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Location: Megido Estate, Yisk

An arctic fox sat in the back of his limo, lounging. He had his favorite music playing, he was enjoying his favorite drink (Cola, left out til it was flat), and was on his way to another game night with him and his friends. Well, they called it a business meeting, but really, they didn't plan on having any business done; it was purely a game night between friends and coworkers. Besides, he was always one to mix business and leisure.

Game Master/CEO of Second Chance Biotics

Vega "Underworld Scientist" Schwarzchild

Formerly going by the alias Phi Gamma, he had since dropped the alias, quickly, due to realizing how dumb it sounded; it didn't hurt to experiment with names and titles. Sipping his drink, he watched the manor appear in the distance. "Looks like we're here, varlet." He said, as they pulled in past the gate, watching several statues of the manor owner go by; an old goat, although the statues were made when he was much younger. Every statue was in a different pose to the last one. Very extravagant, to an unnecessary degree, but Schwarzchild had no room to talk.

40 years ago... No, longer than that... 50 years ago? Around that range, there was a man who was a mere police detective. Not even a special detective or anything, more of an assistant to the assistant of the actual detectives. No one ever noticed him or even looked in his direction; this worked in the young man's favor. For this young man was sneaky and clever, knew who to talk to, and even how to talk to the right people. He gathered up information, through both legal and illegal means uncovered private documents, and secured trade deals. The small, insignificant assistant became a force to be reckoned with; morality was a poor way to make money, so he got into the art of war profiteering. He began to profit off of small scale conflicts, from gang wars to large conflicts, all while posing as a small figure in an obscure police department. Once his money was secure and snowballing, he left the company and started his own business.

That was the man who owned this manor. It was as Schwarzchild always said, there are only two ways to get into the top 1% of the world. You are either born into it, or you screw as many people over as you can on your road to success; this man was the latter.

As his driver pulled into the drive way, where 6 other cards were, four of them belonging to the manor's owner and the other 2 belonging to the other guests. He groaned, realizing that he was the last one here. He really should've have stopped for that manicure. "Just pull up there, I'll ride home with someone else tomorrow." The varlet nodded, as he pulled up by the curve, allowing Schwarzchild to walk out, leaving his empty cup behind.

"Oh yes..." He said to himself, as the door opened once he was just a few feet from it, a manor staff standing there to greet him.

"Welcome, Game Master." The eagle butler said, giving a bow, flanked by two maids. "The others are upstairs."

"Thank you," he said, walking in with a confident swagger. Schwarzchild always had a large child-like smile on his face, his eyes darting around the manor foyer, taking in the scenery. Expensive paintings, expensive furniture and decorations, and everything lit in a warm, cinnabar shade. His white fur stood out in the dark colors of the manor. But, his focus was broken as he was greeted by an old owl standing on the stairs in front of him. Schwarzchild bet his tail that Audwin would say something rude to him the moment he entered:

"You're always late." Audwin said, his one good eye peering down on him. Looks like he was right on his bet.

"10 minutes, exactly." Schwarzchild protested.

"If you were a retail worker who'd be docked for that time."

"Well I'm not a retail worker, now am I?" He snickered, walking up the stairs, "I take everything is already set up?" He said, as Audwin walked back into the room he came in from, a large room just up the stairs, across from the entrance.

"Of course," Audwin nodded, Schwarzchild following him.

The room was a circular room that matched the rest of the place, with the addition of several paintings of the manor's owner. There he was, sitting at the table in the center of the room. A black goat, clothed in a kimono displaying a Mahjong tile pattern. The goat grinned with excitement as he saw Schwarzchild enter.

CEO of Gift from Heaven Finance

Megido "13th Orphan" Omen

"Megido," Schwarzchild bowed. "A pleasure to see you again."

"Schwarz!" Megido said, standing up, throwing his arms wide. "No no, don't you say that, it's a pleasure to see you again!" He clasped his hands together. "I hope you're excited for Mahjong night." He said as he then held his boney hands out over the table, which already had the aforementioned game set up, all the tiles laid out; the tiles were even specially commissioned for him, with his companies colors. "I will be, again, taking the victory, as usual, of course."

