Tomb Raiders (Private: Pericles, Augustus, and Phlox)

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles sighed contentedly as he strolled into the Wellsforth Valean History Museum. He was currently adorned one of his few modern attires, consisting of a royal blue button-up shirt and black pants, while his mane sat combed backwards against his nape.

Seeing him enter, an older man of roughly forty quickly walked over, wearing a full three piece suit, and a small pin with the insignia of the museum, "Mr. Ozymandias, let me be the first to say that it is an honor to have you touring our museum. Our team assures you that we will not disappoint when it comes to our newest exhibit."

Pericles looked the man over before answering, "Indeed, the new exhibit, which is primarily made up of artifacts and relics generously lent by the The Alcmaeonidae Antiquity Museum. As such, I will be thoroughly ensuring the proper care and display of the pieces. Now, shall we depart for the museum?"

The man paused slightly in hesitance and slight fear, "Uhm, you see, actually Mr. Ozymandias, we had two other guests scheduled to view the new exhibit before it opened as well. Though I assure you they will be here shortly, how about some champagne while we wait, this is a momentous occasion after all?"

Pericles' brows rose and he tilted his head in curiosity and a bit of disapproval to the man, "And who, perhaps would these individuals be?"

[August Valerian]

August rolled his shoulders as he came to a stop outside the... he looked up at the nearby sign. Ah right, the Wellsforth Valean History Museum. He looked down at himself, smoothing his jacket down with his hands. August let out a sigh, his ears flicking as he considered what had brought him here... He took the steps leading up to the doors two at a time and entered.

August whipped out a ticket from inside his jacket and presented it to the attendant. He flashed a toothy smile as he introduced himself. "August Valerian, here for an early tour of the newest exhibit." His gaze took in the rest of the space as he waited for the attendant to confirm his visit, his eyes settling on... a young male faunus with a Lions mane. 'Pride' came to mind as August struggled to supress a smirk. Now there's supposed to be one more along for this tour...

[Phlox Fessenden]

Phlox was feeling a mix of emotions as he stood in front of the grand Wellsforth Valean History Museum. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the feeling of being dragged out of his comfort zone. The words on the entrance seemed to mock him, almost daring him to enter. "Why am I here?" he wondered, but he already knew the answer. Yesterday, he had a long discussion with Professor Fawn about the scroll, and she convinced him that visiting the museum would be a valuable learning experience. She argued that understanding Valean culture would help him better understand the history of Vale and the people who live there.

Despite his reluctance, the professor's persuasive arguments and insistence made Phlox agree to go. She even purchased the tickets in advance, and he found himself obligated to go. But there was a catch. The professor told him that the experience would be for three people and that he would be paired with two strangers. This made him uneasy since he preferred to be alone or with people he knew well, wh.

As he walked past the museum's grand architecture, he blended in with the crowd, wearing casual clothes (Professor Fawn would have been proud that he wasn't wearing his huntsman outfit. Too gritty for her taste.) and keeping a low profile. He entered the building, handed over the ticket to the attendant, and flashed a forced smile. He headed straight to the corner of the room, where he sat on a bench, trying to ignore everyone else. He pulled out his scroll and started to take notes for a new project, hoping that the visit would end soon.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

"Ah," The man softly exclaimed, "There you are, it appears that all our guests have now arrived. We here at the Wellsforth team feel like we have much to show you, so, if I may, I'd like to begin our tour if it would please you three?"

The man didn't wait for an answer, clearly intending the question to be rhetorical as he quickly turned on his heel and began to lead them into the exhibits. The man talked and narrated as he went, more about the acquiring and the setup of the artifacts presented, rather than the items themselves.

Entire wars, civilizations, religions, and more rose and fell around the group of the man walked with a brisk pace through the museum.

Pericles, ignoring most of the man's idle chatter and self-promotion, let his gaze trail along the various exhibits of the museum, but also of the two other members of the exclusive tour

"Forgive my inquiry," Pericles interrupted, his apology directed toward the two other visitors, though the man, who Pericles couldn't be bothered to remember the name of seemed to think it was directed at him based on the way he nodded his head to Pericles, "but if may so ask, what exactly is it that brings the two of you here today? I recognize of course that such a question may feel foolish, for we are all clearly here to observe the new exhibit. However, I am more pertinently referring to why the two of you seek value in this new exhibit on the cross-cultural impact of ancient Mistral and ancient Vale?"

[August Valerian]

As August walked, he took in everything around him, mostly trying to tune out the guide as he blathered on about... the contents of the exhibit, August assumed. He had yet to see anything of 'value', to say that nothing here held any value wouldn't be correct, they just didn't have the right 'value' to him.

August's ear twitches as Pericles addresses both himself and the other individual about why they are here on the tour. August's eyes flick towards Pericles as a grin spreads across his face. "You may ask." August let's out a quiet snort, raising a hand, asking for a moment. "Sorry! Sorry, I couldn't help myself..." He let out a sigh, as he considered how to answer this probing question. A few seconds go by as August settles on answering with half-truths, after all the best lie is the truth. "In my line of work I deal with items of various monetary value, some of which recently have been items not dissimilar to the items on display here. So I sought to learn a little more about the period the items come from... in case I've been missing some... connection or meaning." He hoped that his answer would be sufficient to deflect any further suspicions. To be perfectly honest, August wasn't sure if there was anything worth trying to 'take', most of the things he'd looked at seemed more trouble than they were worth.

