The World

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

Marrie had enough time to recover from casting Flight by the time she and Orion reached the door, which was probably a life saver. In preparation of a battle, she lengthened the chains on Apexer Predator while it was hidden in her sleeve to about 15 feet, careful to keep it all hidden and off the ground. When the door opened she saw Sofron holding a gun of some time, she didn't think, she just reacted. She cast a melody to hopefully save her life at the same time that she rushed at the man and swung out with her instrument, swinging it to try to wrap around and embed itself into to enemy esper.

[Silver Self - Warm: Storm]

As she swung her right arm around with her dagger flying in an arc towards Sofron, she was enveloped in a blistering wind that would hopefully keep away the gunfire and ran head-first towards him. She instinctively retracted her instrument's chains slowly, trying to compensate for closing the distance between her and her target.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apexer Predator | Dagger | Physical | Heavenly Chain
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Multi-Cast (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Scatter (2), Bounce (2)

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

[Silver Touch - Flight: -72
[Silver Self - Warm: Storm: -72

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 606

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

Whelp. So much for leaving it to the other two. Bouncers were here, and fighting normal people was not going to fly. She didn't have time to wait and see what the others said. To Marrie, it was either time to act or time to start over with their planning. Seemed stupid to go in, potentially show themselves to Sofron, make a plan where they could be overheard, and then just leave.

...

Which, actually, made that the perfect plan, she realized. And hey, if the three who came in with them were any good in a fight, they might be able to take the bouncers and cause enough of a disturbance for the espers to go upstairs. Speaking of... She waved at them and smiled. "Thanks for the help, you three." She turned back to the other two espers. "Bouncers are coming, if you have any neat tricks, now's the time to use them. Preferably non-magical.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apexer Predator | Dagger | Physical | Heavenly Chain
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Multi-Cast (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Scatter (2), Bounce (2)

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

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

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

Yeah, that made sense. Marrie took one of the brooches from the aqua-girl and sighed. What was she even doing? Was it worth hiding her abilities from potential enemies if it meant hiding them from her allies too? Sure, she didn't have any experience working with anyone from the start like this, but how was she supposed to get any if she shied away from the opportunity when she had it? At the very least, she wanted to keep Apexer Predator hidden until it was required, but she could at least answer the other Knight's question.

"Wind, is mine. Light, Water, Wind... Not a bad combination." She lowered her voice so that the other two would have to strain to hear her. "I could probably fly one of you in through the window, but if he's stereotypical, he'll be looking out of it for the whole night." Her voice came back to the normal whisper she had been talking in. "I can handle the SMG. But I'll leave the strategizing to you two."

With that, she looked over at dancefloor. How many of them were aware of what was going on?

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apexer Predator | Dagger | Physical | Heavenly Chain
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Multi-Cast (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Scatter (2), Bounce (2)

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

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

Secundi Lux

---

"Magitech drones." The mere thought of them probably scared the other students, but Crystal had been given a heads-up at the ball. Honestly, she'd love to see one up close and it seemed that she might just get that chance. The team arrived at their destination in the pouring rain. Well, they certainly couldn't have asked for better weather for their team makeup, aside from Rivka, unfortunately. Crystal recognized Liam, and wondered if he'd recognize her in her transformed state. Probably, seeing as the three of them likely had the chance to read up on the team members they'd be working with.

Good at picking up large usage of magic, huh? That'd be useful for them. Looking away from the three officers and out into the pouring rain, Crystal had to stifle a single giggle at the thought that came unbidden to her mind. It would be so easy to make a large output of magic by simply using Aoife and her own Elementum to freeze the ground. With that thought came the idea of Selma and Chie using their Elementum to turn the street into a skate-park, Rivka sliding along the ice with rockets of fire to send her moving. She envisioned her skating across the street, up ramps and slopes made by her teammates as she jumped through the air, blasting fire at the drones as she flew only to make a ten-point landing on another incline, spinning like a professional as she did. The thought was amusing, but not practical. Or maybe it was; for all she knew the drones could be weak to fire, but in the rain like this it probably wasn't going to matter if they were or not.

