins.

Mercury admitted that she did enjoy the challenge of facing a security system that could stump most people, remarking that she liked to use her fingertips there and elsewhere. “I bet you are,” Genesis B replied coolly from his chair. On she went, stating that she had been looking for several different things; trinkets and information seeming to be at the top of the list. She claimed to have acquired everything she wanted and needed but after a moment of consideration for what else had been on the docket, she admitted that Scourge was far more interesting and useful than the playboy persona that covered his surface. There had been plenty that the group had hoped to achieve and she saw no reason to hide the fact that Agatha and Ruzatz had, in fact, been in on the con. They’d been earmarked as the ones that would most likely get Genesis alone in his penthouse and admittedly playing around, if only for humor’s sake. Agatha had provided such a well crafted distraction that Mercury couldn’t help but go and clear out the other things on the list.

She adjusted herself, kicking off her heels and then let her leg extend to rest on one of his knees while she also leaned back and gently caressed one of his arms. A double treatment for the two Geneses and by the looks on their faces, they certainly weren’t complaining about it. In the end, she said, he had been the target. All the extra things were just things that were important to other people. He, himself, was the reason she had come along. It was an enticing, curious objective, he had to admit. But she was doing a great job of trying to distract him from thinking about it too hard. She leaned so far towards Genesis B that with the proper scoot, she’d practically be sitting on his lap -- an image he, himself, couldn’t help but imagine, even as she looked at his lips and bit her own. Genesis A simply couldn’t help himself and reached to her leg, gently dragging his nails along her flesh, teasing and tantalizing her as she paid most attention to the clone.

They were on the cusp of what was surely going to be a very passionate engagement and Genesis was moments away from making a bold step or suggestion they both make one. But his focus was taken to her hand that had lifted up and the oh-so-familiar device that lay in its palm. A bounty chip -- his bounty chip. He stared at it for a long moment, his face still caught between heavy arousal and extreme surprise. She pressed the button in order to verify that it was his, showing all the details about his bounty. When she spoke again, her voice was low and menacing, her breath running up the length of his neck as she admitted he had not been easy to track but that hadn’t been an issue with her. In fact, she admitted that she liked them ‘hard’ and made a very obvious showing of looking up and then down.

The homunculi damn near burst through their protective coverings… but that was hardly the matter at the moment. After a moment of consideration, Genesis B began to chuckle, followed shortly by Genesis A. It didn’t gain much traction beyond a chuckle but it was amused, heavy and admittedly impressed.

“Well, color me surprised,” Genesis A admitted, continuing to rub down the leg in front of her. Wanting to use both hands, there was a slight ripping sound as the back of his suit was torn and the homunculi’s tail slid out from his pack, looping around him and coming to a stop just in front of his face. The end of it opened slightly and took hold of the top of the bottle, easily moving it over and placing it on a coaster on the table nearby while he ran his nails along the bare flesh before him. “You know, I’ve lost count of the number of bounty hunters that have come after me. And truthfully, looking back on it now, perhaps I should have suspected as much. But you were far too enticing to pass up, my dear.”

“And even now, I don’t have any regrets,” Genesis B admitted, though his voice was lower and more sultry. He reached up and gently brushed her hair, tracing her jaw with a finger and then, ever so gently, angled her head so that he could bend down and plant a kiss on her neck, suckling on the flesh.

“Congratulations are in order then. You’re the first to catch me good and proper, though perhaps I shouldn’t suggest that until you put me in some cuffs,” Genesis A admitted with another chuckle. “I won’t try to run or even to bribe you; though I hope you won’t deny a future convict one last request.”

“Yes,” Genesis B continued the thought as he released her neck from his mouth. “Since we won’t be returning to this planet again, there’s no reason to leave all things intact, shall we say?” he cooed to her, angling his head to bite her ear gently before he brought his lips down so he could whisper. “So here’s our request; let us fuck you up and down this penthouse. Let us ravage you all throughout this place, breaking and smashing anything in our way. One last sweaty, panting, thrusting memory to carve into this place before you take us off to claim your bounty.”

“As we said, we won’t try to run. But wouldn’t it be fun to let loose all this tension?” Genesis A asked.

