Zephyr

The world seemed to wobble randomly as Alno'dra tried to walk down the streets of Alsoto. He had used his magic skills too many times, and it had drained him badly. The heavy pain in his chest was not helping matters, and only got worse from all of the exertion. The only real upside he could see was the sight of empty streets. Most had made it to safety, though a few lay still in the middle of the square. Their fate was obvious. An unusually loud roar caught his attention, and he looked skyward. Flying overhead, in the middle of the meele was a dragon several times larger then any other. Oddly, it did not seem to be attacking like the others, and merely circled the area as though it was searching for something. [i]Perhaps now is a good time to find shelter.[/i] Alno'dra moved as quickly as he could a few blocks from the center of the fighting. Damage to the buildings was not as bad after a short distance, since the fight had no yet spread too far, but it was likely the whole city was going to be in danger soon. For now, however, this was a good spot to rest. Alno'dra sat down in a small alleyway between two buildings, hoping to hide from the sight of any stray dragons. While keeping a lookout he checked the area where the dragon scale had hit him earlier. What he felt was exactly what he had expected, and dreaded. [i]Looks like I did snap a rib.[/i] He winced as he touched the spot again and a sharp pain shot though his right side. It was a few minutes before Alno'dra found the world to have steadied out, and he stood back up. [i]If I stay here I'll just end up a snack for one of them[/i], he looked at the sky again. Alno'dra stepped out of the alleyway. "Time to go," he said quietly as he took a step forward.

Alno'dra sighed lightly as the chaos got underway. It turned out to be another peaceful moment ruined. As the crowds began to panic he held his place, leaning against the entrance to a shop. [i]This figures. And I was just getting into the show. Not to mention, that flautist was kind of cute.[/i] Alno'dra kicked himself as soon as that thought crossed his mind. Now was no time to be thinking like Karst. The chunk of shreaded dragon that landed next to him was proof of that. Looking up, he noticed a second piece heading for the crowd. [i]Damn![/i] Alno'dra moved his right hand from under his cloak and pointed at the piece, which was promptly incinerated by a burst of fire magic. Moving into the crowd he continued to blast the falling pieces, protecting the people as much as possible. On particular piece caught his attention, because it had fallen from a dragon that had literally flashed out of existance, and another followed it. Looking around Alno'dra saw the reason, a older gentleman firing off energy blasts. Another flash, another dragon gone, and another piece falling into the crowd. This piece was blasted by Alno'dra's fire too. [i]Fool, stop focusing on the dragons and try protecting the crowd.[/i] Alno'dra lost focus himself, and had to snap his hand up to stop a leg that got past his attacks. A flash of fire and the leg disappeared. Except for the scale that slammed into Alno'dra's chest, and smashed him into the wall of a building. He heard a startled gasp next to him as he dropped to the ground, coughing heavily. "Are you alright," a feminine voice asked. "I'm...(cough) fine," Alno'dra managed to say. Looking over he noticed it was the young lady from the bar the other night. "You should.... get out here. It's dangerous." Alno'dra climbed back to his feet and walked forward. He winced as he moved to strike down another random dragon piece. [i]Feels like I broke a rib.[/i] Under his cloak his left hand gripped the crystal around his neck. [i]Elder, please lend me the strength to endure. I have to help these people.[/i] He continued to stalk forward and blast dragon parts, protecting the crowd to the best of his ability.

Well, I cannot claim to be an expert in all of this, but like everyone I have had hardships (not to mention, an opinion ;) ) that have given me lessons in life. I do have a small idea of what the divorce is doing to you, after seeing how it drained everything (both physically and emotionally) from a boss at work. He endured though it, and I am sure everyone here knows you can too, and will be there for you. Perhaps the best advice I know from these two decades of life is that to endure you need to let go of powerful emotions before they well up too high. Find something that you can take your anger and frustration out on (without causing actual harm or damage), and something that calms you and puts you into a god mood. Just find something you can focus emotions on, other then the problem. I hope that this can help you, and as everyone else here has said I am here for you.

