Reapers: Keepers of the Balance (M) [Most Original 1Q '13]

[sorry Nakuzumi, but I'm going to have to have Kalek split off. If you want, they can interact some other time.]

Kalek Noire - Mission (almost) complete!​

Kalek looked over the water at the cruise ship. At the rate Destiny and he were currently going, the ship would already be out to sea, out of their reach. Kalek knew what he had to do. He turned his hooded head to Destiny, and said, "Meet me at the ship, I have no time for 'blending in.'"

With this, Kalek began running towards the cove, not afraid to shove people out of his way. Of course, his position required that he not kill civilians, so when he did have to move someone out of his way, it was away from the active roadways.

A few minutes later, Kalek was on the pier. As he reached the end of it, Kalek dived into the water, swimming towards the nearest boat. Once Kalek reached said boat, he boarded and strode across the small deck to the pilothouse, where a slightly elderly man was loosly grasping the tiller. Kalek reached around and grabbed the man, saying, "I need to use this, if you don't mind." He noted the shotgun inside the boathouse, and kicked it into the water. Kalek then began piloting the boat at its top speed towards the cruise ship.

Once aboard the cruise ship, Kalek went into stealth mode. He searched the ship for the magical signature, which originated from the captain's quarters.

Kalek burst in, only to come face to face with someone he had hoped never to see again. Artemis grinned, and asked, "Did you miss me, Brother?"

 
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Destiny Saviouer :: NYC, NY, USA, Earth
Chapter Two :: Reunion

☮

​

"Meet me at the ship. I have no time for 'blending in.'" With that, Destiny was left to fly solo.

Well, that was okay with her. She wasn't the one that was in danger of being completely obliterated if she was left on her own. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but Kalek would be screwed if he faced that force that Destiny was pursuing. Destiny wasn't even sure if she'd be able to take the man herself.

Destiny disappeared silently, racing towards her target. It was time to end this. It was time to face a man she had not known in nearly five thousand years. It was time for her to face one of her best friends.

♛♛♛♛♛​

Destiny twisted her foot, coming to a sudden stop from a full-out sprint. Her destination had taken her a startling long way away from Kalek. Somewhere along the way her target had changed course, purposefully drawing her away from her partner. But how did he know?

Destiny turned, gripping her scythe beneath her cloak, turning a full three-sixty as she scanned the area. Something didn't feel quite right.

"Finally, you have arrived." Destiny twirled around, facing the direction of the voice. The voice was distinctly female, and she knew that she recognized it, although she couldn't quite place it. "Master will be pleased." Small footsteps echoed in the air, and a woman stepped out from the shadows upon a ledge, standing about twenty feet above Destiny. It was the woman from the warehouse in Moscow. The last surviving Harbinger from that mission. Now Destiny understood how this woman had bested her.

"What's wrong? You look surprised. Are you disappointed? Don't worry, the one you seek shall reveal himself soon enough. In the meantime, how about a little chat?" The woman leaned up against a wall, and the air around them darkened. She crossed her arms as the area around them seemed to separate itself from the world. The woman was creating a Shadow Box, a Dark Realm. It was essentially an alternate universe, albeit temporary and usually no larger than a building, or a town if the creator was particularly powerful. It was an admirable skill, to be sure.

Destiny scoffed. "Well, let me start off by asking this: who are you? You're one of a handful of people to come close to my skill that I've come across in thousands of years, and even fewer of those people were able to equal me."

"Equal you?" The woman giggled. Destiny noted the look in her eyes, how they were far brighter and contained much more emotion than when they had last met. "My dear, I far surpass your ability. The one you faced was not me. It was merely a shade, a projection of a small fraction of my abilities. You were barely able to combat even that. Frankly, I was disappointed. I expected more from a rival of his. Oh well, he seems to think that you have more skill in you somewhere, and he's rarely ever wrong about these things, so I'll take his word for it."

Destiny's face was blank as she glared at the woman. A shadow? If that was true, this woman was lethal. "You still haven't told me who you are," Destiny growled.

"Oh, I haven't? Thought I had. Well, to start off with, I'm an immortal, much like yourself. Granted, I'm a bit younger than you. My mother, Hekate, didn't really make a name for herself until the time of the Greeks. As I'm sure you well know, the mortals revered her as the goddess of magic. They worshipped her as the goddess with three faces. She was around before the Olympians, and her teachings still influence mortals to this day," the woman stated, a smug look on her face. "I am her youngest daughter, Skyria."

"Never heard of you," Destiny stated. "As far as I was aware, Hekate only had one daughter, and that was Circe. She was a problem dealt with long ago."

"Your ignorance does not surprise me, and you are forgiven. There are no mortals that have ever been aware of my existence, and there are few immortals that remember me, for I am the Lady of Shadow." Skyria smirked. "But I, on the other hand, know all about you. The Child of Souls, the wielder of the Spirit Blade, the Destined Savior. You are an incredibly gifted woman, and with all of your abilities you could easily rule the entire Spirit Realm." Skyria had begun to pace, but she stopped to look Destiny up and down. "Why is it you have chosen to remain the obedient pawn of the Grim Reapers? They are powerful, yes, but with your potential none of them could stand up to you, not even in combined force. So, tell me, why do you submit to them?"

Destiny clenched her scythe and set her jaw, glaring at Skyria. She didn't have much to say in response.

"Don't tell me you're at a loss for words?" Skyria snorted. "Perhaps it's because you know I'm right? Well then, girlie, why do you remain in your little bubble? You could be so much more! Join us. You know you want to see your homeland restored just as much as he does. Even moreso, perhaps?"

Without warning, Destiny leaped towards the woman, instantly closing the twenty foot gap between them. As she flew towards the woman, however, there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere and Skyria blinked out of existence in a cloud of shadows.

"Come now, no need to get violent! He'll be here soon, don't you worry!" Destiny turned, staring at the woman who was now across the room. She was here on a mission and she was going to accomplish that, and she wasn't fond of this woman's interference.

"Worried? Please, I kept that boy in check for hundreds of years! I know his potential, and I know his mind. No matter how long it's been, I know how his basic process goes. He may have power, but he does not frighten me!" Destiny yelled.

"Why should I? We are friends, after all." Destiny twisted her head towards the voice, eyes wide. A white doorway opened in the wall and the silhouette of a young man appeared, walking through with authority in his voice and conviction in his step. "Dearest Destiny," Kris smiled as the doorway closed behind himself. "How have you been? How long has it been? Four, five hundred years? I do believe we have a lot to catch up on."

"That would be pointless, considering it's my job to kill you," Destiny stated calmly.

Kris' eyes widened slightly, and he began to laugh. "Now how exactly do you plan to do that, Des?" He said between laughs. "You know I'm invulnerable."

"It sounds like the years have made you arrogant, Kris. We both know that it's entirely possible for you to die, and I know a few ways to make that happen. Besides, only your body is invulnerable. We've already seen your mind break once, and your soul is just as fragile."

Kris smirked and his eyes narrowed into a devious stare. He was an incredibly cunning character when the need arose, and Destiny had no doubt that he had honed that skill throughout the years. She knew the look on his face, and she knew that he had more than a few tricks up his sleeves. "That is true. The only problem is whether you have the strength and will to defeat me. I still count you among my friends, and I understand that your vendetta isn't personal. I'll be glad to fight you, if that's what you wish."

"Might as well give it a shot," Destiny replied. "We have all the time in the world, after all. Why not try some new things every once in a while?"

