Tension's Peak (Stern Finale)

[Odin Reeves]

His walk was slow, misleading as he wandered down the hall. He looked like a man who hadn’t a thought in his mind, when in actuality he thought about what he’d do when he reached the courtyard. Like the mass majority he had no clue what was going to transpire, and so should he attempt to strike down the source and stop this foolish behavior, or seek out the man who called his name and find out what exactly he wanted. There were many other possibilities running through his mind, each with different scenario’s formulating with each step against the even tiled hallway.

He thought about how big the crowd would be, how many members of the staff would be there, how many pillars would show, if there would be outside sources to contend with. Had Stern called a TV crew, or was he looking for a different scene to unfold. Perhaps he was waiting for the police department to arrive in riot gear, but that situation didn’t seem to favor either side, and so it was most likely incorrect. The one thing that Odin believed to be true was that there was a high degree of probability that he’d be forced to hit someone, perhaps multiple people, and even then there was no chance he remain conscious throughout the entire process.

Making his way toward the courtyard doors he noticed them to be secured by students, not necessarily aggravated, but they didn’t seem in the least bit happy to let him pass. Many aspects of his appearance could’ve given them that feeling, the onyx ring hanging around his neck with the ‘L’ insignia facing the ground. His denim jacket with the edges torn and tattered, the arms torn showing the bulge of muscle underneath. His stubble gave him a much rougher look then his normal appearance, and his demeanor shouted; ‘angry and ready to fight’, as was told by his hunched over shoulders and clenched fists staying firmly by his side.

“Move.”

“Do you support Stern?” the question hadn’t fazed the green-eyed senior, whose head tilted forward so his longer-than-usual hair draped in front of his face like ripped veil.

“I won’t repeat myself.” His voice was deeper then before, his eyes peering through at a sharp angle just underneath his brow. Despite looking ‘up’ he still held the height over the three students, and with a hard tone it was logical for them to move aside and let him pass, especially if they recognized him like so few did. Luckily, for them, a student realized whom he was, as made apparent by the scars scattered across his knuckles. Everything else about him was slightly altered, from his now-torn denim jacket, to his longer hair and unshaved face.

Pulling them aside the boy nodded and let him pass, even going so far as to start opening the doors for him before he abruptly forced it open into the rubber stopper placed on the wall. The force of the collision rang down the hall as Odin stepped past, making his way into an uncomfortable scenario. He hated crowds, and one this big deserved to be scattered with the utmost of haste.

Performing a mental 180 he removed his jacket, pressing it under his right shoulder, pinning it there with his arm as it remained coiled around itself in an elongated package. His plain white t-shirt displayed his body proudly, doing to the same for the onyx ring around his neck. The silver chain it hung on softly blended in against its background, only really noticeable when the ring began to bounce around while he walked. He started to walk through the crowd, calm, collected, like he was before encountering the three bodies in the hallway.

He pushed through the crowd, having it separate before he was finally free of it’s constraints. It was at this time that he spotted a much smaller group of people up against one side of the courtyard. One student he recognized right away as his complete-male-opposite. The Hircine Senior known for his speeches and political acts. Leon Loire. This was the same man who, apparently, yelled out for him. He didn’t know, nor really care for the other three standing around him; it wasn’t something he needed to concern himself with until introduced. As for now, he needed to find out what this man wanted of him, and if need be the best way to accomplish such.

Having performed a beeline to the small group of bodies he made himself known only visually before just a few feet from the group.

“Heard you were calling for me, what do you want?”

[Auroth]

Today, today seemed to be yet another, uninteresting day for Auroth. He ate breakfast normally, changed normally, went to school normally, and basically just had nothing of a heads up to indicate otherwise. At the current moment, Auroth was sitting in his History Class, listening to the inane dribble of some girls behind him and the long, boring and monotone lecture his teacher was giving him. His history class was situated on the second level, overlooking the courtyard. The blonde hair warrior was feeling rather bored today, how his teacher could suck the life of the French Revolution was something of a feat, and so decided leaned quietly against his desk and looked out the window. The sky was looking fine, but as he looked down he saw a huge crowd, chanting something he couldn't understand.

That was when he noticed the presence of his teacher, when Auroth felt the cold and yet firm grip of his teacher's hand on his shoulder. However, the blonde remained unphased, only shifting his head slowly as he awaited his beating. His history teacher was a regular teacher, teaching as he had to and beating his students as needed. He wasn't really anything special, just another faceless staff member of Hircine.

But then suddenly, as if to save Auroth, at least one-half of the class stood up, surprising the teacher. The faculty member immediately released his grip, and quickly made an angry face toward the mob. In response, the mob yelled at the teacher, slowly edging toward him. Auroth couldn't understand what they were saying, he was far too strung out from the boredom. However, as they left, the teacher was sitting in his desk, leaning back in his chair as he stared as though he was broken out of the window. Auroth himself then got up, motioning himself toward the door. His teacher casted a dark gaze on him, but soon returned to looking outside. At this point, the entire class ran to the windows, staring at the huge crowd below them.

Auroth, meanwhile, saw as the History Class mob walked down the hall, joining what seemed to be an even huger mob walking toward the courtyard. Their numbers were impressive, and so he quietly followed. On he way he saw Leon Loire, a hero according to a few. The blonde himself recognized the warrior from Varron, yet he wondered if Leon remember him. Regardless, out of sheer boredom he followed Leon into the courtyard. He looked firm, that Leon, as though he was expecting a fight. Anyways, Auroth entered, he soon heard Leon yell the names of several people, before taking out his phone and calling up several people. It seems as though Leon was calling his back-up, which meant something bad and violent was about to go down...

Good, it meant today wouldn't be so boring....

Bit by bit, people slowly trickled toward Leon, gathering around him like the leader he is. Some of them the blonde knew, others the blonde had no idea existed. Auroth, instead of walking around the courtyard, remained close to Leon. He recognized none in this massive horde, and so choose to be near the Varronite. Besides, Auroth wanted to see what Leon would do next, perhaps he was plotting his move right now to deal with the horde. To Leon and those around him, however, Auroth would appear only as a face in the crowd, neither significant nor important. He was like a shadow to them, a shadow they would probably not notice.

Perfect....

Asking around, the blonde finally figured out what was with the crowd. It seems as though this fellow known as Stern was uniting a good deal of the students to march against the system. It seemed to be an admirable idea, but Auroth could sense the tension in the air. It was not one of peace, but of war. Perhaps Stern wanted a riot to get out, or maybe he wanted to take these marchers and "march" all over the bodies of the faculty and their supporters. Or maybe the marchers themselves were less interested in marching and instead were interested in burning and fucking up the school.

Auroth, however, remained as where he was. He was silent by nature, and prefer actions over words. That and the fact he still had yet to make up his mind. He didn't know what he was going to do next really.... help Leon, help Stern, or if a riot broke out have some bloody fun with it. Not that it mattered though, practically no one here knew he existed, let alone had fighting abilities. Perhaps Odin would, but as far as Auroth could tell the boxer had yet to notice that the Kung Fu martial arts was here.

"I suppose.....I'll just wait here then....." He said to himself....

[Leon Loire]

Minutes passed by, leaving Leon Loire to lean against the brick wall, his left hand overlapping his chin, navy eyes scanning the scene before him. So many people, so many opportunities, so much chance for the event of apparent peace to turn toward violence. The flow of new bodies was starting to choke, yet the reasons were unknown to Leon as to why or how. In his mind, he was hoping that this was all the figureheads would have to deal with when the real show finally began.

The first bit of comfort was the arrival of Leon's girlfriend, Charlotte Anders. She had only taken a few minutes to pass through the halls, and soon enough Leon saw her beside him, her light weight tugging him down for a pressed kiss. Retracting himself with a brief smile, Leon turned his sight back to the crowd after she had introduced him to the other student, a quiet, withdrawn boy who seemed uncertain of himself. In all honesty, Leon wasn't sure what to think of 'Jared,' and decided to leave him to his own thoughts as he returned to the situation.

"I haven't seen a soul, not even Blayne yet. You're the first familiar face I've even seen," Leon remarked to Charlotte's question, keeping his focus toward the crowd that surrounded the center core, hoping to catch a sight of Stern Mason, "But if Ein's making a move against the mob inside, that could be a concern. If Stern's playing a ploy as I suspect he is..."

Leon's eyes slit; it was evident from something Stern had said to Leon at their last confrontation that he had indeed been manipulating Leon's actions, so any chance of a ploy was even higher than before. If Stern really had been anticipating Loire's actions, then it was probable he had considered Leon's reactions now - or, possibly, he had merely expected Leon's actions before hand. In any case, there was nothing to do but keep with what he knew and hope to succeed in places Stern Mason had expected him to fail.

The situation wasn't exactly promising, and he was still unsure of what his little "faction" could accomplish - due to their own moderate stance in between the Pro-System and Con-Pillars group - yet, regardless, Leon was confident that something could be gained.

'If Ein is the cause for the choke in flow with the students coming outside, that could buy us some time, perhaps even keep the Pillars distracted long enough for me to organize everyone together.'

Hearing Charlotte's second question, Leon quickly remarked, "I've called you and Taiku Akimoto. I'm expecting that everyone else will arrive shortly, or at least come into view. We've at least gotten Tim here, so let's hope we get some more help soon."

The mention of Tim brought back Leon's reminder: Tim had been sitting near him when he had yelled out the call for everyone else. Turning his head to look at the fellow Senior, Leon checked he was still there, nodded, then looked back to watch the center stage. Just in time to see Kyukaku stroll toward a pair of protesters - who turned out to be Stern Mason himself, along with Adam Rydell.

'What the hell is he doing?' Leon pondered in a strike of panic, wondering why Tyler Scott would feel the need to speak with the host of the entire hotseat. Still, there was no chance for Leon to even know what Tyler was planning, and since he was so far off, it was more than likely that he had not even seen Leon standing in the back yet.

From the distance, Leon viewed as Stern Mason spoke out words toward Tyler for a few minutes, then left him alone in the crowd, leading Rydell farther to the front of the protesting mass. And soon enough, Leon's own eyes fell on Stern observing his corner, as his ears picked up Tim Master's warning.

"Damnit, you've got a point..." Leon murmured, speaking to Tim, his eyes quickly checking their immediate region. A sudden realization came to mind: if Adam Rydell was right next to Stern, where was Zeniro?

"Tim, I need to ask a favor," Leon requested, side glancing the face of his ally, "I don't have time to worry about a flank attack, and frankly, I doubt Stern would try that immediately. But we can't account for one of his fighters, and we need to watch out for that one. If you can, could you keep your eyes on our local vicinity for a bulky figure, and warn me if you see anyone come near us?"

