PARALOGUE The Evrensel Conflict: Paralogue 1.2 -- Guns, Swords & Raids

[Wade Von Doom]

The trip was a short one, dropping off both groups at the same location. A roundabout with a small market within the trench between the road and the main building in the center. As Alec promised, he gave Oliver and Idan a 'credchip,' this world's version of a credit chit, apparently. $50,000 was on it.

Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite them in the ass.

It didn't take long for the ammo team to find another marketplace once they split off from the others. The buildings had reached so high, that there was no sunlight to illuminate the dark corners and cramped spaces, just the blinding neon lights of the signs, and the ever colorful, yet intensely perverted ads that constantly played on the screens. Fashionable cars with scantily clad women laying on top of the roofs and hoods, promises of brain dances that would bring about pleasure beyond your wildest dreams, a TV Show called 'Watson Whore' that showed off a man face down in the toilet while his bare ass stood out in front of the screen. It was, to say the least, quite something to see.

Yet looking beyond such blinding lights was the rather grim sight of endless trash littered about the ground, and the foul stench that crept up into the nose, along with pockets of dirty water ponds that soaked into your shoes if you didn't watch your step carefully. Each and every person they passed by were dressed in colorful attires, with their hair dyed just about every color of the rainbow, and most having cybernetics across their bodies like jewelry or piercings to show off. Yet, as shiny as the chrome steel was, they also looked quite skinny and easy to break if twisted the wrong way.

Each vendor they passed were shouting of cheap prices for clothing and food, yet unlike the Roundabout Market, the brands they peddled looked like knockoffs and cheaply made. One woman was even offering to make sandals out of rubber tires. She had her knife out, chunks of rubber, and all she would do was put the buyer's foot on the rubber and carve the knife around it to make the outline.

But, if they didn't distract themselves with any of that, their search would not be much longer, as at the far end of the alley was a particularly interesting mechanical droid. It had a massive sign that pointed to what looked like an abandoned building, which said, 'MULTIVERSE OF GUNS! GRAND OPENING!'

"YOU'VE TRIED THE BEST, NOW TRY THE REST! AT MULTIVERSE OF GUNS, WE GUARANTEE WEAPONS YOU CAN ONLY DREAM ABOUT! FROM FREEZING RAYS TO SIX BARREL SHOTGUNS, FROM SHRINK RAYS TO MEGA HAND CANONS, FROM DILLINGERS TO SOUND BARRIER BREAKING RAILGUNS! SEE FOR YOURSELF IN THE MULTIVERSE OF GUNS. (With inclusion of swords!)"​

 

[Girania the Knightess]

… and Onward…
Anri

@Otomos @BazusoTheGrey

When they eventually made it to the location of their objective, Anri was immediately overwhelmed by the foreign sights, sounds, and smells that the place had to offer. First was the smell. It was bad. Not in the way that Anri was used to, either. There was this sour smell that mixed and evolved with the other scents, infecting and fouling the rest into a mixture of rancid aromas. Anri could handle it, but it made her slightly uncomfortable. Then there were the sounds. It was loud, to say the least. Crowds of people talking over echoing music and yells seemingly coming from every direction. Finally, the sights. Unlike her home and the metal vessel she and the others had just left, this place once again proved that it was completely different from what the girl was used to! Bright lights even in the day, metal of all kinds being placed in all sorts of places and even being piled up in heaps, and a variety of fashions that clashed and interacted all about the area. It was all so much!

She had to grab onto the weird-sounding woman's clothes just to catch her bearings while keeping up. She was smaller than the others, and would likely get lost if she hadn't done this. In an attempt to comfortably adjust to the situation, she decided to attempt starting a conversation with her new friends.

"So what are we looking for, anyway?"