"I couldn't agree more," Kris said. Glancing to Skyria, he commanded, "Leave us."

"As you wish." Skyria bowed her head as she backed into a doorway that she summoned.

"Are you ready?" Kris asked.

"As I'll ever be," Destiny responded.

"What're we waiting for, then?" Kris opened his hands, spheres of energy forming in his palms. In his right hand, a scimitar formed of completely black energy appeared. In his left hand, an identical white scimitar appeared. He took a fighting stance, the way his hoodie fell reminding Destiny of some video game character. Something about wielding giant keys for swords. Not as far-fetched as one might think.

Destiny raised her scythe. Kris hadn't changed a bit since last she had seen him. His haircut and wardrobe were new, and he carried himself with a bit more elegance, but he was completely the same beyond that. He looked like a handsome eighteen-year-old boy, the kind that could woo pretty much any girl if he so wished. Destiny figured that Kris saw her in a similar light at the moment. After six thousand years, countless battles and friendships, endless dreams and numerous tragedies, and here they were again, long after everything they knew had changed in drastic ways. Yet they remained the same, untouched by the trials of time.

Well, at least they were physically.

Then again, Destiny hadn't really changed in the years that she was a Reaper. It was a perfunctory job, a routine without end, and she hadn't really taken much opportunity to reinvent herself. She had no reason. But could Kris say the same?

I guess I'll find out, Destiny thought as she lunged forward, arcing her scythe towards Kris' neck. He raised his swords and caught Destiny's scythe between them, forcing her backwards. He actually bothered to block. Destiny was surprised. It didn't make much of a difference if he did; his body couldn't be killed, and his spirit couldn't be taken with one blow. Perhaps he was passed his adolescent show-off stage that he carried for a few thousand extra years than most people.

Kris flared his aura, a pure black that consumed his entire body. He allowed his swords to float in the air for a moment as he took a Dragon Ball-styled approach at boosting his aura.

Okay, perhaps he wasn't passed the show-off stage. Maybe he really hadn't changed all that much. Destiny gave Kris a blank stare, sighing as she held her scythe close to her body.

Kris caught the expression and laughed. "Okay, enough of that," he said, allowing his aura to recede a bit, although he siphoned a portion of it off into a sphere of energy that he threw at Destiny. The energy split into numerous spikes that sailed towards her. She raised her cloak and her aura flared, absorbing the spikes.

"Get the show on the road, Kristopher," Destiny stated.

"Now how many times have I told you not to call me that?" Kris smiled.

"Oh, shall I call you by your full name? Kristopher Kyle Kollyns? Does that work? You know, many people would take your initials to be offensive nowadays."

"Hey, I was around for a few thousand years before the Klan. Not my fault I'm so popular." With that, the two clashed once more, Destiny parrying one of Kris's swords with her scythe, the other she caught in her hand, a protective gauntlet formed from her aura. She twisted her arm and threw the black sword aside, pulling her scythe simultaneously and launching the white sword across the room. She then swooped in the sliced Kris across the chest, ripping his clothing and leaving a large gash that would have been fatal to most.

Kris staggered backwards slightly, catching himself a moment later. He sighed as he stared at his wound. "You ruined another one of my hoodies. I hate it when people do that." As he spoke, the wound on his chest closed up, healing instantly with no trace that it had ever been there.

Kris had powers over the body, and he could use life energy to heal any wound. He was practically invincible. However, it was possible to kill him, assuming that you could exhaust his entire supply of energy. Even then he could absorb life from the Earth itself, so the only place on the planet where he was even remotely vulnerable was in a desert, or some other area with very little life inhabiting it.

Likewise, one touch from Kris could be fatal. Destiny had seen him absorb the lives of many a warrior. He would grab them by the arm, or the throat, or any patch of exposed skin and suddenly you would see the years of life leave their bodies, making them look as if they'd aged a thousand years in a second, until nothing was left but bone.

He was a formidable opponent for even the strongest of the Grim Reapers.

"You owe me for that. I adored that hoodie," Kris said, his energy swords reappearing in his hands.

"Oh, get over it. You've ruined plenty of my stuff in the past."

"Fair enough."

Kris swung his swords again, and Destiny raised her scythe once more. She could already tell that they would be at this for hours.

♛♛♛♛♛​

Destiny's chest heaved, but she didn't falter. How long had it been? Five hours, at the very least. One main difference between her and Kris was that she would tire after about a week of this, whereas Kris could keep at it for years.

"Okay, I don't think we're getting anywhere with this," Kris laughed again. He raised his hands and shot a series of energy blasts at Destiny, which she dodged with ease. At the end of the bombardment, however, she felt herself bump into a body.

Crap, was all Destiny could think before Skyria had her chained in shadows.

"Sorry to run, Destiny, but I've got things to do. It's been fun!" Kris said, waving as he backed out of a newly summoned doorway. After he disappeared, Skyria followed. Moments later, the Dark Realm began to crumble around Destiny. There was a flash of light and she was sprawled across the sand, somewhere on the beach near New York City.

There hadn't been an official victor, but Kris clearly held the advantage at this point.

Destiny felt odd. As she pushed herself to her feet, she tried to make sense of it in her mind. She had technically failed her mission, but not even the Grims could have completed it. If anything, they would be happy to hear the story. Besides, now she knew Kris was out here and that he was up o something. So, even though she had failed, she felt . . . almost happy, in a way.

She sighed. "Time to report back to Limbo, I suppose." After a brief pause, she wondered, "I wonder what happened to Kalek?"
 
Masato Ryu - Chapter 2

Masato thought about Camillia's words and turned to her. "I'm not sure," he responded to her question, "but it wouldn't surprise me. This harbinger we battled seemed to be fully trained to battle me. If it hadn't been for you..." With this, he turned away. He felt ashamed that he wasn't strong enough to fight him alone. "If it hadn't been for you, I probably wouldn't be here now."

"At any rate," he continued, "if they trained one, they could train others. No telling how long the harbingers had been studying us. If this has indeed come to pass, then we need a major plan of attack. Otherwise, we're all dead." He decided to check his equipment, making sure it was all there. Finally, he checked his weapons. He knew they'd never dull or break, but it was just force of habit.

Finishing that, he turned to his host and bowed to her in respect. "I do thank you for your hospitality and company. However, I need to go home and rest. I hope we get to work together again," he said as he walked to her door, but stopped suddenly and turned to her. "If you wish to talk to someone, just come find me. I'll be more than happy to." With that said, he left her house and walked to his own place.

Masato didn't hesitate to go straight to his bed and layed down, staring at the ceiling for a few moments before he closed his eyes to sleep for a few moments.


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Chapter info.

Missions:
x Find source of abnormal magic readings
xNeutralize the source
xReturn to Limbo safely

Partners:
N/A

Status:
Healthy

Location:
Shadow's Hollow, Limbo
Kalek Noire
Chapter 2
Part Four


Artemis chuckled slightly at Kalek's reaction, and the former assassin took a step back. He gestured to a chair, and said, "Come now, don't say it didn't cross your mind that I'd still be alive! It was in the back of your mind the entire time... Now look at me!" With this, Artemis flourished, and a dark energy tore into the far wall. Kalek knew what he had to do, and he jumped at his brother, his dual hidden blades extended.

Artemis flicked his wrist in Kalek's general direction, and Kalek was thrown back. He stood over Kalek and grinned, saying, "Tut tut... You should know better than to assault me, little brother." Kalek cracked his neck, and brought his knee directly into Artemis' manhood.

