A few days after the operation...

Thunk.

"Hey, mom, yeah, I'm doing good, work's fine, yep, got a bonus recently."

Thunk.

"Oh, ahaha~ don't mention it, I mean, you two have done so much for me, it's the least I could do."

Thunk.

"Mmmm... I'll see about visiting big bro, I think we're both busy with our own businesses, but you make a good point, I'll be sure to arrange a visit in the short future."

Thunk.

"Busy making the world a better place, of course~ alright, I love you too, mom, goodbye."

Silmeria heard the small beep from the phone's speaker mode as the call ended, a small eager smile curled at one side of her lips as she admired her handwork. Three dartboards set up next to each other, each plastered by a sketched picture depicting the visage of Viper, Lenore, and Maiden respectively; all three had their foreheads turned into pincushions by multiple darts.

"Making the world a better place, one... terrorist... at a time..."

She threw the last dart and it pierced right into Maiden's right eye.

Thunk.

Her aim was getting better.

---

Marrie sat back in her chair and sighed. Vampire, knew that. Vampire that was progressively getting more likely to have GEMINI's descriptions of him be accurate. Lots of property, so that was a hit at least. Silk farms in China? She'd look more into that. Was it a money thing or was there a bigger picture? She probably wasn't going to be going to another continent to hunt him down anytime soon. She looked at Stacy and sighed again. Where was she going to get a human head?

Then came the results of the Knight of Tomorrow, whatever that meant. Probably a title of some kind, but who would come up with such a chunni title for someone? Was it esper related or something mundane? If she was being contacted by someone on Shimr, it probably was the former.

So are you up for another job or what? You should be happy I'm willing to hire you again!

Well that was annoying. She was almost tempted to refuse just because of the emojis. But a job was a job, and she needed to eat. Not to mention she needed a lead of some kind if she was going to be any help for Pac. She sent back a quick note: -Yeah. What exactly do you need? More info means better results-

She told Stacy's body to stay put and went out to the store, coming back with an outfit for her. A big coat, baggy pants, and a cheap but useful biker's helmet. Stacy wouldn't be able to go around without a head, but if she hid it, she should be fine. The ensemble was completed with a whiteboard and marker so she could communicate, at least somewhat. Now the question about what to do next became more difficult. She didn't feel right digging up a grave, so that was out. So was killing someone to get their... Wait a second. She sent a message to Tetrad on Shimr. -Hey, random question, do you know where to find a human head in an ethical manner? Any organ donor Espers who recently died that you know of or anything like that?- She hit send and waited for a response, going back to looking into Justin's local property ownership.

---

"Almost forgot something!"
Current Location: The Nerine Vista
There was still one thing Fable had to address.

Before the failed operation he eventually shrugged off, the boy had suggested he and Klava head to the Nerine Vista afterwards. With what happened after that, he wondered, was she still up for it? Probably needed the break. Probably will get rejected or something. But hey, couldn't hurt worse to ask her.

Timekeeper: Hey! Uh
Timekeeper: You still up for Nerine-what'sit?
Timekeeper: I get it if last mission soured your appebtite and what not, but just wanted to ask!

Maiden: Sister busy?

Timekeeper: Couldn't make it.

Maiden: Well, what time then, kiddo?

The boy quickly checked the time.

Timekeeper: 1:30??

Maiden: Don't keep me waiting then~

---

After a while, Fable rode up to the restaurant, arriving a few minutes early. Once he found a place to park his bike, he walked over and leaned against the wall by the front door. Nerine Vista. Did he come here before? He faintly shook his head. It took a bit to find the place in general, wouldn't make sense otherwise. The boy idly scrolled through Shimr as he waited for Klava.

In all honesty, it kinda felt wrong to use the site now. But he didn't have much alternatives to communicate besides passing his phone number to acquaintances.

“Yo.”

"Hm?"

The wind carried with it the smell of sandalwood and honey, and a light touch tapped the boy’s shoulder. A woman, turquoise eyes bright, smiled at him with painted lips. Klava had certainly dressed for the occasion. A black dress, full-sleeved and knee-length, flowed with every step, while the ringed belt that hugged her waist created an appealing, but not shameless, silhouette. She had opted for a mono-color theme, accentuated only by the glimmer of metal on her belt and on her purse’s clasps, and her heels improved her stature by three inches. A watch, a Bulova Marine Star, hung from her wrist, and she turned it to face her, eyes cast down slightly.

“Didn’t keep you waiting then,” were the words that followed. “Keep bending your neck like that and you’ll become a hunchback, Fable.”

"Ah, s-sorry." The boy straightened his posture back up as he pocketed his phone. He looked Klava over, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Kinda feeling trumped attire wise now. You look nice!" Fable himself didn't pay as much mind to detail as she did. He had ditched his usual hoodie in favor of a dress shirt and red tie. He stepped over to the door, and pushed it open, holding it for the woman to head inside first. "After you."

"That's sweet of you," Klava said, stepping in.

The Nerine Vista had been an establishment catering more towards fancy dinners, but its afternoon selection was quite prominent as well. In a modern, chic setting, executives talked to high-profile clients over delicately-designed plates, while waiters and waitresses navigated the well-spaced tables and booths with a silent grace. Though Pax Septimus was a city of blood and sin, vice and crime in every corner, the managers of the Nerine Vista could, if nothing else, create a veneer of a safer place.

The bulletproof windows helped too.

And after much ado with the waitress that took their reservation and lead them to a table overlooking a silver of a park, Klava sat down, her purse hanging from a hook beneath the table. It was a good place. Cool tables, comfortable seating, and the faintest of music in the background. Each party separated far enough that one could speak normally and still be heard. A different vibe from her usual haunts then.

"Well, I hope the Mavericks haven't been sending you hate mail?"

Fable snorted as he took his seat. "As if painting a target on your back for GEMINI's any better!" He said, shaking his head. "But nah, they haven't been harassing me about ditching them as far as I know. Kinda been worried about that amongst...other things." He grimaced for a second.

"They're not going to take any action against you," Klava said. In the end, the reward that they got functioned more or less as a meal ticket based off a promotional event for the restaurant's anniversary, so there wasn't any need to make any orders. The waitress came over with a bottle of white wine though, and the half-Russian woman nodded in response.

"Though they won't necessarily need to either. A Freelancer's reputation is founded in their reliability. You understand, yes?"

"I guess so." The boy let his elbows rest on the table. "But I want to avoid being seen as an enemy by both parties as long as I am able, even if my view of the Gems got soured." He explained with a slight frown.

Klava shrugged. "Don't take jobs from either of them. That's all you gotta do. Still, you're coping better than I thought. Figured out what you're gonna do with Betty?"

"Easier said than done." He said, idly looking out the window. When Klava mentioned Betty, Fable's frown returned. "I have to keep looking. I can't give up until I know she's okay, or until it's confirmed she's dead. I know that's a grim line of thought, and I know how I acted back there, but..." He sighed. "Judging by the reactions and behavior of Justin's hires, Betty seems to be a higher ranking servant than they were. Bodyguard perhaps. With how she kicked my ass, and the fact that he escaped with her makes it more likely. But when did she become an esper? Doc told me an esper can resist being turned into a thrall, but as far as I know, she was still human at the time. So if she became an esper whilst being a thrall..." the boy rambled on, his expression then turned to faint dread. "...I don't want to know."

Fable pushed his bangs back. "There's gotta be another way to go about this."

"Yeah, there is."

The waitress brought the appetizers over, a meticulously crafted salad designed to invoke the landscape of Scandavanian tundras, but Klava paid it no great regard as she leaned forward, her eyes dead serious.

"Join GEMINI. I don't trust them on principle, but the government's got more sources if you want to find someone, and you've already alienated the Mavericks anyhow. They'll track Justin, and Betty's likely with Justin. If you're with the GEMs, you can influence how they approach the handling of a depraved esper."

His eyebrows rose. "You think?" His eyes darted to the salad, which he gently shoved over to himself to grab some. "Don't know if they'll let a thirteen-year-old nimrod in easily, but you really think I can sway them into not instantly resorting to a shootout?" Fable asked. His brows then furrowed in thought. "I have been researching, well, about all this in my freetime though. Maybe that could give me some leverage in."

"You're new to the business, but I get the sense that almost all the rest of them are as well." Klava sipped at her wine glass, then tried a lichen-like vegetable, eyebrows lifting at the surprising texture and flavour. "Make your case as a collaborator if you can't make one as an official agent. They're more likely to listen to an ally than an enemy, after all. Simple stuff, if you can stomach it."

She smiled to herself. The Nerine Vista's chefs had good taste, and this being free made it taste even better. "What research though?"

"Just stuff pertaining to the whole Esper thing. Monsters, Magi, Mana, things I feel like I should make note of for future reference. Fable shrugged. He was tempted to add "Multiverse" in the list, but to him, that was another thing to tackle entirely. He took a few bites of the salad.

Her brows raised again, this time in a questioning matter. "And that brings leverage how?"

The boy paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"...Hell if I know, man."

"Pfft." Klava closed her eyes, tossed her hair to the side and leveled a dazzling smile towards the young boy. "Is that how you ought to be addressing a lady like me?"

Fable snorted, playfully rolling his eyes with a smile in return. "Oh really now?" He brought a fist over his mouth and cleared his throat. "Forgive me, my dear. It seems further ideas for a better chance in joining ranks with G.E.M.I.N.I. have slipped my mind. Is that better?" He smirked, which then turned to concern with his next question. "But what about you? They probably think you're a part of Maverick now. If I join them, I'd be forced to fight you if we run into each other during operations, wouldn't I?"

"Your consideration for me is truly heart-warming, dear," Klava replied, adopting her own rendition of a hoity-toity aristocrat's tone. "But I am generous enough of a soul to forgive you if you just stayed in the back and supported your colleagues. And of course, it goes without saying..."

The main course was here, a sizzling quail with three separate homemade sauces drawn upon the plate in a rendition of the currents of the wind.

"...if we run into each other while alone, well, we did not."

Well, if she thinks it'll be fine.

Fable nodded. "Alright then, I'll trust this won't go sideways." He said. Then his attention turned to the main course, and his eyebrows rose. That...actually look good. He took a moment to try a bit of quail.

...And maybe a bit more wouldn't hurt. "By the way, when we were fighting Jan in that weird dream realm, you didn't see anything weird, did you? Even outside imps and bog men?"

"Hm? Nothing worth remembering," was Klava's response. "Apollo did anything weird to you after?"

Fable's face comically blanked out. His then brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wh- What the hell's that gotta do with the job??? No. I'm just wondering why fucking Chernobog of all things decided to pop in and try to kill me during that." He could've simply shrugged it off as a part of Jan's minions, but he still wanted to find some explanation for the demon's appearance.

"Oh, the demon?" She shrugged, more focused on dissecting her quail into bite-sized bits. "Figured that it was just an illusion. If Jan could actually bring monsters from the elemental chaos straight to here, she wouldn't be playing sixth fiddle to Justin."

"Didn't say it wasn't one." The boy paused to eat. "Illusions or not, we killed her before we could find out if her summons can apply to the real world too. And frankly? Probably for the best. Chernobog dissapeared with the rest of the dreamscape, but..." He went silent once he realized something.

"God, what am I saying? This is supposed to be a break and yet I still have work on the brain." He laughed it off. "Forgive me for that, for real this time! Wanna focus on something else?"

"No no," she shook her head. "Finish that thought first."

Fable's smile faded back to a neutral expression. "...I've a bad feeling about it. It's been bugging me for a while and I don't know why. Like, was it a premonition taken form, or am I just going insane here? Dreams usually involve stuff like the human psyche, memories and fears, all that mess. But if Jan was able to use that stuff against us in the dreamscape? Plus the fact that Chernobog appeared as soon as I got knocked in from reality?" He rambled on, scratching his head.

"I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking this."

Klava leaned in. "You believe the demon was pulled from your mind?"

He pushed his plate aside and let his elbows rest on the table. "It's the most likely scenario I can think of, unfortunately." He frowned slightly.

"Well, let's Google that shit then," she said. Within moments, Klava's smartphone was out, connecting to the Nerine Vista's free wi-fi and doing a quick Google search. Clicking on the first hit she got, she read out, "Demons appearing in our dreams are...yada yada...temptation, where buried impulses blah blah...or hugely conflicted, or something in your waking life is wrong or unnatural."

Klava looked back up. "Sound familiar?"

The description she looked up didn't help the boy's anxiety. "No temptations, or burried impulses that I'm aware of..." He noted off. "Must be one of the other two."

"Well of course it wouldn't be something you're aware of," she laughed. "Dream demons are subconscious symbols, after all. Though on that topic, monsters are chaos-orientated anyhow. They took something that existed beforehand, and made it worse."

Klava nodded to herself, then resumed each.

"And you were conflicted about the Betty situation, weren't you?"

"I-" Fable's frown twisted into another grimace. He nodded. "Good point."

"So nothing to worry about then! Jan's dead and dreams are just dreams. More importantly, do you even go to school?"

He rose a brow. Now she's changing the subject? "Yeah, why?"

"Just making sure you're not a trust fund baby or anything." A smirk. "Y'know, playboy billionaire with nothing better to do than to invite older women on dates and risk life and limb for monster hunts? Got any aspirations beyond this, Fable?"

Well, at this point, Fable didn't know whether or not he should panic.

Was she catching onto him? Did he let his guard down too much? Did he not react to the quail as strongly as the next guy?

Or was she just making a reference?

"Pfft. Add in a butler and a tech guy and that sounds like I could be the next Batman." He joked in spite of his internal screaming. "Nah, I feel like I'm more similar to Spiderman. Just a kid wanting to do some good for his home and NOT a playboy. Dunno where you got that impression from..." he gave her an unamused look.

"But yes, I've picked up the odd hobby or two."

"You're Pax Sept born n raised?"

Fable nodded. "Lived in Pax for most of my life. Parents moved here when my sister Lydia was young."

"Spiderman, but rich? Truly an ideal combination." Klava chuckled. "What does your sister do anyways? Family business?"

Ah. So she did catch on. Maybe he wasn't as good of a bullshitter an actor as he thought.

...Eh, what the hell.

"Weird way to nutshell it but, hah, I really don't think I'm as cool as Batman..." The boy scratched the back of his neck. "And yeah, basically. She's kinda preparing to inherit the family buisness in case something happened." He explained.

"Hm?"

What, was Fable mafia now? That would be a funny one, for sure. Klava settled back down to eat, spending a few minutes to enjoy the flavors and digest the information. The quail, sauteed to perfection with some herb butter, was a delight once it had cooled down a bit, and the small salad on the side helped to cleanse the palate as well. A sumptuous little meal, to be certain, and there was word that dessert would be just as fantastic.

"Where does that leave you then? I'd figure you'd be able to get into any career you'd want, so what's your passion?" She pointed her fork at him. "Or are you going full-time like Elroy?"

"Investigation mostly. _{If I had a dollar for every time I told someone that...}" Fable said. "But there's also stuff like science or the arts if that goes south. Been trying to learn an instrument or two during freetime. Or I could open a goddamn sweets shop for the hell of it in the future, who knows?"

"Investigation? Yeesh, what're you, a data scientist?" Klava laughed. With what he said he was leaning towards, working for the GEMs really would be a good choice for him. "Well, doesn't really matter in the end. Just make sure to go really hard on something once you decide to do it, yeah? Half-assing it is the best way to kill your interest in it."

"Atleast some sort of scientist. But yeah, I get it." The boy shrugged with a smile.

"Good."

Klava nodded, then cringed and placed a hand against her face.

"Christ, I really am getting old."

Fable giggled. "With age comes wisdom, right? Best not to worry about getting old and just...live, or something." He told Klava. "I dunno, I'm not that great with cheesy motivational lines." He added in a joking manner, puffing a cheek out.

"Yeah, you'll make for the most insufferable dad if you're getting started this early." Klava flicked a strand of hair out of her face and allowed the waitress to replace their empty dishes with the dessert: a coffee-infused panna cotta with a yuzu sauce to give it a brighter bite, sprinkled with diced peaches and with a leaf of mint atop.

She pulled out her phone by reflex and snapped a picture. "Quite nice."

Soon as the dessert arrived, Fable's eyes lit up. While Klava took a moment to snap a pic of her panna cotta, he went ahead and began eating his. "We should head out more often." He said as soon as his mouth wasn't full. Gotta keep table manners in mind here. "I can pay next time!"

"Go pay for a gym membership instead," Klava grinned, before taking a small bite of her own. Yes, quite divine. She'd have to take it slow. "You're too scrawny to even be a snack right now, Fable. Though I appreciate the gesture."

"Right, right, I'll keep that in mi- Wait, a snack??" He looked at Klava with mild confusion.

Klava flashed her teeth but provided no further clarification, instead turning her phone towards him. "Let's swap contact info while we can. I'll keep you updated on what I find out if you do the same, yeah?"

Fable's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, that! Was meaning to ask!" He grabbed his phone to add Klava's number to his contacts. "Since Shimr can _{unfortunately} be accessed by our adversaries, I'm hoping this'll be a better alternative to talk and all. Aaaand there we go!" He sent a small text to confirm that it went through.

Klava gave him a thumbs up. In real life, of course.

"Well, enough chatting on my end. You got any questions before I finish this and bounce, kiddo?"

"Dunno. Got any hobbies yourself?" He asked.

"Sheesh," Klava said. "Way to show how interested you are in me."

"I-I mean, what else do you want me to ask? If you had any siblings of your own? If you have a job outside of being the Maiden? What your favorite color is?" Fable rose a brow. "Guess I just like to naturally get to know people over time."

"I dunno," Klava shot back, though there was some mirth in her eyes, "Maybe don't start off your question with 'Dunno'? The answer to those questions, by the by, is up to you, no, yes, yellow."

"Ah, okay. And uh, s-sorry about that." The boy sheepishly glanced away at the jab of him using the wrong words. "Don't have a favorite color myself. I just go with whatever doesn't make me look stupid. What do you do job wise?"

"I'm a freelancer."

A pause to fish for a reaction.

"...Really?"

"In graphic design." She shrugged. "Though it's not going off yet, so that's why I freelancer Esper-wise on the side."

He tilted his head. "Graphic design, huh? Maybe you can show me some examples later?" he asked.

Klava shook her head, then dipped down to finish the remainder of her panna cotta. "Naw, I prefer to keep my professions separate. Gets weird otherwise."

"Got it." Fable was still a bit curious, but he'd just shrug it off. It'd be rude to insist.

"Mm, good." It wasn't certain whether Klava was referring to his response or to the last bite of her dessert. "Well then, I shall be departing to my evening activities now. Thank you for inviting me to this lovely establishment, Fable."

"Well, couldn't let our rewards go to waste, could I?" The boy smiled. "Let me know if something comes up."

She picked up her bags and winked.

"Only if I can't handle it."

_{@Ponn@FamishedPants}

Su had been caught off guard when Samuel thanked her for saving him earlier. In Su’s own mind, people had gotten hurt under her leadership, and things would have gone smoother had she been a bit more capable in that role. She should have remained to protect Silmeria and relied on Samuel to push the front line. But Samuel’s comments reminded her that in the end, there was success and failure, and they had succeeded in surviving if nothing else.

She was going to talk with the others, but it seemed like they had already started to depart for home. Su would be leaving too, but Samuel offered to go to the ice cream truck with everyone, and that seemed like a nice way to wrap up the operation.

