Raiyuu

[COLOR=DarkGreen][SIZE=1]Name: Jackson Holloway Reaper Name: Gossamer Soul Age: 18 Appearance: see attachment (this is his appearance as a Reaper, not in life) Personality: Jackson was always withdrawn and quiet in life, with the theory that everybody would just leave him alone if he kept himself to himself as much as possible. But behind the antisocial exterior, he was incredibly tenacious and hardworking. A very recent recruit of Death's, everything is new and confusing to him, but he is determined to make a better job of his death than he did of his life. Reaper's Becoming: when some of the more anarchic students at his school decided to stir things up a bit and commit some petty arson, Jackson was trapped in a burning classroom. He'd done such a good job of making himself inconspicuous that nobody noticed he was missing until it was too late. Reaper's Weapon: wind and fire wheels (see attachment) Reaper's Gift: as Jackson could in life, in death Gossamer can make himself invisible, both to mortals on the mortal plane and to his fellows in Thanatos. Reaper's Former: Jackson wa orphaned from an early age and was shuttled back and forth from one care-home to the next. Rather than attempt to form emotional bonds with the people he met, only to have them broken when next he moved, he simply withdrew into himself and never risked becoming attached to anything or anyone. At every school he was the kid that gets his glasses and his lunch money stolen, but defended himself by withdrawing into himself even further and not giving the other kids a reaction. At every school they would get bored of his quiet acceptance of their bullying just in time for him to move to another school and start the cycle over. If he had ever been allowed to stay in one place long enough, he would have achieved very highly academically, but he was always uprooted before he could get a grip on the teaching.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkGreen][SIZE=1][B]"My fellow Americans, the time has come for this government to come clean. We cannot keep the details of recent events from you any longer. "Two weeks ago there was an ... accident at a top-secret government research base known as the Black Mesa complex. While conducting research there, our scientists inadvertently opened a dimensional rip, a hole in reality. There were ... things, on the other side. Those things began to leak through, into our world. We attempted to cover up these events in the interests of maintaining public order, but new rips have been opening outside of the Black Mesa complex. These things have begun to spread to our cities. Our dirty secret is out. "My fellow Americans, I assure you that everything within this government's power is being done to ensure that outbreaks in urbanised areas are contained safely. I also assure you that the scientists whose recklessness caused this catastrophe will be brought to justice. I have personally issued warrants for each and every one of the Black Mesa staff. They are to be brought in, dead or alive. They will pay for endangering the lives of our citizens this way."[/B] [CENTER]~~~~~~~~[/CENTER] [B]"Good speech, Mr President. Very hard-nosed. Just what we need at a time like this." "Save the flattery. The Arizona portal?" "Area 51, Mr President? It's been stabilised. We have a research team ready to go in. Hand-picked, sir. They're the very best." "Good. I have to know what we're up against here."[/B] The President paused. [B]"Area 51?" "Just a nickname, sir. Just a nickname."[/B] [CENTER]~~~~~~~~[/CENTER] So here's the scenario; it's shortly after the Black Mesa disaster [I]Half-Life[/I] was all about. At the end of the game the G-man says the Xen aliens are under his employers' control, but his employers are not of any government the world is aware of. Portals are letting Xen aliens through all over the world, and the Black Mesa staff, including Gordon Freeman, have all been made scapegoats by the world's governments. The American military have managed to isolate and stabilise a large portal in Arizona, nicknamed 'Area 51'. They plan to send a small research team through to the Xen dimension to bring back samples from the aliens' world, in the hope of finding a better way to combat them, or to predict when and where portals will appear. You are part of that team. The action will begin with the team heading through the portal to Xen and will return to Earth later in the RPG. [CENTER]~~~~~~~~[/CENTER] [B]Sign-ups[/B] Name: modern, please. You may NOT be any of the named characters from [I]Half-Life[/I] or [I]HL2[/I]. Age: 21 and up. Nationality: the government has picked the best men from around the world. Where are you from? Appearance: attachment, link or short description. Class: you can be a Scientist or a Marine. Scientists all have Hazard Suits like Gordon's and are lightly armed. Their job is to collect samples to bring back to Earth. Marines have Powered Combat Vests like Adrian Shephard from [I]Opposing Force[/I], and are more heavily armed. Their job is to protect the scientists from Xen beasties. Weaponry: you can use any of the weaponry from [I][URL=http://www.planethalflife.com/half-life/guide/weapons.shtm]Half-Life[/URL][/I] or [I][URL=http://www.planethalflife.com/half-life2/weapons/]HL2[/URL][/I], but i'm imposing a [I]Halo[/I]-style two weapon carry limit. You can't start with alien weaponry like the Hive-hand or Barnacle, but you can pick them up in Xen provided you drop something else. Only scientists can use experimental weapons like the Gauss and the Egon. Area 51 has two VERY experimental Gravity Guns. I'm having one because it's my RPG, and the second one is first come, first serve. Also be sensible; don't have scientists running around with the rocket-propelled grenades, for example. It's not in character. Short bio: how your character came to be working at Area 51, and why they were selected for this mission. Try and have an area of expertise. ~~~~~~~~ Name: Jackson Maxwell Age: 25 Nationality: British Appearance: Jackson is short, only about 5'5", and skinny. He has grey eyes and short black hair, and wears contact lenses. Overall a bit of a weed. Class: Scientist Weaponry: Gravity gun and Glock 9mm. Bio: Maxwell has a First-class degree in Astrophysics, specialising in gravitational physics. He signed up for a research exchange program once out of University and wound up working with NASA. He invented a gravitic manipulator for use in assembling space-stations in high orbit, and the military then commissioned a scaled-down version for use in combat. He's on the team so he can advise on the Xen dimension's gravitic and astrophysical conditions, and how they may have affected its inhabitants; if we know what kind of environment they evolved to live in, we can find out what kind of environment they won't like.