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[Unlurking Sentinel]

Seeing it finally spark into thin air greatly lifted Cicivexa's mood. He confirmed that the air was no longer displaced, before closing his eyes and facing the heavens. And let that be a lesson to the gods, that nothing is no match for my magic. A hollow declaration, given how clearly unintended for combat that thing was, but still.

Nothing... was what he just killed made of "nothing"? No, he didn't pick up those glittering objects until now either, so it simply must have found a way to interfere with the Mask of Vision's medium of detection, concealing both itself and everything inside of it. Like an invisibility magick, but for aetherometers instead of eyes... not a well thought-out one, though, given the void it left in the air. Still, to see this mask's limitations demonstrated so starkly...

He held onto the thought, and lifted his staff back up (he had rushed into an open road to pursue and maintain optimal range with the creature, and the true enemy could still be anywhere), and examined the gold speckles.

[Sora]

Sakura tried her best to hold up for the moment and look as non-threatening as she possibly could. The fact she didn't have a visible weapon with her probably helped in this situation, but you could never be certain.

"I take it you're not quite the most friendly towards demons and their allies?

There was a certain tension on Sakura, although she tried to hide it best as she could. She wondered if she could, should the need arise, dodge this angelic magic. She put the thought to rest, for now. This Cicivexa seemed to at least tolerate her presence.

"Alright so, everything out of the way. First, i'm an umbra witch. I work with the powers of Darkness to ensure Balance in the world. Second, i have made pacts with two demons of Inferno and call upon their powers and knowledge. Lastly, if you ever see me summon or turn into a demonic creature, please know that it is under my control and we'd all prefer if you would trust us with that"

Yokou would be so disappointed in her just spilling out every secret she kept to herself under other circumstances, but this wasn't the time to be vague now, risking death wasn't an alternative.

[DragonRage]

A feeling does not so much tickle around the edges of Sakura's senses as push into them with all the subtlety and force of a bulldozer as the ground shakes under footfalls heavy with purpose.  It feels almost, but not quite, like the angels of Paradiso.  The very, concerningly, high-ranking ones.  Where their presence gives a feeling of bells and church organs, voices raised in joyous worship, this one, for all that it is Divine, sings no such harmonious song.  Thousands of hammers, presses, punches, and dies fall in an almost-coordinated metallic chorus on hydraulic arms, as gears grind and fires roar beneath the chatter of the machine gun and the bite of the axe and pick and drill and plow.  As Sakura turns, she beholds the march of a gleaming titan, a formally dressed statue made animate forged of mirror-bright, Holy metal, purple eyes burning like the fires of the forge, and a long-handled, pristine sledgehammer resting across her shoulders.  Golden lines toothed like gears mesh before her in an invisible aura, and where they meet a sapphire blue cube manifests, shining with glorious purpose.

The Mother of Progress
ALEXANDRIA

Then the vision breaks all at once, revealing a tall, statuesque, pale woman in a rather ridiculous-looking silver crop-top and bell bottoms.  But her long hair is still that same gleaming gods-forged metal, her eyes still an unnatural purple, and the great hammer still sits balanced across her shoulders.

"Cicivexa, was that even an enemy?" Alexandria asks with exasperation, "Please don't make more opponents for us.  We have enough already.  I for one consider it a pleasure to meet you, miss Sakura.  As our prickly and highly magically adept compatriot shared, we have been sent to this remote settlement to track down an infestation of unusual, worm-like creatures who may or may not be working with equally mysterious cloaked humanoids.  They have proven quite evasive thus far, which has us all a bit on edge.  Please excuse his rudeness.

"Though I must say it is refreshing to be provided a summary of your abilities rather than needing to figure them out from context clues.  Should you find yourself pressured on the battlefield while working alongside us, please seek refuge behind my shield.  I would not want to see someone less bulletproof than I am be injured due to incautious actions."

[Sora]

Sakura was a bit struck in awe and fear of the vision she was seeing unfold in front of her eyes. Yokou was so kind to give her a quick summary of anything Divine (be it good or bad) she'd encountered, but this was mostly stuck to some lesser one's. The highest she ever fought personally was a beloved, and those were Angels of the Second Sphere. This...this was a Dea! Albeit a very strange one, if she might add that.

The witch took a bit of time to process everything she was seeing. She must've been staring, almost looking paralyzed at the sight of the pale Woman. She broke out of her stupor in an instant, but looked like a marionette who's strings were pulled in a moments notice while doing so. She shook it off, not commenting on the strange way her entire body just jerked up.

"Excuse my strong reaction. I am usually not alligned with any of your kind. I was expecting a worse welcome. I hope you can accept my apology"

[Chevaleresse]

"You can call me Martyr." She gives a small, awkward wave of greeting; Arturia was still trying to sort exactly what the hell just happened. "There's a couple other gods on the team, by the way, you'll probably bump into them later." She peers after Cicivexa, a bit on edge at the unleashing of the fire and brimstone. "I'm. . . also not sure blowing that up was a good idea, considering it brought us an ally." Arturia glances back at Sakura; despite her words, the suspicion in her eyes is impossible to miss.

