3183/Woodvale Trial: Among The Giants

Woodvale Trial: Among The Giants
Date of Scene:	10 October 2015
Location:	Paragon City <CoH>
Synopsis:	The true Devouring Earth invasion of Woodvale begins!
Cast of Characters:	Deelel, Alexis, Blurr, 560, Duke, 769, 850, 872, 885

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Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    It has been a busy week or so in Woodvale. The civilians don't know how close they were to the creatures of the mysterious force labelled 'Devouring Earth' invading the town proper from a compromised Crey facility. They don't know how close they were to the monsters flooding half the zone with an artificial lake. Many efforts have been made so far to stop the invasion, but with every encounter it seems like the invading monsters are only increasing the scale and ferocity of their attacks.

    It's another busy day in Woodvale.

    And an area to the south-west of the zone is swarming with monsters.

    Right as a heavily wounded hero comes reporting back about exactly that after trying to track down where the bad guys are coming from, right as he is speaking to Dr. Faith Maccabe in front of the Circuit Court of Woodvale, the invasion truly begins.

    Huge stone spires pierce up through the ground, puncturing streets and buildings like tissue paper. The first of these spires causes traffic to come to a halt as cars crash or swerve to avoid such and wind up hitting other thing. The second spear of stone impales a skyscraper.

    More of these spears follow, and monsters of plant, fungus, earth, and crystal begin to pour forth from the cracks and crevices of shattered human creations.

    The call for aid goes out on every channel available.

Duke has posed:
For nearly a month or two, since stepped out of the WMAT, Duke has become very quiet. No sign of him anywhere and Doran was busy taking care of the Digimon that had been saved from those like Gaonoir and other members of the Royal Knights. Duke, however, no one could find. The Digimon warrior had gone missing and gone off into perhaps himself. Searching for the truths he could not uncover no matter how much he tried or solve the internal pain that he just didn't understand.

He had ignored crisis after crisis. Ignored the call for assistance and his own friends trying to get a hold of him. He hadn't been even at Alexis' barn in some time. Missing... Gone...
Yet here he comes, at long last.

From the ashes of destruction that started to plague this village. The sound of steps echo down the streets. With each metal step, an armored humanoid figure starts to emerge at seven foot six, covered with chrome armor from head to toe, with gold and red accents, and a green chest piece with detailed design. Nothing was held in the dark clawed hands as he moved through the smoke as people raced by, his cape only gently moving in whatever breeze there may be in the air.

As he continued to walk, those gold eyes in the shadows of the draconic winged helm glowed brightly, as he places out his right hand to the side. Amongst the air, a weapon started to form out of energy and digital data, his dark fingers clasping around the shaft of the halberd axe. His gold eyes focused on a creature chasing after a few people and with an effortless push off of his feet, he charged the distance, before swinging the weapon to try and cleave the earthen beast in two, while glancing over at the people. "Keep running."

The former Royal Knight was back.

Hive Monsters (885) has posed:
    At the same time, to the south-west, where that wounded hero came from, a second invasion force is marching upon Woodvale. A mound has been growing, a hive of stone, and now monsters spill forth from it like a disturbed nest of insects. Crystal, stone, fungus, vine, and also other things. Huge clouds of stinging insects that buzz nearly deafeningly as they billow forth and darken the sky itself. Mutated abominations that belong to no clearly identifiable species, with clawed appendages and swuirming maws made of worm-like tentacles also charge forth among the invaders.

    And looming over them are three Monsters that make the other monsters looke quite small. So tall they blot out the sun more thoroughly than even the insects of the Swarm do, the Monster-class enemies of stone and plantlife that have been encountered before, but roar so loudly that they make teeth rattle and might drive a lesser mind towards madness with the sound frequencies used.

    And Quarry and Thorn are now joined by a third, a giant mushroom-like monster, Stropharia. They seem to be leading the invasion, and directing the others. One to the north of the forming Hive, one to the south, and one to the east.

    Taking them down may be necessary to halt the invasion.

Tiki (850) has posed:
Sheleepy, bright, green eyes lazily open as Tiki awakens in one of Woodvale's many parks. This particular park seems mostly vacant much to Tiki's own surprise. Just how long was she asleep this time? Wiping the sleep from her eyes, the green-haired Manakete rises to her feet and quickly attempts to get her bearings. Right. This was Woodvale in Paragon City and she must have drifted off due to previous exhaustion. But the time for further ponderings was at an end as Woodvale had come under attack.