Leon nodded to Masters' reply, then turned his attention back to the mass before him - only to see Ran Ling Xiao nearby. She modestly asked if she could stand nearby Leon's little group, and the Senior only smiled and nodded, "Ran, you're certainly welcome - and that there is Charlotte, my girlfriend, the guy next to her is Jared, an acquaintance of hers, and on your left is Tim Masters, a fellow Varronite and good friend of mine."

Leon kept his focus on Ran for a moment or two longer, and with good judgment; it seemed she had to make another request, and one Loire was happy to hear.

'The more support I get, the better!'

Leon smiled a bit brighter, nodding to Ran with satisfaction, "I'd be happy to take your help Ran, no matter what kind it is. At the moment though, we're kind of stagnant, so just kick back a seat and we'll figure something out."

Leon turned his attention back to the crowd, and a minute later, the vibration of his cell phone signaled a call. Smirking as the voice of Taiku Akimoto confirmed his presence, Leon quickly replied, "Good to hear. Hopefully you can find Kira and get her some place safe," shut the cell phone, and replaced the device in his pocket.

Returning his gaze to the crowd, Leon brought his attention to thought, attempting to consider their current options, what to expect out of Stern's own suspected plan, Blayne's potential reaction, Gilsin's attempts at slowing the mob, and the possible absence of Tiao Lei Shen and Kurtz O'Neill, the two Pillars that were most likely to bring the riot from the System's end.

According to what Leon could see, Stern stood at the front of his mass of protesters, standing still, awaiting Blayne or another Pillar to come forward to negotiate. If Stern's plan simply was to force the Pillarship to make changes through compromise and talks, then there was nothing to fear, other than the supporters of the System, or the Pillars, potentially attacking the protesters to break them down, which would not even be difficult due to their lack of experience in combat overall. If Stern really did merely expect to accomplish a peaceful march, then the riot would only occur if the System attacked, and the only way to prevent a worse-case scenario would be to prevent that attack.

If Stern desired the System to attack him, or for some other supporter of the System to attack the protesters and begin the riot, then it was clear he had some sort of card in his disposal that would help bring that event. Yet, Leon - as always with Stern - had no idea if this trump card really existed, where it was, what it might be, and when it'd be used, so any attempt at preventing it was not only impossible, but also a waste of time. If Stern Mason desired to bring about a martyrdom, then an attack on his followers was the best way to gain it. Leon's best chance to avoid the bloody revolution that could possibly result from that success would be then to...

'Yes...'

Leon Leon's navy blue eyes closed shut, but his lips opened wide to a reveal a satisfied grin. Kicking off of the wall with a bit of pride, Leon opened his eyes again to see witness to his girlfriend beside him, and with a quick tap of his lips against her right check, Leon whispered into her ear, "I think I just figured out a way to turn the tide."

Standing back up at full, Leon side glanced Ran Ling Xiao, taking in the appearance of the new arrival, a pregnant female that he had had yet to properly meet.

'If that bulge on her stomach is any sign, that must be Maverik's girlfriend Tong. In that case, I better get her out of here...'

"I think we've got a way you can help Ran," Leon mentioned to the girl, "If you could, grab Tyler Scott over there near the protesters and let him know where we are, and let him know that we'll be moving over toward the doorway where the students are spreading out from. From there, I'll need you to take Tong here and get her to safety, then the two of you should find a way to contact Maverik and let him know where we are. If you wish to relocate us after all that, then just come to the doorway over there and we'll link up."

Leon nodded toward her, smiling a bit, "And if you see Dain, send him my regards."

Leon listened intently to the girl's reaction, yet hoped that she was willing to help. What he asked did not place her in too much danger, since she was trying to take her pregnant friend to safety, yet Leon also hoped it did not make her feel left out of the entire plan. Yet, in the end, Leon merely had to hope that Ran and Tong would be up to give their help in the matter.

Turning to his girlfriend, Leon quickly began to explain his hopes for her part of the plan, "Charlotte, I need you to take Jared and search the outer ring of observers, find any friends or allies you know, and tell them to meet you - not us - at the doorway. If you trust them enough, hopefully they'll help. Once you have them, meet us at the doorway, and we'll all prepare for the next move.

Leon nodded, yet when he began to turn his attention to Tim, found himself frowning and turned back to Charlotte, "And be careful, all right? I don't want to see you at the hospital again."

Again, Leon listened to the replies and the reactions before turning to the next order of business: the matter that he and Tim Masters would have to cover.

"You and I are going to head straight to the doorway I spoke of, grabbing any allies and friends along the way. We need to speak with Blayne, try to figure out what his intentions are, and see if we can figure out a plan between us and them. If he agrees, then evading a riot should be a walk in the park. If he ignores us or fails in his own intentions for negotiations, we may end up playing the middleman in all this.

"Come on, let's go." Leon finished, turning on his heel and preparing to lead Tim toward the door, hoping to catch sight with the other potential allies along the way.

Ironically enough, one of them found him.

"What do I want?" Leon remarked in a bit of surprise as Odin's blunt question caught him off guard, "What I need is an ally at the moment, and since I honestly don't see many friends in this mass of chaos at the moment, I was hoping our school's former Champion would be willing to stand beside me."

Leon took another glance around him, checking to see the scenery, before continuing, "Odin, we've never 'officially' met, but I sense you and I are on the same side. You were invited to my rally a few months ago for various reasons and left me a note that leads me to believe of our possible alliance, you stuck your neck out for me when Kurtz O'Neill tried to stick that attack on the two students on me, and you're a loyal former member of Legion, and definitely someone Taiku Akimoto seems to trust. I wish we had time for formalities and gestures, but we don't, so the only time I have is to ask this:

"Odin Reeves, you've heard my stance on things, you know where I am; now, where do you stand, and would it be with me, with Stern Mason, or with someone else entirely? I need to know now, because if we're to prevent this potential riot from getting out of hand and causing a lot more damage than many can imagine, we'll need to act as soon as possible, and we'll need to stand together. Now, are you with me, or not?"

Leon felt that throwing out Taiku's appearance thanks to Leon's call would probably have helped convince Odin, but he thought against it; he was not about to gain an ally just because of another loyalty. Odin Reeves was an individual after all, a strong example of Varron Academy's power and legacy, and if he chose to stand with Leon, then it would come to give a good deal of credit toward their cause. Attempting to swindle that through another stance was not the way Leon intended to work, so the only hope he had was that Odin Reeves, even in the heat of the moment, would have the ability to stand beside Leon Loire in their beliefs.

[Darren Blayne]

(OOC: I'm sorry this isn't as long as Leon's.)

Stern walked through the crowd, heading, it seemed, towards the front of the crowd, and the double-doors to the school itself. As he would near it, however, the doors would open, and standing in the doorframe would be the School Captain himself, Darren Blayne, here to deal with what had seemed to be a 'quiet riot' of sorts.

Darren knew all the rumors, he'd heard of the mass walk-out. He had intended to go to the rally days earlier, but other events elsewhere in the school had required his attention. A few Varronites snapped from the peace, and attacked some students behind the school building. He had dealt with them as quickly and efficiently, but by the time all had been said and done, the rally had ended. Whether or not Stern had even planned it that way, Darren would never have any way of knowing.

From what the Captain had heard of this particular student, it wouldn't seem unlikely in the least bit.

What happened in the past had quickly become irrelevant, however, as the two greatest figureheads in the vying groups at Hircine faced off for the first time, ever.

Right before Darren walked right past Stern, without saying a word.

Instead, it would appear that Darren's interests lay in the populace gathered in the courtyard, rather than their leader in pacifism. Darren narrowed his eyes somewhat as he walked back towards the center, where Stern had first stood, and where Adam Rydell still stood. He wasn't much of an orator, though he had no small grasp of the English language. Darren had always simply preferred to let his actions speak for him, accenting them with words as usual.

Once again, he would do so here. But on a much grander scale than even he had accomplished before.

"Hircine students," Darren began, his voice rising in volume, but still retaining that sharp crispness which he was known for. "As Captain, it is not solely my duty to police and punish the student body. I became Captain to protect, and to lead. And yet, here I stand, and it seems that a great number of you have elected to follow someone else, someone who openly speaks out against myself and my lieutenants." Upon saying this, Darren turned his head over his shoulder to spare a look at Stern. The look, however, held within it no visible signs of anger or stress. As it stood, it appeared as if Darren nodded in his direction simply to point him out as who he was speaking of.

"So, Hircine students, here I stand, with all of you standing against me, but I ask you... have I truly offended you so greatly? Have I truly been so corrupt and cruel? You," Darren said, suddenly pointing at a boy in the crowd. The boy's eyes widened, and he looked more than a little nervous, likely suddenly aware that he was standing in resistance to the Pillar system, and here the leader was singling him out. "Tell me, exactly, what it was I have done to offend or hurt you, personally?"

The boy stopped, stuttered a bit as he considered it. "Well... Darren... sir," the formality slipped, despite his standing, "I... nothing. You've never once laid hand on me."

Darren simply nodded, and turned to his other side, pointing at a girl directly in front of him. "And you?"

"Urm... actually... I was being picked on about five months ago. You helped me, you ran off the bullies."

"How about you?" A finger pointed at another student as he walked back down the path he came. This student was a Varronite.

"Not a thing."

By this point, most students were, as is the usual idea in such a sheep-like crowd, considering what the captain had done. Thus, as Darren pointed at seemingly random students in a crowd, and asked the same question of them, every single one gave the same answer, if not better.

Not a student asked had been harrassed or molested in any way by the Captain. Most, in fact, had been assisted by him in one way or another.

Darren Blayne, throughout his tenure as the School Captain of Hircine, had taken many steps to ensure a safe school. In doing so, he had weeded out the troublemakers and sought them out, and then simply used force to deal with force, always just as much as was being used in each case. As such, Stern's followers, all students who desired peace and tranquility, were, in essence, Darren's followers as well. The twist on the younger mastermind's words had simply caused them to forget that for a moment. As it stood, however, they were all starting to realize just what Darren Blayne, as Captain, stood for, and, most likely, wondering just why Stern was trying to set them up against him.

Even if there HAD been bullies and trouble-makers present in the crowd, Darren had a very keen memory, and ensured that he always picked people he knew he had not had much, if any, dealings with in the past.

"Have I ever hurt you, in any way?" Darren asked a student, asking for one last verbal confirmation of his actions.

"No, sir," the student said with utmost confidence. "You've done lots to help me, though. Myself and lots of the student body, in fact."

