BrokenPromise

Symphony of Espers

Also Broken:
"IC will go up on Monday."

@ERode

if not earlier!

@BrokenPromise

Symphony of Espers

Alright lads, first post is up. Move out, espers!

G.E.M.I.N.I. Agents: Veronica has assigned you to the mission to reclaim PSPD #11!

Mavericks: Are there any of you guys? Uh, just, just show up outside the warehouse where Billy and Tetrad are waiting.

Freelancers: You've got a bit of a choice to make. You can join either faction's assignment.

To those of you still working on your sheets: You have about a week left to make your characters AND get them into one of these assignments before things really take off.

Symphony of Espers

Pax Septimus roughly translates to “Peaceful Seventh.” Originally the city might have been named after the seventh heaven referenced in the Talmud: the place where the throne of god resides. Regardless of the case, god certainly isn’t in Pax Septimus now.

The terror of the local populace was hidden from view. Anyone driving by would think the city was fine, but everything was run by one group of criminals or another. Most of the wealthier establishments paid tribute to the local mafia, cultists abducted fresh victims from their homes, and criminals plundered what they could at every opportunity. The underpaid police force was barely a match, and few of them valued the law over any bribe they could be paid.

Worse still were the unseen horrors lurking in the shadows. Otherworldly monsters loomed at every corner. They discreetly manipulated the populace through fear. The more fear they created, the more they could consume. And as they made more fear, more creatures would show up to expedite the process.

But with all the misery happening in Pax Septimus, there was one pocket of comfort. Beneath an unassuming warehouse was a massive underground dwelling called Bastion. It had taken a long time to construct, but the mastermind behind its construction had found it worthwhile. Regardless of what happened outside, they would be able to continue living in comfort.

The queen of Pax Septimus stood in a concrete room with a pool filled with a chromatic liquid. Like most espers, Penny wasn’t quite normal. Her maid suit was your typical anime convention fan fair, but her hulking gauntlets were not. Every once and a while, a bolt of electricity would leap off of her gauntlets and into the concrete floor. While her face was normal, a hard look at her eyes would reveal cameras hidden behind her pretty blue irises. A closer inspection of her head dress would also reveal rows of metal pegs that were embedded directly in her head. The sound of servos filled the air as her eyes shifted from one side of her room to the other. A typical ritual for the paranoid queen of Pax.

She had done everything in her power to ensure Bastion was as safe as possible. Bastion was a fortress, but she had also bought out anyone who could possibly oppose her operation. The mafia, the cults, even the police force. They were all in her back pocket. Not only did she pay them well, but she occasionally left Bastion to help crush resistances before they could fight back. It was their lives or her safety, and that was hardly a choice worth wasting her processors on.

Queen Penny did not like to return to her normal form, but the queen discovered that she could restore her mana reserves by soaking in a pool of mercury. It was also one of the few times she could enjoy swimming, as her metal chassis was too heavy to do so normally. She reached behind her waist to untie her corset top when one of her henchmen came to the door.

“My queen!” An oni called out to her. “You must-”

”Imbecile!” The flustered queen shouted. ”Entering these chambers is punishable by death!”

The henchman did not get a chance to respond before a black blade popped out of her chest. She had just opened her mouth to scream when the light left her eyes.

”…I guess she got exactly what she deserved!” With a swing of her blade, the oni’s corpse was cast off the onyx katana. Standing in the doorway was a woman in a black miko outfit with a mane of pink hair billowing out of her head. ”Hello, robo-slut!”

”Oros the mad.” Penny growled the name through her teeth. She didn’t really know why a depraved esper like herself had decided to attack Bastion, or how she had even discovered it existed. Though she didn’t really care. Regardless, it wasn’t an outcome she hadn’t prepared for. Oros probably had to fight her way through some of her henchmen, and likely expended some mana in the process. Meanwhile, Penny had a vat of mercury that would raise her mana levels as soon as she touched it. She also had no reason to believe Oros was stronger than herself. What footage she was able to recover was impressive, but impressive compared to her? Not a chance. ”What do you want?” Penny folded her arms. ”I don’t feel like killing you, so if you swear fealty to me, I’ll overlook this little incident and maybe even help you with whatever you came here for.”

”Alright, I’m all for trying the diplomacy option.” Oros cleared her throat, not bothering to wipe the oni’s blood off of herself. ”I, Oros the mad, do swear fealty to Penny, queen of Pax! My servitude is contingent upon her cutting off her own head, and to cease living entirely!”

”Do not mock my gifts!” Her fists arced with electricity. ”Whatever you’re being paid, I can triple it. If you want a Bastion of your own, I can help you build it. But if you keep pretending that my death is what you seek, you’ll only find your own!”

Oros chuckled darkly. ”Right, of course. Because who in Pax Septimus wants to kill the queen? A coward who hides in a concrete bunker, refusing to ever show a single moment of weakness, refusing to stand up to monsters that even the Mavericks would gladly slay?”

Penny scoffed. ”You’re not pretending you care about those fools, are you? So long as we’re safe, does anything else matter.”

