[PP-F1] Pixelation (Opal)

[Creius 0]

It had been a quiet day out on the first floor, not much going on at all. The sky was a clear blue with no clouds to be seen and the sun provided a nice warmth that would make most smile. None of it quite fit with the horrors that Nathan was going to see that day but at the present moment, he felt content. He was laying down in the grass out in the fields, quite a bit away from the Town of Beginnings but he held no fear of monsters. The mobs of the first floor were beneath him now thanks to the rapid levelling that he had gone through. In a matter of weeks he had gone from struggling with a basic boar to soloing the lower level floor bosses and he was quite happy with that. Today, though, he did not plan on farming or grinding. Today he planned on relaxing. However, as with most plans, that is not what ended up happening.

The sun washed over his face as he lay there, right on the edge of a forest. His eyes were closed as he bathed in the artificial sunlight and he just listened to the world around him. He could hear the movement of animals in the forests and the snorts of boars a little farther out in the fields where he was and, occasionally, he could hear players fighting said mobs. All in all, he was having a pleasant time just laying there and not worrying about anything. Everything felt right at that exact moment even if the world around him was truly wrong. At that moment he did not worry about death or hurrying up to get to the frontlines so that the game could be beaten. The only thing that he was worrying about was a small lump of dirt that was not quite even with the rest of the ground and had been bothering him. He shifted slightly and sighed, rather content with life and happy to have the ability to just stop and breathe.

It all began a few hours after he had begun his nap-like relaxation period and he was not entirely sure what was going on at first. While he lay there he suddenly noticed how his ears were picking up the sound of steel on steel. That sound was most definitely not something he found natural to the game but he did not let himself worry. It very well could just have been a duel between two players who had gotten a little bored and antsy and needed to do something. That is what he told himself until the first scream reached his ears. Instantly his eyes snapped open and he picked himself off the ground and tried to detect from which direction the scream or clashing of steel had come from. Another scream. Nathan ran forward, towards the sound, and did not stop until he came upon a most horrific scene.

The group had probably been partying together to try and catch some easy monsters on the first floor for some drops. That would have been Nathan's guess at least since they seemed to be a lower levelled party from the equipment that he saw. The other group though, he could tell nothing about besides the fact that they were malicious, as obvious not only from their actions but the atmosphere. The entire second group was clothed in black robes, hiding their equipment from his view so that all he saw was the wide variety of weapons that they used. The clashing of steel that Nathan had heard was the sound of the two groups meeting in combat and the scream was probably the helpless looking girl sitting in the back of the farming group, probably just having started out on her journey. He watched as the two groups fought each other and saw the reasoning for the girl's screams almost immediately. One of the black cloaked fighters parried a blow and immediately riposted, his blade sinking into the other player. A look of disbelief came across the young man's face and he disappeared into pixels.

Nathan's eyes widened as he witnessed this death but he could not will his feet to move forward as he watched the player killers proceed to hound on the rest of the group. He stood there helplessly, not knowing if he could trust the players he wished to save with his life nor if he could actually beat the player killers. He just stood there watching, plan after plan flying through his mind as he tried to come up with some way to help the poor group of players.

[Opal 0]

The naked dark beauty shifted beneath her silken sheets, pale fingers stretched out over her pillow holding onto a half burned cigarette as the ashes dropped with a quick flick. Her violet eyes were had become almost lifeless as she stared at the door. Prior to the event, she had read a message from her Master Sensui that the indicated event of the first Floor Massacre had begun in the field. She was not to take part of it, but she was given right to oversee the operation, however, it was already on going and for some reason or another she could not force herself to move out of her bed. 

A heavy set of blinks followed to moisten her eyes. She yawned and turned over on her back, the orange scent of her cigarette mixing with the air around her as she inhaled deeply and blew the citrus smoke from her black lips and flicked the stick away from her body. As it spiraled in motion...it pixelated away...

"AHHH!!"

The scream sounded off yet again; another murder. They were twin brothers; known simply as Purge and Purify. The duo had formed a bond with Sensui a long time ago, and were almost Commanders under the sigil of the Laughing Coffin, however, no one knew their name and rarely had they shown their faces to the general public. They were in all instants Orange Players and between the two, they had a collected kill count of forty five players after this bloody massacre. Their laughs were cold and merciless, "Hey, Purge...what about this player?" 

