[@Ponn][@ERode][@Vertigo]

One last shot.

Ashley put everything that she dared into her next attack. It was going to be devastating, and it was going to be nearly unavoidable. Her advanced targeting protocols could maneuver her melody mid flight. It could avoid obstacles, track targets, hell, [i]blast through them[/i] if that somehow didn’t work. All to deliver a payload of arcane armaments to their destination. The center of Orion’s wand glowed a hot white, and would leave after images in the eyes of anyone who looked at it. Her targets had no idea what was coming their way, only that it was going to be powerful. Boteg kept his sights straight ahead, doing his best to get as much distance between himself and the diner as possible. [i]it[/i] simply remained with Ciri, who looked over their shoulder at the high tech esper. Amanda was still crying. She was still trying to digest the death of her father, or maybe she had given into despair already. It was hard to say. 

[color=#b0c8ff]“[/color][color=#b4c7ff]U[/color][color=#b8c5ff]u[/color][color=#bcc4ff]h[/color] [color=#c4c1ff]n[/color][color=#c8c0ff]y[/color][color=#ccbfff]u[/color][color=#d0bdff]u[/color][color=#d4bcff]u[/color][color=#d8bbff]u[/color][color=#dcb9ff]u[/color][color=#e0b8ff]u[/color][color=#e4b7ff]u[/color][color=#e8b5ff]u[/color][color=#ecb4ff]u[/color][color=#f0b3ff]![/color][color=#f4b1ff]”[/color]

MDP rushed outside and fired a beam of candy, teddy bears, and unicorns at the escaping group. They would find themselves surrounded by a rainbow barrier, but would this be strong enough to protect them from what was coming?

Ciri had to nudge Amanda to get her attention. She took one hand off of her father’s remains and offered it to the oni. Maybe they didn’t know what the melody was, but Ciri could approximate when it would go off. That was a skill virtually every esper had. So when the light around Ashley’s wand collapsed, Ciri activated her own melody, just as the technobeam ripped through the air. The green energy passed through Amanda’s form without harming her, and flew on to hit what was behind it.

The back of Boteg’s neck.

While Ashley’s melody had missed its initial target, she was able to will it into hitting Boteg himself. A green explosion soaked everyone nearby in plasma. Ciri was thrown from the dragon’s back, [i]it[/i] avoided the blast but jumped after her, Boteg fell out of the sky, and Amanda was there, still a shadow, wondering what was going on. 

The dragon hadn’t gotten very high, but he came down hard. His body sunk into the asphalt road and folded it up where he slid. By this point, Amanda had rejoined the world of light and was thrown from the Boteg’s back. She landed face first on the concrete, tumbling into a nearby building and breaking through the wall in the process. But a monster would have little issue surviving contact with the ground, but the story was not the same for the precious glass sculpture she was holding. The only thing in Amanda’s arms now was shattered glass, whatever it used to be was lost to time.

With a grunt, she smashed her tiny fist into the ground and marched back outside. It wasn’t enough that they killed her father, they had to kill her too. She was still crying, but she was mad now too. Her face was red, and her hands were balled into trembling fists. But anger wasn’t a superpower regardless of how much you had. Without a way to harness your emotions, without abilities, it was nothing. Anger needed to be tempered to become a weapon. For all the anger she was feeling, she was just a confused kid. Such a tantrum would be laughed at by a true adversary. Her anger could not strike fear in the hearts of her foes. Despite this, she took a step forward, only to hop two steps back when Boteg crawled forward.

The golden dragon had a giant, smoldering spot on the back of its neck. The scales had blackened, and some had even fallen off to expose the pink flesh beneath. But boteg’s eyes did not display fear or pain. The only thing in his eyes was contempt for the one that had tried to kill them with such a [i]cowardly[/i] attack. Now this was the sort of anger that could make someone’s skin crawl. Boteg’s present form was massive, but there was more to it than that. His kind had been hunted to near extinction. They are such a rare sight that Boteg believed himself to be the last of his kind. He had a lot of time to carry that realization too. All a human will ever experience happens between the beats of a dragon’s heart. He may run when the option presents itself, but if attacked directly? Then that might be cause to blow off some steam.

Or maybe monsters were inherently chaotic creatures.

