As each guard moved to draw their weapons, Ashley took them out in turn. Even it they were just ordinary humans, they were working for monstrous criminals who had abducted her ally and mentor. That made them enemies, and the Knight of Tomorrow would treat them as such. A panicked scream from behind her did nothing to break the high-tech heroine’s focus as she continued her work of methodical threat elimination. It clearly wasn’t Estelle or Mika’s voice, which meant it was nothing to worry about, at least as far as Ashley was concerned. Yet, perhaps she should have been, as the next thing she knew, the beanie-wearing bouncer was running past her, dragging a very wounded (and very hysterical) teller along with him as an obvious human shield. However, before Ashley could fully comprehend this unexpected development, she was forced to dive to the side in order to avoid the slot machine hurtling towards her. Impacting the booth behind her, the makeshift missile destroyed whatever obstruction might have prevented anyone from leaping over said booth and reaching the elevator beyond.

“Well, that’s convenient,” Ashley muttered as she aimed her techno-wand’s glowing tips at the projectile’s source, a muscle-bound weretiger on the far side of the hall. “Here’s a thank you card.”

No sooner had the burly beast turned to face her after picking up another slot machine, then a lance of neon green incandescence shot forth from the Knight of Tomorrow’s twin-pronged instrument to spear his chest. Not relying on her meager shield to protect her from the possibly-still-being-thrown slot machine, Agent Orion once more leapt out of the way of its path. As she did so, the high-tech heroine noticed that Estelle had moved up to the second floor and forced a second weretiger over the safety railing. Readying her techno-wand, Ashley took careful aim on the falling feline, before snapping off a luminescent energy bolt. Hopefully that would take it out of the equation as well. Regardless, a prolonged engagement like this was not something they could afford, not when time was very much of the essence.

“Agents! Fall back to the elevator!” Ashley snapped over her communicator. “We can’t get bogged down here!”

---

Regardless of how skilled Mika was with her abilities, she lacked experience.

Like any coward would, Badger used the teller as a human shield when Mika lunged. The wolf’s spectral jaw closed around the teller’s torso, and she screamed. Mika’s eyes shot open along with the wolf’s mouth, and Badger made his escape. She didn’t even have time to curse before more trouble showed up: An incoming slot machine. It read “Lucky Break!” down the side with a cartoon character in a body cast.

Very fitting.

Melodies needed at least a second to cast, and she only noticed the slot machine after Ashley jumped out of the way. Mika only had enough time to turn around as it slammed into her back. Normally this would have meant a broken spine for a human, but the slot machine had been thrown by a weretiger. Even if it was from her world, it had been thrown by a monster, and was wreathed in a monster’s chaotic energy. This was exactly the sort of attack an esper’s magic was designed to protect them from.

What would be significantly more painful was the wall she was headed towards. That had not been thrown by a weretiger.

The only thing Mika could do was brace for impact.

The slot machine slammed into the wall, punching a hole through the concrete and disappearing into the darkness. But there was no scream from the catgirl. Nor was there a splotch of blood or a mangled body to be found. Mika had transformed into a spirit, and was soaring away from what could have been her grave. Soon enough, she became corporeal again. Her feet landed on the ground and she twisted her neck until it cricked.

Oh look, some guards were right here.

Guns were great, but they didn’t help very much when you were standing in a line. Mika dispatched them as fast as she could. She swiped at the first one’s neck, opening his carotid artery. The second one swung its gun at her, only for her to duck under it and open his stomach. The third one tried to escape, but Mika's next swing tore into his back and he fell to the ground screaming. The fourth one managed to get a shot off, but it only pierced her shoulder. She screamed it off as she thrust her nails into his torso over and over again. Even as he fell backwards, she didn’t stop until he hit the ground. Her pretty teal dress turned maroon where the blood had soaked into it.

Even with these four dispatched, there were so many more. Ashley shouted some orders. Mika wasn’t sold on her logic, but she wasn’t here to think. Mika ran towards the elevator, and the wound on her shoulder closed as she did so. With any luck, she’d be faster than the incoming bullets.

@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise@Nyahahameha@The World@TaintedMushroom

Himiko paused briefly as Marrie disappeared without much warning, reappearing right in front of the group of cultist as it left her standing there with a dull expression. “So…I guess there goes any element of surprise? I guess I’ll just have to start blasting, she is far more bold then she first appeared, I’ll give her that.” Giving a quick shake of her head as she had to focus on her own situation. Especially now that Marrie and thrown herself right into the fray, leaving Himiko to handle whatever came her way.

Unfortunately for Himiko, the moment that Marrie made her move, the golden esper was quickly spotted out. “Ahh shit….thats what I get for being a gold lover… I was hoping that would at least go after the two distractions first before they noticed me….” shaking her head at her own stupidity for having such a stand out appearance. Of course they noticed her, how wouldn’t they notice her with how much gold she had on display. In fact if she was honest with herself, she was surprised it took them even this long to spot her.

The speed of the pale guards caught Himiko off guard as they burst from the sleeper cab of the truck. They moved far faster than she had anticipated or expected. She knew that the guy with the red skeletal hand was trouble, but she should have known he would have a surprise up his skeletal sleeve. It was clear that he kept them hidden away in case of an ambush, the leader was smarter then she had given him credit for. “These bastards are faster and stronger than I thought they would be, now I wish Marrie stuck around….” Lamenting her departure as she hadn’t anticipated being singled out right off the bat. Especially not by three of what looked like the most dangerous of the cult.

But she had a more pressing matter to attend to, she knew she should have taken out both revolvers. But the one she already had out would have to make do for now. She didn’t have time to yank the other one out as the pale guards were already nearly on top of her position. A piece of rebar being thrust towards her chest by one of her assailants. Himiko mustered up as much of her speed to try to side step it and get distance from the wall to her right to give herself more room to maneuver.

Bringing her revolver around onto the pale guard in question, the fake gold of her revolver glinted as she swung its barrel onto target. She fired off two shots, one for the man's torso and the other for his head. If he was going to go for a killing blow she wasn’t about to hold back and aim for non lethal.

With little time to spare, she tried to make some distance between herself and the pale guards, firing off two shots towards the one with the shopping cart and two more at the one who threw the haymaker earlier. Yanking her second revolver free, she tried to turn and run, not waiting to see what kind of effects her fire had, nor the effects of what the other Freelancer from the roof was attempting. Figuring it was better to be safe than sorry. Preferring to have some range between her and her enemy whenever possible. The last thing she wanted was to get into a close range melee brawl with these two heavy revolvers. Though if she really had too, they did make for useful clubs as a last resort. "I know I said I didn't mind if we didn't take the more stealth approach, but I think I'm quickly regretting that..." Himiko complaining as she decided to take a glance over her shoulder to finally observe the aftermath.

