Majoraa

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

"Right. Glad that problem was settled."

After Valerie and the Visceral sisters left the Bank, the former reported back to Maura about what happened. However, Sann apparently shifting Justine away and back unharmed drew her suspicions as well. When she tried to look back at the vampire girl's memories, she saw that the connection was blocked somehow. And with what Justine told her about what the vaklyrie said at the christmas party...

Whatever. She didn't have much to work off of, so she decided to just focus on something else for now.

"Hey. You sure you wanna try and convice the unstable one to join us??" Lauren spoke up. The two of them have been watching the monitors of Valerie's supercomputer for a while now.

"Caroline? That'd depend on if Justine trusts me enough to take them both in. Why the question?"

The emerald haired witch frowned. "There's something off about what happened at the Bank. I'm sure you know."

Maura nodded. "Sanngridr."

"Other than her creeping on that poor masked kid, why did she feel the need to shift the Viscerals away just to heal the younger one?" Lauren asked. "If it was just to heal the younger sister, she wouldn't have set up a barrier against Williams, would she? She was only hostile to the winged runt until that happened, and yet..." She groaned, sitting back in her chair. "We might have a fucking rat."

The reaper felt concerned. "You really think Justine would...?"

“Would what?” an amused voice asked. “Decide to abandon you for another, stronger Patron? One who wasn’t as spineless and indecisive as you? I mean, it’s a distinct possibility,” the voice continued, although its source remained unseen. At least, until a tear was rent in the fabric of whatever constituted The Cradle’s reality, beyond which a diminutive girl wearing goggles and an oversized lab coat was siting in a hover chair, grinning maniacally as she gently stroked a small eldritch creature. “Wanna find out?”

The two witches tensed up at the sudden appearance of Dr. Nykannis, both with different reactions.

"Wh-What?!" The truthful jabs at Maura turned her concern to dread. She had to be lying, right?? RIGHT???

While Lauren unfurled one of her bladed fans, eyeing the mad doc in case she tried to attack. For someone who managed to tear through reality into somewhere as secure as the Cradle, she had to be dangerous. "Here I was thinking the little shit just made a bargain. How do we know you're telling the truth??" Though before the Witch of Order got an answer, someone else decided to pop up.

"Because, my dear friends!!" From the background of Nykannis's location, the deranged "Witch" of Time called out. Popping into view as soon as she donned a different visage. Something about her presence seemed...off-putting, even without the other intruder being here. "She's not the only one who saw what happened!" Jennifer vouched for the scientist. Then she looked towards Maura with an amused grin, much to her dismay. "Gotta say, I almost feel bad for you. But it'll be goddamn hilarious to see your reaction to the real deal." She stiffled a cackle.

Lauren shuddered. "Okay. Definetly don't trust you. ...In fact, don't I know- Oi!" Her attention quickly turned back to Maura, who was walking over to the other two. "The hell are you thinking?!"

"I'll be fine." Maura looked over her shoulder to the green haired girl with a frown. "Something tells me I have to do this. Just wait 'till Val gets back, okay?"

Once Maura had entered Nykannis’s lab, the hole in the dimensional fabric closed once more. “Glad to see you still have at least some backbone,” the mad scientist told her guest. “As for what actually happened during Sann and Justine’s little ‘secret chat’, well… See for yourself.”

With a snap of her fingers, the ultratech lab around them would be replaced by the shore of a lake in the Overcity, beside which sat Sann, Caroline, and Justine.

”Well, now you got your minute,” Justine was saying. “Make it count.”

After watching the scene play out, Nykannis turned to Maura. “So? Whatdya think?”

As Maura began to watch what happened, Jennifer walked up next to her. As the former slowly felt mortified, seeing the consequences of her action come full circle, the latter's amused grin turned sinister in nature. And once it was done with, once Nykannis addressed the Witch of Death again, there was only one thought she had in her mind:

"What have I done...?" She said outloud, eyes dreadfully afixed to where the scene once was.

“You gained possession of the possibly Penny-tier champion of an eldritch horror and then forgot to put her on a tight enough leash,” Nykannis replied. “Or on any leash at all, actually. Y’know, if memory serves, one of your little minions told you that something like this was probably gonna happen, but you obviously didn’t consider it all that likely, huh? How about now? Oh, and, I gotta say, if someone who fatally stabbed herself to win an ass shoving contest is the genre savvy one, you know you’ve got problems. Thankfully, I’m here to fix things for you,” she added with a twisted grin.

Letting Nykannis say her piece, Jennifer spoke up next. "So how does it feel, hm?" She spoke in almost a low whisper, taunting Maura. "To lose one agent, and risk your reputation with the rest, just cause you wanted to play nice to a stupid girl who'd rather be the girlfriend to a psychotic angel than to stay with you?" She circled Maura as if she was prey. And she might as well be. "To be one-uped by an Empress class Magical Girl that doesn't deserve to put up with someone as spineless as you?"

"Go to hell..." Maura tried to block out their words, ignore her stare, her only response to the lunatic witch being a low growl. Though that was short-lived when Jennifer shortened the distance between them, looking her dead in the eye with a deranged grin. She flinched in response.

"How does it feel knowing you're the most pathetic, weak-willed agent of Death I've ever had the displeasure of associating with?!" Her grin twisted into a genuine scowl. "Like, man alive, Morri-

"It's Maura!" The Witch of Death tried to snap back.

"WHATEVER! Do you really think playing nice with these fickle fucks would always end with sunshine and rainbows?!" Jennifer backed up, spreading her arms out in emphasis. "People are selfish, Maura! No matter what you do, they'll be looking out for themselves, one way or another!" She put a hand on her hip. "Like I know Sann's goddamn desperate to get some fuck, but you should've been more aware of this. You don't need kindness, ou need respect! fear! For once, her cheshire grin became somewhat normal.

"People need to fear death, Maura. They need to fear you.

The Witch of Death went silent in thought. A short moment passed, and she turned to look at Nykannis. "...What do you have in mind?" Her brows furrowed.

“I’m glad you asked,” Nykannis replied. “To start with, I’ve heard that one of the hand holders you brought in, ‘I must restore my honor’, not Casper the friendly ghost, seriously wants to fight the Brave Little Toaster herself, so I thought I’d give him a not-so-little power boost. I mean, he’s almost guaranteed to fail, but I thought it might be fun to see just how strong I could make him. Besides,” the mad scientist added. “I’ve been needing a good test subject to try my new types of Cosmic Omniversal Infusion Numiouspheric Synthesizers on, and who better than someone who’s crazy enough to take on the Grand Magistrate’s favorite Patron Champion?”

Maura's eyes widened, despite the extra jabs. "You mean Finn??"

“That’s right,” Nykannis confirmed. “I had the dubious pleasure of running into him at the Christmas Party, and he seemed to be having a not-so-low-key panic attack over all the shit going on in Penrose.”

"Still prefer calling him Ifrit or Inferno, but yep. _{Still don't know where the honor part came from.}" Jen looked back to Nykannis. "And if he does fail, that'd mean I have to step in. Since I wanna try and avoid that outcome, we'll have to test the waters first before taking the dive. I'll explain further when we get our dear vessel here." She then turned her attention to tinkering with her disguise tech.

“Yeah, a test run would certainly be preferable,” Nykannis agreed. “And keeping yourself out of the spotlight is definitely for the best. You’re fun to chat with, and I wouldn’t want the Grand Magistrate to get annoyed and have you accidentally erase yourself from existence. Still, who, or what, were you thinking of testing him out on?”

"There's plenty of options back in Penrose! But I'm mostly talking about the Wonderland court." The time witch spun back around to face Nykannis. "Could also sick 'em on someone like Rachel, but apparently these fellas are not to be taken lightly. It's perfect timing, I tell ya!"

"Hmmm. I'll see about dragging him here." Even though Maura didn't know how he or Oliver would react to just Finn being subjected to this, she went ahead and called the latter through Magicoms.

“Think you can manage that?” Nykannis asked, not even trying to hide her derision. “Otherwise, I could just open a portal to wherever he currently happens to be brooding.”

Maura simply rolled her eyes, continuing to explain to the boy what the deal is through their coms. She walked over to the nearest shadow and formed a portal to the Cradle there, and reached in to gently tug him through. Looks like he was untransformed at the moment.

Soon as he stepped out into the Lab, Finn's eyes lit up, looking around the new sights before following Maura back to the other two. "This place is fucking amazing." He said to no one in particular.

“You better believe it is!” Nykannis declared. “Welcome to my Lab! Now, how would you like to have an upgrade?”

"Well, I've been long overdue for one, yeah. Maura already let me know what's up." He shrugged, then appearing uncertain. "...This isn't gonna hurt, is it?" He asked, arms crossed.

“Only if you want it to,” the mad scientist replied with a maniacal grin.

"No thanks on that end." Finn quickly shook his head.

“All right,” Nykannis said with an amused chuckle. “Then let’s get started!”

