Business as Usual (Susan & Rui)

Susan walked quickly alongside her boss, swift steps barely keeping pace with the lanky man. Not to mention the fact that Mr. Thornton was walking with purpose. He was always the most serious over these matters which is probably why he was the Executive Assistant of Salem Limited. He always treated their money as his own, the company was his domain and any acquisition he had seen as his. And this was serious business today. What Mr. Thornton had arranged today was big medicine for the tech conglomerate, they would be acquiring a rival today if they played their cards right. No doubt that Lazarus Industries would fight tooth and nail to remain afloat, they would be sure to pull out all the stops. This would appear to be a simple negotiation of terms but Micheal saw it for what it was: the first step of many into dominating their rival company. For he had found a loophole in their financial support clause: Lazarus Industries was state-funded and he counted out to the penny that they were not meeting their service quota. He had dutifully watched like a hawk their service hours and pricing until the fiscal year was up and the quota had not been met. They were in violation of their biggest contract which meant that the contract was up for grabs. It would be a cold, bitter bid war over the contract and Mr. Thornton had brought his best economist along with him.

...Susan was rather proud of herself this time. Through her efforts she had spotted a mistake in the numbers of her competitors available through credit reports, over-reaching past her responsibilities but Salem Limited would be sure to grow from this. She hoped that this little contract would look good for promotion in the coming months, though she was comfortable where she was it would do well to grow until she hit her own personal ceiling. She rather liked Mr. Thornton too. He was the one that vested his trust in her more than any other executive and personally vouched for her on numerous occasions, most likely for situations such as this. The businesswoman was personally requested for this venture and she could not say no to it. It was a golden opportunity.
"Susan, take note," commanded the white-haired gent as he strode powerfully like a shark in the water.
"Y-yes sir."
"Under no circumstances can we miss out on this contract even if we need to make sacrifices elsewhere, is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
"I may need you to speak during this negotiation although I will keep such moments brief. Please be professional as always but concise and to the point. And do not give them any ground. Do you think you can do that?"
"Y-yes sir, I'll try..." Mr. Thornton stopped walking at this point and turned to Susan with an icy glare.
"There is no trying today Susan, there is only performance. I expect you to perform. Today you carry the company on your shoulders. Don't let me down." Susan froze and hunched her shoulders, cradling her tablet closer to her chest.
"Y-yes sir, I will not let you down."
"Perfect. Then it's time." He would pause for a second and look toward the grand oak doors that led to the meeting room. "I have complete faith in you."

Their announcement was made clear through Mr. Thornton's powerful entrance, throwing open the double doors and striding inside the meeting room with powerful steps.
"Good morning all," he spoke with command, "As you know I am Micheal Thornton, Executive Assistant to Thomas Salem of Salem Limited. I have full authorization to make executive decisions in his stead and I will be representing our interests today. This is our economist Susan Groves that will be chiming in with relevant financial data."
"G-good morning."
The man would then take his position as far as he could at the head of the table, exuding his dominion over the room as he did so. Susan would follow meekly  and sit with perfect posture, looking a lot less confident than he did.
"So without any more pleasantries let's get on with it, shall we? I'm aware that the bidding for this contract has an expiration date for this afternoon."
That was the killing blow. Micheal was aware that Lazarus Industries would let their contract renew by default, this was a last-minute formal bid he had put in for. All he needed to do was low-ball the competition and still be in the black enough to see dividends. They could even go in the red if it suited them. These were the guerrilla tactics of business and he would not be outdone. Susan merely flipped through her multiple documents nervously on her tablet, attempting to prepare for any and all talking points they would go over.

Rui was slightly too late. Right as the meeting began to rev to a start, a frenetic pink blur bursted into the room like a deranged rainbow.

"Ah yes, my apologies for the lateness!" Rui sat down holding a stack of papers that he immediately started filing through. He had made sure to familiarize himself with the deal...on the way here.

He of course, was not representing the actual company, but rather the financing party/bank that took them over in receivership. And as sole creditor, he had a right to be here.

The only problem - he really didn't want to be here. They really weren't seriously bidding for the contract. The company was a mangled mess that tried to branch out into too many things, while claiming falsely about "leveraging synergies". The firm had no idea how to run this company. It just knew that the company was worth more if they gutted it and sold off all of the different divisions to various competitors.

