BrokenPromise

Draw your OC Chance

I'm curious to see how the final piece looks.

Symphony of Espers

What was there to be said?

In a battle between humans, it was misdirection that had always become the easiest method of securing victory. One could toss as much money as they wished at a problem, but if that money went into the wrong pockets, it meant naught. And in this case? All it required was for a simple assumption to be made, before victory was Tetrad’s.

A suspension locked the airborne vehicle in place, and her Sentinel-sharpened shot sealed its fate, blasting the tail rotor to bits. Six seconds elapsed, and the helicopter spiralled out of control, too close to the ground for parachutes to be of any use. Like an aluminum can against the wheel of a car, it crumbed against the pavement, engine igniting the fuel tank before an explosion rocked its surroundings.

Explosions, of course, that Tetrad didn’t need to look at…because the smartest move to make would be to take cover inside the ditch, in case shrapnel or gunmetal eviscerated her in her moment of victory.

As tortured metal polluted the forest scenery, as a good fistful of millions out of the government budget now laid fuming in black smoke, the beat-up, shot-up Patriot wheeled over once more, one of its tires ruptured and its entire roof removed. Lenny grinned, jabbing her thumb at the passenger seat, where Jezebel laid.

“Hop in, loser. We’re bouncing before they send ol’ Binky after us.”

---

"Lady Justine...We lost the castle to the Beacon...I'm afraid...We can't return."

— Sofron

_{@The World@Ponn}

Espers lived and died by the melodies they chose to use. Ashley’s options were further hindered by Sofron’s baleful burn effect, which further hindered the type of melody Ashley could cast. But with Sofron having just blown off her arm, she did have an advantage. She would get off her melody before Sofron got off his. Ashley needed to make it count. She could go offense or defense, and chose to cast a reflect melody on herself.

Sofron couldn’t be sure exactly what sort of melody she used, but it wasn’t hard to guess. His most devastating feature was his spells after all. But did she really think her magic could stop his own? The young esper likely couldn’t conjure a barrier strong enough to absorb his melodies, and her meager arcane defenses were unlikely to get much help from a modest melody. A more sinister person might find delight in their opponent’s futile attempts to stay alive, but Sofron was only further angered by his opponent underestimating him. Though with the bruises Klava left on his face, it was hard to see his scowl deepen.

It seemed like it would be over for the GEMINI operative. Which was just as well. Sofron had dealt with the infuriating ice maiden. That other girl likely ran off. She let Justin and him walk off with Betty and Pac-A-Fist, so it was easy to assume she fled upon seeing him again. Ashley’s wand might not have had a wind up like Sofron’s melody did; it was a projectile going against an instantaneous beam melody, and Sofrom could quicken his spells. Victory was almost assured.

But Ashley and Sofron were not the only ones here.

Marrie, upon noticing Klava fall out the window, immediately pulled herself up by her bootstraps. Seeing someone who needed help was all it took to get the young esper’s mind off of herself. She decided she could do something, that she had to do something, and took off flying towards Orion. And she was moving fast. Faster than a projectile…

But not a beam.

The dragon appeared, and immediately flew into Marrie. Though the attack had been initially aimed at Ashley, so it was not aimed at her most vital areas. The dragon struck her upper thigh, biting through the limb in a single chomp. She wouldn’t be hovering on that for a while, but what need did Marrie have for her legs when she could fly?

Ashley was shoved out of the way, but her projectile smashed into Sofron’s chest. You can bet an esper of Sofron’s caliber was going to have plenty of arcane defense, but Ashley’s wand was stronger than most. The neon green projectile ruptured his heart. But someone with that much hatred didn’t need a heart to keep going. He stumbled sideways, clutching his hand over his chest before his hand caught ablaze. He was running on fumes, but he had enough mana for one more melody.

"Baleful-"

Sofron was cut off when Marrie took hold of his head. He tried to take a swing at her arm, but by that point she had already let go of him. The burning, internally bleeding, angry man tumbled through the air before falling into the ocean. A few seconds later, all Marrie could see was the waves washing to and fro, with neither Klava nor Sofron in sight. Both Ashley and Marrie would feel a dampness on their chests as the brooches Klava had made for them melted away.

The espers did not have long to celebrate their victory, nor mourn their friend. The “police woman” from earlier rushed up the stairs.