    Breaking into a short run, Tiki trots out onto the nearby street where a huge knight was battling against the attacking monsters. Well this certainly was a more familiar sight to Tiki than some of the things she has encountered in this millenia. "Please! I beseech you all to flee from this place as quickly as you can!" The Manakete then holds a golden orb aloft that begins to pulsate with gathering power. "Sir knight, I shall assist you in your noble task!" A bright green light soon envelops Tiki as her from begins to grow and twist into a much larger shape. There no longer stands an elfish looking Manakete where Tiki once stood, but a dragon with great nearly translucent wings. Tiki spreads her wings most menacingly as she gracefully takes flight and attempts to put herself inbetween the fleeing civilians and the attacking creatures.

Shadowed Aesthetic (872) has posed:
    Busy, busy, busy!

    It is indeed another busy day in Woodvale, and that call for help is heard by one Shadowed Aesthetic of Quicksilver. He hasn't bothered with his disguise, so he appears as an androgynous humanoid made of metal and white stone, clad in his flowing blue and white robes, a brilliant-cut clear diamond inset in his forehead. His fans are already out and open, and small blue-white sparks are already begining to jump around that stone in his forehead.

    Shadowed Aesthetic has come prepared for trouble, and it looks like he's going to get plenty of it.

    He pauses when he surveys the damage. "...My word, they really made a mess, didn't they?" he muses. But he doesn't pause for long-- there are people in danger, and the numbers of enemies need to be whittled down before they can get these people out.

    He's already shown himself to be a bane for those mushroom creatures, so he's seeking them out specifically. Well, them and any other plant-based creature that happens to both be in the area and mean the people harm. Partially because his cutting fans seem to do well against the plantlike enemies. But it's also because of those spores that the mushroom creatures emit-- they're poisonous to people, but Shadowed Aesthetic doesn't have to breathe.

Alexis has posed:
No surprise that people were in a panic. The very earth and city around them was in upheaval, almost as if revolting against the lives that trod upon it, giving rise to twisted forms that can barely be called anything other than 'things'. Something was turning nature into an invasion force.

So why not fight back with a force of nature?

Broad paws pounded against the cracked pavement, moving much faster than a creature of its size should be able to. Outcroppings of stone and crystal lurch out of the ground, but the beast leaps over the obstacle and careens sideways between two upturned cars to avoid them. Claws dig into stone to deal with the change of direction as the Legendary Beast of Fire drifts into the Hive's area. The Entei's eyes are narrowed to no more than slits as he throws his head back, and the roars of elderitch monsters are answered with one carrying the thunderous thoom of a volcano ready to erupt.

"Yeah, you tell 'em Wildfire." From his back Alexis reachs over her shoulder to pull one of her 'weapons' from her pack, for now her trademark augmented hockey stick. Levels it like a ready lance towards the monsters encrouching from the Hive. "I'd suggest you listen to him, take your overgrown rock garden, and get back into whatever hole you came outta."

As Alexis and Wildfire are making their entrance a large shadow briefly passes over the area as well before the source disappears amongst the buildings and spires. One could only assume it was the Missing Lynx, but Alexis wasn't calling it down to Earth just yet.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOOOSH! One arrow after another strikes from above. Shirou's found a perch on a low building near one of the spires and he's got another quiver of heavy-duty arrows! ... A supply that won't last long, unfortunately.

    "There's just too many of these things!" What's he supposed to do, exactly?

    Well Shirou's aiming for the spires. They're chokepoints where he can shoot down things as they emerge and waste fewer shots, but there's always more getting past!

    So he gets an idea... what about the spires they're using for entry points?!

    "Trace, on!"

    With his black bow raised, Shirou projects a special arrow - a warped, twisted hunk of metal with a sword aesthetic. Twisted and black. It's Hrunting, but he doesn't waste much prana charging it up. He just needs to collapse a few openings! Or maybe half the spire...

    WHOOOSH! The 'arrow' is let fly, but Shirou's quick to yell even as it's en-route, "This is ridiculous! There's no way to be everywhere..."

Blurr has posed:
    Maybe there is no way to actually be everywhere at once, Blurr can come closer to it than most other people. Having determined that the hordes of monsters are coming out of the holes made by those stone spikes, he darts between them, pummeling them with fists and/or gunfire in an attempt to collapse them on top of the incoming mobs. But where are they coming from, exactly? This kind of problem needed to be cut off at the source before long! Maybe he can use one of those holes to get down there himself and investigate...

