Mission Eden

Max looks up at the looming building above him - Daemon Hunter Society Headquarters, a place he's worked at for years and is still afraid of. It's just so big. Seventeen above ground floors and thirty-three sublevel floors add up to a whopping fifty levels. He hadn't even been on half of them yet. The DHS was an organization that came about after demons started running rampant around the world roughly a decade ago, causing everything to go into chaos. Naturally, someone had to bring peace back to the world, and DHS did just that. They trained eager young people from all over the world how to fight the demons, and before long, demons were controllable. It was Max's job, along with his peers, to keep the waters calm. Without him, the streets would be red with blood as they often had been all those years ago. As he entered HQ, very few people said hello; they were to busy in their own conversations about missions and daily life that no one noticed the younger male. A few people, as he found out on the few occasions he joined such conversations, thought he was completely mute. And despite many successful missions and hundreds of killed demons at his hand, he remained invisible. He didn't mind it much; it meant more opportunities for people watching. He liked to see what people did, rather than listen to what they said. The two often contradicted each other. When he reached his desk on the fourth floor, after a very awkward elevator ride with a new recruit, he found a mission alert next to his jumbled mess of newspaper clippings, scribbled notes, and pictures of suspects. He was already in the middle of a mission, he couldn't imagine why he would get a new one. He was investigating a spree of demon killings and needed to get to the bottom of it before they wreaked more havoc. There was enough on his plate already. Regardless, Max knew that ignoring a mission was out of the question. He did what he was told... most of the time. MISSION EDEN Maxwell Harverte, you have been summoned for orientation and debriefing on a new mission, MISSION EDEN. The orientation will be in Room -237. Class SS Mission 9:30 A.M. At the bottom of the paper was the curlicue signature of Ms. Blaise, the current president of Daemon Hunter Society, and Max's boss. He glanced at the clock on his desk. It was 9:18. If he was fast, he could make it to the second sublevel in time for the meeting - but was it worth it? He could always skip the debriefing, however unwise that may be, and wander the halls instead. Someone from the mission could probably fill him in later. But would it be wise? He might miss something important, something worth listening to. Plus, he might meet someone. It was a gutsy move, one that might cost him later. Time was running out, he'd have to make a decision... || [[Go To Orientation]] [[Skip Orientation]]

Max decides it's best to go to orientation - after all, there could be some really important stuff covered there. He grabs a small notebook and rushes to the elevator, finding it empty and very gracious for it. He taps his foot anxiously as the elevator slowly creaks down to the sub-basement floors. With a deep breath, he opened the door and saw three others sitting in the room before him. One is Amelia, a young and spunky demon hunter who Max had worked with once before. She was on the heavier side but that only made her steady, and it never seemed to deter her. Her long brown braid bounced as she saw Max and waved enthusiastically at him, and he waved shyly in return. He was drawn naturally to her left eye, which had a white iris and pupil, and black sclera. It was odd, to say the least, but to Max, it was nothing more than a sign of previous demonic possession. Something you could see often at DHS. Similarly, near the back of the room, was another oddity that Max didn't find so odd. It was Parker, the cynical and sarcastic one-armed demon hunter. They saw Max but made no further movements. They had lost their right arm in a work-related accident that, unsurprisingly, they didn't talk about often. Someone else caught Max's eye though, and this was a woman on the far side of the room. She had black hair and a stern look about her. Max had never seen her before... Having stood in the doorway for too long, Max knew he would have to choose a seat soon. Now was the trouble of choosing someone to sit with... || [[Sit With Parker]] [[Sit With Amelia]] [[Sit With The New Hunter]]

Max decides that it's not worth it, and sits down at his desk instead of heading to the orientation. Later, he would ask someone else who was on the mission what the orientation was about. He had another mission to work on, and surely Mission Eden couldn't be extremely important. He was rustling through his paperwork when voices from the hallway drifted into the office. "General, I'm not so sure about this... what if another agent finds out...?" Max leans back in his chair, intrigued. That was a very suspicious sentence, considering they worked in a demon hunting society. He could follow these voices, figure out what they were up to... with a statement like that, it couldn't be good. It was kind of his job, right? On the other hand, it could get him in serious trouble. He could just go to the training level instead and work up his skills. He needed it. Besides, if they were members of the DHS, they couldn't be up to anything shady. DHS agents were highly monitored at all times. "Commander, are you telling me that this plan isn't foolproof? Surely you, more than others, must understand the importance of this task..." Max was practically falling out of his chair trying to listen. The duo was walking away... a moment's hesitation and he might miss it... || [[Follow Agents]] [[Go Train]]