While her initial plan had failed, her secondary idea seemed to be working. Maybe they'd be able to talk things out after all! That was the thought that died in her mind as the leader of the homeless shouted something about his "pale guards." She didn't have any time, there was three pale-guards attacking Sovereign, and-... And another giving out water. That was either a very bad sign or something that could be overlooked. She had only a second to decide, so she did. A melody was cast.

{Silver Beam - Rain - Scatter - If Foe - Damage X}

As she fired the prelude beam of the rain of destruction into the air, Marrie was terrified that she may have made a mistake that would hurt the homeless people around her. She only intended to harm the paleguards, the man with the bare boned arm, and the water bottles that were outside the truck, but she knew that it was likely she'd overlooked something. She desperately wished she could do more, but even this was probably the strongest and most costly melody she'd ever cast.

As she raced towards the back of the group, towards the paleguard there, so too did her mind. With any luck, the three espers would be able to handle the other people relatively peacefully once the ringleader and his dark-souls minions were out. Plus, there was the chance that the water being handed out was the only water that might be dangerous. Of course, it was also possible that by "some of" the leader had meant "most of" as well. Suddenly, Marrie wished she knew how to Purify...

_{@Ponn@ERode@Izurich}

With the sudden appearance of weretigers backing up the guards, maybe they had overstayed their welcome. Though rushing to the elevator would be no easy task.

Such was the exchange of gunfire between Angel and Spades. A graze here, and a nick there, the two were evenly matched in their prowess. The mobster couldn't help but respect the girl's skill. But the cover given to him by Loki wouldn't hold out as well as he'd hope.

The Witch Hunter, in her quick thinking, had deflected the weretiger's frenzy. Giving her just enough of an opening to strike back at her original target. It didn't hit Spades' torso like Estelle had intended, but it hit him on his side causing his aim to graze the chandelier chain. "Damn it!" Spades hissed out, going on the evasive as swift as his wound would let him. "I thought you had that bitch busy!" The stabilize note would keep him weakened, but not weakened enough. He quickly ducked behind the nearest cover.

Loki wouldn't be able to retort. As soon as Estelle had parried his attack, she attempted to punt him off the edge of railing. Loki drove his sickles into the floor before he could fall, leaving him dangling like a cat stuck in a tree. That'd give Ashley a better aim at the tiger's back, the energy bolt shooting a burning, stinging pain across his body. Just enough adrenaline to launch himself back up and pursue his prey at a faster speed than before. To hell with the weapons, he'll rip them apart with his bare teeth if he must.

Back on the lower floor, Lorenzo was able to use the machine as a make-shift shield, turning his focus onto the Knight that evaded the next throw. Mika was lucky enough to avoid any severe damage from the one that struck her through a wall, cleaving through Honey Badger's guards without any further issue. Their numbers were thining out.

Whoever would reach the elevator first would soon realize one small problem, however.

The elevator needed a code in order to access it.

Maybe one of the guards knows?

They'll have to see after they shake off the tiger about to pounce on Ashley.

---

_{@The World@Nyahahameha@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPants}

The peace talks had failed before they even began. It was time for war.

Himiko had just enough time to avoid getting impaled. Her next two bullets hit their marks too. The first pierced the man’s stomach, and the second punched a hole in his head. But he didn’t go down. The paleguard stumbled backwards before regaining his footing. Whatever these things were, they were very resistant to physical attacks. And a look into their eyes might reveal why. In addition to having pale skin and horns, the men had eyes as white as ivory. If they weren’t undead, they were still inhuman. Physical attacks like this wouldn’t do much to them. But casting a melody would take too long, so Himiko fired again. Anything to slow them down.

By this point, Kira’s melody had activated, and the three paleguards were being pulled off the ground. While Himiko’s next shots were no more effective than the last ones, her airborne targets were shoved away by her powerful shots. They were damage resistant, but not resistant to her bullets' kinetic energy. While they hurdled through the air, the stone holder grabbed a hold of the MicroMart to prevent himself from flying backwards too far. Shopping cart guy was less fortunate. But the rebar guard wasn’t going to just let Himiko run away. With one arm on the dilapidated mart, he heaved the rebar at Himiko like a mighty javelin. Himiko looked over her shoulder just in time to see the javelin strike her in the back. Much like when Mika had been struck by the slot machine, the rebar projectile did far less damage than it should have. It cracked one of her ribs and caused her to stumble forward. While the cart guard was floating backwards through the air, the two other pale guards were able to pull themselves to the edge of the melody and fell onto their feet. Himiko had gained some distance, but it was shrinking fast as they barrelled towards her. Kira’s melody had also managed to catch a few of the bums. They were helpless, ignorant of what was happening to them as gravity started to behave strangely.

And it didn’t help matters when Marrie shot a melody into the air. It broke apart into rain and fell down on the lone pale guard and most of their bottles. It hissed as the arcane storm burned its face and shoulders, and melted the bottles it contacted. Blood and foggy water spilled onto the ground, leaving the homeless and the truck unharmed. But the next thing Marrie did was charge through the crowd to get to the wounded paleguard. But the bums didn’t have time to disperse. The spooky ghost girl that just appeared in front of them melted a woman’s face with some rain and was charging them with a knife.

Scared animals always attack when they’re cornered.

Marrie was able to deflect the chair that was swung at her face, but not the crowbar that was swung into her stomach, or the fist that slammed into her side, the elbow at the back of her neck, or or the foot that slammed into her back. She was knocked to the ground, and the homeless surrounded her and started kicking and stomping her into submission. Be it fear or some twisted desire to break something, they wouldn’t stop until Marrie was unconscious. The same could not be said for the paleguard, who picked up a fence post for a chain link fence. She held the rusted pipe like a spear and closed in on Marrie’s position. The bums parted as she approached.

Kira seemed like she was in a perfect position to help everyone, but that was about to change. Her altitude was far too high for a bum to reach, but the paleguards had little difficulty scaling the brick wall. With freakish speed, they dug their claws into the brick work and dragged themselves up to the roof, facing Kira from either side of her previous position. They made no other movements yet, but they didn’t have to.

