Finding Strength (CLOSED)

"And here I am still downloading music from youtube. I remember sitting at the sound system with my dad's voice recorder thing just to record my favourite song." Katherine smiled at the memories of her childhood, of her father. It was all so peaceful until everything went to hell. "The cartoons from back then were better too. Animators had so much freedom, it was just better. Last time I did a freelance project, the client got offended by the colour. I mean, what colour should blood be, orange? You can't do anything now without offending someone."

"Pre' sure I saw a post online abou' some twins bein' Peter Pan an' his shadow - soun' innocen' 'nuff, yea?"
"Yeah... That sounds pretty cool, actually. Go on."
"Anyway, some folks got in a tizzy bou' the person bein' the shadow was doin' Blackface 'pparently.". Calum didn't have anything to say, as Michael continued, "A feckin shadow. Wot fockin color shoul' it be then? Bleedin' purple? Wha' color are shadows? Not. Feckin. Purple.". Calum merely sighed, dumbfounded.
"That's jus'... Ah don'... What the 'ell..."

"Even worse, if the kid was purple, someone would have said: the kid's choking, save him! And then there would be that idiot that gets offended because one of their relatives choked to death." Katherine had a good laugh at all of that, enjoying the fact that she wasn't the only one that found it all so funny. "You should check out this one comedian, Randy Feltface." She continued driving, still following the directions, just enjoying the drive.

Calum nodded, making a mental note to do so. He went silent, as well as Michael, for a few minutes until they were essentially two minutes away from their destination. "The place looks a bit like a scrapyard with a three story buildin' next to it. He made his own sign over the entrance as a gateway and everything. Can't possibly miss it - the letters are made of scrap and tires."

"Ah, I see it! Wow, really clever way to disguise an Assassin headquarters." As soon as Katherine parked the car, she got out and stretched a bit before turning to Calum. "Should I bring my stuff in now, or fetch it later? I do want to make a good first impression." Katherine just grabbed one bag from the boot before locking the car once everyone was out.

"Ah, jus' bring it later. John is probably workin' on something right now... Lets say hi.". Calum smirked, motioning for Michael to follow as they both got out of the car. They walked oast some piles of scrap before finding the front door, which was directly next to a large open garage. Underneath a extremely busted up and dirty car was a pair of legs. "Yoohoo, John? Ya awake under there?". There was a slight clang and a thud, followed by a few utterances of "Ah, damn it, damn it..." before the man pulled himself out from under the car, standing up fully, showing an unruly mane of deep brown hair, with a dirty face and a dirtier outfit. "'Ey, Calum!
How's the kids? Nonexistant? Great! How are y-". He had noticed Michael and Katherine, and stopped, surprised. He was about to say something, before Michael interjected.
"It's okay, John - or should I say,
Redfield". Ryan dropped the wrench he was holding, and Michael laughed a bit.
"It's okay, Ryan. Mikey's defected. Lass 'ere is Katherine, the 'lass with a spark' I told ya about.". Ryan grinned, extending a hand to her.
"Pleasure to meet ya! Ryan, known as John, at your service."

Katherine looked around at all the scrap, and smiled. She felt like she was in fallout, or in the junkyard from walking dead. She let out a small laugh at Redfield's reaction to Michael. She figured that had Calum not told Ryan that Michael had deflected, the man would have pulled a knife or gun on Michael.
"Katherine Wuulf. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ryan. I trust Calum's only told you good things about me, or at least told you what I am capable of" Katherine said with a smile as she took Ryan's hand, shaking it gently. "I can promise I'll be one of your best recruits, and I'll train hard too." She looked to Calum with a look that seemed to ask how she should play the situation.

Calum was about to say something before Ryan chuckled a bit, saying, "Ah,
come on! No need to be so stiff!". This was emphasized with his strong grip and ecstatic hand shaking. He let go of the handshake, extending his arms to the side. "We're all one big ol' family here.
Cut some slack! Here, I'll open it up with a lil' bit bout me - Used to love street fighting - still do, just not allowed to do it as much -, I love to restore ol' hunks of junk, and used to huff paint.". He laughed a bit, waving it off. "Ah, only one o' those is false. Up to you which is. Anywho, I take it Old Man Cal's been trainin' you?"