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Green][SIZE=1]I've never even heard of the game before so this is a bit of a shot in the dark, but it sounds cool! Let me know if I've got anything wrong. Name: Jascen Age: 19 Class: Magician Tech: Double Attack (is this right...?) Weapon: long staff Homeland: Magical Kingdom Altena Appearance: Jascen has blue eyes and long black hair in a ponytail. He is quite tall for his age, athletically built, and wears practical, durable boots, brown trousers, a white shirt and a deep red, waist-length jacket. Personality: Jascen is a lone wolf who is always looking out for number one. He's quiet, morose and withdrawn, and if he has to cause other people harm in order to protect himself, he won't hesitate to. Brief Biography: orphaned at an early age, Jascen learned the hard way to depend on himself. He took as much teaching as he needed to learn the basic uses of magic, before continuing to develop his skills as a mage on his own. He is determined and tenacious, and has a reputation for always seeing a job through to the bitter end. Because of this, the Crimson Wizard, Koren, has called on him to bring Princess Angela back for execution. With the amount of gold he's being offered by Koren for Angela's return, Jascen will follow her to the ends of the world and still not give up on the job.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]The lift doors pinged open, revealing Shadow's office. There was what looked like about a mile of intricately patterned carpet between Jack and the heavy wooden desk at the opposite end. Shadow was sat there, silhouetted against the plate-glass window wall by the setting sun. He just sat there. Took no notice. Jack pushed the joystick on his armrest and started trundling forward. The motor whirr was the loudest thing he'd ever heard, and he was going to have to endure it for about a year before he'd reach that desk. The pack of saline hanging on his drip tree was half empty. It jiggled as he trundled, the fitting squeaking. [B][I]You don't look stupid,[/I][/B] he tried to convince himself, [I][B]you look sinister. Slow, sinister approach.[/B][/I] Shadow continued to ignore him. Which was why he stopped several metres from the desk; a stupid idea, he realised as soon as he released the stick, because now he was going to have to speak up with broken ribs and a recently punctured lung. [I][B]But start moving again and I'll lose my sinister atmosphere.[/B][/I] [B]"Shadow T. Hedge-"[/B] [B]"Do you have an appointment?" [/B] The black hedgehog didn't even look up from the printouts he was reading. [B]"I had to persuade your receptionist."[/B] Jack waved the Magnum at Shadow. [B]"But then, you know that. There are cameras everywhere, and they all pipe straight back here."[/B] [B]"Correct." [/B] Shadow shuffled the papers into a neat pile - Jack caught a glimpse of mathematical formulae, and some letters; DNA? - and placed them delicately into a drawer. He steepled his fingers, rested his chin on them, and finally met Jack's gaze. [B]"So if you knew that, what exactly made you think you could get away with this nonsense?"[/B] [B]"Who says I want to get away?" [/B] Jack grinned like a maniac. [B]"I'm a man with nothing to lose."[/B] [B]"I see. So this confrontation is the final gambit of a desperate man. You plan to kill me?"[/B] [B]"Haven't really thought it through. I'd like to know your motives. Cop instinct, see?"[/B] Jack tapped his head with the muzzle of the Magnum. [B]"Always have to ask why. What is never enough."[/B] Shadow stared for a few seconds, a frown forming on his face. [B]"Do I know you?" [/B] he asked, looking puzzled. [B]"Oh, yeah. I'm your arch-nemesis."[/B] Jack's grin grew wider. [B]"We've never met face-to-face before, but I've been that constant pain you've been feeling in your ass ever since you screwed over my family."[/B] [B]"Ah yes, Jack Fox the conscientious private eye. Who'd have thought it. An itch maybe, but you've never come close to causing me real pain, Mr Fox. Jack. Can I call you Jack? Your petty little nit-picking may seem like victory to the eco-warriors and anti-capitalism groups, but on the grand scale you've never cost my company a cent, shamus. And while we're on the subject, I fired your parents legitimately. The were leaking corporate secrets, the charges wern't trumped-up. I thought you might want to know ... with your hatred of big business you might find their industrial espionage ... I don't know, heroic in some way."[/B] Through gritted teeth Jack said, [B]"Are you gonna tell me why you want this world destroyed or not?"[/B] He tried to keep the shock out of his voice. [I][B]After all these years, HedgeTech weren't dishonest in the first place? What has my whole crusade been for?[/B][/I] Shadow leaned back and grinned, showing perfect white teeth. There was no happiness in that smile. It was pure malice. [B]"I'm not a Bond villain, Jack. You think I'm going to tell you everything then leave you in some ridiculously circuitous trap? No. In the state you're in, I could probably just wait for you to die on my carpet, but I'm a busy man."[/B] He leaned down to his desk. [B]"Security? My office, please. I have an unwanted guest."[/B] [I][B]As if they didn't already know that.[/B][/I] [B]"Well then," [/B] said Jack,[B] "looks like I'm all out of options." [/B] He raised the Magnum, pointed it at Shadow, and with Tails's words echoing round his head, his finger tightened on the trigger. [I][B]Trying to kill him was not the answer...[/B][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]A tiny red light pulsed in the blackness. It pulsed quickly ... slowed down ... it was matching pace with Jack's heartbeat. The red light turned white, expanded, like a switched-off TV screen, but in reverse and slow-motion. A rhythmic beeping replaced the pulsing light. The whiteness was a ceiling ... polystyrene tiles in a steel grid ... Station Square Medical Centre. [I]Again.[/I] Jack tried to move, but his chest seemed about to snap clean in half and his lungs felt like he was breathing molten lead. He sagged back onto the crisp hospital linen, touching his chest; it was swathed entirely in bandages. There was a tube in his wrist, and an oxygen mask strapped to his face. [B]"You're going nowhere for a few days," [/B] said a voice, coming from just outside his field of vision. [B]"Three of your ribs snapped clean in half, a couple more were splintered, and you had more bone in your lungs than most people have in their skulls. I assume you'll be bringing charges? Police brutality?"[/B] With an effort, Jack turned his head. A concerned-looking nurse was sat by his beside, monitoring the beeping heart-rate monitor. [B]"There isn't much point," [/B] he replied, [B]"because the world's going to end soon."[/B] She looked startled. [B]"What?"[/B] [B]"The world," [/B] Jack reiterated grimly, [B]"is going to end. Very soon. I have to get out of here. I have to get my gun back and get to HedgeTech's headquarters building. Do you understand?"[/B] [B]"You're delirious." [/B] The nurse started checking the screen more closely, as if there was an 'insanity' readout on there. [B]"No," [/B] Jack replied, [B]"I'm deadly serious." [/B] He was past caring how ridiculous he sounded, past caring how many people thought he was crazy or how much trouble he caused. None of it mattered. The fate of the world was bigger than him alone. [B]"Look," [/B] he continued, [B]"I know it's dangerous for me to move. I also know it's far [I]more[/I] dangerous for me not to. So unless you get me a wheelchair or something, some way for me to get mobile, I'm gonna start pulling out these tubes one by one, starting with this big, important-looking one right here -" [/B] he grabbed the one going into his wrist [B]"- so I don't have to be around when the big apocalyptic fireworks start happening. [I]Comprende?