“So what shall it be, Miss Mercury Arseneault?”

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

A beep on the ship’s console caught the attention of Blade, Hosrius and Grubar, breaking the silence that had hung in the cockpit for some time. Hosrius flipped his book closed and pressed a few buttons on the panel. “We’re receiving a coded signal. It’s transmitting a clearance code and a set of coordinates. Safe to say our landing party has succeeded,” Hosrius told the other two, even as he powered up the ship. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Good,” Blade said, relieved. “Let’s hurry. I want to make sure that everyone is alright before we question Genesis.” Now came the next part of the mission. The ship shifted slightly as its hover engines were switched into thrust and then the cloaked vessel shot forward, burning a hasty path towards the floating set of islands.

Was it a con? Was it an attempt to woo the woman into a more defenseless position so that he could make an escape? No, it was a genuine request and one that he quite clearly hoped she would accept. So as he did everything in his power to entice her further, she took a moment to consider his offer, most likely weighing the dangers herself. But just like he had, she decided that the risk was worth taking and stated quite clearly that she would only acquiesce if he, in turn, destroyed her. “Happily,” Genesis B practically whispered to her before her lips found his. The other Genesis was already reaching up to remove his clothing, now fully committed to fulfilling both his and her request.

There was no telling how much time had passed; any clock in the penthouse and even his personal device had been utterly annihilated in their rampant, carnal display. Furniture was strewn throughout the entire lower level, glass had been shattered and sprayed all over the floor, pictures and statues knocked all around, pool water had splashed all over the deck and the kitchen was in utter shambles and that wasn’t even accounting for the imprints in the various walls. He’d requested that they wreck the penthouse in their connection and they had done a very impressive job of living up to that task. Both Geneses were entangled with Mercury and her own clone, cuddled up close and completely naked.

As Mercury offered up the lit cigarette, Genesis A happily took it between his fingers and brought it to his lips. As he inhaled, Mercury admitted that after having been monogamous for so long, she’d finally found a connection to her former self, having branched out beyond her fiance. As Genesis exhaled a cloud of smoke and passed the cigarette to the clone of Mercury, she remarked that she should call ‘his’ father again, the insinuation being that it was her fiance’s father. “You’ve slept with your fiance’s father?” Genesis B asked, his head perking up.

“I slept with my fiance’s father! On Danezora, I was engaged to this wonderful woman to help liberate her from an oppressive slaving lord. Long story short, when I brought her home, her father was absolutely stunning and I simply couldn’t help myself.” Genesis A took a journey down memory lane, sighing contentedly. “But to find a woman such as yourself… how many people can be included in marriages on this planet? Because I’m thinking about grabbing one of the rings in my trophy case upstairs and proposing to you -- both of you -- right now.” He turned enough to lean over and plant a soft kiss on the clone’s cheek.

“The upstairs!” Genesis B exclaimed. “We were so focused on wrecking down here that we never actually made it up to the bedrooms. I say we take a ten minute breather and then hop right into round two.”

“By the Stars, just bask in the moment, won’t you?” Genesis A remarked, shaking his head as he looked between Mercury and her clone. “So excitable. He’s like a puppy with a new toy and all he wants to do is play, play, play.”

“You’re me. You feel exactly the same way,” Genesis B chided.

“Right but I’m playing it cool. That’s the difference.”

It seemed that the two clones teasing one another could go on for quite some time, providing ample entertainment for both Mercuries. But one of the vents that ran along the outside wall vibrated and a moment later, a thick black shadow emerged from between the metal panels. It swirled slightly before crashing down to the ground, forming a small puddle before rising up and taking form. Within a moment, Vriko was back in her normal form, just in time to find herself standing right in front of and staring at a very naked pile of Geneses and Mercuries. “What… the… fuck.”

Several dozen floors down, the cloaked vessel of Hosrius’ had landed just outside of the main casino. As the exited the ship, they found that the guards were… more welcoming than they expected them to be. As they entered the towering structure, they were met with Ruzatz, Scourge and another mustachio’d man.

“My god they really are extraterrestrials,” Dorian remarked, looking both Hosrius and Grubar up and down.

