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Post by Amara on Oct 2, 2019 9:11:32 GMT -6
Amara, even with all her years of experience, wasn't sure what to expect when she followed the beefcake through the back-alley door. Even with the knowledge that they were likely hapless human thugs, that didn't reassure her at all. If there's one thing she had picked up over the course of her career, it was to expect the unexpected - no matter how trite or trivial something or someone appeared to be, they could be concealing great power. Frustratingly, it had become a more and more commend trend as the years passed - and as the Power Levels spiked in people across the galaxy, so did the art of suppressing and setting those Power Levels in order to seamlessly blend in.
A small scowl was fixed on her face, scouter in her pocket so at to not alarm their faux 'coworkers'. Honestly, she still wasn't responsible for Maki's health - he had been the one to insist doing this in the first place - but that didn't stop a small seed of worry from sprouting in her chest. It might not be her job to look after the kid, but that didn't mean she couldn't at least try to keep him relatively safe when in the jaws of danger like this. He had grown exponentially stronger over the past few weeks, but energy weapons that certain syndicates had access to could harm even her with the right power behind them.
None of that was shown on the Saiyan's face as she trailed behind Shank, Maki presumably close behind. The initial walkway was simply a claustrophobic set of stairs leading straight down - orange buzzing lights hanging overhead and illuminating the grimy concrete and peeled paint upon the walls to either side of them. Shank hurried down, Amara keeping pace as they descended further and further. If she had to guess, they were down the equivalent of two stories into the ground before it evened out into a slightly wider area, another heavyset door before them.
It looked like it came straight from the set of a movie - welded bolts surrounding the perimeter of the door and a slot at eye-level which would presumably allow the doorman to check who was there. Several keyholes adorned the side, though Shank made no move to try and open it, instead knocking on the metallic beast. Amara crossed her arms, leaning down to whisper: "I'm not saying you're weak, but if things turn south stick behind me, alright?" Who knows what sort of dastardly weapons criminals like this would have access to.
A gruff voice spoke from the other side of the gateway, Beekcake and Mysterious Guy having a short conversation before the sound of several locks unlatching rang out, the entrance swinging open. A much smaller, lankier man was manning the door - face gaunt and eyes openly suspicious as he regarded the duo. "The boss has agreed to meet with you." He rasped, voice the texture of sandpaper. "If you have any weapons, turn them in here." Amara shrugged, lifting her arms and twisting to show she wasn't 'armed'. The Saiyan had left her own blaster behind at the ship prior to meeting Shank, and so didn't need to hand it over to random nobodies.
Seemingly satisfied, Shank led them through the door and into a much nicer complex - completely furnished and properly lit. It almost made her forget that they were quite far below the surface. Almost. The interior resembled a club or bar, leather and purple lighting seemingly the most popular near the center of the area where no small amount of people were hard at work gambling. It was mostly card games, pool, and the like - no machines or anything. Getting enough electricity wired to a supposedly vacant building to run casino machines would probably be a hassle in of itself.
Shank chimed in: "Aight, I'll be by da pool. Lemme know when you wanna talk shop and I'll take you to da boss."
Amara nodded, watching the man walk off before turning to Maki. She smiled slightly, tilting her head. "Same as before, kid. What's your call?" She may not have liked his last decision, but she was confident that even here a poor choice could be bailed out with the proper amount of punching and Ki blasts.
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Maki the Grappler
Rising Soul
PL: 27,000
Intense Struggle (x2T)
Tag: @jamesincarnate
Posts: 68
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Post by Maki the Grappler on Oct 2, 2019 11:08:14 GMT -6
Maki would follow closely behind his master, ignorantly unaware of any possible threat that could harm the two martial artists. From what he could tell, none of these guys knew the first thing about ki. Even if some of them were good in a scrap, his raw speed alone would likely be enough to knock out every thug in the room in under ten seconds. This was the teen's state of mind as he walked down the steps into the underground lounge. There was one condition to that theory however, were all the thugs down there like Shank? Maybe some of them were trained. Those were doubts, ones he would soon forget as they entered the lounge.
