@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, blast through them 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. it 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.

“Uuh nyuuuuuuuuu!”

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, it 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 cowardly 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. It 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.

“Ashwy…” MDP turned to look at the GEMINI squad leader. “As much as i wike uwu guys, i cawn't suppowt thiws type of behaviow any wongew. Pwease teww miss mowwew thawt i won't be wowking withyou in the futuwe. I hope she undewstands.” 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.

---

@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.



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.

Unfortunately, but predictably, Ashley’s plan didn’t come anywhere close to working out as she had hoped. Even as her blinding beam of techno mystic energy streaked towards it’s target, MDP broke out of her stunned stupor and formed a whimsical barrier to shield the fleeing quartet from the Knight of Tomorrow’s attack. W-What…?! The high-tech heroine’s mind spun at the sight of this most unexpected of developments, but even so, her ostensible ally’s barrier proved no match for her own beam of annihilation. The neon green lance pierced the prismatic shield like a molten spike through tissue paper and detonated in a brilliant explosion. However, when its green glow faded, Ashley saw to her horror that none of her targets had been eliminated, but neither were they unscathed. Amanda was emerging from the broken wall of a building on the far side of the street, her visage filled with fury. The horned esper’s bruised and battered body was being held by its shadowy companion. And the dragon… The dragon had turned its enraged form towards the diner, towards Ashley herself, and although it had been visibly wounded, the Knight of Tomorrow doubted that she could withstand the full force of its monstrous might.

N-No… I… I didn’t want this… Ashley thought to herself as her heart began to pound like a jackhammer. I didn’t want any of this!

Despite the fact that they were dangerous enemies, she hadn’t wanted any of them to suffer needlessly, but despite her best efforts, that was exactly what had happened. Despite following Director Moller’s orders, all she had succeeded in doing was making this horrible situation even worse. Yet, instead of the anticipated attack, the dragon simply created a golden wall to cover his and his allies’ escape.

Even as she struggled to comprehend the dragon’s parting gesture, Ashley heard MDP's childish voice beside her. The pastel garbed girl proceeded to explain in her own, infantile, way that she and The Pounder would no longer be able to support G.E.M.I.N.I. operations in the future. Perhaps the girl really was too naive to do what needed to be done, to make the hard decisions that needed to be made, but even so, Ashley couldn’t help but find herself agreeing with the childish freelancer, couldn’t help but feel that this time, they really had gone too far. “I understand,” the high-tech heroine replied softly as the pastel-colored pair departed.

As she gazed into the gleaming, golden wall the dragon had left behind, Ashley’s thoughts turned to the pointlessness of this whole endeavor. While Dante had presumably been killed, Amanda had escaped and now harbored a fierce hatred of G.E.M.I.N.I. that made her a far greater threat than she’d previously been. Not to mention, they still didn’t have conclusive proof that Dante had been the one responsible for Finn’s hallucinations…

Finn. It all really boiled down to him, didn’t it? He was the reason they’d come here in the first place, and the reason things had escalated so catastrophically. Not only that, but because he had chosen to run off before the operation had concluded, they had been left with one less agent to prevent Amanda’s escape into either Maverick or The Hand’s clutches. Yes, Ashley reflected with grim certainty, Finn bore the greatest responsibility for everything that had happened here today, and the Knight of Tomorrow was determined to not only ensure that he knew just how much of a liability he had been, but that it would never be allowed to happen again.

---

Finn wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. He needed to be taken to a lab at HQ and scanned to see if his curse had been lifted. Fritzi had already mentioned that it was possible that Dante wasn’t the one who had cursed him. However, Finn thought it might be a good time to speak with Fritzi, since she had been rather short with him over coms. Even now, she wasn't her usual jovial self.

"When you first questioned me about my curse, I had initially left out a few details. The last time I passed out, I wasn't met with a demon with the intent to torture me, but Amanda. Apparently I had peaked Dante's interest for whatever that means, and she was supposed to have arranged me to meet with them at a later date. For what, I don't know. My original plan was to go along with it to see what their intentions were if they weren't intending to kill me on sight. She had also wanted to show me something but I dropped earlier than expect and- ... Well. Guess I'll never know now. I didn't know she was actually rea- was Dante's daughter. Much less that my theory of Dante being the culprit was correct."

Fritzi was looking at a computer monitor that was throwing up all kinds of data. Numbers, several bar graphs, all monitoring different aspects of Finn’s esper form. Most of it didn’t make any sense to him, save for the giant message that read “SANDCURSE_TRACE NOT FOUND.” Apparently, he was cured.

”Your theory...” Dr. Muller looked away from the screen. ”Well, I’m glad you were able to diagnose yourself. I’m a doctor, and you were even able to beat me to the punch.” She placed a hand on her chest. ”If I’m being fair, I’m not used to my patients lying to me. Least of all ones as young as you. But maybe you’re just unusually dense? You know when I said ‘did you have any strange dreams’, seeing a succubus who introduces herself as an acquaintance of Dante maaaaaaaaaaaay have been worth bringing up beforehand.” She tapped her fingers on the back of her clipboard. ”I don’t think you’re stupid Finn, and that’s a problem, because now you have to explain why you decided to hide that from everyone.”

The boy's gaze remained on the monitor for a moment. "They were well aware I was working with GEMINI. That was why they hadn't given me any specifics at the time." He still looked a little out of it. He looked downward in thought. "Earn their trust. Keep them complacent. See if I can get anything out of whatever their deal was. Rat them out soon as things take a turn. With Oros' attempt to kill me, I figured I might as well be resourceful in case she ever tried again." A tired sigh slipped through Finn's lips.

"Withholding information was what got Dante killed. I won't make the same mistake again."

”That's great Finn, but that doesn't answer my question. Why withold information to begin with?”

Finn furrowed his brows in confusion. "...I guess I thought if I told the whole truth and they learned about it, they'd actually kill me." The boy frowned deeply. "I mean Dante- Or Amanda, I guess, I don't know, already knew about my other screw ups somehow. Me leaving Betty behind only for her to get kidnapped, me siding with the Mavericks during the mansion raid, th-they knew about Lydia no less! If they were able to stalk me for that long then..." He curled up into a ball in his seat, hugging his knees to his chest. _{"I don't want to know what they'd do to me."}

Fritzi pinched the bridge of her nose. ”Ever since Betty got abducted, your life has been pretty public. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few dream demons could peer into your thoughts either.” She shook her head before refocusing on Finn. ”The second you give into fear, they have already won. Contrary to what you may think, I do not think the death of a monster bartender is a huge loss. He didn’t have to die, maybe, but he knew what he was doing. Had you met up with them, they may have done something even more depraved with you. No, the issue is that you’re a loose cannon that doesn’t respect authority. You need to have faith in your squad. Unfortunately, I do not think your squad has a lot of faith in you right now.”

Finn remained quiet for a second. She was right, for however they all wanted to think. He nodded along and opened his mouth to speak up again, but what came out turned into a dry chuckle as she brought up the strained relationship between him the other agents. "You really think it'd be that easy? I tried to follow your orders, Dr. Moller, but I might as well have been left for dead no thanks to them." He tensed and untensed himself up, picking at his sleeves to stay calm. "Agent Orion over-relied on the backup you sent just cause she didn't want to kill the patrons and allowed herself get swarmed as a result. Witch Hunter, while I can't argue against her as she focused on keeping the schoolgirls safe, practically ignored me when I called for her to redirect a fireball towards Dante instead and ended up setting herself and the whole place on fire as a result. I was left to fend against a monster I was at a disadvantage against. If I didn't put two-and-two together in time Dante would've still been alive. It's not even the first time I was left alone like that." He took deep breaths as he ranted to Fritzi, his fight against Betty crawling back into the surface of his mind.

"I know. I know I need to be able to work with them. But what's the point if they don't want to work with me?"

What's the point if they'll never respect him?

Fritzi rubbed her chin. ”You know Finn? I think those are all very good points.” She shook her finger in the air. ”But I think you’re forgetting a tiny little detail. Ashley initially wanted everyone to go around back. But someone decided to eschew discussion and took it upon himself to confront Dante directly, despite the fact that his cover had already been burned. This endangered everyone in a mission where the sole objective was to try and free you from a curse. Do you understand what I’m saying? Everyone risked their lives for you, you weren’t a team player, and now you’re pouting because Estelle chose to not incinerate you and Ashley along with Dante? And what even does Ashley’s aversion to killing bar patrons have to do with anything? After you ran out of the diner, she-” Fritzi stopped herself. ”You know what? This isn’t a discussion you should be having with me. I think you should tell your squad what you just told me and see how they respond to it.”

Leaving him to the sharks. So that's how it is.

"Fine." He quietly conceded, and wordlessly stepped out of the room. Everyone in this city really was fickle.

Everyone except...

Finn pulled out his phone to text Betty:

Date might be delayed. I'm so sorry.

Finn’s thumb missed the “send” button when Fritzi bumped into his arm. She lifted up her hand and started counting her fingers. His head snapped up to look at her in confusion. ”Number one, it’s ‘yes ma’am’, not ‘fine.’ Nothing is fine right now. Number two, I was not being serious. Finn, I can put every esper under my command into fighting a monster. I can assess your well-being and give advice, but I can’t change how you’re perceived by your peers. That's something only you can effect.”

Finn's expression softened in response.

"S-Sorry, ma'am. I understand."

@Ponn@ERode

”That’s better.” The door at the end of the corridor opened up, revealing Ashley and Estelle in the briefing room. As soon as Fritzi passed the threshold of the door, her smile returned. ”Well! That was a lot more difficult than it had to be, wasn’t it?” Nobody answered Fritzi, but she didn’t seem bothered by this. ”Anywho, Orion? I have something for you.” She reached her hand out towards Ashley and presented her with a small golden badge. ”I wanted to give this to you with a bit more fanfare, but then I’d have to wait another week. Congratulations! You’re being promoted to lieutenant. You’re officially leading the Pax Septimus squad now. Presently you outrank everyone but Binky and myself. We’re going to have fresh reinforcements coming before long, and I hope you’ll take the time to get to know them.” Fritzi was about to excuse herself. ”The other operation had some complications as well. Cerberus was able to complete her mission, but she’s going to be running a little late returning here. Angel was killed in action, and she’s insisting on finishing her report before returning.” Fritzi sighed. ”Please finish your reports as well, and get some rest.” was all she said before departing, leaving the three espers together.

---

@Vertigo

it could sense Ciri’s distress as they fled.Well, that she was distressed with its choice to flee. But it wasn’t a sure thing that Boteg’s attack would have petrified any of the GEMINI espers. They were fortunate that the princess looking esper had aided them, but it suspected that she would not have helped them should they decide to counterattack. GEMINI’s reputation was on the decline, but this wouldn’t have been the first time a freelancer had decided to bail instead of help mavericks out. Moreover, there were a few monsters still in the diner that seemed to know Boteg. It would be a shame to let him turn his friends into gilded statues just because he lost his composure. But it knew better than to talk with Ciri when she was like this. Upon returning to the Bastion, it made itself scarce until she cooled off a bit.