So why was he here? Simply put: optics. To keep morale up, it was important to act as if they were still planning to operate the company.

That being said, he still might get a contract somehow. If so, that wouldn't be a problem. As long as it was an easy contract to breach, they could assign the contract if it added value, and breach if it didn't. And as he had no idea how the market here actually worked, he cared more about legal terms than the actual numbers.

Plus, the more irksome he could be to his competitors in the bidding process, the more they'd be willing to pay him to go away.

Anyways, I'm Terui from the Milchkaffee Fund, representing CephaloCo. Ooh hey, lemme dig up my card.

Terui pulled out a bunch of business cards with his name before quickly dealing them across a table as if they were blackjack cards. The cards were in Portuguese and Japanese, making them utterly worthless for almost anyone else.

Also, before anyone asks, yes, these are in Silian Rail, or the closest actual equivalent. Anyways, I'm excited to meet everyone! He tilted his head a little, "So..I guess most people want to get started right away?

Mr. Thornton clasped his hands together and glowered over the table as was his usual way.
"I believe that would be prudent. As everyone here is aware this contract renewal is on a time limit, I intend to place Salem Limited's bid before that occurs and I won't be distracted." Mr. Thornton looked over to Susan as she nervously fiddled with her tablet.
"Now before we begin I'm certain there are legality questions over this admittedly hostile takeover, my associate Ms. Groves will clear the air regarding that. Ms. Groves?" The businesswoman nervously fidgeted and with one more final swipe was able to bring her presentation to the smartboard through the local wi-fi network. She stood immediately and waltzed over toward the display to make her points.
"Y-yes. As you can see here though the following charts per hours worked, while Lazarus Industries has been charging more in make-up for hours supplied they have regretted to supply the hours allotted per the established contract, falling short by nearly 40 give or take. W-what this means is..."


The presentation went off without a hitch, meaning that Salem Limited got exactly what they wanted out of the deal. ...which was absolutely nothing. Susan was able to spot that this was a lame duck through re-interpretation of the data and a cautious mindset, and although Mr. Thornton was displeased he respected her choice in the matter and trusted her judgement. They would leave without any forward progress, Mr. Thornton leaving ahead of Susan to "distribute their information" as he attended another important meeting he had skipped for this one. Of course, this meant wrapping up and handing out business cards which Susan was happy to do emotionlessly. Salem Limited held a certain image for professionalism and business etiquette mixed with the ruthless nature of a shark and she would not be one to break that facade. They were the ones that would stride in with stony faces and exact data, take as they pleased, and leave just as quickly, today was the same as any day before it.

Susan Groves boarded the elevator to the lobby dutifully, she also had things to attend to. The cost projection for this acquisition was included in her financial reports and it needed to be corrected, she tapped on her tablet absently to fix this mess as she laxly waited for the doors to close themselves. She was in no rush as long as the situation was being rectified.

Rui was happy with how everything turned out. A promise to engage in further negotiations with Lazarus was in itself valuable even if it turned out to be a dud, just because it would deny that time to other companies. Which in turn, would improve their negotiating position.

Anyways, Rui felt accomplished and ready to do something else. He practically skipped through the hallway to get into the elevator at the end, ready to enjoy his weekend doing, well, actually he didn't have a clear grasp on that. The newfound ennui of student life in a poor simulacrum of a body and all.

Noting the rather quiet, stern woman from the business meeting, he actually put a little distance from her. He didn't quite do that well with the stern type. Luckily, that put him next to the elevator buttons. He quickly hit the first floor, until he realized that he actually needed to exit on the second floor. So he hit the second floor button.

Right as the door closed though, he realized he might have left his pen in the meeting room. He hammered the open door button - and when that failed to do anything, he tried pressing the button for the old floor he was on. That seemed to have done nothing, so he gave up and decided to just get off at the next floor.

That was unfortunately not to be, as a huge grinding sound heralded the elevator jerking to a rapid stop. Rui had a nasty feeling.

"Uh...was that me?"