And that was why she was holding an ice cream cone right now.

Not just any cone, this was a waffle cone, likely cooked on a griddle before being dipped in a chocolate glaze and coated in rainbow sprinkles. It was overflowing with “fourth of july” ice cream, which was vanilla ice cream mixed with strawberries and blueberries. It was topped with whipped cream, a chery, and drizzled with caramel.

The area was isolated by government agents, some of which were also enjoying ice cream. The threat of monster attacks had evaporated and there was no reason for the espers to remain in the esper state as they enjoyed their treats.

Su spun the cone under her tongue, savoring each flavor it came in contact with.

”This good idea!” She looked at her comrades and smiled.

Su received a nod from Samuel in response. Sam ate from a small disposable bowl and spoon instead of a cone. He had a few scoops of strawberry ice cream and no toppings to speak of but appeared to be taking just as much enjoyment out of it. "Yes. Especially after how...heated things became in there. Some of us nearly became Crispers instead of Espers, so I have to admit that ice cream was perfect for a post-operation treat," he agreed.

Although Ashley had initially been reluctant to accept Silhouette’s offer to join him for ice cream, she had ultimately relented and now stood beside a government vehicle, holding a small bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate fudge. Staring down at it, she couldn’t help but frown at how relaxed Breacher and Silhouette both sounded. Perhaps it was just a byproduct of their considerable experience, compared to her own, but after all the horror and suffering she had witnessed, she didn’t have much reason to be happy, and she certainly didn’t have much of an appetite… Still, perhaps the comfort food would do her some good, she reflected, and after having a spoonful of her “post-operation treat”, the young agent had to admit that she did feel a bit better. Not much, mind you, but at least it was something.

“I’m… um, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to fix your hands back there,” she told Silhouette, while nervously adjusting her glasses. “If I had known you were so badly injured, I would have helped you right away.”

”You no need be sorry, he past it now! Can you see?” Su Pointed at his hands, or maybe his ice cream, with her free hand. ”He can hold spoon and bowl, in time, sword and knife.” With a huff, her hand moved onto her hip. ”Anyone be sorry, I be sorry. I got him burned, but Silhouette thank me anyway. Getting hurt part of job.” Su licked her cone a few more times. ”I just glad you not hurt. Right Silhouette?”

Samuel appeared to find Breacher’s chiding entertaining, and laughed a bit. He looked Ashley in the eyes. “Agent Breacher is quite correct. And it is not as though you ran away from me when I was asking for assistance. I knowingly made the choice to separate us when that fighting began when you were available. If anything, it would make more sense for me to apologize for disturbing you while you were trying to concentrate on a melody.” Sam dug his plastic spoon into his ice cream and took a small bite before continuing. “I was quite genuine in my praise for you, Orion. I truly believe you handled this mission as well or even better than anyone could expect of you. You certainly have nothing to apologize to me for. I’d rather thank you for getting back to us in one piece.” Sam’s tone became a bit less lively at the end as the people they failed to rescue came to his thoughts.

Ashley listened in silence as Breacher reassured her that she had nothing to apologize for, somewhat taken aback by the intensity of the draconic esper’s insistence. Silhouette followed that up with reassurances of his own, along with reiterating his earlier compliments on her performance, causing the young agent’s cheeks to redden slightly. “Thank you, Silhouette,” she replied softly. “You’re very kind. And you’re probably right,” she conceded with a small sigh. “Still, if I’m being honest, I can’t help but feel I failed those hostages, and those poor people Justin had trapped in that chamber I was portaled to. I only hope those still alive can be healed somehow…”

”Not going to let it go, mmmm?” Su lowered her face down to Ashley’s level. Even off duty, Su was exceptionally tall. ”This mission bad, no doubt there. More like it await us. More worse too.” She leaned against the side of the truck and looked back at the mansion. ”They weaker than us, they use hostages to make us wait. Initiative everything in fight. You wait, you lose. We save hostages, we die. Then they die later. It sick, but it true. Can’t save everyone.” She looked back to Ashley, no longer concerned with what her cone was doing. ”I inexperienced once too. Farm house, dead of night, disturbance. Expected monsters, just gangsters with guns. They take hostages before we arrive.” She sighed. ”They shoot, we don’t. They use hostages as shields. We no fire back. We get wounded, some die. They flee.” Su sighed. ”Too angry, gave chase, was quiet. They think they alone, they no longer need hostages. They shoot, kill most, then escape. I make sure none escape.” Her unblinking stare rested on Ashley. ”I bury a family that day.” She looked back at the mansion. ”We no get to decide who live. We no decide who die either. We follow orders and help who survive.” Su took a bite out of her ice cream cone.

"...O-of course, that's not to say you're expected to abandon those feelings!" Samuel hurriedly added while nearly dropping his bowl, the atmosphere taking quite the nosedive. Su suddenly telling quite the depressing tale had successfully managed to put a small dent in Samuel's composure. He cleared his throat and continued. "We are all only too human after all and a monster, either figuratively or literally, would use that humanity against us. It is why Billy Black is so dangerous. Because a tragic situation like today or as in Breacher’s past can and will happen. The difference between the worst-case scenario and the best-case can come down to whether or not we let those emotions motivate us or control us."

“I understand…” Ashley said quietly once Breacher had finished telling her disheartening story and Silhouette had offered something of a rebuttal/clarification. “And I’ll do my best to become stronger,” she added in a far firmer voice. “That said, I’ll never just write someone off as beyond saving, not as long as I can do something about it. I know that sometimes not everyone can be saved, but if there’s even a slim chance I can help someone in need, I’m going to take it!” she vowed, her countenance filled with determination, which created quite the comical juxtaposition with the bowl of ice cream she was holding.

”Eh.” Su waved her hand at Ashley. ”Silhouette knows what I say. Maybe you understand later. Just stay alive, okay? ” With a shake of her head, she looked back at her ice cream cone. It was nearly all gone. ”I met my daughter that day too, so, who know what good or bad?” Her chin trembled, but just for a moment. ”What everyone do later? Going to shop after I clean up.”

The change in subject seemed to be just what Silhouette wanted, judging by the strain in his features disappearing. "In a normal case I would be scrambling to write my report before I could potentially forget any details... but I don't think I'll have that problem this time," Sam told them, though his tone suggested it was memorable for all the wrong reasons. He gave himself a second or two to think and also took the last bite out of his bowl, looking at Su as he answered. "I have a small obligation to play at a bar later tonight, but apart from that I may just grab some eggs and milk on the way home and relax until then." His eyes then moved to Ashley, waiting to see what the rest of the day had in store for her.

Her daughter…? Ashley thought to herself, before recalling that there had been at least one survivor of the massacre Su had described. Oh… I see… She must have adopted her, the young agent realized, somewhat relieved to know that despite Breacher’s outward detachment, she still clearly cared enough to provide a home to a suffering child, and as far as Ashley was concerned, that counted for a lot. “Yes,” she acknowledged with a determined nod when the draconic esper asked her to stay alive. “I’ll do my best to.”

Conversation then moved to what they would be doing once they returned home. Breacher noted that she would just be taking care of some chores, but when Silhouette mentioned filling out an after-action report, Ashley felt her throat tighten up. The horrors of the recent operation were still fresh in her mind, but she had no doubt that putting what she had experienced into words would accentuate them even further. “I suppose I’ll be filling out my own report,” she told them in a sullen voice. “I had initially planned to have a video chat with my younger brother, but after everything I encountered today, I just don’t think I’m in the right mindset for it…” she added, doing her best not to think about the young boy she had seen, the boy who easily could have been her brother. The boy who was probably dead now. Because of her…

”I also write report later, but bar job!” Su snapped over to Samuel. ”You real musician? I know piano, but been long time since I play. Not sure I could please crowd.” She chuckled. ”What bar? Maybe I watch you play later?” She shoved the rest of her cone into her mouth.

Samuel momentarily looked shocked before his features settled into a wide smile and his eyes lit up with a pure delight. Su clearly struck a positive chord in him by asking about it. "It's more of a hobby I am mediocre at than anything, so it feels weird for me to call myself a musician..." he rubbed the back of his neck, the smallest hint of crimson invading his features. "But I have been playing the electric bass for some years now. Recently, I started to learn the double bass, but well I am not quite there yet. I don’t think anyone would want to hear that. More importantly, the place I frequent, Red Vivace, has a few solid local jazz bands I've acquainted myself with and one of them asked me to act as a substitute tonight. I doubt it will be the cleanest performance since I’m not actually part of their band, but I would welcome your company.”

Samuel went to take a bite of ice cream when he suddenly realized the unfortunate fact that it was all gone. He momentarily excused himself to throw his bowl and spoon away. Even if it was only by a little bit, this short trip had the added effect of calming him down, so he cast a glance at his fellow agents when he returned, finding a downtrodden Ashley to be an unpleasant sight. "So," he began. "How about you, Orion? What music you listen to? Play instruments?"

Having forced herself to return to eating her ice cream, while Breacher shifted the conversation to Silhouette’s part-time job, Ashley was slightly caught off guard when the totally-not-a-real-musician asked about her tastes in music. Gulping down the spoonful of ice cream (and shuddering a bit in the process), the young agent did her best to address the question that had been posed to her. “What do I like to listen to?” she repeated. “Well, mostly stuff that I can play when I study, like ambient and classical, with a little EDM, on occasion. As for instruments, I took violin lessons in high school, and I can play a few songs on my parents’ piano, but I wouldn’t say I’m particularly talented,” she added with a fragile smile, while nervously adjusting her glasses.

Su gave a nod of approval. ”Good instruments. Mika also like study music, but I not see her study unless I there with her. She like… Chill beats?” Su shrugged her shoulders. ”She spoiled. You seem like hard studier!” She tapped Ashley’s shoulder with her knuckles. ”Still thinking about going to college?”

​​“Oh, um, t-thank you,” Ashley replied when Breacher complimented her study habits. “A-And yes, I would very much like to attend college. I’ve been looking into some schools in the area, but I’m not sure if I can balance my work with G.E.M.I.N.I. and a full course load,” she added with a frown. “I mean, I suppose I could just go part-time, but most of the programs I would be interested in frown on that…”

Samuel nodded in intimate understanding of the dilemma. “Similarly, I had to concede my position in a company I had been with for some years when I joined G.E.M.I.N.I. It wasn’t feasible to work both. I’m sure whatever your decision is, it will work out in the end. You’re quite the bright kid.” Sam gave his opinion. “Though I suppose I should ease up on the praise at least for today. Wouldn’t want it to go to your head.” he gave a small chuckle, clearly teasing.

After a lingering silence in the group, Samuel decided to speak up. “Well, I’ve enjoyed speaking to you both and thank you for coming with me. Fate willing, we could do this again in a less… hostile environment. I’m sure it’d be much more pleasant. The situation is looking like we’ll be doing quite a bit of work together in the future, so I’d like to give you both my contact info, but I won’t take offense if you’d rather not.”

”I good with contact info!” Su eagerly pulled out her phone to exchange numbers. ”You too Orion! I take your number!”

Once they had given their answers and got that squared away, Samuel would offer them both the best and excuse himself.

”Handsome man’s number…” She smiled at Ashley after putting away her phone. ”We get Justin next time. No worry about it.” She patted the new recruit on the shoulder before departing.

Ashley was stunned speechless for several seconds after Silhouette complimented her intelligence, the young esper’s cheeks turning a bright red. “I-I won’t,” she whispered with an adorably embarrassed smile when the veteran agent jokingly advised her not to let his praise go to her head.

After a brief period of silence, a suggestion to exchange contact information was made, to which Ashley eagerly agreed. “Oh, of course!” she told her fellow agents while retrieving her phone from her pocket. “And I’d love to hang out with the two of you again under more peaceful circumstances, that is, if you’ll have me,” she added, not exactly wanting to be a proverbial third wheel to the two older and more romantically compatible experienced agents.

Once phone numbers had been exchanged, the trio got ready to depart, with Breacher offering their youngest member some words of encouragement. “Thank’s Breacher,” Ashley told the draconic esper. “And you’re right,” she added, her voice filled with renewed confidence. “We will!”

I’ll count on it…

---

_{@The World}

Marrie was quite the multitasker. She was hitting up a mysterious user about a job, asking Tetrad about a head for Stacy, digging up information on Von Carnage’s property, all while babysitting a headless zombie. Not exactly a normal morning for Marrie, but such was the life of an esper.

Her phone rang. It seemed Tetrad was interested in talking with her directly instead of sending text messages. Marrie hadn’t spoken with her a lot on the phone, so it was hard to tell if this was normal behavior for her or not. Regardless, she answered her phone.

”Hey, um… Hi.” Tetrad sounded exhausted. Though she was likely involved with the assault on Justin’s mansion, and if there was one thing Marrie could confirm about the operation, it was that it was unsuccessful. ”I’m sorry, your last text, was that a joke? You want a human head?”

”Uh… yeah. I found a zombie who lost hers helping me out, and apparently she takes replacements?” Marrie looked over at Stacy, wondering again how that works. ”I’m hoping there’s a simple way to get one that’s not like… grave robbing or anything.”

”Oh.” Tetrad sighed. ”The last operation left quite a few corpses, but I don’t think you’re going to get very close to them with the GEMs present. But that’s the thing about Pax Septimus, corpses aren’t too hard to find. I’m glad you’re okay.”

”Thanks. Are you okay? You don’t really sound like you are, to be honest. I don’t like the sound of an operation that left a lot of corpses though…” Marrie looked again at Stacy. ”I… I don’t know what to say.”

”Justin had some kids that knew just enough fire magic to get by and threw them at us. It was not pleasant.” Tetrad cleared her throat. ”We tried not to kill them, but it’s hard to do that and survive yourself, and one of the hires ended up taking their spear to a few of them. I don’t really want to get into details, but it was more than a little messy. Then at the end of it all, most of the freelancers ended up switching sides. It kind of reminded me of the operation we did together, only it was worse because we had four of them and only one stayed.” Her voice cracked. ”One, one of my friends ended up getting captured. I don’t know what they’re going to do to her but, well, I’ll be fine. I’m fine.”

Marrie’s eyes widened as she listened to Tetrad’s story. ”Oh. Oh my god. That’s… that’s horrible! I… Is there any way I can help? Who captured her, Justin or GEMINI? I’m looking to find Justin now, but maybe a freelancer would have a better chance of getting your friend back? I don’t know, I just… I want to help if I can. I’ve fucked up badly enough already, so I’m afraid I’d make things worse, but, I’m willing to give it my all to help out if there’s something I can do.”

”Marrie…” Tetrad sighed again, but when she spoke, she sounded a bit more upbeat. ”I don’t want you to get in trouble. Jez is pretty high up in our group, and the GEMs are going to get suspicious if you ask them to free what they consider a terrorist. That’s assuming- Wait, You’re looking for Justin too?” Marrie couldn’t see it, but she was sure Tetrad tried to hold back a laugh. ”You didn’t take the job to hunt Justin, did you? Why are you searching for him now?”

Marrie paused. Should she really even tell Tetrad what happened? It wasn’t like it was gonna stay a secret for long. ”Uh… moralistic stuff on what a terrorist is and isn’t aside, I told you that I really fucked something up, and now I’m trying to make things better. The best way to do that is to find him, even if I can’t do anything myself, if I can locate him then others can fix things. Someone’s in danger because of my mistake, and I can’t just let that go.”

”I guess we’re in the same boat then huh? Just two espers that made regrettable decisions.” She hummed to herself. ”Well, just remember what Pax Septimus is currently like. As badly as we screw up, it’s not like things are getting worse. It’s just that they’re staying the same.” With a snort, Tetrad continued. ”You know what? We’re going to have pizza later. We’ll discuss how we’re going to tackle this stuff then. When are you available?”

”That depends on where it is, I guess? I don’t really want to leave my new zombie friend alone for too long, so if it’s somewhere more discreet, that would be nice. But I’m free whenever, I’ve made no progress on the Justin thing, so I could use a break.” Marie paused for a moment. ”I gave her a biker’s helmet but it would be weird to have someone in a helmet who doesn’t talk or eat go into a restaurant. This isn’t Durarara or anything, so that could attract attention.”

”Should I just bring pizza to your place?”

Marrie’s mouth hung open for a moment. She hadn’t thought of that possibility. ”Yeah, that would be great.” She rattled off her address before the thought that doing so might not be the best idea ever crossed her mind. Well, she trusted Tetrad anyway, and Stacy would know it once she got a new head, so it wasn’t a big deal.

”Cool beans! I’ll be there in thirty!” Before Tetrad hung up, she had just one more thing to say. ”Oh, um, and Marrie?” She sounded a little sheepish. ”When I come, I’m not going to be in my esper form. I think that’s best for everyone. You uh, you can call me Luna in such instances, alright? I’ll see you later. Thanks for the talk.”

”Oh, okay. Thank you for trusting me that much, I really do appreciate it. See you soon."

It wasn’t until Marrie hung up that she realized she had received a text from “High-Priest.” The mysterious Shimr user that wanted the burning coin destroyed.

Glad you're as interested in dealing with Justin as I am.



Firstly, your messages contain just a bit of misinformation. While I do not know Justin's exact powers, He did not create the portal that allowed him to escape. The burning coin was most likely a mark placed by Baleful Sofron. Though your ignorance can be forgiven, as the world of magic is a confusing one, and you are still new to a lot of it. Your observation aside, if you want to stop Justin, you will need to separate him from Sofron.

This can't blow up on Shimr like the last operation did. Justin has a lot of money to throw at problems, but he can't do that if he doesn't know they're coming. Which is why I've elected to locate Sofron myself and have you apprehend him. But you are too weak to take him on yourself. You will need help.

I believe that Orion, the Knight of Tomorrow, would make a fantastic ally. Have her contact me or get me her contact details so that I can convince her to join our cause. Once you have done that for me, I will explain the rest of the operation.

If finances are a concern, you will be well compensated for getting me in touch with Orion.

Well, how was she supposed to know that!? Justin could probably make portals too if he wanted, heck, she could make portals even! She took a moment to calm down and texted back a reply.

-Alright. That makes sense. Besides, my messages hopefully will have started off a fire on Shimr naturally, so that might distract him a bit. I’ll do what I can to find Orion quickly. Thank you for your help with dealing with Justin. Apparently he’s not just considered a villain because of his race like I hoped, but actually a bad guy. So I’ll be glad to help take him down.-

Annnnd send.

I’m glad you understand. He is beyond any form of redemption.

I can help you locate Orion as well. She is a GEMINI agent, and likely patrols the recently reclaimed precinct eleven. I see many GEMINI espers going on patrols around that area. I can probably figure out her exact route and schedule with a bit of time. I just wanted to make sure you were interested in the job before going through with it.

Weird, no emojis this time.

-I’m sure it would be useful to know her route, but if I’m right about something, I might be able to get to her otherwise. Do we need to not alert other G.E.M.I.N.I. members that I’m looking for her, or is it alright to go through a liaison?- Marrie sent back.

I would like to keep the number of people who know of our mission as low as possible. However, I see no reason why you couldn’t ask a member of GEMINI or someone else that you are looking for her. Just make sure you don’t ask any nosy people. Dr Fritzi in particular is quite shrewd when it comes to giving or receiving information, so I would advise not going through her in particular.

