BrokenPromise

Symphony of Espers

@The World Talked to Erode about it. It's a little complicated for a silver genre, and we don't think it's a good idea to have specials that can act as spells.

Also, guess I'll put my pending upgrades here.

INSTRUMENT: Bipartisan

Bipartisan is a large caliber hand gun paired with a steel riot shield. No extra frills. It's awkward to manage, but Su's accuracy doesn't suffer.

GRADE: Silver
KEYWORD: Handgun, Greatshield
DAMAGE TYPE: Physical
DAMAGE: C
SPEED: E
SENTINEL: B
SPECIAL: Blast Zone: When the face of the shield slams into an opponent, it releases a small explosion of debris. This inflicts as much arcane damage as an E grade damage note.

INSTRUMENT: Pit Boss

A staff that has been curved into a loop. It's not very practical as a weapon, but it does make it easier for Luna to tap into her magic.

GRADE: Silver
KEYWORD: Staff
DAMAGE TYPE: Arcane
DAMAGE: D
SPEED: B
SENTINEL: D
SPECIAL: Win some, Lose some: Before Luna attacks with her weapon, a D20 is rolled to determine the type of buff/debuff that will be associated with the attack.

1 and 20: ALL
2-7: SENTINEL
8-13: SPEED
14-19: DAMAGE

On an even number, the associated Stat will be ranked up. On an odd number, the target of the attack will be ranked down. Lasts a single round.

Symphony of Espers

@Izurich That looks fine, Upgrade complete.

@The World Unrestricted mobility is pretty good for silver without also being immune to fall damage. Also, having ghost legs makes it impossible to accelerate by kicking off things, sliding, etc. basically consequences of her new form of movement. If that sounds fine to you, upgrade complete.

@Majoras End Add "Round" after "next" to complete your upgrade. Then you're fiiiine.

Symphony of Espers

_{@Ponn@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@Izurich@SilverPaw@OwO@mantou@ERode@Majoras End@The World}

The operation is over. I'm going to hold off for another week or two to call downtime, so feel free to converse or take a moment to tie up any lingering post-operation activities. Once we're done with that, I'll have a list of planned changes to the DoCS as well as a new survey. I'd appreciate it if you could all participate in that.

Also, this being the completion of your first "non-tutorial" opperation, everyone gets to improve the quality of one of their glamors. Here's how that works:

Grimoire have a "pyramid improvement system." You cannot acquire a Diamond glamor without having two Gold ones first, and to get gold, you need at least two silver ones. The exception is if you cannot meet the pyramid's requirements because most of your glamors are above the level required. This means that everyone will be improving a bronze glamor to a silver one. But next time, you will have the option to turn one of your silver glamors into a gold one.

To get your new glamor approved, simply post it in the OOC for Erode and I to look over. Once we approve it, you may then update your character sheet.

Symphony of Espers

_{@Ponn@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@Izurich@SilverPaw@OwO@mantou@ERode@Majoras End}

Fritzi issued her ultimatum, Maverick stood their ground, but most of the freelancers didn’t.

One by one, Billy’s forces dissolved. Finn had an emotional breakdown, Apollo lost interest, and Protector departed out of a sense of camaraderie to enemy forces.

”Ya gotta be five finger fuckin’ me!” Billy stomped.

”Fickle creatures, aren’t they.” Fritzi’s form blew apart into a hail of rose petals. Beneath it all was a doll-like figure. She wore a large skirt hung like a wilting rose, a corset top as dark as a dried stem, and a crown of thorns atop her platinum blond hair. Fritzi had become Vermillion Veronica. It wasn’t often Fritzi dawned her Esper form. This was likely the first time most of her own agents saw her dressed for combat. ”Oh! And Valkyrie.” She looked over her shoulder at the sniper. There was a faint red glow in her eyes. It had been present ever since she transformed, but it was at this point Silmeria really noticed it. ”Hold your fire.” She gave the girl a wink before looking back at the opposition.

Shortly afterwards, the lights went out. The sound of a giant ice “tower” rising into the sky could be heard, along with a half-wall of debris protecting the GEMINI agents. But without Apollo’s light, little of anything could be seen. That was until Ashley’s projectile lit the way, which was the only thing that let Jacqueline or Lilliah see at all. Though even with sight, scoring a hit on Klava was not going to be possible. Before darkness fell, Klava had moved to join the Mavericks at the other side of the room. This put quite a bit of distance between herself and the agents already. Now there was a giant ice sculpture in the way. Even with Lilliah’s assistance, it was going to be difficult to catch up. But they gave chase.

”Okay, so I’m confused now.” Kristina ran along with the Mavericks in the dark. Though soon enough, they were running through sunlit halls. ”You said our thing was a job, sure, but you said that you are on duty. Does that mean we are going to have ice cream? Does that mean-”

”Cork it, Trixy!” Billy took a single swing at the ceiling, which caused the hallway to fill up with broken timber. If Jacqueline continued to chase, they’d need to do some digging to catch up.

”Hey!” Luna called to Billy. ”Where did Jez go?”

”Keep runnin’!” Billy scooped up Luna before following Klava and Kristina into the wine cellar.

It seemed the knight would not be getting retribution today.

Or would she?

Behind her, one of Veronica’s arms leaned out of a shadow with a hurricane lantern. The light was soft, but it did give some visibility in the otherwise dark hallway. ”Leroux, I like your style.” More of the doll-like girl’s body became visible when she leaned out of the shadow. ”Some may call it reckless, but I long for the days when I use to do things like that. At some point I went from being a good agent to an essential one, so they keep me on a pretty tight leash now.” When Veronica stepped totally out of the shadow, she had her arm wrapped around one of the maverick espers. She seemed to be unconscious, or dead. Her arms hung at her sides as Veronica dragged her back into the other room. ”Jezebel here isn’t Billy, but she’s an officer in their organization. A ‘Flightless Angel’ or something? I’ll take her as a consolation prize.” She lowered the lamp onto the floor and pulled the gauntlets off of Jezebel’s arms. ”But a sever and a restrain note? That might have been overkill if it connected, Wukong.” Once they were off, the unconscious jester woke up, but now she was just a woman with raven black hair. Not a threat to anyone, least of all an esper. ”Does someone want to take this off my hands?”