"Ah, thank God. I really battle with being formal and all that" Katherine said with a chuckle. She looked to Michael, then Calum, then back to Ryan. "Yeah, I've done some training with Cal. Handed him his ass in fighting and shooting. I almost killed Mikey in a fight. It was an accident." She looked up at Calum, smiling for a moment, extremely happy with her life choices that had led her up to this point. "And he's not old, a wise wizard, but I don't think he's old."

Ryan whistled. "Man, really? Tell me ya two were holdin' back?" Calum shook his head.
"I wasn't back then. Then again, my limbs were a bit worse for wear then, and outdated. Finally got those modifications I've been telling you about, by the way.". Ryan whistled, Michael telling his side.
"I did, and it nipped me in the ass.
I had a knife and the ability and opportunity to break her back. I... Got a bit cocky.". Michael chuckled a bit, realising what an absoloute mess he could get himself into for being cocky more often.
"Well, pleasure meeting ya, Katherine - ya got any nicknames? - but if that's all,
just take the elevator on up and stuff. Cal can show the way.". Ryan smiled, clearly excited.

"Just Kat, or Kitty, either one is good." Katherine turned to Michael, and paused for a moment, thinking. "So, what are your plans for after this, Mikey?" She knew she was going to miss him quite a bit, especially his jokes and insults.

Michael shrugged. "I'll be headin' to my own house. Prolly convert half me gym to a place fer meditation, since half it was all 'bout my upper body strength, and well...". He rapped his knucles against his chest, pointing out the cybernetics. "...an' I kinda jus' gotta find my sel' and make peace, ya know? Not easy leavin' behind yer lifestyle. Besides, ah don' reckon many o' the lads an' lasses 'ere would welcome me... Kinda killed a good deal o' their friends..."

"I'm gonna miss you, Mikey. Especially how you drive him mad" Katherine said with a chuckle gesturing over to Calum. She hugged him tightly for quite a while, it was obvious she had grown attached to him. "Don't be a stranger, alright? We really should have a drink together some time." She wiped her eyes quickly before backing away a bit.

Mikey teared up a bit, saying, "...yeah.
Yeah, I'll make sure to not be a stranger now.". He turned around, starting to walk off, but Ryan spoke up.
"Michael, wait.". Michael promptly halted in his tracks, not turning. "I can vouch for ya with Cal. I don't care how much you've done in the past - you're able to change. If they can't see that, you're free to leave.
But if they can... You're free to stay. We need more outside perspectives.". Michael turned around, quite teary eyed.
"Y-ya mean it? I mean, after all I've done to yer pals jus' to try an' find you-"
"-I'm sure. Now come on - lets go on in.". He turned to head inside, smiling.

"Aww Yeah! I'm not gonna be the only crazy one here" Katherine said with a smile, still wiping a few tears from her eyes. She had thought it was going to be like graduation day when she said goodbye to her friends for the last time, knowing full well they'd never bother to speak to her again. It still hurt to think that two years of friendship meant absolutely nothing to them. "I can't wait to see this. It honestly feels like I'm in a game" Katherine said excitedly before following Ryan inside.

Ryan, followed by Katherine and the two Butchers, got in to an elevator after calling it down. "The second floor is primarily used for trainin' and the sort, but the third floor is more formal.". He tapped the button for the third floor, adding on, "Kat, you won't be able to head pas' the first door - you're not an Assassin yet. I'll wait with you there, and Cal can go and vouch for Michael. I'll be sending my word with him, though.". They finally got to the top floor - it was merely a hallway with a door opposite the elevator's, and ten chairs on both the left and right. Ryan stepped out first, followed by Calum and Michael. Ryan took a seat, tapping his hand on the one next to him as Calum moved to the door. He gave a smile at Ryan and Katherine, before unlocking it with a key in his pocket, and heading through it with Michael before shutting it behind them.

Katherine stepped out of the elevator, and took in her surroundings. She looked at the door that Calum and Michael had gone through. She was a bit concerned for Michael. Sure he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but taking on a building full of angry assassins didn't seem like something he could do alone.
"I really hope they don't rip him apart" Katherine said with a sigh before sitting down next to Ryan. Draco crawled out from under her hair, and curled up on her lap, looking up at Ryan with a curious look on his little face. "I take it Calum, Kyle, or Evan told you about me? The Mirakuru, and what it did, what I did. I'm pretty sure that's something you would need to know." She looked across to Ryan, thinking about how everything would go during her training.

Ryan nodded. "Oh yeah. Calum told me about your deal, and messaged me earlier saying somethin' along the lines of me and him need to talk about another condition ya got, but he didn't say what it was.". Ryan shrugged, scratching his nose. He didn't seem concerned in the lightest bit, more-so excited than anything else.

In the other room, an angry discussion was going down. If it weren't for sound proof walls, nearly every body could head it.
"He's allowed a place here! He lef' the Templars!"
"He killed my old squad! Terance!
Yvonne! Lisa! All of them, dead by his hands!"
"He essentially was the man that blew up one of our old bases! Twenty dead, because-"
"-because ya couldn't shut your trap, you absolute idjit! Who even discusses where a base is in a fucking COFFEE SHOP?!"
Due to the door not being sound proof, a good deal got through. Eventually, Michael spoke up for himself.
"I'm jus' sayin' - History's repeatin' 'ere.
Much like Cal's and I's ancestor Damian, I've defected from them hoity-toity bastards. I know so much about 'em, yer top scouts'll cream their jeans when they 'ear 'bout wha' I've gotta say.". This was followed by everybody going back into yelling seperate things, being incomprehensible.

"Ah, yes... that... that's gonna be a very awkward discussion" Katherine said with a laugh as she put a hand on her neck. She listened to the voices she heard coming from the door, and shook her head, a small smile on her face, even though she was blushing quite a bit remembering how the whole cabin had heard almost everything because of the door. "Nobody ever thinks of the bloody doors." When she heard Michael speak up, she burst out laughing at the mention of scouts creaming their jeans. Draco had hopped off of Katherine's lap, and sat staring at the door, just listening and watching.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah... They're all smart, but a lot slips their minds like that. Like the Coffee Shop incident... biggest controversial topic here in a long time.". He shook his head, quite dissapointed in it in general.

Eventually, the two brothers burst out, both with a smile on their face. "Good news!" Calum said, "Mikey is stayin', in exchange for info on tha Order."

"Argh, that's fantastic! This is amazing!" Katherine leapt up from her seat, and rushed over to the two, pulling them both in to a hug. Draco darted up to the group before climbing up Katherine's leg; his human was happy, so he was happy. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Mikey, you gonna be staying here too?"

Michael nodded. "Aye. Gonna be bunked wif Cal - since he's a high-up, he gets his own room."
"Aye. I... Basically live here, actually. All my shiet's 'ere.". Ryan smiled, rubbing his hands together.
"Alright - if that's that, lets head off!
I'll tour Katherine here around, so ya can show Mikey where he'll be at Cal."

"That's perfect, really. I'd actually like to see where everything is instead of wandering around in the middle of the night looking like an idiot. I'll see you guys later." Katherine helped Draco into her pocket, and turned to Ryan with a smile. "Right, I'm ready. I can't wait to see what this place has to offer. And the storage room, you'll understand when you know of my other condition."

Ryan had led Katherine to the inside of the elevator, pressing the two. As the doors shut, he gave a smile to Calum, who was talking with Michael quietly. Finally, he turned to Katherine. "Oh,
we're the best off we've been in a while. Calum's guy is in so much power in the Templar Order that we've got a nice chunk of funding outta it. It was written off as a hefty donation to "John's Scrap and Auto", but you know the deal with it.". He laughed a bit, continuing on. "So, what is this condition of yours warranting your peak interest in our old and dingy storage room? Or do you want Cal to explain that?"

"Umm... well... it's kinda embarrassing, really, and I can't expect Calum to explain it." Katherine let out a sigh, and rubbed the back of her neck. She was a bit embarrassed telling a complete stranger about her disorder, hell, she was embarrassed to tell Calum and Michael. "Aside from talking in my sleep, I, well... I'm a sexsomniac. I'd rather not mess things up, so I was wondering if I could stay in the old storage room just to avoid any issues." She thought of the huge amount of money that Mitch had given to the Assassins, right under the noses of the Templars.