[/I]"[/B] [CENTER]~~~~[/CENTER] [I][B]I guess I don't look that threatening,[/B][/I] Jack considered as he rolled in through HedgeTech's main entrance. The wheelchair was electric, and had the tree for his drip integrated so he didn't need a nurse walking alongside to make him look even more pathetic. It felt like it took about a week to reach the receptionist's desk; she just ignored him and filed her nails, not even looking up at the whirring of the chair's motor. Every second it took felt like time he couldn't afford to waste. [B]"I want to see Shadow," [/B] he said firmly, once he was close enough. Too close to the imposing front desk and he'd be obscured from her view, sat down as he was. [B]"Everyone wants to see Shadow," [/B] she replied, sounding bored and still not looking up. [B]"Do you have an appointment?"[/B] [B]"No."[/B] [B]"You'll have to make one. He's a very busy man[/B]." [B]"Will this do instead?" [/B] asked Jack gruffly, raising the Magnum he'd managed to retrieve from the police. God only knew how; for some reason they were more worried about his threat to kill himself than they were about letting an attempted murderer have his weapon back. He strongly suspected Harry Eastwood had had something to do with it. [B]"I am a very impatient man."[/B] Finally the girl looked up, and her eyes gained about an inch in diameter as she found herself the second person that day to look into the big revolver's cold grey barrel. Without taking her eyes off the gun, she pointed slowly towards the lift doors at the back of the foyer, though not, Jack suspected, before hitting some sort of alarm. Jack trundled towards the doors, which opened as he approached. The lift automatically began ascending to the penthouse floor, presumably controlled from the reception desk. As he rose to confront HedgeTech's lord and master, and the orchestrator of events that threatened the very planet itself, Jack realised he had no idea what he was doing. No idea what he was going to do when he finally came face to face with Shadow Thamien Hedgehog. No idea how he intended to save the world. No idea whether he would come out of it alive. [I][B]But then,[/B][/I] he thought with a wry grin, [I][B]what else is new?[/B][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]Jack forced himself upright, ignoring the shooting pain in all his limbs. [B][I]I've got to get out of here,[/I][/B] he decided. [B][I]I'm sick of waiting here, not knowing what's going to happen ... what was I doing just waiting anyway? Did I think that someone was gonna try and rescue me? Fat chance.[/I][/B] Jack flattened himself against the wall next to the heavy metal door and banged on it as hard as he could. [B]"Guard! Get in here! I think I'm bleeding out!"[/B] [B][I]Man, if this works I swear I'm gonna dedicate my life to giving the cops proper training.[/I][/B] The view slot in the door slammed to one side and a pair of beady eyes peered through. With Jack nowhere in sight, the guard began to cautiously open the door. A large foot appeared through the crack. [B][I]Oh, crap,[/I][/B] realised Jack, [B][I]it's Sarge! I'm never gonna be able to knock HIM out![/I][/B] The bear was fully in the cell now. Without much hope of success, Jack clasped his hands together into a double fist and brought them down hard at the base of Sarge's neck. For one hopeful second Jack watched as the huge Sergeant wavered, seemingly about to buckle and crash to the ground. Then suddenly his eyes refocused, his eyebrows descended into a frown and he swung a meaty fist straight at Jack's face. The fox went down hard, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. [B]"Stupid bastard!"[/B] yelled Sarge, livid that he'd let his captive land a blow on him. He swung a foot at the prostrate figure on the floor. With a sense of dread Jack felt something inside him snap. It made an audible cracking sound and suddenly he couldn't breathe, and his chest felt on fire. The Sergeant had obviously heard it too - his face went pale nad he went running out of the room. Jack faded in and out of consciousness, gasping for breath. He heard running footsteps, and Harry Eastwood's voice saying, "[B]You idiot. You [I]idiot![/I] Call the Medical Centre. Now!"[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]I [I]love[/I] the Abhorsen trilogy! Why the hell didn't I think of this? Name: Jack Ellenor Age: 17 Gender: Male Appearance: 5'7", blue-grey eyes, athletic build, dark brown hair in ponytail down to just between shoulderblades. Wears black boots and trousers, loose white shirt, dark red jacket and scarf. Often sighted with a blood-red flower in the tie holding back his hair. Side: Old Kingdom Weapon: twin long knives, but prefers to use magic Magic: Charter spells of healing, unravelling (for use against the Dead), illusion and fire; basic whistles for keeping Dead at bay Acc: simple silver ring on right first finger. The word '[I]Saraneth[/I]' is engraved around the outside in flowing, italic script.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]With everything else that had happened in this town so far, Sheldon wasn't entirely surprised when the vault door swung silently and ominously shut behind him. But this was nothing at all like the situation he'd been in in the jail cell. It wasn't dingy, there were lots of electric striplights in the ceiling, casting a deep and very black shadow behind him. The walls and floor were white, and the ceiling and the door behind him were gunmetal-grey. There was no sign of any money, bonds, ingots, gems ... not even a computer bank that could store electronic transfers. The cat sat in the middle of the floor and stared at him. Its pale but glowing green eyes seemed the exact antithesis to the dull red glow now surrounding Sheldon's camera. And the voice it spoke with when it opened its mouth was the exact antithesis to the voice that whispered in his head. [B]"Heh heh heh."[/B] It laughed like a tinkling stream; its voice was female, clear as crystal and wice as sharp. [B]"You have walked right into my trap, foolish mortal. Now you shall perish!"[/B] Sheldon felt none of the fear he'd experienced when set upon by the manacles in the cell. He watched objectively, as if all the events here were just happening on TV or in a photo, and he was outside, protected. Something about the now-heavy presence of the camera in his hand made him feel safe. [I]Invincible.[/I] The cat began to writhe on its back. Lumps appeared on its chest, which then burst open, showering the white walls in red. From within the animal an entirely different creature began impossibly to extricate itself. It was about six feet tall, slim, toned, curvaceous - long blonde hair and the same glowing green eyes as the cat. [B]"I am a Siren,"[/B] the nude woman explained. [B]"I have lured you to my lair and now I shall feed on your essence! But you shall die in a state of exquisite ecstasy. This I promise you."[/B] Sheldon couldn't work out why the demonic woman felt the need to explain her plan to him. Neither was he in the least attracted to the idea of carnal relations with her - he had never been one for any kind of relations with anyone. He raised his camera. It seemed like the best course of action and besides, he was beginning to crave the voice in his ear, whispering to him how he was special, and how the speaker was eternally in his debt for releasing him ... whatever that meant. [I]Flash![/I] A shapeless, formless blur of dark red and black erupted from the camera's lens towards the Siren. She screamed, a sound that could pierce armour plating - but Sheldon's ears heard only the whispering. [I][B]"No creature of the night shall harm thee whilst I reside herein ... I have use for thee yet, mortal ... with your sacrifice, my time will arise once again ..."