 

[BazusoTheGrey]

Oliver, Fifth Grade Fixer

@Otomos @FACELESSFACESFECKINGFLYING @Girania the Knightess

As he walked through the streets of Night City along with his coworkers, a faint sense of nostalgia seemed to creep up Oliver's back. It was uncanny how similar things were compared to home. Remove the neon and ads and it would be a surefire bet that all that'd be left were the Rats killing each other for whatever scraps they could get. Even in his senseless body, he could feel the quick glances of passersby sizing him and his group up and if he still had a nose, he sure as shit would've smelt the telltale scent of death on the wind. He didn't know whether he felt relieved or disappointed over that. Even worse was that niggling feeling in the back of his head that seemed to yearn for it.
Homesick, eh? Should've taken that deal from that creepy fuck... would be back to working already. That or dead... what's it matter anyway?
Turning his head back, Oliver stopped that line of thinking to address the kid, "Well, Alec literally just said, 'find high-quality weapons and a shit-ton of ammo.' so I guess we just get to go window shopping until a workshop, or whatever they call them here, catches our eyes..." he pauses for a second as they pass by the droid with the sign. After a second of incredulity, he snorts "Except for whatever that thing's advertising because that's suspicious as shit. Unless you guys wanna go in there for some odd reason?"
This shit'd be easier back home, alone but...
This was a team-based mission which quite obviously meant that he had to work alongside his team. Grass was green, dead people (usually) stayed dead and rats stayed in packs. It wouldn't do for him to be calling the shots for every little thing his group was doing. "Actually, does anyone have a plan of action to go off of here? I was thinking we keep on moving till we find the shopping district and just spend our budget and get out, but it never hurts to check if everyone's on the same page here."

 

[Otomos]

@FACELESSFACESFECKINGFLYING @Girania the Knightess @BazusoTheGrey

This place had a menagerie of different peoples from different parts of the worlds. To Chika, this was a strange sight to behold. It looked like a festival with all the colors, loud noises, and bizarre actions. That did not deter her in the slightest. In fact, the noise of the city helped keep the voices of the dead from causing her mental distress. Even though the spirits spoke directly into her mind and soul, the city sounds merged with them regardless. Their demands for calamity would be unheard, at least for now. Chika did not mind going with this group to procure more weapons. The ones used by many of their group were mostly foreign to her. She had only seen a few warriors that used similar weapons. The others used them, so she will help them get more of what they use.

What she was more concerned about was the little girl that was currently holding onto her as they wandered. Chika was no longer fit to cheer a child up, but worse yet she felt that there was something off about the kid. As for Oliver, Chika felt no such concern towards him. He seemed to know enough about how things worked here to get by, even should they encounter trouble. Such a strange group.

They eventually got around to talking about how to go about their task. None of them knew the city, and Chika in particular was helpless unless there was either need for intimidation or a fight.

"I... am not famil...iar with this place. Nor the weapons... I am simply... a bodyguard... I think."

Having lived in a land that thrived off of constant wars, Chika only knew a world where weapons were the norm. So, with that kind of upbringing, the obvious option in her perspective was to simply ask around where to obtain weapons and equipment.

"We must...ask around... or see what that strange st...ore has."

 

[FACELESSFACESFECKINGFLYING]

Idan Graves, Back in Action!

The vagrant arsonist quickly took in the various... unique oddities that this world - or at least Night City - had to offer. From the heavily perverted advertisements that would even the raunchiest company back home blush, to the futuristic neon that illuminated the sunless city, Idan took a weird sort of comfort in the familiar stench and appearance of the ever-spanning trash littering across the streets and alleyways. It seemed that no matter how advanced a society was technologically, the same issue of waste would still make themselves known.

As the others went through with their discussion, trying to determine what it was that they should do, Idan decided to voice his thoughts aloud. "In a city like this, there has to be a fair bit violent crime - an' guns to source that sort of thing. We could save a pretty penny if we went 'bout this... unorthodoxly." Idan chuckled as a slightly disparaging thought came to mind.

"I ain't speakin' for myself 'ere, but you folks seem real capable types." He gestured to Anri, latched onto the strange woman's clothes. "Seen a fair bit of what ya have to offer in action. If we could leverage that power, maybe strongarm a weapon's cache or two from some folks who probably shouldn't have 'em in the first place, we could make out like bandits with chits to spare." Idan tempted.

"And it ain't like we're gonna be here for long. No need to be 'fraid of burnin' bridges."

