"Er... thanks," said Burning. He pushed himself off the bed and walked over to Ozell. He took a cup and pretended to be scratching his side as he grabbed a small wand. The hot chocolate flashed green. No poison.
He took a sip before asking, "What have you been up to, lately?"
Arc ID: 475246, "Bringing a Lord to Power"
"I'm only a simple man trying to cling to my tomorrow. Every day. By any means necessary."
-Caldwell B. Cladwell
Ozell smiled as his tray was lightened a bit. The hot chocolate was already at the perfect temperature- not only had Ozell been heavy on the mix, but he had added milk to cool it down, as well as what tasted like a bit of butter. The result was a cup of hot chocolate that tasted so good that you felt guilty to drink it lest you get fat.
"N-Nothing, really. The lab has been stepping up its PR stuff, which means I've had a bit more work than usual.. but nothing to worry about. I'm here to get the best results possible-- Maybe the pressure's on, but to me it feels like a vacation."
He smiled brightly once again. It was never visible behind his scarf, of course, but he was one of those people who had an aura to him in that regard. As he set the tray down on the table, a small box could be seen laying on it behind the kettle... it was covered in purple wrapping paper, and tied in a lime green ribbon. 'Schizophrenias' was written on it in Ozell's neat, curvy handwriting.
"Oh, and..." Ozell pointed nonchalantly to the gift on the tray. "That's for you, Schizophrenias. You don't have to open it here."
"W, what?" Schizophrenias burst out. "What the HECK are you doing giving me a gift?!"
Thorns appeared in each of his hands. "What is WRONG with you? I'm one of the most horrible and worthless piles of [censored] ever to walk the planet! Or rather float, because walking is for chumps," he added, grinning briefly before remembering he was furious.
He tentatively aimed a thorn at Ozell and a thorn at the present, and then frowned.
". . . Nah," he said, and aimed them both at Ozell's feet.
"Think fast!" he cackled, and let them fly.
As Church pushed the figure's robe, he might have noticed there seemed to be very little resistance to its body, almost as if the person's form had been composed of liquid.
"I merely wanted to see you in person." the figure answered Sparky, "Thank you for your time."
The Mu mystic, however, could clearly feel this wasn't all there was to it. The figure seemed to be gauging him with invisible eyes, almost as if it was sizing him up for something. What this could be, however, was a mystery, as the figure's intentions eluded even the powerful mage's abilities...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"I told you, kid. Everything'll be fine."
"But I can't! She's out there. I can't..."
"So what if she won a match, babe? You've got a boyfriend."
"<.<..."
Rosie placed her hands on Essex's shoulders, scowling down at her. She'd marched the little android out back for a long pep talk after seeing her freeze up at the sight of Zealstorm.
"Now you listen to me, there's a whole building of people in there that are essentially here to beat up Zealstorm. Me included. Got it?" the were-human snapped.
"Technically they have to defeat me, too." Essex said quietly, biting her lip.
"That's an added bonus." Rosie muttered, shepherding her back into the building.
Zealstorm, in the meantime, relaxed against a far wall. This alliance....was good, she'd decided.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"What I'm doing? I'm giving you a gift because it'sACK!"
Ozell leapt lightly away from the thorns with a slight yelp. Having seen them coming (and knowing the pain they caused), he was easily able to dodge- though in doing so he spilled his hot chocolate, causing it to splash and slide down the material of his black bodysuit onto the floor. His bodysuit was fine and Ozell hadn't even felt it, but now the carpet had a stain.
"...Sorrysorrysorry!! Hang on!" Setting his cup down, Ozell dashed out of the room- returning a moment later with paper towels and a cup of water. Pouring that on the floor to dilute it, he set the towels down to then soak it up.
"...It's Hallucinogen's birthday tomorrow. Which means that if you're the same person, kinda sorta, it's also yours. ...I didn't want you to be left out if I couldn't make it." He looked away with a meek grin. "Besides, I think you'll appreciate it. And yes, I said 'if' I couldn't make it. I'm going to try to meet up with you! ...But if I don't.. yeah. You've got that gift."
And with that, he backed out of the room. He had strategy he had to discuss with Rulaag. "Enjoy the hot chocolate!"
Schizo watched Ozell leave with an expression of mingled horror and disbelief.
"Why the HELL does he care about my birthday?" he snapped at Burning. "He's insane, isn't he? I'm the most horrible person you've ever met, aren't I? At least Blightlord is competent and successful, right? Right? RIGHT?"
He glared at Burning, waiting for confirmation that he was, in fact, a vile maniac beyond all hope.
* * * * * *
"Uh. . . Essex?" Hal's voice muttered nervously as Rosie and Essex entered the building. "You all right? . . . And no, I haven't been following you invisible, really! I hate that power sometimes."
"Careful Schizo. You seem so nice today, I could almost swear it was Hal impersonating you," said Burning. "It's good to see you're re-thinking being a villain."
Grinning to himself beneath his cowl and hood, the hero walked out of the room.
Arc ID: 475246, "Bringing a Lord to Power"
"I'm only a simple man trying to cling to my tomorrow. Every day. By any means necessary."
-Caldwell B. Cladwell
"Suuuuure you didn't, kiddo," said Solid from where he was leaning right next to the inside doors. "Pull the other finger, it does the mamba."
Pushing off from the wall, Solid angled his walk so that he was in front of the two girls.
"Sup Essex?" he said to the little reploid before looking at Rosie. "And tall, grey, and husky wants to see you at the punching range thing."
***********************************************
Loud, rattling snores were all that came from Wielder. The big tanker had walked into his room and promptly fell asleep, possibly in the hopes of resting well before his fight.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Gah! I WASN'T!" Hal exclaimed angrily at Solid's comment. "Ugh, no one ever believes people with concealment powers. I am capable of telling the truth, you kn--sorry," he muttered, recognizing he was losing his temper and stopping himself.
* * * * * *
"W, w, WHAT?!?" Schizo exclaimed as Burning left the room smiling. "No! You don't understand! I don't want to be good! It's boring and lame! And it hurts Fury! I DON'T WANNA!"
He quieted suddenly, and brought a little doll out of nowhere that appeared, creepily enough, to have been made in Essex's likeness. It was in excellent shape, unusually enough for Schizo's possessions.
"It's okay, Schizo!" Schizo said in a high, squeaky voice, wiggling the plushie's arms to suggest it was speaking. "You're a horrible, sick person beyond all hope! I hate you!"
"Oh, Essex," Schizo cackled, the doll disappearing in a flash of purple light. "You always know the wrong thing to say."
"I'm okay..." Essex said, a little morosely, looking up at Hal and Solid. "I just don't know if I'm good enough for this whole fight thing. I don't even know if my wish is grantable."
Rosie, on the other hand, perked up upon hearing Solid.
"Oh really?" she said, her tail starting to wag. "Ghoulie-Ghoulie! Sweet! Later, small fry!"
With that, she trotted out to the 'punching range', tail wagging happily.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"...That's too bad about your loss! I was cheering for you the whole way, though."
Ozell beamed enthusiastically, shrugging off the unconventional way he had been greeted. In his arms was a tray that was loaded down with many cups, mixes, and a steaming electric kettle.
"And hello, Burning Brawler. I.. figured you guys would like some hot chocolate."