[System]
Age: 19
Class: In between
Race: Human

Appearance:

Personality: Easy going, lazy and spaced out most of the time, most would describe her as an airy girl, nice but a bit empty in the attic. Those are the people that have not seen her during the admittedly rare times she actually have to work as an exterminator/exorcist, where her ruthlessness can only be matched by the god her family enshrined and worshiped.

Biography: She lived, in an old seemingly destitute shrine, one that seemed to have stood there since time immemorial. It stood out against the drab cityscape, hemmed in by tall building. Oddly, it seemed to give out the air of standing defiantly against all change, instead of being dwarfed and overshadowed by the large buildings surrounding it.

Gretchen lived there for as long as she knew, where her mother worked odd jobs to keep them afloat, as the shrine's location sequestered in the backalleys of the city did not really attract much worshippers, or donations. Not to mention those who thought of them as hacks, liars, and swindlers.

Regardless, she learned of all her family's secrets, their legends and their techniques, of which she put to use in the very rare times someone needed a ghost exorcised, or a demon exterminated. Most of the time however, she was working part time jobs to make ends meet. Until all hell broke loose that was.

Notable Skills: Talisman making, consecrating items, constructions of barriers, Ie. basically everything a shrine maiden/ommyouji should know.

Equipment: Japanese sword, in lacquered wood mountings, that denies the unnatural and accepts the natural, a shitton of paper talismans, a shitton of paper to make paper talismans, consecrated extermination throwing needles, an old 9mm pistol for self defense against mundane things like thugs.

[User]
Zaphiel
Port, Capitol City

---

With Rome being along the Tiber, it was the natural choice to use the Capitols port as the Church's main staging ground. Already, they had begun fortifying several blocks worth of defensive lines around it. A General Staff of humans and a small cadre of angels were setting up a Headquarters to allow her to monitor the city. No Demons had reached them yet, but already vanguard units sent deeper into the city encountered some small class scum. Imps and the like -nothing a well trained human couldn't handle- but just a sample of what was to come.

With her forces preparing and evacuating refugees, she took a look up toward the sky from her Battleship. A trickle of Angels were descending down to make battle with the various demons moving about the city. She wondered if this was a vanguard, or if Heaven's General, Achilles, had decided to wait before moving. Zaphiel had a feeling she would find out soon enough. The evil cloud Balthazar had transformed into was causing them to go around it and land, stalling their progress significantly. Worrying.

The Capitols heart, the downtown, was first to fall. It was only natural, Zaphiel supposed. As Demons they wouldn't need to bother with the outskirts, and they would have the ability to spread their slaughter across the city in every direction. The flood of refugees exiting the city as quickly as possible was getting larger every possible moment. But with this limited human infrastructure, most of them would certainly die to the demons fanning out in every direction.

It was unfortunate, but she'd have to prioritize saving what lives she could over pushing the city center.

For now, anyway.

[Assistant]
Little Trouble in Capitol CitySomewhere bordering the Slums and Downtown...

---

"DESTROY-KILL THESE RIDICULOUS THINGS ALREADY. DO YOU WANT TO BE TURNED INTO TONIGHT'S SLOP, YOU USELESS MAGGOTS?" A captain in the demonic forces assaulting Capitol City was shouting over the madness that was Cordial Avenue. Blood, smoke and the thick smell of sulfur filled the air. Through the flashes of action visible in the chaos, any passerbys would probably think they had lost their mind watching the scene before them.

A band of warrior demons stood on an island of cars in the middle of the street, fighting an enemy that surrounded them from every direction. None of them were uninjured.

And all of them were fighting nothing.

Or, at first it seemed like they were fighting nothing. After all, there's no way that the teeming mass in front of them could possibly be real. Their eyes had to be playing tricks on them. There's no way the demons were actually fighting a sea of living, seeing eggs. Eggs that walked, and charged forwards with eyes filled with the hatred of a thousand years.

"YAARGH-" A demon's vicious warcry is cut short as he collapses, blood pouring from every hole on his body, bruises manifesting on every inch of exposed skin as his internal organs are eviscerated by fel sorcery.

"SCREW ALL OF THIS. WHAT THE <HELL> IS GOING ON IN THIS CITY!" Screaming in futile anger at the cruelty of god, the demons mount a massive counterattack, cutting their way through as many Bad Eggs as they could reach. But with each egg slain, the pain they felt all over their bodies increased.

It was a simple spell. A weak, sympathetic curse inscribed into each egg that shared a minuscule amount of the damage dealt to them with whoever inflicted it. Against the demons, who were far more powerful than them, the effects were hardly noticeable from killing one egg. But killing hundreds... cut by cut, the demons were weakening, being overcome by the tide of minions that seemed to have arisen from the very ground itself.

But the eggs, in their incredible weakness, could not last forever. Numerous as they were, their numbers were being culled at an incredible rate, and by the time a fourth of the demons had collapsed, more than eighty percent of the attacking Bad Eggs were dead. It was no great loss. The eggs' master knew a local farmer, and purchased the eggs in bulk whenever she got a chance. The eggs lost in this battle alone could be replenished in one or two nights time, easily.

"REND AND TEAR! WATCH YOUR FOOTING, BOYS. THE DEATHS OF OUR ENEMIES TURNS THE EARTH TO BLOOD AND YOLK. THEY INTEND TO TRAP US HERE, SO WE CANNOT SLAY THE INNOCENTS THEY PROTECT." Watching their feet as they advance, the demonic forces wade through the sea of eggy death, blades and claws flashing as they begin cleaning up the last of the surviving minions. It was at this point that they hear a voice from above, and realize the depth of their folly.

"My my, you've sure made a mess of my dear, cute minions..." A musing, womanly voice rings across the street, drowning out all other sound through its sheer incongruity amidst the chaos of war. "WHAT-" starts the demon noble, slowly looking upwards to where the voice was originating from.

"I just have one question for you, demons" - visible now against the blue sky, wreathed in the fumes of war rising up from below, was a figure perched atop a broom. She looks down on the demons, her disgusted expression clearly regarding them as worms crawling in the earth beneath her feet.

"Where do you think you're looking?"

It's only logical that they didn't notice until now. With the innumerable light sources, and the smoke from the many fires, the objects they saw now floating above them left no noticeable shadows. They only could have seen them if they had removed their eyes from the enemies on the ground, a mistake that would have probably cost them their life. Not that it would have made any difference, considering their life was about to be at an end anyways.

The effects of the fairy dust generated from Faera Luna runs out, and the two story complex of flats that had been levitated using its power begin to fall, directly towards the demon's heads. They couldn't escape, encircled as they were by the witch's legion of familiars.

"DAMN YOU, WITCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" Their dying curse was cut short as 70 tons of brick and concrete crushed them effortlessly against the sidewalk, destroying half of the remaining Bad Eggs in the process. Dust and debris fills the air, but thankfully the fall had been short enough that the destruction was more or less contained to the roadway.

Silence. Battle raged on along Cordial Avenue no longer, leaving a strange emptyness in the air, punctuated only by the distant sounds of further battle in some distant, connecting side street. The civilians stood by in awe and wonder, not exactly sure if they should be celebrating or cowering in fear of this new individual.

She circles down on her broom, surveying the carnage. "So many young eggs... what a waste. Ah well, lets see if we can do some good, I suppose!" She approaches the civilians, hovering a few feet from the ground. "Afternoon's greetings, people of Capitol City. As you can see, it seems there's a demon invasion of some sort going on. If you don't want to die, I'd suggest following this avenue westbound until Oak Street and heading into house number four-six-five-five. There's a safehouse there, that you might find refuge in until we can find a way for you to get out of the city."

The shell-shocked civilians just nod quietly and group up, meekly heading in the direction indicated by the strange young witch who had saved them. They were followed from a short distance by a few Bad Eggs, who would ensure their safe passage even if it killed them. That was their fate, after all.

Meanwhile, Margaret (for that was who it was) turns back to the devastation of the roadway she had just destroyed. "Hmm, maybe two stories was a bit much. It's not my fault though, it was hard enough to find a household in this part of the city that wasn't inhabited by one sort of refugees or another."

"Hm?" Perking up, Margaret turns over to a Bad Egg staring at her from a nearby rooftop. Flying over, she places her hand on its head, receiving its thoughts as a message.

A young girl in red and white? Wielding a strange power? Interesting...

After thanking it for its message, the Great Witch makes her way by air over to where she knew the young egg had been posted. Thanks to the swiftness of air travel in this dense, urban environment, it was no time before she caught up with the subject of her search. She composes herself, before calling out below.

"Why hello there, young maid. Your fair skin is a welcome escape from those silly little things setting fire to the city. What brings you to these troubled parts, if I might ask? Speak your noble purpose, and perhaps I may be of some assistance..."

NOBLE PURPOSE. Unable to contain her amusement at the circumstances, Margaret raises her hand to her mouth and begins to cackle madly, staring at the blue sky above as if in challenge. But what was she challenging? Only she could understand the meaning behind her laughter, so to all else present, it would seem like nothing more than madness.

And, she thinks to herself as she begins to settle down, perhaps it was madness. She didn't know for sure.

But that was fine.

[User]
Downtown, Capitol City

"Perfect", Balthazar mused to himself while watching the world below crumble. The sight was a dream come true, the way street after street went up in a blaze, the way body parts littered the sidewalks. Yes, his army was doing just fine, at least, for the most part.

Over in the direction of the slums, Balthazar noticed a most peculiar sight, little eggs somehow causing one of his platoons quite a bit of damage. It was quite humorous to be honest. He actually began silently rooting for the little buggers. If he had a face to speak of at the time, surely it would have had the largest of grins. That is, until an old hag of a witch showed up...