[StormLord]

Cicivexa comes to find the three specks to be little gold octahedrons, a touch smaller than an eight sided die would be.  Each face of the shape is struck with a different scene or artwork depicting events and characters he can scarcely recognize.  Swordsmen cross blades, a draconic creature unleashes flames across a continent, a group of odd people appear in front of a strange steampunk castle, and more with different pieces of art appearing on each octahedron.  One face on each of them is the same though, baring some kind of marker's mark, some writing Cicivexa recognizes as Moogle-script probably attesting the purity of the gold or the denomination, and the ever-common Kupo! branded on it.

Cicivexa obtains 30 Munny!

[Unlurking Sentinel]

"Thal's bloody balls." Two bloodpacts. His expression sank back to another low.

He turned to Martyr and Alexandria, questioning his brash decisions. "She described it as a 'demon' prior to further explanation, and you would expect me to let it roam free to terrorize the smallfolk? It seemed minor enough that I doubt it will be missed regardless."

He now turned to the witch. "My progenitors made pacts with voidsent demons, 'completely' under their control. Though 'twas not the root of their downfall, their brilliant methods, at the very end, twisted the dagger, and have since plagued my star from the shadows." Another sigh. "But that was my star, not yours. You may insist that your demons are forces for 'Balance', and not merely of deception and destruction waiting to break free of their chains." As if it changes anything. This was just his life now.

"'Tis only fair exchange that, in return, I share my own 'cursed abilities'." From his 'coat' (glamoured into a long shirt), he pulled a purple crystal, etched with a meteor glyph. "The root of my progenitors' downfall: a discipline of magic that draws aether from the land uncontrollably and indiscriminately to fuel its destruction. This Black Magic, and the magicks devised to counter and equal it, when it was wielded by thousands in mass warfare, created an aetheric imbalance that drowned a land. This is the dark power I use to vanquish further darkness."

The gold trinkets he collected had the look of currency, albeit a foreign one. The thought of voidsent making purchases with this was surreal, and it was too little to perhaps tempt mortals. Was it carrying this for someone else, then?

He turned back to Sakura. "Do these belong to you?"

[Sora]

Sakura listened to the Story of the mage, it appeared as if the usage of the Powers of Darkness were seemingly universal, but perhaps this specific person was the victim of this power falling into the wrong hands, or rather, being used for the wrong purposes.

"Now now if I may just Interrupt you right there, I am very much a force of Deception and Destruction. But rest assured, I do not intend to use this Power to cause Havoc like the rest of my Brethren would if you don't put them on a proper Leash"

The voice that spoke those words very much belonged to Sakura, but something in it was off. It gave the impression that it spoke merely through a faint echo that could be heard while listening to it.

"Sorry, Yokou can be quite the drama Queen when she gets told she isn't as fearsome as the other Demons. Please ignore that."

Although the encounter was quite strange, it also didn't appear as if whatever just happened threatened to crush the Witch's Sanity. Curiously she took a look at the unfamiliar little specks of gold.

"Not that I'd be aware of anything like that. The demons of Inferno only deal in Halo's, and the angels of Paradiso in demon blood. These look like neither of those two things."

[AzyWng]

Lyra

Lyra was tempted to ask about Yokou - whether she was right here with Sakura, sharing a body or something, but she kept her mouth shut. That could wait until later.

"I didn't have any experience with the magical or supernatural before I joined this team, so I might not be able to grasp it right away. My own abilities mostly lie in close combat and use of 'Glitchers' - they teleport things. Well, it's destructive teleportation, and the device I've got causes people to switch places."

It occurred to Lyra that she'd never actually mentioned the whole "destructive teleportation" thing to the others. She hadn't used her Swapper since she'd arrived, but she figured she should let the others know about it now rather than later.

"And as for the items..." Lyra moved closer to look at the pieces of gold. "I'm afraid I don't recognize them, either."

[StormLord]

Substation

As the group makes introductions and examines the strange currency the Mystery Machine comes rolling around the corner of the street towards you.  Fred taps the horn to get everyone's attention and you can see him cranking down the driver's window.

"Hey we're about to head to the Firehouse and check on the Martial the Mayor was talking about.  Velma's afraid something similar might be going on there, if any of you want to tag along we've got room back here."

At that point Shaggy yanks open the back door of the van for anyone who wants to hop in.

[Chevaleresse]

Arturia shrugs and climbs aboard.

[Unlurking Sentinel]

Cicivexa continues to eye Sakura with suspicion, before pocketing the foreign currency and entering the van.

[Sora]

Sakura makes her way into the van. Appearantly no one bothered to ask when the group found their new "friend" along the way there.

[StormLord]

Firehouse

The ride is fairly short to the Firehouse at the edge of town where the buildings thin out and are replaced largely by fields and small clusters of trees. The back of the van is oddly spacious once again, making comfort not a real issue.  When the Mystery Machine pulls up to the Firehouse the two garage doors are down and closed and a white pickup truck with "Fire Martial" written on the side sits in the driveway. 

"Guys, take a look at this."

Worryingly the front door of the Firehouse appears to have been blown out from the inside with dents, bent hinges, and curled in corners.  A viscous ooze is smeared across parts of the door and the floor going in.

[AzyWng]

Lyra

Taking care not to get too close to the ooze, Lyra tries to look through any of the Firehouse's windows to see what's inside, keeping her wrench handy just in case. Looking back to the others, she asked, "S-should we call out for the Marshal?"