Bats in the Belfry [Nighttime -Part 2- :: Event]

Serenity's tension should be 50% now.

It spread out like wildfire more than ever after the Hordes were banished. It was crippling at first with the sudden spike of a jolt that lanced through her body. Both knees hit the ground as she struggled to keep herself upright on her Demon Weapon with both hands on the stock. No words could leave her lips at the moment, but a pained growl and gasping breathes escaped her. Her mind couldn't think properly with the excruciating sensation flooding her very senses. She was starting to see red beginning to crawl into her vision and that never was a good sign. Maria wanted to scream and writhe, get herself to finally and fully express her pain and trepidation. It was taking much longer to get up, but maybe... she couldn't.


The mantra started to creep up in her. Those words had been literally pounded into her in these last five years. It's those emotionless words that brought her in line and always reminded her place. She had none to mention now that father's bakery had been demolished by those demons. There was fear, sorrow... and rage when she survived that time.
 
She started to stand up with careful slowness while ignoring her teammates concerns. Maria had to focus what she had left or not get up at all. It's not so much that the "prayer" gave her strength. It was a frank reminder to remember. The Forgotten had to remember why she got to this point. Yes, she remembered those screams and the macabre scene before her. And how could she ever forget that? It was seared into her very eyeballs.

Look to your own Discretion:

This was no place to show weakness not now and not ever. After what Claire had said about loosening up, Maria couldn't keep it to heart. She couldn't afford to or she would fall apart. Her eyes flashed like wrought steel, embracing an entirely colder demeanor. Perhaps this was why Mother Superior didn't bother to give a reminder of her side effects. Nothing had more impact than a personal experience.


She finally was up on her feet and waved away at anyone on her team that tried to help her. Maria didn't want it. Without saying a word, she directed them to their next destination and continued onward.

Movement:

Weakness:

Stats Now:

Stats now is supposed to be this as Vanguard as well:

HP: 76/77
SP: 63/63
PEnd: 28%
MEnd: 30%
Ppstr: 30
Pmstr: 10
Dx: 6
Lk: 17

Sorry. But Christ, that luck...

There were a lot of things that Maria was prepared for. Tonight, she was never prepared for the things life would throw at her. Right now, this was one of the things. She kept Andraste at the ready in case this Viktor was going to be a threat. Yet, those words he invoked were quite worrying. There was something spreading in this space. Was this the work of the demons and Psyche Terrorist? What kind of plans did they have? And what exactly was the infection agent here? There were a lot of questions circulating in her head.


It wasn't like Maria could ever fall back in the first place. She was a tool to be used. A tool has no right to say no. They were meant to be used or discarded, nothing more or less about it. There was also the fact that Serenity can't go through this alone. She was the Princess, after all. Maria was sympathetic to her, having already lost family of her own. Then there was Vivian. She had been such great help so far, but unlike the Forgotten, she wasn't a tool.

"If you wish to leave, I won't blame you," Maria spoke to her, "You've been of great help. I won't think less of you in anyway, Miss Oates."

Maybe Vivian had family of her own as well. Perhaps they were waiting for her back at home, hoping that she was safe despite the dangerous nature of being a Cadet. Maria had expected many of the Cadets that joined to be prepared to give their lives knowing how dangerous it was. Yet, even with that, she wasn't completely heartless nor did she completely lose what it meant to be human.

Of the group, it was only Maria that had lost so much.. It didn't matter if she died. Her passing wouldn't be significant and would only be listed as just another statistic for the Church. All they needed was data and information from her body. She was a tool, after all. Whatever the responses were, Maria began to move. If there was an infection going on, they really needed to start picking up the pace. The consequences are... going to be messy.

While moving, she asked Serenity, "Who was that man earlier?"

Action and Movement.:

Stats Now:

Vivian looked oddly at the sight. So was this phenomenon turning the man into some raving mad lunatic? She hadn't come across a terrorist on her own, but was this how they acted? She certainly couldn't make heads or tails of it. Why were the three not being affected? Was it because of their power or something else? Maria had opted to continue, but when she offered the chance for Vivian to leave, she thought. She was rather unsettled by the issue, but would it have been right of her to leave? Had she come here on her own accord, maybe. But not only was she called here, they were here to help a friend, and though she knew her little, she simply could not run away.


"Stop that. Like hell I'm going. Now let's keep moving." It was short and to the point. She would hear no argument on the subject anymore. Soon Maria would end up relenting long enough to use a skill to zip the group further in. It was a skill she remembered having, but never used. It definitely made travel easier huh?

Spoiler:

Maria nodded at Vivian, she was grateful that her fellow Cadet was going to continue on this hellish path with her. Despite allowing Vivian to vacate this place, she honestly wasn't sure if her body was going to be able to keep up like this. Everything inside her felt excruciatingly painful. Her stoic expression tried so hard to hide it, but her facade had broke. It was, in a way, far mortifying to experience her limitations so soon. Five years of experimentation and this was all she could do. Time was starting to run low for her.

"I... see. My condolences," Maria finally spoke while her lips quivered and beads of sweat crawling down the side of her face, "Why... why is someone like him here? Do you know why?"

There was a lot going on. With Alice out and with the facility commandeered by this strange influence, something definitely was in motion right now. But what was it? It was definitely something with Psyche-Terrorists and demons. Yet what was their goal here? And what exactly was that infection? Was it anything like that green gas from before at the Sunlake Palms? And speaking of that, Viktor had mentioned about a boy, hasn't he? There was something key about that...


While she had no doubt the Persona belonged to Alice, there was... something that struck out as odd to her, 'he'. It sounded like it was the accomplice that they noted from the earlier investigation in the afternoon. It sounded like this male knew who they were. But why? It should be difficult for the Psyche-Terrorists to obtain any information within the Cadet ranks. Did this mean they had a traitor in their midst? It sounded improbable, but it sounded like the only explanation. But who? Alex was out with Julius, wasn't he?

The Hot Spring was the abode of the District Leader. She had little doubt that people wouldn't be able to get in so easily with royalty around doing God knows what. And with the scale of this odd operation and the lack of other personnel around to assist them, it seemed the Psyche-Terrorists were doing shockingly well. Especially when the District Leader was supposed to be more powerful than Alice and yet the facility was overrun. So this was a planned out operation. And with something like an infection running rampant and with the intention for it to be so, it needed the ease of movement. Who else than a fellow Cadet or someone who worked for the government? But it made no sense for Claire since she was there dealing with Alice. So who--

It hit her for a moment. She remembered something about Sera asking about her. But she needed to know. And unlike her fellow Cadets, Maria wasn't there to hear why he tried to join the Cadets.


Maybe, just maybe she was getting closer to the truth. But it would have to wait as more enemies would come to them.

Movement:

Stats Now:

HP: 77/77 (Regen)
SP: 56/71
PEnd: 28%
MEnd: 30%
Ppstr: 33
Pmstr: 13
Dx: 6
Lk: 20

My bad again.

"I see," Maria nodded slowly at this information. If they were relatives, then it would make it easier for someone like Sera to sneak in. Not only as a Cadet, despite her not knowing he isn't in reality, but also as a relative to someone who appeared to be working closely with Julius. But she kept all the thinking on the back burner, there were enemies to be eliminated.

Action:

Stats: