Maverick had been dealt a pretty crappy hand ever since arriving in Pax Septimus. Technically, they were no better off than the GEMINI espers, but most of Pax’s espers didn’t believe in their cause. It was hard to convince a city besieged by monsters that they weren’t all bad. Moreover, espers had a natural inclination to kill monsters when they came across them. Most freelancers pushed tomorrow’s problems and moral quandaries out of their mind to indulge in the thrill of killing monsters. That, or they were cowards who were unable to stand up to GEMINI. It didn’t really matter to Luna. The number of freelancers that weren’t total tools could be counted on one hand. 

But they had never met monsters like Stacy Stitches. The Zombie woman hummed while she skipped beside Luna. Her flesh was green and slimy, but she didn’t look bad for a zombie. All of her stitches were tight, and she was wearing a fresh set of street clothes. Someone might mistake her for a normal woman with enough beer in them. 

Stacy was a new addition to Maverick’s ranks. While she enjoyed spending time with Marrie, it was safer for her to remain with the Mavericks. All it would take was the wrong neighbor discovering Marrie’s secret to get her in trouble with Gemini or even other freelancers. But Marrie spent enough time online that contacting her wasn’t too difficult. Though Stacy hadn’t spoken with her since she left.

[color=MediumAquamarine]”Do you find a lot of monsters at night?”[/color]

Luna shrugged her shoulders. The diamonds on her jester-esque outfit seemed to shine in the dark. [color=75c159]”Not ‘a lot’ of them. The diver showing up caused most to go into hiding. It makes it a lot harder to discern which ones we should be bringing back to the Bastion.” [/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]”Can’t get a good read on them when they’re all scared, huh?”[/color] Stacy grinned. [color=MediumAquamarine]”That’s fine! I like to consider myself an excellent judge of character! Just put me in front of someone and I’ll do the rest!”[/color] 

A black gelatinous monster leaned out from behind a corner. Luna took a step back and drew her hoop. [color=75c159]”Who goes there?”[/color]

[color=MediumAquamarine]”No need for hostility, Tetrad!”[/color] Stacy approached the blob. [color=MediumAquamarine]”Gelatinous blobs can’t speak anyway! You need to find other ways to communicate with them.”[/color] She reached towards the blob, and it coiled around her arm. Then with a firm yank, the stitches on her arm detached. It flooded inside the gelatinous slime, going round and round its core. [color=MediumAquamarine]”See? He’s just hungry! Now you try feeding him!”[/color]

[color=75c159]”Ahhhh…”[/color]

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[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/59130ec9-ed14-4987-990a-43bfc6f37c8a.png[/img]

[sub][@Ponn][@ERode][@Izurich][/sub]

At the first stroke of gunfire, chaos breaks. While the few who had no intention of dying on the job fled as fast as they could, the guards scattered around the first floor quickly took cover behind flipped over tables and walls. Ashley had already taken down a couple of them as soon as they drew their weapons. Of course, their cover wasn't infallible, what with Angel being a damn flyer and blessed with a protective melody, [i]and[/i] being backed up by the Knight of Tomorrow. The guards were forced on the defensive if they didn't want their numbers to dwindle fast. Someone should really deal with that.

Spades himself took the opportunity to slip between the fleeing crowd and sneak up to the second floor rafts, prepping a Tommy gun to snipe down the winged rat from the air. But before he could pull the trigger, he locked eyes with the blue-haired Witch Hunter. Her intentions were clear enough by the way she held her weapon, should've known someone would gun for him too at some point. Sorry Badger.

As Witch Hunter flung a melody at the gangster, Spades only had enough time to dodge for it to hit his arm and... nothing. Ah. The hell was that for? He flicked his cigar out of his mouth and stomped it out. The man was as human as it'd get. But that didn't matter in the heart of things, human or monster, both are threats none the less. And Estelle's bait only confirmed this further. Spades only held his gun up to block the hypothetical strike, no transformations or spectacle. [b]"Let me guess."[/b] He spoke up to the Witch Hunter, seeing as she hadn't sliced him in half. Yet. [b]"Ya' thought I was one of the cool cats?"[/b] He chuckled. 