Non-esper agents and soldiers started to flood into the room. Two of them approached Jezebel and pulled her arms behind her back. Once they escorted her outside, she shot a glare that could freeze blood at the suit of armor she had saved earlier. But Protector was preoccupied with other tasks.

”Well agents, we tried.” Veronica folded her arms behind her back. ”It’s one hell of a silver lining, but at least most freelancers are against terrorisim. Though the jury is still out on Apollo.” With a blink, the red glow in her eyes vanished. ”Remember to write up reports when you get back home. You look beat, but that will change when you leave the esper state.”

Su turned to Binky. “What happen in there?"

But when Binky tried to answer, it was just a groan.

”Ah!” Veronica folded her arms with a pout. ”That’s not your esper form, you know? You’re lucky that’s all he did to you. But Billie’s even luckier that I didn’t get a hold of him.” With a shrug, she shook her head. ”You shouldn’t even be standing right now. Get that checked out with the medics, that’s an order.” Once Binky walked off, Veronica looked at the remaining agents. ”You are free to leave the mission area. I’m just going to stick around to make sure nothing else happens to our less gifted agents.”

---

Once the Mavericks and Klava arrived outside the wine cellar, Billy set down Luna.

”W-What the hell happened back there?” Kristina’s voice cracked. ”They just left us! Almost all of them! And then Jez-”

Billy threw his fist into a reinforced wall, causing spider-line cracks to shoot out in all directions. ”Thought the ‘Huntress’ was a one time deal. Didn’t realize the average freelancer’s spine is like spaghetti!”

”There were so many wounded on the other side. We could have forced them to back down if we stood together.”

The two teenagers from earlier looked in their direction. ”Where’s the armored guy? Is he coming back?”

Billy groaned. ”He’s eatin’ ice cream, if I had to guess.” He approached them. ”Suppose you weren’t important enough to come back for.” Billy scooped the pyromancers upin one arm and hugged them against his chest. ”Justin fled too, ya might as well come with me.”

”Ngh!” A few teenagers didn’t have the power to break out of Billy’s grasp, but they hardly tried. ”Why do we keep getting abandoned?”

”I won’t abandon ya.”

”That’s what they all say…”

Luna pursed her lips.. She glanced back at the few people who followed them out. *Looks like you picked a winner, Trixy. She stayed, even if she’s only during working hours.* She bit her lip before casting her gaze to the wall. *I’m gunna head back.* She turned around and walked deeper into the Bastion.

‘Kristina’ turned back to Klava with a nervous chuckle. ”This really sucks. But uh, I think she’ll be okay.” She rubbed the back of her head. ”Kristina is just the name I use on Shimr. Trixy is what I’m best known as in Maverick. Since we were on a real operation together, you can call me that if you want. It’s up to you though.” After glancing around again, Trixy looked to the floor. ”I uh, guess the operation is over. I don’t think anyone else is in the mood for ice cream.”

---

_{@The World}

Marrie’s fingers were blazing along, sending messages from both her own phone and Pac’s. It was a time consuming process, but without giant snakes or goblins to bother her, it was a trivial task to complete..

Since GEMINI did not put up a bounty for Justin (they wanted to bust him themselves) there was no GEMINI agent to consult regarding the Justin bounty. But Fritzi, Billy, Tetrad, the coin requester, and many others were easy to find. Though there probably wasn’t much point in bothering espers outside of Pax Septimus. Then again, Marrie did want to exploit Pac-A-Fist’s image to bring down Justin. Freelancers were scattered all over the world, and few had the same renown as the Bates twins. But there were others that might be worth contacting.. Though she did message the Bates once they had shown up.

They pulled out their phones and looked at their messages. Marrie could watch their emotions change as they read along.

”There’s no coin!?” Regina bared her teeth like a feral dog.

”First violin girl, now Trisha...” Elroy half grumbled the words to himself.

”I find Justin most disgusting!” Regina folded her phone shut. ”I’ll break his ass if it’s the last thing I do!” She prepared to bolt after the vampire when Elroy raised his hand.

”Regina!” He turned to look at his sister. ”Is this the first time Trisha disappeared?”

”Eh?” She looked over her shoulder. ”I don’t think she makes a habit of getting kidnapped, why?”

”I’ve been having visions.” Elroy folded his arms. ”I was on a beach looking for Trisha. She had been gone for a while. Then I found her and we left.”

”Sounds vague.”

”Memories often are.”

”So are dreams.”

”Trisha remembered it too.”

”I’m not sure what that has to do with this. Lots of couples have dreams about each other.” Regina looked ahead. ”He’s getting away from us. We need to chase him now.” She didn’t wait. The ruinous meteor blazed a trail through the shadows.

Elroy grumbled to himself before patting Marrie on the head. ”We didn’t know what the coin was, Fog girl. I would have saved it too.” He followed after his sister.

Things would not look up for Stacy either. While her head had been returned, attempts to heal it seemed to be ineffectual. This was strange, because regardless if Stacy was an esper or monster, a healing spell should have done something. Stacy was still alive at least. It was a shame Stacy didn’t have a way of communicating.

Then out of the blue, Marrie received a text on her Shimr app.

I wish you had busted that coin, but I guess there's no point in crying over spilled milk. At least you got paid, right? Not like I knew what Sofron was doing with it. If you wanna do me a big favor, see if you can get a hold of "The Knight of Tomorrow," If you can, I'll make it worth your while.

Symphony of Espers

Fritzi is going to enter the esper state and attack Billy next turn. Your espers don't have time for open discussion. Good luck!

Symphony of Espers

_{@Ponn@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@Izurich@SilverPaw@OwO@mantou@ERode@Majoras End}

The sudden appearance of Gunther was enough to get everyone working together again.

