Dante’s might have been a restaurant in Pax Septimus’s historic district, but it had a seedy reputation. The outside of the building was in need of a power wash, and the inside was in need of a mop. The waiting staff were either really old, or really having an acne breakout. It was the sort of place where gang members could conduct meetings, spouses could cheat, or sloppy hookups could happen. Anything could happen really, just because most people wouldn’t think to look. On the upside, the food was very good for the price. You just had to bring a napkin with you because they often forgot to wipe off the tables.
An esper had a request for a date at this very place. They did not seem to care about who accepted their request. The date did not have to be romantic, but they did state that was their preference. The only hard requirement was that their date was an esper. There were concerns about this as the request had been open for a month or so with no takers. People had been taking it, they just hadn't been returning. It was unclear what was happening, and there was no evidence the person hosting these dates was to blame for the mysterious disappearances.
Well, there was one thing to conclude before any of this began. Either her partner for this job was a literal child who was trying to get lucky without even really understanding what this meant, or her partner was a real goddamn creep. It was acceptable if some fifty year old could revert to a twenty year old, because physical prime and all, but wow, that was something else, being an elementary school student of all things.
Not that Klava felt like she had to speak any of her thoughts aloud immediately. A block or two away from Dante's, the white-haired lady sat in her classic pre-mission attire of a jumpsuit, her bike safely stored in a parkling lot locker. Sipping on some hot soup, she looked up at the young boy with a raised brow. "You're Fable? Any experience?"
The boy in question furrowed his brows, but didn't bear any ill will to the Maiden.
"Frankly have no clue why they didn't use my Timekeeper handle, but yeah." He answered.
"I'll be honest, I haven't done enough to be called experienced yet. But I helped take down a giant crab hivemind, if that's something to add to my resume." Fable shrugged, hands in his pockets.
"You're a newcomer then?" Klava let out a long whistle, bobbing her head up and down. "Respect the hustle, I suppose. What can you do? Ever had a girlfriend or anything?"
Fable grimaced in response.
"I'd rather not think about a suitor yet. Well, there's this one case, but as sweet as they- ...Ze...? Are? I don't think I'm the full-on dating type." At his own words he let out a dry chuckle.
"So frankly my being here is conciderably damn stupid, but I took the job for the missing persons case, not to score with someone that could probably kill me. Regardless, I can still fight.""Anyone can fight," Klava laughed. "But what can
you do?"
"Specifics wise? Stun shit." After a moment, he continued talking.
"Or really, my kit revolves around the concept of time. I can heal, slow, stun, and speed up. Electric based attacks, if the type of element is relevant to your question." Fable explained.
"Cool. Can you teleport?"
"Mhm." Fable simply nodded.
Klava finished the rest of her soup, rolled her shoulders, and said, "Alright, let's get to work. I'll be point man, you'll jump in when it goes to shit."
One thing that became apparent to Klava after entering Dante’s was that everything she heard about the place was true. In fact, it might have been understated how seedy and run down the place was. The most active part of the restaurant was the bar, which was easily half of the restaurant. There were some swag lights that lit everything up, all with different watt bulbs and not all of them were working. The bartender was almost wide enough that he couldn’t fit behind the counter, and could be smelled as soon as Klava entered Dante’s. The tiles on the floor were peeling up too. It was so bad that one of the pimple-faced waitresses almost tripped on one. There was a moldy tile directly over Klava’s head, and it still looked wet despite the last rain being a week ago. The patrons who came to this place were exactly the sort you would expect to find. The bar was lined with all manner of rough looking individuals. Almost all of them were over fifty, over or underweight, missing teeth, and probably lived here. But all of them were louder than the radio, which tried to deliver music from a local station to the rest of the establishment. Further into the restaurant side was a few groups of people. There were some teenagers in hoodies huddled around a bag of aerosol cans, and they were probably the most inconspicuous people in the area. There were a few couples that were dressed up eccentrically enough that they could be espers. A cowboy and a hooded phantom sat at one table, and right across from them was a Japanese school girl and a panda wearing a green cape. Others looked way too attractive or well-to-do to be here.
But off by herself was Klava’s mark, who looked goth enough to have daddy issues. It was hard to tell if she was a young woman or a teenager. Partially because of her youthful appearance, but also because she was
behaving like someone much younger than she appeared. She bobbed in her seat to the beat of the music, swaying side to side as people from other tables looked at her, if only momentarily. Though a man ended up letting his eyes linger too long, and she spotted him. This just prompted her to smile and wave at him. Though his natural response was to look away. This didn’t seem to bother “Kristina,” who looked pleased just to be there. After sitting a bit longer, she whipped out her phone. Much like her dress, it was almost entirely black and had various phone charms attached to it. The charms were oddly non-goth and featured everything from logos of local baseball teams to cartoon characters. She opened her Shimr app and punched in a text saying that she had arrived and was waiting for her date, including way more emoticons than nessisary.
Well, that confirmed it. Those reviews of Dante's that she read up on Yelp were paid. Should've expected it, really, but the oddities of the clientele meant that she could walk in without much eyebrow-raising either, and the perpetual grime of the locale could not touch her Leitmotif's auto-cleaning capabilities.
Dark-haired and with eyes of azure permafrost, Klava stepped into the restaurant, her presence heralded by the chiming of crystalline bells. Her preparations had already been set, a Blink-Marked totem given to Fable in case she
really needed to bounce, and her dagger rested comfortably along her spine, secured in place by her many vibrant sashes. Kristina, as she was called, looked a bit like someone who spent too much time at Hot Topic, but hey, she met Klava's standards for physical attractiveness, even if there was a good chance that she was in her Esper form too. That was fine though. Not everyone could be a perfect specimen of physical attractiveness both in magical
and mundane forms.
"Hey," Klava said, a smile on her lips. "Kristina, right? It's Frost. Hope I didn't keep you."
Meanwhile, if Klava cared to glance even through the corner of her eye, the Timekeeper would appear by the window. He carried the totem with his free hand, trying his best not to look conspicuous. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, with how dark it was outside. But he felt he should be cautious anyways. He stopped as soon as he was just across the other two, and he waited, glancing back into the diner at times.
Kristina was still holding her phone in her hand when Klava approached her.
’No, you didn’t keep-” She blinked at her phone before turning to look up at the woman who approached her table.