[Phlox Fessenden]

Phlox is a cautious individual, always on guard when around others. His innate ability to sense the genuineness of people has become a double-edged sword that makes it difficult for him to trust others easily. Even when he is with a group of people, he keeps his guard up, constantly scanning the room for any signs of deceit.

As he stands next to the fox faunus, he senses something off about him. His smile, tone, and body language all seem to be hiding something, but Phlox can't quite put his finger on what it is. He's learned to trust his intuition, though, and he knows better than to ignore his gut feeling.

When the tour guide begins talking about the museum's artifacts, Phlox separates himself from the group, using Reverb to make his footsteps nearly silent as he wanders through the exhibits. He takes in the other pieces in the museum, looking for inspiration for new codenames or, perhaps, for a new project.
Eventually, he rejoins the group, keeping his thoughts to himself as he listens to the guide's explanations.

When the other boy asks him about the visit, Phlox mutters, "Finding inspiration," with a glare at him with a look that says, 'Don't ask me more about it.'

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles nodded in thanks to August as he agreed to the inquiry, though Pericles tilted his head at him in curiosity at his apology, "I beseech you, why do you apologize, your answer was far more than adequate? I must admit that I am perplexed as to what you couldn't help yourself but do. Though, if you will permit further inquiry, I must say that intrigued by your answer, are you a collector perhaps? Or, rather are you a consultant who identifies pieces for collectors?"

Hearing Phlox's answer, Pericles only looked at him in confusion at the glare, "I see, an artisan I presume? Never the less, it is not my business."

The man, who Pericles was finally able to place as the current owner of the museum itself, coughed slightly when he noticed that no one was paying attention to him. Pericles gave him a challenging look and the man shrank in on himself before nervously answering, "My apologies, kind sirs, but we are coming up on the exhibit now. If you'd give me a moment please I will quickly check in with the team to make sure everything is ready for you." The man shuffled away and behind a curtain. His slightly panicked voice could be heard muffled through the cloth as he called for people to make sure everything was pristine.

Pericles scoffed slightly and muttered, "Syncophant."

Turning to look over the two other people with him now, Pericles couldn't but let out a slight chuckle that slowly transformed into deep-throated laughter, "Ahahaha! To think, here we stand, three Fauni, in the halls of the Wellsforth Museum. A museum founded by the same Olivia Wellsforth who donated funds to the counter effort against the Faunus Right Revolution. Now, the very staff here bend over backward to our very whim. Ahahaha!"

Let his laughter slowly subside, Pericles nodded to the two individuals, "I suppose I should properly introduce myself. I am Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias, son of Dryo of the Alcmaeonidae ruling dynasty of Mistral, and son of Ramses of the Ozymandias lineage, courtiers to the Vacuoan dynasties, and a studier of lost echoes and buried tales. Might I know your names as well?" As he spoke, Pericles clasped his fist against his chest and inclined his head slightly.

[August Valerian]

August eyed the third member of their little group, a faunus of the bat genus, if his eyes didn't deceive him. He looked rather uncomfortable, like he doesn't want to be here and judging by the quiet wander that they went on, hard to not notice someone's footsteps becoming near silent, they're not a big fan of other people.

One of August's ear twitched towards the guide as they coughed and withered under the glare of... huh? Now that August thought about it, he didn't know the names of the others, not that that would stop him from giving them nicknames of course. He jumps slightly as Pericles starts laughing out loud, explaining their mirth shortly thereafter. August couldn't help but give a low chuckle as he heard the explanation, what with human and faunus relations being at an all time high, sometimes one could forget how things once were."Hehehe... though I doubt they'd be willing to polish our shoes." He raised his hand palms up, in a dismissive gesture.

August listened as Pericles introduce himself... and kept going... does it ever- oh, it does end. August smirked as his turn to introduce himself came round. "Well that's quite the mouthful... and background. I'm just going to call you Pride." He offered a slight bow, his ever present smirk gracing his lips as he spoke. "I am August Valerian, first of his name with no other qualifying background. Not quite as grandiose as you Pride." August tipped his head towards Pericles before turning his attention to the last member of their little group, raising a hand as if to offer control of the conversation to Phlox. "And last, but not least..."

[Phlox Fessenden]

Phlox was feeling uneasy and uncomfortable in the presence of Pericles due to his awkward laughter. He dreaded the possibility of having to endure it for the entire evening. Although the museum owner appeared to be revered and held in high regard, Phlox couldn't help but wonder why. Was it because of his status or something else? When Pericles introduced himself, Phlox realized that he was of noble birth, but it didn't matter to him. All he could focus on was the discomfort that Pericles' presence brought, and he found himself desperately searching for an escape route.

However, when Pericles mentioned how the staff treated them, Phlox's thoughts wandered. He pondered the possibility of humans being treated as inferior beings by those in power, not just in that museum but everywhere. The thought sent a shiver down his spine, making him question the idea of such a society. He couldn't help but think that there would be a human Phlox, someone who would seek an unhealthy vengeance on the people who oppressed him. It was a disturbing thought that lingered in his mind.