 

[Wade Von Doom]

"And you will most definitely need weapons for such high-action, adrenaline rushing adventures like that!" Somehow, the robot had snuck up behind them all without making a sound, still holding its massive sign in its hands and standing right behind Oliver.

"I suggest you try the rest at Multiverse of Guns! We have all sort's of weapons for all sort's of daring escapades in this world of danger and unmitigated violence! Come in now and receive a 20% discount on C4 charges and Gravity reducing grenades!" The droid was a B1-Series Battle Droid, painted in a dark orange color that was beginning to fade and dull.

"Note: Multiverse of Guns has a one time purchase, no refund policy for any faulty weaponry purchased... But with customer satisfactory, you won't need to worry about any mishaps like that, for our owner guarantees 100% quality for all sales made!"

 

[FACELESSFACESFECKINGFLYING]

Idan visibly snorted at the droid's discounted offer. "20% off on C4 charges? How generous." He remarked sarcastically, while inwardly surprised at the possibly good deal. But he couldn't let the droid or the others know that. "'Lest your prices are better than the market-rate for RDX, I could make the same for cheaper with an ice-tub, nitrate, and some tire-rubber." He bragged with a degree of bravado.

It wasn't a direct lie. Idan COULD make C4 out of some cleaning-supplies and a few over-the-counter medicines. He had done it before - back in the Bay. It made for a hell of a deterrant. However, that wasn't accounting for the danger and time-requirement involved with such a process. But once again, he couldn't let the droid or the others know that without losing the opportunity for a better deal.

"If ya are lookin' to get our chits, then you'll need to offer a better deal than that. 30% off of your explosives and a 10% discount on other weapons. We got some serious cash to throw 'round 'nd that could easily end up in your hands.... or the hands of one of your competitors." He haggles. It was an outrageous proposal and Idan knew that. But in order to get a good deal, he had to start from an audacious position.

 

[BazusoTheGrey]

Leveraging every bit of discipline, professionalism, stoicism and apathy that he had, Oliver calmy turned toward the droid, and took a step back toward the group, a hand hovering over his baton. It was a near thing, but Oliver squashed down on the urge to start swinging at the thing. The fact that the walking sack of bolts managed to sneak up on him and his group of... dubiously experienced coworkers unnerved him.

Before he could muster up a reply, his fellow rat (@FACELESSFACESFECKINGFLYING) proceeded to... haggle with the droid. Turning his head toward Idan, Oliver stared straight into his eyes with uncanny stillness before turning back to the droid, his shoulders slouching. They were just gonna entertain the damn thing, huh? Whatever, he'll just keep an extra bit of focus on his surroundings, make sure the robot or any of its buddies can't do the same shit again.

"Hold up, how do we know your goods are legit?" Oliver kept his tone relaxed and even as he talked to the walking advertisement, "No offense to you of course, but in my experience having a massive sign doesn't speak to the viability or trustworthiness of the stuff you got. You have any way to showcase or demonstrate your goods here? If you do, I'm sure that a deal can be made between all of us." He figures this was the best compromise he can make between not going with the bot into the abandoned looking warehouse and following Idan's lead on haggling. The Workshop-hired Fixers back in The City who did advertising almost always showcased the effects of their weaponry on something or someone. That concept probably applied to advertisers from different universes too.

 

[Girania the Knightess]

…
Anri

The metal golem was weird. It spoke like a person, acted like a merchant, and was being conversed with by the others. She never had a head for money, as all she needed, she found by looking and taking. Food? Find and cook. Ammunition? Make or take. Even when it came to equipment she just found and took whatever she wanted or needed. She usually gets in trouble for that last one, but she didn't mind. But money? She didn't know how it worked or why it was needed. Gold and silver were just metal to her, and she could not even begin to understand how other currencies worked.

So as Idan and Oliver continued to discuss with the skinny golem about prices and quality goods, and Chika just sorta stood where she was, Anri found herself looking around out of boredom. For a place full of strange hairstyles, bright colors, moving pictures, and loud noises, there seemed to be very little for someone like her to find interesting…then she spotted something different. Different from the entirety of the surroundings up until now: cat.