The horizion was aflame with the light from the setting sun. Alno'dra walked the streets looking at various shops that had been built on the city's sidewalks for the festival. He finally had the free time he desired after dropping Karst off at home, or what he thought was home from the drunken rambling. Now was the best time to look around, and finally see the festival. One booth managed to catch his eye. The vendor was selling pieces from slaughtered dragons. Everything from bones to scales, and teeth to dried dragon meat. The man running the booth perked up at the site of Alno'dra's approach. [i]Looks like business was slow.[/i] The vendor began to speak, something about the 'finest dragon products' or other nonsense, but Alno'dra just continued to look around. In particual he eyed a piece of dragon scale hanging from the top of the booth. "Ah, I see you have an eye for that dragon scale," The man chirped in. "Quite a hard one to kill, that one. It protected it's nest like it was posessed by the devil." Alno'dra did not bother to tell him that it was obviously an infant's scale. Most likely one that strayed too far from the nest. He also resisted to the urge to tell the man what he thought of killing dragon's too young to fight back properly, just before he would likely have torched the booth. He did manage to spot a few things that looked like they were from adult dragons, but most appeared to have been left behind after being broken off or abandoned by a previous hunter. [i]Who does this guy think he is fooling? Even a novice hunter could tell these were easy kills. However...[/i] Out of possible sympathy Alno'dra grabbed a dragon's tooth that had been broken in half, probably from a fight or just normal growth. He dropped a few silver pieces on the table and walked away. [i]At least this came from an adult dragon, who no longer needs it, I would say.[/i] The night was begining to creep in, and being awake too long would be a bad idea. It had been a long journey, and he had not slept much the last few nights in order to save time. Heading out of the city, Alno'dra made his way to a small forest he had scouted earlier. It was wilderness to everyone else, but a three-star hotel to a hunter. Even the stream running through it was crystal clear. Once he had a suitable location amongst the trees Alno'dra use his knowlegde of fire magic to set a small fire, just enough to stay warm. For a time he also used it to heat up the dragon tooth he had bought, and used his whetstone to flatten it against a rock. Most people just thought of dragons as pieces of art waiting to be mounted, but as a trained hunter Alno'dra respected them, and knew the true value of any pieces of themselves they had left behind. With a little work, this once broken tooth would make a fine blade, but for now it time to rest up. After years or surviving Alno'dra fell just far enough asleep to be refreshed in the morning, but awake enough to avoid any wild animals that would mistake him for a midnight snack.

[i]The sky is a oddly calming shade of blue today.[/i] This was Alno'dra's thought as he sat back on the bench and stared into the air. Around him the town was buzzing with the excitement of the festival, but all that mattered now was the time he had to rest. Unlike most of the festival goers, he had arived early, really early. The latest job that had fallen into his lap had him on his feet since six o'clock. Most of the time was spent delivering bags of salt or charcoal, blocks of ice, and various foodstuffs to the local food stands. This time, however, was just for resting. 'Here's your pay," a voice interupted his peace. It was followed by an envelope landing next to his hand. "If you're still interested come back at the same time tomorrow. We can use the extra hands again." With that his employer disappeared into the crowd, and Alno'dra was left to his own thoughts, for a time. Once more his peace was broken by another member of his job. This time it was Karst, an upbeat, but rather annoying fellow. Despite being twice Alno'dra's age, Karst acted like a child most of the time. "So, how did you like your first day working with the rest of us grunts?" Alno'dra did not respond, and merely wiped his forehead on the sleeve of the white shirt he had worn to work. "Yeah, the work's hard, hours suck, and the boss is a slave driver," Karst kept on rambling, "but you know the ladies love a guy with muscles." [i]Idiot.[/i] Alno'dra thought as Karst laughed at his own joke. "Speaking of the ladies, how about we run down to the inn just down the street. They have a great tavern that's run by this cute little thing that has an eye for me, if you know what I mean." Karst knudged him in the ribs a few times. [i]Great. Once more with this crap. And this was supposed to be a calm point.[/i] Alno'dra kept the tought to himself and simply replied with, "Sure. Why not?" He took his time changing back into his red shirt and cloak, then follwed Karst to the inn. Upon entering the tavern Karst immediately strolled up to the bar and began chatting with the young lady running it. She kept he voice calm, but for a second her face gave away a "not him again" look, before she caught control again. It was no wonder, she looked to be around Alno'dra's age, and was being hit on by a guy in his forties. Calmly she asked "What would you like to drink?" Without missing a beat Karst replied, "Give me the strongest lager you have." "Just water," was Alno'dra's response. "Huh?" Karst looked puzzled. "Why not buy something that is worth the cash you made today?" Alno'dra sighed "We are both dehydrated from work. A drink like that would knock us flat in no time." Karst shrugged, not believing him, and grabbed his drink. Just as Alno'dra had warned, Karst was out in no time, thanks to the beer. Alno'dra calmly walked up to the bar, apologized for his coworker's behavior, and left after paying.