”Frost?” Her eyes traveled up and down Klava’s body. After the second or third pass, her mouth swung open. Awe soon gave way to joy, and she squealed in delight. Kristina’s body wiggled in place while she held her cheeks with both hands.
”You look so good I wanna cry!. Sit! Sit-sit-sit-sit-sit-sit!” She slapped the table with her fingertips until Klava took her seat.
”I don’t typically get, um, it doesn’t matter, you’re fine!” She covered her mouth and squealed into her hands.
”I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just, it’s been a rough few weeks.” She took a few deep breaths, but she still had a dopey grin on her face.
”So um, we should decide what to get.” She pushed aside a used napkin to get a menu, which she handed to Klava.
”The Pizza is pretty consistent. Sausage and mushrooms are my favorite-favorite, but um-” She averted her eyes.
”If you want something that’s not on the menu, just let me know, okay?”Klava laughed at Kristina's enthusiasm, taking her seat and crossing her legs. A near-imperceptible film of water slipped beneath her clothing, cleansing whatever filth clung to the chair, and she leaned forward slightly to peruse the menu. It was the typical American selection in the end, most of the items the same as what one would find from The Great Escape, but thankfully, there were a couple of options that looked a bit more inspired than burgers, steaks, salad, and pizza. Well, perhaps not more inspired, but certainly more...provocative.
"I believe I'll take the borscht set meal myself," she spoke after some contemplation. "But gotta say, I
am curious. You know the chef here or something, Kris?"
When klava crossed her legs, her foot brushed against a large satchel that was stashed under the table. It was so long, it had to be stuck inside the booth sideways in order to fit.
”Hmmm?” Kristina raised an eyebrow. Then she raised
both eyebrows.
”Oh! No-no-no-no-no-no!” She waved her hands in front of Klava. Six of her ten fingers had silver rings on them. While they fit with the rest of her gothic aesthetic, they were reserved enough that they didn’t come across as tacky. Most were molded to look like vines or olive branches, and the few with flowers were socketed with emerald and ruby gemstones.
”I um, I don’t really know most of the locals, heh.” She tucked her hands under the table.
”I’m kind of in the middle of a move. Been wanting to get into Pax for a while, but with the iron queen gone, it won’t be much longer.” She looked around the establishment.
”I come to Dante’s about once a week, and I wouldn’t say I know anyone here yet.”A waitress seemed to faze out of the shadows and appeared at the edge of their table. Her glasses were too big for her face, and her hair bun was so tight it threatened to tear her scalp off of her head. There was also nothing to conceal her acne outbreak.
”Welcome to Dante’s. Are you ready to order?””Oh hi!” She waved to the waitress.
”I’m having pizza.””Sausage and mushroom?””Yup! And she’d like a, hold on, I can pronounce this... Borscht?”Once Klava confirmed, the waitress jotted down their order before departing. Once she was far enough away from the table, she looked back at the two girls and stared at the back of Klava's head. After a few seconds elapsed, she continued to march towards the kitchen.
”Right, so, uh.” She adjusted her choker, which had too many chains and spikes on it to be considered subtle gothic wear.
”All I was saying is that depending on what you’re in the mood for, we can go someplace else for dessert. B-but anyway! Are you a local, Frost?”"Once a week's quite a lot," Klava giggled, leaning her elbows on the table. "Most of the local Espers here meet up at The Great Escape, really. Lotsa live music to vibe to, even if sometimes its hella cringe. And I guess I am a local, so congrats. Now you know one."
”Oh! Well that's nice. You'll have to show me around later then. The last few times I was here, the Great Escape was still a monster den.” She rubbed the back of her head.
”I probably wouldn't eat out so much but, um, uh, heh...”There was something beneath the table, heavy and long. Surely not a body bag? Curiousity piqued and thoughts in motion, Klava lifted her brows slightly, then tilted her head down to look at the satchel underneath. The sachel had no markings. It appeared to be cylindrical in shape, barring the handle on the very top of it. Kristina's foot was resting on top of the sachel.
"Oh," she spoke after a moment. "Didn't realize you were
right in the middle of a move. Found a good place yet, or is Pax Sept just a pit stop for you in the long run?"
”Something I learned is that moving is inevitable. I should be here for a while though, and I do have a place picked out.” Kristina followed Klava's eyes under the table.
”Is that in your way? It's um, it's my um.” She pretended to hold an invisible machine gun.
”I kinda need to take it with me. One of the reasons why I like Dante's is they don't ask too many questions when you come through the door.”"Ah, a gat." Klava grinned. "You'll fit right in then." Maybe it'd have fucked with the Fritz, but a gatling probably could've cleared out the entirety of that police precinct, huh. "Where's your new place though? Got a swanky little studio in the Historic District?"
”I wish! I don’t think I’d be able to afford my weekly night out if I lived there.” Kristina placed one of her hands in the middle of the table.
”It’s an underground apartment. No sunlight, but I’ll never wake up with frozen toes, even on the coldest day of the year. A bit of a fixer upper, but it should be more or less livable.” she used her other hand to hold her chin.
”Let me see if I can guess, you probably live at the top of a high riser, and you either fight with a longbow or…” she squinted her eyes.
”Maybe a scimitar?”"Naw, I was project there." Klava gestured towards the west. "Live in a studio myself near the downtown area. Rent's cheap enough and security's not bad, all things considered. Definitely not a high-rise though. Got way better things to do with my money."
”Oh really? I got the impression you were, uh, hngh...” Kristina slid her fingers over her mouth.
Klava turned her own palm up to face the ceiling, exposing both the soft flesh and the hardened calluses. "And as for what I use...think a little smaller than that."
”Hmmm, well you used a dramatic pause in there, so if I had to guess, it's a lot smaller.” Kristina rapped her fingers on the table.
”Definitely not a gun though. I'm thinking, yea, something with a blade though.”In the middle of Kristina's solo brain storming session, the waitress had returned. She placed Klava's soup in front of her and set the pizza box towards the back of the table. Before departing, she brushed all of the old napkins and some of the crumbs into a bussing cart before handing Klava and Kristina some silverware. She also placed some
extra extra napkins in front of Kristina before walking off.
Kristina eyed the napkins before looking up at Klava.