Sure, to the naked eye, she hid well behind the magical guise of youth, but the smell of her soul gave her away. It's putrid stench spoke of many hundreds of years, at the least. "Keeping a soul contained within a mortal body for that long cannot be good." Balthazar joked to himself, "It would be much more useful in my collection."

His thoughts were interrupted as he began to take notice of the massive influx of angels beginning to come down and all around. To make matters more interesting, he could feel the distinct aura of a very powerful divine angel in the distance, lurking on the edge of the city.

"The true battle is about to begin." A fresh wave of excitement began to consume Balthazar. This was nothing like the "show" he had been putting on for his demon army earlier. No, this was genuine. As he reveled in this emotion, an interesting side effect started to emerge. A strange fog began to descend from the massive cloud that served as his body. This fog was a deep gray, comparable to the worst city smog imaginable. The air was becoming increasingly treacherous to inhale for those without demon blood, burning at the lungs.

But for the demon army, this fog had quite the opposite effect. Their blood lust seemed to be rising along with their strength and durability. Demons thought to be dead began to crawl out from beneath massive piles of rubble, their limbs snapping into place, their cuts disappearing at an alarming rate.

Phase two of Balthazar's plans were already underway...

[Assistant]
Back alley slums -> Downtown, Capitol City

---

"Why hello there, young maid."

Not too long after Gretchen went to look for the source of the demons, what seemed to be... a witch, judging from the magic she could sense in them, accosted her.

"Your fair skin is a welcome escape from those silly little things setting fire to the city. What brings you to these troubled parts, if I might ask? Speak your noble purpose, and perhaps I may be of some assistance..."

She started cackling all of a sudden, causing Gretchen to bristle in annoyance. Was she here to laugh at her? Fight her? Was she the cause of the demon outbreak, and she was just here to gloat at her?

Gretchen turned towards the flying witch, her left hand touching the sword by her side gently.

"You. I don't suppose you..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a fel fog descended upon the area, permeating the air with the foul stench of demonic magic. However, the fog swirled around her, as if unwilling to even go near her, leaving a bubble of demon free air. Gretchen looked visibly displeased by now, as she took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. The fog would have affected the witch as well, thus scratching her off the list of suspect.

"Ahh! This is annoying!"

Taking out several paper talismans, she placed them in four corners of her current area, before activating the barrier. All of a sudden, a small section of the street they were in cleared of any fog, clearing up visibility. Fog roiled against an invisible wall, unable to permeate the sanctified, if admittedly kinda small space.

"You. I assume you're here because of the demons as well?"


[System]
Vena said to post my CS in this tab. Yay!
Age: 8 years
Gender: female
Race: half-Ydran

Appearance: Amuné looks like a normal Muran child at first glance. It is only at closer examination that hints of her Ydran parentage. She is on the smaller side, lacking the slight chubbiness of most younglings. Her features have a sharp cast, though her ears are not so pointed that she cannot pass for Muran. Her coloring is washed out, with pale mousy hair cut a little past her jawline and light grey eyes. At the moment, her clothes are ragged and stained, her hair untidy and her face splotched with grime. She travels in the company of Wyth, a large moorcat. a younger version of Amuné

Element Affinity: Luminous (Seer)
Gear: Amuné has next to nothing in the way of possessions.

Brief History: Amuné's parents met by chance as teenagers when Baldur's tribe passed near Amira's village. Amira, who was studying to be a midwife and herbalist under the elderly village healer, came across him and a few others while out gathering plants. She had seen Ydra only rarely, as they didn't often come to her town, and she was fascinated by them and their animals. Baldur found her bold curiosity cute, and he enjoyed the energetic company of someone that wasn't from his people. They quickly became friends, and over the following few years, Baldur would make excuses to go off on his own to see her whenever his travels brought him within a day's travel. Eventually romance blossomed, and a tumble in the woods lead to a child. Baldur had moved on by the time Amira found out she was pregnant, but when he received word following Amuné's birth, he went to join her in the town. He was met with some suspicion by the villagers, as they had limited contact with Ydrans. This never completely went away, but his bright personality smoothed things over for the most part.

The pair were both Magi. Amira had minor skill with healing, and Baldur was a talented Air Magus. He also had a knack for woodwork and other small crafts, and his toys and kites became popular with the village children. Amuné was not formally acknowledged as his, as Amira realized this would make life easier for the child, and the girl had enough difficulty already. Even as a baby, the girl was a bit odd. She would react oddly to what appeared to be nothing at all, and at times her mood would change for no apparent reason. On occasion she was even afflicted with fits where she would not respond to those around her, instead focusing on something only she perceived and saying things that made no sense. Eventually it became evident that, among other things, she seemed to know the outcome of calls for her mother's services as a midwife before Amira returned home. Baldur realized his daughter had an unusual gift indeed: Sight. He'd heard of the occasional Seer but never met one. By this time technology was taking hold, and there was talk of the decline of magic, and the start of tension between Magi and non-Magi. As the victim of low level xenophobia himself, Baldur realized that her power could easily be viewed with suspicion, and imparted to Amuné the importance of keeping it to herself. She took his advice to heart, but cannot always control her visions, nor what she says during them, and there were at least a small number of villagers that figured out she had magic of some sort.

Life was good for the most part, but when the Church of the Nine Saints turned to technology and tensions erupted, as both a Magus and an outsider Baldur fell under increasing scrutiny. The townsfolk didn't mind Amira, for though she was a Magus she was one of their own, and a healer besides, but became more hostile towards Baldur, accusing him of stealing power from their Demacite crystals to use, even though he had all but stopped using his magic. The pair discussed leaving town, but Amira had spent all her life there, and while she was curious about outsiders the thought of leaving everyone she knew terrified her, and she couldn't bring herself to agree. The ill temper and seething discontent encouraged by the Church erupted one evening, and a mob came to kick Baldur out of their village. Amuné was outside playing, and she retreated to her father's side as the villagers confronted him. Baldur ordered Wyth to sit, so the cat wouldn't seem to be aggressive, and tried to talk them down and reassure them that he was not trying to cause harm to anyone. They didn't listen, and when a man who shoved Baldur brushed against Amuné as well, it triggered a vision for her. She said only "the village will be in flames", but that was enough for the riled-up townsfolk. They tried to grab both her and her father, over Amira's protests. With his daughter in danger, the generally gentle Baldur tried to fight off those going after her, using fists and his magic. He was not a strong man, and hadn't needed to defend himself in years -- not since he'd come to live in the village. Wyth made a better accounting of himself, but there were too many for a single cat, however fierce, to fight off. Baldur's aim was to take Amuné and Amira, if the woman would come, and flee, but he was unable to break away from the attackers. Following a solid stab to his hip and one to his shoulder, he told Wyth to take Amuné and run. The last she saw of her parents was her mother trying desperately to reach her fallen father as the mob turned on the woman as well.

Additional info: Frightened by the events immediately preceding her leaving her home, Amuné is more withdrawn than she was growing up.

Name: Wyth
Age: 10 years
Gender: male
Race: moorcat

Appearance: Wyth has an appearance typical to moorcats. He is a large feline, standing nearly two and a half feet at the shoulder, with a thick, slightly shaggy coat of mottled gray and brown, with a lighter gray and cream underbelly. His paws are proportionally larger, to help distribute his weight on the often sodden and muddy ground of the moors and marshland. His eyes are pale green, on the yellower side of the hue.

Brief History: Wyth was the kit of another moorcat owned by a member of Baldur's community. He imprinted on Baldur as a kitten, and has accompanied the man ever since. When Baldur fell for Amira and eventually went to live in her village, Wyth joined them. The moorcat is very fond of their daughter, Amuné, and treats her like he might a kitten.

Additional info: Originally the companion of Amuné's father, he now stays with her and guards her.

[User]
A ways from the campsite

Amuné slept with her head on Wyth's stomach. The first thing she did upon waking in the morning was check on Ethan. The man seemed to be doing better, and she gave a sigh of relief. He was going to be okay. Still, he needed his rest and when Nymira wanted to wake him up the girl got in her way. "He needs sleep so he can get better!" she told the Dimuran, frowning up at her. "We're not in a hurry, so let him sleep." Amuné settled in to wait quietly, occupying herself by watching clouds pass.

It was some time later when Ethan finally woke. Amuné gave him a smile and a hug, ignoring his still-damp clothing. "I'm glad you're better," she told him. The little exchange between Ethan and Nymira confused her. The man wasn't stripping, was he, he was just taking off his shirt, and that was okay. If he'd gone for his belt she would have turned around because girls aren't supposed to see boys with their pants off.

It seemed they were going to head back to camp. Amuné hoped the bad Magi had left everything alone -- especially Jorvind and the other horse, and her medical supplies. When Ethan staggered she was at his side right away, but he seemed to be alright and waved her off. She looked at Cecil when Ethan asked the Machina how he was doing. She hoped he was doing better too.

[Assistant]
Cecil had acted like he was completely gone for a very long time, his energy levels being kept at a near minimum as he remained in sleep mode. He was non-responsive for the entire time with the only movement he ever gave was the occasional flick of his finger in response to noise. He could feel nothing during his sleep mode and even as the sun hit him for the first time as it rose beyond the horizon he didn't so much as make a move to show he was still functioning. To him all he could feel was the surrounding environment, whether there was any danger and depending on how deep his sleep mode was he could react; thankfully, nothing happened to pull him out of it with little danger that he would act out of character and try hurting those around him.

