Welcome to Gaia! ::

When the mission came in it wasn't by note or text, but an actual call. With an actual person talking on the end. Of course, the idea of Dr. H as a "person" was often a subject for debate. "Jerky. Hello, hello. I hope this isn't a bad time? Well of course it isn't, as I am your superior in every way and any time I deign to acknowledge your often sniveling, pathetic existence is a wonderful time, is it not?"

"Well, Jerrbear, I've heard about your ah...stellar performance, during that fight with the corrupted imposter, and I felt that you would be just the person for a special little problem. So, round up a couple of meat shields to assist you in this little matter, yes you will be the one leading them, and then come to the portal room. You have twenty minutes, buh-bye now."

Alright, a Mission. With a capital M and everything. He wasn't sure why Jerry was the one forwarding the text, but he appreciated it. Usually they left little pink notes on his door.

He and B0nez showed up in the portal room, ready to...whatever.

Robert was a heavy sleeper.

His mouth was wide open, and he took up too much of the bed. He didn't even stir when Petra got up, but as soon as the cold started to hit him, he made several un-manly sounds and curled up in the sheets. He accepted her kiss, making a gruff noise that sounded something like 'yeah, yeah', before falling back asleep.

For all of thirty seconds.

His eyes snapped open, and he groaned as he got out of bed, shoving his hands into his hair and shaking wildly. This was the equivalent of grooming for him, and within minutes he'd hopped into his pants (both legs at a time, despite it making him fall on his face) and shrugged on a wrinkled button down shirt. He grabbed his jacket and stumbled out the door, hitting the ground running.

He arrived with exactly 45 seconds to spare.

"Okay okay. I'm here. Nobody worry."

Nobody was, Robert. Nobody was.

Dr. H strode into the area on the dot, and gave the group a jovial wave. "Ah good, good, really some excellent choices, Jerrbear. If all you wanted was a few pieces of luggage to make you look good by comparison, I couldn't have picked better myself. Let us hope you don't regret the gamble, hm? Now follow, follow, my little goslings, through the portal yes, yes, you're about to embark on quite the adventure! Isn't this exciting?"

Stepping through the portal brought the trainees to the school gym area. One of the doors was wide open, revealing a foggy courtyard and the school beyond. "We have bit of an infestation, normally I'd send a few of my own," he glanced at Robert, "...more capable people. But alas, they're all working on that damned Moon Course, and my cream-filled little eclaire is feeling rather empty at the moment. Sad business, that, tragic," despite his words, the doctor sounded pretty cheerful about all this. "Anyways, it appears that a nest of shadowlings have taken over the old school. You lot clear it out, or at least...soften the bunch up, so the real hunters can finish the job, understand? Excellent. I leave it all in your hands, Jerky!" And with a friendly wave he was gone, back through the portal.


The abandoned school has been overrun by shadowlings! Continuously attack them to make headway! If you miss an attack, they will hit you for 25% of your full hp! These will charge your weapons!

Division Bonuses:
Jerry: is capable of 3 recoveries
Harrison and Petra: are capable of taking on another hunters damage, and reducing it to 10% to themselves. (ex: Jerry misses an attack and is unable to recover, Petra can post afterward to take his damage. Jerry loses no hp% while Petra only loses 10%)
Robert: there is a locked cabinet containing four bandaids in the infirmary. To get to them, he will need to roll 3 4-sided dice to try and pick the lock. Rolling a one means that he has failed. The cabinet is booby-trapped, and will cause -25% HP upon failure. (this can be blocked by sun hunters, and be attempted multiple times)

"I SAW THAT LOOK." Robert yelled out angrily at Dr. H, even as he disappeared through the portal. He turned, once they were left alone, and punched Jerry fondly right across the temple, before assessing the situation.

"Yeah, yeah, more the whatever." He grumbled under his breath, making a face at the shadowlings. They had nothing, no packs, no supplies, just their weapons, their wits, and their winning personalities.

...

".. I'ma see if there's any s**t in that cabinet."

A jimmy here, a poke there, and lo and behold, the cabinet door came off - wait, that wasn't what he meant to do..

Whatever. Mission ******** accomplished. He pocketed the band-aids, because they were not about to win this on their winning personalities.

Jerry groaned, wobbling from the hit. While it had taken him off guard, and sent stars blinking in front of his face, it had knocked the panic attack out of him, at least. "Y-yes, ah... s-see if... if you c-can find ah..." He shook his head, rubbing his forehead weakly, "I can do this." He drew in a sharp breath, glancing to Harrison. I... I did the run. Completed it. The Shadow Run, I mean," He sounded a touch proud as he gave Harrison a pointed look. Granted, he had spent most of it singing maniacally and running and shooting for dear life but....

"Alright. Um." He straightened his glasses, trying to keep his cool. "Harry, Petra, you two cover and defend. Robert and I'll-" He paused, Robert had gone off to do his own thing.

Well.

No matter. Maybe he wouldn't get horribly maimed. That would be his problem. "Well, I'll just..." He hefted Roar, a distant, nervous expression on his face as he wobbled towards the classrooms. It was... familiar. Where was this place? How had it gotten so... so... over run by the shadow creatures? What had happened to the original faculty and... and students? He supposed those were questions to ask later when the (hopefully) reinforcements would show up.

Had Dr. H really been impressed by his actions against the Beast in the Gorge? Maybe. Or maybe he was being facetious.

Drawing in a sharp breath, he motioned with a trembling hand for the other two to follow, before charging into the front door. Right. Here the went...

The shadows surged around him, and Jerry's face contorted in hatred as he gave a sudden, wild cry as he stepped in through the front door, and Roar wailed, blasting them back before they could get their horrible, flickering black claws anywhere near him.

HP: 100%
Damage: 10 Shadowlings
Total Shadowlings taken down: 10
Charge: 1/3

Petra quirked an eyebrow at Jerry's comment of how Dr H had called him, her usual even tone taking on one of mild interest at the news. As far as she knew, their superiors never called them. In fact, she hadn't even been sure that the phones had had actual phone capabilities, the possibility that they were glorified pagers crossing her mind more than once in her time as a hunter trainee. Regardless, as if summoned by the former Zeta member's words, Dr H took that moment to stride through the doors like some sort of egotistical god, abruptly cutting off any chance of asking about the call at that point. It would have to wait until after the mission.

Although she quite clearly heard the good doctor's insult, far too close to not have been able to hear the cheerful voice, she didn't give any indication that he'd said anything at all about their qualifications, staring at him with neutral indifference. There was, however, the slightest frigid flicker in her eye when Dr H looked directly at Robert, but it was gone a moment later. As was he.

And then Robert was punching Jerry.

Reaching out to place a hand on 'Zeta Four's' shoulder, Petra gave him a slightly apologetic, slightly concerned look as he wobbled, not bothering to look back to where her fiance was promptly tearing the door off of a cabinet. Instead, she gave a nod in response to his command, already starting to follow close behind as Jerry lead them towards the classrooms. "Yes boss," she answered in a respectful tone, somehow putting all and yet no emphasis on the word 'boss.' If she had any concerns of Jerry being in charge, she was doing a remarkable job of hiding them -- alert but unconcerned, she had moved to play rear guard, allowing Harrison to take the point position, ensuring one moon hunter on either side of him. Reaching up to her neck, she deftly tugged off the chain holding the silver pentagram, watching the surrounding area as it melted like liquid silver into her mace, alert. But it seemed Jerry didn't need anyone to protect him -- the swarm of shadows writhed towards them, staring at them from the ceiling and the walls an the floor, and even before she could react Jerry had lifted his cannon of a bazooka, immediately leveling every single one of the creatures that had been crawling towards them, dead eyes seething.

Robert, however, apparently did.

Kicking off the grimy tile, Petra inhaled slowly as she ran backward to close the distance between herself and the life hunter, mace swinging back to trail behind her at her right side, gaining momentum. Leaning back at the last second, her feet skidding as the weight of her heavy mace lurched forward, the moon hunger swung at the shadow that seemed to laugh darkly at Robert, the silver mace barely clipping the shadow. It danced back, unharmed, but Robert too had been able to escape the attack, unscathed. Its eyes, instead, turned to the girl who had stolen its victim, sweeping forward to tear at her leg with all-too-tangible claws as it sunk into the floor, pinpricks of blood starting to well in four parallel lines as it skittered away.

"Again," she turned her eyes up to Robert, midnight blue shining with hate an exhilaration, her teeth bared a little as she spun back to stare down the direction she had come.

HP: 90%