Roleplex IC: Your Average Street Fight

Roleplex

Darkel Shade overlooked the vast world of Roleplex. A huge city that stretched over the horizon and consumed every piece of land. The tall creature stood on a balcony. His long black cloak slicked to the ground and his hood put down. His snowy head looked around and gazed at the world. He tapped his claws on the rail of the balcony out of boredom and simply watched as floating cars would drive by. A few were on the ground in the roads below. Darkel sighed.

Suddenly a tall creature stepped out from behind him. "President Shade" said a metallic voice. Darkel turned around and looked at the creature. It was a strange being. Tall, but not as tall as him. It had grayish skin and wore a slick black combat suit and a helmet that covered much of its face. Darkel could see its piercing yellow eyes behind the mask. It was one of his secret service officers.

"Yes?" asked Darkel. His voice was like silk. It was smooth and handsome. It sounded as soft as the wind and charming as a breeze blowing in moonlit grass.

"The media is awaiting you" it said. The president sighed. He turned around and followed the officer down a long chain of dim and dark hallways. Soon they had come out and Dark stood in front of a huge crowd shoving microphones in his face. Several of the other officers pushed them back. Camera flares were shooting across Dark's skin.

"Darkel, is it true that there is a large quarrel going on within Roleplex?" they kept shouting. Darkel gave out a loud shout that echoed down the street and silenced everyone.

"There is no battle going on. There is no need to worry. Everyone go home immediately. We need less of these foolish rumors. I'm sure you all have work to be getting to anyways. Have a nice day." With that the guards began to push the media away. They all shot away and were gone. Dark then drooped. His face looked exhausted. An officer walked up next to him. "Call for me some relaxation treatment."

"Yes, sir" said the officer as it began to walk away. Dark then began to head back to the large building.

"OPEN FIRE!" The battlefield erupted with the thunderous roar of a hundred rifles all firing at once. There were loud cries as battlefield officers yelled out commands and screams of pain as the bullets met their targets and snuffed the life out of them like the gale force winds of a hurricane. The neighing of horses could be heard as the wide left flank cavalry charged, and the roar of twenty-three guns as they fired. The enemy lines broke, and retreat was sounded as the cavalry overtook the line's flank. The Outlaws were driven back, their black capes flapping in the wind and their silver chain mail, littered with rust, clanked loudly as they ran. Three of the retreating soldiers fell to the ground, their steel armor no match for the cavalry's bullets. Only two of the thirty outlaws in the line made it to their trenches before the cavalry gunned them down. Three outlaws rose from the trench, guns raised, and were shot down by another unit of cavalry approaching from the right flank. The outlaws soon found themselves, all 300 in number, boxed in on three sides by charging cavalry. Bullets soared through the air like raindrops, and soon the outlaws were forced to withdraw to their three lines of trenches. They gathered their ranks, all 230 of them, and charged the front line, wielding their bayonets like spears. At the head of the cavalry front lines, his golden armor glistening in the light of the sun, was Maxx himself, sword held high over his head. The sword had a soft white glow to it and crackled with electricity, and his horse, larger than the others, neighed loudly and reared up as he rose his blade high. The outlaws charged in a last-ditch effort to break the cavalry lines, but in the three hundred yards between the cavalry front lines and the Outlaw soldiers was a bloodbath. From all three sides the cavalry fired until just under twenty of the three hundred outlaws arrived at the line. Maxx dismounted and, his sword brandished, charged.

He brought his blade down on the throat of the first outlaw he met. The man's head was rent from his body with ease and fell to the ground, gushing blood. Maxx spun on his heel gracefully to parry a bayonet stab from behind him and kicked the outlaw attacker in the chest, knocking him down. The outlaws dropped their guns and drew their rusted iron scimitars. Three more hussars dismounted their horses and drew their blades, joining Maxx in the center of a ring of Outlaws. They were surrounded on all sides and were outnumbered five to one, but all four of them smiled, murder in their clenched fangs. The Outlaws charged them, and the bloodbath began. Maxx swung his glowing greatsword over his head and cleaved an Outlaw clean in two. Another Hussar shoulder rolled behind a charging Outlaw and stabbed him through the stomach. The outlaw cried out in pain and collapsed, a crimson fountain pouring from the wound in his gut. One by one the outlaws fell, until the last six ran for their lives. The cavalry, knowing no mercy, opened fire, and the last six outlaws died. Maxx impaled a dying Outlaw with his sword and pushed him to the ground. Maxx looked around to see if any more outlaws remained, and then rose his sword high and shouted "ROLEPLEX!"

"ROLEPLEX!" The cavalry bellowed in response, raising their gleaming wooden rifles, stained with the crimson sweat of war, over their heads. Maxx smiled under his steel face guard, and walked back to his horse.

"Oi!" he called out "That wasn't even a challenge!" The Hussar cavalry around him roared with laughter as they began to ride back towards the beautiful grey stone palace known as Toronia. They rode for three miles until they reached the stone barbican at the wall of the castle. The wrought-iron gate raised, allowing them passage into the castle courtyard. The ranks were abustle with chatter and laughter and plans to head to the tavern and grab a few nice warm ales to celebrate the victory. Maxx rode up to the castle's heavy wooden doors. He dismounted and sheathed his sword on his back. Maxx's stable boy, a young lad by the name of Aaron, took the armored warhorse back to the stables. Maxx nodded his head in thanks to the boy, and tossed him a silver coin. Another of Maxx's soldiers, helmet under his left arm, approached Maxx and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ah, Marshall! Just the person I wanted to see!" Maxx responded happily "What's the casualty report?"

"We have two men injured and six dead horses." Marshall replied in a Southern accent "No fatalities."

"Excellent. And the enemy?"

"Seven hundred dead, sir. No survivors."

"A great day out on the field then!" A gurney carried by two nurses rushed past Maxx and Marshall and through the now-opened doors into the castle. On the gurney was a Hussar, his decorative wings missing and three bullet holes in his armor. He was badly injured, but with the medical technology roleplex had, he would most definitely survive. The second hussar was not far behind. His leg was bent at an unnatural angle, and a massive bloody gash streaked down the right side of his face. His eye was swollen shut and his right cheek was caked with dried blood. Maxx tapped him on the shoulder affectionately and whispered "good work,soldier."

"There is one problem, sir." Marshall said "The hordes are growing. Last week's was only five hundred strong. This week there were seven hundred. They're multiplying. If they had attacked with more like a thousand men, then we would have a lot more wounded and at least several fatalities. That sword fight you had was noble and certainly will win encourage the men, but it is dangerous. Without you, commander, the outlaws would take the city with ease and would mass by the millions."

"What are you saying, Marshall?" Maxx replied, taking off his helmet.

"I am saying, sir, that I think that you need to be more careful." Marshall responded. Maxx sighed and put his hands on his hips as a steady flow of dismounted hussars began to enter the castle via the heavy wooden doors.

"This wouldn't be a problem if President Shade let us draft." Maxx replied, sighing heavily "We can't keep a war of this magnitude disguised from the people forever. They're not as stupid and foolhardy as he believes."

"Well then, sir, maybe you should tell him that. Have a messenger ride into the city and ask Darkel to meet with you."

"An excellent idea, Marshall!" Maxx exclaimed, clapping a heavy hand on Marshall's shoulder "You there! Richard!" A hussar still on his horse rode over at the sound of his commanding officer's voice.

"Yes, siah." Richard replied, saluting Romanesquely.

"I want you to ride into town and speak with President Shade. Tell him that Maxx would like to meet with him at Toronia!"

"As you wish, sir! I shall do this immediately!" Richard saluted once more and rode off towards the city. About a half an hour later, Richard rode through a swarm of paparazzi. They attacked him with cameras and began to shout questions about the war. Richard used the normal coverup for the Hussars by saying that he was a promotional stunt for the Museum of Human History and hustled off into the building.

