Chasers115

Skybound

Alix Westwynd

---

The Fornacis | Main Deck | 20, 1Sm; 844

---

Getting Used to It

The Fornacis.

This was supposed to be Alix's new home. She'd rightfully earned her position on board; she was strong enough and determined enough to have fought her way into the crew. Now that she'd done that however, she wasn't sure what would be coming next. It was a feeling that was unusual to her, and it was already starting to make her a little bit antsy. In Ortzi, at least in the parts of it that was recently her 'home', there was always some dickhead coming to take your stuff. Sometimes you had a little time to breathe, but every moment you spent relaxing was one that someone else was scheming on how to get their mitts on what was rightfully yours. Whether it was your property, your territory, your dignity, or your life. It was foolish to wait, and time to herself was a luxury that she hadn't been able to appreciate for a long time.

She'd rightfully earned it, though. Just like she rightfully earned everything else she had. Pretty much everything she'd owned at the moment when she stepped onto the ship was something she'd fought for. Something she had earned through strength. Some things had to be earned in other ways; lies, charisma, thievery...but strength had always been her go-to. It was one thing to try and persuade someone to give your something, but there were conditions that came with that. And whenever you tried to persuade someone to give you something, they always had a certain air of smugness about them. They had what you wanted after all, and you were already starting on the low end of the bargaining ladder.

Alix hated that air of smugness.

That's why she always preferred to just break faces and take what she wanted. That was satisfying. Especially if she got to see the same smugness fold inwards on itself. Getting to pull people off their high horses and show them that they were no better than she was; thoses were the moments that almost made her life in Ortzi worth it. Almost.

But this wasn't Ortzi anymore, and it was unlikely that she'd have the opportunity to beat in the skull of some smug prick in the near future at least. That'd probably be frowned upon, and she wasn't going to risk getting tossed off the boat less than a week into the journey. This was a chance to face far greater threats than the ones that the shithole alleys could offer. A chance to not only prove to the universe that she was a formidable threat, and a chance to become even stronger in the process.

And when she became as strong as she could be, and finally had proven to the universe that she was not to be trifled with...she hadn't thought that far. It really wasn't worth planning for that. Any other time, it was more likely that she'd end up face-down in a ditch somewhere before that would ever become a possibility. But now that she was actually aboard the Fornacis...not just aboard, but had a place on...for the first time in her life, it seemed like there might be a chance.

She didn't know what she'd do. She'd never thought about it. But now she could...and that was exciting.

That was also something that was contributing to the pent-up energy inside her. One of many things. That little chance, the waiting, the people: Alix had grown accustomed to sparse crowds. As previously mentioned; anybody you saw in the back streets of Ortiz had an eye on what you owned. Even if they didn't show it, that just meant they were trickier than the rest. You were safest with your back to the wall and not a single person near you.

On the Fornacis, there were still walls to put your back to, but Alix was finding it hard to break old habits. Jumping at the sound of people walking nearby, straining her ears to listen to every mundane conversation that was happening. It was stressful for now, but hopefully something that she'd get used to. However, it was that stress that had forced Alix out onto the main deck to try and clear her head. Sure, there were still people out there, but it was easier to find a spot to herself, and keeping it was only a matter of glaring at people as they approached her. So far, that was enough to deter the rest of her 'fellow crew'.

She'd already vented most of her anxiety by chucking some useless personal belongings of the side of the ship, just to watch them disappear into the sky below. When she'd run out of things she was willing to throw overboard, she'd contemplated making ice crystals to follow them. There were probably better uses for a Pyxis though; it was a waste of energy to use magic so she could throw snowballs into the open air. Seemed almost disrespectful to an ability that had given her the ability to fight for her things.

Some people might call it cheating, but all was fair in her territory. The other people in Ortzi didn't have Pyxis that they could could on. Apparently they'd stopped getting those for a while, and most of the people in her situation were just your run-of-the-mill Average Joe. She was fortunate enough to have an advantage, and it would have been pretty stupid to not use it when she already had a natural step-up over the competition. That was just another facet of her strength; something she had that other people didn't. In its deepest, most basic terms, that was all strength was. If people messed with her, they got what was coming to them. If they weren't willing to step down when they were outmatched...that wasn't her problem.

Not for long, anyway.

Now...she wouldn't have to worry about that. Not for a while, at least. Hopefully. If territory and watching your back were necessary on board the legendary ship, she was fatally unprepared for it. That thought was only fueling her nervous energy more.

It was definitely going to take some getting used to.

Skybound

Alix Westwynd

Alix Westwynd

Face of the Frost

_{By Siwoo Kim}

Age: 25
Gender/Sex: Female
Race: Human
Ship Role: Combatant

Some Background: 8 years ago, on the streets of Ortzi, Alix began a new life for herself from nothing. Determined only to hold on to a select few lessons that made her the person she was, and a few others that taught her the things she needed to know, she began again from scratch. It was difficult for her at first; beginning from nothing means you have no stability to hold on to, but she was nothing if not determined, and after a year or two of floundering, she finally got her feet underneath her. She found the person she wanted to be, and that was a huge step for her.

She was positive that she would never allow herself to be a victim.

In Ortzi, a land almost driven to her knees, there were too many victims already. She found the best way to prevent herself from being preyed upon was to bloodily fight her way to the top of the food chain. Of course, having her Pyxis certainly helped; a lot of people that she found herself up against couldn’t defend themselves from her skills, and it was far easier to avoid death at the hands of some monster if you had the abilities necessary.

Alix knows her path. For her, the Fornacis is just another stepping stone on that path. She didn’t seek to join the crew for any reason other than it promised new adventure and new challenges for her to overcome.

Pyxis

Pyxis Strength: Frost Elemental Magic
Form of the Pyxis: When in use, Alix’s Pyxis manifests as patches of severe frostbite across her nose and hands.
Pyxis Skill List:

• Child of Frost: Alix is functionally immune to low temperatures and cold weather. Even in the chilliest of climates or situations, even her breath does not show. She can also cross slick patches of ice without risk of slipping and can swim in freezing cold water without suffering hypothermia or shock. She has yet to try and encase herself fully in ice, as she does not want to run the risk of being unable to free herself.
• Ice Gauntlets: Alix can cause icy formations to rapidly crystallize across her hands, building into large gauntlets that encase her fists. These gauntlets are mostly used for hand-to-hand combat, as strikes delivered through them are significantly stronger than her normal punches. Alix can cause these gauntlets to shatter and fall away from her hands whenever she wants, and they automatically do so if she loses consciousness. She cannot use her Frostcrawl Skill when the Ice Gauntlets are formed across her hands.
• Frostcrawl: This skill is the one that Alix typically uses in combat; Frostcrawl is an ice magic that Alix must focus from her bare hands to use. This skill causes the temperature of whatever area she is touching to drop significantly and quickly, and is cumulative, meaning that the effect is more powerful the longer she maintains her touch. Once a spot has been chilled enough the effect can then spread by itself by causing the surrounding areas to also drop in temperature and the ice begins creeping its way outwards. Well insulated materials resist the spread better than uninsulated materials, and enough warmth can halt the spread or melt the ice entirely.
• Breath of Winter: Alix can unleash a freezing cold gale from her lungs, which can quickly overtake an area with ice and freeze even flesh and bone solid. The blast is not suitable for range attacks and can typically only affect things a few feet from her. Any area frozen by this skill immediately begins spreading as with Frostcrawl and will do so quickly if left unchecked. Using this ability is painful for Alix, as it causes some damage to her lungs and throat, typically leaving her hoarse, raspy, and short-of-breath for nearly a day or two after use.

#33ec06

Skybound

Alix Westwynd

Alix Westwynd

Face of the Frost

_{By Siwoo Kim}

Age: 25
Gender/Sex: Female
Race: Human
Ship Role: Combatant

Some Background: 8 years ago, on the streets of Ortzi, Alix began a new life for herself from nothing. Determined only to hold on to a select few lessons that made her the person she was, and a few others that taught her the things she needed to know, she began again from scratch. It was difficult for her at first; beginning from nothing means you have no stability to hold on to, but she was nothing if not determined, and after a year or two of floundering, she finally got her feet underneath her. She found the person she wanted to be, and that was a huge step for her.

She was positive that she would never allow herself to be a victim.

In Ortzi, a land almost driven to her knees, there were too many victims already. She found the best way to prevent herself from being preyed upon was to bloodily fight her way to the top of the food chain. Of course, having her Pyxis certainly helped; a lot of people that she found herself up against couldn’t defend themselves from her skills, and it was far easier to avoid death at the hands of some monster if you had the abilities necessary.

Alix knows her path. For her, the Fornacis is just another stepping stone on that path. She didn’t seek to join the crew for any reason other than it promised new adventure and new challenges for her to overcome.