”I'm guessing it's some kind of knife? Haha! I don't know my short blades very well. If it isn't a kriss or a ka-bar, I have no idea what it could be. Unless you fight with an icicle?”"An icicle's a pretty good guess, yup," Klava replied. "Though I guess I'm a bit of a cheater here, when I can make whatever I need."
Her eyes glimmered when the food finally arrived though, the steaming red soup standing out more than just a little bit compared to the grungier setting that it was plated on. At least the waitress made some effort to clean up after departing, even if the order seemed to be a bit crossed up there. Clapping her hands together, Klava murmured a couple choice words to herself, before directing her gaze back to Kristina.
"So, you wanna do halfsies with these?"
Kristina opened the pizza box and the scent of sausage and mushrooms wafted into the air. There inside was not just a pizza, but some divine creation that had been forged on the anvil of Hephaestus. It had that golden brown crust that was evenly cooked all the way around. There was a sprinkling of flour here and there from when the chiefs rolled the dough out to make the pizza from scratch. The mushrooms were cooked just enough to start curling, and the sausage had a crunch brown coating on top of it too. Even the cheese had turned gold and crunchy in spots.
The goth girl rubbed her hands together.
”I can’t eat this pizza by myself. Or at least, I won’t admit I could. Haha! I usually just bring home what I can't finish.” She eyed Klava’s soup.
”I wouldn’t mind trying the soup though. It looks good! But how would we share? Should we have asked for an extra bowl?”"Naw," Klava reached for some bread and tore it into even halves, handing one over to Kristina. "This ought to be fine."
They talked a bit more as they ate, mostly about things Klava had already told Aria. Strangely enough, Kristina was also a teacher. But she taught highschool.
”...But I don’t think that was ever going to be a long term thing for me, you know? Unless you have tenure, you’re pretty much doing the lesson plans nobody else wants to deal with. Public school is rough! I probably would have been in a better place if I stuck with it for a few more years, but I became an esper so that’s not in the cards anymore.” She tapped the satchel with her foot.
”It’s been a little nerve racking, moving so suddenly. But uh, I really think this is for the best.” She said before finishing her fourth slice of pizza.
”Mmmm!” She licked her fingers and squealed.
”That bread is surprisingly filling!” She raised an eyebrow and patted down her side. It wasn’t long before she fished her phone out of her blouse and looked at it.
”Welp, never a day off it seems.” Kristina raised her finger.
”I’ve got to get this, I’ll be right back though, okay?” She reached under the table and performed an awkward dance to free her satchel from the confines of the table.
”I-It’s okay, right?”The more things changed, the more things stayed the same, it seems. If Kristina was in the clear, perhaps Klava would introduce her to Protector some time. That armored freelancer seemed to be doing the work-esper-life balance pretty alright, by her own estimations. In the end though, work was work, and even though this date was pleasant, she couldn't imagine it as a long term thing either.
So when Kristina went to take her call, fumbling beneath the table for her machine gun satchel, Klava smiled. "It's totes okay, Kris," she said. "And don't worry 'bout your bag over there. I'll keep an eye on it. Or a foot."
”Oh ah, thank you, but I really need to take this with me to ensure I don’t leave the esper state, you know?” With one more tug, the bag came free. She looked back at Klava.
”Just uh, be here when I get back, okay?” The corner of her lip twitched as she walked away from the table. She almost walked into another waitress before looking where she was going.
"Oh, and here I was, thinking you just own a machine gun normally." Klava laughed. "Well, I'll be seeing you then~"
With a wave, she watched Kristina head off. Slipping her smartphone out of her pocket, she sent Fable a quick message regarding the gothic esper's movements, as well as her own goals: she'll be following after Kristina for some good ol' fashioned sleuthing and eavesdropping.
After a couple of conversations on the side, Fable focused back on the task at hand. Their target was on the move, and Klava was going to follow after her. He messaged back, saying that he'll be right behind her. Then he
finally pocketed his phone, and carrying the totem under his arm, he went to catch up with the maiden.
Kristina’s destination was not hard to spot, even from her position at the table. She was just going to the corridor that leads into the restrooms. It wasn’t too difficult for Klava to saunter after her unnoticed. The restroom corridor made a weird U turn that prevented people from seeing the doors that lead to the actual bathrooms. Upon turning the corner, Klava would find that as disgusting as Dante’s was, she was easily walking into the most dirty part of the entire place.
A flickering fluorescent light hung overhead, and the door to the mens and ladies rooms laid ahead. Both doors were rusting, and had a number of stains on them that most mortal humans would be repulsed by.
”I wonder which one she went in?” The waitress from earlier stepped behind Klava and folded her arms.
”Never can be too sure with espers.”She had been set on fire before. She had literally been a charred zombie and smelled the stench of her own boiling pus and smoking flesh. She had also done her due diligence as a low-ranking goblin-slaying Esper too, and her leitmotif gave her the confidence she needed to plunge into even the nastiest of toilets. That wasn't to say though, that Klava wasn't ungrateful for the conversational distraction that presented itself to her.
"Think you just answered that question yourself," Klava replied coolly, turning for the ladies' room. "And relax. I'm not so poor that I'd climb out the window to avoid paying for an entree."
”Oh come on now, customer service is my specialty!” She grinned.
”You have to call someone what they want to be called. Regardless, I find it interesting that you choose to enter the men’s room anyway.”Sure enough, Klava
was entering the men’s room. When the door swung open, Fritzi was inside. Or maybe it was a man who had a wig that mad him look sort of like Fritzi. He was standing in front of a catering truck that somehow fit inside the crowded restroom. The promised feast, it was here.
There was also a strange grainy sensation on Klava’s hands. When she went to look at them, they had actually been soiled!
”But that’s the wonderful part about dreams. If you cast aside reality, you can live in an eternal slumber where you, and only you, are a god.” She gave Klava a sideways glance.
”But you really have to be the one dreaming.”"Ugh. That's more philosophy than what I want outta a fuckin' parasite."
Klava cracked her knuckles as she clenched her fist. There was no magic available to an Esper that allowed one to manipulate dreams or do truly illusory bullshit, which subsequently meant that this was either a magi or a monster.
"So what," she said, eyeing the waitress with a raised brow. "You've got the hots for Kristina too?"
”Kristina?” The waitress placed a finger on her lower lip before looking off into space.