Phlox tried to push aside his unease and focus on the task at hand, introducing himself, "Phlox Fessenden." He did chuckle internally when August referred to Pericles as 'Pride', an accurate description. Pride can drive people to do great things, but it can also blind them to their own faults. This trait was seen in many leaders throughout history and society, and Phlox wondered if Pericles would fall victim to it as well.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles hummed amusedly, "Is that a challenge Mr. Valerian? I assure you, I am not one to take such a declaration lying down. Though, I will take a seat while they retrieve the shoe-shine. Irregardless, you are both well met-"

Pericles' words were interrupted by increasingly loud shouting from behind the curtain, "-What do you mean?!-", "-Find it now!-", "-have our heads!-"

Looking over to the two other visitors with him, Pericles, turned on his heel and quickly threw back the curtain to the room.

A grand hall was revealed by his action. Pillars of red stained wood and gold accents lined the walkway, flanked by grand banners along the walls. The whole room was clearly a recreation of the throne room imperial palace of ancient Mistral. Display cases were set up between the pillars, each containing priceless artifacts of golden gem encrusted jewelry, jade figurines, weathered scrolls, original paintings and weaves, and finally the pinnacle of the exhibit.

A throne sat on a raised dais at the other end of the room, and on a mahogany platform laid a velvet cushion with a glass display case covering it. The glass was shattered and the display was empty.

There the museum owner could be seen, standing next to all of the other workers in charge of the exhibition.

The crown of the last emperor of Mistral was missing.

[August Valerian]

Whilst August listened to Phlox as he introduced himself, he was busy trying to come up with a nickname for the moody bat faunus. Now what could he... 'Silence'? Yeah that would do...-?! August's ears flicked towards the drawn curtain as voices were raised in alarm. "Hrmm?"

August followed Pericles as he drew the curtain back, his eyes flicked about picking out various details, the jewel encrusted artifacts and other priceless items holding his attention for moments longer than anything else. His eyes finally made their way up towards the centre piece of the whole display, where the director and his aides stood gathered around a... oh dear, a rather empty looking display case lacking a... August did a double take as he checked the information placard. "The crown of the last Emperor of Mistral?" He let out a low, long whistle as he brought his hands up and cupped them behind his head. He had been considering trying to take something, but this just got a whole lot more interesting.

August brought his hands around and summoned from his storage, a deerstalker hat, which he placed upon his head, and a pipe which he placed into his mouth. "Well then... Pride and Silence, we have ourselves a mystery!" He cracked a wry smile, quietly giggling to himself as he pulled out a large magnifying glass and began inspecting the scene.

[Phlox Fessenden]

Phlox was walking through the museum, admiring a fascinating painting of a cityscape. As he moved closer to observe it, the museum owner's panicked voice interrupted his thoughts, with his bat ears twitching. The owner was yelling that something valuable was missing, and the prince would hold him responsible. This piqued Phlox's curiosity, and he wondered what could be so valuable that the prince would threaten someone's life over it.

Glancing around, he noticed that one of the display cases had been broken, and the 'Last Crown of the Emperor of Mistral' (Thanks to August) was missing. Although he wasn't a detective, he couldn't resist the challenge of solving a mystery since, well, he wasn't going to go home any time soon and there was practically nothing else to do. He knew that the artifact could be a fake or an ancient relic on the verge of crumbling into dust, but he still decided to investigate further.

As he walked through the dimly lit museum halls, he tried to piece together any motives behind the theft of the crown. He considered various suspects, including the museum staff, an outside thief with a specific interest in ancient relics, or perhaps even the prince himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the situation than initially met the eye.

He decided to start by talking to the museum staff to gather any information they might have. After that, he planned to hack the security footage to see if any suspicious individuals were lurking around the artifact at any time. He was determined to uncover the truth and solve the mystery behind the missing crown.

Also, mental reminder, keep an eye on August.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Seeing the crown was missing, and contextually determining that it was most likely stolen, Pericles let out a slow and fierce breath as he walked into the hall. Suddenly, a great trembling could be heard, as if the earth itself was to fall apart as the ground shook. The eye of Horus glowed a royal blue around Pericles' left eye as a miniature earthquake emanated from him, before he slowly reined in his Semblance. Nothing was damaged, as Pericles clearly cared too much about it to let it come to harm, but his wrath was obvious.

"M-mr. Ozymandias-" The man began with trepidation, though stopped when Pericles held up a hand to shush him.

Marching forward, Pericles stepped up the dais and stopped a few feet before the man, towering over him, "I truly hope you have a fantastic explanation for lacking the presence of my great grandfather's CROWN!"

The man wilted and tried to speak, but couldn't get a word out. Pericles turned at the sound of August's declaration. Nodding towards the Faunus, Pericles turned to the museum owner, who was currently cowering behind one of the curators, "I'd recommend that you give offerings to Fate, Fortune, and Destiny in askance of the skill of Mr. Valerian here. Lest you wish for your family to shine my heels for the next seven generations."

The man seemed to collapse in on himself before he quickly turned away and started yelling at all of the people there to find the crown, while he picked up his Scroll and began making a few phone calls.

