Forums » General Roleplay » » Death of the Last Megadragon [OPEN]

Four days had passed since the last Megadragon had fallen from the sky. Tucked away in his little hired appartment in the middle of the Sky-Fisher's District, where the sky was smoggy and trembled with the heat that came from the dataserver village a block over, Randle'd seen it happen from a surprisingly premium viewpoint, and still hadn't been able to process it fully. A winged beast, at least 20 kilometers from its gnarly black snout to the tip of its tail, had simply come crashing down from the heavens and landed right in the middle of the busy uptown, squashing millions of intergalactic folks with the sheer size of its thick-scaled body. All the while, Randle had hoped that this case would be a quiet one. Goddess knew that quiet, unproblematic cases weren't the life for him. Then again, that kinda came with the whole 'private eye from the middle of New Arcadia's seedy underbelly'. Oh well. Today marked the day that he'd check out the corpse. Wanderers from all over Everyone's Outpost, as the megalopolis was so subtly called, felt ever drawn to the mystique of a supposedly extinct megamonster's corpse, and as much as the local authorities had tried to keep them away, two research parties had already climbed through its gaping maw to find out the cause of its demise. Maybe Randle'd join one too if he was feeling ambitious. Right now, though, he was just interested in finding out of the missing child that he was after for about a month now wasn't among the victims of the Megadragon's crushing streak. "How they managed to never see this fella coming, I'll never understand," Randle thought as he, around 10 in the morning that day, exited the O-Bahn monorail to enter the crash site. "How does something that big go unnoticed 'till it's already too darn late?" Putting out his sourly cheap cigarette against the palm of his hand - having no full-fletched nerve endings installed into his system had its perks.. -, he stared up at the literal mountain of dead black flesh that stacked up towards the otherwise clear and sunny sky. Surely the weather didn't suggest that loads of folks, innocent or otherwise, had met their end being crushed to death by a deceased Megadragon with the body weight of a small moon. A damn tragedy indeed, but as was often the case with men in his line of work, the show had to go on. There was a makeshift morgue up ahead where the victims were registered; folks there were overworked, as more and more deaths were reported each day. The wailing of desperate parents, children, partners had become like a distant static in the air: quiet, but painful. Strangely, the atmosphere wasn't that monolithical. About 20 meters down the devastated street, a tall and spindly figure with four arms danced about, chirping a happy request into the crisp morning air. Another research party was about to take off.. and this one was intending to come back alive. Yeah, right. Maybe it was the hidden adventurer in him taking over his subconscious, or maybe it was his lack of proper 'sleep' that messed with his wiring, but somehow Randle found himself gravitating towards the enthusiastic explorer- and clearly, he wasn't alone in showing interest.. _____________________ This is where your character come in! Whether they're a visitor to the mysterious metropolis of Everyone's Outpost or a humble local, they feel drawn to the mystery of an enormous Megadragon (which have been presumed to have gone extinct over thousands of years ago) dropping from the sky and crushing the city. Are they eager for adventure, or do they seek answers about how this could've happened? Maybe they're looking to earn some fat cash from this, too. The choice is yours! For this RP, there are only a couple of rules to be followed. 1. RPR rules surrounding mature themes apply. // 2. Put in effort, and don't ignore your fellow players. // 3. Once enough players come in, we can discuss a possible posting order, and regulations surrounding those. // 4. Have fun, sinners! If you have any questions, suggestions or are otherwise concerned about something, be sure to shoot me a PM. I'll allow for a lot of player freedom, but at the end of the day I won't hesitate to step in if I catch someone spoiling the fun with laziness or unfunny shenanigans.

While the sudden crash of something that should not have been alive was technically more a subject for first aid and the Intelligence than it was for vigilantes, in the overall mayhem caused by the Megadragon's... "impactful" death, more than one person was in need of help, and Cris felt that her place was there. As Light Raygun the vigilante, but also, albeit indirectly, as lady Cris Aliprandi the promoter of the yet-in-the-works Non humans Embassy. If a Megadragon had somehow survived and met it's end on Earth, it was not altogether *impossible* that there might have not been other survivors.

For all these reasons the iconic figure clad in a pale kimono and wearing an elaborate kitsune mask had taken the first flight aimed for the megalopolis and was now navigating her way through unfamiliar streets toward the scene of the tragedy, a place she had never visited before but that in the last four days had been in the news so often, she had a pretty accurate idea of what to look for.

Even from a distance the large dead shape could be distinguished, with its death toll in its wake. Behind the mask, Cris drew a sharp breath at the thought of the many lives lost. Something in her, a familiar restlessness that had given her way too much to brood over lately, threatened to resurface once more - the dread of how easy it was for mortal life to be extinguished - but she shoved those thoughts aside. For now.

There was work to do and she had to stay focused.

Admittedly, the Goodall had not stopped on the planet for the Megadragon. They had arrived about a week ago to simply refill their supplies and fuel. When the Megadragon crashed down without any other sign or purpose, the captain had thought that was reason enough to pack up their things and leave.

But not for Cepheus.

Even with Cepheus' formation over one hundred years ago in standard galactic time, he had never heard of a Megadragon. It made sense, given they were long extinct by then and likely didn't live on worlds without an atmosphere. Or did they? He wasn't sure, but the concept of the Megadragon fascinated him.

It was unfortunate to him that his crew wouldn't help him investigate. In fairness, the captain was the one who booted him off the ship for the time being, but at least they wouldn't abandon him while they stuck around. His crewmate's pity didn't feel nice, but it was his own fault for arguing with the captain, anyway.

That's what brought him to a standstill in front of the corpse of the Megadragon. With a can of 'pop' in his hand, his gaze traveled up and up at the sheer size of the thing. He let out an impressed whistle before downing the rest of his cola, crushing the can to discard on the streets. One would think the least he could do when being surrounded by mourning families was not litter.

He gazed around, spying a lady in a red-and-white kimono with a mask before he turned to the eager, four-armed fellow. Now, how did someone promising- Cris!?

Cepheus did a double-take back to 'Light Raygun' before quickly looking away. Nope. He does not perceive her. And hopefully, she wouldn't perceive him.

Overhearing the promise of money, he was certain it would substantially benefit his crew and surely guarantee his spot back at the captain's side. Unfortunately, he had to sidestep Light's presence in order to get to the surprisingly chipper creature. Damn.

In case she saw him, he knelt to pick up his garbage to discard in the closest trash bin - that which belonged in recycling, actually - and head over to Randle and Cepheus' potential money-maker.

"I'm hearing summin' 'bout a research party of some sort?"