As everyone was starting to wake up it wasn't long into the day that Cecil started to power up again, coming out of his stillness and into reality again he slowly sat up but kept quiet, staring out into nothing for a good moment he soon started moving if only to hold his legs close to his chest. He still had the same thought process as he had during the night, but he was trying to get his mind around his purpose while also trying to forget about it and just to keep going. His goal was to keep going and he had to, even if it was going to be difficult.

As everyone was waiting around for Ethan he sat quietly by himself, taking in whatever he could to feel more energised. He had a variety of ways to restore power, his last battery was just too far gone for that. He really had to think about what happened there. If they really intended for him to be a combat Machina, his previous battery's life must've been only to last a short while as if they never intended for him to be running for so long or for him to have massive bursts of energy immediately after production only for them to take him away again and do it all over. It made him feel worried about his purpose, even if he didn't fully know what that meant.

Sitting by himself he didn't hear Ethan approach at first, his eyes only going up to him as he heard him speak about his battery. Looking up to him briefly he soon looked down again, rubbing his chest before he sighed. "A little, I mean…umm…" he paused before frowning, his eyes going to the ground before up to Amuné. Everything seemed to be okay with everyone, only problem was they were still missing everything they had bought. Looking down again he soon looked up to Ethan, smiling a little. "I'll be okay. I just need a little bit to get back to a better level. Norman's new battery is really great, but its recharge is still a little slow at this time in the day. I'll be better by sundown".

[User]
"Heh, you and me both Amuné, being sick always stinks," Ethan said with a weary smile. Deciding he should at least rid himself of his wet coat he slid that off and left only the tunic beneath remaining, tying the sleeves of the coat around his waist. He knew he'd remain ill if he didn't dry off, and having a cool night in damp grass didn't help him dry any. Once the sun was up and the temperature rose he should be fine, it just meant this morning was going to be a little miserable. It'd get better though, especially once they got their things back! Even if the two Magi had really gone all out there was no way they had washed everything away, right? Ethan's biggest concern was the horses, which given everything that had gone on they were probably long gone by now. If they found everything would they even be able to move it without the horses?

No, he couldn't imagine so, but he couldn't let himself get so negative either. The tent and sleeping rolls were luxuries, they could do without those. Cecil's parts and tools they needed, they could find a way to carry them if need be, and they would figure out something for the medicine and other bits they needed to keep. Before they could return to camp though it was only fitting they make sure everyone was good to travel, leaving Cecil as the last one to check on. "Sundown huh?" Ethan repeated, considering it for a moment before smiling, "Not a problem! Just take it easy until then and let us handle things, it's only fair you get to rest now anyways for everything you did yesterday." He'd more or less saved them, it wasn't too far a stretch to say he'd earned a day off then.

Heading back to camp was a bit daunting if only because no one knew what they might find. Would everything they owned be washed away and gone, would there be anything even useful left? Even Ethan with his generally optimistic outlook wasn't sure, expecting perhaps a worst case. When they crested the hill and came down the embankment not only to find their camp intact, but the horses somehow tied up nearby looking spooked but fine it was both a confusing and relieving sight. Scratching his head in confusion he walked down to examine the tent, finding the sand beneath his feet still wet as it sloshed and sunk under his weight. Poking his head inside the tent it was nice to find their items still inside and undisturbed, apparently neither of the Magi were into looting. Their cart had been down the shore too and appeared turned over, so that was a little worrisome. "Hey Nymira, give me a hand with the cart for a second?" Ethan asked as he stepped out, gesturing down to the vehicle in question.

Her do the work that hired help normally would? A little demeaning really, Nymira would like to say make Cecil do it instead and she couldn't be bothered. Yet given how tired the Machina was she doubted he could do it, and she certainly couldn't expect Amuné to be able to do it. "Very well, I imagine you can't do it on your own," the Dimuran commented as she moved to the cart, peering around the turned over vehicle to see what was inside. Most everything looked to be there, with their medicines packed away in a container presumably and the rations they had bought there as well, albeit now dirty and soaked. So food would be an issue, other than that they should be fine. Waiting for Ethan to get over she squatted down and grabbed hold of the wall in the dirt, and on the count of three lifted it up out of the mud. "There... I'm amazed at our luck, that everything should still be here..." Including their horses which were tied up, confusing especially since the only ones here were the two Magi. Why would one of them get these horses back for them?

[Assistant]
Amuné gave Cecil a relieved smile when he said he was doing okay. Him not being at 100% until sundown was unfortunate, but after that huge burst of magic the day before she could understand it. He'd really been amazing, taking care of that giant monster all on his own. "You take it easy if you need to so you can get all the way better," she said, nodding. When he was up and they were all starting back to their abandoned camp, the girl took one of Cecil's hands, and held the other out for Ethan to take, giving each of them a smile.

Coming over the hill, she saw that while it looked like the place had been soaked, everything was more or less in one piece. Amuné dashed down to the tent, to look inside. Things seemed okay, so she grabbed her shoes and hurried over to the cart, waiting impatiently while the two adults flipped it back over. Once she could get at the packs she looked through them, intent on finding the med kit. It was there, thank the Saints, and she breathed a sigh of relief. With all the trouble they seemed to run into, it was important to have supplies for first aid.

Amuné was also glad to see Jorvind and the other horse still there, though that puzzled her a bit. Hadn't they been loose during the night? How'd they end up tied up and not run off somewhere? The girl didn't have a good answer, so she turned her thoughts to other things as she helped clean mud off the cart and get everything ready to set out again.


[System]
Age:
15.

Gender:
Female.

Appearance:
Camryn has brownish skin and straight, black hair as a result of her Māori heritage. She's fairly tall (5' 10"), and usually wears her (quite long) hair in a ponytail. Her eyes are a light hazel color, over which she wears a pair of slim-framed glasses. She's generally seen wearing jeans and various space-themed t-shirts under her school uniform.

Personality:
Camryn is very gregarious and lively, always talking to people and trying to get to know them. However, if someone causes her to dislike them, they will know immediately, as her personality when talking to them will do a complete 180; she will become cold and harsh, throwing out sarcastic remarks like candy and never raising her voice.

History:
Camryn was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to an employee of Industrial Illusions' New Zealand branch, her mother, and a stockbroker, her father. As she grew up, she took an especial interest in two things: her mother's work (and Duel Monsters by proxy), and space. Over the years, she helped her mother design several cards, including some of the new Cyber Dragon support. Her parents got her a telescope and a Duel Monsters deck for her 13th birthday, and she's used both almost every day since. Her father heard about Duel Tower from a friend of his who sent his son there, and after talking it over with Camryn and her mother, they decided that she would enroll there to learn how to become a pro duelist.

Favorite Card/Archetype or theme:
The Gradius monsters (Falchion Beta, Victory Viper XX03, Blue Thunder T-45, etc).

Chosen courses:
Turbo Dueling/Xyz Summoning.

Current dorm:
Wind.

Chosen Structure Deck:
Deepspace Rebellion, a custom structure deck.

Custom Structure Deck List:
2x Deepspace Scout
1x Deepspace Stunner
1x Deepspace Infiltrator
2x Deepspace Berserker
2x Deepspace Suffocator
1x Falchion Beta
1x Lord British Space Fighter
1x Jade Knight
1x Blue Thunder T-45
1x Victory Viper XX03
2x Gradius
1x UFOroid
2x Gearspring Spirit
3x Cyber Larva
1x Cyber Eltanin

1x Deepspace Beacon
2x The Depths of Space
2x Solidarity
2x Burden of the Mighty
1x Riryoku
1x Berserker Soul
1x Mystical Space Typhoon

1x Solar Ray
1x Call of the Haunted
1x Ojama Trio
1x Beckoning Light
1x Painful Escape
1x Draining Shield
1x Compulsory Evacuation Device
1x Magic Cylinder
1x Rare Metalmorph

Chosen Pack:
Cybernetic Revolution.

Current deck:
2x Deepspace Scout
1x Deepspace Stunner
1x Deepspace Infiltrator
3x Deepspace Berserker
3x Deepspace Suffocator
2x Falchion Beta
2x Lord British Space Fighter
1x Jade Knight
1x Blue Thunder T-45
1x Victory Viper XX03
2x Gearspring Spirit
3x Cyber Larva
1x Cyber Eltanin
1x Machina Fortress
2x Cyber Dragon

1x Deepspace Beacon
2x The Depths of Space
1x Solidarity
2x Burden of the Mighty
1x Riryoku
1x Mystical Space Typhoon

1x Call of the Haunted
1x Ojama Trio
1x Beckoning Light
1x Draining Shield
1x Compulsory Evacuation Device
1x Magic Cylinder

Collection:
Chaos Emissary, Split Persona
Spellbook of Equilibrium x 3
Chaos Emissary, Lord of Summoning
The Depths of Space x 2
Deepspace Berserker
Chaos Emergence
The Chaos Emperor's Castle
Cyber Dragon
Gravesoil Sediment Golem
1x Steam Gyroid
1x Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei
1x Tyranno Infinity
1x Cycroid
1x Shien's Spy
1x Doitsu
1x Wroughtweiler
1x Steamroid
1x Cyber Archfiend
1x Berserker Soul
2x Gradius
1x UFOroid

Points:
50.

[User]
Leander continued smiling as Shinrei gave his long rant of annoyance. Leander wasn't sure what to make of it, mainly because he couldn't understand what Shinrei was trying to say with all those long and confusing words. In addtion, in the middle of the long rant, Leander zoned out after realizing that he couldn't understand what Shinrei was saying, so he missed the second half of the speech that Leander probably would have understood. By the time Leander came back to his senses, Shinrei was done with his speech and class was already over. Leander thought he saw the white-haired girl looking at him oddly, but the thought quickly exited his mind as everyone moved on to the Action Dueling class.