"Hail!" Richard cried, removing his helmet "I am here to speak to President Shade immediately. I bring word from Baron Maxx of Toronia!"

"He just went inside, follow me" said one of the guards covered in black metal. He directed Richard up many elevators. The hallways of the large Capital Building were dark and gloomy. Extremely poorly lit and the walls were stained with a strange black oil-like substance. The vents breathed stains down and the lights would occasionally flicker. It seemed deserted. A few ceiling plates were loose here and there and let wires hang down that at times lit up with light. There was always a cold chill in the corridors and the building wreaked of grease and oil substances. In some halls it almost smelled like something had died.

The floors were in some places cracked and withered. There were holes in some of the walls and festering critters could be heard crawling through the walls.

Finally they came into a large room which was kept in better condition. It was circular and had windows all along a wall. The center of the room had a large black hand painted on the floor. Darkel's emblem.

He turned around to face the newcomers. He'd been staring out the window at the city below. He took his hood down.

"Sir, this is--" the guard began.

"A Hussar" Shade said observing the Hussar look to the being. "To what do I owe the honor?" he said licking his lips with his long bluish black tongue. He interlaced his fingers which looked like gigantic white knives. There was a loud noise in the room that sounded like plumbing gone wrong. Darkel took a second' glance to look up at the ceiling angrily and then back at the two other beings in the room.

Celo saw the strange soldier-looking guy walk into the building and was instantly curious. She wasn't sure, for one, why he came on a horse- wouldn't a car be easier? Either way, she was certainly intent on following him. She could walk around easily in the building the soldier walked into- she worked there, after all. President Darkel ha hired her for decorating the building- a job most sixteen year-olds are never offered, so when Celo was offered the job she accepted it on the spot.

As the soldier walked inside, Celo followed him, pretending to just "happen" to be going the same way. Her light brown, curly hair was swept over her right shoulde and a bright pink flower clip was on the upper left. She wore girly attire for the day- a frilly, sleeveless white dress shirt and a pair of light blue jeans, free of any nicks or tears, and a pair of light purple flats. One wrist had a large arrangement of metal, blue and silver bangles and the other had a few hair bows for "just-in-case" hair disasters. Celo wore a gold necklace that she always wore- it had two chains protruding from the end, both with a different charm- one a flower and one a small mushroom. She seemed, from first glance, like a 14 year-old though that was two-years-too-far from the truth. In her hands she held tightly onto a sketchbook and a few pencils- she was planning on sketching out ideas before doing any big project.

Celo tried to ignore the stench of the hallways as she continued walking, looking around with something of an overwhelmed look on her face. So much work to do before this building it back to looking like it's one meant for the best of the best. For starters, they would need some febreeze. Celo wrinkled her nose, trying not to look impolite a she cupped a hand over her nose and mouth, as if it would stop the revolting smell of death from reaching her any more than they already were. After walking down a few more hallways, the smell softened and she uncupped her hand. As she walked, there were hardly andy other employees, So the place seemed almost deserted aside from a handful of people here and there. The place creeped her out a bit, though it didn't show on her face- always lit with a smile in attempt to brighten the mood.

Celo stopped every now an then to examin a wall, thinking things like, "oh, this will be so pretty with..." And, "Oh a little bit of such-and-such would brighten the environment around here so much." Finally she made it to where the soldiehad gone- President Shade's office.  

Slowly stepping forward, careful as not to be heard, Celo leaned close to the door, trying to catch bits pieces of the conversation, all the while with one hand tightly holdin onto her sketchbook and pencils. She heard Shade say something about a Hussar? So that's who that soldier was... What a Hussar? Celo's mind wondered off a the thought. It was then that a sound of messed-up plumbing was heard and Celo, susdenly surprise sand knocked out of her train of thought- jumped back, almost making a noise in the process. Oh, frog, that was close. Celo bit her lip and slowly leaned back towards the door, trying to hear the conversation some more.

