[Zorolo] Shan's Training

Ah, this is relaxation. Shan leaned back in his chair, a wide smile on his face. In one hand, he held a martini glass that was still half-full of blue liquor. It was one of those... what was the word? Frou-frou drinks. Fancy and extremely overpriced. But that didn’t bother the mercenary. The blue martini had a sweet and fruity taste to it and that more than made up for the price. And the best thing was, since his body processed alcohol quickly enough that it couldn’t affect him, he could drink as many as he wanted. Not that it would be good idea. He leaned back in chuckle. No, it wouldn’t be good to spend a large amount of his paycheck drinking martinis. Not to mention that drinking so much without showing any effects would be a little suspicious. And one of the reason he was sitting this bar was to go relatively unnoticed.

The bar had a rustic theme to it with wood-paneled walls, ceiling, and floor. The tables and chairs were also made out of faux-wood. Trees were too rare on this planet to make something like a bar out of them. But the establishment had made a good attempt to recreate the rare import. The liquor was lined up on a shelf behind the counter, allowing one to look at the actual alcohol instead of a menu. The tavern wasn’t very large, just having five tables and a counter to sit at. Not to mention that it was in a bit of a rough part of this city. But a small bar like this wouldn’t cause the Lilim too much trouble. Swirling the liquid in his glass, Shan sighed with content and took a large gulp, almost finishing the glass.

“Hey, you.” The pink-haired man look over the top of his glass to see a pair of men standing before his table. They looked like they might have had a little much. One of the men looked the Lilim down and then up. “What kind of man walks around with pink hair and drinks like a woman? Haven’t you got any balls?”

Ah crap. Despite the fact that it looked like this night wasn’t going to be as quiet as he wanted, Shan still couldn’t help snickering at the pair. It was obvious they were tipsy. This could turn out rather fun... Shantanu leaned forward with a grin, “Why, yes, I do. But you know, if you wanted to see them, all you had to do was ask. There’s no need to be shy about your interests.” He waggled his eyebrows for added effect. And did he get one.

“You little bastard!” the man roared and brought his fist down on the faux table, knocking it down and leaving a crack in it. But the Lilim had already leaped from his chair and, using the overturned table as a ledge, flew towards the man and kicked him straight in the jaw. The drunk went back and down. His friend gaped at the sight for just a second before deciding to get a little revenge his downed buddy. He swung at Shan but the mercenary ducked as the punch went wildly over and delivered his own fist to the man’s stomach. Then, for insurance, landed an uppercut in his chin. There was a harsh click from his jaws as the punch connected and he went down.

Shan smiled sardonically at the man, “Well, that was fun but you really didn’t put up a fight. It would’ve been better if it had been longer.” He brought the martini glass up to his lips, having held onto it throughout the little brawl, and finished it off. He swallowed it just as a knife was driving into his back. There was a little gasp from another of the patrons in the bar. Ow. The mercenary glanced over his shoulder to see the first drunk smiling triumphantly. Shan smiled back, “You missed.” Then he delivered a roundhouse kick, that time knocking the man out cold.

He nudged the man with his foot just to make he was out before turning his attention to the rest of the bar. The other people, all seven of them including the barkeep, were looking at him with interest. “Haha,” he laughed nervously, “Sorry to cause a stir but I think we’re done.”

“But the knife?” one of the customers asked.

“Oh, no worries,” the Lilim said quickly, “He just nicked me. Nothing deep or anything like that.” Actually, I think he stuck all six inches of it in my back. However, whatever wound had been caused was already healed thanks to his ‘uniqueness.’

“That was a pretty good battle.” Shan turned to see a very hot woman smiling at him. Hot literally. She wore a mechanical gauntlet on one hand that was covered in fire. Noting Shantanu’s glance at it, she added, “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not looking for a fight. I was actually ready to jump in if things got out of hand but you handled that much better than I thought.”

“Uh, thanks.” A female bouncer? Sweet.

“I’d like to talk to your for a second. If you’d come with me...” she beckoned suggestively with her finger and walked into a back door.

“Yes ma’am!” piped the Lilim and he scurried after her, almost falling down a set of stairs that was behind the door. A basement, huh? He waggled his eyebrows again and then snickered like an immature kid. Then again, he could always rationalize acting immature by claiming he was only seven. It was true.

“Are you coming?” the woman called and Shan hurried down the steps. The basement was relatively featureless save for shelves of wine. And another door that the woman was standing in front of. “You’re pretty strong,” she stated more than complemented. “Have you thought about getting stronger?”

The mercenary cocked his head, wondering where this conversation was going, “Well, getting strong is always a plus but I just like to fight.”

The woman let out a hardy laugh, “That works just as well.” She motioned to the door which was made of plain, white plastic with a simple, round doorknob. “It may not look like much but this door leads to a place where only strong people can go. I know, I trained there for awhile. I eventually had to leave, though, it was little much for me. But I think you’d have fun.”

“Really?” The woman’s speech had caught his utmost attention. Not only could this be fun but he had no information about such a place. Going there might be good information for his Mother. He approached the door but, before grabbing the handle, turned back to the woman, “You aren’t just pulling my leg, are you?”

She chuckled, “No, I’m being completely honest. But don’t take my word for it.” The woman motioned with her head, “Open the door.” So Shan opened the door and stepped through.

OoC: I say good post, Ranarath-chan. ^_^ Now then, I'm having a hard time deciding who's gonna teach you, so I'm going to throw in a little tid-bit about that later. ^_^

For now, have Shan enter and beginning looking around the Dome. You can have him head just about anywhere you like (save for the normally off limits places of other students and teachers rooms, and some of the training rooms and stuff). Eventually, have Shan wind up in a room that looks like a giant space ship and end your post there. Five hundred word minimum. ^_^

“Interesting,” Shan gazed around at his surroundings. “So, what exactly is this place?” he asked the bouncer but, when he turned to face her, only met a wall. That door that he had come through had vanished. “Okay. Guess I’m stuck here now.” He turned back to the open room. It what a half-circle with three hallways branching off. The walls, ceiling, and floor was made of a shiny, dark blue metal. There didn’t seem to be any light source around but the area of lit in a soft, blue glow. Curious, the Lilim touched the wall. It was warm. Hm, is this metal giving off the light? I’ve never seen anything like this before. Peering at his feet, he saw that they were almost obscured by a thick yet low mist. The scene gave off a strange, ethereal feeling. Kinda reminds me of a dream.

He started walking forward. Since Shan was stuck here, he may as well explore the place. After all, the woman had said strong people came to this place. Maybe he could find one and challenge them to a battle. The mercenary grinned at the thought and wandered down one of the corridors, not really paying attention. He only absentmindedly noticed the myriad of doors that lined the walls. While a one here and there was made of the same blue metal, most of the doors were made of a myriad of substances. “Alright, what’s going on?” he finally asked when he past a door that seemed to be made of water. Curiousity overtaking him, he went to the nearest door, which was made of white wood, opened it, and walked through.

He stepped right into the middle of a grassy plain. Blinking in confusion, he turned back to the door. It was still open, showing the blue hallway behind him. But the door just seemed to be floating in mid-air. “A transporter?” he wondered aloud. The Lilim turned back to the plain, his mouth slightly open in awe. He had never heard of a place that had door that simply opened onto other planets. The possibilities that presented were, well, limitless. I could gain more information that most of my siblings just by being on this planet. The pink-haired man walked a little ways into the plain. The grass was short but was firm under his feet. He didn’t see any other living things, though that could just be because the animals were hiding. However, the sky presented an interesting view itself. The sky was a light red color with no clouds floating above. In the distance, the top of a setting red giant could be see. A little above the star was another, a white dwarf. The Lilim cocked his head. That a little disappointing. As soon as that giant goes, so will that dwarf. And this planet, too.

Shantanu only stood for a bit longer before turning back and reentering the blue building. He closed the door behind him and glanced around for another interesting-looking door. The mercenary found that in the form of a door that appeared to be made of a swirling darkness. “Let’s see what’s behind door number two.” He swung it open and jumped through the portal. “This is kind of boring.” He couldn’t see anything. Where ever he had gone, it was completely pitch black. Still curious, though, he stuck out one of his arms and the gauntlet started to glow with a faint light. Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough to show him where he was. And it certainly didn’t help when a group of black creatures suddenly leaped onto his arm. “The hell?” he exclaimed. Then he started ripping at the monsters with his other hand, having covered it with the metal claw. Once he managed to get most of them off, he hopped back through the doorway and slammed the black door behind him. “That wasn’t what I had in mind. Huh?” he noticed that one of the black creatures had hitched a ride back on his arm. It was still clutching furiously to his gauntlet but it wasn’t attacking him in anyway. Holding up his arm to look, he saw that the light his weapon was giving off was slowly fading at the creature bit at it. “A light-eater. Well, perhaps that trip wasn’t a total waste.” He retracted the claw and picked the light-eater up by its head, making it squeal in protest. It wasn’t very big, maybe only a foot and a half. The head was perfectly round with four long antennas protruding from it. Its eyes were almost squinted shut but, from what he could see, it pupils were largely dilated. The mouth was rather tiny with protruding lips that sucked harmlessly at the air. Six arms branched off the body with six, sharp fingers on each. Still squealing, the creatures raised on pair of hands and clawed the Lilim’s hand, opening bright red wounds. Shan smirked at the light-eater, “I think your DNA could be very useful.” The blood that had started leaking out turned gray in color and flowed down onto the animal. It struggled more as the Legion cells touched it but to no avail. Soon the gray mass engulfed it completely. A few meager movements could be seen before the ball of cells stopped moving. Then the Legion cells retreated back into Shan’s hand, sealing the wounds.

Flexing his hand, Shan closed his eyes and rooted through his newly acquired memories. “Not too much,” he opened his eyes and smiled cheerfully, “but I’m sure you’ll come in handing one of these times. Especially that light-eating ability.” The Lilim raised both arms above his head and stretched, “Well, that was fun. What’s next?” He started randomly pointing at door, “Eenie, meenie, miney... mo!” He landed on a door made of the blue metal and rushed towards it. “And this leads to?!” he barged through the door. Then the mercenary glanced at the white tile, sinks, and stalls, “A bathroom. Well, that does make sense. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go.” He slowly but exaggeratedly walked backwards out of the room. “And the women’s, no less. Good thing it was empty.”

The former soldier closed the door quietly and observed his choices once again. “Maybe I should be a little more careful. ...Naw.” He strode to a door made from silver metal with visible power conduits and opened it. “This is a little more familiar,” he stated happily as he stepped through. It seemed this door opened to an old-fashioned spaceship. The hallway was made of the same silver metal and green power lines were visible. It was hard to tell if the craft was in space on sitting on the ground but, from the small roar coming from one direction, he guessed the engines were running at least. The Lilim knocked loudly on the metal, “Hey! Anybody home?”

MMkay, I did catch one thing that you do once in a while. So now, time to see if I can help.

Shantanu only stood for a bit longer before turning back and reentering the blue building. He closed the door behind him and glanced around for another interesting-looking door. The mercenary found that in the form of a door that appeared to be made of a swirling darkness. “Let’s see what’s behind door number two.” He swung it open and jumped through the portal. “This is kind of boring.” He couldn’t see anything. Where ever he had gone, it was completely pitch black. Still curious, though, he stuck out one of his arms and the gauntlet started to glow with a faint light. Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough to show him where he was. And it certainly didn’t help when a group of black creatures suddenly leaped onto his arm. “The hell?” he exclaimed. Then he started ripping at the monsters with his other hand, having covered it with the metal claw. Once he managed to get most of them off, he hopped back through the doorway and slammed the black door behind him. “That wasn’t what I had in mind. Huh?” he noticed that one of the black creatures had hitched a ride back on his arm. It was still clutching furiously to his gauntlet but it wasn’t attacking him in anyway. Holding up his arm to look, he saw that the light his weapon was giving off was slowly fading at the creature bit at it. “A light-eater. Well, perhaps that trip wasn’t a total waste.” He retracted the claw and picked the light-eater up by its head, making it squeal in protest. It wasn’t very big, maybe only a foot and a half. The head was perfectly round with four long antennas protruding from it. Its eyes were almost squinted shut but, from what he could see, it pupils were largely dilated. The mouth was rather tiny with protruding lips that sucked harmlessly at the air. Six arms branched off the body with six, sharp fingers on each. Still squealing, the creatures raised on pair of hands and clawed the Lilim’s hand, opening bright red wounds. Shan smirked at the light-eater, “I think your DNA could be very useful.” The blood that had started leaking out turned gray in color and flowed down onto the animal. It struggled more as the Legion cells touched it but to no avail. Soon the gray mass engulfed it completely. A few meager movements could be seen before the ball of cells stopped moving. Then the Legion cells retreated back into Shan’s hand, sealing the wounds.

This paragraph is full of stuff, but the thing is, as you're reading it, there's too much stuff to keep your attention. IT's a good idea to keep your paragraphs to six sentence maximum. If you make your paragraphs too long, people tend to lose interest and start skipping around, ya know? ^_^

Fix:

Shantanu only stood for a bit longer before turning back and reentering the blue building. He closed the door behind him and glanced around for another interesting-looking door. The mercenary found that in the form of a door that appeared to be made of a swirling darkness. “Let’s see what’s behind door number two.” He swung it open and jumped through the portal. “This is kind of boring.” He couldn’t see anything. Where ever he had gone, it was completely pitch black. Still curious, though, he stuck out one of his arms and the gauntlet started to glow with a faint light.

Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough to show him where he was. And it certainly didn’t help when a group of black creatures suddenly leaped onto his arm. “The hell?” he exclaimed. Then he started ripping at the monsters with his other hand, having covered it with the metal claw. Once he managed to get most of them off, he hopped back through the doorway and slammed the black door behind him.

“That wasn’t what I had in mind. Huh?” he noticed that one of the black creatures had hitched a ride back on his arm. It was still clutching furiously to his gauntlet but it wasn’t attacking him in anyway. Holding up his arm to look, he saw that the light his weapon was giving off was slowly fading at the creature bit at it. “A light-eater. Well, perhaps that trip wasn’t a total waste.” He retracted the claw and picked the light-eater up by its head, making it squeal in protest.

It wasn’t very big, maybe only a foot and a half. The head was perfectly round with four long antennas protruding from it. Its eyes were almost squinted shut but, from what he could see, it pupils were largely dilated. The mouth was rather tiny with protruding lips that sucked harmlessly at the air. Six arms branched off the body with six, sharp fingers on each.

Still squealing, the creatures raised on pair of hands and clawed the Lilim’s hand, opening bright red wounds. Shan smirked at the light-eater, “I think your DNA could be very useful.” The blood that had started leaking out turned gray in color and flowed down onto the animal. It struggled more as the Legion cells touched it but to no avail. Soon the gray mass engulfed it completely. A few meager movements could be seen before the ball of cells stopped moving. Then the Legion cells retreated back into Shan’s hand, sealing the wounds.

That's a bit better. Tell me if you like the way I broke up the paragraph, and if not, you should give it a try in a way you feel is proper. ^_^

Assignment Time:

The ship Shan's currently on is where his teacher is at this point in time. Have one of the monitors on the ship activate and tell Shan this, and then have Shan look for where his teacher is. However, beware, a dangerous experiment is living on this ship, a byproduct of Monroe's work. End your post with Shan finding Monroe. 600 word minimum. ^_^

The sound of his rapping on the metal echoed through the ship. “Uh... anybody?” he asked again, somewhat surprised by the silence. A ship takes quite a few people to crew so somebody should be nearby to hear him. The mercenary took a few steps forward and looked down the hall both ways. Nobody. “This is... kinda odd.” Shan rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of whether he should explore or go back to the main area. After, an empty ship couldn’t be too interesting.