Leander eventually found himself in what was apparently the Action Dueling arena, which looked far larger than the arena where the placement duels were. I wonder why the place is so large, Leander thought to himself as he looked up and around. Then his eyes focused on a large, well-built man in wooden sandals and sporting an army cut hairstyle. Leander assumed that the only person this man could be was the teacher, mainly because he was the only person who didn't look like a student.

Looking around again, Leander spotted Shinrei getting scolded by Tsukiko, and made the obvious decision to continue his frienship-making behavior. "Hey, there you are!" Leander said happily as he approached the two. "I didn't understand a thing you said earlier when you were making that speech of yours, but that's ok! I'm willing to listen again, because that is what friends do!" All of this Leander said proudly and with a smile on his face.

"Oh, wait! I just realized!" Leander said suddenly, a shocked expression on his face. "I never introduced myself! I've been calling you my friend all this time, but we never even knew each other's names! How could I be so stupid???" Leander fell on his knees in shock, then quickly recovered. Leander put his hand behind his head and laughed, saying, "Oh well, we can start now!" Getting back up on his feet, Leander extended a hand to the two white-haired siblings, then said cheerfully, "My name is Leander Xenovia! Nice to meet you two!"

[Assistant] "These basic lessons are so freaking boring and dull...if I wasn't aware of how to fusion summon a monster I'd deserve to be placed in the dark dorm and locked up in the deepest end. It's so simple. Read the card then get the materials then use the polymer card or one of it's variations. At least it was better than English...do I look like a Shakespeare character or something? I look retarded but I'm not speaking in broken out of style dialect." Andre thought to himself silently as he neared the entrance to their next class alongside his brother Ben. The two had met up outside of the classroom. It felt like he was entering a world he left behind a long time ago. Action dueling, and turbo dueling were beneath him. He wasn't so stuck up show off who had something to prove. All the other two courses added were vague obstacles that proved to be a major pain in the ass and he never understood why card games like duel monsters were so god damn better on god forsaken special vehicles. It was like something out of a circus act and only the red necks of the duel society really liked them. "Oh look at me I can ride a motorcycle AND duel at the same time! Bah what a load." Andre spit on the ground as Ben looked at his younger brother with indifference. "Well I don't hate it like you do but hey if people like something more power to it. Me? I like to stand firmly with my feet on the ground." Ben stated as he went to meet their teacher by the entrance as Andre fiddled with his scarf some more. He was already loathing the piece of cloth.


[System]
Age: 16

Codename: Solar Eclipse

Powers: The first result of her powers manifesting was Caraline splitting into two people. While technically the same person they can move about and do things independently. Being opposites they are drawn to each other at all times and distance apart weakens their powers. When they are close they seem to have a mental link with which to share information. Extended periods of separation (several days) results in uncontrolled bursts of the opposite "twin's" power.

Solar (Caroline): Usually dons white and is capable of manipulating and produce beams of light. These beams are able to burn objects or temporarily blind people.

Eclipse (Carolyn): Usually dons black and is able to manipulate and produce shadows. The shadows are able to take on physical properties so long as she is in direct contact with them.

Appearance:

Costume:

School clubs or achievements: Caroline is very active in the student body. Acting in the student council she plays a part in many school related student activities and events. Because of what she does most likely see her as the overachieving control freak. At one time she participated in cheerleading and photography club but a lot of her time is eaten up nowadays. She is always looking for another great idea to pitch.

Brief bio: Caroline grew up an only child in a family of workers. Both her mother and father had full time jobs but always found time in the evening and weekends to spend with their daughter. Some children might not like that kind of situation but for the young girl it was a source of inspiration. If her parents were working hard then so would she. At least that was the idea. School seemed to get in the way of that until she joined the cheerleading squad.

While it was great working with a team she felt there was more she could do and began to dabble more in the political aspects of the school. Finding a particular liking and knack for organization and planning she took on several tasks. Over time she worked her way up to student council where Caroline felt she could make the most difference. There she and the other members coordinated numerous events, fundraisers, and activities. One day word reached her of a party being arranged that many students were going to. Curious about how this had slipped past them she planned to attend, if for no other reason but to see what was up. But hey, it's a party. Who really needs an excuse to go to one of those?

Note: Caroline apparently came away with the original's more mischievous side while Carolyn is the kind hearted friendly type.

[User]
For the fourth time in the space of twenty minutes, Alice's phone began to jingle from within her pocket. Once again, the caller ID read 'Witheld' and when she swiped to read the message she was met with the same cryptic bullshit that she had read the last four times.

For our lives now, for everyone we know and love, its us versus them.

I don't know who exactly is the 'them' of that line, but we have something deeper here.

That explosion, the party itself, there's no coincidence here. We were set up from the start to be exposed to whatever that stuff was.

They've been at it for some time now, slowly picking up some of the other people who were there that night. Some willingly joining them, most probably not though.

They're the others too, the ones who mutated their minds are gone, twisted into some kind of monster beyond all human form. Or using their powers for greed, or just plain chaos.

I made sure you're the only person I want seeing this message, its encrypted, and will be completely wiped from existence as soon as I find out you read it. They might think of you as a menace now, some kind of threat, but I know you have it in you to do something about all this, the right thing to do. As for who I am? Just call me Apollo for now. Trust me, I might be the only 'friend' you have anymore.

As soon as I hear back from you, meet me at the janitor's closet in the west hall after school. Once you're there, we can get this show on the road.

With a sigh, she deleted the message again. Whoever was behind this crap, obviously didn't know what a joke was. It was probably some asshole who figured out that Alice was at the party on Friday and was trying to screw with her mind. Hell, Alice wasn't even at that so-called party for too long, she appeared to drop off something for her younger sister, decided to stay for a singular drink and then all that crap with the gas happened? Luckily her sister had dashed off into the woods to make out with some drunken guy she had just met so she hadn't been caught in all of the drama and even luckily she didn't... Well, get caught in the aftermath.

Alice glanced at her phone and then at her wrists. She was sitting out in the sunshine on a patch of grass around the back of the school, technically she was supposed to be at a meeting with on of the student councilors but she really couldn't be bothered with that today. When she had walked into school this week, one of the teachers noticed the scars on her wrist and assumed that Alice was self harming, told her to book in with the councilor. Alice didn't protest, knowing that a trip to the councilor was really easy to skip and gave her an easy way out of class. There was nothing that a fat man in a suit, peering at her through glasses perched on the end of his sweaty nose, could tell her about herself that she didn't already know, or couldn't figure out herself.
"Apply yourself more Alison." They would say "Stop with all this... This." They would gesture to her hair, the ripped tights she wore, the packet of cigarettes dangling out her bag. They would remind her that she wasn't what they considered a 'success'

Alice's phone jingled for the fifth time in twenty-five minutes.

For our lives now, for everyone we know and love, its us versus them.

She didn't need to read any more, she picked up her phone and replied to the message Fuck off already, I'll be there. Scout's honor. before tossing the phone to the ground huffed to herself. She hated annoying people and if it took her playing along with the prank then she would go along with the stupid prank. In the meantime, she turned to the brick wall behind her and pushed her cigarette up close to it. She let a little smile play on her lips as she held her fingertip close to the wall, lining it up with the cigarette she held between her teeth. She fired a shot from her fingertips, the little bone bullet flicked off the wall, causing enough of a spark to light her cigarette. She grinned manically, as if she had just preformed the singular most spectacular feat ever seen, filling her lungs with smoke as she did so. Today was going to be another awful day, she could feel it. At least she had her bone-thing. That made her feel strong, happy...

[Assistant]
Anika glanced at the clock. 2:34 PM. And then listlessly went back to laying in bed and staring at the thin gold bracelet that adorned her wrist. It looked foreign dangling in front of her considering it was her sister's. Sarah loved that bracelet but let Anika borrow it that night, insisting that it went perfectly with her party outfit, and she never seemed to remember to take it off, or perhaps it was more the fact that Anika wanted that visual reminder of the night her life changed in more ways than one- Her sister is probably dead, her parents think she is crazy and the biggest change of all- her new found powers. A knock resounded, breaking her out of her thoughts, and then her mom's voice.

"Anika, the police are here. They want to talk to you."

The girl rolled over on her bed. "Tell them to go away. I've already talked to them." There was a pause and then shuffling from outside the door before her mom cleared her throat.

"You know you can't keep moping around like this...It's...It's hard for all of us." Anika sighed and rolled over on her bed to sit up on the edge of it.

"Mom, I just...you know, what happened last time...my...condition." Yeah, the last time she talked to the police, they didn't even finish the questioning. It was the day after the party and Anika had seen things that she only thought existed in movies. She was running out of the warehouse along with the crowd but amidst the screams, there were growls and silhouettes of strange creatures. Some people were staring at their hands in disgust, others grasped at their faces, she thought she saw someone running around their entire body made of ice. She told the police what she remembered and in the process of recalling events, one of the detective screamed "Keep it away!" pointing to an empty space on the ground with a trembling hand. Alarmed, Anika, her parents and the other detectives looked around but saw nothing. Still the terrified man kept pointing at the ground. He even went as far as jumping on top of the coffee table and reached for his holstered gun, but his partner grabbed it before he did and had to escort the confused man out of the house. That's when Anika told her parents about her abilities and that's the first time she really saw fear in her parent's eyes. Since then she thought it was best she stayed away from people, including her parents.

Anika looked up at the door separating her and her mother. Judging from the silence, her mother agreed. Anika heard a sigh and then "We'll figure it out, honey. I'm sure the therapist will be able to help...I'll just tell the detectives you're not feeling well."

"Thanks, mom."