“Who’s this guy?” Grubar grunted, nodding towards Dorian.

“One of two allies we stumbled upon while here. Funny how small the world can be, isn’t it?” Scourge remarked with a bemused smile.

“Is everyone alright? I don’t see your wife or Mercury for that matter,” Hosrius stated, addressing Ruzatz.

“Oh, Agatha is just fine. She is just finishing up her… meeting with the house manager. She convinced him to send that signal as well as inform the guards that you all were close, personal friends of Genesis and required the utmost protection and solitude when meeting with him. Hence why the casino has been abandoned,” Ruzatz explained.

“And Mercury is currently keeping tabs on Genesis… Genesi? You didn’t tell us that there were two of them.”

Blade looked surprised. “I’d never heard of another. Are you certain there’s two?”

Scourge brought up his device and turned it around so that the three aliens could see the two forms of Genesis. “Quite sure.”

“My apologies, I should have known. I hope that Mercury is safe.”

“Yeah… I’d be more worried about Genesis. I don’t even think two of him is quite prepared for what Mercury is capable of,” Grubar said with a chuckle.

Blade nodded. “Shall we head to them?”

Scourge nodded in return. “Of course. But I’d suggest you best prepare yourself. There’s no telling what state of dress we may find them in. Hope none of you are the bashful type.”

Vriko, however, was discovering just how bashful she really was. For a woman that had been all but asexual for most of her life, that evening had been an eye-opening experience for her. To think that she was even capable of finding anyone attractive, let alone both a woman and a man -- and both of them incorrigible and annoying. Vriko stood in absolute shock as she looked between the four bodies, her mind racing with a million questions. What happened to the suite? Why were there two Geneses and two Mercuries? But perhaps the most important question was… “Seriously? Now you screwed this guy as well? Is that what you do; go around and fuck anything that moves?”

“I know, right? I thought I was the only one that did that,” Genesis A said with a chuckle before he untangled himself from the bodies to stand up. “Speaking of; I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Genesis. And you are…?”

“None of your damn business,” Vriko snapped, her eyes flicking to him fiercely.

“Ooh, the fiery type. I do love a dangerous woman, clearly,” he said, gesturing to Mercury. “And you are dressed to kill; that dress does everything for your legs. Girl, I don’t know how many squats you do but credit where credit is due. I wouldn’t mind you squishing my head with those beautiful masses of muscle.”

“You don’t stop talking and I just might!” She paused. “No, that’s not what I-I meant.” It was then, and only then, that Vriko truly took in the fact that she was staring at four completely naked bodies. As a woman that had grown up in seclusion for over two decades and had never been properly educated on biology beyond what were weak points, it was her first time seeing several different parts of a man and woman. The blush rushed to her cheeks so fast that there was no hiding the bright turn of red and instantly her hand flew up to her eyes and she turned away slightly. “J-Just put some damn clothes on, the two of you -- four of you! For fuck’s sake, this is insane.”

Hosrius Camnus "The Dark Angel"

Job Log #9747

“A buzzkill? Well that’s no fun. Maybe I can convince him into it. I can be rather compelling when I want to be,” Genesis A insisted with a raw chuckle.

The intimate afterglow was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Vriko, having morphed into some kind of shadow and then reformed before them. She’d taken one look at the mess of bodies before her and reacted in utter shock. Her annoyance only grew when Mercury, again, referred to her as ‘sunshine’ -- a nickname she already despised but had a growing feeling was going to stick. Her attention to the Gren’s girl toy was distracted by the sight of Genesis standing up and attempting to arrange some kind of introduction. Despite her shooting him down, he still took the time to compliment her outfit and figure, both he and Mercury lamenting on how well it drew positive attention to her legs.

Unfortunately, reality came crashing back down and she was suddenly aware that she was staring at two -- four? -- naked people. Though she hadn’t exactly been taught biology and was never instructed about what was considered proper by society, there was still a growing embarrassment at laying eyes at a man and woman sans clothing. She quickly covered her eyes and turned slightly, as even then she felt a slight temptation to split her fingers apart and take a peek. No doubt another side effect of being near Ruzatz and his damned demon abilities. Mercury called her on her obstinate demand, insisting that Vriko seemed pretty intrigued by what she was seeing. As she saw it, there was nothing wrong with appreciating naked forms. And if she was feeling really adventurous, there had been talk of ‘another round’ and she was more than welcome to follow through on crushing one, both or all four of the heads of those involved.