"Indeed! With the help of my nifty invention, the Wayfinder 2K, we're at no risk at all in getting lost! It will scan the entirety of the Megadragon's interior, and show us all the routes to its secrets.." His large hands stuffed away into the pockets of his trench coat, Randle watched as the slender pioneer babbled on and on about his great plans for the exploration of the dragon's tummy. Perhaps he was full of crap.. yet at the same time, Randle was programmed to crave enigma. His case awaited, but with how strange the circumstances had been surrounding the case of the missing child, it wouldn't surprise him if he could find traces of them in here, somehow. "There's no limit to how many of you I'm willing to take in there, no! Just know that adventures like these aren't for the faint of heart!" What did surprise him, however, was seeing a familiar face approach the scene. Or, rather, mask. "Well well, Light Raygun," Randle chuckled as he spotted Cris within the crowd. "Small universe after all, eh?" He'd much rather walk up to her for a proper handshake and a pat on the shoulder, but since he saw Cris out here in the open donning her vigilante get-up, he didn't want to spoil her anonymity with an expression of their friendship. That could wait, no doubt. Right as he made it over to her and, arms crossed over his chest, wanted to comment on the strange case at hand, someone else drew his attention away- by attracting the pioneer's. A blue, celestial body-esque figure that reminded him of an old client of his, but also of Sprite, with the guerilla-like outfit he was sporting. With all the swagger in the world, he moved out to the front and asked the explorer straight to his face about that opportunity he was offering. Geez, wasn't in a darn hurry, now was he? But the straightforward attitude of the glowing man definitely fell on delighted ears, as the four-armed man's round, pale face broadened with a smile for the ages, glistening needle-teeth showing. "See, folks, that's the spirit I'm after! Yes, my glowy friend, yes, I am leading the first successful exploration party into the Megadragon, and all with the balls in the right place are welcome to join!" Four-Arms grinned, clasping his upper two hands together. "Say, would that make you the first of the brave adventurers in our team? There's a nice pay, if you'd like! All from CognitoCorp's girthy ol' pocket!" His voice was grating and awfully high-pitched, but there was authenticity to the way he dressed himself. A black microfiber bodysuit, topped with weathered belts and bandoliers, tactical plating, and night-vision goggles dangling from his neck. Even if Four-Arms was the most annoying explorer to ever roam the universe, he sure was genuine. As he awaited the reply from the light blue entity, Randle considered his options, his deep brow a furrowing line above piercing, mechanical silver eyes. "Sounds good, doesn't it? Any other takers?" Overly enthusiastic too? Yeah, dealing with this fella was gonna be a challenge in its own right. "Suppose it wouldn't be too awful to have someone watch one's back in there," Randle mumbled, looking between Cris and Four-Arms. An expedition of this proportion wasn't something he'd come across often- but he was without his crew, and had a missing child to chase. Darn, these dilemmas..

Ren was ordered by the Treasoners to search for a Mr. "Randle Pentecost". Based on the intelligence given to him, this individual is in need of help with the megadragon, a creature that had piqued the organization's interest. He knew of the Treasoner's need to defend the galaxy, despite their name having the English word, "Treason", though he was not sure as to what this dead dragon could do to help with anything.

He was not alone in this effort because he was with his closest friend, Azumi. Azumi was some sort of short-statured fox creature that had taken Ren in when he was only an infant and while he is thankful for her loving care after all these years, it sometimes bordered on overprotectiveness. Ever since the incident that gave Ren mysterious abilities, which the Treasoners refused to explain what these powers could do, he had made the choice to join them to protect Azumi and everyone he cared about. Unfortunately, joining a do-gooder's group would mean helping strangers he did not know, people he did not want to trust unless those he already trusted said otherwise.

"Our Person of Interest...", Ren noted to Azumi.

"Well?", she said and smiled, "Go on, dear. Don't be shy!"

Ren groaned and finally mustered up the courage to walk up to Randle. Azumi followed suite

"I am lieutenant Ren Hemmberg. You seek the Megadragon? I may be of service to you", Ren said confidently, his body language would state otherwise as he seemed slightly shaky as he approached him.

((Hello, is this RP sci-fi based? I did see the mention of a "spirit", which Azumi is, but if it is not, I'll happily adjust these characters to the setting! My characters are meant for a sci-fi/fantasy setting but I usually adjust them if it's okay ))

The young woman reaches out to one of the glittering forms as she walks the star-lit path, captivated as always by the shimmer of her distant guides. Euphoria continues to wash over her with each footfall that touches down on interstellar gas. The journey from place to place, task to task, so... beautiful.

An upset shout snaps her out of her reverie, and she drops her hand away from the stoplight she had been reaching for. She scrambles for a moment to get out of the angry person's way before looking about to get her bearings. A city's artery, but not flowing right. The thrum of activity was off key, out of sync. Something had happened here, something... tantalizing. She slowly does a full turn to take in everything, then does a second take. In the distance, there! Not a mountain, a corpse! Most majestic, most massive. Most perfect. Her breath catches in her throat, her heart begins to race, and her mis-matched eyes go wide with wonder and anticipation. The stars had guided her oh-so-well this time! This might be exactly what she was looking for!