Max shuffles to the back of the room, and purely on an unexplained whim, sits next to Parker. They had chin length golden hair and a slightly subdued, dreamy look in their brown eyes. Max knew that they were known for being practical - and sometimes being an asshole. Parker glares at him for a minute, and then stretches out their only hand. "Hello. Maxwell, correct?" they say in stiff politeness. Max smiles weakly and shakes their hand. "Yeah! I, uh, go by Max though." Parker lets go and nods their head slightly. Max can't tell if they're bored or just always like this. Instead of dwelling on it, he directs his attention to the front, where a commander was starting the debriefing. "Mission Eden is a Class SS mission, meaning that whatver is said between the four of you, or anything I say in this meeting, stays confidential." He said in a somewhat bored tone, It was standard protocol to start any SS meeting like this, but Max watched out of the corner of his eyes as Parker bristeled a little at these words. "It has come to the attention of DHS that a secret, human-led organization is setting demons on particular groups or people. You have been tasked with unmasking this organization and arresting as many members as possible. You have been allowed you to use capital punishment, considering all humans envolved are conspiring with demons and thus breaking the Daemonic Seperation Act." Ah, the Daemonic Seperation Act. Max remembered, quite vividly actually, the day it was passed. Before the act, lots of scientists tried to pacify or experiment on lesser class dmeons. But demons weren't really meant to be tame and it often ended up bloody. The Deamonic Seperation Act stated that demons and humans couldn't be near each other at all. There was very little pushback against this; nobody thought the experimentation was doing any good. Max watched as Amelia raised her hand from the front of the room. The commander glanced over at her and stopped talking. "Yes?" "Sir, what class demons are we talking about here? I mean, I've heard of the attacks, but I didn't think they were too serious! Are they highly intelligent, or are the humans in the organization doing all the work? I -" "Well that i your job now, isn't it." interrupted the commander, and Amelia screwed her mouth shut. "In any case, this mission is considered top proiorty, which is why we've placed senior hunters Parker, Max, and Amelia onto it. Junior hunter Sylvia will be joinging you, as she received top marks in the academy. That will be all." And with a quick fluid motion, the commander left the room and closed the door behind him. So Sylvia was her name. Max looked over the chairs and watched as she stood up, also scanning the room. For a strangely terryfing moment their eyes locked and just as soon as it happened, it was over. Max felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. With the oreintation over, he could do a few different things. He could go and train - no doubt it would be useful. He could try to find Parker and talk to them about the mission, considering they were the only one Max knew. Or he could go back to his desk and speculate about the mission on his own. || [[Go Train]] [[Find Parker]] [[Go Back To Desk]]

Max heads toward Amelia's chair since neither of the other choices seemed like good ones. As soon as he sits down, however, he believes he would have been better off just sitting on his own. Amelia immediately starts talking in a rushed, excited voice. "Hi, Max! Gods, it's been too long, huh? Are you excited for the mission? What'd ya think we'll be doing? I can't wait!" she cries, going on and on. Max smiles at her politely and tries to redirect himself and Amelia to the commander starting the orientation, but she trecks on with the one-sided conversation. Max tries and eventually manages to tune her out - but he missed the start of the lecture. Oh well. "...ret, human-led organization is setting demons on particular groups or people. You have been tasked with unmasking this organization and arresting as many members as possible. You have been allowed you to use capital punishment, considering all humans involved are conspiring with demons and thus breaking the Daemonic Separation Act." Ah, the Daemonic Separation Act. Max remembered, quite vividly actually, the day it was passed. Before the act, lots of scientists tried to pacify or experiment on lesser class demons. But demons weren't really meant to be tame and it often ended up bloody. The Daemonic Separation Act stated that demons and humans couldn't be near each other at all. There was very little pushback against this; nobody thought the experimentation was doing any good. Max watched as Amelia raised her hand from beside him. The commander glanced over at her and stopped talking. "Yes?" "Sir, what class demons are we talking about here? I mean, I've heard of the attacks, but I didn't think they were too serious! Are they highly intelligent, or are the humans in the organization doing all the work? I -" "Well that's your job now, isn't it." interrupted the commander, and Amelia screwed her mouth shut. "In any case, this mission is considered a top priority, which is why we've placed senior hunters Parker, Max, and Amelia onto it. Junior hunter Sylvia will be joining you, as she received top marks in the academy. That will be all." And with a quick fluid motion, the commander left the room and closed the door behind him. So Sylvia was her name. Max looked over the chairs and watched as she stood up, also scanning the room. For a strangely terrifying moment their eyes locked and just as soon as it happened, it was over. Max felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. With the orientation over, he could do a few different things. He could go and train - no doubt it would be useful. He could go to Amelia's desk with her, as she was asking incessantly. Or he could go back to his desk and speculate about the mission on his own. || [[Go Train]] [[Find Amelia]] [[Go Back To Desk]]

Max decides to at least try to be friendly and heads to the new hunter. She glances over at him, looking him up and down, before nodding slightly, as if approving of him. He smiles shyly. "Er, hi! I'm Max. Y-you're new, right?" he asks, tugging on the sleeves of his shirt. Why did he choose this option? What made him think this was a good idea? After a moment of extremely awkward silence, she responds. "Yes. I am Sylvia," she says, her cold blue eyes staring at Max. He shivers. Apparently that was the end of the conversation, however, as she turned away from him and the orientation began. "Mission Eden is a Class SS mission, meaning that whatever is said between the four of you, or anything I say in this meeting, stays confidential." He said in a somewhat bored tone, It was standard protocol to start any SS meeting like this. "It has come to the attention of DHS that a secret, human-led organization is setting demons on particular groups or people. You have been tasked with unmasking this organization and arresting as many members as possible. You have been allowed you to use capital punishment, considering all humans involved are conspiring with demons and thus breaking the Daemonic Separation Act." Ah, the Daemonic Separation Act. Max remembered, quite vividly actually, the day it was passed. Before the act, lots of scientists tried to pacify or experiment on lesser class demons. But demons weren't really meant to be tame and it often ended up bloody. The Daemonic Separation Act stated that demons and humans couldn't be near each other at all. There was very little pushback against this; nobody thought the experimentation was doing any good. Max watched as Amelia raised her hand from the other side of the room. The commander glanced over at her and stopped talking. "Yes?" "Sir, what class demons are we talking about here? I mean, I've heard of the attacks, but I didn't think they were too serious! Are they highly intelligent, or are the humans in the organization doing all the work? I -" "Well that's your job now, isn't it." interrupted the commander, and Amelia screwed her mouth shut. "In any case, this mission is considered a top priority, which is why we've placed senior hunters Parker, Max, and Amelia onto it. Junior hunter Sylvia will be joining you, as she received top marks in the academy. That will be all." And with a quick fluid motion, the commander left the room and closed the door behind him. With the orientation over, he could do a few different things. He could go and train - no doubt it would be useful. He could try to find Sylvia and talk to her about the mission, considering she was new after all. Or he could go back to his desk and speculate about the mission on his own. || [[Go Train]] [[Find Sylvia]] [[Go Back To Desk]]

Max slips out of his chair, and into the hallway, just as two figures round the corner ahead of him. He practically sprints forward and presses himself against the wall, hoping to hear more of the conversation. "Commander, as I tell you time and time again, there is nothing to be worried about. DHS is the safiest place you could be. He won't find you here." says a deep, raspy voice. Max could hear that his steps were heavier than the others. Max found this less intrgung then what he said ealier, as people often came to the DHS to seek protection, either from demons or people who illegally own one. Max relaxed a little, maybe this wasn't as sinister as he thought. "But, sir, after we covered up those two attacks - people will start to notice-!" "Hush, Commander!" interrupted the other voice, startling Max. "How often have I told you not to mention such things here! You'll get us both caught, and then how will we proceed?" his voice was violent and a bit depserate, and max could tell he was worried about the very thing that Max was doing. He was afraid of being spied on.

Max picks himself up out of his seat and strides out the door, towards the training level. It was on the third floor, so it wasn't a very long way from here. To his surprise, Sylvia was waiting for the elevator as well. "Uh, hi," he muttered, and Sylvia slid her eyes over to him. "Hello," she responds. Max looks down at his hands and the two wait in silence as the elevator beeps, alerting them each time it got closer to their floor. It was agonizing. Moments like these were moments Max hated the most. All of his knowledge, and he somehow was terrible at talking to people. It drove him up the wall. After what felt like years the elevator arrived, both hunters stepping inside. "W-what floor?" Max asked, his fingers hovering over the buttons. Sylvia paused for a moment. "Actually, I don't know. What floor is the training floor again?" she asked in her monotonous voice. Max felt something inside him flutter. He would be training with Sylvia, or they would be training on the same floor, in that giant room, alone. The thought of it was suffocating. "Uh, actually, I'm going to train too. It's the third floor," he responded quietly, pressing the button and waiting in silence once again. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to gather the right words to ask Sylvia to train with him. He didn't want to sound vain, or pitiful, or frightened, or- "Would you like to train with me, then?" said the junior(although she was much too old to have just left the academy), lessening Max's anxiety by asking the question before he had too. he beamed up at her. "I would enjoy that!" He tried to sound nice, he wasn't sure if it worked. Any emotions that Sylvia felt, if she felt any, slipped right off of her face as soon as she experienced them. She was a blank slate. They arrived on the training floor shortly after, and the elevator doors opened up into a wide open space. Various equipment and simulation stations were laid around. In the center was a giant padded floor for sparring. The simulators were for training alone mostly, although there were a few pair and group settings. Sylvia glided over to the corner and picked up two butterfly blades, weighing them in her hands before gripping the handle properly and slashing at thin air. Max watched in silence, slightly mesmerized, as she continued to get used to the blade. He was snapped out of this distraction as she looked sharply at him. "Are we training together or not?" she asked. Max's face went hot and he nodded, quickly grabbing his own weapon of choice, a whip that he had become quite fond of. It was quiet, it was simple, and it usually caused very little mess.

Max gets up and follows Parker out into the hall, nearly missing the elevatore they were going into. He stuck his foot between the doors before they closed and Parker stared at him, slightly suprised. Max smiled nervously. "Sorry, I uh.. thought we could hang out?" he mumbled, standing next to Parker. It was at this point that Max realized just how tall they were - they were a full foot taller than Max at least. He shuffled around and Parker moved to press the buttons. "What floor?" they asked. "Erm, well, where are you going?" he asked and Parker paused, their eyes locked onto Max's. Their brown eyes were ringed with gold, nearly the same color as their hair. "You... want to know where I'm going?" they asked, a trace of intrigue in their voice. Max couldn't help but feel extremely uncomfortable - Parker was a bit creepy, even creepier than Sylvia. Where were they going that caused such a reaction? "Yeah! I thought we could, oh I dunno, talk about the Mission? Maybe?" he suggests, and Parker's arm goes into motion again. They tap the button for the third floor and the elevator doors close. "Sure." they respond, stepping away from the panel of buttons. Max lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Why was that so stressful? They didn't talk on the ride up to what Max assumed to be Parker's office, so Max had some time to think about the mission. He only knew of two demon attacks related to Mission Eden. There was a subway station attack a few days ago that had been all over the news and just as quickly covered up, and then there was an attack on a senator fighting for demon reform that had been a little more difficult to dismiss, he was sure. What was interesting was that the DHS weren't the ones to cover up these attacks. That stuck out to him, along with the fact that these attacks had been in broad daylight and demons hated the sun. What could all these clues mean? The elevator doors opened and without a word, Parker strode forward. With considerably less grace Max followed, wringing his hands and staring at the floor. Parker, like all senior hunters, had an office of their own. They closed the door behind themself and max and gestured for max to sit in a nearby chair, while they sat behind their computer. "Any ideas?" They asked, tilting their head to the side to look at Max. They'd probably get annoyed if he overwhlemed them with information - it'd probably be best to only mention one thing... || [[Mention Attack Cover-Ups]] [[Mention Strange Demonic Behavior]]

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