Kingdom of Madness; Briefing. [Plot]

Detective Mathews looks over the four people he had in his office;
A muscular hooded Faunus, a well dressed trap, a Faunus that dressed like a boyscout, and a small Faunus girl.
Definitely could have had worse.
"I'm assuming you understand that I could be sending you into incredible danger, so I'll ask one last time. Are you prepared to go on this mission? I'll understand if you choose to leave, but understand that this is your last chance to do so."

Schrödinger smirked at the detective's questioning. "Vell, yeah. Vho vould accept a contract vithout knowing ze danger, vhat idiot vould do zat? Vait a second I zink I am unprepared and unequipped for zis mission actually." Schrödinger said like the cocky prick he is just before disappearing from the room entirely, he reappeared a few moments later now carrying a brown paper bag "Hehe, forgot my lunch." He said childishly. "Right, lets start zis so I can get paid." He said, glancing down at his lunch, tempted to eat it already. Despite his confident appearance Schrödinger was actually slightly worried, this was the first contract he had signed for without Seras at his side. He had never been on a mission without her and didn't really feel that his new team mates would have his back covered as well as Seras would.

The "well dressed trap" gives a shrug of his shoulders, carefully maintaining a neutral expression to hide his worry of being recognized. "We're all training to be Hunters, aren't we? Backing down because it could be dangerous seems a bit counter to that, no?" he asks, voice picking up a slight edge by the end. At the cat Faunus' stunt, he quirks a brow, overall unamused, but says nothing of it.

Soft, narrowed eyes of a lavender radiance had been kept upon the detective in the front all through the briefing. Their keeper had been listening rather intently within an uttermost silence --- which was completely normal for her. By the time that the briefer had finished his speech, the ebon-haired student gave a small, simple, and somewhat shy nod to show that she realized what she was getting into. In all honesty she herself was greatly concerned for her well being, seeing as everything that had happened and probably was still happening as she and the others waited up held great peril within their paths. Despite this prior realization, however, she found herself in the current location anyways. This seemed to happen sometimes --- getting herself into serious matters when she wished to --- and caused many who knew of her way of action to become shocked...

...Pun completely intended.

She thought about this very thing quietly to herself, releasing a small, barely audible laugh into her scarf after fully realizing the words that she had mentally placed could be phrased to create a very bad joke. It would be short-lived as she allowed herself to focus upon another thing...or, rather, person. Caracal auds of hers would give the slightest flicker beneath her raised hood as she listened to the...younger...boy's reply to the detective's final inquiry. Violet voids would blink quickly, focusing on one of the more youthful boys as he made some comment about lunch before disappearing completely for a quick moment. They would lock onto him once more as he reappeared seemingly as fast as he had gone, a bag then on hand. Should she have had a different personality than the one that she had made her own, the lass most likely would've pulled her scarf down the slightest bit to make a small, curious questioning of her own.

...But of course, the current persona she had was the one she had stuck to for the past couple of years, and will most likely continue to do so for the upcoming. So, she simply remained as she was; as quiet as a mouse, awaiting for...something else...to happen before she and the others would be allowed to depart. No snarky reply of her own would be made verbal...or any type of verbal reply, for that matter. The nod given earlier would simply suffice for her.

Kail replied, nodding and crossing his arms "We all know the risks involved, detective, and each of us are ready. What's the situation? I know that we'll be entering a ghost town of sorts to investigate a disappearance?" he asked, looking over at his current allies, he thought 'Well, let's see. A boyscout, a small girl, and a trap. Well, looks like I'll be the medic, considering my semblance. The boyscout looks rather skilled, the trap is...well, a trap, and the girl.....hmm...probably more to her than she lets on.' He pulled out Beta and Epsilon, checking the ammunition and safety on each while directing the guns away from everyone.

"If you're all sure, I guess we can begin"
Mathews hits a few keys on his computer
"As Kail here has just said, you will be entering a town named 'Cysoph'. We don't know anything about the place, other than that it was deserted last time we looked, and now it's turned into some sort of fortress city."
Mathews hands everyone little headpieces.
"Take some time now to get acquainted with these, as when you enter Cysoph, you won't have time to experiment. I don't know what you can expect to see inside of Cysoph, or what kind of people you will be facing. However, I do have some information about the people being kidnapped; According to the records of missing people and records from medical examinations, all the missing people have been considered mentally unstable. Not all of them were bad enough to be put in an institute, but all of them WERE bad enough to get unwanted attention from someone, it seems."
Mathews walks over to a large locker and opens it.
"Now, the only way we could get you into Cysoph is with the rest of the 'unstable', which means you won't have access to your weapons when they take you. As such, we have a plan in place. Anything you think you will want or need whilst in Cysoph, I'll ask you to place in here. We will get them to you."