Stepping away from the group, Pericles walked over to August and Phlox, his voice was tense as he spoke, clearly barely holding back his anger, "Well, gentlemen, shall our investigation begin? I know little of you both, yet knowing nothing is disturbingly better than my disappointing understanding of these so called historians. Bah, foolish curs! They give us a bad name."

As Phlox stepped over to one of the museum staff members, the young woman with panda ears turned and gave him a nervous smile, "I-is there anything I can help you with sir?"

Meanwhile, as August looks around, he can notice that most of the staff is currently searching outside of the room and seem quite distracted with the missing crown. For that matter, many of the display cases are left open, seemingly abandoned in the middle of their cleaning.

[August Valerian]

August eyed the open cases, holding up the large magnifying glass, almost salivating at the ease of how he could just take... He gave a small shake of his head, perhaps another time and anyway, most of the items here would be too easy to track; while they would still be worth something in their component forms, it wouldn't match their current value. With a moment of focus, both the magnifying glass and the pipe in his mouth are returned to his storage while he continued wearing the deerstalker hat as he mused out loud. "Now why the crown? I understand that it is the most valuable item here, but that value comes with a twist; it's uniqueness makes it all too easy to trace and breaking it down for it's valuable parts? Still worth quite a bit... but worth the trouble of doing so? I couldn't say..."

August strolled to the centre of the room, turning his head this way and that, coming to a halt as he reached the centre and turned on his heels as he searched the room for any security cameras. He found himself puzzled at the lack of cameras, despite the incredible wealth on display and figured this was why someone has tried their luck in taking the crown for themselves. His eyes travelled towards the only exits out of the opulent room. "They can't have gotten far, not if this..." August pointed a thumb towards the empty pedestal. "... is a recent is as it appears." He sneered as he turned his gaze on the museum staff members scattered about the room.

[Phlox Fessenden]

Phlox turned around and noticed a tall lady standing behind him. However, his social awkwardness resurfaced instantly, making it difficult for him to initiate a conversation. His palms started sweating, and he felt his heart racing.

After taking a deep breath, he tried to regain his composure and avoid embarrassing himself in front of her. He straightened his back and cleared his throat before finally managing to speak, his voice wavering slightly.

"Good evening... I'm Phlox. I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but I just wanted to ask if there's any motive for the theft of the crown." he stammered. The woman's expression softened at his attempt to start a conversation, and she nervously chuckled before responding, "No bother at all, Phlox. The motive for the theft is still unknown, but we're working on it."

Phlox felt a wave of relief wash over him at her response. He managed a small smile, grateful for her patience. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unsure of what to do next.

"Thanks," he replied quickly, feeling grateful for the conversation to be over. He turned around and started walking away, making sure to remain unnoticed in the scrambling crowd. With the help of Reverb, he practically disappeared from sight, and walked into a small, cramped and dark server room. Then, using a thumb drive , he waited for a while for the footage of last week to finish transferring to the thumb drive.

As he waited, a question came to mind: What was the prince like as a leader? He brushed off the thought, knowing that it wasn't relevant to his mission. He continued waiting.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

"Hostage most likely." Pericles answered August's musings, "Such an object is so valuable to my family, the anthropological community, and Mistralian history as a whole, the thief might as well be holding a blade against the cultural foundations of Mistral itself. That type of threat holds quite a substantial buying power, for whoever may be holding it. I suppose I should be relieved, after all, the artifact is worth much more to them in pristine condition than broken."

Pericles listened as August mentioned that the culprit is most likely still nearby.

"You believe that some of the staff is responsible, Mr Valerian?" Pericles inquired in a low voice to the man, as he let his own gaze trail over the staff. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice that Phlox was now missing, "A member of our party is unaccounted for." Pericles indicated to August.

Pericles did not like this, not one bit, "Pardon me!" Pericles shouted, grabbing the attention of all the staff, "But would it not be prudent to ensure that no one is permitted in or out of both this room and the museum at large until the crown is recovered?" Pericles gave the owner a pointed look, "For, by my count, we are a few heads short."

[August Valerian]

"Right, the crown belonged to your family... maybe someone with a grudge against your family?" August listened to Pericles talk for a few moments, speaking up when Pericles fell silent once more. "Well, they're the most likely suspects no? The museum is only expecting the three of us to be here, and excluding any external intruders that only leaves..." August let the implication hang in the air, not feeling the need to voice it out loud.

August looked around the room, letting his more criminally minded side take a look at things. He layed out various paths that he could take to escape the room, took account of where everyone stood and which way they were facing. His attention turned to the various blind spots, hiding locations, and even bags that could be used to hide the crown. Now, how to go about searching those locations without tipping his hand? The blind spots he could solve by moving around the room, the hiding spots in a similar fashion but the multitude of bags? That would be much harder; he could jut grab them with his semblance but if whoever stole the crown worked out what was happening... and this was all assuming that the crown is in a bag in the first place.

His ears perked up as Pericles mentioned that the third member of their group had disappeared. "Here's hoping he's not finding trouble... or that it has found him." He looked once more back to the pedestal and broken glass case that once contained the crown. August frowned as he felt like he just spotted something, but he wasn't sure what. He slid closer, looking the glass case over when he spotted what had caught his attention. A small speck of blood of one of the sharp edges of glass that made up the case. "Ah Pride? I think I may have a clue..."