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Alarms are being sounded now, and civilians are evacuating as best as they are able to in the chaos. This is the second time Woodvale has suffered a major invasion. The first time was by aliens who caused massive devastation all across the planet before they were finally defeated... And who aren't really fully defeated even now. Heroes put themselves between the invaders and civilians then too. One of them, Galaxy Girl, has an entire zone of Paragon City named after her. Galaxy City.

    It's named after her because it was her home neighborhood, and because she died making sure heroes and civilians go out in time. And they still didn't manage to get everyone.

    Is this going to be a repeat? How many are going to fall this time? It's likely some already have. There was not enough warning for people to get out of the way, to evacuate buildings as they are stabbed with stone spires.

    But maybe what was learned from the last invasion will aid here. Maybe with the help of heroes from all over the Multiverse, there will be a major difference.

    Duke and Tiki face off against the Devouring Earth, stopping them from chasing down and killing fleeing commonfolk, but are in turn attacked by one group of enemies after another. Wooden claws sharper than any rose's thorns, fists of stone that each weighs probably more than either hero's entire body, come swing at them as more and more creatures climb up onto street level, or pry the pavement apart from underground to create new openings.

    Shadowed Aesthetic is on the way to deal with the Fungoids and Deathspores that are roaming around throwing spore bombs into the fleeing crowd. It's likely his aid will be crucial in evacuating people from those patches of bio-hazardous air that are being created, as well as in taking down the ones responsible. There may be too many to stop them completely, but at least getting some breathing room (literally) will save lives!

    As Shirou shatters one of the stone spires, half of it slides back out of the building it was slammed through, and crushes Devouring Earth creatures that are climbing up out of the ground. More wait below them and will probably eventually lift the spire up to make an exit, but at least for now, the dozens or hundreds coming from that hole are trapped. And every second counts for getting civilians out of here and reducing the number of enemies the heroes have to face at the same time!

    Another huge spire appears, cleaving a building practically in half, and causing the top to fall over and onto another building adjacent to it, causing serious damage to THAT one too.

    Even if all the civilians get out, this town isn't going to look very pretty afterwards.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Blurr's gunfire and fists help batter down enemies. They're closer to his scale than most other enemies in this city have been thus far, though still shorter. With his strength and weaponry he can probably punch through their ranks and make it to one of those holes... He can probably even fit in those tunnels, if they're stuffed with hundreds of foes. But who's to say whether the whole tunnel will be big enough for him? It's a dangerous course of action, for sure. But even clearing the areas around the ruptures in the ground is providing a benefit to keeping the invasion forces from encroaching further. But Woodvale has now been cut up into three parts by the invasion. There's the forces swarming through the forests to the west, the businesses and such to the east that are getting wrecked by the ground they're built on, and the suburbs and associated facilities in the center, caught between the creatures coming from underground and the ones coming across the surface.

    With Blurr's speed, he might be able to do what a hero named Synapse once did, and carry civilians out of here faster than they could escape themselves. The ones trapped in the center are especially vulnerable, since if they want to flee east to the security gates they'd have to pass through what amounts to a war zone.

    Many options. Not a lot of time.

Duke has posed:
Duke hears the voice of the young woman and then watches her transform into a dragon. It was an impressive sight and once that reminds him of his own abilities, but-- so much more lively. He gives her a friendly nod as he speaks to her,"It would be appreciative, m'lady, as any help right now will be most helpful."

"We need to make sure the people can get to safety and keep the beasts back." Duke says to her as he swings around his Halberd, before generating a fire circle and sending exploding balls of fire toward several of the enemies racing out and toward them. He steps around, blocking the claws that come to strike out from the beasts, ducking under heavy swings, as he tries to parry it, but they were going to be quickly outnumbered by this rate.

With a grasp of his power, he lets out a roar and then twirls his Halberd around, before slamming it into the ground, which sends out an explosive shockwave all around him, only to find one of the rock beasts coming in and slamming his fist into his metal digi-chrome faceplate. The impact hits hard, cracking the body metal and sending the Knight Digimon flying back. His body, slides almost the ground as he impacts and then rolls a bit.

His claw hand slowly, slides under him, as he spots a child in danger, and then forces himself to lunge to protect the child. As the beasts claws come down, he stands at ready and the claws strike him instead of the young child behind him. "Run." He says with a grunt as the claws dig into his forearm, "NOW!" Then, with the strength he can muster, goes to shove the beast back, only opening for another attack that slams him into a wall of a nearby building.

His body starts to slump before he slides down to the ground. Where the claws had cut into the armor, a digital grid line could be seen deep past the metal carvings and his chest armor dented from the last hit. Yet, slowly, he pushed himself back up on his feet. "I will not... Fail again..." Only one person may know what that means and she was battling elsewhere.