It was a strange one, having no fur, but it was most definitely a cat. Anri hadn't seen one speck of animal life up until this moment, and she was excited to catch it and see just why it was bald. So, as one should expect by now, Anri moved toward the cat without informing the others. As she approached the feline, it moved away, and Anri would follow it. A turn here, a jump there, and eventually the scenery changed from that of a cluttered market place to that of a large, imposing building. At least, that's how it seemed to Anri. She had focused on chasing the cat, and would only find herself in a different place when she stopped to look at the building from a distance.

Though this had her lose track of the cat, she had found something interesting! On the building, large letters spelled out "MILITECH", which held no meaning to Anri at first, but then she started to piece it together. "Mili" sounded like Military, which was what she fought in during the war, and "tech" sounded like the bigger word people used to describe equipment. Military Equipment meant armor and weapons, which was what she and her new allies were looking for! Which meant… Which meant…!

Anri gasped in delight! She had no mind for money, but she found a way to help regardless! With a pep in her step, and a humming of a song, she began to make her way toward the Militech building.

 

[Otomos]

Chika

The Hitokiri could do nothing, but observe for now. The voice of the metal individual annoyed her with its high-pitch and strange buzz-like sound. The words exchanged between the her companions and the merchant mattered little to her. If it came down to it, they would simply have to find another place to buy the needed goods. She doubted her presence would amount to much here. Her input would be useless as well. She did not mind, but standing stil and watching others work was not her idea of productivity.

When the child that tugged at her clothes had begun to wander off, she had taken notice. Though she did not know why the girl left, she could understand. Children were easily bored and often chose foolish ways to pass the time. Chika had been the same when she was younger. Still, she was not one to let a child alone. So she had decided to tail her.

"The little one has begun to wander away. I will follow her."

Chika was not as fast or nimble as the child, but she was able to keep up well enough to keep an eye on her from a distance.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

"Any and or all bargaining/haggling may be done with the store owner inside the MULTIVERSE OF GUNS!" Its voice rose higher in tone and sound upon once again saying 'Multiverse of Guns,' trying to attract the attention of more people.

No one else was interested besides Oliver and Idan.

"If you see to test our fine selection of weaponry, you may use our range free of charge! (Note: Any products damaged while in use on range shall be paid for, either in cash, by check, and/or blood of the consumer. No product shall be given for test range if it does not stand up to owner's quality assurance."

The droid seemed a bit too simple to actually be in charge of a gun store in this world.

 

[BazusoTheGrey]

Alright, guess live demonstrations weren't a thing here. Oliver probably should've expected that honestly. Now that his nerves were calmed down the bot really didn't seem as competent or dangerous as he thought it'd be. Was he just sloppy then, to allow it to sneak up on him and the group? It hadn't been that long since he'd been in The City, and he was a Fixer for fucks sake, even after the Library he should... well...
Be dead. You should be dead. All that work you put these last few months? Wasted, and when given the chance to go back home and get back on track with your life, you refuse it. Why are you even here? Why'd you choose this?
Vocalizing out a sigh, Oliver looked up, and mentally counted to himself. He could think about stupid shit and nostalgia later, right now he had work to focus on. After about five seconds of counting, he turned to Idan as he thumbed toward the 'Multiverse of Guns', "Yeah, I'm not gonna walk in there, got a bad feeling coming from the place. You're free to check it out if you want but personally I think it's better if we just regroup and actually figure out the plan. I'll go grab Chika and the kid so we can regroup. I'll try meeting back up here with you later but if shit hits the fan we could just meet-up where that car dropped us off."

Walking away from Idan, it wasn't long until he caught up with Chika and Anri, with the latter skipping toward what looked like a military building for a corp. She probably wasn't gonna start shit now considering she was fine while they walked through the streets, so he didn't really worry about that. "Oy, can you help grab the kid and bring her back over to the alleyway with the bot? I was gonna get the group back together cause it seems like we're divided on what we're actually supposed to be doing right now."