While Ciri was still wounded, she was free to change back into a human once she was inside the bastion. There was a zero percent chance of anyone here leaking her true identity, and it was a lot less painful to move around. That didn’t mean someone wasn’t going to insist on healing her anyway.

”Oh hi, Oni-chan” Ciri hadn’t been with the Mavericks for very long, but she had been with them long enough to know Trixy liked to give people dumb nicknames, and didn’t seem to care if they liked them or not. ”Did you get hurt out there? You know my kisses have special healing powers, so if you let me kiss your boo-boos I can make them go away!” It was probably just a touch based melody. ”Oh! But who are your friends?” She looked at Boteg. ”They look handsome!” She looked to Amanda ”And pretty!” Shortly after changing back, Boteg seemed to have regained his “composure” and was back to being a mostly skittish dragon headed man. He avoided making eye contact with Trixy and patted the back of his neck. Amanda had withdrawn inside herself. Her lips were quivering. Her body didn’t know if it wanted to fly into a rage or cry, but was too weak to do either. ”I see…” Trixy placed her hands on her hips, and her goofy smile disappeared. ”I’ll give you guys some space. But if anyone needs a kiss, I’ll uh, I’ll be over here. Right, over here, in the corner.”

As soon asTrixy stepped off to the side, Billy Black’s hulking form waded out of the shadows. The giant man with gray skin and an outfit that belonged to a dystopian road warrior might strike fear in most, but anyone from Maverick Alternative would think otherwise. He was probably the most charismatic man to ever dawn spiked leather armor.

”I say I say, Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is that a golden dragon standing next to you?” Boteg adjusted his bowtie, but remained silent. ”Damn girl, I say damn, girl! I’ve been waitin’ for him to show up at my doorstep, and who'da thunk you’d be the one to bring him in? It’s official, you’re part of the team now!” The giant’s eyes drifted towards Amanda. ”Oh, who’s this?”

---

@The World@Nakushita@TaintedMushroom@FamishedPants

Unlike the espers of GEMINI or Maverick Alternative, the freelancers were free to do as they wished. They could regroup at the great escape to tak with other freelancers, rush to the bottom of a bottle at their favorite dive, or sleep the rest of the day away. Pax was their oyster!



Mika was sitting in the back of a black van. She had covered the important parts of the operation with Fritzi, but was finishing her report so that she could turn it in. There was nothing stopping her from entering Gemini HQ, but it didn’t seem like a good idea. From what Fritzi had mentioned, Finn did a bunch of stuff that put the rest of his squad in jeopardy before deciding to go AWOL. Mika almost asked why she didn’t just get rid of him, but it sounded like she was busy and it wasn’t her place to make such suggestions. It wasn’t like Mika was told the entire story. For all she knew, Ashley had done something to drive Finn away.

But Mika didn’t really have the headspace to worry about that right now. Behind her seat was a viewport into the back of the van, where a body bag containing Angellie’s remains was stored. There was nothing more to do, but the operation kept playing over in her head.

With a groan, she looked back at her laptop. The Freelancers needed to have their performance graded, and she was the only surviving GEMINI agent to do it. Of course upper management would get involved. She just had to write a comment about each one, which Binky would look over before committing it to their Shimr profiles. She began to type. Writing on a computer was one of the skills her mother had insisted on teaching her. While she could type quickly without looking at the keyboard, her mother always found fault with how she structured things. But that was fine. Binky would make any necessary corrections.

Freelancer: Dead Head
Score: 5/5
Evaluation: Did job well, guarded VIP well, rushed enemies head first, not a coward, worked well with his teammates. Might be too cocky but he did well this time. Felt like I was being guarded by the secret service.

Freelancer: Noble Spark
Score: 4/5
Evaluation: Protected VIP with good foresight, was flopping all over the place, managed to knock down a target by falling on them. Can’t tell if skilled or lucky but seems quick on his feet. Kind of flashy, but did well. Felt protected.

Freelancer: Marrie Knight
Score: 3/5
Evaluation: Combat was intense, didn’t see a lot of her. Took a beating in my place and held back a skilled attacker. Did her job, not someone to hire solo. Might need some coaching, still a good kid.

It felt weird to call someone a kid. Was Marrie younger than her? Didn’t matter. She made a face before writing her last review. Though in hindsight, Himiko brought it on herself.

Freelancer: Sovereign
Score: 2/5
Evaluation: Knows how to use her pistols. Talks too much, VIP had to save her, not even sure if she knows how to use her melodies. Almost a liability.

After looking at what she wrote for a bit, she groaned and hit backspace until everything was gone. Then she typed again.

Freelancer: Sovereign
Score: 3/5
Evaluation: Knows how to use her pistols. Talks too much, VIP had to save her, not even sure if she knows how to use her melodies. Enemy tried to bribe her and she didn’t take it. Loyal to job, needs more experience.

"You owe me."

Mika mailed everything to Binky before falling back into her seat.

Ashley did her best to stifle a gasp when Doctor Moller almost casually noted that Ellie had been killed in action. The Knight of Tomorrow hadn’t known the young woman for very long, but she was a cheerful presence that would sorely be missed. There was also the fact that hers was a young life cut down far before its time, but with the staggering loss of life that she’d seen over the past few weeks, the high-tech heroine found herself becoming increasingly numb to the horror and sorrow that would normally be engendered by it. Instead, the frustration and concern that she had been feeling before the director’s announcement all too quickly returned to the forefront of her mind. Finn had been a major liability during the recent mission, and even if Dr. Moller had spoken with him about it (something Ashley knew was far from a certainty), the Knight of Tomorrow wished to ensure that she and her young subordinate would be on the same page moving forward, especially now that her status as team leader had assumed a more permanent nature.

Oh great. Great great great- As if Ashley didn’t have enough reason to reprimand him, now she has an excuse to exercise her new promotion over his head. Finn tried not to let his reaction be too obvious lest that add yet another reason to the growing list of complaints. He avoided looking the other agents in the eye. It always hurts being forced to look someone angry in the eyes.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Ashely told the director as she took the offered badge. “I’ll strive to put forth only my best efforts in this new position. Finn?” she asked once Dr. Moller had departed. “I would like to speak with you for a moment.”

The boy quickly tensed up. He expected this, sure, but that doesn’t make him any less… He didn’t know what to call it. Anxious? Irritated? Some other third thing? Crossing his arms over his chest, Finn took a shaky breath and stepped over to the leader. ”Mm?”

“I’m not sure if Director Moller has spoken with you about your conduct during the mission or not,” Ashley began, carefully adjusting her glasses in such a way that the light now seemed to create a reflective sheen. “But I’d just like to clarify exactly why I’m so disappointed with your recent behavior. To be perfectly honest, the entire operation was a complete debacle, and while I can’t say for certain if things would have ultimately turned out any differently if we didn’t enter the diner directly, the fact is that you disobeyed an explicit order, putting the entire team at risk. Everything that followed was due to that rash decision, and to compound matters, you left the scene before the operation was fully concluded, leaving Estelle and I to handle the fallout alone.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “You were a liability today, Finn, and I can’t have you jeopardizing future operations in such a manner. Therefore, unless you can learn from these mistakes and promise me that you won’t make them again, I can’t in good conscience condone your continued presence on my team. Do you understand?” She felt like she was admonishing her little brother, and while she hated having to do it, a lot more was at stake here than just some bad grades or getting detention.

Finn quietly let her talk, nodding along to indicate that he was still listening. He frowned when she brought up him running away. Did any of them even care why he did? Of course he realized how much he fucked up, he wasn’t as stupid as they think he was. He didn’t want to kill Amanda. He never wanted to kill Dante, he hadn’t had a choice!

…And yet, he did. He acted rashly out of fear and recklessness. He wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of his co-workers regretted humoring his stupid theories. If they regretted protecting him. Was that why he was left to defend himself against Dante? Who knows. There was just no point in arguing back.

”...I-I understand, ma’am.” The boy’s gaze remained downwards. At least no one was yelling, that’s a good thing. Right?

There was probably a lot that Estelle could have thought about right now. There was the obvious part of being so out of the loop regarding everything that this branch of GEMINI was handling. There was the fact that there was a whole ass behemoth in Pax Septimus that apparently no one was even tracking until it swept in and aligned itself with that shadowy Esper. There was Finn, the perpetual fuck-up who turned the whole mission upside down for a curse that Estelle honestly didn’t even have a clue that he was really harbouring.

But all that really just paled in the light of Ellie being dead. Dead, just like that. Announced in a throwaway line at the very end of Dr. Moller’s briefing. Estelle wasn’t sure if she’d have gotten along with the trigger-happy Angel in the long run, but in the short run?

A death of a fellow agent just felt too heavy a thing to ignore in the face of getting angry at a child for messing up in a high-pressure situation. The boy couldn’t drive, couldn’t drink, couldn’t vote. At his age, all she had been worried about was homework and whether her parents were going to announce an impromptu family-friend-dinner that weekend when she had made (but not announced) her plans for heading off to the trampoline park with her non-family-friends.

Pax Septimus seemed sadistically short-staffed.

“You figured out your ‘curse’, right?” Estelle’s own expression was softer. “Do you need to keep working right now, Finn? I know you’re experienced and all, but it’s not going to get easier.”

Not now that there was cause for Amanda to be rightfully vengeful, not now that they’ve gotten the attention of a Behemoth.

The boy looked back up and over in Estelle’s direction at her question. He opened his mouth to speak; of course he can still work, he was fine, and yet no words came out. Finn would be lying if he said he knew. He had been second guessing himself and his own mind a lot lately. At the same time he didn’t really want to stop working.

_{”Damnú air.”} He cursed under his breath. ”I don’t know.”

“Well, I hope you figure out an answer by the time our next operation comes along,” Ashley told him. “This isn’t something to take lightly,” she added. “Not when people’s lives are at stake.”

”I know. _{I know…}”

Well, she recognized that expression anywhere. Words were basically pointless now.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Estelle said, clapping her hands together. “I’m sure we’re all tired and everything, so let’s split like a banana and get some rest.”

“Agreed,” Ashley concurred with a tired sigh. “Please think about what I said, Finn,” she told the boy as she headed out.

Hopefully he would have ample time over the next few days to do just that.

The moment the money hit her account after the mission, Marrie began the trip home. She'd spent the time between Mika finding whatever she found with the podium and the official end of the mission going back and forth between walking around to check for a new wave of attackers and further inspecting the generator. She did everything she could to memorize the feeling of her mana being recharged by an outside force. She didn't really have a great grasp of how magic worked, but if she could will into existence a beam that could sever limbs, maybe she could do something else? Before she left, she took a few pictures of the podium and the "blade diary" on it with her phone, just in case.