Hive Monsters (885) has posed:
    Along the way to the Hive, Alexis also has to deal with clouds of stinging insects that coat anyone who enters their vicinity. Further, they chase people down with their speedy flight, engulfing them and biting them ceaselessly. A gross and painful fate for civilians. Maybe flames could help clear out some of them and save people from such a grisly end! When she actually approaches the Hive area, however, and Entei gives his challenging roar...

    The Devouring Earth respond to the roars of Entei with roars of their own. And boulders. And thorns longer than Alexis is tall. And choking spores. And crystal shards like dozens of diamond-hard knives. Evasive maneuvers might be good here! The creatures don't appear intimidated despite the powerful beast before them, with the fury of flame and earth in every footstep and breath! A greater power drives them than self-preservation.

    When the BIG Monsters roar, instead of the wall of smaller ones that swarm forth around their feet, the air shakes violently. And when Quarry throws a boulder, it's big enough that if it's not evaded or destroyed in mid-air, it could probably fit all of Entei and Alexis both underneath it, judging by its shadow alone. This is going to be quite a fight.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou blinks, startled at how effective that was. WHOAH! "That worked!" The problem is... it also cost him around a fifth of his prana. There are way more than five spires, aren't there?! And if he uses all of his prana up, then what? Can he still fight? What's the most efficient way of dealing with this and saving the most people?!

    The question burns in his mind like a raging wildfire.

    The boy scrambles around for another vantage point and takes aim at another spire in the distance. This time, the black metal of Kusanagi goes through the process of being twisted into an arrow and stretched out. Faint winds swirl around the tip... and in no time at all, FWOOSH! Off goes another arrow.

    But this is no way to really deal with the trouble... down below, people are trapped, people are screaming, people are fleeing...

    And probably, people are dying.

    Shirou can't save them all. He CANNOT save them all. Even though it's the one, the ONLY thing, he wants to do in his lifetime... it's physically impossible. And this tears at him.

    If only he had more power. If only he had more skill.

    That path is like walking into hell though. Some part of him understands that. He's SEEN where that leads. Hints of it. And it's... plain.... TERRIFYING.

    Face wracked with fear and panic at once, Shirou breaks out of his momentary introspective flash and instead extends a hand... "My body... IS MADE OF SWORDS!"

    He'll not falter. even if he uses up everything, he'll save as many as he can.

    A few dozen zweihanders of different designs materialize in a wave of crackling prana that flies from his hand... high up in the air. They aim themselves... and fire like missiles with eery accuracy down below at the streets. A LOT of monsters are about to have a bad day!

Blurr has posed:
    Yes, Blurr could just stick to ferrying civilians out of the city the entire time, but that would be kind of dull and boring now wouldn't it?

    Besides, he may be fast, but there are thousands of people here, there's no way he could get to all of them. Better to find the source of this abomination and stop the influx of monsters--team good won't be able to keep this up forever! Beating against an unending horde seems a lot like trying mop up water as it continues to pour out of a pipe...

    Thus, when he notices another giant spike coming up out of the ground, he transforms and speeds toward it, attempting to simply -force- his way through all the mobs and down into the tunnels! Risky move, sure--but he's never really been the type to think too much about something before he decides to go ahead and do it.

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Flapping her wings back and forth, Tiki ascends higher and higher into the air before gliding back around in a small semi-circle around to correct her flight path. The Divine Dragon then extends her wings out as she begins to glide her way forward until she suddenly lurches and begins swooping down at great speed! Rearing her head back, the transformed Manakete lets out a mighty roar as she continues to pick up speed. Tiki then uses this newly gained momentum to propel herself forward and smash herself into the Devouring Earth like a dragon-sized wrecking ball, her sharp claws extended.

     However, her now much lower altitude makes her vulnerable to the sharp barbs and even sharper claws of her foes who proceed to lash out at her. This viscious counterattack causes Tiki to roar her head back in pain, but she will continues to fight on! Tiki's scales were tough, but even the toughest armor has its weak spots. And the sheer number of their foes made it so that Tiki could not defend herself from every direction at once. Truly, this was becoming a grim situation.

