[center] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019da7cb-5f27-73ae-a0f4-7e0c128203a8.webp[/img] [color=ff7f50]"You missed the perfect chance to make a wok pun, Rika. And for that, you have to die."[/color] [color=888888]— Bionca Herrmann, Knight of Tonight[/color] [hider=Bionca] [color=ff7f50]"You didn’t think I’d continue sharing my stat block, did you?"[/color] [/hider] [/center] Cutlery met frying pan. The frying pan made a dull ring when it bounced off of Rika’s greatsword. She was nearly overwhelmed by all she was forced to grapple with. An unfamiliar weapon in her hand, armor she was seeing for the first time, and a seemingly friendly woman possibly trying to cave in her skull. With everything to take in, her eyes flicked up to her opponent in an attempt to read their expression. She wasn’t all smiles anymore, though she didn’t look pissed off either. Rika had spent enough time on Pax’s streets to read a face. She knew the difference between the people that wanted you dead and the people that didn’t. But there was a rare type of person that was neither of those things. To contract killers and hired hands like that, this type of unsavory work was just a natural part of life. It was business. She couldn’t confirm that was what Bionca was, but it was what her behavior reminded her of. [color=ff7f50]"If you’re this dense, you can take a pan to the head."[/color] She spun the frying pan in her hand. [color=ff7f50]"You just need to take a nap for a while."[/color] The cook ninja didn’t reach for her knife yet. With her empty hand, she flicked a pouch into the air and swiftly pulled a wolf mask out of her bag and pulled it over her face. The next moment, the smoke bomb went off and flooded the area with smoke. Between all the external noises and the sand, it was difficult to tell what direction Bionca was coming from. But something was moving around in the sand, and it was coming closer. [center] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019da7cc-5ed7-72bb-9463-d2dfe74dbd05.webp[/img] [color=a470fa]"There’s an awful lot of us with dark purple text huh?"[/color] [color=888888]— Iris Silk[/color] [hider=Iris] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5656223]Iris Silk[/url] Max MP: 60 Current MP: 56 - 4 = 52 Casting: [Projectile] 0 + [Damage X] 6 - 2 (From Routine+) = 4 Gear: Goggles (Illusion Begone, then Witchsight) Food (6) Grenade (6) Smoke Bomb (6) Leveraging: N/A [/hider][/center] As Iris closed in, it was hard not to watch Nina as she took to the sky. She wasn’t super familiar with all the new esper’s abilities, and someone who offered to be the group’s shield wasn’t someone she expected to take to the sky. Espers were weird like that. They seemed to defy reality at every turn, more so than the monsters that visit their world. The spectacle was too much for the turrets to ignore either. They immediately focused on Nina as she drew closer. Though as she neared the turrets, it looked like they were changing firing modes. The cube like barrel of one rearranged into a lattice, and fired a web of lasers at the airborne esper. Such an attack might have been avoidable at range, but at such close distances there was no opportunity to evade. The net struck Nina, but did not burn her. It didn’t even hurt. Rather, it seemed to inflate and turned into a hard light construct that spread across her torso. It closed around her shoulders and tried to lock together behind her back. A hard light construct was building itself around her body. Though the turret that did this to her had been struck by a salvo of plasma. The first round got the turret all jiggly, but then the follow up shot blew it apart. Slime was spread across the roof, and what used to make up the barrel rolled off the roof and into the sea below. [color=a470fa]"That works."