Name: Alno'dra (short for Alno Drasal, apostrophe indicates a slight pause when spoken) Age: 23 Gender: Male Appearance: Alno'dra is 6' 3" tall, with brown hair and eyes. The thin build of his body hides his true strength from years of hunting and labor. His attire consists of a red shirt and broken-in, black work pants, along with a black cloak and a pair of boots that have seen quite a bit of mileage. On his left forearm is an elaborate, dark red tattoo that looks similar to vines wound around the arm, a common design in his village. Around his neck he wears a raindrop-shaped crystal, about three inches long, that sparkles as though it contained pure fire. The crystal is rumored to change color depending on the elemental powers of the one wearing it. Class: Hunter, Fire/Smoke Mage Occupation: Odd jobs (explained in bio) Personality: Quiet, but not shy. Although he does not say much, Alno'dra has no problem speaking his mind when he chooses to. He is also quite laid-back and calm, to the point that he is mistaken for being aloof or uncaring. Alno'dra forces himself to control his emotions because he has a nasty temper he wants to keep hidden. Bio: Alno'dra grew up in a tribe of nomads, who traveled the Eastern lands following the migration of the land's animals. Even though he grew up without knowing his true mother, he had plenty of surrogate mothers from the rest of the tribe. Most of his time was spent hunting for food, performing manual labor whenever the village moved, and learning from the village elders how to control magic forces. It was not easy for him to learn at first, but over time he began to excel in fire and smoke based magics. This became a big help on the night of his sixteenth birthday. As was the village's custom, Alno'dra set out at the age of sixteen for his "Separation Trial." This trial was meant to last only eight days, and teach him how to survive without assistance. However, it did not work out that way. On the eighth day he became completely separated from the tribe when a storm system tore apart the landscape, leaving him blocked from returning home. He spent several weeks trying to return, but the village had packed up by the time he had found the location. Since that day, Alno'dra has become a wanderer, moving from town to town. He worked whatever jobs he could find to earn enough to survive while he searched for anyone that may have come across his tribe. Eventually this way of life brought him to Alsoto on the day of the celebration. The perfect place to find people that may have info. Let me know if there is anything you want me to change.