“Oh yes, nothing wrong with a little adventure, my leggy friend. If I’m right -- and I believe I am -- you seem to be quite reserved. That’s fine,” Genesis stepped up to Vriko’s side and leaned in slightly. “We can be gentle if you like,” he whispered, an impish grin on his face.

Vriko’s face was burning bright red, even as she refused to look at him. No doubt Mercury’s sensors would be able to tell that Vriko’s vitals were off the charts with anxiety and even anticipation. Despite his moving closer and his inviting tone and words, it seemed Genesis wouldn’t make a move without approval or consent. He hoped that Vriko would, at the very least, be curious enough to consider but he was hardly a man that would force a man or woman to do anything they didn’t want to. After all, sex was so much more fun when all parties were engaged and committed to it. A factoid that his father would, no doubt, be dismissive of, considering his origins.

But that was neither here nor there. Vriko was offered an out and even as she was just about to vibrate hard enough to pass out, Mercury spoke up about the book that she’d been looking for. All at once the woman’s nerves settled and she dropped her hand to look at Mercury, specifically to see where she was pointing. Her gestured in the direction of a display case that was… well, in less than perfect condition. There was a definite ass-print in the wall that had broken the glass, though it was hard to tell whether it was Genesis or Mercury’s. Now with her focus and task in front of her and helping her refocus her attention, Vriko quickly moved away from the Genesis who’d been eyeing her up close and personal and moved over to the case. The impact of whatever the hell they had been doing had shaken several things off their stands but the book hadn’t moved very far. Vriko reached into the case and took hold of it, prying it through the broken glass and bringing it before her eyes. “It’s real…” she said, her tone in awe and even… happy? After a moment, a rush of incomparable magical power swept over her form and strings of pink, purple, red and white light encircled the woman briefly before dissipating altogether.

It was genuine. She could feel it.

While Vriko was having her moment with the book, the Geneses turned to Mercury as she sighed. Apparently, as much as she would like to, their time wrecking the penthouse was over and she had to finish up her business. She raised her hand and quite literally formed a pair of cuffs in her grip, wondering if he would be compliant or if she would have to get rough with him. “Ooh which one gets the cuffs put on? Because sign me up for that one,” Both Geneses said in tandem grinning, even as they offered their wrists to her. They wouldn’t put up any kind of fight as she bound them.

The door, still with the cutout of Genesis, slid open and the rest of the party, in addition to the aliens, stepped in. “What in the hell happened in here? Did y’all have a fight?” Grubar asked, having to bend and squeeze through the smaller entryway.

“In a manner of speaking. We certainly did pulverize one another thoroughly,” Genesis A remarked with a flirty glance at Mercury.

The rest of the party heeded Mercury’s words about the glass, stepping cautiously where they went. By the time they had arrived near the captor and captives, their attention turned, instead, to the four naked forms. “Oh my. Well hello there,” Ruzatz said, looking over both Geneses.

“Hot damn…” Grubar remarked while staring at Mercury. Despite having seen her naked before, there wouldn’t be a single instance where he didn’t want to look at her again.

“Now, see?” Scourge said, looking over Mercury with a smirk even as he walked up to her. “My money was on you the entire time,” he informed her, reaching around and giving her bare ass a hard smack. “Also we should definitely have sex later.” He didn’t even bother to pretend that he wasn’t eying her lengthily.

Mercury turned to the Geneses and told them to say goodbye to the clone, to which both homunculi replied with “Bye, love you, mean it!” at the same time. With one less Mercury to look at, both of the homunculi focused on her as she knelt down in front of them and came clean. She wasn’t a bounty hunter, gesturing over to Hosrius and Grubar and explaining that they were the actual hunters. But they had agreed to let Genesis be questioned before he was taken away, as it seemed there were several queries that they hoped the homunculi could answer.