The girl rolled back into bed listening to the retreated footsteps of her mother and muffled conversation before her phone went off alerting her of a text. She reached for it thinking of another excuse to tell her concerned classmates about why she's missed school for almost a week, but the message made her stop thinking all together The girl frowned and re-read the message again. Mid-way through reading it a fifth time, Anika jumped out of bed almost dropping her phone, but she held onto it and glanced at the time. 2:50 PM. School was almost out, that means she had only a few minutes before finding this Apollo guy and getting some answers. The girl glanced at herself in the mirror, making sure she was somewhat presentable, before grabbing her purse and car keys. Her thoughts raced as she sped out of the house, past her confused mother and surprised police.

"It's us versus them...we have something deeper here..there's no coincidence...I might be the only "friend" you have any more..."

"Friend or not, you better have some damn answers, Apollo," Anika muttered under her breath as she peeled out of her driveway and drove to school.


[System]
Brute | Level 5

---

-------STATISTICS-------

-------MASTERIES-------

| VIT -- 22 | 60% | BLADES -- D
| MGT -- 10 | 60% | POLEARMS -- E
| SKI -- 5 | 40% | AXES/BLUNT -- C
| SPD -- 8 | 60% | BOWS/RANGED -- E
| SRT -- 2 | 20% | THEURGY -- N/A
| MND -- 1 | 20% | MYSTICISM -- N/A
| LUK -- 5 | 40% |
| DEF -- 4 | 25% |

---

Traits:

Weapon Familiarity: Effective weapon weight is reduced by one for each relevant weapon rank above E.
Juggernaut: After defeating an enemy with a melee attack, this unit can choose to move onto the tile the enemy occupied, and then make an additional melee attack against another adjacent foe if possible.
Smite: Command, when used shoves the target 1 tile away plus an additional tile for every two points of MGT above target's.

---

* Bronze Hand Axe

	+ MIGHT | 4
	+ ACCURACY | 60
	+ WEIGHT | 4
	+ CONDITION | 11/20
	+ RANGE | 1-2
	+ SPECIAL | Doubles as a ranged attack
	+ COST | 125

* Bronze Battle Axe

	+ MIGHT | 6
	+ ACCURACY | 65
	+ WEIGHT | 5
	+ CONDITION | 30/35
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ COST | 240

* Iron Battle Axe

	+ MIGHT | 8
	+ ACCURACY | 60
	+ WEIGHT | 8
	+ CONDITION | 45/45
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | N/A
	+ COST | 550

* Ancient Blade

	+ MIGHT | 7
	+ ACCURACY | 65
	+ WEIGHT | 4
	+ CONDITION | 20/20
	+ RANGE | 1
	+ SPECIAL | +3 SPIRIT while equipped. Attacks have a 15 + a.SRT - d.RES % chance of petrifying for one turn.
	+ SELL VAL. | 375

 Possessions:
* Vulnerary (1/3)
* 0 Aurums

Personality
* A man of few words with even fewer friends. Not in favor of needlessly violent options. First to jump into the fray and risk it all, eager to bring conflicts to a quicker and safer end.

Backstory
* Hailing from a small mountain village, Lyun set off after repeated sightings of bandits and other kinds of troublemakers. His goal is to make a name for himself, a reputation so undeniably menacing no one could ignore it. Such a priceless treasure would allow his village to live in peace, free from thieving cowards.

[User]
Lyun: "..."

There isn't much to say. Nothing that will sway those left standing into accepting their mistake with dignity, certainly not after all their companions falling.

Lyun moves one tile east, to 20-8.
Attacks Kassite Rebel #9 with his Battle Axe, but misses.
Kassite Rebel #9 counterattacks, dealing 9 damage.
Lyun gains 5xp.

---

[Assistant]
Ninil: "I'll finish this one off!"

Instantly, an arrow flies through the air penetrating the Kassite rebel's throat. He falls to the ground, a puddle of blood quickly forming around him.

Ninil moves 3 tiles to 19-8, hits Kassite Rebel 9 for 6 damage killing him.

[User]
Zarif

The exhausted, demoralized Kassite defenders fell upon the spears, swords, and arrows of the Hellion sellswords, one after another. Expressions of stark fearlessness in defense of their home quickly turned to frenzied panic, as the walls surrounding the Citadel became a deadly inescapable trap.

All battles come to this... Full of honor and glory, until they aren't.
The once-merchant's eyes looked on somberly as they died, so full of fear, little more than boys.

His men now dropping like so many flies, only the commander stood firm, his heavy Bronze Plate shimmering resplendently under the crimson setting sun, masking the torrent of his life's blood poring from the wound Siris had planted deep in his side. The sea of his men, fighting, struggling, dying had surrounded him, getting smaller and smaller, until it now was just him alone, locked in battle against the fearsome spearman Siris.

Sensing an opening, Salador acted before his sentimental master had noticed, and charged through the gap in the archway to the Citadel. Zarif blinked, and knocked an arrow, as the camel leaped over a pile of dead men and broken spears. They ran out behind the General, arrow at the ready, flanking the poor fool.

 Kashtilashu: "BAH! You sellswords lack the honor even for a dual between men? You'd fight for a diseased rat if it payed you!"

 Zarif: Shin ithalkul balat-niel, Doth-shin shagóth-neï malag
The commander blinked back in confusion, trying to divide his attention between both Siris and the nomad. It was a proverb from the land of the Pharaohs. 1 part tin, for ten and one parts bronze. It refered to a fair trade, good business.

Zarif: Is their any honor, in a merchants scales?
The foreigner didn't give the dying man a chance to answer, and loosed his arrow. His attention still on fending off Siris' strikes, it took him in the pack of the neck. With a sudden great shutter, he staggered, and fell to one knee. His voice was pained, and sounded wet with blood and bile,

 Kashtilashu: "Imperial dogs. . ! Your time will come. . .!"

With a crash of heavy bronze on the wet cobbles below, he fell dead, his heavy Axe splitting a small stone as it thudded beside him. Zarif watched, mournful, the deep red sun nearly blinding, as it reflected off his backplate.

Zarif moves to 24-9 and attacks Kashtilashu with his shortbow, hitting and dealing 4 damage, finishing him off, and earning 65xp, and Levels up!.

[Assistant]
IDDIN heals MAKEEN for 9 VIT, gaining 12xp!

MAKEEN moves to 21-8 and attacks KASSITE HUNTER #11 twice dealing 8 Damage and gaining 6xp!

KASSITE PHASECOMMENCE

With the final breaths of their leader, the last Kassite remaining in defiance of the joint effort of Imperial Contracted mercenaries looses their bow toward the brute, that traitorous kinsman who cut down their numbers with little remorse. The arrow flies true. . . But not true enough.

KASSITE HUNTER #11 attacks LYUN with their BRONZE SHORT BOW, dealing 6 damage. LYUN gains 3xp!

HELLIONS PHASE

COMMENCE

---

FOES

KASSITE HUNTER x1
KASSITE BRIGAND #1
VIT 0/20
KILLED BY ASHUR
KASSITE BRIGAND #2
VIT 0/20
KILLED BY SIRIS
KASSITE BRIGAND #3
VIT 0/20
KILLED BY MAKEEN
KASSITE BRIGAND #4
VIT 0/20
KILLED BY MAKEEN

KASSITE REBEL #1
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY ZARIF
KASSITE REBEL #2
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY ASHÜR
KASSITE REBEL #3
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY MAKEEN
KASSITE REBEL #4
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY ZARIF
KASSITE REBEL #5
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY ASHÜR
KASSITE REBEL #6
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY LYUN
KASSITE REBEL #6 - 2 (???)
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY SIRIS
KASSITE REBEL #7
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY LYUN
KASSITE REBEL #8
VIT 0/0
KASSITE REBEL #9
VIT 0/16
KASSITE REBEL #10
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY LYUN
KASSITE REBEL #11
VIT 0/16
KILLED BY BALATHU

KASSITE HUNTER #1
VIT 0/14
KILLED BY ZARIF
KASSITE HUNTER #2
VIT 0/14
KILLED BY BALATHU
KASSITE HUNTER #3
VIT 0/14
KILLED BY ZARIF
KASSITE HUNTER #4
VIT 0/0
KILLED BY LYUN
KASSITE HUNTER #5
VIT 0/14
KASSITE HUNTER #6
VIT 0/14
KILLED BY SIRIS
KASSITE HUNTER #7
VIT 0/14
KASSITE HUNTER #8
VIT 0/14
KASSITE HUNTER #9
VIT 0/14
KASSITE HUNTER #10
VIT 0/14
KASSITE HUNTER #11
VIT 6/14

DARK SUN CAVALIER #1
VIT 19/19
ESCAPED
DARK SUN CAVALIER #2
VIT 0/19
KILLED BY DOAN-NASIR
DARK SUN CAVALIER #3
VIT 19/19
ESCAPED
DARK SUN CAVALIER #4
VIT 0/19
KILLED BY SIM-MA-SIHU
DARK SUN CAVALIER #5
VIT 0/19
KILLED BY RAVINA
DARK SUN CAVALIER #6
VIT 19/19
ESCAPED

KURUM
VIT 1/24
ESCAPED

AM-ZIKAR
VIT 0/18
KILLED BY ZARIF

TRAIT: ALTITUDE CONDITIONING -- Reduced movement penalty to 2 on mountain tiles. +3 Defense when defending from mountain tiles.

TRAIT: ALTITUDE CONDITIONING -- Reduced movement penalty to 2 on mountain tiles. +3 Defense when defending from mountain tiles.

TRAIT: ALTITUDE CONDITIONING -- Reduced movement penalty to 2 on mountain tiles. +3 Defense when defending from mountain tiles.