”Do you mean Beatrix? That girl you were with? The one that always orders a pizza with mushrooms and sausage? Said pizza that I had the chef prepare in advance so that I could serve it with your entree? The girl with the perfect body that moves in the most irresistible ways when she’s happy? The one who’s every sound might as well come from an angel?” She shrugged her shoulders.
”Her repeated visits have piqued my interest. But I see her more as an unwitting accomplice than anything else.” As the waitress walked closer, she got taller. Or was Klava shrinking.
”For some reason, she’s immune to my sleeping drugs. She can eat an entire pizza laced with the stuff. It was irritating at first, but I noticed she managed to drag an esper back here every time she came. So in the end, it worked out pretty good for me. You happen to be number five! ” She stopped beside Klava, who wasn’t even tall enough to bite her knees.
”Don’t worry, you fell asleep in a very discreet area. There’s pretty much no chance anyone will know what happened to you. Beatrix will return to her seat, you’ll have fled like all the others, and I get to be the hero when I give her a pep talk and convince her to try again next week.” She drew a tiny piece of paper that was just a bit smaller than her fingernails, but when she held it in front of Klava’s face, it looked to be a fairly long contract.
”No need for the long face though. Just sign this contract and become my eternal slave. Otherwise, I can just leave you in dreamland and feed your body to any of the local vampires.” "Oh." Klava let out a sigh of relief, even as her foe grew larger and larger. "I do love it when dumbasses like you explain the whole mystery in such a nice and tidy manner. Now...let's have a
change of scenery.."
Then, the world started to spin. Klava was falling backwards into the boy’s restroom while the giant waitress held her throat and fell to her knees, nearly crushing the tumbling esper.
While Fable was waiting outside, he got a message on his Shimr. The service was mostly for freelance espers to find work, but it did have a sort of built in messanger system for allowing espers to team up for trickier jobs or stay in touch with past aquaintances.
Cthulhya: Fable! Did you take that "hot date" job?
Cthulhya: It's fine if you did.
Cthulhya: Job's a job.
Cthulhya: You can't fall in love with her, okay? It's probably a trap! "Eh?" Fable's attention turned to his phone once he got a notification. Not the best time for someone to message him, but Klava didn't seem to be in any danger yet. Weird bag though. He set the totem down to check his phone. Oh, it was just Mary! Ze noticed he took the bounty huh? The boy wouldn't admit it, but he
was kinda worried about how ze would react. Just a little.
Timekeeper: You think? I already know she'll probs try to kill us.
Timekeeper: Luckily nothing's happened yet! I'm just waiting on my cue to intervene if things escalate.Cthulhya: Oh! So you're just on lookout?
Cthulhya: Nice!
Cthulhya: You'll be a lot safer that way! ^-^
Cthulhya: I should probably leave you alone, but I did notice that footage of the Great Escape has been getting a lot of attention.
Cthulhya: G.E.M.I.N.I. seems interested especially.The boy's eyes widened when Mary mentioned the footage they found before.
Timekeeper: So it did go through? And to the higher ups no less???
Timekeeper: Hell yea!! If word keeps spreading about that pos, we'll corner 'em for sure!Cthulhya: Or maybe we won't.
Cthulhya: The head of G.E.M.I.N.I. in Pax Septimus vowed to take care of it themselves.
Cthulhya: I don't understand.Timekeeper: ._.
Timekeeper: Pardon my french,
Timekeeper: But what the fuck.
Timekeeper: Not only is that kinda suspicious, but I'm pretty sure they could just set some limit on hires?? Or something??
Timekeeper: Like what, did a freelancer act out at the last hit? Why would they attempt to fight Justin alone?Cthulhya: I'm mad too!
Cthulhya: I'm sure we could ask Elroy to do something about it. He's invested.
Cthulhya: Gotta go. We should hang out again when you get back.Timekeeper: Hopefully. If even he can't reason with them, I'll figure something out. Ain't stopping till I get that bastard's head AND we get Betty back. Might have to free more, if he's actively turning people.
Timekeeper: Right. I'll let you go then, wish me luck!After his chat with Mary, Fable glanced back into the diner again. Okay, things are still relatively normal. That's good! Might be a bit before anything happens, he thought. To kill some time, the boy decided to idly scroll through Shimr.
It was difficult to scroll far without coming across the topic Mary was talking about. Though what had really blown up was a companion topic that was made just to talk about Vermilion Veronica’s statement. It quoted her comment from the other topic.
The Freelancers are eager to fight Justin von Carnage. He stepped into their establishment while the bulk of them were out running errands, claimed an innocent, and proceeded to walk out of the place without being stopped by anyone. I can understand your frustration. Perhaps some of you even feel guilty that this was able to happen at a place you recently cleansed. But you shouldn’t. This was just a horrible monster doing something horrible. A monster is just a monster after all.
I know that many of you would love to do battle with Justin. You would likely risk your life for a pittance just to spite the vampire who wandered into your outpost. And maybe there’s someone out there that will pay that pittance, but it will not be G.E.M.I.N.I.
As upsetting as this is, do realize that your government takes the health of its cities very seriously. We have not been able to mobilize a force of espers in time to remove Iron Queen from the city. We feel like we have failed the people of Pax Septimus, and America, by allowing her reign of terror to last as long as it has. So please leave the elimination of Justin von Carnage to us. It is the least we can do to start writing the wrongs of the past. We ask that you have faith in our ability to handle this ourselves. Let G.E.M.I.N.I. spill its blood to slay the vampire.
There will be plenty of operations for you in the future.
You have my gratitude.
What followed could best be summed up as a flame war, with one side claiming that Gemini has no right to take this for themselves, and the other siding with Fritzi. It looked like the topic was quite polarizing.
"Tch." Fable furrowed his brows. Of course there had to be a public statement. He read through it once, then twice. This was an attempt to save face, wasn't it? It was kinda...pathetic. He couldn't really fault them, but even he didn't know the full story about this Iron Queen. How strong was she? Whoever managed to best her had to be a bigger threat than her, right? Was Justin linked to her somehow? Through his question, he took a quick look at the comments.
...Yeah no. Not getting involved.
He silently hoped things would change soon. If anything, he'll just have to hijack the operation himself when the time comes.
Before Fable could put away his phone, he got a friend request from “TheBlackCadillac”.
His head tilted to the side.