    "Agreed! We cannot hold anything back! Already too many lives have been lost to invasions such as this!" The Manakete replies back quickly to answer Duke's call. Tiki has seen much in the past thousands of years, but that does not mean she ever grow accustomed to certain sights. The Divine Dragon's head swivels to survey the battlefield before she drops to all fours and runs forward to where Duke defended the young child and was currently battling the monsters. "The divine fire within me will never be quenched by cowardly foes that prey upon the innocent! " An angry Dragon-Tiki then smashes her arms and legs down to brace herself before rearing back once more. This time she bequeaths a mighty inferno of green fire towards their foes of plant and rock.

Deelel has posed:
So there was some very bad things happening out here, and while she's just one program she has a few tricks wshe's certain the attacking hordes would have no idea what to deal with so she's going to do what she can to help here. There are people to get out after all and she's got a transport here to do it but it's going to need cover and well they are going to need to make it. So she's going to look for any large knots of people whom she'll make ready to fight.

"Chaos, such rampant chaos...."

She's not Clu but even this? Is horror to a creature born in the digital world a world of very strong order, where the only thing akin to wildlife are glitches in the system which must be destroyed. She however looks to see Alexis and she'll drop in she'll banish her light jet while the transport hangs back for the moment.

She drops summoning her keyblade as she falls and she'll land in crouch brandishing the strange weapon. That's when the bugs would find she's starting to cast fire spells attemping to roast them but controlling the spell in such a way to not take those civilians caught in harms way with it.

To the monster horde? They would find something strange, it looks like a human, but there is no sent from Deelel save that of the enviorment she's been in.

"You gird bugs got any Game?"

Alexis has posed:
Well, that got their attention. Maybe a little too well. Nice for someone else to jump in and deal with the insect swarms, though.

Undaunted by the return bellows and attacks Wildfire slams his paws to the ground, which starts to glow red around the Entei and his trainer. There's almost literally an explosion of flame behind him as he takes off, Flame Charge's speed boost launching him away just inches before the giant boulder slams into the ground. Several other attacks miss their mark due to the sudden press of speed, while others impact with the great beast's form but the legendary clone is tanking through them like a blazing comet due to the attack's fiery corona. Don't worry, Alexis is safe from burning on his back, she's essentially in the calm 'eye' of the storm of flames as he charges into the horde in a fiery blitz.

But instead of attack with her stick, she uses it to smack another pokeball into the air. It activates midflight and from the flash of energy the metallic serpentine form of a Steelix comes crashing down not far from Quarry. With it's own defiant roar the aptly named Titan half-twists its body to swing its massive Iron Tail at the monstrousity.

The shadow passes over again, and this time Thorn gets a lesson in hope a creature so big can still be an ambush predator when Clysm almost literally drops in on it from above, the divebomb giving the Missing Lynx almost terminal velocity for the impact!

Shadowed Aesthetic (872) has posed:
    Breathing room is something Shadowed Aesthetic can definitely do. Not only by cutting down as many of the death-shrooms as possible, either. He uses fans as weapons, and besides cutting, these weapons do actually move air, like a fan is supposed to. The quick movements of his arms, while holding those fans, just might be able to sweep away the poisonous spores, redirect them to somewhere that isn't full of human beings.

    Speaking of human beings, there are a whole lot of them in danger here. Shadowed Aesthetic might not be able to move as fast as Blurr, but he can move pretty fast under the right circumstances. Such as decreasing his weight by enough to double his normal running speed, putting a little more energy into his Dexterity Augmentation, and using enough energy to go iconic again!

    He blurs around the scene (sorry Blurr!) engaging foes that are threatening people and then physically picking people up and taking them somewhere that the local authorities can evacuate them on a more permanent basis. Which means already frightened people are being rescued by a metal being around whom blossoms a glowing blue-silver aura that twists into an impossible trefoil-style knot around him. Anything that goes through that aura comes away feeling as though it's been dunked in water. But there's no trace of moisture on anything that touches his aura.

    And yes, someone is indeed using Blurr's schtick! Shadowed Aesthetic is running around at breakneck speeds, trying to get people out of the path of those monsters. Though if it's any consolation to the Autobot, Shadowed Aesthetic isn't able to move nearly as fast as Blurr. It's well above the level of speed that's possible by a human being-- in fact, there are modern vehicles that aren't as fast-- but not nearly as fast as Blurr.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    The explosive force of Duke's attack hurls nearby enemies backwards. The Bladegrass and Razorvines fly further than the Bedrocks or Granites, but all of them are impacted by the maneuver. Duke's heroic acts and defiance in the face of the enemies keep him in the fight, even as he takes damage in the process. He may look banged up, but as the ranks of creatures close in around the place he has fallen, surely he can't be done for yet. Surely...!