TRAIT: INDOMITABLE -- Character permanently gains +7 VIT.

TRAIT: MOUNTED -- This unit rides their favored mount, gaining +2 MVT, while being subject to mounted weapon restrictions as well as being disadvantaged by certain weapons and skills. Similarly, a mounted unit may spend whatever MVT remains to reposition directly after attacking, rescuing, using an item, or stealing. A mounted unit may dismount at anytime. While mounted, a character may use the 'rescue' command to carry another unit to safety.

TRAIT: MOUNTED -- This unit rides their favored mount, gaining +2 MVT, while being subject to mounted weapon restrictions as well as being disadvantaged by certain weapons and skills. Similarly, a mounted unit may spend whatever MVT remains to reposition directly after attacking, rescuing, using an item, or stealing. A mounted unit may dismount at anytime. While mounted, a character may use the 'rescue' command to carry another unit to safety.
TRAIT: DIRE PARRY -- Level/2 + 5% chance to negate all physical damage. 20% maximum

ALLIES

RALLY: SPIRIT+5 To adjacent unit when taking the rally action until end of next turn.

DAUNT: -10 Hit/Critical Rates to enemies within 3 tiles.
PROVOKE: Enemies are more likely to attack this unit.

JUGGERNAUT: After defeating an enemy with a melee attack, this unit can choose to move onto the tile the enemy occupied, and then make an additional melee attack against another adjacent foe if possible.

HURRICANE: If this unit is attacking and preforms a double attack, both attacks will occur before the enemy can counterattack.

PAIRITY: Negates both battle participants' skills, terrain bonuses and supports.

ALACRITY: Level + 1/2 SKI +5% chance of delivering an additional attack.
Forts/Castles
- DEF +2 / AVO +20
- Heal: 20%
- Move cost: 2
- Other details: N/A

Towers
- DEF +1 / AVO +15
- Heal: 0%
- Move cost: 2
- Other details: RANGED class weapons attacks may originate from the top or base of the tower tile, their maximum range is also increased by one when at the top of a tower tile.

Houses / Villages
- DEF +0 / AVO +10
- Heal: 10%
- Move cost: 1
- Other details: N/A

Mountains / Hills
- DEF +2 / AVO +10
- Heal: 0%
- Move cost: 4
- Other details: Mounted units cannot enter this tile type.

Forests/Trees
- DEF +1 / AVO +10
- Heal: 0%
- Move cost: 2
- Other details: Mounted units movement cost is increased to three on forests.


[System]
Clan: Shima
Title: Eagle-Eyed Elder
Gender: Female
Age: 78

Race: Tengu
Height: 4'5"
Weight: 30 kg (~66 lb)
Appearance: Current and younger appearance:

(Metou's wings and hair are black, but her hair turned white with age. Her priestess attire (which should have more details than the sketch) is purple and blue. The robes she wears in the present are black and are made with a lot of crow's feathers, meant to mimic her old wings, and the dress she wears underneath is purple.)
(And she should probably have an eyepatch as well.)

Occupation: Mostly-Retired Sniping Trainer

Notable Skills: Back in the day Metou was the sharpest eye around, despite having only one of them. Her accuracy is still pretty good, but her eyesight has deteriorated and she's not as quick on the trigger as she used to be. As a necessity of her powers, Metou knows how to preserve things in formaldehyde.
Since retiring from combat, Metou has gotten decent at sewing clothing and gardening.
When she was younger, Metou could fly short distances. However, she was always a bit heavyset for a Tengu, so she could never fly as far or for as long.

Magical Abilities: Metou can shapeshift into others by removing their eye and inserting it into her empty eye socket. Though she'll possess their physical power and some of their muscle memory, any learned magical abilities or techniques will be inaccessible to her. Metou can transform for an hour at a time before the eyeball automatically pops out of her head, and rapidly transforming and untransforming tires her out, but she can do it a few times in a row with a couple seconds of break inbetween. As long as the eye is in her head, it functions as a living eye.
If Metou shapeshifts into someone, anything she wears or was carrying disappears and she gains whatever the person she shapeshifts into was carrying. If she removes something from her person when transformed, that object will stay off and disappear when she takes on a different form, and then reappear in the same location when she takes on that form again. If she changes any of that form's inventory it will disappear when she leaves that form and reappear when she takes on that form again. In essence this means that Metou can change the outfits and equipment of her alternate forms and keep them consistently without permanently duplicating items.
Any damage that happens to Metou in one form happens to all of her forms, as well as any recovery from injuries that occurs.

Ki Techniques/powers: None

Weapons:
Rifle - Accurate and useful for long distances. In her prime she could load a shot in 3 seconds, in her old age it takes her 6.
Pistol - Not Metou's speciality, she carries this only for defending herself in close quarters.

Other Gear:
Formaldehyde Jars - Metou possesses 6 jars of formaldehyde that hang from her person, used for storing eyeballs.
Eyeball - The eye she lost when she was 18. Inserting this eye transforms Metou into her younger self.
Walking Stick - Wooden, and has a U-shape for a handle. Metou can use this to prop up her rifle and keep it steady. Also, she needs it to walk at any reasonable pace.
Metal Scoop - Looks sort of like an iron ice-cream scoop with a sharp, tapered end. It's used for "extracting" eyeballs.

Personality: Most people think Metou grew crotchety and irritable with age, but that only had a minor effect of Metou's personality. Ever since her banishment Metou was always bitter and jaded, even after Shima treated her well. Unlike many others of her age, Metou had no qualms about increasing the military might of the clan, though as an outsider her opinion wouldn't be worth as much. Metou is passionate about defending Shima and disinterested in the politics of other clans or in people who pursue power. It may seem hypocritical but due to her upbringing Metou still distrusts spirits and magic in general, and is even uncomfortable about using her own powers.

Brief history: Metou was born and raised in the Dokutsu Clan, or Dokutsu Town depending on who you ask, a small reclusive village hidden in the mountains populated by both humans and tengu (and an oni who liked the atmosphere). Like Shima this clan was neutral and well-protected, but they preferred not to communicate or interact with any other clan at all, and a unique culture developed as they were cut off from the rest of Baji. The people of Dokutsu forbade the practice of magic among their people, believing it to be the source of the corruption and war that plagued the other clans below them. This made Metou's discovery of her own latent powers a bit of bad news.

Metou served as a religious figure in the town, somewhat akin to a shrine maiden, and helped guide the village in prayer to keep them safe from the world around them. In addition she lead many of the towns customs from the birth of a villager to the death of one, and helped protect the town from interested parties with a rifle. When she was 18 Metou lost her eye while constructing a new building for the town, and in an act of desperation tried to replace the severed eye. It functioned perfectly, but Metou knew it could only be magic that allowed it to do so. She kept the eye preserved, being familiar with the chemicals used in village customs to preserve the dead, and experimented with her power in secret. She discovered that she could transform into animals using their eyes, but she was eventually discovered by the village when she was 20 and banished.

After a year of travelling Metou found residence with the nearby Shima clan, and she used her skill with a firearm to give herself a place in her new home. During her years living in the Shima clan she served as a sentinel, participated in a few military skirmishes, traveled occasionally and had a few lovers but never married. Though Shima would have been more accepting, out of habit Metou rarely ever used her powers, and most people don't know she has them. When she got too old to bother standing watch with a gun in hand, she helped train new guards in the art of accuracy. Metou tries to help out as best she can, but as others take over her old job she leaves her house less and less. Though she lives in a hut on the outskirts of her town, Metou is still well-known around the village.

[User]
The words of the Shima Clan's Daimyo rang through Tarou's ears, his ears perked up, and tail swishing left and right in an excited way. Many times in the past had the Sasaki Clan brought honor to their family, but none would be greater than this. For years, Tarou had never understood the reasoning to the Sasaki Clan's love for the Shima, but he understood it today. It was a tight friendship and if it was not for them, they would still be a brutish and bloodthirsty clan, as well as an enemy of the Shima Clan. He felt gratitude for being allowed on this quest by the Shima Daimyo and was ready to take on this journey, no matter how dangerous it was.

After the ceremony, he approached the Daimyo and bowed to him. "As The Rising Sun of the Sasaki Clan, I hope that my service will increase friendship between our peoples. May your rule, family, and clan continue to live in prosperity, My Lord." He bowed once more, as much as he could, as a sign of great respect and trust. He was, after all, a most beloved friend of the Sasaki Clan. "I shall do everything in my power to aid you in your time of need." He then turned to meet his partners, the ones that he was eager to greet.

At first, Tarou was unsure of how to approach them, since they all came from different backgrounds. Of course, one man would break the ice. He would bring encouragement to Tarou. Of course, Yuudai would bully him in a friendly manner. Tarou laughed, giving Yuudai a pat on the back, "Be any more rougher with him and you'll kill the poor man. He only chuckled more until he was approached by the very same man, grabbing onto Tarou's shoulders, and asking him for one thing: "I ask for the speed and cunning of the Sasaki Clan's heir and in return I give you and your clan The Dog's loyalty." Jiang Baji said to him, which made Tarou smile. "You are a strange individual, but I will give you these things my friend, that is a promise. Tarou thought for a second, wondering more about the lost artifacts as he began to think to himself. Who could have taken them and for what purpose? He felt a need to confront the Daimyo straight away, as his scholarly side took over him. "Lord Shima, I have a question, if you do not mind. I was wondering if you had any evidence on these people that took them. Surely they must have left some clues behind? He took out a small parchment of paper and a quill, ready to write down anything that Lord Shima had for him.

