High Risk Quest #1: The Ghost Signal

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High Risk Quest #1: The Ghost Signal

Note: Here we go, gamers! The first High Risk Quest for Magisteria. These quests will serve as tiered mini-events which reveal crucial world lore, goings-on, and also tie into the metaplot and the large events. High Risk Quests will trade off in emphasis, meaning tech --> magic --> tech --> magic.

While this quest has seeds for the Tech Path Conflict, it should be noted that it's OTA and also that quite a bit of magic-specific locations/mini-events will open soon. The Magic Path Conflict is brewing in the background and will become more apparent soon, too, so keep one's eyes peeled.

Context & Recap

This quest takes place after The Coffee Shop Mingle, which features NPCs discoursing on the goings-on of High Rise Village. Players are encouraged to look at that.

In the first event, Training in High Rise Village, we learned about a mysterious intruder who infiltrated the Digital Flora Dome and the Neon Nest, two properties belonging to an android named Rosalind Vireo. PCs who restored the properties deciphered a mysterious phrase, "Symphony of Disruption..." Seems portentious! In the above coffee shop mingle, Rosalind speculates as to the possible culprit(s?).

Bling

See the plotting post: PCs can go all out with the cyber weapons on this one, in addition to whatever tech or magic they've learned, whatever canon abilities have returned, and Selena and Titan-7 can also be used as weapons (so to speak) or defenses/back-up. Feel free to write interactions with them or them stepping in however. Of course, the main route to success will be PCs supporting other PCs!

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The Fractured: Identities and Abilities

Arachnotron

Stealth and Ambush: The Arachnotron uses its many appendages to move silently and swiftly, often ambushing its targets from above or from the shadows.
Venomous Strikes: The sharp points of its appendages can inject a paralyzing venom into its prey, immobilizing them for capture or termination.
Cybernetic Enhancements: Its cyborg components give it enhanced strength and resilience, making it a formidable opponent in combat.
Energy Core: The red gem-like dot on its chest and the gelatinous blob on its back are connected to its energy core, which powers its movements and attacks. Damaging these points can weaken or disable the creature.
Webbing Traps: It can create synthetic webbing from its cyborg components, using it to trap or hinder intruders in the Wreckage Labyrinth.

Malebuzz

[ note: the "male" is pronounced like "Maleficent," not "male" like gender, lol]

Plotting and Manipulative: The Malebuzz is cunning and manipulative, often appearing to be plotting its next move. Its sinister demeanor suggests it enjoys tormenting its prey.
Venomous Sting: Its red stinger can deliver a potent venom that causes severe pain, hallucinations, or paralysis, making it easier to capture or toy with its victims.
Buzzing Distraction: The small wings produce a disconcerting buzzing noise that can distract and disorient intruders, adding to the psychological terror.
Psychoactive Brain Fluid: The dark red translucent orb and visible brain are sources of a psychoactive fluid. It can release this fluid in mist form, causing hallucinations and fear in those who inhale it.

Knotskull

Brute Strength: Knotskull relies on its immense physical strength, using its long, gangly arms to deliver powerful, crushing blows.
Raw Flesh Exposure: The exposed, raw abdomen may suggest a vulnerability, but it also allows for regenerative abilities. Knotskull can absorb nutrients from its surroundings to heal wounds, making it a resilient foe.
Adaptive Armor: The exoskeleton can harden or soften depending on the threat level, providing additional defense or flexibility as needed.

Edited 2024-06-28 22:26 (UTC)

Boss Fight

Once Otherworlders and NPC allies have cleaned up at The Wreckage Labyrinth and exited with information, technology, and codes/scripts pertaining to the Ghost Signal and the "disruption technology," it's time to return back to the apartments. Selena and Titan-7 guide the way back to the familiar city streets, which at least look and feel far less menacing now.

It's very late at night by this point. In fact, a touch of morning twilight is even beginning to show... could it be that the dawn is around the corner? But then, your group has been having quite the night's journey, so perhaps it's been longer, cumulatively, than it might have felt during each individual moment. Fighting a bunch of nasties can also fuck with one's perception of time, as the saying goes. ~~Well, maybe there is no such saying. But there could be!~~

Selena Voss: Yeesh! What a wild night! Time to get back and report on what we've found. It's... not going to go over well...