-I was planning to try a few fun things, but I don’t know if it would tip off this “Dr. Fritzi” person… I don’t want to waste my shot though. Do you know what she looks like or anything?-

Fritzi Muller is the head of GEMINI’s Pax Septimus branch, and also does research for the government. Using the Shimr app to contact GEMINI directly will likely put you in contact with her. So your options are to hunt down other GEMINI operatives who use Shimr, or bump into them in person.They are not easy to find by design.

As for her appearance, I’m assuming you are referring to the Knight of Tomorrow. She looks like a generic harem trophy in a sci-fi anime. Purple hair, green visor, white form-fitting leotard with gloves that reach her shoulders, impractical footwear, as well as a force field and a wand. Fritzi is a bit more modest. She also has purple hair, but does so out of the esper state.

Marrie blinked. Not quite how she expected this person to talk, but better to be blunt, she figured. -Got it. I’ll see what I can do. If I just show up near the station, either I’ll find her or they’ll become alerted to me and I can go from there. It might not be the smartest idea, but it should at least… Actually, I have a better idea. I think I’ll send a few misleading messages on Shimr to get attention elsewhere, and then approach in person? I’ll have to look into what I can do for that.-

Do keep in mind the reason why I’m choosing to be discreet about this is to prevent Shimr from exploding on itself like last time. Regardless, you don’t strike me as a total fool, so I’ll trust your judgment for now. Do get in touch with me if you need help..

Though for now it seems time is waning. I will leave you to your devices for now. When we next speak, hopefully it will be with good news.

There was a sigh of relief when Marrie got that message. She didn’t realize that she was so tense while talking with this person. But she’d put her brain to work thinking of how to find this Orion person. Starting by finding this police station that was mentioned.

"Doubling up production today, huh?"
Current Location: Mostly the Pit Stop
Suffice to say, Klava gave Finn a lot to think over. The thought that he had alienated Maverick over one stupid operation left a bitter taste in his mouth, but as much as he didn't want to admit it, she was right. No matter what he chose, he'd be screwed either way. If he had stayed and fought, GEMINI would've concidered him a terrorist. Terrorist-adjacent? Whatever. But to actually join one of the factions?? The boy took a while to actually think over it.

Well, he didn't have much options now, did he?

With a quiet sigh, he went on Shimr to see how (and if) he could get in contact with the leader, even if she seems a bit...unnerving.

It was not hard to find GEMINI's profile on the Shimr app. They had their own group page with links to various "satellite" accounts. One of which was Fritzi Moller's account, who was the one presiding over GEMINI opperations in Pax Septimus. It looked like she was online. If he called or texted her, he would get an answer back soon, he thought. A stroke of luck!

Though, now he felt a bit nervous. With him being an unwilling reason the last op failed on both ends, would she even be willing to hire him? Well, he didn't want to text her through the site. Finn took a deep breath and dialed Fritzi's number.

Let's hope I don't screw this up!

After exactly three rings, Fritzi picked up. ”Hello, this is Doctor Moller speaking!” Came an overly friendly telephone voice. ”You'd better not be a telemarketer.”

"Ah! Yes, hello! I was calling to see if there were any open positions in your initiative here? For espers?" Finn said.

”That depends on who's calling.” Fritzi's voice became less jovial as she spoke. ”We do a background check and interview everyone, so getting your name is a prime prequisite.”

The boy frowned. How could he answer that? After a pause to think, he responded honestly: "I think the name Finnegan Vanhorn may catch your interest. But I usually go by Fable, or the Timekeeper on Shimr."

”Hmmm?” There was a brief pause as Finn could hear Fritzi tapping her tablet on the other side. ”Timekeeper? Like, 'the' Timekeeper? The one who looked into Betty's dissapearance along with Elroy?” Just by her voice alone, Finn could tell she was starting to smile. ”Wow, can't say I was expecting a phone call from you, sir. Well, I'm going to go check the records, but assuming you haven't jacked any cars or make a habit of killing innocent people, we just have an initiation test. It's nothing to stress about, pretty much everyone- Why are you interested in joining up?”

Finn chuckled, albeit a bit nervously. This was turning out better than expected. "Friend's suggestion. Besides, after how the last operation ended, Maverick probably doesn't like me that much either." He shrugged, going off of what Klava said. "I do my own research and stuff in my free time, so I guess that's a reason they suggested you guys."

”I would not make a habit of telling your employer that you're working for them because their terrorist counterparts won't hire you. But fair enough, Mr Vanhorn. Your friend has wisdom beyond their years if they are guiding you to us.” Finn could hear something heavy being dragged off of a ledge, then being dropped on a desk. ”Once I get done looking into your backround, I'll give you a call in a few days and schedule that initiation test. It'll be followed up by an interview, but I don't see the whole thing lasting longer than thirty minutes tops. You did get to Justin's inner chamber alive, so I think you can handle a rudamentary test.”

The boy quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, ma'am. And uh, my apologies as well!"

---

Binky was out of action for a while, which meant that Fritzi’s workload had increased. While the good doctor was capable of doing a lot, Binky was a fairly integral member of her unit, and managing her own responsibilities as well as Binky’s was not feasible. It was understandable that some of such responsibilities would end up getting delegated to other agents. She had many talented agents, all of which could do most of what Bink could.

But few of them had Binky’s temperament, or the ability to tolerate Fritzi 100% of the time.

”Just the person I wanted to see!”

Fritzi had, actually, requested that Jacqueline meet her in this very spot. They were in front of one of the many closed up cafe’s around Pax Septimus. A look inside would reveal the “Pit Stop” had been closed for a long time, and at one time had been a vintage race car themed cafe. Oddly, it did not seem to have been vandalized like so many other, less fortunate buildings.

”So! As we discussed, I need you to interview a new recruit. I’m aware it’s not ‘your thing,’ but just remember that this is someone who may fight by your side. Knowing that, just ask any questions you may find relevant, and we can go from there. Background looks squeaky clean, no history of illegal activities or the like. Any questions before you start?”

Jacqueline arrived a minute or two before the designated time, and greeted her boss with a nod. She found it too bad the Pit Stop wasn’t operational; it looked neat, and she’d have enjoyed having a drink inside. Given that it was so well-taken care of, compared to the other buildings, it was likely a meeting spot for…someone. “Yes, I recall. Though it’s not what I prefer, I can do this easily enough,” she said. It wasn’t empty confidence on her part; though she’d never conducted a recruitment interview before, she had worked as a businesswoman in the past, and generally knew what kinds of things would be looked for in a potential employee. Her suit and suitcase, straight posture, and a more level-headed approach given how she wasn’t jacked up on adrenaline supported her claim.

Jacqueline didn’t have to consider what she wanted to know about the recruit for long. “Hm, do you have their profile at hand? I’d appreciate an overview of the basics. Is it an esper I’m meeting or a regular agent? Either way, some info could be useful so I know what to expect. Age, gender, nationality, working history, the usual.”

”I knew I was forgetting something.” Fritzi presented Jacqueline with a manila envelope. Inside she would find a profile for someone she likely recognized from the last operation.

”Finnegan Vanhorn. Thirteen, male, American, no noteworthy working experience, from an affluent family, yadda yadda. Hard to get anything of interest about the Vanhorns on short notice, but a cursory glance makes them seem pretty normal. Aside from the bit where their youngest son is an esper.” She tapped a picture of Finn’s esper form. ”The Time Keeper is something of a celebrity. Even though Elroy took most of the credit for figuring out what happened to Betty, Finn has become something of a poster child for Justin’s removal. Fan groups have started to form, pushing around the idea that he and Betty are an item.” She folded her arms and smiled. ”I probably don’t have to tell you that having him join GEMINI would be quite the boon to our little group from a PR standpoint. But he’s not that much of a celebrity, and he does need to be able to pull his weight to join us.”

Jacqueline received the envelope, and took a moment to go over the documents inside. “A kid, huh,” she mused. “Wonder what about the last mission made him want to join,” she muttered - not quietly enough that the doctor wouldn’t hear. “A celeb, great,” her comment made it evident she wasn’t particularly enthused about the idea. At the mention of the woman, she had to think a bit to put a face and role to her name. “Betty…the kidnappee,” she nodded slowly.

“Is he interested in just a temporary working alliance? Given you’re telling me both to make a sales pitch to convince him to join and ensure he’s up to snuff for what we need.” Jacqueline wasn’t sure why the doctor was trying to convince her that the child would make for a good addition. She’d gone with the assumption that the other party was reluctant, and this was more of a negotiation than anything else. Though…maybe her boss was worried that her callous demeanour could be a turn off for someone who presumably cared about rescuing one specific human life? She supposed she’d have to watch out not to be too brusque with the interviewee.

”My desired outcome is that we get someone who can be molded into a useful agent, or deny someone who can’t be. I’m just letting you know all the facts because you asked for them.” Fritzi stretched her arms. The smile on her face faded as the seconds ticked by. ”Leroux, the largest behemoth we’ve ever seen is going to touch down in Pax Septimus. It’s called “The Holy Diver.” Maybe you’ve heard Binky and I talking about it in hushed tones?” She folded her arms. ”Regardless, I’m getting all the information on it that I can. We need a plan of attack for when it shows up, and these distractions are just slowing my progress. Which is why it’s a huge help to have you do this interview. Because while it really is something Binky or I should do, there’s something more pressing that demands my time.” The corners of her lips curled into a smile. ”So to reiterate, only consider hiring them if you think they will be a benefit to GEMINI, as you may find yourself fighting beside them very soon.”

Jacqueline nodded at the answer. At the following compliment-cum-explanation, she raised both eyebrows. When it was clear the doctor was eager to go, she shook her head with a chuckle. “Alright, alright, my bad. I won’t hold you up any longer, doctor,” mild amusement still laced her tone as she said her goodbyes to Fritzi. “I’ll send you a brief report on this later,” she concluded.

Fritzi pressed her thumb and forefinger together like she had just sampled some al dente quizine. ”Excellent. And thank you.”

Fritzi pushed open the door to the Pit Stop and let Jacqueline inside. Without any power to the building, it was one of the few areas that offered good visibility. The vast interior of the Pit Stop was shrouded in shadow, but all the booths had plenty of light to see by. This was where Finn was seated.

The young brunette appeared to be a little nervous. He had cleaned up a bit nicer than usual for the occasion; business casual, and his pocketwatch rested on the table he sat at. It wasn't that he didn't know how interviews worked, he was just hoping to make a good impression on his possible employers. Finn waved at the two once they appeared at the door.

”There you are, I’ll let you two get acquainted.” She placed a hand on Jacqueline’s shoulder. ”He just finished his field exam, so he might seem a little winded.” Fritzi didn’t utter another word before disappearing from sight.

Jacqueline looked around the insides curiously, though most of the cafe was unfortunately too dark to discern much. A strange, but neutral location to hold a meeting in, she supposed. After a quick perusal of the indoors, she turned to nod at Finn. "Hello, there," she greeted the adolescent as she sat herself across from him. She set the thin leather on the desk, stored the manilla envelope containing Finn's profile, and withdrew a small laptop. She set the computer to the side as she booted it up, so it didn't obscure her view of Finn or vice-versa. "Mr. Finnegan Vanhorn. Any preference as to how I address you?" she questioned, eyebrow quirking up as she observed the child.

Finn's eyebrows rose in curiosity as he watched Jacqueline set her things up. "I usually go by Fable when I'm out and about." He explained, not really used to being addressed by his real name. "If the wrong people know who I really am, that'd be painting an unwanted target on my back. Atleast as Timekeeper I'd have less to worry about. The reason why I went ahead and introduced myself properly to Dr. Muller was cause she'd figure it out eventually."

Jacqueline eyed the boy up and down. "That sounds reasonable; however, your real name could be identified based on your appearance. If keeping your identities separate is a point of concern, that's something you should keep in mind...Fable."

Since her laptop was ready by then, she created a blank document for notekeeping, then commenced the interview. "Moving on to your reason for contacting us...You wish to join GEMINI?"

"Mhm." The boy nodded.

Jacqueline decided to start with an overview of the boy's skills."Then first, tell me about your abilities and preferred role as an esper. You can give some examples from the previous mission, if you like."

Ah, he didn't really think about what type of role he plays in combat. He took a moment to think. "Well, as per my Timekeeper alias, my kit revolves around the concept of time. I can heal, slow down, speed up, stuff like that. Element wise, I use lightning attacks." He started to explain. "You may have noticed the speed buff I gave Maiden back at the Inner Circle? I also somehow managed to take down three of the haunted suits of armor at once with an AoE melody, but...yeah, you probably know that barely worked." Finn slightly grimaced. "Role wise, I guess I could be concidered a support type. Never really though about it till now."

While Fable talked, Jacqueline typed alongside, though she practically never glanced at either the screen or the keyboard as she worked. "Support fits what you've described, and we could certainly use another one of those," she commented. "Speaking of your previous work...You've operated as a Freelance esper thus far. Have you established any ties with others, whether fellow Freelancers - or even Mavericks? If so, tell me, in your opinion, what benefits and drawbacks those connections could have to you personally, and to our organization in general, if and when you become a government agent."

"Honestly, I haven't been active enough to meet a lot of people. The Immortal Volcano and Cthulya, they helped me and the other Doc with the Crab Rave, and helped me with this ongoing incident. Even if the latter's a bit ecentric, I believe they won't be a hinderance if I joined your ranks. Hell, they could keep being a good help if nothing crops up." He said. "Then there's the Maiden. I'll admit it. She's the friend who suggested I go through with this, even if you concider her a threat now. I was a bit hesitant, knowing that we'd have to fight if we ran into each other mid operation, but I trust that she'll be okay. And if she does end up getting killed, well...I guess it can't be helped." Finn's expression turned to one of indifference. Even if he didn't want Klava to get killed, that circumstance would be out of his hands. "Other freelancers like the Protector and that faceless guy I'm only aquaintances with. Barely know 'em. Maverick too, but that's probably a good thing now huh?"

"Hmm, alright." Jacqueline had been surprised he'd admitted he considered one of their enemies a friend, but at least based on what he said, he'd accepted she might be killed in action by them. Though it was unknown if he himself would be willing to have a hand in that. "And your personal relationships? Your family, or that Betty woman, for example?" she prompted.

"My parents are constantly busy, we don't get much time to spend with each other before they have to focus on work again. We...don't really talk much." The boy furrowed his brows as he thought of them. "I'm more closer to my sister Lydia. Real sweetheart, kinda mischevious. She's often busy too, but she always tries to be there for and with me." He smiled, which then turned into a grimace with the next subject. "Betty and I barely knew each other when she got kidnapped. I wish I stayed at the Great Escape, got to know her better, been there to keep her safe but-"

He bit his tongue, bit back the blame he wanted to put on Mary. But really, was he wrong? Ze could've just pulled up a chair, faceplanted into the table as ze introduced zirself. But nooooo, the dimwit had to chuck Betty into the goddamn men's restroom and give him a fucking heart attack cause what? Was ze jealous or some shit?! They might have been just kids, but ze could atleast stop to THINK!

Finn pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression twisting to one of irritation for a moment. _{"Mary you fucking idiot..."} He whispered to himself, then shook his head, turning his attention back to Jacqueline. "Well, it can't be helped. That was that, and this is this. Maybe all this is just me being selfish, or me wanting to atone for my stupidity, but I...I don't know why I care. About her. I just do. And if she's not the only one kidnapped by that bastard Justin, then I want to help them too! None of those innocent lives deserve to die cause their wills were taken from them!"

Then his eyes widened, once he realized he went on a tangent. "F-Forgive my outburst, Miss. I don't know what spurred me on like that."

The sounds of typing stopped once again not long after Fable himself was finished. "No, no, not at all. It's obvious you care about this deeply," she reassured. "You even covered your motivations, which were what I expected, to be honest." She paused, gazing at Finn as she pondered how to word what she wanted to say. "Saving lives is a commendable cause, and in line with what we do." There was clearly a 'but' about to follow. "To be frank with you...

As much as we try sometimes," not that they had all that much in their latest mission, but Fable didn't need to know that, "There are situations that do not allow for rescuing civilians. Once captured, it is a simple matter for our enemies to kill them. Of course, we strive to prevent that as much as possible. I just want you to be aware that things like not getting there in time, them trying to taunt us by murdering hostages, or even us having to prioritize the elimination of our targets rather than safekeeping hostages...do happen." Jacqueline was still looking meaningfully at Fable, awaiting his reaction and response to her warning.

Instead of reacting negatively, Finn's expression remained neutral as he listened to her. Once Jacqueline was done talking, he spoke up:

"Then we just save who we can."

His expression turned serious. "Pick up the pieces, take what we learn, and move forward. We may have failed last time on both ends, but next time, neither Justin nor Billy will be lucky." Then, he smiled. "I'll make sure of it."

At that, Jacqueline smiled as well, clearly pleased. "That's the spirit," she complimented. Since the interview yet had to conclude, she'd have to change tracks a bit. "I won't waste your time by asking if you're ready to put your life on the line for what you believe in, because it is evident to me that you are. The only other point I'd like to address is the balance between work, life, and education. We'll try to be accomodating, so that your schooling does not unduly suffer, but missions do take priority. Your time will become a limited, precious resource - one you'll likely have to dedicate to making up whatever you miss in class, giving appropriate excuses to potentially worried family members...I imagine it might be a challenge. Do you foresee that as an issue?"

As if he wasn't already handling time like it's a fragile gemstone. Or, more or less, time had him strung up like it's puppet. A fickle mistress. The only family member he worried would take notice of all this was Lydia. Other than that...

"Not at all." Fable shook his head.

"Good! Do you have any questions for me?" Jacqueline let Finn have the opportunity to ask about anything he might be curious about.

"Not really." He shrugged.

Jacqueline hummed in response, saved the document with notes, and turned off her computer. From her briefcase, she pulled out a working contract. She passed it over to Fable. "Read that at your leisure, ask if you don't know or aren't sure about something, and sign when you're ready. Once you do, you'll officially be a GEMINI agent."

Fable picked up the contract and carefully read it, down to the fine print. He took a deep breath, set it back down on the table, and finally signed it.

No turning back now.

@Izurich @SilverPaw @BrokenPromise

An event happening simultaneously with another.

The detransformed Silmeria would've already joined Samuel and the rest of the squad for some ice-cream, but it was then that she noticed that a certain someone was missing. Normally, she'd just live and let live, but fuck it, after all the shit that had happened today, she was feeling like being nosy.

Thus, it was how Jacqueline found her shoulder being cordially patted from behind by a certain squadmate that was an exact centimeter taller than her.

"Want some ice cream...?" She paused, "I insist." before curling a barely-perceptible mischievous smile.

"Hm?" Jacqueline turned around when she felt someone touch her. She'd been too involved in her thoughts to have noticed her coworker's approach, so the interruption had startled her. "Oh...Silmeria," she smiled, but it was a strained gesture. "I didn't really intend to, but," she shrugged, sighing, "well, as long as I don't have to transform back any time soon, I guess it's fine." She seemed resigned to the idea. It wasn't that she minded spending time with her coworkers, but due to Justin's escape, she knew she was in a sour mood just then. Thus, she'd simply intended to decompress at home, or elsewhere, outside of the immediate working environment.

Even though Jacqueline wasn't as stone-faced as Dr. Moller, the ex-businesswoman wasn't the type to wear her heart on the sleeve like Orion either, falling somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, where most adults are in general, but even if the older woman was more stoic than she was, Silmeria could ascertain why she was quieter than usual, what with how the operation went and all, the brunette was sure that no one was exactly in high spirits after their prey got away, especially after he had killed so many innocents right in front of their eyes.