"Thank you, Bradley," Darren said, calling the student by name. Another thing Darren tried his hardest to do as Captain was to know each student in school, if at least by name only. Bradley seemed pleased that the Captain knew his name, and smiled a bit, taking a few steps back to allow the Captain to pass.

Darren was still not quite done with his show.

Stepping up to Stern Mason, Darren looked at him, eyeing him with no more resentment or hostility than he had shown to anyone else previously this morning.

"How about you, Mr. Mason? You've claimed the evils of me and mine many times, you clearly feel that we need to do something different. I distinctly remember hearing, recently, that you had spoke out against 'our' treatment of certain Varronite individuals during what seemed to have been an attack on two students. I'll tell you this: The actions of Kurtz O'Neill during that event were the actions of him alone, and not in correspondance with myself, any other Pillars, or the Principal. In fact, Kurtz, as of late, has been more trouble than he has been help. To remedy this, I, at this time, declare Kurtz's expulsion as a Hircine High pillar, effective immediately."

An audible gasp was heard amongst the crowd at Darren's words. Kurtz was, in fact, a fairly popular pillar with the populace, but his methods as of late had likely caused more grief with the students than he was used to having. Having been knocked out by Odin, however, was the last straw in Darren's mind. Kurtz was supposed to be a formidable fighter, and should have been able to see well past Odin's lucky strike. The gambler's luck had apparently run out for good.

"Now, with that out of the way, Mr. Mason, I leave this up to you. You desire change, and I am offering. What would you have me do to appease you? Simply name it."

Darren held his hands out to each side, as if physically offering this up to Stern. The crowd got silent again, very quicly, and the tension, that had almost calmed during Darren's speech, rose right back up to immeasurable levels. In a move almost unheard of for a Captain, Darren was putting all the chips on Stern's pile. It was an almost Kurtz-like move, making a gamble like that, but Darren showed no outward signs of worry.

What would happen, would happen, and Darren intended to see this through to the very end.

[Valencia Donahue]

Ruth gripped the bat she was shouldering as though she was choking the life out of the School Captain. If it weren’t for the fact that Valencia was plotting something inside the school out of sight, this lesbian would’ve taken the aluminum to Darren’s head, regardless of what he said out of sheer disdain. Here he was when there was crazy trouble and there he was for everyone else whenever they got in “tiny” trouble, but where was he when everyone was running towards the parking lot that dark day? Where was he when Valencia was destroying half the school (in a sense) for that matter? And the blame can’t just be all on him, but also on the Pillars who weren’t around when they were needed. They can’t be everywhere, that much she understands, but…

But… Ah hell, things should just be different! Ruth stabbed the bat she had into the ground, causing nearby people to become more aware of the change of attitude (and melee weapon). She didn’t know how things ought to be in blueprint form, but no where on the drawing board should there be friends getting blackmailed, hoodlums slipping under the same radar the “normal” people seek refuge under, and stupid factions with unfamiliar, foreign auras calling you sheep all the time. Ruth looked up to the broken window where she last left Valencia and turned her attention to Darren speaking to individual students that he knew, causing her to shake her head and hiss through her gritted teeth…

[RUTH]: “Bullshit. Baloney bullshit.”

It was hardly audible, but her body language was enough to show that although she was a friend of Valencia and her odd ways, Ruth still has a mind and opinion of her own. She wasn’t thinking about all the times Darren tried to help Valencia, like the wave of sympathy she didn’t witness in the principal’s office and the relatively futile attempt to hide her (Valencia) once exposed by Kurtz. She was just mad and PO’d in spite of Darren booting Kurtz from the Pillar roster and taking on Stern peaceably. Screw “siding” with Stern, she didn’t want two cents to run a picketing. Keep your coins, she wanted CHANGE! ANY sort of change that made things alright and “okay” to set things on fire! Erm… To a reasonable extent, of course.

[RUTH]: “The papers and radio programs are going to have a field day after this. And I’m not talking about the city of SanFran…”

She checked again to see if Valencia was anywhere around. She wasn’t too disappointed because Valencia was hiding again, possibly either listening in on what was going on or still setting things up for whatever her coin-flip dictated her to do. Ruth looked back at Darren while grinding her bat into the floor, holding her ground and her personal grudge towards the School Captain, justified or not.

Meanwhile, she was subconsciously wondering what Valencia was thinking when it came down to the School Captain, the Principal she hates, and the freedom she craves underneath the façade of restraint. Then, the Sir Squawk-a-Lot club gathering up a ways away from her (and thankfully, safely out of the reach of her bat since they strangely ticked her off too; the sheep thing and all, the hypocrites). Ruth knew that they annoyed Valencia too. And what about those other alliances she doesn’t know of? If only she could smack everything out of the way and make sense of things, dadgum it.

[charlotte]

The dark-haired junior grinned.

"You know me, always careful," Charlotte said with a wink to Leon before edging around him, squeezing past the group and moving along the fringe of the crowd, back in the direction she had come, towards the school. A quick glance over her shoulder informed her that Jared had followed suit, listening to Leon's instruction as he made his way behind her.

As she moved, strafing the outer rim of the crowd, her attention was slowly drawn across the courtyard, to the unmistakable figure of Darren Blayne, Captain of Hircine High.

"Hircine students," She heard him begin, taking occasional glances toward the Captain as he spoke, still making sure to pick her way carefully around the mass of students. Though the mob had quited considerably due to Blayne's presence, there was still more than enough movement and noise to constitute a mob, and to make her cautious of her movements.

"As Captain, it is not solely my duty to police and punish the student body. I became Captain to protect, and to lead. And yet, here I stand, and it seems that a great number of you have elected to follow someone else, someone who openly speaks out against myself and my lieutenants."

Charlotte, though becoming more and more pleased with the nature of the speech, showed no outward signs of awknowledging it. Instead, she moved pushed her way deeper in the crowd, into the sea, using the mob as a cover from any would-be scrutinizing eyes as she moved toward the figure she had witnessed joining up with Ein Gilsin and his Genaht: Kit Lee and his group opposed to Stern. While she was certain that Genaht - especially under Ein's direct leadership - would handle themselves perfectly in the event of a riot, Charlotte could only hope to wonder if Kit's group might prove as more of a liability to Ein's ordered ranks. As such, when Leon had requested finding allies, her mind immediately jumped to Kit, who would most likely far better suited to the plan her boyfriend had developed, rather than a second helper for Genaht.

However, as she pushed her way through the crowd, still followed by Jared, she crossed close enough to note a slight shift in a few along the edge - pushing back only slightly, as if suddenly more cautious of something. Such a motion on its onw would never have alerted Charlotte to something, however, as many students had formed to create a more singular flock, one tiny shift, unfortunately, was always magnified, no matter how much or how little. The ripple of sorts led her gaze to a face that she had seen before - though admittedly not frequent or for a large length of time - which clicked into her head as an associate of the enigmatic Valencia Donahue, though the name of said associate escaped her. Stopping in her tracks, Charlotte turned to regard Jared.

"See that guy? Thin, black spiky hair, following Ein Gilsin with his own little group, not with Genaht markings?"

"And?"

"Tell him to meet me, Charlotte Anders, with his group at the doorway Leon spoke of. He knows me, but if you have trouble convincing him to come, tell him that we have a plan against any rioting, if Darren fails to bring order." With that, Charlotte turned to take a step towards Valencia's friend, but was halted by a hand on her forearm: Jared holding her back and causing her to turn to face him once more.

"Where the hell are you going?" the brown haired student asked her, his face both questioning his trust of her and her allies, as well as her judgement and his willingness to follow her lead.

"To hopefully see a friend. Tell Leon that I had to stop for a short discussion." Charlotte offered simply, before turning again to walk towards the individual she hoped was Valencia's friend and not just someone she assumed was, also hoping that Jared would, indeed perform the task and her trust was not misplaced.

* * *

To his credit, Jared did do exactly what Charlotte had asked, giving one wayward glance in her direction, then at Darren Blayne, before setting his gaze upon the student that fit the description of Kit Lee, making his way with all speed towards the subject in question.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he faltered, stumbling towards Kit and tapping him on the shoulder several times, incessantly, to gain his attention, speaking as he did so.

"Charlotte Anders asked me to ask you to meet her at the doorway, over there," he pointed to the area in question, his eyes moving over Leon Loire's meeting with yet another fighter Jared recognised as Odin Reeves, a slight ways from the doorway. "She said there'll be a backup plan and she needs your help in case there's a riot and Darren can't calm everyone down."

With that, Jared ceased his hasty spew of words, nothing left to say but only to wait for Kit's reply.

* * *

Meanwhile, Charlotte continued moving towards the figure with the baseball bat; the journey not taking her long, though longer than she would have taken without the cane. Any movements in the tight crowd caused her some difficulty.

Nevertheless, the Junior soon stood in front of the one she almost-knew to be Valencia's ... friend, ally, associate? She titled her head, her stance even, tapping the cane three times into the ground as the woman before her ground the bat into the same surface.

Unable to think of much to say, and not wanting to take the time to guess her name wrong, Charlotte said plainly and simply that thing she wanted to know, her voice raising just high enough for the student before her to hear.



"Do you know where Valencia is?"

[Pain Killer]

"Liar."

The word burst forth from Adam's lips before he had even considered his response to Darren's speech. While Stern had walked off for the moment, Adam had lingered behind, his attention consumed by Kyukaku as well as Leon's group beginning to move. He was only one man, however, which meant he could only deal with one thing at a time, and given his admittedly unintentional outburst, it seemed he'd have to finish with the School Captain before moving on. His arms folded across his chest, showing pure defiance towards Darren's authority, as he glared at the smaller student, clearly having a healthy dislike for him.

"For someone who preaches himself as a peacekeeper, you do a pretty horrible job. Where were you when I'm getting punked out at the end of class? Where were you when random kids seem eager to pick a fight with me when I'm minding my own business at lunch time? Am I not worthy of having your help? Or are you just plain incompetent? You couldn't even protect your own roommate, for Christ's sake."

In a genuine fashion, Pain Killer was furious, the rage within being barely contained as he vented towards Darren. At the moment, it seemed all his troubles came from the School Captain, and while imagined or not, they were enough to inspire him to forget about letting Stern speak first, as per usual. His arms unfolded, the left falling to his side as the right shot forward, index finger pointing directly at Darren as he gave his final words to his much-shorter speech.

"If you're looking for change, looking to appease someone, then look no further. Give me my rematch for the School Captain title, and I'll show you how it's done!"

