Darkflare

The woman looked over at the girl. "Give me a break... Oi girl, you shouldn't attract so much attention if you're in such a bad part. You're better off looking for the local authorities for help."

The Roleplay Paradise Redux Deluxe Edition: The Role-play strikes back! "How many worlds are there? Noone can day to be honest. In fact, it can be said that there are an infinite number of worlds, ranging from minor subtle differences to completely different worlds each with their own set of "rules"." "And that's without taking into account the ones that have time travel as a possibility, further creating different timelines to add to it. Just as there are infinite worlds, there are infinite possibilities." "And then we have the cases with divine intervention. Though how often it happens can depend on the deity and the world, in truth on average these are extremely rare and only in very specific conditions." "Which brings me to the world I often spend observing and even interacting with. With infinite possibilities, it comes to no surprise that there are worlds out there that allow multiple universes to cross over with each other." "The word infinite truly means something in a world like this. And despite this, it has worked out very well. Of course, there's the occasional conflict, but it's an unfortunate truth among mortals. The struggle between good and evil is an eternal one." "Ah, I shouldn't be rambling on so much, This tale isn't about me anyway, I am but an audience member and not an actor in this play. And I await the next chapter of this tale..." Kalos City "..." She took the time to analyze her surroundings. "A sense of familiarity, yet it somehow feels different. Perhaps there is some truth to this place being a gathering ground between worlds."

That's fantastic for you. How is this an offsite release?

Flare set the communication console to the offense team. "WATCH YOUR FIRE! YOU ALMOST CAUSED A SWIFT DEFEAT TO YOUR TEAM."

As we begin the beginning of February, it can be agreed that the holidays have ended long ago. And yet, it has left us with a mystery. The mystery of the contents of the last present left that has yet to be opened. Its contents a mystery to all but its sender. As time continues to pass, one wonders about the fate that will befall to this last gift. Will it finally be opened revealing its gift to the forum for all or will it be destroyed, its contents forever unknown to all but one?

The arena looks as if nothing had happened just a moment ago. The assigned mecha maid already in position in the defense start area. A timer visible to all has already begun to count down. Flare opened communications with the first team. "I'm expecting a lot from you after that disastrous first round performance. You only get one chance at redemption. Don't blow it." He switches communications to the second team. "Don't get overconfident just because you had a good first round. The enemy is going to wisen up as they seek to redeem themselves. Don't let them." With both teams in position, the countdown eventually reaches 0 as the buzzer signals the beginning of the second round.

Tapping a few commands, Flare sets up communications in the waiting rooms. "Break time's over. Report to the arena immediately for the second round. Anyone that doesn't arrive in the next 2 minutes, well...I don't think your teammates will appreciate starting the next round with less than a full team."

"For all our sake's, I really hope you do." He headed back to the console controls as he oversaw the clean up and preparation for the next round "The reckless actions the offensive team had in this round would have made it very difficult for me to keep them healed in actual combat. Hopefully they learned their lesson and will prove it to us in the next round. I must say, this simulation certainly has its benefits."

"What you did was reckless and stupid regardless of your intentions especially since you didn't bother to tell anyone else what you were doing. I don't care how skilled you are, this isn't the time to be acting alone. Considering that you happened to wake up somewhere you didn't even expect to be in before coming here just proves my point. You're rather lucky that you're here in one piece and still breathing. I won't pretend to know how it feels to be pulled away from your world, but you're not the only one in that situation." "... you're not alone. Put a little more thought before you do something so selfish again."

"....Hostage eliminated" He flipped communications toward the offense team. "Not the way I would have preferred it, but a win is a win. Well done." He then switched communications toward the defense. "The enemy had complete control the entire round and your carelessness have caused your team to eliminate the hostage. Learn from your mistakes for the next round." He then switched communications to both teams. "The next round will be the same but your roles will be reversed. I'll give you a brief moment to prepare. Maybe you'll actually come up with a plan this time." The arena proceeded to clear up all the shocks that were applied to the eliminated. Flare proceeded to stand up and approach Melina. "We need to have a talk, young lady."

I'm guessing those other gifts will remain unopened then. I wanted to know if I was blessed with a legendary item.

Though Flare was focused on watching the battle unfold, he could still sense Melina's presence. "You better start explaining why you left the base, tripped my silent alarm and spent the rest of the night outside."

The Mecha maid bowed and began to lead Melina to the underground arena. At the same time, she sent a message to Flare to notify him about her arrival. Back in the arena, Flare reaches toward his phone, reading the message that just arrived. He quickly sends back a message in response. "Bring her to me."

