Marrie wasn't able to connect her last ditch attack on Lenore, but her penultimate strike had. Even with a missing foot the nun was skilled enough to stop an amateur like her from getting a win. And just like her opponent had taunted, she wouldn't be able to do it again. Still, for some reason that she couldn't grasp, it seemed that the Sisters were retreating... Though she barely caught this as her adrenaline, overworked body and magic, and the sight of an ally's decapitated head struck her all at once. She fell to her knees and barely caught herself with her palms before pitching forwards and vomiting on the ground, just a short ways away from Angelie's skull. It took a few moments for her to finish, and even more for her to gather the strength to sit up and wipe away the retch from her mouth.

God damnit... Please still be savable...

She didn't know if Espers could survive something like that. She didn't know anywhere near enough about Espers at all, really, she realized. But she would be rectifying that. For now though, she took another minute or so to gather herself and her strength to stand up, making sure not to look long at any of the corpses or pieces thereof.

The worst part of it all was that she knew that even if the girl was able to be revived, she wouldn't be capable of doing it. The redhead was a GEMINI agent, right? Surely they had some way to just... take away her Esper form to save her? And who the hell were those bitch-nuns anyway? Marrie was still shaky as she stood in thought, but she turned away from the battlefield and towards the strange machine she had been backed against. What was this thing, and why was it in a place that Oros was involved in? Was it related to the nuns? They didn't seem particularly interested in it, but why had they known the Espers would be there, at this time?

Marrie went to punch the thing but wasn't able to put enough energy into doing so, her fist falling down halfway to its mark. It sure didn't help that she couldn't see!

Wait, why couldn't she see? Oh. She was crying. She had failed to protect a girl who couldn't be much older than herself. Sure, she wasn't the target to protect, but that didn't make her failure any less. Her hands found themselves against the side of the machine, above her head that was also resting against it. She could blame the nuns all she wanted, but in the end it was her own lack of experience and preparation that had allowed them to do the damage they had. She had barely managed to pull a Pyrrhic victory out of her ass at the last second, and that was only because her opponents decided to retreat from her actually useful allies when they could have still won. Marrie knew that she'd be playing the fight over in her head for a long time to come, the trauma bearing itself out alongside her attempts to learn from her mistakes.

She took in a heaving breath followed by an overlong exhale before turning around and pointing her attention at Cerberus.

"Hey... It's, it's not too late, right? Gemini can save your partner, can't they?"

@Ponn@ERode@Vertigo

When a fire is extinguished and the arsonist is executed, few people search for the match that started it. Finn was too fast to be stopped by anyone, and nobody wanted to stop him. Ashley and Estelle were too busy dealing with the aftermath, Magical Dream Princess was just waking up from her trance, Pink Pounder didn’t care unless he got too close, and the dragon seemed more interested in what was happening inside than the boy fleeing. Finn might have gotten a few judgmental glances, but the only people that could feel the weight of his sins was himself.

The Pink Pounder gave Ashley a thumbs up, even as the blood of several gang members dripped off of his crooked sword. Violet, however, did not react to Ashley’s praise. As soon as her eyes were open, she stood up and looked inside the building. She skipped her way over to the window and jumped inside. Pink Pounder was about to follow her, but she raised a finger, signaling him to stop. The wizards all seemed to be relieved by this.

Ciri’s outburst seemed to be ignored by most, save for the Pink Pounder. He spun on his heel and shouted at her. “LEAVE MAGICAL DREAM PRINCESS OUT OF THIS!” His body quivered with rage. Every square inch of him was splattered with blood, save for his pristine shield.

Fritzi listened to Ashley’s report. ”I was anticipating things would go south. Maybe not this far south, but the cleanup detail is en route.” Fritzi was keeping her jovial tone up, but she didn’t hide tired sigh. ”I’ll see if I can get a hold of our runaway tin-can soldier. In the meantime, your mission is not over. These monsters are foxy, and it’s very possible that Timekeeper’s curse wasn’t placed on him by Dante directly. We know he employs succubus as waitresses. Finish your investigation before returning to HQ. It would be a shame if the only thing we managed to do was create a power vacuum with all this.” Then a bit quieter, Fritzi grumbled. ”Why was he so packed? Monsters don’t even like to be out in the middle of the day.” Then Fritzi spoke up. ”You’re going to write a detailed report when you get back. Can I get you anything else, ma’am?”

During the entire bar brawl, one corner of the bar had always had exactly one cowboy, dryad, and wizard. Despite belonging to vastly different gangs, they all sat together without fighting. The only time they did anything was when the wizard raised a magic shield to absorb the blast of a fireball. They had been watching Ashley, but their eyes turned to one of the broken windows. A man with a dragon head and a tuxedo was standing just outside.

”Boteg you old dog!” The cowboy slapped his knee. ”We was waitin’ to play cards with ya!”

”Were you dumpster diving again?” The dryad placed her hands on her hips. The feathers on the back of her neck raised when he looked at her.

”Thinkin’ we’ll need to find a new joint. Don’t suppose a burning building is a great place to play.”

But the dragon, Boteg, only gave them a glance. He seemed far more interested in the grieving girl.

Amanda did not react when Estelle initially embraced her. Dante’s daughter hid her face behind her arm and cried into her father’s remains. But as she calmed down, she noticed who was hugging her so tenderly. She shrieked and pushed out of Estelle's grasp, before using her feet to push herself into a corner. Her arms were still clutching what remained of Dante, and her face was as red as a cherry. Even if she wanted to be comforted, only a fool would let an esper, and especially a gemini esper, touch you. Nothing was stopping them from blowing you up with a melody, or worse, robbing you of all your energy so that they could drag your tired corpse to one of their experimental labs. Though Amanda seemed content with this setup. A little bit of personal space, with Estelle kneeling just a few feet outside of it. When there was a break in the sobs, she surveyed the room. Then she looked back at Estelle.

”Where is he?”

---

@Majoraa

Finn could run, that was something he was really good at. How many times had he just taken to the streets in no direction at all? How many times had it helped? The answers to both of these questions were very different.

But the bigger issue was that Pax Septimus was just not a safe place for espers to just run around. Even if one could ignore the looming presence of the Hand, espers were just sort of destined to run into each other. Sometimes they were friendly, sometimes they weren’t.

That oni girl looked like she was running from something. Or chasing something. Maybe whatever she was hunting was still around, and Finn… Just so happened to run into something.

He fell backwards, a piece of buttered toast was laying on his chest. And before him stood…



Oros groaned. "Oh come on! I’m supposed to run into someone important with that trick!" She reached for the slice of toast and pulled it off of Finn. "Shit, and of course it lands butter side down. Could you do me a favor and run a lint roller over yourself every so often? Is this barbecue sauce or cowboy blood?" She took a bite. "Cowboy blood… I guess you’re forgiven." She continued to talk while chewing her food. "Are you alright? You look like you just did something very ‘you’ a few seconds ago. I’m kind of running late, but you’re dating Betty, so I can spare a moment for you Romeo." She took another bite. "Befides, if profifly hifafious!"

