[PP-BOSS RAID-F8] Paving the Way to 9

[Guest]

Grim still in thought, ponders on how this will work, but he dismissed it as he looks up and sees that many people have arrived, "Wonderful, this is working out nicely, but Im keeping quite." A Grim looks down at the Amulet of Moya, thinking about Yureka, "This is for you baby, I love you." Grim says to himself, as he hears about dinner afterward.

"Not really all that hungry, but I might change my mind afterward." As he gets up and walks to Captain Saix, and Lieutenant Nikki, "Im glad I could join your in this raid Commander, as well as you too Lieutenant, this will be a hairy battle, not sure how it will turn out." "So many factors are invovled, I can think over several ways it can go down." Then turns to the newest person, as he holds out a hand, "I don't think we've met, I am Grim, it's a pleasure to meet you." Grim says as he awaits for a reponse from the man who offered dinner.

[Clarence 0]

For the moment with everyone talking I was standing in the back, trying to keep calm from my over fear-ness. I slowly get off the wall and walk over to my friend Miaki and the girl Nikki Miaki told me about."Hello, umm Nikki? I'm Clarence from Azure Brigade and Miaki told me to give you this for the battle." I open my inventory and hand Nikki the <>.(OOC that potion gives you +1 battle damage for one whole battle (I.E the Boss Battle))." I hand the potion over to Nikki and walk over to Miaki."You still got your <>?"

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius smiled, a devilish smile as he looked around the Room and watched the events unfold. He studied Miaki and Nikki for a little bit and noticed what had just happened. Smiling he turned away. Zelrius walked right to the Door and placed a hand on it. He looked the door up and down. Now turning back to the group, he felt again it was his duty to be a pain in someone's rear. This time, he knew just how to provoke them.

"Anyone willing to make Bets on who's going to die first?!" Zelrius yelled to the group, plenty loud enough for them to hear. He continued to look at them, Narrowing his eyes a bit to see them better. It seemed that every day that went by his eyesight was getting worse and worse.

[Shanok 0]

Shanok arrived at the boss room's doors. He was looking for his squadmates, Zelrius and Clarence. The first one he found was Clarence, who seemed to be talking to a girl. He waited till he had finished talking to her and saw him heading towards Miaki and decided to meet up with them. "Hey guys, ready for the fight?" he asked his friends.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki smiled to see Grim approaching. He was a fine young man with a strong set of skills and a desire to succeed. She had personally interviewed him for the Ebon Vanguard and found him to be more than capable of being amongst them. She nodded her head when he addressed her, She was even more impressed at how he continued to stay in rank, referring to Saix as captain and herself as Lieutenant. "Good to see you Grim. This will be a mean battle indeed, but I'm glad you made it." Nikki looked on as Grim introduced himself to Shark, the leader of the Knights of Christ, who she herself had just met at the scouting party.

Moments later Nikki heard someone approaching and she turned to look after hearing her name being mentioned. Before her stood a man whom she had never met before, he addressed himself as Clarence, and as being a member of the Azure Brigade. He then handed her a potion. At first she was unsure of what to do until she looked at the item she was given. It was a potion of Hemlock. She had heard of these, they increased a players strength allowing them to do more damage. Nikki was shocked but smiled in response and nodded her head. "Thank you Clarence... I would greatly like to personally speak with you later on. till then Good luck."

She stowed the potion in her inventory as Zelrius began to speak, taunting the players asking who would die first. His behavior was unacceptable and it was demoralizing for everyone, something had to be done about it. It irritated her that someone would go to those lengths to try and cause a problem. She gave a sigh and turned to look at Saix again. "The Maverick is trying to be a problem." she whispered so that only he could hear.

[Miaki 0]

In the heat of everything that had just happen, Miaki forgot to give the first potion he made to Nikki. He turned his head around scanning for the bluenette he'd just seen. "Nikki!" He spotted her stashing away the potion given to her by Clarence. "Good so he was able to get that to her." Nikki had her back to him so soon as she was done conversing with a few of the players he poked her on the shoulder and got her to turn around. "I completely forgot about this when we... Umm." Miaki began to blush again. "Here this is for you to use. It's a poison resistance potion. Should buy some extra time for you when things get heated in there?" He dropped his voice to a whisper only heard by her. "This is my extra assurance. We're gonna destroy this thing and everything is gonna be fine."

Clarence came up beside Miaki asking about the potion he was given. "What? Oh yes. Got it right here." He said patting his trench coat and hoping his blushing had toned down. He then heard Zelrius' outburst. Miaki whispered loud enough so Clarence and Nikki could hear him. "Clarence... Watch him. And when this fight is over, remind me to chew out his ass. I'm getting tired of his stunts and this is the last straw."

(OOC: <> lasts for 3 turns)

[Ruri 0]

She saw some people giving others potions. She had wondered if she could get her hands no one, but she hadn't cared that much. She then saw Haine a bit-- shyer then usual. "So, who knows where Keith is?" Ruri asked for her brother as she looked around trying to find him in the crowd of people.

