Pit wasn't used to having an audience during the process of pulling a Spirit out of Nihilism. But Sora insisted that everyone be together to welcome the final member of their Famila and Pit didn't really have a good reason to say no. Pit wanted to comment on Niko being on Sora's shoulders and wondered if Sora noticed Niko was licking Sora's hair like a grooming cat. Esdeath and Kamina kept everyone waiting as they finally walked in and neither one of them said a word. Pit figured now was as good a time as any.

"Alright. The gang's all here. I'm gonna pull her out now."

Pit reaches into the device as Sora addresses everyone else.

"Smiles, everyone!"

Everyone put on their friendliest smile. Although, Esdeath's smile just made everyone else shudder.

"...On second thought...Esdeath...you just try not to make eye contact."

"What? I'm smiling. What's wrong with it?"

Niko was too new to understand that it was a question which should NOT have been answered.

"It's kinda creepy and doesn't look friendly at all."

Sora and Kamina were prepared to defend Niko from the wrath of the storm. But it never came. Instead she remained silent for a bit then spoke softly to Niko.

"...I see...I'll...I'll work on it."

If Sora believed she had actual emotions, he would've almost postured that she was actually saddened by that comment. Maybe because it carried more weight coming from someone as honest as Niko rather than Kamina. Either way, she really seemed to take that to heart. Everyone was too absorbed in the bullet Niko somehow dodged to notice Pit had already pulled out the new angel; so he tried to politely inform them that he was done.

"Uh...guys? I'm finished."

They all looked back to inspect their new comrade. She had wings alright. But they were clearly mechanical wings that produced some kind of light feathers. Her whole outfit looked sleek and modern. Brown leggings and sleeves with white gloves, black boots and white breastplate and an orange and combat skirt. She carried a strange staff and a small handgun. Her blonde hair was fashioned in bushy ponytail in the back while the front was combed over one of her blue eyes. She looked older than Kamina but none of them could quite tell beyond that. Sora breathed a sigh of relief as he thought to himself: "Thank Zeus! She looks normal enough."

Kamina looked to be disappointed. No doubt expecting an ACTUAL angel and not some lady in a costume. Niko looked to be satisfied that she looked friendly. But Esdeath. Esdeath was NOT impressed at all. She almost looked INSULTED that this was who they were waiting for. It took everything she had not to voice her disgust. Sora kneeled down to her and stuck out his hand to help her onto her feet. She was still lucid from the sudden change in both her environment and mental state; she needed a few moments to adjust before Sora spoke to her.

"Hi there. How are you feeling? My name is Sora."

"S-Sora? Ugh...I feel...so strange. I think I need to see a doctor...wait...that's ME."

Sora took noted how cute her accent was and smiled even bigger at her as she finally started to take in his face. They stared at each other for just a moment before Esdeath barged through with the subtlety of a freight train and helped Sora pull her up already and started asking some questions.

"Do you have a name, Valkyrie? Are you a warrior where you're from? How did YOU die? And last question: How old are you exactly?"

Asking the hard hitting questions as always. The poor woman looked at her like she just asked her to blow up a puppy with a rocket launcher. Sora obviously stepped in to make Esdeath ease up.

"Hey! Cut it out! Don't overwhelm her! She JUST got here."

Nevertheless, the angelic blonde did her best to pick out questions that made sense to her and tried to remember the answers. Even the simplest things were a challenge right now, but this kid was sticking up for her. She had to make sure his efforts weren't wasted.

"M-Mercy. My name is Mercy...I think. And I'm 37...probably. I'm sorry. My mind is a haze. The clearest thing I remember is...looking down the receiving end of Widowmaker's sniper. Then...I heard a loud ringing in my ear and felt a skull-splitting headache for a fraction of second. Then NOTHING."

Sora locks eyes with Pit and in that moment he realized that whatever happened to him; it wasn't like what happened to Mercy. She had memories of the incident. Vague memories, but memories nonetheless. Sora did not. So at the very least he can cross an event like that off the list of his possible fates. Pit took advantage of the opportunity Sora was giving him and nodded before he left the room to get back to work. Moving right along; Esdeath wasn't in the mood for giving her a moment to mourn...herself.

"That answers all but my question on whether or not you are a warrior."

Sora scolded Esdeath for her bluntness but quickly revoked it once it looked like she was enjoying it. Mercy understood Esdeath holding a healthy amount of skepticism towards her and answered the question.

"No. I prefer to avoid combat entirely if possible. I'm a doctor. I heal the sick and injured on the battlefield and in times of crisis or catastrophe. This staff is to help me do so."

Kamina interjected as he was clearly confused.

"Then why do you carry a gun? Plus, who the hell AVOIDS fighting? A real man LIVES for the field of battle."

"...But...I'm a woman. Also, I'm pretty sure a real man DIES on the field of battle without someone like me there."

Esdeath let out the smallest laugh at that. Esdeath? Laughing? Sora thought those two things should not go together. And if they did...something was very wrong. But Kamina didn't even register the stab at his ideals.

"Ah...fair enough. I'm sure you do great work on the battlefield."

She had a look of grimace on her face as she shrugged.

"As much as I can."

"Ha! I'll bet all the men line up to get what you give 'em! They always walk away feeling great!"

Mercy blushed profusely at Kamina's unintentional dirty joke as Sora groaned at his inability to cover Niko's ears in time.

"Don't say it like that! Think before you speak, Kamina! Come on!"

Sora could tell that Esdeath got a kick out of those last two words Sora just said. She opened her mouth. Whatever she was going to say it was about to be 10 times worse than what Kamina. He needed an emergency safety measure, stat! So, he swiftly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Phew. That was close. Mercy. Why don't you and Niko go get something to eat?"
"Okay. But...I don't know where the kitchen is on this ship."

"Kamina. You've been here the longest. Surely, you know where something that resembles a kitchen is."

"Huh? Who the hell do you think I-"

"Do you know or not?!"

"...Yeah. Fine. Whatever. This way, angel lady."

Kamina led them out of the room as Niko held Mercy's hand. Sora needed a moment to talk privately with Esdeath and ALREADY it was not going well as his hand was still over her mouth and he felt her lick his palm.

"Gah! Hey!"

"Ooo. That was an interesting noise you just made. I wonder what other noises I can get you to make for me."

"Okay. First of all. We need to set up some boundaries."

The playful smile on Esdeath faded.

"...Alright. I will humor you."

Not the answer he was hoping for but better than he thought.

"Number one. No inappropriate touching."

"Define inappropriate."

"...Don't start with me. You KNOW what I mean. Number two. I won't ask you to suddenly turn into a saint, but please keep your vulgar language to a minimum."

"Do you like girls with a...tamed tongue?"

He realized that rule will probably be the hardest to work around.

"And number three. I. Will. NOT. Kiss. You. So stop staring at my lips."

Sora felt a brief surge in her demonic aura, but it was quickly subdued. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he tried to remain firm on the subject.

"...But what if you need CPR?"

She tried to remain calm and composed as she joked around. But the answer she got only made her facade all the more difficult to maintain.

"Then get Mercy to do it. She's a doctor after all."

Esdeath grinded her teeth together as her murderous intent was now fully on display. Sora realized his mistake too late.

"I see...so...is that what you prefer? An older woman? I'm 23, you know? I'm still older than you. Or is it her motherly presence? You want a woman who will take care of you? You can rest your head in my bosom if you like. Whatever she has, I assure you; I can do it better!"

Sora knew she was interested in him but...she's coming on a little strong. He shuddered to think what kind of excuse she'd make up if he told her that he thought Mercy's accent was cute. Was she really jealous or does she get like this around women who make her feel inferior in some way? If it was the later, he couldn't make heads or tails on what she had to feel inferior over. Sora needed to end this before it spirals out of control any further. He was starting to get nervous, but now was no time to lose his nerve.

"W-why do you care so much?! You said you had some guy named Tatsumi, right? He died too, so why don't you...hold out for him?"

In a flash, she grabs Sora by the neck. And for a moment Sora considered what it would be like to die a second time.

"...Because that girl stole him from me! My charm was WEAK! It wasn't strong enough to gain his love! I won't make that mistake again! I wanted to know what love felt like, but instead all I got was rejection, pain, and betrayal! Just like...everyone else."

As he dangled in the air from her grasp, he started to understand her a bit more. He couldn't begin to imagine what kind of life she lived or how she was raised up, but he could at least sympathise with a love lost. Although he wasn't sure how. He just kept getting flashes of a girl with short black hair in a black coat. He tried to calm her down while trying his best not to pass out from being strangled.

"You...don't have to...push yourself so much. If you force it...then it's not love. Love is supposed to be...fun...for BOTH parties. I can't say that I love you...but...can we...start out as...friends...maybe?"

Esdeath thought hard about it. She wasn't ready to give up on love, but Sora was giving her an inch to move and it was more that what Tatsumi did. But as she pondered, her grip didn't loosen. Sora was starting to think she forgot she was choking him. Sora was running out of air. He'll try a compromise.

"I'll...lighten up...on...the rules a bit...too."

His sentence sputtered out in pieces. Esdeath relented. He was giving her a chance. Not much of one, but a chance. Releasing her grip; Sora dropped to the floor on his knees as he gasped and coughed. Esdeath kneeled down to his level.

"We'll do it your way. Friends first. Then we'll see where it goes from there. Now...may I...hug you?"

Sora's eyes widened. She actually asked for permission and for something as modest as a hug. Was it really as simple as "friends first"? He was taken aback by her sudden polite demeanor, but wondered how long it would last or if was only just when she wanted something from him. Either way; progress is progress and Sora would take what he could get when it came to someone like her.

"Y-yes?"

She leaned in and draped her arms over his shoulders for a hug. Sora was surprised how gentle she could be for a psychopathic sadist. Her cold exterior gave him goosebumps. Esdeath felt something she had expected to feel from him, but was still pleasantly surprised by this new feeling. Warmth.

*Reminder: Entries for a character of your choice are still open. So far, there's only one entry...so not much of a selection for me*