Titan-7: Selena... wait. Look. Up ahead.

???: So... I get to see these special Otherworlders at long last. The ones with the magical tattoos, and capable of doing this "Synthesis" bit. Real unique bunch, huh? That's what I'm supposed to say right now, I guess?

Selena: [...she's blinking a lot right now...] ... ... Ly--sa? You're ... the last person I expected to see. I thought you were --

Lysa: Dead? Yep, I am! It's Lysa the White Phantom now. Dead is the new awake here in Magisteria. Least with me and my new friends.

Titan-7: We honestly have no idea what you're talking about. But if you're controlling these beings, I take it you're also responsible for that intrusion at Rosalind's.

Really, it all begins to come together now.

Lysa the White Phantom: BRRRZT! WRONG! That was the other Phantom! But don't worry. He'll be coming along shortly, bringing the Symphony of Disruption with him.

You think we care about that vile android woman and her flowers and birds? For a city of supposed geniuses, you guys aren't too bright at all. What we care about is the intersection of technology and organic matter, the absolute mingling of the DNA at the genetic level. There is no place in the multiverse that can interweave the two so fundamentally and irreversibly as Magisteria. Ah, but I have no intention of saying more than that. I'm just the messenger of your oblivion.

Hey, Otherworlders, I know you're listening, so I'll say it outright: I'm another of the esper girls. Thetics, we're called. Half-human and half-AI. Seems like the men in this city just can't get enough of fucking AI women, huh? "Artificial" pussy must be real good. 'Cept our mothers were far more than any mere AI women. Why don't you tell them, Selena? You know, about what's really going on in the Government district? Or could it be that you don't know, yourself?

Selena: I have no idea what's happened to you or who's been whispering in your ear, Lysa, but... you need to stop right here. This isn't funny, you know. Your actions are going to alert the Enforcers, the CTA, the Boss at the apartments... for your own sake, please, don't push this any further. Surrender, come over peacefully. You know those people will never tolerate this level of disturbance in the city-state.

Lysa the White Phantom: I'll say it again: for supposed geniuses and uber-specialists, you guys aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. Our boss is someone whose ability with technology can supersede The Administrator. We'll be taking the secrets of the Aetherium District for ourselves. The true democratization of Magisteria's tech.

[Selena Voss and Titan-7 are both extremely dubious about the claim that "her boss" can supersede The Administrator, given what The Administrator is, but there's no time to fight/debate such an ideological point now.]

High Risk Quest: Final Round, Lysa the White Phantom and Grimm

Clearly, it would seem talking is not getting anywhere with Lysa.

Selena, who knew her as a former classmate, is baffled by what's transpired, but whatever happened to her, her behavior -- coming out and throwing out such verbal molotov cocktails -- suggests she is beyond reasoning with. The goal is to capture Lysa and take her in for questioning and with an aim towards rehabilitation -- that's always the aim.

Otherworlders are free to throw whatever powers/abilities/tech they have at Lysa, but true to her claim of being a "Phantom," she will disappear as if into thin air, escaping in a translucent wave of glittering code that shimmers on the air (numbers, symbols, bits of alien scripting) before vanishing entirely. An escape.

The main battle will be against Lysa's companion, Grimm. Before disappearing, Lysa will note that even if you defeat her "puppy," there are plenty more Grimms out there, and others like it. Like she said, she's just the messenger.

Defeating Grimm will take a combined effort among the group! Unlike The Fractured and their reflexive, lower consciousness, Grimm operates with a sleek, computational efficiency, calculating opponents' movements and developing its reactions and abilities in direct counter to them. It has overwhelming bulk and raw strength and is capable of lightning fast movements. It can blast lasers from multiple parts of its body and at varying intensities, and it can also perfectly regenerate its body UP TO 5X, meaning the only way to defeat Grimm will be to wear it down repeatedly.