Sniffling a little boy no older than ten years old out in the hunt. Away from civilization, and away from safe harbor. His little sword sweeping through the air as he tried to hold back tears. First his older sister died in front of him, and then his best friends. And now...now he was gonna die, "No one lives, remember? Orders are orders," the twin brother said.

"Yeah? But we don't take orders from anyone. Even from the Boss." 

"Who the hell cares? A kill is a kill. If you don't want to, I'll get the point and win the game!" 

"What? No way! I saw him first! So I get to kill him!" 

The spear, black in every right of its existence, slammed into the helpless child as he was uprooted from his position, "Hahaha, hey guys! Check this out!" Impaled on his spear was the boy who could not free himself and slowly his HP was sinking further and further. With a few hops of his spear the little boy flailed about until blue pixels were all that were left. The group of player killers laughed as the bodies of those they had slain finally pixelated away. All of them had been wearing their dark and shabby robes hiding their faces; save for one player who cared little for the anonymity of the event. With one hand on the cowl and the other on the hood, long purple hair unfurled from the hood as she shook her head; eyes of midnight black espied over the field and she dusted her hands free.

"I believe that does it." The woman said to herself and looked over at the others. It was until they all backed away by what appeared to be another figure approaching them. Laughing Coffin was a guild based on the principle they could kill whoever they wanted, there was no alliance within the alliance and everyone could do their own thing. However, fear was a powerful tool and if things were to go smoothly, even the biggest and baddest of the guilds needed leadership and direction.  The figure stood amongst them, as they backed away. The woman with the long purple hand bowed, "It is done, Master. Eight Players had been slain this day." 

"Did you all have fun?" came the feminine voice from the robes. The two brothers Purge and Purify looked at one another and laughed and laughed shaking their head, "Hell yeah! This was a lot of fun. Up to the hunt, and all the way to the slaughter through and through! When you require us again, you know how to reach us. Payment?" 

The robed figure brought up a gloved hand to access the menu and shifted a large amount of col and broke it into several bags dropping it into the field, "You all did well, your efforts this day will make a day in history of Aincrad. Congratulations."  

And with that, each player collected their payment and loot and were gone going into stealth and leaving the bloody field all together. Soon spawns of boars appeared along with other mobs. As if nothing happened, the wind blew and the sun was still warm and happy as anything else. The scent of death nonexistent, no blood stained the grass, as for the players? They were just scratched off the Monument of Life, forever forgotten. 

[Creius 0]

Nathan was unable to leave but nor was he able to help. Instead he just sat there and watched as the entirety of the small group was decimated. Slowly, one by one, all the older players were slaughtered. Two of the brutes hesitated as they approached the last one, a small boy. For a fraction of a second the glimmer of hope that the boy would be left alone, scarred as he may be, and be able to live was in Nathan's heart. That hope was quickly dashed though as the two brutes argued over who would get the kill. Nathan actually winced as he saw the black spear thrust forward and impale the young boy, picking him up off the ground as the spear was held up. It had been a slow attack due to the weight of the weapon but the child had not dodged it. No, now that young child sat on the end of the spear and had to watch as his health slowly depleted to zero, horror in his eyes. The worst part was that the two large brutes who had done most of the work in the massacre seemed to be enjoying parading around their prize of a dying boy. Nathan stood up, knowing it was far too late to do anything but he knew that he could not just stand by and watch as the men carried on such sadistic work. He drew Bloodletter and began his descent on the group of black robed figures. Right as he took his first step he stopped and watched as the young child slowly dissolved into the pixelated polygons of death. Nathan's mouth sat open as he watched, unable to comprehend how anyone could find joy in such fiendish acts. As he stood there, unable to comprehend what had just happened before his eyes, he watched one robed figure approach the two brutes that had done the most damage and proceeded to drop large bags of Col as payment. Nathan scowled as he realized they were just petty murderers, men who relished in the act of murder and were pleased to be paid for it. There was no honour in such kills, no great sense of accomplishment from slaughtering innocents. Those type of sadistic men disgusted him and anger slowly built up in him. Slowly, each player took their share and then disappeared into the shadows, leaving the scene of the massacre behind for Nathan to stare at.