The dimly lit building seemed to be filled with even more unsavory types than in the bar! It was much livelier as well, thanks to all the gambling going on. The earthling would open his mouth to ask a question, but be interrupted over the sound of two men fighting. "Hey! There's no way you got that hand fairly! That's your seventh flush in a row!" the two of them would be sitting across from one another at a table with several other players. "Yeah, so what!? Maybe I'm just that lucky!" at that comment, the first card player would physically jump across the table tackling the other! The physical sound of punches impacting skulls could be heard from across the room. Thankfully, Shank and a few other guys would separate the two men, kicking both players out.
This set the tone for exactly what kind of environment they were in. The teen would swallow hard before scratching the back of his head "heh, we better mind or manners I guess..." Amara would then ask him how they proceed. While the could immediately walk over to Shank, that may look a little suspicious. On the other hand, there were now two spots open at the poker table! "I think taking a direct approach might arouse too much suspicion. We should try to blend in a bit more before we meet the boss... Up for a game of cards?"
Maki would walk over to the table and take a seat, "Alright boys, deal me in." He would give Amara time to sit down as well if she chose to participate. The dealer would give a shrug to the rest of the players and sent 5 cards across the table to the boy. He wouldn't take a look at his numbers immediately, instead breaking out his wallet to put 1,000 zeni in the pot, matching the bet. "Let's see here..."
The boy would take a look at his cards...
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Post by Amara on Oct 4, 2019 13:53:27 GMT -6
Now in an open enough area, Amara slung out her trust scouter - affixing it to her face and giving it a tap or two to get the interface to pop up. The Saiyan seemed relaxed despite the dangerous atmosphere, looking around curiously as her tail swished back and forth behind her. "Neat little place they got here." She commented. "Reminds me of Space Station Knutts, except way more formal and in-line." ...If 'formal and in-line' was how you could describe the semi-chaotic nature going on around them, that was. She watched as the scuffle over cheating broke out, the dudes getting dragged out.
"Mmm, yeah. This is really bringing back a nostalgic feeling." The Saiyan blinked, realizing Maki had spoken to her while she was distracted. "Huh? Something about manners?" The hint of a smile crossed her lips. "Manners are a bit different in places like this, y'know." Maki suggested cards first in favor of going straight to the big cheese himself. Whether it was a ploy for her to let him gamble at a young age or not... well she didn't really care honestly. Besides, she would stick to her words and let the kid lead them for now. Amara shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
One-thousand Zeni was chump change at this point, the Saiyan sliding into the seat and placing her own bills on deck. Unlike the fairly youthful looking boy, Amara's height and scarred face made sure she didn't receive any audible comments or murmurs when she joined - Dealer dutifully sliding her cards over. Crossing her legs, Amara silent as a few of the other players looked over the hand they were dealt, most keeping a straight face as their minds raced what to do next. The Saiyan didn't even bother to straighten hers, keeping them in the disorganized pile in which she'd been dealt.
"Raise." She said, sliding another 1,000 Zeni unto the table. One man looked at her incredulously, gesturing to her cards. "You didn't even look at ya damn cards!" He said, eyes narrowing. "Why are you raising?" The mercenary shrugged, expression deadset neutral. "Because I'm going to win." She said plainly.
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Maki the Grappler
Rising Soul
PL: 27,000
Intense Struggle (x2T)
Tag: @jamesincarnate
Posts: 68
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Post by Maki the Grappler on Oct 5, 2019 9:37:07 GMT -6
Maki would take a look at the cards to see: '6, 9' "Nice." he'd mumble to himself. All things considered, the hand wasn't too bad. He certainly could have gotten worse. Without even thinking yet, Amara would raise the bet. That meant everyone was either calling or folding. "Call." Without much information to go off of, Maki would match the bet rather than raise it further. The other guys at the table seemed to all call as well. Now there was about 12,000 zeni in the pot, and tensions were rising. The first three cards revealed by the dealer would be a Queen, 8, and a 9. He had at least one of those cards, he just had to hope it would be enough.