Even if Finn felt and looked like he was on the verge of screaming, he was still able to shoot the one esper he was wanting to avoid a quick glare. At this point it was expected of his luck to force them to literally run into each other. So it was some damn miracle Oros was willing to spare him cause of… Betty? That’s twice now the Mad had brought her up in relation to him, what was so important about her to this woman? And he and Betty hadn’t even had their first date yet!! His expression soon broke into a frown, his bottom lip quivering. God no, he can’t break down crying, not here, and not in front of Oros of all people. But yet once he could manage to speak, he could stop his voice from trembling.

_{”...W-What’s wrong with me…?”}

---

@Kero

Noah Anderson had only recently become an Esper, and only very recently became a freelancer. She had been enjoying the sights that Pax Septimus had to offer. The historic district was the city’s single biggest draw, but there were plenty of eateries and parks to visit as well.

It was just a shame she didn’t get to see it all before the diver showed up in town.

It was a colossal monster that was spoken of in hushed whispers, and the reason some parts of the city were still off the grid. Only recently, Noah’s room had working power again. It wasn’t uncommon to see volunteers distributing food and water to the recently homeless, and repairs had only just started on many buildings. It made for an unusual tourist experience, but at least her new side hustle would be getting some action.

But what to do? As a Freelancer, all Noah had to do was open her Shimr app and ask where she should get started. Several espers said that the “Great Escape” was a nice place to start. The Bate Twins regularly appear there and it’s the largest hangout for freelance espers in the city. It has a humble hometown feel, they serve breakfast at every hour, and the orange juice is good. Raphael the Righteous Hearted had also been spotted there a few times. Some of the app’s users noted that Noah looked like a nun, and thought that it might be worth seeking someone who worked directly for the pope. Though many more users said that he was more likely to be found visiting the local churches, if not assisting with the distribution of supplies to the hopeless. In mere seconds, an esper had taken a picture of Raphael doing just that. He was at an intersection on Fifteenth Street ensuring everything was in order.

The good thing about being a Freelancer is you usually had choices, but that was also the issue. Noah had to decide if they were going to try and catch up with Raphael or meet up with other freelancers in the Great Escape.

Of course, just walking around was also an option. There was a rumor that espers who wandered were destined to run into another esper, if not a monster. Then again, this city was plagued by horror worshiping cultists, a weretiger mafia, among many other unsavory sorts. So just “walking around” was ill advised. However, it could prove to make for a very interesting event.

---

@The World@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPants

"I see." Mika hated to admit it, but the burning guy was kind of cool. A little rough around the edges and not a subtle sort, but definitely someone who rose to the occasion regardless of how insurmountable it seemed. His line about making things work sounded similar to something her mother might have said, except in perfect english. He’d probably survive a total of three operations. That was how many her mother had survived in Pax Septimus. "Let’s keep our eyes open. Trap or not, there should be some clues."

It was a shame they hadn’t managed to kill a single one of those nuns. But their presence here told her something. Lenore had been working with Justin von Carnage, and he had been working for the hand. Oros was not working with the Hand. In fact, she had given Ashley some information regarding the Diver before that operation. Moreover, Sovereign was working with Oros, and she refused to hand Mika over to Lenore even though she had a perfect opportunity to. This could have been an act to earn favor with GEMINI, but-

Oh great, Sovereign was speaking to her.

As Mika had predicted, one of the first things the money obsessed esper did was tease her because she tried to save Sovereign’s life. At least she seemed appreciative of the gesture, even offering her a “request” in the future. Mika was about to thank her for the offer, and be glad the verbose esper had decided to keep things short for once. But then she went on to add that she thought Mika should leave GEMINI when she gets tired of being “bossed around” and should “join up with her” along with other things that sounded like a joke. But when it was time to laugh, Sovereign didn’t.

This girl…

"Are you okay?" Mika raised an eyebrow. "I just want to kill as many monsters as I can before I die. I do not think you are going to help me do that from what I have seen." Sovereign’s performance was rather lackluster. She had killed a few of the construction workers, but it almost felt like she was holding back. Like she wasn’t willing to put in as much effort as everyone else. She was fortunate that Mika found her too irritating to yell at. Otherwise, she would have been much more vocal about her poor performance. But they still had a job to do. Sovereign was a hard one to judge. She was reckless, so her number should be up in an operation or two. But it was weird. Mika got the impression she was being catty. It was possible she could outlive everyone here.

But all of that left her head when Marrie brought up her partner. With a groan, she hopped down from the balcony and walked towards Angelie’s severed head. "No." She said with a sigh. "Dead is dead." She lifted the head up while trying not to look at the stump. Though she inadvertently got a glimpse and noticed it had all been charred black. That smoke nun must have struck her with a melody once Lenore transplaced with her. Again, she lamented the fact that they hadn’t killed a single nun. Angelie might have been annoying, but all of the other agents had been fine sending Mika on an operation without any backup. She would have expected Ashley to be fine with it, but even Estelle and “that cute boy” were fine with placing one of their own in the hands of strangers. She really was alone now. Though maybe that was for the best. Maybe there was some merit to what Sovereign had said. It was every esper for themselves, and the ones that didn’t think that way ended up like Angelie and her mother. That was how she knew Marrie was only going to survive two more operations, and Justin would be lucky if he survived one. How he survived this one was a miracle.

Well, that was a lot of crap Mika really didn’t want to think about until she got back.

Mika placed Angelie’s head with her body, then turned to everyone present. "Oros didn’t hire those nuns. Let’s keep looking and see if we find something." And with that, she headed to the back of the church to inspect the cathedral. It looked like there was a podium with a script on it.

A hearty chuckle escaped Noble Spark's lips as he watched the nuns flee. Nothing was more satisfying than seeing villains run with their tails between their legs for him and the only way it could've been better was if they had parted with promises of vengeance. But the sheer look of frustration on their faces was an acceptable substitute.

"What an awe-inspiring display of boldness, friend!" he called down to Asher, standing beside Cerberus, who did not seem to be a very joyous sort. She was still alive, however, and that was enough for him, so he was fine with that. "Perhaps next time she will aspire to be more than a means of breaking our falls?" he chuckled.

Noble Spark watched Asher as the Esper made his way toward the entrance to regroup with them, but he turned to pay attention to the dialogue between Marie and Cerberus. Even he had difficulty keeping his jovial demeanor when faced with the Freelancer's obvious denial. But he could not fault the girl for hoping for such an outcome. Death was something hard to accept for the average person, and not everyone had been exposed to this world via life-or-death situations like he had.

"That is..." he opened his mouth to speak, yet Cerberus was much less hesitant with the situation, hopping down and beating him to the punch. He raised an eyebrow at the almost nonchalant way she picked the head of the deceased Esper up, but found himself backing her statement up once he got down to the ground level. "Death is just as absolute for an Esper as it is for a human, regrettable as it may seem sometimes. But nobody should ever consider taking lives if they are not willing to have their life taken in turn. An Esper who cannot come to terms with this is better off forgetting they are an Esper at all."