Pyxis

Pyxis Strength: Frost Elemental Magic
Form of the Pyxis: When in use, Alix’s Pyxis manifests as patches of severe frostbite across her nose and hands.
Pyxis Skill List:

• Frostcrawl: This skill is the one that Alix typically uses in combat; Frostcrawl is an ice magic that Alix must focus from her bare hands to use. This skill causes the temperature of whatever area she is touching to drop significantly and quickly, and is cumulative, meaning that the effect is more powerful the longer she maintains her touch. Once a spot has been chilled enough the effect can then spread by itself by causing the surrounding areas to also drop in temperature and the ice begins creeping its way outwards. Well insulated materials resist the spread better than uninsulated materials, and enough warmth can halt the spread or melt the ice entirely.
• Breath of Winter: Alix can unleash a freezing cold gale from her lungs, which can quickly overtake an area with ice and freeze even flesh and bone solid. The blast is not suitable for range attacks and can typically only affect things a few feet from her. Any area frozen by this skill immediately begins spreading as with Frostcrawl and will do so quickly if left unchecked. Using this ability is painful for Alix, as it causes some damage to her lungs and throat, typically leaving her hoarse, raspy, and short-of-breath for nearly a day or two after use.
• Ice Gauntlets: Alix can cause icy formations to rapidly crystallize across her hands, building into large gauntlets that encase her fists. These gauntlets are mostly used for hand-to-hand combat, as strikes delivered through them are significantly stronger than her normal punches. Alix can cause these gauntlets to shatter and fall away from her hands whenever she wants, and they automatically do so if she loses consciousness. She cannot use her Frostcrawl Skill when the Ice Gauntlets are formed across her hands.
• Child of Frost: Alix is functionally immune to low temperatures and cold weather. Even in the chilliest of climates or situations, even her breath does not show. She can also cross slick patches of ice without risk of slipping and can swim in freezing cold water without suffering hypothermia or shock. She has yet to try and encase herself fully in ice, as she does not want to run the risk of being unable to free herself.

#33ec06

Spirit Wielders!

Deal

---

Deal

Roxy found herself hiding in another classroom. It might have been simpler for her to have just turned around and locked herself in the classroom she'd been in when Lucy showed up, but that one had been proven to not be safe. This one didn't have any monsters near it, so it was far safer than the one that had been cleared out of monsters. In Roxy's mind, that logic made complete sense. Plus, she'd been extra quiet when she came to this one instead of loudly stumbling down the stairs with a glowstick. Theoretically, the extra discretion meant that nothing would be able to find her. Of course, Roxy hadn't even considered the possibility these things might not have used conventional methods of perception; for all she knew, they could hunt by echolocation or thermal vision. Still...she was safe right now, at that was all that mattered. She had crawled under the teachers desk and curled up nice and tight there, and was content to stay there until everything blew over. Her arm still hurt, and there was probably still glass stuck in her knees, but she was pretty sure that she could weather the crisis out from her spot.

Of course, a hidey-hole like hers meant nothing if the whole section of the school exploded or something. When the ground rumbled and the air discharged energy in deafening bursts, Roxy extracted herself from her position. She needed to know what was happening before it obliterated her entire position, so she slowly crawled over to a full-length radiator unit. Her cover was directly underneath the window, and it hummed slightly as she rested against it; a humming that drowned out the slight noises of Roxy trying to gain her resolve. She counted quietly to herself, braced, and slowly peeked over the machinery to try and get a better look at the outside.

In the backyard of the school, all kinds of horrific things were happening. Roxy watched as the three giants formed in the middle of the lake; their long limbs trailing downwards like dropping ink and their giant spotlight heads which passed over the environment and lit up every raindrop as it fell past. Something about these new monsters was even more terrifying than the crab-creatures that were actively trying to kill her, and she hand to put her hand over her mouth to stifle a noise of horror. She slid back down to the floor with her back against the radiator just as the room began to brighten. A sign that one of the giants was looking her way.

'This can't be happening. This can't be happening right now. Please oh please oh please...'

She shut her eyes tightly as the light grew brighter, but found even that was not enough to shield herself. The gaze of the giants lit up her room so intensely that Roxy could see the light bleeding through her own closed eyelids.

After a moment, the spotlight passed, and Roxy was left in relative darkness again.

She opened her eyes and let out a breath that she only just now realized she'd been holding. Every part of her shook in terror, and she had to steady her arm to pull herself back up and look out the window again. She peeked over once more, checking to see if anything had changed with the giants.

When she came face-to-face with a Swarmling that was prowling on the other side of the window, she couldn't help but scream.

The thing launched itself through the glass window panes, sending shards scattering and cracking across the ground. It did not land gracefully; instead, it rolled through the room and toppled desks where it met them, finally coming to rest against a bookshelf on the other side.

The broken glass and sudden entrance made the whole situation eerily similar to Roxy's previous encounter, but there where a few distinct differences: This creature was the size of a golf-cart, and its tail flicked dangerously around instead of the stiff scorpion-like appendage the last one had. The Swarmling scuttled momentarily, rotating unnaturally back into an upright position and turned. Roxy also scrambled to her feet, her knees once again threatening to give out underneath her if she did not concentrate on standing.

For a moment, the world seemed to skip. Roxy's vision scattered, tearing apart like a dying television channel. Where the creature stood, its entire form flickered into static and then back. The sound of the rain and electricity outside gave way to a low, keening wail. It was a mournful, drawn out sound just at the edges of her perception, like the sound of a large machine coming to rest, or the sound of a centuries old creature slowly dying.

Roxy snapped back to her current predicament, dodging backwards towards the teacher's desk just as the 'crack of the creature's tail broke the nearest chair in half. The world seemed to buzz again, skipping like a damaged video, and Roxy stumbled slightly in her haste to escape. She made it to the front of the room just as the Swarmling clambered over the debris to stand behind her. In a moment of fight or flight instinct, Roxy pulled the first thing from the desk and whirled around to throw it. There was a pause in her mind, as the world seemed to slow for this standoff. She hefted the textbook over her head and launched it.

Then Roxy let out an involuntary gasp as the creature's barbed tongue shot directly through her chest.

It felt like someone had punched her in the sternum as hard as they could; a sudden impact that robbed her of all her breath. There was a faint pain in her back, where the tongue had exited her body. She found herself unable to suck in any air, despite the natural reflex to try and do so after being winded. The sound of her ribs shattering with the impact were still ringing in her ears, as were the wet noises of her own blood splattering across the chalkboard behind her.

But the creature had stopped. So had the book she'd thrown, currently stationary mid-arc. In fact, it seemed like everything had stopped around her.

"Wh-?"

"That looks like it fucken' hurts, love."

The sound of footsteps became clearly evident. Steady, confident, unwavering, just like their owner. A dark-haired woman seemed to slip out of nothingness, her height and figure slight, and yet there was something that seemed to fill the space she didn't occupy. Dressed in a crimson cropped jacket with a fur-lined collar and a top cut to end at the start of her rib cage, she seemed flashier than someone that would have been missed in passing. Heeled boots came up to the bottom of her knees, delicately cut to her figure--a fact made more noticeable by the lightly patterned leggings that ran up until they disappeared beneath a pair of snugly fitted denim shorts.

They clicked when she moved, an oddly satisfying sound against the floor of the classroom.

"Juuuus' enough to get me goin'," the woman smirked as she came to a halt before Roxy, a single, icy eye peering down with a keen sense of interest. "Seems like you coul' use a bit 'f help there."

Roxy's confusion was likely the least of her issues here, but it was the obstacle she found herself unable to overcome.

"What? What just happened?" She asked, her eyes settling on the new woman. She'd never seen this person before, but for some reason she wasn't surprised to see her. There was a certain air about her; like she'd been present the whole time. It made sense that she had come out of the shadows, but Roxy just didn't know why it made sense.

Her gaze trickled downward slightly, to the long appendage that was sticking directly through her chest. Her mind registered this as something that she should have been panicking about, but it refused to allow such emotion. She wanted to start hyperventilating, but she couldn't breathe. It was unclear if this was due to the sudden pause of time or the utter destruction of her lung along with her heart, but it was a nonissue now that it seemed breath was unnecessary. Still, the ever-present rhythm of steady airflow had ceased, and the loss of that steady beat only made her want to panic even more. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't form. She wanted to move, but the tongue's position through her body had her locked in place. She wanted answers, but all the thoughts that came to her mind were fragmented.

"What's going on here? Wh-...who are you?"

It was at this moment, with a single sputtered question and the heavy feeling of fear settling over her like a blanket, that something bloomed in her head in an instant; an idea that stuck into her brain like a white-hot needle.

"Did I-? Am I...dead?"

"Well, ya would be, love, if I didn' think it might be interestin' to keep you 'round," the woman claimed with a cat-like smile crossing her features. "The name's Arma, love. I guess you could call me a spirit."

Hmm, a kid probably wasn't going to take too kindly to what kind of spirit that she was, so Arma kept that to herself. There was a certain level of sustenance she could wring from this, after all.

"An' I'm here t' offer ya the opportunity of a lifetime--well, yer lifetime, at least."

Roxy's surprise forced a step backwards, pulling the tongue out the front of herself by about an inch, and the creature shimmered in and out of static once more. It should have been excruciating, but Roxy felt nothing from the sudden action. Even if it weren't the fatal wound it was, the feeling of forcing it back out through her chest should have been horrific. And while she was aware of how it should have felt....it just didn't.