A low hum echoed quietly through the maintenance tunnels that weaved through the insides of the Zeitsande's hull like a web. It was a perfect place for Alex to sit while he studied the schematics of the ship. Given that the junction point he was in measured no more then four-foot wall-to-wall, and six-foot high, there was just enough room to sit comfortably, excluding the hard, metal floor and walls. Alex mumbled quietly as he looked between the internal map displayed on a computer panel opposite of his spot, and the various data pads he was making notations on. Next to his left tight arose a loud buzzing sound, for the fifth time in as many minutes. Its origin was the communicator that had been issued to him as part of the assignment to the ship. For the fifth time Alex ignored the sound and resumed his studying. Alex knew the person, or persons, trying to contact him could not be one of the two techs he had brought with him, because they would know how to find him without using the communicators. It was not long before Alex collected his belongings and began to make his way through one of the smaller maintenance tunnels that branched off from the junction point. Halfway down he found a panel that caught his attention, so he cracked it open and sat staring at its contents. Too bad curiousity got the better of him, again, and he decided to examine one of the components. The result was a bright flash, and a shock that tossed his hand back by reflex. The spark also brought up a laugh, though not his own. The laugh was coming from a Roth standing at the mouth of the tunnel, in the junction that Alex had been sitting in a few minutes earlier. Alex immediately recognised the form as belonging to Alno'dra, the second of his techs that he had opened up to, or who had tolerated him long enough. "I see you found the live one already," the crimson feathered Roth commented between laughs. His merriment was cut off by a backhand to ribs from a young woman half-hidden by the tunnel's walls. "Just give him the message, will you?" She said with a sigh. Even without seeing her face Alex knew the woman from her voice, and the fact that she was with Alno'dra. Her name was Kimberly Shaw, or Kimmy to those she allowed to call her that, and she was the raven-haired tech that Alex had first managed to keep from driving away. This was mostly thanks to the fact that the two had taken classes together in training, and were later reunited as part of the engineering team on the Kaguya, the second shipe Alex had been on. "Oh, all right," Alno'dra groaned, and followed it with a sotto voce "you never let me have any fun." A glare from Kimmy got him back to the point. "We just got a call from the Second in Command. It seems the Commander is fuming because you wont answer his calls, so she sent us to tell you that you are wanted in the command center." Alex just sighed and began collecting his belongings again. "They just never allow an engineer to take some time to study the ship. We always have to come to the command center, and they never just walk down here to the engineering sections to meet us for the frist time. How are they going to expect us to fix things if we cannot find them?" "Ah, the burdens of command," Kimmy half joked. OOC: First posts are always the hardest. Getting that momentum going is a pain.

Name: Alex Harper Code name: Live Wire (Due to several minor electrocutions in training. Originated from a classmate's mention of his "affinity for touching live wires.") Age: 25 Race: Human Abilities: Alex is a genius with most forms of technology. He specializes in redesigning systems in a under pressure, which usually break down shortly afterward, and have to be fixed by Alex. Position: Chief Engineer Personality: Alex can be very blunt about anything, even situations where most people expect compassion or support. Despite that, he will change his behavior if he mistakenly insults his friends. When everything is fine he has a happy, but down-to-Earth personality, but he becomes more blunt and cynical sounding when things look bad. To the constant irritation of his superior officers Alex is unkempt, and has to be reminded to wear his uniform properly. He seems to have a problem completing tasks without motivation. Appearance: 5' 7" tall, brown hair, blue eyes, a somewhat childish face, and a thin build. Alex is undermuscled for a member of the military, since he rarely does any training beyond the required amount. Durning is time between shifts he wears only a T-shirt and his unifom slacks in his quarters. His hair is a mess, and he is often covered in oil or other liquids from his experiments. Not much changes during his shifts. He often sports the same T-shirt/pants combo, even durning important meetings. For the most part this is ignored, since he spends most of his time crawling through the insides of the ship, away from his superior officers. Alex's living conditions are about the same as his looks. His room is filled with parts scattered about, half-built inventions, and half-dismantled pieces of technology. Even his toolbox is unorganized, which leaves many to wonder how he finds evertyhing in it so easily. Also strewn about are small, electronic data pads, each rumored to contain anything from new weapon schematics, to improvements on the time drive, and even an A.I. program that learns and grows like a human child. Biography: Having grown up in a backwater section of Earth it is a wonder that Alex can be so handy with technology. From the age of 10 he has been building alongside his father and brother, both of whom are now deseaced. As the years passed his aptitude became apparent, and the ideas he spawned helped the village prosper despite its conditions. This had the drawback of bringing along some unwanted attention. Namely, the military brass. On his 18th birthday he was "drafted" under a right hidden in the militrary charter, but not used for a great deal of time. The military claimed it to be part of their "Emergency Situation" clause, but never explained what the emergency was. Three days later his father and brother were killed trying to keep the soldiers away. Since that day Alex has held a strong distrust for members of The Fang, a unit of whom had killed his only family. This has led to a bit of friction several times in the past. Ths skill Alex has shown for the uses of technology took him far in training, and earned him many friends, and favors, for the help he provided others who fell behind. One his friends, known only as Amanda, taught him how to fight using staffs and katanas, along with many hand-to-hand tactics in return for the help. Things did not go as smoothly on-ship as they did in training. His urge to work alone, and keep others out of the loop held him back. It was not until he began working with others that he moved up the ranks. His promotion to Chief Engineer and assignment to the Zeitsande was accepted on the small condition that he could bring two of his trusted techs along, which was only approved because of how well he could work with them, and how they motivate him. OOC: Let me know if there is anything major to be fixed. I will think of a codename tomorrow. I have a few ideas, but it's too late to think of a good one. [b]EDIT:[/b] Added a codename. Sorry for the delay. I got hit pretty hard with work these last few days.