She opens the heavy book she had been keeping clutched against herself and frantically leafs through the pages until she finds what she's looking for. Frantic eyes scour the page, capturing all that they can, and then she slams the tome shut with a bang, satisfied. She takes off down the street, more than aware of where she needed to be, and how short lived that space would be. Her legs carry her as swiftly as they can, invigorated by her zeal and excitement to push through fatigue until she sees who she needs to see.

The small group around the four-armed man sees a young woman with almost pure white skin and hair sprinting toward them. She's wearing a light powder-blue dress, close fit around her upper body with a pair of open buttons near the top, while the knee-length skirt of the dress is loose and flowing. The sleeves go just past her shoulders. Her left sock, white, comes up to her knee, while her right sock, very pale pink, goes up to her mid thigh. Her shoes are kitten-grey flats with ballet-shoe-style straps securing them to her ankles. She's fairly slim, but has more than enough shape and tone to her body to look energetic, healthy, and very conventionally pretty in spite of her unusual snowy palor. She clutches a book to her chest, a massive textbook bound in leather the colour of tanned skin. It's cover and spine are modestly embossed in faded bronze-coloured lettering, "Organic Chemistry and Functions of the Body: A Comprehensive Reference. 4th edition." No author, publisher, or institution name. It has a worn, used look, but is obviously exceptionally well cared for.

She takes a moment to catch her breath after stumbling to a stop near the four-armed man. Once she has, she gazes up at him, right eye summer-sky blue, left an almost amber brown, both wide, soft, and pleading. "You're going to it, right? May I go with you? Please? I promise I shan't be a burden, I know how to keep myself safe, and I often do well at finding the question to an unexpected answer, and sometimes even the answer to an unexpected question! Please, please, please let me with you!"

Corpses! Where am I now?

She closed her mouth with her palms when it was wide open because of the utter shock she got. As far as she walked, the young lass whom just lost her earrings due to circumtances around her need of birthday present she bought for hear dear adopted niece of someone her hold dearly, had arrived at the scene. It was tragic, more than she could ever describe, with the amount of mess over the land she wandered enough or the corpses she found which somehow mentally drained for her. Disaster, she thought, but even though there would be some cracked over here and there it must be more than just a mere disaster. She likes to wander around, and sometimes even occupied with the strangeness of life to be her destiny.

Tifa passed on the streets, she stopped at the announcement of Megadragon arrival on the city with the masive chaos it was bearing, the announcer with the deep heavy sound, had realized it would be the doom for them. for the human, to be exact. Tifa cleared her throat, clenching her fist as she felt outraged over the monster which annihilated innocence human, what's more if there were children? She couldn't just stand it if children had included. Monsters weren't new to her, but, she usually goes with her friends to defeat them. This might be the first time that she chose to fight for it alone.

She was sure with the call. She gripped her fist tightly. Even though it might be full of risk for her life. She ran quickly to the center of the mass destructive site when she found out some unique looking traveller had gather around, it seems that they had the same pursue as her. For justice, it should be enough. She approached the tallest which looking the modest around them then. Tifa was sure at least he would be the one whom led them on the team.

"I hope I can be another helping hand, if you may." Tifa saidfirmly to Randle, with the eager on her eyes could be seen. She saw another girl had persuaded Randle to come together with them that she hoped for at least with her presence could give a pair of peace between these destructive site.

And just like that, there's an explosion of people approaching, curious about the search party. Cepheus pondered if maybe he was speaking too loud. . . no. It definitely had to be Four-Arms over here, who would practically explode in delight at the sheer number of volunteers, probably.

"Now, lemme get somethin' here straight," Cepheus said firmly to the spindly creature-man, opting to ignore the arrivals for the time being. He wanted answers. "The hell you mean, 'if I'd like?' If you think I'm gon' do any of this here labor inside that dragon's fermenting gut for free, you got somethin' else comin'."

Cepheus crammed his fists into his pockets, leaning forward for a second as an emphasis, like a silent 'huh' at him. However, he realized he might be coming off as aggressive, so he toned it down a notch.