While Finn shouted at the espers around him (they mostly ignored him) he also managed to focus his spite into a melody. The electricity coursed through the empty suits of armor, then an explosion of kinetic energy blew them apart. But the souls only blinked out of existence for a moment before reforming and animating the gauntlets. Far less dangerous, but they still packed a punch.

Silmeria attempted to run and gun. The flying furniture made aiming a shot difficult, but at least she only had to worry about aiming at Gunther regardless of what impeded her shot. Her bullets tore right through the couch he was defending him with, but had no effect on the ghost himself. The poltergeist winked at the sniper as chaos ensued.

Silmeria was soon joined by Lilliah, who had narrowly avoided a clubbing from some haunted armors. She conjured a distraction and remained near her allies for the time being. Whatever her next move was, only Lillia knew.

Ashley scored a hit one one of the armors before rushing to Breacher’s side. A gargoyle collided with her shield, a table passed overhead, but Ashley did make it to her patient. She administered her magic before asking Su how they were doing. She responded by hopping to her feet and putting her shield between Ashley and another gargoyle. In the center of the room, an attack could come from anywhere. Su and Ashley kept their shields up as they moved towards the wall.

Klava weaved through the flying furniture, even going as far as tripping up the armored knights with it. She understood that there was no point in attacking, so she aimed to get Gunther’s spirits stuck instead. It seemed to be working, but this alone wouldn’t defeat Gunther. Animated robes and dress pants flew out of the open armoire to attack the esper. She called for someone to end Gunther’s life.

Jacqueline would have obliged if she could, but didn’t have the magic to do so, and wasn’t ready to test Havoc against Gunther himself. So instead, she started smashing everything else. She was pretty good at it, and there were lots of targets. Suits of armor, flying tables, but the real goal was to confirm what happened when she swung Havoc at one of those spirits. A suit of armor crumpled under her swing, and gave Jacqueline the chance she was looking for. Much like Finn experienced with his melody, the spirit seemed to fade out of reality when it was attacked before returning. Though with only bits of timber to possess, it flew off to inhabit something else.

And Apollo, frustrated by the situation, knew that he had to keep the lights on if this fight was going to continue. He wove a melody for that very purpose. The remains of the statue glowed for the time being, allowing the fight to continue. And Apollo was right. That was an expensive spell just for light. Reveal was only necessary for keeping track of elusive targets, while light melodies of any kind tended to throw light as they persisted. But using it in conjunction with an AoE note did mean that Gunther would be powerless to obstruct it, short of moving every fragment out of the room. Apollo then ran about as Luna contended with the three armored suits chasing her.

Protector and Jezebel sliced and diced everything that came their way, but no amount of property damage was going to get rid of Gunther. The objects he could animate were getting smaller and smaller. It seemed that once something had been broken apart, it took more souls to animate it.

But it wasn’t long before someone came tearing down the dark hallway. Billy emerged from the shadows, battered and bleeding, but still able to fight. A single swing of his sword reduced some flying furniture into sawdust and pebbles. Gunther’s number was up, and he knew it.

”That’s my que!” Gunther sighed. ”We’ll have to pick up some other time.” It did not take him long to depart. Thirty-six souls followed him into the ceiling, and the room became still once more.

But even with Gunther out of the room, the tension in the air was thick. Everyone was aggravated, backup for Maverick had arrived, and Billy was present without Binky. Lots of unknowns filled everyone’s head, but no shots were fired. Billy looked towards the hallway he just left and joined the freelancers.

The second person out of the hallway was Binky. She wasn’t in her esper form, and had been roughed up a bit. There was blood streaming down the left side of her face, and her eye was swollen shut. She stumbled out of the doorway and towards the other GEMINI agents.

But there was a third person who left the hallway as well. One wearing a labcoat with lavender-colored hair. Her uniform was as pristine as wind driven snow, and her flesh was unblemished. Fritzi flashed a grin at all present.

”Hey everyone! I was going to jump on coms and announce my arrival, but I didn’t think that was necessary. I mean, I said I’d be here a week ago when the freelancers made a scene on Shimr.” She looked at the agents. ”In case you’re wondering, yes, Justin escaped. He had Sofron make a portal in advance and fled with Betty.” She swung her gaze over towards the freelancers. ”When you find proof that Justin is abducting girls, spread it all over Shimr, and make hundreds of posts about kicking his ass, he takes notice. Weird, right?”

As Fritzi walked towards the center of the room, the Maverick espers took a step back. Despite their number advantage and most of the GEMINI agents looking worse for wear, Fritzi’s arrival had them biting their lip

”If only you guys could have come to the authorities. But by golly, you were determined to take on Justin yourselves, weren’t you? I tried to course correct. I made a public announcement hoping to quell everyone’s chest pounding. In a few more weeks he would have let his guard down. We could have ensured his elimination.” Fritzi stomped on Klava’s mark, and worked her heel in until it vanished. ”But noooooooooo, you had to get in touch with a terrorist organization. And faceless here thinks he has the right to call anyone a moron.” Fritzi folded her arms and looked directly at Apollo. ”Is it that unreasonable for G.E.M.I.N.I. agents to fire on freelancers working under Maverick’s banner?” Fritzi raised an eyebrow. ”There’s no reason to assume you’re any less ruthless than Maverick is. If you were just freelancers I can understand the fuss. That wasn’t the case however.”

”They’re are just freelancers.” Despite the cuts all over his body, Billy was still able to stand straight. His wounds didn’t even seem to bother him. ”I reckon they wouldn’t fight to the death. Don’t even think yer agents would. There just ain’t that much reason to kill one another.”

Fritzi scoffed. ”Oh, I think there’s plenty of reason to keep fighting. You want this little slice of Pax all cleared up, don’t you?”

The giant hesitated. ”It is a good location, ain’t it?”

”It also happens to be located over one of Bastion’s entryways, so securing the mansion would be a huge win for either of us. I want it so that we can cut a head from the hydra, and you want to continue using Bastion at its full effectiveness.” She locked eyes with Finn. ”I’m sorry if you thought this was all about saving Betty or killing Justin, but I assure you Billy isn’t that altruistic.”