I drive a Mazda Protoge. It is not a very impressive car, but works well enough for what I need. On the plus side, it has great gas mileage. It also has the extra leg room that I need, and can never find on larger vehicles.

Ooh, tough choices. I would have to say Mrs. Min, my Jr. High science teacher. She was so much fun to have as teacher. For starters you knew she was unique right away. She was around 5'2" tall, and loved it. She used to tell us it was great because she could get tall people to grab things from high shelves for her. She also liked to wear a pair of orange tennis shoes. Yes, I said [i]orange[/i] tennis shoes. He classes we great since she found ways to bring it down to our level at the time. I still remember her trick for making edible candles from an apple and almond slivers. A more rencent teacher would have to be my college Japanese Language teacher, Makita-sensei. She was always helpful in teaching us, and occasionally gave us little bits of information about Japan and its culture. And she also brought us rice crackers to snack on durning the written portion of our final exam. :D

From a short distance away Phelan watched as blood splattered across the ground. The two soldiers that were cut down by the young boy that had joined Treana, lay in large, rapidly expanding pools of their own blood. At the same time four more soldiers smashed into the ground at terminal velocity, spreading more blood, and placing shallow dents into the soft ground. All that remained of the unit was three soldiers, who leveled their guns at the group of three experiments. [i]Guns against unarmed civilians? Now that just not fair.[/i] Phelan thought with a quiet laugh. By now it was obvious that the soldiers were the only ones in trouble. Deciding that his sideline viewpoint was no longer interesting, Phelan leveled the 9mm handgun he took at the soldier farthest to the right. Two shots rang out, stiking the soldier in the back, around the left shoulder blade. The soldier staggered for a second, and his partners turned around to see where the shot came from. This was all the opportunity the three experiments needed. Treana crushed the skull of one man with her pipes, while the young boy took down the one in the middle. At the same time, Phelan launched himself upwards, and down behind the same soldier he had shot earlier. A look of relief had passed over the man's face when he realized that he was not dead. He turned around to find who had shot him, only to come face-to-face with his assailant. A grunt came from the soldier as Phelan's clenched fist slammed into his chest. A stream of blood trickled from the soldier's mouth, and the scent of copper filled the space between them. Phelan leaned in close and spoke into the soldier's ear. "Too bad kevlar is useless against knives, huh?" With a thud the soldier fell over, a gaping wound in his lung from the combat knife in Phelan's hand. Phelan calmly cleaned the blade on the man's uniform, and sheathed it. Off to his left Treana's group stood and stared at Phelan. Treana looked indifferent, but still ready for anything. Enyo's face remained the same emotionless mask it had been the first time they met, and the boy with them seemed ready to attack Phelan on the spot. Phelan merely looked back at them, and raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to introduce me, Treana of Koteiro?"