Artemis fell to the ground, face beet red with pain. Kalek brought his blade to Artemis' neck, and whispered, "I should have just killed you when I had the chance all those years ago..."

Artemis wheezed, most likely trying to tell him to stop, but Kalek was beyond caring. One could not let family ties get in the way of the mission. The target had to be killed, no matter who they were. Thus was the Assassin's Creed...

Kalek stood from his brother's dead corpse, Kalek slowly faded from Earth, returning to his secluded home in Limbo. The name of the house and surrounding area, Shadow's Hollow, was quite befitting of the dark, shady training grounds of the master assassin.

​
Fixed Float!
 

Chapter Three


This chapter is slightly different to the previous ones for two reasons. Firstly, it is broken into two parts and secondly it doesn't occur the next day – but after a week has passed.

Part A

1. Everyone: A meeting has been called by Betsalel, a grim reaper who is heavily involved in anything to do with Earth and the harbingers. It is an open meeting but it is only directed at those who have come into conflict with harbingers, especially on multiple occasions. It is a method of sharing intel and preparing for future confrontations. I will post as Betsalel at the beginning of the chapter.

Part B

1. Spencer and Luka: A multi-national terrorist cell has succeeded in developing a device known as a "seismic bomb". It is not a true bomb but a large device that is dropped into an active volcano where it emits seismic waves thus triggering an eruption. The scientists responsible for the creation of the device and the upper echelons of the organisation will all be present at the crater of Mount Dama Ali in Ethiopia. Humans cannot be allowed to have this kind of control over such a dangerous and fundamental force of nature, everyone at the site must die (even any innocents as they will know that such a device is possible to create) and the device must be destroyed before it enters the volcano. If the device does enter the volcano there should be around thirty minutes before the eruption occurs.

2. Adrian and Masato: Three lost souls have simultaneously appeared in Beijing China. One belongs to that of a serial killer who was recently killed by law enforcement whilst fleeing the scene of a double homicide; the other two are the souls of the two young women who were his victims. Avoiding causing distress to the public and avoiding detection capture the souls and escort them to the appropriate afterlife.

3. Destiny, Camellia, Bernhard and Kalek: A horde of unknown demons have been summoned in a tribal ritual (a surprisingly common occurrence) in the Amazon rainforest. The first priority of this mission is to discover the identity of these demons, collect information on them and eliminate them. It is believed there is a fairly high number of them.

The tribe responsible for the materialisation of these demons has been the source of two other similar incidents and, as a result of this, the grim reapers have decided they pose a significant threat to the balance of the world. As such, the second (most-likely less pleasant) priority of this mission is to eliminate the tribe.


Betsalel (NPC)


Betsalel walked across the arid landscape of dry dirt and simple stone buildings that was the city he called home with two are reapers at his side. Unlike him though, they were not grims. He had once been a human reaper, just like the two who walked slightly behind him, but had - thousands of years ago - been the first human being to make the shift from ordinary reaper to grim. He had sacrificed his skin and most of his individuality for the skeletal form of a grim reaper but he had enjoyed the pay-off over his years. There was little to distinguish Betsalel from other grims, most of them wore the same black cloak as he did and many looked to be clones of each other. But somehow, one could almost always tell who was who. The two reapers following the grim, who worked exclusively for Betsalel, were very different though. Aries, was a large and heavily muscled man with a shaved head and a thick brown beard. He wore simple black pants and a a long red coat open over his bare chest. A large axe hung from his back. Mortis, the other of Betsalel's lackeys was in stark contrast; he wore a cloak similar to that of his master open over more black clothes and had long grey hair and no beard. Unlike the colossal weapon his partner carried he was more skilled with spells, although he did have a thin sword within his cloak.

Soon enough the trio of reapers had arrived at the amphitheatre they planned to use, a room that was full of several other human reapers - many anxiously awaiting the speech of the grim. Betsalel, like all grims had no tongue and so communicated telepathically, but each still had a distinct and unique voice - Betsalel's was a smooth yet thick voice which sounded vaguely European, despite him actually being Atlantean (well before Destiny's time) in his human life.
"I'm going to make this relatively short." he spoke to the crowd "the purpose of this meeting is to share intelligence on any known harbingers, what there goals are, where they are hiding and anything else that may be of use to us. Currently next to nothing is known about these reckless threats to the balance we so diligently protect. We know that they share the same powers and limitations that reapers do and we know that as of this point in time the organisation is only operating on Earth. They are yet to even attack other locations in the realm of Geos. we can assume then that they cannot dimension hop and that they are probably created through a similar process to reapers, but that is all we know. Now is the time to share anything you know or even any theories, anyone who lies or hides the truth shall be punished accordingly. Who of you shall stand and be the first to speak?"
 
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[PokeCommunity.com] Reapers: Keepers of the Balance (M) [Most Original 1Q '13] Luka Sokolov - Chapter 3-1:
A meeting with a Grim Reaper and the mystery of the Harbingers

​

Luka headed to the meeting called by Betsalel in much higher spirits than a week ago, today wearing one of his most comfortable coats; a white one that had the hood and sleeves lined with fur. He didn't really get to hear the Grim Reapers speak very often since reapers received their missions via messenger and the grim reapers didn't really tend to say much when he would report on a mission afterwards. The amphitheater where the meeting would be held wasn't very hard to find and was in fact quite large. When Luka stepped inside there were already many reapers there and Betsalel had taken the front stage.

His opening speech was concise. He was asking if any of the reapers present had any information or even theories about the enigmatic enemies they faced. Luka didn't quite know anything either, but he felt he had to stand up and say anything that might be of use. Luka stood and said, "I am reaper Sokolov, sir, and from what I know the harbingers are amassing a large number of forces. In the first mission I have encountered them, they were gathering and creating a large number of vampires under their control. In the second, they had dedicated a strong and sizeable force to defend one or more potential recruits." Luka noticed the former policeman escaping through his words. He could never shake that part of him when he spoke to authority figures. "I apologize if this was known information, but it seems that this is of great concern to them. They also appear concerned with eliminating our own operatives, perhaps to tip the scales in their favor for whatever they are preparing for as they recognize that we will attempt to stop them. It is clear that they are preparing for something bigger, sir."

He could tell that other reapers were looking at him. "Concerning known harbingers, I know only of two by name. One of them is a man named Attano with the ability to teleport instantaneously and effortlessly at will to far distances, the exact distance yet unknown. His offensive capabilities also remain unknown. From the number of harbingers following his orders at Bayamo, he appears to be of high rank. He is similar to myself in appearance except slightly shorter and younger looking. He should be approached with caution as he is a definitely a powerful magic user even with offense unrevealed. The other known harbinger is a man named Zephyros who serves Attano and is exceptionally skilled with wind magic. Of the two, he is the lesser threat." When he was done, Luka sat back down. He was worried about the eyes that were on him, piercing glares judging him. Maybe they were calling him an idiot for saying obvious information, or inept for failing a mission, or even calling him a suck-up for his usage of 'sir' and such. Luka waited nervously for another reaper to speak up, working hard to hide his emotions and maintain a poker face.
​
 
Masato Ryu - Chapter 3 - Reaper Meeting

Masato was listening to the grim named Betsalel speaking to them about the past missions. The grims, of course, knew about the Harbingers, but maybe even they failed to see how much of a threat they were to the balance. Betsalel then asked if anyone had any information or theories to share about their antagonists. Thats when one stood up.

Introducing himself as Sokolov, he explained about the missions that he had that involved harbinger interference. He reported that they may be amassing a large army of creatures, including vampires, that they could control. That was a scary thought, indeed. He went on to say that he even knew two harbingers by name! How weird was that? After all, the one he fought earlier didn't say his name at all. Sokolov sat down again as an unsettling silence filled the room.

Masato decided the time was right. He stepped forward, clearing his throat before speaking. "I am Masato Ryu," he began, mostly for the other reapers that may not know him, "I do not know much of these harbingers. In fact, my last mission was the first time I seemed to encounter one in the field. I know not his name, but he would be very easy to find. He was an older man, looked like he was in his mid-to-late 40s due to some silver in his hair, and a lean build. He had a pair of claws that he wielded easily and he had the ability to make clones of himself that operated independently of the originator. However, they seemed to make him weaker than would be apparent, leading me to believe that his clones tie into his strength. Also, if you should hurt the original enough, he'll lose his focus and cause the clones to vanish."

Masato looked around at the other reapers in attendance before looking back to Betsalel. "I do have a theory, though" he continued, "This harbinger seemed to be trained specifically to fight me. He was matching me move for move, and even got the best of me with his clones. However, when Camillia came in and fought him, he was surprised by her. My belief is that it was because he didn't know how she fought. If one harbinger can be specially trained like this, then many more can be trained the same way. Maybe their intentions are, like Sokolov was alluding to earlier, to pick us off one by one. Or at least, to interfere with our missions to cause the balance to shift more in their direction."

With that being said, Masato stepped back and leaned against the wall, hoping that his description and ideas would be taken seriously. He would wait and see exactly what the others thought of this theory.


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Adrian Frode


Adrian walked through the arid air that was to be expected all over the nameless planet the reapers called home, passed numerous marble buildings. Adrian had taken a lot of damage on his mission the previous week and had only been cleared by a healer, a man named Krieg he hadn't met before, a few days earlier - the same day that he received word of the meeting. For a renowned grim, such as Betsalel, to be leaving the inner sanctum of one of the reapers' cities and chairing an open meeting it meant that the with the harbingers had become quite dire and it was likely that they had lost a lot of Reapers to the enemy.

Upon arriving at the large amphitheatre where the meeting was held Adrian took a seat next to a young woman (well she looked like a young woman) with straight blonde hair and almost directly behind Luka, who was a row in front and two chairs to his right. Adrian looked around the room noticing a few familiar faces, Luka included. He recognised several reapers he regularly worked with as well as many who were simply well known for their age and/or abilities... such as Aries and Mortis who worked for Betsalel. Both were well known for being exceptionally powerful reapers, not on the level of a grim of course, but easily more powerful than Adrian. Aries was a master of physical combat with incredible strength, but a bad temper whilst Mortis was skilled with spells and stealth, not too mention strategy, and was very cool and level headed. Still, Adrian wasn't overly fond of either of Betsalel's lackeys.

After the grim gave a short, but clear and well-spoken, opening speech he opened the meeting to the other reapers gathered in the room. Interestingly enough, it was Luka who was first to speak. He gave information on two harbingers specifically as well as pointed out a focus on building the strength of the organisation in numbers. A few other reapers spoke before another one really caught Adrian's attention. A man, who identified himself as Masato Ryu, also gave information on a harbinger who sounded unusually skilled before suggesting that the man had not just been chosen, but trained, specifically to counter him and that other reapers would soon face the same problem. Adrian found himself thinking of Calder, the only person in recent history to have displayed greater speed and agility.
But how could they possibly...?

Adrian stood up
"I'd like to add to that.My name is Adrian Frode, on my last mission, another reaper and I were paired to take out an unknown demon. We arrived and assessed that the demon was no match for us but before we even got a chance to combat it we were intercepted by a pair of harbingers. I have fought a few harbingers before but I feel confident in saying that not only were these two on a far higher level than any other I have faced they seemed perfectly catered to fighting my opponent and I. My own opponent, an albino man of similar height and build to myself named Calder, used a similar fighting style to me, was one of the few opponents I have met faster than me and even carried a similar weapon to me. The only difference was he was also a very skilled marksman, a skill which he used to tire and manipulate me before using his (somehow) superior speed to defeat me. My partner's opponent, a young woman, also seemed to be trained in a manor similar to him.

What we have heard so far today suggests a couple of things. Firstly, there are harbingers far more powerful than the footsoldiers we are used to coming into contact with. Secondly, there is a push for the organisation to build in ranks - they are even resorting to using demons as soldiers by the looks of things. Thirdly, it seems that there is some sort of hierarchy within the organisation as suggested by Luka Sokolov. The fourth and, if I may add, most disturbing thing we seem to have gleaned is that these more powerful harbingers have been specifically trained to counter the different fighting styles commonly observed amongst us. There is even a slim chance that they have been trained specifically for facing certain reapers.

A couple of things don't seem to add up here though. First of all, amassing an army doesn't make any sense. We know full-well we haven't made much of a dent in their numbers and their is know way for them to actively engage us in warfare since we reside in an immortal realm. even if they could dimension-hop to our location a battle within Limbo would be pointless because nobody could die. The other thing that doesn't add up is how they know where to find us and what skills we possess. Where are they getting their information from?

At this time I can only assume that somehow they have infiltrated our ranks which leads me to believe that there may well be harbingers with dimension-hopping abilties on top of the advanced harbingers some of us have come into contact with."

At the end of his contribution Adrian returned to his seat. He could already hear mutterings amongst the other reapers present.
"Is he suggesting one of us is a traitor?"
"Infiltration? Impossible. A reaper city has never been infiltrated and a harbinger has never been observed to have any dimension hopping abilities."
"But what about that Attano guy that Sokolov mentioned?"
"He was referring to instantaneous teleporting, not moving between realms!"

Adrian sighed, at least people had been paying attention. He was concerned though, a powerful and unknown foe that he probably couldn't beat was threatening his precious Earth... and it didn't look like anyone else knew what to do any more than he did.
 
Destiny Saviouer :: Ampitheatre, Limbo
Chapter Three :: Betsalal's Meeting

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"You still haven't told us what happened on your mission," Ristru groaned.

"Don't worry Ristry, she'll tell us all about it at Betsy's meeting," Crispin said, proceeding to turn his faceless head to Destiny. "Right, Destiny?"

Destiny just kept walking. She was only interested in getting to this meeting and seeing what it was about. Meetings with the Grims didn't happen too often.

When they arrived, they took a position near the wall, yet close to where the Grims stood. When all of the Reapers had gathered, Betsalal spoke to the crowd via telepathy.

"I'm going to make this relatively short. The purpose of this meeting is to share intelligence on any known harbingers, what their goals are, where they are hiding and anything else that may be of use to us. Currently next to nothing is known about these reckless threats to the balance we so diligently protect. We know that they share the same powers and limitations that reapers do and we know that as of this point in time the organisation is only operating on Earth. They are yet to even attack other locations in the realm of Geos. We can assume then that they cannot dimension hop and that they are probably created through a similar process to reapers, but that is all we know. Now is the time to share anything you know or even any theories, anyone who lies or hides the truth shall be punished accordingly. Who of you shall stand and be the first to speak?"

Destiny sat back and waited. She would allow another Reaper to speak first. Her information wasn't exactly about Harbingers, after all.

The first one to speak was Luka Sokolov, the crossbow-wielding Reaper from Moscow. He was able to identify two Reapers by name and explain their fighting tactics. After that, another Reaper introduced himself as Masato Ryu. He was unable to name the Harbingers as Luka had, but he presented in interesting theory in that the Harbingers might be trained to combat specific Reapers. It did seem unlikely that the Harbingers could know enough to pull something like that off, but it wasn't impossible. Nothing was impossible.