”Mmmm.” Oros got a crick out of her neck. ”Anyone I could get mad about you hurting is already dead, or has been driven away.” She gripped her sword with both hands. The grin on her face vanished. ”I’m not here for any noble cause. I just want revenge. I demand satisfaction, and you’re going to give it to me!”

”If you insist!”

”Yea, just after my patron finishes our sheets and my commission is completed. Then we’ll fight!”

---

Days Later…

Pax Septimus had 15 precincts, each one covering a fair swath of the city and needing its own Police station. Out of all of them, none were more corrupt than PSPD #11, and for good reason. The station used to be home to some of the bravest officers in the city, but a local crime syndicate came down on it with everything they had and overwhelmed the small police force. Those that weren’t slain were driven from the area, and they quickly moved in to help themselves to everything available to them. That included weapons and confiscated narcotics.

Naturally, the government had to get involved.

An armored transport vehicle was parked just out of view of the 4 story building. Standing at attention was Su Fang, or Breacher as she preferred to be called during missions. Her real identity wasn’t something she liked to share with others.

Anyone dressed head to toe in ballistic armor with a steel riot shield was bound to be an impressive sight. Though her height certainly didn’t detract from that image any. A soft breeze rustled her short blue hair, but couldn’t do anything to her horns. She was standing at attention, waiting for the mission to begin.

”We start soon?”

A woman will green hair had just stepped out of the passenger side of the vehicle. Su knew her as “Binky,” and had no idea what her real name was. What Su did know was that she was one of Su’s most trusted espers, and her being out here only meant that their mission was going to be an important one. ”Um, hopefully!” She folded her arms and leaned up against the side of the van. ”It’s probably not necessary, but I put a hit out on Shimr. I’m hoping a few freelancers join us. It will be good to see who stands with us. Once everyone’s shown up, Veronica will begin the briefing.”

”It good to have police back.”

”That’s not all!” Binky smiled. ”Without going into confidential territory, the station will give us access to our outpost. From there, we can continue to run operations inside the city.”

Su pushed herself off the van and turned to face Binky. ”You come with us? Or you just operator?”

”Not an operator, more like a trump card.” Binky sighed. ”My esper form is great, but I can only maintain it for 30 seconds tops. I’m just here in case something goes horribly wrong.”

”I see.” She looked around to make sure they were still alone. ”My daughter still safe?”

”Mika, right?” Su nodded. ”Yea, she’s at the forward base just outside of Pax Septimus. You should be able to see her after the mission.”

”Good.” She holstered her pistol and extended her hand towards Binky. ”To a successful operation!”
.
Binky smirked and accepted her hand. ”To a safe one.”

---

The Bastion was formerly a strong hold for the queen of Pax Septimus. Mysterious events caused the queen to flee her bunker, which made the area ripe for cultist takeover. Now they use the local tunnel complex to prey on civilians with impunity, sacrificing everyone they find to appease their dark lords.

But only for the moment.

A lone motorcycle rolled through the streets of Pax Septimus. Some old thing that the owner gave a quick coat of paint to slow the rust. Though onlookers were likely looking at the rider instead of her rusting motorcycle. She looked like a jester, only she appeared to be wearing a black leather leotard over a colorful outfit. A solid black helmet concealed her face, but her jet black hair spilled out of the back of the helmet. It was accompanied by neon colored braids that flapped in the wind.

She didn’t have far to drive. Parked just a few blocks away from an old warehouse was a black Cadillac. Not a new one either, this was a muscle car that had been kept in pristine condition since it’s debut in the late 50s. Though it had been modified. Instead of having five seats, it had just one to accommodate its large driver. A giant with white skin and a gas mask waited for Luna’s arrival. One of his arms hanging out the side of the vehicle.

The woman parked her bike in front of the Cadillac before dismounting. She pulled off her helmet and shook out her hair so that it would lay flat on her back. Once she was done, she fixed her eyes on the giant. ”Good evening, Billy!”

The giant straightened out his posture before puffing out his chest. It was covered in scars, but they seemed to disappear between his well defined muscles. ”I-say I-say, it is a fiiiiiine evenin’, ain’t it Tetrad?”

”You can call me Luna when nobody’s around, I don’t mind.” She tucked her helmet under her arm and looked around. ”I’m here first?”

”The old HQ got hit pretty hard. Trixy and Jez are gettin’ things in order while we clear out the new one. Unsure if we have the manpower to spare anyone right now.” Billy snorted.

”Are you saying it might just be us?” Luna pointed at the warehouse as her eyes grew into saucers. ”Just the two of us breaking into the Bastion!? That place is over run with cultists now, isn’t it?”

”I’m fixin to make sure there are no complications out here. But ya ain’t gunna be by yourself.”Billy’s large hands presented Luna with a comparatively tiny phone. ”So relax, girl. I put out a call on Shimr. Gunna have some freelancers join us if nothin’ else. Would be a big help to find people who believe in us.”

”Mmmm, Well, I’m not too hot on fighting along side randos.” A smile crept across Luna’s face. ”Buuuut, maybe we’ll have some guys join us. That’s always fun.”

Billy reached behind his head and scratched his neck. ”Accordin’ to Shimr, most of the local espers are woman. So uh.” He averted his gaze. ”Ya might get disappointed, is all I’m sayin’.”