Kail took a glance at the headpiece, and switched it on, inserting it into his human ear. He put Beta and Epsilon in the locker, along with his custom made scroll. "Well, I was once thought to have been crazy too, but then I was tested. Let's see, my Weapons, my Scroll....Oh, yes, almost forgot." He reached through his hooded jacket and a click was heard, before several light pieces of armor fell out. "My body armor. Don't really need it, but, it pays to be preapared." He put his body armor in the locker as well and stepped back, waiting for the others.

Chelsea blinked silently, staring at the locker for a moment before shifting her attention over her shoulder and at one half of her weapon. In a somewhat slow fashion she would hook her left hand over her shoulder, grasping hold of the handle revealed by one of her weapon's scythe blades while it remained within its primary form. She gave it a small tug upward, pulling it from the quiver from which it had been resting upon. Once freed she would hold it before her, whispering something to herself before taking a step forward and setting it into the locker. The quiver itself would soon follow after, placed somewhat neatly next to the bow-scythe-rifle triple hybrid she had laid down.

After doing this, the lass stepped briefly away, unzipping the pockets upon her outer layer of clothing and slipping her hands in. They would reel out after a few seconds, a few clips of extra ammo held within each, and place them into the metallic container alongside her other weaponry. She thought for another quick moment, her eyes shifting about the other portions of the containment and catching sight of Kail's scroll. Blinking, she reeled a hand beneath her second longsleeve, reeling her own, similar device out from a small, inner pocket and placing it with her belongings as well.

Another pause would be taken as she cycled through her intellect, and the lavender-eyed girl gave a small nod while quietly deciding that she didn't have anything else of much importance. She herself backed away, much like Kail did, and she looked over at the Detective. "U-um...so...I have a couple of questions...?" she managed to stutter out after pulling her scarf down and placing her earpiece within one of her human ears. Her tone somewhat quiet as it usually was, she continued on. "First...if we're being taken with the..." she began, ceasing her speech somewhat awkwardly for a second as she scanned her mind for a word, "...loonies...would we have to act like they do...? And, um...second..."

Looking down at her hands, the Faunus would give her head a good shake, causing her hood to fall down against her back. Both caracal ears of hers would be fully revealed after this. "...Is there an electrical generator nearby that I could...use? For lack of better term. Or...a few other electrical devices, at least..." As soon as she finished this line her hands sparked the slightest bit within a lightened violet tint. The flickering sensation immediately faded from her grasp and she looked up once more, awkwardly meeting gazes with the detective yet again. "If we're entering a ghost town without our weapons directly on us...then...I feel it would be best if I 'charged' myself. ...Sh-should...should things turn unexpectedly, at least..."

"I've uploaded false profiles for you all to the Institute's system. As far as we know, that's how they have been getting the info on their victims. Along with those profiles, I've uploaded a few traits that should help keep suspicion off of you, such as 'tendency to speak to imaginary people'. Aside from that, whatever you feel necessary personality wise should be fine. And if you are able, you may use the wall socket over there"
Mathews points to an electrical socket on the other side of the room.
"I have a few more bits of information for you, but I'll wait until you are all ready."

With a sigh, Lí unstraps the harness keeping Fenghuang on his back before carefully depositing it in a locker along with a few spare Dust crystals. He steps back, keeping an eye on his weapon for a moment, loathe to be parted from it. He had agreed to take the mission, however, and Lí is a man of his word.

"Would it be safe to assume these profiles exaggerate any oddities we may have, or do they fabricate new ones entirely?" he asks, turning to face Mathews.