Boteg stood upright, not looking unlike a small golden godzilla. He still towered over the structures on either side of him. It was possible that such a monster could be classified as a behemoth. His growl shook the streets, and a red fluid started to drip out of his mouth. It was too glossy to be blood, and had a mirror like quality to it. His eyes started to change color, he squared up his shoulders, but then his head twitched. [i]It[/i] was standing at Boteg’s feet, holding a wounded Ciri in one arm while it wordlessly communicated with the dragon. While not all monsters could communicate with humans, most of them were able to communicate with each other. Though Ciri was able to “hear” the words of her friend. It was telling Boteg that they needed to go. That if they fled now, all of them could live, while a fight just invited more suffering on both sides. Maybe the GEMINI espers were vulnerable, but so was Ciri and Amanda. Reinforcements were likely en route, and leaving now was the best way to ensure everyone’s survival. 

Though Boteg’s gaze never left the diner. 

He pulled back his head and roared at the street. The red, chromatic liquid smashed into the pavement, uplifting everything in front of it. Everything the fluid touched turned to gold, then froze in a tidal wave of gold. Boteg had created a wall of suspended debris that looked like they had been touched by Midas himself. The quatro was quick to leave the scene. Boteg would revert to his “human” form and join everyone else as they descended into the Bastion. 

MDP breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes fixed on the golden wall Boteg had made. The Pink Pounder had rushed back outside, but by then everyone had left. 

[color=#b0c8ff]“[/color][color=#bac5ff]A[/color][color=#c5c1ff]s[/color][color=#cfbeff]h[/color][color=#d9baff]w[/color][color=#e3b7ff]y[/color][color=#eeb3ff]…[/color][color=#f8b0ff]”[/color] MDP turned to look at the GEMINI squad leader. [color=#b0c8ff]“[/color][color=#b0c8ff]A[/color][color=#b1c8ff]s[/color] [color=#b2c7ff]m[/color][color=#b2c7ff]u[/color][color=#b2c7ff]c[/color][color=#b3c7ff]h[/color] [color=#b4c7ff]a[/color][color=#b4c7ff]s[/color] [color=#b5c6ff]i[/color] [color=#b6c6ff]w[/color][color=#b6c6ff]i[/color][color=#b7c6ff]k[/color][color=#b7c6ff]e[/color] [color=#b8c5ff]u[/color][color=#b8c5ff]w[/color][color=#b9c5ff]u[/color] [color=#b9c5ff]g[/color][color=#bac5ff]u[/color][color=#bac5ff]y[/color][color=#bbc4ff]s[/color][color=#bbc4ff],[/color] [color=#bcc4ff]i[/color] [color=#bdc4ff]c[/color][color=#bdc4ff]a[/color][color=#bdc4ff]w[/color][color=#bec3ff]n[/color][color=#bec3ff]'[/color][color=#bfc3ff]t[/color] [color=#c0c3ff]s[/color][color=#c0c3ff]u[/color][color=#c0c3ff]p[/color][color=#c1c2ff]p[/color][color=#c1c2ff]o[/color][color=#c2c2ff]w[/color][color=#c2c2ff]t[/color] [color=#c3c2ff]t[/color][color=#c3c2ff]h[/color][color=#c4c1ff]i[/color][color=#c4c1ff]w[/color][color=#c4c1ff]s[/color] [color=#c5c1ff]t[/color][color=#c6c1ff]y[/color][color=#c6c1ff]p[/color][color=#c6c1ff]e[/color] [color=#c7c0ff]o[/color][color=#c8c0ff]f[/color] [color=#c9c0ff]b[/color][color=#c9c0ff]e[/color][color=#c9c0ff]h[/color][color=#cabfff]a[/color][color=#cabfff]v[/color][color=#cbbfff]i[/color][color=#cbbfff]o[/color][color=#cbbfff]w[/color] [color=#ccbfff]a[/color][color=#cdbeff]n[/color][color=#cdbeff]y[/color] [color=#cebeff]w[/color][color=#cebeff]o[/color][color=#cfbeff]n[/color][color=#cfbeff]g[/color][color=#cfbeff]e[/color][color=#d0bdff]w[/color][color=#d0bdff].[/color] [color=#d1bdff]P[/color][color=#d2bdff]w[/color][color=#d2bdff]e[/color][color=#d2bdff]a[/color][color=#d3bcff]s[/color][color=#d3bcff]e[/color] [color=#d4bcff]t[/color][color=#d4bcff]e[/color][color=#d5bcff]w[/color][color=#d5bcff]w[/color] [color=#d6bbff]m[/color][color=#d6bbff]i[/color][color=#d7bbff]s[/color][color=#d7bbff]s[/color] [color=#d8bbff]m[/color][color=#d8bbff]o[/color][color=#d9baff]w[/color][color=#d9baff]w[/color][color=#dabaff]e[/color][color=#dabaff]w[/color] [color=#dbbaff]t[/color][color=#dbbaff]h[/color][color=#dcb9ff]a[/color][color=#dcb9ff]w[/color][color=#ddb9ff]t[/color] [color=#ddb9ff]i[/color] [color=#deb9ff]w[/color][color=#dfb8ff]o[/color][color=#dfb8ff]n[/color][color=#dfb8ff]'[/color][color=#e0b8ff]t[/color] [color=#e1b8ff]b[/color][color=#e1b8ff]e[/color] [color=#e2b7ff]w[/color][color=#e2b7ff]o[/color][color=#e3b7ff]w[/color][color=#e3b7ff]k[/color][color=#e4b7ff]i[/color][color=#e4b7ff]n[/color][color=#e4b7ff]g[/color] [color=#e5b6ff]w[/color][color=#e6b6ff]i[/color][color=#e6b6ff]t[/color][color=#e6b6ff]h[/color][color=#e7b6ff]y[/color][color=#e7b6ff]o[/color][color=#e8b5ff]u[/color] [color=#e8b5ff]i[/color][color=#e9b5ff]n[/color] [color=#eab5ff]t[/color][color=#eab5ff]h[/color][color=#eab5ff]e[/color] [color=#ebb4ff]f[/color][color=#ecb4ff]u[/color][color=#ecb4ff]t[/color][color=#edb4ff]u[/color][color=#edb4ff]w[/color][color=#edb4ff]e[/color][color=#eeb3ff].[/color] [color=#efb3ff]I[/color] [color=#efb3ff]h[/color][color=#f0b3ff]o[/color][color=#f0b3ff]p[/color][color=#f1b2ff]e[/color] [color=#f1b2ff]s[/color][color=#f2b2ff]h[/color][color=#f2b2ff]e[/color] [color=#f3b2ff]u[/color][color=#f3b2ff]n[/color][color=#f4b1ff]d[/color][color=#f4b1ff]e[/color][color=#f5b1ff]w[/color][color=#f5b1ff]s[/color][color=#f6b1ff]t[/color][color=#f6b1ff]a[/color][color=#f6b1ff]n[/color][color=#f7b0ff]d[/color][color=#f7b0ff]s[/color][color=#f8b0ff].[/color][color=#f8b0ff]”[/color] She didn’t wait for a response before departing with the Pink Pounder, who kept an eye on the GEMINI agents as they departed. 