”Now wait- I say wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute!” Billy raised his voice and thrust his finger towards Fritzi. ”If I didn’t care about Betty, I woulda joined forces with Justin! That ain’t right, and you know it!”

”We both know you’re a greedy son of a bitch, you’d never work under anyone. But you know what?” Fritzi grinned at the freelancers. ”I understand. Even though you were working alongside terrorists, that’s not the same as doing terroristy things. You just wanted to slay the vampire, save the girl, get paid. So I’m going to give you another shot. A chance to put your money where your mouth is.” She flexed her fingers. ”Since Justin and Betty have fled, I’m going to take Billy’s life as a consolation prize. He’s desperately going to need your help to survive. But here’s the catch, I don’t have a reason to fight any of you. So you have some options. The first is that you understand how badly you fucked up, and exit stage right. We’ll let you go this time, but if we catch you on the wrong side of the law again, we will not hesitate to attack. But we also have a catering truck with ice cream, so who really cares? Just hurry on past us! Or! You can help Billy, in which case you will be participating in terrorist activities and will be dealt with accordingly. We will not be sharing our ice cream with you should that come to pass.”

”So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” Billy looked at the freelancers and Maverick espers. ”If ya still standin’ with me, we’re gunna fall back to the wine cellar.”

Kristina scratched the back of her head. ”Uh, Klava?” She forced a grin. ”We could get some ice cream once we get out of here. Would you be cool with that?”

“Hmph.” Jez only folded her arms.

Fritzi rolled her shoulders. ”Well? The Justin bullshit is all over with. Time to show your true colors.”

---

“Maybe I shoot Protector now?."

— Su Fang

Firing on the freelancers was not the best way to approach the situation, but hindsight was 20/20. She might have held them at gunpoint, but Su had been through an arduous battle, and Maverick was not known for pulling their punches. Had the freelancers attacked first, she would have wished she had. Su wanted to drive the freelancers behind cover and occupy them. There was no burning desire to shoot a child or any of the other freelancer’s in Su’s heart. Maybe Klava, but that was just because she considered attacking wounded agents. Regardless, things seemed to have turned out okay, even if it was just because Apollo was willing to talk. His sarcasm was grading, but it was hard to refute the guy’s logic. Maybe they were even now that they had both fired on each other. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought. With Justin and Betty gone, there wasn’t much to do but laugh about it.

What didn’t make Su laugh was Protector’s attendance with the Maverick unit. Unlike the other freelancers, this was someone she had spoken to, if briefly. Protector had fought alongside Silmeria, and Su had arrived to help clean up. She remembered posing for a picture with them afterwards. Su showed the picture to Mika, and she was amused when Mika pointed out that Protector had given her bunny ears. Su had thought it was nothing more than a friendly prank, but now it seemed like Protector might have thought she was a fool for real.

Well, all she had to do to put Su’s mind at ease was leave them now. Surely this was just to save Betty or slay Justin, there was no way she would continue to help Billy now.

Su

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Bullet Window
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm, Flight], Push, Pull, Construct, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: D | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 500

[Bronze nothin’] = 0

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 144

---

*Internal Screaming*

— Luna Gallo

So GEMINI had an ace up their sleeve too?

There was too much shit going on to really care at this point. Luna just wanted to bust Justin’s fangs in, unite lover boy with his love, and call it a day. The political intrigue that surrounded the situation didn’t really matter to her. It was a sweet mansion and everything, but like hell was Luna going to die over it. Who knew what Justin did in these rooms.

But Fritzi was going to put the kibosh on that. Luna took a moment to heal her stomach. A golden light swirled around her torso as the wound mostly mended. She was thankful that Billy just wanted to get out of here.

Welp, it was all on the freelancers now. Were they going to take the cowards way out, or be stupendous badasses until the end?

There was one thing Luna could attest to now, at least.

Marrie made the right choice not coming on this operation. May she be well wherever she is.

Luna

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, If: Friend, Else

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

[Bronze Self][Heal] = 48

Rolled 17 = FIGHTING GOLD!!!!

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 56

---

_{@The World}

The vampire remained on its knee as Marrie made her offer.

”Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Justin stood up. ”That does not sound like a very good trade for me. Pac-A-Fist has reputation, power, influence, I doubt you could barter for her with your employment.” He adjusted his vest before picking up the dresser with one hand. ”Besides, if mere kidnapping bothers you, I doubt we would be a good fit. Am I correct?”

"Sorry, but no-can-do. I don't help kidnappers, but I'm not stupid enough to try to fight three people who have a hostage. But if you hurt her, I'll hunt you down."

Justin chuckled. ”Such aggression is not necessary. If she behaves herself, I have no reason to harm her.” The vampire reached into his vestments and flung a small bag of coins at Marrie which she could use to bump up her STR and MAG to 20 ”I bid you adieu, esper.” Justin turned away to follow after his company. ”Bah, the hand will never let me hear the end of this.” It only took the group a moment to disappear into the shadows.

It would be some time before Regina and Elroy showed up. But Regina would lead the way, flames licking at her surroundings. ”Hell yes!” Regina ran a hand through her hair. ”The snake was tough, I almost died, but Elroy took the shot like a champ! But it means his sister was able to pave Highway to Hell!” She extended her arm, and in her outstretched hand was a charred lump of flesh that might have been a head at one time. It was impossible to distinguish any facial features, as the whole thing was covered in a layer of embers. ”You might wanna quench it before attaching it to her body. Anyway, hand over the coin! I’ll break that bastard in two myself!”

Elroy looked less enthusiastic about Regina’s victory. He had been burned by acid and fire, but he was walking so he was probably fine. ”Hey!” Elroy locked eyes with Marrie. ”Fog girl! Where is Trisha?”

Hello!

Well hey there Picasso!

You're probably not going to see me too much based on your preferences. But they take all kinds here, and I'm sure you'll find something worth participating in.