Schrödinger sighed a sigh of relief when the detective said about starting. About time. He thought to himself as the detective continued talking, when he was handed the earpiece he looked at it for a moment, a quizzical expression flashing across his face, he shrugged and lifted up his long hair and placed the earpiece securely in his ear, he then lowered his hair back down again, hiding the earpiece from view. When the detective continued his debriefing Schrödinger looked back down at his lunch then gave way to the temptation, he reached his hand in and retrieved a cookie and began nibbling at it. When the detective said about the lockers he looked down at his knife, it wasn't much and it wouldn't help him that much even if they did get into trouble but he wanted to keep it due to sentimental reasons, he eventually realised that if they found he had a knife on his person the operation would be blown so he removed the scabbard from his belt and placed it inside the locker along with his lunch, well... minus the cookie. Schrödinger then continued listen to the detective, when he mentioned further information when ready Schrödinger clicked the heels of his jack boots together and gave a small salute. "I'm ready, can we just get on with this?" He said, cocky as ever.

"Don't let the meeting stop you from eating. Grab your lunch, I don't mind."
Mathews hands four dossiers to each of them.
"These are people we have identified as likely next targets for kidnapping. We believe they would be the most likely to help you on the inside, however, we cannot guarantee this, so we ask that you share nothing important with them if you decide to enlist their help."
((OOC, The dossiers are people in Group 2. I'll put the links in later, if you want. Can't be bothered to right now.))
"Last but certainly not least, the battle plan. As i said before, we uploaded false profiles of you all to Vale Mental Institute that should have you flagged for kidnapping. You will split into two pairs, and operate separately, that way if one pair is caught, the other may still have a chance. You may decide the pairs amongst yourselves.
Once kidnapped, the van will take you to the fringe of Cysoph, where according to records, they will walk you the rest of the way. They will pick up supplies along the way. This is how you will get your gear back. We have an operative in place to switch the supplies out for our 'Care Package'.
Li, your weapon won't fit in the care package, but don't worry, we have a solution for that which I will get to in a moment.
Once inside, you are to investigate the place however you deem necessary and gather evidence. I ask for obvious reasons that you don't do anything that could reveal yourselves or each other as investigators.
A few places I suggest you start are the barracks and the armory. Li, that should be yours, as we will do our best to sneak your gear into the armory for you."
Mathews finishes his explanation and looks over everyone again
"Any questions, this is your last chance before we send you off"

Kail smiled "Already ate, let's see these..." He did a quick view through each, seeing their faces and mannerisms "Okay, I think I'd work well with...." he paced through the three other partners, quickly identifying their strengths and weaknesses, before stopping beside the girl "...you." he stated, then replied to the detective once more "I've no questions. Maybe after we get back I'll have some."

Schrödinger didn't want to eat his lunch just yet, he was saving that for when he was actually hungry on the mission. When mention of teaming arose Schrödinger looked around the room, his lilac eyes scanning the other three members of the mission, he finally settled on Lí, Lí was the most confident in his questioning and speech, he was the tallest of the group and quite well built. Schrödinger also noticed his feminine appearance which Schrödinger found in common with him, Schrödinger was also very feminine and usually dressed as a girl, it was rare that he wasn't crossdressing, right now was one of those times as he was on a mission and a dress would get in the way. Schrödinger realised he was starting to get attracted to Lí, he shook his head, snapping himself out of it. Right now isn't ze time for flirting, I'm on a mission. He thought to himself as he watched the other two get into a pair. Schrödinger smiled, he wanted to go with Lí anyway. He strolled up to Lí and did a slight bow "Vell, it looks like ve're a pair zen, I would have chosen you anyway Herr Fräulein." Schrödinger then stood by Lí's side and continued listening, he was glad that he would be getting his knife back and smiled. When the detective asked about question Schrödinger asked one simple question. "Ven do ve start?"

Silence would befall the girl as she nodded, walking over to the outlet afar and crouching beside it. Once equally leveled with the electrical port she held her right hand out, a light lavender tint outlining her figure as she briefly activated her semblance and began taking some of the energy for herself. While doing this she kept her eyes upon the socket, though listened carefully all the while as Matthews began revealing more information. The occasional stop would be taken while draining to prevent the possibility of the room lights fading on and off constantly.

By the time she was done, Chelsea stood up. Turning around, she aimed to take a step forward though stopped herself from doing so immediately as she noticed one of the boys appear by her flank, a small, faint squeak escaping her lips. It would be muffled by the fabric of her neckwarmer, however. Faunus ears of hers would flicker once more at Kail's first remark, and she soon brought herself to recall the detective's instructions on forming pairs. Once this was remembered she gave a tiny nod of approval. "A-alright..." came the quiet, verbal acceptance of the pairing. Gentle voids would drift over toward the mission briefer once more afterwards, her lack of words showing that she herself had no questions and simply awaited to be sent off.