After they had finished speaking, Destiny stepped forward. Moments before she could say anything, Adrian Frode spoke up. He gave a mini speech that elaborated upon Masato's theory. At the end of it he seemed to suggest that there was a spy among the ranks of the Reapers.

"Well, I don't know about any spies, but I do have some information to share," Destiny stated. "For those of you that don't know me, my name is Destiny Saviouer." Destiny glanced at the Grims, nodding at Betsalal. "On my last mission, I encountered a powerful yet familiar force. I'm not sure how many of you know about the last days of Atlantis and the war that plagued the land, but it's an event that's been given many names and tales over the years. In all of the stories, the only constant truth is that the land of Atlantis was destroyed at the end of all of the conflict. For much of it, I was at the head of the conflict, leading armies and attempting to salvage the fragments of a society that had been falling apart. Leading the charge alongside me were two of my best friends, and two incredibly powerful individuals. During the course of the conflict, one of them was consumed by her powers over the mind, and we ultimately had to eliminate her. Her younger brother was the one that had to do it, and he was perhaps the most powerful of us all. After Atlantis fell, I became a Reaper. My friend, a man named Kris, became one of the first non-Reaper immortals on Earth. His abilities gave him complete power over the body, granting him everlasting life and near invulnerability."

Destiny paused, wording the next part in her head. "I'm not sure what his motives are, but he is somehow involved with the Harbingers. Knowing him, there is something he's getting from it, and I have no doubt that he knows how to manipulate the Harbinger organization to his will. Now, I do not believe that he is directly involved with the Harbingers, but it wouldn't surprise me if he were helping them for his own gain."

Destiny hesitated. "Now, it may be hard, but there are ways to kill him. The problem is getting him into such positions. It will not be easy, and I know that it would be a job fit for even the Grim Reapers," Destiny glanced at Betsalal, knowing that he realized she spoke truth. "Kris and I are equal on many levels, and in many aspects we are both superior to each other. When it comes down to combat, though, Kris is far more powerful than I. If he wanted to, he could kill me—he could kill any one of us—with a single touch. Beyond that, he is accompanied by a very powerful woman, although I am not sure where her abilities cap.

"This woman is an ancient immortal from the time of the Hellas, better known as the Greeks. Her name is Skyria, an incredibly powerful sorceress that happens to be a daughter of the immortal Hekate, a woman hailed as the goddess of magic. In the past we have had to deal with her sister, Circe, a name that I'm sure many of you are familiar with. Skyria has shown me that she is far more powerful and much more lethal than her sister. These two are a force to be reckoned with, and perhaps even feared." After a moment, Destiny glanced at Adrian and Masato in the crowd. "It's possible that what misters Ryu and Frode say are true, even if it sounds far-fetched. I do believe that someone like Skyria could know about us and our abilities without even having to infiltrate our ranks, so perhaps there is a spy, perhaps not. Either way, we'll have to find a solution to this issue, and quickly."

Destiny stepped back, returning attention to the Grims. "That is all."
 
BERNARD "DEMON" WESTERLY

Bernard took his time going to the meeting. There was no way that he would miss anything important. He layed about in his quarters, sharpening his various weapons and polishing his massive suit of armor. That was all he did when he wasn't out on a mission, hacking demons and slaying Harbingers. "Nasty little buggers..." He scoffed, setting down his massive broadsword, Hell Slayer. Demon hated Harbingers more than anything out there. There was a reason that they called him Demon, and it wasn't because he was a demon. He picked up his helmet and gave it a good waxing, and decided to leave for the meeting.

He stepped outside of the building and looked around. It was mildly warm out...like usual. Bernard let out a yawn and stretched his massive arms. They ached a lot more that they used to. Damn I'm getting old. If seven hundred years of fighting is wearing me down, then there's something wrong. He began to saunter towards the ampitheatre where the meeting was being held. Surely not. He took massive strides, wasting no time to get there. When he arrived, a Reaper named Destiny was talking about the Harbingers. It seemed like these guys were pretty serious. After all, a Grim like Betsalel doesn't leave the inner sanctum for nothing.

He waited until everything had quieted down enough for him to make statement. He walked between a couple of pillars and shouted, "LISTEN HERE! THOSE HARBINGERS MAY BE TOUGH! THEY HAVE SOME PRETTY CRAZY ABILITIES!" His heavy English accent was evident in his speech. "BUT WE'VE KILLED ENOUGH OF THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE BEATABLE! ALL IT TAKES IS A STRONG TEAM!" He looked around to see several disapproving glares. They don't think a well-swung sword can fix things? So be it. He had a few ideas for these particular Harbingers. He had heard the crowd talking about how one could teleport and what-not. "IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAVEN'T FOUGHT STRONGER!" With that, Bernard took a seat in the back row. He hoped that his advice would sink in.
 
Camillia Abbott -chapter 3 - Meeting​

Telepathy
Thoughts

Camillia crossed her arms as she sat in a chair near the back of the room listening to the others talk. They all have good points...plus, that poison should have paralyzed that Harbinger within a minute...and it didn't. she thought with a frown as she ran a hand through her red-orange hair. After a reaper with a heavy English accent shouted out about how it would take a strong team to defeat them she stood up brushing off the skirt of her dress. Part of her wondered how the others would react to her way of talking, for only Masato and the Grim Reapers knew about it.

I think all of you have good points. she started making her presence known as a frown formed on her face. I'm Camillia Abbott, I was called in as back-up for Masato yesterday, and he was right, the Harbinger seemed genuinely surprised when I jumped into the fight. she paused looking around the room. If they are being trained to fight each of us specifically, why not change the way you fight at times...I for one never use the same poison on my blade in battles that take place one after the other. I always wait for awhile before I repeat poisons. If they are being trained in how we fight...why not just mix up how you battle.
 
Destiny Saviouer :: Ampitheatre, Limbo
Chapter Three :: Arrogance

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Moments after Destiny had finished her speech, an obnoxious Reaper with a heavy English accent walked in, practically screaming. "LISTEN HERE! THOSE HARBINGERS MAY BE TOUGH! THEY HAVE SOME PRETTY CRAZY ABILITIES! BUT WE'VE KILLED ENOUGH OF THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE BEATABLE! ALL IT TAKES IS A STRONG TEAM!" Destiny rolled her eyes, glaring at the man. He paused for a moment, and she waited for him to finish his ignorant rant. "IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAVEN'T FOUGHT STRONGER!"

Destiny scoffed, staring at the man. She stepped forward once more, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "For starters, I think you need to learn some respect, especially when in the presence of the Grim Reapers. Secondly, you need to lose your obviously over-sized ego. You say you've fought stronger? I can guarantee you that you have never seen anything close to the power of some of our enemies. In case you missed what I was saying, which you probably did due to your arrogant and disrespectful manner, people of the likes of Kris and Skyria are not to be underestimated! Skyria is the daughter of one of the most powerful sorceresses in all of the realms, and it's a safe bet to say that her powers are nearly as great, if not greater than, her mother's. Kris can kill you with one touch, he can drain the life from your very body and use your own power against your allies. Your immortality will not save you from his touch. Even here in Limbo he has the potential to devastate our ranks! If he so wanted, he could quite possibly destroy the entire Earth in a matter of minutes, single-handedly," Destiny boomed, conviction in her words. "I don't care how strong you think you are, you are no match for the challenges ahead. Not on your own." Destiny took a breath, leveling her tone. "We can defeat them, and we shall, but recklessly waving our swords around as we charge into battle is a sure-fire way to get ourselves killed."