"'BlackCadillac'?" He didn't expect anyone to friend him, save those he's already met like Mary or Elroy, nor did he have much of a reputation yet. So he thought over what to do out of hesitation.
...Eh, why not? He decided to accept it anyways.
"I better not regret this later." Mere seconds after Fable accepted the request, he received a message
”TheBlackCadillac:jhuy09poerdf87uy”There was a delay, then another message came through.
”TheBlackCadillac:Made keyboard bigger. Easier to type. Kind of slow. You found footage?”Fable rose a brow, but decided not to ask.
Timekeeper: Of the Vampire of the Hour? Yeah.
Timekeeper: Guessing you saw Gemini's announcement?”TheBlackCadillac: I did. Asking around. Starting with the finders. Thinking about making operation. Race to Justin. First to kill wins. GEMINI against us.” With that, something crossed his mind.
Timekeeper: You're of Maverick, aren't you?
Timekeeper: I mean no ill will, by the way! Just wondering, is all.”TheBlackCadillac: The Leader. Billy Black. Thats me. Can fund an operation.”Fable's eyes widened. The leader himself approached him??
Timekeeper: Alright then, I'm in.
Timekeeper: Payment is unnecessary for me. I just want to avoid killing any thralls. They don't deserve a fate they had no say in.”TheBlackCadillac: Maybe you. Not others. Pay necessary. We spare who we can. Keep Betty safe.” Timekeeper: Right. Once he got Klava's message, he added:
Timekeeper: Gotta bounce, in the middle of a bounty. ”Godspeed.”Finn could see Klava walking towards the rest rooms and disappear from sight. Not long afterwards, her waitress walked towards the bathroom after her. She looked to either side before entering after Klava.
Of course, the Timekeeper couldn't shrug off his partner being followed. Once he went back inside, he quietly took cover by the nearest corner to the two. He carefully peeked over, preparing a melody in case the waitress proved to be a threat.
The waitress was picking Klava up off the ground.
”Damn, I thought the other one was a big eater. You didn’t need bread with your soup!” She turned to the emergency exit, got out her keys, and started to unlock the door.
He just
had to be right.
"You gotta be kidding..." She was knocked out that quickly? Damn. He'd have to act fast if they wanted to finish the job. While the waitress' back was turned, he fired a lightning bolt at her torso with the intention to weaken her long enough to grab Klava.
[Silver Projectile][Paralysis] = - 60 MP
(690 MP Remaining)Between trying to hold up a fairly heavy woman and suddenly losing her breath, the waitress fell onto one knee and allowed Klava to slip off of her back. Fable darted in to catch her before she hit the ground. While Klava would make all the usual motions one made when waking up, she would not open her eyes. Though Klava would find that she would be able to "see" her surroundings and move like she normally could. Her hands even felt clean again.
The waitress gurgled as she finished opening the exit door and stumbled outside. She regained her ability to breathe and gasped for air. It was just the musty air of a narrow back alley with an overloaded dumpster, but it was better than nothing.
”There were two of you!?”Of course, once the boy caught Klava, he quickly walked backwards away from the waitress. He glanced at the other esper in concern, but luckily she woke up quick...for the most part. Once their
actual target realized his presence, Fable helped Klava to her feet and shot the waitress a glare.
"Yeah, no shit dipshit," Klava growled, her brows furrowed even though her eyes were closed. "Now I've got one fucking thing for parasites like you."
Arcane power, colder and crueller than arctic outflow, surged through Klava's invigorated veins, bursting out from her heart and shooting into her extremities. She slammed her hand into the ground, and as if to answer the maiden's disgust, thick sheets of ice surged upwards, then outwards, constructing two walls and a ceiling that locked the vampiric
bitch right in that little section of the alleyway.
[Silver Touch][Enhance][Construction] = 150 Mana [600 MP Left]
With her best pro wrestling heel voice, Klava drew the dagger hidden in her back and gave it a villainous lick before chortling, "Welcome to the pain cage, sistah!"
IT'S YOUR MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY
WHY DON'T YOU GIVE HER A CALL
Concert 1
It comes.
Following up, Fable cast an arm out to channel electricity through. He aimed at the waitress' heart, and while he didn't have a witty quip like Klava did, the resulting beam fired would say enough.
[Silver Beam][Damage X] = - 108 MP
(582 MP Remaining) While the espers prepared their melodies, the waitress shrugged off her disguise. Her skin and clothes cracked in half and fell to either side. Klava would see a
youthful succubus, scantily clad with jeweled lingerie and a body that any man, and even some woman, wouldn’t mind touching just once. Finn on the other hand would see a different creature altogether. What he saw was a
scaily man fish. Someone green, with seaweed for hair in a tuxedo top and a pink tutu. There was a reason why most succubus/incubus choose to tempt their prey in their dreams rather than broad daylight.
All the same, the monster was not expecting to get boxed into a cage and then lasered to death, But out of fear, it did manage to raise its arm to shield itself from Finn’s attack, which severed its arm just below the wrist.
”That wasn’t very sporting.” the creature growled in a voice that was appropriate for whichever form was being witnessed.
Two more waitresses wheeled up behind the espers, rolling their bussing carts along with them. Their eyes were closed, and their faces were filled with acne.
”Ohmygosh! Did they just lay a hand on Jan?””Like, they totally did?””So uncool! Get Dante, I’ll hold them off!””Like, yea!”While one of the waitresses retreated, the other one charged towards Finn with her bussing cart.
”You are gunna become french toast, mister!”Klava would be oblivious to the underpaid seasonal help. Instead, she would see imps emerge from the ground. Tiny red men with bloated heads and pitchforks. They spread their wings and took to the sky to dive bomb the esper one at a time.
And with all the chaos going on, “Jan” traced a neon pink heart in the air before blowing it towards Finn.
"...Ew." Fable
Finn? Eh, whatever. grimaced. The creature's transformation on his end only served to make him want to finish the thing off quicker. Was that supposed to be
charming? Looked like something from an LSD trip. Before he could fire another beam, the espers were greeted to reinforcements in both perspectives. For him, it was the sleepwalking co-workers, who seemed unaware of their friend's true colors. Great. The boy's eyes widened when one charged at him, holding his arms out to stop the cart from running him over. He pushed against the controlled waitress, trying to figure out how he can wake them up.
He wouldn't have much time to think anyways.
Jan's attack would not go unnoticed. The fact that it was directed towards Fable himself put him in a bit of a panic.