The lights in the elevator chose that moment to go completely dark, covering the entire room in pitch blackness with the exception of Rui's fluorescent yellow eyes.

Susan had hardly registered the young man enter the elevator as well, completely engrossed in her tablet. There was so much to do and no time to waste it on, she may just sit in her car for a time and continue to eke out this meetings minutes as well, it would be faster than driving back to the office though she was technically on her break. It was more efficient this way regardless, she could pick up something to eat on her way back anyway. Completing her work first would be preferable to rushing it out after lounging during her lunch hour. That she would spend the entirety of driving. The traffic in Endymion was absolutely horrid, truth be told.

But she did notice him as he pressed on the elevator panel, but just a cursory glance. She was certain he didn't want to be bothered or he would have engaged in small talk. Networking was a clear part of this trade, almost expected after all.


......Susan watched in a curious sort of disbelief as Terui pressed every button he could, multiple times. She could find herself becoming absent at times but she was typically nowhere near spacey enough to forget multiple times on where she was going in an elevator. Typically. There were embarrassing moments where she did not pay attention and exited on the wrong floor as many as five times in a row, it could be one of those days for him. Her focus was all on him when the sudden stop of the elevator almost caused her to stumble with a yelp.

"haaa.... I certainly hope no-AAIEE...!"

The businesswoman squealed when the lights went out. She could almost feel her heart leap out of her chest as soon as it happened, though things remained a little brighter with the light from her tablet giving the elevator a soft white glow from within. Susan's breathing quickened and she fell against the railing on the side to catch her breath, hand over her chest. The shock was intense to be sure but now she was trapped in an elevator, which led to its own problems. Susan did not enjoy these types of situations, dark and enclosed spaces were on her "never again" list. But she would not let fear take her, there was something that needed to be done about this issue.
"Th-this is... u-unfortunate..." she stuttered, more to reassure herself with her own voice than to comfort Terui.
"I-I will contact th... th-the front desk a-and inform them of this... th-this p-problem..." Of course, doing her due diligence, Susan had the numbers to these offices handy. She had called them to set up this meeting, after all, most of them she remembered off the top of her head. The timid woman brought out her cell phone which she was never very far away from and began to dial.

Rui didn't seem to react very strongly to the situation. Yes, everything was grim and dark, but the situation was rather mundane. He kind of imagined the room flooding randomly as everyone panicked and tried not to drown. But then thinking about it more, that was really an impossible situation considering that they were in an elevator suspended significantly above the ground.

To Rui however, the woman seemed...rather agitated. He couldn't quite put his finger on the exact tone of her voice. He couldn't detect what specific kind of agitation it was. Merely that it was agitation. So he naturally assumed the agitation was deep impatience. She had come off as a deeply impatient person to him, or at least not one for fluffy diversions. The squeal briefly made Rui suspect that the woman was afraid of the dark...but that seemed simply...too implausible for Rui. Too incongruent with what he knew about the woman.

He checked his own phone, a pink flip-phone that appeared deeply weighed down by a variety of cell phone straps and sparkly stickers. This was of course visible in the elevator simply because his cellphone and many of its sparkly stickers were fluorescent in the dark.

"Hm. No signal. I never get signal. Grr, bad signals grr." He then turned towards the woman, "So you actually get signal in elevators? That never happens to me."

He sighed, "Anyways, I'm sorry if I broke the elevator. Again." He did not clarify on that last word. "Since uh, you do seem like you need to be somewhere else...like uh...really quickly."

He smiled, although this wasn't visible in the dark, "But hey, you've got one powerful excuse to deploy now." He spoke in a deep voice, "RECRUIT, WHY ARE YOU LATE?" He switched to a terrifyingly natural-sounding woman's voice, thanks to his modable vocal cords, "Sir, just busy dying!"

He paused for a second, "Uh, that's a joke, by the way. We're actually just high enough so that we would probably survive if the cables snapped and we plummeted down. I think."

Agitated was an apt word. Agitated and anxious. This was not a very comfortable situation for Susan although the presence of someone else did make this a little more bearable. She had... been alone... a-at the time of th-the event... b-but that was behind her and this was different...! The businesswoman took a deep breath to center herself. She had control of this situation as long as she told herself so, as long as she had a plan and a plan she did have. She would call the maintenance desk and this would take 30 minutes from her life she would never see again. She would prepare her emails in the meantime so the work did not build up. Although it meant skipping lunch to do so. Again. Susan let her breath out with a loud sigh, this predicament was much more tolerable when it was frustrating rather than frightening.