With that, five palm-sized coins flashed into being. An emerald coin was positioned before the magical boy, while an amethyst coin floated behind him. To either side hovered a diamond coin, while above him shimmered a multi-colored prism coin. Suspended around these was a shell of twelve Topaz coins, which along with the others, glowed with ever-increasing intensity.

“By focusing my ultratechnomystic power through the lens of these new COINS I’ve developed, I can multiply my enhancement abilities a hundred fold! Nyahahaha!” the Monarch of Mad Science declared with a deranged cackle as tentacular mechadendrites emerged from her back and her hands morphed into bizarre manipulator arrays. “So, got any particular improvements in mind?” she asked as her various appendages positioned themselves in front of each suspended coin. “Or should I just go all out?”

With widened eyes Finn looked at the coins that floated around him, coins that not even he knew were possible. He was starting to feel a bit nervous, but...

"No preference. Just do what you have to." He took the moment to transform, just in case. His eye remained it's original color. Maura and Jennifer stepped back, even if the former appeared worried.

“Nyahahaha! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!” the mad scientist cackled, before setting to work, swirling clouds of transphasic metaphysical nanites assisting her various manipulator appendages to enhance Finn’s various physical and magical attributes to previously unimagined levels, while simultaneously imbuing him with truly staggering levels of power. There was a blur of motion, followed by a loud *Zeeshoom!*, and a mighty flash of prismatic light, after which the various manipulators and nano swarms dispersed and retracted, leaving Finn standing visibly unchanged, aside from a swiftly fading glow. Internally, however, much had changed. In particular, the magical boy would find all of his stats had been quadrupled…

“Nyahahaha! So, whatdaya think?!” Nykannis asked eagerly. “You now have the abilities of an Emperor-class magical boy, with your various perks and powers being enhanced accordingly. Plus, you’ve now got activateable invulnerability, access to the omnispec state, and the option to use a Killing Blow attack, although the chances of it actually hitting its intended target are entirely out of my hands. And to ensure you have enough Metaphysical Aetheric Numinousphere Accelerator to fuel all those additional powers, I’m letting you tap into my own personal power accumulator pocket dimension, which you can basically think of as a mana font on steroids. Oh, and I gave you an extra special treat as well,” she added with a crazed gleam in her eyes. “See, even if you were a billion times stronger than Penny, she’d still wipe the floor with you in a straight up fight, simply because the Grand Magistrate won’t let her lose. HOWEVER, only a total idiot would ever engage her in a straight up fight in the first place. An intelligent person would exploit one of her MASSIVE weaknesses, in particular, her paranoia, and her generally brittle as all fucking hell mental state. Like I was telling Jen here a while back, when it comes to overpowered Mary Sues, you need to mess with their minds… And so, to facilitate that, and to really synergize with the whole chunni ‘my demon eye holds an awesome power’ look you’ve got going on, I implanted a nightmare ray into your eye socket. The one that’s covered up. It’s a little less powerful than the nightmare cannon I recently created, but it should serve you just fine, so long as you only use it on Penny. That’s another thing,” the mad scientist added, raising a finger for emphasis. “These upgrades are only intended for use against her Mechanical Majesty. I mean, you could use them all the time, but something tells me the Grand Magistrate would take objection to that, so while I REALLY hate to say it, this is one of those rare situations where less is more.” She paused for a moment to stare intently at the empowered magical boy. “You get all that?”

The boy quickly nodded. So this was like some weird Cinderella type beat, huh? One chance to be able to do something he wanted before things went back to normal. As much as he atleast wanted to keep the boost in strength, he understood what the mad scientist ment.

Then there's the deal with his bandaged eye's little upgrade that made his brows rose. "I only cover that eye up cause a failed experiment left me partially blind." He explained, unamused at how she described his appearance. "But...thanks." Regardless, he gave her a crooked smile.

"There's a bit of a problem though." Jennifer spoke up, one of her eyes having changed back to it's original gold. A screen-like window through reality appeared in front of her face, looking back into Penrose. "Since Beacon's caught wind of the Wonderland court, Penny's gonna be out visiting some higher ups to get more information about them. Unfortunate that Valerie got walled off from hacking further into their database. Anyways, unless you want to catch her before she leaves or some shit? Yeah..." She slightly frowned.

“Oh, my pleasure,” Nykannis replied with a grin. “And I wouldn’t be too bothered about that,” she added once Jen had voiced her concern. “Penny won’t be gone for long, and something tells me ‘tall, dark, and brooding’ here is gonna need a LOT more help if he’s serious about overthrowing her Mechanical Majesty. I mean, I could just give him all that extra stuff now, but where’s the fun in that? This’ll kinda be like a quest, a journey of self improvement,” the mad scientist explained. “Y’know, your very own training montage. The Grand Magistrate loves that shit. It makes for a better narrative. I mean, who wants to see someone get everything they want without putting in any work for it? That’s no fun to watch or read about. So, yeah, I’m sure Jen here knows a few people who might be interested in helping you out,” she told Finn with a smirk. “Though I’m not so sure you’ll actually enjoy working with them.”

The false witch turned her attention back to Finn, who gave Nykannis a quick unamused look. "That's where the test run comes into play. If things look fine and dandy into next downtime, I can introduce you to another friend of mine. You might have seen her at the Christmas event." She explained to him. "She's kind of a weirdo, yeah, but her old goals and yours currently align. I know she'll be willing to help." Jen smirked.

"Okay but...who are you exactly? Why are you wanting to help??" Finn rose a brow.

"All you need to know is that I'm a friend that's rooting for ya." She shrugged.

“And I am Doctor Nykannis, Queen of the Mad Scientists! Nyahahaha!” Nykannis added. “As for why I’ve chosen to bestow the gifts of my super-scientific brilliance upon your angsty, edgelord self, well… To quote my cryptic friend here, let’s just say because I was bored.”

Finn gave the duo a comical look, before pointing at Nykannis. "Understandable." He turned to Maura. "Guess we should head back by now?"

"Yeah. I have a lot to think about." The reaper nodded, feeling disgusted both at herself and Justine, but also determined to set things right.

Symphony of Espers

"Snoopity snoop."
Current Location: The Aspiria Refuge, Front Desk

⧫

13 | Male | Gemini | Clockwork Soldier
Aeterna | Sword | Physical | Swift and Keen
Clockwork Jacket | Industrial
Chronosphere | Lightning | Overclock
[Paralysis (4), Speedster (4)] Damage (2), Damage X (6), Slow (4), Blink (4), Restrain (4), Minor Heal (4), Heal (16), Quicken (0), AoE (2)

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

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 750

As he went to try and open the door, Breacher went over their strategy before anything further happened. Which was basically stick together and don't kill the doctor. Specifically she told the Timekeeper to not run ahead. After the last time he tried that? ...He shuddered at the dreadfilled memory. Yeah, maybe she had a point. Seeing as the door wasn't opening any time soon, Fable stepped aside to let Jacqueline pick the lock with her weapon. The door unlocked and swung open, revealing-

The sudden whiff of incense caught his attention before the interior did. It wasn't too strong to where he had to cover his nose, but wasn't that subtle either. Still a bit of a surprise. Especially, since the inside of the building looked pretty nice compared to outside! The atmosphere gave off more of a spa vibe than a clinic, and the lack of windows was subsituted for fake electronic ones. Then again, this could only be a facade for the rest of the building. They just had to head down the lone corridor to find out.

Oh. And the receptionist was still there too.

There could be many theories as to why she was still here when the clinic was supposed to be closed, but that'd be a waste of time to sit through. Fable tensed up once he realized the receptionist was reaching for something, but as much as he wanted to, he held back from acting first. It was probably better that the more experienced two handled this than him. Breacher restrained the lady with a melody, and Leroux cuffed her, explaining why they were there and such. Whether or not the receptionist was a threat, she seemed too skittish to be a thrall. At least from what he could tell.

The Timekeeper's brows rose when Leroux asked him to search the front desk. "Oh, yeah, gimme a sec!" He nodded, walking over. He'd start searching through the computer, then work his way around the other corners.

World of Light

Level: 2
Experience: 12/20
Currently In: Frozen Highlands, Snowy Ruins
Word Count: 209 (+1 Exp)
Albedo @Lugubrious, Linkle @Gentlemanvaultboy

Ah, it wasn't magic?

Frisk tilted their head in curiosity as D and Tatiana explained the source of their power. They slightly frowned as the gilded warrior expressed his distain for some mentioned scholars. They didn't mean to open past wounds for the guy. Tatiana then took her turn to explain. Faith. That was what gave them power. And lots off it it seems! The child's eyebrows rose as she listed off the cool stuff they could do, cause of this higher being they followed.

Frisk faintly smiled as the cleric patted them on the head, assuring them that even they could have that kind of power as long as they believed. ...In who or what, they had no idea. Perhaps a higher being could humor them at some point. For now, they kept Tatiana's words in mind, nodding in response with a more pronounced grin.