"I've been getting better, so don't boast so quick." Schwarzchild laughed, pulling up a chair, now sitting in front of Megido. A maid shut the door behind him, wanting total privacy for the group. "I came close last time."

The other 3 people in the room were of course Audwin, who sat at a table adjacent to the Mahjong table, with him was Rosemary.

The 3rd person was a youthful looking dog, a Schnauzer, dressed in a vest shirt combo; young enough that at the age of 35, he was the second youngest person in the room after Rosemary. On his lapel was the company logo for VAV.

Bishop of VAV Corp/Grandson of the Archdeacon

Ego "Startup" Auger

Ego sat to Megido's right, Schwarzchild's left, smoking his pipe. However, while the game could be played with 3 people, they needed a fourth to truly enjoy it. The old goat looked over to Audwin, his orange eyes peering into him. "Audwin, my dear friend, are you still insistent on not playing? We can play without Yaku or Furiten rules to make it simpler." He laughed, "Simpler but less challenging, I mean."

"I refuse." Audwin said, taking a sip of spiced cider, served to him by one of Megido's maids. He motioned to Rosemary. "Rosemary will be filling in for me."

"You know how to play, Rosemary?" Megido asked, excited.

"I grew up playing it." She said, sitting down across from Earnest. "I took a long break from it during the war, only recently starting to play again about 2 years ago. I can't promise that I'm any good at it."

"Good, skill doesn't matter. This does meanI don't need to explain the rules." Megido cheered, as he peeled a Xivan tangerine, taken from a bowl offered by one of his maids, eating one of the slices. "Exciting, exciting... So exciting!"

Four of the wealthiest men in Qest. Ceiling Unlimited, Second Chance, VAV, and Gift from Heaven. Their game had begun, going around the table, discarding tiles. Ego was a newbie, only playing during these game nights, so he wasn't a threat; but, with how luck based the game can be, even a novice could defeat a high ranking expert in the game. Rosemary as well, but looks can be deceiving; Megido made sure to meet a watch out for any moves she made, he was certain that she was selling herself short when it came to skill level. His attention though was mainly focused on Schwarzchild; the only man in Primal that he could consider his Mahjong rival. He wouldn't lose tonight. The Goddess of Luck chooses him.

"So, Audwin, friend," Megido said, "I heard the three of you are bedfellows now. What's this about?" He watched as Rosemary discarded a 3-pin tile, the tile he needed. "Chii." He said, snatching the tile and putting it to his side, before drawing and discarding his tiles.

"Pon." Schwarzchild said, taking the tile that Megido discarded; a red dragon tile. The fox now had his Yaku? He was close to victory already.

"That's not for you to know." Audwin said, "Only a few may know."

"He already knows about our alliance." Schwarzchild said, talking while also keeping an eye on Megido. "The alliance isn't as secret as the goal. It can't hurt to discuss our end goal."

"It could." Audwin said.

"You're always in a bad mood." Ego said, "What is known and what is public, at least within our circle, is that we're in an alliance. Simple as that..." He smirked, as he placed down a betting chip. "Riichi." Looks like Ego was getting better...

"Fair enough," Megido said, "I care not either way. I'm simply too curious for my own good, you see." Each word he spoke was with a playful demeanor, not like a child, but rather like someone who was toying with another. Then, he watched as Schwarzchild played in one til he needed for victory. "Ron!" He declared as he displayed his tiles. Not a particularly special hand, but they just starting out. "All simples, Red 5, 1 Dora." The first round win went to him. "I win this one, Schwarz... You three might keep me in out of the loop in your plans, but I am still king of this table."

"Quite." Rosemary said, as she and the others shifted their tiles to the center of the table, mixing them up to begin again. "I was in tenpai, if that counts for anything."

