When Mitternacht first started it's recruitment thread here, we thought it would be fun to do something different to bump the thread, by providing an on going story and including guild members and some guest appearances as characters. I've decided to formalize the story from each bump into chapters and post them into the Treasure Vault, since I'm unsure of how many were aware of it in Guild Recruitment. Feel free to leave any comments on each post and if there is enough interest, I'll continue the series. Thanks and enjoy.

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It's hard to find good talent grumbles Kryptix as he mulls over the capsule of energy on the table. Tengu looks up from his paper with a raised brow "It is. Too many of the rescued knights rush into the fray without a thought for strategy." As both knights nod, Sypherf bursts into the room and shouts "Ninja!!!". By instinct alone, Tengu reacts by grabbing his empty mug of Spiral's Blend and chucks it at Sypherf. As nimble as could be, Sypherf ducks the mug as it smashes against the door behind him. "Nice to see you too, Tengu. Anyway, I've got a new recruit right outside that might work out here." Both Kryptix and Tengu get a gleam in their eye at the news and say "Let the trial begin!"

As the three veteran knights walk out of their guild headquarters, they see the expansive beauty of Haven before them. Tengu becomes distracted as a snipe lands on his shoulder. "Hey there buddy..." Tengu says as his smile turns to a frown as the Snipe flys away, leaving a [explitive] memento. He shakes his hand angrily at the snipe "I'm gonna hunt you down, you damn bird!!!". Sypherf, Kryptix and the new recruit can't help but chuckle at the scene. Kryptix reaches out to shake the recruit's hand. "Nice to meet you, hope you're ready for your trial run."

Before the recruit can respond, the beautiful Haven morning turns to chaos as an explosion rips through the Bazaar. "You have no choice but to be ready now" says Sypherf, as he draws his Barbarous Thorn Blade from it's sheath. "Indeed" responds Kryptix. "Quite" remarks Tengu. "Indubitably" smirks Sypherf.

"From up above the dark sky rips open to reveal dark monstrous beast with wings like that of razerblades dipped in the blackest tar. Sypherf mentally prepared himself for the battle that was about ensue. Unfortunately for him, his focus was completely and utterly destroyed by Tengu's sudden laughter. Unable to focus any longer he looked to Tengu and inquired about his laughter at such a time.Gasping for breath Tengu points towards the shoulder of the dark beast. There is was, the same Snipe that left a parting gift on Tengu's shoulder. He would be able to get his revenge afterall.

Kryptix thought this matter was a bit more serious though, as it seemed all the snipe were under the control of this beast, or were the snipes doing this of their own accord? He could only ponder this thought for a short while, as the furious snipes began to attack haven. That, and Sypherf and Tengu already ran ahead without thinking about any strategy." - Sypherf

"This does not seem right." Ponders Kryptix as the scene unfolds before him. As Sypherf and Tengu rush in, the battle rage taking hold of their minds, the recruit looks up at Kryptix quizzically. "Why are we not joining in the battle?" "What we see before us is an illusion. While the snipes are being controlled, the sky beast is not real. It must be a distraction, but where are the real culprits?" ponders Kryptix as he surveys the chaotic scene.

"Hahahaha! I'll get you..you damn bird, and your buddy too!!!" shouts Tengu as he readies his bomb, dashing towards the bird as it flies down from the illusion. "Cease your attack on the sky beast, knights!" shouts the district warden from the Bazaar. All the knights who had commenced attack on the beast, stop at the booming voice of the warden. "The real threat is heading towards the fountain!!" the warden shouts as he points. All heads turn towards the fountain to see a gremlin mender and thwacker, scurrying past the fountain. As a group of knights charge the gremlins, Tengu, looking at the warden with a frown and says "but, the snipe! It bombed me!" The warden glares at Tengu, "It's under mind control, deal with it. Capture those gremlins for questioning, that's an order!" Tengu begins to sigh, but Sypherf tugs on the collar of his demo suit to begin chase.