Though D seemed more pesimistic about it, talking about an Erdtree and gold. Guess he likened faith to gold? Would make sense. The head cleric's optimism countered his pesimistic outlook, to which he simply shrugged off. As Albedo diverted the warrior's attention for the moment, Frisk spoke up to Linkle again:

"Wanna get going?" They asked, not seeing any further reason to stay.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Finn finally arrived at the Overcity College of Magic, the most prestigious and acclaimed school of learning the art of magic and the numerous ways it has been applied in the arcane community. He headed out to Entrance-level Exorcism, and arrived at the classroom just as the teacher, Magus Ilmatar, called out a certain name: "Finnegan Vanhorn! You're late! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Finn visibly tensed up as his name was called. "M-My apologies! Had to stop a vicious monster attack! Wendigoes. Way too many wendigoes..." He explained, shaking his head at the end, then hurrying to his seat in definetly-not embarassment.

Ilmatar looked surprised. "A monster attack? Well, I suppose that is a justifiable explanation. Anyway, let us begin..."
As Ilmatar began by opening a PowerPoint presentation on exorcism, Finn heard a little giggle from next to him; it came from a girl with long, black hair that covered one of her eyes. Upon being noticed, however, she made a little "eep".
"Oh, I'm sorry! I, uh, didn't mean to laugh...You just had a very funny expression..." The girl then lifted her textbook to hide her reddened cheeks.

"Hm?" Finn glanced over to his raven-haired desk neighbor the moment he heard her giggle. Even if his attention was divided, he tried his best to listen to the presentation as well. "Ah, it's okay! I probably looked ridiculous coming to class late huh?" He whispered back with a soft smile.

The girl peeked out from the top of the book. "Y-Yeah...Sorry, I'm a bit nervous." She noticed how the teacher glanced in their direction, and lowered to a whispering voice. "But we need to be quiet. In the last class I was in, some loud girls were punished by being put in a glass jar. I hope I'm not punished like that..."

"Hah, sounds fun." Finn couldn't help but sound a bit sarcastic. If that was how her last class got punished, what would this one cook up? He took a moment to jot down some notes. "Just make sure you pay attention, K?" He'd whisper without looking away.

The girl nodded, and followed Finn's example of taking down notes as the class continued. By the end of the lesson, Magus Ilmatar announced: "The final evaluation of the course consists of performing a successful exorcism before the class. For this, you will pair up with another student. The spirit you are to exorcise...Will be this." She opened a suitcase on her desk, and showed tiny colored vials. Each held a tiny creature within them.

"These are sprites. Cute little creatures, but capable of mischief nonetheless. They are trained to seek out totemic objects and possess them. The responsibility for keeping the sprite will be shared between the students of each pair. Make sure to take a vial on your way out for practice. Class dismissed."
The black-haired girl blinked, and then looked around; it seemes nobody wanted to pair up with her as the class of students went to grab the vials. She sat on her desk with her head leaning on her arms, looking slightly depressed. "I guess it's just you and me, Damien...Like always..."

Except when Finn prepared to leave, gathering his things and going over to grab a vial, he looked around to notice his desk neighbor hadn't got up to grab one yet. He glanced back to her, then the vial in his hand, then walked back to the girl. He held the sprite vial out for her to take instead. An offer.

"I'm Finn." He introduced himself properly with a smile.

The girl looked up with a blink of her visible eye, looking surprised. "I...I'm Ebony," she shyly introduced herself. She then looked at the vial...And she fidgeted, averting her eye. "I-I'm still missing a partner, so...Maybe we could...You know..."

Finn snorted. "Why'd you think I'm handing you the vial? Of course I wanna partner up with ya!"

Ebony blinked. "Y-You do? Okay then, we can be...partners." She blushed a bit, before snatching the vial from him. "L-Let's do our best, then," she blurted out, and took off of the classroom, waving as she did so. "Bye!"

"Ah, careful with that!" Finn called out as she left in a rush, waving back regardless. After a moment, he left the classroom as well.

---

Meanwhile, Oliver went to the workshop classrooms located in the basement level of the school for Magical Engineering Mechanics: he noticed how the room had all kinds of glowing and shimmering contraptions and devices in addition to workbenches and more traditional tools. The teacher of that class was a skinny and nerdy-looking magical girl with oversized magitech goggles that extended and retracted like a pair of eyestalks on a snail. She was working on some kind of glowing cube even as the classroom filled up, and the time of the class had already passed by a minute.

A basement? How oddly befitting for him. Oliver curiously glanced around as he made his way downstairs. It was kind of charming, seeing that they mixed in the traditional tools with the more advanced stuff. His teacher also looked interesting at first glance, but he wouldn't dwell on that further. The spirit went ahead and took his seat.

More time passed as the teacher continued tinkering with the cube, until one of the students cried out: "Miss Marjatta, shouldn't you already start the lesson? We are five minutes over the appointed time." Oliver noticed how the girl was sitting at the front, and had curly brown hair and tapped jubilantly on her desk.
The teacher was seemingly woken from a trance of sorts.
"Oh! I was supposed to be teaching now, wasn't I? I'll solve your mysteries later, little buddy."
She tucked the cube away, and addressed the class, her robotic eyestalks twisting around. "I am Miss Marjatta, and I will be teaching Magical Engineering Mechanics this semester. During the course, you'll learn the basics of magical engineering, or magitech, as the cool kids would say. By the end you will build a magical device for your final evaluation. Any questions?"

"Well I'm not sure if this is relevant to anything but, what were you tinkering with exactly??" Oliver asked in genuine curiosity.

"Oh, isn't that the question!" Marjatta took out the cube and lifted it up for everyone to see.
"This is a marvellous artifact recently discovered in an ancient tomb! Having analyzed it, I have come to the conclusion that it is a power source of some kind, but how does it work? How was it made? How much energy does it contain? Maybe if I-"
"Miss Marjatta, the lesson please!" The girl again called out.
Once again the absentminded teacher was brought back to reality. "Ah yes, the lesson! Now, open your books to chapter 1031..." She mumbled, as she kept looking at the cube.

The spirit quietly giggled. Perhaps one of them could make a device that helps analyze that artifact further. For now he did what he was told, and flipped his book to the right chapter.

The class continued despite Marjatta's lapses in attention, and eventually Marjatta gave the class their first homweork. "Read up on those chapters and deliver a two-page essay. Also prepare for the assignment next week. Oh, and while the final evaluation is done independently, the weekly assignments are to be done in pairs."
The curly-haired girl raised her hand.
"But why? Shouldn't we complete these assignments on our own? What if somebody leaves all the work to their partner?"
Marjatta initially didn't respond, having returned back to examining the cube, until she snapped to attention.
"Oh, I'm sure nobody will try to cheat during this course. Also, I have come to the conclusion that pairing up leaves me with 50% less homework to grade."
She nodded to herself.
"It is very efficient, don't you agree? Anyway, class dismissed."
The girl groaned as everyone packed up. "Fine. I'll just have to pick someone...Hey there!" She waved to Oliver. "My name's Rennala. Wanna pair up with me for this course?"

"Hm? Oh." Oliver looked over to Rennala when waved at. "Oh, sure! Why not? I'm Oliver!" He told her, walking up next to the girl once he was done packing up for the day.

"Alright! But don't think you can just loaf around while I do all the work! We're doing this together!" She announced with a determined smile, and attempted slapping Oliver in the back...Only to whiff completely. "Whoah! Nice dodge!"

Oh, he turned intangible for a moment. Must've been a reflex.

"Thaaat wasn't on purpose." Oliver puffed a cheek out. "Ghost thing. If it wasn't obvious."

Rennala smirked, and attempted to poke Oliver's shoulder. "Oh, how interesting. Well, that's fine. Even if your body's empty we can do this as long as your head isn't. So, should we exchange contact information or decide on meetups? I'm fine with either."

"Exchanging contact info sounds good. We can discuss where to meet from there." Oliver said, pulling out his phone.

"Alright! Here's my number," Rennala said as she showed her phone: it had a little owl sticker and a feather keychain hanging from it. Afterwards she punched Oliver's number in, and sent a text through Glimmr. "Yep, this works. I look forward to working with you! Gotta go to Potions Basics bye!" She then left, turning the corner.

"Later!"

Symphony of Espers

"New job, day one."
Current Location: Outside the Aspiria Refuge
|Objective: Investigate the clinic.|

[+]

13 | Male | Gemini | Clockwork Soldier
Aeterna | Sword | Physical | Swift and Keen
Clockwork Jacket | Industrial
Chronosphere | Lightning | Overclock
[Paralysis (4), Speedster (4)] Damage (2), Damage X (6), Slow (4), Blink (4), Restrain (4), Minor Heal (4), Heal (16), Quicken (0), AoE (2)

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

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 750

For all his avoiding Shimr, Fable didn't know he was getting popular until he noticed it whilst lurking. It genuinely shocked him, and really, it was sort of nerve wracking. People were counting on him, rooting for him to bring Justin down. He had fans! Fans that he really didn't think he deserved, but he couldn't worry about that right now, could he? Then there was the whole assumption that he and Betty were a thing.