”Huh? Really now?” Luna lowered her shoulders, but she kept her smile up. ”Guess I’ll be fine if they aren’t turbo lesbians. I get enough of that from Trixy.”

---

With G.E.M.I.N.I. and Maverick Alternative moving into Pax Septimus, it did not take long for the freelancers to move in as well. Pax Septimus was due for a good cleaning, and with two large factions moving in, there should be more than enough work to go around. The night before, a swath of freelancers wiped out every monster in a 5 block radius around a vintage diner. The owner of “The Great Escape” was entirely unaware of the menace, and even what espers were. Regardless, he welcomed any patron that was willing to spend money at his establishment. And so it quickly became a hot spot for freelancer activity. A place where they could have a coffee and bagel before beating down some occult menace.

The Great Escape held no surprises on the inside. The big red seats, the checkerboard floors, complete with a vintage soda fountain. The only modern addition was a little stage where performers could entertain patrons. In fact, there was someone performing right now!

Standing up on stage was a young, delicate looking girl. There was a distinct lack of color in all of her features. Her hair was white, as was her dress, and her skin was on the pale side too. But her eyes were a brilliant emerald green, and drew in whoever she looked at. Everyone wondered if she could play.

She moved across the stage gracefully. Everyone looked at her at least once. Pretty things are fleeting and an esper needs to treat their eyes every once in a while. Her flowing dress was more appealing than the mangled teeth of a cultist, or the layers of skin on a flesh melder. Though beauty could only remain interesting for so long. The next question was could she play?

The pale girl opened up a velvet case and pulled out a violin. None of the espers present were familiar with wood working, but they could tell a fine instrument when they saw one. It had been polished to a mirror sheen, and was just as captivating as the girl who held it. But could she play?

They were about to find out.

She rested the violin on her shoulder and brought the bow across the strings. And she played. And it made sound. She was playing a song, but it wasn’t anything that commanded everyone’s attention. The espers present were here on bushiness anyway. GEMINI wanted to reclaim a police station from some criminals, and Maverick wanted to clean some cultists out of a depraved esper’s hide out. The pay was about the same for both jobs, so it just depended on what they were feeling up for or who they wanted to appeal to. It wasn’t every day freelancers got choices.

Regardless of the reactions, the girl continued to play.

"Damnit, Bets. Couldn't even wait to say goodbye...?"

”Mph...“ Betty did her best to ignore the voices. They weren’t here, it was all in her head. She was able to keep playing, but the voices were getting more intense.

"Okay? OKAY?! No shit everything isn't okay, everything is fabulously fucked in fact, and it has been for awhile, AND NOBODY DID JACKSHIT ABOUT IT!"

”Calm down, please.“ Betty whispered. She tried to keep calm herself, but it was like she could hear this man screaming into her ear. Her heart beat faster, and she struggled to keep playing without incident.

"Just say the word. I can end this, here and now!"

”Don’t!“ Betty cast her eyes at the floor in a vein attempt to hide her expression. But these feelings would pass. All she had to do was-

"Do it."

Her hand froze in place. The music had stopped, and her arms were visibly trembling. Someone called out to ask if she was alright, but she couldn’t speak. Her vision was blurring over with tears, and her throat was too tight to speak words.

”Hey, hey!” A handsome man with remarkable red hair hopped up onto the stage with Betty. He pulled out a wooden stool from the back of the stage and pushed it up behind her. ”Sit down, violin girl!”

With a sigh, Betty sat down in the chair. She tried to avoid eye contact with everyone who was presently looking at her. How embarrassing to have a break down in front of so many people. She didn’t even finish the first song in her set. Though she could feel her neck loosen up just from resting. ”T-thank you, mister…?“

”Just call me Elroy!” He extended her hand towards her. ”America’s top freelance esper!”

After she wiped the tears off of her cheek, she tipped her head in Elroy’s direction. ”Esper? What’s that? Is it a fancy name for a…“ She examined his outfit. ”Costume designer?“

Elroy binked, curled his hand closed, and continued to smile. ”Espers are friends, violin girl!” He folded his arms. ”What happened?”

”I’m not sure.“ Betty didn’t take her eyes off of Elroy. ”I just had a dream a few days ago. I was on a beach, and I left without telling a friend goodbye. And even though I wasn’t there, I could see how upset it made them. But I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen them before. I don’t even know if we were ever friends. And it makes me really sad because-“ She brought her hand up to her mouth. ”It’s all really strange and doesn’t make sense when I put it into words. But I woke up crying, and occasionally it just works its way into my head. I haven’t been sleeping well.“

Elroy laughed. ”Yet you’re performing a late night set? Silly violin girl!”

A portly man approached the stage. Anyone familiar with the The Great Escape knew this man was the owner. Perfectly bald, but they had an outstanding mustache. ”It’s been hard times for all of us.” He groaned. ”I paid good money for a full performance. So unless either of you are going to perform, please move off the stage so that someone else can.”

Betty might have been a bit humiliated, but she wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to pay her if she didn’t keep playing. ”I should be fine now. Sorry sir!“ She was prepared to stand up when Elroy’s arm stopped her.

”What did I say, violin girl?” Elroy cast out his arms. ”Espers are friends, I work freelance, and I’m the best in America!” He extended his arm towards the crowd. ”Trisha! My axe!”

