The World

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

"Got it." Marrie managed to say as she dove for her instrument. Though just as soon as she was standing again she wasn't, and was back on the floor with a major headache. Deal with threats as they come. Okay then. While the apes were wary, she cast a quick melody.

Warm - Bronze Self - Heal.

As she was healing, she jumped up and ran at the ape with the whip, ready and focused to dodge any attacks from it. Cover me! she shouted behind her as she bolted up her target. She wasn't going for a stab, she flipped Apex Predator over to its toothed side, ready to slit the ape's throat with its gouging protrusions. Though she kept an eye on the bees, prepared to put the ape in between herself and them, going so far as to use his corpse as a shield if possible.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apex Predator | Dagger | Physical | Mirror Shine
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Slow Fall (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Bounce (0), If Foe (0)

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

Mana: 558
Melody Cost: 144

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 414

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by The World>

Uh... Sorry, Nyarko, but I'm retired. And even if I weren't, I'm not super into the idea of taking over Existence. Or of anyone else doing it.

@Yatagarasu

Yet you have your friends collecting territories. But hey, I get it. I won't kill you for wanting to not get involved, but...
*I move my hand so that it faces you*
You're not leaving this place.
*Your concept's borderlines become locked to those of this dimension*
There. I'll see you again once Existence is free.
*I disappear through another tear in reality*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by The World>

Thanks? I guess. Sorry, but you're a new one to me. Who are you?

@Yatagarasu

Call me Nyarlathotep. I'm a Codi. The Codi, even. I'm working on uniting my species, and then...
*I glance at my hand and clench my fist*
I plan to take control of the Mammon Machine. I figured I could use the help of someone who accomplished what you have.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Host>

I'm too philosophical about everything, Love. And yes, please. I'll be back in a moment then.
*I walk outside*

@Yatagarasu

*Appears through a rip in reality*
So you're the one. I expected someone in your position to be much more than a simple... whatever you are now.

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

She was right. Marrie's bad feeling was right, and it was the correct decision to duck behind cover as well. Unfortunately, she had exposed herself too much in her attack, and was disarmed. Another of the "apes" had appeared only to recreate Sasaki Kojiro's Tsubame Gaeshi in a twisted and nightmarish form, directed straight at her. She'd be dead, if it weren't for one minor detail... She tripped. As she was struck by the whip, she was already jumping back into cover from the "bees'" super soakers, and while she dropped her knife, more importantly she was thrown well off balance.

"It's... banana." she heard just before the first strike hit her in the arm, causing a deep wound but completing her rotation so that the sword's following strikes missed her vital areas. Though her shirt was torn up and her face armor was sliced straight open, she was still alive.

As the warm air circled around the area, the bees riding its currents, only one thought passed through her mind.

Oh, fuck THIS.

She went to cast her magic when... *poof*. Her Style dissipated into wind, cold enough to cause a tiny current, but nowhere near enough to do what she was hoping. At least her wounds faded away, but now she was screwed. Although... She was no longer damaged, and she was certainly not out of shape, but compared to... Wait. She glanced at Tetrad. Marrie might not make it out of here, but she'd be damned if she didn't at least try to help the other two.

Well, the other one, since it seemed that the other Freelancer was in even more trouble than herself. So as she put her plan into action, she shouted, "Transform twice!" ducking to the longsword-wielding "ape" that was now in front of her, sending all of her strength into a single kick to its testicles, assuming and hoping that it had them. As soon as it reacted to the pain, she would grab its sword or her instrument, whichever was closer, and stab the bastard in the neck with it.

After all, the only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed. She'd given in to the inevitable, and was ready to throw away her non-fatal principles for now.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apex Predator | Dagger | Physical | Mirror Shine
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Slow Fall (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Bounce (0), If Foe (0)

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: E | 0

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: E | CHAOS: E | 0

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

...

Gross, Gross, GROSS, GROSS! She knew she shouldn't hate someone just for how they looked, but looking at the Queen Bee was making her want to vomit. She had a bad feeling about what those holes were for, and that possibility made something click in her mind. The fact that her subordinates were in furry suits like the gorillas, who apparently didn't have humans inside them, made something else click as well. With both flags raised the triggering conditions were met, and she stopped viewing them as "people". Even monsters were "people," but these, these were insects. And she did not abide insects. Her eyes narrowed and she took on a serious expression, her instinct to kill bugs made stronger by her fear of what was in those guns.

She weaved together her magical power, and like a warm current rises so too did the Rank of her spell as she poured in her genre's capability.