"A...'spirit'?" Roxy asked. That was the only concept she could grasp onto as her mind whirled past her. She needed to focus. To calm down. She couldn't take a deep breath to bring herself back down, but she could try and take things one step at a time. It couldn't have been real...and yet the feeling that it had to be real weighed on her. A paradox of emotions washed over her before she shook her head inwardly, attempting to clear it away. One step at a time.

"What do you mean by 'spirit'? And for that matter, what do you mean by 'opportunity'?" She looked into the grin of the woman before her, finding a vague sense of unease at a smile that seemed to stretch just a touch too far. Subconsciously, that 'unease' was one of few emotions she was capable of feeling at this moment only served to make the feeling worse.

"Oh, y'know, a spirit. Etheric otherworldly bein' with powers or whatever that you li'l guys don' always see. There's a whole lotta drama 'bout all that, but I gotta say, I ain't too inta it." The woman tapped the creature currently impaling Roxy once, a resounding sound accompanying a faint distortion. "These li'l guys are probably 'nother spirit's handiwork."

Arma didn't really seem to mind very much that her conversational partner was, in fact, impaled on the creature's tongue.

"Y'see, spirits an' humans can form preeeetty mutually beneficial contracts together. Ya feed me an' get me a nice form, an' I give ya some of my power. I'm gonna go ahead 'n offer you one of those contracts." Arma grinned, her hands on her hips. "Opportunity, see?"

"Spirit? So, are you like...a ghost?"

Roxy took another half-step backwards. She was only slightly aware of the numb feeling of the creature's flesh grinding across her ribs.

"Hmmm, probably woulda had to be a person t'be one a those," Arma hummed. "Guess a li'l closer t' demon woul' be better."

"Demon!?" Roxy said, the alarm in her voice plain to hear. She backed up another inch in an effort to place some distance between her and the entity, but she could feel the flared barbs expanding outwards against her back.

"So wait...if I were going to accept your 'opportunity', I'd get sent to hell or something?"

"Not at all, love. Like I said, mutually beneficial." Arma peered at the girl, watching the small movements with a dismissive eye. "Ya take this li'l 'opportunity' an' I save yer skin 'n exchange fer at leas' a li'l entertainment. Ya don' an--well, ya see where it gets ya."

"Wh-? Entertainment?" Roxy asked. "You keep saying vague things like 'entertainment' and 'mutually beneficial. Even if I were to accept, which I'm not saying I am, what exactly do you get out of this anyway?"

"The physically tangible thing woul' be 'a body' at the end 'f it. Nice 'n all, but it ain't much use if I don' got anythin' fun ta do with it. Jus' seems like things're gonna get interestin' here, so I might as well look for 'n equally interestin' partner, yeah?"

"Wait...are...are you planning on stealing my body?"

"I think yer gettin' me mixed up with 'ghosts' again, love. You'd jus' be makin' this one a li'l less....selectively visible," the spirit claimed while making a small motion over herself. "I kinda like how this one turned out, so I ain't inta stealin' yer skin."

"O...kay..." Roxy said, growing suspicious of the current 'deal'. "And....what would I get out of this? I know you mentioned a power before...but what kind of power is it?"

She tried backing up a bit more, but to no success. The cavity in her chest was simply too small, and the flared barbed on the back of the tongue were too wide for her to dislodge herself.

"Gotta say, I--" Arma paused, a frown etching across her face. "This is really gettin' in the way."

Two strides was the most warning that Roxy received before the woman heftily removed the girl from the very thing that kept her in place. Unfortunately, the spirit didn't seem to pay much heed to resistance as she tore Roxy from her place. It might not have been real, but the resulting mess certainly would have convinced anyone as bone was severed, crimson lifeblood spilling like rainfall at the harsh movement.

The world seemed to flash like a corrupted video feed as Roxy was forcibly pulled from the Swarmling. The barbs tore messily through her back, segmenting parts of her spine and loosing vertebrae as they did. Ligaments in her chest snapped with the sound of rope being pulled apart, and bones cracked like eggshells as they were wrenched out of place. The sound of blood, her blood, pouring steadily onto the floor was one of few ambient noises in the room. There was no warmth as her own essence oozed down the front of her. It was fortunate for her sanity that her hoodie had flared out in much the same way her skin did, as it prevented her from seeing the extent of the damage from her perspective. A quarter of her torso was just gone, leaving her with a hole in her chest that she could put her arm through if she wanted to.

But it didn't hurt.

"As I was sayin'... I'm a spirit 'f--let's say artillery." If Arma was perturbed by her hand in the destruction of the human in her room, she seemed entirely unphased by it. "You get me, ya get the whole damn cavalry's firepower. S'not a bad deal for a li'l underdog like ya."

"So...a contract with you, and you give me the ability to just blow these things up?"

Roxy walked towards the creature to examine it closer, but it wasn't any nicer looking at this distance. She could see the sections of its mouth where tongue extended outwards, and Roxy traced it back to look at the pieces of her that had been sprayed across the chalkboard.

"Are there any catches? You mentioned 'feeding' earlier..."

"Gal's gotta eat," Arma hummed absently. "I take a few nibbles off yer spiritual energy here 'n there. 'nough ta keep me kickin'."

Well, for Arma in particular, it was a little more than that, but what the kid didn't know wouldn't kill her. Probably.

Roxy paused. The whole contract sounded like a trap. She didn't like it. Arma was a demon, that much she had admitted freely. Any agreement with her could only end in tragedy.

But the alternative seemed worse. Roxy was a scared little girl who couldn't do anything but die. With a little bit of power...she might be able to help people. She'd be able to do what Lucy and Luna had done for her.

She could be a superhero.

"..."

"Mutually beneficial?"

"Mutually beneficial, love."

A smile that the devil might have killed to possess, an open palm laid out flat as a smattering of bullets and cartridges appeared in the same distorted view.

There was a lost cause in every person, Arma had found.

"All you hafta do is pick yer poison."

She was always curious whether she could shape it herself.

A cartridge. Wasted opportunity. Uncertainty. A cartridge didn't tell you what had happened before it was ejected. A cartridge was empty. Lacking.

A bullet. Pure potential. An option. A choice. The power to change things. Ready. Waiting.

Roxy hesitated for a moment. Only a moment.

"Deal." She said, plucking one of the bullets from Arma's hand.

"Good choice, love."

The room fragmented away into sterile white for a moment before the world returned to normal, but not before Arma gave a small chuckle and a minimal word of warning.

"Step lively, 'nless ya want an instant replay 'f what brought ya t'me."

---

Roxy's vision returned to her in an instant; it felt like she'd just blacked out for a second, or just blinked particularly hard. There was a disorienting sense of deja vu that clouded her mind, but she didn't exactly have the time to worry about that; the Swarmling in front of her had just turned around menacingly to face her. She dodged backwards towards the teacher's desk just as the 'crack of the creature's tail broke the nearest chair in half. She stumbled slighty in her haste to escape, making to the front of the room just as the Swarmling clambered over the debris to stand behind her. In a moment of fight or flight instinct, Roxy pulled the first thing from the desk and whirled around to throw it. There was a pause in her mind, as the world seemed to slow for this standoff.

She'd been here before. She would throw the book as hard as she could at the creature.

And she would be dead before it left her hands.

It was like Roxy could see it; as if it were a photograph being held in front of her: the barbed tongue piercing her heart in an instant. Already the creature's mouth was opening to that deadly attack. This had already happened.

Arma had shown her this moment.

Instead of throwing the book, Roxy rolled sideways to kneel behind the desk and take cover. It wasn't a momentary hallucination or deja vu at all; she had made a contract with a spirit. Something brushed against the skin of her neck as that thought hit her, and she glanced down to look at her new adornment. Hanging around her neck was a bullet strung to a makeshift necklace; the same bullet she'd picked from Arma's hand during the contract. She had powers now, but she didn't know how to utilize them.

"Arma! Are you here?"

'No need to shout, love.' A bemused tone buzzed directly into Roxy's head. 'S'long as you have our li'l keepsake 'round, I'll be here.'

Roxy gave an inward sigh of relief. She wasn't crazy; Arma was present, and she had made that deal. That much was confirmed by the sound of her voice. Roxy lifted her head an inch above the desk to look at the Swarmling, ducking quickly as the tail snapped forward in response. It caught the finely sanded edge of desk top, splintering wood and sending it showering over Roxy's head. A step up from glass, at least.

'What the hell am I supposed to do here, Arma!? There's supposed to be artillery, isn't there?'

'Well, can' give ya much if ya don' call for it. Guess we're havin' a crash course practical.' For all the danger it posed, Arma's tone was enough to indicate that she simply didn't care. 'Alright, love. Jus' go with the flow here.'

An instinctual knowledge prickled to life, as though it were some long-forgotten method that Roxy might have known, but never used.

'Nice 'n easy.'

'Nice...and easy.'

Roxy closed her eyes and focused on Arma's voice, on the essence of power that she provided, and on the bullet that now hung around her neck. There was artillery to be found within; she just had to pull it to the surface. Slowly, like tar dripping over her, a pair of dark, fingerless gloves slipped across her hands. They fit perfectly against her palm, as if she'd always worn them before today. A pair of black earmuffs spontaneously generated over her head, clamping over her ears and pushing some of her hair firmly against her scalp; they would protect her from the deafening sounds of Arma's ordinance. A dark bandanna melded up her face, extending from the string of her necklace up to cover her nose; a protective barrier that would obscure her features and protect her from those trying to suss out her identity.