[/color] Iris refocused her attention on the other turret. It wasn’t too hard, since Nukkelina’s puppets were offering to be fodder. Pekka had been a hair too slow to assist Nina, but they arrived on top of the ship to offer any other assistance she might need. The elite was shot at plenty, however. Though rather than being covered in a net, each little beam of light turned into a hardlight cube when it struck the elite’s shield. They spread across the surface and encumbered the puppet. It used its sword arm to cut away the ‘barnacles’ attached to its shield, and was at least slightly successful at doing so. But it was keeping everyone else free of them, so it was successful in assisting the front line. Iris was able to form a blob of black web in her hand and fling it at one of the smaller slime contraptions beside Tim. It was a direct hit, and it melted to the ground when it came in contact with the acidic strands. The poor little minor puppet was far less successful in his mission. The ship looked like a giant crate and had no obvious openings other than the front ramp. Everything else was made of nearly identical cubes and it was hard to say what was a door and what was a panne. Puppets lacked many things, as well as a mind for reason. It awaited its next order, being unable to complete this task. [color=a470fa]"It’s still difficult to approach the alien."[/color] Iris commented. [color=a470fa]"Even in the wind, his fumes don’t carry very far."[/color] [center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019da7cb-a89b-72d1-9319-2f3dab5a65a1.webp[/img] [color=a4f4f9]"L-Lucky number 7 anyone?"[/color] [color=888888]— Dan Daggernose[/color][/center] Not all of the mavericks were assaulting the space ship though. Some were trying to intimidate their host, captor, or whatever role Daggernose played in this. Initially he was too mortified to respond to the outright hostility that was taking place. But after a few of the slime turrets blew up, Dan found his attention on the jellyfish girl. [color=a4f4f9]"What?"[/color] It took him a moment to process what she was saying. [color=a4f4f9]"Why do you have an aquarium? Do you live in one?"[/color] His eyes moved back between the fight and Scypho. [color=a4f4f9]"What are you doing!?"[/color] It seemed like Dan was responding, though it wasn’t clear if any of the jellyfish’s words were intimidating him. [color=a4f4f9]"He must have stored them all on the ship. I’ve been hanging out in the hotel at night. H-he said he wasn’t interested in playing with humans, I had no idea he was doing this…"[/color] [center] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019da7cc-03c2-70ee-8932-299507f09069.webp[/img] [color=ff6347]"Sundays are for Mika."[/color] [color=888888]— Mika Fang, Cerberus[/color] [hider=Mika] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5656223]Mika Fang[/url] Max MP: 30 Current MP: 28 - 4 = 24 Casting: [Self] 0 + [Construction E] 4 = 4 Gear: Taser (3 shots) Mastermind (40 credits - 10 for 3 smoke bombs) Smoke Bombs (3/3 - 1) Leveraging: Divination 12 [/hider][/center] The Mavericks were only half of the invasion party, however. More shots were aimed at the ramp’s other flank, but Jack was quick to erect a barrier. Maybe not the very fastest, however. One of her legs ended up getting hit by a few projectiles, and a few hard light constructs appeared on her leg. The vast majority appeared on the other side of the sand barrier she made. [color=ff6347]"Huh…"[/color] Mika eyed the melody for a moment. Though Jack was quick to repeat Ashley’s orders to her. [color=ff6347]"I think I can do that."[/color] She looked at Alice and nodded, perhaps confirming that they would be moving up the ramp together. [center] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019dad5c-bb82-776c-bbcc-1e64d1440bf9.webp[/img] [color=8c5673]"Weird, not trying to kill me? You’re more boring than I thought."[/color] [color=888888]— Alice Mason[/color] [hider=Alice's Stats] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5657563]Alice Mason[/url] Max MP: 80 Current MP: 68 - 6 = 62 Casting: Spawn (2), Ignite (4) = 6 Gear: Goggles (infrared Activated), Ka-Bar Knife (5/5 Durability) Leveraging: N/A [/hider] [/center] Well, someone had to keep Tim busy, and if GEMINI was needing back up who was she to deny? Alice nodded back to Mika, and started to open fire at the wretched stinkbug. [color=8c5673]"You and I aren't finished yet, jackass!"