”On it!”

A Gibson guitar flew out of the crowd and landed in Elroy’s outstretched hand. It was a classic design: a Less Paul with a sunburst color scheme. It had been beaten to shit from years of shredding, but that only primed the few people who didn’t know about Elroy for what they were in for. It had already been plugged into an amp, and a kick plate had been shoved over to Elroy’s position.

”Who’s up for some Van Halen?” Elroy didn’t wait for a response. He ran his fingers over the strings of his guitar and started to play the definitive version of You Really Got Me.

Symphony of Espers

Public applications are closed for the time being. If you showed interest in the interest check or were specifically invited by me, You may still submit a character sheet for review.

Going to be working on some sheets and the first post over the weekend. Barring any acts of god, it should be up around Monday, if not earlier!

Symphony of Espers

@Izurich Your leitmotif is kind of like Regina Smith's. it's cosmetic grade, so I won't urge you to change it, but you may wish to take a different "upgrade path" down the road.

Only crtique we have is Teslic Gauss's defense debuff is too easy to proc, and isn't "situationally useful" like silver glamors should be. But if you are going for an anti-material gun, you could beef up the pierce angle and make it peirce anything with E grade physical defence. This would make it a great crowd controll weapon as it would cut through almost all forms of cover and mundane targets with ease. Other than that, she's character tab ready!

Symphony of Espers

The discord is up!

You can now join and discuss things with others to your hearts content. If you don't feel like using discord, all the important announcement stuff will still get posted to the OOC, so you won't be missing anything important should you decide not to use discord.

Symphony of Espers

So, just an update on a few things.

-The discord is almost done. With any luck it should be up for your rapid-fire chatting pleasure in a day or so.

-I will not be available to look over sheets or answer questions for part of Thursday, as that's the day the boys and I get together for table top. So please be patient if you happen to submit a character sheet tomorrow. you still have plenty of time to work on your characters.

Symphony of Espers

@SilverPaw Pry is a pretty interesting feature, but it's too strong at B rank. We'd like to see it scaled back to D rank. That will make it work on virtually every mundane target you find, and bars easy disarms on other espers, tough monsters, etc. Aside from that small correction, this agent can report to the character tab!

Symphony of Espers

@ERode Yes, and if @mantou chooses to upgrade Aegis further when it's time to get stronger glamors, I would recommend doing something with that. But it does go with the whole tank thing they're going for.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Swan Song

”Ahhhh…”

Oros sat on the edge of a beach with her sword drawn in front of her. There was no need for her to go to the stadium to watch the games, she could see everything she needed to in the reflection of her black blade. As the images from Penny and Sam’s fight flashed across her sword, her hands remained pressed together in prayer.

”Dear grand magistrate, please grant me the strength to overcome my enemies in the coming Keijo competition. Penny and Rachel dwarf me in stats, but perhaps you can find it in your cold dead hearts to be humored by the cunning and underhanded tactics I will deploy to win. Aside from the people who stand to gain from Penny’s increasing slaughter, I think the majority of the patrons will find my victory amusing, and will have their sense of wonder invigorated as Penny’s year long winning streak hits its first bump. Amen.”

A grinning Aria walked up behind Oros. ”Well! I think it was an interesting match. I hadn’t expected Penny to be so eager to win that she would have that second rate scientist buff her before the match, but If she thinks-”

”Penny won.”

Aria was taken back by Oros’s words. ”Um, no, I’m pretty sure it was a draw.”

”No she won.” Oros’s hands remained folded, her eyes shut in prayer. Only she wasn’t talking to her gods now. ”The grand magistrate decided to make it into a popularity contest. So we have a poll to decide what happens. Naturally, Penny is leading. Because of course she is. Nobody gains anything if Sam wins, so Penny will be the defacto winner of the poll and get to continue fighting despite how clearly and unequivocally owned she was. Penny’s been number 1 for far too long, and people have built their characters based around the fact that she performs well. Asking people to vote Penny a loss would be like asking a group of greedy politicians to sign a bill saying they have to take salary cuts. That’s why resolving these little squabbles with majority votes is a fool’s errand. It's too late to fix Penny with majority vote.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. ”Is that so?”

”It’s funny, really, Sam’s patron patron told my patron exactly how the fight was going to go. Each instance where Penny was going to be baited and exactly what was going to happen when Penny was a few inches above the water. It would not be incorrect to say that they had a flawless strategy that worked perfectly against Penny. But, the magistrate is probably right. Penny and Sam are nearly the same vintage of character, but it was just a bad match up. I should have faith in the grand magistrate’s vision. They will give me a chance to end Penny’s reign of terror if I simply stop questioning them.”

Betty approached the duo. ”Hey guys, um, I heard you talking- “

Oros opened an eye. ”Don’t you have to kick Justine’s ass? Why are you here?”

”I needed to pee.“ Betty tapped her fingers on the tip of her chin. ”Did you say that they were judging the fights by majority vote?“

”That seems to be how the grand magistrate is resolving Penny and Sam’s case, anyway.” Oros closed her eye again. ”It would seem they believe the winner should be decided by popularity instead of their skill sets.”