For this special fight, PCs will get more canon powers back temporarily: up to 40-50% and will have access to the big powers (ex: Noble Phantasms in Fate/) and even encouraged to use those.

Edited 2024-06-28 21:57 (UTC)

Lucy pulls a shield around herself just in time for the security programs to batter at it, and curses her reduced usefulness.

If she were at full power, she'd be be able to do this easily. She'd be able to pull up a screen to watch Musashi through the thing's eyes as she takes it apart and strips it down to its base components. She'd be able to take full control of it and pluck any code she likes for examination. Its chaotic, but its defenses are relatively weak, but Lucy can't take advantage of that with her cyberdeck working at low capacity.

All she can do is hope she can succeed. And work on doing whatever it takes to refine her netrunning abilities here with Bios and her cyberdeck.

She can't stay huddled behind a shield forever; on the count of three she surges out from beneath it, her cyberself flying around the spikes of ICE, twisting, evading, biting back pain when code glances against her and tries to eat through her defenses. If she stays here too long, there's a very real risk of infected with whatever changed this AI. Here and there, she tugs at threads, kicks at walls, making the creature's movements pause and stutter erratically for Musashi's advantage. Finally, she cracks past the security and eases into the clean interior of the creature's coding, and starts downloading information, intent on copying data on whatever the hell went wrong here.

From the darkened lines of Bios she can see, Lucy suspects she already knows the answer. It looks-- corrupted. Wrong. But how did it get like that?

Buried deep inside the creature's core protocols, it's easy enough to sink her hands into its programming and slow it down. It's going to be pissed once it regains full control, though, so she hopes Musashi is ready.

[ He gave her a subtle nod as he entered the creatures striking range and immediately shifted his posture, dodging its whiplike hair. He shifted again dodging its second strike with its claws.

He did the same with its third and fourth attacks, partially drawing the katana from its sheathe to parry the sixth before kicking it the center to push it back and then taking a stance and lunging forward.

His strikes are decisive, swift, but controlled like he's getting the creature's measure as they danced around each others attacks. Neither are able to land a clean blow and the match is for the most part even, but the grin on his face seems to suggest that he's still got some tricks up hus sleeve. ]

Emet-Selch heaves his greatsword up and over in a move one would definitely not expect out of an older man like him. It's swiftly followed by a sideways slash, the heavy hits forcing the Sentinel to look at him rather than the agile young woman dancing about.

"'Tis not about how long I need but how long you'll last," he calls back tersely. "I need to understand the extent of its awareness. I'll need you to hit it quickly and from as many angles as possible while I try to keep its attention."

He observes the mechanical insect with open interest before quickly facing forward again. Can't get distracted if he's supposed to be keeping watch!

"I heard that we must choose a path at some point. I'd like to be able to access my magic again since my goddess' blessing can't reach me here but I think it would be too confusing for me to learn another system of magic. How would I start learning how to manipulate a device like yours?"

[ With the creature so distracted, it's focusing a whole lot less energy on its digital defenses. It's easy enough for Lucy to get a read on it -- a core of clean functional code surrounded by broken strings of protocols and what she can only interpret as Bios gone bad -- but her neuro-ware, her cyberdeck, isn't up to its full strength yet. Things that should have been easy hacks take significant effort, and things that should have been hard are outright impossible.

So she can poke and prod and examine this thing's shattered code, but ultimately, she's not going to get anything useful done unless she does a full deepdive. And she doesn't know if she's safe enough to do that with Bishop.

So. They'll just have to kill it. ]

I'll make some openings for you.

[ Fingertips digging deeper into her temple in concentration, Lucy pulls some strings. The creature seems to freeze momentarily, limbs stuttering to a halt, before it grinds back into action, but slower this time, moving jerkily. ]

Rhea'li might not look it, but he's also alert in the event of attack, ears pricked.

"I see." He himself did consider learning the local magecraft, but in the end it had not drawn his interest as much as the abundance of seemingly mechanical lifeforms that exist upon this star. "If you wanted to obtain one for yourself, you need only speak to Malik, the concierge of the Evergreen Terrace, or Ava, head of the maintenance department."