As she popped a piece of grape gum into her mouth, Crystal came to the decision not to voice the idea. On the one hand, it'd be distracting to the others. On the other, it might be taken seriously, and that would only lead to either horrible failure or horrible success, and she didn't want to stick out as particularly impressive on her first mission. She was an Ars Magi to serve the people, not to rise through the military ranks, and especially not to give an impression to those in power that she would somehow be better in a strategic role than on the field. Not that turning the streets into an ice-rink would give that impression...

She turned to her teammates. "Do we want to follow the lead of the other teams, or try to advance ahead of them to clear the path?" She knew that the answer should be the former, but knowing her teammates...

The spotlights began searching, and she wondered to herself who would be in the metaphorical spotlight when the mission was over.

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

"So... Who wants to bet that this place is glowing to the point that Justin himself could be hiding in the crowd?"

The truth was that Marrie was entirely out of her element here. She'd never been to a party, let alone a rave, and the large number of people was really bothering her. Not to mention the heat from being packed in with them. She tried to focus on the mission, but she was having trouble. Capturing someone who could use portals would be tough, and being one of Justin's biggest partners made the prospect even worse. Not to mention the likelihood that a number of people in the crowd were on his side if it came down to it.

Still, there had to be a way. Did raves have bar fights? Was that a thing that happened in the modern day? She glanced around as subtly as she could for cameras. She would expect there to be some if someone high-profile lived above the rave. Were the three who helped them inside even really on their side? She was grateful for them, but suspicious... Yeah, the environment was definitely making it hard to think.

Orion mentioned how she's built more for defense and healing, so Marrie replied in kind. "I'm sort of a... I guess you could say tactical loadout? I lean a bit towards offense though." Marrie hadn't really thought about team tactics before, so it wasn't on the top of her mind where she'd fit in best.

---

19 | Female | Freelancer | Misty Steps
Apexer Predator | Dagger | Physical | Heavenly Chain
Wind-Carved Glacier | Masking
Step of the Hurricane | Wind | Riding the Currents
[Storm (4), Flight (6)] Damage X (6), Multi-Cast (4), Blink (4), Magic Sense (6), Heal (16), Portal (8), Rain (2), Scatter (2), Bounce (2)

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

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

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

Marrie sat back in her chair and sighed. Vampire, knew that. Vampire that was progressively getting more likely to have GEMINI's descriptions of him be accurate. Lots of property, so that was a hit at least. Silk farms in China? She'd look more into that. Was it a money thing or was there a bigger picture? She probably wasn't going to be going to another continent to hunt him down anytime soon. She looked at Stacy and sighed again. Where was she going to get a human head?

Then came the results of the Knight of Tomorrow, whatever that meant. Probably a title of some kind, but who would come up with such a chunni title for someone? Was it esper related or something mundane? If she was being contacted by someone on Shimr, it probably was the former.

So are you up for another job or what? You should be happy I'm willing to hire you again!

Well that was annoying. She was almost tempted to refuse just because of the emojis. But a job was a job, and she needed to eat. Not to mention she needed a lead of some kind if she was going to be any help for Pac. She sent back a quick note: -Yeah. What exactly do you need? More info means better results-

She told Stacy's body to stay put and went out to the store, coming back with an outfit for her. A big coat, baggy pants, and a cheap but useful biker's helmet. Stacy wouldn't be able to go around without a head, but if she hid it, she should be fine. The ensemble was completed with a whiteboard and marker so she could communicate, at least somewhat. Now the question about what to do next became more difficult. She didn't feel right digging up a grave, so that was out. So was killing someone to get their... Wait a second. She sent a message to Tetrad on Shimr. -Hey, random question, do you know where to find a human head in an ethical manner? Any organ donor Espers who recently died that you know of or anything like that?- She hit send and waited for a response, going back to looking into Justin's local property ownership.

---

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

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

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

Symphony of Espers

Marrie Knight

Elroy's pat on the head wasn't exactly reassuring, but it helped, a little. And yeah, he might have protected it too, but he would have been able to fight, right? Marrie might not be stupid, but she was weak. Too weak. That needed to change, and fast. That was what was on her mind when...

I wish you had busted that coin, but I guess there's no point in crying over spilled milk. At least you got paid, right? Not like I knew what Sofron was doing with it. If you wanna do me a big favor, see if you can get a hold of "The Knight of Tomorrow," If you can, I'll make it worth your while.

What. The. Hell. Who even typed like that anymore? WHO SENT THAT MANY EMOTICONS IN CURRENT YEAR!?
Whatever. Wasn't important. What was important is that she had what she could only consider a lead. The Bates left a moment ago, but Marrie and Stacie were still there. Attempts to heal what was presumably her head weren't working, so Marrie tried to give her a phone to type on. Sure, she didn't have a head to see with, but her body seemed somewhat intelligent. Maybe braille would work...? Regardless, after checking if Stacie's body was able to commune through a phone's text features, she'd offer to take her body with her and let it stay at her apartment until she could get her head back on straight. And it would give Marrie a chance to try to do some information hunting. "Justin Carnage" and "The Knight of Tomorrow", huh?

---

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 | 330

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: C | 330

Symphony of Espers

@BrokenPromise You mean ‘snake-like’ as in it moves like a whip? And yeah, Silver’s definitely a weird place because situational/conditional rank ups are not trashy, they’re just situational. Anyways, I’m sticking with the Style.

@OwO The manacles are meant to target wrists/ankles? Or does it expand magically to wrap around anything that it’s fired against. In regards to ‘destroy similar chain’, are you saying here something about destroying a chain with E rank defense? Or C rank?

@The World Is the retracting instant?

@ERode

Takes a few seconds I figured. Maybe a full six seconds to go the full 16.5 feet and less depending on how much is out?

Symphony of Espers

Let's try upgrading her instrument instead, then. Lemme know if this works.

My Hider

GRIMIORE:
An azure shark tooth necklace. The shark tooth is serrated on the inner side.

INSTRUMENT: Apex Predator
A large knife with an 8 inch blade and a 4 inch grip. The blade shines with polished luster. The hilt is simply an extension of the blade; the entire thing seems to be made of a single piece of metal that was carved into a dagger shape as if it were from a piece of wood. The handle has small bumps on the sides that the palm touch that are not unlike those used for braille, though they are seemingly randomly placed. The front and back of the hilt are curved to better fit in a person's hand, and have small indents where their fingers would rest. The back of the blade is covered in smaller "blades," each is half of a right angle triangle of metal that has a bottom that is flat and sharpened, making a row of teeth that point their fangs towards the tip. These look not unlike shark fins, facing upwards. The top of the front of the blade is slightly serrated, and the blade curves inwards slightly just before reaching the guard, before curving back out into it. The guard is much duller than the rest of the knife, though it seems to be made from the same piece of metal as the rest. It extends 1.5 inches from the grip and curves slightly down towards the hand on the front and up towards the blade on the back. There is a marking of a moon engraved on the right side and a marking of the sun engraved on the left side of the guard. At the bottom of the hilt is a small ring, about 1.25 inches in diameter that spins independently of the rest of the knife, the only part that isn't from the same piece of material.

Silver Upgrade:
Apexer Predator has evolved a long string of tiny chains that are extremely dull metal and run from the pommel ring to a ring on Marrie's right middle finger. This ring is also connected to a bracelet that's tightly fit around her right wrist which a second chain connects past her fingers to the first chain. While the chains that connect to the dagger are incredibly dull in luster, the chain between her bracelet and ring is just as brilliant as the dagger's blade. The chains can retract to bind themselves around the bracelet in order to pull the dagger back to Marrie, or extend to a maximum length of 16.5 feet (three times her height) to be used as a ranged weapon. The chains, while very small in terms of the size of the links, are as sturdy as the rest of the esper's weapon.

Ranks:
Damage: C, Speed: D, Sentinel: C
Special: Retractable chain, incredibly light-reflective blade.