...Yeah, even the thought of that makes him flustered. Circumstances aside, why would she ever feel that way over a wimp like him? He'd have to clarify once he got the chance. And maybe quietly hope things will end on a better note next time!

This time was his first assignment as a GEMINI agent. A curious one at that, and hopefully, a lead. A private clinic housing thralls as patients. Whatever the case is, Fable and two others were sent to investigate. He and Leroux already met, but he didn't know what to think of Dragon Breacher yet. As the three stood facing the clinic in question, the boy looked over the exterior. Damn. No windows.

"Think they expect us to go through the front door?" He'd ask his teammates, staring at the closed sign. He checked to see if the door happened to be unlocked. If not, well, there's always breaking it down.

World of Light

Level: 2
Experience: 11/20
Currently In: Frozen Highlands, Snowy Ruins
Word Count: 604 (+1 Exp)
Albedo @Lugubrious, Linkle @Gentlemanvaultboy

There was still one glaring issue they had to address. Before they continued setting off, Frisk talked with Papyrus for a moment, thinking he should stay in Snowdin and watch over the town for them. As much as they wanted him to join, the whole being forced to fight to the possible death thing worried them. But they promised him that they'd make sure the rest of their friends would be safe. Even his brother. So, waving the sentry goodbye, Frisk hurried back over and took a seat in Linkle's sled when offered.

For the most part, they quietly took in their surroundings. The bustling activity of Snowdin, and the dreadful path towards the Beneviento Estate were traded out for a silence only snowy forests could give. Linkle filled the silence as she caught Frisk up to speed on what's happened so far, and how the world actually worked. The youth listened intently. They grimaced when they were told what happened to Kirby, then breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she said the little guy was healed in time.

Their brows rose when it was mentioned Albedo almost cured himself. There were other means to free people? Guess the Alchemist was just that smart. There was a Master of Masters guy who first taught them how the world worked, and thirteen bad guys they had to fight to reach Galeem. The giant hand sounded annoying too. Dice-headed guildmasters, zombies, and skull hearts, all leading up to Linkle meeting Albedo.

"Atleast you're not alone anymore." Frisk told her with a faint smile. They passed by a ravine, which Linkle went over to check if the guy she fought was still there.

And he wasn't. That's not good.

The skullgirl tried to reassure them and Albedo that the time-freezing guy would only want to fight her, yet Frisk still worried. They couldn't do anything about his freedom at the moment, so they continued on. The sound of crows started to fill the silence after a while, something that caught the Alchemist's attention. They took another detour to find....

Ew.

Frisk's face contorted in disgust. What they found was something that was probably an animal before it's unfortunate harvesting. Apparently it was supposed to turn into ashes upon it's death. Such was another aspect of the world they were in. Albedo decided to shrug it off for now and continue on. Now all of them were on high alert. But the child remained quiet, as to keep an ear out for anything approaching or nearby. The sound of strife for example.

The small party picked up the pace to find a group of hunters; of warriors, mages, and clerics, fighting something that looked like an elephant. Linkle wanted to help, but Albedo didn't want to intervene. Frisk simply watched from their spot on the sled. The killing blow was dealt, and the monster was defeated. Turns out the hunters were the reason for the previous corpse, and were prepped to harvest the contents of this one.

The child decided to wait back on top of the ledge for a moment, and watched the other two make their way down to say hello. Once they knew the hunters wouldn't attack, they followed behind, giving a slight wave to the other team. The knight in gold and silver, D, explained why they hunted game and about "Those that Live in Death". Sounds like zombies.

"Think we'll run into those Life-Death things??" Frisk asked Linkle in a whisper. Oh, they almost forgot. They glanced over to the magic users among the hunters. "Where'd you learn your magic??" They asked.

The Avatar Upstairs (Forum Game)

Apparently my neighbor is John Deere.

World of Light

The Fallen Child Vs. The Skullgirl

Word Count: 1613

Level 2 - (7/20) + 3

Level 10 - (35/100) + 3

Location: Frozen Highlands ~ Snowdin

Frisk @Majoras End Albedo @Lugubrious, Papyrus @Dark Cloud Linkle @Gentlemanvaultboy

---

---

Healed up or not, Frisk was only slightly worried about hurting Linkle too badly. But from what they've seen, she was pretty freaking strong. And besides, there was no ill intentions with a quick practice spar. Their eyebrows rose when the Skullgirl mentioned she had her own way of healing people, and their eyes widened when she pulled out a... Ah, so it wasn't a soul. Right. The "powered by friendship" thing sounded kinda cheesy.

Once they found a good enough area to stop, the child set down some of their things so it won't be a hinderance, and hurried over to Linkle once she called them over. Soon as she pulled out her crossbows, their soul answered the call of an approaching battle. They playfully shook their head at her suggestion of pretending she was a bad guy. As she began firing at them, instead of immediately bringing out their shield, Frisk simply went on the evasive. They took their time, watching closely for patterns in the Skullgirl's attacks, and building up a sort of rhythm to their dodging. They won't attack yet.

In response to Frisk's daredevil decision to dodge bolts instead of taking them with their shield, Linkle focused a little more on the child. To see just how agile the child really was Linkle slowly ramped up her game, increasing the number of bolt volleys and decreasing the length of time she left between them as the child danced around her attacks. Impressed, Linkle reached down and added her other crossbow to the mix to instantly double the difficulty.

Frisk smirked, seeing as they drew Linkle's attention enough for her to increase the tempo. To and fro through volleys of arrows, they began their approach towards the Skullgirl, doing their best to keep up with the pace. Though they did get nicked by an arrow here and there, causing them to lose focus for a second. Once they were close enough, they aimed their gloved fist at Linkle's head, and swung.

Never in her life had Linkle seen anything come at her through one of her volleys by dodging. Things that did tanked through them, and ended up with far worse than a couple of nicks for their pursuit. Those nicks, though, also put Frisk on the attack. As the child swung at her face Linkle retreated, rolling backwards into a crouch before putting one hand on the ground and lashing out with straight kick.

"Tch!" Frisk clicked their tongue, seeing as their attack failed to hit. And seeing Linkle switch to a more melee approach, they decided it was time to try a bit of kindness. Their soul clicked green, and the pale blue barrier that formed from it took the blow for them, nearly knocking the kid off their feet from the impact.

Linkle didn't let up. Deciding to see just how much the shield could take she darted forward and didn't stop kicking it, bringing the flat of her boot against the surface over and over again.

Their boots slid against the snow, their focus solely on keeping the shield up as long as possible. Admittedly, it was taking a good bit of energy against someone as strong as the Skullgirl. She wasn't the only one who wanted to know how durable Frisk's magic was, even they didn't know! And with enough blows,

"Ah!"

The shield shattered like glass, catching Frisk by surprise, and their soul returned to it's original color.

As Linkle took another step forward, she grimaced from what she was about to do. Taking advantage of the child's surprise at their own broken shield she drew her leg back and let fly with all her strength right into the side of the child's head. The blow was enough to lift Frisk up into the air, but Linkle was already moving fast. She tapped her chest to pull out a Friend Heart and, snatching Frisk out of the air with one arm, pushed the heart into their chest to bring both their influence from Galeem and the no doubt splitting pain in their skull to a quick end.

“Sorry I had to get that rough, Frisk. Are you okay?” She asked, still holding the child and giving them a concerned once over before setting them back down.

Of course, the quick chain of events left Frisk feeling a bit disoriented. They were kicked in the skull, caught, then healed, right? Only, it didn't just heal them. Their eyes remained widened as Linkle asked if they were alright. The youth looked around. At their current party, at their surroundings, at themself. They looked down at their soul, and dismissed it.

"What happened?" They asked, then looking back up to Linkle with renewed determination. "What really happened??" They bore no ill intent, only a wish to know the truth.

"Okay." Linkle replied, squatting down for a real chat. Even though they were still shut, the childs eyes were open wide now. "Sorry for lying, but you wouldn't have been able to believe me before now. That heart isn't really a healing thing, that's just something else it does. Without it, you would never have been able to remember the bright light, right before all this happened. Do you remember the bright light?"

"Bright..." Frisk pushed their bangs back as they looked back to before their arrival. And they shuddered. "Y-Yeah. Yeah! Me and my friends, we were ambushed by this jerk of a flower, but something else; something terrifying took us out before he did, even him!" They frowned, looking back to Papyrus and Albedo, who was hopefully trying to help him like Linkle did. As much as the child didn't like any of their friends get hurt. They looked back to the Skullgirl. "Well, guess since things really have changed, I can tell you the other power I have."

Frisk smiled, walking back to their things to grab their trusty stick. "You know how I said determination lets me adapt my soul trait? My magic??"

Linkle cocked an eyebrow, not quite done explaining but super eager to see what else the Child had in store. She leaned forward, nodding, "Yeah, yeah! Were you about to break out some super move on me?"