In the end, it's rather fascinating that technology is not so different to the mathematical nature of the magic he is most familiar with. If he were to return to his star now, would magitek seem more understandable with this foundation? Something to consider, when that reality draws near.

"Once you have one, I can assist in your learning. There is still much to learn and discover of these constructs are capable of, so the arrangement would be mutually beneficial."

[ Folded steel clashed with each motion, and while he couldn't push it back the monster was starting to get frustrated. 'Interesting' he thought to himself whilst in the thick of it, something about these creatures was off and he wasn't thinking of its appearance.

The instance it slowed he stepped in, one quick slice and he rendered one arm useless. It screeched and struck with its whiplike hair, aiming for Lucy - but he expected as much and stabbed it as the tentacle passed him, immobilizing the now screaming monster and shielding his impromptu partner. ]

Not sure what you're doing, but do you think you can kill this things mind? Or whatever counts as it.

A - Scouting (Possible Razorblade Sentinel ambush encounter)

[ This isn't his first time chasing a macabre signal to an abandoned facility and, sadly, it's starting to look like it won't be his last either.

He walks the perimeter systematically, going to the left so his sword arm is facing towards the facility, and moving in such a way that it's always within his field of view as he assessed the area.

Every now and again he stops and looks at the looming structure, eyes darting between each opening, edge, window, gaping hole, even so much as a crack didn't go unchecked. He was on edge, or perhaps he's hunting, either way this was clearly getting serious. ]

....I feel eyes on us...

[ He says out loud, just enough of others near him to hear, but a whisper to whatever maybe out there. ]

B - Inside the Warehouse

[ As expected, visibility is horrendous inside. Rays of moonlight peeking through gaps and windows, casting a ghostly glow around the fringes of the facility, the constant electric hum threatening to make careless minds wander or stray, and the shadows of each abandoned machine making shapes of enemies unseen. Further in, however, the light barely punctures the dark and its only made worse by constant electric hum and the still dead air.

He keeps his wits about him but these things they were hunting were unpredictable, and worse was that he couldn't get a read on whether they acted out of some animalistic action or there was some method to their madness. Their resemblance to the terrors from his world were uncanny and this was unsettling, just like the situation he's found himself in.

He's in a large room with a steel walkway and staircase, perched on the handrail with the moonlight at his back casting a silvery in room as he loomed over like an irrate gargoyle. His blade is drawn from the rise and fall of his shoulders, he's getting worked hard. ]

Hey! Don't come in here! Don't -!!

[ He warned as your figure appeared in the door way, at the same time, something shot out the darkness which he parried while leaping off the rail and onto the rickety walkway. He retreated backwards into the dark between broken windows where the fighting suddenly grew more intense as his blade clashed with more steel, then receding to three blade like tentacles takings jabs at him when he stepped into a ray of moonlight. With quick movement he parried and knotted the three tentacles together before jumping off the walkway and into the moonlight. The tentacles suddenly gone and silence around the room. ]

It's in the dark! Stay away from the dark!

Facing forward as he is, he offers a thumbs up in place of a smile. "I'll do that when we return then, thank you." The little insect is beautiful and he also wonders if it's alive or simply a simulacrum. He'll be able to find out soon.

A suddrn chill runs through him. He halts. His instinct yells at him not to take another step. However, he can't yet see anything.

"--I think something is watching us."

Edited 2024-07-14 02:25 (UTC)

[Rhea'li has been checking the outside of the warehouse first as a precaution; it wouldn't do for them to be ambushed in a pincer attack. So when he enters later, Bishop's warning is the first thing Rhea'li hears before Bishop's skillful parry of an unseen assailant.

Rhea'li himself is carrying a rifle supplied by their benefactors, but his Busterfly -- his locally made, mechanical vilekin construct of untapped potential -- clings to his shoulders like an elaborate decoration. His grimoire remains at his side.]

The guard is in the dark, is it? Then let us draw it into the light!

[Using his cybernetic connection to his Bursterfly, he wordlessly commands it, the mechanical insect zipping from his shoulders into the air. With a flare of its wings, it flashes a beam of light into the shadows the tentacles had come from.]