[/B][/I] Sheldon ignored the bit about the sacrifice, instead focusing on the bit about no harm coming to him, as the smoky blur retreated from the Siren, which had become a pile of ash on the floor. The blur swept around behind Sheldon and burnt an enormous hole through the two-foot armour plating of the vault door before retreating back inside the camera. [B][I]Nine exposures.[/I][/B] Sheldon grinned for the first time in years. For the first time he had purpose, meaning, and a powerful ally. He'd been living inside his own head for so long that the supernatural events of the last hour or so hardly fazed him. His head was full of thoughts of power, invincibility. He cradled the camera to the side of his head and lost himself in the whispering.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed][B][I]Ten exposures left. I'll have to be a little more conservative. But it was worth it for the shots of the sacrifice.[/I][/B] Everyone was moving to the bar. It even looked like there were [I]more[/I] people in there. Sheldon surreptitiously peeled off from the others. They'd tried to make him abandon his camera. The street was dingy and it was starting to rain. Sheldon looked around for somewhere to shelter that wasn't the bar or the now mysteriously locked jailhouse. There were large red crosses on a couple of the doors, and he started toward one of those, intrigued; but then he looked [I]up,[/I] and saw ... The Mansion. It was up on a hill, a zig-zag path running up through the jagged rocks. The moon was just rising behind its turrets and spires, and it appeared completely black, a sinister silhouette against a sky scored by forked lightning. The camera lifted his hand. It was drawn to the Mansion like a diving rod to water. Slowly, Sheldon began to take a step towards the hill. [I]Crash![/I] The sound of metal on concrete jarred Sheldon out of his trance, and he turned jumpily to see a large black cat with iridescent green eyes that glowed in the half-light. It had knocked over a dustbin. He remembered hearing a similar sound while in the jailhouse; it must have been out there then, scavenging for scraps. Sheldon raised his camera. It wasn't dead, but it interested him. The whispering in his head began again, just as it had when he took the second picture of the dead child. The cat turned and ran silently into the building next to the jail. Cheated of another photo, Sheldon lowered the camera - the whispering subsided - and ran after it into the building. It looked to be a bank, but no one was there and the vault door gaped open. The cat was heading that way, and Sheldon followed.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Looks great for a zombie. Vampires are gonna be a bit more human-looking. There's a sort of bestiary up on myOtaku site with details of Walking Dead, Zombies, Vampires, Were-beasts, Higher dæmons and Ghosts. I realised there aren't yet any real bad-guy characters yet except the obvious dead creatures, so I'll be posting details of some decent baddies soon, along with character profiles for Cass, Takahashi and Aki and some stuff about Æther-manipulation: the art of using your strength of will to draw power from the various wandering souls in the Æther. Magic, basically. This is going to be Aki's other [I]forte[/I] (along with piloting a helicopter).

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]In the gloom of the jailhouse, it not being a building naturally inclined to have large windows, Sheldon had failed to notice the shape the debris on the floor had made. And somehow he'd been too preoccupied with getting out of the cell and not being eaten by possessed manacles to notice what was obviously a human sacrifice. As the body drew his attention the others in the jail seemed to disappear, become part of the background. Even with his obsession with death and photographing it, Sheldon had never actually had the privilege of capturing a real dead human being before. As if in a trance, he advanced towards the pentagram, stepping carefully over the now-quiescent manacles. His hands crept to his camera. [B]"Erm ... Sheldon?"[/B] Cindy's voice seemed muffled, as if by a wall of something between them ... no, more like there was a howling wind snatching her words away. And in fact, Sheldon realised, he [I]could[/I] hear a howling wind, and hidden in it a voice full of power whispering words of some infernal language in his ear. The camera moved almost of its own accord to Sheldon's eye. The wind grew louder, and the whisper became a murmur became a monotonous drone became a shout, yelling words at Sheldon that he didn't understand but sensed the power and pure evil within. [B]"Sheldon, I don't think you should ..."[/B] Cindy's voice was inaudible now, and he shut it out just as he was ignoring the overpowering sense of evil he felt as he stepped over the line of blood forming the sigil to get a better angle of the child. It was pale, bloodless almost, and there were semicircular red dotted lines like toothmarks at various points all over the body. [B]"SHELDON! NOOO!"[/B] [I]Flash![/I] As the shutter clicked and the flashbulb flared, all the sounds in Sheldon's head ceased abruptly. The LCD screen on top of the camera read [B]11[/B], showing he had eleven pictures left. And it felt different. A little heavier, maybe? And was there a slight malevolent red glint around the lens? Sheldon turned to Cindy, who was panting after shouting her lungs out at him. [B]"What?"[/B] he asked innocently.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]As two cops hauled his bruised and bloodied body through the corridors, Jack could hear the Sergeant yelling at some other unfortunate in another interview room. Over the pounding in his head he could just make out the words: [B]"It doesn't ... persuasion ... accurate testimony ..."[/B] [B]"This ... a job, isn't it? What do you want?"[/B] [B][I]Bastard,[/I][/B] thought Jack, [B][I]he's an insult to the SSPD. I hope he breaks his fist on whoever that is in there.[/I][/B] They chucked Jack in a cell, where he just lay. There was no point trying to shift position, he'd been beaten all over and every bit of him hurt as much as every other bit. The stone floor was kind of soothing on his bloody nose and mouth. [B][I]I have to get out of here. I don't care that it's against the law any more. I'm already going down for attempted murder, I may as well at least try to escape and find Sonic again. That way when the world ends I can at least say [/I] "I told you so" [I]and watch the expression on Sarge's great ugly mush.[/I][/B] As Jack was sitting up and starting to look round for possible escape routes, he heard the sound of a powerful motorbike pulling up outside. Then the door; some talking at the desk, the duty officer and some other voice he didn't recognise; then footsteps, coming closer; the shriek of metal that was the cell door coming unlocked. There was an orange fox silhouetted in the doorway. The duty officer's voice said, [B]"Visitor for you, Fox,"[/B] and then his footsteps receded. The guy in the doorway looked a bit younger than Jack, with a backwards baseball cap, and a really full, bushy tail. Wait... [B]"Don't stare."[/B] Jack looked up from the fox's twin tails to his face. He looked angry. Worse, it looked like [I]righteous[/I] anger. [B]"My name's Tails. You tried to kill a good friend of mine. They've just taken the bullet out. I took a detour on the way home. Wanted to talk to you."