Berris

## Description

Berris is a taller man with a sturdy build and a curly beard. He has scrawny and boney fingers and hands though and dark hair and eyes. He dresses well, showing that he's got access to better resources than the students. He has faint wrinkles.

## Personality

Dr. Berris is the seeming mastermind behind the academy and orchestrates most of its events and operations. He is cunning member and seems pleased with the results and the testing of the students. He is forceful when it comes to the battle and athletics tests but also is willing to work when the students when it comes to Kiemo and his continued experimentation. He doesn't react much to the threats of the students, being slippery and getting himself out of bad situations as if he's practiced this for awhile. In the end, he seems to feel like most of the ends justify the means.

## Story

### Pre-Rp

It's implied Berris was the one who personally oversaw which students got in the academy and had a say in this. Also it is implied he was the one who became Ice's guardian and brought him to the academy. Anything about his medical or scientific qualifications are unknown.

### Rp

Dr. Berris first appears named in The Battle Event/Fletcher's Death where he is the researcher overseeing the training. He watches as the students approach the arena and is noted to be intrigued by them. Each of his words are perfectly spun as he introduces himself. He also indicates that each student should fight as hard as possible, asking if everyone has seen the list. He also explains while the students are not fighting, each will be injecting with something to freeze their muscles, or completely relax them so no one cheats and rushes in to help. He asks for questions but entertains none of them, instead noting the non existent excitement and says only pairs will be fighting one at a time. He warns the students not to move otherwise.

When the fights start, Chaison feels like both Berris and Kiemo are watching and mocking him. Berris doesn't like how Chaison feigns injuring Alvis and leaps to his feet from his chair, exclaiming that they'll fight now or be made to. He watches in silence as they continue before calling for the next students and then the next. When Niccolo and Ally are paired together and when Niccolo trips and collapses, Berris is upset again. He threatens Niccolo with an injection that will shock him should he refuse. He makes an effort to approach them when delivering this threat. Felicity protests this time though she's not fighting, resisting the injection as much as she can to reach for her knife. She points out how this isn't ethical and demands this stop. Berris isn't intimidated by her or Sofi and tells them that no one will find out about this. He directly tells them that no one knows about them and that they can't leave when Sofi tells him this could get him arrested. He ignores them before addressing Summer, pointing out how much promise she shows. Kiemo cheers for Summer as she goes against Felicity and when Summer challenges Berris again about the outside world, he tells her everyone is safe here. He tells them none of them know what's out there or why the school exists. He tells them they're not ready to see the outside world. He warns Summer, telling her the researchers don't need them all to survive. Summer calls him a hypocrite but he knows she won't attack him without Kiemo's orders. He notes Kiemo doesn't look open to Summer hurting him. Berris calls Kiemo pathetic. Summer continues to threaten him before Kiemo tells her to stop, he's furious. He points out Berris isn't some scumbag and he's wasting their time, as much as Kiemo wants to fight him. This reaction is implied to have happened due to Berris' deal with him.

Berris watches over the fights again after his victory over Kiemo and Summer, only speaking again in order to have Summer not kill Felicity as Kiemo orders and instead has Felicity taken to be healed. He compliments Summer's fighting skills. When the fight comes to Fletcher and Kiemo, he thinks about how Fletcher might last a bit against Kiemo and notes their bitter past interactions. Berris is interested in the tips Gagan screams at Fletcher when he starts losing to Kiemo, and moreso when Gagan breaks the binds of the injection meant to subdue him and interferes with the fight. He is not pleased when it looks like Kiemo was killing Fletcher before the coyote pauses and calls for help when he realizes Fletcher is dying. He allows the healing of Fletcher before shutting down the training.

Berris appears in the halls later, feeling numb from the fights and his performance. He admits it was his idea they tested the children in that manner. He tries to justify it with all the notes they received, but notes little haunted him more than the brutal attack Kiemo launched against Fletcher. Berris partially wishes he would've called it off sooner though he then realizes that it was a scene too intriguing for him to stop. He thinks about how well Gagan and Kiemo both performed and that he should keep an eye on them. He's intrigued when he notices Gagan alone and approaches him. He tells Gagan he's surprised to see him awake after the fight and its excitement, calling Gagan impressive for taking on an entire arena. Gagan isn't happy to see him and corrects him, saying he didn't fight an entire arena. Gagan tells him he was reckless and what he did was dangerous, not impressive. Gagan tries to get away but Berris doesn't let up. He thinks four people against one is impressive enough and compliments Gagan, saying his was the most interesting. He tells Gagan he wanted to test something, comparing himself to Fletcher as they are both scientists. He figured putting Kiemo and Fletcher together, as he'd been told, would bring something interesting out of Gagan. He didn't disappoint. Gagan is horrified and disgusted by the fact it was all planned and asks if Berris knows how hard he's worked to keep Kiemo away from Fletcher and asks if Berris knows about the stress and fear Fletcher went through. Gagan demands to know what this place is.

Berris confirms Gagan's thoughts simply saying that yes, they did make this test. Yes they watched the relationships and friendships form knowing Gagan would leap in to help Fletcher. He tells Gagan again they were merely curious and no student would die unless they willed it. He rebukes Gagan, telling him that if anything, given Gagan's friendships, he should know how important experiments are. He does think of Kiemo and Gagan as an interesting experiment though. Gagan chuckles furiously, punching the wall near Berris' head and while he breaks his hand doing this, he continues. He tells Berris Fletcher wouldn't have lied to, kidnapped, or hurt people in the name of science. He lashes out about his friend being dead at this point and tells Berris he was told this school was what he thought would get him back on track, that it was a place for kids like him. He asks again why they're here. This shocks Berris and he calls Fletcher not fully dedicated. He also tells Gagan Fletcher was a small price to pay for the good that will come. He'll be remembered as a martyr. Life goes on. He tells Gagan this school gave him a chance when no one else would and that he should be grateful. He tells Gagan that they're going to help a lot of people and that making them the villains makes Fletcher die for nothing. How could of a friend is he if he believes that? Gagan retorts that he had a friend once and that Berris knew Fletcher could help everyone escape and that's why he let this happen. He reminds Berris of the families all these students have and he roughly shoves Berris aside after bringing up Fletcher's family and how they'll never know what happened to their son.

Berris admits Gagan is right again and that Berris can't leave yet so Fletcher had to be dealt with. He tells Gagan there's other friends for him to make and Gagan can still make his future. The labs didn't take that. Fletcher too would've died regardless. Berris also thinks what the parents of the students don't know won't hurt them. Gagan leaves him with one set of parting words, that he's not a parent but he wouldn't want to spend his whole life not knowing where his kid was. Berris remarks that Gagan has quite the temper before thinking Gagan is everything he wanted. He reminds Gagan that Fletcher's death is written down as being from a beast attack in their records. A \*tiger\* attack. He'll revise it for a price though. He gets no answer and as Gagan reverses Fletcher's death with LaFaux, this conversation does not occur in the current, revised timeline. Only in the alternate reality only Gagan knows about.

Berris doesn't appear again in the current timeline until he brings Ilya in to the school. Outside of this, it's only implied Kiemo has a deal of sorts with him and is giving him more wolf dna to make him stronger. But with Ilya, Berris explains that the school has weird students and appreciates Ilya coming out to help out. He tells Ilya the new students are probably dying to meet him. He also tells him good luck before leaving. Sometime around here, Kiemo admits to Red that he is a close affiliate to Berris but he hates the man. Kiemo also tells him that he joined with Berris outside of making him stronger hoping to get the cure through him. He also thought he could puppeteer the researcher and use him to his advantage.

Berris doesn't appear until the Strange Passes of Time event where he thinks back to the Battle Event and about the obedience of the students and how quick they listened to him, and how others questioned him. But that all but Gagan really obeyed eventually. And even then. He notes this as being their only way to guarantee survival, should they ever realize that. He smirks as he tells the students about the letters from their families. All they have to do is agree to extra testing, one week of it per letter taken. He also notes he keeps extra researchers around ever since attempts on his life and takes pride too in knowing during this, he gets to just sit back and relax as everyone else does his bidding. He folds his hands and thinks that this event will be interesting.

Berris' researcher representative that dies implies that Berris has cut his ties with Ilya now and that they have nothing more to speak about despite inviting him to the school, ignoring Ilya's student council title too. Kiemo also after the events of The Reckoning, leaves a message for Berris when Red is captured to teach him a lesson and remind him to play his part, the coyote leaving a blood trail in his wake.

In Change in the Wind, Kiemo secures permission to have Berris to himself in a duel as the rest of the students try to escape. Kiemo also realizes here that it is possible he might die here but he must make sure Berris pays and dies for what he's done.