[Clarence 0]

I was a little shocked that Nikki would want to talk to me."Oh.. okay, well until then Nikki, good Luck and great battle." I call to her while I'm with Miaki."Clarence... Watch him. And when this fight is over, remind me to chew out his ass. I'm getting tired of his stunts and this is the last straw." I listen intently then give him a thumbs up."Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out." I also go into a whisper."You guys need to be private about things," I smile a bit,"never know who might see you." I give a wink to Nikki and Miaki and walk away, to say hi to Shanok.

[Guest]

Keith, was of course, fashionably late. Like always. "Shoot! The boss raid was today!? Crap!" He yelped, as he ran as fast as he could to the boss room. While he was fast, he still felt as though he was going to enter half-way through the fight. He only figured out about the raid when he woke up, and partying all night and sleeping all day was generally a bad decision. After waking up in the evening, struggling to muff down a bagel, and equip all his gear in time, he definitely had his work cut out for him.

He skidded to a halt in the gathering area for all the players of the raid, sliding for about ten feet before his momentum finally died down. "Hiya guys! Sorry I'm late. I was busy... Well, it doesn't matter what I was doing." He said smiling and scratching his head, then looking to Nikki and Miaki's blushing red faces. Keith squinted and raised an eyebrow, a cheeky grin growing on his face. "So, what were you two doing?"

[Miaki 0]

"I have no idea what you're talking about Chad..." Miaki attempted to control himself and keep from letting his face get flushed further. "How many saw?...." After trying to hide thing as long as he had gave up and decided to relish himself in the moment. Before Clarence could answer him, Keith showed up. "Finally Keith! We've you been!? You almost missed everything."

"Hiya guys! Sorry I'm late. I was busy... Well, it doesn't matter what I was doing." He said scratching his head, looking at him. Keith raised an eyebrow and gave the dumbest look. "So, what were you two doing?"

Miaki was walking on cloud nine and decided that if Keith missed things then that was his problem for being late. He crossed his arms and acted all smug. "You'll just have to find out another time. Besides you need to get ready for the boss fight."

[Ruri 0]

She sees Keith come in hugging him as she had thought he wouldn't make it she was happy that he had came and wanted to help them out she had wanted to see her brother fight, and hopefully fight as well as him when she would get older. She let go of the hug. "I-I'm glad you could make it." She shyly had said as she let go of the hug and started to smile at him as she looked up at her taller brother. She had looked up to him and knew that if he was here they could defeat the boss in no time.

[Seldentar 0]

Seldentar looks at the gathered party, and then checks the listing again. Looking it over, he frowns.

"We seem to be missing 5 people still. Ayane, 9Lives, Ethereal, Vandal, and someone named Unknown. Any ideas where they are?"

[Saix 0]

Vandal was a little surprised that he had been invited to something like a boss raid. After all, he had been a loner solo player for most of his time in the game, and had only recently accepted a Guild Invitation. Shark had told him something about his showing in the arena having earned him a little fame, as he had faced down and beaten Zauis in single combat. Vandal wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but it wasn't in his nature to turn down a fight. The words of the man from whom he had inherited the huge sword on his back drove him on. He had to face down all challenges, conquer all enemies, and die with his sword in his hand. That was what it meant to be The Berserker. Sure, it was something an NPC in a video game had told him, but in this weird death game things like real and imagined started to blur the lines. Stepping over beside Shark, the only real friend he had here, as well as his Guild Leader, Vandal sighed and looked around the room. "Now or never, I guess." He muttered to his friend. Oh well, at least he could use the fight as advertisement for his business. Shark was decked out in a sword, shield, and armor that Vandal had forged himself.

[Saix 0]

"Of course Shark, we'd be happy to tag along. Our first successful victory on the Front Lines, it will be worthy of celebration." He says, proud of his guild, and hoping that his confidence would inspire them. Seeing the somewhat flustered Nikki return from her private moment, Saix said nothing, only welcomed her back with a smile. If he had any thoughts about the developing relationship with the leader of the Azure Brigade, he kept them to himself. He only enthusiastically shook Shark's hand. "I'm looking forward to seeing you in action Shark, I've heard how you spearheaded the early Floor Boss battles, working with you will be quite the treat." He said as the two shook hands.

Turning to his Lieutenant, Saix shrugged. "We are looking as good as I could have hoped for, everybody looks ready and confident. No doubt because they know that you have their backs." He said with a grin. Part of calling himself a leader meant ensuring everyone under his command was ready and fired up, morale didn't just include the members of the guild who held 'Soldier' rank, that included Nikki as well. In many ways, he felt that of all the members of his guild, Nikki would have the best chance of understanding the 'burden' of his leadership. To Saix, this wasn't just a guild. This was a family, one that he would fight and die to protect. As their premier tank, only Nikki really had an idea of what seeing his Vanguard in battle would be like.