...and that was precisely why a bit of sweet treats could serve as a little consolation prize, minor it might be. "Well, to be fair, it was Samuel's idea and he only said it after you had left." The orange-eyed dropout shrugged, "Hmmm... who knows, Justin might decide to show up and chat, you never know with monsters, right~?" Giggling exactly once, the long-haired sniper turned around, fully believing that her coworker would follow.

As Jacqueline didn't care whose idea this was, she didn't comment. At Silmeria's playful line, though, she snorted. "Sure," she retorted dryly. "Ya know, I had no idea you could be so cheerful," she commented. Granted, they hadn't known each other long, and hadn't really interacted outside of missions, but still. The other woman didn't give off that impression.

Since Jacqueline wasn't that far away yet - or else Silmeria wouldn't have bothered to fetch her - they rendezvoused at the ice cream truck sooner than later. It was there that they could see Su, Samuel, and Ashley hanging together, while Binky was all by herself, an unamused frown on her battered face. Fritzi was no doubt still inside the mansion, coordinating the clean-up crew as she said, and Wukong... likely went somewhere. Well, time to bother the cabbage-haired esper then. "Hey Bink, I dragged Leroux back against her will," Her gaze then turned towards the fridge-on-wheels, "What flavor would you two like? Also, cup or cone?"

Binky must have seen the paramedics, because the side of her face was lined with a few butterfly stitches as well as a full sized bandage. A neck brace had also been installed, which looked a bit cumbersome on the cabbage-haired girl’s small frame.

She pulled out her phone, opened a note app, and started typing. It was clear Binky wasn’t used to texting. Though given her position as a lab assistant, she was probably far more accustomed to typing on a full sized keyboard. But it didn’t take her more than a few seconds to type out “STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE” and show it to Silmeria.

Jacqueline followed after Silmeria languidly. She huffed at the manner in which she was introduced, reluctantly entertained. "If it were against my will, you'd have to employ more force than this. Shouldn't it be, 'against her better judgement, I bribed her to return'?" Smirking, she added teasingly, "Speaking of, do feel free to treat me," she nodded at the ice cream truck. Given Silmeria was asking for orders, it looked like she was more than willing to do so. "Just some mint with choco chip. Cone is fine," she relayed.

After her fellow agent departed to get them their treats, she turned a considerate gaze at Binky. "So, what's the story? You should be getting bed rest, shouldn't you?" Her tone was curious rather than worried, though.

Jacqueline wasn’t wrong. Binky was not in fighting condition right now. The Binky chose to sit down on a park bench instead of stand like everyone else was no mystery. She hadn’t spoken a single word since she left the hallway. It was likely her jaw bothered her too much to properly speak, and her slow typing speed meant that she couldn’t keep up with conversations as easily. But that didn’t stop her from trying. After typing her next message, she showed it to Jacquiline, which was “NEED MY MILKSHAKE.”

Seeing the difficulties Binky had with writing, Jacqueline nodded, and sat herself next to her. "And you'll get it," she added, more so to fill the silence than anything else. She leaned on the backrest, lounging as she waited for their orders to get taken care of.

"One choco chip mint cone and a glass of strawberry milkshake, got it." Silmeria nodded, amusingly realizing that Binky chose milkshake because it was a drinkable dessert, easier on the jaw movement and all that. The stitches and neck brace combined with her green hair certainly made her look as if she was cosplaying a petite feminine version of Frankenstein's Monster, but Merry figured it'd be in poor taste to mention that outloud.

Soon enough, the brunette returned with two cones of ice cream - one mint with chocolate chips and one with vanilla creme brulee - and a tall paper cup of strawberry milkshake complete with a striped straw; she handed the cup to Binky, the mint cone to Jackie, and kept the vanilla one for herself. Silmeria simply enjoyed the dessert for a few moments, watching Binky out of the corner of her eye to see if she needed assistance with anything.

Up until she remembered something that the hammer knight said back then, and decided to address it to at least avoid any misunderstandings, they'd be working together in life-and-death situations for the foreseeable future after all, "Oh, Jacqueline, about earlier, well, we haven't really talked with each other outside of missions, and during missions, well... no one will disagree that it's difficult to be cheerful when facing against those xeno scum, right?" Human trafficking, brainwashing, slavery, mass murder, pediatricide, the list goes on. Right now though, Silmeria curled a small genuine smile, enjoying the brief moment of respite with her teammates, "However, I certainly will be more cheerful once I put a bullet through Justin, Billy, and everyone who swears fealty to them, yes."

"Yeah, yeah, it'd be more disturbing if you were happy-go-lucky while on the job." She waved dismissively with one hand, while tackling her ice-cream with another. There was perhaps a certain irony to Jacqueline saying so, as she generally felt pretty good when going against monsters. As long as things were going well, of course. "Mmm-hm. It's a long road to success," she said, disinterested in continuing that line of conversation. Instead, she tilted her head at Binky, more inclined to listen to what she might tell.

The only sound Binky made was a long, seemingly endless slurp as she took her frozen treat through a straw. She hadn’t spoken a word, so it must have been impossible or uncomfortable for her to speak. Though it clearly wasn’t uncomfortable to slurp her shake, which was just a bit louder than the wind that occasionally blew through the street.

Binky only had her hands to communicate with, so she needed to multitask between talking and eating. It took her a moment to notice Jaquiline was looking at her, which caused the assistant to stop. She gave her a thumbs up and was about to resume slurping when she noticed something in Jacqueline’s features. She set down her milkshake and picked up her phone again. Though she backed out of the note writing app. Instead she booted up google and started to type. As slow as Binky’s typing was, the auto fill function meant that she didn’t have to type everything to form a complete sentence. She pointed at “What are you doing tonight?” which was sandwiched between “What are you doing today” and “What are you doing in spanish.”

It was a good thing Binky hadn't chosen to ask her agenda for the whole remainder of the day, because it was pretty vague and liable to change. Late night hours though? "Most likely going out somewhere. Getting inadvisably drunk," she drawled. Raising a dubious eyebrow at the injured woman, she added, "Why? Interested?" Her proposition wasn't really a serious one, for more than one reason, but it's not like she couldn't be convinced.

It seemed that Jacqueline was one of those that was more indifferent to the tireless task of purifying the earth from the extradimensional aliens or she hid it well, but Silmeria's guts believed it was the former. It was likely that the dark-haired agent never lost a close family member to one of those creatures, twas' undeniable seeing your own child being murdered was far more harrowing than seeing a child subjected to that fate. Regardless, Silmeria didn't really mind as in the end, they all stood together as humanity's first line of defense against the xenos. Besides, the sniper knew that she wasn't alone in this, a certain Orion was with her.

Tangerine eyes shifted to the female Frankenstein's Monster as the older agent addressed her, amusingly replied via text typed on Totally-Not-Spyware-Megacorp's search engine query bar. Funnily, Binky seemed to have no issues drinking the milkshake though... perhaps the dopamine infusion from the sweet treat motivated her body enough to ignore any discomfort in the process. "Oh... hmmm..." Merry had to think about that too, but then shrugged, "Sure, let's do that. Girls' night out?"

It looked like Binky might have been considering her offer, but then she typed up a short message. “Might drink at home.”

"Might be for the best," her lips curled into a minute smile. "Maybe next time," she said offhandedly, though the offer was genuine this time.

Then Binky understandably decided to keep things in-house, so she just nodded at the green-haired esper before turning back to Jackie, her ice cream almost finished, "Let's do it. You only live once, right?"

"You want to...?" Jacqueline was taken aback, but quickly recovered. "Sure. Let's exchange numbers, and we can arrange the time and place later," she briefly turned to Binky, "You too, if you ever feel like getting drinks once you're back in shape."

The green haired esper fret her brow, but said little else. If the two were ready to leave, she would probably have one of the armored trucks drive her back to the base.

Silmeria took a moment to reflect at Jacqueline's reaction, starting to believe that she may have put too thick of a mask when it comes to her 'work face', but she's sure that she wasn't the only one to do this, right? Especially in an occupation where one wrong move could mean your literal death, that and she had never hung out much with her fellow agents. ”...” She supposed it's time to fix that, huh? Starting with Jackie. "Yeah... I... uh..." She decided to keep it for later and just nodded, "Sure." Fishing out her phone to exchange numbers with both Leroux and Binky.

That done, the brunette gave a sympathetic nod at the only mundane-form wounded esper among them, "Get well soon, Bink."

For a city that was otherwise a cesspool of corruption, Pax Septimus had one thing going for it at least: the night life. The lack of any real government oversight in regards to building regulations meant that those with a particular vision could get away with constructing anything they wished, so long as they knew the right people to pay, and subsequently, that meant that the clubs within the city had some designs that were quite outlandish.

The Rainforest was one such club, an expansive dance hall with all walls made of sturdy, bulletproof glass that had been glazed over to make it almost totally opaque. Inside, the space was divided into a dance pit with artificial vegetation and humidifiers giving it an intensely fatiguing tropical vibe, as well as an upraised lounge where onlookers could quench their thirst and enjoy the show from above. It was a sinister place, perhaps, one that accelerated dehydration in order to get people to buy more drinks, and more than a couple people had gotten hospitalized from heat stroke within the sauna-like setting of the dance pit, but at the same time, those hospitalized people would return afterwards anyhow, having gotten addicted to the sensory overload of the Rainforest, the feeling of drowning while on land.

Yup, Pax Septimus’s night life was fucked up, but at least it wasn’t boring.

Pushing her way out of the throbbing music and the jumping crowds of the dance pit, Klava let out a sigh half of satisfaction and half of exhaustion. Tonight’s performances were fairly stellar, though a bit on the rote side of things by how easy it was to predict the incoming changes in tempo. The singer, new face as she was, wasn’t too bad though. Definitely needed to drink more water if she didn’t want to pass out during the latter half of her performance. She made her way up to the lounge, swiped a cold, fruity cocktail out from the counter, and downed it in one quick go, shooting a wink at the bartender who made note of her purchase and began shaking up another cocktail for the person who actually ordered it. As calories, sugars, and fluids snaked their way into her system, the white-haired woman inspected her appearance once more.

Her drop earrings were still there. Her loose croptop was sticky with sweat and clung to her skin, but was otherwise still in decent condition. Her denim hotpants basically always worked out for these sorts of activities, and the temporary tattoos she had were looking a bit melted but otherwise looked in place. And her hair? The red hair extensions were still there, and even after sweating, the curled ends looked to be holding too. Good shit. She’ll take fifteen and then go for another dive.

But as Klava turned her gaze away from herself and to her surroundings, a familiar face popped up. A muscular man of a man, with the gaze of a sigma alpha wolf and the brain of an unprincipled cuck. A bit buzzed herself, she strode over, kicking the couch he sat on. “Sup ‘pollo,” she grinned. “How’s your ass after Fritz’s pegging?”

In his plain black t-shirt that shrunk in size every time he wore it and tight jeans that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, Apollo took a brief moment to figure out who had stumbled upon him. After all, a woman angrily approaching him in the club wasn’t a rare occurrence. Her tone and the mention of Fritz made it pretty easy to figure which jilted woman in his life had found him today, even if the club’s environment shrouded one’s appearance.

“Surprised you haven’t been brutalized in the streets after becoming persona non grata,” he shrugged. “So is this meeting just bad luck or something else?”

“I’m just built different,” Klava replied, sliding onto the couch opposite of him. “Anyhow, the way the chips fell down, I’m pretty much in better shape than you.” Her eyes roamed up and down his body briefly, noting the way that he may as well have just gone up and worn a skinsuit again. “Call it fortune though. Didja actually get lil Timekeeper to do shots after all that?”

Apollo did suppose he could take it as good fortune. After all, this was one of the few times where he didn’t immediately get a glass of whatever splashed onto his face. “No, unfortunately. Would have been funny though. He did look a bit better when I fucked off, so maybe he got some newfound resolve or something corny like that.” He did notice Klava giving him an ocular patdown. “And I doubt you could ever be in better shape than me.”

Immediately, one of his pecs popped up and down.

“Anyways, how’s becoming a defacto member of Maverick been for you so far?”

“Ah, young adult love,” Klava said, faking a swoon. “And the Mavericks are fine. Turns out Billy’s basically a giant mole, so the GEMs don’t have much chance of ever actually taking ‘em down. Pay got better once y’all fucked off too, so…”

She glanced at his quivering pecs, raising a brow and smirking.

“Chill out, yeah? They’re not gonna send assassins after your ass either.”

“I’m not exactly worried about assassins,” Apollo said, brushing away Klava’s comment that he should chill out. He gave a brief pause to think about it. “Actually, maybe I am. That agent with the railgun is pretty demented. She’d probably kill you on sight and me for the hell of it.”

“Looks like the sorta person who got orphaned by monsters and then had the GEMs act as the shittiest therapists ever, yeah?” Klava nodded. “Least they’ve got a collar on her though. Probably wouldn’t go rogue if she wasn’t shooting at us during Ghost 2.0.”

“The type to keep a kill-list and update it every microaggression.” Apollo added. “And you’re speaking like someone who didn’t have bullets flying at them 15 seconds prior.”

“Hey, I’m a merciful gal too,” Klava said, crossing her legs and leaning back against the couch. “Sofron unloaded a couple smg clips at me and I still gave him a chance to surrender.”

Well, ended up with her getting clobbering into a wall instead, but details were for nerds.

“Pretty sure I’m the only one who actually got shot too. Wasn’t too bad.”

“Yea, mercy and pleasantries aren’t the best strategy for dealing with Gemini,” Apollo shrugged. “The only thing that stopped everyone from killing each other was a different thing to kill. And what, shot by the railgun or one of the pistols?”

“By a ‘hand cannon’.” Functionally the same as a sniper, especially when they were both fighting in hella close range.

“Yea, so a man-sized pistol.” Apollo immediately went to invalidate her experience.

“Maybe get your eyes checked,” Klava shot back. “Hand-sized.”

“I can’t even play off that one,” Apollo acquiesced. “Without a self-burn, anyways.”

“All meat no head, huh?” She grinned. “Surprised you’re an advocate for lethal retaliation though, considering how things actually went down. Gonna jump ‘em next time with your stick?”

“Lethal retaliation? Not sure if I said anything about killing them. I’m just saying that some of those agents would sooner shoot you in the back of the head than accept a handshake.” Apollo leaned back against the couch. “If you think that automatically moves to murder, then hey, be my guest. And hey, you’d be surprised with what a stick can do.”

Klava gave him a look, one that transitioned almost seamlessly into a shit-eater’s mockery. “I don’t think I’ve much to be surprised about regarding your stick. But huh, more than one? Think that dragon chick’s a psycho too?”

With a nod and a shrug, Apollo accepted the comment about his stick. Unless it was a really deep cut, Apollo heard it all before (and numerous times, such was the way of a man of the night). “She does think that Billy feeds orphans to little girls or some shit like that. Probably not a fun time if you run into her. If Binky had a gun, she’d probably shoot you too. Throw in the bad doc for good measure? Yea, a good portion of them. The others would probably stab you.”

“Sure, fine.”

So peace was never an option, huh. She had, in fact, killed her fair share of humans before. An Esper, especially a government stooge deluded by propagandists, wouldn’t even be that much a problem to deal with. Still, Klava was dissatisfied. She was, inherently, a bitch.

“Hard to stab em without validating their self-righteous shit though. What was it again…” Her fingers rapped against the table. “Yeah, can’t punish people who don’t think they’re wrong.”

“I mean, you could just throw them out of a window and see where the cards lie. If there’s some third world-ending threat that forces them to work together, I’d rather work with someone who threw me out a window than tried to kill me.”

“Not many windows on the first floor though.”

“You can make one, just like whoever the fuck came in with a rocket launcher.”

“Yeah, and that needs a rocket launcher, bud.” Klava’s eyes flicked back to his belt. “But also, what happened to that gun you looted?”

With a hearty slap, Apollo placed his hand against where a gun would have rested.

“For starters, I wouldn’t bring it into a club. Also, lost it. It’s somewhere in the city now. Either that or I left it at some woman’s apartment. What a surprise that would be.”

Klava let out a low whistle. “Lucky girl. Gonna have more to worry about on that end than on the ‘hypervengeful magical sniper’ end then.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time a one night stand ended up with a gun pointed at me. Wouldn’t be the last, either.”

“Till they pull the trigger, at least.”

”At that point, it’s no longer my problem.”

“Wow,” Klava teased. “How cavalier. Gonna use those same lines next time you have a run-in with the GEMs?”

”Probably just call them morons again.” An annoyed scowl formed on Apollo’s face. ”I could just mention Sofron and he’d jump out of a trash can. That’s how things have been going recently, anyways.”

“If you could, that’d be great.” She propped her elbows on the table, leaning in. “Been looking for that ol’ bastard myself, so if you have him on speed dial…”

After grabbing a nearly empty can of beer on the table, Apollo stood and approached the nearby garbage can. He poured what little liquid remained inside. In all honesty, he was expecting an angry Sofron to pop out. Alas, such an event would not occur. Though, he did look inside to make sure.

He froze for a moment and looked back at Klava with a look that was a strange mixture of bewilderment, amusement, and excitement.

“Lo and behold,” he announced as he took out his phone and snapped a picture of what was inside.

He strolled back to the couch and showed Klava what he had captured.

And there it was. Among some cans, broken glass, and used napkins, a golden hand cannon splashed in booze.

“I haven’t visited this place in months, either.”

“Well,” Klava observed, showing such an incredible interest in the contents of a trashcan that her facial expressions malfunctioned and were unable to move so much as a twitch in any particular direction. “Gonna pick it up? Or is this just going on your Insta?”

Apollo stood up once more, showing off the full scope of his ensemble. “If you think I can hide it somewhere on this body, feel free to point it out.” He paused for a brief moment. “Do not say ‘ass’ or any variant thereof.”

She smirked. “Try deepthroating it.”

“Walked into that one.”

Apollo sat back down.

”So what brings you to this… establishment. It’s pretty easy to figure out why I’m here, but someone who rides a bike and calls themselves maiden?”

“The maiden’s got many shapes and forms,” Klava sang. “But her origins are still that of a brat from Pax Sept. Seriously though, did you forget the part where I’m also the sort of maiden who has a kill count in the double digits?”

“Murder and clubbing are two very mutually exclusive events.”

“Never watched a movie, huh.” Klava shrugged. “Well basically I do lots of things. In this establishment, I’m here to have fun and enjoy the music, while you’re here to…what, sulk in a corner?”

“Get shit faced first before I start dancing, thank you very much.”

“No one taught you to pre-drink? What, did you never have friends to go out with?”

“Getting shit faced at the club is part of the experience. It’s not like money is a problem for me.”

“Sure sure,” Klava laughed, pushing off the table and getting out of this depressed little booth. “I’ll leave you to your depressed drinking session then, ‘pollo. See you on the floor if you ever make it there, yeah?”

Immediately upon being taunted, Apollo stood up. “I’m shitfaced enough now.” Like a storm, he moved forth to the dance floor. Klava wouldn’t outdo him there.

“Ok, but first take off your shirt.”

Apollo paused before taking off his shirt. He was, at some level, drunk already so it may have been a move against his better judgment. “If you five star me, I’ll send one right back.”

“Now take that gun, wrap it up in your shirt, and voi-fucking-la, you’re good to go.”

And with that, Klava swung over the railings and dropped into the dance pit, heels and everything.

”...I’ll keep that in mind so I’m not about to enter a dance floor with a gun.”

Putting his shirt back on, Apollo went around the railing like a normal person.

@BrokenPromise @Izurich

Later that afternoon following this…

While most agents were fairly diligent, there were others that lived and breathed to exterminate. Monsters, terrorists, mobsters, they were all equal, and all deserved to be laid low.

Silmeria had learned her lesson from hunting the weretigers. GEMINI was interested in getting the biggest bang for their buck. If she was going to justify to Fritzi that scum like Tony and Viper needed to die, she needed to tie them to something bigger. Something that her superior could use to get uncle sam to invest more in their operation. That wasn’t going to happen taking out ground level criminals. But Silmeria knew there was more at play here. She just had to uncover it.

There weren’t too many leads to follow. Viper wore a disguise over her esper form, so she was notoriously hard to track, and she knew little about Lenore. But what she did know was that the weretigers used magic circles to transport goods into the elemental chaos. The one at the dock had been carved into the asphalt.

Just like the one in this defunct parking lot.

It wasn’t hidden in plain sight. Two trucks had been parked over it. Or perhaps rolled is a better term, as neither one had an engine in it. But what did this mean? Where should she go from here?

Perhaps deep in her heart, Silmeria knew that there was something wrong with her, that the combination of Helena's death, dad's crippling, and the disintegration of her college hopes and dreams shattered everything, and then at her lowest point, working at a shitty job, literally so since she cleaned toilets among other things, the crumbled pieces of her self-worth were mended together by this grimoire that she found when dumpster diving. Only she never really came back, at least not exactly like before. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, let alone a woman scorned given supernatural powers. But it's fine, if her existence could have a meaning, if she could make others avoid the same fate as herself by culling those responsible, then it's a life worth living.

Tony the Tiger's pack might've been nothing but small fries compared to Justin and his coven, but the fact remained that women and their families suffered because of his human trafficking operation, actual living people subjected to a fate that no good citizen should ever experience. This gross crime against humanity perpetuated by creatures who didn't belong, it would claw at her conscience if she didn't do anything about it when she had the power to do so. And by the Allfather, she had the power.

Hmmm... Crouched down near a magic circle carved into the parking lot's asphalt, concealed by a pair of motorless trucks, Valkyrie engaged a self-targeted Magic Sense melody to ascertain any clues from the location. Magic circle, magic residue, wouldn't take a Sherlock to put those twos together.

Unfortunately, the magic circle had little to reveal to Silmeria’s magic sense. Much like how espers are only magical when they hold a grimoire, Magic circles are only magical when they are containing magic. But that did tell her something. These deep groves in the asphalt were not made with a spell. They were also too perfect to be made by a weretiger's claws. It had been grinded, given the abrasion marks deep inside the asphalt.. Something physical was used to cut into the asphalt and make such marks. They had to buy or rent something.

Peculiar, so the magic circle hadn’t been active recently or else it’d still contain some traces of magic at least. However, the close examination still unearthed a clue, the grooves weren’t a magical construction, and she imagined weretiger’s claws weren’t built for fine engravings; which meant these xeno scum used some kind of tool… now if only she could identify its location.

Standing up, the esper-formed agent decided to examine the trucks first, looking in the driver’s seat, under the hood, underneath it, and last but not least, their cargo.

The trucks hadn’t been driven in a while in addition to missing engines, they had their transmissions, catalytic converters, drive shafts, and axles pulled too. The pricer electrical components had been pulled too, such as the body control module. It looked like the vehicles had been raided for parts. There were also no plates, and any registration assigned to the vehicle had been scraped off the windshield. There were some wooden pallets that could be erected into a crate with a few nails in the bed of the trucks. They looked to be just like the ones Silmeria saw the weretigers use at the harbor.

The fact that they went so far in stripping the vehicles into nothing but its frame and going the extra mile of filing off the numbers told her that they were serious, a deliberate move to get as much profit as possible for their makeshift magic circle cover. Subhuman scum... Silmeria mentally growled as she examined the wooden pallets, they looked awfully similar to the ones used to pack up the hostages. Yep, as if she needed anymore confirmation that Tony's gang was behind this. This is definitely going into her "evidence" album.

Hopping off the bed of a truck, the brunette perused the pictures she had taken so far with her phone: the magic circle, the trucks, their missing parts, and the wooden pallets. However, this didn't seem to be enough to make her case against Fritz, especially after the stunt she pulled earlier. Scanning the vicinity once more, Valkyrie used her marksman-trained eye to scour any details she might have missed previously.

Aside from some marking here and there that may have belonged to a weretiger, it seemed like the scene was pretty clean. But surely Silmeria wasn’t going to give up now. There had to be somewhere else she could follow this. Whatever made those groves in the asphalt was no hand held grinder. It was likely made specifically for a job like this. If she could figure out what it was and where she could buy/rent one, that would go a long way in getting a break, maybe.

Putting a hand to her chin, she deduced that there's nothing more in the immediate area, thus she pulled out her phone to use the service of Totally-Not-Spyware-Company's search engine to have a visual reference to what kind of tool is capable of creating an asphalt groove of this size. "Oh..." That is definitely a big boy alright, yep, no way they'd store it here in plain sight, but then again, those xenos might have rented it. Now let's see if a businessman or two had been playing naughty with monsters...

Thus, she used Google Maps to search for the nearest "Asphalt Grinder" rental location.

Asphalt grinders are the sort of thing that you don’t need to use often, and are expensive. But if you need one, you need it. In all of Pax Septimus, there was a single heavy equipment rental shop that specialized in paving equipment. It looked like Silmeria’s next stop was decided.

---

The shop for “Joseppi's Equipment Junction” was pretty small, but was only because the bulk of the equipment was stored outside under a pavilion guarded by a chain link fence. The store front in comparison was just big enough for a store clerk and a seating area. There was a tiny play pen to keep kids engaged while the adult patrons asked about equipment, some vending machines, and a table set up for free coffee. Free to paying customers at least.

At this hour, the only person there was a skinny Italian man sitting behind a counter. His hair was jet black, and there were some stains on his hands from servicing some of the equipment. He was flipping through a newspaper when Silmeria walked into the store front. He must not have heard Silmeria, or was intentionally ignoring her. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and read the paper with the other.

It was a bit peculiar that there was such a thing as a heavy equipment shop - in itself a specialized establishment - that further specialized in paving equipment, was there really enough people renting paving equipment to make a viable business out of it? Regardless, the fact there was only one such shop in this shithole of a metropolis could be saying something. Fortunately, she wasn't here to wonder about such things.

The untransformed brunette entered the shop and immediately beelined for the clerk, who also seemed to be the owner, and place one of her hands on the counter, "Excuse me, I'm looking for Tony the Tiger, and in case you don't know who he is, he's a human trafficker who might've rented one of your asphalt grinder machines, I'm currently tracking him down." No use beating around the bushes, her cause was just and she's working for a legitimate agency, unlike that Maiden bitch on both accounts.

The counter man turned to look at Silmeria as soon as she started speaking, and raised an eyebrow as she concluded. ”Tony the tiger, eh?” The man set down his paper. ”Yea, I saw him, we meet up pretty frequently.” He made a pouring gesture with his hand. ”Every mornin’ he fills my bowl with frosted flakes. Always smilin’. Had no idea the son of a bitch was into that shit.” The mechanic folded his arms. ”You a cop or somethin’?”

Huh, well, what do you know? The xeno filth kept his cover well, and of course she's thankful that - presumed - Joseppi was being cooperative. At his inquiry, she simply leaned ever so slightly forward and lowered her voice to just above a whisper, for effect more than anything else, "Detective. Keep it clean, okay, sir? Someone out there missing their daughter and it's all because of him."

"Now then, Mr. Joseppi?" She leaned back and took out her smartphone with her Notes app active, "What do you know about the suspect?"

”That ain’t my name on the building. That’s my dad. I’m Angelo.” He set down his mug. ”Got no idea who this Tony Tiger is, but there ain’t too many folks who rent the asphalt grinder.” He tipped his head. ”What was ya name? I didn’t see a badge either.”

Silmeria had an inkling that the man was trolling, what with the Tony the Tiger mascot reference, but she treated him seriously in a deliberate move to assert the point that she's not fucking around, the ball had always been in her court. The brunette glared at Angelo, waiting until he's done speaking, then paused some more to really let him know that there's no amusement to be had here. "Are you done? Good. I'm Silmeria, GEMINI, monster control bureau…" She put her GEMINI badge down onto the counter...

...then suddenly slammed one fist on the counter while using her other hand to yank his collar towards her, her face contorted into a murderous stare as she channeled part of her hatred towards Tony to fuel her tone, "Listen here, chicken shit, I ain't going to have someone's kid's death on my conscience because a cunt like you decides to be funny. If your dung-covered brain can't remember the suspect, then you better have some kind of ledger and you will show it to me, or would you prefer to be accused with Obstruction to Criminal Investigations? Your move, creep."

The man hadn’t taken his eyes off Simeria the entire time. Though the edge of his brow dipped towards his nose as she screamed in his face. ”Assault, threats, impersonation’ an officer, and invasion of privacy are also against the law.” Angelo stood up slightly, just enough to pull Silmeria’s waist into the countertop. He might have been skinny, but it was clear he was stronger than Silmera was, at least out of the esper state. ”I’m enjoying’ an afternoon coffee, and you come bargain’ in here talkin’ about cereal mascots and slavory. When I don’t know nothin,’ ya assume the worst. He probably doesn’t tell everyone he’s ‘Tony the Tiger?’ Maybe he had someone else get it for him? ” He shoved Silmeria away from the counter. ”Never said I wouldn’t cooperate, but ya actin’ like a nut job. Ya think this is the movies or somethin?” He picked up her badge and flicked it back at her. Angelo kept his left hand on his mug at all times. ”You gunna make me call the police, or are ya gunna leave peacefully?”

Holy shit... this goomba motherfucker was in on it!

The thought raced through the impatience and annoyance running in her mind even as Angelo pulled her forward. Right... that made perfect sense, renting such a big equipment without the help of an inside man would be less than ideal, but not like this surprised her. If most of the citizens in this goddamned city were decent, it wouldn't have been such a shithole in the first place. As if to further home it in, monsters were attracted by negative emotions and Pax Septimus was a hotbed for them, yeah? Exactly.

Silmeria's widened eyes only lasted for barely a second before she 'relaxed' into a small grin, stepping back after he pushed her, "Don't bother, I get it." There were plenty of reasons to presume that the PSPD were also a bunch of corrupt fuckwads, who got a slice of the pie for turning a blind eye to Tony's operation, huh? She had to admit that subhuman scum was smarter than his goons. The brunette caught the badge and left back where she came from.

Once she was gone, Angelo placed a hand on his head. ”Christ on a crutch!”

If the people here couldn't be cooperative, then she just had to do it herself. Time to stake this shop out until closing time, see if something juicy happened, and then once they closed, infiltration. Yep, that's what she'd do. To that end, Silmeria rented herself a motel room with a window facing the shop.

---

Fortunately, the rental didn’t stay open much longer than it had to. A few hours later, five O’ clock rolled around and Angelo was ready to go home. He locked up the front of the store from the inside, then went deeper inside before emerging from the back of Joseppi's Equipment Junction. He had a shallow box, likely containing the businesses earnings for the day and keys to all the equipment, and drove off. The building itself was left unattended, save for a few aging security cameras that had to have been out in the elements for at least a decade or two.

Peeking through the blinds using a binocular, Silmeria saw the idiot son packing up and leaving with a car. Good, very good.

It was only until an hour or so after the sun had truly set that the brunette set out from the motel, in esper form of course, as she traversed through the streets and using her speedster-fueled enhanced body to jump over the fence. From there, she'd find a way to enter the office first, either through a window or the back door. All while doing this, the sniper made sure to keep herself out of sight from the security camera's viewing angle as best as she could, but nevertheless, she was going to do something about the recordings once she's inside anyway.

The security measures outside were barely enough to deter a serious criminal, and the inside didn’t have any security at all. Silmeria didn’t even trip an alarm when she smashed a window to climb into the place. Though with the bulk of the equipment outside, and the keys and cash safely home every night, was there much reason to invest in interior security?

Silmeria would have a hard time finding a security room. There was an old IBM computer that looked like it was as old as the cameras were, and was plugged into a box that might contain security footage if it was being recorded. It didn’t appear to be functional. Touching the power button did nothing, and the wires going to the cameras themselves looked worse for wear.

Alright, the sniper didn't exactly expect bleeding edge security measures ala GEMINI HQ, but this was just... sad. Silmeria frowned as she absent-mindedly tapped the power button of this fossil of a PC. Damn, this Joseppi person might think that there was nothing here worth taking, nothing that didn't need heavy duty equipment to move anyway. That's fair though, that useless son of his brought all the smaller valuables with him, most likely a routine procedure instead of a specific one he did just today. The security cameras were a non-issue then, nor were there even alarms when she 'opened' that window.

Of more interest to Silmeria would be the storefront computer, which looked far newer by comparison. Silmeria was not familiar with the software they were running on it, but some poking around did reveal that they kept records on all rented equipment. It was simple enough to locate the asphalt grinder and look at the logs. It had not been rented very many times, but in the past year, it had been rented by one individual.

Now the PC that Angelo was manning proved of more immediate value as the esper searched through the business records. Grinding equipment... asphalt... aha. Simple enough, no need for Mr. Robot here. Orange eyes perused the logs for a moment before she decided to copy the document into her phone. Pax Landscaping, huh? Let's see how legit you actually are...

No, not an individual, a company.

“Pax Landscaping” made good use of the machine this year. This “Pax Landscaping.” was likely a cover for the weretiger’s operation.

With that done, she left back where she came from and out of there, only detransforming once she's in some dark backalley.

---

---

@Izurich @SilverPaw

At night following this.

Matrix2077, the stylistic letters and numbers emblazoned on a futuristic neon sign attached just outside the building, and inside...

Dim lighting combined with strobes of colorful spotlights, an all-encompassing beat assaulting the ears, a dance floor occupied by a mosh pit of people randomly shaking about, a pool table at one side, and... one confused young-adult standing in befuddled silence.

What... am I doing here?

Silmeria questioned herself, questioned her own judgment, a part of her starting to be convinced that she might have bitten more than she could chew. She had never gone to a bar before, let alone this kind of bar. This was the place where people waste their money and body away, right? Forking over their hard-earning money for drugs and alcohol that'd fuck up their insides, make them age 30 years, and all with a drunken smile on their faces.

...and she was about to subject herself into such a fate.

Ah, maybe she was overthinking this. It was time to live a little, right?

Entering the club's main lounge floor, she started scanning the place for Jacqueline, a difficult task in normal circumstances considering the crowd and strobing lights, but alleviated by the fact that her line of work required her to spot people even through a myriad of obstacles.

Jacqueline was perched on a barstool, with her back to the counter, partially leaning on it as she chatted to some of her neighbours. Every once in a while, her gaze swept across the premises; she was plainly waiting for someone. Given her good vantage point, and the fact that anyone entering the premises had to descend into the locale - either via the stairs or the ramp - she had a good view of all the newcomers entering. Someone like Silmeria, who stood out as a discomfited newbie, was especially easy to spot. Once Jacqueline's gaze landed on her coworker, she knocked back the drink she'd held in hand, left it on the bartop, and sauntered her way.

She weaved her way through the crowd expertly, not minding the press of bodies she had to squeeze through here and there. The two met on the periphery of the main floor, where the number of people was lesser. Upon Jacqueline's approach, Silmeria would see the woman's choice of dress; artfully ripped denim shorts in black, silver sequin halter top, an unzipped sleeveless leather jacket over it, strapped platform shoes, and a small black purse slung over her shoulder.

When she was close enough, she offered a short greeting. "Hey, there," she smirked. Jacqueline was in a better mood than the last time they'd seen each other, and clearly comfortable in this kind of environment, carrying herself with confidence. "Glad you've found your way here." There was almost a predatory glint in her eyes as she reached for Silmeria, linking arms with her fellow agent. "So, let's get a drink or two in you first, hm? My treat on the first round." Saying so, she led Silmeria through the throng of people, heading back to counters.

It was only a matter of time until she spotted someone who fitted Jacqueline's face and build, and the fact that the person in question was making eye contact while walking towards her confirmed that she had found her. Unlike the other agent, Silmeria's choice of apparel clearly showed that she was playing it safe, a white shirt, black shorts, and a long-sleeved dark hoodie, a conservative route that'd fit in all but the most thematic of establishments. As a result, while the brunette didn't look like a circus clown in the club, her inexperience was plain to see. This extended to her general behavior too, those subtle nuances in a person's demeanor that showed how unused they were in whatever place they found themselves in.

That realization that she didn't really know anyone from work on a personal level reared again when Merry took in Jackie's current attire, a far cry from how professional she dressed for work. "Hey..." The technically-taller girl worked up a smile, through her eyes occasionally made quick darts as if watching her surroundings for any funny business, "Aaah... yeah, I couldn't believe it myself either." She murmured, half-hoping that her voice was too low to be heard. Jacqueline's low laughter immediately dashed that hope.

She stiffened up for a brief moment when Jacqueline linked her arm with hers but relaxed soon after, not protesting as she's led through the party people, "Oh yeah, about that, I turned 21 just last month so no worries ‘bout that." … Aaaaaaaah! What the fuck?! "I turned 21", really? Who the fuck cares?! Seventeen year olds drink beer all the time and no one gives a fuck, especially not in Pax Septimus where they had far bigger things to worry about than underage drinking. Her face red - thank Odin for the dim lighting - she sat down on one of the stools next to Jackie.

As Silmeria blushed, Jacqueline had the fleeting thought that she was surprisingly cute. Though it was a 'my kid sister' type of cute rather than a 'could go out with' type. Not that she had siblings or anyone else that'd fit the description, but the feeling was close enough. Rather than growing weirdly protective of her, though, Jacqueline just thought that the woman could use some loosening up. "So, can I take that to mean you've at least had some alcohol in that time? Or should I get ready for any and all inadvertent reactions?" she teased.

"I did, technically illegally... hehe..." The younger one of the pair attempted some amount of humor, but that sure sounded a lot better in her head, "I think it's better to be safe than sorry so just treat me as if this is my first time." ...which was technically true if by first time meaning having an alcoholic drinks in a nightlife bar.

"So, what can I getcha, ladies?" A 20-something Japanese-American young man dressed in a similar fashion as Johnny Silverhand - minus the prosthetic left arm - placed his arms on top of the counter, his name tag read 'Gen Watanabe', "Tonight's special is the Arasaka Augment, a cocktail of Japanese sake and American whiskey, invented by yours truly."

Jacqueline nodded at the bartender; she'd been there enough times to recognize him by appearance. "Sure," she confirmed, raising two fingers, so he'd get one for each. She'd not bothered checking in with Silmeria, because she doubted her coworker would know what to get anyhow.

"Two shots of Arasaka Augments coming right up!" Gen announced, noticing that one patron was a regular while the other was clearly fresh meat, but he's a professional, no need to point that out. Instead, the bartended did what he does best, concocting two cocktails, a blend of Japanese and American drinks, just like his heritage. Soon enough, two shot glass filled with clear golden liquid were served before the contrasting duo. "Enjoy." He then went over to serve other patrons.

Once they received their drinks, Jacqueline warned, "Slow, small sips." To ensure the other one wouldn't do something ridiculous like spew out the alcohol because she'd underestimated how sharp it'd be, she showed her how to go about it by drinking cautiously herself. Anticipating a potentially funny reaction nonetheless, Jacqueline watched Silmeria's face.

"Thanks..." The brunette gulped once as she received the glass, turning at Jacqueline for some points as the older woman seemed to read her mind. Inhaling once, she took small sips, slightly wincing with closed eyes as the cocktail stimulated her taste buds before swallowing as it warms her throat. She found it... surprisingly delicious. "I... I like it..." She took more sips before pausing, remembering something she said earlier in the day, "Also uh.. I have to say that I've never actually gotten drunk before... but you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Wonderful news," Jacqueline smiled at Silmeria's pronouncement of approval. It looked like at the very least, things wouldn't be difficult from the get go. "Yeah, I could guess you haven't. I'll watch out for ya if that's what you're worried about," she rose her glass at Silmeria, and finished it off easily. Since her companion was still drinking, she just ordered an energy coctail for herself. It'd be a good way to get a boost for the hours of dancing and related activities she was anticipating.

"Thanks, Jacque... Jackie." Silmeria curled a small smile as her calloused fingers fidgeted slightly with the tiny glass in-between them, "You can just call me 'Sil' by the way since my name is kinda a mouthful, or Merry works if 'Sil' sounds too close to Silhouette, hehe..." She's... feeling good, yes, that rising feeling of genuine joy. Oh man, had she been missing out? She could do with a more... 'sophisticated' music, more lighting, and less shaking about though, but other than that, this is... fun, something that she had never felt for a while.

Jacquelien didn't mind the shortening of her name. Wasn't the first time someone called her Jackie, wouldn't be the last one. "Yeah, think I'll go with Sil. Not like I'd use a nickname for him on the job," she commented.

Thus, more drinks were served and after half-downing another shot of hard liquor, Silmeria blinked twice as she mentally decided to be one of those 'nosy' people for once, "So... what's your story, Jackie? What brings you here?"

Jacqueline threw her head back and laughed, startled at the question. "Story? Where'd you learn that corny pick-up line?" she wondered, shaking her head in bemusement. "For real, though, no story. Just a gal looking to have some fun." While there were folk out there trying to drown their sorrows or forget their worries, she didn't consider herself to be one of them. This just happened to be one of the things she liked to do. "Never mind that, I think we've warmed up enough for some dancing, hm?" she forked over several bills to the bartender, standing up as she invited Silmeria to the dance floor.

"Huh? But that's now what I-... eeeh?!" Tangerine eyes widened in authentic shock as Jackie completely misunderstood what Sil asked, which was then followed by the latter being invited onto the dance floor. She didn't even know how, nor like, to dance! She was a sniper for Loki's sake, she was meant to not move around too much if she could help it, wait, wait, what did that have anything to do with a leisure activity? Aaaagh! The point being that she didn't want to dance, but against her better judgment, she followed the dark-haired off-duty agent just so she could straighten things out.

Once at the dance floor, Silmeria's body looked to be mostly focused on staying out of anyone's way instead of actually dancing, "I meant what brings you to Pax Septimus, doing what you do!" She inadvertently raised her voice to compensate for the loud music, oh god, she changed her mind... oh no wait, she did mention that she'd prefer a quieter, brighter place to hang out in!

Jacqueline disregarded Silmeria's flustered state, tugging her along as they moved. Once they joined the dancers, her coworker decided to voice her correction. Jacqueline nodded to show she'd heard, and understood, but just shouted, "Later! Now move!" Since Silmeria was just about the only person there standing so awkwardly, Jacqueline decided to assist. She put one hand around the agent's waist, and wrapped the other around her back, and did her best to encourage some movement on the other woman's part. "C'mon, try and follow my lead!"

"Eeeh?!" It was painfully obvious that the sniper was truly out of her element here, she'd do a better job at engaging monsters in melee than... whatever this was. They called this “dancing” but the first thing that came to her mind when thinking of the word was ballet or tango, coordinated sets of movements performed by trained actors, not these random seizures! If they were trying to emulate a stroke patient, they were doing a convincing job. To make things worse, Jacqueline seemed to be one of them, so that meant it exponentially harder for Silmeria to simply scoff off this kind of “‘dance” as anything but a sham; if her coworker was enjoying it, then that meant it had to have something, right?

"Nnngh..." Frowning her blushing face and pursing her lips, Silmeria broke eye contact but tried her best to just follow along, like someone who was riding a bike for the first time, being assisted by another person holding said bike steady from behind. The ride would be incredibly awkward and stiff, but it was moving, inch by inch. "Is there some kind of rule for this?! Like a waltz?!" She wasn't expecting much, but no harm asking at this point.

There wasn't really a discernable pattern for Silmeria to follow. Jacqueline moved a few steps here, a few steps there, swayed her body, shook her hips, and even twirled them around when she felt like it. Since she was holding onto her coworker, there wasn't much for her to do with her hands except do her best to guide Silmeria. "No rule! Listen to the music! Find the rythm! Do what you like - no restraint! See?" She pointed out to the crowd around them. Some had a blast rubbing against each other in what was, despite everyone involved being more-or-less clothed, a pretty explicit manner. There were just as many who simply did whatever else they liked on their own, or even in groups, though. Essentially, the point was to have fun, which was what Jacqueline was hoping to convey.

The "dance" was getting Silmeria uncomfortable as she's rocked back and forth, but at least Jackie was being gentler than the others around her. "T-... then that's not danciiiing!" The brunette protested, that's just randomly shaking your body, just like rules are also the difference between singing and incoherent screaming into the mic! Was this no-fucks-given principle what allowed those mumble "rappers" to claim themselves as artists?!

When the younger agent saw the crowd around them, she had an opposite reaction, yep, she was sure that she wouldn't have a good time doing what they do right now, especially those who were grinding on each other like a malfunctioning pair of gears. "Mmmgh..." Not being able to 'get' it but also hesitant to risk upsetting Jacqueline, Silmeria decided to bite the bullet and just endure this until the other woman was satisfied. Surely she couldn't dance forever, ...r-right?

In the end, they stayed there for about three songs. When Jacqueline determined Silmeria's silently suffering disposition wouldn't improve by staying, she slung an arm over Sil's shoulder, and departed for the pool tables. They took one in as quiet of a spot as possible, given they were in a club during prime time. "That part's not for you, huh?" Jacqueline concluded, referring to the dancing. "Let's go a few games instead," so saying, she set up a table.

Finally, finally the purgatory was over. Silmeria groaned as she hobbled over to one of the vacant spots around a pool table. A feeling similar to workout relief washed over her, like someone who had just pushed themselves to run 40 kilometers and succeeded at it; she felt exhausted sure, but that joy of success at beating the challenge was enough to balance it out. The brunette was content to watch Jackie set up the balls while she caught her breath. Once the older agent was done, the junior would fetch a cue stick. Now this was a leisurely game that she could enjoy without treating it like a gauntlet.

As the host, she'd let Jacqueline have the first move. "So uh, like I said before, what brings you to Gem?" Silmeria returned to where she was so rudely interrupted even as she lined up a shot once it's her turn.

"Hm, mostly they just contacted me first. Told me what's what. Saw no reason not to join them," she shrugged. "But if you're asking my ideals, or whatever? I'm not really as - dedicated," this was a politer way of saying obsessed, "as you are. Still...It's pretty clear monsters are invaders in our world, so. Pretty natural to want 'em gone," she said. Jacqueline didn't mention that she also enjoyed using her esper powers to go against them. It might be obvious anyhow, but to openly claim it as a reason seemed in poor taste. "I feel like I already have a good idea about your reasons, but still...Tell me about it," she added. Jacqueline did hope Silmeria wouldn't be too eager to go on about it, though. She didn't particularly want to talk about their work all that much.

"I see..." The brunette lent her ear to what Jacqueline had to say, the older agent didn't say much, but there was really no reason to splurge words when a few could already convey the message. So in some ways, they had a similar history when it came to GEMINI, they stumbled upon a grimoire then got contacted by the organization, and here they were. "Oh, well... it's a... long story..." Silmeria murmured at Jackie's quip about her dedication to the job, but the more she thought about it, was it really a long story? Couldn't she just condense it into a few sentences like what Jacqueline just did? Well, there's no harm trying.

"Well, basically... monsters killed my sister, crippled my father, and fucked up my future... I was dumpster-diving when I found my grimoire, a few hours before GEMINi contacted me." Silmeria dryly chuckled once, "Basically, y-yeah... if I could save others from the same fate, it'd be irresponsible of me to not do so." She ended the story at that. Hey, she did it after all. Good job, Sil.

"Anyway, do they have one of those liquid nitrogen ice cream thing here? Now that's a 'futuristic' dish if I ever heard one~"

Thus, the two coworkers continued their night of leisurely fun, drinking, cuing, and conversing, although no more dancing for sure. Silmeria felt that she could get used to this, a good method to reaffirm her convictions that there were still good people in the world, that not everyone was willing to sell out their own kind for personal gain. Thus, in order to make this world a safe place to live for those who were worthy, she must banish those who weren't for as long as she drew breath.

Finding individual espers was hard, but Marrie had time.

She hadn’t had much luck finding “The Knight of Tomorrow” on the day High-Priest contacted her. Luna was stopping by later with Pizza, and it was probably for the best that Stacy wasn’t the only one to greet her. The following day was more fruitful, however.

Marrie had figured out that the GEMINI espers patrolled the same general area. The exact route varied depending on who was patrolling, but there were certain areas that they could be expected to check. It made sense, there were probably a number of GEMINI’s enemies that would study the exact route and lay an ambush. But there were certain areas that the agents could always be expected to arrive at. One such spot was a usually empty intersection that served as a four way stop. If one was willing to leave the main road, it provided the fastest and most discreet route to the police station.

Orion had been spotted here, and she would show up again in time. Marrie just had to decide on how to best approach her without coming across as hostile. Should be easy, provided her mark had a rational mind.

So she decided to simply wait there in esper form, leaning against one of the stop signs and watching towards the police station. She had her Instrument put away and was watching her phone at the same time, glancing between it and where she expected Orion to appear from. If all went well, she’d notice her the same time that she was noticed.

Ashley was going about her assigned patrol, when she noticed a young woman leaning against a stop sign. She had distinctive blue hair and was looking at something on her phone. Since she didn’t appear to be hostile, the G.E.M.I.N.I. agent decided to cautiously approach her. “Hello,” Ashley greeted. “Are you waiting to meet someone?”

Purple hair, check. Green visor, check. White leotard… also check. If High-Priest’s description was right, this was probably her. ”Hiya.” Marrie replied. ”I’m hoping to find someone called ‘Orion’, do you know her?” She asked in the most unassuming voice she could.

“Oh! Um, that’s me,” Ashley replied. “Agent Orion, Knight of Tomorrow, at your service!” she announced with a friendly smile. “How can I help you?”

Wow. That was easy. Marrie thought to herself before speaking up. ”Oh, cool! I’m also a ‘knight,’ of sorts.” She laughed slightly. ”But anyway, I’m supposed to see if you’re willing to help, basically, defeat a certain vampire? I’d be psyched if you would share some way to contact you for that purpose.”

“A vampire?” Ashley repeated, her eyes widening. “Do you mean Justin von Carnage?! Of course I’ll help!” she declared, her voice filled with fierce determination. “I saw the horrible atrocities that monster inflicted upon the people of this city firsthand,” she continued as she retrieved her phone from a pouch on her belt. “And I’ll do anything to ensure he never hurts another innocent ever again!”

As a precaution to protect her identity, Ashley had purchased a second phone for use while doing G.E.M.I.N.I.-related activities, and so the number she provided Marrie wouldn’t allow the girl to link Agent Orion and Ashley Avenir together. “May I have your contact information as well?” she inquired.

Marrie blinked. She wasn’t sure this was supposed to go so easily. ”I’ll do you one better,” she said as she shifted her phone around to face Orion, ”I’ll also give you how to contact someone who claims to be able to help too.” Her phone, which she’d set up info in an extra tab on, displayed Pac’s phone number, her own number, as well as her Shimr contact and High-Priest’s in a note tab. ”I can just text this to you if you want, but there’s the two numbers I can be found at, and my Shimr and that of the other person I’m… working with? I don’t know how I’d describe our work relationship, but we’re both after Justin right now.”

“Oh, wow, thanks,” Ashley told the blue-haired girl as she entered the various numbers in her phone. “So, um, what should I call you?”

”Gale works.” Marrie had been thinking for a long time now about an alias, and she was no closer to a good one than when she started. But this would be fine for now.

“Okay,” Ashley replied as she added the name to her contacts list. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Gale,” she added with a smile once she’d finished. “I’m looking forward to working together.”

Marrie nodded with a smile before turning around to go home, waving over her shoulder. She’d let High-Priest know that she was successful after checking on Stacy.

And later, Marrie would receive a reward for her efforts that outstripped the difficulty of the operation. Nearly half of the reward money that she would have gotten had Justin decided to pay up for a job that just required a bit of searching.

…

…

…

But Ashley would receive a text message not long after Marrie’s reward went through.

Hello, Knight of tomorrow. Would you mind taking a picture of your face? I’m confirming your identity.

The message was from the aforementioned High-Priest that Gale had shown her earlier.

-“How’s this?”- she texted back after sending the requested picture.

You could stand to smile a bit more, agent. But yes, that passes muster. The time of day and location look correct.

I'm not sure what the other esper told you, so I'll lay it all out here. I am interested in bringing down Justin von Carnage. While there are many people in your company that likely wish to do the same, I believe you are most suited for this operation out of all of them. I am interested in keeping this operation as secret as possible, which means limiting the number of people who are aware of it. I think we can both agree that the siege on Justin's mansion had less than desirable results. He was able to prepare for it due to the bickering online, and it seems that both GEMINI and Maverick were aware the other one was going to attack that day, which created other problems. This suggests the existence of moles in both organizations.

Working in a small team means that we need to take small steps, however. Justin will not be toppled in a single operation, but we can cripple him a bit at a time. Due to the nature of this operation, you cannot let your superiors or friends know what is going on, and you may have to work alongside people in unsavory standing. Would you be willing to work under these conditions for the greater good?

Ashley hadn’t been smiling because she was still somewhat apprehensive about the mysterious individual she was conversing with. Although they were interested in taking out Justin, without any idea who they were, she was left to wonder whether on not she was dealing with someone just as sinister as Justin himself, if not even worse. Still, she did know Justin, was agonizingly familiar with the suffering he had caused already, and would continue to cause, as long as he was allowed to exist. She also knew that this “High Priest” was right. The high-profile nature of their operation against Justin’s mansion had doomed it from the start. Something smaller, more secretive, was needed, and even if that meant going behind the backs of her superiors, she would do so, as long as it ensured the end of Justin von Carnage. Indeed, the extermination of monsters for the protection of the human race was G.E.M.I.N.I.’s primary mission. Thus, the Knight of Tomorrow would stop at nothing in order to achieve that goal. And if it turned out that this “High Priest” also harbored evil intentions, then she would just kill him, too.

-“I would.”- she responded. -“What’s our first move?”-

Our first move is to defeat Justin’s favorite servant. I am referring to Baleful Sofron. He is Justin’s most trusted minions, and one of the reasons why Justin was able to elude combat so easily. I have located many of his favorite hangouts, but I will need more time before I can safely say where he will be.

I also feel that the team needs at least one more member. Someone with experience. I will let you know who I have selected as soon as I know who they are.

Some time passed, and Ashley received another message.

I am picking you all for very specific reasons. I am not sure if you got the chance to converse with the other esper, but I believe that they are a good sort. They are reliable, and while they lack experience, they will never allow harm to come to anyone so long as there is a chance there is good in them.

That is why I need you.

They may be committed to stopping Justin, but Sofron is a man. There can be no hesitation when dealing with him. I’ve chosen to include you in this mission because I believe you know how important it is that he is killed without question. You have seen what Justin is willing to do first hand. I know you will not spare someone who happily serves someone like him..

-“Yes,”- Ashley agreed. -“Anyone who willingly serves a monster like Justin no longer deserves to be called a human, so please be assured that I will not hesitate in eliminating the threat they pose.”-

I would not have picked you if I doubted your dedication.

I will speak with you two again in a few days. Until then, watch your back. Your enemies are everywhere.

Normally villainy has to be planned in secret. It’s not wise to openly talk about illegal activities. But that only applies to places where the bulk of the inhabitants aren’t mindless zombies or unpleasant people. The police force was still weak, GEMINI had less than ten active espers, and Maverick had fewer still. The freelancers were numerous, but also divided and not without their own unsavory sides.

Why wouldn’t Justin just abduct Betty from the Great Escape?

Ditching the Bates was easy. In the end, the city was on his side, it was his to wonder, and even two reasonably powerful espers didn’t have the manna to fight everyone. It just wasn’t feasible to attack Justin out in the open like this. But that wasn’t to say this whole thing was favorable for him.. Justin had lost several irreplaceable treasures, and one of his favorite homes.

The vampire had since split off from his companions. Sofron would lead Betty and PAc-A-Fist to another one of his lairs, but Justin had other business to attend to. He drew a black capsule from his coat and popped it open, revealing a gold phone.he punched in a few numbers before holding it up to his ear. The person he called didn’t greet him. Likely because they saw his name via caller ID.

”Morning Dragon Fruit the eighteenth.” The vampire clenched his teeth. ”Are you still interested in the Burns estate? I may be willing to part with it. ”

A chipper, feminine voice responded to him, absolutely seething with glee.

“Ah, is this Mr. Carthage speaking? It is an absolute pleasure to hear from you again! How are you, good sir? I do hope you were able to evacuate the majority of your vanity projects from the estate before, as you’re well aware, your own minions sunk the value of the property to the price of…” Obnoxious clicking and clacking sounded, as if someone was just mashing their fingers against a calculator. “...a mobile home from the 70s!”

”The mansion, yes, but not the property.” Justin slinked into an alleyway, stepping over an open bag of garbage. ”You’re going to knock it down and build one of your business ventures anyway, so whatever’s on top shouldn’t matter.”

“Ah, yes, so a matter of land prices, right? Thank you for being so understanding, Justin! I will certainly have a completely independent appraiser to determine the value of the land after you’ve revealed that the neighborhood is infested with gun-toting criminals and giant ants!” A girlish giggle sounded immediately after.

Justin curled his lips inside his mouth. ”I think we should continue this over a meeting. Glex should be dropping by, and I have something that would interest her.” He grinned. ”Have a place I can drop by, or would you rather come to one of my mansions?”

“And of course I’ve got a place! The carnival’s in town, so how about a nice and enigmatic meeting inside a mirror maze?”

He snorted. ”I hadn’t realized your family was visiting. Very well, so long as it meets her expectations, it will do.” Justin had been dealing with this woman long enough to know that the meeting spot she suggested was not a joke, and trying to sway her mind would just lead to even more ridiculous places. A moving carnival was, admittedly, a pretty discreet meeting place. By the time anyone thought to search the area for clues, the evidence would be packed up and moved away. ”Can you meet us there within the hour?”

There was ‘beep’ as the phone switched to ‘Speaker’ mode, and in that moment, Justin heard both the shrieks of children and adults alike, as well as the demented accordian shriek of carnival music.

Justin pinched the bridge of his nose. ”Right. Don’t go anywhere.” He hung up without waiting for a response.

---

There wasn’t much to say about the carnival. Like so many other moving carnivals, it was a bunch of cheap thrills that were designed to be set up and packed up quickly. Most of the attractions were small, and charged exorbitant prices You could pay twenty dollars to throw a weighted basketball at a hoop that, while looked normal, was actually a few feet taller than a standard regulation basketball hoop. This was probably more fair than the six-shooter that you could use to hunt seven ducks, fling a bouncy ball into shot glass, or any of the other “games” that offered prizes that could be purchased cheaper online. In contrast to this, the food was cheap. Even if you spent most of your money getting conned by the games, you’d still have enough money to buy some greasy chicken afterwards. And the other attractions were somewhere in the middle. Not as cheap as the food, but probably more enjoyable than the games. Though as technology progressed, the thrill of riding around on a carousel or entering a labyrinth of mirrors became less appealing. Such childish attractions would only amuse children.

Or those with child-like minds.

Justin refused to dress modestly to fit in, which caused a few of the carnival goers to confuse him for an employee. Several children wanted their picture taken with the count, but they were ignored. He made a beeline for the mirror maze. Though he had to pace his steps with the blonde woman wrapped around his arm. Unlike him, she very much fit the stereotype of a carnival goer. She was on the skinny side and had her hair cropped half way down her neck. Her jacket and shorts were all denim, and she wore a shirt that read “I’m in my own little world, but it’s okay, they know me here.” More than her clothes, what marked her as a carnival goer was that everything she saw impressed her. Yet there was also something off about her, something indecent. Maybe it was the dark rings around her eyes, the fact that she never blinked, that her gaze hung below everyone’s shoulders, or just how pleased she looked to be in some cheap carnival. This wasn’t the 1920’s anymore, it was the 2020’s.

Once they entered the mirror maze, it was what most could expect from a five dollar entry fee. The maze itself was inside a modest sized tent, with a few fold out walls. It wasn’t much of a maze, and was more of a linear path from one side of the tent to the exit at the other side. Though one could stop and see how each mirror altered their reflection. Vampires did not traditionally have reflections, but that was only the case when Justin exposed his eyes. Otherwise, his clothes and makeup showed up in the mirrors just fine. That wasn’t to say seeing his majesty distorted by some carnival mirrors was to his amusement.

”So.” Justin grunted. ”Morning Dragon Fruit the eighteenth is probably around here somewhere. I didn’t see them on my way in.”

.”Then we just gotta find her!” The blonde wandered down the hall of mirrors. .”Yo-hoo! Fruity? Where are you hiiiidiiing?”

Despite the simplicity of the maze’s design, there were nevertheless more than a couple ways of hiding one’s self within a linear path. Namely, all one had to do was remove the hinges off one of the mirrored walls and slip behind it. And when some names were shot out, well…

“It’s Morning, not Fruity,” chimed the chipper voice. The mirrored wall two meters off from the strange couple’s location creaked open, and a perfectly manicured hand beckoned them to come within, drawing them into the darkness of the other side of the looking glass. A woman, a professional-looking woman in a crisp business suit and glasses, smiled at them the way a child would. Morning looked to be in a good mood indeed, and her expressions, as genuine as honey scooped out from a hive in a forest, were infectious, alluring.

“Are the big boys coming too, or are we just here to kiss little Justin’s boo-boo?”

”Oh, that won’t be necessary. If I had any wounds, I have plenty of attractive servants to shower them with kisses.” He chopped the air with his arm, as if to sever the current thread of conversation. ”I thought Glex might be interested in what I’ve been up to over the past few weeks.” He turned to look at the blonde woman he entered the maze with. ”Last time we met, you said that Oros might be in Pax Septimus to collect some espers, and that we should do everything in our power to ensure she doesn’t meet them.”

Glex was examining a corner of the empty corridor before she turned to look at Justin. Their eyes didn’t meet though. ”Yes, they were talking about Betty on Shimr.”

Justin’s grin only grew. ”I believe that a gentleman should work to surpass what is expected of him at all times. I acquired Betty Barton last week, and Pac-A-Fist just today.”

Glex’s eyes flicked up to meet Justin’s ”You acquired them?”

”Yes!” He had no trouble letting his pride show. ”If our enemy wants a precious resource, I’ll sacrifice anything to get it. I had a close scrape with GEMINI and Maverick, however-”

”They didn’t discover the hand of entropy exists, did they?” Glex hadn’t blinked since she started looking at Justin.

”I don’t know how they could have. We don’t exactly keep documents or anything like that.” Justin averted his “gaze” . turned away from Glex. ”I’m not sure what Oros was going to do with them. They have fairly modest power as far as espers are concerned, but given what the Monarch has become after coming in contact with her, I think it’s fair to say I’ve only scratched the surface of what they can do.” He shrugged his shoulders. ”Of course, if you think they should be executed, that can be arranged.”

Glex hummed. ”Mmmm, nah, they might be useful in a few weeks when the diver arrives. We can’t assume Oros wants them alive anyway. Killing them might bring on even more bugs.” Her eyes dropped down to Justin’s hands and her smile returned. ”Alright, I guess you did okay, but I don’t like this game.” She pouted. ”Penny isn’t around to draw heat off of you anymore. You need to be more careful, or it’s game over!”

”No need to worry about me. I have far too many places to hide, and too many willing to die in my place.” He turned to look at Morning. ”So Morning, if that is how you’d like to be addressed, I do have the deed for the Berns estate on my person. Name the right price, and it's yours.”

The suited woman stared through Justin as if he were glass, no more than a transparent obstruction to larger schemes. Like a human looking upon an anthill. Like an old god looking upon Sodom. There was, in that moment, a perfect stillness.

Then she broke it with a smile, and slapped her fist against her palm. “Right, the Diver! Thanks for the reminder, lil Glex. That event totally slipped my mind.” With catastrophe on the horizon, there was no need to be too hasty with new acquisitions after all. “I’ll let this slip once as well, Mr. Carthage. Glex gets to call me Morning. You may address me by my full name. And, of course, we can discuss the matter of property after the Diver’s done their detour.”

Even without owning the land, after all, she still had her fingers in construction.

Justin curled one of his fingers into his palm and pressed on it with his thumb until it cracked. ”If that is your preference, so be it.”

---

_{@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants}

”Good evening, agents.”

Fritzi paced back and forth in front of Samuel and Lilliah. Her eyes were locked on her tablet, which she was prodding with a stylus. They were standing in the new and improved training room. Ashley had been the first to test it out, but Binky had made a lot of enhancements since then. Remnants of the old obstacle course were still in place, which had recently been used to test Finn’s abilities. It seemed that they had not yet been repaired. But Sam and Lilliah were enlisted agents, and evaluations were seldom conducted after one was hired. Neither one had an idea as to why they were here. After making them wait in silence for the better part of a minute, Fritzi looked up at them with a smile.

”I don’t think the operation at Justin von Carnage’s mansion was anyone’s finest hour.” She tapped the top of her stylus. ”I read your reports. It seems our enemies are more numerous than I initially thought, and I wasn’t too generous with my initial estimation. The nun, in particular, will be troublesome.” With a huff, Fritzi placed a hand on her hip. ”Well, I read your reports, but now I want to hear your opinions. What do you think your squad’s greatest weakness is?”

---

Morning broke bright, heralding a brisk, blue sky, but down in the depths of Bastion, the only indication of the transition between night and day came from digital clocks and mood lighting. Living a subterranean life had benefits, but the inability to synchronize the body and mind with the rotation of the planet was not one of them. Unless, of course, one had a phone with alarms set religiously to remind them when to sleep and when to wake.

This time, however, no such alarm roused Luna from her slumber. Rather, by chance or by fate, the Maverick Esper found herself blinking her eyes open to the sound of a ‘ding’. A message, sent from a username that she didn’t recognize on Shimr.

‘PirateBayRat.’

In most other circumstances, such messages could be ignored, of course. It was too damn early for a booty call from a random, and it wasn’t as if Shimr was free from hackers trying to steal account log-in info with innocuous image links that just don’t seem to be able to load. But while it may have been only by luck that Luna was roused by a message, it was by intention that she became wide awake immediately after.

‘A little bird on a decaying grapevine told me’

‘where your lost little lamb is’

---

_@mantou

Aria’s shift at the nursery was about to start. She had given herself plenty of time to arrive, but the subway was packed today, and the diminutive woman couldn’t see over most people. The way Aria was getting bumped back and forth, they might have mistaken her for a ball of mochi. None of them were getting off at her stop, which made it even harder to reach the exit in time. But she managed. Aria wouldn’t need to take a detour this time.

After a scenic walk to the city’s outskirts, she saw it, the orphanage where she worked part time. It was just a small cottage that had been converted into a nursery. It stood between two newer homes, but there was a row of trees at either side that kept the nursery isolated. Not that anyone was home during working hours anyway. Aria’s shift ended around three to four O’clock, at which point all of the kids would be picked up.

And speaking of kids, it was not uncommon for Aria to find a few of them waiting outside already. Though if she looked a bit harder, she’d make out some of them walking behind the windows.

They had gotten inside.Had the last caretaker forgotten to lock up?

---

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}

When it came to agents that were both capable and mentally sound, there really was only one that fit the bill: Dragon Breacher. The others were all either immature or possessing particular fixations, after all, and Silhouette, the one who could be trusted at least to rein in his predilections, was occupied. But while any old patrol of Pax Septimus could be handled by just a duo of agents, today’s occasion was different.

Two hours before, Dragon Breacher, Leroux, and the newly-recruited Timekeeper had been briefed on an assignment of utmost import. While Justin’s own hideout remained out of the grasp of the GEMINI’s own analysts, CCTV monitoring and ‘collaboration’ with local authorities had uncovered a couple of key threads, the most promising of which the trio was sent to investigate now.

A month or two back, a private clinic, the Aspiria Refuge, opened up in Pax Septimus, offering up mental health services. This was good and normal, and they operated as such, paying protection money to the Mixed Nuts Gang. In the last week, however, surveillance had caught an influx of patients coming in. Patients that did not come out, and patients that were not reported as ‘missing persons’ either. The reason behind it, after some cross-referencing, became obvious.

Those patients were thralls. The same escaped thralls that GEMINI forces had come to battle with during the initial raid of the Carnage Mansion. Possibilities of all sorts could be surmised, of course, hypotheses stacked atop each other, but in the end, speculation was meaningless, and the mission was clear.

Enter the clinic, detain the doctor, and investigate the premises.

So now, there the three of them were, across the sidewalk facing Aspiria Refuge.

In person, it was an unremarkable building. Two stories tall, with the second floor serving as a living space for the doctor, presumably. White-washed walls glistened in the noontime sun, more a sign of anti-graffiti measures than an obsession with a well-kept building. The signage was blocky and friendly, with the logo being that of a dove carrying the Rod of Asclepius.

There were no windows, however, and a paper sign on the metal door read ‘Closed’.

A medical clinic, closed during the middle of the weekday, at noon of all times.

It was a good thing, then, that the GEMINI agents possessed a no-knock warrant.

---

_@Izurich

The other agents were with Fritzi or preparing for an operation, which left Ashley and Silmeria to patrol. Silmeria’s shift had ended about ten minutes ago, but she decided to continue her patrol outside her usual route. Surely even the monsters were aware of their patrol paths, and it wouldn’t hurt to do something a bit more extra.

But then where should she go? Just wander?

She wouldn’t need to think about it.

Silmeria came across a van. The clear coat had dulled from years of baking in the sun, but it was well maintained. The rims had all been cleaned, and barring a few scratches here and there, it looked to be in good shape. The newest addition to the van was a vinyl logo. “Pax Landscaping,” with a cartoon tiger jubilantly pushing a mower over some turf, followed by “We stripe it!” and a phone number.

It did look like a good time to mow down some weeds.

---

_{@OwO, wuts this?}

The roar of six cylinders sounded out through the desolate streets of Pax Septimus, a muscle car prowling freely in the night. Apollo, as it happened to be, was driving, fresh off the sort of pub crawl that would make most lesser specimens keel over and get rushed into the hospital for a new liver. He, of course, was built different. A chad amongst chads, a machine bound in flesh, the man was driving straight even with a liter of pure alcohol being processed through his veins, cruising through the neon shitscape of the City of Blood n Sin with both windows open. Monstrous music blasted out as the cool wind flowed in, whisking the sweat of premarital sex off his skin.

Aftercare and bedtalk, after all, were both beta things. Apollo was the man who was out before the first cigarette even finished.

But perhaps he wasn’t alone in enjoying the 4AM roads after all. Hi-beams flashed against his rearview mirror, then dimmed to reveal the silhouette of another car: a scarlet red Pontiac Firebird, its hood vibrating with the force of its own engine. The windows were too target to make out anything of the driver within, but the intent was clear as the car first changed lanes, then caught up to Apollo’s own vehicle. The intent was clear enough, and this road, following the path to the abandoned industrial section of the city, was a winding, deadly one, well known for both fatal car accidents and absolutely badass street races.

Of course, knowing all this, there was only one path and one road for Apollo…unless, of course, he was feeling like a little bitch instead.

---

_{@The World@Ponn@ERode}

As it turned out, Ashley and Marrie had no reason to wait for High-Priest to acquire another esper. After Tetrad gave Klava Marrie’s number, Marrie and her talked and realized they were both trying to find Sofron. High-Priest seemed pleased with this outcome, citing the Maiden as a reliable and experienced ally that was perfect for rounding out the team. They offered pay suitable for the mission’s completion,and some instructions. You’re not really working for a mysterious patron without following a few obscure instructions.

The trio walked down an alleyway in the dead of night. The only thing lighting the way was two barrel fires situated at either end of the street. After spotting a table with a tarot card depicting the high priestess, Marrie showed her phone to one of the players, which had a PNG of the tarot emperor loaded onto it. One of the players sneezed, and then three card players from entirely different groups approached the espers. There was a fox girl wearing a police uniform, only she had decided to forgo her top for a leather harness and a bikini, which her badge was clipped to. Another “officer” just wore a vest, which was open and revealed the awesome six pack he was rocking. He also had a mustache that glistened in the evening sun. The last one was the tallest. This officer wore a strange knit garment that only covered his arms and the lower half of his face, but exposed his torso, which was only covered in a net.They looked strange, but not more so than the espers before them. They locked arms with the espers like they were all besties going to a club together, casually chatting with each other.

And then they guided the espers into Grizzly Rose, a night club.

Not that anyone could tell on the inside. Once you were inside, all you could feel were sensations. Hues of red and purple light hit the espers like a freight train, or maybe it was the dated electric techno music. Clouds of smoke rolled out of some vents, which were bathed in neon light. Silhouettes of warm bodies swayed and bounced, but not to any particular rhythm. They were just as eccentrically dressed as they were, if not more so. The night had just begun, however, and their guides were able to steer them towards their destination.

The first floor of Grizzly rose was a fairly standard rave, but there was a penthouse a few stories up that allowed for a more relaxed environment. Justin had purchased it for Sofron, and according to High-Priest, he was using it tonight.

The esper’s guides took them far away from the dance floor and sat at the bar, where they continued their conversation. It was actually quiet enough that one could hear themselves think. But just beyond the bar was a staircase that led to the penthouse.The only other way in was through the window that overlooked the sea, but that wasn’t exactly a subtle option. Then again, the door leading in was likely locked, and Sofron probably wasn’t taking visitors.

For now, the espers were on their own.

@BrokenPromise

Being so used to working mundane, droning jobs, Valkyrie was an expert at tuning out her sense of time as she went about the dullness. Sure, patrolling as an Agent of GEMINI was arguably higher on the 'prestige' tier than mopping up 7/11 floors, but unless something happened, the monotony was similar. And as it turned out, something did happen; a seemingly nondescript utility van, no different than any others roaming these godforsaken roads, at least when observed without prior knowledge. Fortunately, Silmeria was no layman, her little snooping a few days ago bore fruit as she recognized a certain company name.

Pax Landscaping... The esper-formed agent walked over to the vehicle, and it wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together. Boy, in some ways, Tony was dumb as rocks, huh? Out of all the logos he could choose for his front, it had to be a cereal mascot tiger, but well, he's a monster after all, what did she expect? For now, Valkyrie would check the vehicle itself for anything useful, then once she had done so, she would use her GEMINI-issued phone to trace down the phone number emblazoned underneath the logo for the same purpose.

The list of monsters and traitors that needed purging was long and ever-growing, but it'd continue to do so for as long as she didn't do something about it. Right now, a certain weretiger and his pack were due for some poaching. Skadi had given her a task and it was time to fulfill the hunt.

---

Upon completing her patrol with Agent Valkyrie, Ashley was once again contacted by the mysterious High-Priest, who instructed her to meet up with Gale and the third member of their little “team”. Said third member was a confident, if not slightly arrogant, young woman, who called herself The Maiden. Ashley soon realized that she was one of the Freelance espers that had been working with Maverick during the raid on Justin’s mansion, something the young agent could forgive, as long as their reason for associating with known terrorists was simply to bring about the vampire’s demise.

After brief introductions had been made, the three espers traveled to the location High-Priest had specified- a darkened back alley near the waterfront. Gale took point in approaching their “contacts”, who guided them inside a nearby establishment, getting a bit too close for Ashley’s comfort in the process. Grizzly Rose? the young agent thought to herself, before being assaulted by the nightclub’s blinding lights and deafening music. This was most assuredly not the kind of place she would ever normally go to, but despite her discomfort, the Knight of Tomorrow knew that such unpleasantness needed to be endured if she was to attain her goal.

Thankfully, they were soon led into a far quieter bar/lounge area, and, after sitting down on a barstool, Ashley leaned over and whispered to her teammates. “I suppose the first order of business is coming up with a plan. To start with, would you mind sharing a little about your abilities? I’m primarily a mid-ranged fighter, specializing in defensive and healing melodies,” she explained. “Although I can also employ a few offensive melodies as well.”

---

"So... Who wants to bet that this place is glowing to the point that Justin himself could be hiding in the crowd?"

The truth was that Marrie was entirely out of her element here. She'd never been to a party, let alone a rave, and the large number of people was really bothering her. Not to mention the heat from being packed in with them. She tried to focus on the mission, but she was having trouble. Capturing someone who could use portals would be tough, and being one of Justin's biggest partners made the prospect even worse. Not to mention the likelihood that a number of people in the crowd were on his side if it came down to it.

Still, there had to be a way. Did raves have bar fights? Was that a thing that happened in the modern day? She glanced around as subtly as she could for cameras. She would expect there to be some if someone high-profile lived above the rave. Were the three who helped them inside even really on their side? She was grateful for them, but suspicious... Yeah, the environment was definitely making it hard to think.

Orion mentioned how she's built more for defense and healing, so Marrie replied in kind. "I'm sort of a... I guess you could say tactical loadout? I lean a bit towards offense though." Marrie hadn't really thought about team tactics before, so it wasn't on the top of her mind where she'd fit in best.

---

"New job, day one."
Current Location: Outside the Aspiria Refuge
|Objective: Investigate the clinic.|

For all his avoiding Shimr, Fable didn't know he was getting popular until he noticed it whilst lurking. It genuinely shocked him, and really, it was sort of nerve wracking. People were counting on him, rooting for him to bring Justin down. He had fans! Fans that he really didn't think he deserved, but he couldn't worry about that right now, could he? Then there was the whole assumption that he and Betty were a thing.

...Yeah, even the thought of that makes him flustered. Circumstances aside, why would she ever feel that way over a wimp like him? He'd have to clarify once he got the chance. And maybe quietly hope things will end on a better note next time!

This time was his first assignment as a GEMINI agent. A curious one at that, and hopefully, a lead. A private clinic housing thralls as patients. Whatever the case is, Fable and two others were sent to investigate. He and Leroux already met, but he didn't know what to think of Dragon Breacher yet. As the three stood facing the clinic in question, the boy looked over the exterior. Damn. No windows.

"Think they expect us to go through the front door?" He'd ask his teammates, staring at the closed sign. He checked to see if the door happened to be unlocked. If not, well, there's always breaking it down.

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}

Su knew why she had been included on this assignment, that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Jacqueline was a reliable ally, if a bit too focused for her own good. She had caused some property damage to the police station they were trying to save along with a few bottles of Jack Daniels, and drew her own blood in front of a night walker. Though these lapses in judgement were more than made up by her sheer determination. Su did not know many agents that would have the endurance to continue fighting with their guts out of place, or to have a cool enough head to talk someone like Rottweiler down.

Finn was not someone that Su had much experience dealing with. During both operations they were only in the same room for a moment before they parted ways. He had been an effective ally it seemed. though his obsession with Betty was problematic, and something that could indirectly crop up anywhere. His emotions needed to be tempered a bit, much like her own adopted daughter. So long as he listened, she was sure things would be alright.

Aaaaand now he was just pulling on the front door. The chances of the front door being boobytrapped were pretty slim, but Su would have preferred to do as little to alert the enemy as possible. Though maybe now was a good time to talk strategy.

”Timekeeper, stay with Leroux or I at all time. No running ahead, okay? Keep us safe, keep you safe.” Su had been briefed on Finn’s abilities after he was recruited. Support, and one armed with a rapier. Not a combination that made Su happy, but none of them chose their grimoires.

”Leroux, behind me when enemy not present. Remember, detain doctor, not kill.” She smiled a bit to let Jaquiline know she wasn’t totally serious about her concern involving the mission target, except she was.

She cast her gaze towards the door. If Finn managed to open it, she would raise her shield and enter the clinic first, expecting the other agents to fall in line behind her. Otherwise, she’d gesture for Jaquilne to “pick” the door open first.

---

Luna’s typical morning routine involved Billy’s voice booming through the halls of the Bastion, a literal wake up call that poured through the speaker system. When that failed, or in certain emergencies, Trixy would barge into her room and shake her awake. She could sleep through most things, and was honestly a little suprised her phone had managed to wake her up.

But she was glad that it had.

Did she believe this ‘rat’? Not exactly. It would be too easy for GEMINI to use Shimr to bait Tetrad into leaving the safety of the Bastion. But she couldn't discount the chance they might know where Jez was. Even if it was a gem, capturing them could get her closer to Jez’s location anyway. Hundreds of scenarios played out in her head, and they all made persuing this lead seem like a good idea.

Alright. you have my attention.

She reached into a mini fridge under her bed. Half a slice of cold pizza later, she was in her bathroom brushing her teeth. But her phone was always there, waiting for PirateBayRat's next message.

Oh, the Grizzly Rose was lit.

While the Knight of Tomorrow (KoT) and the Gale looked to both be a buncha party-poopers who apparently hated having fun, the Maiden absolutely vibed with it, bopping her head to the retro techno beats and looking almost disappointed when their guides lead them away from the dance floor and up to the bar instead. She looked down towards where neon-bloomed smoke reduced humanoid forms into writhing silhouettes once more, enjoying the sheer aesthetics of it. Not too much in terms of actual roses, but not every place could be like the Rainforest, with a manager who was a former landscape contractor.

Still, she appreciated that KoT didn’t immediately try to kill her, and appreciated doubly so the candid nature in which the bodysuit-clad girl shared her capabilities…even though it was a bit on the vague side of things. Healing was good to know of, at least. The ‘tactical loadout’ was more than just a touch vaguer, and Klava gave Gale the look she used for guys who were trying to make themselves appear more impressive by tossing in complicated versions of their actual job description. Like, what, “agile scrum master”? Yeah, sure thing, you fucking nerd.

“Right, cool, cool, love this communication, ladies,” Klava replied, clapping her hands together. In that moment, the tattoos on her arms glowed, vibrant light seeping between the gaps of her clasped hands as a melody wove itself together. Snow melted into water, and water crystallized into ice, Crafting twp frozen brooches that thrummed with latent arcane power. She handed one each to her companions. “Trinkets capable of placing a Mark that would allow you to Blink there afterwards. It’s sorta my deal, you see, making things out of ice. Beyond that, I have Restrain and Push, as well as the usual tricks you can expect out of an Aqua-rooted Esper. Oh, and do keep those brooches on you. Makes it easier for the assist later…”

Her eyes scanned the room as she leaned her back against the counter. A staircase that led to the penthouse, or climbing from the outside to enter through a seaside window. There were options for sure, but first, she needed to share some extra insider information. “…but listen up to this first. Dunno if either of you’ve fought Sofron before, but his whole deal is area control through the usage of Zones and Damage X and all that crap. Super powerful melodies, made worse because he can also severely limit your magical output if you get hit by them. Dude’s got a glass jaw if you get him into melee though…but also he has some sort of ability that automatically patches him up if you don’t immediately kill him, and he carries a SMG, so that’d be great to deal with if we all go up the staircase nice and lined up.”

Klava smacked her fist into her palm conclusively.

“So, that is to say, any of you have a movement trick or two to make our entrance dynamic?”

Jacqueline was standing in front of Aspiria Refuge alongside two fellow espers. She craned her head up, then tilted it left and right as she looked at the building. No, no matter how she looked there was not even a single teeny tiny window anywhere. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that things weren’t built to code in Pax, but still. It was a wonder someone hadn’t marked it as suspicious earlier, given it was supposed to be a mental health clinic, and yet, there was shit nothing that’d stimulate any kind of health visible.

Even if the thralls entered the picture only after their raid on Justin, she wouldn’t be surprised to discover some other weirdness had been going on at the clinic since its establishment. Even if there had, it probably wouldn’t have fallen under Gemini’s jurisdiction though. Then again, she didn’t really have to consider any of that. The mission was just investigating the building and detaining the doctor.

As Fable pointed out, though, that might be made more difficult if they were expected. Given they’d locked the front doors, that was…yeah, she should just think of it as a given, huh. “If it’s anything like the time with Justin, we should be on the lookout for any and all entry and exit points.”

As the kid went and tried the door, Breacher pitched in. “Understood,” was all that she said. Jacqueline didn’t think she needed to be told not to kill the doctor – a human – but apparently, she’d come across as really bloodthirsty in general. Well. Not that that wasn’t true, but she wasn’t usually motivated to put down people. Besides, the doctor might have a lead on Justin, and they really could use that.

When Su gestured for her to go help Fable, Jacqueline did so. Havoc would get the entrance open easily enough. There was the faint thought that ‘investigate the premises’ should involve going around the building once, or trying to see if there was a back door, or something, but if the three of them had by any chance been seen already, there was no point in wasting time.

---

---

Pax Septimus wasn’t all ruined cityways, night clubs, and government buildings of. It also had a few functioning warehouses. Some became meetups for gangsters and monsters if not temporary shelters for the homeless to squat in. Though they were used to house goods on occasion. Wholesale merchandise could then be repackaged and distributed to consumers for a profit.

Some did many of these things.

”Mmmmm…”

One dark corner of this warehouse hid someone. Everything but a pink ponytail that was long enough to touch the floor. Her lips smacked followed by the occasional moan of satisfaction.

”Oros?” Sharr was sitting in one of the leather sofas the warehouse afforded. Most of them were packed up in crates, but this one had been opened up for a test. One had to make sure the sofas were comfy before they arrived at their destination, after all. ”What are you doing?”

The pony tail bobbed in the darkness as it continued to make sounds. ”Just pretending to eat a ‘par-cooked’ time traveler that had a nasty run-in with some caustic bovines.”

”Pretending to eat?” Sharr tipped her head.

”Yea.” Oros walked out of the shadows. ”Because it was a make-believe time traveler. So if I wanted to eat it, I had to pretend to eat it. Because if it was real, I would have actually eaten it. Something like that is too dog-gone good to pass up!”

”I see…” Sharr’s eyes followed Oros as she took a seat next to her. ”Mind if I try some?”

”Help yourself!” Oros held out her hand. ”Want something to drink? It’s a little dry.”

”I have a glass of caustic bovine milk right here.” She “lifted” her “glass” and gave it a shake.

”Do you have the fortitude for that?”

”I used to eat at Taco Bell every week.”

”Yeesh!” Oros pulled her hand back. ”There’s depraved, and then there’s mexican every week depraved.”

Sharr was seldom without a smile, but her lips curled up just a bit more than normal. ”When you were younger, did you play pretend?”

”Nah, just here and there.” Oros slouched and crossed one leg over the other. ”Not like I had much in the way of siblings and classmates, and my parents were pretty rigid. Kinda hard to even want to play pretend when nobody wants to play with you.”

”You’re not missing much.” Sharr kept her hands folded in her lap. ”I had a younger brother that loved to play pretend. It was fun, but as we got older, we became more competitive.” She chuckled. ”At first, we were content to just go on adventures, but with age came pride. Everything we did had to be bigger and better than the other one, to the point where we would have ‘debates.’But it was just the two of us, so we both had the freedom to pick our own narrative and discard the other one.s. Though I think that was more upsetting to him than it was to me.”

”Riveting stuff.” Oros placed her fist under her chin. ”And what do you think about your new memories? Those make believe to youl?”

Ah yes, Oros had made good on her promise and took her out of this world to meet a doctor that could ‘restore her old memories’ among other things. ”At the time, they felt alien, but they are growing on me. Though that might be because of all the parallels between the ‘old’ me and the ‘new’ me. We both knew you, we were both magical researchers, and there are a lot of other parallels.” With a sigh, her head fell back into the sofa cushions. ”But the scale is so much bigger. I know so much more about the universe, and even the connecting universes..”

”You had a brain to match your ego, yea.”

”But is this a hallucination, or real memories?” Sharr hopped off the sofa and stepped forward. After reaching behind her back, she produced a tiny gourd, capped off with a cork. With a twist, the cork popped free, and out came a “workstation.” Welders, a loom, various benches with hammers and knives at the ready, all from a gourd slightly bigger than Sharr’s fist. ”I knew my subjects well in my ‘old’ life it seems. I should be able to build something with this required knowledge. In doing so, I can confirm that what you say is true. That you and I were originally from a different reality.

”Need anything else?”

”Between what we were able to scrounge up from Penny, and what you plundered from Bob, I can probably start on something.” She placed a hand on the side of her head.

”Still out of it?”

”Yes, the incense our good doctor had me inhale is strong. I’ve had a mild headache, but it seems to be going away. Nothing to worry about.” She noticed Oros stand up. ”Heading out?”

”Yea, I got a date. Not to mention I wanna see how the Grand Magistrate managed to screw around with the Doctrine of Combat Supremacy. How do they justify magic getting so weird after every patch update?”

”You see Oros, in places where mana concentration is highest, the ebb and flow of magic can be expected to change how melodies behave, sometimes affecting certain notes and even espers over time.”

”Right, I was waiting for a shoe-horned exposition. Later.”

”Be back before bedtime.”

---

It didn’t take more than a minute for a reply to be received.

‘1342 Industrial Avenue, 1PM’

Any other message from Tetrad would be read, but ignored. It appeared likely that the PirateBayRat was only interested in sharing information in person, and for all the prep work that the Maverick Esper may plan on doing, it didn’t matter. They would have to show up. Who knew what they’d miss out on if they hadn’t?

…

That being said, it wasn’t as if it was impossible to scout out the place beforehand. 1342 Industrial Avenue lead to the outer core of the city of Pax Septimus, where more than a few construction suppliers were lined up. There were steel mills, recycling plants, repair shops for large-sized vehicles, and so much more, all of them with only minimal activity, if they hadn’t been completely abandoned. A previous mayor had offered subsidies for such businesses to flourish, but when those subsidies ended up in the pockets of local mobs instead, such benefits were quickly cut off, and now, the monolithic buildings only remained as silent observers to whatever crimes were committed away from the city’s core.

The facility that Tetrad sought in particular was a cordoned-off manufacturing plant for computer parts, one that had long been set for demolition and yet spared over the years, until it became so overloaded with graffiti and dilapidated from mistreatment that it could qualify as modern art. Before the rusted rent-a-fences stood a Jeep Patriot, painted a flashy red with windows opaque. The rear passenger door was open, inviting, and when Tetrad decided to bite the bullet and step in, she caught the gaze of the individual lounging against the driver’s seat, a half-full cigarette tray balanced above the dashboard. One of the woman’s eyes was hidden by an ornate leather eyepatch, and her long dark hair was tied back into a low ponytail.

“Hey,” she drawled, “Glad you made it. Now, before you get to your questions, I’ll ask you one first, copy? There’s gonna be a lotta killin’, and it’s going to be for a little bird who won’t even have her talons anymore. Still worth it to you, doll?”

---

_@Izurich

The phone number on the van turned out to be the same one Silmeria found online, which led to the “seemingly legit” business. Of course, this was the first time Silmeria was in front of one of their actual vans, and it seemed like it was unlocked. She used the muzzle of her gun to swing the back doors open and peer inside. At the very back there was a small lawn mower and a weed whacker, but of greater interest to Silmeria was the crate in the back, which looked very familiar.

Just over the top of the crate, Silmeria would be able to see Aria running into the nursery. It was odd, really. Usually espers were so careful about revealing their true identity, but Aria had de-transformed in the mission area on a few occasions, and Silmeria was able to recognize the Protector when she was out of the esper state. After she disappeared inside the house, Silmeria’s eyes drifted down to the crate in front of her.

The crate that weretigers loaded young damsels into.

That Silmeria and Aria helped fight, no less.

…Shit.

If there was an upshot to this, it was that they probably didn’t know Silmeria was here yet. That meant that she would have plenty of time to-

”Chase me!”

The front door to the nursery was thrown open yet again as a teenager barreled outside. While Su lead a fairly private life, the one thing that almost everyone in her squad knew about was her adopted daughter Mika. During operations at odd hours, she would usually leave Mika at the nursery. She was probably a little old, but always seemed to enjoy her time there, and none of the caretakers seemed to mind the older girl’s presence.

The native American kid was running as fast as her legs would take her, clutching a keychain in her hand. It was glowing between Mika’s fingers. Hot on her trail was a disgruntled man, who just looked a little bit more like a mobster than a landscaper. His clothes were just a bit too clean, and his hair had been greased back. He had a hand on his hip to keep his pistol from bouncing out of his holster.

Silmeria had to act carefully. This could turn into a hostage situation if it wasn’t one already. But once she fired her gun, the genie was out of the bottle.

---

_{@SilverPaw@Majoras End}

Havoc made quick work of the door, a simple twist of the backspike sufficient enough to pop the lock off and swing the door open. Immediately, the smell of herbal aromatics blew towards the three agents, incandescent lamps and near-inaudible music combining to make for an atmosphere similar to that of a spa. Light too shone from the walls, large monitors creating virtual depictions of ‘windows’, ‘windows’ that depicted a more pastoral setting than the grungy city block right outside the refuge. It wasn’t too bad of a place, upon retrospect, and the furniture in the waiting room looked to be rather tasteful as well, sleek and unintrusive, but certainly designed with ergonomics in mind.

Of course, all those environmental details didn’t mean much when there was only one other moving individual within the reception area, and only one corridor leading deeping into the clinic.

The receptionist, a young woman in comfortable but professional attire, widened her eyes at the sudden, violent intrusion of three costume-wearing nutjobs, then widened them even more at the very real weapons that they all wielded. Sure, Pax Septimus was a bad place, but what the hell? “Uh, uh?!” she stammered, flicking her eyes from one of them to another. But her hands remained hidden by the large desk, and the way her shoulders shifted made it clear that she was reaching for something.

---

_{@The World@Ponn@ERode}

They didn’t have many opportunities to speak before the date of the operation, and as a group of individuals from all walks of life, there was reason enough to not speak too much about what they could do until they were literally in front of Sofron’s apartment. Plans were discussed, melodies were cast, attention was gotten. A group of whispering girls was the most natural thing in the world, but the bartender immediately took notice of Klava’s melody. Was he in on it or not? If they hit Sofron soon, there wouldn’t be much he could do about it anyway.

…

The Grizzly Rose was a fairly standard night club, but the real star of the show was the apartment that sat on top of the joint. The club downstairs was fine for mass raves, but for those that wanted a smaller party with just their closest friends, this was a superior atmosphere.

The apartment was very modern. The kitchen, living room, dining room, and main hall were all one room. They were loosely divided by an island counter, which cut off the kitchen and dining room from the living room and main hall, which was where guests would enter from.

The dining room was strategically placed to offer a view of two different vistas. One was the giant glass wall that let one view the harbor. But at this hour, most of the sailboats had come in, and dark would be falling soon. Which left the second vista, which was inside the apartment itself. On the other side of the main hall was a dance floor. Above it was a giant glass dome housing a transparent rose. It threw hues of neon light all over the floor as the sculpture refracted lights in its prismatic body.

”This is nuts!” Sitting across from Sofron was a star struck young woman. She was wearing a red dress, which couldn’t contain the massive squirrel tail protruding out the bottom of it. Of course, one could also just look at her face to tell there was something off about her. Her eyes were giant black marbles, and spaced a bit further apart than normal. Her nose was also a bit wider than normal, and she had whiskers. But none of this bothered the butler sitting across from her.

"The noise damping is pretty good, yes." He was enjoying an almond scone and tea. The perfect end to an evening. "It’s not badly priced, either. Well, it’s more of a job perk for me, but you know."

”Yea, you told me!” She took another bite of her scone, her eyes transfixed on the giant rose in the distance. ”So this whole place is named after that sculpture?”

"The sculpture came later, I believe the name is a reference to beauty and the beast, actually." He held his chin. "The beast was cursed, and if he did not find someone who loved him before the rose died, he would remain a beast forever."

”It does kind of look like the one in the Disney cartoon. I mean, aside from the whole hanging upside down bit.”

"The beast had a decade to find his true love, but real roses usually die in a week or two."

”Well, you don’t have to wait that long if you don’t want to.”

Sofron glanced down at his hip. His cell phone was vibrating. "I’m expecting company in a few hours."

If there was one thing that Samuel had it was patience. Surprisingly, working in an office was not quite the most exciting job most of the time. And considering his position in the company before leaving, waiting was actually a large part of his work sometimes. However, it was unfortunate that Fritzi only made them for a minute or two, since it was just expected of any human being over the age of four to be capable of not stirring in their seat.

But hey, at least it was obvious to the two other people in the room Samuel was at the very least five years old mentally.

"What we are most lacking as a squad?" Samuel seemed oddly prepared for this question as he retrieved a small journal from his person. He flipped partway through it and firmly declared. "Cohesion. An objective look at the capabilities of each member of our squad betrays the potential to rise to about any occasion, but we have not undergone any cooperative efforts together separate from actual operations. At the present, when melodies begin to fly around and lives are at risk, we likely come off almost no different than a..." he can't exactly hide his displeasure from saying the next words, but he doesn't linger on them. "...Freelancer group: The trust among each of us is not unconditional and cooperation is present but not entirely efficient."