[Phlox Fessenden]

Upon retrieving the drive, Phlox's suspicions were confirmed - there was very little footage on it. He was only able to obtain footage of the front door and the maintenance room. This was a huge disappointment.

Phlox had already heard about the current situation in the museum, including the lockdown through the walls. This realization made him anxious, and he let out a groan as he weighed the gravity of the situation. He knew that he needed to come up with a plan quickly to avoid getting caught in the middle of whatever was unfolding.

However, he was momentarily relieved when nobody came to the maintenance room, where he was currently hiding. He knew that he was safe for now, but he couldn't let his guard down.

After a few minutes, Phlox decided to review the footage on his scroll. He noticed a mess on one of the shelves in the maintenance room, which was captured three hours before he had arrived at the museum. This intrigued him, and he immediately left the server room to investigate further.

As he made his way to the maintenance room, he kept a sharp eye out for anything and everything that could be an obstacle. He knew that he couldn't afford to be caught, held bac, denied, especially when he had found a lead, so he was being extra cautious, his ears jotted up to locate anything coming towards him.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles snorted, "Someone or some group with a grudge against my family. Well, that narrows it down to basically anyone but ourselves, the traditionalist factions of Mistral, and the traditionalist members of Atlas."

Watching how the staff was milling about under the orders of the museum owner, Pericles couldn't help but feel like something was off. It took him a moment to realize that it was quiet, too quiet, 'Why don't I hear police sirens?' Pericles mused internally, before his eyes narrowed once again onto the museum director.

'Aldric Wellsforth.' Pericles finally remembered the man's name as he walked over to the group once more, "Mr. Wellsforth, I can't help but notice that the authorities have not yet arrived, let alone has even a whisper of a siren graced my ears. Perhaps the response time in Vale is far longer than it is such in Mistral, or perchance there is another explanation, well?"

The owner who had initially withered at Pericles' approach as he had done previously, seemed to have finally grown a backbone as he stood up as best as he could and answered, "Well, as important as the artifact may be, and I assure you that we on the Wellsforth team are taking this seriously; at the present moment, it has been determined that it is in the best interest of the museum to withhold on contacting the authorities. After all, we have a grand opening coming up, and having a police investigation beforehand would look bad for the museum, you see? Our security team is currently occupying the perimeter of the museum to make sure that no one gets in or out. Now, if you are done interrogating me like some plebeian, I'd ask that you stepped out of the way of our investigation., the reputation of our museum is at stake!"

Pericles' expression never changed from its usual stony self as Aldric spoke. At the end, Pericles merely nodded a few times in understanding, then spoke sincerely, too sincerely, "Well of course! The museum's reputation is at stake, and we can't be acting rashly under such circumstances can we?"

The man let out a sagging sigh of relief, seemingly surprised that Pericles agreed with him, and taking the victory, turned away from him...

Only to spin back around to face the young man once more as Pericles began to loudly speak into his Scroll.

Pericles spoke, pausing intermittently as the person on the other end of the line answered, "Good day, I would like to report a theft... The crown of Megacles Alcmaeonidae... He was the last emperor of Mistral, indeed... The crime took place at the Wellsforth Museum... Yes, the Wellsforth on the corner of Davidson Drive and North Main... No, at the current moment no one seems to be in any danger or at all injured-" Pericles stopped when August pointed to the blood on the glass, "Correction, it seems that the perpetrator is slightly injured... Yes, thank you, I shall see you shortly."

Pericles smiled to the assembled crowd, "Well then, should only be a few minutes now."

Aldric Wellsforth, on the other hand, looks like he's about to pop a blood vessel as he glares hatefully at Pericles. It seems like he's moments away from trying to attack the young man.

Meanwhile though, Phlox via his Faunus physiology would overhear a hushed conversation a few rooms away from where he was now, "This is the VPD, what's your emergency?...The imperial crown?...Sir, would you be able to tell me where you're located?..." And so on.

[August Valerian]

August chuckled as Pericles let the Museum Director ramble on about why he hadn't call the police yet, then proceed to call the police anyway. August felt a bit odd, usually he's the cause for people to call the police, not others and yet he was trying to help Pericles who is a complete stranger... August's eyes fix on the back of the director's head, where he sees the man tense in his anger and as August watches, the director's hand slowly moves behind his back and grab something under his jacket. August frown for a moment, trying to work out just what the Director is doing, before the man's arm comes around, holding a pistol.

August's instincts take over as he reaches for the pistol with his semblance, putting it into his storage and waiting a moment to allow everyone looking this way to have a chance to react, whilst the Director flounders at the sudden disappearance of his weapon; he waits for a few moments before summoning the pistol into his own hand. August speaks up with a grin evident in his voice as he raises the weapon slightly. "Ah Director? Looking for this? I am so very curious as to why you have such a weapon in your possession... Ah of course, you intended to kill Pri-" August cuts himself off, realising that using a nickname here might cheapen the moment. "Pericles here. For the crime of... being a faunus."

He had quietly cleared the pistol of any chambered rounds and removed the magazine whilst he had been talking out loud. "...-" As August opened his mouth to speak once more, his ears twitched at the familiar sound of multiple weapons being primed. He focused for a split second, dropping into the air in front of himself one of his 'fast' smoke grenades which immediately produced a thick cloud of smoke as it detonated, through which August lunged forwards to tackle Pericles to the ground as the first rounds from several firearms whizzed overhead.