 

[Otomos]

Chika

Watching the child joyfully prancing towards the large structure was bizarre, but only in the sense that she she was humming while carrying weapons. What surprised Chika was Oliver. Either he knew knew how to navigate this terrain well, or he was simply fast. Perhaps both. Either way, he noticed the little girl heading towards to structure and requested the Hitokiri to assist in an effort to regroup. Chika complied. With the girl no longer jumping every which way, and walking on a straightforward path, then it was much easier to catch up yo her. She went up to Anri and picked the girl up, carrying her under her arm like a small wooden log.

 

[Girania the Knightess]

A Mistake was Made
Anri

Night City can be described as a horrible, HORRIBLE place on several levels. Some reasons that lend evidence for its disgraceful state were the corrupt police, the numerous and varied gangs the roam the districts, the mercenaries, the oppressive Corporations, and the cyberpsychos. Those were all known and acknowledged hazards. That is to say, they were surface-level. Beyond them are a plethora of illicit activities, undertakings, and flat out evil actions that most people either don't know about or don't acknowledge. By all means, Night City is a bad place with worse people. A place where criminal activity is the norm, and everyone simply allows it.

…Despite this, its people still have some small amount of morality.

When Chika picked Anri the way she did out in broad daylight and full public view, there were those who didn't like that. They knew not who they were, or what their goals were, but who in their right mind would do nothing as a child was seemingly being kidnapped? It was a Civilian that reacted first, "What the hell are you doing?!" Then another shouted, "Put that kid down!" As more and more civilians got involved and stepped toward the woman that held an Anri that attempted to squirm out of the grip, the scene looked less like a regrouping and more like a mob surrounding a criminal. Faster than one would expect, patrolling NCPD officers arrived to see what was going on. Hiding in the shadows of an alley, even small group of gang members looked on to see the commotion.

As for Anri, she wiggled and writhed in an attempt to get free. She didn't like being grabbed suddenly, and even if she recognized the grabber as an ally, she preferred them to say hello and tell her things first, so she attempted to escape and make her do so first and foremost. Alas, just like the other guy that held her in a grip not that long ago, the grip was strong, and it would take a considerable amount of time and effort to slip out. This, she made sounds of struggle and eventually spoke out a strained "Let…go!", while unaware of the gathering crowd.

Those words definitely did not help the situation.

 

[BazusoTheGrey]

Oliver, Fifth Grade Fixer

Oliver looks on as a crowd of civvies, Rats, and what seemed to be the local Zwei counterpart grew around Chika and Anri, the sounds of their various shouting and questioning growing louder and louder. If Oliver still had a conventional face, or even a prosthetic that could emote, its expression would be described as, "Emotionally dead and frustrated". But Oliver didn't have a face, so as he strides toward the two idiots and the roiling mass of dumbasses, he mentally begins to complain instead.

Like, seriously, wasn't this an overreaction? Yeah, snatching random brats from the street is a bad thing, but that was a regular occurrence wasn't it? Besides doing this mob bull-crap was just liable to get you stabbed, grabbed or whatever other weird shit can happen in the Backstreets. Getting the local protection racket or Zwei fixer was enough if it really caught your attention. Shit if you guys cared so much, why not just pull out steel? If you guys did that, this would be so much easier. Hell, he was the muscle, he was Grade 5! He just let his boss handle this talking bull-crap, while he killed whoever he needed to. Why'd he have to deal with these messes now? Well, it was bound to happen anyway, it kinda comes with the territory of getting promoted right? Well, no that can't be right cause some Grade 1s just did combat contracts all the time, solo even! Wait, wasn't it a good thing that he was delegated as the leader of this little group?

Ah fuck, whatever, focus.

Turning the amplifier on his voice modulator to high, he angrily shouts out, "Move! Move! Quiet down! Don't worry about these two, they're just a couple of dumbasses!" and other such comments as he shoulders his way through the mass of bodies.

The crowd, noticing the heavily armed borg in a pretty nice suit and raincoat combo, began to quiet down and make way. That or they were wondering who the hell the random angry dude was. Either way, Oliver reaches the center of the mass, walks up to Chika and puts an exasperated hand on her shoulder. He didn't know how the hell he was supposed to defuse this sorta situation, so he just says what comes to mind.