Nathan stood there, shamefaced for a second. He had spent so much of his time recently training to become stronger and he had done nothing to help the group. What if he could have been the deciding factor? Maybe he could have saved that poor young boy who had died way too early. With a disgusted groan Nathan sheathed Bloodletter and walked down the slope to where the massacre had taken place. There was nothing. No sign of the players' existence. No blades, no corpses, no smells, not even a single pixel that would hint at the fact that they had existed. They had been wiped off of Aincrad as easily as he could have thrown a piece of trash away. Deemed worthless and discarded. The anger slowly grew, becoming a raging fire in him as he looked around the empty scene of the massacre. How had he allowed such an atrocity to occur? He could have stopped it but he had simply sat idly, watching as a group of innocent players were slaughtered. He had hesitated and watched as they had all been killed just because he was not sure they would protect his back and result in his death. He felt no pity for himself for having witnessed such an act, there was only disgust at himself. Slowly something built in him, something he had not felt in a long time. Bloodlust. Those player killers, they deserved to die. They were trash, nothing but corpses in his mind. They already lacked a soul evidently, he would be doing their bodies a favor by burying them. He sat there, seething for a few seconds. He would not forget, not now and not ever. If necessary he would hunt them down outside of this game to make sure that justice was reaped, however it was done. The sounds of boars spawning in roused him from his thoughts and he looked around, making sure he was still safe. Looking behind him, towards the safe zone, he made a split second decision. He turned to the forest and ran into it, intent on finding at least one of the player killers and giving them as well deserved of a punishment as any criminal deserved. As he entered into the shadows of the forest he scanned from side to side and drew his rapier, Bloodletter singing as it rasped out of its sheathe and seemed to sense its master desire for someone's untimely demise.

[Opal 0]

Opal had shifted once more as she looked over her shoulder. Shadows had fled into the forest and from a distance she saw a young man take to the walls of the trees as well that littered the first floor mob area. Her eyes slowly narrowed, then her lips curled into a thick grin. Raising her hand she sent out a message to the brothers to deal with the nuisance. If he was a witness, he needed to be taken care of. 

Purify and Purge, the deadly duo hid in the shadows of the forest contemplating what to do with their winnings. 

"Bro! That was so damn cool! Did you see the look on that kid's face when I impaled him? It was such a rush!" 

"You get excited about every little kill you make with that spear. Come on, let's get out of here-." Just as the twin dropped a hand on his brother's shoulder he received a ping from his inbox. He read the contents, "Hey, Purge. Wait a sec, we missed one it seems."

"The hell we did! We got all those fools easily enough, what are you going on about?" 

"Shut up! Apparently there was a witness. Sloppy work on behalf of the scout, which means I can even up the score." 

The twin brother sighed and nodded, "Whatever." They took to the shadows once more and waited in ambush to kill this so called witness. Blue hair bobbed left and right as the Brothers were stationed up in a tree and looking down, almost chuckling, "Let's have some fun." 

Plop! Plop! 

Four feet fell towards the ground, robed figures now wearing masks stood in front of the nuisance before them, "Hey there buddy. Whatchya up to?" 

Purge laughed at his brother's question, shouldering the ebony spear that was used to kill the child as it bounced over his shoulder. The other twin, Purify was scanned this new player and noticed the rapier in his hand and chuckled, "You planning on hunting some mobs in the forest? Wanna team up a bit? We'll share the loot." The orange cursor above their heads were a clear indication that they were just messing with player. Purge got antsy and flicked his staff at the bluenette, "Man, enough of this bullshit. Let's just kill him already? I wanna spend the col I got on some puss-" 

"Enough, already Purge. Didn't you ever hear the phrase 'fun of the hunt'? Hey, Kid! Have you ever heard a little pig squeal before? It's quite the ear cringing sound. I heard it moments ago when my brother slaughtered that child. Did you see that? They way his spear gutted a little child? Hahaha, you look angry. You think you can take us both on? With that common looking Rapier?" 

Opal had been watching from the scene unfold as she was watching the two brothers work. They did sure talk alot...But there was something else about this kid with the rapier. He might be useful to her, that is if he could survive this encounter with Purge and Purify. Before his HP bar would drop, she'll jump into the fray and 'save him.' She sent a quick message to the two detailing what the scenario would be like. This would be more of a play or a show and she would have this young kid do some dirty work for her in the future. Her black lips curled, she was a conniving bitch.

Purge ran his finger through his menu when the message appeared, "Hey Bro..."

"Yeah, I know! Alright, Mr. Duelist...let's get this party started!"