“Greetings.” The flat, monotone voice took the Lilim by surprise. He turned around in a complete circle, trying to determine where it had come from. A motorized hum attracted his attention where a monitor was extending itself from the wall. The screen flashed on to show two dots and a curved line: a smiley face. “You are Shantanu Damon, correct?” the mouth didn’t move even though the computer spoke.

The pink-haired man slowly shook his head up and down, “Uh, yeah?”

“Perfect. Your instructor is awaiting you on the bridge. Please go left down this hall, take your first right, the second left, then the third door on your right, the second left again, the first door on your right, and finally go through the door at the end of the hall.”

He ignored the directions, “My instructor? What do I need an instructor for?”

“For your instruction in the Dome,” the smiley flatly explained. “All who come to the Dome come to be trained.”

The Dome. So that’s what this strange place is called, huh. The Lilim put a hand on his hip and grinned, “Well, I did come to get stronger. I guess a trainer would be able to do that.” Looking down the hall again, he turned back to the monitor with an arched eyebrow, “Hey, why isn’t there anyone else on this ship?”

“An evacuation was ordered after the Chimera subject escaped cryostasis. Three scientists and an engineer where killed during the evacuation but the rest of the crew safely escaped. Your instructor elected to remain behind to wait for you.”

“...Wait. The what escaped?”

“The Chimera subject escaped cryostasis, killed four crew members, and is currently roaming the shipe. Please be careful while heading to the bridge as it would be problematic if the Chimera found and killed you.”

Shan snorted, “Yeah, problematic. That’s one way of putting it. Anyway, what are the chances of me running into it on a ship this size?” Probably pretty damn good. Oh well, I doubt it would be too bad. The fighter held up one hand, covered it in the gauntlet’s metallic claw, and smiled deviously at the gleaming points.

There was a whirl as the monitor retracted back into the wall. Having no more reason to stay in one spot, the mercenary headed left down the hall. The hum and buzz of electronics was the only noise other than his shoes thumping against the floor. It was a little unnerving, being on a working ship with no one else around. One would expect an empty ship to be derelict instead of pristine. Taking the first right, he started whistling a random tune in hopes of breaking the silence. The silence started getting to him at the second left and finally broke him at the third door on the right.

“Come on. I’m a social creature. Being completely by myself is not fun in the least bit,” he complained to the air. He threw the door open, “This teacher had better be a talker or-” Shan quickly closed the door. “Damn.”

There was a roar and four claws gouged the metal door. Suddenly the door was on the floor as the Chimera tore it down. It’s front half was that of a lion with golden fur and a shaggy mane. The lower half was covered in green scales with a lizard’s tail whipping back and forth in agitation. It snarled at Shan, blood-red eyes hazed with rage.

The Lilim’s hands turned into black claws, “Well, I suppose I’d be a little ticked if someone made me look like that.” He smirked as the monster’s growl deepened. His arms went out wide, “Come and get me if you want.” That was all it took. The Chimera leaped with its claws stretched out. The experienced fight easily dodged and slashed at the creature’s side, leaving bloody wounds. However, he didn’t see the tail smack him across the side of his head, sending him to the ground.

“Ugh,” he groaned, dazed. Shan regained his senses well enough to roll out of the way of a claw aimed for his head. He held out one of his arms and released a flash of light from it, hoping to buy some time. It worked as the Chimera roared and pawed its eyes. The Lilim grinned and rush forward, intending to attack the experiment’s throat and end it. However, it opened its mouth, as if to roar, and five snake bursted forward. Four of the snakes bit deeply into Shan but the fifth speared straight through his shoulder. The serpents lifted him up and then threw him at the wall. A metallic thump resounded as he collided and crumpled to the ground.