"Sorry, lady!!" A quick apology to the normal-ish waitress was followed by him kicking the cart away for some breathing room. Before the projectile could hit him, the boy fired another bolt
behind Jan. Once he appeared in it's place, he'd attempt to stab the honestly weird creature.
[Silver Projectile][Blink] = - 60 MP
(522 MP Remaining)Pretty people were a dime in a dozen post-transformation though, something made even more apparent when Klava had just gone through the whole 'wow dreams make you the god of an illusory space' spiel that the waitress had delivered a while ago. With Fable deciding to be a blink gamer and a host of ugly imps ganking them from behind, the maiden fell into her own role as the rearguard, flourishing her dagger before holding it in an icepick grip. In her other hand, a globule of water surged manifested in accordance to her arcane will, and as the first imp dove down, she twirled to the side to evade, tossing the projectile at the succubi-parasite before deflecting the second pitchfork with the flat of her frosting blade.
[Silver Projectile][Extend][Freeze] = 72 MP [528 MP Left]
Klava had little difficulty evading the imps, even if she looked a little silly rolling and blocking attacks that didn’t really exist. They cackled as they dive bombed Klava over and over again, none on them any more successful than the other one. But what Klava really had to watch out for was a threat she couldn’t actually see.
The underpaid waitress had been momentarily stopped by Finn’s kick, but it wasn’t like the boy had kicks so strong they could shatter bussing carts in a single kick. With reduced momentum, she resumed her charge and ran straight into Klava. Take that, Karen!
With two melodies flying in Jan’s direction, They decided to hoof it back towards Dante’s. Unlike before, they were ready for the incoming melodies. The strange faerie creature bound into the air, which made a lot more sense in the dream word where Jan actually had wings. Finn appeared just in time to get blasted by Klava’s freezing melody. As Jan gained altitude, they prepared another spell. It wasn't possible to tell what it was yet, but their body was glowing with arcane energy.
"GAH!?" The boy yelped out as he was met with Klava's attempt to freeze Jan, instead of a skewered seaweed monster man. The attack knocked him square in the chest, temporarily knocking the wind out of him. Other than his main gears slowing down for a short moment, he was still kicking. Between the waitress gunning for Klava next, and Jan preparing a probably larger attack, he had to choose which one to warn the maiden about.
"R-Roll out of the way! Incoming cart!!" Klava seemed to be aware of Jan, but like the waitress, she was stuck sleepwalking too. He had to buy her some time. So Fable aimed at the whimsical creature, and fired another beam to slow them down. By any means necessary.
And by that, he means the notes off the top of his head.
[Silver Beam][Paralysis][Restrain][Slow] = - 288 MP
(234 MP Remaining)Jan did little to avoid getting struck by the beam, not that there was much they could have done anyway. They only glowed brighter as the melody took hold of their respritory system. static charges curled around their form, and their body started to drift through space slower. There was little they could do aside from drift towards the earth and bleed out of their severed wrist.
The flow of combat continued, the dance of melody and monstrous magic, interrupted only by...a cart? It took Klava only moments to consider what Fable was talking about, and she clenched her fist again, slamming it into the frozen ground. Whatever it was, it was nothing that couldn't be solved with some good old elevation.
Around her, lines of frost formed within a one meter radius, before a tower of ice, complete with parapets, rose up at an angle beneath Klava, propelling her towards the flying parasite.
"Sup bitch?" she said, before thrusting Moya-no-Yume into Jan's womb tattoo.
[Bronze Touch][Construction] = 64 MP [464 MP Left]
”Stop calling me that!” Jan managed to wheeze as her lungs failed to cooperate. Just as the dagger started to cut into their flesh, a pack of imps tackled Klava and pushed her back. The parapets kept her on the tower, but all four imps were flying up in her face, prodding her with their little pitchforks. Jan placed their remaining hand over their stomach.
”Very well! I don't want to see either of you again either!”Jan's spell took form. The light surounding them detonated, sending a heart shaped explotion in all directions, shreading the restraints that binded them. Klava wouldn't notice much happen as it washed over her, but Finn would notice his surroundings would change a bit. Imps started to fade into his reality, and the growing mob of waitresses trying to climb Klava's ice tower would dissapear from view. He would also be able to see Jan's other form. The one Klava had been fighting up untill now.
Then, out of the corner of Fable's eye, a demon tore its way out of the earth. It was big, imposing, and had skin as black as night. The base of its torso went into the ground, which was wreathed in fire. It opened its hand and tried to crush Finn flat with a smack of its hand.
"Fable! Get 'em off me!"
Welp. It was probably inevitable he'd get dragged into the same nightmare Klava was trapped in. Atleast their opponent looked better than the fish man. But Finn wouldn't let himself forget this was a fish man in reality. With the ice melted off him, thus allowing him to breath normally, he was prepared to properly assist the maiden.
Until a new problem crawled it's way out of Hell. Literally. As if the Devil himself was prepared to drag him back down to Inferno, a different demon made itself known in an attempt to crush the poor kid. How the hell was he supposed to fight something like that? He was starting to run out of energy too. AND Klava still needed his help!
"Crap. CRAP." He quickly evaded the demon's attack, then sprinted away.
"Hope you don't mind, Lucifer's kinda pissed!!" Fable charged himself up, casting a melody to sprint up the tower.
"OI ASSHOLES! YA' FORGOT ONE!!" He yelled at the imps, hopefully provoking them to attack him instead. He'd fight back, of course.
[Silver Self][Speedster] = - 48 MP
(186 MP Remaining) Finn could feel his feet connect with
something on his way up the tower, but it didn't impeed him as he sped up the side. The imps continued to valiently defend their queen, but one of them did look over the edge out of curiosity.
As one imp found themselves distracted, Klava pushed with all her strength against the other imp, smacking away its pitchfork and giving herself the time to weave a quick melody. Before it could advance upon her again, her body turned into a silhouette of snow, blown by an artic wind that flowed upwards, manifesting behind the succubi.
This close to the ceiling that she had Constructed, Klava kicked off the frozen ice while aiming to facelock the already-debilitated monster and deliver a truly brutal RKO outta nowhere.
[Bronze Spawn][Blink] = 64 MP [400 MP Left]
Jan squinted her eyes as soon as Klava disappeared from sight.