"Chika, buddy, when I said, "Grab the kid", I meant, 'walk up and tell her what we're about to do and where we're going before going there'. Not 'grab the kid that we're working with off the street like a bag of groceries'. I probably should have specified, so I'll put the blame on me. Now, please put Anri down." His piece said, he then turns toward some of the NCPD officers after waving to get their attention, "Thanks for coming down here!" he calls out in a sorta sympathetic way, "Don't worry though, just a small misunderstanding. We're... pretty much babysitting the kid and we came to grab her cause she started wandering off toward that uh... Militech building. You know how it is yeah? You take whatever job comes to you, amirite! Besides, I'm sure you guys got better stuff to do. All of you, actually." He directs the last comment toward the civvies surrounding his group, adding just enough grit, annoyance, frustration, anger and tiredness needed to get them to screw off.

Of course, as he talks he keeps an eye on his surroundings, making sure that no one tries anything funny. If worse comes to worse, they could just fight their way. He didn't know how well Chika or Anri could handle themselves, but it wouldn't be the first time he had to play bodyguard against a crowd of Backstreets Rats.

 

[Otomos]

Chika

When the crowd began to gather, Chika was confused. When they started asking question after question directly toward her, she began to get worried. When they grew in number, she began looking around at them in alert. They had within them the potential to become threats, and more people meant more potential for the situation to worsen. For her part, Chika was worried that the spirits would take advantage and drive her into a frenzy.

When Oliver showed up and told her to put the child down, Chika was partially relieved, though not entirely. Even as she let go of Anri, the Hitokiri still felt an aura of hostility from the crowd. She was always ready for battle, as her world had instilled that habit into her a long time ago. She really hoped that the circumstances don’t force them to fight, many of these people seemed like they had no business in a battle.

 

[Girania the Knightess]

Somebody Stop Her!
Anri

The police officers were still wary. Much of the police department was corrupt. They were easily bribed, and some even abused the hell out of their positions, but even they still had their morals. Recently there had been a series of missing children reports. A kidnapper, obviously, but an elusive one. Now, they didn't assume these people were the kidnappers, but to roughly handle a child out in the open like that? In their eyes, it was worth questioning. Their reasoning was also strange, but at least they had put the girl down.

Of course, when she was finally in full view and not obscured by Chika's arms, they saw that Anri was not just a little girl, but a little girl with actual weapons. This shocked the crowd. Not because she had weapons, but because she had 2 very real rifles. No one expects to see a kid with anything big.

Anri jumped with gratitude and said, "Thanks! Now I can get stuff from that hog place! Bye!" And quickly enough, she dashed through the crowd toward the building once more. The crowd, for their part, only needed a single moment to process what had happened before running off after the girl in an attempt to stop her. They realized their mistake a bit too late.

 

[BazusoTheGrey]

Oliver, Fifth Grade Fixer

As the crowd of dumbasses chased down the brat, Oliver stood stock still, taking in the scene, witnessing what can only be described as a true lack of self-preservation manifesting in front of him. Only one thought echoed through his mind at that moment.

'Man, I regret vouching for the kid'

He was sorely tempted to just walk away from the situation. If all the dumbasses wanted to charge into a company's territory without a plan, what the hell was he supposed to do about it? But that thought rubbed him the wrong way, the kid was still a coworker, wasn't she?
Besides, that just isn't our style, right hoss? Pff, imagine running away from the danger...
Yeah, he couldn't just walk away from the situation, that'd be pussy shit, but maybe...
Charge the kid, look at her, you're faster than her man, fuck, you could probably outpace her with a broken leg!
Nah, charging the kid wouldn't work out. With how fast he'd be going he'd just end up tackling her into the building's perimeter, then they'd both be in the shit. As much as he hated it, he honestly probably should just wait and see what happens next. She could probably handle herself anyway, so if things did go south he could just blitz on in, kill a couple dudes, and exit.