There was a brief pause as Destiny's words hung in the air. It was broken by another telepathic message a moment later, but from an average Reaper, rather than a Grim.

I think all of you have good points. I'm Camillia Abbott, I was called in as back-up for Masato yesterday, and he was right, the Harbinger seemed genuinely surprised when I jumped into the fight. The woman, Camillia, paused as she looked around the room. If they are being trained to fight each of us specifically, why not change the way you fight at times? . . . I for one never use the same poison on my blade in battles that take place one after the other. I always wait for awhile before I repeat poisons. If they are being trained in how we fight . . . why not just mix up how you battle?

Destiny nodded. "You're on the right track of thinking, Camillia," Destiny said, giving a harsh glance to the English Reaper as she said so. "If they truly are being trained to fight each of us specifically, then one simple solution would be to fight differently. However, that's understandably difficult for some people. In this case, if what you say is true, about the Harbinger being caught off-guard when you assisted Masato, then having teams of Reapers, as we have often done, would be a good solution. The thing is, in teams, we would probably all face our 'personal Harbingers'. That's where teamwork and strategy come into play. If we can force the Harbingers to fight a Reaper that they are unaccustomed to, then they may be caught off guard and we can defeat them."
 

Adrian Frode


Adrian leaned back in the, admittedly uncomfortable, chair he had taken wishing he had chosen to occupy the standing room the amphitheatre offered instead. After his own explanation many other reapers had chimed in and added their own opinions on the matter. Destiny described her own unusual encounter and suggested that perhaps rather than a physical spy being present a powerful harbinger was watching them from Earth somehow. Adrian, was more concerned about the alliance between the Atlantean and the Harbingers though.
An Atlantean? Just what we needed they were already too powerful before any were made into immortals, that's why Atlantis was destroyed, and now at least one is allied with the Harbingers. Wonderful

Another reaper, a behemoth of a man with a thick English accent that Adrian did not recognise, appeared out of nowhere before launching into a brief, but loud, tirade suggesting that they should just handle them like any other enemy. Well that's what Adrian thought he meant, he didn't seem overly intelligent. Not long after another Reaper that Adrian was unfamiliar with spoke... well kind of. Adrian had to do a double-take when he heard a second telepathic voice thinking another grim was in the room. It turned out though to be a female reaper with red-orange hair.
Well that's odd

The woman suggested that if harbingers were being trained for the sole purpose of taking out specific reapers that they should simply alter their fighting styles. Adrian again stood up, he felt that he needed to respond to these people who were overlooking the seriousness of the matter.
"Firstly I'm going to address the man that was shouting earlier. I don't know you, so I can't judge with complete accuracy, but you seem to have lost your mind. These harbingers are like nothing you have faced before, and clearly you have yet to face one, they have all the same abilities we do and this latest group of them has been able to not just equal us but outmatch us, at what we're best at" he emphasised the last words hoping to get his point across "and now on top of that threat you need to include that they are some how keeping tabs on that and are allied with an extremely powerful Atlantean. Atlantis was destroyed by the reapers thousands of years ago because as a race of humans they were too powerful to be left alone. This man is supposedly the most powerful of them and is aiding them, we need to be more vigilant... for example I'd like to know why we didn't know such a powerful force has been walking around sooner. He alone throws the balance way out."

Adrian took a breath and licked his lips slightly, the dry air on their planet occasionally had that affect on you if you engaged in long and heated discussions like this. He then addressed the telepathic, Camillia
"as for changing our fighting styles, many of us have used the same styles for hundreds or thousands of years. we can adapt but that takes time. As for your own method, all you are doing is changing weapon, you are not changing your tactics which makes you just as vulnerable. Furthermore if we do change our style, and if they are keeping an eye on us, they'll just send someone else to counter us. The only way we can truly deal with this threat is to take out the head and then work our way down the leftovers".

Adrian returned to his seat again, he had a feeling this was going to be a long meeting. Betsalel was standing with Aries and Mortis staring into the amphitheatre. Adrian suspected he was saying something to his lackeys regarding the meeting and the information, at least it seemd that they were taking what the lesser reapers said on board.
 
BERNARD "DEMON" WESTERLY

Bernard scoffed at the tongue lashing he recieved from the pair of Reapers. Then a telepathic voice appeared in all of their heads, suggesting they change their fighting style. "There is no way in Hell that we can change our fighting style that quickly! Trust me! I've BEEN there!" He glared at the female Reaper who questioned him. "Believe me, I've faced some pretty powerful **** before!" Demon may not have been the smartest Reaper there, but he knew enough. He got up out of his seat yet again, drawing up to his full height, a whopping 6'10. He stepped in front of the crowd. "The gods be damned if I let a 'doppleganger' defeat me!" He cracked his knuckles for an added effect. "I'd like to see them try to kill me." Demon knew that he was making a fool of himself, but now that he had started, he couldn't stop. "Besides, we can cover for each other. Trust me. I know what I'm doing." He proceeded to crack every bone in his body. "There ain't no bloody way that they can beat us." He looked over the gathered masses. "We're the Reapers. We were chosen to keep the balance for a reason." He glanced over to the other Reaper. "We're the best of the best."
 
Masato Ryu - Chapter 3 - Meeting

"This bickering between us has to stop," Masato finally said, looking between the heavily-armored man and the Atlantean woman, "If we're going to be a team, we need to act like one. If this force against us is as big as we believe it is, it'll take all of us to stop it. Otherwise, we're all finished." He then looked to Adrian, whose main idea was to strike right at the head of the organization. "Your idea sounds good to me, but don't you think that the harbingers would anticipate such a rash maneuver and stop us at the gates like they did to us in each of our missions? Maybe if we find our own weaknesses first, we can exploit them on our trained foes. Or at least find ways to cover our weaknesses to make them harder to exploit."

Masato started to feel that this was getting them nowhere. He resigned himself to leaning against a pillar, his head hung low, thinking about what proper strategy to use at this point. "Camillia's point made sense, but if we can't change our fighting style, can't we change the enemy we face? If Camillia were to face my harbinger instead of me, she'd probably have an easier time than me since he was trained to fight me and not her, which brings us back to my theory."


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[PokeCommunity.com] Reapers: Keepers of the Balance (M) [Most Original 1Q '13] Luka Sokolov - Chapter 3-2: More Complicated Than We Thought

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After Luka sat down, several other reapers stood and spoke, including his teammates from the warehouse mission (save for Nox, but he didn't want to think about that). Many unnerving ideas were presented, including the fact that the strongest Atlantean was against them and the idea that harbingers were being selected specially to match and overcome them. He thought about Attano and how that applied to him, but he couldn't really think of a way it would. The harbinger had even said that he hadn't worn that parka intending to meet him, although he could just as easily be lying since both members of his team had been at the warehouse. Was he not considered enough of a threat to merit a specialized opponent? That should be a good thing but it certainly didn't feel like it.

Luka was about to speak again when a titan of a man burst into the amphitheater, shouting a motivational speech. Unfortunately, he was promptly shot down by the others. There was another reaper girl who spoke through telepathy. It was hard to get used to telepathy no matter how often he heard it (which wasn't very often), since he disliked how it felt like an invasion of the privacy of his mind. She offered the solution of changing their fighting methods but she was also met with criticism. Arguments began to stir between the reapers in the amphitheater which was when Masato spoke again, calling for the arguments to stop. He agreed with the idea of switching opponents, but Luka realized that everyone was trying to think of a single solution, and the others would all find flaws in that one solution.

