Ponn

Symphony on High

Armchair philosophy and relationship drama on top of a retro-futuristic ghost train? Only in Pax Septimus…
-Ashley Avenir

After leaping aboard the train, Ashley had only a precious few seconds to take stock of the situation before a voice caught her attention. The Knight of Tomorrow stifled a gasp when the owner of said voice appeared a moment later. Although she had never met him in person before today, Elroy Bates, the Immortal Volcano, was one of, if not the most well-known freelance espers in the world. G.E.M.I.N.I. had an extensive dossier on him, and it painted the picture of a highly capable and powerful combatant, one whose abilities outclassed those of her team and herself by a significant margin. As if that wasn’t problematic enough, he wasn’t alone.

The fiery-haired freelancer was flanked by two other espers, dressed in what could only be described as twisted mockeries of nun outfits. Even if their choice of attire didn’t manage to set off any red flags, Mika helpfully came right out and stated that they were the ones who had tried to kill her at the abandoned church, and had succeeded in killing Ellie. Plus, from Mika’s briefing, it was almost a certainty that one of their similarly-garbed associates had fought for Justin during the raid on his mansion. The fact that Elroy chose to brush off that piece of information once he learned of it just proved to Ashley that, despite his reputation as a dashing hero, the Immortal Volcano was nothing more than an amoral mercenary, willing to work for whoever was offering the biggest paycheck, regardless of how reprehensible they might be, and his ‘ends justify the means” remark only solidified that opinion. Even so, the high-tech heroine couldn’t help but feel that he’d said that to call her out. Then he shifted the topic to Finn (because of course everyone eventually does), but Ashley refused to allow a potential discussion of the young agent’s love life to derail things.

“We’re not the same,” she stated flatly before Finn could respond with one of his edgy quips. “G.E.M.I.N.I. works to protect helpless civilians, and although I’ve been forced to do some things I’ve regretted in my time as an agent, it was always in pursuit of that goal.” She took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing as she tightened her grip on her techno-wand. “I’m sorry if it’s going to interfere with you getting a big payday, but this behemoth is going to put a lot of innocent people in danger, so it has to be stopped.”

She didn’t want to fight if there was any chance of resolving the situation diplomatically, but the Knight of Tomorrow was no longer so naive as to think that there was any real chance of that happening, and the moment combat became unavoidable, she was fully prepared to make the first strike.

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

Symphony on High

All aboard!
-Ashley Avenir

Upon reaching their destination, Ashley was somewhat surprised to find that the twins wished to serve as scouts. At first, a pair of supportive healers seemed like a poor choice for such a role, but when they suggested that Finn accompany them, things became considerably clearer. The kind-hearted pair obviously wanted to put some breathing room between the young agent and the source of much of his stress, something the Knight of Tomorrow was in full support of.

“Roger,” Ashley confirmed with a nod as she watched the trio head out, thankful that Finn was being at least somewhat cooperative.

If anything, whatever the young agent had been through recently had left him in an even worse state than he’d been in at the end of the last operation, and Ashley fervently hoped that the twins would be able to do a better job of addressing that situation than she had. Yet, if an impromptu counseling session was their plan, they wouldn’t have much time to conduct it.

“Here it comes,” Ashley breathed as a faint, but rapidly brightening pinpoint of light pierced the curtain of rain in front of them. “Get ready, everyone,” she instructed, smoothly shifting into the esper state as she did so.

Even as an annoyed Mika inquired where their scout team had run off to, Binky darted out from where she’d been hiding and leapt in front of the approaching behemoth. Ashley was so shocked by her green-haired mentor’s sudden appearance that she almost didn’t notice their target’s own bizarre aspect. True to it’s codename, the behemoth was indeed a train, albeit a spectral, art-deco, Gernsbackian, retro-futuristic vision of what a 21st century train might look like. Binky had succeeded in arresting much of its momentum, but the Knight of Tomorrow knew full well the limits of her mentor’s mighty abilities, and that time was very much of the essence. Thus, when Cereza appeared and advised them to move with haste, Ashley was in full agreement.

“You heard her, agents!” the high-tech heroine shouted as she rushed out of the van and leapt for the electrically-charged engine’s side platform. “We have a train to catch!”

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Is this supposed to be a bad thing?
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

Unfortunately, despite her teammates’ best efforts, the skeletal galleon had not been destroyed. In fact, it was now pointing directly at where the Neon Tempest was battling on the beach. Although she wasn’t exactly possessed of omnipotent levels of awareness (she had no idea that Morganite and her witchy friend had shown up, for instance, or maybe she knew but just didn’t care?), but the movements of so massive an object were hard to miss, especially when she’d been hoping for another shot at said object herself. Now, it seemed she would get her chance…

“Stupid fucking asswipes…” Nyxia snarled as she kicked another Miseria into one of its many companions. “Do I have to do everything myself?!”