[/color] She barked at Tim. The more time and [s]more importantly, if she was being honest[/s] distance she could give to the others, the better. Tim’s only retort was to point his palm at Alice. The strange apparatus that he held spun like a propeller, and her shots hit the spinning weapon. Mika shrugged her shoulders. It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting, but it would do. Under the cover of their fire, she sprinted forward. Getting anywhere near the purple man would be a bit of an issue. She was further reassured when Jack’s bullet seemed to harmlessly rip through one of the jelly turrets. The response didn’t surprise Mika too much. Even though these guys called themselves aliens, they must have been creatures from another world. They were no different than monsters, if the effectiveness of Ashley and Iris’s attack was anything to go by. She hopped into the air, and a giraffe appeared under her feet. It behaved like a ramp, allowing Mika to run up its neck and get to the roof. The larger turret on top was still firing on their position, but it seemed to be a little more confused now that the other turret was down and there were so many more people on the ship. [color=ff6347]"I had a premonition about this…"[/color] She reached into a pouch and drew a smoke grenade. She chucked it into the slime, and it poured smoke everywhere. Would Mika be able to see through it? Probably not, but it was so big she’d hardly have trouble hitting it. Her arcane claws cut into it, but it wasn’t something she could destroy herself. Not quickly. Right on cue, the slime seemed to spontaneously combust into flames. Alice aimed over with her rifle and unloaded a whole clip’s worth of ammo into it. While Jack’s bullets had little effect on the slime, Alice’s rounds made much larger holes in the gelatinous creature. [quote][h3][color=8c5673]A[/color]lice hears the chattering of the lonely lunatic....[/h3] [i]Put those infrared goggles on, babe.[/i] [/quote] And because she had infrared goggles she was able to aim around Mika who was fumbling around in the smoke. The turret was on its last legs. [quote][h3][color=8c5673]A[/color]lice hears the chattering of the lonely lunatic....[/h3] [i]Stay sexy.[/i] [/quote] [i][color=8c5673]Ever the charmer.[/color][/i] Meanwhile, Marrie had managed to successfully open up a portal a little ways inside the ship. Tim was briefly off pressure with Alice firing on the turret, and the alien hopped backwards to see what was going on. Though Tim hadn’t even arrived at the portal before Marrie fell through it. Right into his purple haze… [quote][h3][color=00aeef]M[/color]arrie feels her veins oxydizing....[/h3] [i]This one seems friendly. Why resist?[/i][/quote] Tim tipped his head, but that was all the time he was going to waste on being confused. He hoisted Marrie over his shoulder and power walked deeper into the ship. As he walked towards the back, more of those small slimes started to appear in the hallway. [center] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019da7cd-0b25-72f8-8bb0-a15515b74f73.webp[/img] [color=77bb99]"I’m back in B L A C K."[/color] [color=888888]— Book Kidd[/color] [hider=Kidd] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5656223]Book Kidd[/url] Max MP: 50 Current MP: 50 - 4 = 46 Casting: Casting: [Self] 0 + [Speedster C] 4 = 4 Gear: Clip Light (6) Disguise (6) Gift (6 Probiotic Supplements) Grenade (6) Molotov (6) Smoke Bomb (6) Handcuffs (6) Leveraging: N/A [/hider][/center] [color=77bb99]"Well that’s not good!"[/color] As soon as Kidd uttered those words, the ship started to rise into the sky. [color=77bb99]"Well that’s really not good!"[/color] He started to run towards the portal. [color=77bb99]"Quick, they’re going to kidnap everyone!"[/color] He stopped mid sprint and ran back towards the magic circle he made. Kidd drew a candle stick from his cloak and placed it on the magic circle. [color=77bb99]"Gnyeh!"[/color] As the ship tried to hover into the sky, rusty hands of blood and steel, as big as the espers themselves, rose out of the ocean. They clamped all over the underside of the ship in an attempt to hold it down. But the rust was flaking off the hands with every passing second. [color=77bb99]"If we don’t get aboard that ship, they’re gunna start doing weird stuff!"[/color] Kidd huffed and puffed as he ran for Marrie’s portal.