Symphony of Espers

_{@Ponn@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@Izurich@SilverPaw@OwO@mantou@ERode@Majoras End}

The path ahead was dark, but short. Binky and Billy didn’t even have time to pass each other a menacing glance before the final door was upon them. This had to be where Justin was hiding. In addition to the hallway getting darker, the statues were getting more ornate and the armoires were becoming more numerous and larger. It was doubtful a man as vain as Justin would surround himself with anything but his finest treasures.

They both shoulder tackled an ornate door, blowing it off its hinges. The splinters fell around their feet as they charged forwards. They weren’t waiting for a talk with this evening’s villain, they just wanted him eliminated so that they could continue

But their opponent was not some anime villain waiting in the wings with a lengthy monologue. He was not sitting in his chair petting some exotic animal. He was not prepared to fight the heroes with a damsel locked in a tower behind him.

He was escaping.

Betty and Sofron were leaving the room through a portal the baleful esper had created, and Justin was following close behind. The only reason why he hadn’t left already was because he was dragging a dresser along with him. He was half way through the portal when he smiled back at them from behind the armoire he carried.

”Adieu, my friends.”

---

Su was the first to take initiative, which surprised some of her own allies. Why she was so eager to shoot at the freelancers/Mavericks hadn’t been stated. But shoot first she did.

The approach of a blood-soaked esper armed with a pistol and shield, gun raised and ready to fire, was enough to send the freelancers running for cover. Most sought cover behind the nearby armoires, but Klava attempted to run for a nearby statue so that she could engage the rest of GEMINI’s forces. Everyone was still winding up their melodies when Su started to shoot, and Luna hadn’t yet provided covering fire. Without any distractions, One of Su’d bullets managed to find purchase in Klava’s arm before she made her way to cover.

By this point, melodies were starting to fly. Finn was able to tag Klava with a speedster melody. On the other side of the statue, Ashley was healing up Jacqueline, and Klava was making herself S L I C K. Wukong also dove for cover and summoned a wind elemental to protect her escape. It took Apollo a bit longer to fling his melody, as it was a powerful one. It was also possible some of his attention was divided between his spell and his rant, but no one knew but him.

But the projectiles didn’t stop flying. Luna fired around cover, but only managed to hit Su’s shield. With Klava gone, there was little distracting her from blocking the shots. Silmeria was there to counter attack, and managed to fire off three rounds at Tetrad just as she was back behind cover. While Apollo had wanted to protect Luna from the incoming shots, he had prioritized lobbing a flash bang over the statues to cover Klava’s entrance. The first round penetrated cover and struck Luna’s arm. It pierced flesh, but Silmeria’s weapon did significantly less damage when it broke through cover. Moreover, it was hard to pick up Luna’s exact location being that she was far quieter than both Apollo and Su’s gunfire. When the second shot came, it struck “Restraining Order,” as Apollo had lobbed his flash bang at this point. Though blocking a bullet with a staff weapon was rough, at least the way Apollo was going about it. Leverage was against him, as the distance between his hands wasn’t nearly as great as the distance between his hand and the end of his mancatcher, which was where the bullet struck. The bullet shoved the head of the mancatcher into Luna’s ribcage, causing hairline fractures. His weapon would have done less damage if it was arcane, but it at least dispersed the force and kept Silmeria’s bullet out of her chest cavity. Before the third bullet could strike, Luna had fallen onto her back, in pain but still able to move. Apollo still ranted at those around them about their situation.

Elsewhere, the flash bang had gone off, and Klava was poised to strike. The good thing about having a one-handed weapon was that if someone shot one of your arms, you still had a backup. Lilliah had moved out of Klava’s intended flight path, but her elemental rushed up to her to attack, only to get sliced through by her dagger. Weak summons like that were really better as distractions than anything else, and couldn’t be expected to do much on their own.

Jaquiline had managed to avoid looking at the flash directly, as she had looked over her shoulder at Ashley when she healed her. But now Klava was rushing at her full speed, and she had no interest in slowing down. While Klava did have a huge speed advantage over Jacqueline, it was rather elementary to simply move her weapon in front of her leg just as Klava slashed. But this did not set her up very well for counter attacking on the same side. Klava would slide on by before she could get Havoc around Klava’s small knife.

The frozen ninja slid towards Ashley and Silmeria. What happened next was in their hands.

---

“We share this one."

”Okay~<3”

— Luna Gallo & Su Fang

The closest people to Apollo’s position were probably the people he was mostly trying to yell at. Luna was laying on her back, looking up at the faceless monk that saved her from critical injury, if not death. And just on the other side of the dresser was a blood soaked Su who had her gun pointed at him. He did a lot of yelling, guessing his position wasn’t difficult. But she didn’t fire. Jacqueline’s voice could be heard behind Su’s head, and it seemed to make her relax a bit.

“Apollo, right?" She cocked her arm and pointed her gun at the ceiling. A default stance for when you didn’t want to shoot anything. “Why you here? Get money? Save Betty? Maybe both?" She stepped in front of the statue, but not so far that she would be able to fire behind Apollo’s cover. “Maybe we team up in three weeks. Maybe you stay with terrorist. Maybe you shoot me again even on same side. I not know these things. I know today you with terrorists. Maverick not like us much. Mavrick do bad things in the past. Feed monsters, orphan little girl, bad things. Maybe you not know about them?"

Luna groaned. ”Implying the government stooges are any better.” Her words were half said in a grunt as she stood upright. But she went ignored by Su, either because she didn’t hear her, or chose not to react.

“Maybe you putting on show. Maybe not. You not sound like show." Even if her gun wasn’t pointed at anyone, it was clear she wasn’t going to holster it quite yet. “Who esper who go through wall? We not encounter anything like that."

”Klava!” Kristina, that girl Klava “dated,” charged into the room. She had a rocket launcher resting on her shoulder when she burst onto the scene. ”I’m here to save youuuuuuuuu!” She was closely followed by Protector and a jester wearing extendable claws on her wrists.

“We gunna tussle or what?”