He offered his piece on the situation and upsetting demise that had taken place and then nodded as Cerberus brought up that they weren't technically done with the contract yet and that Oros was supposedly not likely to be the culprit behind this attack. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly in the state to be getting into another intense encounter, but Noble Spark was not going to abandon his duty. He kept a watchful eye out for any further ambushes, as unlikely as that seemed, while joining Mika near the podium.

"I almost hesitate to read any scripture in this tainted church," he commented, his attention directed towards the podium.

Ashley couldn’t help but wince slightly as The Pink Pounder’s blood-soaked form gave her a thumbs up, but she still managed to return the gesture, along with an admittedly awkward smile. MDP’s incongruously jaunty arrival inside the ruined diner was a different matter, one that actually surprised the Knight of Tomorrow. “Um, wouldn’t it be safer if you stayed outside?” she asked the pastel-colored freelancer with a concerned frown. Yet, before the whimsical girl could reply, Dr. Moller’s voice sounded over Ashley’s earpiece. The director noted that although a cleanup unit would be arriving shortly, the agents’ mission wasn’t over. Even with Finn being MIA, they would still need to complete their investigation, something the high-tech heroine was in firm agreement with. She was also told she would need to make a report on the mission, something she wasn’t exactly looking forward to, despite knowing the necessity of it. Finally, Dr. Moller asked if she needed anything else.

At first, she was tempted to request that Binky join them, but although the additional support would have given her less to worry about, Ashley knew full well just how thinly stretched G.E.M.I.N.I.’s presence in Pax Septimus currently was. “I think as long as The Pounder and MDP stick around to assist, Witch Hunter and I should be able to handle things,” the Knight of Tomorrow ultimately replied, even as she heard the pink-armored knight furiously shout at someone outside. I hope… “Um, Director?” Ashley added in a lower voice. “There are still a few patrons left, but none of them appear to be hostile. Also, Dante’s daughter just came out of the back room. She’s clearly distraught over what happened to her father, but I’m not sure how she ties into all this. I’d like to eventually question her, but if she’s a monster, I would prefer to do so in a more secure location. How would you advise us to proceed?”

---

No, of course they wouldn't be able to. Losing your head isn't like losing a limb, why would the magical and technological miracles that the government had access to be able to save the girl? That was when Shining Finger said something he might not have been supposed to. At least, that was her initial reaction, to give in to the despair. Fortunately for her mental well-being, Marrie's next thoughts were much more constructive. She was barely able to push away the dread long enough to refocus on the job, but she managed. The important thing, now at least, was to keep Cerberus safe. She considered walking over to the podium with her, but Justin seemed to have that covered. It would just make things easier for an enemy if they all crowded around her. No point saving energy now.

{Silver Self - Magic Sense}

She gave a glance over the entirety of the church before walking back over the the strange machine and taking a closer look at it. Who knows, maybe it's a time machine and she could go back to before she started fucking everything up.

"What was that?" Oros had finished her toast and was crouched down beside Finn, who was still laying on his back. "Are you wondering what's wrong with you? Is that, an invitation, to be your therapist?" She sat up and grinned. "You know my title is 'The Mad' right? are you sure you want a therapy session from me, Penny junior?"

Ugh, it sounded like she was rubbing it in his face. Finn pushed himself up into a sitting position and reverted back to his bloodless, mundane form. The luster in his eyes was notably absent. Just like back when everyone raided Justin Von Carnage's mansion only to come up with nothing. He furrowed his brows at Oros' nickname for him. "Penny who? W-Whatever, I had to have run i-into you for a reason, right?"

As much as she did have a point, Finn somehow had a feeling that if anyone could've understood his blight, it'd be Madness herself.

"Alright, but it’s going to cost you something." Oros Laid Finn back down before she pulled out a camera and a tiny tripod and set it up in front of him. Once she set it up, she pushed the record button before jumping back into frame and pointing at him. "I told him to lay down, and he did it! The absolute mad lad!" She turned off the camera and stashed it in her kimono. "That was just your down payment, I'll collect the rest later." She fished Finn’s phone out of his pocket. And started to push buttons. "Right, so let's start with your mother. What's she like?"

Welp.

He did ask for it. Once again the boy sat up with a thoughtful hum.

"I don't really know either of my parents well since they act like I don't exist most of the time, but from the few bits I gathered? Mother's one of the haughty types. Puts on an act to get on peoples' good graces and unfortunately drags the rest of us into it one way or another. The amount of times she talked shit about others behind their backs, about her own family. If you ever had the displeasure of meeting her, don't let the kindness bullshit fool you. She'd plan on being rid of you as soon as possible." Even talking about her in detail left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"That doesn’t sound too flattering." Oros’s tone sounded refined. At some point during Finn’s explanation, Oros had put on a pair of cat eye glasses, with a little silver chain that looped behind her neck. "She sounds like a hard one to trust. But surely this pride comes from somewhere. Why do you think she’s such a bitch?"

"Hell if I know. Neither her or Father are around 90% of the time. Why do you think I'm able to sneak out like this?"

Maybe if he snuck into their things he'd find something incriminating, but that'd come later.

"We are not interested in the truth here, Finny boy. We are interested in how this makes you feel." She raised her hand like an opera singer. "Speaking of your father, what is he like when he isn’t absent?"

"...Intimidating. No one wants to piss him off." Finn frowned. "No one's allowed to act out of line around him. Apparently he once had a temper so bad it could make the Devil pleased. I don't think he and Mother get along well. He's more quiet though, keeps to himself most of the the time. He's the one that does most of the buisness stuff."

"And this business? Do you know what it is?"

Finn shook his head. Not even Lydia spared any details.

Oros smacked her lips before pulling out a clip board and jotting some things down on it. "Do you have any other family that you interact with?"

"Just my older sister." The boy shrugged. "She can't be around all the time either, but she tries her best to be. More buisness stuff before you ask. Mom and Dad trying to prepare her for taking over."

"What’s she like, do you enjoy her company? Does she share your feelings about your parents?"

Finn nodded twice. "Lyds is really sweet, but also pretty tough, probably tougher than I could ever be if she ends up becoming an Esper too." He explained. "I ended up learning how to fight from her, after all." A ghost of a smile.

"So your mother’s a bitch, your dad’s a hard ass, and your sister is the only family member that treats you with any kindness?" Oros nodded while furiously scribbling on the page. "So where’s your sister’s favorite place to eat?"

"You do realize there's a fee if you want me to help set you up with my sister?"

A song and dance he's dealt with before, people being nice to him for their own personal gains with the rest of his family. That's one of the reasons why he wanted to dissociate from them. So that people could treat him as Finn and not an extension of the Vanhorns.