"I ain't heard o' no CoginitoCorp, though. . . they fund this stuff before? This the first time or somethin'?" Suspicious, he canted his head, as though looking at Four-Arms sideways, even with no eyes. "Is that what's makin' the difference of folks comin' out alive? Their money? Or is it your wacky new invention?"

Finally, Cepheus got to the most interesting part. He regarded Four-Arms up and down, then landing on that face grinning with all those razor-sharp teeth. Cute.

"So, uh. Can I see it? Whassit do, actually? That Wayfinder 2k? Find ways or some shit? Ain't a dragon's GI tract pretty straightforward?"

Not that Cepheus knew how complicated a gastrointestinal tract was. He was just a walking figure of plasma. He had a shoot past his face where moonshine went down to. . . somewhere, and that was about it.

As much as Randle wanted to give closure to the parents of the missing child, he knew that unique scenario’s like these rarely had sunny outcomes. One way or another, he had to investigate this Megadragon and the havoc it had wreaked.. and by the looks of it, the only way to he could go now, was inside. That was why he held his tongue when the luminous young man and Four-Arms got into a little squabble about the company the latter worked for and the deets of the gig- for now, Randle just needed his ticket into the Megadragon, and could ask questions later. It wasn’t like a Husk with an unliving body would be in that much danger compared to mortals, anyway.. ”Hm?” His presence hadn’t gone unnoticed, though. First, a humanoid with a hood and furry companion approached him and introduced himself as Ren, saying he wanted to assist him in dealing with the Megadragon. What..? ”Uhh, I think you’re mistaken there, pal. I never requested anything- it’s Four-Arms over there ya wanna talk to.” That didn’t explain why Ren knew his name, though. However, what made things even weirder was that shortly after, another humanoid approached him, saying that she wanted to help. The girl was dressed in awfully skimpy clothes that didn’t strike Randle as very practical in an adventuring context. What was it with these people? ”Hey, gotta apologize to you, too, but I’m not in charge of this operation. Glad to see so many folks willing to lend a hand, of course, that’s for sure.” He got a strange, almost jealous side-eye from Four-Arms, but rather than greeting the two humanoids lingering by Randle’s side, he went on to talk to the luminous man and a bright young woman that’d come up into his personal bubble. ”Ah, goodness me! Such enthusiasm and fire I see here, I like it, I do! Now, to begin with you,” he said as he pointed at the glowing fella with the red scarf, ”CognitoCorp is indeed barely a baby’s step past its humble beginnings. This would be our first operation outside of my homeworld of Krakkan V, but rest assured- we have saved our planet many a times before by going on excavations and journeys similar to this one.” With a grin that wide, it was hard to read Four-Arms’ emotions, but it was obvious that he wanted to keep his cool. He had to present himself as both a trustworthy group leader and a charming salesman that was able to recruit as many people as possible, which, ironically, was detrimental to that first objective. Randle saw where Sunny-Face was coming from, and respected the man’s cautious eye. There were loads of smelly tidbits to this sale’s speech, but that was often the case in this business. He was as worried about it as the next guy, sure, though for the time being he was content with staying on the edge of the party, and cooking up his own little plan for when he’d finally make it into the Megadragon. ”Now, to answer your request, my fine-looking dear, yes, you are more than welcome to come along!” he grinned to the white-haired woman. ”In fact, all of you are welcome to join! All I ask of you is that you meet me next to the 7th Tooth, that’s on the dragon’s left side, in one hour. You will have plenty of time to get ready, I presume, and, ah, maybe sneak a snack from the soup kitchen while you’re there, ah?” He’d left some questions unanswered, easily covered up by the chaos of so many people wanting his attention at the same time. Slowly, the group of interested folks began to disband. Randle stayed in place, pondering over what to do. He didn’t need rations like most, and usually he enjoyed neglecting his weapons as much as possible. Maybe some snooping around to kill the time wouldn’t hurt..