[QUOTE=ThatOneOddDude] In fact, I will reply to [b]Gemini_Pheonix[/b]. Well, you ARE a ghost in the Shell fan.[/quote] Well, it's good to see that no one missed that part. ;) [quote] There goes the easy part. You must be either high, drunk, or completely insane, because you are talking about catapulting teacups 0.o and Whiskey Tango... you know what, I give up. You obviously are a complex person that stands alone.[/QUOTE] Hmm, I'm don't drink, much, and I don't do any drugs, but the jury is still out on the third part. Somehow I think you missed the joke behind my custom title. Complex, maybe. Strange, absolutely. For a description I like to use the word unique, which is a step between eccentric and clinically insane. :D

From what I can tell I am about 5' 11" or 6' even. It has been a while since I bothered to check. Ironically, even though I am the tallest person in my immediate family, I am the second shortest when we are all sitting (my sister is still shorter).

The city seemed almost dead silent from Phelan's perch on the tall building. It had been nearly half an hour since he took up the vantage point, and still there was no sign of Treana or her companion. Had it been anyone else Phelan would have left a long time ago, but the thought had never crossed his mind since the begining. [i]What is it about you that vexes me, Treana of Koteiro? I should have no interest in what you do, yet something is stopping me from leaving. But what is it?[/i] A stirring shadow in the base's courtyard forced the line of thought out of Phelan's mind. From the largest building three figures appeared. Two were obviously Treana and the young girl, but the third looked to be a scientist. The look of the scientist's face stirred up a few fantoms from the past, which Phelan pushed aside. As the three of them headed away from the facility they halted in their track when confronted by a young boy. Treana seemed irritated by this new arrival that stood in their way, but soon al four were headed away in a hurry. Not wanted to be left behind after so long of a wait Phelan started gravity-hopping across roofs, chasing after them. In short order the buildings disappeared, and he found himself jumping between trees. Thr sound of boots moving fast through the underbrush caused him to stop. Below a soldier was heading after Treana's group. Phelan dropped down beside him and spoke quietly, but harshly enough to be noticed. "Going somewhere, buddy?" Startled, the soldier spun around, but didn't get to complete the turn. By concentrating, Phelan forced the man's heart to literlly crush itself by intensifying the gravity in his chest. A light thud was the only sound made when the man died. Moving quickly, Phelan took the soldier's gun, holster, and combat knife. "Thanks," he spoke to the corpse, "these will be handy if any of your friends get too close. Affecting gravity can be a burden sometimes." With a quick burst of power he reached a high enough altitude to spot Treana and her group. Falling to the treetops again he started chasing after them again with the same boost-assisted jumps. OOC: I feel that both my character and writing style are becoming rather unusual.

I think I'll try picking on [b]ThatOneOddDude[/b] for this one. He is the only one I get any thoughts on right now. Here is what I think based one each point of your info. Username: I'd say that you have a sense of humor that is lost on the average person. This leads you to been seen as the "odd one" in your circle of friends/family. Signature: You like video games. A lot. You meantion of being someone's stalker is another sign of your unique sense of humor and personality. Banner: This just furthers the point of liking games. I would have to say your game of choice would be a first-person shooter. Oh, and you know the infamous quote from Highlander. Okay, I never said that I was good. I work better with watching people in real life. However, if anyone wants to take a swing at understanding me from my name/sig go ahead. I would love to have someone psycho-analyze me (that statement really should come with a disclaimer).

