"Move along, lady."

No casino would be complete without it's fair share of bouncers—security to keep the lesser criminals out of sight—but the high-rise establishments that Octavia frequented had a higher bar when it came to their guards; the two officers that hung outside the building were there to make sure that only the right kind of person came in, with the right clothes and the right cash; in other words, "Not you, not you, definitely not you. Scram!"

"You heard the news, Boxer?" asked the second, shorter one while his companion booed out an entire crowd of people. “And I’m not talking about soccer or capsule corp. The police still haven’t been able to apprehend that ‘dark alien’ from a few weeks ago.”

“Th’ one that made an entire highway freeze for hours?” the bossier, bigger one growled, knowing all too well what they were talking about. “God, I hate those aliens, I do. Get’s harder an’ harder simply going to work when every few weeks, my neighbourhood blows up!”

“But people aren’t even sure if it was an alien,” his partner said hesitantly. “Pretty much all of them have been humanoid—y’know, two arms, two legs? —but bystander reports make it sound like he was a literal fucking shadow. No arms, no legs, cartoony-looking face. What kind of alien is that?”

“A weird one, that’s what,” dismissed the taller bouncer. “So what if it barely looks human? They’re fuckin’ aliens; I’m surprised the lot we’ve got even resemble us at all! So quit reading the newspaper, Briefs, and get back to work. Somebody could’ve snuck past you by now!”

“Oh, I could have effortlessly fooled you, but what fun would that be?”

For Boxer and Briefs, time had practically stopped while they scanned their surroundings, desperately searching for the source of that sound-"Lighten up, dears! Otherworldy echo and deep reverb aside, my voice's fantastic.  Also, I'm behind you." Yet the great thing didn't even give them the chance to peer backwards, as without warning they were both yanked by their shirts like a coat on a rack, as if a gigantic finger was holding them up by the tip. It was a completely insane sight, and now the two of them were yelling their voices out, begging their captor to let them touch the ground again. "Y'know, down in the demon realm, we took our security seriously! I suppose the mortals have lower standards...alas!"

---

"What the hell was that?"

Octavia might've been able to guess that something was very wrong outside; even before their security detail started wailing like little girls, a rather noticeable power had crept just outside the casino-not quite her level, but not far behind. While many of the casino's patrons simply ignored the noise and played on, quite a few-including Joseph Smith-suddenly became very worried. "I thought this place was tight-"

CRASH!

Through the bulletproof, well-tinted windows came their esteemed security personnel, who had been tossed into the casino like they were beanbags at a circus. They hit the floor with a sickening thud, and it wouldn't have been unreasonable to assume them dead; strangely enough, it seemed like something had cushioned their fall just a little, but whatever did that disappeared right after. Now the casino was absolutely quiet. Of course, someone was trying to take someone else out, maybe everyone out, but who the heck was behind—

"Gooooood morning, Oraaaaaaange City!" bursted out a towering, hellish, yet oddly charismatic and fun voice. Either way, though, many of the casino's patrons were in a full-blown panic, but they soon found that leaving wasn't an option; just as soon as the voice came in, the doors locked themselves and the windows were sealed with-some sort of ink? Rather, it was some inky, sludge-y substance; for Octavia, it felt like a mixture of ki and some other mystical force. For the elites that were now in a deathtrap, they had descended into total anarchy, and were trying to pull off every countermeasure they had available...

And then he properly showed up. At first, the air in the middle of the casino began to tingle, then crackle, then start swirling around like a tornado made of darkness, as if the entire building would be swallowed in the build-up—then it stopped, with the wind giving way to a much darker force than they had ever seen. Floating across nearly the entire casino was a tall, curling, and fiendishly-happy alien, one that moved like a shadow and looked not far from one, too. It was the strangest thing they had ever seen; that thing, whatever it was, looked straight out of a cartoon, with it's simple expressions and abnormally large hat, yet it was definitely the thing that had defeated their security as if they were children...

"Ah, pardon my manners, I've trapped you inside and haven't even introduced myself! My name is Saint Vitus Ziminar," he boomed with a tip of his hat, "and I've come here to bargain. Give me the knowledge I seek or your bones become wheat and your nerves become fire. An easy choice, really...HAHAHAHA!"

Power Level: 2606.
WC: 868