As the knights give chase, dashing down allies and around the shocked bystanders, the gremlin mender and thwacker continue to scurry as they laugh and chant in their high, squeaky voices, "you can't catch us, you can't catch us!!!" Tengu and Sypherf are becoming frustrated with the gremlin antics. As they go down an alley, Tengu gets an idea. "This way." as he barrels through a store. "But they went the other Way, Tengu" says Syhperf as he follows. "Yeah, this is a shortcut." Immediately Sypherf remembers the last time Tengu uttered those same words, they ended up, back against the wall as retrodes surrounded them. Sypherf shutters, "those horrible robotic eyes..." Tengu pushes him up the ladder before he can continue. "Anyway, get up the ladder". The duo shimmey up the ladder, and from the store roof, they can see the chase. "If I'm right, they should circle back and I can toss a bomb in their path to finish this." remarks Tengu as he begins to charge his Voltaic Tempest and Sypherf draws his Barbarous Thorn Blade.

"There must be another group..." mumbles Kryptix as him and the recruit join the other knights in the gremlin pursuit. As they around a corner, both knights stop at the entrace to an alley. The recruit whispers "did you hear that chuckle?" "I did, stay quiet" responds Kryptix as he slowly, and quietly, enters the alley with the recruit right behind. As they sneak into the alley, they hear a group of gremlins talking. "Haha, they fell for it. Honestly, I didn't think the Spiral Order would fall for such a ploy, but they did!" remarks a gremlin. "Aye, but that illusion was quite good, didn't think the Snipes would be effected, but made for a much better outcome." The two knights each duck behind a trash can in the alley. As Kryptix carefully peers out from around the can, he quicly turns back and mouths to the recruit "Crimson Order".

"What was the next step of the plan boss?" Asked a Crimson Order Darkfang Scorcher. "Betty here is ready to light up the town!" smirks the Scorcher as he pats his flamethrower. "Nothing is getting lit up Tack-it. Kings orders!" scowls a large Darkfang Thwacker as he backhands the Scorcher. "The next phase is to sneak into Spiral HQ and... wait, did you hear that?" asked the Thwacker as he looks around. All six gremlins begin looking around nervously. "What? What is it boss?" asks a Mender. "Quiet, someone is watching us." Kryptix and the recruit both exchange a worried look as they willfully keep as still and quiet as possible. "Ah-hah!!!" comes a shout from the rooftops as the gremlins, Kryptix and the recruit look up to see a shadowy figure jump from the roof of a surrounding building.

"So, you'll drop the VT and I jump down and attack when they're shocked? Is that the plan?" inquires Sypherf as he steadies his nerves. Tengu cocks his head as he charges his bomb, "sure?" Sypherf sighs as he prepares for his jump. "Well, we'll do that then." "Need some help?" asks a knight from behind both. Startled, Tengu drops his bomb on the ground. Sypherf swings his Barbarous Thorn Blade around to the knight, but stops short before coming in contact. "Woah!! It's just me!" says Vengence-Links in shock. Sypherf shakes his head, "you've gotta stop doing that Veng." Both knights smile, but quickly frown as Tengu responds "um..." All three knights look down as the bombs fuse quickly burns. Tengu quickly kicks the bomb and all three watch as the bomb falls to the ground. Just then, the Thwacker and Mender, who have been giving the knights the run around, bound from around the corner and come upon the bomb just at it detonates, shocking both instantly.

"It must be my lucky day" remarks Tengu as he watches his bomb detonate with the two gremlins running into the electrical haze. "I mean, what are the odds that that would have happened. Amazing" he says with a smile. Sypherf pats Tengu on the back "Yeah, good job. Now, time to capture them. Let's go Veng." Both leap off the one story building to land on either gremlin. "I'm quite proud of myself..." Tengu says as he gleams. Just then, he sees a small shadow pass by him and hears the all too familiar splat on his shoulder. "DAMN YOU BIRD!!!" shouts Tengu at the passing Snipe. Tengu sighs and slumps "I don't know what to think about this day now."