Orders received. He finally got the orders to start the mission. Ren was never one for waiting and the fact that it took Four Arms only a few moments to give them instructions to send them on their way meant that Ren had to be there, as early as possible. But where was the seventh tooth of this gigantic carcass? Surely it would cause them to be late if a lack of coordinates were present. However Azumi dragged him by his arm, seemingly ready to go to the location specified.

"Overthinking it again, dear?", She giggled at her summoner's condundrum, "He said left side, the seventh tooth. Now come on, the Treasoners are never late!"

So they went off as soon as Four-Arms had given them the meet up place, possibly catching others off guard at the suddenness of their actions.

At the acceptance of her chance to get in on this oh-so-perfect for her opportunity, the pale woman jumps and claps excitedly. When told where the rendez-vous would be, she gives a swift, sharp nod of understanding. The trick now would be finding where to actually get the supplies she might need in a city she didn't know and in the middle of a disaster.

She scans the gathered group for anyone who doesn't look like they're leaving in an urgent way, those ones wouldn't have time for detours, most likely. She considers asking the construct, but she feels that he makes Book uneasy somehow, so silently promises to save him as a last resort option, if nobody else presents themselves as a likely candidate.

((OOC note: anyone wanting someone to bounce off and would be willing to offer Ziktia a hand, especially if they think they'd have local knowledge, is very welcome to approach her to offer help or assume she approaches them if nobody else has. Probably time to start buddying up characters!))

Tifa listened to Randle and took a glimpse to the Four-Arm as mentioned to be the one who will be in charge for their operation. The feels suddenly lingered on her like the reactor explodes operation with Avalanche before. That included the bomb, explosions, devastation and so. However, Tifa hoped that she could be another helping hand for this side of continent. All she could do now to seek the way that was being mentioned from the Four-Arm, 7TH Tooth. The other man in hood already proceed to go with the fox-like spirit and their enthusiasm. Tifa then noticed at Ziktia and approached her.

“Do you want to go together? With me? I can protect you.” Tifa smiled genuinely. Tifa offered her hand so that Ziktia could take her to go together. Tifa was eager to protect the innocent ones. At least she has to defend for the justice. Tifa waited for Ziktia’s move before stroll together with her to the instructed place.

The Novakid tilted his head away from Four-Arms. Had he any eyes, it'd almost seem like a side-eye.

"If you say so," was all he offered.

Now he was curious about Krakkan V, but he didn't have the time to spend dilly-dallying around and grilling Four-Arms. There was work to do and if the pay was good, he would settle for it. Speaking of pay. . .

"As long as I can get that payment on a prepaid card, we're good."

Soon enough, he turned to head for the soup kitchen. They had an hour to prepare and people were already heading to the 7th Tooth. For their own reasons, it might be. It wasn't like Cepheus was sure. He considered time the same as money and would spend it accordingly. Particularly, that meant spending it carefully. Like how, just now, he'd spend it on another can of pop. He didn't need it, as he had no biological requirement for food, but it was something that was nice to have. Besides, it was his own money, so it wasn't like he'd argue with his crew over it.

After he'd gathered his own tools to prepare to enter the belly of this forsaken beast, he would survey the crowd before him. Most notably, there was that furry-looking fellow - two of them, actually. However, one of them did not have Cris around and that was deemed much easier to interact with. Especially in the case Cris was cross with him, which he was pretty sure was the case.

With a toolbox and drone case strapped over his back with the belts crossing, Cepheus carried to weight over to the dragon's stinking mouth, cola in hand. The other hand raised to run gloved fingers through the back of his corona, or what some might deem as 'hair.' In particular, he looked to the hooded summoner and his ally.

"Y'all're takin' this very seriously for folks without uniforms," he remarked, perhaps a bit too casually. "We still got an hour. I take it you ain't here for pleasure though. Well, neither am I. Name's Cepheus."