Slamming the Omega Obliterator deep into the ground, even as the bone ship sprouted an enormous propeller, the Neon Tempest used it as a pole upon which to swing herself horizontally with considerable speed, her legs shooting out to smash against all the swarming Miseria in a circular arc. Once a moment of breathing room had been achieved, she fired her gargantuan weapon, sending both her and it blasting into the sky. After attaining sufficient altitude, the teal-haired terror swung the energy cannon around so that it was pointing down at the now rocket-propelled pirate ship. At such close range, it was impossible to miss, and to her allies’ credit, it seemed they had at least managed to get rid of the annoying captain. Thus, Nyxia’s subsequent teal-tinted torrent of annihilation was sure to strike its intended target without being deflected away at the last second.

“EAT THIS, SHITHEAD!!!”

Yet, even as the ruinous beam lanced down upon the vile vessel, the Neon Tempest noticed that Roche was still aboard. However, this was actually a bonus, since she knew from experience that the tribal girl would be unaffected by her weapon’s destructive energies. Indeed, if Earthshaker was struck, the code keeper would be able to absorb the energy, using it as fuel for her own efforts to break the bone ship into a million pieces.

As much as hated to admit it, Nyxia had to concede that sometimes, this whole “teamwork thing” did have its advantages.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

What, don’t like shooting galleries? Well, I know some other games we can play…
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

No one would ever accuse Nyxia of not being incredibly single-minded and hyper-focused, at least when it came to slaughtering Miseria, but that didn't mean the teal-haired terror was entirely oblivious to pertinent changes in her surroundings, especially when they related to potential threats, or adaptable enough to respond to them. As such, when the hoard of Miseria assaulting her began using their swords to reflect her beams, just as their captain had done, the Neon Tempest swiftly adjusted her own tactics as well. Instead of continuing with her blinding barrage, she simply began using her massive weapon to smash her attackers into paste with a series of mighty swings. To deal with her airborne foes, she would pick up a random Miseria, toss it above her, and then use her beloved weapon to hit it into one of its flying companions like a misshapen baseball. It was only when even more of the creatures began emerging from the sand at her feet that Nyxia’s beams once again shot forth from her point defense drones, the neon lances of teal energy vaporizing each of the unarmed Miseria as soon as it emerged from the ground. Any that managed to avoid the ravening beams would find themselves stomped flat by a powerful thrust of the Neon Tempest’s high-heeled foot.

“Ya fuckin’ shit stains are sneaky little bastards, ain’t ya?” Nyxia observed as she violently ground a Miseira’s head into the sand. “That’s fine by me,” she added with a wicked smirk. “It just means I get to kill ya up close an’ personal!” Giving voice to a peal of psychotic laughter, she grabbed a sword-wielding Miseria by the head and promptly blew it apart with an energy blast from her glowing palm.

For the moment, Nyxia had once again reached an equilibrium, but even so, she knew that her enemies would just keep coming as long as their skeletal ship still existed. She had dearly wanted to claim that prize for herself, but it seemed she would need to rely on her teammates to accomplish that objective. And, hopefully, not take too much longer to do so…

Symphony on High

I have a bad feeling about this…
-Ashley Avenir

Giving voice to a small sigh of relief when it seemed that the tense situation had finally been resolved, if only for the moment, Ashley refocused her thoughts on the coming operation. With the addition of Paradise and the twins, their team’s size would reach six members, the same number of agents that had gone on the raid against Justin’s mansion about a month earlier. To say that particular operation had gone rather poorly would have been a fairly massive understatement, and that was with a decently well-coordinated team, composed of mostly veteran agents. This impending operation, on the other hand, promised to be at least equally difficult, and the Knight of Tomorrow was growing increasingly concerned that her current, dysfunctional team of embittered (and possibly unhinged) teenagers, along with more experienced agents with whom she’d never worked before, would be utterly incapable of meeting the challenge ahead of them.

“Hello,” Ashley greeted the final three agents as they piled into the van, the high-tech heroine mustering the most welcoming smile she could manage, given the circumstances, while doing her best not to roll her eyes after hearing Finn’s little quip. “It’s good to see you all again.”