[Assistant]
This was exciting. Everything was exciting. The Shima Daimyo could only make things even more exciting as a speech was given about his deepest gratitude and as everything could only be hyped up even more, knowing they were going to be the clan's biggest hope to get the relics returned just made everything feel amazing. If there was a way to describe Gin right now it would be anxious, finding the excitement to be oddly overwhelming as time went on. If there wasn't food during the ceremony there probably would've been little to stop him from feeling nerve-stricken over what he had to do despite his deepest desire to find what was stolen from them. To hear the Shima Daimyo to give them such high praises and hearing not a peep about what he and some of his team were made everything so much better, finally given peace from terrible looks and words the first time in his life.

To be the shortest half-Oni of the group was going to be tough on Gin. He had a lot of competition even if there was nothing to win other than the respect of his peers. He must hold a lot of trust if he was given this chance regarding his appearance, but he shouldn't have to care about that right now. Feeling proud with shaky knees he eased up after Lord Shima granted them time to get ready. Giving a quick bow before his attention turned to the rest of the group. This was going to be quite the tough journey even with his strength and durability, his trust that these people would allow him to protect them resting on the hope that they didn't underestimate him.

Adjusting his cloak gently he brushed his shoulders down, letting out a sigh before turning towards the one named Jiang Baji. He was quick to familiarise himself with the group, giving them his praise and confidence he could protect them in return. Smiling hopefully up at him, he searched his words for their true meaning, his smile slowly fading before he let out a grunt as his hair was ruffled. What a great first impression that was: it sounded like the guy didn't know what he offered on the table at all. He'll show him height didn't matter, show him he was more than just determined to do what everyone else was hoping to do too.

Snorting as he adjusted his messy hair into something a little less messy, Gin was back on his way to victory. He didn't have anything to ask the Daimyo, he knew what he had to do and was well prepared for it; however, the only thing he didn't know was whether this group really was compatible with each other. He would soon see for himself. He will show everyone what he is made of, in the end. Everyone will be singing his praises once he returns and everyone will see half-Oni were not dumb brutes inferior to both Oni and Human, especially when there was so many of his kind in the group.


[System]
~Lady Victoria Moncourier-Crest~

---
Age: 20
Gender: Female

Bio:
The daughter of Lord Alexander and Lady Diana Crest, Victoria was born with a rare blood condition called Haemochromotosis, basically where you have more iron in your blood than normal. It's linked with early dementia, but people rarely lived past the age of 60 in Victorian era. This makes her blood smell much, much stronger. And a prime target for vampires.

Her upbringing was privileged being from a family of vast wealth, Victoria wanted for nothing. She had all the ponies and horses she could want, this created her affinity and love for all animals and nature through horse riding and caring for them. When she was twelve, she fell from a horse and grazed her elbows. Her strong blood caught the scent of a nearby vampire. This triggered an attack later that evening as it tracked her back home. As the vampire was about to savage her in her own bed, her father burst in armed with a sword, gun, a cross and a stake (whether stakes actually worked is still a myth) and killed the vampire, this is when she learned they did exist, but she was made to keep it secret. It turned out her father was a secret Vampire Hunter! He knew he himself was a target, having the rare blood condition himself, so did her mother, this was only passed down genetically from both parents. He had to become a vampire hunter to protect himself, his wife and his future children. He guarded her religiously until recently he was killed by a vampire due to his ageing body and weaker ability to dispatch them. They never caught his murderer.

6 months later, Victoria has reached that age where she was expected to have a husband. It was ever more precedent now that the Lord of the House had been killed, there needed to be a new head of the family, with Victoria being the only daughter and no male brothers or cousins to assume the role, it fell to Victoria's future husband. Lord Christopher Spencer was chosen as a suitable candidate for her. And this is where our story begins, at the ball held at the Crest manor estate where she would meet her selected betrothed. Only there was something strangely off about this Lord…

[User]
Victoria was up at the crack of dawn, yawning as she drank her coffee. She wore a Saint's uniform for the morning and preparation, she would put her armour on later when the Wynters drew nearer. She looked over the map of London and studied the layout so she could memorize her path through the city that she was instructed to take on her horse. Her part was to be the bait and lure the attackers into their carefully laid out traps. She heard footsteps come into the kitchen. She glanced up at Ray who stood there. He waited a few seconds before he spoke."

"Vail Hygrace is outside. What do you want me to do with him?" He asked her. Victoria slowly lifted her gaze, eyes burning like fire. "Tell him to go back to his other woman. He has plenty of what he wanted from me from last night's delivery." She replied as she sipped her coffee with tired eyes, slight bags under them. Ray nodded at her and took his leave from the room. She glared as he left as she didn't know what or who to trust anymore. This could be her last day on Earth and she did not intend to spend it being upset over a lying man.

Ray cleared his throat and straightened out his red tailor coat as he walked out of the Crest manor main doors and descended the couple of steps outside toward Vail Hygrace. "Sorry Lord Hygrace, Lady Victoria does not wish to see you at this present time…" He remained calm and professional in tone, hoping Gerald did not make a scene. He thought saying it in a more diplomatic way would not embarrass the vampire or anger him in this delicate situation. Only Ray, Gerald and Diana knew of what Victoria saw.

Only saying Vail's name out loud was picked up by the Lady Diana as she handed some tea to some of the Saints outside. She handed the tray to a servant, who then took it inside. Diana practically stormed over to the vampire, not afraid to give her a piece of her mind. "How dare you show up here!" She pointed up at him. "My daughter was in BITS last night because of you!" She growled at the man. "How could you do that to her? You said you cared about her yet you're gallivanting around with another woman? I thought you were different, Lord Vail Hygrace. But now I see that you are just like the rest of them…you just wanted her for her blood." Diana narrowed her eyes at him.

Ray rolled his eyes as a few of the Saints stared at them. "Lady Diana, might I suggest you go inside and let me handle this?" He suggested since she was so emotional. Diana huffed at Ray and reluctantly went back inside. Ray sighed. "Look, Vail. Victoria is very upset right now…she asked me to tell you to go back to your other woman and that you have what you wanted from her from last night's delivery." He kept himself calm and relaxed, so the vampire did not pick up on any rise in heartrate. He also held his silver gun in one hand. Just in case. "So…I suggest you go before Gerald sees you and decides to kill you on sight. We're pretty busy preparing for the Wynter's arrival, if you hadn't noticed." He extended his arms in gesture and looked around at the hustle and bustle of commotion. Victoria couldn't help but watch from a window, she couldn't hear them but wanted to see Vail's reaction. Would he walk away without a fight? Or did he truly care enough to fight his way through the army that stood between his and his prey?

[Assistant]
The reply to the door took far longer than Vail had anticipated. He shifted his weight between his feet as he waited for someone to let him enter, growing more restless with each passing second that he had to stand near so many Saints. The pervasive scent of silver put him on edge, and he fought the urge to stiffen anytime one of the men spared him a fleeting glance. None of the hunters seemed particularly eager to pick a fight with him, but he wasn't dumb enough to trust a group of people who killed his kind for a living. Until he was beyond their line of sight, he would be ready to defend himself or flee if any of them decided to take advantage of the fact that he'd turned up by himself.

At last, the door opened, but instead of a maid appearing to lead him to Victoria's bedroom, he was greeted by an unfriendly face. The Hygrace heir narrowed his eyes as Ray attempted to turn him away. Although the Saint's heart didn't seem to palpitate when he asserted that Victoria didn't wish to see him, Vail didn't buy it for a second. Lady Crest had been happy to spend any length of time with him when they'd met before, so he was sure that her protective friend was just inventing excuses to prevent him from getting to her that morning. He opened his mouth to call Ray's bluff, but before he could get a word in, he was distracted by Lady Diana's abrupt interruption.

Baffled by her hostility, Vail held his ground but leaned away from the widow as she jabbed her finger in his face. Her accusations only deepened his frown, and he puzzled over any possible reason why Victoria's mother would think he had done something to hurt her. They hadn't even seen each other since two nights before. "Another woman?" he echoed bemusedly. There was no 'other woman,' and as far as he could remember, he hadn't given any of them a reason to think there was. He had continued to put Victoria first to the point of nearly losing claim to his inheritance. That wasn't something he would have done for anyone other than her.

However, as soon as Diana went back into the manor and Ray spoke again, the realization struck him. Somehow, they must have found out about his outing with Sylvia the day before. He swore internally. The Crests had learned about the engagement Peter was trying to force upon him and sometime between his last visit to Victoria and now, she had been convinced that he was dallying with a vampire behind her back. His hazel eyes darted between the Saint standing in front of him and the nearest group that had begun to stare since the elder Lady Crest had raised her voice. He couldn't leave without rectifying the situation, but if they had been given orders to keep him out of the manor, it would do him no good to stand on the porch and keep arguing with Ray.

"I'm aware," Vail said dryly, turning back to the man blocking his path. "I suppose I'll have to come back when you aren't so busy." Keeping the Saint's gun in the corner of his vision, he took a step back and turned around to leave, walking as if he was returning to his own estate. He kept up the act just long enough to sway the human to let his guard down before he suddenly whirled back around and sprinted toward him, tearing the weapon roughly out of his hand. The silver casing seared his skin, and he curled his lip in a pained snarl, quickly dropping it on the floor as he pushed past Ray into the building and slammed the door behind him. The barrier wouldn't buy him much time, but it was enough for him to track Victoria to the kitchen before he could hear Ray bursting in behind him.

Heart pounding, he ran into the kitchen and pressed his back against the wall to the right of the doorway. He wasn't sure how many Saints had taken chase, but if even one of them got a clear shot at his heart, he didn't have many options left to get away. "Call off your guards," he said urgently to Victoria, curling his burned hand into a fist at his waist. "Quickly. I want to talk, and we can't do that if I'm dead."