"You were in Tenpai but you didn't call Riichi? Rookie mistake." Ego said, sounding a bit upset that he was close to victory himself only to get it taken away.

"It means you were closing in on victory, that is good." Megido said, complimenting her. "Doesn't matter if you don't win though."

"On to more important matters." Ego said, looking to Schwarzchild. "So how does it feel? To be the Game Master of this year's tournament? Not nervous or anything."

"Please, I'm the greatest mind on this planet. Why would I be nervous about running a tournament? I'm excited actually." He said, as he helped set up the tiles. He took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

"I might add, Schwarzchild," Rosemary said, "With all politeness, it is unusual to see you outside of your mask and suit."

"Thank you," he said, rubbing the fur on the side of his head. Normally wearing his mask, the scars on his face were all visible. At this point, his body was more artificial and mechanical than organic. "Unlike some of the oldies in here, I'm aging well. Ain't I handsome?"

"No." Rosemary said bluntly, shocking the room. If not for her status as Audwin's favorite or Schwarzchild not minding, such a comment would get someone beaten with an inch of their life. "Harsh," Schwarzchild laughed. "But, no, this is going to be a special tournament. We have already selected those we want on. Invites will be sent out soon." He said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a card resembling those inviting people to Primal. But, rather than the usual red, this one was golden. "Speaking of which," He handed the pass over to Rosemary. "It'd be a pleasure to have you as one of the main attractions."

Rosemary stared at the invite, surprised. Behind her, Audwin nodded. "Th-thank you." She said, taking it. The tournament was months away but still, to get an invite this early? She couldn't help but feel happy, and she didn't even like fighting that much! She sounded like a young girl getting a Christmas gift. "You're too kind."

"Don't worry." Schwarzchild said, as the finished up setting up all the tiles.

"Who else is going to be on?" Megido asked, "I fully play to be there in person to watch."

"Well, for the first time in 10 years, Rakkan is coming on. He doesn't like showing up to tournaments, as he says, he thinks it isn't exciting if everyone thinks he's gonna win. But he is still a crowd pleasure despite that. There is also-"

"Schwarzchild." Ego interrupted. "You know it's taboo to be talking about who is coming to the tournament this early? Weren't you told this when you became Game Master?"

"I did, but I often choose to ignore taboos." He chuckled. "If I chose to avoid social and corporate taboos, I wouldn't be where I am now."

"Either way, I don't want to hear any. All of us are coming to the tournament and some of us like to be surprised at who's there." Ego said, discarding a tile. Megido wanted to mention how poor of a discard it was, but he didn't want to interrupt.

"He's right, you know." Audwin said.

"Let's move on then." Schwarzchild said. "Speaking of fights actually, Audwin, I heard someone is requesting a fight from one of yours?"

"I feel like a fucking celebrity." Audwin said, pinching his face above his beak.

"Riichi!" Schwarzchild shouted, interrupting the conversation. Rosemary and Earnest were paying attention to the conversation, Megido and Schwawrzchild were locked in Mahjong combat, like two warriors, their tiles their swords.

"Who against who?" Rosemary asked, looking over to her boss. Why was she only now hearing about this?

"It's Patrick this time, you don't have to do anything." He said. "Some wannabe superhero from Xiva is challenging him, wants me to wager my claim on Ishinomori's land. That's what Patrick told me... He's interested in fighting but isn't sure about the wager."

"Well?" Ego began to ask, "You going through with it?"

"No." Audwin said, "That land is far too important to our goals. No matter what, no matter how much I'm begged, no matter what is put up, I will not take the wager. That is final." A maid came came over, to refill Audwin's glass, but he held his hand in front of himself to stop her.

In that moment, the room fell silent, no one saying anything. That was until Schwarzchild, who had been more focused on the game, along with Megido, drew his winning tile. "Ah! Tsumo!" He shouted, placing his tiles down. Pure Straight, 3 Dora." He grinned staring into his rival's eyes. "Sounds like I'm pulling into the lead." Such a hand put him far far into the lead. Enough so that Rosemary and Ego wouldn't be able to catch up unless they got a massive hand.