Once the traumatic mission was over and she was paid, she didn't head straight home, despite the overwhelming urge to do so. Instead she biked around Pax to pick up some surprise tools that would help her later. The moment she got home with her new loot she crashed on the floor, barely remembering or able to even lock the door. The last thing she remembered was turning her head to the side as she tried to bring her phone to where she could see it.

Awakening before dawn, Marrie picked herself off the floor and gathered her supplies from the previous day, putting them all into a carrying bag. Making sure she had everything she'd need she left her apartment and traveled to one of the many, many abandoned buildings in Pax, specifically choosing one that didn't have people around to notice her. The sun was just beginning to show itself over the horizon as she parked her bicycle and went inside.

Soon there were empty spray-cans littering the broken white tile flooring and several, different sized targets sprayed on the walls, ceiling, and floor. Some were simply bullseyes while others were more human shaped, and several were notably in the vein of fictional monsters. The targets were scattered in random places, no two were level with each other, nor quite the same size. Satisfied with this first step, Marrie began hanging small bits of wood she'd purchased from any place she could fashion them to. Once all that she had was in place, she dumped out the last items in her bag; full metal jacket target ammunition for her pistol. She was ready to begin, and the sun was now shining bright in the morning sky.

Hours passed, spent throwing her Instrument at the different targets in every method she could find online. Overhand, underhand, sideways, flipped, from a reverse grip, straight on. She practiced each and every throw hundreds of times, each against every target she'd made. Throw it, strike the target, return it to her hand via the chain, make sure to catch it, swipe with it. Throw, strike, return, catch, swipe, throw, return, catch, stab, throw, return, catch. When her esper form's arm got tired, she simply switched to her left hand and began again. Throw, return, catch, swipe, throw, return, catch, stab. Over, and over, and over.

She lost further track of time as she went through the motions of her training, but soon enough it was twilight. Nowhere near satisfied, she took a short break for an hour, watching the sun go down as she rested her arms. But the darkness was good, it gave her a new chance to practice. With less light, she began again using just the light from her phone's flashlight, periodically turning it off for a few minutes and then back on to check her work. Eventually, dawn came and with it she collapsed, unable to move her arms enough to continue. Marrie sat down against a wall and set an alarm on her phone for six hours before falling asleep.

She managed to wake a few minutes before her phone went off. A quick cast of a healing melody brought some of her strength back, and she began phase two of her training. Each and every target she'd made had holes in them by noon. Periodically switching hands and use of her shoulder brace, she was definitely getting more accurate, but progress was too slow for her. By nightfall she was out of ammunition, and began once again training with her Instrument, beginning with basic damage melodies and then moving on to practicing melee combat. The wind-riding esper rested only long enough to watch videos on her phone of how to improve her footwork, trying her best to waste no time. By the end of the third day since leaving her home, she felt like she was at least a little better prepared for whatever might come in the future, but not prepared enough to feel content. But with all the damage she'd done to the building, no further ammo, and no mana left in her tank she didn't have much choice but to stop.

The next morning, having slept fitfully, she began to dispose of the mess. Once everything was packed up, the spent target ammo in a garbage bag to take for proper disposal, the empty spray cans and food wrappers put in the nearest dumpster, Marrie began to slowly bike her way towards The Great Escape. It was notably closer than her apartment and should be about as safe to rest at, even if she couldn't stay the night. Besides, if she wanted to get stronger, advice from those who were already there couldn't hurt.

The last operation hadn’t gone completely to plan, but Himiko had still gained something of value from it. Though one of the accompanying Gemini agents had fallen, she was able to glean some important information. She had gotten a hunch during her first encounter with Gemini that they were operating shorthanded and undermanned. The fact that they only sent one other agent with Mika to meet with potentially the most dangerous esper was telling.

Though it also got her mind working, it was also possible that Gemini had other motives to send such limited resources to protect Mika. If protecting her was their true objective, they showed it in a funny way. Leaving it in the hands of a bunch of freelancers with minimal Gemini support was not something you’d do if you truly valued someone. If it had just been any random small fry job, Himiko wouldn’t have batted an eye. The fact that it was a known piece of information that they may end up face to face with Oros meant one of two things. Either Mika was seen as expendable by Gemini, or Gemini wasn’t capable of operating in more than one place at a time.

Both would serve Himiko’s goals regardless of what the actual reason behind it was. But that could be left for later. There were more important things to take care of right now. Figuring she would swing by The Great Escape and see if there was anything interesting she could dig up.

Being in mid walk as she abruptly came to a stop, her thoughts interrupted by the feeling of a familiar presence. Himiko could feel that something was in the air, as she let out a sigh. It was about time she showed her face, especially after having been a no show at the meeting point.

"Seriously?" Oros called out from deeper in the alley. "You have a four paragraph starter and the entire thing is an inner monologue? Very well, I’ll set the scene."

Oros stepped out from behind a dumpster. The alleyway was filled with shadows, but nothing could truly hide the gigantic mop of pink hair on her head. The graffiti on the walls was layered like the pages of a book. Every time a new gang took over they had to tag their turf with something. The most recent addition was the name “Aigorost,” which was made of crudely sprayed tentacles that were strangling the tags under it. The paint was fresh, and there was an aerosol can in Oros’s hand. Perhaps that was what gave Himiko the impression that she was around.

Turning to face Oros, Himiko eyed the fresh tag left behind on the wall, the aerosol being all the evidence she needed for determining just who the latest artist had been. It appeared that there was some meaning behind the wording she had plastered across the wall. Despite being Mad, Himiko had found Oros actions to always have some underlying reason. She never seemed to do anything that didn’t have some reasoning behind it, she always had a rationale, even if the rationale would be considered insane by others. “Aigorost eh? I see someone has taken up a new hobby in your free time, I don’t foresee a future within the field of art for you, a bit of an endless quest, one that will be eclipsed by your other goals” Golden eyes tracing over the words plastered across the wall with the crude tentacles lacking any kind of artistic refinement. Oros was a lot of things, but a great artist didn’t seem to be one of them.

"Whatever you say, Goldie Glocks. Just tell me if you remember what I wanted you to do." She shook the rattle can.

Her eyes now shifted to meet Oros as she let out a soft sigh in response. “The better question would be, did you remember what you wanted me to do as I held up my end of the bargain and all I found was a group of naughty nuns, a bit of your fan-fiction list and whatever you presumably stashed within the hidden compartment, now as for your little nickname, I see you have been busy and stumbled across the rather vile title bestowed upon me” Crossing her arms over her chest, clearly not thrilled about Oros throwing that detestable name out into the open. It was time to get to the bottom of this, Oros had left her hanging once already, so now it was her turn to answer the question.

But the bigger question for Himiko was where had Oros been when the meeting time had arrived. Not to mention did she know about the group of Nuns activities and that they had planned the ambush.

"I’m asking you what I wanted because you did it wrong!" Oros whipped the empty can at Himiko. She tilted her head aside letting the can whizz right by her ear, her eyes tracking it briefly before it impacted the ground behind her with a rattle. "I told you to bring Mika Fang to the church alone. You brought her, the angel, and a slew of freelancers. You got all of GEMINI involved and someone ratted your plan out to the hand. If you want to know why things went tits up, it’s because you couldn’t follow instructions."

Giving a shrug of her shoulders, Himiko straightened out her head with a small smile clearly hidden beneath her mask.. “I don’t see what the problem is, one less GEMINI agent to worry about, besides I never thought you’d be one to be concerned about either GEMINI or freelancers being present, the more the merrier if you ask me, it just confirmed that GEMINI is more rotten to the core then I initially believed, since the information was spread so quickly with only a very select few being privy to that information” Not seeing much of a problem with anything she had done personally. Though perhaps she had misjudged Oros, she never took her as one to be cautious or hesitant. At the end of the day, Himiko had gained more profit than she had anticipated, even if that profit was information only.

After all, what did Oros have to worry about?

"You think I didn’t know the secret agents had a bad actor? The only thing you confirmed is that we can’t work together. I gave you a simple task and you fumbled it like a virgin dropping a condom between the cushions. Talk about killing the mood." Oros grinned.

Lifting up her left hand, she gave a wag of finger with her right hand on her hip “You and I have a different definition of what a failure is. It was quite successful on my end, even if you chickened out because of some agents and freelancers crashing the party, but your loss is my gain this time around”

"I’m a chicken? Does that make the rest of you ants, or grain?" The Mad esper didn’t stop grinning. "Doesn’t matter. IYou failure was so spectacular it brought a smile to my face. I might be willing to give you an extra chance, but you gotta earn it, alright?"

Pausing for a moment as she gave it some more thought. After mulling it over, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least hear out Oros on what she wanted her to do this time around.

“Now, we both have different agendas, but I’m willing to hear out what you have to offer when it comes to your ‘earn it’ task.”

"I think Pax Septimus doesn’t have enough relationship drama in it." She drew her sword and gazed into its surface. "Any time I eavesdrop on you guys, you’re always trying to kill this one, screw over that one, flex on another. When you’re nice, it never advances past friendship. Where’s the romance?" She slid her sword back in its sheath. "I want you to get into a relationship. Shouldn’t be hard with all the lonely losers around. If you can get someone to be your F buddy I’ll consider taking you on again. "

Narrowing her eyes as she looked Oros in the eyes, it wasn’t a request that Himiko had ever anticipated coming from someone like them. But at the same time, was it really such a surprise? Raising an eyebrow as she came to grips with the outlandish request.

“My, my….if you keep up that kind of talk, we might have to change your name to ‘Oros the Horny.’ What do you gain from this setup? Does it fulfill some deep down secret desire you hold dear to your heart? To relive the one that got away?”

"I have my reasons, that’s all you need to know." Oros folded her arms.

Being somewhat bewildered but amused at the same time by the request. It would likely be an easy enough task, she was right about one thing. There were plenty of suckers and losers in Pax Septimus. All as easy as the last to pull the wool over their eyes if you just knew the right buttons to push and the right strings to pool.

“You know, you have a point, in the world of espers there is never any room for romance, or a future to dream of, they act so dreary and just accept their inevitable and pathetic early death, very few have the greed, the desire and the ability to see the forest through the trees. Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

"Yas, yaaas!" She reached her hand out like a sith lord compelling their son to join the dark side. "But make no mistake, Goldie Glocks. This is not a mere excuse for you to hoodwink some pleb. You need to make an effort to form genuine feelings for them. As much as you possibly can, at least." The mad esper understood that Himiko would likely never love someone as much as she loved her ‘wealth,’ in whatever form it took. "Because if the world is filled with starving idiots, isn’t it about time you feasted!?"