[Phlox Fessenden]

Phlox froze as he listened in on the conversation, struggling to make sense of the few words he could make out, and then the gunshots from the other room. This got even more serious. He pulled out his scroll, tapped on a few buttons to summon the locker with his gear to his coordinates, which would take a minute. With a deep breath, Phlox knew he had to act quickly before things escalated further, so he changed course. Sneaking to where he heard the shots, he quickly found the source: armed men in masks. It was clear that he was dealing with a dangerous situation that required all of his skills, equipment and training to handle.

He moved quietly through the fog of smoke, locating both enemies and allies in the chaotic scene with echolocation, while changing the coordinates for the locker to land in the middle of the museum. The smart thing to do now was to be prepared to make his move, so he mainly kept himself away from confrontation until he had a solid plan in place.

Finally, the agonizingly long minute had passed, marked by a locker crashing through the ceiling and landing (unfortunately for one of the masked men, on him) with a deafening thud, destroying artifacts. With his heart pounding in his chest, he quickly dashed to it, opening it and acquiring Requiem Avengement, his mask, multiple chakrams, holographic decoys, his playback device, his leather coat, and his pants before disappearing into the shadowy smoke of the museum, leaving a couple of chakrams filled with fire dust to make the locker. Walking in, he could hear the panicked shouts of the other masked men as they searched for an intruder near the locker. With a rare grin, he activated the chakrams, a huge explosion taking out most of them.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles turned at August's words and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the sound of more weapons being drawn. Feeling himself be tackled aside by August, Pericles allowed himself to spin with the momentum so that as the two of them landed, Pericles had his back facing the assailants. Shots pinged across his Aura as Pericles' mind raced to analyze the situation and determine a plan amongst the smoke.

Retrieving his khopeshes from his satchel bag, Pericles stood up, covering himself from fire via one of the tall pillars of the room. With a wave of his hand, the smoke buffeted into the attackers as Pericles' Semblance took hold of the micro particles that made up the smoke and launched them in a wall.

Glancing cautiously from around the pillar, Pericles finally was able to the see the perpetrators. There, standing on the raised dais at the end of the room, the curators and owner of the museum stood, weapons in hand. Coughing as the smoke assaulted their lungs, Pericles spied the individual standing next to the owner, seemed to be faring far better than the rest.

Stepping out of the smoke, the panda Faunus from earlier appeared, an angry glare on her face. Though, it only took her a moment to wipe it away and replace it with smug satisfaction, "Kill the little royal for being a Faunus? That's rich! Hahaha!"

She shook her head in denial as she procured something from behind her back. With deft hands, she placed it upon her head, the missing crown, "No... its nothing as interesting as that." She shrugged in a 'what can you do' manner, a flintlock in either hand, "We were just paid to."

Her speech had given Pericles enough time to enact his plan. Switching his weapon into its recurve bow form, Pericles readied four arrows which he quickly loosed as he spun around from behind the pillar. The four arrows struck the ground surrounding the attackers, while the Gravity Dust tips activated simultaneously. Immediately afterwards, a huge surge of gravity forced down upon the group, and knocked most who were standing, down to their knees.

"That's much better. Now you are doing as you should, and kneeling before your king." Pericles spoke steadily as he switched to regular barbed arrows and began to let dozens fly upon the assailants.

[August Valerian]

August felt his aura drain as several wild shots made contact, nothing too serious but this wasn't a situation that could be kept up for long. August pushed himself up off the floor, darting to the nearby cover, the smoke clearing as Pericles used his semblance to manipulate the smoke. He heard the reply of who he assumed to be the groups leader, peering round his cover he spotted the panda eared faunus speaking, which curiously meant... ah yep, there it is. Not because Pericles is a faunus, but because they were paid to... Killers... No negotiation then. As he peered round the column, August spotted the crown go atop the leader's head.

"Ah, that's where you've been hiding... now how to get you?" He mutter quietly to himself, as he glanced around trying to find a path closer. He could use some flash bangs... but that might also impede Pericles... August grinned nervously as he summoned his tonfas to his hands, watching as a large number of the assailants suddenly buckled under the power of gravity dust. Now's his chance! August bursts from behind his cover, summoning another smoke grenade to give himself some cover as he charged the short distance needed to bring the leader in range of his semblance.

As August bursts forth from his newly created smoke cover, he lets out a yell. "Hey lady! I don't think that belongs to you!" His yelling draws the leaders attention to him. "Well what are you going to d-" Her eyes go wide as the weight of the crown atop her head disappears, one of her hands reaching up to confirm its disappearance. August let out a loud laugh before cutting himself off as he dives aside to avoid incoming fire, the leader bellowing out an order."GET HIM! HE HAS THE CROWN!"

[Phlox Fessenden]

Before anyone could react, a small object rolled between the two parties, started producing a high-frequency sound that pierced through their ears. The group instinctively covered their ears and fell to their knees in agony, trying to locate the source of this audio assault. Out of the smoke that August made, came out Phlox, unrecognizable in his huntsman outfit, Requiem Avengement, as he walked up towards him, seemingly unfazed by the noise as he used Reverb to direct the sound away from his ears. Under the mask, he analyzed the situation and quickly identified the crown lying down near August, picking it up and analyzing it. An annoyed scowl plastered on his face as the sound grenade deactivated itself.