"Well, I guess that's sorted then. Kail, Chelsea, you two will go by the name 'White Rabbit' over the headpieces. Li, Schrodinger, you two will go by 'Egypt Central'."

Mathews locks the locker and bangs it twice. Immediately, it detaches from the wall, and everyone can see a team of people working to move it.

"As for starting, I can't give a definite answer. Just go outside and loiter in areas easy to locate. The kidnappers should come by soon. Oh, I almost forgot. Headpieces, I'll need them back now. They'll be in the care package."

Lí slowly edges away from the cat Faunus who would be his partner, not entirely comfortable with how the younger man had been staring at him."Just Lí," he corrects, fairly certain what he'd been called was a reference to his more feminine looks.

After being informed that the earpieces would also be sent in, Lí hands his back to Mathews, never having put it in. "Anything else we need to know?" Lí asks, trying not to look at his partner for the time being.

Kail took out the headpiece and handed it to Matthews, and then asked him "We'll have no communication until after we receive the care package, yes?"

Schrödinger sadly sighed as he removed his earpiece and handed it over, he enjoyed having the earpiece, it made him feel more professional. He then began thinking of places to get kidnapped, he needed a place that was easy to access by the kidnappers but also not too crowded, if they were smart they wouldn't kidnap them near people. Unfortunately places that had easy access were usually crowded but Schrödinger finally settled on a place.

Schrödinger noticed that Lí was inching away from him slowly so Schrödinger inched slowly closer to him, chasing him across the room at a snail's pace. When Lí corrected him Schrödinger replied "Okay... Lí." A smile spreading across his face. "I'm going to go check out a place I zink vill be good for us to vait for ze kidnappers." With that he disappeared from the room. He had imagined himself standing by the roadside, a few hundred meters down the road from where he just was, he looked around, he saw no-one. No people and easy access, just what he wanted. He imagined himself standing back in the room with Lí and suddenly appeared out of the air. "Ja, looks good." He said, slightly out of breath, his teleportation had used up a fair amount of his aura but he soon stood back up straight and breathed normally again.

The lass obeyed without a word, drawing her right hand up to the ear she had secured her communication device within. Fingertips lightly grasped around its figure and reeled it out, bending away and handing it back to Matthews rather quickly. Once this was done the hybrid would draw backwards a foot or so, placing herself by Kail's flank again, as she had gone forward and had separated herself from him while returning the earpiece. She acknowledged the fact that he was speaking and asked her new, apparent partner, "So...where do you think would be a good place to wait...?" in her usual, quiet tone, though only after the boy before her had received a necessary reply from the detective.

While asking this she would notice her attention drifting over toward the other formed pair. Feline auds of hers twitched somewhat, the pompom-like fluffs at each tip swaying faintly in the process. Curious eyes of hers would catch sight of how the younger teen disappeared once more, returning to the room seemingly as quick as his departing. They would also shift over to scan the youth's partner, noticing the somewhat...uneasy...feel radiating from him before quickly being directed toward her own ally once more.

Kail turned to Chelsea, replying before the detective could answer his question "Well, I think we should make it look like we're heading somewhere, like, a shop or something, and see how it goes." Before looking back at Matthews.

Mathews gave a knowing smirk to Kail.
"Correct, you won't have communication until the package is secured."
Mathews stood up and gave the earpieces to the people struggling with the locker.
Walking back to his desk, Mathews hits a few keys on his computer.
"I look forward to seeing you return in one piece. Good luck to you all"
Mathews winks at Kail
"Especially you, son."

Kail chuckled lightly "I make my own luck." and turned to leave "The sooner we leave, the sooner this mission's completed."

Lí looks at the strange Faunus that is to be his partner for the mission, and sighs, accepting that he has no choice in the matter anymore. "I suppose we should go, then," he says, making his way to the door. Before stepping out, Lí pulls out his scroll and activates the global tracking option on it. "Should be useful if you can follow us along, sir," he says, addressing Mathews.

Collapsing and pocketing the device, Lí steps out, planning to wander aimlessly until something happens.