"Dude, fuck!" Oros threw the clip board to the ground and stood up. "Do you know how much I'd get paid per minute to be your little therapy buddy? The least you could do is tell me where she likes to eat, or what her three sizes are, or if she likes pink hair, and really likes it when the carpets match the drapes." She drew her sword and thrust it into the clipboard, and the caustic poison that coated her ritual blade dissolved it in seconds. Not even ash was left. With a twirl of her blade, she pointed at his head. "Was her swordsmanship better than mine? I hope she's better than you were..." She tossed Finn's phone back to him. "You actually have an incredible support network. You’re practically drowning in cute girls that only want the best for you. What's her tits with the puppet, Betty, Faith, Kid Icarus, I don’t consider your purple haired boss or Sharr cute, but I guess they count. My diagnosis is that you should call one of them, because they’ll actually give a shit about whatever you're moaping about. She sheathed her sword, but didn't take her eyes off of Finn. "I added Betty’s number to your phone because you didn’t have it. As for payment, how about you tell your folks I could have killed you but didn’t? I think that'll become relevant in time." Oros placed her cold, half eaten toast in her mouth and ran off.

Well, that went absolutely nowhere. Only made him even more confused. In fact he might've ended up giving her information she could weaponize against him oh god what the fuck was he thinking- "W-Waitwaitwait WHAT DO YOU MEAN REVELANT?!" He shot up from the ground and called out to her in vain. Oh god if he had to deal with his parents now then he might actually scream. But she did point out something he found odd. After a moment of thinking about that, Finn sighed.

"Christ, no wonder people think I'm some heartthrob."

She was right though. He really should call someone. He looked back down to his phone and tapped the call button. Hopefully Betty wasn't busy.

The phone rang three times before someone picked up. Sure enough, it was Betty.
"Hello?" Once Finn introduced himself, he could hear her sigh on the other end. "Ah! I couldn't remember if I gave you my number or not. I was a little out of it and I thought I had forgotten. I'm so glad you called me, I'll add you once you hang up." He could feel her smiling from the other end of the call. "What's up? Is it about the date?"

Already it made him feel a bit better hearing her voice. "N-No, uhm, I don't know if you're free right now but..." But he still sounded so tired. "Where- Where are you? Is it a-alright if I come see you?"

"Um, sure." She said with a hint of concern. "I was about to look for an ice cream place that served good sundaes, but I'd be up for sharing a banana float. Do you know any good places?"

"Hmm... Yeah, h-hang on, I'll text you the details." Finn lowered his phone away from his ear for a moment to type out the name and location of an ice cream bar he passed by a few times, and a few details on what they sold from what he could remember. Aaaaand send. "Got it?"

Their date might be a bit earlier than planned.

Estelle held her hands up as she shuffled a couple feet back away from the girl. It wasn’t as if the kid had enough actual physical strength to push away an Esper, and yes, she probably could have choked her out in that moment, but right now? As far as she was concerned? The operation was over with and she was no longer on the job.

No need to draw her Instrument, nor any need to cut down the one before her. The Divine Domain told the Witch Hunter what the sandman’s daughter was made of and even caught a glimpse of another shadowy tendril slinking in and out of her hallowed territory, but what of it? If monsters could truly grieve, then let them.

As for her question, however…

Estelle pondered that for a moment, bridging the silence by slipping a hand in her suit’s inner pocket to extract a silk handkerchief for the teenager to wipe her face with. She hardly knew Timekeeper and didn’t really like what little she did know about the guy, but for such a young Esper, he was still relatively powerful. Enough so that Dr. Moller hired him as an agent without even any precursory training at GEMINI’s central base.

“He ran. I don’t think he’ll come back.”

If he did, it’d be to finish the job.

“Do you have somewhere else you can stay?”

@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise@The World@TaintedMushroom

“Who? Lil ole me? If it wasn’t for you I surely would have been a goner…you’d be surprised in what ways I would be able to help…” giving Mika a wink as she left to start exploring the rest of the church for any leads. With what she had to say out of the way, Himiko was satisfied with this little excursion. Knowing that her words would take root in Mika’s mind, even if she refused.

As for the fallen Gemini Agent, well that wasn't of Himiko's concern. There wasn't much value to be gained from someone who was no longer amongst the living. Plus she had no connection or relationship towards that particular esper. It was a shame to lose a potential client down the road, but Himiko did not let her thoughts dwell on it for long. Death was always around the corner, so there was no sense in worrying about it. If you knew the right paths, then you could always just keep one step ahead of it.

Sure, things hadn’t gone as expected, and Oros was still yet to show. Yet there was much more she had gained from this then she had anticipated heading into the operation. With each operation she got a better gauge of not only her fellow FreeLancers capabilities, but those of Gemini. Information that she was sure would prove to be very useful to her down the road.

Moving to go join with the others as they all seemed drawn to the podium. Which was the most obvious item of interest, at least in current view for them to investigate. Noticing that Marrie was still very much on alert and was serving as over-watch. The overcautious type it would seem, but if something did happen, she would at least make for an early alert system. Himiko doubted that they would be attacked again, at least by the nuns so soon after such a intense standoff. They would definitely need time to recover and regroup. The only other one that would try anything would be Oros, and Himiko sincerely doubted any amount of over-watch or cautiousness would prevent that. But hey, it was still better then nothing Himiko supposed.

As she got closer, her focus shifted onto more important matters. Especially as she approached Justin, she hadn't forgotten what she had been promised. Nor was she going to let him forget what he had promised if she could help it. Tapping Justin on the shoulder as she made her way past him with a small laugh “Read? Speaking of that, don’t you still owe me something? As for the scripture, I’m sure if you did read it, you’d find it most enlightening” Reminding him of their deal as she made sure her golden eyes met his gaze. Once she was sure that the message was received loud and clear she turned her attention to the next item on her list.

Approaching the podium, she was intrigued by what possibly could be found within the script. Perhaps it would prove valuable or useful for her, or at the very least gave her something to work with. Once she reached the podium her golden eyes drifted down towards the script as she suspected that whoever had left it behind had done so intentionally. She found it unlikely that it would be a coincidence in a situation like this to not be important. If it was important, or valuable then Himiko wanted to be one the first ones to find out. Sure money was great, but information and knowledge could prove far more profitable in the long run if you played your cards right.

@Ponn@ERode@Vertigo

A mere teenager did not have the power to shove around a mighty esper. However, an emotionally unstable monster could. Only if they wanted to. Though Amanda seemed to be fine with the small distance between her and the assassin’s accomplice. She eyed the handkerchief with some suspicion. Like a small forest animal, she leaned forward and sniffed at it from a distance. Unlike a small forest animal, her eyes were bloodshot, and the light shining through the shattered window shimmered on her dried tears. She quickly snatched the handkerchief before sliding back into her corner. Amanda wiped under her eyes, but more tears were coming.

Estelle spoke to Amanda, but she seemed distracted. Her eyebrows raised as if she had been startled by something. She turned her head to look out the window and sighed. When Estelle asked if she had a place to stay, she nodded. ”Yes.”

With some effort, she stood up. Her arms were wrapped around her father’s torso, with the handkerchief hanging between her fingers. She fought back her tears before making her way towards the exit. An exit that the pounder was no longer blocking.