She had met Raven, aka Paradise, shortly after the bird-themed agent had transferred in, and while the Knight of Tomorrow hadn’t gotten to know her exceptionally well, the young woman seemed pleasant enough, and brought a welcome level of maturity that was in distressingly short supply of late. It also didn’t hurt that Raven shared a similar ultra-tech aesthetic to Ashley’s own. Unlike the more combat-oriented Paradise, Cereza and Cerise were healers and administrative specialists first and foremost. In fact, in her time with G.E.M.I.N.I.’s Pax Septimus branch, Ashley hadn’t once seen the pair take part in a field operation, even if their miraculous post op medical treatments had made them figures of considerable renown, both among their fellow agents and the imperiled populace of the city in general. With that in mind, the high-tech heroine couldn’t help but worry that the crimson-haired siblings would be more than a bit out of their depth in the middle of what could very likely become a full scale battle…

Initially, Ashley had considered employing freelancers to bolster her team’s numbers, but that idea turned out to be something of a disappointment. The latest post on Noble Spark’s Shimmer page was a comic review that was nearly three weeks old, while Elzy’s Shimmer page made it quite clear that she only handled issues involving goblins. The city’s other freelancers, such as Dead Head and Gale, had either taken other jobs, or didn’t want to risk dealing with a threat of this magnitude, especially so soon after the Diver’s catastrophic visit. Thus, the Knight of Tomorrow was forced to resign herself to the fact that the motley collection of espers surrounding her was all she had to rely on.

Truly an unpleasant thought, indeed…

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Are you giving me orders, vomit head?
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

Nyxia’s sadistic grin broadened as she watched several of the Omega Obliterator’s beams slam into the bone ship and gouge huge chunks out of its skeletal form. However, that grin abruptly faded a moment later, when the captain used its katana to reflect her eye beams back at her. Or rather, at her beloved weapon…

“FUCK!!!” the Neon Tempest snarled as a molten scar was seared into the side of the massive energy cannon. “I’m sorry, baby! I’m sorry!” she rapidly apologized, while gently caressing the wounded weapon, before turning a hate-filled glare at the Miseria captain. “You fucking cock sucking piece of…” Nyxia’s profanity-filled tirade cut off mid-stream as hail of metal pellets rained down on her. The attack wasn’t strong enough to inflict any serious harm, but it was enough of an annoyance to cause the already enraged Neon Tempest to turn the full force of her ire upon its source. “Tha fuck?!” she swore, her head snapping up to see the squadron of airborne Miseria. “You asswipes can fly now?! Well, ya won’t be fuckin’ around up there for long!”

Even as Tsubomi’s shouted instructions to attack the fliers dimly registered in Nyxia’s rage-filled mind, the Neon Tempest charged up the Omega Obliterator, the mystic power restoring the death ray to its former, undamaged condition, before disgorging another writhing torrent of glowing destruction. The crackling, teal-tinted tube swept across the sky, vaporizing any Miseria in its path as it wildly flailed about. This onslaught was joined by two smaller beams, emanating from Nyxia’s twin point defense drones, which picked off any of the flying pirates that might have managed to escape the main attack.

“Tha fuck ya think I’m doin’?!” Nyxia snapped at Acid Drop (who was probably too far away by now to hear her). “And don’t you dare give me orders!”

Symphony on High

I trust you to disappoint me.
-Ashley Avenir

Unfortunately, but predictably, Finn responded to Ashley’s question with yet another moody outburst, one which painted Ashley herself as the problem, the one looking for an excuse to be rid of him, while he only wished to do his job. Of course, his concluding quip that he’d be an “obedient little killer”, made the Knight of Tomorrow more than a little doubtful of the sincerity of that response. Yet, even as Ashley was trying to figure out the best way of dealing with Finn’s disruptive behavior, Mika seemed to have her own idea. Slowing down considerably, she parked the van on the side of the road, noted the other agents who would be joining them, and asked the Knight of Tomorrow to confirm that a standard G.E.M.I.N.I. squad consisted of only five members. The purpose behind this wasn’t lost on Ashley, although she was a bit surprised that it was Mika who had decided to take the role of the parent stopping the car to deal with a petulant child. Regardless, this was an ultimatum for not only Finn, but Ashley as well, since she would now have to come to a swift decision on how to proceed in regard to the team’s youngest member.

“Correct,” Ashley confirmed after taking a deep breath and exhaling it in a tired sigh. “But Timekeeper has committed to fulfilling his responsibilities as a G.E.M.I.N.I. agent, so I will take him at his word.” Against my better judgement… she kept to herself. Yet, for all the various red flags and warning signs inherent in Finn’s recent behavior, the young agent was right about one thing. They’d be facing a major threat, very likely one approaching, or even equalling the power of the Diver. With that in mind, they needed as much strength as they could muster, and with the recent loss of Ellie and the even more recent incapacitation of Estelle due to a weretiger ambush, they were already two agents short. The Knight of Tomorrow only hoped that keeping Finn on the team wouldn’t be a decision she’d later regret…

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000

An AI Made Adventure?