Before Mercury even properly introduced Blade, there was a look of familiarity on both Geneses’ faces. The impish, confident facade that they had worn practically the entire night settled into something akin to solemn understanding. As Blade stepped forward, both Geneses bowed their heads. “Ha na- gel na finallui govannon- cin Raeran, hén -o Teras Prime,” they greeted him, speaking in an unknown but arguably poetic language.

There was a slight stiffening in Blade’s face and his head lifted ever so slightly. “That is not my name any longer. I am now the Blade; the antithesis to your creator, the Maker,” Blade explained

“My apologies then. I was not aware you spoke the language of this planet,” Genesis offered as he studied the man slowly. “You are… not what I expected. Then again, my father believed you had taken your own life for quite some time.”

“Your father… Maker?”

Genesis shrugged. “What better title for the person that gave me life? But he is only that in title; he was never what one might consider a ‘fatherly figure’. Though I suppose that makes you an uncle, doesn’t it?”

Blade nodded to the other Genesis. “And this?”

“An advanced form of mitosis. One of the many genetic abilities that my father inscribed on my DNA. A parlor trick I use mostly as entertainment and, occasionally, a perfect bed fellow. No one else knows how to predict your movements like yourself,” Genesis stated, leaning slightly to look over at Mercury with a smirk. He turned his gaze back to Blade. “Are you here to kill me. the Blade? Because I’m afraid that won’t work out how you think it will.”

“Is that a threat, bug-boy?” Grubar asked, sneering.

“A threat? Hardly,” Genesis remarked with a scoff. “I have enhanced cellular regeneration. It would take an overwhelming amount of energy to completely erase every cell in my body. Because if even one survives, I can eventually regenerate, though it would take some time. Magic has the best chance of actually wiping me out, admittedly, so if you or any of your friends are looking for a quick and easy kill…”

“We are not here to kill you. Killing you solves nothing. You are not the one responsible for my people’s extinction, for the death and suffering of others. Maker is.” Blade crouched down in front of Genesis, meeting his gaze head on. “I’ve followed you for a long time. But you were always three steps ahead. My focus was on Maker but the moment I learned that he had created a synthetic living organism… I knew I would have to track you too. Imagine my surprise when I discovered you had split from my brother.”

“Is there a question in this hypothesis, Blade? Because right now you’re reiterating a lot of history I’m intimately aware of,” Genesis asked, his words cutting but his tone leading. He could tell Blade was getting to something and it seemed he wanted to simply get to the point.

“Why? Did Maker send you off on your own?”

There it was. Genesis looked Blade up and down slowly before chuckling softly. “Well… I suppose since you are family, you have earned the right to the truth. That and… well, it never quite sat right with me what Maker did to your home. Then again, nothing Maker did sat right with me. But I’m getting ahead of myself,” Genesis leaned back and extended his legs, lounging in front of Blade and giving everyone a show.

“Can we like… throw a towel over his junk?” Grubar asked.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Ruzatz put forth as an argument.

“I’m going to assume, for the sake of not having to cover more backstory than necessary, that you are aware of the Knowing?” He asked, waiting until Blade nodded. “Well, it seems that Maker bit off more than he could chew. Sure, he could accumulate all the knowledge of his people and the planet itself but the mortal mind can only comprehend so much. For a while, he sought to unlock greater portions of his mental capacity to try and alleviate some of the pressure but even with all that knowledge, he couldn’t find a way. In the end, he had to purge himself of it and store it separately from his form. That is where Knowhere came into existence.”

“Knowhere?”

“An artificial lifeform that was imbued with everything Maker had accumulated from the Knowing. In a way, it’s the galaxy’s most powerful computer ever made. Of course, granting all that knowledge to one object was too dangerous and so Maker had to carefully place security measures to keep it from… ‘acting up’. And he made sure to keep the knowledge of those security measures within himself. Now with an outsourced means of extended knowledge, he could still have access to all he had gained without putting his life in danger. But that was hardly fitting for a man like Maker. No, he was still hellbent on housing all of that knowledge within himself. But if his people’s knowledge and his planet’s knowledge didn’t possess the means, what could?”

“Other planets,” Hosrius spoke up.