Half of their power back? Emet-Selch can feel his power surge and he feels a lot more himself than he realises. This is what he's been missing all this time. It's not quite his full power but it will be enough to wipe out the Grimm (or so he thinks).

Of course, powerful spells don't just happen. He will let others distract the creature while he lifts a hand and begins to channel his power.

Two large, thick, monstrous arms emerge out of his back, tipped with long and lethal-looking claws. Red ley lines whirl around the left arm - vibrant, vermillion traceries with little off-shoots that resemble leaves on a vine. Those sensitive to Bios will realise that he's preparing something immense. Dark, swirling energy with a vibrant core gathers before his clawed hand, above his head, while the other holds up a simple shield to deflect lasers that shoot his way. When his power reaches its climax, he snaps out tersely.

"Stand clear!"

The casting claw slams down against the floor. His swirling vortex of energy slams against the Grimm. Darkness consumes; light stagnates recovery. The creature is devoured over the course of a minute and its howls grate upon the ears. In short order, there's only a smoking, charred machine left. Emet-Selch's mouth curves up in satisfaction. But his pleasure is short-lived.

The smouldering Grimm twitches. Then starts to stand. And that's when Emet-Selch realises that he has no more energy for another powerful spell.

Rhea'li senses it, too. And his instincts honed from all his adventures are always ones to be listened to.

"Allow me."

He had fumbled and struggled terribly with controlling his Bursterfly during training. But with the cyberseed planted in him, controlling the mechanical construct feels no different to controlling his own magical constructs, and he has plenty of experience with that. This time, his Bursterfly's wings flare and easily flit ahead of them. It's not truly a scout -- for Rhea'li cannot see through it -- but aught lying in wait doesn't need to know that.

And... there! A flash of movement! The Bursterfly twists its metal wings and narrowly avoids being struck by red ribbons from an unseen assailant.

The machine thing shudders suddenly, stumbling in its retreat, already hampered by the loss of its arm. Lucy-chan's doing, no doubt. The sword drops down as internally it wrestles to regain control; the netrunner is putting up a fight, but she can't last forever with her hobbled cyberdeck.

But Musashi sees an opening. Scuttling on its legs like it is in crab-like fashion, and with its defenses down, has left the thing wide open. She glances to the wall of the alley, and in a second disappears. She's jumped, propelling herself onto the alley wall above the stricken machine, in a crouched position. Visible only for a second before she pushes off again, using her momentum to drive her downward, plunging both swords into the machine's exposed midsection, tearing through its armour. Digging in deep with both blades, she slashes outwards simultaneously, actually causing herself to spin-midair in a Bios-powered physics-denying bit of acrobatics...

...And slicing the robot in half as she does so, with an electronic screech as both its halves and the Servant fall to the ground, Musashi landing lightly on her feet and hopping back, placing herself between the ruined machine and Lucy's prone body.

Amazingly, the thing still isn't dead. Offline. Legless, and with only its sword-arm it tries to turn itself so it can get an angle of attack, but the appendage is still jerking erratically. But its not down yet.

"Lucy-chan?" She calls out, not sure if the netrunner can even hear her where she is currently, but determined to try all the same. "You good in there? This is a tough little nut to crack, ne?"

"Okay~! Sounds fun!" She calls back, her grin as wide as Emet-Selk's frown is grumpy. "Hey, you're pretty strong yourself, ne?" That is a big sword, but he handles it with ease.

Well, she can get to know him better later. Readying her swords, she crouches and prepares to charge. She'll wait for it to make its attack against him, and then move. If Emet-Selk wants speed, she can absolutely give him speed.

[ Lucy digs in deeper, but with her cyberdeck not at full power, there's not a lot she can do. From what she can tell, she's not the only one suffering this problem: other Otherworlders with magic or tech are at low power, too. It's better than the nothing they had when they first arrived, but still.

It means that all she can do is scrabble at the outside of this thing's code, only barely managing to sink mental claws in. ]

No. I don't think I can.

[ Lucy sounds frustrated, gritting the words out, hunched over, shoulders curled. ]

But I can give you a clear shot to kill it.