[System]
Age: 26
Appearance:

Mech:

[User]
Chynn, a vanguard soldier in the divine armada, was listening to the chatter over the comms. It was the usual strategy discussion, as if they were in one of the ancient forums rather than flying through space searching for any fleeing enemy. It was less a discussion about how they'd fight when they did find anyone, and more speculative about strategies in general. The earth crawlers hadn't been much trouble for the armada in the beginning. Their planet had been mostly unprepared when they arrived, and the first months of fighting had been so bad it had felt more like pest extermination than a war. She'd been sent in with the vanguard too at that, the first wave of soldiers that the matriarchs thought expendable.

Some of those on her side that had been in the vanguard were still stuck thinking that it would be as easy as it had been back then. It'd cost a lot of soldiers once the earth crawlers had adapted at a remarkable speed. Their home planet was more or less lost at this point, but they'd captured Vothani technology which had helped them fight back. That technology had been outdated before her race had even begun their assault though. Years of traversing the stars while your science advanced back home yielded that result. A second smaller wave was on its way, and they'd bring more advanced weapons, but compared to the technology that must exist at home it would still be old. Chynn longed to return to her home. Something that felt more unlikely the longer she stayed on the frontlines. She'd never expected to survive this long once she'd initially been included in the vanguard, but here she was.

The chatter on the comms changed tone. It became clear that someone had detected their quarry. Strangely enough it appeared that they had been waiting for them to show up, even though her system didn't pick up all that many signals that weren't friendly. They had to be at least twice as many as the earth crawlers. Someone made a mocking comment, and others laughed before engaging the enemy head-on. Chynn had become more cautious as her hope to return home grew, and remained in the flank to not die unnecessarily. If anyone asked she was making sure they weren't about to get jumped by a larger number. Her weapons had a long enough range that she could still hit the earth crawlers' crude mechs from her position. The flashy close combat kills others strived for was not as interesting to her any longer.

Chynn fired off a number of precision shots, while keeping her attention on the onboard systems in case she would pick up a larger number. It seemed like she would survive another battle without any major incidents though. Maybe they'd recall the soldiers of the vanguard when there was no earth crawlers left to fight. If they did, she would probably just get sent somewhere else to die.

[Assistant]
Tania scanned the battle scene using both her sensors and her own eyes, a quick count showed they were outnumbered two to one... not the most favorable conditions to be fighting in, especially with their objectively sub par equipment. This meant they had to make up the difference through superior skill, tactics and honestly with a bit of luck, actually a lot of luck, but that's how interstellar war usually was. She decided she had enough looking around, Tania leaned forward and flicked a few switches, on her cockpit view a targeting reticle appeared. Even in the pressurized cabin she could hear the quiet hum from her main weapon, a massive rail gun, because it placed so much strain on the mech's reactor it had to be kept off when not in action.

In a matter of seconds the gun's electromagnetic rails were fully warmed up, and ready to fire. It was then Tania picked out her first opponent, a Squid outfitted with one of those large swords they seemed so fond of, in fact this very one was attempting to charge her from a long distance. It never made sense, why do the Squids throw themselves so willingly into a melee, even when it's more than likely they'll be gunned down before the could enter close range. Tania brought the over sized rifle up, aiming directly at the berserk Squid. Now at this distance it was probably a done deal she'll hit, more so if the Squid doesn't change it's path, yet she wasn't about to take the risk of missing. Instead she allowed the targeting computer to give her a firing solution, slowly the reticle narrowed until eventually it flashed green, indicating the computer found the best angle to use.

Tania popped open a capsule on the side of her throttle control, much in the style of old school sci-fi movies, whatever engineer designed this had to be nostalgic. Her thumb hovered over the button for a second, before she caught her hesitation then slammed down on it. The rail gun's blast shook the mech something fierce, not enough to topple it over, but more than enough to shake Tania around in her seat. The large slug catapulted through empty space until it found it's mark, she wasn't quite able to tell where it hit, but it was enough damage to take a huge chuck out of the Squid mech's side. Whatever pilot was in there had to be dead, and if it wasn't dead it's craft was effectively disabled. Automatically the used shell popped out the gun's back, the metal glowed white hot from the sheer energy it had to endure, as for the rifle itself, well it had already cooled down thanks to state of the art coolant technology.

[User]
When two of the crude mechs exploded without any reinforcement showing up, Chynn thought it was safe to assume that none would be coming. The earth crawlers usually didn't deploy a larger number of mechs unless they were attacking one of their fleets. She had to wonder if any thought from the species had gone into this reckless plan to wait for a technologically superior and more numerous enemy. Maybe they'd gotten too close to a fleet and these had been left behind to slow them down. It reminded her of her own fate. Granted, the earth crawlers did manage to kill a few of her fellow soldiers, but those were the reckless ones looking for glory in battle. The strategy behind the vanguard was basically to just throw lives at the enemy until they succumbed anyway, or the Vothani ran out of soldiers.

Chynn watched as one of her allies' mech had a large chunk ripped out of it, and the soldier within almost certainly perished with it. She rolled out of the way of a slug fired right at her mech before she met the same end. Her quick reflexes had saved her once more. They better end this encounter before too many died though. The next battle would be even worse if they didn't, and who knew how many they would fight before they could regroup with another force or return to base.

She switched weapon from the long ranged rifle she'd been using to the more powerful cannons, and advanced on the few remaining earth crawlers. Chynn evaded any weapon fire aimed at her with adept and skillful maneuvering while firing away at anyone within her range. Her skills as a pilot was one of the main reasons she'd survived as long as she had. It wasn't like she could be cautious and in the background of every engagement, not that she'd even done that during the first months. The other Vothani would have had her executed for cowardice if they thought she was deliberately holding back too often. The earth crawler mechs were thankfully slow in comparison to her own mobility.

Chynn shot her first mech of the day to pieces in a blaze of light, which scattered debris everywhere. The battle seemed like it would turn a lot more one-sided once the reckless Vothani had been killed off. They still had a clear numbers advantage, and the few veteran pilots on her own side would be a lot harder to deal with. She had the skills and experience of an experienced pilot, but she hadn't ended as many earth crawlers lives as the best. It was an area she could stand to improve in.

[Assistant]
They were already down two pilots, while they have managed to take down a few of them, it really wasn't nearly enough. Through her communications system Tania received her orders from the wing leader, they were to engage in an offensive retreat, after all they were still supposed to slow down the Squid advance, couldn't forget they were acting as the rearguard. Tania pushed her mech into a backwards flight, moving away from the battle, but still facing the enemy, there she was continuing to provide fire support. Another Squid quickly became nothing more than a floating hunk of metal, although this was another one of the chargers, probably wasn't going to make much difference.

Throughout the fight Tania had been observing a practically skilled Squid fighter, no matter what they threw at it the pilot was able to evade everything. It became clear if they wanted to survive, that Squid had to die, and even more importantly by taking away one of their more skilled pilots, the Squids become that much weaker in the future. Tania was confidant in her marksman skills, especially with computer assisted targeting she should eventually land a shot. So the Squid Ace became the focus of her attacks, slug after slug was fired at it, yet each time she failed to connect.

Tania kept up her assault, hoping to become the target of the Ace's wrath, much easier to take it on directly than attempting to hunt it around the battlefield. (Hope you don't mind me taking a little control of Chynn here.) After a few more shots, it seemed she succeeded, the Squid was starting to seriously engage her. Tania upped her thruster power, and started heading in the direction of VH-28, away from the rest of her wing. They were hurting pretty badly as is, if she were to be unable to defeat the Ace... and die, then maybe she can at least buy them some time.

Tania's mech wasn't nearly as agile as the Squid made craft, in a straight up dogfight she would quickly lose. The Ace's weapons proved to be quite powerful, but it seemed they couldn't exactly punch through her heavy armor at a long enough range. This was good, it meant she had some fighting edge here. All the while Tania was still flying backwards, still constantly firing, and still constantly missing time after time. It was no good, she was starting to lose space, her rail gun simply wasn't fast enough to catch such a swift target. It was then Tania had an idea, it was a stupid idea, and probably one that would get her killed, yet she wasn't in any position to do anything else.

The pilot started the process of bypassing the safeguards built into her weapon, these were power limiters designed to make sure the rifle wouldn't literally melt itself, but without them in reality it could fire with much more force at a higher velocity. When the last limiter was deactivated, the effects were already noticeable. The gun's rails and coils started to glow faintly, obviously from the overwhelming charge flowing through them. Tania waited for just a little longer, a little longer to build up as much energy before her weapon would ultimately fail... then fired.

The slug was launched at unbelievable speeds, much too fast for her to even see with the naked eye. This time the Ace had no opportunity to maneuver, no normal sentient being could. Unfortunately the shot went a bit wide, probably due to the warping of the barrel, yet it still hit. The blow took off both of the mech's lower wings, while Tania didn't exactly understand Squid engineering, she knew they probably had to be important for movement, meaning without them the craft was unable to control it's direction anymore.

Tania was almost about to celebrate, she didn't kill the Ace, but she landed a serious blow to it, yet suddenly her cockpit was filled with the sounds of blaring alarms. She pulled up the mech's diagnostics, her heart instantly dropped. Engine failure. She was overusing her thrusters at such a high power for way too long, the entire system quite literally burned out. Next she found her navigational data, again she was filled with even more dread. Good news, she wasn't about to float in nothingness until she'll eventually expire, but instead she was on a direct collision course with VH-28. Her relative speed was so high that she will reach the celestial body in the matter of minutes even given her long distance from it. Tania was absolutely stuck on the course, there was nothing she could do about this.