[Creius 0]

Nathan darted through the trees and scanned for any signs of life that the player killers might have left behind. The trees flew past him as he delved deeper into the forest, unknowingly into the arms of the very people whom he was chasing. The darkness grew around him as the edge of the forest fell behind him and there were no obvious signs of his prey. They had hidden their tracks fairly well, adept at the sneaking and hiding skill undoubtedly. He slowed to a jog so that he could take more time to inspect his surroundings, hoping that there would be some sign of anyone from the group of player killers. He was looking out to his side, deep into the forest, when he heard two heavy sounds in front of him, about thirty meters out. He stopped immediately and looked forward at the two ambushers in front of him. A momentary rage gave way and clouded his vision as he realized these were the men that had needlessly killed that young boy, which one of the brothers noted at. He cast his face down as he tried to control his anger, the man's taunting about the child's death not helping. He just saw that horror-filled face, a face that condemned him for not acting when he could have. As he dealt with the rage the two took a step forward in unison and he snapped out of his emotions. He could not help but grin as the blinding rage subsided, a grin that held a slight insanity to it as the bloodlust returned. "Oh, it's you two beauties. I am actually really glad I ran into you." Nathan looked up at them, the grin wide on his face. The look was unnerving, so much so that the two brutes hesitated and stopped as they listened to him speak. "As for this "common rapier", it prefers the name Bloodletter." He brought the mentioned blade up, holding the tilt in one hand and the tip of the blade in the other. "Remember that if you would not mind. I just figured I would pay you for what you did back there." The blade slowly fell to his side and he took a slow step forward. "You two seem to relish in pain and suffering so I guess payment in such would be suitable." Another small step forward. "I doubt you two fully realize what it means to take a life, to watch the essence of someone wash out of them." Again, a step. "To have the blood of a countless many all on your hand." Again. "Death is novelized in this game." One more. "No where near as dramatic as the reality." Another. "But I will do my best to demonstrate it to you." A larger step. "To you, I am a demon." A second. "The devil." A third. "Diablo, Thanatos, Ankou, or Yama." Another. "Whatever you may call him, that is me." One more. "But," a small pause, "most importantly, I am redemption." The antsy one, known as Purge to those that he spoke to, seemed to not like Nathan's monologue. As soon as the last words were uttered he darted forward and thrust his ebony spear forward. Contemptuously, Nathan parried the attack to his side. These two brutes were not dealing with some push over. The attack, having broken the ice of combat, incited Nathan to dart forward quickly. Bloodletter hissed down the shaft of the spear and glowed its blood red color as it approached its target. The second brother turned to stop the attack but Nathan had already closed the distance in less than a second. Pushing the spear to the side a bit he took Bloodletter and unleashed the Quadruple Pain sword art. Bloodletter eagerly dove into Purge four times in quick succession, once in each shoulder and twice above the thighs. The effect of the attack was immediate, and most definitely not death. No, the shocked look on Purge's face showed the true effect. The spear hovered in midair, its wielder unable to move his arm at all now, and Nathan rolled under it, fully expecting the other brother's retaliation. Sure enough, there was a loud yell and a louder crash as Purify's axe slammed into the ebony spear that was in suspension. Without hesitation Nathan darted forward, Bloodletter gleaming once more, and slashed out twice at the two brothers and caught them both in the AOE attack. Knowing that the stun would be wearing off soon, Nathan darted backwards, well out of range of the spear. Once he was in a safe range he flourished Bloodletter and waited for the two brother's to come at him. A two on one combat would be difficult, but Nathan was sure it was doable, especially if his armor did its job. The two brutes charged him, the spearman in front and the axe behind. The spear, once again was thrust at him and Nathan dodged the heavy attack with ease. He brought Bloodletter up, about to bring the blade down on the head of Purge when he noticed a movement. Too late, he tried to dodge out of the way of the axe as it came down but the head of the weapon caught Nathan in the side and sent him crashing into the ground. Purify stumbled backwards, though, a sudden effect catching him by surprise. While Nathan's health dropped a bit from the basic attack Purify's health dropped more as the thorns dealt its damage. Nathan took the chance to stand up and saw the spear coming at him once more, aimed at his gut. Nathan parried the strike, knocking it to the side, then stepped forward, Bloodletter gleaming in his hands as it thirsted for blood. The blade sailed forward and quickly struck the spearman in the chest three times, sending Purge backwards towards his brother whom had already recovered from the thorns damage. It was then that Nathan wondered if he had the energy to fight two players at once. He very well could output the damage too, especially with the added damage from bleed and thorns, but it was a tiring process to deal heavy blows.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Creius

[Opal 0]

Each brother revealed crystals in their hands, crushing the objects between their fingers, their HP once more going back up to the normals, "You fool, you had us going there for a moment. You are all talk, but we have plenty of healing items on hand between the two of us. And now you will d--!" Purge was cut off by a thump on the ground. Behind the bluenette player was a player that many had seen and heard of before. Her violet eyes glaring, her ebony clothing and dull nightshade tint of her armor, the long snow white hair and the flecks of violet coated bangs; Opal. 