“Magical Dream Princess would never leave anyone.” Pink Pounder lowered his blade, suddenly sounding somber. She is a pure soul that cannot see the evils of this world, let alone the city. I am merely her sin eater, here to get tarnished in her stead. But if she wishes for me to remain out here, I can but obey her command.

MDP did not answer Ashley, and continued to watch the exchange between Estelle and Amanda. Fritzi was quiet for a time, then a long, tired sigh escaped her lips.

”I already told you the dangers of letting the patrons live. Is there a reason you’re asking me again? Are the remaining ones particularly cute? Maybe ask one of them if they’re into middle aged women for me?” Her tone shifted when she heard about the daughter. ”So he does have a daughter? We had some inconclusive evidence… Finn really stepped in it this time, didn’t he?” She not-so-cheerfully chuckled. ”In a way, I guess this works in our favor. Saves us from having to get permission to enter his house.” She cleared her throat. ”Agent Orion. We do not have the facilities to safely hold Dante’s daughter. Her father was a sandman, and her mother is more than likely a succubus. Regardless if she’s one or both of those things, she will be very dangerous if her powers manifest. She could move through walls, or curse Timekeeper again, provided she isn’t the one who did it from the start. Question her maybe, take her out for an ice cream if you must, but she’s not going to forgive us for today. If she doesn’t run straight to the Hand, she'll join Maverick Alternative.” What little joy was present in Fritzi’s voice left.

Boteg turned away from the window, suddenly surprised to see Ciri and it behind him.

Pink Pounder stood like a statue, his back to the smoldering diner.

The remaining gang members watched Boteg, save for the shadow wizards, who had just squashed the last of the fires before recovering their unconscious homies.

MDP’s mouth was slightly open. Her eyes wandered over the carnage inside.

Amanda sniffed, ignoring her surroundings and just trying to get outside without dropping her father. She looked like a silhouette by the open door, with daylight spilling in all around her.

Fritzi gave one final order.

”She needs to be eliminated, with extreme prejudice.”

---

@The World@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPants

Asher emerged from the smoke wall that still permeated the main hall. It smelled and tasted like shit, but the shotgun wielding pyromancer wouldn’t show it. If he was going to show his discomfort, it would have been for his smoldering hands. But that was like, weak.

Marrie on the other hand was taking things a bit more seriously. She fired up her magic senses and gazed at the large machine in the center of the room.It became evident immediately that it was a generator. The magical energies inside the machine were set up to create a “perpetual motion machine” that turned a turbine and powered the church. Though the machine required mana to function, and it wasn’t clear where the machine’s supply was coming from. There was a magical battery of sorts. There were interfaces on both ends of the machine to take and expel mana, which was stored inside the machine like a battery. Whatever was used to charge the generator, or what the generator could be used to power magically, did not appear to be present. As rough as the generator looked on the outside, it had to be a new-er construction. The bolts that held it to the ground hadn’t rusted yet, and some of the floorboards had been reinstalled, possibly to run wires or pipes under them.Was that why the construction workers were here? But then where were their tools? And where would they get parts to make something like this? It didn’t seem like any of the nuns were making use of this machine.



Mika sighed. Himiko and Justin stuck to her flanks as she approached the podium. She’d have preferred if they spread out a bit, but was relieved that Justin had Himiko’s attention for the moment. It meant that she could let them speak amongst themselves without giving them her full attention. She was sure the danger had passed, but Justin was proving to be useful by protecting Mika from another annoyance. She’d smile if she could get Angelie’s severed head out of her mind.

Once they arrived at the podium, it was apparent that the papers on top of it had not been placed in any deliberate fashion. They had been shuffled and flipped through during a quick search. Though the pages appeared to be some nearly incomprehensible babble, exactly the sort of thing that might make up a mad esper’s diary.



Mika thought about recording the page, but wouldn’t have been surprised if none of them actually existed. She also doubted it was a cipher, given how many other pages there were. Sometimes, insane people just rambled about insane things.

But the podium had another curiosity. It was quite wide and had a trap door on the back of it. This might be where the microphone or a speaker could be stored, but when Mika opened it up, that wasn’t what she was greeted with.

Behind the trap door was a stone engraving that took up the entire space inside the podium. There were depictions of various animals. Wolves, bears, foxes, squirrels, snakes, even an antelope and a moose could be found in the engraving. It was difficult to tell where one creature ended and another began. None of the animals looked happy, almost as if they were all conjoined into one massive suffering mass. The stand out, literally, was a small pointed beak from a song bird. Beneath the beak was a narrow trough that led into a hole, which presumably led even deeper into the surface. In the bottom of the engraving, someone had chiseled a message: “BloOd fOr tHE bLOoD gOd pUDdy!”

She raised her eyebrow and looked to Himiko.

By the time Finn arived, Betty had already gotten to the place he had mentioned, She was waiting in line for some ice cream. The ice cream parlors wouldn't be open much later in the year, so this was likely everyone's last frozen treat for the year. It was amazing places like this could even stay open with all the recent happenings. But regardless of what fell in the cursed city, somehow, people found a way to survive.

After a short wait, Betty took the banana float to the table Finn was sitting at and set it down between them. The thing was massive. Three different piles of ice cream sat between a split banana. Vanilla, chocolate, and straberry, drizzled in chocolate and caramel. And since they were in America, there was a giant dollop of whipped cream on top of each mound, topped with cherries and garnished with rainbow sprinkles.

Betty pulled out one of the spoons and licked her lips. "They all look so good!" She pointed at each mound with her spoon. "Which one is your favorite? Maybe we should sample each of them, and then decide which one we like mo-"

And yet as she spoke, Finn was already digging into the dessert, quickly glancing up when Betty suggested they sample. "What? Oh." At least he wasn't picky. "Try getting more than one flavor in your spoon, trust me!"

Betty watched Finn consume his food like a heathen in haste. She turned her spoon in her hand before digging in herself. Though she didn't rush. Each bite was savored, even as Finn tried to make a muckbang out of it. "I didn't realize you liked ice cream so much."

He paused for a second, then sheepishly glanced aside.

"I didn't eat breakfast."

"I see..." For a moment, she just stared at him without trying to eat anything. "But you didn't call me up to eat ice cream, right?"

Finn frowned. "Yeah. I-I've had a rough few days." Rough didn't even begin to cover it. He told her about his whole situation with his curse, Dante, and Amanda. This time without hiding any details, and how the investigation of Dante's diner went. Betty listened without interupting or breaking eye contact with Finn. He wasn't eating anymore, he felt slightly nauseous.

"I-I just don't understand why I'm like this. Am I just that unlucky? I keep trying my best to be this hero everyone seems to want of me, but it's like everything I do bites me back in the ass no matter what it is." His gaze on her turned downcast.

"That’s… a lot to take in." Betty Folded one of her arms over her chest and tapped herself on the shoulder. "That whole deal with Dante’s doesn’t sound like it went your way, but um, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you." She pushed her spoon into the melting ice cream. "If you weren’t here, I’m pretty sure I’d be drinking someone’s blood right now. Or I’d be dead. But because of you, there was some interest in saving me. And I’m here now. I don’t think you failed with me."