They scratched the back of their neck with a nervous giggle. "I wish, but this is something a bit more complicated." Frisk walked over to a clear patch of snow, and drew a four-pointed star on the ground. "The short version is back in my world, with enough determination, you can manipulate time. These little stars here kinda act as foci for that. They usually appear in safe areas like Snowdin, or when danger's around the corner." They started to explain. "Though I guess no one else saw them, huh? Anyways, traveling through the Underground with non-violent intentions wasn't easy. I got hurt. And in some cases, I died. But when that happened, I end up back where I last saved my progress, no wounds or anything." One of their cheeks puffed out in thought.

"I don't know if I'd be able to make it this far without it. With my second and third or so attempts, I guess it gave me the experience to survive. But since I ended up here, my powers have been a bit weird, and these became more of a checkpoint than anything." Frisk looked back to Linkle, and Albedo in fact. "You may have seen me blink away back at Treat's old home? That was me going back to a checkpoint. It kinda works like teleportation now. Doesn't heal me and all that stuff. They shrugged.

"Whoa, like the Hero of Time?" Linkle asked in amazement, scooching over across the snow to check out the symbol Frisk had carved in the ground before the next part of the Child's statement hit her. "Wait, so you went on your adventure without fighting? Geeze, no wonder you're so agile! You must have had tons of practice." That did lead into the second part of her explanation. "Unfortunately, I don't think that's an option here. If anyone with red eyes, like you did, gets into a fight they have to keep fighting until the fight is finished. That's the way things are in Galeem's world."

Linkle pointed up, drawing the child's attention to the artificial sun hovering in the sky. "That's what got everyone with its light. Me and my friends have been trying to fix everything back to the way it was, but to even open the way to that thing we've got to defeat all these guardians down here. That wild man is one of them, which is why I have to face him so bad."

Frisk frowned. "That's-!" Awful. They looked up to the artifical sun, the reason why they're all in th in this mess. Galeem."...I know. As much as it sucks, I know the game's changed." They glanced back to Linkle. "I know I have to rebuild my strength, and get stronger after that. For everyone's sake. I might not be much of a fighter, but I can support everyone who can! Atleast until I can be just as formidable." They pumped their fist with a determined smile.

Linkle smiled back. "You're a real hero, you know that?" She said, standing back up and placing her hands on her hips. It was a weight off her mind that the child was so mentally tough, not to mention that they could dip out if they were in mortal danger. She entended a hand to the child. "Welcome to the Seekers of Light, Frisk."

With no further delay or restraint, Frisk shook her hand with a grin.

Symphony of Espers

"Doubling up production today, huh?"
Current Location: Mostly the Pit Stop
Suffice to say, Klava gave Finn a lot to think over. The thought that he had alienated Maverick over one stupid operation left a bitter taste in his mouth, but as much as he didn't want to admit it, she was right. No matter what he chose, he'd be screwed either way. If he had stayed and fought, GEMINI would've concidered him a terrorist. Terrorist-adjacent? Whatever. But to actually join one of the factions?? The boy took a while to actually think over it.

Well, he didn't have much options now, did he?

With a quiet sigh, he went on Shimr to see how (and if) he could get in contact with the leader, even if she seems a bit...unnerving.

It was not hard to find GEMINI's profile on the Shimr app. They had their own group page with links to various "satellite" accounts. One of which was Fritzi Moller's account, who was the one presiding over GEMINI opperations in Pax Septimus. It looked like she was online. If he called or texted her, he would get an answer back soon, he thought. A stroke of luck!

Though, now he felt a bit nervous. With him being an unwilling reason the last op failed on both ends, would she even be willing to hire him? Well, he didn't want to text her through the site. Finn took a deep breath and dialed Fritzi's number.

Let's hope I don't screw this up!

After exactly three rings, Fritzi picked up. ”Hello, this is Doctor Moller speaking!” Came an overly friendly telephone voice. ”You'd better not be a telemarketer.”

"Ah! Yes, hello! I was calling to see if there were any open positions in your initiative here? For espers?" Finn said.

”That depends on who's calling.” Fritzi's voice became less jovial as she spoke. ”We do a background check and interview everyone, so getting your name is a prime prequisite.”

The boy frowned. How could he answer that? After a pause to think, he responded honestly: "I think the name Finnegan Vanhorn may catch your interest. But I usually go by Fable, or the Timekeeper on Shimr."

”Hmmm?” There was a brief pause as Finn could hear Fritzi tapping her tablet on the other side. ”Timekeeper? Like, 'the' Timekeeper? The one who looked into Betty's dissapearance along with Elroy?” Just by her voice alone, Finn could tell she was starting to smile. ”Wow, can't say I was expecting a phone call from you, sir. Well, I'm going to go check the records, but assuming you haven't jacked any cars or make a habit of killing innocent people, we just have an initiation test. It's nothing to stress about, pretty much everyone- Why are you interested in joining up?”

Finn chuckled, albeit a bit nervously. This was turning out better than expected. "Friend's suggestion. Besides, after how the last operation ended, Maverick probably doesn't like me that much either." He shrugged, going off of what Klava said. "I do my own research and stuff in my free time, so I guess that's a reason they suggested you guys."

”I would not make a habit of telling your employer that you're working for them because their terrorist counterparts won't hire you. But fair enough, Mr Vanhorn. Your friend has wisdom beyond their years if they are guiding you to us.” Finn could hear something heavy being dragged off of a ledge, then being dropped on a desk. ”Once I get done looking into your backround, I'll give you a call in a few days and schedule that initiation test. It'll be followed up by an interview, but I don't see the whole thing lasting longer than thirty minutes tops. You did get to Justin's inner chamber alive, so I think you can handle a rudamentary test.”

The boy quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, ma'am. And uh, my apologies as well!"

---

Binky was out of action for a while, which meant that Fritzi’s workload had increased. While the good doctor was capable of doing a lot, Binky was a fairly integral member of her unit, and managing her own responsibilities as well as Binky’s was not feasible. It was understandable that some of such responsibilities would end up getting delegated to other agents. She had many talented agents, all of which could do most of what Bink could.

But few of them had Binky’s temperament, or the ability to tolerate Fritzi 100% of the time.

”Just the person I wanted to see!”

Fritzi had, actually, requested that Jacqueline meet her in this very spot. They were in front of one of the many closed up cafe’s around Pax Septimus. A look inside would reveal the “Pit Stop” had been closed for a long time, and at one time had been a vintage race car themed cafe. Oddly, it did not seem to have been vandalized like so many other, less fortunate buildings.

”So! As we discussed, I need you to interview a new recruit. I’m aware it’s not ‘your thing,’ but just remember that this is someone who may fight by your side. Knowing that, just ask any questions you may find relevant, and we can go from there. Background looks squeaky clean, no history of illegal activities or the like. Any questions before you start?”

Jacqueline arrived a minute or two before the designated time, and greeted her boss with a nod. She found it too bad the Pit Stop wasn’t operational; it looked neat, and she’d have enjoyed having a drink inside. Given that it was so well-taken care of, compared to the other buildings, it was likely a meeting spot for…someone. “Yes, I recall. Though it’s not what I prefer, I can do this easily enough,” she said. It wasn’t empty confidence on her part; though she’d never conducted a recruitment interview before, she had worked as a businesswoman in the past, and generally knew what kinds of things would be looked for in a potential employee. Her suit and suitcase, straight posture, and a more level-headed approach given how she wasn’t jacked up on adrenaline supported her claim.

Jacqueline didn’t have to consider what she wanted to know about the recruit for long. “Hm, do you have their profile at hand? I’d appreciate an overview of the basics. Is it an esper I’m meeting or a regular agent? Either way, some info could be useful so I know what to expect. Age, gender, nationality, working history, the usual.”

”I knew I was forgetting something.” Fritzi presented Jacqueline with a manila envelope. Inside she would find a profile for someone she likely recognized from the last operation.

”Finnegan Vanhorn. Thirteen, male, American, no noteworthy working experience, from an affluent family, yadda yadda. Hard to get anything of interest about the Vanhorns on short notice, but a cursory glance makes them seem pretty normal. Aside from the bit where their youngest son is an esper.” She tapped a picture of Finn’s esper form. ”The Time Keeper is something of a celebrity. Even though Elroy took most of the credit for figuring out what happened to Betty, Finn has become something of a poster child for Justin’s removal. Fan groups have started to form, pushing around the idea that he and Betty are an item.” She folded her arms and smiled. ”I probably don’t have to tell you that having him join GEMINI would be quite the boon to our little group from a PR standpoint. But he’s not that much of a celebrity, and he does need to be able to pull his weight to join us.”

Jacqueline received the envelope, and took a moment to go over the documents inside. “A kid, huh,” she mused. “Wonder what about the last mission made him want to join,” she muttered - not quietly enough that the doctor wouldn’t hear. “A celeb, great,” her comment made it evident she wasn’t particularly enthused about the idea. At the mention of the woman, she had to think a bit to put a face and role to her name. “Betty…the kidnappee,” she nodded slowly.