[/B] [B]"Are you gonna beat the shit out of me too?"[/B] Jack asked wearily. [B]"Cos I don't think there's much left."[/B] [B]"Well, it all depends."[/B] [B][I]I'll have to play this one carefully,[/I][/B] Jack thought. [B][I]He looks like he really will kick my ass if he doesn't like what he hears, and I'm not sure how much more ass-kicking I can take today.[/I][/B] [B]"I just want to know [I]why[/I]. You don't even know him. What's he ever done to you?"[/B] [B][I]Honesty is the best policy.[/I][/B] [B]"It's not what he's done. It's what he might ... be used for. Listen. Shadow T. Hedgehog is up to something. Something huge, and I [I]mean[/I] huge, and it won't work without your friend Sonic. I thought the best way to stop HedgeTech was to ... take him out of the picture."[/B] Tails looked like he was absorbing and processing this information. He stayed impassive for a few seconds, then walked up and kicked Jack hard in the stomach. Jack folded up like he was spring-loaded. [B]"That's for trying to take the easy way out,"[/B] he said. [B]"Even if you're telling the truth about Shadow, killing Sonic was [I]not[/I] the solution."[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]The others had all started talking amongst themselves, and it was the inane banter Sheldon had expected: [B]"Where are we?"[/B]; [B]"How did we get here?"[/B]; [B]"Hey, I know you from school"[/B]. [B][I]Pathetic,[/I][/B] Sheldon thought to himself, staring contemptuously at the other kids, [B][I]talking about it won't find the answers.[/I][/B] Ironically, as he mentally criticised them, he also knew he was going to have to talk to them eventually. They'd all materialised in the corridor, but of course Sheldon had had the bad luck to appear in a locked jail cell. The padlock and chain holding the bars closed looked rusty, but they were both huge and still looked solid enough to withstand anything Sheldon's feeble muscles could subject them to. He'd never had cause to attract attention to himself before. All he knew about other people was how to help them ignore him. He decided the best course of action was probably to sit there and wait for someone to notice his predicament, and hope they were they wishy-washy type that got some sort of kick out of helping others. The four in the corridor all seemed to know each other. The yellow-haired girl was acting all subservient to the other one, and she herself was preening to one of the boys, who looked as if he'd just met a movie star or something - Sheldon's pontifications were interrupted by a rattling, clanking sound, like metal scraping on stone. Looking around slowly, he saw that that was exactly what it was - the heavy cast-iron manacles bolted to the walls, floor and ceiling were all straining towards him like he was a magnet or something! They'd all sprung open and were gaping at him like hungry mouths. He yanked his foot away just in time as one snapped at him, shutting with enough force to shatter his ankle. He backed away, breath coming in ragged gasps, pushing himself hard against the bars separating him from the corridor. In this position none of the manacles could quite reach him, and he was about to breath a sigh of relief when he noticed some of the links in the rusty chains were bending outwards, on the verge of parting. If the chains snapped, the manacles would fly straight at him and... [B]"Erm..."[/B] Sheldon turned his head to face the others, none of whom seemed to have noticed his predicament, and swallowed his pride and fear. [B]"Er ... a little help here?"[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1][I]Flash![/I] Sheldon took his eye from the viewfinder. The tree had been the tallest for miles around, but that had only made it a bigger target for the lightning and gale-force winds of last night's thunderstorm. When it was alive, Sheldon would have never considered photographing it; it was just a tree. But now it was ... a victim. It would never change now, never grow bigger, and so he chose this moment to immortalise it on film. [B][I]Dead things are so much more interesting than alive things. And you don't have to ASK to photograph them, either. No awkward talking to do. No ... small talk.[/I][/B] Sheldon shuddered at the thought of actually [I]interacting[/I] with other human beings. He gobbled down a sandwich from the box he'd brought - this way, he didn't have to go home at all that night - and took a swig of water from the flask. Moving round for a new angle on the tree, he stuffed the flask in his pocket and raised the camera to his eye. [B][I]This camera was wasted on whatever rich kid I pinched it from.[/I][/B] [I]Flash![/I] As the bulb flooded the area with white light, Sheldon had a sudden sensation of being upside down and inside out, and he seemed disconcertingly to be looking at the insides of his own eyes. Then everything went black. [CENTER]~~~~~~~~[/CENTER] When Sheldon woke up he was in a dingy grey room with a cold stone floor and cold stone walls. There were manacles bolted to the wall, floor and, worryingly, the ceiling. Sheldon groaned inwardly as he looked through the bars of the cell: there were a few other kids from school lying in the corridor, clutching their heads and looking bewildered. [B][I]Great,[/I][/B] he thought, [B][I]does this mean I'm gonna have to TALK to people?[/I][/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]A shadowed figure approached Jack's office. It had a can of gasoline in one hand and a box of matches in its pocket. It picked the lock and started up the stairs, swinging the can jovially as it went.[/COLOR][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue] [CENTER]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/CENTER] Jack woke up with someone clamping a vice slowly tighter and tighter around his brain. [B]"Great,"[/B] he moaned aloud, [B]"I get rid of my hangover so you guys just [I]had[/I] to give me a replacement headache."[/B] He was addressing the large and obviously two-way mirror his chair faced. His hands were cuffed together and the chain fed through the chair back, and the chair was bolted to the floor. So was the table in front of him. The chair on the other side wasn't. [B]"I'm awake,"[/B] Jack said evenly to the mirror, [B]"you can come in now."[/B] After a few seconds the door opened and the duty Sergeant came in, followed closely by Harry Eastwood, the silver Arctic fox Jack had met earlier on the wharf. The Sergeant closed the door and stood at attention next to it. Eastwood put his coffee down on the table and took a seat opposite Jack. For a while he just sat there staring at his old friend, as if he'd never met him before. He scrutinised Jack's eyes, trying to work out what was different in there. Eventually he spoke. [B]"You were never a life-taker, Fox. What changed?"[/B] [B]"Extreme circumstances."[/B] [B]"What, did he shave your tail in your sleep? Crease your fucking hat? Sleep with your woman? Don't give me the vague treatment, Fox. It might wash when we know you're protecting a client, but not now. I know you're not a hitman. So just tell me. Why do you want Sonic Theodore Hedgehog dead?"[/B] [B]"Is he safe?"[/B] Eastwood started, his coffee cup pausing just before a sip. He put it down again. [B]"[I]Safe?[/I] Last thing you do before that HedgeTech girl pistol-whips you into unconsciousness is shoot the poor bastard, and now you wanna know if he's [I]safe?[/I] Make your mind up, Fox."[/B] [B]"It's important. Where is he now ... wait, [I]what[/I] HedgeTech girl?"