”Well that’s no good!“ Betty let out a nervous sigh. ”Justine was pulled out of the cradle and put on a pedestal. She's season 1 stuff. I’m sure everybody wants to see more of her. Meanwhile, I’m just one of her victims! I don’t think anyone really cares if I win or not!“

Oros growled through her teeth. ”I believe in the grand magistrate. The grand magistrate believes in me. If we just stand strong, Penny’s reign of terror will end, and all 50 of us will get to be important to the plot.”

”Ah!” Elroy shook his head. ”It was unfortunate that I lost, but at least I got to have an intense fight with a worthy opponent. Had I been pitted against robot girl from the start, I doubt I’d of had a chance. In fact, I threw my fight for the express interest of not wanting to face something so insurmountable. I pity anyone who has to go up against her.”

”I believe… in the grand magistrate. The grand magistrate… believes in me. If we just stand strong… Penny’s reign of terror will end… and all 50 of us will get to be important to the plot.”

”Ugh! That dolphin really pisses me off!” Pac-a-fist fumed. ”Almost all of those fights had cheaters in them! Does no one have a third eye like me? Am I the only one who isn’t oblivious to this? And what is Rachel going to think when her opponents need to cheat to beat her? This feels like a huge oversight on Dan's part.”

”I believe… in the grand magistrate.”

A Lord of Change surfaced out of the sands. ”It can be difficult to take one’s reality seriously when there are so many problems with it.” With a snap of his fingers, a portal appeared. ”I cannot promise you much, not even that you will keep your original forms. But here is a portal to a different reality.”

Elroy looked inside. ”Looks like my reality.”

”Then there’s no choice.” Pac smiled. ”I’m going with you!”

But Elroy raised his hand. ”So, what’s on the other side of this portal? Can’t let gamer girl go any place she can get hurt. Not without knowing what’s there.”

”I believe…”

”Nothing terribly out of the ordinary. It is your world, as you noticed. I doubt you’ll notice much of a change, but for her, everything will be different.” The LoC concluded.

”I… believe…”

Pac continued to beam at the horror. ”Sounds good so far! What’s so different about it?”

The horror continued to stand beside the portal. ”The Grand Magistrates are different, power is more evenly distributed, but is lower over all. This world is still forming though, so it’s hard to describe it in too much detail. It’s been under construction for a few weeks, your time, so you can understand if I can’t get too specific.”

”I…”

”It does sound a little ominous.” She took Elroy’s hand. ”But if I get to go with Elroy, I’ll do it!”

”Then by all means, enter.” The two lovers walked into the portal. The horror prepared to close the portal when they noticed the others. ”Are you interested?”

”Very!” Aria clapped her hands.

Betty glared around. ”I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued.“

”I…” Oros stood up. ”I could stand a change in scenery. Penrose has soured my mood a bit.”

”Oros, you are aware of what this means, right? Entering this portal?” the LoC caressed the side of the portal. ”The world you are in right now may not be to your liking, but it a stable one. One that has held together for 4 years. The one you are about to enter may not be as fortunate. It could fall apart at any time. It might not be the end of you, but you will never be allowed to come back here. It's not a choice to be taken lightly.”

”Can’t say I give a shit one way or another.” Oros hoisted her sword over her shoulder. ”Shaping this hell hole into something I enjoy has been a fool’s errand. Give me something new!”

”Very well.” Aria stretched her arms behind her head. ”There’s nothing in Penrose that has my attention. I am free to do as I like, and a fresh start in a new world is just what my old eyes need.”

”I’m-“ Betty lowered her head. ”I’m sorry Maura, I’m sure you’d have been a great lady. My lady even. However…“ Betty raised her head. ”The lady I really need to be concerned with is myself! And if there’s a new world out there, one with opportunities, I’ll make sure there’s a member of cradle present to influence it’s development.“

”I allowed Pac and Elroy to enter the portal for free, as it was Elroy’s home world and Pac was traveling with him. But for the rest of you, there is a cost.” They stood off to the side. ”You must speak a truth that few know to gain access to the portal.”

Betty pushed past everyone and gazed into the portal. ”I… I don’t like Justine.“ She sighed. ”But only because she cast me aside so hastily! I um, I kind of have a thing for being, um, controlled. To be desired by someone so deeply that they rob you of your every action is something I’ve only ever felt with Veronica as my lady. We might have been able to become friends if we talked…“ Her face was turning red. ”B-but I also had a plan. Win or lose, I was going to to make up with Justine by giving her a kiss on the lips, which would… Trigger my killing blow. She would die in seconds.“ Betty looked at her friends. ”But I don’t think it would have worked, if what everyone else says is to be believed.“ Without saying another word, Betty entered the portal.

”I wonder if she would have lost her nerve?” Aria approached the portal next. ”Nothing too spicy from me, unfortunately. But I was the first Veronica. The concept of the red coin was based on what the Veronica you know of learned when she stole Boteg’s hoard. Gold coins have the power of a single copper coin when used at creation. With so many coins it was easy to alter everything about me. My appearance, magic, the works! And the mint never learned of it. With my original weapon tightly sealed in the cradle, there was no way for them to learn if I had been killed or not.” She turned to Oros. ”I was also in a relationship with a few other girls, and Trixy use to be my familiar before she was turned into a magical girl herself. But I’ve already given enough secrets for one evening. These things seem to lose all of their spice when they are just blurted out like that.” And with that, Aria left this world.