Su lowered her pistol to aim at the Jester, but Luna spoke up. ”Hold up, Apollo’s got a point.” She looked around. ”That ghost could be anywhere. Did you guys see it?”

A shape emerged from the statue of Justin. Gunther’s head turned to look at the bickering espers as if the statue’s body was his own. ”Are you talking about li’l old me?

”Gah!” Kristina fired a rocket at Gunther, but all her rocket managed was to blow the statue into chunks. Su was only able to just manage getting her shield up, but the hail of debris couldn’t be totally mitigated by her shield. Stones rained down on her head, and the blast from the rocket was enough to throw her onto her back. Her ballistic jacket kept her torso safe, but her right shoulder was filled with stone shrapnel, and one of her horns had broken off.

Gunther looked at all the surrounding debris. The dressers, and everything else in the room that wasn’t nailed down.

Perfect.

”Hey kids? Let’s try this one more time!”

Five white flames flew into the room, followed by thirty-one more. They flew into the couches, tables, dressers, suits of armor, the gargoyle statues in the corners of the room, and the rubble that Justin’s statue had been turned into.. The furniture closest to Gunther was orbiting him like a planet while everything else came under attack from his spectral magic. Silmeria, Luna, Finn, and Lilliah were all in separate corners of the room, but all came under attack from suits of armor. The rest had to contend with flying furniture, and the lights were starting to go out. The tables dumped their lanterns onto the ground, and the flames within were extinguished. Only the chandelier provided any light, and it looked like Gunther’s spetures were about to smash it into a wall.

”Do you feel that? Do you see that? Gunther inquired as he soared over everyone’s head. ”Every one of those souls hates you! They cry out for nothing more than your elimination! I wonder how your allies will react when they join them.”

Su

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Bullet Window
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm, Flight], Push, Pull, Construct, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: D | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 500

[Bronze nothin’] = 0

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 144

Luna

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, If: Friend, Else

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

[Silver zilch ]

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 56

---

_{@The World}

Stacy did not struggle too much when Marrie grabbed her and jumped through the portal. When they came out back in the sewer, it was all pretty much the way Marrie remembered it being. The only change being that Pac-A-Fist was now wearing a headset, and seemed to have grown accustomed to the smell. She wasn’t even trying to cover her nose.

”Guys? I really think you need to focus up and-” She turned to look at Marrie. ”Never mind! Looks like someone already found it!”

”The hell?” Regina roared over Pac-A-Fist’s headphones.

”Gah!” She cast her headset off as Regina’s shouts continued to pour out of them.

”This sucks! How didn’t we get to it first? I didn’t even get a chance to cook a snake!”

”Stop screaming!” Elroy barked equally loud. ”We’re getting a text!”

Sure enough, they were getting a text. Marrie had decided to put up the coin and even her part of the reward to recover Stacy’s head

”Is she there, Trisha?” Elroy sighed. ”Look, Highway to hell is dangerous, and-”

Regina cackled like an imp. ”Fuck YES! The Ruinous Meteor is gunna pave the SHIT outa Highway to Hell!”

”Regina!

”Champagne supernova!”

The headset crackled with white noise.

Pac folded her arms. ”I was kind of hoping to end their squabbling, but if it’s for a fellow, um, esper? I don’t mind sticking around a bit longer. I just hope they’re okay.”

From there, it was a waiting game. Pac and Marrie didn’t have a whole lot to talk about, and Stacy wasn’t in a position to ask any questions, or even be aware of her surroundings. She was reaching out with her index finger to rub the concrete floor around her, but otherwise didn’t move a whole lot.

But they would not have to wait long for something to happen.

The coin shook and leapt out of Marrie’s hand, where it turned into a blazing portal. The first person through was a middle aged butler, followed by a girl in a black japanese school uniform. They tumbled across the catwalk and nearly fell into the sewer water, but the school girl was able to use her massive sword to stop them from sliding. The last one through was a blond aristocrat, clutching a large dresser as he flew out of the portal. The portal closed into a puff of smoke, denying anyone else entry. The aristocrat looked to be in good shape, but the dresser had taken quite a beating.

”And, Sofron.” The blond man turned to look at the butler. ”That is why you don’t prepare a monologue for people like that. Binky knows she can’t dawdle, so she’ll attack on sight regardless.”

””Of course, master Carnage." Sofron bowed.

Pac-A-Fist backed up against the wall. ”You’re Justin!”

”Brilliant detective work, Pac-A-Fist.” He waved a hand towards her. ”Betty, how about you make sure she cooperates with us?”

Pac-A-Fist was fumbling with her phone when Betty pointed her sword at her chin. ”Don’t even think about it!“

”She won’t.” Justin opened his eyes while looking at Pac-A-Fist.Though when the lids of his eyes were up, there was nothing there. Just two empty cavities with something glowing like embers at the back of his skull. Blood dripped out of his empty sockets and ran down the corner of his lips. It didn’t seem to bother him, but Pac-A-Fist was visibly struggling to move. Sofron was able to remove her phone and spin her around, at which point Betty was able to keep her at sword point.

They were getting ready to depart when Justen spoke up. ”Were you the one who collected the coin?” He closed his eyes before turning to Marrie. There wasn’t a single drop of blood on his face, almost like his horrific visage was a dream. ”I must apologize. There's no coin to hand to the collector. Your task will remain incomplete. But I do have some good news.” He kneeled so that he was at Marrie’s level. ”I was the coin collector, and you did well to protect it as long as you did. Maybe you’d be interested in serving me?”

Symphony of Espers

_{@Ponn@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@Izurich@SilverPaw}

By the time Su had arrived at the bottom of her castle, Lilliah’s wounds were partially healed up. Ashley didn’t have time to respond before Binky arrived, at which point Jacqueline started to talk to her. The Frenchwoman seemed a little agitated, but Su could understand why. If someone had cut into her guts like that, she’d be upset if they got away too.

But her request…

”You… Want Lada to use her blood magic on you?” Binky raised an eyebrow.

