Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-25924729-20151107020221/@comment-25924729-20151126132102

Everyone’s eyes were on her now, and Zhu-li swallowed nervously at the sudden attention. “Thank you all for coming, “she began, standing up and signaling a few servants to bring in dinner for the guests. As expensive platters of exotic meats and fruits were laid on the table, she walked to the fireplace and placed her scroll above it. “CATSAI, interface: Video display.” She commanded.

An oil painting above the fireplace slid into the wall, revealing a small screen displaying the ANGELs emblem, a fist with two wings. Castellan always had a flair for being dramatic. This setup was mean to impress visitors, and judging by the group’s expression, it certainly worked.

“My name is Zhu-li, and this is my home. Some of you may have heard of the ANGELs faction before, ” the screen changed to show the portraits of twenty four men and women, then focused on Rank#17: “The Blue Teddy”. It was Zhu-li. Her intense red eyed gaze staring out of the screen. “I’m one of them.” She admitted with guilt.

She was practically announcing herself as a criminal, part of an organization that robbed, cheated and murdered their way to fame, though that wasn’t her largest worry. She stole a quick look at Asper. He must hate me now… Zhu-li found herself wondering whether her teammate’s hate for criminals or liars was stronger?

Steeling herself to face whatever judgement the group would have towards her later, she continued the briefing, pulling up another portrait of a red faced man and a video. “The man who attacked me last night, and the one responsible for all the missing kids is Donovan Barnes. Officially, he’s a minor crime boss based in Atlas, had a few charges placed against him but he always gets off by bribing officials. In reality, he’s a monster.”

She started the video, knowing it would he hard to watch but necessary to convince everyone.

''A large square arena resembling a boxing ring, with chain-link fence surrounding it on all sides. Hundreds of rabid gamblers surrounding the arena screaming bets, insults and encouragement to the fighters. In the cage, a group of ten scrawny children who can’t be more than 12 years old are locked in heated battle. The younger ones are defenseless, crying and wailing for help which never comes until the older, more experienced gladiators strike them down with crude weapons. Bodies line the hellish arena, missing limbs and bathed in blood and viscera. Amidst all the chaos one figure stands out: a young girl in a bloodstained blue hoodie wrapping her legs around an older boy’s torso while garroting him with a steel wire. The boy flails and screams wildly while the girl holds on. It would be brutal if not for the girl’s expression: remorse, terror and tears mixed into one. The crowd is chanting now: “Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!” to which the girl shouts back a reply. Drowned out by the crowd but her lips are easily read “Stop it! Stop, please….stop!”''

Zhu-li paused the video, unable to watch any more. She took a deep breath to relax herself and addressed the group. “Not my proudest moment.” She stated dryly. “That’s the “Funhouse”, Barnes hosts fights like that all the time, sending kids to fight and kill each other while sickos pay to watch. “

“He operates on a pattern, and he needs one champion to represent him in these fights, to be his pet killer. I was his first champion. For five years, he made me do…things… horrible, horrible things, to many people, until I escaped. Even then he didn’t stop, and about six years ago, he went on a kidnapping spree to find a replacement killer.” A few dozen portraits drifted across the screen displaying many children with missing persons reports behind them, then singled out a girl with intense emerald eyes and fiery red hair.

“This is Tigris, the girl who became his assassin after I left. Until last year, she left him too. But he couldn’t continue the Funhouse fights for a while because someone wrecked his casino. ” She seemed to take a small delight in saying this.

“But now, the casino is being rebuilt, and by my guess, so is the Funhouse. Add that to all the kidnapping cases lately, and I’d say Barnes is at it again, kidnapping children to send them to their deaths, until he finds one worthy of serving him.”

She gestured to the screen, at her own pitiful younger self killing an innocent slave “That is what’s going to happen to those kids if we don’t save them.”