Genre Rank Up > Bounce > Silver Projectile > Rain > If Foe > Damage X.

Marrie pointed Apex Predator above the Queen and cast. She'd ruin these bees.

Though of course, she ducked behind cover after casting it, just to be safe.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apex Predator | Dagger | Physical | Mirror Shine
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Slow Fall (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Bounce (0), If Foe (0)

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

Melody Cost: 192

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 558

Secundi Lux

---

Oh no. Crystal thought to herself. Someone recognized her. Still, she quickly went into damage-control mode. From what he was saying, she hadn't done anything out of place yet, and she certainly recognized him. So she stood and curtsied with an imaginary dress in his direction.

"Sir Castra Neptune, it's great to see you." she began, before answering each of his questions in turn. "I've been as well as I could have hope for, I suppose. The Academy is wonderful so far, and of course they're treating me as well as any other student." she paused a moment. "I honestly haven't gotten to explore Palmyra much yet, but I'm comfortable enough to say that I'll enjoy it when I get the chance to do so. How have you been? And..." she glanced over at where he had come from. "How are the other... non-students, doing? Any interesting conversations?"

Stress is an interesting thing. Her former stress at being here had waned, only for her to be taken over by a new kind of stress, worrying about appearances for the first time in weeks. She hoped that she remembered her etiquette correctly, having been in a new environment where it was less necessary for so long.

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

The big guy seemed nice, if a bit too Foghorn Leghorn for her taste in his speech. Meanwhile, Tetrad didn't make enough of an impression for her to know what she was like. And the other Freelancer seemed... high strung, maybe? It was hard to tell when first meeting someone. Soon though they were told the plan and the other girls walked inside the warehouse. Marrie quickly donned her Style, a small whirlwind forming around her and obscuring her body for a moment, dissipating to show her in her transformed state.

Marrie followed the other two inside only to find... gorillas? It took only a second for them to notice the three girls and begin... doing something. Something dumb. In an instant Regina prepared to shoot them down, causing Marrie to blanch. Sure, they were cultists, and the job was to get rid of them, but to just kill them? It didn't sit right with her. Nothing deserved to just be killed, especially painfully, except insects and spiders. Kill them as quickly as possible, but things that can think? That was the whole reason she had a problem with G.E.M.I.N.I., because they slaughtered thinking entities. She went in hoping to simply remove the targets rather than kill them, but...

Marrie looked at her knife just as the arrows were fired. It was definitely a tool for killing, no question about that. But she'd do her best to just incapacitate, she decided. If the others had to kill the cultists, at least she'd have less of a burden on her mind than they would. She prepared to follow the other two further in.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apex Predator | Dagger | Physical | Mirror Shine
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Slow Fall (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Bounce (0), If Foe (0)

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

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

Symphony of Espers

@BrokenPromise@Hammerman

Marrie Knight

Marrie had had a stressful week, and she hadn't even fought any monsters yet! She'd just finished moving into a small apartment in Pax Septimus, sorting out the legalese and logistics of the move and the rent. It was her first time out on her own, and she was both excited and scared, not to mention the prospect of her new "job" as an esper. Worn out from moving, she didn't wake up until noon, when she showered and ate breakfast. She skipped her workout routine thanks to the heavy lifting she'd been doing the day before, and got on Shimr to search for jobs. There didn't seem to be anything worthwhile in terms of cost-benefit, until around 6pm when two new jobs came up.

Two near-equal paying jobs, one from G.E.M.I.N.I. and one from Maverick Alternative, though a quick look made it obvious that the former was far more dangerous, considering they'd be going against people who were definitely armed instead of only likely armed. There didn't seem to be any other comparable jobs listed, and if she was going to be eating for the next week or two, she'd have to take one of them. So she sent a message to the poster of the Maverick job and soon was on her way, riding her good-condition but somewhat old bicycle towards The Bastion.

Until she got lost, taking a wrong turn that led her down a wild goose chase for 20 minutes before she could course correct, making her not arrive at her destination until 6:58pm, almost certainly the last to arrive among the Freelancers who would be taking the job.

Looking at the former kingdom, finally there, to sit down and rest from the biking until further instructions were given. She was a bit taken aback by the giant albino, to be honest, but she knew the Mavericks had a reputation for being strange looking. So she waved at him, and stayed seated on her bike, pulling out her phone to get on Shimr in case she was questioned.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apex Predator | Dagger | Physical | Mirror Shine
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Slow Fall (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Bounce (0), If Foe (0)

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

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

Symphony of Espers

@BrokenPromise

Discord would be fine with me, of course.