Roxy focused as Arma's power coalesced in her hands; the defining element of their contract brought to a physical object. To anybody else, this might have looked like a normal gun, but this was Arma's Pistol. With their contract in effect, this was Arma and Roxy's pistol. Somehow, she knew exactly how it worked, and the death it was capable of delivering. She also knew that she would need a little bit more distance to show off her new capabilities.

Roxy took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She waited; listening for the perfect moment.

A singsong hum seemed to mark that exact moment in the back of the newly-made medium's head.

The tail twitched, signaling an incoming attack; it was a minuscule motion, but one that Roxy's eyes caught immediately - as if she had a second pair of eyes also watching out for her safety. There was a loud crashing sound as the tail slammed into the floor, but Roxy was already tumbling forward out of the way. She rolled to her feet in a swift motion and whirled around, bringing the weapon up to take aim at the Swarmling.

Roxy squeezed the trigger, feeling the sudden jolt in her hands as the recoil pushed back against her; it was a shock that left her hands with a slight stinging sensation, and an impact that she could feel travel up her arms and into her elbows. Instinctively, she compensated for the force and brought the gun back to center position. She fired again, and brought it back over. Another shot. Another. Arma's weapon fired again, and again, and again.

The electric distortions that sparked outside was mere party poppers compared to the thunderous blasts that echoed through the room. Where the bullets impacted with the carapace of the Swarmling, they burst into flame and concussive force; exploding outwards and scattering pieces of the creature across the room. Deep craters opened up in it, a series of gaping holes that appeared one after another as every shot Roxy fired hit its mark. The thing was big, and decently protected, but even it couldn't stand up against the sudden barrage of leaden death that was being leveled against it.

Not much would be able to stand up to it. For once her life, Roxy found herself as the most dangerous thing in the room.

And that feeling was...intoxicating in a way.

With a final explosive blast, the creature's lifeforce was scattered, and it crumpled limply to ground. The corpse had not even finished smoking when there was the telltale 'click' of another clip being loaded in. With just a thought, Roxy had reached forward and pulled the extra ammunition from the air; she had no idea where it came from, but she just knew where to reach to retrieve it.

There was a slight clattering sound as the old clip fell onto the ground, and Roxy listened carefully for any signs of incoming attention.

'Ha, nice shootin' there, love.' Something about the words was different, a strange sense of exhilaration that didn't belong to Roxy, but didn't bleed through into the human language that Yin used. 'Now get yer ass 'n gear. I bet'cha that hellfire got noticed by somethin'.'

'I'm counting on it.' Roxy said, a sinister confidence to her thoughts. 'We should head towards the roof; see if there's any sort of vantage point to be found. We might be able to give some covering fire on those giant things.'

'Sound like a plan to you?'

Had Arma been toting a form it could be seen with, the would-be sinister smile would have been difficult to miss. Fortunately, that kind of inconvenience had a way of disappearing when she didn't have to be visible.

'High ground sounds like a great call,' Arma chimed. 'Hopefully you can get rid of more of those pests on the way up.'

'With pleasure'

Spirit Wielders!

Lucy | Roxy

---

Lakewood High | 11:15 EST

---

Hider

Oh God... Lucy thought as she sped past a corner, her heeled boots pounding against the floor of the hallway as her heart pounded against her chest. I've never done anything like this before...

"Lucy..."

Like, how the hell does this compare to fighting some ghost in an old warehouse? I still barely know my way around this school. I'm not prepared for this, I don't know how I'm supposed to fucking handle this...

"Lucy!"

And I'm the adult here, now. What happens if one of them dies; am I responsible for that? How am I going to live with myself after today? I just can't-

"LUCY! BREATHE!"

The Spirit's words pulled her back to reality, at least somewhat. She took a long series of deep breaths and tried to recollect herself. She was... in school. Looking for anyone that might have gotten missed in the headcount. She'd transformed and merged with her Spirit pretty much as soon as she was confident she was out of eyesight. And there were... crustaceans. She'd killed one. She could probably kill more. Yeah. Just take it one step at a time...

The feeling that she was going to have a fucking heart attack began to fade. Lucy slowed her pace just a little, giving herself some time to check the classrooms as she jogged by. Still, she heard a crash and a yell, and as she rounded yet another corner she tried to skid to a stop and promptly fell over at the sight of another monster. It either didn't notice or care about her though. It was staring at a door. Was someone in there? Lucy felt herself trembling again as she spun her scepter around, aiming it at the beast with trembling unease.

"Be lax. Let me guide your aim."

Lucy did so, attempting to detach herself from her rigid, unstable control of her own body. She felt her aim honing in on the scuttling creature, charging, letting loose a blast of burning light like it was second nature. It hit the creature right in the eye, burning straight through it as the rest of the body began to dissolve into thin air. It was something she'd done so many times before, but there was something comforting about still being able to do it now. She flipped her scepter back to normal and gave the door a light knock.

"H-hey," Lucy said, managing to keep the stress out of her voice. "Is anyone in there?"

Roxy cowered, the tears still pouring down her face as she tried to take shallow, silent breaths. She could feel the creature waiting for her on the other side of the door. She was basically just waiting for the moment that it came through the wooden barrier and ended her; it was the worst kind suspense that person could likely ever experience. It didn't help that she had to force her body not to crumple into a little ball on the floor. The sound of her collapsing would surely alert the thing in the hall. She just had to stand as rigid and silent as she possibly could, while the mind-numbing fear of imminent dismemberment squeezed at her lungs like a vice.

Then, there was a different noise. It sounded like sand being thrown onto asphalt, or some slight noise like you'd hear from a superhero using their laser vision. It was there for only a moment, and then it was gone. Replaced by another noise; the light tapping of a hand at the door, and someone's voice.

The thought that it might be a trick, or whoever was on the other side of the door might not be a friend didn't even cross Roxy's mind as she quickly flung the door open, rushing into the arms of the person on the other side, still with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" she spouted, the panic nearly outweighing the gratitude in her voice. "Is it gone? Did you get rid of it?" she asked, looking around slightly while her trembling hands refused to relinquish their grips on the front of this new person.

Lucy jumped, startled by the sudden entrance, though she quickly returned the hug. Tears of relief began to well up behind her mask. She could be sure that someone, at least, would make it out of this okay.

"Yeah," she said softly. "It's gone." She took a couple more deep breaths, exorcising the tension from her body.

"Not that I don't want to spend the rest of our day trapped in the clutches of this traumatized grub, but we should get moving."

What do you want me to do, tear her off? Give her a minute.

"I don't want to put you back in a panic attack, but how many minutes do the rest of these children have? Do what you need to do, I'll watch for trouble. Just make it quick."

The Spirit split itself from Lucy. The Medium's wings fell around her body like cloth as the giant moth flew from her back and fluttered about the hallway.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.

"I...think so?" Roxy said, a little uncertain as the shaking in her hands slowed and she released her white-knuckle grip on Lucy. She wiped her face with her good arm, and then brought it back over to cradle her damaged one. "I fell down the stairs and hurt my arm really badly, but I don't think it's broken or anything. It just hurts a lot."

She attempted to rotate her shoulder a bit in demonstration, but stopped with a wince as a bolt of pain shot through her. She looked back up to the new person in front of her, giving a curious glance at the creature behind her. She almost took a step backwards in fear, but there was just something about it that seemed...safe. It was a big moth or something, and it seemed to have a faint glow about it. There wasn't anything dangerous about that.

"What's...going on?" Roxy asked, the silence allowing her to be uncomfortably aware of the blood pumping loudly in her ears and the stinging pain that just seemed to be ever-present right now. Her eyes darted nervously from Lucy to the moth, to back down the hallway, and her face started to flush as the circumstances started to weigh back onto her mind.

The masked Medium paused. A good question.

"I don't know..." She admitted. "I'm going to stop them though. I just need you to stay strong for me, ok? You're doing great." She gave the girl another look over. That shoulder was probably dislocated.

"Can you lay down on your back for me?" Lucy asked, sitting down on the floor. "We should get that arm fixed." She wasn't absolutely 100% sure she remembered how to do this, but it was probably best not to mention that. Now that she was a bit calmer, she doubted anyone was ever ready to pop in a shoulder at the drop of a hat, or become a magical girl and fight monsters. It wasn't a test you could study for the night before. She held the girl's arm in her hand and slowly, gently, move it away from her body, aiming for that forty-five degree sweet spot.

"The moth is mine by the way." Lucy explained, attempting to keep the girl's mind off of any pain or anxiety she might be feeling. "It's, uh, kind of like a Pokémon sort of thing, I guess." She gave the arm a steady, firm pull, still being careful to keep it at the right angle and not to be too forceful, waiting for it to pop back into place.

Roxy looked at Lucy a little hesitantly, before slowly lowering herself down to the ground. She made a motion to steady herself with the injured arm, but shifted over to the other side before she could put any wait on it. "Just...lay down? In the middle of the hallway? Aren't there still things around?" she asked; though her tone was slightly worried, she still leaned backwards into a prone position, looking directly up into the ceiling. She flinched a little at Lucy's touch, but slowly relaxed as she adjusted her arm into the proper position.