In the fairly simple mind of the self-proclaimed Pain Killer, it was a perfect plan. Stern was very good at turning the unexpected to his advantage, and the sudden challenge could throw Darren off guard. After all, it didn't truly matter whether he accepted or not, as both outcomes looked good to Adam. Either he was denying a student their wish, or he would lose the captainship.

The thought of falling in battle never occured to Adam, as he simply would not accept it.

[Kit Lee]

The mob only increased as time passed, with students pushing to see what was going on regardless if they were on a side. Students would even crowd around the windows to catch a glimpse of the event that was occuring. Kit excused himself to the group that was attempting to maintain mob control in the school, as a boy who kept tapping him and mentioned Charlotte's name tried to speak to him. After hearing that a backup plan was being prepared in the event of a riot and that Darren was finally making his appearance to help ease the crowd, Kit would nod and say, "Let's go," as he walked towards the doorway the boy pointed to.

The situation was surely a mess. Kit wondered what kind of role the Principal would play, or if he would simply leave the situation to the pillars and school captain. However, the only plus that was on their side as of now was that the school was quite a distance away from the city, and a walk out of such magnitude would take a while assuming the predicament wasn't calmed and that they would be sucessful in walking out. In addition, should reporters hear of the event and attempt to film, the rain clouds overhead might assist in holding off their footage as they would have to put on rain gear. The darkness of the puffs in the sky seemed saturated, ready to empty its contents on the hot mob of students below.

As Kit arrived at the doorway, he would catch the few lines of the Captain making a point of whether or not he had personally offended or hurt any of the students in the crowd. It was a good tactic, making the crowd see him on a more personal level than as a symbol of pain that Stern wanted the crowd to portray him as.

Finally, someone spoke against him, and it was a boy whom Kit had multiple encounters with before (Pain Killer). He spoke against the Captain, saying he wasn't there for him. In addition, he even challenged the captain for a fight for the title right now. A fight when the whole school was watching and chaos was about would not be very helpful to the situation. Kit would speak up, giving a shout so that he would be heard.

"There is no reason the school captain should accept such a challenge. What proof do you have that you are able to do a better job? Simply challenging him to a fight and in this current circumstance shows how well of a job you would do. Darren is one man, he cannot be everywhere in a school of several thousand, but he tries his best and as he had said, what has he done to personally hurt you?"

Kit would stand his ground as he waited for Charlotte's arrival, wondering what she had in mind to ease the students of Hircine.

[stern]

Stern's hand through itself in front of Adam, sending a very clear message. This was a non-violent rally afterall, and they were supposed to be having polite, dignified conversation. He didn't directly answer Darren immedietly answer Darren's question, instead turning his neck to look at Adam briefly.

"Now Adam, Darren does speak the truth for the most part. He's just part of a broken system, so he cannot see his errors. He is among those we are trying to help."

He then turned his back to further change the angle. The courtyard had become rather quiet, attention focused on the leaders squaring off. He took advantage of it to show a calm exterior, not really raising his voice much higher than neccessary so the people furthest away from him could hear. His statement wasn't expected to get an honest answer from everyone there, but simply to rally those who may be unerved by what Darren said. Afterall, being picked out as an individual would not last long in a mob.

"If what Darren says is true, then how many of you has he failed?"

The crowd roared in unison, though not perfect as others who didn't heared roared because they heard others yelling. Darren had done his job better than most captains on the globe, but when it is a job people learn to hate, you can never really do it well enough to satisfy. Stern turned back, everything Darren had accomplished in his speech erarsed. Darren did nothing, but his Pillar's had, the student dean's had, the teachers had, the other students had, and he was the one who took responsibility for it. He was damned not because of what he didn't do, but by what he allowed.

Stern turned back to look at Darren now, and moved forward to begin his negotiation's. He realized that in different circumstances, he probably would have liked the fellow. As one who spoke lies more than truth, blunt people were often enjoyable at times. If not predictable, as he had played into the first part of Stern's plan.

When facing a large group of angry people demanding to be heard, it was reasonable that the first step to avoid conflict was to actually listen. However, if you didn't agree with what they said, it was easily to be believed a show. Darren had asked for a price to end the conflict before it began, and all Stern had to do is to make sure that he refused to get all his followers to be certain that negotiations were not going to work without continuing thier protest.

"You will resign as captain and withdraw from Hircine High, and all your Pillars will go with you. You will open all school records, video recordings, student records, and official documents to the public. Every student dean will be suspended, without pay, until we see fit to bring them back, if deemed necessary. The Principal shall be stripped of the right to adminsiter any disciplinary action, and all teachers will not be allowed to raise a hand to any student in the school, reagardless of thier actions. These terms are not open for discussion, and failure to comply shall be taken as outright refusal to end this without public notice."

Stern's right hand went into his pocket, and his right foot turned to leave. He still faced Darren , and no one had been able to hear the negiotiation's too well except them. Still, Stern had give him two option. "Stand in my way as I get what I want, or get out of my way as I get what I want " would have been the blunt version of it. If Darren didn't meet his demands, thing would continue on today as they had. If he did, the school would be open for anyone to take, and they would be lucky if Stern just didn't change his view and take everything in the choas. He could always say he would do those things and then refuse, but that was just going to make things worse later. That was, of course, considering he was capable of meeting those demands.

Stern had rigged the discussion to end without any real consequence against him, but it would hardly accomplish anything. Stern clearly just wanted people to talk, and just wanted to hear Darren's answer, regardless of what it was. he planned to start walking away directly after the first word he said, though Stern could easily see the answer being a confident "No." with a frown.

[Director Troutman]

"Here's a choice for you, boy...You will disband this paltry attempt at garnering trouble for this school, take up your things and remove yourself from the property. Despite the...luxuries at hand to disciplining a youth such as yourself, I would rather not risk the well-being of Hircines student body on one little radical."

The voice came after a slowly rising series of gasps at the sight of Principal MacMillan pacing slowly through the crowd, a crowd that parted with little effort for their leading authority figure, and the mere fact that he was publicly presenting himself to this matter was enough for muted whispers throughout the students to begin. They were aware of the schools regime, that the Pillars exacted a strong rule, but surprisingly, in his many years as the Principal of Hircine, MacMillan had only ever resorted to combat with a student on two occasions, both within his first year of tenure.

Needless to say, however, both events had been so swift to end that it was doubted they had actually occurred....

"I'll credit you for your determination, Mr. Mason. You've managed to convince a crowd of teenagers to follow a leader. Bravo, indeed. Shall I put you on the list with every other 'trend-setter' that ever lived?"

He was absolutely aware that at any point the insolent youth would simply attempt to cut him off in an effort to maintain presence over his little grouping, but the numbers didn't lie. At least, the numbers to be considered. Stern had been pulling this stunt for a long time, the whispers between students didn't escape him, the rumours of a meeting were borne to mind, and today had been entirely expected by the senior male standing opposite the 'revolutionary'. Phonecalls had been made several times and a number of people in connections he'd long since established were aware of their expected behaviour, not least the media.

'Because it's obvious this little bastard has called up someone to get attention. He's not entirely stupid...'

With a nod to a few students who had lingered closer to him than the others in the crowds as they'd built up, students who worked for his regime under the table, so to speak, they began to fan out and set about clearly dividing the students not involved with Stern away as the elder man unbuttoned the jacket of his finely cut suit, smoothing down his shirt and tie with a very calm movement. As it would stand now, the only people -directly- opposing Stern would be Liam himself, along with the remaining school authority. Any of the others, in particular Leon Loire and his own little grouping, not to mention a familiar looking Japanese male and two other cohorts a short distance away, would need to simply watch from the forefront at the moment. The students who had milled around, backing the numbers away from one another calmly and without any violent movement, would simply stand as a divider, akin to security, and wait for further instruction from the Principal. For the time being, at least, he would test this young mans intent and discover exactly what he planned to do if his intentions were not met…

"Tell me, what exactly is it you planned on with all of this? That you and the little party behind you would just march on in here, make your demands…And you’d actually get them….?"

A short chuckle escaped his lips as the tie was loosened slowly around his neck, partly for the fact the sun was strong today and his collar was restricting, but partly because he had no doubt he would be 'forced' to offer more involvement than he already was. Unknown to Stern, as the icing on the cake, everything MacMillan had set about doing so far was already being filmed from the second floor of the school, a couple of the A/V students having set up a camera as he'd made his way outside to the source of the situation. As it stood, if the media were only able to arrive in time to witness a riot, they would be gifted with the preliminary actions taken by a staff member to 'protect his school from a rouge element'.

"You’re in over your head with your efforts, I’m sorry to say. Surely you’re aware of this schools record since the turn of the millennium? Or is it that your last schools affected you more than anyone seems to catch on to? I’m asking you only once. Get out of here.”

Of course, he expected Stern to do nothing but resist and do one of two things. He’d either hold out further, use his current numbers to try and psychologically influence his will, or he’d simply order them forward. The fact was, however, not a single student behind MacMillan would move now unless they were told to do so. Stern was a smart young man, that much was evident, but he seemed to underestimate just how effectively he had run this school for the best part of a decade.

Hircine, a school that, for five years, had only a handful of counts of violence, almost all of which between students and minor squabbles, the corporal punishment regime, in a sharp twist of irony, had all but vanished from Hircine in the years before the transfers from Varron arrived. Not because it wasn’t imposed, but because there was simply no need for it. The students knew their place, they knew to respect the authority they had at the school, and the teachers had long since discarded their belts and fists for books and chalk.

Hircine High, a perfect example of how the system could work when it was executed correctly, and a single man who had taken a job few else would at the turn of the millennium was responsible for the majority of that. Careful setup and execution of his own system of Pillars and captain over the years had helped to establish order in the beginning, weeding out the worst cases and disciplining them swiftly, harshly, but for the greater good of the school.

The end result? A school that had not been subject to an investigation by the review boards in five years, a school whose students turned out some of the highest marks on the West coast of America….A school that defied the common belief that instilling authority breeds rebellion.

Of course, there’d been a few other things under the table along the way that had assisted in this endeavour, connections with the right people and favours owed that ensured any efforts such as Sterns were blotted out quickly, before they could occur. However, publicity had lacked recently, and this would be a fine example of Hircines ability to handle trouble, even if it ended up being a little messier than the norm. Glancing back, towards Darren, he spoke quietly and towards the captain alone.

“I don’t care what you plan to do, just do it. I’ll clean up this mess however I must.”

[Sathanas]

((OOC: Sorry folks for the absence. My dad had surgery on his arm, so I've been busy helping him.)