The arena automatically took care of Rokurou and Etomo's eliminations administering the same shock Ludger received. (3 down on the defense team and they haven't gotten a single one of the offense team. Let's hope this serves as a wake up call to them.) "The rest are in the underground arena taking a training drill. If you would be so kind as to follow me so that I may escort you there."

With the solid hit landed on Ludger, the arena systems proceeded to administer the shock signifying his elimination as Flare announced the Teammate/Enemy elimination to both teams. (That was was sloppy, Light. You let them know where your teammate would be.)

With everyone getting into position, Flare tapped a few more buttons on the console. He felt an inner joy on what was about to happen. Team drills are something he rarely got the chance to do in recent days and when the teams kept it close, they had the potential to be more exciting than simple 1 on 1s. "15 seconds." The assigned Mech Hisui proceeded to fly over to the arena heading toward the center of the defender's starting position and kneeling down. Flare brought up the screen highlighting everyone and their assigned teams. He tapped on the screen a buttong that said ALL and began to countdown. "5...4...3...2...1..." He tapped Team 2 on the screen. "Rescue the hostage!” He quickly tapped on Team 1 "Defend the hostage!”

"These teams are acceptable. Get into position. First team on defense, second team on offense. You can plan all you want as you go, not that it matters as no combat plan ever survives actual combat.

"It can't be helped and right now it would make things uneven. Hopefully the remaining others will eventually arrive and I can work something in."

"Finish scrambling the teams first. I'll flip a coin or something for that. You'll be taking turns, it's not like you're going to only attack or defend."

"I prefer to assume you have the capabilities to do that on your own and hope you don't prove me wrong in that regard."

"If I may make a request, it would be best if I observed instead. As a sniper, it would be better if I observed the movement behavior of everyone. Not to mention that it is unlikely that I will be in the frontlines." "Fair enough...as for the rest of you." He finishes typing on the console as the arena takes the form of an abandoned warehouse. He then proceeds to bring up a hologram of the layout of the area. "All right, we have two teams: Attackers and Defenders. The attacking team starts on the north while the defenders start on the south. The defenders also have an additional person with them which is the primary objective for both sides. In this case, I'll just have one of the Hisuis take this role. The goal of the attacking team is to "rescue" and escort her back to the exit in their starting area within 2 minutes. Obviously the defenders want to prevent this. If time runs out but one of the attackers is with the Hisui and escorting her, the round continues into Overtime until they either reach the exit or she's not escorted for 3 seconds." "Regarding Hisui, she won't move on her own unless you grab her by the hand in which case she will move with you until you let go. Oh and she won't attack anyone either regardless of team. The defenders can also move Hisui to move her to another preferred position if they so wish." "I'm pretty sure you're all more than capable of withstanding your share of punishment but your impressive durability won't matter in this case. For this drill, everyone will be considered pretty frail. While a weak strike won't eliminate you, a strong solid hit will, even if you normally can take a hundred of those. Once eliminated, the arena will give you a shock and paralyze you to prevent you from doing anything else. There is no way to bring back an eliminated individual until the next round starts. Naturally, eliminating the other team is considered a round victory. Ah....by the way, Hisui is also subject to the same elimination rules. The team that eliminates Hisui automatically loses that round regardless of anything else." "I believe that covers the rules of this drill. Oh....before I forget." "Scramble your teams. The main purpose of this drill is to get you familiar with each other. Pairing up with someone you're already familiar with completely defeats the purpose of that. You won't always get the choice of pairing up with whoever you want to be with, so now's a good time to learn something from the ones you know nothing about."

"The objective is to get you all to know and trust each other for when we go out and do this for real." Flare heads over to the control console and begins typing. "I won't have you just fight each other, there's going to be an objective you must accomplish. That said, this IS a team exercise. Have you chosen your teams like I had asked?”

"Quite an interesting group we have here. I suppose it's not so surprising that you all have gone to the slums at some point. They would have to have a reason to label you as terrorists after all. Do not be alarmed, I suspect that their accusations are false. Ah, where are my manners?" Shrike slid open her mask. "I go by the codename Shrike, but please call me Ana. I may not look like much, but I assure you that my skills as a sniper are just as sharp as they were in my younger days despite my handicap. Actually, I had set up in this area chasing after a few bounties. I suspect they're working for the group that has taken over the slums. If I may, I would like to join you and learn about your capabilities. Although, I am a sniper, the biotic technology I possess should prove useful to you in other ways."

"The enemy won't wait for us, Light. Their grip on the slums tightens every moment. If they don't make it back, we'll have to continue without them and figure out what to do about it later."