The short woman would wince as Mr. Terui produced his phone, but not for expected reasons. With the light from her tablet it was nearly blinding as it sparkled in the dark. Though she was not one to judge, even if it was rather garish. One's personal life and one's professional life were two very separate things indeed. Had he have used such a phone in their meeting he would meet some side-eye though this was anything but a polite meeting. Susan's eyes diverted to her own phone as the young man complained about his lack of signal and frowned.
"*haaaa...* I do not have any signal either," she relented. "Yes, I am very busy and this is an incredible inconvenience." She would not hide that she was impatient somewhat. Who wouldn't be in such a situation? Such happenings were rarely ever a pleasant experience. She could only imagine a few instances and none of them applied to this situation.

As Mr. Terui shouted it caused her to jump and the further along he went the quicker her heart beat. She was already on edge and his descriptions and tomfoolery were only making her feel even more so. Though she would still maintain her composure. This was a... semi-business-like setting... she could remain professional for the duration.
"Please do not say such things..." she sighed, reached to tap the call button uselessly a few times. There must be some way out of this. Susan had a trump card she did not wish to use however she would exhaust all other options first. Including waiting patiently. Perhaps it would be wise to gather more information regarding her situation.
"Mr. Terui," she addressed the flamboyant businessman, thinking back to his confession beforehand, "What did you do the first time this happened?"

Rui actually stopped with his jokes once she actually just politely requested him to stop, "Oh. Sorry. I guess that didn't lighten the mood. It....anti-lighted the mood. Like this room. I guess?"

He wasn't actually trying to crack a joke, he was really just free associating words because he found that tended to make people calmer. Well, except for one student he met recently at a very technologically advanced clothing store, but he just assumed that student was an anomaly.

Rui oddly enough, seemed to be paying attention to the woman, who seemed to clearly be a competent businesswoman who was probably worth knowing, more than any of the words that were actually coming out of his mouth.

As a result, he probably totally misinterpreted her words. She was probably asking him to clarify what he had said earlier, but he had already forgotten what he had said earlier. In contrast, the woman seemed clearly agitated by being in a small, enclosed, pitch-dark space.

As a result, he merely assumed that she was asking for the last time Rui was stuck in a small, enclosed, pitch-dark space. This wasn't the first elevator Rui had broken, but it was the first time he managed to break the lights. So he dug way farther back in his memories.

"Hm, the last time? As dark and cramped as this? It was very dungeon-like. Also had more people. I didn't really have any good plans. Just smile a lot, shut up, wait for a chance?" Rui said that sentence in an entirely flat, and thus uncharacteristic affect.

It seemed he was describing a kidnapping more than a business delay, "Worked out for me though. There was a girl who wouldn't stop crying. She got her neck snapped by some gakked out mess." Rui emphasized she in a way that signaled contrast, but otherwise continued his flat affect.

He pressed up on his cheeks in order to force a rather artificial-looking, off-kilter smile, which would probably be slightly visible due to his fluorescent eyes subtly lighting his face, "Anyways, the lesson is to always smile! So I always smile! Always!", he chirped in a voice closer to his normal voice. He didn't actually always smile, but he did smile a lot more than most people.

One thought that did not come to Rui's mind was that his slightly off-kilter smile would probably not give to most people the impression that "hey, this is the person I want to be trapped in a tiny space with."

Susan took a deep breath. If anything his composure was reassuring, and if he was not worried than neither would she have anything to fear. As... upsetting as this circumstance was it was a fairly mundane yet unfortunate event. Nothing more than having a blowout on the highway or a bursting pipe in your home, a terrible thing to happen but not the end of the world. She... would make it through this, and everything would be fine despite missing the rest of her workday most likely. She would make it up later tonight. Of course those would be billable hours just as these were and she would make certain they were with every single ounce of sway she had within the company, so at least there was a small bright side.
"Understood, but I would rather think of positive things and possible solutions..." she relented with a sigh. The businesswoman wouldn't expound on how uncomfortable she was, not because she was against sharing personal information even if it was inappropriate... or perhaps for that very reason but either way it was irrelevant to the situation.