Luka felt the need to speak again, so he did. "Forgive me for my audacity, but I don't think any of those plans will work if the harbingers are as powerful as we think they are. You're all thinking of solutions, that's great, but you're not cooperating very well in this brainstorming at all. I think the best choice would be to combine these ideas." He started listing off the ideas, turning to each reaper as he mentioned them. "Camillia's right, we need to start adding some variety into the way we fight, but nothing as crazy as learning a completely new style overnight. Besides trying to learn some new moves or spells, maybe you could try learning a new skill in secret and hide it in case there is a spy or someone watching us on missions, and reserve it to use as a trump card of sorts. Destiny and Masato are also right. Changing your opponents will be difficult and require meticulous strategy, but will hopefully give you a much better chance at victory depending on who you are switched to. Finally, the screaming guy has probably said the most important things at this strategy talk. We need to realize and remind ourselves that no matter how strong, no being, not even Kris, is unbeatable. Overestimation can be just as dangerous as underestimation. Furthermore, as he said, we will need strong teams that can cover each other's weaknesses. If a team is balanced and sticks together, the individual members' weaknesses are that much less exploitable. And finally, we need to keep our morale strong. An unhealthy mindset can get you killed as easily as an unhealthy body will. Come on, guys. Give the big guy some credit, will you?"

Luka took a deep breath when he was done and steeled himself for the inevitable criticism of the sort that had befallen the others who had spoken.
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Spencer - Chapter 3 - Reaper Meeting

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Spencer had fallen asleep during his wait, but had awoken during the procession of what seemed to be arguing about how to counter the Harbingers. Some, including Adrian, He slowly got to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"HEY!" he roared knowing that this would get no where by just bickering. "The purpose of this mission was to collect all knowledge of the Reapers so we should only input anything productive."
He nodded at Luka, who he had never seen before but he agreed with whole-heartedly.


"My name is Spencer and on my last mission, I was paired with the man who just previously stood, who goes by the name of Adrian." he said with a calmer tone. He was suppressing the boiling of his blood and this entire situation was upsetting him. "I have gone into hand to hand combat with a harbinger and I feel the need to input. They are generally well-rounded fighters with a few specializations. The female Harbinger I fought was..." he hesitated for a moment before continuing and took a deep breath. "She was my sister, in appearance and in personality. Whether or not she is unknown to me. In her mortality, my sister had no use of her legs, but this harbinger and full use of her legs. She overwhelmed me in physical strength and also had the ability to manipulate air to an unknown extent."

He held up his arm and pointed at the grim reaper Betsalel with his hand in the shape reminiscent of a pistol.

"I don't trust much that the /grim reapers/ are up to." he said boldly, he was having trouble keeping his hand steady as it was shaking in anger. "You expect us to believe this is the first you've heard of these new-found Harbingers and then you send us off as if to follow commands without regards to their purpose. If anything, /you/ need to tell us any information you can provide besides telling us that you know nothing. I don't mean to come off rude but..." he clutched his coin while looked the Grim reaper in his eye sockets. They couldn't just not know anything about what had happened to his sister.

 

Betsalel


Betsalel had stood back from the front of the platform on which he stood, closer to Aries and Mortis, and had listened intently to the information that the lesser reapers had put forward calmly. His calmness had faded after a short while and been replaced with irritation though as much of the productive information the group was putting forward became repetitive and infighting between the various reapers arose. A large reaper with a voice to match had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and, ignorantly, stated that the reapers could easily defeat the harbingers if they tried hard enough - a statement that even Betsalel had to admit annoyed him to know end - and was soon met by harsh criticisms from Destiny Saviouer, a reaper well known to Betsalel as she too was an Atlantean... although she was from the end of the nations era, and a dark haired reaper wearing sunglasses (for no reason), a nobody named Adrian Frode. Not too long after the two factions began arguing a fourth reaper, a Russian man named Luka Sokolov had come to the defence of the burly, not overly smart, reaper pointing out some merits in his view.

Betsalel was already becoming irritated with the group assembled before him, something both Aries and Mortis had picked up on and moved further back, when another of the lesser reapers spoke up. With a shout even louder than the oaf before him he drew attention to himself and criticised the argument that was unfolding, something Betsalel was relatively happy about since it may have shut everyone up and got them back to business. But the grim's satisfaction with the new speaker soon shifted to disdain as Spencer, for that was what he identified himself as, began to put blame on the grims.
"I don't trust much that the grim reapers are up to." he said, directly to Betsalel, "You expect us to believe this is the first you've heard of these new-found Harbingers and then you send us off as if to follow commands without regards to their purpose. If anything, you need to tell us any information you can provide besides telling us that you know nothing. I don't mean to come off rude but..."

Betsalel was livid, a mere soldier - a being far below a grim - was questioning not just his own authority and motives but that of the other grims?
What gives such a worm the right? he thought to himself. Then, as the far younger reaper trailed off Betsalel launched into a telepathic tirade
"What right does a low-level reaper such as yourself have a right to question I, or any other grim reaper? You who could not even defeat a single harbinger! My motives and those of any other grim are far beyond your concerned just as we are far above you. You exist because we allow you to and you exist for the sole purpose of following our orders for the sake of not just the Earth but every other planet, in every other galaxy in every other realm! Do not think you have the right to quesion us jsut because you are an immortal. You are what we made you! Unless you are seeking punishment do not question me again. I assure each and every one of you that we share with you any knowledge that you need to know and that if we had known about this threat sooner, you too would have known. Please continue." Betsalel, feeling slightly calmer once again stepped back.

Adrian Frode


Adrian watched from his seat as Spencer, for reasons best known to himself, challenged the grim reapers and interrogated Betsalel. Not surprisingly, the grim reacted with fury as his telepathic voice raged loudly not just in the head of Spencer, but of every other reaper in the room. He had clearly decided to make out of his brave, yet foolish, subordinate.

Adrian had to admit that many of the same questions had crossed his mind, and he decided that he should probably talk to Spencer about his views later. But for the time being he was smart enough not to go against Betsalel. It was never wise to cross a grim, and Betsalel especially was legendary for his ferocious verbal assaults against those who dared oppose him, but everybody in the room (at least that's how Adrian felt) had not just been thinking the same as Spencer but were in complete agreement with him.
At least he didn't get set on fire or something...
Adrian stood to speak again
"Grievances aside, there are some things we must consider. We need to take these suggestions in and do what we can to defend the balance - which means we need to complete our missions even if harbingers interfere. This means that right now the best suggestion we have is to increase the size of our mission teams so that we can split-up without hesitation should such an interference occur.

I also recommend that we discuss the idea of a response team and task force especially designated for dealing with harbingers. We have done so before to counter demon epidemics, perhaps we should treat this similarly. I also feel that we need to use this team to locate hotspots where there has been a lot of harbinger activity. I would suggest Russia would be a good place to start after the warehouse mission I was on revealed that the harbingers were building a vampire army."

Adrian sighed, he was likely to cop it from the others for his next suggestion
"The final suggestion I have for the moment, is for us to consider having reapers from other planets and realms become involved in this conflict - something that the harbingers won't expect. I know there is an unspoken rule that generally we don't allow reapers of other planets to interfere on our own, simply because they cannot blend in, but that might be the best plan of attack." Adrian could already here whispered comment amongst the gathered reapers
"ridiculous!"
"what kind of a suggestion is that!"
"human reapers should be responsible for human enemies!"

