D.E.A.T.H

@Mattersuit: He acknowledged the efficient kill with an approving nod, placing his palms on the table, leaning forward fractionally, head tilted curiously.

"A test?"

(Gotcha)

@The_Mercenary:With a contented smile, the knives disappeared back up his sleeves. "Anytime, any place, any challenge." He snarled with an animalistic ferocity, placing his claw-tipped fingers on his side of the table.

@Mattersuit: They glared at each other for a moment longer, tension lingering, neither breaking from each other's eyes. Finally, the Mercenary chuckled, resting against the seat again, folding his arms behind his head, using his forearms as a cushion. He nodded again, approving of the man's predatory personality.

"You seem a determined fellow. If you so wish to be a part of D.E.A.T.H's forces, why not?"

He smirked amiably beneath his mask.

"And I'll be sure to take you up on that challenge sometime."

@The_Mercenary: Adam took his hands from the table, leaving behind small scratches where his claws had been. "I look forward to it." He climbed to his feet, picked up the sunglasses from the table and placed them over his silvery eyes. "The name's Mercer, by the way. Adam Mercer."

@Mattersuit: "I trust you'll find the Fortress through your own methods. We'll be in contact once the team is officially revived."

The Mercenary gave the latest member of D.E.A.T.H one of his signature salutes, tapping his temple with his index and middle finger.

It had been months since the boy had been bled into the life of an assassin, trained by none other than the Mercenary, a ruthless sadist with unmatchable skill and an eerie smirk. He had drilled rules into the very bone of Sean Zeraz, making sure that everything he was taught would be absorbed so that it may be efficiently utilized when required. He'd learnt an incredible amount, hand-to-hand combat, had been introduced to an array of weaponry, and every day the Mercenary had left the boy in a room filled with objects, giving him some time to hone his energy manipulating abilities. He seemed to be getting the hang of them, and soon the Lord of Life would be able to begin a training regime to further refine the true extent of his power.

Today they stood face to face, imitation katana's comprised of wood held in each of their hands, the disorientating colours of the Chamber seeming to swirl around them. The Mercenary stared the boy down, considering his stance and composure. He was satisfied. The boy had remembered everything from his training. His young eyes returned the Shinigami's stare, slightly anxious breaths lifting his small chest, yet fierce determination and focus seeping from every pore. Today was to be their first official battle together. The Mercenary would test the boy's mettle first hand. Of course, he would hold back, but in order to expand little Zeraz' limitations, he would need to play rough.

"Are you ready, child?"

@The_Mercenary: He was confident, strong, everything his master had taught him he'd taken to heart. Without a word he nods in response to the Mercenary's question, dropping into a fighting stance, the mock blade held at the ready.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Mercenary returned the nod approvingly, slowly assuming a leisurely fighting stance himself.

"En garde."

He dashed forwards a step, hoisting the blade above his head a single moment before he brought it down diagonally, movements obscured by his sheer speed, aimed at striking Sean's jugular.

@The_Mercenary: Without hesitation the Zeraz legacy uses his small stature to his advantage, ducking beneath the Mercenary's swing and attempting the land a blow to his teachers abdomen.

@Sean_Zeraz: The boy moved with considerable speed, evading the diagonal slash and pouncing forwards to pierce the Mercenary's stomach. The Lord of Life brought his free arm across with incredible haste, slapping the wooden blade away from his own body, using the boy's extended stance to initialize a swift counter-attack. Aiming a solid kick to the back of Sean's right knee, he brought the blade down straight towards the base of the child's skull.

@The_Mercenary: His legs caught by the kick the young boy falls to the ground, without hesitation he rolls away as his mentor brings the faux blade down where he'd just been. Coming to feet he quickly rushes his master, attempting to slide between the master assassins legs and strike him in the kidneys.

@Sean_Zeraz: Little Zeraz' speed is remarkable, his recovery almost instantaneous. The Mercenary spins around to confront the charging boy, ready to strike his head from his shoulders with the wooden sword as if it were a baseball. The Mercenary misreads the child's movements, realizing too late that he had intended to slide through his wide-spread legs. The Assassin of Ages gave a loud laugh in admiration at Little Zeraz' skill, spinning his body around with amazing speed, managing to deftly parry the strike from his kidneys, having the tip of the blade drive across his chest instead. Had it been an authentic sword, the force of the drive would have sliced through his skin. As it was now, it left a momentary bruise.

After his parry he grabbed the hilt of his weapon with both hands, swerving his body low, aiming to bring it across perfectly horizontal, a mock cleave at the child's stomach.