((Before anyone asks, I got permission for Celo to do this XD))

In the hallway Celo was standing in, a piece of the wall broke apart and crumbled. From the newly formed hole, something very strange emerged. It was a strange rat-like creature with only one, giant, red robotic eye in the center of its forehead. It was covered in some black fluid that dripped down the wall from the hole. It was eerily silent as it scanned Celo and then crawled back into the hole. There was thumping from behind the drywall and the sound of scratching.

Suddenly the lights in the corridor went out. There was a long moment in silence before they slowly faded back on. Somebody was walking around in the dim hallways very slowly. They seemed to be coming towards Celo. Their silhouette was visible in the dim light. But then the lights flickered again and it was gone.

Another loud plumbing bang. This one louder and shaking the building.

Celo jumped away from the door again when the strange creature emerged. As it studied her she studied it curiously. Aw, it's so cute! In a creepy sort of way.... when the rat-like thing left, Celo wasn't really sure what to think- should she be afraid or disappointed. Sure, rats carry diseases and stuff, and sure, she had no idea what was on that thing... But it was kind of cute.

Then the lights went out. She saw the silhouette walking around. Scared. She should be scared. As the lights flickered, the silhouette disappeared. This wasn't good- not good at all. Celo quickly opened her sketchbook and drew a flashlight. It slowly materialized on top of the paper, a sleek metallic color. She flicked the switch on it and shined it around the dim room, breathing hard as she tried to calm herself. Okay, stop. You're hyperventilating. Usually when this happens on a horror movie, you're laughing your butt off. Now calm down. Celo sighed, taking a step back to examine the hallway. It was all good. She had just been playing too many horror games. Celo took another step back before slowly turning around to face the door to eavesdrop some more.

As clutsy fate would have it, Celo tripped as she turned around. She yelped with surprise as the door swung open and she fell to the ground at the entrance of the door. She looked up at Darkel, the guard, and the "Hussar," eyes wide open in surprise. "Uh...." Celo quickly scrambled to her feet, switching her flashlight between her hands. She gave them all a friendly smile.

"Uh... Hey. Sorry for dropping in- I'm such a clutz." Celo laughed, keeping her smile pasted on her nervous face. "Well, anyways...."C'mon, Cel, you've gotta get out of here! "...How are you gentlemen today?" Really? You think that will get you out of here?

Darkel stopped speaking as he looked at the newly arrived Celo. He raised a "brow" though he had no hair on them. He stepped around for a moment.

"Well, hello there" he spoke. Suddenly a hole formed in the floor. The ratty creature jumped out and slithered onto Dark's shoulder and squealed something to him. "You're late!" he snapped at the creature. "Had she been an assassin, she would have killed me before you arrived to tell me of her position!" he rasped at the thing. He grabbed it off of his shoulder and violently through it at the window. A loud crash was heard as a hole broke in the glass and the creature was flung outside.

"Get someone to clean up the window and the floor" Darkel whispered to the guard. He looked at Celo. "You're the new artist, I presume. Please, have a seat in that room over there for a moment" he said pointing at a door to his left. The door was made completely of black metal and looked ominous. There was a strange aura around it like one would see rising above heated metal. Though the material was not heated at all. In fact, the door was very cold. There was some form of whispering going on on the other side.

Celo let out a small squealed as the rat-like creature appeared in the room. I was more of a squeal of excitement, however. "Oh- that cute little thing is yours!" She remarked, a large grin on her face. Then the rat-thing wa atheism out the window, an Celo just watched in shock. She slowly turned to face Darkel again, expression dumbfounded."Well, anyways, it's nice to finally meet you." Then Darkel directed her to the room.

Celo hesitantly looked at the door. Wasn't it hot? No... She hesitantly stepped towards the door, keeping a tight hold on the sketchbook and pencils in one hand, and the flashlight in the other. She could hear voices on the other side... Was she going nuts?

Hesitantly turning to look back at Darkel, Celo smiled politely, "Is there, ah... Anyone else in there?"