    Tiki's diving attack sends a shockwave throughout the area, rupturing the already-broken street, and sending even more enemies flying. When she charges forth, slamming into enemies left and right and then engulfs them in green flame, it seems Duke may have the time and room he needs to get back on his feet. There's still lives to save, even at the cost of these twisted things. There's no time for heroes to rest!

    As if to accentuate that point, a giant spire of stone erupts from the ground... Right underneath the building that Duke is up against. The walls veritably explode outwards, raining plaster, furniture, broken glass, wood, concrete, steel reinforcements, and who-knows-what-else down upon the surrounding area.

    But the ground doesn't stop shaking...

    Shirou's swords he hurls down at the enemies below cleave through them, or if they're the exploding time, detonate amongst them, destroying the crystal enemies like Geodes and Quartzes who are more vulnerable to such things, or taking out Fungoids and Deathspores due to their weakness to sharp weapons, or even smashing the walking rockpiles to pieces!

    One idea that may come to Shirou's mind... Is that there are a lot of buildings bending under the strain of their own weight as they are torn apart by the spires of stone. Those spires are weapons. Like stone weapons wielded by giants...

    And they are definitely made of Earthly material... If he could envision them properly... Even if the copies are not to the exact same scale...

    Well, they're just stone. Making these stone 'spears' be of the same quality shouldn't be anywhere near as difficult as replicating a Noble Phantasm. Maybe he could turn the Devouring Earth's weapons against them! SOMETHING needs to be done... Because the ground is still trembling for some reason!

    Blurr smashes his way down into a tunnel, and is immediately confronted with claws, fists, crystal shards, cages of earth and rock that burst from the walls, floor, and ceiling to try slam into him and crush him in claustrophic confines... This does indeed seem to have been a risky move with no pay off. There's just monsters, monsters, monsters as far as any sensors can detect. The entire tunnel is full of the things, stretching way far back into the darkness. How far back would he have to go to reach the source? Will he charge ahead anyway? The walls are shaking violently as he finds himself in this situation. There's something happening to the terrain. Something other than the tunnels being dug, or the stone spires. Something is coming. If he has seismic detection ability, he might be able to warn people in time.

    There's something happening to the east, right at the border between the 'Arcadia' neighborhood where the exit from the zone can be found... And everything else.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    As Shadowed Aesthetic carries people to and fro, blows away spore clouds to keep people from being strangled by growths inside of thir own lungs, fights off Fungoids and other foes, he may be the first to be impacted by what happens, whether Blurr warns them or not.

    The violent trembling comes to a head when the ground tears in half. Streets are split, pipes ruptured, buildings fall onto each other. Civilians that were trying to cross that area dangle from the ledges if they manage to keep themselves from falling into the Pit that has formed. Others can only stand on the edge and try to avoid being pushed off by the panicking people behind them as they have to come to a sudden stop. Cars slide down there, and some of them erupt into flames.

    There's still room to get around to the north, or if people can climb, to the south, but there's now a pretty major obstacle to getting out of the zone for completely normal folks. There's an impact being made on the enemies, definitely, and many lives are being saved. But many will also be lost if this new danger isn't dealt with.

Duke has posed:
Thanks to Tiki, it gives Duke the breathing room he needs to get back up on his feet. He glances over to her and the rest of the creatures in the area. "Are you alright? ...And thank you." He asks her as he summons his weapon to him and goes to move, only to find a spire rising up where he was. His eyes go wide, as he staggers back and around to watch it rise. "By the network... MOVE!" He calls to Tiki hopefully in time for her to get out of the way and if not, he leaps still to use his weapon to slam away some of the falling parts of the building from hitting on her and some other people trying to get by.

But can he save them all? Perhaps not, but he tries!

His eyes flicker blue, as he pulls on more power and ignores the pain of his body. His halberd twirling in the air as he tries to bash away wood, shrapnel, and glass from harming people as they try to flee. Fire is added to the mix, along with gusts of wind as his command. Yet, he doesn't know if it will be enough and the roar of beasts from further in the city are not lost on him.

This was like that day all over again... Just like that day that is simply a haunting image in his mind of a puzzle he has yet to piece together in full, and he knew how that day went. He would not see it happen again. His body started to glow as he kept trying, his core racing. The people would be saved and he could not surrender!