“I’ve been feasting my entire life, whatever I desire, I make it mine through my own means, the only genuine feelings I have, are the ones that exist for my ultimate goal, some believe money is all you need, that money is the only thing that holds true value, but they are wrong, I come from money, I have had money, no…the true thing that I desire is ultimate knowledge, it is far more valuable than any treasure or money, to pursue objects of knowledge, or objects that hold some sort of special connection are the true wonders of this dreary world, do you really believe some piece of scum would ever be able to draw out even the smallest inkling of compassion from my golden heart?" cooly responding as Himiko saw very little value in love and in feelings. Emotions that often got in the way of her goals, and made those that she dealt with be much more troublesome than it was worth.

Sure she had a fondness for certain people, but they provided her with useful knowledge, tools or entertainment and had a value attached to them. A value that she set upon each and every person she ever met, it only took her a short time of evaluating before she labeled someone. Most of it was for her own personal enjoyment, and so far out of the espers she had come across only two had drawn serious interest and intrigue. Puddy and that Clockwork boy, which Himiko had noticed Oros also seemed to have some sort of interest with as well. A coincidence that Himiko knew had meaning, which only made her more interested in the both of them.

Especially Puddy, Himiko wanted to pull out the darkness within her, something buried deep within that tormented girl's heart and soul. To free her from her shackles, and let her experience the true greatness of life without the machinations of GEMINI looming over her.

"To believe anything about your ‘golden heart’ would require me to dedicate headspace to it first. I’m not even willing to untangle half the things you say. But your actions? I’ll be keeping a close eye on those." Oros turned around and dismissed Himiko with a wave. "You know what I want. Up to you if you go through with it. We’ll talk again, either after you cuffed yourself to someone or on a future battlefield." She walked away. Her hair swung behind her like a massive pendulum.

“I’m sure we will see each other sooner rather than later…”

Watching Oros leave, Himiko let out a sigh and gave a shake of her head. Dealing with her was always a hassle, but she at least gained something from each encounter. As far as going through with what she wanted, now that was a whole different situation. Himiko doubted she could ever truly have feelings of that level of intensity. It would always be a farce, an illusion to progress her ambitions further. Regardless of whether or not she went through with it would remain to be seen. But the one truth she did know, they would cross paths again. It was inevitable after all, especially with the current world events.

Himiko had some other business to take care of, turning to take her own leave. Mulling over the conversation and request that had been made to her.

Mika probably should have been back at HQ. But after completing her reviews of the freelancers and porting them over to Binky, her superior accidentally spilled the beans. Binky had mentioned that Ashley’s team had run into some trouble, and that Fritzi was thinking about promoting the high tech heroine. But Mika was no fool. She knew the doctor had wanted to promote Ashley for a while. On paper it made sense. She was the most senior member and did exactly what Fritzi wanted. But it was too early and unearned. A rank bestowed out of necessity rather than Ashley’s ability. Oh how Mika seethed when hearing her name. She knew she couldn’t keep her cool if such a thing came to pass. But as bad as returning to HQ would be, she also didn’t want to go home to an empty house with her thoughts. So she volunteered to join the clean up crew that Ashley had dispatched. Mika hadn’t been harmed during her last operation, and she had a bit of mana left if something happened. It was a hard offer for HQ to turn down. They still needed to recover cry baby Finn, and the other espers weren’t in the same fighting condition she was. Having an esper around to deal with stray monsters would be a boon. Her wish was granted, so long as she didn’t get into trouble.

But Mika wasn’t just trying to skip out on witnessing Ashley’s promotion. After her outing with Estelle, she figured it might be wise to visit the operation area before some monsters came and leveled the place. She had gotten a chance to look around the church, but she was sure that the agents at Dante’s hadn’t been the most thorough. Prior to her talk with Estelle, she wouldn’t have been either.

The non-esper agents immediately went to work surveying the diner for damage. Not just structural damage, but PR damage as well. Two men were talking about possible vantage points and one had mentioned a nearby orphanage that might have heard the battle. But none of that mattered to Mika. She was a slayer of monsters, and she was only here because there might be some clues that lead to bigger, more important things to kill.

Mika was cautioned not to disturb the scene, but there was nothing to disturb. It looked like a bomb went off. There were bodies everywhere. Along with blackened furniture that had all been overturned. Even the church didn’t look this bad, and that had been the home of a mad cultist before nuns fired smoke and fire everywhere. She wouldn’t find anything here, and she knew it.

But the back room…

The back room split off two ways, both of which seemed to be untouched by the skirmish out front. One door, oddly, led into a boy’s bedroom. Or at least it looked like a boy’s bedroom at a glance. There were posters for retro video games as well as some punk rock bands. But the longer she looked at the room, she noticed that the musicians were all from boy bands, and many of the games had cuter aesthetics that most boys wouldn’t be into. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, and the only appliance in the room was a giant flat screen TV that was wired to a game system. In truth, Mika was a little envious. Su never let her decorate her room the way she wanted to. Probably because it would look like a kid’s sticker covered lunchbox if she did, but that was beside the point. Though Mika did notice there was no computer, which gave her a strange sense of pride. Su had wanted to teach Mika about computers, and even went as far as building her one so that she could get acquainted with all of their parts. She wasn’t sure if she could build one by herself, but the one she had would be good for years to come.

The other path lead to an office, which also housed the security equipment. There was also a door leading out back, but there wouldn’t be anything out there. Mika went to look through the surveillance footage, but there was nothing interesting. There was no sound, it was all black and white, and the cameras inside the building were inoperable or of such poor resolution that she couldn’t see what was going on. Alls she really knew was that everyone was talking and then Finn entered the front of the building. Mika audibly groaned. Why had Ashley decided to send Finn through the front? It didn’t make any sense, and was just one more reason that this promotion was poorly timed. Why not go through the back? Of course as Mika asked herself this, she realized that the security system was pretty well set up for the back entrance. She didn’t feel this invalidated her question.

The only other interesting thing in the office was the fax machine, as there was no computer. Fax machines were really weird, weren’t they? Digital information was so malleable and easy to share, and with a fax machine you could take that digital content and print it on a physical piece of paper, at which point it lost its ability to be easily moved across cyberspace. That seemed like a negative in almost every way.

There was no paper shredder, but there was a waste paper basket, which Mika dug through. Something that had bothered Mika about her operation was that the nuns were able to prepare for her arrival. She didn’t know about her mission until just a day ago, so how were they able to prepare so fast? And if Mika’s operation had been leaked, then had Ashley’s operation been leaked too?

Mika found a crumpled up piece of paper in the waste paper basket buried under a half-eaten lunch. When she unfolded it, she could see a picture of Finn and Timekeeper printed at the top of the page, followed by a brief description of his abilities.

Yes. Yes it had.

Although much of Pax Septimus had been affected by the Diver’s attack, for the most part, the city’s historic district had emerged relatively unscathed. Whether this was due to some form of mystical protection, the Diver’s appreciation of Art Deco architecture, or pure coincidence was anyone’s guess, but it meant that the district’s various businesses and learning institutions continued to operate as if the recent, large-scale disaster hadn’t even taken place. Such was the case for the city’s historic library. An imposing, monolithic structure, it boasted several floors filled with books of all kinds, and even a basement archive that, rumor had it, not only connected to the catacombs below the city, but was also the home to several ghosts. Olivia Bell hadn’t seen any of them on her first visit to the library, but that was before she’d found a helpful guide who knew all the so-called “city of blood’s” myriad secrets. Thus, a return trip was most definitely in order, and so the bespectacled young woman found herself sitting on the ornate edifice’s massive steps, enjoying the crisp autumn afternoon weather as she waited for said guide to arrive.

And even if he still kinda felt like crap, Finn wasn’t going to just ghost her like that. Besides, spending some time with his new acquaintance might help take his mind off things! After a few moments the boy soon emerged from down the street, jogging over once he recognized Olivia. ”Sorry if I’m late!” He called out.

“Hi, Finn!” Olivia called back, her nasally voice filled with delight as she smiled and waved enthusiastically at the approaching young man. “And don’t worry!” she hastened to reassure him. “You’re right on time! Besides, it’s such a beautiful day, so I don’t mind sitting out here in the slightest!” she added with a giggle/snort. “The head librarian said she would be happy to give us a tour, but I told her that she didn’t have to trouble herself because I had a super knowledgeable guide of my own!” the bespectacled brunette explained, jumping to her feet and holding both hands out towards Finn. “Plus,” she added, leaning close and lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper (which, for Olivia, was about normal speaking volume). “I wanna try and sneak into the catacombs via the basement archives, since that’s where all the ghosts are supposed to be!”

The catacombs? Finn might’ve been around the block to memorize every nook and cranny possible, but he had never considered going underground. Even if they manage to sneak down there, it’d be unfamiliar territory from then onward. ”Ghosts huh? So, where’d you learn about that? The entrypoint through the library I mean.” He asked, walking up the steps to the front door.

“I read about it in one of the books I found at Mr. Torvald’s shop!” Olivia replied with an enthusiastic smile. “The head librarian also confirmed the rumors about the archives possibly being haunted when I asked her about it the first time I came here,” she added.

”Oh.” Torvald’s. Then this is going to be quite interesting. ”Then again you can argue that the librarian perpetuates the rumor to keep people coming back in hopes to catch any sign of hauntings during their stay. A lot of people like to claim things are paranormal when half the time they have a logical explanation for a lot of things, like UFO sightings for example. Who says that alien spaceship isn’t some sort of balloon some kid lost flying in the clouds? Who says those lights aren't some sort of commercial airplane making late night rounds instead of a squadron of space invaders?” Finn went on to ramble as he got the door for her. ”Yeah comparing alien sightings and paranormal activity are akin to comparing apples to oranges but it’s not like there’s any spike of dumbfuck teenagers carelessly opening portals to hell with a ouija board they stole from some shady alleyway trash dump recently. I hope.” He grimaced. He’s had more than enough demons this past week.

“Perhaps not,” a refined voice observed, its tone polite, yet still containing an unmistakable iciness. “But several adolescent hoodlums have nonetheless been causing no small amount of trouble by purposely misplacing manuscripts, speaking at an excessive volume, and using exceedingly vulgar language.” Finn would quickly discover that the voice belonged to a tall, bespectacled woman with light brown hair worn in a ponytail, and garbed in a rather antiquated ensemble, one which gave the impression that she had just stepped out of the early 1900s. “I trust, young man,” the woman continued pointedly. “That you will not deign to be counted among them.”

_”Eek!” Finn flinched at the sudden voice and presence that could only belong to the head librarian. He shrank back, instinctively adjusting himself accordingly. ”R-Right then ma’am, sorry!” He slightly bowed. Both in a formal greeting and to indicate that he understood.

“Apology accepted,” the woman replied with a slight smirk, before turning her attention to his companion. “Ah, Olivia. Am I to take it that this is the guide you mentioned earlier?” she inquired, gesturing to Finn.