Darkel rolled his eyes. He stepped up to the door and opened it. "This building is filled with illusions to stop assassins, as they're very common these days." Light suddenly appeared in the dark room ahead and filled it. There was nobody in the room although there were holes in the walls and a massive one in the roof jus overhead. An eerie echo of wind fluttered in it, just overhead and its whistle was loud. There were many ragged chairs in the room.

"I will be right with you" he said. He neglected to mention the strange banging and thumping that was going on in the walls as he shut the door behind him, leaving Celo in alone. But she wasn't truly alone. The light in the room went out for a moment. It reappeared as something was crouched in one of the chairs.

It was a hunchbacked person with long black hair that slung down in front of their face. The hair was matted, dark, and greasy. It looked to house a hundred horrors. A few dead mice were tangled in its long strands. It looked up at Celo. It had gray skin. Its enormous circle eyes were black but with tiny little white dots as pupils in the center. Its skin was festering with the strange black grease. It opened its mouth, letting a strange wail emerge. It had long broken fangs on the inside of its maw. Its long claws were yellow and stained with puss. "WHO ARE YOU?" it seemed to shriek.

Celo walked into the room, looking around nervously. Well, that was a good first impression for her boss. Questioning his orders. Such a good worker. She slowly looked around, jumping when the man... Creature... Thing suddenly appeared. She was beginning to feel confused- at least more than normal.

Was this person an illusion? How could she tell? Couldn't they make it to where those who aren't assassins don't see these creepy illusions? Celo was unsure. She examined the person in front of her. He looked... Gross. Maybe hurt. She hesitantly remained standing at the door, afraid of some attack. The person was asking who she was.

Celo took a moment to answer. "Uh... Celo?" The answer came out as a question. "Um... Are you okay?"

The creature did not respond at first. It jumped onto another chair. "I can smell your blood. Try anything against my master and it will be MINE!" it jumped up into the hole at the top of the room and for a moment hung by its arms on the rim, staring at her. As it hung there about three pounds of black liquids fell onto the flood and a few globs of... strange matted material, probably the mutated remains of some animal, fell with it. It simply glared at her. Its voice was craggy and raspy. It almost seemed warped. It was obvious now that this one was not an illusion. Instead, it was some sort of guard.

Someone stepped into the room from the door, meeting Celo there. It was one of the guards that Dark allowed the public to see. The clean ones. The ones dressed in armor. The healthy ones. But this one didn't wear armor. It wore a suit but had a scarf wrapped around its head from the nose down to keep its face from being seen.

"Hello there" it said. It gestured for her to sit down as it itself gently sat in one of the seats and looked at her. It appeared to be male. "You are lucky you came in with the Hussar. Had you come up here by yourself and the guard creatures would have slaughtered you. Like this one. Skulvia, go back to your nest."

"Gras-kel-ven-dar!" the creature shrieked as it crawled up into the hole. The man then looked back at Celo.

"So, until the president is ready to receive you, I will speak to you about your job. It will also help keep the creatures away. My presence here, that is."

Celo had a wince on her face. Blood. It wanted... Her blood. Note to self: never betray President Shade. She pressed her back against the door as the creature... Human... Thing hung frog the ceiling and stared at her. She couldn't think of anything to say- just stand there and stare, fear beginning to grip at her stomach. Was it an illusion? Celo felt a scream caught in her throat. No- don't scream here. It's just an illusion. Besides, you're good at following orders, right? Not gonna go against President Darkel. What if she accidentally did, though?

It was then the door behind her swung open. The scream Celo was holding in came out as she jumped away from the ddoor, startled. "I'm sorry," she quickly said, feeling her face heat up from embarrassment of the scream. She examined the person who was now in the room- male, she believed. A guard, maybe? He wasn't wearing armor but her had that feel to him.

Apparently she could have died coming upstairs. Celo swallowed, laughing nervously. "Sorry about that," she smiled. "I was curious, you could say. I'm sorry." Seriously, this was such a good first impression! Not. She watched as the creature left, instantly feeling a lot more relief. She turned to the guard.