The palemancer’s bone staff popped out a blade like it was some Swiss army knife, granting him a bone scythe. With a hop, he soared towards Kira's possition. He'd split Kira in half if she didn’t move soon.

If this was a Spaghetti Western movie, no bystanders would even dare to interrupt this deadly yet sacred ritual between two gunmen, alas, between the erroneous choice of firearm, anachronistic attire, and unorthodox environment, the only thing Spades and Angel's duel had in common with those cinema of olden days was the shooting. Perhaps this was why the Powers-That-Be didn't have any qualms to add yet another hitch in the form of Estelle's scabbard-beam, the nigh-instantaneous photonic projectile heading straight to McGraw's torso.

And Spades, being fully occupied by his redheaded rival as it was, had no time to respond as the Witch Hunter's Melody struck him right on his sides, inflicting a not-insignificant injury. This threw off his aim and caused the last few bullets to go wide. Oho! Chance! Angel flashed a shit-eating grin as she took the opportunity to steady her aim for a well-timed shot...

“Agents! Fall back to the elevator!” Ashley snapped over her communicator. “We can’t get bogged down here!”

Say whaaat?! Man, just as it was getting good too. Fine then, it looked like they had to cut the little charade short. Surveying her immediate surroundings, most especially what currently went on the second floor, the Messenger of Gunpowder quickly concocted a plan of action. Yes, she should be able to execute a maneuver that'd neutralize Spades and assist Estelle with her rabid weretiger problem in one fell swoop, hey, never say that she was the type of gal to ignore favors. "Roger that, Orion, I'll be there ASAP!" The winged esper barked back into the communicator even as she began ascending.

Once her fiery locks almost brushed against the ceiling, Angel performed a single forward somersault, and at that moment, the auric gust surrounding her seemed to coalesce at the center of her back... "Call yourself lucky today, man, coz’ this one's on the house!" Before she suddenly launched forward in a great burst of speed, her body posed in such a way so that her right leg was extended forward with the sole of her sneakers acting as the proverbial spearhead. The move that a certain pop culture-obsessed woman would recognize as a ‘Rider Kick’.

Propelled by her golden winds, Angel Rider - auric swirls trailing behind her like jet trails - would rapidly close the distance to Spades, then used all of that momentum to smash her sole right against his sternum, hopefully breaking a few ribs and knocking the winds out of him. Whether the gambit was successful or not, Angel didn't have the time to check as she immediately sprang to the air again, this time soaring over Crazy Loki. As she did, the gunner esper positioned herself as if she was skydiving, then aimed downward, right at Loki's furry scalp, "Hey, pussycat! Heads up!" before unleashing a literal rain of bullets at the monster. Eat divine fuckin' lead, abomination!

@BrokenPromise @Majora @ERode @Ponn

Having correctly anticipated how their speedy enemies would move, Kira had already turned her gaze to where she'd come from, and the sight of the undead lizard people and their ringleader approaching her previous position had prepared her well for their next move against her. The sight of the palemancer leaping into the air and brandishing a weapon made a smirk form on Kira's face, having every confidence in her ability to engage in close range aerial combat. Boy, you're just fulla' bad ideas, aren't'cha?

She started by altering gravity's pull on her body again, bringing her horizontal freefall in the direction of the truck to a halt as if she'd used a Self Suspend Melody. She rotated her body, leaving her floating upside-down in midair as the palemancer closed the distance. Kira intercepted the blade of the palemancer's scythe with her right foot while channeling her magic through it, casting a Melody that would suspend the next thing her foot came into contact with using gravitational force on all sides. The movement of the scythe's center of gravity would be slowed to the point of no longer having enough force to cut, if it was able to be moved at all, and she didn't plan on giving her bone-armed assailant enough time to figure out it could still be rotated around its center of gravity while suspended.

"You got some nerve, takin' advantage of the most vulnerable period a' these people's lives..."

Her confident expression fully soured as Kira allowed to surface the feelings that had been stewing since being greeted by the sight of a crowd of homeless people as her foes, and she reached forward in an attempt to grab the palemancer's left ankle with her right hand. If she succeeded, Kira would immediately cast a high grade Melody on herself - a huge gravitational force acting on her body would bring both her and the palemancer she would have grip of hurtling toward the side of the semi's trailer, Kira falling feet-first with the palemancer trailing over her head.

"...to manipulate 'em to your own shitty ends!"

Kira would transfer this force directly into the palemancer by overhead swinging him face-down onto the wall of the trailer, while making adjustments to gravity's pull on her body to avoid shattering her own ankles upon landing on the side of the trailer herself. With the amount of force the palemancer would hit the trailer with, the entire thing would begin to tilt sideways, with Kira's altered gravity letting her stand on the wall and raise her head upward.

"TOBIKATTE KIRA IS NOT GONNA' STAND FOR THIS SHIT!!!" she would roar, loud enough to be heard even over the metallic creaking of the semi settling back into position as it recovered from the force that tilted it.

Despite the force of Ashley’s arcane energy bolt striking the dangling weretiger square in the back, the creature seemed completely unaffected by the ugly wound and singed fur that resulted from the attack. Indeed, the force of the blast had actually propelled the fearless feline back onto the second floor, where it renewed its assault on Estelle. Even so, Ashley couldn’t afford to be distracted by this unwelcome turn of events, not with more immediate concerns to focus on. The most pressing of these was the muscle bound brute of a weretiger, who, having blocked the Knight of Tomorrow’s energy beam with the bulk of the slot machine he’d been preparing to throw, was now charging toward her with wild fury.

Whirling to face him, Agent Orion brought up her energy shield and pointed her techno-wand at the beast’s head. As she took aim on the rapidly approaching monster, the high-tech heroine saw that her initial shot had actually managed to inflict some damage, even through the creature’s improvised shield. Thus, she figured a similar attack would more than suffice, especially against the brute’s unprotected cranium. Holding her ground before the charging carnivore, the Knight of Tomorrow fired off another neon green energy beam, which she immediately followed up with an equally potent energy bolt for good measure.

Meanwhile, most of the other agents were still occupied with their various opponents, although Mika had just finished off her immediate targets and was now heading back to the elevator, as per Ashley’s instructions. While Ellie had acknowledged her order, a quick glance in the angelic agent’s direction informed the Knight of Tomorrow that she would be attempting to extricate Estelle first. Assuming her two-stage attack had taken the burly weretiger out of action, Ashley would hastily vault over the teller booth and take up position next to the elevator behind it to cover the other agents’ retreat.