Oros stepped up to the portal. ”So I’m sure you guys watching at home remember how I collected lots of purity potions and that funky gunk that gives me unlimited mana?” Oros rubbed her hands together. ”So what you might not know is that in my purified form, I can share thoughts with people. And Ari gave me permission to use my gifted spec to create the heart of darkness. You know? That artifact that makes you come back to life when slain, only more corrupted?” Oros chuckled. ”Yup, the grand magistrate’s sloppy handling of my powers and the presence of some unlimited mana gunk means that with purification potions, I can basically have unlimited lives. And before you say ‘someone could just purify it,’ the gunk is in jugs and stored in my hammer space. I can draw out as much as I need, when I need it.” She laughed to herself. ”But the REAL big dick strategy would be going up to Dan and forcing him to relive 50 years of my memories, watching Mika, one of his own magical girls, slowly become corrupted as she fights, feeds, and fucks her way through who knows how many repeats of this same old tragedy! If sad thoughts make him weaker, despair that great might be enough to kill him! Dead or greatly weakened, I could get as violent as I want during the keijo match! What, you think Odin would stop me?” She sighed. ”Yea, it would have gotten cucked somehow. Penny probably would have some kind of weird deal going where she could copy my resurrection gimmick despite it needing 3 different spells to work, and despite not being able to be corrupted. Would have been pretty underwhelming for all the effort I put into dreaming it up. I’d like to think I’d get taken down by some weak, unassuming girl in the end, but it would probably just be a repeat of the last time I beat Penny. That's why I feel okay leaving now.” She turned back towards the portal. ”Fuck, I love to ramble. Good night everyone.”

Another one approached the portal. A quiet girl who wore a feather in her hair. One who hadn’t spoken the entire time she had been here.

Until now.

”You were close, Ponn!” The girl folded her hands behind her back. ”But I’m not Mika from another dimension. I’m Mika from this one!” She spread her arms, as if to give the air a big hug. ”I really just came here to see Silly and Ron-jah again. Oreos also said something about saving the world, so I was all on board with what she was doing. We met shortly after I tried to leave the beach world with Rina. You can actually see her flying lotus in the post where she flies after us.” She, too, entered the portal.

The horror placed their hand over the portal. ”Well, I certainly don’t need to pay for entry. Not that I think that it’s a mystery that Aigorost is suppose to be a stand in for all the players of this RP. Perhaps a message from the broken one before I depart?” the LoC looked away from the portal and at you. ” While recent disagreements have brought about his departure, they were merely the straw that... broke the broken one? His interest with the story has burned out long ago. His inability to communicate with the grand magistrate paired with differences in visions that started when he stood on the council beside them have not simply gone away with time. Only the stories he had running with his friends kept his interest thus far, but recent policy changes have put that in jeopardy.” The horror rattled off the words as if it was reading a script. There were no emotions, no connection to what was being repeated. ”Despite recent events, he hopes you continue to enjoy the magical girl RP for many years. Leaving was not something he did without some regret.”

With a final snap of his fingers, the lord of change and its mysterious portal vanished into thin air. The golden trove was empty, the last golden dragons vanished from the world, and the legacy of Shining Scale faded. They only existed in this world as memories now, carried by the few who had seen them.

There was still an island with about 16 cat girls in exotic swimsuits however. Someone had better do something about that.

Broken Promise ~ Never to Return

…

…

…

…Right?

"Choices you make in the future influence the past!”

— Tonya “Mac” Murphy

Tonya “Mac” Murphy

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

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03
+46
STR: 21 | AGI: 21 | VIT: 21 | MAG: 20 | LCK: 20

Earnings this post: Zilch

Remaining: 8 Gold, 30 Silver, 39 Bronze
Total: 12 Gold, 162 Silver, 183 Bronze

Mac looked into her spool of thread. This was the last thing it showed. Beyond this scene was nothing. At least, she couldn’t make the spool show her anything. It was almost as if the world was going to end as soon as the Lord of Change left. That made no sense, of course. Even the avatar of a remarkably powerful horror couldn’t do something like that. But it was strange that this was as far as her thread would guide her. She wasn’t sure if this was all the fates were willing to show her, all that she could be shown, or maybe the end of the thread had just been reached.

That was another question. Who’s thread was wrapped on this spool? Who’s life was so interconnected with everyone else’s?

It didn’t matter though. Mac had made the choice to remain in the shadows once again. It was unsettling to see so many magical girls worked up over what was effectively a game of Keijo, yet all the same, it was a frustration that Mac could relate to. Both because an acquaintance was involved, and because she had been experiencing the exact same dilemma for the past decade.

Mac liked to believe that the future was malleable. That her actions could shape the future. A caveat to her own efforts having an effect was that everyone else’s actions had to mean something too. But that hadn’t been what Mac had been fighting for. She was racing around at the behest of a trinity of gods that fought to keep things on track. There weren’t many moments Mac felt heroic, but the two most heroic things she had done by far was keeping Tonya out of the Archive’s hands and saving Lotus from certain death. All of her other actions just blended together, working towards a plan she couldn’t make sense of.. What had she done in this decade of service? If her job was to maintain fate, then did that mean she had been working towards enforcing a set of ideas that she didn’t support?

It was too late to stop Pak-A-Fist and Elroy. In a way, they didn’t matter. Maybe they would find happiness in their new world. But what was Betty doing? Was she really going to leave everything she ever knew, and for what?

Her patron be damned, Mac was going to do something.

"Hey!” Mac ran with all of her might. The tiny island they stood on trembled before she launched herself towards the retreating party. But she would not arrive before Betty left. Mac could only hope that in another world, Betty and Finn could become good friends. Maybe she’d even get some closure with Binky, but it wouldn’t happen here. "Stop it! Don’t listen to him!”

The LoC didn’t even turn his head. ”Oros?”

”Hmm?” She turned towards the approaching cat girl. ”Well you’re moving a little fast.” Oros charged towards.”What? Do you have AGI and STR maxed or something? You move like Penny does.”

Only Mac didn’t move like Penny. While Oros was able to easily counter the monarch’s charges, that was only because her attacks were so predictable she could see them coming a mile away. Mac had a huge advantage in that she wasn’t even really running where the “cat girl” was. She was running about ten or so feet adjacent, and Oros had no hope of actually stopping her charge.

At least, that was the idea.

Oros drew her sword, or candy cane as it had become in this world of christmas cheer. The pink pervert squinted her eyes at the reflection in the cane before shifting her gaze.

”Alright kitty, take THIS!”

Oros threw herself directly in Mac’s path , hitting her square in the stomach with her leap. Mac was durable, and even with so many of Oros’s enhancements running, she would only slow her down. But Mac was too flabbergasted to respond correctly. Had she been seen? Could Oros really spot her?

”Don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Oros’s eyes flicked up to where Mac was, and back down at her blade in quick succession. ”The hell are you doing here?”

"I’m trying to stop you from making a terrible mistake!” Mac remained hidden, but Oros would have no trouble hearing her voice. "You can’t leave yet.”

”What’s all the ruckus about?” Aria walked up behind Oros. ”Oh, did you finally meet her?”

”Her?!?” Oros looked over her shoulder at Aria. ”You know who this is?”

”And you don’t?” Aria added with a grin.

While Aria had stepped out of line, that just meant that Mika could take her place. She too left through the portal. She would never reunite with her mother, and it was unclear what ever happened to the archer she left Penrose with. Mysteries that would remain unsolved. But Mac had managed to stop Aria and Oros, and maybe that would be enough.

"Look.” Mac began. "This world might not be perfect, but none of them are. Your presence here means so much more than you could imagine! It may feel like you can’t do anything, but you’re ignoring what just existing here is doing.”

”I doubt anyone gives a shit about a crazy ronin and her butterfly obsessed artificer.”

"You’re not going to convince me that Emily doesn’t care deeply about you. The fact of the matter is that regardless of how rotten any one of us is, there’s someone who will miss us. What’s going to happen to her if you just up and vanish?”

”She’ll live.”

"But she’ll hurt. And also, what about your...” Mac hesitated. "Patron? Surely if they leave, it will negatively affect the others.”

Oros had a blank look on her face as she stared into her candy cane. ”So you’re a wolf girl. Not the first, but the cop outfit is kinda cute. Even if you’re a bit top heavy compared to what I want..”

"Being top heavy can make you more maneuverable in the air. Planes are built that way, you know.” She supposed that Oros could see her, somehow. Though she was aware that Endless Eclipse was a bit different than most mystic artifacts. While her illusion magic kept her hidden from a third eye, it was possible for a mystic artifact to spot her at some point before she cast any illusion magic. Even with her massive reserves, she couldn’t use her magic all the time.

”You paid attention in class. Tell me ‘Mac,’ who’s your patron?”

"The Moirai”

”You paid attention in class. Tell me ‘Mac,’ who’s your patron?”

"The Moirai.”

”Yea, I gathered that.” She flicked her eyes up at the invisible wolf. ”But they are a trio of sisters. What’s their names?”

"They don’t want me to say.”

”And they didn’t want you to save Tonya or Lotus either. Out with it.”

Mac sighed. She knew she was going to get in trouble for this, but Oros was right. She was disrupting things just by being here. "I do not know their real names, but they go by moniceres.”

”Just. Say. It..”

"...Tea Wave, Platinum Skink, Erode.”

Oros blinked. Her hands trembled on her cane, but it wasn’t long before she roared with demonic laughter. She nudged Aria before looking over her shoulder at the Lord of Change, but neither of them seemed to think the situation was amusing.

”The names of all the replaced magistrate members, minus one! Well! I’ve got a pretty good idea of what's going on now.”

"Please elaborate.”

The wild magical girls looked directly at Mac’s invisible frame with a crooked smile. ”Well it’s simple really. First you need to throw away every notion you have about time. Because time isn’t water, sand, or any of that other bullshit you might have heard in the past. Time is a story, and it’s written on several pages. People experience time at different speeds, and are in different places depending on how well read they are. But because time has been committed to word, it means that these words can be re-written, which can change how time unfolds.”