There was of course another round of betting which Maki would call, that lead to the next card being revealed, it was a six! Now that was a bit of good luck. He'd need more than two cards to match up for a win however. If he could get one other six or nine on the board, he might have an especially good shot. Unfortunately, the other card turned over would be a second queen. His hand was pretty strong, but anyone holding a queen would probably take it.
Seeing no other choice but to play it til the end, Maki would call every time. The dealer would end the round with "Alright, everyone, check." The whole table would flip their cards. Some of the guys had garbage hands, while others had a card or two. While Maki had a strong hand, there was one other than his that would take the cake. That was just how things went unfortunately. With a round under his belt, he would decide move on.
"Fun playing with ya gents, but I'm afraid we've got a meeting with the boss." the teen would explain. The dealer would give a surprised look, "Huh! A meeting with the big man? Sorry, hope we didn't hold you up too much..."
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Post by Amara on Oct 6, 2019 19:24:35 GMT -6
Amazingly, the first round sent the player side of the table into an uproar. As the time came to reveal the hands, Amara lazily flipped over each of her cards - the expressions of the guys closest to her falling further and further until... "A ROYAL FLUSH!?" One of them all but yelled, eyes bulging out of his head. He looked ready to leap across the table and strangle her, but the icy look from the dealer kept him subdued. "There's no way that bitch ain't cheatin..." Amara shrugged, collecting the pot for that round. "I didn't even move my hands until it was time to show hands. Prove how I 'cheated'."
Though from that point, the game went mostly normal. Amara didn't participate that much in gambits - earning and losing small amounts until she ended up with a net positive by the time Maki started announcing their depature from the table. Amara pushed herself from her seat, the goon from before a bit white in the face. "Why don't you complain to the boss about how I play?" She commented, smirking as he spulttered an indecipherable response. Clapping Maki on the shoulder, she set off towards the direction of Shank - who currently seemed to be enjoying a drink.
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Maki the Grappler
Rising Soul
PL: 27,000
Intense Struggle (x2T)
Tag: @jamesincarnate
Posts: 68
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Post by Maki the Grappler on Oct 6, 2019 23:30:34 GMT -6
With their little game out of the way, Maki would finally approach Shank who seemed to be having a drink. Without the teen even speaking a word, the brute of a man would nod at them "Ready to see the boss eh? Follow me." The man would gesture for the two to come along as he walked to the left of the bar and to a shut wooden door. Giving a couple knocks, a voice from the other side would casually shout, "Come in shank!" The man would turn to look at both Maki and Amara. He gave them a nod before opening the door. The inside would be a luxury office with plenty of square footage. Sure enough, behind a wooden desk would be them man they were searching for the McGuffin! "Shank, who are these two? You sure ya know what your doing, bringing in new muscle?"The picture matched the looks of the boss perfectly, if this wasn't they guy, then they would easily be able to pass him off as the guy! Maki would nudge Amara, to see if she could get a read on the guy's PL. "*Cough* Scouter" he would cough. Luckily the two thugs didn't seem to notice. "You two step forward then. I wanna get a good look at ya." Maki would step up first to the center of the room, the cartoonist-looking bandit captain would approach him and begin to circle the boy. "Yes, very defined muscles, with an innocent appearance. This could work nicely..." He would then eye Amara up and down, taking an especially hard look at her tail. Thinking it was just kind of crazy accessory, the boss would shrug before going to sit back down. "Tell yous guys what... How about I start ya off 10,000 zeni weekly salary, plenty fair ain't it?" The teen would be shocked that the guy had that much money to throw around. This guy was paying more than his own bounty!? Amara |
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Post by Amara on Oct 8, 2019 9:41:45 GMT -6
It wasn't unusual for most Earthlings to pass her scouter off as something entirely different, most not knowing the true function of the devices. She wasn't sure why - they were pretty cheap in today's market and so wouldn't be hard to distribute even among Earthlings... though she did suppose the technique of Energy Sensing did mostly start with the denizens of Earth, so perhaps most of them didn't really need the devices. Amara might be able to learn the technique herself is she really wanted to... but she didn't really want to. A scouter served her just fine, as it had been for the past few decades.