Tim glanced over at Leon and stood, stretching as he did so. "So one of Stern's bruisers is unaccounted for...that is very likely bad for us. I've got you covered. If he makes a play at you, I'll be able to hold him off. Maybe even beat him. But I hope we can get as many people around us as we can, because at the moment if either side throws a determined advance at us, we're pretty much fucked." Walking next to his friend and companion, he grimaced and thought to himself 'God fucking help us if the media gets to see this. It will only add fuel to the fires Stern has lit. The school beating on a bunch of protesters will not go over well with the populace. Let's hope this Darren Blayne is as reasonable as Leon says he is.'

Tim continued walking when all of a sudden they stopped. They were accosted by a familiar face. 'Reeves...kid beat the shit out of me back in Varron. I hope he's on our side.' The good news was that apparently he was. Tim hoped this didn't get out of hand before they were ready.

Then a tall man came out. 'That must be Blayne...' Tim realized. Darren threw out a surprisingly decent speech. Then followed the Principal, who still bugged the hell out of Tim.

'This is gonna get bad.' He thought as the Principal finished talking.

Tim followed Leon, and prepared for the worst...

[stern]

(((This is may be my longest post ever. too bad spell check is being a jerk)))

Stern looked at the prinicipal, up to the movement of the roof as figures moved into thier positions, and then back at the prinicpal again. This would be the first time people of Hircine or Varron would see a certain feature on Stern's face. He had shown many to the public, most of them lies, but this one was entirely new to those who even knew him privately. For those who had paid extra attention to his controle of himself since day one, it would be something wholly frightening. If he showed this face, Stern knew he had finished, as he would never show this face if he hadn't.

Stern looked exhuasted, mentally fatigued to the point of collapsing. For nearly a decade, he had pushed everything he felt down, even the times when he couldn't exstinguish his hate he kept it contained. He had kept his face a lie since that day long ago. The scariest thing about it was the fact that, though he looked tired, he looked as though he could finally rest, whatever weight he had carried lifted, whatever sin he commited to deserve this punishment absolved, redeemed not in the eyes of the world, but to himself.

For those who knew want it was to achieve, to desire, to work solely to see something done, this was likley to be the most beutiful sight thier eyes had ever layed eyes on. Those who Stern had used to achieve this victory, those who caused people to flock to them to give themselves confidence, this was something they would remember an hate for this rest of thier lives. Those who aspire to achieve are intrensically hated by those who aspire to be esteemed, because they do not require the same facade and destroy the illusions cast by others who do.

Stern didn't listen to what the Principal had said, he could guess what it was. He hadn't expected the Principal to show up personally....or make such a big show. The one man challange never really worked out, as Leon, Tiao, even Adam had learned during thier latest adventures. It only settled things between two people, not between groups. Afterall, the world would be nothing but duels and never know war if such were the case. It didn't matter what he said, Stern could some it up in a single paragraph.

"Your a fool" would be the hidden theme, though the words would never be so blunt. "This is what you stand against, and you cannot win." would be the arguement.....and it was completely right, the way he considered it. But then again, they were drawing lines that didn't exist, thinking it was Stern's group against the world......that would be unfair to the world, as Stern had gotten what he wanted by himself. Adam, Zeniro, all those behind him meant absolutly nothing to him. Stern's mind went back to all the times he told people, publicly, that he was without a sense of altruism....it was right, if he ever had cared for others since that they he would have commited suicide just like poor Penny had, and this never would have started.

Stern turned and walked away from the head of Hircine, showing him the blantant disregard of the opposing opinion that everyone had gathered from his. This was not his intention though, but rather his mind was elsewhere, revewing a recording he had made last night before going to bed, which was right now being delivered by a private company to the desk of every news buisiness that had an office or branch in San Fransico. As he walked back toward his lines, clearly ignoring everything around him, his mind dwelt back to what he had said....

"Hello, I am Stern Mason, and I am the adolescent upstart that is causing a riot at Hircine High as you listen to this. You may well have been expecting something to happen today, being told by certain officials in unofficial ways that if something does, to ignore it. Unfortunatly, you are just as you will see we are, victims to our own desires, and you will report on this event anyway. I know you will break from your normal methods, should you be the ones who are involved in the corruption plaguing your industry, because I have delivered this by private means to every one of you competitiors, be they print, television, public access, internet, or radio. If you do not cover this, you shall at least been seen as imcoptent, you will lose money, and if your lucky you won't be under federal investigation for corruption charges."

As Stern had made it a quarter of the way back into toward his crowd, every news room in the city was alive and ordering people down to Hircine. If they didn't act, one of thier competitors would, and they would be exposed as being part of one of the biggest lies in public education. Two things pushed humanity further than anything else, unfettered ambition and the will to live. For those in journalism, today was the day to defend both of them, bribes be damned. When one is paid to lie for people, among a profession being paid to lie for that same person, you do not waste time being paranoid, you assume betrayal as a natural part of life. They all began to act of the video, solely because they thought they everyone else was. The problem with control is that a second without it leads to pure mayhem.

"Now, as your not likely to easily get a statement from me while I'm going to be in custody after this, I'm going to make my statement now, and tell you exactly how I accomplished this and why, so there can be no corruption of my purpose, not whining about how some trouble mind caused such trouble. My mind is indedd troubled, but it is very good, as you will notice"

"You see, I have found the cancer which corrupts are school system. It is not physical abuse, no, that has saved far more souls that it will ever damn already. People learn thier lesson very well when they can remember the sting of the teachers ruler. It is not the refusal to expell students, no matter thier discretions. We should appluad the system in this light, as any society that extends to the point that not only gives everyone the chance to achieve should they wish, but demands the right that it be there should they have not learned to importance of striving for better should be cheered as though they were the first men to raise thier voices and demand a say over those who oppressed those very same rights as individuals"

"No, the problem with the system is corruption, those of those who seek power but also the corruption of those who seek order. There are some of those poor souls in Hircine, I can easily consider most of the Pillars of the school among them. I have experienced this corruption first hand long ago, as during my home schooling I learnt to forbid the sanction of the victim I gave them, and upon my return to public schooling I was no longer susceptible to thier methods. they could break my body hw they wished, if they could, but I had long since earned an unbreakable will and a soul of pure iron. It is at this point you are asking what happened to me to make me become so bitter toward the system, and I tell you now that this has nothing to do with my actions. I have avenged myself against he who has harmed me, and the system has absolved itself of it's mistake by absolving me of mine in the process. Do not bother prying into this past, as you will find nothing, and I will admit nothing more of it as long as I shall live in a court of law. I am many things, but I am not one who simply takes from my fellow men. This is my means of atonement to those I could not save, by stopping the corruption that cuased such events, and to do so I have willed myself into becoming the pinnacle of what they aspire to be, something so corrupted by them that nothing remains but that corruption, and using every sysmptom of that corruption to accomplish it. I only do not hide myself, as I will by the time you see this become so vile that no press black out shall be capable of hiding it's rotten stench."

"The first tool of my trade was to abuse the systems passing of responsibilities. Those who strive to power do not want to be stopped, but that does not mean they want obstacles in thier way to gain it. Rather than to remove a log in the road, they simply step over it, making it someone elses problem. unfortunatly, when this problem is a student and every person walks over him, he is never changed. This causes people to become completely unchecked, to never be conformed to society, which a school is the first taste of to a youth outside a family. How many of those who had poor families and poor school lives have flocked to my empty promises a a heaven on earth, and for them to be enrolled and learning in that heaven. You would be suprised how many of them would not even be given a reason for thier actions, merely be glad to listen to the man who didn't hit them with only anger and without regret or reason, or didn't simply ignore them, or when they became so bad simply tossed them asside for another to deal with so that another could deal with them."

"That was the second tool of my trade, the systems method of shipping students around from school to school, waiting for them to find a place, fall into the laps of someone who could break them, or falling into a dumping ground like the late Varron acadamy. Ah yes, Varron, a school where all those weaklings I had used had jumped every hurlde before them, learned every secret, and adapted to every change. That dumping ground was a spawning ground for the student of tomorrow, those who will come to represent the sheer folly of the system in years to come. Some of them already exist and have graduated into society already. I'm one of them, some of my strongest allies like me have gone so far down that road that change in unlikely to ever come, and some of those related to my allies have sinned beyond redmeption. This sysmte let me be rewarded for my corruption, not with cleasing but to be sent to purer grounds, spreading like the corruption I wished to embody."

"So I spread, until I became the unpsoken monarch of Varron Cities youth, sure not everyone would obey me, and everyone knew they were obeying me, and very few realized that I was manipulating them. I was ready to stage a city wide riot in every school, with the Varron as my key point. Should I have gotten that far, there was no way such an event could go unoticed, but I must admit that I couldn't expect for the few not in my grasp at the school to be so willing for bloodshed that they would doom it. Perhaps they will show what that the next genereations of students shall accomplish, the decay of education and chaos in our streets. But do not blame the Varron students for what will be done today. They had the on average the worst teachers in the district, as anyone with talent was smart enough to avoid these trouble students to get trapped in the gravity of incompetence."

"Of course, with my new situation, and Varron acadamy marked as a freack show, and it's students monstrocities, it was impossible for my stunt to be taken seriously. Indeed, it seemed fresh pasutres were what I needed, nbbut I had already drained all neighboring soil of life. I needed by plaue to be carried on the wind to another place, and I had the means to do it. I simply revealed my scheme to those in the city, of course ommiting myself as the mastermind, though saying that Varron was the current hotspot of it's recruiters. So the great Varron city migration began. Local school started tossing around the troublemsome students as they appeared hiding thier destruction of my empire as buisiness as usual, social reform hiding it from simply scattering the spores rather than destroying the fungus. Of course, no one in the district wanted to have Varron students but something must be done. If only there was someone to pass of the responsibility to again, make them someone elses problem.'

"Of course, it was my doing that saw the files on Varron students and my original conspiracy head on to the California Board of Education. To this day I have no idea who picked up the ball i was passing, moving the student's of Varron into Hircine, the west coast's model school. The only thing I do know was that the Boss approved it, and Hircine got stuck with us. I do not know how far up the ladder this corruption has spread, but it can't be the head of the states education, or he would accept the troublesome school into his state, and I doubt it's the Hircine Principal, his career to promising to risk on such foolish youngster in such numbers. It is with this hope my current plot was launched in hopes that those seed who have not been completely corrupted by irresponsibility, cowardice, and misguided lust will grow, the weeds exsposed by these actions. I have no hope of getting all of the weeds, as my capacity as a single man, though infinite like all men, is limited to it's effect of other men. It shall require the effort of the whole country to cure this disease, and I hope that I am the symptom so uncomfortable that it illicits the desire for relief."