[b]"Nah, that'd be [i]him[/i]."[/b]

Before Estelle could react, a [url=https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/048/924/648/large/er-viking-cat.jpg?1651739918]sickle wielding weretiger[/url] had launched himself at her, primed to strike with a mad cackle. But more importantly, launched [i]Estelle[/i] a distance away from Spades. Taking advantage of the opening thanks to Loki, Spades opened fire on Angel, chipping away at the neon green shield until it broke.
 
[b]"[i]FINALLY![/i] I've been itchin' to kill for DAYS!!!"[/b] Once more Loki sprinted forward at Estelle, wildly swinging his sickles at her with the intent to overwhelm his opponent.
 
Meanwhile Mika had been the only one to properly target Honey Badger. Seeing a girl's hands shapeshift into a pair of bloodthirsty wolf heads was enough to spur the bouncer into grabbing the [i]teller[/i] instead and forcing them in front of him to take the attack. The teller howled in pain as the wolves bit into flesh, but it wouldn't be enough to kill outright. Something Honey Badger would take advantage of. He fled from behind the booth out into the firefight, pulling the wounded teller with him as his human shield.
 
[b]"The hell are you idiots waiting for!? Shoot the damn broad already!"[/b] Honey Badger barked at the guards.
 
Before either Mika or Ashley could go after him, they'd have to avoid being crushed by a slot machine thrown at their direction. A [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETnUaS1UUAAfDAq?format=jpg&name=large]second weretiger[/url] had emerged, more muscular than his swifter companion upstairs. With a roar of bloodlust, Lorenzo pried another machine out from the wall and prepared for another throw.
 
Hope your shield can deflect that, Orion.

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[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/49e43850-6b94-4e43-94d0-440214371bfb.png[/img]

[sub][@The World][@Nyahahameha][@Nakushita][@TaintedMushroom][@FamishedPants][/sub]

The homeless fanned out in front of the semi. Kira might have been a popular face, but not at this distance, and not at this time of night. Light pollution from nearby street lamps drowned out the stars, and the truck’s headlights lit up the crowd in front of it. Kira was used to mobs forming up at her feet, though they weren’t this uneasy. Many of the men in the front tightened their grip on their weapons as Kira gleefully danced in front of them. The truck had stopped behind the mob.

Their unrest only grew when Marrie teleported in front of them. First the wind tumbled in front of them, then a [i]creepy[/i] girl seemed to phase out of the shadows. A few of the bums hopped backwards once the mysterious display concluded. They were keeping their distance.  

The man on the hood turned to look at Himiko out of the corner of his eye. [b]”An ambush…”[/b] The man rose to his feet. He reached out with his good arm and a slew of bones flew out from his bony palm and created a staff. [b]”It was inevitable that others would oppose us. But we must retain what we have. Our survival depends on it.”[/b] He gripped the staff with both hands. [b]”Do not be afraid. We’ve lived in fear long enough already. Today we fight! Me, you… [i]And my pale guards![/i]”[/b]

What is often overlooked on a semi is the sleeper cab. For a driver, it allows them to sleep in a cozy bed without having to pay for a night at a hotel. For a palemancer, it allows them to hide their strongest soldiers.

There wasn’t even time to blink.

The doors on the cab flew open, and out came the pale guards. Six individuals that looked like tall, pale corpses. Corpses with draconic features, like webbed feet and large horns. They were dressed just like the bums were, but looked to be at the peak of human fitness. Though the way they bound towards the espers, their abilities went beyond human limits.

Three of the pale guards, all men, ran straight for Himiko. One yanked a piece of rebar out of the ground mid sprint. Another gave a concrete pillar a running haymaker and pulled away a large stone. The third one tipped a shopping cart upright and pushed it ahead, seemingly unbothered by the one lazy wheel in the front. There wasn’t much time to react, and one was about to shove a bar of rebar through Himiko’s chest. 

Why fear a little girl who can fade into existence when you have horned corpses among your numbers. The mob let out a battlecry before charging towards. Either by dumb luck or tactics, Marrie had put herself a safe distance away from the emboldened mob and had a moment to decide her next course of action. Leading the charge was a middle aged man with a foot long beard holding a folding chair over his head. 

The remaining paleguards were not standing idle. The palemancer hopped off the hood and sprinted forwards. Two of the paleguards, which were women, trailed just behind him. Though their target was not Marrie. They circled around her and headed straight for Kira. 

The final paleguard was distributing bottled water to the vagrants at the back of the mob. The reason why was anyone’s guess.