The bites and gaping hole in his shoulder quickly healed as the mercenary slowly got to his feet. The Chimera growled at him, the snakes twisting over each other as they stared at him. “Man, you really are messed up,” he commented, flinching at the twisted sight. It also makes this a little harder. How the hell do you get past six pairs of eyes? Narrowing his eyes in determination, he fired a Sunburst. The six-headed beast leaped over the light and barreled down on him. But instead of dodging, he allowed the snakes strike him again. This time, he grabbed two of them and ripped them right out of the Chimera’s mouth. Roaring in pain, the creature reared upwards and batted at the attacker with its claws. Shan ripped at the exposed belly until one of the claws sliced through his shoulder, forcing him to back off while it healed.

The experiment also backed away, blood dripping from its belly and two snake stumps. The other three serpents hissed and bared their fangs at him. The Lilim slowed down his fast breathing. Taking those hits may have not been the best idea but it was all I could think of at the moment. At least I made sure it was worth something. He smiled at the creature’s wounds. It probably wouldn’t be able to take much more, not unless its endurance matched its bizarre construction. The Chimera attempted to change its tactics and lashed out with its scaled tail. Shan effortlessly ducked and left a couple of scratches. “That was a warning. You’d better come up with something better than that.” In response, it started running but not to him, around him. The mercenary didn’t turn but instead simply waited for the inevitable attack.

He didn’t have to wait long as it suddenly stopped and lashed out its tail again. Shan dodged and then felt a sharp pain in his legs as the three snakes sunk in deeply. They yanked him off his feet and over to the Chimera where it slammed its paw onto his chest, crushing a few bones. “Son of a-!” he breathed and dug his own claws into the leg, ripping flesh straight off of the bone. The Chimera tried to leap back but the Lilim kept a firm grip on the wounded leg. Then he thrust upwards and pierced the monster’s neck. It let out a gurgling roar, stepped back a few feet, and collapsed.

Shan stayed on the floor, breathing in and out. “Hah. Hahah. Hahahahah!” He brought a hand up to his face and continued laughing, “Dear God, whoever created you sure had fun. What a monster. No wonder why you escaped. And I bet you would’ve taken care of whoever they would've sent to try and recapture you.” He got to his feet and stretched his arms, “I only hope this Dome can provide more battles this interesting. However,” he glanced at the Chimera’s body, “It would be a shame to let you disappear.” The Lilim walked over and absorbed a bit of the creature’s blood.

“Now, where the hell was I suppose to go?” He turned to the door lying on the ground, “Oh yeah.” The rest of ship was uneventful, other than the hum and buzz of the electronic circuits, which was alright for Shan. Fighting a science experiment gone wrong had cured his unease over the silence. He opened the last door and walked onto the bridge. All the terminals where navigators would be sitting where empty. A huge screen at the end of the room show a simple picture of black space dotted with white stars. Apparently, this ship wasn’t near any planets or stations. Unless, of course, it was sitting behind the ship and out of view. However, standing in front of the screen was another person. They were looking at the view as if entranced by it. Shan didn’t say anything but instead walked forward. He stopped a few feet behind the person and grinned. This should be different.

"You know, kid, it isn't nice to sneak up on people," the man said. Upon his back was an odd pentagram shaped almost like semicircle with five lines extending beyond the circle. An oddly powerful glove seemed to glow with power as the figure turned around. In his ungloved hand, the fighter smiled as he clenched his hand into a fist.

In the next moment, countless numbers of small, pale green strings bound the alien and made the Quincy smile. "Let the games begin," the black haired man said as he drew his right arm back quickly and pulled the strings tightly against the invader, binding him to a large metal beam.

As the former bounty hunter tightened the strings a little more and created his bow. "I could easily bring you down right now..." Monroe stated as he opened his hand and the strings vanished. "However, defeating you with that trick wouldn't be too fair. After all, you never had a chance. Not like you could have known that I was going to bind you with my Ransoutengai. Anyway, you're Shan, right? Well, let's start your training," the Quincy stated as he sat down and started working on the ship.

Assignment Time:

Now that Monroe's introduced himself, he's going to ask Shan for some help. Well, you see, that Chimera wasn't the only sneaky beast that escaped. A highly advanced humanoid/cyborg creature has escaped and is hiding on the ship. Monroe'll need help to find him. Time to hop to that task. ^_^