"...Yeah, maybe." Finn's expression softened when he looked back up at her. "But Oros nearly killed me cause I, well, nearly killed you. I still don't know why."

"Well, I’m sure vampire me nearly killed you a few times, so I think we’re even on that front." She sighed.

Finn genuinely smiled. "At least you understand."

"But who’s Oros? I’ve heard his name a few times, but it’s always in passing."

"Oh right, you're still new to this esper shit. Most of what I know is from the grapvine, but Oros is an infamous cultist esper. Had a nasty run-in with her followers lately so the cultist part's officially legit. GEMINI, Maverick and the Freelancers are all wary of her and how dangerous she could be. Having both your legs sliced clean off by her for example? Quite the gas." He added with a sarcastic smile. "But I don't know how she knew what happened between us if she wasn't even there in the first place. Maybe she has some form of clarvoyancy as a means of getting the upper hand? Or her own network to spy on people? Hell she even spared me this time cause I had agreed to go on a date with you. Finn furrowed his brows in thought.

"What I wanna know is why you're apparently that important to her. And if that's the case, why didn't she help any when you were kidnapped?

"This person sounds very unstable."

"On brand for cultists, I guess."

Betty ate a spoon full of ice cream. "I’m not really that popular a performer. Maybe they’re a fan? I’m a little nervous now… "

"Somehow I doubt she's just a fan." Finn poked at the ice cream with his own spoon. "Whether or not she is though, she's gonna have to get through me first if she's wanting to hurt you. I'm not leaving you behind again." Finn grinned at her. "Who knows, if you do decided to join GEMINI, we can be partners!"

She playfully nudged him with her elbow. "Hey now, if we're partners, maybe I'll be the one to save you! You can't white knight your partner, it goes both ways. Are you okay with that?" After staring at Finn for a moment, she continued. "As for the situation at Dante's, I think you did your best. But if you feel like you messed up, apologizing to Amanda might give both of you some closure... Maybe? I mean, Dante cursed you. You were only doing what you thought was right. It was sort of an accident. That might not make her happy, but she might be able to move on if she realizes it wasn't malificent. I don't know..."

Finn flinched at the suggestion. Apologize? For murdering her father?! He anxiously chuckled.

"Sure! Maybe if she doesn't try to kill me at first notice! What if I end up killing her too!? I mean the last few times I tried to fix things ended in someone getting hurt, what if it-" He shook his head, hiding his face in his hands. "I can't. I can't..."

"And you don't have to!" Betty half shouted. "You walked into Dante's the way you did because you felt like it was something you had to handle yourself! You didn't!" She sighed and placed a hand on Finn's shoulder. "You have allies, you have me. Just talk to us. It's not you against the world, Finn. Nobody beats this city by fighting it alone." She pulled back her hand and continued eating. A bit faster than her usual pace. "I know I couldn't."

The boy lowered his arms back down onto the table, eyes admittedly widened at her words. He looked down to his hands, mulling over everything she's said, then his lips quirked up into a smile. It felt good having someone understand him.

"Thank you."

She sighed and brushed a hand through her hair. "You're quite welcome. I'm glad you decided to ask me for help." Her eyes moved back to the icecream. Most of it was eaten, or at least, it looked like most of it had been eaten. There was a pool of melted icecream in the bottom of the dish. "That was way too much, I'm ordering a sundae next time."

He giggled. "I'm sure this place allows for takeout." Finn shrugged. After a moment, he spoke up again. "I-Is it alright if we continue hanging out a little longer...?"

"Sure! I don't have any plans. What did you want to talk about?"

But Finn's earpiece poured Fritzi's voice into his head. ”Time Keeper? I understand you left an opperation in progress. That is not behavior that we tolerate in GEMINI.” Her tone was more like a teasing mother than a mission opperator. ”Anywho, you're upsetting Orion. Could you please come back? After mission donuts with the agents wouldn't be the same without you.”

Ah.

Finn quickly cleared his throat. "Nevermind, guess I'm taking a raincheck. Here!" He rummaged through his wallet and set down the amount of money the banana split costed. "See you at the Great Escape later?"

Betty picked up the money and held it out towards Finn "It was going to my- Yes, yes I'm looking foward to doing that with you later." She sighed and opened her purse.

"Don't worry about it, consider it a part of my thanks for letting me be here with you." With one more smile, Finn got up and stepped out of parlor. As for Ms. Moller, "Forgive me for my conduct, ma'am. I grew overwhelmed and acted on instinct. But I'm alright now, I met up with Betty for a bit." He finally responded.

There was a short delay before Fritzi spoke again. ”We're not beasts, Time Keeper, we shouldn't rely solely on our instincts. That's the difference between us and them.”

"I... A part of me hoped I wasn't right." Finn took a deep breath. "Despite them cursing me, they didn't have any intent to hurt me at first. Apparently, I was supposed to meet with Dante at some point. For what, I don't know. They didn't exactly give me any specifics." Omitting information from him was what got Dante killed, wasn't it? He was bound to figure it out eventually. So he might as well fess up to the boss now before it kills him too. Somehow.

”That's very interesting, you should include it in the report when you get back.” Fritzi sounded like she was only half listening. ”Return to HQ, I don't have the manpower to evac you that far away from the opperation.”

"...Very well, ma'am."

Later then.

Looked like the area was mostly clear, and that she was right to focus on the machine. A generator though, and for mana? Interesting... The workers and nuns couldn't have been the ones who made it, and if they were trying to get it for themselves then they wouldn't have retreated after-

Marrie's hand shot to her mouth as she tried to keep from puking again at the thought of Angelie's head. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this... Good, that means you still have some of your humanity.

...

Am I fucking hearing voices now? Great.

Pushing that fun idea out of her mind, she went around to the input interface and tried to pour a little, or rather the last, of her mana into it. What was the worst that could happen, it explodes? Well, yes, actually, but that was unlikely if it was still functioning. It would be worth it if she found out why it was here. Was it there because of Oros? Why a magical power source for a church? There had to be something else to it. The new floorboards made her wonder if it was powering something below them, but was there even an entrance to the basement? Was there even a basement?

A glance at the others, sans Asher, showed that there might be something at the podium after all. For now though, Marrie would wait a bit to see what the generator would do.

“I… see…” Ashley replied in response to The Pounder’s “explanation”, still not entirely convinced of his or MDP’s sanity. A moment later, Dr. Moller gave her own response to Ashely’s request for guidance, and the Knight of Tomorrow’s frown of uncertainty only grew more pronounced with each new word the director spoke. Cute…? the high-tech heroine wondered, not for the first time questioning her superior’s own mental faculties. After all, this was hardly the time for bad jokes. “Um, no, ma’am,” she replied. “It’s just that some of them have been helping with the cleanup and I don’t believe any of them saw us in our mundane forms, so I was reluctant to take further action against them.”