”She’s behind me, isn’t she?” But wasn’t able to do much more than go along with Klava’s motions before the massive demon reached to snatch Klava out of the air. But the small space didn;t give the demon much time to react, and Klava managed to shatter her ass along with Jan’s neck. Moments later, both Finn and Klava would find that they could open their eyes. The weird demon/imp field dreamscape disappeared, leaving the two in reality. Klava’s hands were still wrapped around Jan’s neck, but they were a bit less appealing to look at.
The waitresses blinked their eyes open. Many of them yawned as if waking up from a nap, some a deep sleep, others like they had just sort of dozed off during a lecture and were only coming to now.
”Ohmygosh! What just happened?””Like…” One of them pointed over at Klava and Jan.
”I think they fell down?””So uncool! Get Dante, I’ll help her up!””Like, yea!”The waitresses ran over to Klava and Jan’s side to help separate them. Meanwhile, there were a handful of waitresses that Fable had trampled on his way up the tower, and they were still rising to their feet. Hurt, but not seriously.
"Ugh, finally!" With their target finally defeated, Finn slid back down the tower. In seeing what, or rather who he ran over, his face twisted into a frown.
"Er...that's my doing, isn't it? My apologies." He said.
"I can explain. ...Aaaand heal anyone if necessary." ”Wait, really?” A waitress with Finn’s footprint on her face turned to him.
”So I could sue you to finish paying off my loans? That would heal me up.””Stacy! We’ve got bigger problems.”Well, Klava certainly wasn't going to be doing any sitting any time soon...IF SHE DIDN'T HAVE A MUNDANE FORM TOO!!!!! It wasn't the most graceful of executions she could've done in the long run, but it got the job done, and her hands (due more to her Leitmotif than anything else) were clean.
"You can start with my tailbone," she spoke to Fable, wincing as she let herself get pulled away from the dead (?) waitress. "And hey, rest of y'all, clear out for a bit. Gotta get rid of all this ice."
Only, none of the waitresses were paying attention to Klava. As more of them came too, more of them surrounded Jan’s body.
”Is she dead? I think her neck broke!” One of the waitresses looked over her shoulder.
”Get an ambulance!” They all started to move back inside.
”You! Keep an eye on her! I’m going to get some bandages!” One of them told Klava before going back inside. There were no more waitresses outside. Just the two espers, and whatever the hell Jan was supposed to be.
"....Okay then." Maybe he shouldn't explain after all. The boy made note of the one that basically said she'd sue.
"Now what?" Fable asked, admittedly hesitant to heal Klava's tailbone because reasons.
"Should we make sure they're dead or...?""Always a good policy with monsters," Klava replied. "Stabbing the heart works for vamps, yeah?"
"Of course." The heart was where he was targeting in the first place. The boy approached the corpse of Jan, aiming his rapier where their heart would be, then finished it off with a swift stab.
There was little resistance as Finn murdered the monster. It gurgled through it's collapsed throat, but did little else as its life faded.
Fable yanked his sword out of the corpse as soon as they were certain the monster was finished. Whatever happened next, he hoped it would end well and not in some manhunt for his and Klava's heads. He detransformed back into his mundane self, and let out a tired huff.
Although...
The boy's attention turned back to the diner. He was aware some building were run-down due to the crime rates and stuff, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to do something about this one. Who knows, maybe it'd be a good start in patching Pax up. So, Finn pocketed his grimore and grabbed his phone to text a certain someone.
"Wow damn."
Klava blinked, realizing that the Esper boy was really just a normal boy on the inside too. Fucked up city Pax Sept was, drawing in kids who could kill in cold blood. After some wincing and some shaky knees, she got close enough to Fable to pat him on the back. "Got it real rough, eh kiddo?"
He looked back up to Klava when she approached him, answering her question with a nonchalant shrug.
"You can keep the rewards if you want. Dunno what I'd do with a dinner for two." Finn said.
"Doubt my sister would have the time off for that stuff either." Then again, she still didn't know he snuck out at times, did she? He slightly frowned at the thought. Hopefully she could convince their parents to give Dante's a long-needed facelift.
"You're too young to be that cynical," she said, bopping him on the head. "Go ask before you start your doubts, yeah? And if it's still a whiff, hell, hit me up. Ain't gonna let the boy savior starve, after all."
As for herself? Well, Klava had some clearing up to do.
The boy opened his mouth to retort, but ended up in thought. Maybe it wouldn't hurt? After a brief moment, he decided to just bite the bullet and ask her.
"I'll let you know how it goes then." He told Klava after he sent the text, the corner of his mouth quirked up into a smile. Though something crossed his mind.
"W-Wait, should I transform back to heal you, or are you gonna be okay??" Fable asked in concern.
"No pain no gain," Klava replied banally, already limping away with all the coolness of a cowboy riding off into the sunset.
"Heh, alright then." Finn would say to no one in particular after Klava walked off. With nothing else popping up, the boy would take his leave as well.
While Klava and Finn were unable to determine
exactly what happened to the requester's friend, they were able to narrow it down to one of two outcomes, which satisfied the bare minimum of their contract. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter if freelancers were rich or trying to make ends meet. They were in it for the fat stacks, and happy endings were never guaranteed. Especially in a place like Pax Septimus.
…
…
…
Kristina was eyeing the restroom mirror. She had the water running while her cell phone rested on the edge of the sink. She was rubbing her face, staring frantically at her reflection.
”Aw man, why do I do this to myself?” She splashed her face.
”She’s a super cutie, almost a mega cutie. Why does the boss call me all the time?” She threw some more water on herself.
”I bet she went home already. It’s what the other guys and girls did.” And again.
”No but, no, she was kind of easy going. Maybe she’ll still be there? Or maybe she was just being polite so that she didn’t hurt my feelings?” With a deep breath, she closed her eyes.
”The phone call is over, I should just accept whatever happens.” Then there was a knock at the door.
”Eep!” She hugged her bagged gun against her chest.
”That’s gotta be her, she’s probably concerned about me, and I’m just being a coward.” Though when Kristina opened the door, she was not greeted with the fair elegance of Frost, but a bald, bearded man who weighed more than any two other people in the joint. It was Dante, the bartender and owner of Dante’s.
”Are you done? We’re closing for tonight.””Is it that late?” Kristina looked at her wrist, only to remember she didn’t have a watch in this form.