She would listen to Rui speak and see what insights she could glean, putting the pieces of his description together in a very different way than he meant.
"I see... so... you simply waited for someone to notice and fix the elevator?" she asked. Susan did not like that idea, but it may be the only option available to them outside of her last resort. She would not even consider her backup plan unless things became especially grim. Yet he continued to speak, perhaps he was not finished.

...Susan again listened, though this time with a sense of shock and irritation. She did not appreciate such tasteless jokes in such a situation, some people dealt with crises in their own way and she could understand however this was completely inappropriate. She was about to admonish him before the short woman could catch a glimpse of his eyes without the backlight of her tablet to illuminate them. They glowed. O-on their own. She swallowed hard and backed herself against the opposite side of the elevator. Susan could remember situations in which someone or... s-something possessed glowing eyes. They were never positive experiences. She... resolved not to be cowed in this situation and to take control of it as best she could, her mind quickly firing on all cylinders for possibility of attack and escape. From her current position she could summon her crook and keep him at length at least, using the leverage of the elevator walls to keep him at bay no matter her strength and his lest he could force her weapon through metal. The door was sealed shut and she would likely be unable to exit via the roof hatch. Susan did not possess her gun either. This would change in the future.

If she were to survive if it came to violence this would be an endurance match, she would need to hold him off long enough for someone to notice and summon aid or open the door where she had more options she could use, including calling for backup. Susan gulped.
"Th... th-th-that is not a v-very funny j... joke..." squeaked the businesswoman.

His first instinct upon hearing a mention of the word joke thus was to respond with upbeat cheering, but no actual substance. He had go-to responses to things before he even thinking how to substantively respond. Rui gave off a random giggle, and spun around, "Oh jokes! I love jokes! Jokes yay! But yup, I'm bad at making them up."

Rui blinked a little though. What joke was the businesswoman referring to? The random words he was saying about the room light? He guessed that tended to lighten people up. However, he thought about it a little more. Oh, did she not take his story seriously? Perhaps answering the question was a mistake. Random stream of consciousness chirping seemed to make people happy. Actually talking about himself tended to perturb people. One of many reasons Rui had to always be all smiles. It's actually a very effective way to keep people at arms-length. Which was in a sense the ideal distance, because anything closer tended to inevitably make people sprint much much farther away than arms-length.

Despite facing away from Susan, he tilted his head backwards over his shoulder in order to stare straight into her eyes in a manner reminiscent of a certain anime studio's favorite pose. The only problem - human necks really don't naturally twist that far most of the time. Luckily, Rui used to do ballet - so he had demanded a body was ludicrously flexible.

In a rather deadpan tone, he asked the businesswoman, "Wait, what joke?" In fact, Rui was so close, if Susan was paying attention, she could notice that no reflection of anything, including Susan, appeared in Rui's eyes.

He thought about it for a second. Oh, the businesswoman was probably talking about her comment about simply waiting for someone to fix the elevator. That must have been a joke to diffuse the possibly morose nature of Rui's story, which he realized he shouldn't have shared. And thus, admitting that her joke was not "v-very funny" was an apology of sorts. "Oh, I see."

If there was any event in his life that Rui detested, it was people treating him with kiddie gloves after hearing anything about him. A familiar sense of annoyance, even anger arose as he remembered the constant stream of people telling him that he needed to be traumatized, that he needed to be steered towards so-called recovery, that he needed to let them tell him what to do so he could get 'better', that he needed to be kept away from the various messy parts of life. He always wanted them to shut up, to stop, to just leave him alone, to stopstopstop.

He unconsciously contorted his face in an angry scowl at Susan as he remembered all of this. Until he immediately realized that there was no way she meant ill, causing him to immediately replace that angry scowl with a rather neutral smile. Yes, he had to reassure her. Tell him that he really didn't take such things personally. That he was resilient. That he remained all smiles. All smiles all the time. SmilesSmilessmiles.

