The Walls // Paladin HQ (F2)

The second floor, unlike the first floor which looks dim and grey, the halls of the second floor are lit up with bright blue neon lights. The labs for Paladin are located here, including the use of live specimen for experiments. This is also the floor you're brought into when you are interviewed by Dr Innsmouth. The guards on this floor are outfitted with power suits not unlike those used by Emilia.

Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
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"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
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Masaru had brought Mariko over to The Walls--the medics had managed to stabilize her back in Highend, so she was doing alright for the moment. The fifth floor, in all honesty, had just felt too crowded for him--so he'd steered the small group of Family members to the second floor. While it was...really quite creepy...it was at least quieter. Upstairs had had all manner of racket going on...which he really didn't want himself, or Mariko, to have to deal with. Or maybe it was the fact that he didn't really want to have to deal with anyone but Mariko at the moment...but, he knew that he was going to have to suck it up. They were practically under new management now--and no matter who they were going to be taking orders from for now, be it Eve, or anyone else, he decided that he would simply go along with it...and just do what he could to appease the higher-ups and survive the ordeal. Over the past few weeks, things had gone to hell real fast--and it was obvious that there was only more hell on the way.

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Masaru’s Theme

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Kayden Levard
Mr. Nightshade
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“This might be a solo act now...but it's still just as deadly.”
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Kayden had followed Masaru to the second floor of the Walls, and, with the help of a few of the medics, had brought Jayden and Sophia along. Jayden hadn't shown any signs of waking up...was he alright? Kayden was beginning to worry that maybe he was in a coma or something...
He still felt pretty wound up, and kept glancing around as they entered into the area. This place was too new and uncertain...it wasn't doing anything for his quickly fraying nerves...

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Kayden's Theme – Tank!

ＥＶＥ ＦＡＬＣＯＮＥ
Ｔｈｅ    Ｄｏｎ / Ｔｈｅ    Ｋｉｎｇｐｉｎ

i look at you, to look at me
well, you`re the best i`ve ever seen
And i`m your lying beauty queen

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Eve showed up shortly after - inspecting the area around her with slight fascination. She`d been in the walls one or two times before... but this area was a bit new. She figured she should probably contact Kraven or the Mistress to inform them of the Family`s arrival... but, quite frankly, she didn`t have the patience to deal with either of the two. Or anyone, for that matter. So, for now, she just sat around - silently planning out the events to come...  

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♥ The Kingpin`s theme - Lust Sin ♥

Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
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"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
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Masaru glanced over, frowning slightly as he saw a group of doctors wheel Paul in on a medical bed. So--they literally had four people stuck in bed? And meanwhile, Kayden only seemed to be freaking out even more than before...there were few enough members left of the Family to begin with...they really didn't need this right now...they could be attacked at any time, after all...Masaru sighed, glancing over at Mariko. He was really worried about her...and what would they do if they were attacked? He was pretty sure that at this point, Kayden was virtually as worseless as the injured--and he couldn't let Eve do the fighting. That would just be unprofessional. So...he was on his own, then.
Great.

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Masaru’s Theme

Kayden Levard
Mr. Nightshade
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“This might be a solo act now...but it's still just as deadly.”
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"Wh--Boris?!" Kayden exclaimed as he saw Boris arrive with the Vultures. Somehow, in all of the chaos and kiiind of having been going crazy--Kayden had sort of forgotten that the guy had sort of betrayed them. Whoops. But yeah, it seemed that enemies were showing up, now...Kayden sort of inched away from his injured comrades, knowing that he would have to fight--but before he made it over there, somebody else took center stage.

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Kayden's Theme – Tank!

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Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
-------------------------------------
"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
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Masaru stepped forward to face off against the Vultures, keeping his distance for the moment. He was flanked by two of the very sparse amount of survivors among The Family. The two flanking him were, of course, quite tough and scary-looking--so Masaru looked almost comical when compared to them, due to his own appearance.
"So, I see that you've made it this far! Unfortunately, we of The Family are going to make sure that you don't get any further!" He had his arms crossed, and his mouth was set into a determined frown. Although it was kind of hard to tell because he just looked kind of ridiculous--he really meant business.