Stern had crossed half the distance now, his right hand moving inside his pocket. Just a few more steps, his work would be done. It was the single for Zeniro to finish his last job, the scene that would spur on Adam to naturally complete his, and caused the nature of almost every student present would do his job for him.

"I will tell you now how I brought one of the greatest schools in the country to chaos without throwing a single blow. Let us face facts, if I were just another violent punk, I would be dismissed as much. All I merely have done is put a bit of pressure on the rotted lumber that kept the house upright, and let it collapse as it naturally should. Of course, it wasn't easy, as both sides in the Varron/Hircine divide knew I was dangerous going in. It would have been easy playing on the tension of this situation to get my point, but I decided to see how the Pillars handle it. Indeed most of the student discipline is caused by corruption, though it was none th less capable of handling the worse the anarchy of Varron had to offer. If anyone should doubt my actions as a failure of those present, let it be said now that they performed exaclty as they should, better than most in this world could have hoped to for the most part. It was merely that they did not know they were part of what they had to fight."

"You see, it is the systems natural order of stifiling resistance before it grows that caused this issue. If you squeeze a ballon that is being pumped fullof air, you don't push the air back put, you just increase the pressure within. It doesn't go away, and this systems complete disregard for the opinions and concerns of it's students if the sil in which by harvest grew. Of course, if I needed something to grow, I neede fertilizer, and since this system acted best when it saw a growing enemy, I needed to give it one. I needed one of utmost charisma, strength, and virtue that others would flock to the banner despite the danger, and cause violence in the school beyond that which it's system encouraged."

"Now, some of those at school who may eventually come across this video will no doubt think I speak of myself, but that simply isnt true. I am not virutous in anyway, and made no attempts to pretend to be, as I have become capable over the years of only the intrensic virtue that all men are capable but so few embrace, that dictated by the nature of man himself. For that higher virtue, that beloved illusion and altruism the masses seem to be embrace as, ironically, the sole property of the enlightenend few, I used the student of Leon Loire. I say this because he has inwilling helped me so much in my attempts to achieve my goals without knowing it, and I do not want that to cause the mistake of him getting credit. Despite the loathing the world shall give me for this, I must admit I am still vain enough to want it to know it was me. Loire, being the complete opposite of prespective but my brother in spirit, had caught on to me early on at Varron, so all it took was to appear to him before appearing to Hircine. his own knowledge of what I was capable of drove him to acquire those to follow him, and despite how well he actually did in the end all it required was for people to think there was something to him. Lines were drawn, and people began choosing sides, and conflict was considered inevitable."

"Of course, the fact that there would be conflict does not really control the size, intensity, or how easily it is controlled. We have all seen the group of adolescent boys enlarged thier chest with air from a distance, yelling threats while being secretly grateful that thier friends are indeed "holding them back", and all the same have seen what happens when two women scorned get thier hands on each other. No, to accomplish what I saw today, I needed to get everyone involved, needed to cause everyone to want to fight thier hardest, and cause them to hat eso passionately that they would be beyond controle of thier basic sides. For a role thie complex, I could only trust myself to perform it. Call it vain if you will, I will call it insurance."

"to get those who did not wish for violence involved, I simpl became the crusader for those who wished not to fight. There were those who originally listened to me ramble on about liberty, but eventually it also became those who wanted safety away from the rest. It became a haven for those who feared the conflict, and by restricting the group to non-violent means, I let the intensity of those who hated the system to grow, while I let the pain those same inflicted let the fear grow on those I didn't allow to go with me. Along with the subtle manipulation of the two sides I created to fight each other from the start, telling those on one side of freedom, telling others of the actions of the other, even telling those who thought they would just stay out of it the ways one side had the audacity to pull them in, it all amounted to generally just the rising of tension and the repression of the violent id's the systems corruption created."

Stern had gotten half way now, and suddenly wished it was raining. He had a flair for the dramamtic at heart, and he had hoped for perfection for his last act. He had even selected the day because the weather man predicted rain. It seemed even Stern couldn't predict everything, the Liam's appearance was enough of a symbol for that. The thought was replaced as he remembered the part of his monologue that would be viewed next.

"So you see, I created a situation where there had to be one, and could not be stopped because everyone was working for me, from the Principal all the way to the weaklings who tried to sit out of gym class. In the end, everything became so centered on that plan that it became the one thing that gave the school any real order. Those who followed the system stopped following because they like what they had, but because someone was going to take it away. Those who would fight for the better tomorrow became suspicous of everyone else besides themselves motto, only realizing too late that everyone would be neceesay to stop me. Then there were my little pacifists, who could never win a fight and never would have wanted to, who became ticking time bombs who became emotionally attached to the one person which all the newly established organization was controlled and based around, the line standing between order and confusion being the same as the one who kept thier little fuses from being lit."

Stern smiled at Adam, trying as much to get the person he was counting on the most in the next few minutes to like him a little bit more if he could in the next few minutes. He gave him a look as though he was, though it was actually more inspired by knowing he had used a smaller, quicker version of his plot on Hircine in the news rooms across the city. Still, Stern had carefully encouraged Adam to develope as much of an emotional attachment to Stern as possible in the past months, even offering to help his sister and end his brothers pain on thier lives. Stern thought that, if he was ever a free man after all this was over, he would honor that promise, regardless of the results of the day. He would do it for himself, for his hatred of any who holds another prisoner, and so tht he could forgive himself for picking on Adam as much as he had to get what he wanted. He then pushed the trigger on the remote in his pocket, and remembered the line he used to explain what it would do.

"No if the foundation of a house happens to be the only thing that really keeping it from exploding, how would you go about getting rid of the house/ Simply, and now you will understand the witness testimonies you will hear, to get what I want, I simply had to take myself out of the equation."


There was a large bang in the crowd behind the Pillar and Principal, the sound loud enough to make the direction noticable but not certain as being between the Pillar supporters and those supporting Leon's group. It was short and biref, so even those there would not be certain where it came from, and would have never guessed it way a speaker in the hoody pocket of someone supposedly just watching near the Pillars. they would really care though, as they would likely be gazing at the carnage they percieved before them.

A big red stain began to grow on the back of Stern's shirt, and in the front the left breast was suddenly torn open, and red liquid seeped out even faster and stained even faster than behind. It appeared, for all intents and purposes, that all of Stern's group was watching the hoorifying site of him being shot from behind. They, of course, never saw a muzzle flash, but they were busy watching him and heard the noise. Without his voice of reason, there was no one in the crowd who would have suggested contrary. If you could see the look on his face, the first time he had seemed truly human and he stared into Adam's eyes, as if to say "please, help me..." that there was no reason to even reason.

The crowd watched stunned as Stern felt to his knees, and then allowed himself to collapse on to the grass in front of him. There was an eerie silence from the crowd, followed by a tremendous uproar from it as they dashed forward. None of them actually tried to help Stern, they were thinking of themselves...they had taken thier pride, thier dignity, thier freedom, and now they had taken the one person who ever seemed to give a damn about this school. They didn't know who had done it, but he had been in that direction, and everyone that way would pay for it, be they Varron or Hircine student. They were on average the weakest student of each group, but they were now motivated far beyond what the others could aspire to, enraged into a beserkers fury, and now capable of matching the average of both sides until they were taken down. Of course, taking on both sides was a fools errand, and they would never accomplish beating either...then again, Stern wanted them to be beaten as horrible as they could be, and they would have to be beaten one by one now to get them to stop.

Of course, the ranks of the othersides were no better. Stern had called everyone out in force, causing all organization to be a lost cause. All the students besides Stern's now knew that someone had shot Stern, that it was probably someone on the other side, and the now had madmen snapping at thier throats. They had to fight, and anyone who told them not to was no going to be ignored.

The Principal controlled all order in this school. He said where the student's to be, how they were to behave, and for a good deal how they were supposed to think. He was the master of control, a czar of discipline, and a God of order. Leon Loire was a fantastic orator, one who encouraged the best among his fellow man, and who always championed people should talk things out rather than fight if possible.

Right now, almost no one was listening to them, even those students who could actually make out thier voices over the noise. If they were going to take control, they would slowly have to get people to move from group to group, stop hostilities long enough to gain controle of thier own, and make effort toward stopping those who would no listen together. If they could get all of Stern's group back inside the school, the Prinicipal might avoid being on national television by lunch time.

Of course, according to Stern predictions, they would have to get the violent people inside within 15 minutes, and even if they got them inside that would only give the facade of normalcy from outside, as the only thing that could restore absolute to the group was the lockdown procedure that had worked during that tiny riot in school months ago.

Of course, Stern had already taken some precautions against that....he had not let Zeniro be seen so early in the game for a reason afterall. He was happy he was face down in the dirt....otherwise, everyone would see one of the widest smiles Hircine history.

[Director Troutman]

ooc: I'd just like to note, for a through-and-through shot to have occurred, Zeniro would have to be either using a ridiculously high-calibre handgun (one that would be completely obvious to the students around him if he's in the crowd), or a powerful rifle. Considering your wording, it's being assumed that Stern is implying the latter from the school itself, as I really doubt even he could have people ignore a shooter in the crowd.

ic:

From the mouth of a small individual came a speech of rather epic proportions, so much so that Liam actually began to tune out this 'visionary' as he rambled on and on in his efforts to bring media attention and public concern for the cause he was plying. However, considering Stern was focusing the majority of the attention to himself as it were, the actions that occurred in the background, within the school and around them slowly, in a manner that could be attributed to near-military precision.

As it stood, Liam knew that over the course of the next couple of minutes a huge number of police had been approaching the school, not to directly challenge the crowd by entrapping them between the school, but from the other side, a distance far enough away that the wails of sirens would be lost in the air and the voices of hundreds of students. By now, with a surreptuous glance at his watch, they would likely have infested the entire schools lower floor as per the main entrances, ready to react if the situation turned sour.

'Though I doubt there's any risk of that not happening.'

Of course, it was remaining to be noticed that Liam had not expected every possible hand to remain in secret at the time being, a gradually increasing number of riot officers having approached from the main roads, circling off the school and gradually picking the media away where they could. Stern would have succeeded in getting attention with his attempt, but he would not see fruition of his plot as the group, though still outnumbering the police, found themselves in the effective mimic of a wagon circle.

Throwing the proverbial wrench into the gears, however, the shot as it rang through the air created a massive panic among the students. From where he stood it wasn't easy for him to see where the shot had come from, but it was already obvious.

'The school...Someone's inside the school, and it's one of his own. He's trying to set this up as a killing to incite a riot....Clever.'