"Oh, no worries! Everyone constantly nagging me about it all aside, I myself made it out okay." And to just prove how normal he was about it, Rui decided to visually pantomime it. "After all, I wasn't the one who got-" Rui then grabbed his own head and twisted it in the opposite direction - in a way that would have fatally snapped the neck of any biological human. It even produced a modest crunching sound as various gears grinded against each other.

Every red flag her brain could raise flew at full mast as the... the thing laughed and carried on. It was deep within the uncanny valley as it chirped and spun and its neck cranked back sickeningly toward her, continuing to speak as if this wasn't odd at all. Susan could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she struggled to control her breathing. It brought her back to... u-unpleasant times. Frightening times. A time when she thought she was going to die, but now there was more than one and this creature was an unholy meld of both with its yellow eyes and twisting body. Her tablet clattered from her hand to the floor as she put a hand over her chest to still her heartbeat but it would not listen. It should not listen. It was doing exactly what it was supposed to do: flooding her limbs and brain with precious blood so she could act swiftly or perish. She stared into its vacant eyes and saw... nothing. Just what awaited her if she couldn't think fast.

But something coupled with the fear this time and it was deep resentment. Things were different this time, and she had faced these things before. She could fight back this time, but that would require sound strategy. The businesswoman began to force herself to take slower breaths so she could focus and come up with a strategy.

.............it was toying with her. Just like a demon would, it was unaware of her gift. It thought it had her right where it wanted her. But the reverse was true. She would not be toyed with, not this time. Susan would take advantage of the situation and strike it first and hard before it could do her in. When the monster looked at her with murder in its eyes she stared blankly back, shivering nervously. Slowly Susan crossed her arms over her body and took a strong, deep breath. She waited for her moment. When it placed its hands on its head was her chance to move and eliminate the threat.
"I-I....." she stammered, shifting her hands uncomfortably. She need to get the positioning right before...

Susan Groves, Level 11 Rogue:

Susan had positioned her hands just so, so that when she managed to summon her shepherd's crook it angled past the creature's legs, the crook end pointed inward toward them. With the slant she was holding it and the size of the elevator her crook had more than enough room, the head of it angled like a hockey stick just above knee-level. Less than a quarter-second and later and much quicker than anyone without superhuman reaction speeds could adjust to, much less with the element of surprise, Susan Shadow Accel'd to the left about 2 feet. Not much, but enough distance to sweep "Rui's" feet from out from under him with the force of speed and momentum. She'd held her crook in such a way as to brace it and put her body-weight into the maneuver, ensuring she wasn't knocked off balance or lost grip on her staff and pull it toward the back of the elevator to ensure that she could bring the beast to the ground. With how his back was turned, head turned around, he would not be able to see her crook from his angle and his chances to dodge such a quick and stealthy attack were incredibly slim at best.



The businesswoman shouted out in defiance as she delivered her next strikes, wielding her crook more like a broom or hockey stick at this point to allow for faster sweeping strikes and more torque by twisting her body. With her second strike Susan would seek to attack whatever there was left that was holding the creature upright at all. If it only dropped to a knee, if it's feet were completely whipped out from under it and it landed on its arms for support, she would divot back as she twisted her crook in her hands to pull this out from under it too and try to leave it floored with another quick smack that would catch anything before it. It would be nearly impossible to dodge as long as her staff was, covering the entire width of the elevator if she decided to step into her swing. If it was still significantly upright she would aim for the mid-torso and attempt to twist and pull it to the ground, but if she managed to knock its limbs out from under it she would round her crook overtop and smack it on the back or chest in an attempt to hold it there. If she could not knock it down with the second hit she would bring her staff across her body in preparation for a counter-attack.

Susan knew she wasn't as proficient a fighter as Officers Frost or Tsurunai or Hatsuharu or Kerrigan, but she could fight smart. And an opponent that was not upright would have a difficult time making a counter attack. She would use the length of her staff to her advantage and the crook to grab as she fought with strategic acumen. The short woman would not be cowed again, not be twisted terrorists nor bloodthirsty demons. Even if she was afraid an opponent was never safe to fight when backed into a corner. The demon would suffer for that strategic error.