Sometimes I hate these meetings...
 
Destiny Saviouer :: Ampitheatre, Limbo
Chapter Three :: Tyrant's Tirade

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After Destiny had finished speaking for the second time, more Reapers joined into the fray and began to escalate the argument. Adrian Frode spoke first, stating that the English Reaper had clearly lost his mind, proceeding to reiterate Destiny's statement about Kris being a bit overpowered. He did, however, state that they hadn't known that Kris was still walking around the Earth. Well, that's not entirely true . . . , Destiny thought.

After Adrian spoke, the English Reaper began to yell again. "There is no way in Hell that we can change our fighting style that quickly! Trust me! I've BEEN there!" He glared at Destiny as he spoke, and she happily returned the expression with ten times the intensity. "Believe me, I've faced some pretty powerful **** before!" The man stepped in front of the crowd. "The gods be damned if I let a 'doppelganger' defeat me! I'd like to see them try to kill me. Besides, we can cover for each other. Trust me. I know what I'm doing. There ain't no bloody way that they can beat us. We're the Reapers. We were chosen to keep the balance for a reason." He glanced back at Destiny. "We're the best of the best."

"I'm sorry to say that you have absolutely no idea what you are doing," Destiny growled. "Thinking as much is going to get you killed." Although I wouldn't mind if you were, she thought to herself. "We may be Reapers, but we are not the most powerful force out there, especially as individuals."

"This bickering between us has to stop," said the Reaper Masato, looking between the English Reaper and Destiny. "If we're going to be a team, we need to act like one. If this force against us is as big as we believe it is, it'll take all of us to stop it. Otherwise, we're all finished."

Yes, that's kind of what I said earlier, Destiny thought, slightly irritated.

Masato proceeded to speak about discovering their own weaknesses and switching Harbinger enemies, as Destiny had stated moments before. After Masato, Luka Sokolov spoke, elaborating on everyone's ideas and even going so far as to defend the English Reaper.

Destiny's eyebrows twitched slightly as Luka spoke of Kris. "We need to realize and remind ourselves that no matter how strong, no being, not even Kris, is unbeatable. Overestimation can be just as dangerous as underestimation."

"I'm certainly not overestimating him, Luka," Destiny said calmly. "I've known the man for six thousand years, and I guarantee you that he is just as powerful as I said he is, if not more. However, I did also state that he was not unbeatable. There are a few ways to kill him, but they require all of the pieces on the chess board to be in place. It will take some time, but we can defeat him in combined force."

A moment later, a man whom introduced himself as Spencer began to speak. Destiny's eyes widened a bit as he reached the end of his speech. "I don't trust much that the Grim Reapers are up to. You expect us to believe this is the first you've heard of these new-found Harbingers and then you send us off as if to follow commands without regards to their purpose. If anything, you need to tell us any information you can provide besides telling us that you know nothing. I don't mean to come off rude but. . . ."

Destiny gaped at the obviously suicidal Reaper. He was just asking to be killed, to be stripped of his immortality here and there. Everyday Reapers did not question the Grims, no matter what. Depending on the Grim, it was wise to avoid stating any doubts to them even if they had asked you to be brutally honest. It just wasn't something that you did. Considering Destiny's status, she could sometimes get away with it, but only behind closed doors, not in the ampitheatre in full view of every Reaper in Limbo.

Destiny turned her head to Betsalal, instinctively searching out his aura. Even without the ability to see into his soul, it was quite obvious that he was pissed. He stood and began to assault the Reapers via telepathy. "What right does a low-level reaper such as yourself have a right to question I, or any other Grim Reaper? You who could not even defeat a single Harbinger! My motives and those of any other Grim are far beyond your concerned just as we are far above you. You exist because we allow you to and you exist for the sole purpose of following our orders for the sake of not just the Earth, but every other planet, in every other galaxy in every other realm! Do not think you have the right to question us just because you are an immortal. You are what we made you! Unless you are seeking punishment do not question me again. I assure each and every one of you that we share with you any knowledge that you need to know and that if we had known about this threat sooner, you too would have known." There was a brief pause, and Betsalal seemed to calm down. "Please continue."

Destiny glanced between Spencer and Betsalal, thinking about just how lucky the ignorant Reaper had just been. There was a stunned moment of silence as every Reaper in the theatre shared a moment of disbelief. It was Adrian Frode that broke the silence. "Grievances aside, there are some things we must consider. We need to take these suggestions in and do what we can to defend the balance—which means we need to complete our missions even if Harbingers interfere. This means that right now the best suggestion we have is to increase the size of our mission teams so that we can split-up without hesitation should such an interference occur.

"I also recommend that we discuss the idea of a response team and task force especially designated for dealing with Harbingers. We have done so before to counter demon epidemics, perhaps we should treat this similarly. I also feel that we need to use this team to locate hotspots where there has been a lot of Harbinger activity. I would suggest Russia would be a good place to start. After the warehouse mission, It was revealed that the Harbingers were building a vampire army."

Adrian sighed, hesitating for a moment. "The final suggestion I have for the moment is for us to consider having Reapers from other planets and realms become involved in this conflict—something that the Harbingers won't expect. I know there is an unspoken rule that generally we don't allow Reapers of other planets to interfere on our own, simply because they cannot blend in, but that might be the best plan of attack."

Adrian was met with countless murmurs in the crowd, many of which practically made him out to be a heretic. Destiny didn't quite understand why all the other Reapers were so reserved about the idea. After a moment, a devious smirk came upon Destiny's face. She stepped forward and addressed the crowd once more.

"Why are so many of you so quick to toss this idea aside? After all, it's not the first time something like this has happened. Granted, many of you are probably too young to remember the last time Reapers mingled between different realms in large numbers, and many of you would be unaware of countless missions that involve such tactics. Why do you think so many realms have vivid tales of alien life?" Destiny paused for a moment, sweeping the crowd with her gaze.

"Or is it simply because you are scared of this threat?" Destiny chuckled. "I suppose I wouldn't blame you; many of you would not be up to the task, if you prove to be so uncooperative in your missions as much as you are here. However, let it be known that, whether you take up this fight or not, the Harbingers are likely to be knocking on your doors at any moment. Kris, for example, is one individual that can easily discover a way to travel between the realms. He's done so in the past, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has been doing so all along, right beneath your noses."

Destiny stopped, turning to Betsalal. "This is something you know to be true, Betsalal. What might be your opinion upon this strategy?"
 
BERNARD "DEMON" WESTERLY

Bernard kept a face as still as stone, looking over everyone and evaluating what they were saying. When a Russian-looking Reaper stepped in to defend him, he almost smiled and gave a friendly nod to him, showing that the back-up was appreciated. Demon rolled his eyes whenever the female talked, showing as much contempt as possible. Jesus christ. How much of a ***** can you be? This reaper was really pissing him off. "God dammit...just shut up." He whispered under his breath. She obviously did not like him; The feeling was mutual.

He was about to sit back down when another Reaper stood up and screamed at the Grim, who gave him an earful that would make the strongest of grown men quake in there boots. Damn. That guy has guts. When things calmed down and proceeded to even more bickering, he approached the Reaper and whispered, "You got guts. That's something we're lacking." He gestured to the Reapers who questioned him, then walked back to his former position. The male Reaper was going on about a strike team. Not bad. He nodded in agreement, barely noticable, but noticable. He couldn't find anything that he didn't like about him. He had to respect him. That girl, however...
 
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