---

Mika felt pretty good about her chances of avoiding gunfire, but it never hurt to have a little backup. Her eyes flared with mystical power, but she made no obvious attempt to direct her magic through her arms. Though during her run, one of her steps caused the ground to bubble with glowing ectoplasm. A pair of ears sprouted out of the ground, then a face, whiskers. Before long, the spirit of an unusually large cat popped out of the ground. It was friend shaped, with a large belly and limbs too small to realistically move. Any bullets that might have struck Mika would instead hit the fat decoy she deployed at her back. It purred when it was pelted with bullets, as if it enjoyed the pain.

Mika rushed past Ashley to try the elevator. She tapped the call button several times only to get prompted for a password. "What!?" Mika growled before kicking the elevator. " It wants a password! Did you even try this thing before calling us over?"

In theory, they could maybe force the elevator open and get to the bottom. The cable would be plenty sharp and impossible to rappel down, but they could just as easily get to the bottom some other way. But then they were giving everyone up top a chance to seal them in. Not to mention they had no idea what condition Binky was in. The point of a rescue wasn’t to get in, but to get someone out. Having a working elevator would make things go a lot smoother. They only needed to figure out was who had the password.

The mafia guy looked important enough, but also too professional to talk. The big weretiger was just a brute, and the small one was going to be dead soon. The sort of person you could get a password out of would need to be high up the ladder. High enough to command others, but cowardly enough to say anything to survive, or use a teller as a shield.

"I know who has the password. Keep the elevator clear."

There was no surprise slot machine to stop Mika this time. She followed Honey Badger towards his last known location, hoping he hadn’t fled the casino yet. Her claws still dripped with the blood of her last kill.

But Estelle had prepared for that the moment she saw Loki’s sickles snag against the ground, saw his muscles flex as he tensed against the pain of an arcane bolt and then shoot himself upwards into a tiger’s pounce.

His jaw met the scabbard of her Dai-Katana and the ringing of a bell resounded as all the momentum in his body was directed upwards. The weretiger’s body was flipped upright, just in time for Angel’s bullets to rain from above, puncturing into his flesh. Estelle did not linger there, instead rushing away to secure Spades. Her foot collided with his Tommy Gun before he could recover from Angel’s Rider Kick, sending the weapon far away, and then she had flipped him onto his stomach, deft hands securing the man’s limbs as she locked his wrists together with her Fuzzy Cuffs.

It was a big mismatch, all things considered. Sexy suited mafia man didn’t fit pink furry cuffs at all, and the mana-suppressing capabilities of the cuffs didn’t even matter when their target was a human.

“Please stay like this, or the others will just kill you.”

That was all that Estelle said, before leaping over the banister to join with the Knight of Tomorrow, her Instrument held up to deflect anything that may come their way.

@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise@Nyahahameha@The World@TaintedMushroom

Catching a glimpse of the results of her shots, Himiko couldn’t believe her eyes or her bad luck. The paleguards kept coming, even with the bullets doing their damage to their torsos and heads. It didn’t take her long to understand that these pale guards were already dead. Her best aimed shots had only slowed them down momentarily. It was only with the other esper from the roof's help,that had allowed her to gain a little bit of ground and space between her and the paleguards. She would have to come up with another strategy to take these three down, she at least didn’t have to worry about holding back.

Just as she thought she was reaching a far enough distance to be safe, her golden eyes caught a short glimpse of the rebar flying through the air as it reached its zenith before it smashed into her back. Grimacing as she let out a startled yelp of unexpected pain, the impact knocked her off balance as she had to take a few awkward steps to keep herself upright as she stumbled forward. She was glad it hadn’t done worse damage, though she knew it cracked a rib at the very least. It was clear she needed to take this far more seriously then she had anticipated when she accepted the operation.

Swinging herself around to face them she reached down inside of her jacket and yanked free a couple speed reloaders, jamming them into one revolver then the other and slamming the cylinders shut. Himiko narrowed her eyes through golden hair, she felt the pain radiating outwards through her body from her back.The paleguard having hurt her just enough to piss her off. “That hurt you lifeless bastard, now it's my turn to turn whatever is left of that husk that you call a body into swiss cheese!” Bringing both barrels up towards the rebar thrower.

Shifting her aim from her natural targets of the torso and head right to the knees and legs of her target. She quickly unloaded three rounds from each revolver, her barrels flashing with each bullet that left the barrel. The loud percussion ringing in her ears as her bullets hurtled through the air towards the knees and lower legs of the rebar thrower. Having a grudge to settle with him in particular after his earlier attack.

Quickly shifting her aim towards the stone holder repeating the same method of aiming for the knees and legs. Popping off the last three rounds from each of her golden revolvers.Putting as much lead as she could muster down range and on target. She began to move backwards as she quickly reloaded more rounds, getting another six in each revolver. She knew she had to keep moving and couldn’t stand still for even a moment. Not until she had dealt with the two paleguards currently able to pursue on foot. She figured the third one could be ignored for the time being thanks to the help from the rooftop esper. As she made her way towards some rubble, hurtling over it as she slid down the back side on her rear, pressing her back against it as she took a short few second breather to recollect herself.

Shifting her body to get in a crouch, she braced both revolvers atop the rubble and towards the paleguards hoping her earlier shots had done something to cripple them, if not she had another twelve bullets ready to go. Peering over the top of her makeshift cover to locate the paleguards,she was ready for whatever else they may throw at her. As much as she wanted to help the others, all she could do was focus on her own problems while Marrie and the other esper handled business elsewhere.

Three freelancers against a whole cult? Those numbers would never seem fair. Even with proper coordination between the few espers, it'd be so easy to find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number you have to face. All for what? Just some water? The commotion coming from the MicroMart was bound to draw in more people eventually.

But out of everyone, the young cyborg would only recognize the blue haired girl.

So when Marrie had found herself beaten down by the homeless cultists and about to be struck by a pipe, a bolt of golden lighting was quickly flung at her, taking advantage of the aggro directed elsewhere. Once it struck it'd swarm the group in electricity, but only Marrie would be healed by the current. The Timekeeper only hopped his strategy stalled long enough for her to break away.

"GO! NOW!" He'd call out to Marrie, hurrying over from around the ruined store. Finn quickly glanced over the ongoing battle. The bums would be easy to dispatch without severe injuries and what looks like the commander of these idiots was currently occupied by the flyer. That left the ones with the horns.

"Stick close to me, got it?!"