"A Pokémon?" Roxy questioned, a slight hint of excitement in her voice. She turned her head slightly to look into Lucy's mask, her eyes wide. "So, like, you can have it fight for you? Is what happened to the thing that was chasing me? Where did you even fin-AHN!"

The slight crunch of joint being forced into place and the yelp of pain from Roxy cut off the sudden barrage of questions, and her legs immediately brought themselves inward as she attempted to curl into herself. She grabbed at her shoulder, relaxing her legs back down to the ground and letting out a stifled whimper, followed by a few heavy breaths as she blinked away her watering eyes.

Still glassy eyed, she looked back into the mask again. If she said anything now, it would just come out pained and shaking, so Roxy held her tongue.

"You're doing great," Lucy reassured, with a warm smile. "Take a moment if you need to." She decided to leave the barrage of questions unanswered for the moment.

She slid away from the girl and took a bit of a breather herself, giving her another look over. She didn't quite recognize her, though then again, it was only the first week of the school year. She never met a teacher who could actually remember all their students by then.

"So what's your name?" Lucy asked.

Roxy did take a moment for her deep breaths to slow back down to a normal level. Her shoulder still throbbed with pain, but it seemed like it was slowly fading at least; it'd probably be sore, but at least she could move it around.

"Roxy." She finally said. "Roxy Tretter. Or Roxanne. Either works, I guess."

Her enthusiasm was notably absent now; but that could at least be expected with the way her last ten minutes had panned out. She pushed her self up to her feet, still careful to not put any weight on her previously-injured arm, just in case. "Who are you? And...what's up with the mask? And the moth? Like, I know you said he was yours, but..." she trailed off, leaving the question open.

"Well, Roxy..." Lucy trailed off, suddenly realizing that she simply could not lie to this child if her life depended on it. Best case scenario; it'd have to be their little secret. Lunasa turned back to her for a moment and gave her what Lucy could instinctively tell was a piercing glare.

"My name is Lucy." The Medium started, with a slow huff. "The moth appeared to me in a dream one night, she didn't look like a moth then though. I know I said she was like a Pokémon but I was also getting this sort of Faustian pact vibe to it?" She trailed off again, realizing she probably still didn't have a perfect understanding of all this herself.

"Anyways," She concluded. "We're sort of linked together now. Whenever I summon her we can jump really high and shoot lasers and I have to do a little magical girl transformation into this outfit." She blushed, feeling like she was doing a really bad job with this.

"Well, at least you listen to some of what I tell you."

"Sorry." Lucy said, trying to keep up a smile. "It's, uh, a lot to explain."

Roxy stood, either stunned by the sudden influx of information, or entranced. It certainly was a lot to explain, and for a young girl whose most interesting part of the day was seeing the lunch special, her whole world was being turned on its head in a matter of moments. There were definitely a few uncomfortable seconds of silence after Lucy finished her explanation, where Roxy's eyes just darted across her face in disbelief, as if waiting for her to admit it was all a joke.

"So wait..." she finally said, her voice cracking slightly at first. "...so like...you're like...a superhero or something? Superheroes...exist? And you have actual superpowers and this is your costume?"

Slow at first, the flood of questions began to pick up speed.

"So like, are these weird bug-things from a supervillian? Are you going to go fight him? Are there more of you?"

"Do I need to keep this a secret?"

"I, um..." Lucy stammered. That was a lot of questions.

"Okay, so," She started up again, counting up the questions on her hand in preparation to list them off. "I guess you could say I'm a superhero? I've never met anyone else like me, though. I mostly just took care of things like those bugs which are like the moth but bad... and I try to keep all this a secret. Today is way bigger than anything else I've dealt with, so maybe that rule isn't going to work anymore. We'll have to see." She sighed. This was all going to have a lot of fallout.

"Well don't worry; your secret is safe with me!" Roxy said, excitement slowly blossiming into her mannerisms again. She was part of a super secret mission now...or at least, she was involved in one. But she wouldn't be able to tell anybody about this...that was a little bit of a bummer.

"Is Lucy like, your superhero name? Or is that your actual name? Wait no; I guess you shouldn't tell me that. Does the moth have a name?"

Lucy's embarrassment began to fade as she realized that Roxy was beginning to perk back up again.

"Her name is Lunasa," Lucy explained. "Though I like to call her Luna."

"Please tell her not to call me that."

Lucy ignored her Spirit's request, though she gave the moth a quick smirk. She turned back to Roxy.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. "Ready to get moving?"

"Lunasa?" Roxy said, pondering for a moment. "That's a nice name!"

She rotated her arm slightly, wincing a bit as she did. Still sore, but manageable.

"I think I'm good now." She said; she puffed her chest out slightly and attempted to appear a little more confident, but knowing that a insect bug-monster could come crashing down the halls at any moment put a bit of a strain on that attempt.

"You need to go help other people, right? Do all sorts of superhero stuff and save the day? I can probably find somewhere and hide out if you don't want to get slowed down by me; especially if you're going to be fighting more of those things."

There was the sound of an earthquake as part of the building exploded somewhere; Roxy threw her hands over her head and squeaked in surprise, though it was likely drowned out by the deafening "YAHAHAHA!" that seemed to reverberate through her bones.

"Like that. Like whatever that was. I don't think I can help with whatever just did that." Roxy said, the panic back in her voice.

"I..." Lucy trailed off, her expression pained. Roxy had a point, but she couldn't help her if she was out hiding somewhere...

"Okay." She said finally, placing a hand on Roxy's shoulder. "Just promise me you'll be careful, alright?"

"Pinky promise!" Roxy said, holding her little finger out towards Lucy.

The Medium nodded, sporting a sudden grin. There was no breaking a pinky promise. She wrapped her little finger around Roxy's.

"Pinky promise." Lucy repeated, making the contract binding.

"Alrighty then..." Roxy said as she looked down the hallway. "...I guess I'm going to go barricade myself in somewhere more out-of-the-way. And like...safe from tornadoes and hurricanes and stuff."

Easier said than done, of course.

"Good luck out there, Miss Lucy! And good luck to Lun too! Head out there and kick some butt!"

Lucy, stunned by the show of confidence, gave a slow nod before coming back with a proud thumbs-up. Roxy gave a quick fist pump into the air, a final nod of confirmation, and then turned around and started to carefully make her way down the hallway; listening closely for any signs of trouble as she did. There was a fine balance of 'running quickly for safety' and 'alerting every monster in the building', and the second option was very high on Roxy's list of 'things to avoid'.

Still, it was comforting to know that there was at least one literal superhero around to protect her.

_{Collab with @Kamen Evie}

Spirit Wielders!

Run

---

Run

It was way too noisy in the cafeteria, and Roxy just needed somewhere to clear her head and get away from the crowds. Maybe it was a bad idea to go use the bathroom during an emergency drill, and maybe it was an even worse idea to go all the way to the second floor to get away from the cafeteria, but Roxy was fairly confident that there wasn't actually a tornado or something coming. It was just a freak storm after all; and the power got knocked out all the time. Or...it wasn't super unusual for that to happen. Sure...the emergency lights wouldn't come on either. That was fine. It probably wasn't a problem.

Roxy's hands trembled violently as she tried to turn on her phone for the fourth time. There was a pit in her stomach that was threatening to turn itself into a loss of her lunch, and her heart was pounding away like a jackhammer. Maybe this wasn't as fine as she made it out to be. Maybe she was just in denial and had slipped away so nobody would see the panic that was starting to set in.

That was probably it.

Even the glow stick necklace she'd pulled out of her bag wasn't helping at all. She still had a few of them left over from the first day of school, but the soft blue glow of the stick around her neck was only serving as a minimal light source, and not the beacon of positivity that she was used to glowsticks being.

Roxy looked in the mirror, splashing some cold water on her face and feeling blindly for the paper towel dispenser so she could wipe her eyes clear. She patted against the wall for a moment, following it along until she found- BONK

"OWCH!"

Roxy slammed her head into the dispenser and stumbled backwards a step, bringing her hand up to her head and just wiping her eyes with her free sleeve; something she was going to have to do anyway since the towels were motion activated, and the power was out.

"Owie...that really hurt." she said softly, talking to herself and rubbing her head where she'd caught it with the plastic corner. It was a fortunate thing that she could see now at least, and she walked back over towards the mirror to examine her poor dented forehead in the dim blue light. Fortunately, it didn't seem like she'd seriously injured anything; she'd probably just have a small bump in an hour.

It was while she was looking at the mirror that Roxy heard the curious sound of scuttling behind her. The soft, slow sound of claws on tile as something crept through the doorway and into the bathroom. With the blue light illuminating the doorway as dimly as it did the rest of the room, Roxy looked deeply into the mirror to try and source the movement of a large figure she could see in it. With a slow, terrified glance, she turned to look at the source of the reflection.

A strange, beetle looking creature, as large as a mountain lion with a wicked looking barbed tail stood menacingly. Right now, the tail was pulled the whole way back, and it began launching forward with astounding speed. As Roxy gasped in fright at what was only describable as a monster, her knees buckled and she fell to the ground; fortunate only in that it caused the creature to miss.

CRASH!