“Is he interested in just a temporary working alliance? Given you’re telling me both to make a sales pitch to convince him to join and ensure he’s up to snuff for what we need.” Jacqueline wasn’t sure why the doctor was trying to convince her that the child would make for a good addition. She’d gone with the assumption that the other party was reluctant, and this was more of a negotiation than anything else. Though…maybe her boss was worried that her callous demeanour could be a turn off for someone who presumably cared about rescuing one specific human life? She supposed she’d have to watch out not to be too brusque with the interviewee.

”My desired outcome is that we get someone who can be molded into a useful agent, or deny someone who can’t be. I’m just letting you know all the facts because you asked for them.” Fritzi stretched her arms. The smile on her face faded as the seconds ticked by. ”Leroux, the largest behemoth we’ve ever seen is going to touch down in Pax Septimus. It’s called “The Holy Diver.” Maybe you’ve heard Binky and I talking about it in hushed tones?” She folded her arms. ”Regardless, I’m getting all the information on it that I can. We need a plan of attack for when it shows up, and these distractions are just slowing my progress. Which is why it’s a huge help to have you do this interview. Because while it really is something Binky or I should do, there’s something more pressing that demands my time.” The corners of her lips curled into a smile. ”So to reiterate, only consider hiring them if you think they will be a benefit to GEMINI, as you may find yourself fighting beside them very soon.”

Jacqueline nodded at the answer. At the following compliment-cum-explanation, she raised both eyebrows. When it was clear the doctor was eager to go, she shook her head with a chuckle. “Alright, alright, my bad. I won’t hold you up any longer, doctor,” mild amusement still laced her tone as she said her goodbyes to Fritzi. “I’ll send you a brief report on this later,” she concluded.

Fritzi pressed her thumb and forefinger together like she had just sampled some al dente quizine. ”Excellent. And thank you.”

Fritzi pushed open the door to the Pit Stop and let Jacqueline inside. Without any power to the building, it was one of the few areas that offered good visibility. The vast interior of the Pit Stop was shrouded in shadow, but all the booths had plenty of light to see by. This was where Finn was seated.

The young brunette appeared to be a little nervous. He had cleaned up a bit nicer than usual for the occasion; business casual, and his pocketwatch rested on the table he sat at. It wasn't that he didn't know how interviews worked, he was just hoping to make a good impression on his possible employers. Finn waved at the two once they appeared at the door.

”There you are, I’ll let you two get acquainted.” She placed a hand on Jacqueline’s shoulder. ”He just finished his field exam, so he might seem a little winded.” Fritzi didn’t utter another word before disappearing from sight.

Jacqueline looked around the insides curiously, though most of the cafe was unfortunately too dark to discern much. A strange, but neutral location to hold a meeting in, she supposed. After a quick perusal of the indoors, she turned to nod at Finn. "Hello, there," she greeted the adolescent as she sat herself across from him. She set the thin leather on the desk, stored the manilla envelope containing Finn's profile, and withdrew a small laptop. She set the computer to the side as she booted it up, so it didn't obscure her view of Finn or vice-versa. "Mr. Finnegan Vanhorn. Any preference as to how I address you?" she questioned, eyebrow quirking up as she observed the child.

Finn's eyebrows rose in curiosity as he watched Jacqueline set her things up. "I usually go by Fable when I'm out and about." He explained, not really used to being addressed by his real name. "If the wrong people know who I really am, that'd be painting an unwanted target on my back. Atleast as Timekeeper I'd have less to worry about. The reason why I went ahead and introduced myself properly to Dr. Muller was cause she'd figure it out eventually."

Jacqueline eyed the boy up and down. "That sounds reasonable; however, your real name could be identified based on your appearance. If keeping your identities separate is a point of concern, that's something you should keep in mind...Fable."

Since her laptop was ready by then, she created a blank document for notekeeping, then commenced the interview. "Moving on to your reason for contacting us...You wish to join GEMINI?"

"Mhm." The boy nodded.

Jacqueline decided to start with an overview of the boy's skills."Then first, tell me about your abilities and preferred role as an esper. You can give some examples from the previous mission, if you like."

Ah, he didn't really think about what type of role he plays in combat. He took a moment to think. "Well, as per my Timekeeper alias, my kit revolves around the concept of time. I can heal, slow down, speed up, stuff like that. Element wise, I use lightning attacks." He started to explain. "You may have noticed the speed buff I gave Maiden back at the Inner Circle? I also somehow managed to take down three of the haunted suits of armor at once with an AoE melody, but...yeah, you probably know that barely worked." Finn slightly grimaced. "Role wise, I guess I could be concidered a support type. Never really though about it till now."

While Fable talked, Jacqueline typed alongside, though she practically never glanced at either the screen or the keyboard as she worked. "Support fits what you've described, and we could certainly use another one of those," she commented. "Speaking of your previous work...You've operated as a Freelance esper thus far. Have you established any ties with others, whether fellow Freelancers - or even Mavericks? If so, tell me, in your opinion, what benefits and drawbacks those connections could have to you personally, and to our organization in general, if and when you become a government agent."

"Honestly, I haven't been active enough to meet a lot of people. The Immortal Volcano and Cthulya, they helped me and the other Doc with the Crab Rave, and helped me with this ongoing incident. Even if the latter's a bit ecentric, I believe they won't be a hinderance if I joined your ranks. Hell, they could keep being a good help if nothing crops up." He said. "Then there's the Maiden. I'll admit it. She's the friend who suggested I go through with this, even if you concider her a threat now. I was a bit hesitant, knowing that we'd have to fight if we ran into each other mid operation, but I trust that she'll be okay. And if she does end up getting killed, well...I guess it can't be helped." Finn's expression turned to one of indifference. Even if he didn't want Klava to get killed, that circumstance would be out of his hands. "Other freelancers like the Protector and that faceless guy I'm only aquaintances with. Barely know 'em. Maverick too, but that's probably a good thing now huh?"

"Hmm, alright." Jacqueline had been surprised he'd admitted he considered one of their enemies a friend, but at least based on what he said, he'd accepted she might be killed in action by them. Though it was unknown if he himself would be willing to have a hand in that. "And your personal relationships? Your family, or that Betty woman, for example?" she prompted.

"My parents are constantly busy, we don't get much time to spend with each other before they have to focus on work again. We...don't really talk much." The boy furrowed his brows as he thought of them. "I'm more closer to my sister Lydia. Real sweetheart, kinda mischevious. She's often busy too, but she always tries to be there for and with me." He smiled, which then turned into a grimace with the next subject. "Betty and I barely knew each other when she got kidnapped. I wish I stayed at the Great Escape, got to know her better, been there to keep her safe but-"

He bit his tongue, bit back the blame he wanted to put on Mary. But really, was he wrong? Ze could've just pulled up a chair, faceplanted into the table as ze introduced zirself. But nooooo, the dimwit had to chuck Betty into the goddamn men's restroom and give him a fucking heart attack cause what? Was ze jealous or some shit?! They might have been just kids, but ze could atleast stop to THINK!

Finn pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression twisting to one of irritation for a moment. _{"Mary you fucking idiot..."} He whispered to himself, then shook his head, turning his attention back to Jacqueline. "Well, it can't be helped. That was that, and this is this. Maybe all this is just me being selfish, or me wanting to atone for my stupidity, but I...I don't know why I care. About her. I just do. And if she's not the only one kidnapped by that bastard Justin, then I want to help them too! None of those innocent lives deserve to die cause their wills were taken from them!"

Then his eyes widened, once he realized he went on a tangent. "F-Forgive my outburst, Miss. I don't know what spurred me on like that."

The sounds of typing stopped once again not long after Fable himself was finished. "No, no, not at all. It's obvious you care about this deeply," she reassured. "You even covered your motivations, which were what I expected, to be honest." She paused, gazing at Finn as she pondered how to word what she wanted to say. "Saving lives is a commendable cause, and in line with what we do." There was clearly a 'but' about to follow. "To be frank with you...

As much as we try sometimes," not that they had all that much in their latest mission, but Fable didn't need to know that, "There are situations that do not allow for rescuing civilians. Once captured, it is a simple matter for our enemies to kill them. Of course, we strive to prevent that as much as possible. I just want you to be aware that things like not getting there in time, them trying to taunt us by murdering hostages, or even us having to prioritize the elimination of our targets rather than safekeeping hostages...do happen." Jacqueline was still looking meaningfully at Fable, awaiting his reaction and response to her warning.

Instead of reacting negatively, Finn's expression remained neutral as he listened to her. Once Jacqueline was done talking, he spoke up:

"Then we just save who we can."

His expression turned serious. "Pick up the pieces, take what we learn, and move forward. We may have failed last time on both ends, but next time, neither Justin nor Billy will be lucky." Then, he smiled. "I'll make sure of it."

