BrokenPromise

Symphony of Espers

It was a dizzying combo of melodies, strung together in a combination that was just effective enough that Tetrad, tumbling onto asphalt, made it away with only a half dozen bloody scrapes and bruises. Wounds that ached, but wounds that were superficial enough that it didn’t stop her from running up to the armored truck. Pit Boss’s arcane blasts shredded the door effortlessly, mundane materials lacking any intrinsic defense, and the Maverick esper was able to wrench open to door and finally lay eyes on her friend once more.

There she was, bound head to toe in a white straitjacket that was chained to the wall of the armored truck. Earmuffs, mouthgag, and a blindfold sealed off her senses, while the fact that she didn’t so much as twitch made it clear that something was done to sedate her during the trip. Most importantly, there was no sign of her grimoire anywhere near her. That made sense, of course. What better way to disarm a magical terrorist forever than to seal their grimoire up in a place they’ll never be able to find? It made interrogations easier, and it made negotiations easier.

And it didn’t matter either.

If Tetrad tore off the blindfold, she’d see her friend’s eyes still. Open. Unfocused. But moving. After all that, Jezebel was still alive.

But the world kept turning, and any sort of emotional reunion would have to wait until they actually got back. The Patriot was still stalled, perhaps a ‘play dead’ tactic employed by Lenny so her ride didn’t get absolutely obliterated by the chopper that was making its presence known now.

“Mavericks! Exit the truck untransformed! Do so and we will grant you a fair trial! Do not and we will turn you terrorist scum into Swiss cheese!”

---

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}
Nothing else seemed worthy of exploration, unless Timekeeper wished to try his hand at figuring out what was clogging up the toilet, and with Breacher’s summons, he soon reconvened with Leroux. It took some trial-and-error, as well as a whole lotta psyching up, for the young boy to follow her down the elevator shaft, but they descended in a safe manner, popped open the elevator, and joined their leader at the barricade of bedframes. It really was a strange fortification, in truth. One that seemed wholly ineffectual against monsters, and one that would likely be destroyed in moments with a couple melodies from an Esper. Outside of simply being a matter of ‘wasting’ mana, what was this supposed to be? A way to slow them down? A way to keep them guessing?

Breacher continued to swat, and then, there was a response.

A quiet click sounded. A gun being cocked on the other side.

A man’s voice, measured though lined with fatigue and resignment, resounded.

“Hello. Would it be too much to ask you three to leave and report that there was…nothing to see?”

---

_{@The World@Ponn@ERode}

There were a lot of creative ways to put out a fire. You could smother it in some non-flammable compound, use an explosion to rob the flame of oxygen, extinguish it with water, and even patting and rolling out fires worked, or enter a vacuum. The reason why all of these methods work is because they deprive a flame of oxygen, heat, or fuel. No matter how much wind surrounded Marrie or Ashley, there was still plenty for the fire to burn. Their damp bodies did little to slow the expanding flames especially with the swirling winds drying them off. The extra oxygen being fed into the fire didn’t help either. But It’s hard to think when you’re in a panic.

Ashley managed.

Maybe it was her GEMINI training, her college tuition, common sense, or a mix of all three. Her instincts forced her to bring both espers to the floor. The water was only a few inches deep, but a quick roll was all it took to extinguish the flames. Neither esper had suffered any lasting damage, and had survived Sofron’s trap.

Though nothing had been done to keep the pressure off of Klava.

A lesser esper would panic in Klava’s position. The barrel of Sofron’s shotgun was leveled with Klava’s torso, while an able tonfa fighter crouched between two countertops, no doubt preparing for a counter attack pun intended With only a moment to act, she let her experience guide her.

The volley of shotgun pellets graazed Klava. Sofron continued to approach, casting aside the SPAS-12 so that he could better hold his machine gun. But it didn’t matter. His distance to her, Klava’s poison, she could have been wearing concrete shoes. With a single melody, she had made herself slick and jetted down the hall towards the other opponent. The rodent woman anticipated the play, and brought her tonfas up to block the attack moments before Klava blasted towards her. When held the correct way, Tonfas are remarkably compact, functionally closer to gauntlets or bracers. But regardless if she had enough room to punch Klava, it would be hard to do so while she was falling backwards. Kneeling is a weak position in a fight, and Klava was ready to exploit it.

The rodent fell on her back, and Klava was upon her

She tried to defend herself, but it was already too late. Klava pinned one of the squirrel woman’s arm against her chest. One stick to deflect one knife? In this economy? Rodent girl was just delaying the inevitable.

The knife bit into her flesh. Her face tensed up in pain as Moya-no-Yume dug under her collar bone. Killing was seldom Klava’s first choice, but when the goal was to survive, to complete your mission, to be a professional, your personal wants didn’t come into the picture. But as the blade sunk deeper into the enemy esper’s chest, she could vaguely make out something being yelled behind her head. Mail flip? Rail nip? Hail rip?

Oh, Bale Whip.

With a crack, Her shoulder felt hot, no, her flesh was boiling. When Klava turned to look, she could see a burning whip rip through her shoulder, severing her arm from her body. A splash of crimson on her face that just lasted a moment before it was washed away. Without Klava’s weight behind the strike, Moya-no-Yume ceased to sink deeper into the rodent woman’s shoulder. A normal melody took roughly a second to fire off, but some espers could quicken their melodies, which was the only reason the rodent woman was still alive, and Klava’s shoulder smelled like barbecue. It was a shame Klava had no backup at this critical moment.

With a growl, the rodent woman rammed her tonfa into Klava’s ribs, cracking one and throwing her away with the force of a melody. More than the sudden push, she could feel the toxicity in her body increase. While she had felt a bit ill before, it now felt like her blood vessels were tingling, itchy even. Klava’s armless, instrumentless body came to rest a few feet in front of Sofron.

"I can handle this, May."

May didn’t waste time on another pun. With a grunt, she pulled the knife out of her chest and flung it into the kitchen, which was filling up with water. She was bleeding, but Klava’s stab wasn’t deep enough to reach her vitals. She was dizzy with pain, and would need to be healed sooner or later, but she could still be a threat. Though the real threat to Klava was Sofron, who was approaching the esper to crown her with his machine gun. Without her knife, it was only a matter of time before she returned to her normal mundane self.

But she had one second, at least that.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

"Deponia" was a pleasant surprise for a point&click game. Because the intro song and terrible meta tutorial had me very nervous that I'd dread this comedy experience. But the childish/slapstick humor was actually pretty entertaining, most of the time. And I'd be willing to try out its sequel stories.

@SleepingSilence

I mean I agree, but like, you didn't encounter any bugs? The minecart puzzle actually loaded? etc.

Hidden backstories, are they a good idea?

Character bio is more for creating hooks and such. As a GM, I'm really just need to know what sort of history your character has. Do they have a criminal backround? Do they own property? How wealthy are they and how did they get that wealth? Background feels like a necessary evil. You could cut it out of your CS, but then how many extra areas are you going to create on your CS to get all the information you need? I also feel like depending on the setting it's a good idea to have some features of a character visible to everyone. I can't speak for everyone, but I like to make unique characters, and I will try to pick backgrounds that set them apart from other characters. So seeing what other people are running with is useful.

But I do withhold things on the CS that I think would be interesting if they came up later, and I never make NPC's sheets too deep.

Something I did experiment with in the past (and with great success) was to have a secret questionnaire sheet for everyone's characters. So while the bulk of the character sheet was visible, the good stuff was hidden. You'd know how a politician came into power, but not about his scandals. And I think that's a good approach to have with NPCs. Giving some information makes the characters easier to remember, especially if you have a lot of them. However, their secrets should be less well known. If you, the GM, spot an opportunity for a connection after looking through secret details, you can work your magic to ensure said characters know about each other. I love getting secret notes from the GM, makes me feel special.

Symphony of Espers

“So many bed, no time for sleep."

— Su Fang

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}

Was the descent slow, or was it long?

Su reported to Jacqueline periodically as the elevator made its descent. She was expecting the power to cut out, or maybe something to greet her at the bottom of the stairs, but but the last thing she was expecting was bed frames.

Was this really the work of Von Carnage or his goons? It seemed like Justin was the sort who liked to flex his power with every encounter he was behind. Cobra Gang were equipped with military grade weapons, and the fight in the foyer was meticulously planned. It was a little hard to believe that planning for GEMINI’s involvement with the clinic boiled down to creating a crude barrier out of beds. Where did the beds even come from? Were they taken from the resting quarters upstairs? If they had been, it couldn’t have been done with the elevator. Not if this was done in response to their arrival at least. The only exception was if they had a monster or esper on hand that could move everything via a portal or some other magical means. But even so, were aluminum bed frames a worthwhile defense against espers? It wasn’t adding up. It was time to check in again.

“At bottom floor. Seems to be blocked with beds. Yes, beds.” Su could hardly believe it, so she repeated just to make sure their communication was clear. “Be ready, may need help if trap. Maybe wait on top of elevator? Probably faster than me coming back up.”

Though so had one other idea for this. If the beds weren’t a trap, maybe they weren’t there to keep her out. Maybe they were there to keep something or someone else in. It did seem like a difficult barrier for a human to break, but a monster would just crush something like this.

She took her shield and shoved it into the bedframes. She wasn’t really trying to get through, just get the attention of whatever was on the other side. If they were being watched, someone already knew she was here anyway. “Hey!” Su swat the beds again. “Anyone over there?” Of course, Su could only gently "knock" without response for so long. They needed to investigate everything, and that included the opposite side of this barrier.

Su

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Blast Zone
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm, Flight], Push, Pull, Construct, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: C | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: B | 500

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 452

---

”I never liked Nintendo anyway.”

— Luna Gallo

Was Luna buckled up?

Luna had asked Lenny to pull around to the passenger side of the vehicle so that she could lop a transplace melody at them. Her reason for opening the door hadn’t been exclusively to bait out a shot, but to put the person she traded places with in a more precarious spot. After all, what sense did it make to teleport with someone who was armed and also be buckled up behind your getaway partner?

In hindsight, probably a smooth brain move.

The Patriot was struck. Probably one of the few good things about the patriot was its side impact score. Not that Luna was really concerned about the condition of the rolling turd. She was shoved back into the patriot, only for centrifugal force to fling her out moments later when the vehicle began spinning. She gripped Pit Boss tight, as it was the only way she might get out of this mess alive.

She fired a giant die at the ground, the recoil of which launched her higher into the air. Being in the air longer meant that she could starve off death for a few seconds, but that was just delaying the inevitable. The die was there to help with that.

Rather than fly off into the ground, the die curved around and smacked into Luna. The melody itself slowed her down, attempting to suspend her in place. But Luna had intentionally made the melody weak enough to not remove all of her momentum, but nearly all of it. It was during this slower state of movement that her melody shoved her again, this time pushing her back towards the armored truck. With reduced momentum, her tumble out of the Patriot should be survivable, if a bit rough.

”Crap! And there’s a chopper headed this way too!”

Getting inside the armored truck was no longer a matter of rescuing a friend, it was a way to avoid getting blown apart by a mini gun. Unfortunately, Luna had no way to end the “slow” melody on herself, so she “ran” to the truck as fast as she could.

”Blah!”

She used Pit Boss to blow any lock that might have been on the rear hatch off, and noted its slower rate of fire. Right, of course, her magic was functioning like normal again.

Not Su

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, Orbit, Recoil

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

Bronze Self:[Suspend][Push][Recoil] = 96

SPEED DOWN

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 404 (not found)

Symphony of Espers

“Roger roger,” Lenny responded, before she truly brought the pedal to the metal, the Patriot rumbling with ever-increasing power. Without its escorts, and presumably without any gun turrets built into it like the others, the vehicles were soon side by side with each other, running abreast as they sped down the winding path. Now, it was just a matter of baiting them into opening the window!

But whoever drove the truck didn’t do so, even as Tetrad opened her door, practically baiting them with her own body. The windows remained opaque, as was the standard for preventing any Spawn spells from passing through, and the Transplace melody that she wove would have no effect if she simply struck the armoured truck itself with it. In that moment, it was as if she was bullying an MMA fighter’s pet turtle while the owner was sprinting towards her with a golf club in hand. So long as the truck didn’t pop itself open, it could delay indefinitely.

However, this wasn’t just a turtle, after all. Indeed, from size and mass alone, it was a couple degrees greater than the Patriot.

Yes, this turtle was Bowser, and with a screeching of rubber, the truck swerved into the SUV, slamming into the rear passenger exit with enough force to cause the Patriot to go into a dizzying spin, while the truck itself ended up screeching to a stop as well, just a meter or two before it slammed into the roadside ditch. It would be an opportunity, while both vehicles were stalled, for Tetrad to run in and bust open the back door.

But before then, the central question had to be answer.

Had she been wearing her seatbelt?

---

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}
There was some hesitation on the part of Timekeeper, but in the end, did he truly have a choice? He was, after all, the most junior member of GEMINI, and he was on the rocky situation of having been a Maverick-hired Freelancer just some time ago. In circumstances like this, could Leroux’s suggestion merely be a suggestion? It was unlikely. He would have to do this then, regardless of all the counterarguments he thought up but didn’t voice. What was the worst that could happen, in the end? He had a new Silver glamour, and he had both Blink and Speedster. His options for extricating himself out of a tight spot were pretty good, so long as he didn’t mess around and instantly die.

It did not take him long to go up the staircase. It was reckless, perhaps, to do so. Who knew what sort of traps could be established here? What sort of devious designs an educated man like Dr. Sycamore could come up with to thwart the operators? But Timekeeper didn’t have the know-how to know what not to do regardless, and when he reached the top of the staircase, the door was unlocked. He entered.

The residency up on the second floor was, put simply, a minimalist mess.

There were few pieces of furniture, no appliances beside a single-burner camping stove, and the only electronics in the room was a wifi router and a laptop, placed atop a cardboard box. Large garbage bags were rounded up in one corner of the room, with a bottle of air freshener appearing to be the only bastion present to prevent the place from stinking to the high heavens. The bed was a sleeping bag on a foam mattress.

This was a strange place for the doctor of a well-visited health clinic to be. Stranger, considering his connections with the infamously wealthy Justin von Carnage.

His shoe stepped on something.

A credit card statement for this month, with large payments made to a medical supplier.

Now, what could that mean?

…

Breacher entered alone.

The door closed, and the elevator began to descend slowly. It must be poorly constructed, for it to be so slow. Perhaps two whole minutes elapsed while she was inside. But despite the circumstances, despite how massively suspicious this whole set-up was, the elevator neither stopped in the middle, nor did it suddenly explode or drop. And certainly, no monster burst inside and tried to kill her, like every other cursed elevator in the horror genre.

No, when the doors finally parted, there was a much simpler problem before Breacher.

A barricade laid right in front of the exit, craft of aluminum bed frames and weighty mattresses, all jumbled together in such a convoluted mess that she was incapable of actually looking past the barricade to see what laid beyond it. How many thralls awaited her? How many weapons pointed? This must be the place, then, where Justin’s army was gathering up again, prepared to rejoin the conflict at their dark master’s orders.

Should she charge in alone? Or should she radio for the others to join her first?

Time continued to pass either way, and the elevator, despite all circumstances, still functioned.

---

_{@The World@Ponn@ERode}

Things were starting to heat up now.

The burning bone wall had enough water slosh in front of it that Marrie didn’t slam into it, even if she did slam into Ashley. But that just made it easier for her to throw the GEMINI agent over the counter. She might have had the body of a highschooler, but all espers came equipped with olympian level physical qualities, and getting Ashley over the counter was easier than she might have expected.

But while she underestimated her strength, she overestimated the amount of time she had to cast her melody.

While Marrie was able to get off her portal melody, Her body straightened out like a board as electricity poured into it. Were she standing in fresh water her heart might have stopped, and that might have even been preferable to enduring a slow, agonizing electrocution. The cord on the toaster was pulled against the skull wall, and Marrie was not lucky enough to have it pull out of the wall. The toaster hung both below the floor and just under the ceiling, its connection with the water not having been broken. The salt water was starting to drain, but it was all falling right back into the tub Sofron had created. She wouldn’t be able to remain standing for long, as it was just a matter of time before her rigid body fell into the depths of the tub and she drowned. This is why it’s so important to have ground fault interrupts on all kitchen outlets.

But a gentle hand touched Marrie’s jacket, and she was able to move again.

Regardless of how powerful the electricity was, all physical harm was treated the same by protection melodies. As such, Marrie would have more than enough time to climb out of the tub. But both rookie espers would be alarmed when a flaming skull came out of the wall. The projectile had been aimed where the rookies were prior to the wall coming up in front of Sofron, and thus wouldn’t land a direct hit. But it didn’t need to. Everything the skull hit caused it to explode, igniting everything in the vicinity. Ashley’s fading defensive melody prevented her from getting burned, but Marrie’s upper body as well as her immediate surroundings were set on fire. The exception being the pool of electrified water. Though both espers would find their heads filled with the baleful screams of some wrathful specter, and wouldn’t be able to focus enough to cast melodies that exceeded 50 MP. Though if they were looking to cool off, Sofron hadn’t quite walled off the entrance entirely, and salt water was pouring in by the second.

Klava realized early on that a single knife was not a good matchup against two tonfas. While they lacked popularity, they weren’t intuitive weapons and could hold their own against much bigger weapons. Not engaging was a smart move, but the squirrel woman wasn’t going to give her that choice.

Even if Moya-no-Yume had the handle for it, swinging a knife like a broadsword was awkward. Almost all large weapons owed a lot of their power to leverage, which just couldn’t be found in a blade of this size. Alternatively, the short nub on the tonfas was just a few inches longer than the end of the squirrel woman’s fist. She would recover quickly from this attack. Not that it would matter, as a follow up from her other hand would come out swiftly. Though short weapons were also easy to escape. Klava had the dexterity in spades, and wasn’t shy about putting it on display.

When Klava kicked the chair back, the rodent woman was able to bat it aside without hesitation. The rodent barreled forward, her speed matching if not surpassing Klava’s own. They prepared their next melodies simultaneously. The rodent woman threw her projectile, and the snowball fired an icy blast. Neither esper missed their target.

For the rodent woman, this meant that her arm was now shrouded in icicles, binding her arm in place. Damaging melodies were never the most effective on an esper, but this one did drive an icicle into her shoulder deep enough to draw blood. At the very least, the pain was enough to make her flinch.

Though it wasn’t an opening Klava would be taking advantage of.

A scattering of poppy seeds peppered Klava’s back, and she could feel something welling up inside of herself. Was it opium? Unlikely, but it was some type of poison. She could feel it inhibiting her muscles, making her a bit slower than she was prior.

The rodent woman dove between two counter tops and rammed her tonfa into the ice sculpture on her arm. It shattered quickly, but had earned Klava a brief reprieve from the rodent woman. ”I’m not too poppy about how that went.”

Though Sofron had plenty of time to grab a Thompson sub machine gun from one of the kitchen cupboards and greet Klava. As soon as he stepped out from behind the counter, he fired what little ammo remained in his SPAZ-12 before grasping his Thompson with both hands to finish the job. He had a box magazine loaded. No low hanging fruit here.

Symphony of Espers

“ Some people carry D-eagle, GM D-posts.”

— Su Fang

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}

Her companion’s concern was warranted, but really, splitting up was a necessity in Su’s eyes. She’d have a much easier time defending herself if she didn’t also have to defend the others, especially in a cramped elevator stall that was just barely wide enough to accommodate the three of them. They still didn’t know what was going on on the top floor, but Su knew that she wasn’t going to have much luck convincing Jacqueline to split up, In truth, she felt the last operation would have gone worse if Jaquiline had stayed behind with everyone else and allowed their opponents to harass them with AoE effects. Regardless, Su’s idea for getting everyone to the lower floor in an emergency was pretty simple.

“If I get stuck, Havoc open door, right?” She stepped backwards into the elevator.. Su was unsure how much their observer could hear them talk, so she chose to be a bit cryptic in how she narrated the rest of her plan. She blinked at Jacqueline and pointed down at the floor. “I can castle way up too. I radio you shortly. We still not know what upstairs.”

Ugh, now that Su was standing in the elevator, this smelled pretty bad. She didn’t think the cleaners she used at home were this overpowering.

Regardless, she hoped that her allies would let her go down by herself, but she really didn’t have time to argue if they were still going to come down with her. Regardless of what they chose to do, the elevator would be going down shortly.

Su

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Blast Zone
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm, Flight], Push, Pull, Construct, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: C | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: B | 500

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 452

---

...Came the deafening roar…

— Luna Gallo

Maybe Luna underestimated how fast the Patriot was driving, or overestimated the amount of push her melody would grant her. It didn’t really matter though. Luna spent most of high school making fat stacks gambling while her class mates (read: suckers) learned how to conform to the wills of their corporate overlords. Now what was more important, tuition, or freedom?

Regardless, it was probably best if she remained inside the Patriot until this “weightless” thing wore off. Or at least that was the plan until Luna heard something on the radio, and remembered that the US government loves to solve issues by throwing money at them. It wasn’t a strategy that Luna despised, she was just a little envious, as that hadn’t worked out for the Mavericks so far.

”Hey Lenny, wanna see if you can give me a view of the passenger? I wanna swap with them, they might enjoy riding with you more.”

Luna opened the door to the Patriot. The weightless effect was starting to wear off, but she could still feel the wind rushing past her pretty hard. If only she had brought her helmet with her, she wouldn’t have to worry about getting smacked in the face by insects.; But her eyes weren’t stinging too badly, and she could feel this melody was going to be another good one. With any luck, she’d be able to clock the passenger and hitch a ride. They just needed to roll down the window and try to shoot at her…

Not Su

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, Orbit, Recoil

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

Silver Projectile:[Transplace] = 120

Free Homing!

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 500

Symphony of Espers

There was something to be said about the intelligence of jumping out into the rushing winds and then rendering yourself more weightless than a slip of paper. In ordinary circumstances, after all, one would have been blown back immediately, flung into the sky by the wind before being dashed against the asphalt six seconds after.

However, while the laws of aerodynamics would have told one story, the illogic of magic allowed for another, and in that brief instance, rather than be sent so far back it would have been impossible for Tetrad to rejoin the fight again, the esper shot forwards thirty feet instead, Pit Boss releasing a stream of cards towards the mounted gun.

She heard from on high the clattering of dice.

But Tetrad would not have time to marvel at the results before the Patriot caught up from behind her, Lenny reaching out with a hand to secure Tetrad and giving her the stability needed to swing herself into the rear passenger seats of the cramped vehicle…just in time to feel the explosion of gunpowder of gasoline shake through their bones, the opposing vehicle exploding in a fireball of destruction that sent it somersaulting overhead the Patriot and smashing into the asphalt…ten, fifty, now a hundred meters away. Perhaps exposing your engine and then placing a shitton of gunpowder there as well wasn’t the smartest idea.

Regardless of the intelligence of those involved, however, all that remained was the armored truck itself, continuing along. The only question, really, was how to approach it without causing it to crash and turn the Maverick esper inside into scrambled eggs. And then there was that other issue…

The radio crackled, and a voice sounded out.

“Got you in sight. ETA 12 seconds. Hold tight, Tinderbox.”

And, if Tetrad turned to look behind, she could see it, the black silhouette standing out against the green of the treeline and the blue of the sky.

A helicopter was inbound

---

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}
*Ding!*

While the three debated, the elevator rose, opening up to unveil a small, cramped space that looked like it was just large enough to fit four people, shoulder-to-shoulder. There were only three buttons inside: one to close the door, one to hold the door, and one to call for help. Fluorescent lighting sparked off the stainless steel walls, and there was the near-overwhelming smell of sanitizer present, that sharp, sterile stench cutting ever more deeply due to the contrast with the warm aromas that otherwise pervaded the Aspiria Refuge.

It wasn’t sufficient, however, to completely mask the other smell that laid beneath. Leroux was familiar with it. She was, after all, the one who had been most exposed to it. The smell of blood, like a rusted scalpel pressed against the tip of her nose.

Time continued to pass. The elevator’s doors remained opened. Whatever was happening above or below would continue on with no respect for what the three agents wished. So, once again, the question posed itself.

What would they do?

---

_{@The World@Ponn@ERode}

By the time Klava yanked the table cover out of the way, the rodent woman was already airborne, flying through the air fist first. But with some quick thinking, Klava turned the table into a projectile. The snowball smacked into the table, shoving it up into the squirrel and carrying her into the air. With a grunt, she was moved clear out of the way, and Klava was able to arrive.

But she wouldn’t have much time to assess the situation. An acorn, barely perceivable in its position by a chair, erupted into a ploom of smoke. The dust hadn’t cleared before the rodent woman hooked the chair on one of her tonfas and swung it in Klava’s direction, fully intent on following it up with a barrage of strikes.

”I cashew off guard!”

Sofron was pouring lead in Marrie and Ashley's direction, but neither esper were willing to remain on the defensive Ashley’s shield was a bit on the small side, and it was just a matter of time before Sofron’s bullets broke through the wall. The party downstairs was too loud for most to hear the gunfire, and what those in the bar might think wasn’t a concern for the espers.

Ashley aimed her wand at Sofron, who moved his shotgun towards her exposed arm. At this range, the rounds he was using were potent enough to sever limbs. But the projectiles would be scattered on Marrie’s arrival. Mundane weapons were a bane to most espers, but the shotgun’s low rate of fire was just the sort of thing Marrie’s melody could deal with. With a projectile and a chained knife incoming, Sofron gave up his position and dove over the counter and into the kitchen.

But physical weapons were never Sofron’s most dangerous feature. It was his magic.

The flaming skull screamed its way towards the espers. It was far too potent for Marrie’s melody and ended up striking her. Only it passed through her like a specter without having any noticeable effects. Ashley would also be unable to get out of the way. It passed right through her shield, harmlessly flying out the other side into the wall behind her. But the wall was where it finally decided to activate. On impact, the burning skull sent rippling flames along the wall. The skull itself turned around to face the espers and grew, until it was tall enough to swallow a man.

Or act as a portal.

The skull opened its mouth again, but instead of a scream, thousands of gallons of water spilled in behind Ashley. She was knocked off of her feet and washed forward, between the counters that seperated the kitchen and lobby. Marrie wouldn't have much time before she was swept up too.

Baleful barrier!"

Sofron swung his hand at a nearby toaster. This did two things. First, it triggered a touch melody that created a row of burning skulls that ran down the counter top in both directions, walling off Sofron and closing off either side of the isle. The second thing it did was shove the toaster towards the conductive saltwater that Ashley and Marrie were being washed away in.

Typically salt water isn’t too dangerous because it is more conductive than the human body, and will dissipate in the wide ocean before it becomes a problem for the people bathing in it. But if you replace the ocean with a smaller tub of saltwater, the human body becomes a much more attractive conduit for the electrons trying to escape the water. Not fatal on its own, But with Sofron present, it wouldn’t have to be.

(Huh, maybe I need a map for this fight after all.)

Symphony of Espers

“Ride elevator straight into hell!”

— Su Fang

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}

No hostels, no abnormalities. Well, aside from the well timed loss of power.

The tension in the air seemed to grow thicker with each passing second. The calming incense did little to ease the agent’s nerves, as she was expecting something to lurk around every corner. They were being watched, their advisory was plotting something.

But she was put at ease, if only a bit, when Jaquiline and Finn arrived. She wasn’t sure what was taking Jackie, but figured she had decided to remain behind so that Finn could finish searching, or to calm down the receptionist before departing.

“You find map? Let see map…”

Su was no architect, and she had no intention of wasting a lot of time looking over the limited information the blueprint supplied. The second floor seemed to just be a bunch of residential quarters. Though what brought the validity of the documents into question was the presence of an elevator that the blueprints didn’t have accounted for. There were a few reasons why such a feature could exist. The elevator may have been installed after the fact, but the clinic had been opened recently and it seemed unlikely that they would have gotten an upgrade so soon. The elevator could have been illusionary, but that seemed a little silly, and would have needed to been erected on short notice. Another possibility was that the floor plan was incorrect, either it was submitted for a different hospital or a way to fool the general public. Regardless of how it had come into being, it was a curious feature. Especially if the staircase only lead up and the elevator seemed to go to some lower floor.

“Hmmm… Elevator not right.” Su approached the elevator. “I try bringing it up. ” She raised her hand and prepared to summon the elevator. Or that was the hope. “Probably best only I go down first. They cut power, maybe they cut backup too? Not good.”

Of course, just because Su decided to be more assertive this time around didn’t mean the other espers couldn’t voice their opinion. There was an entire floor above them they hadn’t investigated yet, which might have other inconsistencies besides the elevator.

Su

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Blast Zone
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm, Flight], Push, Pull, Construct, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: C | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: B | 500

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 452

---

”Well THAT doesn’t seem too practical.”

— Luna Gallo

There were certain eventualities that all espers should prepare for. But government agents utilizing mad max style hidden weaponry was not it. Was there even room for a gun like that in the engine compartment? Eh, just one more reason the Patriot was one of the worst cars on the market. She should have taken her motorcycle with her.

Though Luna was too busy scrambling to get out from in front of the chaingun to worry about how the whole thing functioned. The survival reflex in her brain kept screaming “Staying here bad, getting to armored truck good.” so naturally, that was what Luna decided to do. She figured she didn’t have to tell Lenny what to do. So long as she kept the armored car between herself and the mad-max inspired vehicle, she should be fiiiine.

Luna reached her arms outside the window and forced herself out of the passenger seat. The only reason why she fit was because she was wearing Pit boss around her shoulder and hip. She crouched into a sprinting position on the window sill, and kicked off.

Human strength wouldn’t be enough to jump to the next car, but her melody had made her weightless, and gave her an extra boost in the air. A pop followed by strings of confetti and glitter pushed the gambler forward. While Luna soared over the open road, she held up pit boss and rained a hail of fire on the oncoming car’s windshield. And the gun, and the motor if it even had a visible motor.

The one part of this whole thing that Luna hadn’t thought out was how to land. They were driving pretty fast, but the only thing that could really hold Luna back now was wind resistance. She might be able to reach the armored car, but with her weightlessness lasting about six seconds, she could drift backwards towards the patriot. Provided she hadn’t been turned into swiss cheese by that point. But whatever, pretty standard stuff for a Maverick really.

Not Su

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, Orbit, Recoil

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

Silver Self:[Weightless][Push] = 90

Stronger melody!

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 620

Symphony of Espers

_{Crusader Lord@FamishedPants}

The giant armored man shook Sam’s hand with narry a word, only a low growl escaped his helmet as their hands briefly touched. As soon as the shade stepped back, the knight’s sword was soon in his hand.

”I’ll be watching from the distance.” Fritzi waved to her espers before departing. ”Put on a show.”

But Lilliah was just frozen. She had no idea what to tell Samuel, or what such an intimidating opponent could do. Her hands trembled as she tightened her grip on her staff, the flames from her last big fight still fresh in her mind.

But the duel had been delayed enough, and the Pink Pounder did not plan on holding back any longer.

“Let's make this fight one to remember!”

Shield raised and sword charged with a melody, the Pink pounder lunged for Samuel, crooked steel arcing over the knights shoulder in a direct path with the esper.

But it would be intercepted.

Lilliah had, without warning, decided to press her attack as the Pink Pounder slid towards Silhouette. There was little he could do to capitalize on the attack, as it came so suddenly and without warning.

Blade struck staff, and the knight should have been left open, but that was not the case.

Lilliah’s staff was pushed off to the side by a powerful melody, all while another surge of energy pushed back against the pounder’s blade. Though while the Pink Pounder’s blade was pushed back, he was able to pivot on one foot and allow his other to slam into Lilliah’s rib cage. Not six seconds into the fight and Lilliah was already doubled over on the ground.

So much for the team work exercise. Sam could feel Fritzi’s eyes burning into his back.

But surely he would not give into despair. Not with the session having just started, not with an able foe before him. If he could not fight the Pounder. Then what would happen the next time he encountered Lenore?

Magical Dream Princess could only watch, tears of worry streaming down her face. But she did not remain idle either. From her position on the floor, she pointed her star-tipped wand at the heavens, and magic gathered.

---

A melody was spun, and then, mere moments later, a car was spinning too, an abrupt cry sounding out from inside the vehicle before it spun out into the forest, smashing back first into a ditch. There was no time to ruminate on the success of Tetrad’s first spell, however. Even as the radio burst out into a flurry of messages, they were already hundreds of meters away from the destroyed vehicle, the Patriot’s engine roaring, the wheels of the remaining escort squealing as it spun around to face them, now driving in reverse as it changed lanes to cover the armored car’s back.

What was the point of that though? What tactical advantage could be offered by spinning around backwards, exposing the car’s engine to direct enemy fire?

Lenny soon found out and let out an incredulous laugh.

The hood of the car split open, and a minigun attachment revealed itself. In the roar of the wind and the static of the radio, it was hard to hear it, but Tetrad could almost barely make out a muffled ‘Say Hello to my little friend!’ coming out from the distant car. And then, after that, there was nothing else to be heard, but the jackhammer blast of hundreds of bullets unloading towards them. Sparks flew and the chassis was ripped apart as the eyepatched woman made as evasive of a maneuver as she could down the empty freeway.

“They got a James Bond budget!”

If it kept up, they wouldn’t have a car left before those muzzles melted.

But that was just how it was, as a Maverick Esper.

THE BOOK OF SOULS IS MISSING YOUR NAME

YOUR FISTS ARE HARDER

FIRST TRY

ATTACK

---

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}
The receptionist, after having gone through way too many emotions over the past minute or two, only favoured Leroux with a dazed glance before slumping to the sidewalk, staring at nothing in particular. Perhaps it would take a while longer for her to recover from whatever had actually happened, or perhaps she’d be able to get the help she needed soon after. Regardless of what fate ultimately befell her, however, Leroux didn’t stick around to find out, re-entering the clinic immediately.

Timekeeper’s report on the physical documents that he was able to flip through during the time she was gone didn’t come up with anything particularly useful. There were folders that contained information on patients, written in a way that made the layman’s head spin, and there was a schedule posted up that showed when the day’s patients were to arrive, with most of them looking to arrive during the evening hours. He found the small, satisfyingly geometric device that was dispensing the aroma as well, but more importantly, the rapier-wielding Esper found the basic blueprints of the clinic as well, the veracity of the information proven quickly once he followed after Breacher.

The corridor, broken up into intervals of shadow and light, contained two smaller rooms on the right, where patients could confide in private with Dr. Sycamore, as well as a larger room to the left that looked to allow for some light physical activity. At the end of the singular corridor, there would be a door leading to the staircase that should just go to the second, residential floor. And yet, there was something else at the end as well.

An elevator.

There was no display indicating where the elevator itself currently was, but the ‘up’ and ‘down’ buttons glowed gently with an amber light.

---

_{@The World@Ponn@ERode}

The police woman gave Klava a nod of approval as she served herself a drink. ”Hell yea sister! Rock and roll this shit real good!”

With their course decided, the espers sprung into action. Marrie passed on a silver flight melody to Klava before running up the stairs with Ashley. That left the police to deal with the bouncers.

”Alright guys, just like we practiced!”

As the bouncers approached, the police woman stumbled towards them, seemingly drunk out of her mind. Not a terribly difficult opponent, but what was going to make things more interesting was what the other two guys did. They immediately whipped out their cell phones and started filming her as she stumbled over to the bouncers.

One of them cussed under their breath.

”Very well…”

…

…

…

The novice espers hurried up the stairs to distance themselves from the bouncers. Maybe they rushed the door, maybe they gave it a gentle turn first as to not allert anyone. But the result would be the same, they’d enter the sweep.

To the sight of Sofron sporting a SPAS-12.

The Box is locked

This town aint big enough!

First Regret

MAKE IT SLOPPY

Not that it would be easy for the novice espers to tell exactly what type of shotgun he was using, but it was quite relevant. The SPAS-12 had a special foldingt stock that was usually folded up in the videogames and movies it appeared in, which was a waste really. With the stock down, it could absorb a lot more recoil from the self-loading shotgun. Some versions had a hook end on the stock that was useful for holding and firing the shotgun while driving. While Sofron wasn’t behind the wheel of a car, he did have this brace on, and had no difficulty firing it single handedly at the espers. Ashley’s shield would block most of the pellets, but Sofron wasn’t just laying down suppressing fire. There was a melody in his off-hand.

Baleful Undertow!"

It would take Klava a moment later to fly in front of the window, but not much later. Silver flight was about as fast as she could normally move, and it wasn’t like the emergency exit was out of reach. Though it seemed like Sofron had planned on escaping out the window, as the glass was starting to slide out of the way. The air was filled with the hum of several electric servos, slowly but surely moving the window out of the way. Though standing at the mouth of the window wasn’t aSofron, but a squirrel girl.

”Seems we got somebody pe-can on us!”

The rodent woman grabbed the dining room table and threw it out the window, spinning end over end as unfinished meals and a tablecloth was whisked into the air. Klava had just enough time to see her brandish two tonfas, but that was before the tablecloth obscured her position. Though her screaming made it apparent that she was coming closer to the frost maiden.

Symphony of Espers

“Guess we go now?”

— Su Fang

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}

Lights out, lights on, eyes up, camera on.

The power had been shut off deliberately, but the reason why was unclear. Su believed the power was cut to prevent access to the computer's files, but that was a hunch and little more. What was evident was that they were being watched. A mastermind was waiting in the shadows, monitoring their actions and plotting countermeasures. They needed to be careful moving forward, but they also didn't want to be so cautious that their mark fled before they arrived. The time Silmeria radioed her in to deal with some weretigers was still fresh in her mind. By the time she showed up, the tigers had all but fled. They couldn't give the doctor the chance to do the same.

But what to do with the receptionist? If Su was being totally honest with herself, she was almost completely sure she wasn't involved. The safe option be to call in the extraction team and have them recover her, but extraction was pretty small for this operation. Just two police officers and their undercover cars. It didn't make much sense to cram every employee they came across into the back of the cars. Doctor Manuel Sycamore was also a thirty-eight year old man, so it wasn't like the receptionist could have been him barring some very convincing magic. It was probably best to just leave her there for now.

Su looked around for a map of the place. It wasn't uncommon for clinics to have maps of their establishments to help patients and new nurses learn the layout. She doubted they would display a security room or something equally incriminating, but it did help to know the layout of the place before diving in.

“Finish up here, I look ahead.”

Breacher made her way down the hall with her shield raised. Ideally, the hallway wouldn't fork too many times before they came across something interesting. Her primary concern was getting routed/ambushed from behind.

Su

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Blast Zone
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm, Flight], Push, Pull, Construct, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: C | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: B | 500

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 452

---

”TIL the GM is a mechanic.”

— Luna Gallo

The nun seemed… nice enough. Though with all the betrayals she had to endure, she hadn’t put it past one-eye here to do something later. Though Luna would be lying to herself if she didn’t think the nun was pretty bad ass for wanting to stand against Gemini. Likening them to a greedy oil corporation was enough to get her to smile.

But as fun as it would have been to continue talking, the job was here. If this was a Gemini laid trap it was a pretty convoluted one. They deserved to catch her if they were going to let Luna assist with attacking their own men.

”Flashy, huh?”

Unfortunately, Luna was not really geared for combat, or at least not in a Jeep Patriot.

Firstly, there were all the inherent problems of being inside a Jeep Patriot. The Jeep name might bring images of the jeeps that American soldiers used in WWII, but the army has been using AM General’s humvees instead of Jeeps for about forty years. The change was justified, as humvees are practically bomb proof while jeeps are cheap, light vehicles that are just a touch better than putting a motor and some wheels on a litter box. Seriously, Jeeps are cheap vehicles that have almost every problem you can imagine. The seals around the windows leak, the gear boxes leak, and they are prone to rust. While you don’t need a sports car to catch up to an armored truck, jeep motors weren’t exactly fast as their motors were fairly underpowered. There was a reason why the jeep patriot was discontinued in 2016*, and it should have happened earlier in Luna’s opinion. Truly, she should have taken her motorcycle. At least she would only be risking her own life while trying to maneuver her hula-hoop-shaped weapon. The tiny interior of the Jeep was not going to work for Luna.

_{*There are a few 2017 Jeep Patriots, but that is only because they start selling next year’s model in fall.}

Fortunately, if there was one decent thing about the Patriot, it was that it had some cross bars. Better would have been a full rack, but it at least meant that Luna could climb onto the roof without having to worry about falling off immediately afterwards. But it was still a bit early for that. She wouldn’t need pit boss for this next part.

”Alright, might want to get us some distance.”

Regardless of how tough or heavy a passenger car was, it was still supported by four wheels that only weighed a fraction of its weight. Of those four wheels, two of them pushed the vehicle forward. Thus, stopping one of the wheels would result in a loss of control

Luna rolled down her window and tossed a card at one of the back tires. If everything went according to plan, the card would cause a blowout, causing the car to swerve one way or the other. But this was Luna’s magic at work here. Nothing ever went as planned. As soon as the card struck the tire, the wheel lit up with neon lights, and showed a pair of clock hands spinning towards midnight.

”Might wanna, move to the other side, heh!”

Her first melody wasn’t too flashy. There was always the next one!

Not Su

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, Orbit, Recoil

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

Bronze Projectile:[Damage] = 20

2 second delay!

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 710