[ It's not what Lucy wanted to do. She's got a mental snapshot of its code, so she'll be able to study it later, but she wanted to pull this thing's code apart and... take out the bad stuff, if she could. See if she could uncorrupt them. But if she forces this any harder she might give herself brain damage. Instead, what she can do is this: closing her eyes, and yanking on a thread of movement protocols. As a blood vessel in her nose bursts and drips over her lip, the Fractured monstrosity grinds to a halt, hair falling limply to the ground, one arm raised, frozen in the motion of going to strike Bishop. ]

Now!

William immediately raises his shield and half-crouches behind it, spear at the ready.

"Lum--" Ah, but that won't work, will it? He shakes himself and takes a deep breath, keeping his senses alert in case their ambusher moves around.

"Can you provide light?"

He grunts in response. There will be time for chit-chat later. He charges the Sentinel again and swings his greatsword towards its eye. Bright lasers immediately fire at him to drive him off and he's forced to sidestep. He doesn't pause though, changing the angle of his swing to keep up a steady pressure against his opponent.

[ Gilgamesh was not one who preferred to work alongside others in any capacity, period. He was a man who had deliberately eschewed companions of every form, obstinately keeping himself alone. But, as with the rest of the Otherworlders, he was not at his full power or vigor in this world. Firstly, in this Caster class summoning, his abilities were already reduced from those of his prime.

They were also further reduced by whatever restraints had been placed upon them all in Magisteria. And, like V, he was struggling somewhat with whatever this new technical side of himself was -- perhaps more, insofar as this was all new to Gilgamesh, who had no prior frame of reference for anything like tech implants.

However, he would not be himself if he were to let show any sign of weakness or doubt, so in response to that gruff comment, he just emits a soft, low laugh, under his breath. ]

I suppose such spirit is at least to be commended.

[ his only acknowledgment of the comment itself is tacit, insofar as he abstains from further insults. really, such epithets were simply Gilgamesh-speak, as natural to him as breathing, but even he has perhaps enough tact and sense of priorities to realize that pushing luck with a would-be ally at such a moment might end poorly for them both. he was after all a Wise King... sort of. even if he still had a tendency to get hung up on petty things (one might argue, anyway).

as it is, Gilgamesh settles for the path of least or at least lesser resistance. neither of them is the ally the other wants, but that's just how it be right now. rather than focusing on V in particular, he focuses on the rifle shot, summoning his axe and readying it just in case the shot misses or -- even if it hits its mark and the ... entity retains some power... he wants to be immediately ready to deal a follow-up blow: no being caught off-guard.

but, this will be a good opportunity, perhaps, to see just what a properly targeted shot can do... that is, if it lands. what effect shall it have? Gilgamesh watches, keenly, all senses alert. ]

[ there are at least a couple of taut seconds -- (truly, no more than two or three, but at such a moment, it can sometimes feel as though time itself halts) in which the King's red eyes simply fix upon Lucy's offered, outstretched hand. there is something inherently vulnerable/intimate about such a gesture, and even if it wasn't that sort of intimacy, even the platonic form of companions in arms was... something which was also generally quite as difficult for Gilgamesh as for Lucy.

were he to realize Lucy thought of him as a friendly individual, it would be deeply amusing to Gilgamesh, because in actuality, he has spent his entire life staunchly refusing to call anyone but one person a friend, and even insisting he does not take on companions of any sort. setting himself entirely apart from humanity, ruling over it from afar: that had been his own existence, and lonely though it was, it was a path of loneliness Gilgamesh had chosen for himself. and yet, it could not be denied that, in this very form and summoning, he had come to Uruk in its time of need, and had overseen the goings-on of Ritsuka and Mashu, and really, was he doing any differently in Magisteria? even if this was not Gilgamesh's kingdom... it had become undeniable that his instinct was to assume a certain sense of responsibility. but, well, he was not really a man to dwell on his own internal life in such a manner. he was more a man of action.

so when Lucy offers her hand, those tense seconds quickly pass, and Gilgamesh drops something which looks a bit like a stone tablet into his own hand. he guides Lucy into his pose, helping her take hold of it with/alongside him. this tablet, of course, is summoned from his vault, and golden glyphs encircle the air around it.

this is indeed magic... though Gilgamesh would not ever claim to be any especially notable mage, nor does he care to be. even the form thereof was simply a game to him. ]

We shall both channel our Bios, then...