The director went on to discuss Finn, Dante, and the latter’s apparent daughter, noting that the Pax Septimus branch of G.E.M.I.N.I. lacked the facilities for holding someone of Amanda’s potential capabilities. While the doctor did concede that questioning her might prove beneficial, the odds of learning anything from someone so obviously antagonistic towards them were minimal. Yet, although the potential danger she posed was impossible to ignore, Dr. Moller’s final instructions still sent a chill down Ashley’s spine.

Eliminate…?

The word echoed over and over in the Knight of Tomorrow’s mind, even as the still-weeping Amanda slowly pulled what was left of Dante towards the now-unblocked door. Ashley tried to tell herself, tried to convince herself, that this was no mere girl, that this was a monster, and a highly dangerous one at that. She told herself that Amanda was a threat, not only to Finn, but to untold numbers of innocent civilians. Yet, all she could see before her was a girl grieving the senseless death of her father. It would have been another matter entirely if she had attacked Ashley or her allies in any way, but she hadn’t. If anything, she had seemed afraid of them, and not without good reason, the high-tech heroine was forced to admit. That said, it wasn’t as if the director’s order could just be ignored, but even so, Ashley found herself fervently hoping that one of the others would be the person to carry it out, however unlikely that might be. After all, Estelle only seemed interested in offering Amanda comfort, and there was a decent chance their freelancer allies hadn’t even heard Dr. Moller’s order to begin with.

Where was Finn when you needed him?

Amanda’s pace was slow, her focus on what remained of her father. For the next few harrowing seconds, Ashley would simply wait to see what the others would do, all while steeling herself for the possibility that what she dreaded the most would indeed come to pass. That it would all depend on her…

---

Estelle caught the Knight of Tomorrow’s gaze as she let Amanda shuffle off, and decided that now may as well be a good chance to clarify intent.

“I’m not starting this.”

So indeed, it did depend on Ashley, the most senior member of GEMINI currently present, the one who had survived so many operations and killed so many monsters. What, did she expect the Witch Hunter to be a brainwashed GEMINI cadet here, eager to jump into the fray and engage in murder? A sword was a tool for killing; her sword was always sheathed. Maybe that was how GEMINI operations occurred before. Finn the powder keg, Ashley the one to pick up the pieces.

Good pay, good benefits, good work.

Her paycheck hadn’t gone in yet, she didn’t actually use her benefits yet, and it felt 50/50 on the value of the work done thus far.
But whatever the case was, the Witch Hunter could not overlook the presence of anomaly. Deep shadows surged from behind her, but the encroachment upon her Divine Domain was enough to alert her of the presence of Esper magic. She turned, Dai-katana poised, immediately interposing herself between the shadowy humanoids and the Knight of Tomorrow. One swing sought to redirect the more aggressive one into the bar counter, a Dispel note’s purifying light working to erase the gravity of its shadowy visage, while the second deflection was aimed at flinging the lesser shadow off into the mess of melted chairs.

“Knight! Enemy Esper’s here! Go!”

She had no intention of starting anything, but Estelle certainly had no problems ending things. That came more naturally to her as a former magical girl.

@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise@The World@TaintedMushroom

It took a moment to scan the page, her eyes tracing every word line to line. The style of writing, the title and its contents made it clear who had been the author. It may have been the scribbles and babble of a mad woman, but it still held some meaning. Each name had a brief note, some more elaborate than others. Knowing what she knew of Oro’s, these names held some meaning. Even if they held little to no meaning to anyone else.

In this case it was the existence of this Blade Diary that was far more important than the actual contents of the writing. It was proof that Oros had been here at the church at some point. The purpose behind it all still remained a mystery. But one thing was clear, they appeared to be on the right track.

Shuffling through the pages, she quickly skimmed through them to ensure that nothing important or useful would be overlooked. Mika on the other hand seemed much more interested in inspecting the podium itself. Hearing the creaking of the trap door being opened wide on the back of the podium. It drew her attention away from what little the papers had to offer as it was clear Mika had come across something. Himiko slowly shifted around to the back of the podium, letting her left hand glide over the papers atop it.

Her golden eyes shifted towards Mika when it was clear that her attention was on her for once. It didn’t take her long to understand why, her own gaze finding the reason for Mika’s particular reaction. Placing her hands on her hips she let out a laugh, glee shimmering within her golden eyes.

“Oh my, my, what do we have here? Who knew your new nickname would spread so quickly….would you look at that Puddy, you are popular aren’t you? A real cool cat!” Crouching down as she got a closer look at the engraving for herself. Placing her right index finger onto the cold stone, tracing it over the animals carved into it and down onto the chiseled message. Coming to a rest at the trough that led into a hole.

It was clear what needed to be done, holding out both hands palm up as she created a small but sharp blade of obsidian. Giving Mika a small glance “Bet you didn’t even know I could do that huh Puddy? So how about we give this thing what it wants…..” Her golden eyes locking onto Mika as she turned the obsidian blade over in her hands.

Himiko let the tension build for a moment as she took a firm hold of the blade by its handle. Her eyes still not moving from Mika as she held out her left palm and ran the obsidian blade across it drawing her own blood. A smirk clearly hidden behind her mask, eyes full of amusement as she continued to toy with Mika. Squeezing her hand shut as the blood pooled in her palm, she turned her fist sideways and let it begin to drip out into the trough. "Skulls for the skull throne...."

If they wanted to find out what would happen, this was the only way to do it. Waiting patiently to see what would result from her donation of blood. Sure it had asked for Mika’s blood, but Himiko figured she would be reluctant to give it up. However, she had no such qualms herself if it meant getting to the bottom of its mystery. Whether it mattered whose blood it was remained to be seen. But there was no way of finding out if she didn't give it a go.

@Ponn@ERode@Vertigo

The responsibility fell on the leader, who was just a leader in name only. The ones under Ashley’s command were too busy having mental breakdowns or pretending to be Himura Kenshin. But she was a responsible one in their group, was she not? Mika and Finn were stressed out teenagers, and Estelle was a magical girl. Adults were just children with responsibilities, and that was why this was always going to fall on Ashley.

But Ashley’s indecision gave the enemy time to act. The shadows came alive around her, and Estelle sprung into action. Her attempt to purge one of the creatures greatly weakened it, but it still persisted.

As frantic as things got inside Dante’s, they weren’t much calmer outside. Amanda stumbled outside, hastened by a combination of the violent action behind her and Ciri’s screaming. Though you could only move so fast with a glass bust in your arms, moreso if you didn’t want to drop it while stepping over corpses. The Pink Pounder screamed something about his princess before diving into the establishment, removing the need for it to try and restrain him. And Boteg…

His body expanded. Fingers became talons, flesh became scale, In a matter of seconds, he grew to the size of a bus. Wings sprouted out of his back, and his tuxedo at some point melded and disappeared inside his scales. A full sized dragon was now squatting in front of Dante’s. But rather than taking flight, he lowered his head. ”Imp Scare! Child! Take thy thingamajigs and ascend my spine!”

Amanda didn’t dawdle. She rushed over to Boteg’s head and attempted to climb on top of him. He used his tail to steady her and help her climb up.