“Yes, that’s right!” Olivia confirmed with an enthusiastic nod, doing her best to keep her voice at a respectful volume. “His name is Finn. And Finn, this is the head librarian,” she introduced, gesturing to the woman.

“Eleanora Everly, at your service,” the woman greeted with a polite smile, while holding out her hand to the boy.

”Nice to meet you.” The boy shook her hand, as was expected.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, young man,” she continued. “Olivia here has spoken quite highly of you.”

”R-Really? Honestly, I don’t think I’m that worth the praise, researching stuff like this is just a s-sort of a side hobby of mine.” Finn nervously chuckled.

Facing it as Timekeeper was a different story…

“Awww…! Don’t be so modest!” Olivia told him with one of her trademark giggle/snorts. “You told me you have one of those super cool conspiracy boards at home and everything! So, obviously you’re knowledgeable about this stuff, and you were also nice enough to help me when most people would’ve just called me a freak and told me to go away!”

Finn sheepishly scratched at his cheek. _{”I suppose I do get a bit too into it sometimes…”}

“In any case, I hope you both enjoy your time here,” Eleanora told them with a gentle smile. “And please do your best to keep your voices at a respectful volume.”

“Don’t worry, we will!” Olivia assured the head librarian, before taking her guide’s hand. “Come on Finn!”

”O-Okay!”

With Olivia leading the way, Finn was guided through the library’s multi-leveled central atrium, the maze of shelves beyond, and finally, to the staircase leading down to the basement archives. He tried to provide commentary as best as he could with his limited knowledge, but for the most part this ended up with him going on another ramble about something entirely unrelated to the library. “Do you come here often, Finn?” Olivia inquired as she dragged the young agent along. “I just love libraries! Back home, I used to spend most of my time in an especially charming one,” the bespectacled brunette continued. “It was quite large, but nowhere near as big as this one! But it’s where I first met my darling Xolys, so it will always have a special place in my heart!”

”Uhm, yeah, sometimes.” Finn nodded. ”U-Usually when I wanna go somewhere less…much. Being out in the city alone can get pretty overwhelming for me sometimes, so it’s good to have places like this I can retreat to.” A light shrug. ”...Sooo, there any way I can meet this Xolys fella?” He couldn’t help asking out of curiosity.

“Well, I’d love to introduce you to him, but for some strange reason, people seem to get really frightened by him, so he said it would probably be for the best if he didn’t appear in public,” Olivia replied. “Unless, of course, I was in danger,” she hastened to add. “Plus, I have to be transformed, too, and that’s kinda supposed to be a secret, but you said you deal with supernatural stuff all the time, so, um, maybe once we enter the catacombs it would be okay?” the bespectacled brunette rambled, seemingly just thinking out loud.

Frightened? Finn’s brows rose when she mentioned how other people reacted to the presence of her companion. He glanced around to see if anyone else was in their vicinity. Can’t have anyone catching them sneaking downstairs. And something about having to be transformed. Was she actually an esper too? ”Well I mean, I’m sure he’s not as scary as people make him out to be. But why do you need to transform in order for him to appear? Does it work as a sort of conduit to summon him? Is he a part of your esper form?” He asked, stepping downstairs first.

“Yes, in a manner of speaking,” Olivia confirmed as she followed Finn down. “Although I’m not actually an esper,” she clarified, lowering her voice to the quietest she’d yet been. “I’m a magical girl.”

A. What.

The boy blinked at the distinction. ”Wh-What’s the difference?” Maybe she was just ribbing him? Or calling herself a magical girl was part of her act? Or she was a Chuuni?

“Well, I don’t actually know very much about espers,” Olivia confessed. “Although from what little I’ve heard, they do sound somewhat similar. But magical girls get their powers from mystical storybooks called grimoires, and I would imagine, based on the name, that espers’ powers are psionic in nature, correct?” she inquired, her voice taking on an exceptionally eager tone. “Oh gosh, do you happen to know any espers, Finn?! My neighbor says they can be dangerous, but I’ve really been wanting to learn more about them ever since I heard they exist!”

”Erm, more or less.” He shrugged with a faint grimace. ”F-From your description of…magical girls…they function similarly to espers. Except their grimoires can be anything. _{Like a pocket watch for example.}” Finn would go on to explain how espers worked to the best of his ability. Though he did stumble on his words once or twice because the whole deal with them was complex enough, but hopefully Olivia would be able to get the gist of it?

”Or uh, well, it might be better to just demonstrate.” The boy grabbed his grimoire from his pocket and transformed into the Timekeeper on the spot.

”...Yep.” The mechanical esper awkwardly rocked back and forth on his heels as he tried to measure out Olivia’s reaction.

“Oh gosh!” Olivia exclaimed, her wide eyes gleaming with excitement. “You’re an esper, Finn?! That’s so absolutely wonderful!” By this point, they had reached the archives, and the bespectacled brunette wasted no time in darting around to look her guide over from all angles. “You know, we don’t have magical boys where I come from, so seeing one transform up close is really extraordinary! What kinds of things can you do?! I just love your steampunk aesthetic! Oh, wow!” she added in amazement as she noticed the artificial-looking joint on the young agent’s neck (having throughly invaded his personal space in her unbridled glee). “Are you some kind of cyborg?! Or perhaps a mannequin?! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say your grimoire was Pinocchio!” she declared with a giggle/snort. “Or maybe a steampunk-style alter,” she noted thoughtfully as she continued her rambles. “Oh! You probably don’t know anything about them! You see, alters are grimoires that tell a version of their story that’s been modified from the original in some way,” the babbling brunette explained. “For example, my grimoire is an alter of Beauty and The Beast!” In the time it took Finn to blink, Olivia had produced an ornate, hardcover book, upon which several dozen shimmering blue jewels formed the image of a rose. “My friend Chinami says that girls with altered grimoires are often picked on and treated as outcasts, but everyone at Marrywell Academy has treated me with nothing but kindness since my first day there! Which was really nice, since I’ve always been treated as an outcast everywhere else long before I ever became a magical girl.”

It took Finn a few seconds to process the sudden excitement and deluge of information from the bespectacled girl, akin to a computer taking a moment to load up a file. He blinked in dumbfoundment before speaking up once more,

”I-I guess that’s fair.” The way he was built did make him look like a puppet of sorts. He tilted his head at the book. ”So your grimoires all take the forms of storybooks, with some having the rare chance of being alternate retellings. There a power scale to it? Like do written mythos have more power than your typical fairytale? How different do these ‘alters’ have to be to be formally classified as such?” The mechanical esper went on to ask.

“Well, from what I’ve been told, any story that’s a deviation from the original is considered an alter,” Olivia replied. “As for power levels, there are three, based on how old a story is and its global impact. First are fables, then legends (which is what my grimoire is classed as), and finally myths, which are kinda rare. Of course, I didn’t learn any of that until I started attending Marrywell,” she added. “But what about you, Finn?” she asked, leaning in close to the young agent, her eyes seeming to sparkle. “What kind of abilities do you have, and how did you become an esper? Were you just born as one?”

”Espers aren’t really born. Their grimoires choose the wielders. You can argue the possibility of bloodlines being naturally compatible with them but no one really knows.” He began walking again, looking for the entrance to the catacombs. ”An esper’s magic follows the theme of their glamor, and their element. Mine’s lightning, and as you can probably guess…” Finn motions over himself. ”My kit revolves around time itself. The notes I use lean more towards supportive melodies- Uhm. Think of it like weaving a spell, but these days it feels like I’m…” The boy trailed off, his expression twisting to a frown. ”It’s like I’m more made to hurt people. And I hate it. It- It really sucks.” He shook his head in disdain.

“Y-You’re forced to hurt people…?” Olivia asked hesitantly, her once eager smile dissolving into a confused (and concerned) frown. “I thought espers fought monsters, just like magical girls do. U-Um, so, does that mean your grimoire controls what you do? Is it what makes you hurt people?”

Finn quickly shook his head. ”Nonono, I’m not saying I’m forced to! _{A-At least I don’t think…} It just feels like I haven’t had the best luck since starting out, y’know?” He clarified. ”Espers do fight monsters too but sometimes we have to fight people, magi, other espers, it’s all a bit too complicated to explain in one sitting. Just know a lot of espers have differences in ideologies and goals?” They’re all human at the end of the day, after all.

“I think I understand,” Olivia replied. “Back at school, there was a magical girl who could control monsters called Pageless and used them to attack some students. She had good intentions, but she still went about things the wrong way,” the bespectacled brunette explained. “Hurting innocent people, even if it’s to free them from some perceived captivity, is never right. That’s why we had to fight her, but, even so, I’m still willing to forgive her,” the nerdy girl added with a smile. “And I still hope that, someday, we can work together as friends!”

Glad at least one of us can still be hopeful.

Finn nodded with a faint smile. ”Though, bit of warning, it’d most likely take something drastic against her in order for her to see that her methods were in the wrong. I get not wanting to hurt her, using a more pacifistic approach, but some people just need a good smackdown in order to get their heads straight.”

“I guess you’re probably right about that…” Olivia conceded. “A-Anyways, it looks like we got a bit distracted,” the bespectacled brunette noted as she looked around the musty, dimly-lit archives. “Um, I think the book said there was a hidden passage behind that shelf there,” she added, pointing to a long shelf along the far back wall.

Finn walked over to the shelf and scanned over the books, occasionally pulling a few down to see if it was your typical secret-lever-disguised-as-a-book door.

Olivia giggle/snorted as she watched Finn search for some sort of concealed mechanism on the shelf itself, before stepping over to the young agent. “Um, I think we have to move it,” she advised. “The entrance is probably built into the wall itself.”

The boy stepped back with a huff. ”Figures. Right!” He stepped to the side of the shelf and began to push it away from the wall.

Once the shelf was out of the way, a faint rectangular outline could be discerned on the brick wall behind it. This was clearly the entrance to the catacombs. “Oh wow!” Olivia exclaimed in delight. “It’s just like the book said!” Rushing over to the secret door, she began examining it closely. “Hmmm… I wonder how it opens…”

Finn tilted his head in thought. ”There a secret button? Is the wall weak? I could try and break it open while I’m still…y’know.” He glanced down at himself, it had only occurred to him that he was still in esper form. But hey, might as well make the most of it, he’d need to keep Olivia safe once they reached the catacombs anyways.

“Maybe one of the bricks needs to be pressed in,” Olivia suggested. “Let’s see if there’s one with some distinctive markings on it.”

”Secret button then. Let’s see…” The timekeeper stepped up next to her and began feeling around the wall for any loose bricks.

Soon enough, Finn came upon a brick that sunk into the wall at his touch, causing the rectangular outline to depress with a burst of dust and swing open, revealing a stone staircase leading into the darkened depths beyond.