Passively scanning the men, she wasn't really impressed. Shank was about fifty, while the boss man himself was a healthy seven thousand. Nothing that even Maki couldn't handle. "Sure, plenty fair." Amara echoed, tilting her head. "Of course, that also depends on your opinion..." She drifted off, placing a hand on Maki's shoulder. "In case you couldn't already tell, he's quite powerful. I'd wager that he could soundly defeat everyone here, too." Depending on how Maki took her words, this could go a bunch of different ways. Amara was just along for the ride, though.
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Maki the Grappler
Rising Soul
PL: 27,000
Intense Struggle (x2T)
Tag: @jamesincarnate
Posts: 68
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Post by Maki the Grappler on Oct 8, 2019 15:30:35 GMT -6
Thanks to Amara's assessment and her scouter, she would be able to subtly tell Maki that they could easily defeat McGuffin and his goons. That was all he needed to hear. "Strong enough to take out the whole gang! Hahaha, good one." The bandit would chuckle. Unfortunately for the boss, Maki was about to prove his master's statement. "Just a moment, I'll be right back." The earthling would say. To the eyes of an average man, Maki would have disappeared from where he stood! Grunts, shouts, and punching noises would be heard from the outside of the room. The sounds would quickly conclude, as he would reappear in the room, in the exact same spot. The young man gave a grin that told it all, the bandit's gang had easily been dispatched. Now it would be time to take on the head honcho himself.
"That should take care of them, we've come to claim your bounty McGuffin!" The teen would put his hands on his hips triumphantly. Shank appeared baffled, and ran out of the room to check on the other guys. "Wah- How did he--? Boss! Everyone's out cold!" The bandit would furrow his eyebrows, "Ya think you can just walk in here and take me out kid? So you can use a bit of energy, big deal! So can I!"
McGuffin clenched his fists, and began to power up! An invisible force surrounded him as the McGuffin's power level increased slightly. It wasn't nearly enough to match the teen, but was a bit more considerable then before. Deciding it would be best to ask Amara's opinion, "So, do you want to take him down? Or could I?"
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Post by Amara on Oct 11, 2019 15:09:27 GMT -6
To the eyes of an average man, Maki would've disappeared. Amara was neither average nor a man, so she easily tracked the boy as he blitzed the weak thugs, a bored look on her face as they fell like dominos. Before the 'boss' could even react, Maki had wiped his entire crew out in a few seconds. And then, like the smug little dude he was, waltzed back in and announced they were there for MacGuffin's head. "I'll give you points for style." Amara tacked on. Standing aside to let Shank slide past her, the bewildered man finished his report before receiving a swift tap on the back of his bald head, crumpling to the ground.
"Yeah, kudos for that." The Saiyan said in response to McMuffin's provocation. "I'm honestly surprised you can. Makes it a bit more interesting I guess?" Unless the criminal was hiding something up his sleeves, this would be a lopsided fight even without Amara being here to intercede. Shrugging, she pat Maki on the shoulder. "Go ahead. I think instantly K.O.ing the final boss would be a bit anti-climatic after all this waiting, no?" In fact, Amara was actually a bit thirsty. Which obviously led to her next logical decision - walking out.
Stepping over the unconscious bodies of the assorted thugs, Amara hummed as she clambered over the bar counter, digging around in the collection and pouring a mixture of some liquids into a shaker. Scooping some ice in, she began to shake the container while walking back to the office, peeking in to see how Maki was doing against the legendary McMuffin.
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