[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/565628460572344360/612470836581892116/RoxanneNameplate.png[/img] [img]https://file.toyhou.se/characters/2515611?1566330121[/img] [h1][color=F91890]Deal[/color][/h1] [/center] [hr] [hider=Deal] Roxy found herself hiding in another classroom. It might have been simpler for her to have just turned around and locked herself in the classroom she'd been in when Lucy showed up, but that one had been proven to not be safe. This one didn't have [i]any[/i] monsters near it, so it was far safer than the one that had been cleared out of monsters. In Roxy's mind, that logic made complete sense. Plus, she'd been extra quiet when she came to this one instead of loudly stumbling down the stairs with a glowstick. Theoretically, the extra discretion meant that nothing would be able to find her. Of course, Roxy hadn't even considered the possibility these things might not have used conventional methods of perception; for all she knew, they could hunt by echolocation or thermal vision. Still...she was safe right now, at that was all that mattered. She had crawled under the teachers desk and curled up nice and tight there, and was content to stay there until everything blew over. Her arm still hurt, and there was probably still glass stuck in her knees, but she was pretty sure that she could weather the crisis out from her spot. Of course, a hidey-hole like hers meant nothing if the whole section of the school exploded or something. When the ground rumbled and the air discharged energy in deafening bursts, Roxy extracted herself from her position. She needed to know what was happening before it obliterated her entire position, so she slowly crawled over to a full-length radiator unit. Her cover was directly underneath the window, and it hummed slightly as she rested against it; a humming that drowned out the slight noises of Roxy trying to gain her resolve. She counted quietly to herself, braced, and slowly peeked over the machinery to try and get a better look at the outside. In the backyard of the school, all kinds of horrific things were happening. Roxy watched as the three giants formed in the middle of the lake; their long limbs trailing downwards like dropping ink and their giant spotlight heads which passed over the environment and lit up every raindrop as it fell past. Something about these new monsters was even more terrifying than the crab-creatures that were [i]actively[/i] trying to kill her, and she hand to put her hand over her mouth to stifle a noise of horror. She slid back down to the floor with her back against the radiator just as the room began to brighten. A sign that one of the giants was looking her way. [color=F91890][i]'This can't be happening. This can't be happening right now. Please oh please oh please...'[/i][/color] She shut her eyes tightly as the light grew brighter, but found even that was not enough to shield herself. The gaze of the giants lit up her room so intensely that Roxy could see the light bleeding through her own closed eyelids. After a moment, the spotlight passed, and Roxy was left in relative darkness again. She opened her eyes and let out a breath that she only just now realized she'd been holding. Every part of her shook in terror, and she had to steady her arm to pull herself back up and look out the window again. She peeked over once more, checking to see if anything had changed with the giants. When she came face-to-face with a Swarmling that was prowling on the other side of the window, she couldn't help but scream. The thing launched itself through the glass window panes, sending shards scattering and cracking across the ground. It did not land gracefully; instead, it rolled through the room and toppled desks where it met them, finally coming to rest against a bookshelf on the other side. The broken glass and sudden entrance made the whole situation eerily similar to Roxy's previous encounter, but there where a few distinct differences: This creature was the size of a golf-cart, and its tail flicked dangerously around instead of the stiff scorpion-like appendage the last one had. The Swarmling scuttled momentarily, rotating unnaturally back into an upright position and turned. Roxy also scrambled to her feet, her knees once again threatening to give out underneath her if she did not concentrate on standing. For a moment, the world seemed to skip. Roxy's vision scattered, tearing apart like a dying television channel. Where the creature stood, its entire form flickered into static and then back. The sound of the rain and electricity outside gave way to a low, keening wail. It was a mournful, drawn out sound just at the edges of her perception, like the sound of a large machine coming to rest, or the sound of a centuries old creature slowly dying. Roxy snapped back to her current predicament, dodging backwards towards the teacher's desk just as the '[i]crack[/i] of the creature's tail broke the nearest chair in half. The world seemed to buzz again, skipping like a damaged video, and Roxy stumbled slightly in her haste to escape. She made it to the front of the room just as the Swarmling clambered over the debris to stand behind her. In a moment of fight or flight instinct, Roxy pulled the first thing from the desk and whirled around to throw it. There was a pause in her mind, as the world seemed to slow for this standoff. She hefted the textbook over her head and launched it. Then Roxy let out an involuntary gasp as the creature's barbed tongue shot directly through her chest. It felt like someone had punched her in the sternum as hard as they could; a sudden impact that robbed her of all her breath. There was a faint pain in her back, where the tongue had exited her body. She found herself unable to suck in any air, despite the natural reflex to try and do so after being winded. The sound of her ribs shattering with the impact were still ringing in her ears, as were the wet noises of her own blood splattering across the chalkboard behind her. But the creature had stopped. So had the book she'd thrown, currently stationary mid-arc. In fact, it seemed like [i]everything[/i] had stopped around her. [color=F91890]"Wh-?"[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]"That looks like it fucken' hurts, love."[/color] The sound of footsteps became clearly evident. Steady, confident, unwavering, just like their owner. A dark-haired woman seemed to slip out of nothingness, her height and figure slight, and yet there was something that seemed to fill the space she didn't occupy. Dressed in a crimson cropped jacket with a fur-lined collar and a top cut to end at the start of her rib cage, she seemed [i]flashier[/i] than someone that would have been missed in passing. Heeled boots came up to the bottom of her knees, delicately cut to her figure--a fact made more noticeable by the lightly patterned leggings that ran up until they disappeared beneath a pair of snugly fitted denim shorts. They clicked when she moved, an oddly satisfying sound against the floor of the classroom. [color=#9ACCEC]"Juuuus' enough to get me goin',"[/color] the woman smirked as she came to a halt before Roxy, a single, icy eye peering down with a keen sense of interest. [color=#9ACCEC]"Seems like you coul' use a bit 'f help there."[/color] Roxy's confusion was likely the least of her issues here, but it was the obstacle she found herself unable to overcome. [color=F91890]"What? What just happened?"[/color] She asked, her eyes settling on the new woman. She'd never seen this person before, but for some reason she wasn't surprised to see her. There was a certain air about her; like she'd been present the whole time. It made sense that she had come out of the shadows, but Roxy just didn't know [i]why[/i] it made sense. Her gaze trickled downward slightly, to the long appendage that was sticking directly through her chest. Her mind registered this as something that she should have been panicking about, but it refused to allow such emotion. She wanted to start hyperventilating, but she [i]couldn't[/i] breathe. It was unclear if this was due to the sudden pause of time or the utter destruction of her lung along with her heart, but it was a nonissue now that it seemed breath was unnecessary. Still, the ever-present rhythm of steady airflow had ceased, and the loss of that steady beat only made her want to panic even more. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't form. She wanted to move, but the tongue's position [i]through[/i] her body had her locked in place. She wanted answers, but all the thoughts that came to her mind were fragmented. [color=F91890]"What's going on here? Wh-...who [i]are[/i] you?"[/color] It was at this moment, with a single sputtered question and the heavy feeling of fear settling over her like a blanket, that something bloomed in her head in an instant; an idea that stuck into her brain like a white-hot needle. [color=F91890]"Did I-? Am I...dead?"[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]"Well, ya [i]would[/i] be, love, if I didn' think it might be interestin' to keep you 'round,"[/color] the woman claimed with a cat-like smile crossing her features. [color=#9ACCEC]"The name's Arma, love. I guess you could call me a spirit."[/color] Hmm, a kid probably wasn't going to take too kindly to what kind of spirit that she was, so Arma kept that to herself. There was a certain level of sustenance she could wring from this, after all. [color=#9ACCEC]"An' I'm here t' offer ya the opportunity of a lifetime--well, [i]yer[/i] lifetime, at least."[/color] Roxy's surprise forced a step backwards, pulling the tongue out the front of herself by about an inch, and the creature shimmered in and out of static once more. It should have been excruciating, but Roxy felt [i]nothing[/i] from the sudden action. Even if it weren't the fatal wound it was, the feeling of forcing it back out through her chest should have been [i]horrific[/i]. And while she was aware of how it should have felt....it just [i]didn't[/i]. [color=F91890]"A...'spirit'?"[/color] Roxy asked. That was the only concept she could grasp onto as her mind whirled past her. She needed to focus. To calm down. She couldn't take a deep breath to bring herself back down, but she could try and take things one step at a time. It couldn't have been real...and yet the feeling that it [i]had[/i] to be real weighed on her. A paradox of emotions washed over her before she shook her head inwardly, attempting to clear it away. One step at a time. [color=F91890]"What do you mean by 'spirit'? And for that matter, what do you mean by '[i]opportunity[/i]'?"[/color] She looked into the grin of the woman before her, finding a vague sense of unease at a smile that seemed to stretch just a touch too far. Subconsciously, that 'unease' was one of few emotions she was capable of feeling at this moment only served to make the feeling worse. [color=#9ACCEC]"Oh, y'know, a [i]spirit[/i]. Etheric otherworldly bein' with powers or whatever that you li'l guys don' always see. There's a whole lotta drama 'bout all that, but I gotta say, I ain't too inta it."[/color] The woman tapped the creature currently impaling Roxy once, a resounding sound accompanying a faint distortion. [color=#9ACCEC]"These li'l guys are probably 'nother spirit's handiwork."[/color] Arma didn't really seem to mind very much that her conversational partner was, in fact, impaled on the creature's tongue. [color=#9ACCEC]"Y'see, spirits an' humans can form preeeetty mutually beneficial contracts together. Ya feed me an' get me a nice form, an' I give ya some of my power. I'm gonna go ahead 'n offer you one of those contracts."[/color] Arma grinned, her hands on her hips. [color=#9ACCEC]"Opportunity, see?"[/color] [color=F91890]"Spirit? So, are you like...a ghost?"[/color] Roxy took another half-step backwards. She was only slightly aware of the numb feeling of the creature's flesh grinding across her ribs. [color=#9ACCEC]"Hmmm, probably woulda had to be a person t'be one a those,"[/color] Arma hummed. [color=#9ACCEC]"Guess a li'l closer t' demon woul' be better."[/color] [color=F91890]"Demon!?"[/color] Roxy said, the alarm in her voice plain to hear. She backed up another inch in an effort to place some distance between her and the entity, but she could feel the flared barbs expanding outwards against her back. [color=F91890]"So wait...if I were going to accept your 'opportunity', I'd get sent to hell or something?"[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]"Not at all, love. Like I said, mutually beneficial."[/color] Arma peered at the girl, watching the small movements with a dismissive eye. [color=#9ACCEC]"Ya take this li'l 'opportunity' an' I save yer skin 'n exchange fer at leas' a li'l entertainment. Ya don' an--well, ya see where it gets ya."[/color] [color=F91890]"Wh-? [i]Entertainment[/i]?"[/color] Roxy asked. [color=F91890]"You keep saying vague things like 'entertainment' and 'mutually beneficial. Even if I were to accept, which I'm not saying I am, what [i]exactly[/i] do you get out of this anyway?"[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]"The physically tangible thing woul' be 'a body' at the end 'f it. Nice 'n all, but it ain't much use if I don' got anythin' fun ta do with it. Jus' seems like things're gonna get interestin' here, so I might as well look for 'n equally interestin' partner, yeah?"[/color] [color=F91890]"Wait...are...are you planning on stealing my body?"[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]"I think yer gettin' me mixed up with 'ghosts' again, love. You'd jus' be makin' this one a li'l less....selectively visible,"[/color] the spirit claimed while making a small motion over herself. [color=#9ACCEC]"I kinda like how this one turned out, so I ain't inta stealin' yer skin."[/color] [color=F91890]"O...kay..."[/color] Roxy said, growing suspicious of the current 'deal'. [color=F91890]"And....what would [i]I[/i] get out of this? I know you mentioned a power before...but what kind of power is it?"[/color] She tried backing up a bit more, but to no success. The cavity in her chest was simply too small, and the flared barbed on the back of the tongue were too wide for her to dislodge herself. [color=#9ACCEC]"Gotta say, I--"[/color] Arma paused, a frown etching across her face. [color=#9ACCEC]"This is really gettin' in the way."[/color] Two strides was the most warning that Roxy received before the woman heftily removed the girl from the very thing that kept her in place. Unfortunately, the spirit [i]didn't[/i] seem to pay much heed to resistance as she tore Roxy from her place. It might not have been real, but the resulting mess certainly would have convinced anyone as bone was severed, crimson lifeblood spilling like rainfall at the harsh movement. The world seemed to flash like a corrupted video feed as Roxy was forcibly pulled from the Swarmling. The barbs tore messily through her back, segmenting parts of her spine and loosing vertebrae as they did. Ligaments in her chest snapped with the sound of rope being pulled apart, and bones cracked like eggshells as they were wrenched out of place. The sound of blood, [i]her[/i] blood, pouring steadily onto the floor was one of few ambient noises in the room. There was no warmth as her own essence oozed down the front of her. It was fortunate for her sanity that her hoodie had flared out in much the same way her skin did, as it prevented her from seeing the extent of the damage from her perspective. A quarter of her torso was just [i]gone[/i], leaving her with a hole in her chest that she could put her arm through if she wanted to. But it didn't [i]hurt[/i]. [color=#9ACCEC]"As I was sayin'... I'm a spirit 'f--let's say artillery."[/color] If Arma was perturbed by her hand in the destruction of the human in her room, she seemed entirely unphased by it. [color=#9ACCEC]"You get me, ya get the whole damn cavalry's firepower. S'not a bad deal for a li'l underdog like ya."[/color] [color=F91890]"So...a contract with you, and you give me the ability to just blow these things up?"[/color] Roxy walked towards the creature to examine it closer, but it wasn't any nicer looking at this distance. She could see the sections of its mouth where tongue extended outwards, and Roxy traced it back to look at the pieces of her that had been sprayed across the chalkboard. [color=F91890]"Are there any catches? You mentioned 'feeding' earlier..."[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]"Gal's gotta eat,"[/color] Arma hummed absently. [color=#9ACCEC]"I take a few nibbles off yer spiritual energy here 'n there. 'nough ta keep me kickin'."[/color] Well, for Arma in particular, it was a little more than that, but what the kid didn't know wouldn't kill her. Probably. Roxy paused. The whole contract sounded like a trap. She didn't like it. Arma was a demon, that much she had admitted freely. Any agreement with her could only end in tragedy. But the alternative seemed worse. Roxy was a scared little girl who couldn't do anything but die. With a little bit of power...she might be able to help people. She'd be able to do what Lucy and Luna had done for her. She could be a [b]superhero[/b]. [color=F91890]"..."[/color] [color=F91890]"Mutually beneficial?"[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]"Mutually beneficial, love." [/color] A smile that the devil might have killed to possess, an open palm laid out flat as a smattering of bullets and cartridges appeared in the same distorted view. There was a lost cause in every person, Arma had found. [color=#9ACCEC]"All you hafta do is pick yer poison."[/color] She was always curious whether she could shape it herself. A cartridge. Wasted opportunity. Uncertainty. A cartridge didn't tell you what had happened before it was ejected. A cartridge was empty. [i]Lacking[/i]. A bullet. Pure potential. An option. A choice. The power to change things. Ready. [i]Waiting[/i]. Roxy hesitated for a moment. Only a moment. [color=F91890]"Deal."[/color] She said, plucking one of the bullets from Arma's hand. [color=#9ACCEC]"Good choice, love."[/color] The room fragmented away into sterile white for a moment before the world returned to normal, but not before Arma gave a small chuckle and a minimal word of warning. [color=#9ACCEC]"Step lively, 'nless ya want an instant replay 'f what brought ya t'me."[/color] [hr] Roxy's vision returned to her in an instant; it felt like she'd just blacked out for a second, or just blinked particularly hard. There was a disorienting sense of deja vu that clouded her mind, but she didn't exactly have the time to worry about that; the Swarmling in front of her had just turned around menacingly to face her. She dodged backwards towards the teacher's desk just as the '[i]crack[/i] of the creature's tail broke the nearest chair in half. She stumbled slighty in her haste to escape, making to the front of the room just as the Swarmling clambered over the debris to stand behind her. In a moment of fight or flight instinct, Roxy pulled the first thing from the desk and whirled around to throw it. There was a pause in her mind, as the world seemed to slow for this standoff. She'd been here before. She would throw the book as hard as she could at the creature. And she would be dead before it left her hands. It was like Roxy could see it; as if it were a photograph being held in front of her: the barbed tongue piercing her heart in an instant. Already the creature's mouth was opening to that deadly attack. This had [i]already happened[/i]. Arma had shown her this moment. Instead of throwing the book, Roxy rolled sideways to kneel behind the desk and take cover. It wasn't a momentary hallucination or deja vu at all; she had made a contract with a spirit. Something brushed against the skin of her neck as that thought hit her, and she glanced down to look at her new adornment. Hanging around her neck was a bullet strung to a makeshift necklace; the same bullet she'd picked from Arma's hand during the contract. She had powers now, but she didn't know how to utilize them. [color=F91890]"Arma! Are you here?"[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]'No need to shout, love.'[/color] A bemused tone buzzed directly into Roxy's head. [color=#9ACCEC]'S'long as you have our li'l keepsake 'round, I'll be here.'[/color] Roxy gave an inward sigh of relief. She wasn't crazy; Arma [i]was[/i] present, and she [i]had[/i] made that deal. That much was confirmed by the sound of her voice. Roxy lifted her head an inch above the desk to look at the Swarmling, ducking quickly as the tail snapped forward in response. It caught the finely sanded edge of desk top, splintering wood and sending it showering over Roxy's head. A step up from glass, at least. [color=F91890]'What the hell am I supposed to do here, Arma!? There's supposed to be artillery, isn't there?'[/color] [color=#9ACCEC]'Well, can' give ya much if ya don' call for it. Guess we're havin' a crash course practical.'[/color] For all the danger it posed, Arma's tone was enough to indicate that she simply didn't care. [color=#9ACCEC]'Alright, love. Jus' go with the flow here.'[/color] An instinctual knowledge prickled to life, as though it were some long-forgotten method that Roxy might have known, but never used. [color=#9ACCEC]'Nice 'n easy.'[/color] [color=F91890]'Nice...and easy.'[/color] Roxy closed her eyes and focused on Arma's voice, on the essence of power that she provided, and on the bullet that now hung around her neck. There was artillery to be found within; she just had to pull it to the surface. Slowly, like tar dripping over her, a pair of dark, fingerless gloves slipped across her hands. They fit perfectly against her palm, as if she'd always worn them before today. A pair of black earmuffs spontaneously generated over her head, clamping over her ears and pushing some of her hair firmly against her scalp; they would protect her from the deafening sounds of Arma's ordinance. A dark bandanna melded up her face, extending from the string of her necklace up to cover her nose; a protective barrier that would obscure her features and protect her from those trying to suss out her identity. Roxy focused as Arma's power coalesced in her hands; the defining element of their contract brought to a physical object. To anybody else, this might have looked like a normal gun, but this was Arma's Pistol. With their contract in effect, this was Arma [i]and[/i] Roxy's pistol. Somehow, she knew exactly how it worked, and the death it was capable of delivering. She also knew that she would need a little bit more distance to show off her new capabilities. Roxy took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She waited; listening for the perfect moment. A singsong hum seemed to mark that exact moment in the back of the newly-made medium's head. The tail twitched, signaling an incoming attack; it was a minuscule motion, but one that Roxy's eyes caught immediately - as if she had a second pair of eyes also watching out for her safety. There was a loud crashing sound as the tail slammed into the floor, but Roxy was already tumbling forward out of the way. She rolled to her feet in a swift motion and whirled around, bringing the weapon up to take aim at the Swarmling. Roxy squeezed the trigger, feeling the sudden jolt in her hands as the recoil pushed back against her; it was a shock that left her hands with a slight stinging sensation, and an impact that she could feel travel up her arms and into her elbows. Instinctively, she compensated for the force and brought the gun back to center position. She fired again, and brought it back over. Another shot. Another. Arma's weapon fired again, and again, and [i]again[/i]. The electric distortions that sparked outside was mere party poppers compared to the thunderous blasts that echoed through the room. Where the bullets impacted with the carapace of the Swarmling, they burst into flame and concussive force; exploding outwards and scattering pieces of the creature across the room. Deep craters opened up in it, a series of gaping holes that appeared one after another as every shot Roxy fired hit its mark. The thing was big, and decently protected, but even it couldn't stand up against the sudden barrage of leaden death that was being leveled against it. Not much [i]would[/i] be able to stand up to it. For once her life, Roxy found herself as the most dangerous thing in the room. And that feeling was...[i]intoxicating[/i] in a way. With a final explosive blast, the creature's lifeforce was scattered, and it crumpled limply to ground. The corpse had not even finished smoking when there was the telltale 'click' of another clip being loaded in. With just a thought, Roxy had reached forward and pulled the extra ammunition from the air; she had no idea where it came from, but she just [i]knew[/i] where to reach to retrieve it. There was a slight clattering sound as the old clip fell onto the ground, and Roxy listened carefully for any signs of incoming attention. [color=#9ACCEC]'Ha, nice shootin' there, love.'[/color] Something about the words was different, a strange sense of exhilaration that didn't belong to Roxy, but didn't bleed through into the human language that Yin used. [color=#9ACCEC]'Now get yer ass 'n gear. I bet'cha that hellfire got noticed by [i]somethin'[/i].'[/color] [color=F91890]'I'm counting on it.'[/color] Roxy said, a sinister confidence to her thoughts. [color=F91890]'We should head towards the roof; see if there's any sort of vantage point to be found. We might be able to give some covering fire on those giant things.'[/color] [color=F91890]'Sound like a plan to you?'[/color] Had Arma been toting a form it could be seen with, the would-be sinister smile would have been difficult to miss. Fortunately, that kind of inconvenience had a way of disappearing when she didn't have to be visible. [color=#9ACCEC]'High ground sounds like a great call,'[/color] Arma chimed. [color=#9ACCEC]'Hopefully you can get rid of more of those pests on the way up.'[/color] [color=F91890]'With pleasure'[/color] [/hider]