The shooter, however, would have only a handful of choices left. He could either attempt a leap from the building, effectively sending himself into the frey now and making it clear that this was a setup from the very beginning, or he would be apprehended by the swarm of officers that would have reacted to the shot from within the building, thinning their numbers somewhat on the lower level, but for good measure. Finding the person responsible for this would oust the youth as a clever, but manipulative, young man who was willing to throw his own life away in front of the media, for what?

To send masses of students into a riot where the chances of injury was almost certain? That would certainly look good for him in the future, to be remembered like that.

The problem was, there was no intention of anyone remembering Stern. He would not get such an easy escape from this, not if it could be helped, and as per their protocol, the riot police immediately advanced, making only the neccessary movement to surround the injured young man and drag him away, the training and expertise of the officers just too much, even against the crowd as it was. There were no further shots fired, no tear gas, no Hornets Nests were thrown, just a simple blitz manouvere through the crowd, and an identical one right back out.

They were children, nothing more. Even if a number of them were driven to rageful attacks, they were weak, they couldn't possibly incite every single person to attack as a unit, and the fact was, a fair number of them actually dispersed to the sides, not quite running from their 'post', but clearly wanting no part anywhere near to where Stern had been shot.

'You had a good shot, kid. You actually might get an investigation out of this. Problem is, the officers are smarter than you've given them credit for.'

Rubber bullets. The most convenient weapon a riot officer could desire, a weapon designed with the sole intent of incapacitation. Every officer was armed, not one of them was carrying live ammunition in their drawn weapons. Ask any cop, they'll tell you that nothing ruins their reputation more than killing a child, even in a threatening situation...Due to situations such as this, bearing fully in mind the fact that none of the students were carrying weapons of their own (to their knowledge, at least), they were not about to fire upon a crowd of students.

Liam, from his standing position in the meanwhile, had made a similar gesture to the students who had separated the two crowds to separate them once again, splitting them down the middle and moving them out of what could be considered the line of fire, himself taking a wary glance back even considering the situation. Even as a decorated soldier himself, he could not deny that the sound of the shot being fired had made him jump. It was something he was mildly ashamed of, yet at the same time it would further add to the fact that he had not ordered the shot fired upon Stern.

He had no need to give Darren any instruction at this point, instead allowing Hircines captain to do whatever he felt was the right thing as he unfastened his tie, holding it up in his hand and letting it flutter into the wind with a release of his palm. The signal, as had been coordinated via the phonecalls made before along with the entire procedure that was under effect right now, caused something of a chain-reaction as the main doors to the school swung open, a small troupe of police and Army Reserve soldiers making their way out swiftly, but with their weapons lowered the entire time. From either side of the school, where they had remained out of sight from the students, a similar action began as other groups spilled out and began to encircle the entire situation at hand.

Whether the shooter had been caught or not was only fractionally important, but right now a group large enough to quell the violence was in play, and none of them had anything to do with the school.

Stern wanted publicity? He would get it, but instead of exposing corruption and scandal, San Francisco, nay, the entire country would be witness to the absolute control and order that Principal MacMillan held over the school, though by now the media would be privy to a few extra pieces of information on him, things that he had obtained court orders to have held from the media and the public for the sake of preventing a frenzy.

Considering Stern had created that frenzy, the gag orders had been relinquished, and it was likely that every newspaper, internet gossip site and radio station within two thousand miles knew the correct title-address for the man who stood in the middle of the grounds, circled off by close to three hundred police and military reserve personell.

Lieutenant-Colonel Liam P. MacMillan II, a soldier whose decoration and expertise in the field of duty saw him lead successful expeditions in The Gulf War (Most notably with repeated missions and efforts during Operation Desert Storm, earning him the honour of being one of the youngest soldiers to ever receive the Distinguished Service Cross for his selfless efforts to protect and serve his country), Afghanistan, Libya and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The latter resulting in being grievously injured by ambush to his platoon during transit, and as such earned him a Purple Heart along with his inevitable dismissal from active duty on medical grounds.

Upon his dismissal in the later stages of 1998, he set about maintaining his position within the military, serving as an instructor for new recruits before eventually resigning, unwilling and unable to accept that his injury, now healed, was still able to prevent him from returning to his post. As a result, in an attempt to find purpose, he sought about a method where he could ensure that the next generation of youth would grow into fine young men and women, inevitably leading him to Hircine and taking the position as the schools Principal. His knowledge and experience served him well as he used simple disciplinary methods used in the Army, none of which required the use of physical punishment, to mold the school and the majority of the students into a stable unit. Along the way, he would form together an effective and suitable Pillarship, utilising his former military experience to further establish order and discipline, creating a school that had, for half a decade, had not only surpassed the reviews put upon it, but had been commended on numerous occasions for its advances.

Having taken in the students of Varron, an action he was surprised Stern was attempting to take the credit for considering the individual who had actually informed him of the requirement to transfer the worst cases out, the system he'd established had been somewhat fragmented as the newcomers proved a little more boisterous than even he had counted on, but in time, even the most rebellious students from a school known nationwide as a haven for 'impossible' cases, had slowly, unwittingly, set into a peaceful routine. It was still unsteady, though the term was probably a massive understatement right now, but that was to be expected.

A handful of the armoured up officers stepped through the sides of the main crowd, weapons holstered, and approached him with a quick and unerring pace before standing on either side of him, one of them handing a megaphone to him. With a nod, he raised the device to his lips calmly before speaking, making a short word to the crowd as they still milled, the vast majority still rapidly spooked from the gunshot, but quickly being left with no choice but to remain static as they were with the riot officers surrounding them.

Surrounding them all. Nobody was being victimised as the villain here, not even Stern as medics would be tending to him, alive or dead. This was the single facet that Principal MacMillan aimed to maintain.

"Students of Hircine, I urge you all to settle down so that Stern can receive the medical attention he needs without any distractions to the medical team! The officers are not instructed to harm anyone, but whoever fired that shot must be found! If you can cooperate, we can prevent any more needless injuries!"

[stern]

(((I never said Zeniro was the shooter, he would have to post the action if he did so, he has more important things to do....and I never said that Stern was shot for the record, only that he appeared to be shot.

Also, the reason that speech is itlizized is because there's a recording to the newspapers....no one hears it in person, Stern does not follow the normal super villian plan of telling everyone in a position to stop him. He made no speech, he simply walked across the gap.)))

The riot officers rushed the upper floor, quickly and effectively sweeping rooms to find the culprit, removing any chance of escape. It was done with the speed and precision that any unit in the city could muster. In ordinary circumstances, such a search would have been considered the narrative of the text book method.

Unfortunately, they found no one. Whoever had fired the shot had not only managed to disappear, but had the manners to close whatever window he had used before leaving, as though doing so would make people believe than no one had shot Stern at all. The first step into the confusion of the police force had begun.

The second failure was those who attempted to retrieve Stern, as they were unable to get through the thick crowd. Regardless of the path the student's took, it was centered around the fallen Stern. It would have been easy for the troops to make it through if they exerted full force, but they couldn't get through the sheer weight of bodies present, and had no where to push them back into given their position except pushing them against the fewer officers blocking the entrance, who would be quickly overrun.

The riot police could take on five students at once if they went all out, but were holding back because of their age and were facing ten to one odds. If the riot police had any hope of dispersing that crowd, it would require tear gas. With the student's who had gone off to the sides, expected to run away only to turn around and come back, not wanting to press through their other members to get into the fray. For a man who forced discipline, he couldn't understand the power of loyalty given.

The Principals attempts to separate the groups amounted to a loss rather than a gain, as those who tried to separate were simply overwhelmed by numbers. It didn't help the fact that many student's on his own side had not let themselves been held back and gladly joined in the fighting, all order apparently lost. The riot troops approaching from their side of the crowd, noticed that students were moving away from them, not aside. They could not tell who started it anymore, everyone was simply fighting.

Stern could have never won if he played by the book, so he didn't while everyone else had. He had no troops, no loyal supporters, no gang that aspired to power. Everyone was on his side now, and by calling in the police, the Principal had admitted to all of them that he had lost control. If he had handled it in house by his own means, that was fine, but by calling in the outside authorities, anything that came out of the megaphone when it reached him would be pointless.

He had no more authority in this chaos. They were not at school, they were in a state of complete anarchy. Even those unwilling to fight had to to avoid the assault of others, or they were swiftly beaten unconscious. Stern had succeeded, his riot had happened, and unknown to him the police media black out was helping him more. The only thing the outside press now had for evidence of what was going on was a video of the person claiming responsibility and blaming corruption, and the knowledge that whatever was happening, it was so bad the government didn't want people to know. The local radio stations and news programs had begun reporting already, while the national syndicates knew they needed more evidence on what looked like a big scoop. The police had covered the ground, and every station news helicopter was in the air had headed there.

All the Principal had done was let it know he followed the rules and tried to stop this before it began. He had probably managed to save his job, but that was all. No one was listening to anyone else, there was merely the violence of the situation made manifest. Stern would later find this out, and would accept the trade of the Principals job in exchange for guaranteeing success. Stern had his eyes set on bigger fish in the figurative.

In the more literal sense, his eyes were slowly rising from the ground, the madness reaching a point where people were not really paying attention to him anymore, the pressure of the world around them drowning out the concerns besides revenge. He pushed off one foot and pushed forward through his own crowd, noting how few actually took the time to attempt to recognize the face heading in the opposite direction. He was heading toward Adam, who if Stern had guess correctly would have pushed through the crowd nearer him anyway. Either way, he would find him eventually.

"Adam, you need to help me get out of here and to the police, now."

The Principal had made the last stage of his task infinitely more difficult, even if he had managed to make his success decided. The city would have recognize the corruption now, they couldn't avoid it, but unfortunately it was just one city. Unless it got national attention, it was merely replacing a plank of wood in a rotten hull. He needed to be a figurehead, the villain of the story. The entire plan rested on him being considered in the wrong, knowing he was in the wrong, and accepting the consequences for being wrong. Unfortunately, he escape route to the police station had now been compromised, and heading toward any of the police in this situation was merely a good way to get one's head bashed in with a riot shield.

He needed to get to policemen in a calm state of mind and turn himself in. The nearest source would unfortunately be on the other side of the school, where the vehicles that brought them here would likely be. The safest path was through the school, as riot police would not have the numbers to hold Stern when they were spread out inside, limited to the hallways. It was a straight line, done the schools main hallway, to the parking lot. He pointed to the entrance he had positioned his supporters near, which riot police had guarded and were now holding back the students who wanted to take their anger out on the school. With the crowd as it was , he wouldn't have trouble slipping their unnoticed except by those who were keeping an eye on him. It would be the actions of individuals now who would decide the day. Stern and Adam could easily find a way past the first line of police, and if Zeniro did his job there was nothing in the school that could reasonably stop them. The only thing that could stop them was if someone from the crowd managed to recognize Stern in the madness, and tried to cut them off inside the building. He pointed at the doors, and smiled in a devilish manner at Adam.