”You guys done? We have to get out of here! Oros is-”

There was a dull thud as the woman’s head was shoved into a wall, knocking her out.

”Yea, i'm right here. How about you take a nap, eh?”

With a few swings of endless eclipse, the portal and constructions Sofron had made were dispelled. It wasn’t long before all the water drained away. Without anything there to bar her advance, Oros entered the room. She had the police woman thrown over one shoulder and was still holding her sword.

”Now let’s see, I mentioned a date, which is adequate foreshadowing for WHOA!” Upon seeing the squirrel woman lying on the ground, Oros tossed the police woman onto a nearby counter and looked into her sword. ”What the hell? You killed my date!” She turned to Ashley and pointed between her and the squirrel woman she killed. ”You’re such a cutie patooty too! And you- Why? Wha- What the hell was she even doing up here? Was I one of her side hoes?” Oros growled. ”This is why I hate Non-Patron Champions as dates, it’s so hard to tell what the less important ones are doing. She was screwing around with Sofron wasn’t she?” With a sigh, she sheathed her sword. ”Well okay, I guess the only fair way to do this is for one of you to replace her, right? I mean, it’s not like we knew each other. And uh.” Her eyes wandered up and down Ashley. ”I mean my own preference would probably be Gara gura over there, hey, do you need a heal or something? You don’t look okay.”

While Ashley and Marrie were no doubt confused by this interaction, their “Patrons” knew one thing for sure.

This was going to get resolved in a collab.

”Wanna watch me turn into a shark? I could like, dive into the water and see if I can find some esper remains to eat.”

---

Refuge, from what?

Su had no problem forcing her way into a clinic, detaining the receptionist, and delving into the unknown. Dealing with unpleasant situations like that was something she was perfectly suited for,

But this required a silver tongue. Something Su believed she had, just not in english. The gun cocking on the other side of the bed barrier was not a danger to Su or her squad, at least, not directly. If this was the doctor, and he was losing hope, he might be thinking about taking his life. One of them could spawn a blink note and hop on the other side, but that was dangerous.

“Doctor Sycamore?” was all Su asked.

Jacqueline shifted Havoc in her hands, staring at the sorry excuse of a barricade. There were no strange sounds audible - nothing that would indicate the immediate presence of thralls. Only one voice addressed them, presumably the doctor’s. And he was either threatening them, was about to kill himself…or someone else was threatening him. Based on how tired he sounded, the last option actually seemed pretty likely.

“How about you tell us what’s going on, instead?” she added. There was no way they could leave. One way or another, they’d get to the bottom of this. However, they were supposed to keep Sycamore alive. So, if the doctor was sufficiently distracted, maybe he could be incapacitated before he did something unfortunate.

Fable on his end stayed silent for now. He'd have to get a confirmation of what their situation was before he dared to act. While Leroux and Breacher tried to talk down the man behind the barrier, the boy searched for any open spaces to peer through.

"That's me." There was a half-hearted chuckle. Who else could it have been, really? Through some careful maneveuring around the two big ladies crowding around the space that the elevator's doorway provided, Timekeeper was able to use his own rapier to poke a hole through a mattress. It would be too obvious if he made it much bigger, but through the pinpoint hole, the esper was able to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a middle-aged man, resting a revolver on his thigh as he sat on a simple metal stool. The room itself was dimly lit, and yet from what small bits he could see, was made up entirely of concrete, creating a cavernous feeling.

The doctor continued to speak.

"A question for a question leads nowhere, miss. Humor me then. What do you think is 'going on'?"

Jacqueline rolled her eyes at that. "Unless it wasn't clear by us staying - no, we can't just pretend we've seen nothing and leave." Granted, they hadn't seen much yet. But clearly, there was something of significance on the other side of the barrier.

Eyeing Fable, who had just punctured a peekhole through one of the beds, and was probably planning to apprehend the doctor with a melody, she decided to keep the doctor busy listening. "No idea, doctor, but sure, I'll humor you," she conceded. "Let's see...what we know is that you've had a large number of 'patients' come in but not out. Thralls. You have this basement that's not accounted for in the building plans, so this place must have been intended for something sketchy from the get-go. Whether Justin Carnage was involved initially, or took over the 'business' later...I'd say you're cooperating under duress." She paused there, awaiting his response.

No sign of thralls. Luckily, the doctor didn't have a gun to his head yet. He could just take the coward's way out if they said the wrong thing or acted out of line. Whatever line of sight he had should hopefully be enough to cast a spawn melody. The Timekeeper would have to choose his words carefully and remain calm.

"So what are you hiding from? Justin?" The boy finally spoke up. His tone wasn't strict, but it wasn't soft either. "A crude barrier like this could only mean you intend to keep something out, someone out, or keep something in. And somehow I doubt this was made in advance for our arrival." He speculated.

It was a little disappointing that now was when they were going to get hit by a quiz. She really would have liked to have seen the top floor before making any judgements. But she could make observations based on what she did know. Jacqueline believed he was working under duress, Fable believed he was hiding from Justin, and Su…

“Barrier improvised, beds downstairs, no beds upstairs.” That was more an assumption than anything, but she’d let him correct her if he cared to. Ultimately, this was a pretty sorry barrier when compared to what some aristocratic vampire could afford. If he had a hand in this, he wasn't too concerned about it. “Elevator clean, still smell like blood. You doctor. Doctor help people, no?” Su folded her arms. “You help thralls. Maybe better? Doctor cure thralls of being thralls?” The doctor couldn’t see it, but Su furrowed her brow. “Where blood come from?”

"That's what you call them? Thralls?" The voice from behind the barricade took on a harsher tone, the narrowing of one eye noticeable by Timekeeper. "I'm not afraid of Justin. And if you've pieced it together so well, agents, you should know where the blood comes from."

Timekeeper could see the mirthless smile form. Could spy now, many somethings covered up in cheap bedsheets, dark stains splotching the fabric.

"Do you?"

"Oh, so it's like that," Jacqueline realized, but didn't sound particularly put off. This just meant the doctor would be taken down by force, after all.

A chill went down the boy's spine. He was lucky the doctor couldn't see his dread filled expression.

"H-He didn't intend to cure them." Timekeeper said, mostly directed to Breacher, yet he didn't dare look away. He had to be ready to cast a melody.

Su didn’t need Finn to tell her that. Her English wasn’t great, but it was clear that the doctor had either become a thrall himself, or was willingly working with a monster. Though she noticed that Fable was peaking through a hole he had made to the other side. Now that was something she could use.

She lowered her head in front of Finn, peeking through the hole into the other room. Su took note of the location of certain key details. The location of his gun, the doctor himself, that was all Breacher really needed to take into account. They were here to investigate the premises and capture the doctor. That would be a lot easier if she could get the doctor to come to them.

“Then we done talking.”

This wasn’t going to be an easy shot, with a narrow opening to shoot through and no line of sight while she was doing so. But Su’s extensive training as a GEMINI agent at least meant it was possible. She stood back up, put her gun in front of the hole, and fired a melody into the other room. A beam of wind struck Doctor Sycamore’s arm. Fragments of his barricade, bits of aluminum bed frame and mattress, coiled around his hand and arm. Among the debris was a spring, reinforced by the magic of Su’s melody, it stretched out from the barrier, grabbed the mass on the doctor’s arm, and yanked them closer.

Su took her shield and smashed it against the barrier, hoping that her newly acquired upgrade would help rupture the wall and create an opening. If they were fast, they could pull the doctor through before things got too complicated. After giving the wall a good shove or two, she stood off to the side so that Jacqueline and Finn could get a shot in if they were able.

Once given a better opening, the Timekeeper quickly fired a restraining melody of his own, just in case the doctor tried anything to break through Breacher's.

_{[Bronze Projectile][Restrain][Quicken] = -48 MP
(702 MP Remaining)}

Jacqueline had been waiting for the chance to do so, and went ham against that stupid fucking barricade. She swung Havoc against the beds, smashing and shattering the remaining furniture to pieces. Once there was enough room for them to pass through, she dashed down the hallway, her instrument raised and ready to knock out the doctor.

Pull, restrain, and smash. He didn't even stand a chance.

With two melodies and then just plain ol' physical force, the doctor was brought down, Leroux able to smash through the barricade while Timekeeper's melody crackled over Dr. Sycamore's entire body. Havoc swung well against an immobile opponent, and the hefty instrument struck him in the head. A dangerous move perhaps, against someone who may just be human, but effective nonetheless, rendering him incapacitated in an instant.

Now, past the barricade, they could see what exactly the room was.

No, perhaps it was too cavernous to be just a room. The elevator system had brought them down, ultimately, to what appeared to be a discontinued portion of Pax Septimus's sewer system. Medical equipment, mostly tall racks from where plastic tubes hung, laid in disorderly rows, while a few wheelchairs were toppled off onto their sides. Large filing cabinets, perhaps from the previous leaser of the property up above, stored rolls of bandages and alcoholic wipes, while metal trays atop had surtures, needles, and an array of other sharp, metal tools. Stacks of plastic water containers lined one wall, and off by another were the corpses that Timekeeper spotted, their bodies covered by stained, thin blankets.

Beyond the chair that the doctor had sat upon was a pipe, large enough for an adult human to duck through. A dislodged iron plate flat on the ground beside it, and trails of fresh blood dotted the inside of the pipe.

Su stepped back into the doorway, shield raised and gun pointed ahead. She stepped into the cavern and looked over everything. Everything made sense, save the water. If the doctor was a thrall, he probably subsided on blood alone, and if he was a human, then his food had to be stored elsewhere. What was going on? Su approached the water bottles to see if they were indeed water. Once she was done with her inspection, she looked over her shoulder at the pipeway dotted with fresh blood.

“Hard to keep shield up in pipe.” Su had no problem being the first one to enter an area, but if she was crawling on all fours, that meant that she only had her pistol and melodies to defend herself with. Though it was probably better if she went through before anyone else. “But Leroux has pick, and Time Keeper has rapier. Pistol may be best option.” Though she wouldn’t oppose her allies going ahead. They knew themselves better than she did.

But first, Su needed to make sure the bodies were bodies and not thralls lying in wait. She moved closer to the sheets and prepared to tug them off of what she hoped to be only corpses.

The room as a whole screamed "black market backroom", at least in Timekeeper's eyes. The same eyes that were drawn to the cadavers that he first saw. Thralls or not, he doubted they were still alive at this point, but he didn't stop Breacher from checking to see. He looked back to the pipe.

"I think..." The boy walked over and peered through it. How far did this rabbit hole go? "I should be able to slip through here easier. If anything, I could toss a blink back here if I need to scram." He said, pulling out the credit card statement he found earlier. The Timekeeper did want to ask Sycamore about his supplier, but that'd have to wait. He passed it to Leroux for now. "Found that on the upper floor." He told her. If there were no further objections, Fable would go ahead and follow the blood trails.

The water containers, large enough to carry many liters of water in each individual unit, were indeed filled with water. Approaching closer now, Breacher could see too an array of portable cooking stoves, as well as pots. Sterilization then, through boiling instruments in water, looked to be the main purpose of such a mass of containers. Her approach towards the covered sheets, as well as her blatant revealing of them, showed too that they were, indeed, just corpses.

Corpses cleaned and cared for, at least with as much dignity one could ascribe to former thralls. The commonalities were clear between them all, however. Malnourished youths, their wrists and ankles scarred, their bodies riddled with bullet wounds of a much higher calibre than the pistol that had been secured from the Doctor. And, most importantly, their forearms sported needle-thin holes.

Not from transfusion, but…

Timekeeper advanced alone, the most mobile of the three espers present. It was a lot more responsibility than just heading up a set of stairs and rifling through someone’s room. Now, it was about pursuit, against perhaps a whole army of dangerous thralls, all while within the complex, unmapped labyrinth that was Pax Septimus’s sewers. What monstrosities laid rest within the rectum of this city of blood and sin? What dangers awaited in every corner that he turned? Through the pipe the youth crawled, but by the time he reached the other end…

What exactly was he to pursue here? The expanse of darkness before him could not be penetrated by what feeble light his electricity passively generated, while the stench and sound of the sewers drowned out any finer details. He could either go to the right or to the left, but no doubt there would be even more of these directional decisions to make!

What was the best choice here?

Luckily, nothing's tried to kill him yet. But even the upper floors had it's emergency lighting to give him some sight. Not wanting to risk going deeper into the belly of the beast alone, Timekeeper waited for the other two to appear from the other side of the pipe. "Just a fork in the road! _{Christ it's dark in here!}" He called out to his teammates. The trail couldn't have ended here, could it??

Finn’s mumbling didn’t go unheard, and fortunately, Su had an answer.

They had everything required to make torches. Alcoholic wipes for fuel, bed sheets to keep the flame going, and camp stoves to set them alight with. The dismantled bed frames made fine handles, and shouldn’t get too warm with a small flame on top. They only took a moment to make, and would make navigating the labyrinth easier.

“Suppose we split up?” Su handed her first makeshift torch to Jacqueline. It was already lit, throwing a warm light on it’s surroundings. “I follow you shortly.” Su tore another strip of bedcloth as she prepared to make two more torches.

Jacqueline had accepted the document Fable had handed her, and tucked it underneath her esper-manifested armour. While Su did her own thing, she went to check on the doctor. He was probably going to stay out cold for a while, but she decided to tie him up just in case. It was easy enough to rip some of the sheets Breacher hadn't yet used, and fashion some ropes. While she was at it, she assessed Sycamore's wound, ensuring he wasn't in a critical condition.

When that was done, she accepted the torch from her coworker, and followed Fable through the pipe. "I'll go right. Let's keep in touch if we can," she tapped the comms Gemini habitually had on them. She wasn't convinced it'd work as intended underground, but one could hope. With a nod in farewell, she proceeded down the right path.

Time passed within the sewers, makeshift torches drawing in the attention of the sewer’s insects. Firelight exposed the remnants of rotting flesh and exposed bone, the detritus of the sinful city, but greater monstrosities, if they existed, did not show themselves. Had the GEMINI operatives taken too long in their initial investigations? Or did the labyrinthine sewers, combined with their lack of tracking capabilities, simply meant that they all ultimately pursued the wrong branch? The reasons didn’t matter. Only the results.

And as the hours drew on, as the prospects of finding those thralls that had escaped grew slimmer and slimmer, the agents could only return to their starting point once more. Empty-handed, except for a fortunate find from Leroux.

The cold body of a thrall, encountered at a far-off junction. A gangly youth with a now-limp mohawk, his stature such that he looked worthless as a combatant, his body wrapped with bandages now stained by the scarlet of reopened bullet wounds. He had collapsed, passed away. Now just an ashen corpse for GEMINI examiners to open up.

How many pieces were left? How many pieces could be put together?

As they left the Aspira Refuge together, the dying sunlight greeted them, as well as a call from Dr. Moller.

It was time to make their report.

Grimoiric Heart

Ozma better check themselves before they wreck themselves, suggesting that the solo stalk lyfe isn't the arguably better way to go.

I'll probably post after @KoL has the tuner do something, though if @Villamvihar plans on posting I'll wait for that as well.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

The best part of Somnium Files is talking to the characters as a detective. Change my mind.

I do like how Uchikoshi writes characters, but he tends to put them in these really wacky scenarios that tend to hinge on some very thin character (and sometimes plot) logic. Sometimes it feels like he makes things so convoluted in hopes that you just won't notice that little woopsie right there. This was true for the zero time delema series, and it's true for Somnium Files as well. How much you end up liking his stories hinges on how much you like the characters.

Grimoiric Heart

@Villamvihar well waddaya know, I'm returning too! Maybe Goodhope can bother Stripes with something. There is also a class thing here where students have to double up. I don't know all the details, but a Goodhope/Stripes team up would be amusing. Though that's all going to happen in the next scene I think.

Grimoiric Heart

Mmmm, Guess I have some reading to catch up on. A bit unfortunate that Izu isn't around anymore. Though with a devil girl around, that might be for the best, heh.

@Lewascan2, @Villamvihar, you still here?

Symphony of Espers

”Stay smart, stay cool."

— Luna Gallo

Every good gambler knows when it's best to fold their hand and walk away from the table.

At present, Luna had everything she could have possibly expected to get out of this little operation. She had Jezebel, she got to wreck some Gemini agents and their shit, and she was still alive. Lenny had been fun, but her taste in cars was pretty shit, and she probably expected Luna to run off with the prize anyway. It wasn't like Luna dove into the ditch, she had been pushed in there, and Lenny chose to drive off on her own. She probably had a way to avoid the chaingun fire, and if she didn't, that was her problem, really. It would hurt Luna for a long time, but the smart move was to take Jezebel and leave on foot.

...Is what Luna would think if she was like any of those freelancers!

No, the job wasn't done until everyone had been accounted for. That included Lenny. It might not have been the smart thing to do, but Mavericks were a tight nit group that never forgot their friends. Now that the helicopter wasn't trying to turn her into swiss cheese, as the pilot put it, she could fire back with something a bit more potent. A joker card appeared in Luna's hand, and with a toss, it flew through the air like a bullet. The effect on contact was a bit more unusual.

When the card struck the tail of the helicopter, it didn't stick. Instead, it orbited around the tail while throwing suspending glitter around itself. Most zone melodies created a static field that more or less stayed put, but this one circled the helicopter, always keeping it within the stopping forces of her melody. The helicopter would still be able to move and shoot, but over the course of a few seconds would behave as if it were inside a vaccum. Steering the helicopter would be difficult, and it would more or less hover in place while the tail rotor struggled to do anything.

And it would struggle much more when under fire.

Luna was battered and bloody, but the suspend melody she had cast on herself had worn off. Her movement was only limited by her determination, and she was quite determined to ensure one of the few people who went out of their way to help the Mavericks would live to do so again.

Again, Pit Boss fired on the helicopter.

She would not miss the tail rotor this time.

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 Beam:[Orbit][Zone][Suspend] = 144

Melody Rank up!

Attack: Sentinel up!

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 116

Grimoiric Heart

The stands were filled with chatter. Magical girls exchanging information, offering services, and commenting on the class. With all of their banter, it was unlikely many would hear the sound of a young woman dragging her feet behind herself. Her eyes were at half mast, her arms hung at her sides, but her outfit looked sharp and formal for the occasion. That was because Silvia wasn't really exhausted, she was just lethargic by nature. At least when it came to walking from place to place.

After her initial appearance, the Grand Ministry had accepted Stripes's request to go on an operation by herself. She was the wielder of a fable, but they decided to grant her request so long as she made frequent updates about her progress and wasn't too reckless. Didn't hurt that they had something relatively simple for Stripes to look into on hand. Fable or not, they were not totally ignorant of her greater power set when working alone. Stripes managed to foil a few attacks set up by the pageless, but didn't encounter anything that really tested her skill. Nor was she able to confirm anything the Grand Ministry didn't already know. The Pageless were growing in number, and becoming more organized.

As annoying as it was, Stripes did need help. She wasn't going to become any more skilled fighting such weak opponents, nor were the Grand Ministry going to take note of her prowess for clearing out a few Pageless gatherings. She needed to further her studies if she wanted to gain the renown she was seeking. While Stripes was an astute student, it was hard to do much book learning when you were traveling all over England to stomp out Pageless.

Silvia looked out at the students who had attended class. She made it a habit to keep her distance from people, but noticed Nessie instantly. It was hard to forget the girl. She still remembered carrying that foul mouthed brat across the construction site, where she later got her grimoire. At the time she was a little disappointed that her thunder had been stolen by the pink haired lass, but thinking back on it, Stripes probably looked pretty cool there for a second. Protecting some innocent girl from some Pageless and allowing her to find her grimoire. It was almost enough to make her smile!

...

...

...

No, she was still filled with apathy.

There was also some talk about an exercise that involved teaming up with someone. Stripes was unsure if she would be included in that, but she sincerely hoped that if she was, that the number of students would be uneven. That way, she could be on a team by herself and let her power really shine. Otherwise, well, working with just one other magical girl shouldn't cut her power by too much. Though it didn't really interest her.

Though "Magical Girl Drossel, the Tuner" did. Not because of her pointlessly long title (Weren't they all magical girls?) But getting more in touch with her grimoire was exactly what she needed. Especially as a fable, she'd need all the help she could get if she was going to punch above her weight class and challenge the system!

Silvia cracked open her book, at which point she was turned into Stripes, or more specifically, a giant tiger striped tabby. It was really easier to call her a tiger at this point though. She bolted out of the stands and tore her way towards the tuner. But as she got closer to the other classmates, her allies, her transformation wore off. Stripes stumbled forward a few steps, but regained her balance with ease.

"I'm interested." Stripes locked eyes with Magical Girl Drossel, the Tuner, Formerly Known as Eins Reinhardt. Despite the intensity of her arrival, the tone of her voice didn't make it sound like she was that enthusiastic. "Though I would, of course, like to know a bit more of what that entails." She scratched her hip.

Symphony of Espers

It was a miracle that Tetrad survived as long as she did. It was an even bigger miracle that she was still surviving in this situation. Perhaps an innumerable amount of miracles had been granted upon her ever since this truck chase from hell even began. No GEMINI Espers present, nor any immediately crippling incidents, despite all the opportunity for it.
If it was a matter of drawing well, Tetrad drew very well.

And she continued to do so.

A beam was a small thing, really. Small enough to weave through gaps, small enough to slip through cracks. All she needed was to get a view of her target, and the opportunity to charge up her melody. After that, it just required a quick prayer. Her eyes shone, her body transplaced, and a heavy door clunked before the door to the armored truck. Magical projectiles spewed out from the Pit Boss, piercing steel, its arcane effects seizing the machinery within. But the tail rotor was too small a target to be clipped, and the pilot was well-protected. More importantly, the gunner was swiveling, finger already on the trigger as bullets stitched into pavement, drawing ever closer to Tetrad!

The Patriot roared to life once more, reversing right by her. In that instant as it drove past, bulky from obscuring Tetrad from sight, the Maverick Esper could see a nun at the wheel, pointing a finger at her.

Blacklight shone, and she was pushed back instantaneously, falling into the roadside ditch.

And the gunner continued to pursue the reversing Jeep, helicopter gradually swiveling around to chase after the suspect that must have escaped by hopping back on!

Was this opportunity to try her luck again at taking down the helicopter? Or opportunity to hide and escape, making her way back with Jezebel on foot?

The stakes heightened. The choice remained.

---

_{@The World@Ponn@ERode}

Ashley may have been surprised, but attacked soon enough. The rodent woman was about to spring to her feet, but there wasn’t a lot she could do to avoid the incoming attack. She heard the spark of a wand firing, and she had just enough time to look up and see it collide between her eyes. Espers were magic resistant, sure, but Ashley’s wand was potent, and the head was the last place anyone wanted to get hit by anything. The neon projectile blew apart into green dust, and May’s body went limp. While the attack had only broken the skin, it hit hard enough to rupture her brain. She wouldn’t be getting back up.

Marrie, on the other hand, chose to wallow in despair. Things started out promising enough, with her finding Ashley and then running into Klava not much later. She even managed to protect Ashley from being electrocuted, but she didn’t feel like she was doing enough. She could not compete with the crazy antics of Klava, nor did she have Ashley’s determination. Two melodies backfiring was all it took to shut Marrie’s spirit down. Of course, there was plenty that she could do. She could bounce-blink to Klava’s position and give her a wind-shield to protect the detransformed esper from projectiles. She could create a new portal, closing the one in the pool and dropping her victim through the ceiling into electrified water. She could even attempt to spare their opponents that she detested the idea of killing. But it was impossible to see those options when you allowed yourself to be discouraged. She spent most of her remaining mana healing negligible damage to herself and Ashley. In her mind, her allies could fight this themselves. She didn’t even need to be here.

But was that reality, or an illusion reflected back at her by despair? Klava had been shoved towards Sofron, and she was able to make use of that momentum and a melody to get his gun pointed elsewhere. Her kick landed, and she was upon him not long after. Klava’s plan was flawlessly executed. Sofron might be an esper, but espers were still weak to the mundane world. A brutal beating from a pair of fists could really hurt regardless of who was doing the punching. But while espers may be weak to mundane attacks, that was only if they had no other special abilities. Sofron’s greatest attribute was his magic, but his second greatest one was his durability. This was a man who shrugged off a stab wound to his stomach, one of the most painful wounds one can inflict on another. He was immortal, a highlander, how was bludgeoning his head going to stop him?

Klava had to sacrifice her grace to launch an attack like this, but Sofron would not be parting with his baleful hatred.

Between Klava’s blows, he sweeped the barrel of his gun across her arms, shoving them out of the way. This was just to buy him enough time to release the tompson and seize Klava by the throat. The maiden was strong out of the esper state, but she wasn’t an olympian. It was that kind of physical prowess that all espers had as their baseline, regardless of how old they may have looked. Sofron used his other hand to push himself to his feet. Klava didn’t stop fighting. Even if had to use her hands to stop choking to death, she could still kick Sofron. It wasn’t enough to stop him from driving his fist into her stomach. His hand glowed as he prepared a melody. Klava had been stunned, and there wasn’t much she could do in the moment to save herself but then Sofron looked up. the bit of water that dripped off of his clothes wasn't enough to smolder his flames.

He saw the squirrel woman’s unmoving body, and Ashley standing just beyond.

Salt water dripped off his cheek, or was it tears?

"No storm can rival what turns in my heart." At the end of the day, Klava was just a human with a gravely wounded esper form, and there were still other espers to take care of. He cast her out the nearby window before pointing his hand down the lane at Ashley. "Baleful..." Sofron fired a beam melody, another bale whip-looking spell. The only thing Ashley could do to defend herself was to raise her shield, but the melody pierced her shield and struck her shoulder, severing her arm. Her shield and arm laid at her feet while her body cried out in pain, and her nose could pick up on the faint smell of a well done hamburger. But Sofron still moved, as he prepared a second melody. "Dragon!" This was also going to be a beam attack, most likely. But would there be anything they could do before it went off?

Symphony of Espers

”Tuesdays are for Tetrad. You best remember that, GEMINI scum!” Glares at Ashley

— Luna Gallo

After doing almost everything wrong, Luna did it.

In the back of her mind, there was always a chance that what she sought wasn’t going to be on the armored transport. Maybe it would be a trap, maybe Lenny would be mistaken about the identity of the “lost lamb,” or, whatever. She didn’t know. But to see Jezebel in the flesh was something else. She was without a grimoire, high off whatever Gemini had decided to sedate her with, and likely had to endure who knows what in a special interrogation session with Fritzi. They hadn’t had a chance to really catch up since she left for Pax Septimus, and those freelancers helped abort what should have been their reunion. But none of that mattered now, and damn the circumstances. She gave her friend a hug. She didn’t respond, but that was okay for now.

Then the chopper arrived.

Luna laughed. Half because she was so happy, and half because after something like this, she doubted they would give her a fair trial. Or at least, Luna knew that the power of friendship wasn’t going to hold up in the court of law. She wouldn’t be surprised if they just decided to open fire on her as soon as she entered line of sight. Jezebel was in no condition to run, or even understand her surroundings if her wandering eyes were anything to go by. But this would hopefully be it. After the chopper was dealt with, they would be in the clear.

Maybe.

Luna wasn’t really set up for dealing with a chopper. Her “kit” was more set up for sowing discord and supporting her allies. As fun as it would be to sink all of her remaining mana into a single “Zone-Push” melody, she knew that was going to be fairly ineffective on machine gun fire. She lacked the ability to fire a melody directly at the chopper, but she wasn’t totally out of options. All she had left was a single hair brained idea, but it was all she had to work on. Maybe after this, Luna could see about patching up her wounds.

Behind the armored truck was the light, crappy door of the patriot. It had fallen off when the GEMINI drivers decided to run themselves off the road smashing into Lenny. Luna wasn’t especially familiar with the weight of jeep doors, but she reasoned that it was probably just the right weight and size to be affected by a transplace melody. The idea being that the chopper was probably focusing their weapons on the armored transport, as they likely saw her enter. So if she swapped places with the door, that might give her enough time to counter attack.

She listened for the sound of the helicopter’s spinning blades.

She approximated the location of the chopper.

Okay magic, don’t screw up now!

She did her best to minimize the amount of time she would need to start attacking the chopper. She faced where she thought the helicopter would be after she transplaced wit the door. She turned her head and prepared to fire a beam out the door. Once she swapped places with the door, all she could do was aim pit boss at the helicopter and hope she could bring it down before it got a chance to fire back.

If she did have to run for cover, hopefully it wasn’t far. She still felt like hell after tumbling out of the Patriot.

Regardless though, her eyes looked really super sparkly pretty right now.

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 beam:[Transplace] = 144

Sparkling eyes!

Attack: Sentinel Down

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 260