Crits and Attacks:

A good sign for Rui. The student actually did have superhuman reflexes. In his normal body, his extracurricular activities had included both violin and ballet. In his current body, his pre-existing reflexes were even more enhanced. Unfortunately, for him, they weren't superhuman enough. The woman in front of him seemed to make a bizarre facial expression to him, contorting into something that Rui hadn't seen on a human in a dark, enclosed area for many many years.

When the woman summoned what genuinely appeared to be a WEAPON, Rui's own negative feelings about dark spaces triggered a very quick reaction and a mental process that was largely expletives. Between fight or flight, FLIGHT won out in a landslide victory. Rui reacted at nearly a superhuman speed in order to jump up from the sweep aimed to topple him. However, in many ways, that just played further into the hand of the woman. Because the crook still hit him lower in the legs, smacking him into the elevator panel.

What Rui taketh however, he can giveth. The act of Rui smashing into the panel made the elevator slightly less worthless. Much like hitting a TV with your fist can fix it, hitting an elevator with a Rui managed to cause the door to open to the second floor, as it was designed to do when terrified, trapped passengers inevitably hit the panel for relief. The elevator had apparently always been on the second floor. It was just that the door was jammed and the lights broken.

"CRAZY PSYCHO BI-" A slightly dazed Rui noticed and tried to jump out of the elevator when Susan's second hit cut his expletive short by smashing straight into his back, just as according to her plans if Rui was still standing. However, because Rui was both airborne and had significant momentum trying to leave the elevator, the hit instead pushed him out of the elevator FAR faster than he would have otherwise. Unlike most ASSWs, Rui was built with massively above-average flight capacities in Orgia mode...which necessitated being both unusually light and aerodynamic. Far more aerodynamic than any normal human or ASSW.

Rui's somewhat bruised body flew out of the elevator, where it immediately shocked many of the attendees of the previous business meeting involving Lazarus Industries, who were standing in a circle in the elevator lobby talking to each other for networking purposes. Who only heard Rui's terrified screaming expletive being interrupted by a massive smashing sound before Rui's body then bulldozed into one of those men, sending both Rui and the businessman, flying away from the elevator. The businessman's toupee however, stayed in place, having not traveled with its owner, but rather staying with the totally dumbstruck other businessmen. Both of them smashed into the receptionist, as she also screamed in terror, further spreading the terror and pandemonium on the second floor.

Rui was surprisingly cogent. Although still in panic mode, he did his best to summon his internal strength to heal both his wounds as well as those of the businessman and receptionist, while screaming out in a shocked, moderately terrified voice, "RUN!!! SHE'S ARMED!!!" He pulled up both the bald businessman and the receptionist, the latter who managed to hammer the panic button several times more than she needed to, having judged Rui to largely be a credible source due to both his genuine panic and ability to heal her on the spot.

Screams quickly echoed all over in the office workplace, as the employees were totally unaware what they were under attack by. Psyche terrorists? Demons? Completely unclear, but it quickly became obvious it was both a very formidable fighter and armed. And thus the terror spread.

Action:

Rui Terui, Level 7 ASSW:

She was... surprised she had managed to jettison him as far as she did. Susan was not a strong woman by any means and she had been attempting to guide him into the ground but it was... not within the realm of impossibility. Her heart skipped a beat at what was met before her, and that was people.


It was no longer just her life in danger. This had now just become a hostage situation. But not for long. Her mind spun for possibilities. Unlike the television studio she was not about to let this turn worse than it already had been. Susan would be brave this time and prove her worth.
"Get away from them!" she shouted as Susan took to a sprint before moving in a lightning quick dash. While she did run out of the elevator with her Soulbound in hand Susan would angle her body as she Shadow Acceled again directly for what she now perceived as the Psyche Terrorist Rui. Moving faster than bullets could travel it would be nearly impossible for him to dodge the businesswoman as she tackled him to the ground, and given that he was miraculously able to Susan would get a second chance by allowing her crook to trail behind her and giving it a yank to counteract any evasive action in the other direction. He would need to anticipate the charge a good 15 feet away if he would have any chance of avoiding it. There would be zero chance of taking any civilians with her charge as well, considering Rui has already cleared a path.