It didn’t wait for an order. The smokey shadow carried Ciri onto Boteg’s back.

They would be taking off any second now, but not before GEMINI had one final chance to stop them.

---

@The World@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPants

Marrie attempted to get the generator to do something by infusing it with her mana. The “mana intake port” was a small steel table with a square inset for something to be placed. Marrie slapped her hand on top of the insert to see what would happen. This was kind of the equivalent of trying to plug an American style appliance into a European outlet. Yes, Marrie was full of mana, but her mana was not in a form the generator could readily accept.

But even if she was, would it matter? The generator was on right now, likely powering things within the church. The real mystery was the generator’s secondary function, which was to also use its stored mana to magically recharge… something. The “mana output port” looked like two door knobs. Would she have better luck trying to charge herself up? Was it worth the risk?



Mika’s gaze remained unwavering. Sovereign turned down the opportunity to avoid fighting the nuns and make a quick buck, but that didn’t mean she was totally trustworthy either. Even without being affiliated with a depraved esper, she was a little weird to say the least. She produced a blade and asked Mika if she knew she could make a blade. The question was rhetorical, but Mika answered it anyway.

"I wasn’t sure you could even use spells." She honestly couldn’t recall if Sovereign had used any melodies or not in this op. She’d have to check her body cam footage later when she wrote her report. But Mika said little else as Himiko cut open her hand and bled into the engraving. Mika did note that the sharp beak protruding out of the engraving’s surface was sure to be the intended way to bleed into the device, but Mika didn’t trust it, and maybe Sovereign also suspected it was tipped with something. As soon as the blood reached the hole, The engraving shook in place. The remaining blood was drawn into the stone itself, which continued to shake for several more seconds before ceasing its movement.And then in a sexy, digitized voice it said::

”AUTHENTICATION_FAILED! PLEASE_TRY_AGAIN!”

"Guess it wants my blood." It made sense. Oros wanted Mika here for something, and that something was locked behind her blood. But how did that even work? Wouldn’t Oros need Mika’s blood to make something like this? Then maybe this didn’t make that much sense after all. But it wasn’t like there was anything else to try.

She wasn’t as flashy as Himiko. Mika pricked her finger on one of her claws and wiped it on the edge of the troth. The blood ran down as before, the machine shook…

”AUTHENTICATION_SUCCESSFUL!”

With a pop, the engraving swung open, revealing the block to be a small safe. As big as the podium was, the space inside the safe was small. It was just large enough to hold a pendant, which Mika pulled out and examined.

It looked to be a pink stone carved in the shape of a dragon, one that looked to be chasing or devouring its own tail. Mika let out a long sigh as she lowered her hand. "This must be what she wanted me to find." She turned it over in her hand. "I think we’re done. Let’s get out of here." Mika made he way back over to Angelie’s body to recover it. Her hand went up to her comm, but it seemed like Fritzi’s line was busy.

Ashley’s heart sank when Estelle predictably announced that she had no intention of making any move against Amanda, even as a pair of shadowy beings rose up from the floor and lunged for the two agents. Thankfully, the Witch Hunter seemed to have no qualms about swiftly dealing with this new threat, and neither did the Pink Pounder. As the Knight of Tomorrow backed away from the shadowy assailants, allowing her melee-oriented allies to dispatch them, Estelle shouted that a hostile esper was responsible for the sudden attack. A quick look out the window confirmed as much, with a horned girl shouting for Amanda to run, along with a literal, golden-scaled dragon that seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere. And run Amanda did. By the time Ashley had reached the window, both Amanda and the mystery esper (along with some sort of shadowy… thing) were atop the massive creature, who was poised to take flight at any moment.

Time was of the essence, her window of opportunity rapidly closing shut, yet in those precious few seconds, the Knight of Tomorrow’s mind raced with frantic speed. There were three options available to her. She could simply do nothing and allow the trio (quartet?) to escape, she could ask MDP to try and put them all to sleep, or she could employ all her remaining mana in an attempt to neutralize Amanda and her apparent allies in one shot. Although she didn't have definitive proof, it was almost a certainty that the esper who had attacked them was a Maverick terrorist at the very least, if not a depraved esper working for The Hand. Either way, letting either organization have access to someone of Amanda’s abilities and motivation to use them against G.E.M.I.N.I. was something the high-tech heroine simply couldn’t allow. As for MDP, The Pounder himself had said that she was too pure a soul to comprehend the threat posed by the truly evil, something a glance at the whimsical girl's unmoving, seemingly shell-shocked form more than attested too. Indeed, even if she had been capable of sending the fleeing group to dreamland, they would eventually wake up. Dr. Moller herself had already made clear that G.E.M.I.N.I. possessed no facility in the city capable of holding Amanda, and how much more would that be the case for an actual dragon? No, there was really only one course of action to take here, the one Ashley had been dreading, yet still grimly preparing herself for.

Damn it…

She didn’t want to do this, but she was left with no other choice. Aiming her techno-wand at Amanda, the Knight of Tomorrow charged the glowing weapon with every last ounce of transcendent power she had left. There was a rising hum, which quickly gave way to an ear-piercing screech as neon green particles of techno mystic power rapidly coalesced around the gleaming sphere at the techno-wand’s tip and arcs of emerald energy crackled from its twin, glowing prongs.

Behind her visor, Ashley’s steely gaze locked with that of the weeping teen’s.

“I’m sorry,” the Knight of Tomorrow whispered.

An instant later, the pent up power was released in a baleful cylinder of pure annihilation, one which homed in on Amanda regardless of any obstructions, or even the laws of physics. Upon striking her, it would burst apart in a spectacular emerald detonation. It would take several seconds for the blindingly bright glow of the stupendous blast to fade, and thus allow Ashley to see the results of her all-out attack, but even so, the high-tech heroine found herself hoping that her target had perished instantly, and without pain. Because if she hadn’t, if any of them had survived and were in any condition to retaliate, she doubted that she or her allies would be in any condition to withstand it…

---

Marrie was nothing if not an inquisitive girl. There might have been something under the generator being powered by it, but for now she was more interested in the intake and output. If nothing happened when she put a tiny level of mana into it, probably a design difference compared to what she was imagining, then of course she would have to check the other half. The two knobs looked to her like the correct tool to use them would be jumper cables of some kind. She didn't have jumper cables. She looked around, was there anything she could use to emulate that effect?

... Well, no better time to do something stupid than when you're fucked up and depressed.

With that thought in mind, she looped the small chain from her middle finger to the bracelet around the right knob and pressed Apexer's blade to the other at the same time. She was ready to pull it away if it started to heat up, like an electric current would, but she wanted so badly to see what would happen. If it worked in any of the ways she was thinking it might, then this could be something really useful for the future. She'd just have to figure out which if any of those methods were the correct one. And with any luck, it wouldn't be ruined or explode by this experiment.

Was she forgetting something? Yes, of course she was, but magic tech was such a fascinating idea to see in real life that she totally forgot about the other espers.