[/B] [B]"The CEO sent his secretary in person to knock your lights out for trying to off his brother."[/B] Eastwood paused. [B]"Oh, come on, Fox, don't tell me this is all about HedgeTech again. Look, I know you don't like their business ethics, and it's all very well exposing their corrupt payschemes to the world's media, but I thought you'd have stopped short of killing their families."[/B] [B]"He's Shadow's [I]brother?[/I]"[/B] He didn't remember reading that in the files. Either it was unimportant or he'd just overlooked it while floundering in all the technobabble. Another thought hit Jack then, one that made his vision narrow and his blood freeze. [B]"HedgeTech know where he is?"[/B] [B]"Sure. Shadow's visiting him in hospital right now."[/B] [B]"No!"[/B] Jack burst out hysterically. [B]"You've got to get him to a safehouse or something! Keep him safe!"[/B] [B]"Safe from what? His would-be assassin is all chained up here with me, Fox. And now I've answered all your burning questions, I think [I]you[/I] owe [I]me[/I] some answers. If you didn't know the guy was Shadow's brother, why'd you try to kill him?"[/B] [B]"It's too complicated to explain here."[/B] Jack took a deep breath. [B]"There's a box of files. In my office. If you send someone to get them, they'll explain everything."[/B] Eastwood gave him a funny look. [B]"Your secretary burned down your office an hour ago, Fox,"[/B] he said evenly. [B]"We've got her in custody. We're questioning her now, under the assumption that she was in on it, and that you told her to burn your place to destroy any evidence of your plans."[/B] [B]"[I]No![/I]"[/B] yelled Jack for the second time in as many minutes. [B]"She didn't know anything! She's been framed!"[/B] [B][I]Those files were the only evidence I had to prove HedgeTech guilty! Why the hell didn't I just take them to the police straight off, instead of pursuing my stupid selfish vendetta? Now I have no leverage, I'm an attempted murderer and HedgeTech have Sonic in their grasp. I'd have lived with life imprisonment for murder if I'd only stopped them, but nothing I've done has mattered![/I][/B] Eastwood got up, draining the last of his coffee. He walked towards the door. [B]"Before today, I wouldn't have even considered doing this to you,"[/B] he said, nodding the Sergeant towards Jack and closing the door behind him. There was contempt in his eyes. Sarge ground his right fist into his left palm with an expression on his face that suggested he felt like all his Christmases had come at once. The first blow to Jack's stomach winded him, and then the blows just kept on coming.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

For anyone who's interested, I've posted details of Asuka's character on myOtaku. Sorry it's taken so long, but I've been busy and I wanted to get the details firmly sorted out in my head before I committed anything to post. In the near future I'll be posting some stuff about the themes of the manga, and the stuff I'm trying to get across in it, although some of the messages I'm trying to communicate will be hard to explain without including long-term story spoilers. Also up soon will be character profiles for Nibori Takahashi the suspicious but useful biologist and Aki Kasahara the asthmatic helicopter pilot. On the subject of Aki, here's a short transcript of an exchange I had recently with my good friend Leofski of the KGB. [QUOTE]LEOFSKI: Also, wouldn't it be really hard to fly a helicopter in a gas mask? MYSELF: Oh, you just had to point that out, didn't you, you pesky Russkie.[/QUOTE] I later admitted that yes, in fact, he did have a point. Unfortunately I have my reasons for including Aki's gas mask (Sakura knows what I'm talking about ;) ), but I conceded that he could probably take it off while flying because the helicopter is a sealed environment and the air-con could probably get rid of the smoke that aggravates the poor guy's bronchi. Darn those heathens and their apocalypse-style ritual! Didn't they think about all those asthmatics out there?

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]The wharf was abandoned and rickety, and the air stank because the place was so close to the sewer system's effluent pipes. Jules Hedgehog's body was long gone to the police station for examination, but on the way there Jack had phoned a cop buddy of his who owed him a favour. They stood on the jetty, and he talked while Jack drank tomato juice to try and kill his hangover. [B]"I'm only telling you this because I owe you, Fox. You don't pass this info on to any third parties, hear me?"[/B] The small grey fox leaned closer, looking around as if someone could be hiding in the stinking water. [B]"Jules Hedgehog did not drown. Or ... I guess he might have done, but I think the knife wound to his back contributed a lot more to his death than the water did. Someone offed him and dumped the body in the sewer."[/B] [B]"Suspects?"[/B] [B]"No dice, Fox."[/B] Jack handed the fox a few bills, which he hastily pocketed. [B]"Pink echidna, professional brawler, goes by the name of Knuckles. But you won't get near him, Fox. Interrogating him's gonna be Sarge's pet project for a while. He's got a score to settle with the guy. I hear they go way back."[/B] There was a pause. [B]"I'm not giving you any more, Fox. The DCI'll have my ass."[/B] The fox started to walk quickly away. Jack drained his tomato juice and called after him. [B]"Thanks, East. That makes us about square."[/B] [CENTER]LATER[/CENTER] [B][I]Okay,[/I][/B] Jack thought as he drove too fast down Main Street, [B][I]now I have two leads. I'm sure Shadow's father turning up knifed just as his latest big plan starts up isn't a coincidence, and if I've put two and two together right, he's even more of a bastard than I thought he was. I'm also pretty sure this Knuckles guy didn't have anything to do with it, but it'll be worth paying him a visit.[/I][/B] [B][I]But he isn't a priority right now. I need to find the other one. Sonic.[/I][/B] For a moment Jack was uncomfortably aware of the weight of the Magnum in his trenchcoat. He swerved down Fifth towards his office. [CENTER]LATER[/CENTER] [B]"Crap!"[/B] exclaimed Jack aloud. [B]"I was right there!"[/B] He'd searched the hedgehog's credentials through both the city hall and police databases and turned up with zip. He'd thought he was on to something when he came up with an address, but the search had discarded it a second later when it found city hall's 'condemned' verdict in their housing files. [B][I]I may not be much of a hacker myself, but these 'intelligent' search programs Eastwood's rat buddy wrote for me are the real thing. It's not what you know, it's who you know.[/I][/B] In despair, and on a wild hunch, he'd searched the hospitals too. And of all the places the guy could have been, it had to be Station Square Medical, where Jack had been scant hours ago, picking up the bat-girl's package. [B][I]Great,[/I][/B] he thought, [B][I]while I'm there I can ask around, see if anyone remembers her.