"Just lovely," he muttered sarcastically to himself as he pocketed the crown under the trenchcoat and turned to face the mercenary group, staring at him in a mix of morbid curiosity and annoyance. Phlox points his weapon in front of him, his weapon in his axe form, as he glares down at each opponent behind the visor, judging each of them by weapon and stance, trying to determine the most possible action for him, albeit a bit surprised that the panda faunus was a merc.

"The hell are you supposed to be?" One of the mercs hissed, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he assessed the mysterious figure before him, with his guns pointed at Phlox's figure. Phlox's grip tightened on his weapon; no sound came out of him.

The mercs exchanged confused glances, clearly expecting a response.

In an instant, he slammed his weapon against the ground in front of him, using Reverb to manipulate it to create a sonic pulse that knocked the mercs off balance, allowing Phlox to make his move and, with speed, take on one of the mercs, slamming Requiem Avengement into his chest, causing him to fall to the ground, gasping for air. The other mercs quickly regained their stance, firing their weapons wildly at Phlox. With quick reflexes, Phlox threw a smoke bomb, barely dodging the bullets as they graze against his mask, and disappearing into the building smoke as he darted around the group, loading chakrams into his weapon and firing at the group with deadly precision, taking down two more mercs before they even had a chance to react. The remaining mercs scrambled to find cover, but Phlox was already on the move, his next target in sight as he prepared to strike again.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles, seeing who he interpreted to be the leader, chasing after August, stepped in between her and her target. Meanwhile however, one of the assailants was knocked over by Pericles' earlier arrow, his unconscious bumping into a music box on one of the pedestals. Suddenly, it began to play, the sound amplified by the acoustics of the hall, song was ever so fitting.

In the Hall of the Mountain King

The woman snorted in derision and sent a smirk his way, her flintlocks held in a lazy grip in either hand, "Shall we dance, your highness?"

"We shall, pirate." Pericles agreed as he switched his weapon back into two separate khopeshes.

The panda Faunus laughed as the music picked up speed, and after stowing her flintlocks, retrieved her own two sabers.

And thus, the duel began. They began to circle one another, every so often testing their blades against one another in a clash of sparks. Pericles lunged forward with one blade, and the pirate locked it in place as she crossed her two sabers in an x. Swinging forward with the other blade, Pericles' attack was intercepted by a kick from the woman, who used the momentum to create a bit of distance from him.

[August Valerian]

August winced as noise assaulted his ears, taking precious seconds to recover. He rolled over, took at deep breath and kipped up onto his feet, gathering his bearings once more. Pericles trading blows with the panda faunus; and, who August assumed to be Phlox, fighting some of the remaining thugs. August clicked his tongue, pressing a switch on his weapons causing the dust canister to spin and then lock into ice dust. He raised one of his tonfas in the direction of Pericles' fight, taking aim... and firing a blast of ice, hitting the leader's foot and trapping it against the floor.

He turned and charged into the fray with Phlox, delivering fast strikes to one of the unaware thugs and taking them down before they could get an attack in edgewise. "Hey Silence, looked like you could use a little help so I hope you don't mind me dropping in." A grin plastered across his face as August joins the fight back to back with Phlox. August ducked, twisted and weaved as he fought the thugs, switching his grip on his weapons to allow him to either deliver hard strikes or quick, long reaching jabs. "So Silence? You do this on the regular? You look like you do." August gave a barking laugh as he knocked out another of the thugs and pinning another to the wall with a blast of ice.

August summoned one of his smoke grenades, passing it over to Phlox as he comes close. "Here, give them a gift!" He split from Phlox, creating some space between the both of them.

[Phlox Fessenden]

He groaned under the mask as he threw down a hologram disc to confuse the last mercenary. The distraction allowed him to quickly deliver a critical blow to the mercenary's stomach, and then his back, knocking him unconscious. With his opponent out of the way, he removed his mask and took a deep breath, thankful that he had come out of the skirmish unscathed. Hearing the smoke bomb whizzing towards him, he raised his hand and caught it with a swift movement, staring at August with a look that said, 'I didn't need your help.' Then, he looked towards the dueling pair as he put on the mask again.

"Keep the last one conscious; we need information," the boyremarked, his voice low but dripping with determination. With the smoke bomb in hand, Phlox threw it in one quick motion towards the two. Then, with another swift motion, he threw a small chakram laced with fire dust towards the ground where the bomb landed, creating a burst of flames that engulfed the area. The two were caught off guard, stumbling back in shock as the fire spread rapidly, separating the two behind a sea of fire. Phlox wasted no time, swiftly moving towards the panda faunus, tackling her and pinning her to the ground before she could react.

"Who hired you!?" He interrogated her in a harsh and cynical tone.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles felt himself begin to genuinely smile and laugh as he fought with the pirate before him, the music beginning to crescendo as their duel grew more intense. Their blades clashed repeatedly against one another, before suddenly Bang! Shing!

Pericles' opponent found her foot frozen to the floor. Grunting in annoyance, her body began to become wispy and incorporeal, allowing Pericles to see through her as Phlox threw Fire Dust upon the ground, "By Darkness! What the fuck are you doing!" Pericles shouted as Phlox ran away from the now growing fire and tackled the now barely visible panda Faunus before she slinked away into nothing but black wisps of smoke. She sent Phlox a cheeky grin in response to his question as she disappeared.

Ignoring everything else that was happening, Pericles ran past the boy, and looked around the room. Spotting a fire extinguisher, Pericles smashed open the glass, starting the fire alarm, as he quickly removed the safety and began to douse the flames as a few sprinklers came on from the ceiling. The bullets were one thing and Pericles knew it they were unavoidable, but fire would burn every artifact in that room beyond repair.

As the fire died down, the two pirates on the other side of the flames were able to make their way through to begin attacking him. Pericles gave them little regard as they approached, merely bashing one upside the head with extinguisher before spraying the other in the eyes with foam and headbutting her.

However, all of the smoke from both the bombs and the fire was starting to get to Pericles who began to cough and hack, blood dribbling from his mouth despite his Aura's attempts to heal him.

Pericles could hear the sound of sirens approaching from outside, and as he weakly rested his body against a pillar, he spied the panda Faunus leader materializing out of a shadow and dashing towards an exit, only three men were well enough to begin to follow her.

'Two.' Pericles corrected himself as an arrow from his bow smacked the last in their entourage straight in the shin, an ugly crack rang out as the man tumbled over. The fire was thankfully under control now, but the smoke was still so intense that Pericles felt his feet slide out from underneath himself as he rested weak of breath against the pillar.

[August Valerian]

August's last opponent was giving him some difficulty. They had managed to break his tempo and were now calling most of the shots in their little, deadly dance. He twisted away from another blow in as many seconds, when he heard the tell tale ping of one of his smoke grenades being thrown, followed by a very unfamiliar sharp crack and then the much more familiar, and equally alarming, sound of flames. The moment of distraction allowed his opponent to knock away one of his tonfas and herd him away from the fallen weapon. August could hear Pericles cursing, as he backed himself away from his opponent when he felt his back bump against the wall. He could see his opponent grin as they thought the fight won when the space between them filled with blinding light from one of August's flashbangs.

August followed through with a hard jab to the face from his tonfa, then levelling it at his opponent and blasting their hands and feet encasing them in ice. He stood over his foe and delivered a knock out blow, straightening up and looking round the room. He spotted one of the nearby artifacts being threaten by flame and stored the artifact using his semblance, then he noticed Pericles leaning against one of the pillars with a dribble of blood on his chin. He hurried over to Pericles' side and gave the side of the young man's face a gentle slap. "Eyes open, stay awake." He pulled one of Pericles' arms over his shoulder and half walked, half dragged him out of the room. "Hey Pride, don't go dying on me now you hear? You've still got to take me on a date remember? And we can't forget about all your subjects who still need you..." He dragged Pericles towards a nearby exit, one of the fire exits, kicked it open and dragged the young man outside into the clear air where the sounds of approaching sirens were much louder. August carefully set Pericles down against the outside wall and crouched in front of the young man, summoning the artifact that he had rescued from the flames and pressing it into Pericles' hands.

His ear twitched as the sounds of screeching tires and slamming doors reached them. August hesitated for a moment before calling out. "Over here! We need a medic over here!" He could only hope he was doing the right thing drawing attention to himself, who knows how the police might react to his presence here given his less than stellar record...

[Phlox Fessenden]

Phlox stumbled a bit to the ground, with some glass shards embedded in his hands and scratching both his ear and face. He winced in pain as he tried to push himself up, feeling the sharp edges cutting deeper into his palms. Ignoring the stinging sensation, he slowly stood up and assessed the situation, quickly hearing the footsteps of his attackers retreating to the fire exit, ignoring the other two people who were also injured in the scuffle. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he made a run for the exit, determined to bring these criminals to justice. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, he pushed himself harder, knowing that he couldn't let them escape.

With a few quick reloads into Requiem Avengement, though painful with his injured hands, he continued to chase after the criminals, launching explosive chakrams through critical points in the museum, creating a rubble barrier between the door and the mercs. He slowed down only when he saw them pause, realizing they were trapped. Panting heavily, he carefully approached them, keeping a safe distance as he assessed the situation.

"Cowardly for killers to run from their victims, don't you think? " He growled, his voice filled with determination and a hint of anger, with Reverb making him sound like a demon taunting the unlucky soul. With a quick move, he took out an audio tape device, playing back a haunting sound he recorded while watching an analogue horror, using the last of his aura to make it both deafening beyond measure, protecting himself from said acoustic assault, and focusing the entirety of the sound on the group, causing them to writhe in pain as it seems to be silent to any other person within a good distance away. Then, with just a swipe of his cello, he went and knocked them out with brutal efficiency. Though the two managed to get their bearings just in time to dodge, they fled from a window in the museum, leaving the panda faunus sprawled out on the ground like a discarded rag doll. The room fell silent once more, the only sound being the echo of his footsteps as he stumbled with fatigue towards the other two, his weapon now serving as a cane, with the unconscious faunus in the other hand dragging behind him with great difficulty, barely able to hear the sirens.

He was a couple of seconds away from passing out right there.