The guard with the rusted pipe wasn't expected to just keel over easily. The boy rushed in soon as it recovered, preparing to parry the weapon instead of going for an initial strike. He was trying to give Marrie an opening.

But would it actually work?

As Marrie got to the group of homeless, she felt nothing but elation that her attack hadn't killed any of them. Bonus points for it taking out what definitely looked like contaminated water. It wasn't until she was three people deep into the group of homeless that her mood soured from having a chair swung at her head. It was easy enough to block, but the timing was terrible as she got punched from her blindspot and was quickly overwhelmed, knocked prone on the ground.

A shitty situation, but she was given a little happiness from having been practicing a little in the past few weeks; she felt like she had a way out, if only she could think straight for half a second without being pummeled again. Before she could even put effort towards getting herself out of the mess, suddenly there was electricity covering her. But instead of the pain she expected, probably similar to the incident with Sofron, she was met with a rush of relief as some of her injuries were healed.

"GO! NOW!"

Didn't have to tell her twice.

{Silver Self - Flight}

In the moment that her assailants were distracted by the attack, she pushed herself up with all of her strength as she cast a melody, flying several yards into the air. While she would have preferred to be a good distraction, her apparent savior wanted her to stick close to him, so she obliged. As fast as she could, she flew over and attempted to strike from behind at the same target he was engaging.

Still though, in the moment that she was mid-air she decided that she would use her Instrument to its advantage. She was poised to stab through the chest of the paleguard, but was prepared to release her grip from Apexer Predator's hilt and fly backwards out of reach if it managed to deflect her attack. Perhaps she'd finally get a use out of its Heavenly Chain, though hopefully she wouldn't.

As the front of the proper convenience store finally came into view for both Noble Spark and his new Freelancer buddy, he picked up the pace, finally confident that the gunshots they were hearing were actually related to their mission and not just the natural ambience of the poorer section of Pax Septimus. In this chaotically dangerous city you never could be too sure.

Noble Spark scrutinized the scene before him as he tried to get his bearings, eye straining to ensure he was absolutely confident in what he was seeing. And... yeah, it seemed like a few unique individuals were currently engaging a large gathering of bums armed with improvised weaponry. This, he hoped, was not typical behavior of the homeless in this area. So it seemed safe to make an assumption.

Ah... man these homeless must be the 'cult' then, huh? I was hoping for the cool kind that wears robes and chants latin and then tries to summon some crazy strong demon or evil god... but I guess it wouldn't happen again so soon after the Diver...

But before he could get too disappointed at the mundane foe he was to confront, he centered his attention on the floating Esper and the girl with guns, spotting the pale guards attacking them. His eyes lit up with excitement.

Wait, are those jacked zombie bums? Now that's more like it!

While he didn't have a view of the Esper herself, Noble Spark noticed the mob of homeless seemed to have surrounded something or someone, and were raining blows down on them. He noticed another brollic bum, who began approaching the crowd wielding a fence post, clearly intending on using it on whomever was subject to that pile on.

Initially, his expression tensed and he nearly bolted straight towards for the group, but he noticed at the last second before sprinting off that a red-clad boy with goggles was preparing a melody and his attention seemed focused on that group. The fact was they were in a better position to help than Noble Spark was. There were others he could lend a hand to, like the girl with the expensive-looking guns that look like she stole them from some warlord in Africa, or the floating girl who had three people beelining for her. One of them had a design that screamed he was more important than the rest, even considering the two pale guards running beside him.

"I think we've lost enough time as is so lets just focus on making sure the others don't get overwhelmed!" and that was about all the guidance Noble Spark gave before darting off towards the sight of the pistol-wielding girl, who had just taken a piece of rebar to the back like a champ.

As he rushed to try to catch up with them, Noble Spark readied a melody as the gun-wielding girl attempted to put distance between the pale guards rushing her. A blue electricity gathered in his left hand as he squeezed it shut, and after he extended his right arm forward, towards the pale guard, it crackled as it quickly crawled to his outstretched arm and escaped from his palm as a typical bolt that would hopefully nail the leg of the one closest to this gun-toting Esper.

"Talk about being bum-rushed! But worry not, for Noble Spark has descended!" he gave a hearty and confident laugh.

_{@Ponn@ERode@Izurich}

Had the tiger overestimated his abilities? Or had he underestimated his prey? The whole plan fell apart with a swing of a scabbard redirecting Loki's momentum upwards. He wouldn't be able to land back on his feet, not when the Angel took her chance and filled him with a rain of lead. The weretiger hit the ground with a thud, painting the floor red. As it was with the rest of the human guards. At least, what was left of them. Whether or not he somehow survived this attack too? It was clear he wouldn't be a hindrance any further. Such was the law of the jungle.

Spades on the other hand wouldn't have been able to reach cover in time. With a swift kick in the ribs from Angel knocking the wind out of him, Estelle disarmed him and… Wait a damn second, she was sparing him? The fuzzy cuffs were humiliating but he was moreso processing her warning before she rushed off. With a grunt the mobster rolled off his stomach and sat up.

Eh. Should've known he'd be arrested sooner or later. But he had to respect the moxie of his opponent.

Unlike his recklessly dead teammate, Lorenzo leapt from side to side to evade Ashley's energy bolt as he closed in. The potent bolt did however strike him dead in the shoulder. The tiger collided against the shield, rammed his unwounded shoulder against it. Just as long as Ashley can keep it raised Lorenzo wouldn't have an opening. But how long could she hold him off?

But there was still the issue of the elevator password. Mika decided to pursue the only one that managed to slip away in order to get it. The subtlest of blood trails lead to a sideroom door, and down a hallway.

"I ain't getting my ass kicked by Tony just cause the feds trashed his stomping grounds, so quit your fuckin' squirming!"

"Go to hell!"

Cerberus could hear Honey Badger and the wounded teller arguing with each other, the latter struggling to free herself from the former's grip. Despite her bleeding from her torso, the rush of adrenaline gave him enough trouble for Mika to catch up.

When the two spotted her approaching, Honey Badger forced the teller in front of him.

"Not another step, girlie! You don't want me to break her neck now, would ya'?!"

---

_{@The World@Nyahahameha@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPants}

It was once said that the definition of insanity was performing the same action over and over again while expecting different results.