Ren held up a pistol that materialized out of thin air, out of fear it was a spy... only for Azumi to raise her hand to signal that Cepheus was no threat.

"What is wrong with you?", She scolded Ren, "He's part of the expedition, dear!"

"I thought-"

"Thought? This would have been a nice introduction if it weren't for your overprotectiveness of me! I am your familiar, I should be the one protecting you anyway!"

There was no arguing with the little fox lady, he was being to wary of everyone around him. Soon after, Ren stretched out an arm, mostly avoiding eye contact.

"Lieutenant Ren Hemmberg of the Treasoners", Ren said, "My organization doesn't like putting flags, symbols or anything fancy. I'm wearing an armored vest under this jacket, so I'm not Ill-equipped for this expedition. It does make me wonder why Azumi here prefers to wear a kimono in a place where danger could be lurking about any second!"

He turned and scowled at his familiar. Axumi simply rolled her eyes before the familiar surrounded herself in a cloud of smoke. Her kimono was now a lightly armored spy attire with a tactical belt. On her back was a holster with a magic staff in it.

"I like kimonos, you know...", Azumi pouted, but then realized she had not introduced herself

"I am Azumi, Ren's familiar. I am bound to protect my summoner, however as you can see, he is more keen on protecting me", She giggled

Just as swiftly, Cepheus had pulled his own pistol on Ren. His cola can went clattering to the ground, luckily unopened. However, seeing Ren back down, Cepheus gave his own pistol a twirl before holstering it.

"Take a load off," he replied, calm despite his word choice. "Before you pull that shit on the wrong person. You know, my shot's faster, or my name ain't Cepheus-Thirteen."

For a moment, he glanced down, mourning his fallen beverage. It was probably keen to explode if he opened it now. By the time it'd settled, it wouldn't be as cold anymore. Great.

"Tsk. Now you owe me a drink." Just then, he waved a hand. "Kidding, kidding. Though, I gotta admit, ain't it ironic you're on the lookout for people with ill intent here when you folks are called the 'Treasoners?' That don't sound the most loyal to me. How's I supposed to know you ain't gonna, I dunno, backstab us? Eh?"

"Now I wasn't born there, but apparently we're called the Treasoners because of a Tyrant king back in that planet Gastel's old days, and by most legal definitions, treason is the act of overthrowing the government. Doesn't say a good or bad one. Our group was a former military unit of planet Gastel that was sick of the horrible deeds they had to do, so they pulled a revolution and the rest is history. Basically, we're rebels in the sense that we defy bad guys. A Treasoner's only loyal to those in need"

Ren paused briefly before smirking after Cepheus noted his ability to shoot.

"Shooting is one thing", Ren said, "Gathering intel and using your wits is another. We treasoners are pretty ingenious when it comes to using the environment and our tools to our advantage"

"Now now", Azumi frowned, "We aren't here to see who's better. We shall combine our strengths to complete our mission, will we not?"

Ren nodded and looked at the beverage before them. Despite Cepheus telling the human that he was kidding, Ren thought of buying him another drink after all of this was over, but thought against it. He wasn't sure if it would even help anyway

"Despite your jokes", Azumi noted, "I think we should buy him Gastel's famous root beer if they serve it here after all of this is over. It's rather creamy in flavor and is Ren's favorite!"

"Wait what!?", Ren stuttered, "Fine, I wasn't exactly the nicest guy in this situation..."

Cepheus put a crooked finger to his own cheek thoughtfully. He didn't face Ren directly, especially to either not notice or outright ignore Ren's smirking and gloating. It wasn't apparent which it was.

"Sure is one way to put it," he remarked on the Treasoners' name. "Don't that make you think what constitutes as a 'bad guy' sometimes? I tend to think life is boring when you look at it in black and white."

He didn't mean it in a nagging way, as even his tone was casual. It was rather intended to spark self-reflection and maybe a philosophical discussion; to 'get the old thinking gears going.' If it was taken that way, anyway. Pacing slowly in place a bit, he raised his hands behind his head. The inflated can rolled to a stopping point on the broken road, completely abandoned by Cepheus now.