The tail snapped forward to impact against the mirror as Roxy scrambled towards the stalls, the rain of shattered glass pouring down on her. Roxy could feel as some flakes fell down the back of her shirt, leaving small cuts in her skin the whole way down. Likewise, she could feel the stinging pain of the pieces that were driven into her hands as she pushed herself of the floor and ran for one of the stalls.

Roxy slammed the handicap stall shut and slid the lock into place, breathing heavily as she backed towards the toilet. She had no idea what was going on, her hands were bleeding, and there was some sort of monster trying to kill her. It was fair to say that she was panicking right now.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself as she listened for the creature. She could hear the crunching of mirror underneath its large crab-like legs, and the blue glow from her necklace was enough for her to see the front few limbs approaching the door to her stall.

It seemed to wait there for a moment. As if it were also listening for her...

Roxy held her breath.

The creature was just standing there, on the other side of the door.

Her legs were trembling so furiously that she was afraid she'd lose her balance again.

...

...

Was it still waiting for her?

...

SMASH!

The handicap door buckled inwards as the piercing barb punched through it, causing Roxy to squeal in terror and immediately hit the ground again. She slipped under the stall dividers as the thing attempted to wrench its tail free from the door, and crawled on her hands and knees towards the bathroom exit. She let out a slight whimper as a sliver of glass dug its way through her jeans and into her knee, but she didn't allow it to slow her down. She leaped up as soon as she was under the last barrier and darted out.

Roxy ran as fast as she could down the hallway, but even as she made it past the second classroom door, she could hear the sound of the creature bursting out of the bathroom. She dared not look behind her as she ran, even though she doubted that she'd be able to see anything anyway, but she could feel it gaining on her. The way the hair on the back of her neck stood up as the clacking sound of claws approached let her know that it was getting closer.

Thinking quickly, Roxanne darted down the first hallway she saw: the flight of stairs between floors. Obviously, up was a bad idea; all the horror movies had taught her that much. So when the creature slid past, scrabbling at the floor to gain traction, Roxy sprinted down the stairs. As she rounded the bend, she stopped suddenly at a flash of movement, only narrowly ducking backwards out of the range of the tail as it speared through the gap in the stairs. However, the sudden backwards dodge caused Roxy's foot to slip out from underneath her, and she found herself tumbling down the rest of the stairs and into a heap at the bottom. Somewhere in the middle of her fall, there was the sickening 'crunch' of a bone being dislocated.

"Ow...owie...ow ow ow...oh no..." Roxy muttered, steadying herself on her hands and letting out a yelp of pain as she placed weight on her left arm. She was battered, but her left shoulder had taken the edge of a stair particularly hard, and was currently throbbing painfully with every pounding beat of her heart. She pushed herself up and ran towards the nearest door, a slight limp in her stride as she did. It wasn't locked, and Roxy slipped in, closing the door softly behind her. Just as she heard the click of the door latching into place, she also heard the sound of a large creature hitting the ground; apparently just off the stairs after her.

Roxy didn't even move. She stood there, with the doorknob still in her hand, just waiting for the sudden explosion of wood. She had no plan; if the thing came through the door, all she'd be able to do would be to run again. But she only made it out of the bathroom by shear luck.

If it came through the door...that'd be the end of her.

With that thought weighing on her mind, Roxy's whole body shook violently. She had to slowly bring her hand up to her mouth to stifle the slight sob that escaped, and she could feel the warm tears running down her face. She was terrified, and in that moment...she really just wanted her mom to be there with her.

Spirit Wielders!

Roxanne Tretter and Arma

Medium

Name: Roxanne 'Roxy' Tretter

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Normal Appearance: Roxy is of standard appearance and body type for a girl her age, albeit a bit short. Standing at 5'4", what she lacks in height she makes up for in raw energy. Unless someone were to catch her sleeping or in the rare situation where she is actually attempting to focus on something, Roxy is pretty much always moving. Even if she's bouncing her leg at a desk, looking around as she walks, or just jittering in place, she does not sit still. Besides her barely-restrained energy, Roxy looks like a highschooler that never quite made it out of the rock-lite aesthetic. She wears it with pride, however, despite how outdated the look may be. The point is, it looks cool to her, and that's all that really matters.

Also to note, Roxy's hair is normally a light brown, but has recently had the addition of a few black highlights. These streaks are asymmetrical and look as though they were done by an amateur, but only because they were in fact done by exactly that. Roxy did them herself, and although they didn't come out nearly as well as she had hoped they would, there's a certain charm to their haphazard nature that she quite likes.

Medium Appearance: The most drastic change in Roxy's appearance is the sudden materialization of her trusty pistol; the appearance of the weapon varies slightly every time she channels it, but always functions the same regardless of physical attributes. Roxy also gains a few pieces of equipment seemingly meant to protect her from the repeated use of her firearm: a pair of black protective earmuffs, a pair of fingerless gloves, and a black bandanna-like facemask that covers her nose, mouth, and chin. Her eyes also change from their normal color to a shockingly piercing emerald which seem to glow faintly in the darkness; although her left eye is noticeably dimmer than her right.

While utilizing her Spirit Charge, Roxy's spirit Arma can been seen flickering off her shoulders like a shadow. This also causes her left eye to cloud over and become completely black, mimicking her spirit's own lack of sight.

Channeling Abilities: The most notable aspect of Roxy's channeling abilities is the pistol that appears out of thin air when she begins to channel her spirit. This is her primary weapon, and all of her channeling abilities seem to revolve around the effectiveness of it. First and foremost, Roxy gains the ability to accurately and effectively utilize her weapon of choice, despite having zero training in the use of firearms. This includes general knowledge about the operation and maintenance of her pistol, although the specifics of this information are forgotten the moment Roxy stops channeling Arma. Secondly, Roxy gains the ability to use specialized ammo during combat; to utilize a certain type of ammunition, Roxy must switch out the magazine in her pistol, seemingly pulling the replacement from nowhere.

The types of ammunition Roxy can utilize are listed below:

HE Rounds: Rounds which detonate upon impact, causing a small but destructive explosion wherever it hits. Highly effective against fleshy targets, and decently effective against armored targets. Any armor that would stop a bullet would also prevent excess damage from this type of round.

Stun Rounds: These rounds fire from the pistol with a burst of electricity, and discharge this same electricity into a target upon impact. This charge is roughly equal to a standard police-issued taser; these rounds are mostly meant to incapacitate foes in a nonlethal fashion. Stronger or more insulated enemies may be more resistant to this type of ammunition.

Grav Rounds: This round fire from the pistol with a beam of darkness. Meant to be shot at the environment, this round causes a localized gravity well to appear in a 1.5 meter radius sphere around the impacted location. This gravity well causes a 50% increase in in the gravitational pull of the area, typically slowing anybody within the well's AOE. Roxy cannot prevent creatures in the area from being affected by this ability. This round is meant to slow or restrain targets, although stronger enemies may be capable of moving through the generated gravity well. Only one of these wells can be active at a time; if Roxy fires another one, the first simply dissipates.

In addition to these powers, Roxy also gains slight enhancements to her perception. She can see slightly better in darkness than the average human, and can both perceive and react quickly to sudden movements in the environment.

Grade: Junior

Personality: Roxanne is a very energetic girl; contagiously so to those with nicer mindsets, and annoyingly so to anybody else. She is a wholehearted optimist by choice, not by naivety, and is constantly trying to flip things into a better state. She's not without her flaws, however: anybody that truly wanted to crush her sunny outlook on a certain circumstance could likely do so with less than half an hour of deliberately mean work, and she handles face-to-face conflict incredibly poorly when she's not channeling Arma.

With Arma as her spirit, Roxy grows more impulsive and more indulgent of the things she enjoys. Arma's blunt personality and habit of using foul language in mixed company start to blend through as well, but Roxy tries very hard not to drop an F-Bomb in front of her parents or anything.

Background: Roxanne is the youngest child of three, born into a somewhat oddball family. Her mother works for a private security company, and is frequently hired-out via contract to organizations looking for a little extra personnel for their ranks. In the sixteen years since Roxanne's birth, they've had to move three times to follow high-paying clients, and the family has been in Lakewood for about three years now. Roxy herself took each move with the grace of her usual self, viewing it more as an opportunity for new sights and additional friends than a separation from her current friends. She's currently enjoying Maryland quite a bit, and it seems as thought her mother's contract will keep them in one place for a while. As private security, Roxy's mother tends to lean more towards the practical side of life, and it is here that it becomes very obvious who she inherits her personality from. Her father is the carefree and life-loving member of the family, and has made incredible strides to support his children regardless of what they do. It is thanks to his encouragement that Roxy's love of guitar has bloomed.

Other: Roxy plays the guitar, and owns a Blue Gibson Les Paul with White Highlights, which she has affectionately named 'Ol' Blue'.