“You did it, Finn!” Olivia cheered. “Oh gosh! This is just like Indiana Jones!” she added with a giggle/snort. “Did you bring a flashlight with you?” she inquired as she peered into the darkness. “I brought one of my own, but it’s still nice to have a backup, just in case. I mean, I guess I could always transform and have Xolys illuminate things with his eldritch flames, but it doesn’t look like there’s too much space down there, and I wouldn’t want him to get stuck. Plus, he might scare the ghosts away! Wouldn’t that be awful?!”

”uh…yeah. I don’t have a flashlight flashlight, but my phone does.” The boy searched his pockets and pulled out the aforementioned device. ”Shall we then?”

“Yes, let’s!” Olivia agreed with an enthusiastic nod. “You know, this is almost as exciting as the slumber party we had in my school’s haunted music room!” she added with a giggle/snort as she started down the steps.

Haunted music room. Huh. ”Your uh, school sounds interesting…” Finn aimed his phone flashlight down the steps into unfamiliar territory. He was a bit tense, if he was being honest. But it should be fine.

Should.

“Oh, yes!” Olivia told him, her nasally voice filled with delight. “It’s a wonderful school! The teachers are so knowledgeable and kind! Well, Miss Valeria is sort of rough around the edges, but she’s still very encouraging! And I met so many wonderful friends there! Like my roommate, Suzuya, and Bonnie, who helped me organize the sleepover! Oh! And the sleepover itself was super fun!” she continued to happily babble away as they descended the steps. “Since it was October, we decided to make it a Halloween party, and some of the teachers and students actually wore costumes! Even Xolys dressed up as a bedsheet ghost so he wouldn’t scare away the actual ghosts!” she added with a giggle/snort. “But the very best part was how, when we got to the music room, it had transformed into a gothic castle! It was absolutely incredible, and I had so much fun exploring it! Did you do anything fun for Halloween, Finn?”

The boy hummed in thought. ”Think me and a few friends from school had a movie night last Halloween? Was pretty easy getting enough candy for all of us.” He shrugged. ”Horror movies don’t really phase me that much, to be honest.”

“They don’t really bother me very much either,” Olivia replied. “I usually find the parts other people are bothered by really interesting, which is probably why everyone at my old school always called me a freak and told me I belonged in a mental institution. I mean, there is this one that’s supposed to be haunted, but there’s no guarantee that’s the one my parents would have sent me to,” she continued. “And the rumor that it was haunted might not even have been true! Like with the Marrywell music room. Even though it was mysteriously turned into a beautiful castle, I didn’t get to see even a single ghost! Although, after the party, while darling Xolys and I were walking down one of the corridors, we met the most adorable little…”

Hello, Finn, a new voice spoke up. I’m pretty sure Olivia here is going to keep rambling for about… I’d say fifteen minutes at least, which should give us plenty of time to have a little chat. Oh, and try not to freak out, but only you can hear me. I know hearing voices might be a little strange… well, maybe not so much in your case, but we wouldn’t want Olivia to think you’re completely nuts. Of course, I could chat with her, too, but if I went around popping into the brains of everyone and their dog, it would cause some pretty MAJOR problems. So, for now, it’s just you and me, having a nice little chat in the cozy confines of your little mind, not unlike the stroll you’re taking through these utterly isolated and charmingly claustrophobic catacombs. Uh, you didn’t happen to annoy Olivia before coming down here, did you? Otherwise she might decide to stage an impromptu reenactment of ‘The Cask of Amontillado’. The voice was silent for a moment. That was a joke. Anyways, as for who I am, let’s just say I’m a friendly ghost, but my name’s not Casper, or Oliver, for that matter. I mean, I’d love to just come right out and tell you exactly who I am, but I think it’s best if we preserve a sense of mystery here. Although I will say that, while my voice might possibly be mistaken for that of a prepubescent boy, such as yourself, I am, in fact, a woman, albeit one who has absolutely zero interest in joining that ridiculous little harem of yours, so don’t get any stupid ideas. That said, you don’t need to worry, Finn. I’m here to help you. I’ve been following your exploits for quite some time, and recently, I’ve noticed that you’re starting to resemble someone I REALLY can’t stand, so I thought I would step in to make a slight course correction. Full disclosure, I wasn’t initially planning on having this little intervention, and the mere fact I’m even talking to you right now is breaking some pretty massive rules, but desperate times call for desperate measures and I’ve always made it a point to give rules a middle finger whenever I possibly can. Look, I know you have problems, Finn, but closing yourself off isn’t going to make them disappear, and neither is getting ‘psychiatric aid’ from a perverted lunatic who runs around with buttered toast hanging out of their fucking mouth like some shitty anime character. However, unlike her, I actually am a doctor, and I actually want to help you. So just relax, and if all goes well, you’ll end up in a much better state than when you came down here, plus you’ll have a cool ghost story to tell Olivia. Okay? Oh, and, uh, just ‘think’ your responses. Otherwise things’ll get really awkward really fast.

What the fuck.

Frankly I’m not sure if I can trust a voice in my head after the Dante shit left me second guessing myself by the hour. Finn furrowed his brows. The voice could swear he mentally sighed. But then again, my job’s on the line, and my team probably hates my guts right now. I fear your worst might be better than the alternative at the rate I’m going. …Also what do you mean harem?!

It was mostly a joke, the voice replied. But I’m sure you haven’t failed to notice how girls seem to be drawn to you like moths to the proverbial flame, and not just in the romantic sense, either. For some reason, they like you, Finn. They’re concerned about you, and do you know why that is? Do you know why Mary and Betty are so obsessed with you? Why Klava and Ashley both wanted to fill the void left by your too-busy-to-give-a-fuck actual older sibling? Why Olivia made you her tour guide? Why Oros calls you Penny Jr.? It’s because, despite being a perpetual fuck up, you’re important. You matter. You have a unique, almost imperceptible, but still undeniable charisma, even if it’s only because you’re seen as cute, non-threatening, pitiful, or maybe even as having some hidden potential (which you actually do have, by the way). And that’s a good thing, Finn. A very good thing. It’s certainly not something you should be afraid of, or try to resist, even if it’ll bring a little discomfort along the way. Which is why I’m so glad to hear that you’re willing to have this little therapy session. If Ashley’s any indication, it’ll do wonders.

Finn subtly nodded along to the infodump, even if he felt slightly uncomfortable with how much she knew of him. Spine-chilling, considering the last time. But things that hadn’t even crossed his mind before. If I’m so important, why is my luck so shit then? …Hm, unless there’s some sort of penance effect going on here. A price paid for advantage elsewhere. Popularity draws in unsavory sorts, power brings about instability, love from others… He frowned. All eyes on you, watching your next move, ready to abandon you once you’ve gone against their perceptions. Right?

Wow, you sure are quite the pessimist, the voice snarked. Looks like you needed this chat even more than I thought. The fact is, Finn, someone in your situation is always going to face adversity, but it’s up to you if you’re going to put forth the effort needed to overcome it. Plus, if you’re creative, you can put your suffering to good use. Life is pain, Finn. The lives of the truly exceptional even more so. I may only feel physical pain exceedingly rarely, but I experience emotional pain more often than I’d like to think about. For example, I recently offered to help a certain someone, offered to bestow upon them all sorts of amazing gifts, only for them to turn around and SPIT IN MY FUCKING FACE!!! I don’t have to worry about you doing that to me, do I, Finn? For your sake, I sure hope not. Anyways, the point is everyone feels disappointment. Everyone feels pain. It’s what they do with it that matters. Look at Ashley. I gave her one of these pep talks a while back, too. Remember when you raided Justin’s mansion and brainwashed Betty kicked your whiny ass? I do. In fact, I replay that scene when I’m feeling particularly depressed and need something to laugh at, like when that individual I mentioned COMPLETELY FUCKED OVER ALL MY GLORIOUS PLANS FOR HIM!!!

The voice paused for a moment to catch her breath.

Ahem. As I was saying, while you were reduced to a mangled, sobbing mess in that corridor, pathetically pleading for Betty to come back, Ashley was having a bit of a breakdown of her own. She’d just escaped Justin’s literal shit hole of a dungeon, where he keeps all his cannon fodder thralls, innocent victims she had to kill her way through, only to find out that every last one of the hostages she’d been trying to save back at the entrance hall had all been slaughtered. I think we can both agree that was way worse than what you went through. In fact, it was enough to make her question why she was even granted the powers of an esper in the first place. Which was when I decided to intervene. And now look at her! Yes, she’s felt despair and heartache since then, but she’s always pushed through it! Even with all the crap she went on to endure, she never needed someone to hold her hand and help her through it. She was able to manage on her own. Meanwhile, what’s the first thing you do when things get a little too stressful? ‘Oh Betty! Please hold me and have ice cream with me so I can forget about the teammates I just abandoned and all the people I just murdered like a total fucking psychopath!’ Do you see the difference? You mustn’t run away from your problems, Finn. You need to stand up to them and kick ‘em in the balls! As I told Ashley, life may be pain, but pain is weakness leaving the body. Embrace the pain, Finn, use it to make yourself stronger. You want to be stronger, don’t you? Of course you do. You want people to stop seeing you as the pathetic little kid who always fucks everything up and then runs off and cries about it. That’s a very admirable goal to work towards, and one you’re fully capable of achieving. That said, the choice ultimately lies with you, so what’s it gonna be, Finn? Do you wanna actually learn from your mistakes, or are you just gonna keep repeating them?

Depends, are you ACTUALLY trying to help me or are you trying to kick me down and spit in my face? Finn bit back at the voice becoming more hostile in her words, her admittance in finding sadistic glee in a moment he was most powerless, and the weird grudge against this someone. Something in the back of the boy’s mind was trying to crawl its way back to the surface and between it and the tripe from this twat, it was giving him quite the headache.

One: I wasn’t being pessimistic, I was being realistic. Have you ever heard or seen how quickly people abandon ship and distance themselves from famous celebrities, creators, and social media influencers whenever they catch wind that the famous person isn’t as flawless as they make themselves out to be? Or whatever the fans led themselves to think? Not to mention some celebrities are actually vile as fuck outside of the view of their audience but there’s always people that don’t give a shit either way about who someone is outside of their ideal of who they are. As long as that ideal isn’t shattered, no one really cares about the real them. Get put in the spotlight and you’re expected to give a damn good show. He never understood why he became so popular. Two: Just because pain is expected doesn’t mean it’d magically hurt any less when it happens, so how the fuck am I supposed to use it to my advantage, hm? Yeah, I know, I need to get a proper therapist that doesn’t try to ask for my sister’s phone number and all that at some point but do you got any bippity-boppity-bullshit you can pull since you apparently know so much about me and Ashley apparently? _{I didn’t even know she had to go through all that…} It was like the universe was telling him to just shut up and bear it. Three: Leave Betty out of this. Christ alive, our popularity and Oros sparing me just cause I agreed to TRY and see if we’re compatible is bullshit enough, this is just getting ridiculous. Four: It sounds like you’re only doing this just so that you can get back at whoever-the-fuck apparently hurt you that badly, Finn sharply took a deep breath, despite not speaking out loud.