Phelan collapsed into the alley as a massive wave of vertigo struck his senses. It was the first time in the last few days that he had actually had to yeild to the force of gravity. His vision blurred and spun around, and as a result his balance had given out. The feeling was so strong that that is not only looked like the world was spinning, but it felt like it had picked up the pace. Slowly the feeling subsided and Phelan could see that he was on his side just inside of the alley. It took a bit longer for his feet to recover, but he managed to stand with the help of the building he had been leaning against a short time ago. [i]What the hell was that? I've never felt anything that strong, not even after crashing. Could it have been her?[/i] He looked at the retreating forms of Treana and Enyo, who were far away by this point. Not wanting anything to do with the direct assault on a military protected center, Phelan stayed back. When the two disappeared behind the base's fence, and out of his view, the only choice was to use a burst of inverted gravity to reach the top of the building. He staggered a bit as he landed on the building's roof. Clearly the vertigo had done a number on him. From this new vantage point he could see beyond the fence. A look through the binoculars in his hand revealed a gruesome sight. Bodies lay scattered around the NASA base's courtyard. The splatter of the blood beneath them was a sign that they had fallen. This confused Phelan for a moment. How could they have fallen in the middle of any area with no tall structures? He didn't bother to ponder this point for long, however, and turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Seeing what had become of Treana and the young girl. Everything appeared quiet on the outside of the NASA buidlings. It helped that everyone outside seemed to be dead. It was strange that no police sirens could be heard rushing toward the area. Given the situation Phelan expected them to be collecting around the perimeter to hold things down until a SWAT team was ready to deploy. Throughout the compound there was no movement to be seen. Treana must have entered one of the buildings by that time. [i]This is turning into one very messed up week.[/i] Phelan thought as he sat on the edge of the roof. [i]I do hope you survive this one Treana of Koteiro. It would really suck to see you lose a fight after all this time you have spent winning them.[/i] For a reason even he didn't understand, this thought caused him to laugh out loud.

Phelan had followed Treana and her young companion across town, keeping his distance as best he could. He had ditched his motorcycle in a safe place, knowing it would draw attention. Perhaps the part that bothered him the most was that the two seemed to be heading toward the side of town that was know for housing people from the military and other government branches. [i]Your behavior is very strange, Treana of Koteiro.[/i] Without any sign of change the pair suddenly stopped a few blocks from a NASA controlled base. They seemed to be talking, and Phelan decided this was his best chance to get in close. Dodging into an alley he let off a burst of gravity and landed on the roof of the building in front of him. Using the rooftops as cover he made his way to another alley just ahead of Treana, and the girl in red. Another jump and gravity burst, and he landed softly in the alley, and walked out to the edge. As Treana and the girl started moving again he stood at the opening to alley, leaning against the brick wall, facing the direction the pair was heading. "Taking on an entire military facility with only one kid as backup?" He spoke out loud as they passed. A smirk crossed his face for a moment. "You are as crazy as they say, Treana of the Koteiro gang." Treana spun around quickly, looking ready to kick Phelan's ass right then. Her young companion turned around slower, and seemed to show no emotion at all. Phelan just stood there, leaning against the wall, and smirking. OOC: I figured it was time the characters met, after mine has seemingly been stalking your's, Takuya. Just two things I ask: 1) My character isn't there for a fight, so at least don't have [i]him[/i] start one. 2) Keep having him refer to her as "Treana of Koteiro (gang)" (no, I don't why he does that :p )

I would have to say that Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is my favorite seiyuu. She adds interesting life to each character she voices, and was a perfect choice to play Helba in the .Hack series. In close second would have to be Monica Rial for the work she did with the character Kirika in Noir. As far as music goes I truely enjoy the works of Yuki Kajiura. Most music composers try to create something completely modern, but Yuki Kajiura's music combines both a classical and a modern feel. I escpecially like the work she does with string instraments like guitars and violins.

[quote name='shinji172'] Today i held the door open for someone (it seemed to be the right thing to do) and rather than even say thanks he laughed at me and called me a stupid *******. [/quote] Just be glad you even got a responce. Here in northern Illinios you have a 50-50 chance, when holding a door open, of the person even looking your way. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have wanted to grab someone by the collar and toss them back out of the door I held for them just because they don't even feign politeness. At the very least I look at it this way. I am polite to others because I don't want to become one of those rude jerks that I mentioned above. One good note, someone actually did say thank you when I held a door for him today, and even held if for the family that was right behind him. It's amazing how something small like that can brighten your day up, even by a little.