[Roxy's Theme]

#F91890

Spirits

Spirit Name: Arma

Spirit Classifications: Machina

Spirit Personality: A bit of a hedonist, but that's what one gets for being a byproduct of humanity. Arma's human appearance seems to have spread definitively into her personality, a strange bleed that makes her seem almost like a ghost more than a spirit at large. Sharp tongued and sharp witted, the spirit seems to be more interested in finding things that are to her benefit than anything else. If that happens to mean making a pact with a few mediums here and there, she doesn't really have any qualms about it. In fact, she seems to find a distinct fascination with the beings that all but caused her creation. Perhaps because she isn't a spirit that's been around for long enough to develop a grudge, or maybe because she wouldn't have cared to begin with, she seems to be firmly in the camp of "too entertained by humans to bother hating them".

...really, it might be a good thing, considering her distinctly lacking moral code.

Spirit Appearance:

True Form

Despite her status as a spirit, Arma looks incredibly human, the only real indication that she isn't being the occasional shift of her visible eye to one with a black sclera and a piercing glow. There are, of course, subtler signs. The slight and natural gradient at the tips of her hair of gunmetal grey or the fact that she never seems to be affected by weather despite fairly limited clothing might be indicators. However, with her full height being only an inch greater than Roxy's and her frame lacking in anything decidedly bizarre, it can be hard to believe Arma is a spirit at all, much less one with offensive potential.

Sealed Appearance:

Sealed Appearance

When not in use, Arma appears as a small black bullet pendant that Roxanne wears around her neck.

Summoning Abilities and Stats: While summoned, Arma is an astounding combatant, though she seems to revel in wreaking havoc in a range closer than one would expect for a gunner.

Primarily, Arma is able to utilize the three bullet rounds that Roxy is able to use while channeling in her summoned form, but unlike the medium, Arma is able to generate firearms from within her own body, and can effectively remove them from her body at will. She is able to maintain three firearms at any given moment, each able to be armed with one of the bullet types. Due to her status as a spirit, her firearms lack any real-world equivalents, and fall into one of three categories: a shotgun, a single shot rifle, or a pistol. Once Arma is finished with one gun, she can throw it aside. When she exceeds her three gun limit, the oldest one is replaced by the newest one, and dissolves into nothingness.

Arma's physical abilities are a cut above average while summoned as well, with strength about equal to an athletic human and durability at about the same level as kevlar. While her speed is easily her best attribute in terms of physical performance, the real threat comes from the ease with which Arma falls into battle. Almost like second nature, as though she was created for the art of bringing harm onto others.

Additionally, Arma is able to wield most standard firearms found in the natural world instinctively, as though they become an extension of her on command, and her accuracy with a firearm is nothing to scoff at.

Spirit Charge: Roxy and Arma's ultimate move is a combination of both of their prowesses: Seemingly from nowhere, Roxy summons an M134 Minigun. When summoned, the minigun has an incredibly high fire rate, at the expense of having reduced firepower. This makes the weapon devastating to unarmored targets at nearly every range, and can even wear down more protected targets with the sheer volume of ammunition being leveled at them. While using her Spirit Charge, Arma can be seen flickering faintly behind Roxy like a shadow, also holding onto the minigun. It is this manifestation that grants Roxy the ability to physically hold and control the gun, and Arma can actually force Roxy to aim at different targets if she wants to.

Once the Spirit Charge finishes, Roxy grows exhausted (as with all Mediums) and her arms grow exceptionally tired from lifting the weight of the minigun. The blood vessels in her left eye also burst, causing subconjunctival bleeding and temporary blindness in that eye, but these symptoms heal quickly - typically gone when the exhaustion fades.

#9ACCEC

Weakness and Limitations: In both manners of utilizing Arma, Roxy is weak against foes who close the distance too rapidly. In the case of summoning rather than channeling, she is almost completely defenseless to all threats unless Arma can take care of them. All of her Channeled ammunition have their uses, but many of their properties can be negated if used on stronger or better protected foes. With Arma as her spirit, Roxy becomes more impulsive, especially when Channeling, which may lead to poor tactical decisions on the battlefield. Also, when channeling, her eyes glow in the darkness slightly: this makes her an easy target for anyone looking to ambush her or otherwise sneak up on her somehow.

Contract: None, yet.

Spirit Wielders! (A roleplay where you sell your soul for powers.)

I'll finally throw my interest post in, I guess

Celestial Bonds

Vitus Ayolous

_{Art by Lehanan}

Vitus is a young nobleman that flaunts an air of confidence at first glance. Unfortunately, upon subsequent glances, the truth becomes exceedingly clear. He's not just confident, he's downright arrogant. Vitus possesses something that most people would describe as 'a really punchable face'. There's just something about him that makes you want to slap him silly the first time you lay eyes on him. His clothes are perfectly ironed so there is not a single crease to be found, his hair is meticulously washed and dressed so it perfectly cascades over his shoulders, his eyes are always looking at those around him with an irritatingly refined sense of pity, and there is not a hint of stubble to be found on his perfectly clean chin. Even from a single look, it is easy to tell that this is a spoiled man who has likely never faced any resounding conflict in his life.

Vitus knows this, of course, and he has no intention of addressing it as an issue. What point would there be to changing this little persona of his? It fits him so well, after all.

Vitus is the youngest child to a rapidly failing noble lineage, although he is either completely unaware of this fact, or does not care in the slightest. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful family of three sons and a single daughter, but plague has long-since stripped the family down to its least deserving member: Vitus. As far as Vitus knows, his father still lives; likely run of somewhere in a fit of madness or a desire to start fresh somewhere distant. It matters not to him. The closest thing to parents that Vitus has ever known are his head servants: The Butler, Markus, and The Maid, Meldioline. They are a older married couple who never really wanted to raise children, and now that they have raised Vitus to the current point, they will never want to raise another child ever again.

For his part, Vitus completely avoided the life of his servant foster parents, and grew into the role of aristocracy alarmingly fast. He quickly became the spoiled child that Markus and Meldioline had tried so hard to deter, and raised the mantle of his family far higher than his father ever could have. A perfect face at parties, a gracious host when he held his own, and an excellent conversationalist to all the people he needed to schmooze with. If he had any sort of long-term plans or goals, many people would consider him to be an excellent manipulator. However, the actual truth is far simpler; Vitus is perfect for his role among the fat and happy aristocrats, if nothing else.

With everything at his beck and call, Vitus really never had any obstacles for him to overcome. No thrilling tale of rivals, no daring deeds to be performed, not even a touching story of him attempting to rebuild his family name. For the most part, he was happy to wallow, grow old, and die.

Of course, every interesting story needs something to liven it up; so enters the pathetic street rat. One failed robbery attempt (likely by complete accident on Vitus's part) and an apparent fixation on the Ayolous family fortune, and the household picked up a stray. A stray who steals all the cutlery and eats all the fancy mints.

That's not to say Vitus isn't amused by the 'guest'. Liv has quickly become a pilfering match to what he believes is his flawless wit, and the relation ship between the two quickly grew into a proper rivalry. He'd set up numerous traps and obstacles in her way, and she would escape and elude them almost perfectly. Then he'd make them more numerous and far more complex, and the cycle would have theoretically continued endlessly. It's hard to tell exactly what Liv thinks about Vitus, but in his mind, she almost makes up for the friends he lacked as a child. Not that he would ever admit or consciously come to that conclusion; she is just a pitiful street urchin, after all.

Vitus is incredibly arrogant and reluctant to acknowledge his own mistakes; that much is both easy to see, and likely all that people will ever get to know about him. However, he almost seems to have a self-awareness hidden behind those bored eyes. Like he's aware of these character flaws, and still does absolutely nothing to try and fix them. He consistently flip-flops between gross incompetence and astonishing clarity, to the point where it's impossible to discern if one is an act, an accident, or some sort of highly irregular multiple personality disorder.

An unhealthy mix of an egocentric desire to keep around the only person Vitus believes can match his wit, and the even more egocentric desire to finally one-up her in said contest of wits.

Liv

Position

Vitus can create a one-time-use portal that anybody can utilize. These portals can be no more than 5ft apart, must be vertical (as if they were a doorway) and immediately shut upon a single creature passing through. If more than one creature attempts to pass through, they simply pass through the portal as though it was not there. Vitus can open/close these portals at will, though he can only have one portal active, and cannot close them if they are being used. In the event that one does close while someone is using it, the entirety of their body appears as if they had successfully used the portal, with no repercussions.

Vitus can freely lock a creature's limb to a certain place, or drag them around by the selected limb. This ability manifests as a small length of silk wrapping around the affected body part like a rope, either anchoring to the ground, or attempting to pull to wherever Vitus desires, and he cannot summon more than one length of rope at a time. The rope itself cannot hurt creatures (i.e, cannot make a noose), but it can pull them into harmful situations. The rope cannot pull more than a significant amount of weight, and can be broken with equally significant force. Vitus can also use this ability to pull inanimate objects, though they must still fall within the weight restriction.

Vitus can launch a targeted enemy, ally, or himself 10ft into the air. Anybody launched with this ability suffers the subsequent falling damage, though they can also attempt to mitigate the fall as normal. This ability requires 20 seconds before it can be used again, although it can be used on targets that are already in the air.

Sweets, fine art (In all forms), astronomy, wine.

Challenge, dirt, rain, the smell of hay

Stargazing, reading.