She took a step forward showing the first three inches of the seven foot blade of the Masamune X, they both took a step backwards and gulped, "Hey bro...she is serious isn't she?"

Like a black blur, she moved from her once stood position, and appeared before the twin brothers. Her back was facing Creius now and she mouthed a few words to them before her blade and the attached AoE attack went off without a hitch sending them flying backwards into the trees. She stood tall once more and looked over her shoulder, "You alright?" Her attention drawn back to the orange players, "You want more?" She asked to them giving the chance for them to run away. She held her arm out to Creius shaking her head, no doubt he would want to run after them.

"They'll lead you into a trap and kill you. Then what will you do? You are already marked by the Laughing Coffin now, they've seen your face, they know who you are. And they will make your life miserable and torture you every chance they get. And what the hell were you doing with them out here anyways? You have any idea what kind of danger you put yourself in soloing? This might be the first floor, but this place is now riddled with the uprise of Laughing Coffin and other PK guilds. There is a turf war going on as well and you just might have stumbled onto something you should not have." The woman whipped her body around and flicked her katana outwards, her eyes narrowed at the player and shook her head.

"One player. That is all you are." 

[Creius 0]

Nathan watched a bit wide-eyed as they pulled out crystals and crushed them between their thick hands. The fight had most definitely just gotten single-sided. What had he been thinking? It was a two versus one and he had no way to heal besides his battle healing ability and, while he trusted his ability to dodge greatly, he doubted he was able to dodge forever. He was going to get hit and unlike them he was incapable of keeping his health up on a consistent level. He messed with his grip on Bloodletter and looked down at the blade as Purge began to speak. There was nothing to it but to fight his way out, that was the only way out of this mess he had gotten himself into. He looked up as Purge was about to announce the coming death and saw a figure drop between the two brutes. Even from the distance between them Nathan was able to tell that this woman was dangerous. The atmosphere created by her dark attire and the relentless glare of her eyes unnerved him and he was unable to shake the feeling. He did not allow the feeling show on his face, though. Showing weakness would only hurt him at this point and he realized that so he just stood there stoically and awaited whatever events that were to be.

Everything happened quickly after that, in a flash the assumed enemy put herself between the two brutes and him and sent the two flying with one attack. Nathan watched and tested his grip on Bloodletter once more just to make sure he could fight if necessary. He was feeling a bit uneasy about this woman and had yet to decide if she were friend or foe. When she casted a look to him and asked if he were alright he tersely replied, "Yes," and watched her scare off the two killers. He debated whether to chase after them or not, knowing full well that death was a good possibility. A few hundred paths went through his head quickly and he turned his attention on the woman in front of him. He realized the potential of ambush and/or a larger group was highly probable, even without her pointing out so. And the fact that he was most likely marked was kind of a given, he had just attacked two members of what was obviously an organized group. He would just have to get stronger and deal with any attempts on his life. What he had not realized was the fact that there was a turf war going on, this news rather unexpected as it passed from the woman's lips. Such a war meant there had to be quite a bit PKers out there and it made Nathan wonder just how many players died daily by another's hands. His teeth ground as a small anger built up in him. Someone had to do something about that and, if it were to be him, he would have to get a lot stronger. He looked up and met her eyes with a cool look, the anger having passed momentarily. "I may be one player right now but one player can be quite a threat if they're strong enough. Give me the time and these player killer guilds will rue the day that they raised a blade against another player. They are nothing more than animals in my eyes and I will slaughter them as such." Quietly, he took a breath. He was quite a bit angered at the slaughter he had witnessed that day and the cry for vengeance kept returning. His eyes fell to the blade in her hands and he watched the katana carefully, not entirely sure what to make of its presence. Surely she was on his side if she had attacked the PKers and she was quite strong also. Maybe she could help him. "Plus, there are bound to be others who would not stand for the injustices I witnessed today. There will be more who would stop any others from being killed in cold blood as such. You seem to know quite a bit about these player killers, maybe you could help me?" There was a momentary suspicion as a small realization hit him. He discarded the thought, though. Surely she was not affiliated, it was most likely just common knowledge. She might seem dangerous enough to be a player killer but she was still green. If he spent more time in towns listening to rumours and gossip maybe he would have the same knowledge. "You have no obligation to, I can do just fine on my own. I always have."