"Hundred meter dash, through policemen, to the parking lot. We do that, it ends up better than I hoped. We've already won, so lets go for the brass ring while we're at it."

Stern pushed his way stealthily though the crow, heading for the door, not waiting to see if Adam followed him.

[Director Troutman]

[(Y'know, I find it a little annoying that you seem to be able to control EVERY single student into creating a mass riot, as if every single person at the area is meant to be a prepared fighter. You've stated it yourself plenty of times that these numbers are the 'weaker' kids in the school, the more 'average' and thus, 'normal' students.

Fire a gun in a crowd, people will scatter, it doesn't really matter if they're children, fully grown men, fucking Marines even, the same basic instinct is to move away from the sound and the target. Also, the number of police and Reserve military is close to three hundred. Only a portion of the schools population actually stepped outside for the entire mess, a good number (I'd comfortably assume at least half) would not have left their classrooms, though would be present at the windows and whatnot. From that, when we assumed in the early days Hircines student population to be around 2200, half of that that would make the odds more like 4 to 1. Then factor in the fact that, really, lots of those students are going to be spooked by the shot and simply panic, not fight. That shaves the odds further.

However, since I'm SURE that any attempts to write a post with reasonable actions in regard to that will be refuted by Sterns convenience, I'm not going to fucking bother arguing a single point anymore. Have your plot, I'll deal with it later, MY way.)]

[Pain Killer]

OOC: Okey dokey, well, I'm just going to post. If something changes, I'll just go back and edit it. And yes, I suppose I'll have to rewind just a bit.

IC:

Stern's hand placed itself in front of Adam, and in that simple movement, kept the Senior from going any further. He'd ignored the voice in the crowd that had attempted to prevent violence, as it wasn't important, instead focussing on the student who had become a role model of sorts. Even so, being told to stand down wasn't something Pain Killer enjoyed, but a direct order was a direct order. Folding his arms in front of him, Adam huffed slightly and looked away, willing himself to calm down. After all, a peaceful rally had no place for rash behaviour as he was prone to do.

However, it seemed all things were coming to a head, as the principal himself made his presence known to the protesting students. There was no real reaction from Adam as the principal spoke, as he simply stared at the man and listened. The reasoning, of course, was that Stern would take the lead, as per usual, and deliver a response that would tear a hole in all arguments put forth, something Adam was looking forward to seeing.

Until Stern turned and began walking away.

What... the Hell is he doing?

His eyes naturally followed Stern as he walked, the confusion plain for all to see on his face. If Stern was backing down now, then all they had done was for nothing, something the youngest Rydell couldn't understand. Stern never lost, and Stern never failed, these were the beliefs Adam had about the younger student, and he began to wonder if this was some sort of trick. The smile from Stern, however, did nothing but help this idea, Pain Killer now convinced that this was, in fact, part of Stern's plan, causing him to grin wholeheartedly back at Stern.

That very grin froze on his face at the sound of a gunshot, and Stern collapsing to the ground in a pool of his own blood. At first, it was as if his mind couldn't comprehend the sight, the same stupid grin remaining on his face while Adam stared at the body of who could possibly be seen as the biggest influence on his life. His grin faded, a stinging sensation burning in his eyes, hands clenching into fists so tight that had he not been wearing his fingerless gloves, he surely would have drawn blood. The chaos erupting in the schoolyard barely registered, Adam starting to run through the mass to get to the fallen student.

"Stern!"

He shoved through the gathered mass, none too gently at that, mind racing over what had happened. Having never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, the thought of the gunman taking another shot into the crowd never occured to him, instead, the only thing he could think of was the fact that his often-times role model was lying face down in the dirt. Not even the arrival of police deterred him, as Adam hardly noticed their presence, even if they had taken the time to set up before surrounding the students. With one final shove, Adam pushed one final student out of the way, before coming face to face with what seemed like a ghost.

"You're... alive?!"

If Pain Killer hadn't been confused before, he sure as hell was now. Standing before him was Stern, seemingly uninjured, though still covered in what Adam still believed was his blood. Resisting the urge to poke Stern to see if he was, indeed, real, Adam listened intently to his words, not having a positive reaction to them in the slightest, given the stress he'd been under moments before. Knowing Stern as Adam believed he did, it was either some sort of mental lapse Pain Killer was having, or all a part of Stern's plan somehow. Either case would have the same result, as Adam would either be driven insane by such a mental lapse unless he helped, or Stern actually did want his help.

"I... yeah... sure..."

Try as he might, he couldn't return the smile, instead, he would simply follow Stern as best he could, remaining a small distance off to the side so as to not make too much of a noticeable disturbance.

[Director Troutman]

ooc: Considering the OOC events of today, this thread will be concluded herein. This is to be considered the outcome of the storyline and the thread for the sake of the ongoing matters, and I also would like to apologise to everyone who had wanted to post here. Any subsequent threads should take this as the conclusion, but don't hesitate to post your own perspectives and whatnot. No point letting it die.

ic:

Despite the best laid plans, Liams words fell on deaf ears. The students had already entered a state of panic where their own instinct took precedence over their fear and respect of the schools head official. The separation of the rear group, the students who simply witnessed what was occurring, had separated fully by now, though they had not left the chaotic scene for the simple fact of curiosity.

Curiosity that would result in them being among the very people who helped prevent the entire situation from unfolding into a riot incapable of prevention as the students advanced, the disorganised state of the mob slowing them as they trampled through one another, granting precious time as the 'opposing' side made their stand, the Principal finding assistance from his remaining Pillars as they brought themselves forward, stepping forward from their superior. However, unlike any previous situation, MacMillan himself stepped through to stand, for what might well be the only time, as an equal combatant with his students. No matter how things went, he had to ensure that the resulting investigations showed him in the most loyal light to the school.

"Feel free to hurt a few of them, scare the crowd down if you need to, but be discreet about it. There's enough mess to deal with right now..."

The words were directed solely to the Pillars, but to the surprise of everyone involved, most particularly the crowd behind who were still so inclined to the aspect of a Varron/Hircine divide, two more groups stepped forward who would, under any other circumstances, be opposing them. Leon Loire and the students who had banded with him, a somewhat ragged number of youths who took their own position in the forefront of the line made their own approach, apparently ready to defend the school alongside the rest. If that alone were not enough, another small group made their own swift approach, jogging from their former position on the sidelines with a speedy burst through the crowd to stand at the vanguard, alongside Leon, alongside the Principal, alongside the Pillars and alongside Hircines students.

"Much as watching you get your head beaten in, I don't feel like upping sticks and moving again. Consider this a one-time deal, Liam."

The two eldest stood with a rather brief but sharp stare at one another before a returned nod was given and they returned attention to the students who had begun to spill through the initial attempts of the riot officers. Their slowed advance picking up a touch of pace before MacMillan turned to the students who remained fixed to their spots behind the front line, raising the megaphone to his lips once again.

"Give the officers room to move!"

Almost as if nothing else would have worked, they bunched together quickly as virtually every single officer began to congregate upon the crowd, closing in the circle around the advancing students in a swift, orderly movement. No student was harmed, and whilst they were being drawn in against one another, they were being granted the space to move comfortably as the numbers tightened them into a closed group. All the while, as per their initial intentions, the soldiers closest to the rear section of the crowd continued to charge through in their efforts to find Stern, still under the impression the youth had been shot. However, by the time they arrived where he'd been felled, they found little but a small patch of scarlet in the grass.

"Sir! He's not here!"

The radio crackled a moment before a returned remark was made, not from the person in charge but another officer who spoke rather rushed into his radio.

"He's up and moving, we have him about twenty feet behind you and coming through the crowd! We'll get him when he tries to slip out the crowd!"

As it was, Stern had begun to slip through his own crowd to escape attention, but the fatal error he'd made would cost him everything as he made the futile attempt to escape. Soldiers kept their eye on the mark at all times, even in a case like this. As it was, they still believed he was injured from the shot, assuming it had been a non-fatal strike, and when he set about his attempt to slip away, a soldier who sprung out from the rear of the crowd, one of the ones who had originally set about the search for him, knocked him to the ground as two others restrained him quickly, setting about him with no opportunity left for the youth to even try and struggle. As for his accomplice, the other young man, he was simply blocked away and into the crowd by the remaining officers. It would have been futile to struggle against them in this situation, and as Stern was left alone, restrained by the soldiers, they began to inspect him for injuries quickly, the 'blood' soaked shirt quickly being cut away.

"What...?"

Finding no wound on his person, the radio was raised again sharply.

"The shot was a setup, I repeat, the shot was a setup! All available officers add support to the crowd control! Get them under control!"

Flipped onto his chest, admittedly with a lot less care than they'd previously shown, Stern would find his wrists restrained behind his back as he was put under arrest, a lone officer standing over him with a baton drawn for good measure. In the meanwhile, from the school, the remaining officers who had stayed behind in the search of a shooter made their way out in a final charge, their shields lining up with the others along with the youths who stood alongside the Principal in the matter. It was these officers who began to spread the word through their fellow officers, in turn the closer students in earshot hearing it as well. With a lot of disbelief and surprise, most refused to believe it initially until the sight of the young man, on his knees and restrained with no bullet injuries, told them what none of them would have wanted to believe.

They'd simply been used for the intentions of one young man. He didn't care, he simply did whatever it took to control and manipulate the students to his will...The shot had been arranged to create this fiasco they were caught up in...

During this, the news vans and other media had arrived, with a helicopter for good measure circling overhead for good measure. They'd arrived not long after the initial shot had begun to descend the entire situation to its inital chaos, their cameras expecting a massive riot to ensue, but instead they were greeted by the sight of a dangerous situation being handled with skill and cooperation between the schools head figures and the students themselves...Not quite the riot they'd been expecting considering the rather lengthy recording they'd received, but regardless, they rolled film as the crowd was brought, slowly, to a calmer state. By now, many of them had stopped their swinging fists and were simply looking towards the student they'd put their trust in, seeing him unharmed. With their cause to riot extinguished, the efforts of the few whose loyalty stemmed too deep to simply be quelled by the sight of their leader unharmed was simply dampened by every other student around them. There was no point in them fighting anymore...

They'd lost. No, Stern had lost.