Himiko ran and shot, ran and shot. She even got a sexy dive and slide in there. But it didn’t change the fact that she was being hunted by three abominations that were resilient to her attacks. Getting hit by one of Himiko’s bullets would have been a death sentence to a normal human. A shot to the head should have scattered his cranium and brain matter to the four winds. The same result as if he had been hit by a round from a Barrett. Instead, his head was very much intact, as was every other part of his body that she shot. He was getting weaker, sure, but the extra holes in his flesh didn’t slow him down enough. His two companions made ground where he couldn’t. Himiko was running out of room, and her pursuers showed no signs of slowing down. The pile of rubble she was hiding behind exploded when it was struck by a flying boulder. The golden gunslinger was thrown along with the scattered stones. When your opponents were undead wraiths imbued with the ivory of a dragon’s horns, seconds were the difference between life and death.

As was how much help you had.

A lightning bolt struck the rebar thrower’s leg, detonating his leg below the knee. The creature fell onto its chest and continued to convulse as the electric magic interfered with its ability to move. The stone thrower continued to rush towards Himiko, but the shopping cart “Zombie bum” changed course and was running towards Justin like a Walmart shopper would rush a BOGO deal on black friday.

Not far away, another blast of electric magic rocked the homeless mob. Nobody caught in the blast radius had a good day. Some were cooked through and through, with the more fortunate ones only partially harmed by the spell. Many dropped to the ground without uttering as much as a scream. But the inverse was true for Marrie, who felt rejuvenated by the melody. It was as if someone had turned back the clock on the beating. Not all the way, as a minor healing spell spread so thin over the body can only do so much. The mob distanced itself from Marrie as she flew out of the ground, which was distancing itself from her position.

But not the pole dancer, who seemed to have no fear of Finn’s magic. They were too far away to get caught in the blast zone, but they had changed their focus to the new arrival. Baiting out an attack was not difficult. She thrust her pipe at Finn’s chest as soon as she had an opportunity. The much heavier weapon was difficult for the thin fencing blade to affect, but he managed to shove the pole off course so that it didn’t hit him. This was all Marrie needed to swoop in and land a stab without getting batted out of the sky. But once the knife sunk into its flesh, right up to the hilt, Marrie would discover what Himiko had failed to realize: These guys really don’t mind being full of holes. The paleguard reached over its shoulder and flung Marrie into Finn.

It wasn’t just the ground where there was a fight, things continued up in the sky. The palemancer soared into the sky with frightening speed, but it was an attack that Kira could see coming. She successfully kicked the scythe’s edge, and his accent stopped rising. But that momentum that carried him into the sky was still there, and he spun in place. This would make grabbing his ankle more difficult.

But Kira was so preoccupied with her own strategy, so preoccupied with how she was going to humiliate this guy, that she hadn’t considered that he may have thrown himself into the sky because he had a way of dealing with her.

"You got some nerve, takin' advantage of the most vulnerable period a' these people's lives..."

His bony hand shot off of his elbow and slammed into Kira’s shoulder. Its fingers gripped her tightly, and a spine-like tether bound the arm to the palemancer’s elbow.

”So says the privileged celebrity?”

How could Kira even fathom what any of them had gone through? Had she ever made a home out of a cardboard box? Had she ever needed to beg from strangers? Did she even know what it was like to get beat by people that looked at you like garbage? Or was she just a freelancer that thought her actions were just so long as someone was putting money in her hand?

The palemancer released his scythe, and the tether pulled him towards his arm with such speed that he could slam his knee into Kira’s stomach. Even if she didn’t mean too, the impact would launch her hand towards the palemancer, which would pull him into her further. Though this was something he had less control over, and the two of them flailed through the air. Kira’s back landed flat against the top of the semi, and the palemancer tumbled further down. He eventually rolled onto his feet, but remained on one knee.

And then there was a disturbance.

Kira had initially spotted a far off group of people when surveying the area. She had decided to put it out of her mind, figuring if the group was hostile it would take them some time to arrive. That was based on the assumption that they didn’t have an esper with them that could help them travel faster. However…

A snake flew from the distant group and smashed into the back of the MicroMart. Rather than spreading its gore everywhere, the creature flattened out like a pancake, elongating and stretching until it was the size of a doorway. When it opened its mouth, which was the size of the entire snake at this point, its mouth led to the grassy hill where everyone had been waiting. But who had been waiting there?

Everyone found out when they rushed around the corner.

What spilled out of the portal was several figures in white robes. Each one wore a mask depicting some creature with six eyes, sharp teeth, and tusks. They were also brandishing daggers and shouting.

”Interlopers!”

”This cargo belongs to the one beyond reality!”

”Sacrifices for the sky whale!”

”Purge the filth that steals from the unborn one!”

”Glory for Aigorost!”

The cultists had come back for their water.

But the cultists weren’t just a mob, there were special members within its ranks. One included a lanky creature with green skin. He was dressed similar to everyone else, but the addition of gold accessories made his grand wizard lookin’ ass stand out. That and he could touch the ground without bending over. His dagger would have been a sword in a human’s hands. There was also a woman with pink hair, the only one without a mask. She also wasn’t brandishing a weapon, and was content to just watch the chaos unfold around her.

The newly arrived mob wasted no time in mowing down the homeless. At the end of the day, they were broken men that were emboldened by one of their own getting incredible powers. Even against a few espers they felt like they might have had a chance. But a cult needed to be delusional. To be able to believe in a cause, regardless of its absurdity, with enough conviction that they would die for it. How could the homeless possibly match that fervor? If any of the homeless stuck around, it was to defend themselves. This was an especially unfortunate situation for the homeless Kira had trapped earlier. If they survived falling out of her melody, they didn’t survive the cultist mob. They took no prisoners, they showed no mercy.

Something the driver was fully aware of.

The semi roared to life and drove forward, nearly rolling Kira and the pale master off the top of it, and driving over anyone that didn’t get out of the way. The leader of the homeless extended his hand and caught his scythe just as Kira’s melody wore off. His two pale guards who waited on the roof hopped onto the truck and landed behind Kira.

Kira looked like she was going to get carted away on the truck, but it wasn’t too late for other espers to hitch a ride too. But they needed to decide what was more important: dealing with the cultists or recovering the water. They wouldn’t have long to decide. The truck was steadily building speed, and the cultists would be upon them before long.

”So says the privileged celebrity?”

It took a few moments for the retort to register in Kira's mind. Understandable, given she had to contend with the pain of being kneed in the stomach, the frustration of having her counter countered, and the extra pain of slamming back-first onto the top of the semi. At least she was practiced enough voice-wise that the grunts of pain didn't hurt her throat. And her Esper form's physical defenses meant the palemancer's attacks wouldn't get anywhere close to putting her down for good.