Where she to pin him to the ground Susan would cross her crook over his body to prevent him from rising to his feet so easily, putting it to his neck. If not her next action would be the same albeit a little more wary and hasty considering her standing opponent. Susan would produce her Class Two badge and state her title and presence, as well as give orders.
"I am Cadet Susan Groves in official pursuit of a Psyche Terrorist, please evacuate using designated emergency exits! You there, call dispatch and request the Cadet corps!" Susan would point toward a designated bystander as she'd been taught in college, to designate someone to call emergency services and heighten chances of doing so. And of course, she would do so. Given that the meeting was between both Lazarus Industries and Salem Limited and that Susan was a known Cadet within her company with a badge to prove who she was, there would be no reason to doubt her over some stranger who claimed to be a Cadet yet hid behind innocent people. No one would offer her opposition as it stood.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Relevance:

Susan Groves, Level 11 Rogue:

As the terror began to spread, the staccato marching of footsteps began to resound in the floor. Soon they were loud enough to herald the now arriving men in black. The group began to file in as the chaotic and panicking civilians began to swarm away from the center of all the action. They seemed to be armed with handguns for this threatening occasion and trained their aim towards the direction of both Susan and Rui. As they were surrounding them, their big and tough bodies were forming a perimeter to divide the dangerous duo away from the rest of the people. And even further behind them were more guards escorting everyone away from the scene with their firearms at the ready. One noticeable voice ordered one of the guards. "Hank, give a call to Class Zero. We got a situation here. Cut elevator controls on the second floor."

A brief affirmative was given just before the wall of men allowed two more to file through. Both of them had their weapons at the ready in case something went truly awry as Susan mounted over Rui.

Rui barely had any time to react before he saw the determined businesswoman barrel towards him, just as she began to start shimmering. He knew that shimmer. That was the same shimmer she used the first time she smashed into him. He knew what it was this time. It was Shadow Accel. He supposed that's what it looked like when he did it too. Luckily for Rui, it was also the first skills he had also learned when he became a cadet.

He had no idea where she was going to appear, so he made a split decision to teleport himself in the direction he judged least likely to be her destination - directly to the right of her current location. He could have picked the left, but it was a very split-second decision. Rui flashed out of existence and reappeared a few paces to the right of where the woman had begun her charge, relieved largely not to have his face caved in.

Running in the direction of the elevators actually made a lot of sense to Rui - because they were an easy way to gain height, which was probably his best advantage. He almost congratulated himself on this choice before he realized he was still likely in danger.

His eyes practically sparked in confusion, as in visibly so with actual electric sparks, when the aggressive woman brandished her cadet badge and yelled at her intentions to the entire room. Rui couldn't help but explain, "Wait, you're a CADET!?! And you're arresting me as a Psyche Terrorist?" A very different feeling from the typical fear filled Rui. It was more a sinking feeling that something had gone horribly wrong and a variety of horrifying lectures from stern men were in his future cards. That being said, when not in fight or flight mode, a bit of Rui's more...typical personality began to return, and he coughed as that process completed itself.

Rui held out his hands and little up and over his sides, almost as if he were giving a very large shrug. Although he was actually shrugging, the other purpose was to show that he was unarmed. He turned towards the woman, now somewhat more calm, "Oh. Well, okay then. Guess I surrender. Feel free to arrest me as a Psyche Terrorist, Cadet Groves." Well, Rui figured he was going to get chewed out. He wasn't quite sure why or what he had done, but he knew a lecture was coming. And he figured out that she might as well drag him to the source of the lectures.

He gave a grimace to the woman as the heavily muscled men started flooding into the room, "Just uh, please stop beating me up." Seriously, that hurt. It hurt enough for Rui to even add a please. Someone said robots didn't feel pain. Someone lied.

He then turned his head towards the intimidating, black-suited men that had now surrounded the pair, without otherwise really altering his body stance. He then spoke to them with a fairly civil tone, "Uh, hi. He realized that he should probably then give a full answer, "So I guess this woman sucker-punched the snot out of me and is now...arresting me? Also, I would uh, totally like hand over my ID to you guys, but I think she might start thrashing me again if I make any sudden movements..."

Rui Terui, Level 7 ASSW: