[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/zW5wCbt.png[/img] [b]”SAMEEEEEHHHHHHHH!”[/b] [color=888888]— Nuncio[/color][/center] [sub][@PlatinumSkink][@ERode][/sub] [b]”Sammy!?”[/b] Up until now, the thought that Sammy would one day be placed back in his arms felt like a fantasy. He had switched perspectives from Fabio to Rosa, allowing him to hear what was transpiring. [b]”Alright Amaryllis, protect the portal. Rosa and I’ll get Sammy outa there! ”[/b] Fabio let out a mew before retreating through the portal. In his Place, Nuncio came running in and hopped on top of Rosa's back. [b]”Don't worry Sammy! I'm commin' for ya!”[/b] The tiger ran all the way down the stairs and turned to the little detective. She was locked in a cage, covered in runes and other forms of magical protection. With a growl, Rosa lifted her paw into the air. Nuncio channeled all of his power into her arm, causing it to swell. The muscles bulged, the claws glowed like embers, and with a swing the latch was ripped apart. Nuncio reached into the cage and pulled Sammy into his arms. [b]”Oh god!”[/b] He pulled her close to his chest. He would have liked to have held her longer, but there would be time for that later. [b]”Amaryllis and her friend came for ya too! Let's get outa here so ya can see 'em again!”[/b] With a roar, Rosa powered her way back up the stairs. With any luck, they'd escape before reinforcements arrive. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/uwNAgEU.png[/img] [color=75c159]“Well [i]now[/i] what am I suppose to do?”[/color] [color=888888]— Tetrad[/color][/center] All Tetrad wanted to do was dance with a boy, but he turned out to be an acid guzzling masochist. Her fortune seemed to change with the others arrival, only for him to nope out with a passing comment. Just as she planned on rejoining the rave, two ascendancy members pushed past her, followed by plumes of black smoke. [color=75c159]“Nope!”[/color] Tetrad closed the door to the rave and backed away. It was time to call Veronica again. [i][color=75c159]“We should probably think about catching up to Ronin now, huh?”[/color][/i] [i][color=#bd71e8]“Secure a location, Trixy will be joining you for transport shortly.”[/color][/i] Tetrad found a quiet side room and stepped inside. She really hated waiting, but there wasn’t much else she could do. [i][color=75c159]“It’s worth noting that the assassin was brainwashed. My investigation was interrupted before I could learn more. There also seems to be a secret exit, but I was unable to identify its location.”[/color][/i] [i][color=#bd71e8]“Understood. Prepare for transport.”[/color][/i] She sounded annoyed, but Tetrad chose not to question it. It was hard to believe Veronica could be as stoic as she was. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HGNJD6p.png[/img] [b]”Nothin’ personal, kid.”[/b] [b]”Lotus, what did I say?”[/b] [color=888888]— Lotus & Faith[/color][/center] [sub][@AtomicNut][/sub] [b]”Hmmm, I was expecting more.”[/b] Lotus stroked her chin as Cindy and Ishtar talked. [b]”She seems quite meek for a leader. I have no desire to crush such weaklings.”[/b] Faith was hugging one of Lotus’s arms. [b]”Can we be sure she sent the assassin? Those other girls seemed to find it questionable.”[/b] The joy in her voice was completely gone. Then there was conflict, then Beacon arrived. Slylvia’s stream of bullets were aimed at everyone. With a swing of Faith’s harp, luminescent strands of sheet music floated into the air. Though it seemed Reaver had the same idea, so it was largely unessisary. [b]”Hrm!”[/b] Lotus turned to Faith. [b]”You could have been hurt!”[/b] Faith scratched the back of her head. [b]”Just end the fighting Lotus, but be gentle! They’re only here to protect their friends.”[/b] Lotus turned towards Sylvia. [b]”Hmmmm, how about hitting something that fights back?”[/b] Lotus’s body split into three duplicates that flew towards Sylvia’s position. Regardless of how accurate she was, she would not be able to destroy all the clones. And by some rotten stroke of luck, the one that she didn’t manage to hit would be the real one. But this was natural. It was just an illusion. When Lotus had split apart, what she really did was turn herself invisible and teleported behind Sylvia. She simply waited for her illusions to come close before attacking, thus giving the illusion of superior agility. Though in the event Sylvia was wise to her trick, she’d be forced to attack prematurely. With Reaver charging, Lotus in such close proximity, and Sylvia holding a massive weapon, it would be difficult for her to escape. [b]”Heya!”[/b] She wrapped her arms and tentacles around Sylvia, and her limbs began to pulse. Lotus was able to draw the life force out of things that she touched, and she was taking advantage of that power now. She tried to wrench Sylvia backwards, so that her minigun was pointed towards the sky. Lotus also aimed two of her tentacles at the twins and fired a thick black ink at them. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/xriPtHy.png[/img] [color=#bd71e8]”I’m totally not a tsundery. B-baka!”[/color] [color=888888]— Veronica[/color][/center] [sub][@FamishedPants][@ERode][@Majoras End][/sub] Veronica watched the events unfold with little emotion or commentary. She watched the events unfold much like a scientist would examine an experiment. In the end though, Justine, Sonia, and Betty vanished. Veronica wiggled her fingers. They had previously rested on Justine’s shoulder, but now held nothing but air. [color=#bd71e8]“Justine still works for Father, good to know.”