”Leroux! No!” Su approached. ”Blood magic very bad! Lada curse you! We not know-” Binky placed a hand on Breacher’s shoulder, and she closed her mouth and stepped back.

”What you want to do is very brave, but it’s not viable.” Binky folded her arms. ”Rottweiler did become more resilient under the effects of his dark blessing, but he was a normal human with training. You’re an esper and already under the effect of some potent magical effects. You wouldn’t gain as much out of it as he did. Even If you were willing to fight out of the esper state, part of Lada’s agreement with Fritzi was that we wouldn’t put her in danger, hence why she’s in an armored vehicle where she can meditate inside her magic circle. I’m unsure her blessing would help you deeper inside. She has demonstrated that she can heal superficial wounds, but ones like that?.” Binky let her arms swing by her side and stepped ahead. ”All you need to know about blood magic is that what it can do depends on the skill of the one using it. The stronger stuff requires sacrifices, and some monsters are able to use it through their own chaotic powers instead of through arcane rituals. Otherwise, everything Fritzi told you over the last operation should still apply for human magi.” She looked over everyone. ”But we can go over that while moving towards our objective.”

The G.E.M.I.N.I. agents fell into formation and hurried deeper into Justin’s mansion, leaving the room filled with flames and corpses behind them.

---

_{@OwO@mantou@ERode@Majoras End}
Billy chuckled as he watched Klava and Apollo rush off. ”Guess they’re worried about the li’l tike. Girl’s busted pretty bad and she’s still as quick as a hiccup.”

”Just one second Billy, and we’ll catch up to them too.” Once Billy sat upright, Luna placed a hand on his wounded back. Her body was enveloped in golden rays. She shined with the kind of radiance that would even make the god of light jealous.

But with Billy’s back to her, no one was around to notice it.

Monsters, much like espers, had an impressive ability to heal from any wound over time. So Luna’s magic was just as effective for healing Billy as it would be any esper.

”Ready for Justin?”

”Hell yea!”

It wasn’t until they got down the hall that they could see what happened to poor Finn.

Billy placed a finger under his chin. ”Kid looks a little under the weather.”

”What the SHIT!” Luna had just healed Billy. She couldn’t do anything about the Time Keeper’s wounds at the moment. Apollo was able to start mending his shoulder and chest, but there was too much damage to get it all in one note. Hiis leg was still broken, and would need to be healed before he could move around much. ”I can carry him, I’ll finish healing him once I’m able.” She pulled Finn’s arm around her neck and helped him limp down the hall.

”Keep your eyes peeled.” Billy walked behind them. ”That ghost guy is still around here.”

Tetrad

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, If: Friend, Else

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

[Silver touch][Heal] = 72

Goddess Radiance

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 128

---

_{@The World}

Marrie was asking a lot of herself. She was carrying what was essentially a headless woman over her shoulder while trying to steal a coin, and then hitch a ride before Highway to Hell arrived. It was daring, it required the right elements.

But it was just an average Tuesday for an esper.

Marrie’s olympic strength made hoisting a grown woman over her shoulder easy enough, and plundering the coin from the goblin was like stealing from a big green toddler. Even if the coin appeared to be on fire, all Marrie could feel was a soothing warmth in her fingertips. Aside from the flame, the coin was just a penny, a piece of copper with Lincoln's face on it. The goblin was spooked, but made no attempt to recover the coin as it jumped onto another waggon.

The wagons were being pulled by goblins, but they were unable to spot Marrie and Stacy with the huge pile of trash in the way. And the sound of the idling chainsaw either went unheard, or was masked by a giant snake crashing into the goblin’s neighborhood. Only the goblins knew.

But as frantic as the situation was, Marrie was in the clear. She had collected the coin, and just needed to open a portal to return to the sewer where Pac-A-Fist was waiting for her. There was no more danger, she could rest easy.

Now she did have a choice to make.

Two requests, one for the coin’s destruction, and the other for its recovery.

If Marrie wanted to destroy the coin, her knife would be more than up to doing the job. A coin was little match for an indestructible instrument. She’d just need to take a picture of her handiwork to claim the reward. Or she could hold onto it and deliver the coin to a collector. The payment was near equal, so it came down to what Marrie thought was best.

But she did not have long to decide. Highway to Hell was getting closer, and the goblins would likely flee their caravan in favor of saving their lives. While she was only a portal away from safety, Elroy and Regina would bicker about what to do with the coin until the sewers turned into a molten war zone. It would be best to decide on the coin’s fate before she encountered Pac-A-Fist again to ensure a smooth resolution to the mission.

---

_{[@Nearly Everyone Lol!]}

Both G.E.M.I.N.I. and Maverick forces would find themselves entering another room. On one side, the government agents walked across white and red tiles, while the Mavericks side was black and white. It would have been reminiscent of a dinner if it wasn’t for the elevated ceiling and other accessories.

Each side of the room mirrored the other. The corners had a couch with cushions that matched, and a small table with a candle sat at the end of each one. Further down from each couch were several suits of armor and an armoire, which were positioned by the north and south walls respectively. It was not clear what these spaces were designed for, or if Justin just had a fetish for clothing. Even on the jog here, it seemed like nearly every room had a dresser of some kind.

The center of the room had only black and red tiles, with no white ones present. There was also a large statue of Justin crawling on top of a giant bull. He was grinning, bearing his fangs as the creature succumbed to death. It was chiseled in stunning detail, though most would take issue with the fact that Justin was wearing nothing but his smile. In front of the statue was a chandelier that illuminated the mirror before it, and cast shadows down the hall to where Justin’s office must have been.

While the giant statue obstructed their view, it didn’t stop either squad from noticing the other. Seven G.E.M.I.N.I agents in formation and Billy Black were about as obvious as you could get. Both leaders signaled for their squads to stop before stepping behind the statue. There was just enough light for Binky and Billy to make out each other’s faces. Everyone had their weapon up, but they had their attention divided between the other team and what their leaders were saying.

”You made pretty good time.” Binky placed her hands on her hips.