At that, Jacqueline smiled as well, clearly pleased. "That's the spirit," she complimented. Since the interview yet had to conclude, she'd have to change tracks a bit. "I won't waste your time by asking if you're ready to put your life on the line for what you believe in, because it is evident to me that you are. The only other point I'd like to address is the balance between work, life, and education. We'll try to be accomodating, so that your schooling does not unduly suffer, but missions do take priority. Your time will become a limited, precious resource - one you'll likely have to dedicate to making up whatever you miss in class, giving appropriate excuses to potentially worried family members...I imagine it might be a challenge. Do you foresee that as an issue?"

As if he wasn't already handling time like it's a fragile gemstone. Or, more or less, time had him strung up like it's puppet. A fickle mistress. The only family member he worried would take notice of all this was Lydia. Other than that...

"Not at all." Fable shook his head.

"Good! Do you have any questions for me?" Jacqueline let Finn have the opportunity to ask about anything he might be curious about.

"Not really." He shrugged.

Jacqueline hummed in response, saved the document with notes, and turned off her computer. From her briefcase, she pulled out a working contract. She passed it over to Fable. "Read that at your leisure, ask if you don't know or aren't sure about something, and sign when you're ready. Once you do, you'll officially be a GEMINI agent."

Fable picked up the contract and carefully read it, down to the fine print. He took a deep breath, set it back down on the table, and finally signed it.

No turning back now.

Symphony of Espers

"Almost forgot something!"
Current Location: The Nerine Vista
There was still one thing Fable had to address.

Before the failed operation he eventually shrugged off, the boy had suggested he and Klava head to the Nerine Vista afterwards. With what happened after that, he wondered, was she still up for it? Probably needed the break. Probably will get rejected or something. But hey, couldn't hurt worse to ask her.

Timekeeper: Hey! Uh
Timekeeper: You still up for Nerine-what'sit?
Timekeeper: I get it if last mission soured your appebtite and what not, but just wanted to ask!

Maiden: Sister busy?

Timekeeper: Couldn't make it.

Maiden: Well, what time then, kiddo?

The boy quickly checked the time.

Timekeeper: 1:30??

Maiden: Don't keep me waiting then~

---

After a while, Fable rode up to the restaurant, arriving a few minutes early. Once he found a place to park his bike, he walked over and leaned against the wall by the front door. Nerine Vista. Did he come here before? He faintly shook his head. It took a bit to find the place in general, wouldn't make sense otherwise. The boy idly scrolled through Shimr as he waited for Klava.

In all honesty, it kinda felt wrong to use the site now. But he didn't have much alternatives to communicate besides passing his phone number to acquaintances.

“Yo.”

"Hm?"

The wind carried with it the smell of sandalwood and honey, and a light touch tapped the boy’s shoulder. A woman, turquoise eyes bright, smiled at him with painted lips. Klava had certainly dressed for the occasion. A black dress, full-sleeved and knee-length, flowed with every step, while the ringed belt that hugged her waist created an appealing, but not shameless, silhouette. She had opted for a mono-color theme, accentuated only by the glimmer of metal on her belt and on her purse’s clasps, and her heels improved her stature by three inches. A watch, a Bulova Marine Star, hung from her wrist, and she turned it to face her, eyes cast down slightly.

“Didn’t keep you waiting then,” were the words that followed. “Keep bending your neck like that and you’ll become a hunchback, Fable.”

"Ah, s-sorry." The boy straightened his posture back up as he pocketed his phone. He looked Klava over, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Kinda feeling trumped attire wise now. You look nice!" Fable himself didn't pay as much mind to detail as she did. He had ditched his usual hoodie in favor of a dress shirt and red tie. He stepped over to the door, and pushed it open, holding it for the woman to head inside first. "After you."

"That's sweet of you," Klava said, stepping in.

The Nerine Vista had been an establishment catering more towards fancy dinners, but its afternoon selection was quite prominent as well. In a modern, chic setting, executives talked to high-profile clients over delicately-designed plates, while waiters and waitresses navigated the well-spaced tables and booths with a silent grace. Though Pax Septimus was a city of blood and sin, vice and crime in every corner, the managers of the Nerine Vista could, if nothing else, create a veneer of a safer place.

The bulletproof windows helped too.

And after much ado with the waitress that took their reservation and lead them to a table overlooking a silver of a park, Klava sat down, her purse hanging from a hook beneath the table. It was a good place. Cool tables, comfortable seating, and the faintest of music in the background. Each party separated far enough that one could speak normally and still be heard. A different vibe from her usual haunts then.

"Well, I hope the Mavericks haven't been sending you hate mail?"

Fable snorted as he took his seat. "As if painting a target on your back for GEMINI's any better!" He said, shaking his head. "But nah, they haven't been harassing me about ditching them as far as I know. Kinda been worried about that amongst...other things." He grimaced for a second.

"They're not going to take any action against you," Klava said. In the end, the reward that they got functioned more or less as a meal ticket based off a promotional event for the restaurant's anniversary, so there wasn't any need to make any orders. The waitress came over with a bottle of white wine though, and the half-Russian woman nodded in response.

"Though they won't necessarily need to either. A Freelancer's reputation is founded in their reliability. You understand, yes?"

"I guess so." The boy let his elbows rest on the table. "But I want to avoid being seen as an enemy by both parties as long as I am able, even if my view of the Gems got soured." He explained with a slight frown.

Klava shrugged. "Don't take jobs from either of them. That's all you gotta do. Still, you're coping better than I thought. Figured out what you're gonna do with Betty?"

"Easier said than done." He said, idly looking out the window. When Klava mentioned Betty, Fable's frown returned. "I have to keep looking. I can't give up until I know she's okay, or until it's confirmed she's dead. I know that's a grim line of thought, and I know how I acted back there, but..." He sighed. "Judging by the reactions and behavior of Justin's hires, Betty seems to be a higher ranking servant than they were. Bodyguard perhaps. With how she kicked my ass, and the fact that he escaped with her makes it more likely. But when did she become an esper? Doc told me an esper can resist being turned into a thrall, but as far as I know, she was still human at the time. So if she became an esper whilst being a thrall..." the boy rambled on, his expression then turned to faint dread. "...I don't want to know."

Fable pushed his bangs back. "There's gotta be another way to go about this."

"Yeah, there is."

The waitress brought the appetizers over, a meticulously crafted salad designed to invoke the landscape of Scandavanian tundras, but Klava paid it no great regard as she leaned forward, her eyes dead serious.

"Join GEMINI. I don't trust them on principle, but the government's got more sources if you want to find someone, and you've already alienated the Mavericks anyhow. They'll track Justin, and Betty's likely with Justin. If you're with the GEMs, you can influence how they approach the handling of a depraved esper."

His eyebrows rose. "You think?" His eyes darted to the salad, which he gently shoved over to himself to grab some. "Don't know if they'll let a thirteen-year-old nimrod in easily, but you really think I can sway them into not instantly resorting to a shootout?" Fable asked. His brows then furrowed in thought. "I have been researching, well, about all this in my freetime though. Maybe that could give me some leverage in."

"You're new to the business, but I get the sense that almost all the rest of them are as well." Klava sipped at her wine glass, then tried a lichen-like vegetable, eyebrows lifting at the surprising texture and flavour. "Make your case as a collaborator if you can't make one as an official agent. They're more likely to listen to an ally than an enemy, after all. Simple stuff, if you can stomach it."

She smiled to herself. The Nerine Vista's chefs had good taste, and this being free made it taste even better. "What research though?"

"Just stuff pertaining to the whole Esper thing. Monsters, Magi, Mana, things I feel like I should make note of for future reference. Fable shrugged. He was tempted to add "Multiverse" in the list, but to him, that was another thing to tackle entirely. He took a few bites of the salad.

Her brows raised again, this time in a questioning matter. "And that brings leverage how?"

The boy paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"...Hell if I know, man."

"Pfft." Klava closed her eyes, tossed her hair to the side and leveled a dazzling smile towards the young boy. "Is that how you ought to be addressing a lady like me?"

Fable snorted, playfully rolling his eyes with a smile in return. "Oh really now?" He brought a fist over his mouth and cleared his throat. "Forgive me, my dear. It seems further ideas for a better chance in joining ranks with G.E.M.I.N.I. have slipped my mind. Is that better?" He smirked, which then turned to concern with his next question. "But what about you? They probably think you're a part of Maverick now. If I join them, I'd be forced to fight you if we run into each other during operations, wouldn't I?"

"Your consideration for me is truly heart-warming, dear," Klava replied, adopting her own rendition of a hoity-toity aristocrat's tone. "But I am generous enough of a soul to forgive you if you just stayed in the back and supported your colleagues. And of course, it goes without saying..."

The main course was here, a sizzling quail with three separate homemade sauces drawn upon the plate in a rendition of the currents of the wind.

"...if we run into each other while alone, well, we did not."

Well, if she thinks it'll be fine.