Decision made, Oliver turned toward the NCPD officers. "So... you guys gonna do anything about that?" He flicks a thumb toward the crowd of people, "We did put the kid down, so I'm pretty sure we're not liable for anything that happens now." It was a stupid comment, a straight-up lie, but with how everyone in this dimension was acting, he was pretty sure they were dumb enough to accept his bullshit.

Offhandedly, after making sure the officers were focused on the crowd he also turned to Chika, "Oh yeah, meant to do this earlier, but here." pulling out the ebony sword he acquired back during the breakout, he offered it to her handle first, "Just in case another situation like that happens again, you can use this. It's not all that important to me so you can hold on to it till we find something suitable for you. I'll be wanting it back afterward though."

 

[Otomos]

Chika

This whole situation was becoming a headache. She stopped the child only to be confronted by strangers and voices, and now that she had let her go, Anri is running off once again. With much of the crowd now following the child, the voices quieted down.

"…Tiresome", was all she said. The mental and emotional toll this girl was taking on her was making the Hitokiri think about what exactly she volunteered to help with. It was also clear that she had overestimated just how much force would be required for this task. She should've brought her weapon with her…

Oliver caught her attention after he dealt with the lingering authorities. He presented her with a sword he was willing to lend for a time. A black sword of some kind. Though Chika mainly wields a particular type of axe, she has knowledge in the art of the sword. It was mandatory for the Samurai in her world to at least learn that much.

"You… have my… thanks."

She turns towards the direction Anri ran off to.

""I will follow…"

 

[Girania the Knightess]

The Long Awaited Moment
Anri

Anri approached the Militech building with all haste, the crowd still chasing after her. Though many began to give up on the chase, there were still a group of random people chasing her either for their own reasons or sheer stubbornness. Chika was among that group of course, as were a few passerby mercenaries and gang members. The few civilians that stuck around were doing so solely because they thought their cybernetics stood any sort of chance to stop the gangsters if they tried anything. To summarize: a majority of the remaining crowd are delusional, and those who are not are either stubborn or one of Anri's companions. Regardless of any of that, however, Anri focused on her intended target. Then, lo and behold, they reached the gate.

Made of thick, cut stone and metal, with a smooth surface that denied any hope of barehanded climbing its height. Without the right preparations, getting over it would be simply impossible. The only way in would be the gate. Said gate was now being reinforced by Militech personnel and security robots, all coming in response to the group that gathered in front of the building. To the Militech personnel, this group was a random and suspicious lot that had the audacity to approach. The weapons being carried by the gangsters and mercenaries alone would give them cause to point their weapons and keep their fingers on the trigger.

On the crowd's end, almost everyone would likely feel the regret of following the little girl. No one wants to face a corporation nowadays. They don't want to face down the power of companies that had very recently warred with each other in a literal sense, let alone Militech, a company whose literal name implied military-grade products. Many were scared stiff, worried that suddenly running away would cause bullets to start flying.

As for Anri, she was happy! She finally made it to the holding that supposedly had what she and the others were looking for. When the humans came around, her first thought was to ask them for the equipment, but when they pointed their own weapons in her direction, she began having doubts that they would listen. The metal humanoids came around. Their appearances were lacking in comparison to the giant metal worm that she had helped face recently, but to Anri they seemed related, and if they were related, they were hostile forces that took the weapons and armor and gear for their own nefarious deeds! Regardless of how wrong that thought process was, the first shot would come from Anri's own magic rifle. A round of earthen magic that suddenly forced the ground in front of her to jut out and provide cover from the hail of bullets coming from the automated response of the robots. The crowd was shocked, the Militech personnel were astonished, and the defense turrets activated all in that one moment.

In the next moment, as one would expect, chaos ensued. Bullets began flying, screams and shouts were heard, and people were running. Anri loaded another round as the rock barrier held its own as much as it could against the bullet storm. This round used a worm, and she switched the rune from Earth to Lightning. The rifle converted life into power, and Anri shot at the sky above the wall. The magic rifle would now be unusable for a time, but from where the shot went, a cloud darkened and swelled until shooting down an abnormally strong lightning bolt. The robots and turrets in that concentrated area were overloaded with energy and broke down, and with the pause of disbelief, Anri made her charge…