“Bingo for the tall chap,” Genesis remarked. “So Maker set out to do exactly what he had done to Teras Prime; absorb each planet’s knowledge from its people and world. But the project had taken him decades to complete and surely he would only manage to accumulate a few planets before he passed of old age. So first, he needed a means of achieving immortality. His goals became two-fold and with them set, he headed out among the stars to search them out. But there were dangerous people among other planets, ones that may not have been as smart as he was but possessed much more power or weaponry. Maker needed his own weapon; one that would make him untouchable. An apex predator.”

Genesis extended his two thumbs and pointed them at himself. “And so the Genesis project was formulated. Ironic name for a creature meant to kill, right? Maker sent out machines across the galaxy, collecting DNA from all sorts of living creatures and accumulated them in his laboratory. Stitching them together was quite the lengthy, tiresome process but in the end, he had created me. Or rather, my first form. Ugly little beastie I was. And yet, something happened that Maker hadn’t anticipated; with all that raw, genetic material inside, he had created a mutant, capable of continuous mutations depending on the situation. I was created to adapt to any scenario so as to fulfill my purpose. Within a few short months, I have evolved into a different form; one a bit more brutish but containing more wisdom than before. Maker kept me close and dispatched me to subvert attempts on his life as he accumulated enemies. And so I did, only… I never killed them. Something felt wrong about taking another person’s life. I beat them to the point of submission but that hardly took too much effort. In the meantime, I read and studied and utilized Knowhere to answer questions that Maker didn’t think were important enough to answer. And I eventually came to a conclusion.”

“Which was?”

“Life is fun. Maker sees life as a means to an end; a resource for him to tap so that he could break through his own potential and become omniscient and omnipotent. Everything is for his gain. But it’s so much more enjoyable to be part of it, to participate as an equal, albeit a stronger, synthesized one. I forced myself to evolve once more, becoming this perfect form you see here and decided to partake rather than destroy. And I loved it -- especially sex. Maker had created me without the need or ability to procreate so I just went ahead and forced that particular little evolution and boy, am I glad I did. But the freedom that comes from the utter chaos of life is just so enjoyable. Maker didn’t view it that way and eventually, I parted ways. Granted, he tried to kill me but luckily even he hadn’t predicted just how durable I would become. I set out on my own, wanting to carve my own path away from the necessities of what my creator had crafted me for. That’s probably why I was so bad at following rules and laws; they reminded me too much of orders, especially ones I didn’t agree with. People should be allowed to do what they want, when they want, so long as it doesn’t harm other people. Half the charges ladled onto my head are from corrupt politicians that are trying to paint me as this ridiculous crime boss when all I did was break up numerous slave trades.”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Grubar snorted. “You’re seriously trying to paint yourself as some kind of victim here? Like you didn’t commit crimes?”

“Now, now, my scaly friend, I never said that. Someone lacking official documentation or explanation is bound to find themselves in the criminal lifestyle. And once said corrupt politicians began to blame me for crimes anyways, I may have broken one or a dozen laws to undermine them further. I figured if they were going to come after me, I may as well make their lives living hells as well,” Genesis explained with a chuckle.

“So… that’s my life story. Did it offer all the explanations you needed?”

“A few but not all. You claim that Maker wished to enact the same ritual he did on my planet and yet there’s been no evidence of such preparations.”

Genesis’ face darkened slightly. “Maker… found something when he absorbed the planet’s knowledge. It led him on a journey, while I was still in my young form, to a far distant star system. I don’t know what happened there or what he found or even its name. But when he returned, he had acquired a new collection of information. He housed it away from me and away from Knowhere and his experiments from there on out were… stranger. I could never identify them.”

Blade considered the homunculi’s words for a moment before he reached forward. He drew a series of symbols and then brought forth the same dark, swirling energy mass that he’d discovered in the blade that had nearly killed Vandrad. “Can you tell if this is it?” he asked.

Genesis didn’t even need to study it. And everyone would be able to see the very real chill that ran through his being, goosebumps raising all over his flesh. “Yes. All I know is once he started adding it to his experiments and his rituals, they became nearly unidentifiable. They left no trace save for the ominous feeling that hung in the air. Pain. Destruction.”

“Death.”