And lastly: If I’m such a irredeemable psychopath, why should I care about what any of you think, Doc? You could easily just focus on Ashley instead of bothering with such a perpetual failure.

The boy’s eyes suddenly widened, as if he’d struck an epiphany. Why should he care about what anyone thinks?

That’s an excellent question, Finn, the voice replied, sounding quite pleased with how things were proceeding, despite the young agent’s little outburst. In fact, that whole pissed off rant of yours shows that we’re making some real progress here. I mean, I would have been pretty disappointed if all you did was nod along and passively acquiesce to everything I was saying like some mindlessly obedient child. But instead, you’re actually getting defensive! You’re standing up for yourself, facing a challenge head on! Well done, Finn! the voice commended. This is exactly what I’ve been talking about. And since you made the effort to organize your points so neatly, I’ll address each in turn. But before we get to that, I’d like to answer your first question. Yes, Finn, I actually do want to help you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to coddle you. You don’t want to be coddled, do you Finn?

I want you to be honest.

Well, lucky for you, I am being honest, the voice told him. Now back to those points you raised… First, almost everyone I’ve ever met is less intelligent than I am by several orders of magnitude, so I couldn’t really give a single fuck what they think, and you shouldn’t care, either. That said, not everyone will be so quick to turn against you. Like I said earlier, there are plenty of people who genuinely care about you, and the fact that they don’t always pander to you like some fragile little baby is actually a good thing. But we’ll talk about that some more in a bit. Next, I’d like to correct a little misapprehension you seem to have. I never said you’d hurt any less, I said to use that hurt as a power source, as fuel. Turn that pain, that anger, into strength. You’re actually doing it right now. Clearly I struck a nerve, but instead of wallowing in self pity, you struck back at me! That’s great, Finn! It means there’s still hope for you. And I’ve got a LOT of ‘bippity-boppity-bullshit’ I can give you, but for now, all you’re getting is this chat, and, with any luck, it should be all the help you’ll need. But only if you agree to cooperate. I brought up Betty because she’s inextricably linked to your current situation. Your desire to save her, to defend her even now, is the source of a great deal of your motivation, so you better bet your ass I’m going to address it. And let’s get another thing straight, the voice went on. I’m not doing this to get back at that sorry piece of shit I mentioned earlier, I’m doing this to ensure you don’t become him! He was a total disappointment right to the very end, but you don’t have to be! You’re not irredeemable, Finn. If you were, I wouldn’t even be talking with you right now. Like I already mentioned, Ashley doesn’t need my help anymore, but you do. And I believe you can be helped, but only if you want to be. It’s like you just realized, you shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks. It’s what you want that matters. This is something you need to do for yourself, Finn. So, do you want to be helped, or not?”

If you’re not gonna turn-tail and try to kill me too, then knock yourself out. If they were talking in person he would’ve shrugged.

Excellent. In that case, let’s begin with your recent debacle at the diner. Tell me, why do you think things went as poorly as they did?

Finn mentally groaned. Are you gonna rehash that I disobeyed Ashley’s orders and caused a chain reaction that resulted in everything going up in blood, fire, and smoke? That I shouldn’t have expected either her or Estelle to work with me because neither of them want to work with such a loose cannon? Or are you going to mention that I put too much faith in Dante actually being willing to listen when most of these fuckwits I’ve faced so far have only looked out for themselves? I followed Dr. Moller’s orders to kill on sight, and yet SHE gets a quick promotion to second-in-command for doing nothing but being a punching bag? What a blatant ‘fuck you!’. She could hear a bitting, sarcastic laugh afterwards. And before you mention it, I know, I also fucked up by running off too. But that’s ‘cause I didn’t want to kill Amanda either. I didn’t know she was real.

He went silent for a moment.

... Perhaps I should’ve. You know, catch her in the moment of weakness? But I honestly think my co-workers would’ve frowned upon that too. Can’t win with them. That line of thought only served to further his epiphany.

You certainly have one hell of a victim complex, huh? the voice noted with what seemed to be a mocking smirk. The truth is, Finn, while this universe may treat you as its personal punching bag, not everyone is out to get you. Let’s address your various complaints one at a time. Yes, you disobeyed orders and caused everything to go to hell, but it seems you fully understand that, and are fully prepared to take responsibility for that particular fuckup, which is very commendable. I think your biggest problem is the second point you brought up, the whole, ‘nobody wants to help me’ bit. You see, Finn, contrary to what you might think, the reason your teammates didn’t come rushing to your aid was because they were dealing with their own issues. If you’ll recall, there were only three of you against roughly twice that many adversaries. And do you remember why that combat began in the first place? It was because you decided to play the hero and order your fellow agents, including your immediate superior, to save a group of schoolgirls. It might interest you to know that Ashley and Estelle were in the middle of actually doing that when you were mentally whining about how they had ‘abandoned you’. Oh, and they did their fair share of killing, too. In fact, Ashley took out almost as many hostiles as you did. The only reason she decided to be a ‘punching bag’ for so long was to give the defenseless civilians that you wanted to save time to get out of the building! As for Dante, why would he be willing to listen when you barged into his diner and acted so aggressively? You threatened him, Finn. How else was he supposed to act? If you’d gone around the back like Ashley suggested, maybe things wouldn’t have escalated quite so quickly. Instead, you walked right into a fucking powder keg. Of course it was gonna become a clusterfuck. Finally, it’s just a hypothesis, but maybe Moller promoted Ashley because she not only followed orders, but also stuck around to deal with the repercussions of doing so. I’m pretty sure she didn’t want to use lethal force on Amanda either, but she didn’t have much choice. It might have been hard for her, scratch that, it was hard for her, but she still did what had to be done and took responsibility for her actions.

The voice took a deep breath before exhaling it in a weary sigh.

Look, Finn. The real problem isn’t that you fucked up, it’s that you didn’t own up to it. You want to be the badass hero who calls the shots? Fine. But then don’t complain when you come face to face with all the hardships that role entails. I mean, it would have been one thing if you had said ‘I’ll handle Dante, you rescue the girls!’, but all you did was complain that no one was rushing to hold your hand when the Big Bad came after you. So here’s my next question- what do you wanna be, Finn? The whiny little kid who falls apart when things get too tough, or the epic hero who takes one look at adversity and kicks it in the nuts?

Oh if only she could see the look on his face. It took some considerable willpower to draw back the anger this “voice” was feeding. _Dickhead. The reason WHY I complained so much was cause I realized I was at a major disadvantage against Dante and expected my T E A M to actually coordinate and back each other up, you know, act like an actual T E A M? And, fuck, it’s not even the first time I’d been left alone like that, but hey! AT LEAST BETTY WAS A H U M A N! If Finn was facing the source of the voice he’d most likely attempt to behead her by now, wouldn’t he?

Undoubtedly.

I was even considering offering to step away willingly and help out around the workplace in a way asides active fieldwork, but now I’m starting to think I should cut my damn losses and get out while I still can, since apparently I can’t be assed to work in a pathetic excuse of a T E A M, why NOT go back to flying solo if I’m so apparently powerful enough to do so?

So to answer your second question, Doc, I don’t necessarily see a point in being an epic hero like I’ve for some reason became in the public’s eyes. I’m just trying to do my job.

I was afraid we might reach this little impasse, the voice said with a disappointed sigh. Sometimes, a team has to delegate responsibility. Did you want them to just abandon the helpless schoolgirls, Finn? Was their safety not more important than your own? You seemed to think so when you ran off all hot headed to try and rescue them in the first place, the voice noted pointedly. Anyway, if you truly just want to ‘do your job’ like a good little secondary character, then I would suggest that you actually be a team player yourself, instead of trying to steal the spotlight at the first opportunity. In case you didn’t notice, your teammates were trying to help you by getting answers about your little ‘condition’ in the least problematic way possible. But you’re right. If you want to be a moody brat who just does whatever he feels like, then you should probably just go back to being a freelancer. After all, you only joined G.E.M.I.N.I. to save Betty, right? Well, she’s safe now, mission accomplished, so why keep hanging around with people you obviously can’t stand?

The wryest of smiles formed on the boy’s face.

Why indeed.

That was a genuine question, Finn, the voice deadpanned.

And you think I actually have an answer…? He internally deflated. I guess I had high hopes for this job at first? But then Miss Fang died, then Miss Leroux and Mr. Howard got redeployed elsewhere, and now this. Feels like people everywhere are abandoning ship, from what I hear. More freelancers than otherwise these days. Finn couldn’t really say if that was a good thing, even they were strained due to dark web espers. Is it really gonna be worth grinning and bearing this shit, Doc?

Yes, it will, because you have the power to make a difference, even more so than my dear Ashley, but only if you stop moping around and murder this little victim complex of yours like you murder everything else that stands in your way! This isn’t the time for weakness, Finn! Major events have been set into motion, and you need to face them head on! Own up to your full potential, and you can be the greatest esper in this city! Or, you can go back to your old life, the meaningless life of a powerless child. Fuck quitting G.E.M.I.N.I., you can quit being an esper entirely! Just throw your grimoire and that other super mysterious pocket watch what’s-her-smug-face gave you down the nearest storm drain and watch all the big, scary decisions go away with them!

The voice paused for a moment.

Some might say that you’ve been given far too much responsibility for someone so young, that you’d be crazy to keep doing this, and that the only sane course of action is to walk away from this shitstorm as fast as possible. Are they right, Finn? Do you really believe that being an esper is too much for you to handle?

There’s only one logical conclusion from this conversation either way, is there? After a pause from his end, he “spoke” again: I’ll humor your and everyone else’s…assumptions of me for now, but I’m not gonna play into the good boy act while I do it.

And what, exactly, do you mean by that, Finn?

You know for someone who claims her intellect is above all, you’re really slow on the uptake. I meant if people wanna see me as a killer, I might as well embrace it.

I simply wanted to clarify, the voice replied. And that’s good, Finn. Fully embracing the identity you wish to create for yourself is one of the core lessons I’ve been trying to get you to take to heart. And speaking of clarifying, I want to make sure you fully understand what that entails.

Not really one he wished to create for himself, only what always came natural. Of course I do.

Then tell me, Finn, what have you learned from our little chat?

Embrace the hand I’ve been dealt?

In a manner of speaking, the voice conceded. But instead of just passively resigning yourself to it, you need to actively use everything that comes your way as material with which to build the future you want, and you can only do that if you have a clear goal in mind. So, what is your goal, Finn? What do you actually want to achieve by being an esper?

Finn blinked. I…actually don’t know. I’ve not really had a goal in mind besides protecting Betty. He admitted.

Well, my advice is to get one. Sooner, rather than later. Otherwise, you’re still that confused, lost child you hate people viewing you as.