@The_Mercenary: He grinned as his faux blade scored a hit on his legendary master. The momentary glory making him drop his guard, leaping back in just enough time for his opponent to score a glancing hit on his stomach. He glared up at the Ancient Assassin, lunging into a quick series of slashes and jabs with unnatural speed and precision for one so young. A testament to his excellent training at the hands of his mysterious master.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Mercenary's beautiful swing was deftly evaded by the child, who managed to utilize some of the quick-footed lessons he had learnt in the past few months. And what months they had been. The boy had endured hours upon hours of rigorous, relentless conditioning, his small body pushed far beyond the limits of most military men. He had sweat blood, shed reluctant tears of agony, and withstood pain in its most vile forms. The child's innocence had been decimated, leaving a cold, cunning, and calculating slab of stone within his diaphragm instead. No longer did he flinch when his opponents struck him. No longer did he register affliction, as it sliced through his skin, as it broke his bones, as it spilt his life force.

No longer.

The Mercenary was sent back-tracking by an incredible combo of excellent swordplay, each movement of the wrist setting the tip of the wooden blade on a pin-point journey. The Lord of Life countered each slice with the mastery one would expect from a legendary being such as he, a bare minimum of Little Zeraz' jabs hitting home around his forearms and abdomen. The final swing came from the boy, both weapons colliding as the Mercenary deflected his opponents strike, taking a calculated pair of steps backwards so as to create some space between them.

The sound of calm breathing filled the momentarily still air, the Mercenary twirling his mock sword around in his hands, smirking proudly beneath his mask.

"You've come a far way, Little Zeraz."

The Shinigami rushed forwards suddenly with impossible speed, his weapon sailing through the air above both combatants. He performed a perfect handstand, morphing the spectacular movement into a frontflip, his curled up body shooting over Sean's head. He unravelled in mid-air, plucking his weapon from the sky, landing in a split directly behind the son of the Assassin.

His torso shot towards the boy like a torpedo, both arms bearing down on his head, the blade coming in for a deadly cleave at the child's neck. It would almost definitely be evaded, so the Mercenary continued his movement, bringing a rock-hard knee upwards; aimed directly for Little Zeraz' young chin. The force, if it connected, would stun the boy, which would allow the Assassin of Ages' next attack to make contact unobstructed. It would be a deadly spring kick to the chest, which would send the young trainee's body sprawling across the spotless floor should it hit.

@The_Mercenary: "Thank you master..." before he could speak anymore the ancient assassin rushed towards him, dodging a blow to the neck only to be caught by a powerful blow to the chin, lifting his small body off the ground, causing him to land several feet away, face down. Seemingly unconscious.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Mercenary watched his apprentice fly across the room from the sheer force of his spring kick. The boy rolled over a few times from the momentum of his short flight, eventually ceasing movement on his stomach, face kissing the steel floor.

"What's this?.. Done already, Little Zeraz?"

The Lord of Life stepped forwards slowly, twirling his weapon in one hand, mock thoughtfully brushing his chin with the fingers of his other. He gave a cruel chuckle suddenly, a few feet from the fallen figure of the child.

"Then there is no alternative but to go in for the finishing blow, yes?"

He raised his weapon over his head, gripping the handle with both gloved hands, his legs spread apart, seconds from bringing the wooden blade down on his felled apprentice's neck...

@The_Mercenary: He continued to feign defeat, listening to his masters taunts. Waiting for the moment to strike, as the king of killers prepared for a finishing blow a quick but powerful burst of kinetic energy propelled him between the legs of his master as the faux katana impacted the floor where he'd been. Having lost his own katana he generated a staff from solid light and made ready for the next round.

"I could have taken you down... but I didn't to finish you off so soon master..."

The comment followed by a grin strikingly similar to his fathers as he held the glowing staff and prepared for the fight to resume.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Mercenary's blade's tip struck the cold floor, the Shinigami's body statuesque for a moment. He heard Sean's feet slide across the steel, a slight vibration in the air as he formed a make-shift weapon from tangible energy. It looked like all those hours Merc had granted him in favour of honing his kinetic abilities had proved worthy.

The Guerilla Gun-for-Hire grinned broadly beneath his mask, both cheekily and proudly. He spoke, face still turned away from Little Zeraz.

"Ah, my precious little possum..."

His form disappeared in an instantaneous cloud of ebony, his navy blue clad figure stepping out of the air beside the child, tendrils of darkness rising off of his shoulders.

"...This is far from over."

He brought his blade across aimed at the child's face, but tilted his wrist at the last moment and instead transformed the attack into a vertical slash at his thigh, with enough force to numb his leg. He let the slab of wood fall from his fingers then, his figure then spinning into the boy's perimeters, allowing Little Zeraz no space for swinging his staff around. He crouched low, arms working like pistons as they performed a vicious combo of strikes intended to harm the child's kidneys, diaphragm, and abdomen. He had rigorously drilled defence into the child, enabling him to survive manoeuvres such as this, and he held faith that the boy would impress him.