"Oh, uh... When exactly do you want me to start working? And any certain theme for paintings and such?"

The man sighed. "Well, Darkel is keen to... rather dark and creepy things. Such is the reason the building is in the condition it is. However, he does also have a respect for healthier living. He wants you to redo the upper levels, where he spends most of his time. The command rooms and such. The towers. However the lower levels--especially the basements and underground chambers, will remain the same. Which is unfortunate. But it's for the safety of the president. It's the most effective way to keep out terrorists. They'll run away in fear of the building before the guard creatures even find them."

He interlaced his gray fingers before speaking again. "Darkel will assess when you'll begin when he's done speaking to the gentleman outside. But I'd assume it will start soon. Oh, and I have something for you." He pulled out an enormous wad of paper from his pocket and handed it to Celo. "It's a map of the building. Enormous and easy to get lost in. Just make sure you know where you're going. If you get caught in the basements... you could be Darkel's own family, his most trusted ally, and you still would never survive..." he shivered at the thought of the basement.

"The Baron has sent me himself to ask a request of you." Richard replied to Shade, saluting "He wishes for you to join him at Toronia this evening to discuss something confidential in nature." He heard a struggle outside of the door, and instinctively grabbed the handle of his sword. He relaxed, however, and looked back at Shade. He thought it would be bad to kill someone in front of the president, despite his creepy and generally disturbing demeanor, so he stayed resolute.

"Dark and creepy- got it," Celo smiled. "I'll see what I can do to help." And she wasn't sure how she could help. She was usually one for doing happy, bright paintings. Well, she was up for a challenge, at least. "Well, is the slime-stuff on the walls mandatory? Because I could so put a mural somewhere if not. An furniture. That would be nice."

Then she was handed a map, which Celo accepted and looked over it. "No basement- already. I can absolutely-dutely do that. Yeppidos." Really, when the guar explained te basement, she didn't need to be told twice about not going there. "So, uh..." Celo's voice trailed off, deep in thought. She didn't even notice that the flashlight in her hand had disappeared, a drawing of a flashlight now on the first page of he sketchbook. "So if President Darkel likes creepy, gloomy stuff..." Celo quietly thought some, "So, like for potted plants, want then to be dead or what? Oh! And for pictures- I'm thinking maybe night landscapes?"

Darkel closed his eyes for a moment. "Very well" he said as he opened them back up. "It must be important. I rarely receive invite." He walked over to a large desk as a black cat leaped out from behind it. He began to pet it. From afar it looked like a normal black cut. But it was another illusion. As Dark's fingers slipped onto it, the black layer disappeared. It revealed a hairless, white cat with a spiked black collar. Its eyes were red and one of its ears had a nick in it. It had a scar over its right eye. In a way, it looked just like Darkel.

"Tell him I will be there this evening. I have some business to take care of beforehand. If that is all my guard will direct you out. Please follow him. If you don't, you'll probably die or be captured by all of my pets" he said giving a warning glance to Richard.

Then Vipera had burst in. Darkel heard her cry of distress. "Relax, Vipera. It's just the Basement acting up again. They've been doing it all morning. When I get back from my trip I will go down there and settle things down."

"Are you sure about that sir?" one of the guards asked with an absolutely horrified look on their face. President Shade rolled his eyes.

"I put all of those creatures down in there. I wouldn't have if they were something I couldn't handle" he said. "Thank you though Vipera," Dark spoke. He wrote something down on a piece of paper for a moment. A note to remind him later about it.


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"Good, good, you're off to a good start. Those are things he likes. As I said, upstairs will be changed, downstairs left alone. The slime is actually filled with Darkel's watching spirits. So if someone touches it, they'll know where they are and who they are. Upstairs we can get rid of some of it. But it might be hard. There's pipes as high as the ceiling filled almost to bursting point with the sludge" said the man. He scratched his bald scalp.

"And if you hear loud bangs, those are also coming from the basement. Sometimes they appear to be coming from upstairs, but that's only because of the way the sound waves travel through the pipes and vent systems. So don't freak out."