[/color] Unfortunate that only “true” love could harm Justine. Veronica was pretty sure that she ensured she was impossible to love, and love itself was something no one in Veronica’s agency could employ. Unfortunate, but there were other ways to bring down Justine. Veronica was only getting more irritated as time progressed, and she couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t an unforeseeable outcome. Some might get upset that their bodyguard had been brainwashed, but she was expendable, really. It was endearing how she constantly worried about everyone, and they were together all the time. But all the same, Betty and Veronica were not friends. That went for Samantha too. She was upset with her poor performance here, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she hadn’t noticed Veronica had dressed up as an idol for her. The fact that most of her agents were stuck in this deathtrap wasn’t a problem either. Expendable, the lot of them. She only wanted to learn more about Maura to ensure she wasn’t a Mint spy. It wasn’t like she was interested in getting closer to her. She only put up with Trixy’s constant flirting because she was a good strategist, and didn’t find it endearing. She felt nothing for Elise’s past failures. Tetrad was just a tool. So was Deni. She might have been hooked up to her agents thoughts, experienced the world the way they did, but that didn’t mean that she felt empathy towards them. And she clearly wasn’t lying to herself. But then why did she have this migraine? It didn’t matter, this was a prelude to a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8QnRDsqRlc]showdown[/url]. [color=#bd71e8]“Sam.”[/color] Veronica turned to look at Silhouette. [color=#bd71e8]“This situation greatly displeases me. You couldn’t contend with a single girl?”[/color] The words left Veronica’s mouth in a growl. [color=#bd71e8]“No matter, we’re going after them. [b]But you will not fail me a second time…[/b] I have faith in your abilities. Meet me outside and we will discuss this further.”[/color] At a glance it might have seemed like Veronica’s gambit had failed and cost her a body guard. But this was a foreseeable outcome with a planned contingency. Justine had called Betty a gift, but she was much closer to a Trojan horse. Cradle agents had a close connection with each other, and could tell where they were in relation to their position. Betty had just been transported outside, and it was likely that Justine and Sonia were there with her. So long as they held onto their “gift,” They would be easy to track. Though it was important that Veronica didn’t let them get too far away. She looked at a ring on her finger, one with a brilliant red gemstone. Veronica turned to look at the ascendancy members as they rolled in and brandished their weapons. [color=#bd71e8]“What? There’s smoke everywhere, how can you even see us?”[/color] She placed a finger to the side of her head. [i][color=#bd71e8]“Trixy, it’s only a matter of time before we succumb to this music. Get to Tetrad and get to the park now! Maura, Tetrad mentioned a secret exit, see if you and your girls can find anything in the back rooms.”[/color][/i] With her orders given, it was time to press on. Veronica turned to Dolly and sighed. No point leaving her here. She knew she was wasting her time. This was clearly a surrogate or something. Its personality was likely manufactured, and trying to protect it would not bring Veronica any closerto the person controlling it. Not that she wanted that anyway. Certainly not. [center][color=#bd71e8]”I'll feel it all, dulled by pain.”[/color][/center] A nova of dark energy shot out of Veronica. A black tar like substance bubbled over her flesh. Even if Dolly looked like a small woman, she was pretty heavy. Yet veronica had no difficulty taking her under her arm. With Dolly securely under her arm, she walked towards the exit. [center][color=#bd71e8]”I'll hear it all, muted by screams. ”[/color][/center] Blood shot out of her ears, which soon became the roses on her head piece. Her crimson shoes beat against the stairs as she charged towards the Beacon girls. They could swing at her, open fire, but it wouldn’t matter. [center][color=#bd71e8]”I'll see it all… Devoured by darkness.”[/color][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/JyqXhSX.png[/img] [color=#bd71e8]“Well I’ll be taking my loli, and leaving.”[/color] [color=888888]— Veronica[/color][/center] Veronica sunk into the shadows with Dolly and raced past Beacon reinforcements. The rave lights were bright, but all the smoke and it being night out gave Veronica ample opportunities to slip by. Even the barrier posed little problem for her, as she just phased through the shadows. Veronica maneuvered between two warehouses and set down Dolly. At this point, Veronica was entirely covered in her magical girl uniform. [color=#bd71e8]“With any luck, we weren’t discovered.”[/color] Veronica was referring more to Justine than Beacon. Chances were pretty good she hadn't been spotted, as the monster's aura was still going strong. But nothing was ever certain when it came to magic. She’d keep an eye on any sudden movements Betty made. [color=#bd71e8]“What is necessary to conclude the contract? I have prepared a single effect from agent Blair. If you require more than that, I’ll need some time to confront my other agents when operations aren’t in progress.”[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NgWhiMr.png[/img] [color=cfff04]”Boy am I glad scene transitions can happen instantly, regardless if you have a portal or not!”[/color] [color=888888]— Tonya “Mac” Murphy[/color] [hider=Tonya “Mac” Murphy] [b]Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Moirai Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Overcity Shift, Mystic Artifact Magical Overload, Paragon, Blessing, Gifted Item | Monster Form, Big Brother, Arrogance, Vendetta Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer[/b] STR: 05 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03 +44 STR: 21 | AGI: 21 | VIT: 21 | MAG: 20 | LCK: 15 Earnings this post: Zilch Remaining: 0 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze Total: 7 Gold, 118 Silver, 130 Bronze [/hider][/center] Sorry Veronica. Boss's orders. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be making it up to her any time soon. She had to run to the park before more bad stuff happened. That wouldn't be too hard with her new abilities. She was strong and fast, and could practically run on the walls. If something couldn't get out of her way, she could just trample it. There wasn't much reason to use her magic here, save for staying hidden. Though she was glad she had prepared for the next encounter, as she had used up a bit more than she had anticipated keeping Veronica in check. That, and she had beefed up Viper's disguise before she had even slipped inside the Rave. That should buy her a bit more time to arrive.