Fable nodded. "Alright then, I'll trust this won't go sideways." He said. Then his attention turned to the main course, and his eyebrows rose. That...actually look good. He took a moment to try a bit of quail.

...And maybe a bit more wouldn't hurt. "By the way, when we were fighting Jan in that weird dream realm, you didn't see anything weird, did you? Even outside imps and bog men?"

"Hm? Nothing worth remembering," was Klava's response. "Apollo did anything weird to you after?"

Fable's face comically blanked out. His then brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wh- What the hell's that gotta do with the job??? No. I'm just wondering why fucking Chernobog of all things decided to pop in and try to kill me during that." He could've simply shrugged it off as a part of Jan's minions, but he still wanted to find some explanation for the demon's appearance.

"Oh, the demon?" She shrugged, more focused on dissecting her quail into bite-sized bits. "Figured that it was just an illusion. If Jan could actually bring monsters from the elemental chaos straight to here, she wouldn't be playing sixth fiddle to Justin."

"Didn't say it wasn't one." The boy paused to eat. "Illusions or not, we killed her before we could find out if her summons can apply to the real world too. And frankly? Probably for the best. Chernobog dissapeared with the rest of the dreamscape, but..." He went silent once he realized something.

"God, what am I saying? This is supposed to be a break and yet I still have work on the brain." He laughed it off. "Forgive me for that, for real this time! Wanna focus on something else?"

"No no," she shook her head. "Finish that thought first."

Fable's smile faded back to a neutral expression. "...I've a bad feeling about it. It's been bugging me for a while and I don't know why. Like, was it a premonition taken form, or am I just going insane here? Dreams usually involve stuff like the human psyche, memories and fears, all that mess. But if Jan was able to use that stuff against us in the dreamscape? Plus the fact that Chernobog appeared as soon as I got knocked in from reality?" He rambled on, scratching his head.

"I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking this."

Klava leaned in. "You believe the demon was pulled from your mind?"

He pushed his plate aside and let his elbows rest on the table. "It's the most likely scenario I can think of, unfortunately." He frowned slightly.

"Well, let's Google that shit then," she said. Within moments, Klava's smartphone was out, connecting to the Nerine Vista's free wi-fi and doing a quick Google search. Clicking on the first hit she got, she read out, "Demons appearing in our dreams are...yada yada...temptation, where buried impulses blah blah...or hugely conflicted, or something in your waking life is wrong or unnatural."

Klava looked back up. "Sound familiar?"

The description she looked up didn't help the boy's anxiety. "No temptations, or burried impulses that I'm aware of..." He noted off. "Must be one of the other two."

"Well of course it wouldn't be something you're aware of," she laughed. "Dream demons are subconscious symbols, after all. Though on that topic, monsters are chaos-orientated anyhow. They took something that existed beforehand, and made it worse."

Klava nodded to herself, then resumed each.

"And you were conflicted about the Betty situation, weren't you?"

"I-" Fable's frown twisted into another grimace. He nodded. "Good point."

"So nothing to worry about then! Jan's dead and dreams are just dreams. More importantly, do you even go to school?"

He rose a brow. Now she's changing the subject? "Yeah, why?"

"Just making sure you're not a trust fund baby or anything." A smirk. "Y'know, playboy billionaire with nothing better to do than to invite older women on dates and risk life and limb for monster hunts? Got any aspirations beyond this, Fable?"

Well, at this point, Fable didn't know whether or not he should panic.

Was she catching onto him? Did he let his guard down too much? Did he not react to the quail as strongly as the next guy?

Or was she just making a reference?

"Pfft. Add in a butler and a tech guy and that sounds like I could be the next Batman." He joked in spite of his internal screaming. "Nah, I feel like I'm more similar to Spiderman. Just a kid wanting to do some good for his home and NOT a playboy. Dunno where you got that impression from..." he gave her an unamused look.

"But yes, I've picked up the odd hobby or two."

"You're Pax Sept born n raised?"

Fable nodded. "Lived in Pax for most of my life. Parents moved here when my sister Lydia was young."

"Spiderman, but rich? Truly an ideal combination." Klava chuckled. "What does your sister do anyways? Family business?"

Ah. So she did catch on. Maybe he wasn't as good of a bullshitter an actor as he thought.

...Eh, what the hell.

"Weird way to nutshell it but, hah, I really don't think I'm as cool as Batman..." The boy scratched the back of his neck. "And yeah, basically. She's kinda preparing to inherit the family buisness in case something happened." He explained.

"Hm?"

What, was Fable mafia now? That would be a funny one, for sure. Klava settled back down to eat, spending a few minutes to enjoy the flavors and digest the information. The quail, sauteed to perfection with some herb butter, was a delight once it had cooled down a bit, and the small salad on the side helped to cleanse the palate as well. A sumptuous little meal, to be certain, and there was word that dessert would be just as fantastic.

"Where does that leave you then? I'd figure you'd be able to get into any career you'd want, so what's your passion?" She pointed her fork at him. "Or are you going full-time like Elroy?"

"Investigation mostly. _{If I had a dollar for every time I told someone that...}" Fable said. "But there's also stuff like science or the arts if that goes south. Been trying to learn an instrument or two during freetime. Or I could open a goddamn sweets shop for the hell of it in the future, who knows?"

"Investigation? Yeesh, what're you, a data scientist?" Klava laughed. With what he said he was leaning towards, working for the GEMs really would be a good choice for him. "Well, doesn't really matter in the end. Just make sure to go really hard on something once you decide to do it, yeah? Half-assing it is the best way to kill your interest in it."

"Atleast some sort of scientist. But yeah, I get it." The boy shrugged with a smile.

"Good."

Klava nodded, then cringed and placed a hand against her face.

"Christ, I really am getting old."

Fable giggled. "With age comes wisdom, right? Best not to worry about getting old and just...live, or something." He told Klava. "I dunno, I'm not that great with cheesy motivational lines." He added in a joking manner, puffing a cheek out.

"Yeah, you'll make for the most insufferable dad if you're getting started this early." Klava flicked a strand of hair out of her face and allowed the waitress to replace their empty dishes with the dessert: a coffee-infused panna cotta with a yuzu sauce to give it a brighter bite, sprinkled with diced peaches and with a leaf of mint atop.

She pulled out her phone by reflex and snapped a picture. "Quite nice."

Soon as the dessert arrived, Fable's eyes lit up. While Klava took a moment to snap a pic of her panna cotta, he went ahead and began eating his. "We should head out more often." He said as soon as his mouth wasn't full. Gotta keep table manners in mind here. "I can pay next time!"

"Go pay for a gym membership instead," Klava grinned, before taking a small bite of her own. Yes, quite divine. She'd have to take it slow. "You're too scrawny to even be a snack right now, Fable. Though I appreciate the gesture."

"Right, right, I'll keep that in mi- Wait, a snack??" He looked at Klava with mild confusion.

Klava flashed her teeth but provided no further clarification, instead turning her phone towards him. "Let's swap contact info while we can. I'll keep you updated on what I find out if you do the same, yeah?"

Fable's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, that! Was meaning to ask!" He grabbed his phone to add Klava's number to his contacts. "Since Shimr can _{unfortunately} be accessed by our adversaries, I'm hoping this'll be a better alternative to talk and all. Aaaand there we go!" He sent a small text to confirm that it went through.

Klava gave him a thumbs up. In real life, of course.

"Well, enough chatting on my end. You got any questions before I finish this and bounce, kiddo?"

"Dunno. Got any hobbies yourself?" He asked.

"Sheesh," Klava said. "Way to show how interested you are in me."

"I-I mean, what else do you want me to ask? If you had any siblings of your own? If you have a job outside of being the Maiden? What your favorite color is?" Fable rose a brow. "Guess I just like to naturally get to know people over time."

"I dunno," Klava shot back, though there was some mirth in her eyes, "Maybe don't start off your question with 'Dunno'? The answer to those questions, by the by, is up to you, no, yes, yellow."

"Ah, okay. And uh, s-sorry about that." The boy sheepishly glanced away at the jab of him using the wrong words. "Don't have a favorite color myself. I just go with whatever doesn't make me look stupid. What do you do job wise?"

"I'm a freelancer."

A pause to fish for a reaction.

"...Really?"

"In graphic design." She shrugged. "Though it's not going off yet, so that's why I freelancer Esper-wise on the side."

He tilted his head. "Graphic design, huh? Maybe you can show me some examples later?" he asked.

Klava shook her head, then dipped down to finish the remainder of her panna cotta. "Naw, I prefer to keep my professions separate. Gets weird otherwise."

"Got it." Fable was still a bit curious, but he'd just shrug it off. It'd be rude to insist.

"Mm, good." It wasn't certain whether Klava was referring to his response or to the last bite of her dessert. "Well then, I shall be departing to my evening activities now. Thank you for inviting me to this lovely establishment, Fable."

"Well, couldn't let our rewards go to waste, could I?" The boy smiled. "Let me know if something comes up."

She picked up her bags and winked.

"Only if I can't handle it."