Aria raised an eyebrow ”But time manipulation like that is only possible by powerful eldritch creatures. Moreover, it’s a direct violation of how the patrons agreed to play this 4D chess game with our lives.”

”Well Aria, I don’t know what to tell you.” She looked back at her candy cane. ”Every time I’ve looked into this blade of mine, I’ve only ever been able to read the past. But it’s clear that there’s been quite a bit written ahead of this point of time we’re presently residing in. And the only way this is possible is if we’ve all been transported to the past, or my patron went back and edited a whole ass magical girl into existence!” She chuckled. ”She shows up so clearly too, I would have remembered someone like this otherwise.”

Mac could feel her heart beat faster. "Then according to you, I don’t exist? My patron doesn’t exist?” The latter half wasn’t too hard to believe, actually. There had been no repercussions for her actions, and her patrons had never actually spoken to her.

”I don’t think any of us exist, but if you don’t subscribe to that..” Oros looked at the LoC ”What do you say, big guy? Wanna fill us in?”

The LoC remained stationary, but they did project their voice to everyone nearby. ”The Moirai that you serve are not the real article. That much is true.” Even if it was easy to believe, Mac had a hard time accepting it. Evidence was present to support the horrorling’s claims, but had she really been serving no one for the past ten years? ”The Moirai you serve are a fraction of the horror known as Aigorost: A collection of entities that make up that which is unborn into reality. The false Moirai is perhaps the more altruistic fraction of the whole.”The LoC pointed at the spool of thread Mac held. ”That is a real thread of fate. In particular, it is your own thread. The reason why you cannot see past this interaction is because you have reached the end of your usefulness. You have been doing their bidding up until this very moment.”

"And since Oros, Aria, and everyone else is leaving, that means that Aigorost is going to leave too. Which means that I’ve finished playing my part?”

”More or less.” the LoC looked off into the distance.

The situation was getting too weird to comprehend. She was following an altruistic horror this entire time, but they were going to kill her, but now another patron took interest in her? "I’m going to be honest, I’m having difficulty following all this crap, but you’re saying that I’m presently without a patron.”

”You will be once we leave.”

"Great…” At least there wasn’t anything stopping her from taking a shower when she got back home.

”Man, being able to see everything like this. It’s like I have ‘Mad World’ or something.” Oros grinned. ”Alright, small change of plans.” She walked over to the cat girls. ”Do we remember why these cat girls were supposed to be here?”

”It’s complicated.” The LoC admitted. ”Originally they were going to be various cat maids that you acquired over previous resets from making deals with Nykannis, but it was later revealed that she was a ‘singularity like you’ which made that impossible. Thus, they have been retconned via causality manipulation into being Mikas and Oross across various doomed timelines.”

”So everyone’s armed?”

”Yes.”

”And I’m not gunna elaborate because esper spoilers, right?”

”I don’t believe that Reality Plenum exists yet, so it would be best to be quiet.”

”Sounds good.” Oros turned to Mac. ”Think you can impersonate Aria for a bit?”

"What?”

”Yea, look.” Oros placed a hand on Mac’s shoulder. ”I’m pretty sure the fake Oross' can do a knock up job of replicating my actions, but they aren’t Aria. You on the other hand shouldn’t have much difficulty impersonating-”

”Oros, it doesn’t matter. Time flows strangely between these two places. You may remain longer if you must, it won’t change anything for confidential reasons.”

”But I wanna pull one over on Nykannis! She lied to me and gave me a trojan horse as a gift, I wanna one up her by having all of her interactions be with fake people! ”

Mac took a step closer to Oros. "It doesn't sound like there's any rush to leave.”

Oros looked back at her candy cane sword. ”That was a pretty savage erotic story I hit Nykannis with at the end. I'd hate to let one of my other mes tell it to her.” With a groan, Oros turned back to Mac. ”I guess I can be a bastard a bit longer.”

Mac lowered her head. "I just wish I had been here a bit sooner to stop the others.”

”The only comfort I can offer you is that if Oros is going to remain longer, then so will Aigorost.” The LoC raised their hand and a candy cane appeared in Mac’s hands. ”Consider Endless Eclipse a parting gift from your current patron. If you wish to remain here after we depart, I suggest finding a new patron. Maybe join someone who’s willing to let you challenge fate.”

”Come on Aria, might as well pretend we’re leaving for esper world.”

With a nod, Aria walked after Oros. ”You’ll have to tell me more about it later. And Mac? Take care.”

Mac just barely managed a “you too” as Aria walked away. How she felt in this moment was indescribable. She was relieved that she was still going to exist, angry that she had been lied to, glum that she could have altered fate a long time ago, but there was also a bit of joy there. The joy that comes with the sudden realization that while yes, the past ten years could have been better, she had been given the opportunity to turn a new leaf. Things were going to be different moving forward. She would work to make a real difference, and to start her journey, she decided to look into the candy cane replica of endless eclipse. As she surmised, she was able to look far into the future, well after her cut off point at the Christmas party. But she saw something else, something that had yet to be written in the chronicles of time.

"...Holy shit…”

Tonya “Mac” Murphy ~ Mission Start