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Was Tiki alright? The transformed Manakete glances down at the damage this Devouring Earth has caused against her. She was still fine, but she was probably going to need one mighty fine nap after everything was said and done. Tiki lifts her head up and nods it succinctly towards Duke before replying, "Yes, I can still fight and I shall continue to aid you wherever I can, sir knight." She replies quite seriously as she studies Duke behind her transformed red eyes. This knight's fighting prowess and self-sacrifice elicited a very...nostalgic feeling within Tiki. Mar-mar would have done the same in this exact same situation and Tiki knew that she would never let Marth fall in battle while she still drew breath. "You shall be safe with me." She states to possibly Duke or perhaps to the fleeing civilians nearby. It may sound a little uncertain, but the Divine Dragon looks quick to make good on her word.

    Spreading her wings once more, she charges into a nearby plant creature before breathing fire upon another. But it is a group of nearby civilians that draws the dragon's attention. Tiki takes to the air, flies forth, and snatches the civilians up gently in her claws before dropping them off out of harm's way, or atleast for the moment. Tiki then rejoins the battle which continues to put her own well-being at risk. Several of the creatures land blows against the Divine Dragon, but Tiki remains resolute. She continues to fight to safeguard both the fleeing civilians and her newfound knightly ally.

Hive Monsters (885) has posed:
    Something that even LOOKS human is human enough to be hated and attacked. The fact that Deelel is also throwing flames at them is enough for her to become the the target of an immediate bombardment of boulders, thorns, insect swarms, and now acidic toxic spit from the Lesser Devoured among them! Gross and lethal at the same time! The worst of both worlds! But this also draws some of the attacks off of Alexis, and the flames themselves seem to be very effective against the Razorvines and other pure-plant monsters of the same type!

    There's a giant version of such to the north of the Hive, presently just standing there and roaring. Its feet seem to be merged into the ground as well. Has it taken root? But why?

    The flaming charge from Entei sets many foes ablaze, even as they continue to attack her and her mount with the determination of the planet itself. The earth does not stop moving, does not stop changing, does not stop growing, simply because humans interfere. Their interference may change things, may corrupt and poison things, may even kill many many many things... But the planet does not stop because of this. It fulfills its function. These are creatures spawned from that will. The Will of the Earth, given a physical form, and a hostile one.

    So even as Entei smashes through them, immolating plant monsters, they do not retreat. Thorn, the plant-like one to the north Deelel might notice amidst all the attacks coming her way, is dive-bombed by a flying enemy of some kind. It roars angrily and takes a swipe with its huge, claw-tipped hand, with its long, viney fingers, but was focused on something else, so may not hit if the attacker gets out of range in time.

    Its body is made up of vines wound so tight they are essentially steel cables. Even if its planty 'flesh' is smashed into or even torn by the powerful tackle, it hasn't suffered lethal harm. But whatever it was doing seems to be disrupted, and that may be even more vital. When a giant Monster like this is just standing in place while everything else around it is attacking, that usually means something bad.

    Quarry's sturdy form chips and cracks under the impact of the Steelix's tail attack, but responds with a huge fist thrown right back at it. That's going to be one hell of a slug fest.

    Elsewhere, around the time Thorn was attacked, the tremors in the ground seemed to lessen or even cease in places... Maybe they're connected...! Some of the tunnels the Devouring Earth are using seem to have collapsed as well, as something large under the ground smashes into them!

Shadowed Aesthetic (872) has posed:
    Of course things wouldn't be easy. Suddenly the ground splits open, the resultant tremors knocking the Moonsilver to his knees briefly. And then people are dangling. Shadowed Aesthetic's mind calculates greater danger first, and then goes from there. First the dangling people. Then figure out a way to get the rest of the people across. So that's going to be his first order of business. Quickly he starts trying to pull people back up the cliff. He can't help those that have already fallen, not yet.

    He figures this is going to be a pointless gesture, but he turns to the crowd of people trying to get across. Suddenly he wishes he had an Orichalcum Caste here to deal with the crowd. But he calls out, "Everyone stay calm! A way across will be found!"

    Once the people he can save from falling have been saved, he hops down into the pit himself. Why? To start knocking things around! Ther'es no way he can push over something big enough to form a bridge across that ravine. But a bunch of stuff has fallen into the pit. Surely there's enough to at least make a path people can slide down and then climb back up. Even if it's just a big pipe for people to slide down, and knotted wires (not live, no) for people to climb up.

    First open the path. THEN make it more secure. Once he's sure people can make it across that, THEN he'll start making that path across more secure. Requisitioning a Warstrider for this would probably be excessive... but he sure wishes he had one at his disposal right now!