Guess this is dead as a door nail, huh?

A pity.

I was looking forward to seeing how this played out.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Looks like I spoke too soon…
-Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow

Nyxia’s deranged laughter slowly subsided as she realized her target still hadn’t been destroyed, despite all the destructive power unleashed upon it. In fact, the bone ship hadn’t even been touched, the Omega Obliterator’s blinding beam having somehow been blocked by the captain’s cutlass katana.

“THA FUCK?!!” Nyxia swore, her eyes widening in utter incredulity.

An instant later, the Neon Tempest was forced to leap out of the way as the crackling cylinder of destruction was redirected back towards the beach.

Maybe these shit stains’ll be more of a challenge than I thought… she grudgingly conceded, before a sadistic grin returned to her face. “Nice trick,” she commended her piratical foe. “But let’s see how ya handle THIS!!!”

Once more, a crackling torrent of teal energy shot forth from Nyxia’s oversized weapon, but this time, the ruinous cylinder split into a quartet of slightly smaller beams, each zeroing in on a different part of the dutchman. Simultaneously, from the Neon Tempest’s now glowing eyes lanced out an even smaller, but no less potent, pair of beams, which streaked towards where the captain was currently standing. If it wished to block any of the other death rays from striking its ship, then it would need to leave its current spot at the mercy of being pierced by Nyxia’s eye beams. Needless to say, the Neon Tempest was eager to see how it chose to respond…

Symphony on High

Well, now I’m really starting to get concerned…
-Ashley Avenir

Predictably, Mika had not, in fact, informed Dr. Moller of the dossier on Finn she’d found in the charred diner, but Ashley didn’t allow herself to be too concerned by this fact. After all, Mika’s reasoning for doing so was sound in light of the need for secrecy, and besides, the Knight of Tomorrow had a far larger problem to deal with…

Ashley’s eyes widened in shock as Finn went on his little rant. She knew he’d been having a hard time, and that he was still just a child, but the cruel vindictiveness he was exhibiting was taking things to another level. To say that it was worrying would have been a massive understatement. Especially when he joked(?) about her murdering Olivia to keep the girl quiet.

“Kill her?” the Knight of Tomorrow repeated. “Finn, what has gotten into you? Clearly I’ve struck some kind of nerve, but that still doesn’t give you the right to start acting like a deranged psychopath! Look,” she added after taking a deep breath. “I don’t think you’re the mole. All I’m saying is that I’m worried you might inadvertently reveal sensitive information, based upon your recent actions. Furthermore, I don’t think Olivia is a spy either, but as you said, she’s both talkative and innocent. If you tell her something, who knows who else she might naively reveal it to? As for Betty, no, I don’t think she’d willingly serve The Hand, but she was brainwashed by one of their members, so I think it would be foolish to discount the possibility that they may still have some form of influence over her.”

Finn then inquired if Faith or Binky had been acting oddly of late, as if his recent outburst hadn’t even happened, making said inquiry all the more ironic. Mika followed that up with some comments of her own, before asking how they should go about discovering the mole’s identity.

“Well, first off, I think we should try to get the Director alone and bring all we’ve learned to her attention,” Ashley began. “Then perhaps we could have her share false information with each of the suspects one by one and see if The Hand responds. I’m afraid I haven’t spent a lot of time with Binky since we rescued her,” the high-tech heroine continued. “But when I did, she seemed like her normal self. Faith is an… interesting person. She’s certainly acted rather strange on the few times we’ve conversed, but I don’t know how much of her eccentricities are natural aspects of her personalty, or signs of mental manipulation. We also can’t rule out the possibility that they don’t even know they’re supplying our enemies with information. Based on what we’ve seen so far, I think it's safe to say that implanting hidden surveillance technology or employing magical means to replicate the same effect is well within their capabilities. That said, there’s a more immediate concern I’d like to address.”

Taking another deep breath, she turned back to fix Finn with an intense gaze.

“I don’t know what, exactly, is causing you to act out like this, but if things are too much for you right now, then I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if you sit this mission out,” she told the young agent in a firm tone. “I can’t say we don’t need all the help we can get against a threat of this size, but if you’re just going act like an unhinged loose cannon, instead of a GEMINI agent, then your presence will do far more harm than good. So, what will it be, Timekeeper? Can we count on you to control yourself and cooperate with your fellow team members, or should we leave you behind to work through whatever problems you’re dealing with?”

---

18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow
Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow
Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow
Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow
PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Medical Supplies x 2, Flash Bang, Tazer, Clip Light
[Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2), Purify (6), Homing (2), Avoid (2)

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: D | SENTINEL: C | 1000

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 1000