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Masaru’s Theme

Chelsea Mercy
The Comeback Kid
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"Just you wait! I'll show you that I can protect the people that I care about!"
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Chelsea arrived on the second floor along with Boris, and felt him take her hand. She glanced around, and remembered that these were Boris' old allies. This was probably pretty awkward for him...she really hoped that he wouldn't have to kill anyone that used to be his friend...

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Chelsea's Theme - Save You From Anything

Kayden Levard
Mr. Nightshade
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“This might be a solo act now...but it's still just as deadly.”
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Kayden caught the PSP that Boris threw to him, nearly fumbling it, then just kind of staring at him. Really confused. Really, really confused.
"I--wha--?"

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Kayden's Theme – Tank!

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Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
-------------------------------------
"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
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"....Wh--" Masaru turned, looking behind himself only to see that the two guards were dead, on the ground, with holes in their heads. "...REALLY?!" He gave a heavy sigh, turning around to face Bunny, pulling out two guns of his own. "And did you say squeaking? You want to try saying that again?" Masaru glanced over at Kayden, only to see the guy just kind of standing there holding a PSP for some reason... "KAYDEN! Quit staring off into space and get over here!" The shout promptly made the greenette fumble the PSP onto Jayden's bed, then quickly run over to where Masaru was, taking up position next to him and taking out a gun.

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Masaru’s Theme

Ｊ ｏｓｅｐｈｉｎｅ Ｂｅａｕｍｏｎｔ
❣ ＴＨＥ ＢＯＳＳ ❣ 

words that kill
would you speak them to me?
let the world fear us all, it`s just means to an end 
[ ☆ ★ ☆ ]

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The sight of the bright neon lights distracted her moderately - her mind racing to figure out what exactly this floor was for, when it clicked. Lab stuff, right? Eugh. She hated it up here. It was vaguely familiar for another reason, too, but she couldn`t put a finger on it...
She paused at the sight of the Family members gathered - immediately beginning to search for some sign of their new Kingpin, only to realize she wasn`t around at all. Huh. She just sort of stared as Bunny made quick work of two guards assisting one of the assassins, only finding herself slightly bemused by the display. Jo begun to eye the stairway, just as Masaru spoke up again - beginning to etch her way toward it, she dashed off as soon as Bunny opened fire. This place couldn`t have that many floors... she was so sure Ryder was within arm`s reach. And no one was gonna get in her way of taking him back.

(EXIT)  


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♚ Jo`s Theme - A Stranger I Remain ♚

Kayden Levard
Mr. Nightshade
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“This might be a solo act now...but it's still just as deadly.”
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"Best...frie--?"
Kayden didn't have time to respond before he had to quickly dodge into an alcove at the wall, pressing himself up against the wall to avoid Bunny's bullets. This was going to be a tough fight--he could tell. He grimaced slightly, then pulled his brother's fedora further down onto his head, securing it--before beginning to return fire at Bunny, only poking himself out every once in a while to fire at her, making sure to fire in between when she had to reload.

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Kayden's Theme – Tank!

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Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
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"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
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Masaru had gone to an alcove at the opposite wall than the one that Kayden was hiding in--but he wasn't firing, unlike the greenette. Masaru was biding his time--hoping that Kayden would catch Bunny's attention enough to the point where he could close in and attack from close range. He was fairly certain that attacking close-range would be much easier than being stuck in an extended gun-fight.

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Masaru’s Theme

Kayden Levard
Mr. Nightshade
-------------------------------------
“This might be a solo act now...but it's still just as deadly.”
-------------------------------------

Kayden saw Bunny throw an object through the air--and quickly identified it as a grenade. Moving quickly, he darted out from that alcove, narrowly avoiding the explosion, and being thrown into the center of the hall. He quickly pulled out another gun and started firing on Bunny's position, trying to buy himself some time to find some more cover as he started moving towards a different alcove. That explosion had his ears ringing, as did all of the gunfire--but he wasn't about to let it stop him. He'd survived this long--and he wasn't going to let himself die as long as Jayden and Sophia were still alive--no matter how futile he thought that everything was at this point.

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Kayden's Theme – Tank!

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Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
-------------------------------------
"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
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"Shor--? YOU--YOU--I--HEY GUESS WHAT? SHUT UP."
Masaru opened fire at Bunny's position at around the same time that Kayden did, hoping to at least keep her from attacking them. The longer that they could stall her, the better...