[ he is not looking at her... rather staring forward with great determination/focus to see whether the two Bursterflies will act in unison. indeed, as he watches, guiding them with his mind, they do begin to act together. it would seem their Bios is indeed filtering outwards... and now it remains to see if it will form the makeshift shield. of course, this was all a matter of thinking on one's feet as one went... but that was just how the King of Heroes operated when presented with challenges. ]

Lucy hears her through the filter of biological ears that are dead to the world and digital ears that are still functioning despite its body having been sliced in half. Half of the Fractured's core has been wrecked, its remaining coding barely clinging to life, like a brain that's only functioning off of one lobe. It gives Lucy the advantage she needs to be able to sink her fingers in, and switch the thing off.

It slumps, and Lucy draws a deep breath, choking, hurtled back into her body.

She half rolls over, her temples pounding, vision blurred. It was a stupid idea to do a deepdive without an ice bath or a proper divesuit, and now her internal temperature is cranked so high her muscles are cramping, skin so flushed she thinks sweat would evaporate immediately. It's not the first time she's been like this. Far from it. It'll pass.

"Alert Selena and Titan-7," she croaks. "They can come pick this thing up and put it in jail or whatever the fuck they want to do."

Musashi is preparing for another strike, not sure just how much more punishment this thing can take, when with a final shudder, what is left of the thing slumps to the ground, still.

That's when she hears Lucy take a ragged, choking breath, and instantly the sword woman is by her side, kneeling down. She almost puts a hand to her, but Lucy's skin is so flushed, so completely red, Musashi thinks it's a small miracle she isn't steaming.

"Yeah, yeah, will do." She says hurriedly, pulling out her Xaccess device and firing off a quick message alerting the two that one of the targets had been neutralized, before turning her attention back to Lucy. Her earlier bravado is gone; only concern radiates from her now.

"How bad is it? Can you sit up?" If she's even half as overheated as she looks, her muscles will be cramping up something fierce.

So this is the risk of being a netrunner...

"Yeah," Lucy grinds out, though it takes her a long second to actually be able to sit up. Once she manages it, her shoulders are slumped, but she rakes her hair back from her face -- the touch of it against her overheated skin suddenly feels unbearable.

She'd been running an internal clock, so she knows she hasn't done any permanent damage. It had been a risk, but it had paid off. Still, she won't be able to do this again for at least a week, not unless she uses the proper tools.

She blinks, blurred vision focusing on Musashi. As best she can, she looks her over for any injuries, and thankfully finds nothing. Musashi had been in her element out there, every inch the swordswoman she'd claimed to be. Maybe everything she's said about herself really is true.

"Got any water on you?" Lucy hadn't thought to bring any herself, which was a stupid mistake in hindsight.

Rhea'li's doesn't verbally respond. Instead, his Bursterfly's wings flap twice before the mechanical creature turns bright and bathes the immediate area with the blue-white of artificial lighting, penetrating the darkness... save for a seemingly tattered being cloaked in shadow.

Shadows shifting, the darkness appears to unfurl, revealing reams and reams of red ribbons that approximate a humanoid shape, an ivory white mask serving as an expressionless face. It does not make a sound, but there's an almost imperceptible change in the air before several of the red ribbons lash out, slicing cleanly through nearby trash, and at all three present party members -- William, Rhea'li, and his Bursterfly.

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Page 2 of 4

High Risk Quest #1: The Ghost Signal

Context & Recap

Bling

The Fractured: Round three nasties -- Identities and Abilities

The Fractured: Identities and Abilities

Arachnotron

Malebuzz

Knotskull

The Ghost Signal: Conclusion/Final Battle

Boss Fight

High Risk Quest: Final Round, Lysa the White Phantom and Grimm

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BISHOP | OC |

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-1 GRIMM LIFE (rip Emet's Bios)

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