Edited July 10, 2016 by Creius

[Opal 0]

"Slaughter, huh?" the woman mused to herself. An ornate saya finding its place in her hand as she sheathed her Masamune. With a sweep with the back of her hand, the long white hair unfurled from her shoulder towards her back, "Yes, those eyes you have are so dangerous and alluring. I can see you would not be a man who would go against his word. And as you say, I have some information that may provide of use." The woman's weapon disappeared from her hand with quick hand movement. Her arms gathered up over her body as she folded them under her bust and leaned against a rather large tree in the forest, "I have been hunting player killers as well. What you might have witnessed was possibly a show of power from the Laughing Coffin. They are trying to take and monopolize floors to give them a greater access for ambushes as well as becoming the BEST PK guild all around, however, another group of players known as Titan's Hand. Their leader has not shown themselves in public, however, they seem to be a master of their art. No doubt possibly a green player amongst us. So we have a war on our hands, I would say let them kill each other...but it doesn't work like that. They kill other players, innocent lives constantly taken. Did you know in the last month or so, the rate of player killing has gone up almost three times."

The woman kicked off the tree and moved towards Creius, circling him like a vulture, arms still crossed, "Perhaps you are the leader of this Titan Hand? A player I have been wanting to rip apart for some time now. I can't pass by the opportunity to remove you from this world, but at the same time, I doubt you hold such a position. You are way too weak to uphold stature in such a guild." The woman laughed. Her teeth showed in the stark comparison to her black colored lips. She placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'll tell you what. Help me root out the leader to Titan Hand, and I'll help you gather a force of players to take down Laughing Coffin. Who knows, you might even be the next hero of Aincrad. What do you say? Partners?" the woman turned to him, her hand out stretched in front of him for a handshake, she would use this player to lure out that leader and do a lethal blow to Titan's Hand and at the same time strengthening the tyranny of Laughing Coffin. 

[Creius 0]

Nathan kept his eyes steadily on the woman as she assessed him, watching the Katana to as it moved in her hands. When it was gone, as well as his own blade shortly after, his eyes came back up to her's and he gave her a steely gaze. He wanted that information. No, want did not adequately describe his desire. He held a craving for that information. As long as it would help him in his endeavors he would listen to this woman's words. Mentally, plans flew. Back and forth he began considering just what he could do in order to destroy his chosen foes. There was a great chance he would be tremendously outnumbered in every fight which meant he would need to get much stronger. Keeping his eyes on her he once again evaluated her and guessed that she would be able to help him with that issue. She could prove a most useful ally, maybe to a point where he could use her to further his plans. That was thought for later, though. For now, he would have to act as an obedient mercenary who would do just as she asked. One day, he planned to turn the tables but that was far off in the future.

His thoughts were brought back to the present situation when she began describing the current situation to him. The torrent of information worried him slightly, this was a terribly thick mess he had managed to get himself into but he would see the issue through. There was no backing down, especially now. With that resolution the steely gaze returned and determination filled him. These killers would submit to him one day and the entire underworld of player killer guilds would whisper his name in fear. He now had the resolve for the task. All he needed at this point was the task itself. This was when the woman began to describe a specific group. His hand fell to Bloodletter slightly as she mentioned that he could potentially be the leader of this group. He relaxed when she said he was much too weak. She was right, though. She could easily destroy him in a fight if she so desired. He had never heard of this Titan Hand but if they were player killers and she could provide him with the numbers to take the fight further he would have to help if he truly desired to accomplish his goal. He stepped forward and took her hand firmly in his and shook it, staring deeply into her eyes. He did not trust her at all, there was something in those eyes. He needed her, though, and it seemed that she needed him as well. Until he was stronger, he would just have to keep it this way. Once he was strong enough, he was certain he could terminate this temporary relationship and build something greater. "I do not need to be a hero. I just need to be strong enough to accomplish the coming tasks. Tell me, what exactly do you need me to do? Just tell me when and where and I will find this leader you so strongly desire to see terminated." He released her hand and held the gaze, waiting for whatever details were to come.