Megido scratched his chin, humming, impressed with Schwarzchild's play. "How quaint. I was 1 away from tenpai and you snatched the victory away. You indeed are getting better, Schwarz." He pushed his tiles away, along with everyone else. "So what's this about a fight?" He said, looking over to Audwin. The goat clearly wasn't paying attention.

"Fight over land, don't worry about it." Ego said.

"Ah, yes, that." Megido nodded, "What is so important about this land anyways?"

The trio of Audwin, Ego, and Schwarzchild paused. Rosemary, meanwhile, didn't know herself, but wasn't as curious as Megido. "Should we tell him?" Ego said.

"I believe it's fine to let him know." Schwarzchild said, "As his friend and rival, I say it's fine." He said, glancing to Audwin. "Audwin?"

"Very well," the owl said, "Are you aware of the element Cell Soil?"

"...Or Marrosium, if you want to use its scientific name." Schwarzchild interjected.

"Marrosium? Yes, of course," Megido nodded, "I've dealt with the stuff a lot. Schwarz is mostly Marrosium at this point."

"...And I'm proud of it." The fox said, grinning, his cybernetic arm spinning. Arms, legs, most of his spine, heart, lungs, eyes, penis, lower jaw, and then some, all artificial.

Discovered roughly 2 centuries ago, by an explorer by the name of Little John Marrow. A gray substance initially thought to be ordinary mud, turned out to be an undiscovered element. A texture similar to modeling clay, an ugly dark gray color, completely waterproof, and a light weight that contrasts with its high density and mass. The element was initially passed off as an interesting but completely mundane element, that was until its most interesting property was discovered; its ability to bind to flesh and bone, with zero chance of rejection, down to fusing and reconnecting nerves and damage once thought to be permanent. This was when biotics and cybernetics were in their early stages. With the discovery of Marrosium, these creations became even more advance, even easier to apply to the body, and closer to the real thing.

Schwarzchild, while not a direct descendant, was one of the few inheritors of the massive wealth generated by this. For that matter, every cybernetic or biotics company, even VAV, had Marrow to thank for their success.

Back to the topic at hand...

"Ishinomori is right on top of a massive deposit of the stuff. Our little joint project requires a lot of it, you see. We can't afford to lose the stuff over a single bet." Schwarzchild explained. "So I'm with Audwin here.

"Same," Ego said. "We're close."

"Such a shame." Megido said, frowning, back to paying attention to the game, although only now trying to pay attention.

Rosemary had nothing to say, at least nothing to contribute. But her eyes betrayed a sense of sadness, putting a tile down. "Ishinomori is a beautiful place."

"Indeed," Schwarzchild said, "I think I'll go over there before the digging starts, just to see it one last time."

"One last thing," Megido said, placing down a tile. "Any news on that Ethan boy?"

Audwin raised a brow. "What about that Ethan boy?" It had actually been a long while since he even thought about him. No, he was still not over losing that bet. "Where did that come from, Megido?" He said, saying the goat's name as if he was ready to discipline him.

"Just on my mind," He chuckled. "You questioned why Hallmark was so interested in him. Said as much when we discussed having this game night. Well, uh, I did some digging of my own." He couldn't stop giggling to himself. "Oh, that boy is something special actually. Indeed something special." He said the timbre rising in his voice.

"Get on with it, Megido, who is he?" Ego said.

"He's always like this, just get use to it." Schwarzchild said, amused by the old goat. All of them just had to adjust with the old man's childishness.

Finally, getting to the point, Megido laughed. "It was kind of in front of us all, him being a bat and all. Thing is, I didn't recognize him either when I first saw pictures! Last time I saw him, he was a little newborn baby girl. That boy is the son of Simon. Simon Vanderville." He put threw a betting stick down on the table. "Riichi!"

The other 3 men went wide eyed at the name.