Phelan watched the fight between Treana and Alno out of the corner of his eye. Right now he was more worried about being prepared for any Diablo suprises. [i]They'll probably wait until the fight is over. It would be easier to deal with both gangs at that time.[/i] To his right, David visably flinched as Treana delievered a devastating blow to Alno's knee. The Marja leader crumpled. "That has got to hurt," was David's only comment. For the next minute Phelan scanned the area intently, waiting for signs of an ambush. Yet none came. The Marja gang pulled their injured commander from the field, and shortly after the Koteiro's left too. Everyone, save for Treana, disappeared. [i]I guess it was a false alarm, but what is she up to out their alone?[/i] The answer came in the form of a young girl clad in red, who seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. The two looked as though they were talking. "David, take the rookies and return to the garage. Let them know it was a false alarm. I will stay here and try to figure out what Treana and that girl are up to." Without arguement David turned around and led the pair who had joined them away. Phelan remained where he was, watching through the binoculars in his hands.[i]What are your up to, Treana of the Koteiro gang?[/i]

I figured it out. The system was reading from an old cookie file that I never remembered to delete. I deleted it yesterday, and now the clock is correct. That is probably the answer to Azure's mystery too.

[quote name='Lore][font=trebuchet ms']In your User Options, there's an option to "automatically detect DST settings." Use it. ^_~[/font][/quote] That option was already active. Which means it has been that way for a while, since I haven't touched the Edit Options button for some time. Still, the problem exists.

You guys never programmed in Daylight Savings Time, did you? Just wondering, because my clock says it is 9:30, but your clock says 8:30, and the time difference based on GMT in the Edit Options link is correct for my area. I know it is no big deal, but it just bugs me a little. (Call it a pet peeve)

Are the mods strict on this board? Yes, but with good reason. Because the general age of this board's members is rather low, and many forum crawlers on the web are not polite enough to post properly, there are many problems that would arise from lax standards. Things like bad grammar, spamming, posts containing: "I h8 (insert something here), how 'bout U?", and even the dreaded Leetspeaker posts. I have seen fourms with poor quality control, and have to say that I feel like my I.Q. plummets twenty points each time I see them. You will occasionally run into problems, especially if you just joined up, but over time you will learn how to work around them. As time progresses the mods/admins will cut you a little more slack, as long as you show that you are trying to post properly, and not intentionally ignoring their suggestions/ the rules. Honestly, I think the strict rules is what makes this an enjoyable forum to visit. They weed out all of the people that would eventually corrupt a forum, and gives people a chance to be heard without the pointless spamming and flamming.

[quote name='Mario']hello i have a question regareding the 2nd part to the saga dosew any body know how to beat the phase 3 boss in the net slum he uses death abd rebearth on me and it kills me every time. fyi lvl 49 lvl39 wepon use blackrose and elk both lvl 50. plz help[/quote] You are talking about Magus, right? It has been a while, but I still remeber that one. First of get plently of good armor and fighting stats for your characters, and plently of revival and healing scrolls for yourself. For your group use a Wavemaster and a Heavyblade, which you have listed (I prefere Mistral over Elk, she seems to work better). Here is what each character should be doing: Wavemaster- Healing and revival, nothing else. Heavyblade- Chasing Magus, occasionally have her use special attacks, though hack & slash works too. Yourself- destroy those leaves. If the counter on any one of them reaches zero you are in for a rude awakening. Once the leaves are cleaned up Magus will unleash a strong attack. Heal quickly and start cutting into him before he drops more leaves. Once he start dropping them again jusr repeat the above steps. Eventually he will protect break, but it takes time, as with all of the Phases. [QUOTE]ya we're in the same boat. how the heak do u get a grunty?[/QUOTE] Grunties are found in the Grunty ranches located on every server save for Delta (Mac Anu). Here is how to find each ranch starting from the chaos gates: Dun Loreag (Theta Sever): Just go straight, to the other end of the map. Carmina Gatalica (Lamda Server): Turn around and go forward. Turn right at the T-interesction. Fort Ouph (Sigma Server): Same as Dun Loreag, go to the far end of the map. (Omega Server): It's right in front of you. You cant miss it. To get a specific type of Grunty you must feed it a certain combination of foods (look at cheat code sites for the type of foods, its easier and less random), which are found in the Fields. There are three Grunties in each server. Two are unique to each server, and one is the reject found in every server (one with an irritating French accent).