@The_Mercenary: He rolled with the first strike instinctively, decreasing the amount of damaged he would take and avoiding the rest, instantly swing the staff towards his teachers exposed head, followed by burst of kinetic energy directed at the floor, propelling him over his master, the protege attempting to ram the staff into his masters spine.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Ancient Assassin's head was jerked around by the force of the staff's strike, a burst of sound emanating from where the child had just been standing. The Lord of Life could anticipate what was about to happen next, and was about to spin around and swat the child out of the air when he was sent to the ground, bouncing across the floor, the momentum from Little Zeraz' assault incredible. He rolled across the floor once, coming up in an instantaneous crouch, a pair of knives in his hands suddenly. He tilted his head to one side, chuckling softly to himself.

"Excellent work Little Zeraz."

He straightened up, lashing his arm out, the knife flying through the air, aimed directly at the child's heart. It was a feint, intended to distract the boy whilst the Mercenary launched the other projectile in quick succession, aimed at the boy's right shoulder, where; should it make contact, it would leave his skill with his weapon at a disadvantage.

@The_Mercenary: In a display of expert timing the up and coming assassin managed to defect the first blade, catching the second and redirecting it at his masters feet, charged with kinetic energy to distraction.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Mercenary bounced off of the floor, curling into a ball and spinning through the air, evading the kinetically charged knife by millimetres. He unfurled in mid-air, flying straight towards the Zeraz Legacy, his right leg outstretched in a calculated flying kick, aimed straight at the child's temple.

@The_Mercenary: Moving in the nick of time, the Zeraz Legacy manages to avoid his master's attempted blow to the temple, taking the powerful kick to the chest, the force within the strike propelling the miniature assassin into a nearby wall, a crak resonating throughout the room, a broken rib.

He sat slumped against the wall, fighting back tears as he glared at his teacher, the pain resonating throughout his body as he slowly stood. Fists raised, ready to deter whatever attack the master assassin might have in store for him.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Mercenary sauntered forward casually, confidence exuding from every single one of his mutilated pores. He gave the boy a slow, patronizing clap, his smirk turned to a hideous grin.

"Very nice, very nice. You're making great progress!-"

He paused mid-way through the final clap, tilting his head slightly, his voice tainted by cruel sarcasm.

"- As a punching bag."

He chuckled harshly, his form suddenly obscured by the sheer speed with which he mobilized, appearing inches from the child, both arms pulled to his sides, palms facing forwards, each finger curled inwards. His foot struck the floor, stopping his momentum and reversing it, pushing his body back before it flew into Sean, but propelling his hands towards the child's chest simultaneously. The fearsome claw attack was intended to shatter the child oesophagus entirely, should it make contact.

@The_Mercenary: Anger bubbling inside him the future killer met his mentors claw attack with two tiny fists, stopping the attacks before they struck home. Kinetic energy enveloping the ancient assassins hands. "I would choose your next move carefully master..." The protege said, completely serious. Blue fixed on those of his master. His breathing struggled do to the broken rib.

Adam watched the boy be beaten by the Mercenary with a flat, emotionless gaze. He was slightly disappointed in his knowledge that the superior fighter would not allow the boy to be killed.

@Sean_Zeraz: The Mercenary took a calculated yet visibly nonchalant step backwards, playfully clenching and unclenching his fists, the burnt flesh already upon its regeneration course. The Lord of Life cocked his head to the side, considering the battered child with intrigue, and a tinge of admiration.

"You've done superbly today, boy."

He paused, his malicious eyes narrowing threateningly.

"But you are miles from what you will be."

He disappeared suddenly, and before the child was able to discern the Mercenary's nigh impossibly swift movements, he felt two fingers brush against his temple.

"Bang."

Sean's sadistic mentor broke out into a combo of demented chuckles, removing his fingers from the Assassin's son and making his way towards the exit, waving the boy onwards behind him. Their training for the day had been completed. The Mercenary was aware of the now cold and calculating apprentice's progress, but felt it was not quite what it should be. He would amp the schedule up from here on out.

Little Zeraz would beg for death.

@The_Mercenary: Bro, bro. You looking for this, bro?

@The_Roman: Dayumn.

@Mercy_ : Please lock thees thread Strawberreh.

O_O

IN BEFORE THE LOCK!

@The_Mercenary said:

@Mercy_ : Please lock thees thread Strawberreh.

Alrighty, Chuckles.