"Simon..." Audwin said, looking away, rubbing his chin.

"What? You can't be serious?!" Schwarzchild asked, "I didn't even know he had a son. Why did he hide something like that?"

"I heard rumors," Ego said, puzzled, "I'm a bit too young to remember Simon, but my father knew him. What do you mean newborn baby girl?"

At his question, Rosemary leaned in and whispered something to him, to which Ego nodded.

"Huh... I think I get it."

"You're serious? Not playing around as you often do?" Audwin asked, his good eye twitching. "Why would Simon keep this a secret? From the whole of Primal?" Then Audwin walked over to the table, looming over Megido now. "As a matter of fact, how do you know?"

"Simon is my best friend. Simple as that." He laughed, "Well, it's more than that. But you keep secrets from me and I keep secrets from you, so... Heh..."

"What? You talked with him? He's suppose to be off the radar! How much are you hiding, you old goat?" Ego said, now clearly annoyed.

"Calm down, Auger." Schwawzchild said.

Rosemary, who had been restraining herself from speaking up this whole time, interjected. "I'm sorry, but I'm confused. Who is Simon?"

"Ah, my apologies," Megido said, "You were just a hatchling, or weren't even born, when he was at his peak."

"Simon was one of the greatest Handlers Primal had. It wasn't just his knowledge of who to fight who. It was the deals he made, the people he interacted with. He even rubbed shoulders with the Seven Chakras. By his hand, so much of the world had changed. If there was a company linked with Primal, then he had a vague connection to them at the bare minimum." Schwarzchild explained, "The fact he has a son is news to me. Did you know, Audwin?"

"I just learned this, but it explains everything." He said, walking away, going over to a painting of Megido, as if to admire the fine art. Well, art was subjective, as they say. "So that's your plan, Hallmark? Get Ethan to follow in the footsteps of his dear old dad?" He laughed and shook his head. "I was angry before, but now I need to see how this turns out." Everyone was silent, as they looked at Audwin, the tension of the room was so great, even the Mahjong obsessed Megido stopped playing. "I'm half tempted to give him a taste of greed by accepting this fight. The fighter who wants to challenge me is working under his co-Handler, no? But, knowing Ethan, he wouldn't use the land for the same reason as me." There he went, talking to himself again. "I'm more interested in Ethan, now more than ever, I want to know what Simon has been hiding from us. But, no, I will still not accept the wager." He said, as he went back to the table beside the others.

"Well said," Schwarzchild said. "Let's continue our game without any interruptions, shall we?" He said, as he snatched a tile from Rosemary, "Pon!"

Then, Megido got an idea. "Audwin, how about you and I have a side bet?" He said.

"What type of bet?" He said, raising a brow.

"Well, accept the bet. Accept the bet from this wannabe superhero. If you win the fight, well, that'll be all, no more to be said and done." He explained, "If you lose though, well, I will compensate all three of you for your loss. Not me, but Simon himself will." He laughed, "You three will be able to meet with Simon once more after all these years. Even learn what he is planning. You won't need to worry about your loss." He said, holding his hand out for Simon to shake.

Audwin hesitated. He knew that with Megido, there was never no strings attached. "What's the catch,. Megido?"

"Give me a stake in your plan. Don't even have to involve me. I just want to be let in on your little clubhouse here." He said, smiling sincerely.

The three paused, hesitant. Megido was their friend, but... well, he was never one to be trusted.

Then, Rosemary interrupted the flow of conversation. "Ah! Ron!" She said, snatching a tile off of Schwarzchild, shocking him. "Prevailing Wind, 1 Dora, Red 5."

There was a pause from them. Megido had to commend her for snatching the victory from him, as he drew the tile that would've been next... A 4 of Bamboo... The exact tile he needed for a victory. He laughed it off though, before looking back to Audwin.

Audwin crossed his arms and looked to Ego and Schwarzchild. The two of them nodded. "Very well," he said, taking Megido's hand. "Bet."