”Yea.” Billy left his sword in his holster. Though anyone who saw him fight knew that it would be in his hand before Binky finished transforming. For the moment though, she was still out of the esper state.

”Looks like your squad took a beating.”

”Yours too.” Billy swung a hand towards the G.E.M.I.N.I agents. ”They used fire on the both of us, huh?”

”And trickery. They brought women and children into it.”

”Repulsive, ain’t it?”

Binky rolled her neck until it cracked. ”We both want Justin dead, right?”

”Yup.” Billy tipped his head to the side. ”But once he’s dead, we need somethin’ else to fight over, huh?”

Binky eyed up Billy. ”You’re a terrorist and a monster. We could fight you next.”

Billy scoffed. ”And you’re one-O Fritzi’s favorites. Might wanna send her a message.”

”Sounds like our company can get started without us.”

”Agreed.”

Binky entered the esper state then and there, while Billy drew his sword. But they did not fight each other. They ran down the hallway into the dark, and were obscured from view.

---

Meanwhile, in a secluded part of the catacombs, a pink haired woman danced around a camp fire holding her katana like a microphone.

”And in this corner we have the agents of G.E.M.I.N.I.” She could barely contain her smile. ”At the front of the line is ‘Soccer mom Su, flanked by ‘Hold-the-line Jacqueline’ and ‘Gorilla Lilliah.’ Behind them is ‘Sam-I-am-Sam-you-El’, ‘Still Maria’, and ‘My skin is a little Ashley.’ I haven’t seen this much racial appropriation in a long time. Get with the program, Hollywood! Then we have a single Maverick esper and a bunch of hired hands.” Oros waved her hand towards the other side of the cave. ”At the front we have ‘Hot-as-Lava-cool-as-Klava’, with ’Way-low-Apollo’ and ’Lucky-Lucky-Luna’, with ‘Dead-again-Finnegan’ in the back.

Every cell is burning!

THERE IS NO REMISSION OF SIN

FIRST TRY

IT'S YO BOY! ALTERCATION ENGAGE SEVENTH SUNDAY!

”

Sharr rolled over in her sleeping bag. ”Could you tone it down just a little? I need to sleep.”

---

“I glad I not have to shoot Protector… Yet."

— Su Fang

The order had been given, and Su would be the first to oblige.

Su would normally have trouble firing on freelancers that helped her, but she hadn’t directly worked with any of the ones present. She remembered Apollo fired down the hall of the police station, which wasn’t an endearing memory. She couldn’t confirm if some were Maverick gang members, but imagined a few of them had to be. No, attacking was not the hard part, especially since she had more team mates than enemies. It was attacking and knowing that some of her teammates could not fight their best. Some were wounded, and some were out of mana. But at least in this situation, Su could do her job. She could breach.

With a few hand gestures, Su announced her intentions to her companions. She was going to head around the back of the statue. Ideally another squad would go around the front of the statue or even join up with Su, but she couldn’t assess how well everyone was. Maybe over time, Ashley would be able to heal everyone back to full fighting capacity. Su was already moving before she finished making hand signs. Her hand was back on her gun, and she had it pointed at the enemy squad. From there, she just fired. So long as there was something to hit, she’d fire.

Su had a bit of mana left, but that didn’t mean she had to open the fight by constructing another castle. She felt reasonably safe behind her shield, and while her pistol wasn’t flashy, a single bullet could give anyone a bad day. Su was a pretty decent shot, and could reliably hit something if it decided not to hide behind cover.

Su

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Bullet Window
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm, Flight], Push, Pull, Construct, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: D | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 500

[Bronze nothin’] = 0

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 144

---

”...Huh?”

— Luna Gallo

Just like Luna said she would, she reached for Finn’s leg and finished healing it. It would take a few seconds for the bone to fully mend, but at least he could walk on it now.

”Try not to get hurt, okay?” Luna’s eyes seemed bigger than normal, and they were sparkling. ”We just need to hold out for a little bit.” As optimistic as Luna tried to be, she knew that the enemy team outnumbered them. Even if some of them were on their last legs, that was a lot of possible melodies that could come their way. They needed to play it safe.

She wouldn’t have long to chat.before breacher popped around the back of the statue. Luna had this weird desire to not get shot today, so she hid behind the black armoire closest to Su. Pit boss was not a powerful weapon, and moreover, magical projectiles were far less effective against other espers than physical ones. But if she could divide Su’s attention, maybe her allies could take up defensive positions or even counter attack. What a mess.

”Hey! You like card tricks?”

Luna fired a flurry of cards at Su before ducking behind cover. If she could keep this up without getting shot, she was sure things would be alright.

Luna

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Stabilize, Damage, Push, Transplace, Extend, Heal, Zone, If: Friend, Else

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

[Silver touch][Heal] = 72

Sparkle eyes!

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 56

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

@BrokenPromise Thanks, you don't have to if you don't want to tho.

@Dark Cloud

Don't tell me what to do, nerd.

Anyway, haven't played much Black Desert. Between my RPing habits, Lost Ark, and my other hobbies, I'm probably not going to take this one too seriously for a while. The interfaces take a bit of getting use to, but it's nothing that people who play a lot of MMOs won't adapt to quickly. I can't really say much about combat, but the few hours I spent playing the game were fun. But the character creator is still the best part.

So just for fun, I decided to see if I could take an anime face claim and make it into a character.



I liked my first attempt. The eyes are almost spot on, but I do need to play around with the hair color to get it looking a little closer to the reference image. Unsure if I'm going to go for the cat ears or not. It is possible to get cat ears, but this is a miqo'te from FF14, and their ears are angled strangely. If you're curious about cat/fox girls, someone made an Ahri inspired character from League of legends.



This is actually the same class. You have quite a bit of control over what the hair does, but there are some limitations when you try to do crazy stuff with it. It's kind of hard to explain.

But maybe you're not into cat girls or anime, in which case I'm both appalled at your lack of taste, but glad I've met someone who doesn't have the same mental disease I do. Someone else did one based on Keanu Reeves, and by that I mean John Wick.



Kinda meh, I know.