”Special circumstances.” Dante folded his arms across his greasy shirt.
”There’s been a murder.”Kristina blinked.
”Wha-” She folded her hands together.
”A murder?””Yes.” Dante’s eyes softened.
”One of the waitresses was found out back. By the time the ambulance arrived, she was already dead.””It wasn’t Jan, was it?”He sighed.
”I wanted to wait for you to sit down, but yea.” Dante watched Kristina as her heart sank.
”She waited on your table every time you were here, didn’t she?””She was the first person I really met in Pax Septimus.” One of her hands closed over her heart..
”After each of my failed dates, she’d be there to tell me to keep trying. I didn’t know her that well, but it’s sad to hear. I imagine you knew her a lot better than I did.””Jan was only with us for a few months, but she was a real angel.” Dante nodded.
”Before you showed up today, she had me make your pizza in advance.” He grinned.
”She even had the extra napkins you usually asked for stashed right by the pizza ””I don’t know what to say, I really liked her.” Kristina hung her head.
”I thought about asking her out, but I didn’t want to make her feel weird.””Really now?” Dante raised an eyebrow.
”Jan was a wonderful lady, but I got the impression you were out of her league. ””Heh.” She shook her head.
”I’m not this pretty most of the time. Makeup does wonders. Jan was very much in my league with her personality alone.””Well, wherever Jan is, I’m sure she’d be happy to hear you say that.” ”Maybe.” Kristina started to walk towards the emergency exit.
”Uh, so I’ll just pay you and leave then?”Dante raised a hand.
”Don’t worry about the Pizza today. Jan would have wanted you to have it on the house. But you should use the other exit. I think your date is waiting for you.””...She waited for me?” Kristina rubbed her arm.
”That’s one hell of a silver lining to all this. Thanks Dante. Um.” She scratched her arms.
”Can I have a hug?”Dante sighed, but even this hardened bastard couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He raised his hands and the two embraced. Kristina let her gun bag fall onto her feet so that she could grab him with both arms.
”I hope we see you again next week.””I’m sure you will.” After they separated, Kristina picked up her satchel and took three steps away from Dante.
”Oh, this might be a personal question, but I gotta know.” He placed his hands on his hips.
”I noticed your date called you Kristina, but Jan called you Beatrix. I thought she delivered to the wrong table for a moment.””Oh! yea.” with a nervous chuckle, Kristina continued.
”Because of um, circumstances, I use a fake name with people I’m unfamiliar with. But a few weeks ago, I paid for dinner with my card, so she saw my name that way.” She sighed.
”Only my mother and Jan really call me that though. Most of my friends just call me Trixy.” She smiled at Dante.
”Not a bad idea in Pax Septimus, and hey.” He pointed at her chin before flicking his finger up.
”Keep that chin up and enjoy the rest of your date, Trixy. It’s what Jan would have wanted.”Trixy’s lips twitched into a smile.
”She'd want you to keep your chin up too, okay?” She said before walking out of the restroom corridor.
Once she was gone, Dante stepped out of the emergency exit to observe Jan’s corpse. It wasn’t really a surprise. Dante had an idea something like this would have happened sooner or later. It wasn’t uncommon for monsters to attack humans, but Jan made a habit of only targeting espers. Something about what they did to her brother. It was an understandable drive, but it made a poetic end like this seem inevitable. He told her to knock it off multiple times, and she paid for ignoring him with her life. Still, did they have to butcher her like this? She only ever enslaved espers to Dante’s knowledge. Surely there were monsters more deserving of death than Jan.
”It’s always gonna be us against them, isn’t it?”A tide of sand rolled through the alleyway, moving Jan’s body out of sight. Dante walked back inside to finish closing up.
Maiden: Yoohoo, you awake?
Kristina: I wish. Can't sleep.
Kristina: (。-ω-)zzz
Kristina: What's up?
Maiden: Just checking up on you, cause, y'know, the whole restaurant closing thing.
Kristina: That was not my ideal way to end the night.
Kristina: (っ- ‸ – ς)
Kristina: Guess it’s called the city of blood for a reason.
Kristina: But wow.
Kristina: During our date.
Kristina: I know Dante’s isn’t in a great part of town, but just
Kristina: (っ- ‸ – ς)
Kristina: I’ll be okay though. I’m a big girl.
Kristina: ᕦ(⚆W⚆)ᕥ
Kristina: Does this sort of thing happen a lot?
Maiden: Uh...maybe. Well in this case, I did it.
Maiden: The waitress mindblasted me and was planning on disposing me, so yeah.
Kristina: (⊙‸⊙)
Kristina: Jan tried to kill you?!
Kristina: But why?
Maiden: Well, thankfully she did a buncha gloating.
Maiden: Basically, she's done this with every other date of yours.
Maiden: Wasn't too clear on the motivation, honestly.
Maiden: Think she was collecting espers and either enslaving them or just feeding them to vampire thralls.
Kristina: I feel stupid
Kristina: Really stupid.
Kristina: The very most stupid.
Kristina: I know I’m not smart, but how does an esper not notice a monster like that.
Kristina: I’m stupid.
Kristina: I’m glad you’re okay though.
Maiden: Don't think too hard about it.
Maiden: I didn't see it coming either, and anyhow, you were just trying to live your best life.
Maiden: How did the boss convo go? Everything good?
Kristina: Boss talk went good.
Kristina: He set up my new apartment.
Kristina: Just gotta move in with all my crap.
Kristina: Gunna be cool to not have to sleep in a car.
Kristina: Big operation coming up too.
Kristina: Can’t talk about it yet.
Kristina: Gunna do it anyway. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Kristina: We’re going to bust up Justin before the Gems do.
Kristina: You wanna tag along for that? I can make sure you get a spot.
Maiden: Haha, at least you've got a car.
Maiden: Send me the deets if you can; generally would be down, but I've been dunked by one too many contracts before.
Kristina: Okay~
Kristina: Will do when I know more.
Kristina: Are you still up for showing me around Pax Septimus some time?
Maiden: If you show me your car.
Kristina: Deal!
Kristina: σ(≧ε≦ｏ)
Kristina: It has very comfortable seats.
Kristina: I would know (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Kristina: TTYL Frost. Hopefully the next date’s a bit less eventful.
Maiden: Night, Kris.
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