"Ah hah!!!" comes a shout from the rooftops as a shadowed figure leaps from a nearby building towards the gremlins. Kryptix quietly draws his Gran Faust, with the recruit drawing his Biohazard in response. "Charge your shot" whispers Kryptix as equips his trusty Swiftstrike Buckler, "and shoot when I tell you." The shadowy figure lands on a Darkfang Mender and laughs "caught you fellas flat-footed I see... and there are more of you than I thought." remarks the figure as he looks around, his confident smile turning into a frown. "I told you there was more than two, Chaos!" shouts another figure from the roof. "Yeah, yeah bro. I've got this" remarks Chaoslordx as he stands up, foot on the menders chest. "You all are under arrest for loitering, and uh... scheming, yeah, scheming" he says as he draws his Acheron. "I'll be right down" shouts Lockingpopper from the rooftop. "We can do this the boring, easy way. Or the exciting, hard way. Which shall it be?" Chaos looks around as he watches the gremlins draw their weapons, smile maniacally and baring their sharp teeth. "Betty's gonna light you up!!!" growls the Scorcher as he pulls the trigger, sending a plume of fiery gas towards Chaoslordx.

Vengence-Links and Sypherf land on the gremlins the Mender and Thwacker respectively, as they convulse from the shock. "You are both under arrest for the attck on the Haven Bazaar" announces Vengence-Links as he handcuffs the Mender. "Alright, settle down" says Sypherf as the Thwacker continues to struggle. As Sypherf goes to handcuff the Thwacker, the gremlin goes to back-hand Sypherf. He reacts and grabs the hand, but this allows the Thwacker to squirm out from underneath him. "Don't make me hurt y... ow!" shouts Sypherf as the Thwacker kicks him in the shin. Sypherf loses his grip on the Thwacker as it dashes towards the alley, looking back and laughing, but runs into something, something big. The Thwacker looks up at the splattered armor of Tengu as his smile turns to a frown. "Now, who said you could do that? Either get on the ground, or I'll make you" commands Tengu as he stares the gremlin down. Suddenly, the gremlin goes for his hammer on his back, but before he can draw it, Tengu slams a Nitronome on the Thwacker's head, knocking it out as it slumps to the ground. Sypherf cocks his head at Tengu. "What? He was resisting arrest."

As the plume of fire heads towards Chaoslordx, he realizes that he cannot dodge it as it expands like a tidal wave of fire towards him. Reacting quickly, he crouches and grabs the collar of the Mendor on the ground and lifts him up in from of him. The Mendor squeels as he is lifted towards the blast and creates a barrier just before it hits. Chaoslordx's smile returns as the fire is directed around him.

Kryptix bounds over the trash can he was hiding behind as he unleashes a spin attack, slashing at four of the gremlins, knocking them to the ground. As the Scorcher is hit by the suprise attack, he drops his flamethrower, stopping the plume of fire. "Now!" shouts Kryptix as the large Thwacker goes to leap at him with the hammer. The recruit launches his charged attack. Kryptix side steps as the hammer slams to the ground, just inches from where he stood. As he spins around, he is hit by the charge, and is momentarily distracted by the orbiting light. Kryptix performs a lunging kick to the gremlin's chest, while it's distracted, just before the recruit shoots at the orb, causing a green explosion, slamming the gremlin against the wall through the combined forces of the attacks.

"Haha, you shouldn't have kicked me, shrimp." Says Sypherf as he chuckles, handcuffing the gremlin as he does so. "Why did you even let him kick you, Syph? I thought you were a ninja, ninjas don't get caught off guard" asks Vengence-Links as he pulls the Mendor to his feet. "Hey, the sun was reflecting off his hammer and into my eye. Besides, I have one thing to say to that..." Both Tengu and Vengence-Links look at Sypherf questioningly. "I'm a NINJA!!!" "Yes, yes you are" remarks Vengence-Links and Tengu in unison. "Now, we need to get these two to headquarters for questioning. With any luck, they'll let me question them!" says Tengu, as he evily smiles and rubs his hands together.