"Back when I was workin' under a contract with the law, I've always subscribed to the belief that there ain't no such thing as a 'bad person.' Just folks who do bad things. 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions,' as they say."

Glancing to Azumi, he raised a hand to express refusal.

"Aw, shucks. I appreciate it, but I can't afford to pay back anyone else at the moment. Even without money. Just not in that situation in life at the moment."

Cris had observed the growing interest around Four-Arms's speech with outwardly impassive eyes behind the mask. A familiar glow had her look up quizzically - wait, wasn't that...? She continued to watch all the verbal back-and-forth while silently making her own assessments. Her eyes lingered on the kitsune and her hooded companion who were talking with Xi's novakid friend, then on the other vixen and the human. The irony of two actual kitsunes going in a mission with someone who wore a kitsune mask was not lost on her. She glanced over her shoulder at Randle and gave a little shrug. "Quite the foxy gathering, hm? I guess if nothing else I'd not stand out _too_ much", she said half-jokingly, before glancing back at the assembling party. "I know the glowy one with the bandana", she said quietly to Randle. "We're, uh... friends of friends. And not friends of friends, when it comes to Burt, by what I could get." Thanks goodness fate seemed to have taken some mercy on the vigilante and her hot-tempered wolverine acquaitance was nowhere to be seen; at least she'd not have to save his tail off the umpteenth fight, squabble, smuggling or whatever else he stuck his reckless self in. "What about you, detective?" she asked Randle. "Here on a case, or...?"

With Four-Arms pitch over and done with, Randle decided to drift away from the masses, and take up a little conversation with the one vigilante that he could stand being around. There were many things to like about Ray Lightgun, whom he was so used to referring to as Cris already, and the fact that she wasn’t stereotypically self-righteous and morally lax, as vigilantes tended to be, made her one hell of an ally and friend to have. ”Hm, being able to keep ya cover low might certainly save ya from being picked for a demonstration,” Randle chuckled in reply to Cris’ remark about the unusually high kitsune-content in the party. ”Fella looks the type to pull those. Can’t say his pep talk puts a whole lot of ease in me, but this really does feel like a now-or-never kinda pursuit.” Reason and sensibility were his bread and butter, though he knew as good as anyone that if he didn’t put his neck out there a bit, his case wouldn’t progress at all. If heading into the Megadragon meant that he might gain more clues on his little client’s whereabouts, so be it. ”Do ya now? I feel like I’ve met the likes of him before on a case, ages back, but can’t say this ray of sunshine in particular feels familiar. Suppose putting yaself out there pays off.” When Cris mentioned Burt and asked for his reasons for being here, his gentle smile deepened, and he a drew a cigarette from his pocket. ”How’s Burt holding up, anyhow? I almost feel bad for letting Sprite be the extra muscle on Artie’s new voyage, heh.” Usually, he’d bring more man-power on his cases, but since the expedition to the Grav-Fall Tombs wasn’t one to underestimate, Randle’d offered to split off from the rest to pursue his current case. ”And.. yeah, same old. A poor young thing vanished shortly before the dragon hit the ground. I’m trying to remain optimistic.. but, well, I suppose with half the city covered in scales, it wouldn’t be strange to come looking for clues here.” As he lit his cig, he gestured back to the beast. Just trying to pass the time, he’d started heading into the direction of the soup kitchen that’d been put up nearby. An inorganic creature like himself didn’t require any lukewarm stock-and-noodles to keep going, really, but the tent was near the entrance and full of people who knew things. Snooping around in the middle of the mess was but a mere antipasta to the grand investigation to come. ”What about yourself, hm?” He’d seen the illuminated man Cris had described as a ‘friend of a friend’ team up with the hooded fella and his kitsune friend, though was clueless on where the two strange women had wandered off to. No matter. If they had the mettle, he’d no doubt meet them again 7th Tooth.