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Masaru’s Theme

Kayden Levard
Mr. Nightshade
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“This might be a solo act now...but it's still just as deadly.”
-------------------------------------

Kayden ducked back behind the cover as Bunny began to shell off more shots at them, his breathing quickening as he began to descend into panic. He had to try to get through this. What would Jayden do--? No! He couldn't think about that right now! He'd only panic more--!
He could feel his heart palpitating, and he clutched at his chest with his hand, staying behind cover for the moment as he tried to recover his concentration. He wasn't attacking for now--but it seemed that Masaru had other ideas.

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Kayden's Theme – Tank!

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Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
-------------------------------------
"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
-------------------------------------

Masaru's eyes narrowed as he saw Bunny close the distance. Good--he'd been trying to think of how to get close to her, anyway. He dropped one of his now empty guns down in the corner, using the now free hand to pull his katana out of its sheathe at his belt--before running out from behind the cover. He distinctively felt the shotgun blast tear through the side of his arm, and gritted his teeth against the injury that was now leaking blood down to his hand--but he kept coming towards Bunny, fast--faster than expected, most likely due to the wheels on the bottoms of the heels of his shoes. He charged her, quickly closing up the rest of the distance and slashing at her with the blade.
"Fine! If I get a nickname, so do you--COW!"

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Masaru’s Theme

Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
-------------------------------------
"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
-------------------------------------

"Are you sure that you aren't a cow?" Masaru asked as they clashed, taking note of the presence of cybernetics in Bunny's arm. "Because you sure look like one! You've certainly got the--...the..." Masaru's face went beet red and he trailed off as he realized what he'd been about to say. Wow. That would have been really dumb and unprofessional and stuff. Whoops. "N-Nevermind--!" Masaru called, then felt the butt of the rifle push him away. He used the momentum to get rolling on his wheels on his shoes, which in turn carried him out of the way of the rifle shot--though it did puncture a nice hole in the tails of his jacket. In all honesty, his arm was really hurting right about now, so he'd rather not get hit with another one of those... "You want me to try something else? Alright then..." Masaru stopped for a moment, then closed both his eyes for a split second--before opening the right eye alone and firing out of it a thin, concentrated red laser--aiming for Bunny's eyes, and hoping to blind her, even if only temporarily.

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Masaru’s Theme

Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
-------------------------------------
"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
-------------------------------------

"You have cybernetics of your own and you think that it's laser vision?" Masaru called to Bunny as he sped around the room much like he was roller skating--his weight pressed down on the wheel on one foot, propelling himself around with the other. He felt the bullets raining down around him, many of them grazing his limbs, and one of them even managing to make its way into his shoulder, right near where the shotgun had shot him before. "D-Dammit! Just die already--!" He lifted his hand that held the gun, firing it at Bunny while at the same time firing at her with the laser from his cybernetic eye again. However, since he had one eye closed while doing this, his aim with the gun was impaired. The laser, on the other hand, was homing in on her neck--he figured that maybe if she tried to duck, it'd hit her face anyway.

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Masaru’s Theme

Masaru Hattori
Mr. Lotus
-------------------------------------
"Hey! Don’t you dare underestimate me! I’ll prove to you that looks can be god damned deceiving!”
-------------------------------------

With no time to really react, Bunny's knife hit its mark on at least the ankle he'd been using to zip around the room--forcing the assassin down onto one knee.
"Urgh--! You...!" he growled, forcing himself to his feet, his slashed leg shaking under the weight that it was now bearing. His body was small enough that it wasn't too good at taking prolonged abuse...
He resisted the urge to glance back at Mariko to check on her--he didn't want to alert Bunny of the positions of their injured comrades. Speaking of comrades, where the hell was Kayden?! The guy had disappeared from where he'd been before...simply vanished...maybe he was setting up an attack somewhere...at least, that's what Masaru hoped the guy was doing...Masaru honed his focus in on Bunny again, gritting his teeth. "You're...You're looking down on me, aren't you...? On all of us...well...I'll show you...that The Family isn't to be trifled with...!" And then, out came the laser--but this time, it was thicker, more powerful--he was amping more energy into it, and in the process, successfully actually burning his own skin around the eye. He fired off several short bursts at Bunny, the momentum behind the final blast forcing him back down onto one knee. The skin around his eye was roasting pretty badly--bright red, even steaming a bit.

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Masaru’s Theme