Masa con Papas: Proxy's Memory

[ThreadLurkingComorant]

You arrive to a town behind a large gated wall without much trouble. Only glances of a few taller buildings can be seen from your spot.

A sentryman stands in front, a proxy of mechanical nature with a certain retro aesthetic and a cynical gaze headed your way.

???: You came back with some friends.

Dither: It's why I went out in the first place.

???: They know anything about all the noise going on?

Dither: At least one of them does, might be of your interest?

???: Doubt it, folks aren't too keen on visitors late. Know the Mass has been rattled lately, don't want them snooping here if we can help it...

Dither: You're going to want to see this, promise.

???: Don't think I do but...

The mechanical proxy tilts his head at your group before Dither points you out in particular.

???: Wizard dog? Can't even look people in the eye..

Charon: Not quite.

???: Seen plenty like you, gotta show me one hell of a trick for me to let you in.

Dither nudges your shoulder.

Charon: Mmm?

Dither: Do the pose..

Charon: Uhhh...

You whip out your sword from your cloak, the sentryman immediately raising his guard.

???: Okay no.

Dither: No?

???: That's the guy right? One that's got them all freaked out?

He leans in a little closer.

???: 5 Casualties, 2 dead today. That true?

Charon:...That does check out, didn't stick around to see who survived.

The Proxy rapidly whips in toward you.

???: Then you're gonna have to prove to me where your loyalties lie quick.

Opera: Hey, need you to back up a bit-

Charon: I've got this one for now.

???: Two other strangers here, they your friends?

Charon: Mm, package deal.

???: Real sense of danger from you, how do I know you're someone I can count on?

Charon: If I wasn't you'd be on the floor by now.

???: That a threat?

Charon: It's the honest truth-

You feel a rattling sensation in your spine, your blood chilling.

Your reflexes send a jolt across every nerve, your cape rattling like a fly seeing a swatter coming.

Faster than you've ever moved, faster than you've ever seen someone..

The proxy has halted time and you're the only one who can see it coming.

Your body isn't fast enough, he's immediately diving in toward Anura and Opera.

At that speed it's genuinely dangerous enough to maim if not outright kill.

Mar...

You can feel her nodding at you mentally, she surprises the sentryman by redirecting his lunge directly into you.

You can move just fast enough to make a little magic happen.

Tank the attack with your blade, time begins to move at full speed again.

Opera: H-Hey what are you do-

You see her reach into her cloak pocket, Anura stopping her immediately

Anura: Let it play out.

The amount of kinetic force you just absorbed, you need to fire it off quickly or it'll ruin your body.

With your free hand you pound the ground with enough force to audibly startle the entire town in front of you.

Dither and the sentryman are both immediately caught by surprise.

You transition back into position to guard a second time if needed.

???: You were able to react to it?

Charon: Just barely, don't think you'll get a second chan-

Time slows to a crawl again, you can feel it coming directly this time.

Mar immediately swoops in to tackle the sentryman enough to make the parry easy.

Force tanked, time resumes, you immediately redirect the energy toward your feet to kick yourself off the ground and pin down the sentryman by the throat.

Charon: Need you to back off-

Again, this time even shorter lived than ever, the two of you trade headbutts with the exchange going heavily in your favor

???: H-How are you doing that?!

Charon: It's a long story, Mar?

Mar: I helped where I could.. glad I came in when I could...

Charon: Broth doing alright?

Mar: Tired... we're taking turns to ease the workload..

Charon: You've done fantastic..

You give her a look up and down, didn't really catch it before but her body seems to have shifted closer to her internal appearance.

The sentryman looks over to her.

???: He your operator?

Mar: Mm, for a long time.

???: What's your little trick? Probability manipulation? Power nullification? Same deal as me?

Anura: Defiance. She's the embodiment of Death and Defiance. In the eyes of the saint, all mortals are equal and nothing is beyond her reach..

???: Doesn't explain what happens after...

Charon: I drained the attack's momentum, and I suppose it cancelled out everything else with it...

Mar: I'd guess so.. Grandpa?

Anura: Seems like a solid theory on that.

You start to pull yourself off of the sentryman.

???: What are you doing? Not gonna finish the job?

Dither: Cero!

Cero: Gonna make me look like an asshole..

Charon: Don't want to fight you anymore, this place needs a protector as strong as you.

Cero: You sure you don't want to take my job after all that? We..

He looks at Mar again.

Cero: Seem to got a lot in common.

Mar: Do we..?

He looks you dead in the eye.

The proxy plays up a flustered gesture in response.

Cero: I know what you are... come inside then, all of you. Dither will give you the tour.

Dither: You seemed so sure-

Cero: If him and his friends are a danger like that, not much we could really do...

He presses up the side of his head.

Cero: Entry for two operators, two visiting proxy, a local entity, returning resident. Keep the welcome party warm but alert.

He offers you a hand. The gates behind him start to open.

Cero: Welcome to The Signal.