Celo nodded. Okay, she was getting somewhere with this theme. Just think Tim Burton- yeah, that's it. She actually enjoyed those movies, so that's one way to picture it. What she was curious about was the "watching spirits" or whatever the guard had said the black slime stuff was. She was trying to figure out if touching it was safe.

Celo was also wondering about the sounds in the basement. She wanted so badly to know where they came from. But then really, really, didn't. So she just pushed it to the back of her mind. "Well, then, sir, I just have one more question." She slowly smiled, "What's your name?"

"My name is Drone 94201" he said as he stood up and opened the door. Darkel was now looking at the door and waiting for their arrival.

"Bring her in here" he spoke. The officer now waved for Celo to come in while Darkel sat down in a black, ominous seat made of metal that was behind a large black desk. There were several black bird feathers in a cup that must have been writing quills. His white cat was laying on the desk in a stretched out, relaxed fashion.

Celo quickly followed the officer out of the room and into the office Darkel was presently in. She examined his cat curiously. It looked a bit like him- oh frog, 'hope its not rude to think that. She stood in front of the desk, now holding her sketchbook, pencils, and the map in one hand, the flashlight from earlier no longer available. She smiled nervously. "I'm sorry about earlier- not the best first impression. Please forgive me," she stated.

"So, un...." Celo was quiet a few moments before adding in, "What are your ideas for the building?"

"I'll leave that up to the artist" Darkel replied. "Have a seat." A chair somehow flung out from the side and stopped behind Celo. Dark continued. "So lately there have been a lot of attempted terrorist attacks on me. That's the reason this building is so scary."

"I told her" the Drone said.

"Good" Darkel said. "Any time I am not available, my cat should be. My cat and I share the same personality, so it will know what I want. You will decorate the upper levels. That means levels 900 and up. I'm expecting you to be very original with your work. You should see already by my building what kinds of things I like. Spooky crap." He giggled. "Now I am very sorry, but I must depart. I have important business to tend to."

He pulled a pen from his cloak and clicked it. Suddenly his entire form burst into a flare of black smoke that shot through the window, making a loud crash. His smoky smog form soon disappeared into the clouds.

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Darkel reappeared just outside of his destination, standing there to be allotted entrance.

Celo sat down in the chair and smiled, "Alright- consult your cat, be original, spooky crap. Got it." She was thinking somewhere along the lines of, "This job is gonna be so weird." Of course she didn't say it out loud. She only thought it.

As Darkel turned into some smoke thing, Celo quickly added in, "Have a good day!" She jumped when he crashed through the window. That will be the first thing to do for remodeling- replace all shattered windows on floors 900 and up. Maybe some that automatically slide open when they sense a smoke being near them. That would be good. She slowly stood up and turned to the Drone.

"Well, I guess I'll start tomorrow. Are the creature thingies gonna attack me if I leave?"

"Probably not now since you've been up here once and are being allowed the ability to go back that way. But just in case..." the Drone took out a can of spray and sprayed it all over her. Oddly, it smelled like flowers. "They won't attack anything that smells like Darkel's roses" he said. There was actually some of these roses on Dark's desk. They were black and white and had a very strong smell. Thorns embellished their stem and their petals looked smooth. The scent to them smelled almost like Darkel himself.

Celo nodded, sniffing her bracelet-covered wrist. "thank you- It smells nice, actually." She spun around on her heel, beginning to walk out the door. "Thanks a ton for helping, have a great day!" she smiled, waving behind her. She began walking rather quickly towards the elevator, looking around her as she walked. The halls SO needed to be decorated- a little of this, a little of that- her mind swirled with the possibilities. One thing's for sure- she wanted less sludge here. And the creepy-crawlies that were everywhere. They were cute but they freaked her out.

Celo was almost running now with how quickly she was walking as she turned the corner- almost running into a reptile-like girl (Vipera). "Oh- I'm sorry!" Celo quickly stopped, almost tripping in the process. "I should've been paying attention- my bad," she laughed a bit.