When she spoke of the Maverick, Saix narrowed his eyes. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given his reputation. But it would be a useless battle to confront him over it now. We'll just watch each other's backs, and if something does happen, we'll be ready, as a guild, a family, to confront it." He says, doing his best to calm her nerves as he watches Zelrius intently. More importantly, Saix just doesn't want to give the Maverick the satisfaction of realizing how far under his skin they were getting. Why Miaki had brought him along if he was going to sabotage their morale was beyond him, but then not everybody was as lucky when it came to Guild Members as Saix. Thus far he considered himself pretty blessed with the people who had rallied to gather beneath his banner.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius didn't get the reaction he had quite hoped for from his taunt. Despite that being something that would normallt fire off a few shots of hatred, he only saw an initial glare following his "bet". Still, He had angered someone, and that was enough for Zelrius. The Blood Buccaneer went ahead and check his items. He Straightened the golden Crown on his head, Made sure his Mogul Tuxedo was in good condition, along with his Sash. And finally gripping the front of his Tenet, He fluffed it once to make sure it would stay on. Though unnecessary since the game made sure your equipment didn't fall off. He decided to walk back to the group and look for someone.

"Hey, has anyone seen Unknown? You'd expect her to be here by now..." He said with a slight edge in his voice, Unknown was there for him with the Hoya, so he had built a trust for her, and yet she hadn't shown up.

[Yunah 0]

Yunah had been preping all night for this day.... her very first boss raid! she felt excited and scared all at the very same time... the only reason she was allowed on this epic adventure was because Miaki had recently allowed her to join the Azure Brigade and then she proceeded to BEG him and beg him to let her come along on this raid... she sprinted towards the tower. she was late already.... she came in with her Reinforced breast plate, her Azdorian boots and her Glacier Greatsword and looked at the crowd before her..."Wow, so this is a boss raid huh?" she said quietly to herself and then walked over to Miaki "Okay so what is the game plan?"

[Nikki Styx 0]

Nikki couldn't help but smile at Saix's words. He certainly knew how to raise someone's spirit, not that hers need to be lifted right now. She knew that was one of the reasons why he was a great leader, He understood his team, almost like they were family. He could keep them motivated and working their very best with just a few simple words. That's the kind of leader she wanted to be, one who could move people to do great things because they believed in themselves. She had grown to care for her guild very much as she was certain Saix did, and she was prepared to do anything to keep them alive and well. "Thank you sir." She said with a smile as turned her gaze over the gathered players again. That's when Saix spoke of the Maverick. She had been worried he might make a move and try to kill someone here, as he seemed less concerned with anyone's survival. She had thought this through well, and if he did she was prepared to move in and apprehend him. With Miaki as her off tank she could afford to make such a move if needed. Of course it would depend on how they were doing as well.

Nikki had also noticed a new player join the group. It was one she had quested with prior. this player was new to adventuring and was now here fighting a boss? Suddenly she felt a pang of concern. She knew that somebody knew what was going on, but was unsure who. "Excuse me sir.. I need to investigate a matter further" She said as she left Saix's side and proceeded to go to Yunah.

"Yunah... Over here." She called out as she approached the girl.

[9Lives 0]

9Lives calmed his mind. there were a lot of people here for the boss battle and he really didn't like crowds. it was beginning to be a problem as the guild grew larger. he once could hide away taking aside those he felt worth adventuring with but he couldn't afford to be the guy who stood solitary. He had responsibility to his guild. It also helped that the front line meant fighting the strongest enemies, many of which had yet to be seen. The thought of the oncoming battle fueled endorphins and adrenaline in his veins. Even so he fought of f the anxiousness to be stern and strong in the eyes of his guild mates. " its more than that." he added to Saix assessment of the guild. "We are strong, capable, knowledgeable, and hungry for victory." he finished. 9Lives stretched and limbered up showing the intricacy of his scaled gargoyle leather armor and how free his movement was.

[Yunah 0]

"Yunah... Over here." Yunah looked around to see Nikki headed her direction. Yunah was probably one of the lowest levels here and so she should probably do as she was told. so she casually walked over to Nikki and said "yes nikki? was there something you needed?" she asked with a quiet voice... she wasn't overly out going at the momemt.... alot of people she didn't know were around her and it made her a little bit nervous.

[Saix 0]

Given how quiet she was it made sense that Seldentar wasn't quite aware that she was already in attendance. In fact, she was doing her best to stay unnoticed. Crowds bothered her and she had her mask up, hiding most of her face as she tried to stay behind the bulk of her assembled guild. She had only come along because Saix insisted her Shadowed Path would make a huge difference. And since the order had come from Saix, she wasn't going to refuse. Though she had given him quite a few dirty looks. When she had accepted the guild invite from Lieutenant 9Lives, they had been pretty small. But they were growing as Saix showed his leadership skills. It was pretty mind boggling actually, suddenly the Ebon Vanguard was getting famous, all because their leader had stepped up and made a name for himself in the strategy meeting. When 9 spoke, she didn't respond verbally, she was much too uncomfortable for that, instead she crossed her arms and nodded her agreement with his sentiment. Uncomfortable or not, she was ready to do this.