”So says the privileged celebrity?”

Eyes closed from the pain, images flashed by in her mind. Of being kicked out of her house by her parents for her sexual orientation "of choice". Of all the fights she got in trying to just find somewhere she could sleep. Of the looks passersby gave her when they saw how gross her hair was and how dirty her face was. Of spending the harsh winter of Edmonton warming herself up by getting into even more fights with others living on the street. Of doing something similar in a more organized manner by practicing her capoeira in Toronto. Of all the train rides across Canada she couldn't enjoy much scenery of without risking getting caught by security or falling off the damn thing like she had while going through that one tunnel in the Rockies. Of suddenly finding herself up on stage, in front of thousands of people, putting on what she thought would be her best show ever, not realizing she'd top it mere months later.

With a groan, Kira forced herself into seated position, opening her eyes just in time to witness everything go even more to shit upon the arrival of the true freak show. Looking past the palemancer, she could only watch as the cultists approached the crowd of homeless people, and began summarily slaughtering them. Heart beating in her throat, she began moving without thinking, running toward the back of the semi, planning to hop over the skelly-hand man and cast a Melody to get as many of them away from the killers as she could, but was forced back into a crouching position when the floor beneath her feet lurched forward, punctuated by the roar of the semi's engine.

"Fuck shit!"

The forced moment of pause allowed her mind to run. At that point, the homeless people were spread too thin for her to effectively help them move away. The better idea would be to lock down the cultists, but she was willing to bet they had Espers among their ranks, and given how out of nowhere they showed up, they must have at least one adept with movement-based Melodies. Plus, if she and skelly-hand were still going at it, neither of them would be able to focus on the new threat.

”So says the privileged celebrity?”

Kira got back on her feet and closed the rest of the distance to the palemancer. She threw her right arm over his shoulders while altering gravity on herself, tilting it slightly the direction so it pulled both downward and also in the direction the semi beneath them was moving, in order to keep her steady on top of it and prevent skelly-hand from falling off as well.

"Room!"

With her outstretched left hand, Kira fired a projectile Melody at the thickest part of the group of cultists. Upon hitting, it created a 20 x 20 x 10-foot zone identical to the one she'd made earlier, visible only by the darkening of things seen through its limits. She pointed her finger to her direct right, changing gravity for enemies inside the zone to pull in the direction of the side of the MicroMart with enough force to throw them out of the side of the zone and slam them against the wall. Any of the homeless people caught in the zone would be unaffected this time.

”So says the privileged celebrity?”

"Fine, I can admit it: I coulda' done a better job a' pullin' other people up with me," Kira said, keeping her eyes on the cultist group as she spoke to the palemancer. "In my defense, the rise was so quick, I barely had time to really notice I ain't in the same place I was. Like, socioeconomically-speakin'. So says the privileged celebrity who used t' worry if I'd find my box trashed after I was done dancin' on the street for..."

Her face scrunched in thought, then turned to meet the palemancer's eyes with a nostalgic look in her own as she smirked weakly. "...average a' maybe thirty bucks a day, if I was lucky? That's in Canadian, mind. But I ain't gonna' have the chance t' correct that mistake if the people I owe it to get done in here. "

Kira stood up on the still-moving semi trailer, and offered her hand to the palemancer to help him stand, too.

Ashley didn’t need to hold the weretiger off for long.

Estelle had landed behind Lorenzo. A whispered chant, lost to both the Knight of Tomorrow and the weretiger’s ears amidst their mutual struggle, and then, her foot flashed with a brilliant light.

She stomped on the back of the monster’s knee, the concussive impact of light energy surging out from her heel. Simultaneously, sacred prohibitions censured the usage of mana, the archaic sigils racing up Lorenzo’s leg and devouring the mana within, further weakening that limb. With an attack from behind, one that crippled a leg and weakened him overall, there was no doubt that he would have to respond.

And, knowing what she knew about experienced Espers, the Witch Hunter understood that the leader of the operation wouldn’t let such an opportunity go unnoticed.

So, in order to not get caught in the crossfire, Estelle swivelled to the side rather than continued her offensive, trusting Ashley had it from there. If Ashley didn't have it from there though? Well, that'd be kinda disappointing, really, but Mika was still doing her own thing, so they had some time still to spend.

By the grace of the Lord, both of her maneuvers were successful in helping Estelle to neutralize the two major threats, one more permanently than the other, good riddance. If someone had to die here, the monsters should be at the top of the KIA list. Confident that the Far West Witch Hunter would assist Orion just fine with the other weretiger, Angel's tactical mind quickly assessed the current situation, Hmm... did Cerberus say something about someone knowing the elevator's password? Her amber eyes then spotted the - literal - tail-end of the felinid esper going through a sideroom door, not to mention the trail of blood going into that exact same direction...

"Agents, I'll be assisting Cerberus in capturing the intel!" The redhead once again barked into the intercom with her 'no indoors voice' before flying over to the aforementioned sidedoor, then simply barged through it with her shoulder. Then, at that exact moment, she came upon a rather... precarious situation. There was her fellow agent, Cerberus, facing down the hallway, then quite a few distances away was one of those scenes Angel had expected to come up whenever criminals and civilians were in close proximity. In such environments, there'd always, always be a hostage situation. Well, I mean... what more can I expect from lowlives? Moments like these made her truly appreciate what her late father did for a living, but now's not the time for a nostalgia trip.

Concocting a plan of action in her head, Angel proceeded to execute them, preferably all done within the next few seconds. Could she do it? Maybe. Would it have risks? Definitely. Would it all be worth it to save an innocent life? Abso-fucking-lutely! Looks like tis' the time to engage MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE! She mentally nodded, holstering her SMG away as she did, she'd need both of her arms free for this.

And He heavensent His Angel with a great sound of the trumpet, and she will gather together His elect from the four golden winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

First, Angel concentrated a not-insignificant amount of mana into her wings, causing them to swell in size, glow brighter, and start emitting sparkling golden particles in an eerily similar yet legally distinct reminiscent of a certain mech codenamed 'Exia'. Some of those particles coalesced at the center of her back... before Angel shot forward like a bullet, her velocity rivaled by a scant few and surpassed by none. "Cerberus, heads up!"