The explosion knocks the gremlin against the wall, near where Chaoslordx is standing and pushes Kryptix back, just as he planned. As the gremlin leans against the wall, stunned, Kryptix drops to a three-point stance, then begins his bull rush towards the Thwacker. As the gremlin becomes to recover from the stun, Chaoslordx watches as the Thwacker attempts to draw his hammer. Quickly reacting, he punches the gremlin in the jaw, which distracts the gremlin a moment before Kryptix plows full force into the gremlin. The wall buckles from the force of the tackle. The gremlin, knocked out and stuck in the indentation in the wall, also is pierced in the chest by one of the spines from Kryptix's Sinister Skelly armor. The wound is oozing blood and a dark, viscious substance. Kryptix examines the wound and begins treatment as Chaoslordx remarks "Damn Kryp, you really nailed him. If you hit any harder, the building might have come down, and that is a big gremlin. Don't think I've seen a Thwacker that large before." As the recruit walks up, he sees Lockingpopper enter the alleyway. "Aww, too late to help out I see" says Lockingpopper as he sheathes his sword. "Yeah bro, did you take the long stairs down?" remarks Chaos. The recruit waves to both. "Hey, it's the recruit. Sypherf told us we were getting someone new, what's your name?" ask Chaoslordx. "KronicDecay" he says with a smile. "Hey Kronic" says Lockingpopper, "welcome to the guild."

"Oh damn! What did you do to my store!?" shouts Lockingpopper, "I'm going to have to repair that wall now!" "Oh... yeah... gremlin's fault. Completely" remarks Chaoslordx. "We need to take these gremlins into headquarters for questioning, and get this one into medical for treatment. This wound doesn't look right." says Kryptix. "Radio in for support, and, sorry about the wall Lock." remarks Kryptix with a sheepish look with the last statement. Lockingpopper smiles "don't worry about it, we all know you hit hard Kryp. I'll contact the Spiral Order for reimbursement, and I had contacted HQ for support on my way down, so they should be here shortly."

A siren blares in the distance as Kryptix, Kronicdecay, Lockingpopper and Chaoslordx work on handcuffing the gremlins. As the Spiral Order Transport van arrives, they begin to move all but one of the gremlins towards it. "Quit struggling, you'll just make it worse for yourselves" commands Kryptix as he drags the Scorcher. "Don't make us knock you all out again!" remarks Sypherf as he drags the Mender. The van pulls up and out comes the crew, lead by Reinke. "Oh hey guys! Should've expected to see you here!" says Reinke with a smile. "Heh, we're always in the thick of it. Either we're in the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the wrong time. Haven't figured out which yet." Remarks Chaoslordx. "Yeah, you know how my bro always get into trouble" says Lockingpopper with a smirk as he pats Chaoslordx's back. "What's the story with this one?" asks a Spiral Order medic as he examines the unconscious Thwacker. "Kryp nailed him good is what happened" Chaoslordx responds. "The wound should be examined, there was something black that was mixed in with the blood" remarks Kryptix as he assists the medic with carrying the Thwacker to the van. "Hmm, odd indeed. I'll take him right away to be examined." With that, the medic closes the van up and drives away. "I'll back walk with you guys, that way I can hear the scoop of what happened" says Reinke with a smile.

Tengu, Sypherf and Vengence-Links walk down one of the many halls of the Spiral Order, dodging rushing staff as they work to clear up the mess at the Bazaar. "So, which office did the warden say to go to for our de-brief?" ask Vengence-Links. "Hmm, I think it was 359" remarks Sypherf. "What? You guys forgot? Do I have to do everything around here?" spouts Tengu. "Yes, so what was the room number?" questions sypherf. "It was room... um... wait a sec... I know it... um..." studders Tengu as he looks around. "...right" says Vengence-Links as he shakes his head. "It was 359. Oh look, here it is" points Sypherf at the door. As they walk up to the door, it quickly opens and a Spiral Order officer appears from behind. "Ah, there you boys are. Get in here so we can start the de-brief." The three sit down at the opposite side of the table from the two officers already seated. AS the third officer sits, he asks "so, you three were the ones to capture the running gremlins, correct?" Tengu slams his fist on the table "Damn straight!" The room quickly turns quiet as everyone looks awkardly at each other for a moment. "Erm, yes! Yes we did capture the the gremlins. Can I tortu... er... interview them for information?" asks Tengu as he slowly sits back in the chair with an akward smirk. All Vengence-Links and Sypherf can do is shake their heads.

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