Elsewhere, a cyan haired esper observed the spectacle through her binoculars. 

[hr]

[@The World][@Nakushita][@TaintedMushroom][@FamishedPants]

And so, Marrie, ever the scientist, continued to experiment. She had either end of her weapon in her hands when she reached for the strange knobs. Though she wasn’t reaching for them the way someone would normally reach for a doorknob. To someone more perverse, it might even look like she was- Well, there are no such people present, so it shouldn’t be mentioned. 

A mechanical button sounded with a click as each knob was pressed. The generator made many other unusual sounds as its mechanisms slid around. The hum of a hydraulic motor, bursts of steam, and a dull thumping could be heard from deep inside the generator. Before long, Marrie could feel a warmth spread through her hands. Her mana was steadily increasing. 

[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/40b268e9-9477-4d81-97d6-81ce4b87c2d3.png[/img]

[color=tomato]"At least someone posted for my section."[/color]

[color=888888]— Mika Fang[/color][/center]

Mika gave Marrie a glance. She was going to tell her to knock it off, but if she wanted to play with a mysterious device, that was her thing to do. It looked like everyone else was just waiting for Mika to leave, and she wasn’t going to keep them on the clock any longer than she had to. After scooping up Angelie’s remains, she departed from the building. Maybe she could offer to meet up with them later, but what was the point? This was just a chance encounter with some freelancers. Most of them did their job well, and they just wanted to get paid before moving onto the next thing. Jacqueline didn’t want to spend time with her, so why would any of these people?

She shook the strange thought out of her head before departing. A van would arrive shortly to extract Mika and pay the freelancers.