[/I][/B] LATER The same pretty pink hedgehog he'd seen last time at the kiosk left the side room where the hospital records said Sonic was. [B][I]The coincidences just keep building up,[/I][/B] Jack thought, shaking his head incredulously. Sure now that the room was empty save the injured hedgehog himself, Jack strolled nonchalantly in through the still-open door. The guy in the bed looked like shit, swathed in bandages and covered in bruises. That almost made it easier. It was like someone else had done half the job. Sonic Theodore Hedgehog's eyes flickered open groggily just as Jack laid the Magnum's barrel between them. His eyelids seemed to roll back into his head and he went cross-eyed trying to focus on the cold grey gun. [B]"Sorry, friend,"[/B] said Jack softly, recognising the emptiness of his words even as he said them. [B]"I guess it's not much consolation to you, but ... this is necessary. To save us all."[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]Jack sat at his desk and gazed vacantly at the empty whisky bottle. He knew somewhere in his mind that drinking it had been a bad idea, just as he'd known that before he took the first swig. But then, drinking his memory away into alcohol-sozzled oblivion had seemed like the sensible thing to do after reading through the contents of the bat-girl's package. Another small, insistent part of the fox's addled brain kept telling him he needed to find somebody. Somebody mentioned in the files pilfered from HedgeTech's most secure computer system, god knew how. [B][I]Sonic Theodore Hedgehog. He's the key to all this. I don't understand everything I read ... but if I've read it right, Shadow T. Hedgehog's master plan collapses into a smoking ruin without him.[/I][/B] The nagging bit of Jack's brain knew he had to find this ... Sonic ... as soon as possible, assuming he hadn't already fallen into HedgeTech's hands. He had to do everything in his power to keep the hedgehog safe. [B][I]Or ... UNsafe? Without him ... master plan ... smoking ruin ...[/I][/B] Jack didn't even feel his head hit the desk. [CENTER]SOME TIME LATER[/CENTER] Jack awoke to someone pounding his head with a jackhammer. Except it wasn't that, it was his laptop beeping. He kept the compact PC on a constant search routine, sifting the Internet - including various police channels he didn't technically have access to - for anything that could interest him. Right now it was alerting him to a high-priority item. A headline filled the screen. [CENTER][I]HedgeTech Scientist Found Drowned[/I][/CENTER] Jack read on. Then, trying hard to ignore his hangover, he seized his coat and hat and left for the wharf where the body of Jules Hedgehog had been discovered.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][LEFT]Before leaving the office, Jack pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk and stared warily at his silver Cougar Magnum, as if expecting it to jump into his pocket. He was never happy about packing heat, but in this city, it was sometimes a necessary evil. [B][I]HedgeTech is involved,[/I][/B] Jack reminded himself. That made up his mind. He packed the gun, plus a box of spare ammunition, into an inside pocket of his trenchcoat, where the folds of the big garment would hide it from casual observers. Closing the drawer, and with a final look out of the window, he swept out of the office.[/LEFT] [CENTER]TWENTY MINUTES LATER[/CENTER] [LEFT]A blue Phoenix Hummingbird roared past Jack as he crossed the Medical Centre car park, pocketing the keys to his saloon as he did so. The bike's slipstream caught his coat and it streamed out sideways, nearly revealing the Magnum inside. Jack hugged the coat tighter and jogged up the steps to the Centre's main entrance. Not knowing who he was waiting for, he'd obviously have to assume the mystery caller knew him by sight. Sometimes they didn't. Some people were just that stupid. With a few minutes to spare, Jack crossed the waiting area to the small refreshment kiosk in the wall, shaking raindrops off his hat as he went. There was an attractive pink and red hedgehog in the queue in front of him, picking up a mineral water. Jack nodded to her as she left, and eyed her as she walked away. [B][I]Who am I kidding,[/I][/B] he thought morosely, [B][I]I'd freeze up before I ever asked her name.[/I][/B] With a can of some sort of downmarket cola in his hand, Jack found an empty seat in the waiting area and sat. He popped the ringpull and took a swig. It was nasty stuff. [B]"Don't turn around."[/B] Jack tensed and pricked up his ears. The voice came from the seat back-to-back with his. [B]"The information you want is in a package under my seat. Count two hundred after I leave before picking it up. I wouldn't want you seeing my face."[/B] [B][I]This one knows what he's doing,[/I][/B] thought Jack. [B][I]I'll have to be careful.[/I][/B] [B]"Start counting."[/B] Jack counted twelve before sneaking a glance around. These types usually stopped watching him after ten; he'd found twelve to be the best time to turn, while the target was still likely to be in sight but was no longer keeping an eye on him. He cast his eyes around, seeing doctors, nurses, wounded people, parents with sick children ... and the door to a corridor, rapidly closing. Before it latched shut, Jack caught a fleeting glimpse of high heels, a black leather jacket ... and [I]bat wings[/I]? A girl. She must have been putting on a voice, then. She'd have an escape route all planned out, so there was no point giving chase. Filing the image away, Jack checked under the seat. Sure enough, there was a roughly cubic package wrapped in brown paper and parcel tape, with his name printed on top with a black marker. He picked it up and started walking.[/LEFT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]Jack Fox put down the scissors and relaxed in his office chair for a few moments, staring at the slick, organic black sheet the rain and winter darkness were making of his window. It wasn't even coming down in streams or rivers anymore, but a solid sheet of rain. It was as if he had situated his office behind a waterfall. Jack tore his attention away from the mesmerizing cascade and back to the article he'd just finished clipping from the [I]Station Square Gazette[/I]. [I]...HedgeTech's enigmatic CEO, Shadow T. Hedgehog, was earlier quoted as saying that the city would [B]"just have to wait and see"[/B] exactly what the company's latest project entails. Speculation has been growing amongst business analysts as to the nature of this project, which Mr. Hedgehog described as [B]"very large"[/B] and potentially [B]"most profitable in the long run"[/B]...[/I] [B]"He's up to something..."[/B] muttered Jack aloud. [B][I]Maybe I'm not the most impartial guy in the world when it comes to HedgeTech,[/I][/B] he thought, [B][I]but with this much secrecy surrounding such a large project, it has to be something sinister.[/I][/B] Jack got up to turn off the ceiling fan. It was getting too late in the year to need it much anyway. As he yanked the cord, the intercom buzzed. Jack pressed the red 'answer' button. [B]"Yes, Ms. Rabbit?"[/B] [B]"There's a call for you, Mr. Fox,"[/B] crackled the voice of Gloria Rabbit, Jack's secretary. [B]"I'm afraid the gentleman flatly refuses to give a name. Shall I cut him off?"[/B] Jack sighed. Ms. Rabbit had never seemed to grasp the concept of an 'anonymous tip-off', or the importance such a thing held in his business. But then, she was the best he could afford. [B]"No, thank you,"[/B] he replied politely, [B]"put him through, please."[/B] There was clicking on the intercom, and then Jack's desk phone started ringing. He was ready for it, and grabbed the receiver after half a ring. [B]"Fox, investigator for hire."[/B] [B]"I have information regarding certain developments at HedgeTech."[/B] The voice was smothered in static. [B]"Meet me in the old Blue Midnight bar in half an hour."[/B] [B]"No,"[/B] refused Jack quickly, before the voice could hang up. [B]"Nowhere abandoned, I've had too many bad experiences. Make it somewhere public. Then we can both trust each other not to do anything stupid."[/B] The voice considered this for a few seconds. [B]"Fine,"[/B] it replied eventually, [B]"I think ... Station Square Medical Centre. The moans of the walking wounded should cover our little conversation. Half an hour,"[/B] the voice reiterated, and hung up before Jack could argue again. Jack put the phone down and grabbed his cream trenchcoat and fedora from the hatstand, pulling them on over his suit while stabbing at the intercom again. [B]"I'm going out, Ms. Rabbit. Could you take any messages? Thanks. Clock off a bit early if you like."[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

Name: Jack DePorta Age: 17 Gender: Male Race: Human Appearance: 5'7", wiry build. Black military-style boots; black jeans; grimy white/grey vest; short black leather jacket (not a trench). He has lank, badly kept black hair in a loose tail falling to just below his shoulders. His eyes are blue-grey. He has a very noticeable facial tattoo: a black tribal-looking design covering the left side of his forehead and reaching down around his left eye. Status: civilian. Weapons: katana and revolver. Bio: Jack is a member of the Blackjacks, one of the many human youth gangs roaming Hades' Outer Ring, and advertises this fact proudly with his distinctive facial tattoo. While all the Blackjacks have these, each one is unique to its bearer. The gang has been like a surrogate family for Jack. Neither of his parents wanted him and his official guardian, his father's uncle, is an abusive Glimmer addict. Jack goes 'home' only when he is starving to the point of pain. The rest of his time is spent with the Blackjacks, robbing badly secured homes, drinking in 'their' bar, the Blue Midnight, and fighting short-lived but vicious turf wars with rival human gangs, vamps, fellins and anyone else that seems a viable target. The Blue Midnight is a no-go zone for anyone who isn't either a Blackjack or a seriously talented fighter. When Jack's uncle was found murdered in his home, strung up by his ankles with his head and all his bones missing, Jack was the first suspect the police questioned. However, when other similarly mutilated bodies began to appear all over the city while Jack was in police custody, they were forced to reluctantly release him. What they didn't get out of him was that he'd been home when his uncle was killed. He caught a glimpse of the thing that did it. And right now he's tracking it, hoping to claim a huge bounty, not to mention serious street cred for the gang, when he brings the thing in.

Wow, I'm off the boards for a couple of days and all of a sudden this is a Hot Thread! Nice work on Kyo, mangakiwi. I'm not sure about the chin - he looks a bit gormless - but otherwise that's pretty much spot on! Trenches are cool and everything, but they are a bit cliché for an undead-killing souls-and-dæmons manga, and I'm trying to avoid cliché wherever possible. I think before he goes adventuring he'll probably have to loot a clothing shop for some combat trousers or something with a similarly large amount of pockets, so he can carry supplies ... but the clothes you've drawn him in look fine for the beginning. And yes, I was thinking katana too. Is there any cooler sword? I like SilverCyclone's colouring, too. This place is full of talented people. I've pretty much got Asuka figured, so her profile should be up on myOtaku soon. I'll keep you all posted!

Name: Jack Holloway Age: 17 Ring name: Blackjack Rank: new arrival Alignment: clean fighter Appearance: dark brown hair with lighter streaks, a bit longer than shoulder-length, tied back for fights to keep it out of his face. A bit shorter than average height. Grey urban camo trousers tucked into black military-style boots, white Tee and black leather jacket (more bomber than trenchcoat). Blue-grey eyes. Weapons: bo-staff or naginata. Bio: Jack has always been obsessed by fame. He can't countenance dying with the world not knowing his name. And in this day and age, the shortest path to fame and fortune is through a lotta other people in the Battle net. He's been training in karate and bo-jutsu since he was seven. He was born with exceptional spatial awareness, that is, he can tell where people and obstacles are even if he's not looking at them. This means he can target his blows with perfect accuracy and he's practically impossible to sneak up on or surprise. He's incredibly cocky and plans to win the Battle net crowd with impressive stunts such as fighting blindfolded. He won't accept anything less than first place, and if the crowd doesn't love him by the time he gets there, he'll consider his whole effort a failure. Jack has a calm, relaxed fighting style and never makes unnecessary movements, meaning in fights his moves appear smooth and graceful as if choreographed. He won't fight dirty because that might make the crowd dislike him. So he isn't in it purely to win; he needs to win [I]and[/I] be loved. (Also, is there actually going to be a story to this or is it just a sparring thread?)

Tetsuo isn't the reincarnation of Akira. It's just that the idiot government kept doing the experiments that created Akira even after he'd destroyed the city. When Tetsuo meets the wizened little kid after the bike chase with the clowns, his proximity to him awakens Tetsuo's latent psychic powers and he starts to become just like Akira was. Eventually the wizened kids use their combined power [SPOILER]to resurrect Akira from the jars he was stored in, because he has enough control over his powers now that he can save Tetsuo from becoming the huge blancmange baby blob thing, and stop Tokyo being levelled again.[/SPOILER] I think that's about it. I've spoiler-tagged bits, highlight to see what they say.

Name: Sheldon Walker Age: 15 Gender: Male Items: Camera with flash and 10 remaining exposures, small flask of water Bio: The product of a broken home, Sheldon is the quiet kid nobody notices; he's sad and uncool, but not conspicuous enough to get bullied. His dad walked out when he was five because he couldn't handle the responsibility, and his mum never had the cash to buy him toys or decent clothes. He gradually became more and more withdrawn until on his twelfth birthday, he cracked and threw his tiny, mediocre cake out of the window before proceeding to smash various of his mum's valuables. The punishments he received for that incident only caused Sheldon to withdraw further, and nowadays the only joy he gets is from taking pictures with the camera he stole from a rich kid at school. He only photographs inanimate objects and dead things, never people. That's how antisocial he's become. His mum finds his hobby macabre and weird, but doesn't question it (or where the expensive camera came from) for fear of another Twelfth Birthday Incident. One night Sheldon was out in the field behind his house, taking photos of a dead tree that had blown down in a recent horror-cliché-type storm. He intended to stay out all night so he had a drink with him. But when he took his eye away from the viewfinder, he wasn't home anymore... Description: [URL=http://www.animanga2000.net/evangelion/file/shinji/ikari_shinji_foto_1.html]click here[/URL] (I know it's Shinji, but that's the kind of 'sad kid' image I'm going for here. In fact he looks a bit too content in this pic but what can you do)