Then, as soon as the beastly esper was within arm's reach, the Messenger of Speed deftly snatched up her comrade like a golden eagle to a mountain goat, except less hostile. Before a second had even passed, Mika would find herself soaring through the air at breakneck speed. "Cats always land on their feet, right?!" was the only 'warning' that the teenage agent would get before her angelic transport proceeded to literally toss her forward, using all of that gathered momentum as she did. Thus, twas' how Agent Cerberus found herself heading extremely swiftly to Honey Badger and his hostage.

If God wills it, her feline reflexes would be enough to compensate...

@Majora @BrokenPromise

"I think we've lost enough time as is so lets just focus on making sure the others don't get overwhelmed!"

That's what the overly energetic guy who had accompanied Bardo for the last leg of the journey had said before rushing off recklessly into the fray. Bardo sighed, a deep one tinged with a hint of regret or sadness even. Noble Spark had questioned Bardo about his esper origins, and Bardo hadn't been very forthcoming or descriptive with the information he had provided. Perhaps he should have, the guy seemed cool enough, and entertaining at least. His own description of his esper transformation had felt like a movie script. Like a movie script Bardo was sure at least half, if not most, had been embellished, but Bardo liked a good story regardless. Bardo caught his mouth twisting ever so slightly into a grin at the thought before the clouds rushed in and Bardo remembered why he was here in the first place. A deep ache pulled at his chest momentarily and drew his mind back to the situation at hand.

Doing his best to shrug off his emotions and clear his mind, Bardo drew his eyes to the field before him in order to take in the events. Quite honestly things seemed to be an utter mess. Everyone looked to be separated and attacking in disjointed groups without any concentrated effort to stick together or cooperate. Noble Spark was rushing to assist the gun toting woman, taking down one of the zombdudes in swift form but quickly attracting the attention of another. Bardo could choose to interfere here but an itch in his palm told him to keep looking. Bardo crouched down on the ground, resting one knee down as his hand casually rested on the pommel of his sword.

This blade of his, a devourer in it's own right. Bardo couldn't explain how it made him feel, couldn't even quite focus on it really. Whenever his hand grasped the hilt it was like a whisper grew in the back of his head. A presence just out of sight, like the little fuzzy spots in your vision, the ones that seem to always be just out of reach no matter how much you try and peek, no matter how hard you try and focus on it. That was how it made Bardo feel, each attempt to isolate, focus, listen, always just out of reach, just out of awareness, just...not...quite right...

With a sudden gasp and a burning in his lungs Bardo released the pommel and focused back in front of him, completely unaware that he'd started to hold his breath. Rolling his head side to side as if shaking cobwebs he looked around once more, realizing that he'd lost a few moments in his daze and considering himself lucky that he'd likely gone unnoticed whilst just sitting on the ground. Things had progressed dramatically in the time Bardo had been distracted, the situation was drastically changing by the second. Bardo had to act, do something, or risk having done nothing at all. But what?

The itch in his palm was there again, ever present yet distant and almost phantasmal. Bardo's hand slowly lowered towards the pommel of his sword, a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face, apprehension evident in the tightness of his forehead. Bardo had yet to really use the weapon, or really done anything of an esper nature. A couple transformations, a little midnight flying mostly. Flying, that's what Bardo wanted to do, fly. The itch strengthened, an idea formed, Bardo's hand firmly grasped the grip and slid the weapon from it's sheathe at last. The whispers grew, almost loud enough to truly hear, but nothing that Bardo could understand.

Bardo's hands moved almost of their own accord, his body coiled up and poised itself tight like a cat in the hunt. He drew the blade out before him, the slow moving truck running along the blade from hilt to tip in the center of Bardo's eye. Time almost seemed to come to a standstill in Bardo's mind as the tension built to a breaking point, his breath slowing to a stop, his entire body's focus preparing for the next moment. With a snap of movement that felt like the shattering of glass, Bardo leapt forward into the air, directing his momentum in a way that would hopefully aim him directly next to the truck like a passing car. Almost like taking his first steps the melody came forth from Bardo, directing him towards the truck for a close range pass like a bolt of lightning. A bolt of lightning with a very hungry sword intent on bisecting the truck from front to back along the axle.

[Silver Self] [Full Enhance] [Push (+1 Rank)]

As it transpired, Ashley would not be able to take out the charging weretiger and jump over the teller booth’s counter. Much to the Knight of Tomorrow’s considerable shock, the burly bruiser was surprisingly nimble, and her eyes widened in disbelief as the weretiger dodged her initial energy beam in a burst of preternatural agility. Thankfully, she was able to adjust her aim enough for her second bolt to at least strike the furious feline’s shoulder, although the injury didn’t even seem to slow the brute down. Bracing herself, Ashley grunted with pain as the weretiger slammed into her energy shield and pressed her back against the teller booth.

Still, this was actually to Agent Orion’s advantage as, at such close quarters, her beastly foe was no longer able to dodge her attacks. Not only that, but Estelle had even managed to get behind him and deliver a powerful kick to the back of one of his legs, destabilizing the massive creature. Not about to let such an opportunity go to waste, Ashley’s energy shield glowed brighter for a moment as arcane energies built within it, before being expelled in a mighty blast of destructive power. With the burly brute hopefully reeling from this surprise attack, especially when coupled with Estelle’s own, the Knight of Tomorrow slightly lowered her shield to jab the pointed prongs of her techno-wand into the chest of the ferocious feline and fire off a potent energy bolt at point blank range.

Even as this battle was occurring, Ashley dimly heard Mika’s annoyed voice saying something about a security code, followed by an equally pissed off inquiry about whether or not Ashley had even bothered to check the elevator in the first place.

I’ve been kinda busy… the high-tech heroine grumbled to herself, although she knew this was neither the time nor the place to actually give voice to such a retort.

As it was, while the possibility that there would be some form of lock on the elevator had occurred to her, she’d figured they could simply brute force their way through it if such turned out to be the case. Either way, getting in and out as fast as possible was still the Knight of Tomorrow’s top priority. Maybe it was a mistake to not ensure every hostile in the casino’s main hall was neutralized, but every second they delayed gave their adversaries more time to ready their defenses below ground. Unlike with the disastrous assault on Justin’s mansion, they currently had the element of surprise, and Agent Orion wanted to ensure they made the most of it.

That said, Ashley couldn’t stop Mika from darting after the individual she suspected was in possession of the code, with Ellie loudly announcing she’d assist the feline agent in her pursuit.

“Roger,” Ashley acknowledged as she watched the angelic agent dart off.

I really hope she never gets assigned to a stealth op…

---