[TBA]

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Half-truths and Almost-apologies

---

𝕆𝕔𝕥. 𝟙𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥 / / 𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕜 / / 𝟘𝟡𝟘𝟘

---

Half-truths and Almost-apologies

Another round of training out in the early morning dew for Marcus. Last night hadn't exactly been the most restful of nights, a worrying trend that was starting to appear more frequently. He felt mentally exhausted, but there was seemingly no respite for him; he'd hoped it would get better in the days after he got his powers, but it seemed like it was getting worse. Not that the hell they'd been forced through was helping at all - Marcus knew that the 'superhero missions' they'd been sent on had only exacerbated the problem. The only solution seemed to be trying to distract himself long enough to put it out of his mind.

Which was why he was out here on the track.

His foot caught the hurdle that had been set out, bringing his latest flash-jump to an abrupt halt as he faceplanted into the rough surface of the track. As usual, however, the sound of static brought him back, healing the abrasion that had started to trickle blood down his face. He stretched anxiously for a moment, and if one were paying very close attention, they would see him shimmer in place briefly: using up a Flash to start the 'cooldown' while he waited for his two rewinds to come back.

Zoe herself didn't exactly look like she was in the best of moods, not that she ever really did. If anything she looked less angry than normal, but that was still a long way from breaking into a smile - her movements were stiff and lopsided, and despite her best efforts she couldn't hide the occasional wince. Putting all that aside though, she'd come here for a reason; a reason who was a little busy eating dirt. At least he had been until he'd jumped back, anyway.

Didn't seem to her like he'd noticed her approach, at least. Couldn't put it off forever, though. Unlike their first meeting, she wasn't interested in startling the guy, so she kept her voice carefully level as she called out. Stayed back too; it was becoming a habit, to try and keep as far from people as she could. Better that those urges were only directed towards herself. "Hey. Marcus. Alright if we talk?"

Marcus's head whipped around as soon as he heard the voice. It wasn't anything to do with it being Zoe's voice, just a byproduct of the 'constantly-on-edge' feeling the recent events had just about drilled into him. The red hair, the tall stature...it was Zoe alright. A double-edged sword; he wanted to be amicable and talk about the entire situation that had happened at the lighthouse, but until now, he hadn't been sure if she'd be willing to listen without turning him inside-out. Indeed, he was still a little wary of that distinct possibility, but she was doing a good job of lulling him into a false sense of security if that were the case. Still, it almost seemed like it would just be easier to let the events fester, leave the bridge to burn rather than try and repair it. He could run, and just try and stay out of Zoe's way in the future...

"If you're willing to talk, I'm certainly willing to listen." Marcus said, finally. A little more snippy than he would have liked, but that might have been unavoidable in the scope of their last interaction.

"I'll take that as a yes." A harsh note crept into her voice in response, but Zoe was used to the hostility by now. Dealt with it once, she'd deal with it a thousand times, and it was never undeserved, really. So beyond a slightly withering glare, she didn't make much move to counter it. There didn't seem to be much point, and at least he hadn't decided to run screaming. First things first.

"Shouldn't have lashed out at you. It's kind of a default reaction when I'm..." She paused. Pissed? Yeah, she had been, but that wasn't the root of it. She was pissed almost all the time lately, if not at anyone other than herself. She hadn't hurt her classmates because of anger, not really. So she sighed instead, settling on a compromise. "When I'm freaked out. Not a good one."

She was apologizing? Marcus was...a little surprised to say the least. He hadn't exactly expected a full 180 so quickly, especially not with the impression that he'd been given. Another mark for him not knowing what anybody was actually like, he supposed.

There was a slight pause before he spoke. "That's.... he struggled for a moment, trying to come up with the right words, "I'm certainly not going to say 'Everything is fine, that's okay', but I guess I can at least understand. It was a little bit tense, to say the least."

"Don't." She glared at him, something about the statement getting to her. Understand? How could he - she'd been losing her fucking mind since the day they arrived here. No, she was sick of that, of people thinking they had any idea what she was fighting with. "I'm explaining, I'm not really saying sorry." Because 'sorry' invited forgiveness, and she couldn't be sure she wouldn't do it again.

"I went too far." Calm. Deep breaths. In, out-- she winced. No, wasn't a good plan. Forcing herself to meet his eyes, she spoke firmly. "But that doesn't mean I'm taking back what I said."

The harsh tone caught him off guard, especially since she had seemed to be trying to apologize. Now that it was clear that she wasn't...there were a few things that he wanted to say to her.

If you're not here to apologize, why even waste the breath?

I don't need you to explain your actions, I can pretty much figure out why an Aberration would lose her shit.

Does 'explaining' yourself make you feel better about yourself?

"Fine." he said, bluntly. There was a bitterness to his voice, the remnant of the things he wanted to say to her, but wasn't going to. "Is that all you came here for?"

"I wasn't trying to be--" Lashing out again, wasn't she? She frowned, glancing away. "You can't forgive me, that's all." Something in her voice caught, afraid, vulnerable, helpless - but the moment passed as soon as it had arrived. Zoe was almost talking to herself as much as she was Marcus, as though trying to reinforce something in her own mind.

Just as she was ready to leave, she paused. "You told me you saved Lawrence in Wisford." And again, she was uncertain. Uncertain that she'd even get the time of day, even less so that she'd deserve the consideration. But this was something she had to make sure of. "You looked after him, right?"

A faint memory; the last time the ocean had opened up to him, he'd been able to save Lawrence with his power. Or, he assumed he'd been the one to prevent Lawrence from bleeding out - he didn't even know how much of that he could attribute to himself. Maybe Lawrence had been fine, and it was Christmas and Lily that had saved him entirely. He'd certainly been at hand in getting Lawrence injured, but he wasn't sure how much he'd been when it came to helping.

"Yes." he said, the half-truth sour on his tongue. "I tried to keep him from losing too much blood when the subnaturals showed up. I...I looked after him as much as I could." he finally finished.

"I can't do that; look after people. Never could, even before all this." There was something that might have been regret in her tone as she glanced down at her hands. She wasn't sure where this was coming from, really. But it was true - all she knew, all she ever trusted, had been the work of her own fists. She didn't like words, not really. They never turned out true when it mattered. But right here, words were all she had.

"Even there, I hurt people who didn't deserve it. Not just the subs that attacked us. I had reasons, but to tell the truth, I'm not sure I know how not to. I'm in no place to ask any of you a fucking favour, but here..." She shook her head, the laugh that emerged sounding bitter and unhappy, cut off with a grimace. "Just keep doing that. Keeping people alive."

It seemed obvious enough, but it bared saying regardless. She wasn't quite done with the request, watching Marcus almost warily as she tried to gauge his reaction.

Marcus's own reaction mirrored Zoe's; his eyes scanned her face to try and figure out what she was thinking, to no avail. It was almost satisfying to hear Zoe say that; not just because she was the one asking him favors (he wasn't quite to those levels of cattiness), but the fact that he felt justified in a way. Sure, he'd hurt people...the man in D.C would probably never leave his mind...but he'd done so to keep his own team alive. Even if some people, and himself sometimes, didn't quite agree with it, here was someone who was in a similar situation.

"That was my intention, right from the start." There was almost a slight tinge of pride in his voice, as if he'd convinced himself that he was doing the right thing.

Zoe frowned, unsure how to take Marcus' reaction. It wasn't the same situation - she'd never killed anyone it would have been smarter to keep alive. Well, not for a while, anyway. And back then, it had seemed better to eliminate the threat. How was she supposed to know they weren't all that rabid, that they were just--

"Don't do it for me." The words spilled out before she could stop them, her mind fixed on a memory that brought a vicious light to her expression. Her eyes widened in shock for a second, before she squeezed them shut. Just a couple of seconds before she spoke again, almost eerily calm. No doubt in her mind about what she was asking. "If I'm the one bleeding on the ground, just turn your back. Walk away. That's the favour."

I am telling you to make that sacrifice if the need comes, because if you won't, then I assure you, I will make sure that someone else will.

It seemed like a lot of people were making that request lately, and he was forced into the same situation that Siena had put him into. He sighed almost wearily, eyes darting around to avoid meeting Zoe's. It wasn't a promise he could keep, or a favor he'd be able to deliver on, he knew that, and it physically hurt him to listen to people make that request. Even Zoe, who had done her fair share of damage to him...

"Let's hope we never end up in that situation." Marcus finally said, noncommittally.

"If you say so."

She didn't understand why, but she knew enough to know he hadn't agreed. Even when it would be a benefit to the group, when she'd hurt them again and again; she didn't understand why it was such a difficult concept. Of course she wouldn't ask anyone to kill her - they didn't deserve to bear that burden. Just to look away, to let it happen. To run.

I thought you'd be pretty good at that.

"In that case..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I guess I'll take my cue to leave."

"You're free to stick around if you'd like." Marcus opened up, trying to clear the faint air of hostility he'd gathered from her response. He knew, she knew...they both knew where they stood, for better or for worse. "I'm just going to be eating gravel...might be a chuckle or two to be had." he said, shrugging slightly.

God, things were easier when they were just making fun of his pinball skills.

"Thanks, but I'm good." Zoe forced a small smile as she turned to walk away. Drawing her hand across to her ribs, she glanced downwards, gritting her teeth as she pressed on the fabric of her shirt. It was a reminder; she'd made her choice about all this.

And for better or worse, it seemed like Marcus had too.