Right.

(sigh) Y’know, I really wanted to believe that this little chat of ours was going to have a bit more substantial of an effect on your mental state moving forward, but I suppose that was never going to be the case. For what it’s worth, I really do hope you’ll take what I’ve told you to heart and actually succeed where that other fuck up I mentioned utterly failed, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?

Wow, aren't you a ray of sunshine? I’m not just gonna suddenly know what my purpose is or whatever. I think as I work, go with the flow, all that stuff. You can say this little conversation of ours is a good nudge into one direction, but I hope you don’t expect any credit or anything. Whatever happens, happens. If I get hit with an epiphany, I’ll fax you or…however this works. Finn “spoke” up.

So yeah, wait and see.

And, after another moment,

_{I’m sorry I hurt you.}

There was a period of silence, broken only by the background noise of Olivia’s continued ramblings, and then…

Apology accepted, the voice replied. Although, if you really wanna make it up to me, you’ll prove that our little chat wasn’t a colossal waste of time and actually put the lessons I’ve imparted into practice, like Ashley has done. After all, while I don’t see us ever speaking again, I’m always watching…

“…and then she said that espers were really dangerous,” Olivia was saying. “And she told me I shouldn’t try to find any, despite my interest, but you’re an esper, and you’ve been nothing but the kindest and most helpful person since the moment we met! In fact, I couldn’t imagine you hurting anyone!” she added with a giggle/snort. “You know, we’ve been walking for quite a while now, and we still haven’t run into any ghosts! Do you think we might have taken a wrong turn somewhere?” the bespectacled brunette inquired. “I mean, this place is quite labyrinthian… In fact, I’d be really concerned about being lost down here forever if I didn’t have a guide with me!” she added with another giggle/snort as she gave Finn a big smile. “You probably know these catacombs like the back of your hand!”

”Oh, uhm,” With that out of the way, Finn could finally focus his full attention back to Olivia. ”Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever been down here.” The mechanical esper grimaced. ”I’ve been around the block so many times around the city but I’ve never been underground like…this…” He trailed off, voice growing quieter. He stopped walking.

”We’re- L-Let’s head back before it gets late!” The Timekeeper glanced back at Olivia with concern.

“Oh, gosh! Does something happen if it gets to be a certain time?!” Olivia inquired, her nasally voice filled with a mixture of concern and excited curiosity.

”N-Not really, just- just better safe than sorry-” Finn gently grabbed Olivia’s arm and started walking back from the direction they came from.

“B-But, you’re an esper, right?” Olivia protested. “Wouldn’t you be able to protect us from anything dangerous we might encounter? Since, well, if there is some kind of dangerous creature down here, I’d very much like to see it!” she added eagerly.

Finn sighed. ”Yeah, but I don’t know what’s down here. And frankly I had a long conversation with an annoying ghost that ended up distracting me, so…” He stopped to glance around, trying to remember the path. ”I just- Hopefully we’re not lost??”

Any worry Olivia might have felt about the possibility of Finn not actually being able to get them back to the surface was completely subsumed by the gleeful excitement generated by the prior piece of information the Timekeeper had almost nonchalantly revealed.

“Ohmygoshyouactuallytalkedtoaghost?!” Olivia exclaimed, her words coming out in a lightning-fast torrent as she moved her face to within mere inches of the young esper’s own. “Whatdidtheysoundlike?!Whatdidtheysay?! Wereyouabletoseethem?! Ohgoshthisissoooexciting!”

”S-Slow down!” Finn panicked in response, pausing to catch up to her questions.

”Right, uhm, it was a young girl I think, around our age? Hard to explain what she said cause it ended up turning into a bit of an argument in the middle of it, no I didn’t see her but she talked through some sorta mental link? Psychic? Whatever it was.” He did his best to explain.

“Oh wow! So, did she say if she was actually the spirit of someone who died down here, or if she was just an ectoplasmic entity who was drawn to this location?!” Olivia asked. “Oh, and, um, sorry for getting overexcited, earlier…” she apologized. “I just find this sorta stuff to be absolutely fascinating!”

”Er, guess you can say she was drawn here, yeah.”

“What else did she have to tell you?!” Olivia pressed. “And you said you had an argument with her? What was that about?! Did she come here just to yell at you?! Oh, goodness! Y-You didn’t kill her, did you Finn?!”

The boy chuckled dumbfoundedly. ”If I somehow killed HER? I’d eat my goggles.” He shook his head. ”Don’t worry about it, ‘k?” Finn gave Olivia a crooked smile.

“Oh, okay,” Olivia acquiesced. “I was just beginning to get worried that a vengeful ghost had started haunting you! I’m really glad to hear that isn’t the case,” she added with a relieved smile. “It’s too bad she didn’t want to talk with me though… So, um, anyways, do you really think we should start heading back now? I was hoping we could explore some more…”

Finn shrugged. ”Much luckier than I am in that regards.” The boy glanced around again, thinking. ”Well, if you insist we explore a bit longer we could-” He suddenly cut himself off, eyes glued to the quickest sight of the tail end of a royal blue cape passing by and disappearing behind the corner.

Well. Perhaps they can still catch a ghost! Without thinking much further, he began following the direction of the passing silhouette.

“Huh? Is something wrong?” Olivia asked. “Oh! Did that ghost start talking to you again?!”

”Different ghost!!” He calls back, with a surprisingly excited grin. As if to further his point, the two would hear a giggle echoing through the catacombs; one befitting of a young ghost.

”This way!”

“O-Okay!” Olivia replied as she hurried after him, her own grin having returned in full force. Indeed, the bespectacled brunette couldn’t believe her luck! Maybe she really would get to see an actual ghost after all!

Only time would tell…

It was easy for an esper in Pax Septimus to find themselves down in the dumps. With a few exceptions, most espers were regular people that weren’t accustomed to dealing with daily life or death situations. Their situations were often complicated, and they took the line of work they did out of necessity or obligation rather than a love for killing monsters or other humans. It involved a lot of complicated feelings, and seldom did an esper leave the operation feeling fully satisfied with the outcome. Often, what gave them the strength to keep going were the people who they surrounded themselves with. Maybe it was family, friends, or even a fellow esper who could understand everything the job entailed. A pillar for a weary soul to lean on. Trixy understood the importance of such a pillar, and tried to be that for as many people as possible.

Though Trixy might have wanted to be that for everyone, many people found her irritating to be around. Most humans at least. Perhaps her rampant flirting was just a bit too desperate. Maybe she had too many daddy issues, and was too ugly to be worth the hassle. Perhaps that was why she ended up joining Maverick alternative in the end. Monsters just understood her better than people did.

That seemed to be the case with the Bastion’s newest additions. Boteg was a golden dragon that seemed like he was scared of most paranormal entities, yet was fiercely protective of Amanda, another new addition. It wasn’t confirmed yet, but she was the offspring of two relatively strong monsters.Neither of them were fit for combat, but in time that would change. But Trixie wasn’t here to train them, nor did she really care about how strong they may become. She was going to be Amanda and Boteg’s friends. So far, she had been knocking it out of the park.

She felt, anyway.

Boteg, Amanda, and Trixy were all gathered around a plastic folding table. They were playing Uno, which was a game neither of them were very familiar with, but Tetrad had played it with Trixy a few times. What made this game special was that it was the first time Amanda had offered to play with her, rather than wait for Trixy to invite her to play.

”You didn’t say Uno!” Amanda tapped the draw pile while giving Boteg a firm stare.

The dragon, who was presently human up to his neck, folded his arms. ”Me thinks thou rule is most strange. Little scare heard me say ‘last’ did thou not?“

”But that’s not the rules!” She poked the pile again. ”Maybe you said something, but it wasn’t Uno, and it has to be Uno!”

Boteg gave Trixy a pleading stare, but he wasn’t going to find much help there. She gave the dragon a pained smile. ”You know Boteg, I think the way you sound is really cool, but you do have a habit of taking what people say and distorting it. We’re not picking on you, but it might be worth trying to say the right word as an exercise.“ The dragon only groaned in response before taking a few cards. He had yet to win a single game.

”Me thinks you made up that rule to prevent me from winning!“

Amanda laughed. ”No! It really is in the official rules!”

It was nice to see that Amanda was able to laugh. Unfortunately, living vicariously through other people was all she could do to feel happy at the moment. With a sigh, she played a card. ”You’re up, Amanda.“

”Are you okay?”

”Yes?“

”But you sighed.”

Trixy held out her hand. ”I’ve got seven cards, I don’t think I’m winning.“ she said before playing one. Not that six was any better.

”You sighed before I came to get you too.”

”I finished working out.“

”You don’t work out.”

”I just started.“

”Trixy…” Amanda lowered her cards. ”I wanted to play with you today because you seemed a little… Agitated? I don’t know, but I was hoping you could tell me. Boteg agrees with me.”

”Grinning scare is not grinning today.“ the dragon noted.

Trixy sighed, again. She had been cornered. This card game had been a way to get Amanda to open up to her, and it seemed like Amanda was using it to get to know Trixy better. She didn’t mind that, but of all the things to ask about…

”You sure you want to know?“ Amanda nodded. ”Alright, well to start, I’m not exactly lucky with my love life. None of my dates ever go anywhere.“

”I remember you coming to Dante’s a few times.” Amanda answered. ”We never met, but I was always in the back room. You came often enough that I remembered you.”

”Okay.“ Trixy decided not to bring up the fact that her waitress had been kidnapping her dates, many of which were still MIA. She also decided not to get into how the waitress was dealt with by Finn and… ”I met this girl though. Woman, I guess. Really cool person, super chill, and a total super cutie.“ Even now, thinking about Klava’s beauty brought warmth to every part of Trixy’s being. ”But she’s been MIA for a while. I think she might not be of this world anymore.“

Amanda froze, taking far too long to consider her next words. ”This wasn’t Klava, was it?”

Trixy knew that Amanda was aware of who Klava was, or more importantly, that she had assisted gear boy on a job. Denying the woman’s identity would have been the best for keeping the peace, but she cursed her weakness. ”Yes. That is her name.“

”She’s alive.”

Trixy blinked. ”Excuse me?“

”She’s alive.” Amanda repeated. ”At least, she was as of last week. My father placed a curse on both Klava and Time Keeper. I was in her dreams about seven days ago, so she might be missing, but she’s alive.”

”You didn’t get any hints to her whereabouts, did you?“

”Sorry, not really. But isn’t there a detective esper in Pax now?”

Trixy nodded a few times as a smile spread across her face. ”Well, I’m glad I decided to talk to you about that! Thanks Amanda! I’ll have to look into that detective later.“

”Don’t mention it. We’re friends, right?” Amanda played a card.

Boteg eyed the card for a moment, and then a devilish smile crossed his face. ”Thou hath forgotten to say ’Uno!’“