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr expected that there would be a lot of monsters down here, but he didn't really consider them much of a threat. But, there are enough of them that they are at least putting some pressure on his servos. Still, he presses forward, pushing ahead at full throttle. They might have the numbers to crush him, but only if they can keep up! He zips through the hordes of monsters, guns blazing as he rams them hard; running over any that happen into his path.

    The vibrations are unsettling, and he broadcasts a quick warning to the others. << Picking up on some seismic activity near the southwestern sectors. >>

    Finally, he comes upon a series of giant vines as they smash into the passage. Were these the things that were allowing these monsters into the city? Better find out! He starts blasting at them with all the firepower he's got!

Alexis has posed:
    At the end of the charge Wildfire skids to a stop, turning sideways so the attacks being thrown at it are hitting broadside, and Alexis is at least at less risk, half hidden in his ash-like mane and the spikey ridges protruding from his back. Not that she doesn't still have to duck, blocking her face with a dragon-scale bracer clad arm. "Roast em." The Entei opens his maw, flames and ethereal energy consolidating in them, and then erupting outwards in as close as Pokemon get to holy fire as he unleashes a Sacred Fire back into the hordes! Though even tanking through the attacks, the bruises and battering were starting to show. Even a Legendary doesn't have infinite endurance.

Time for a bit more teamwork. "Caddie!" The Sylveon pokes her head out of Alexis' bag... Only to yip and duck back down as some thorns fly just short of her head. "(That wasn't very nice...)" Despite being cute and pink the fox-like fairymon makes a very mean looking scowl. "(That was the exact OPPOSITE of nice!)"
"Oh bugger," is all Alexis, who had called for the fairymon to use a healing move, has to say as Caddie jumps out to the ground.
"(Now I'm not happy. I'm the opposite of happy... VERY opposite of happy!) Somehow something that small and cute manages to ROAR almost as loudly as the monsters around them. "(All you big mean meanie heads should just GO AWAY!)" And as she does so a huge beam of energy seems to drop out of thin air into the hordes as her temper flare summons a powerful Moonblast of Fairy wrath!

Dodge? Why should it dodge? Clysm has no reason to dodge the tangled viney clawed limb being swung at him. Because even as the talons tear into his shoulder and side.. Not when he can soak up the damage in order to stay close to his opponent. From his back the massive dragon-like wings spread, then start to flap. One might think he was trying to take off.. but no, the wingspan's huge beats start to kick up massive winds around him. It's a combination of elemental and magic forces at work, but anyone who's seen a tornado at work knows the sort of damage they can do, even to large, heavily rooted trees. It's hard to tell if Clysm is just attacking or on some level realizes trying to uproot the plant-monster is a thing to do, but either way that focused cyclone is going to be nasty. For Thorn, at least. The Crafty Whoosher ability makes Clysm immune to the danger of his own wind-based attacks. This giant monster wasn't messing around, he's cranking out the big guns right from the start.

This isn't just a pokemon battle of elaborate elemental rock-paper-sisers, so getting a rock fist slammed into it's steel jaw is still enough to rock Titan's head backwards. The Steelix recovers from the blow though, and starts to wind his metallic length around Quarry much like a python would, binding him in crushing metallic coils. Though Steelix also has those big metal spires jutting out of the sides of some of its segments too.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is glad to be helping Alexis really going alone on something like this would not be he best odds in the world Elite or not. She would do wht she will do wht she can here. She sees the boulers coming in and the toxic spit, would that even effect her given her lack of biology? She doesn't want to know to be honest. So she's going to try to nto find out, So she's foeced to go on the evaive as she starts flipping even jumping on one od the thrown boulders tog et some air time before it crashes to the ground. She now has her keyblade ready and she sees the large hulking thing. She gets the idea she cna hit and run it so that's what she's going to do. The one's however attacking her would find also the wind has been turned upon them as they buffled and slice almost like daggers. She also launches a few more fire spells before she attemps to go after the big lead one.

"So your one of the higher ups I'd take it?"

With that she darts in lashing out with her keyblade as she goes trusting in Alexis to cover her back.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Duke manages to keep falling debris from landing on the heads of the people below, saving many lives, even as the property damage continues to escalate. Tiki's attacks upon the monsters clear room for the civilians to be picked up, and dropped off safely. They're probably quite grateful, if totally bewildered and terrified, so they decide not to waste this gift by standing around thanking the dragon as she goes flying off, and instead 'pay it forward' by getting not only themselves but anyone else nearby who is having trouble up and on their feet. Every single life and every second matters. And the self-sacrificing warrior and his transformed ally are making the most of both with every thing they do.

    With Shadowed Aesthtic, even as some people are pulled up onto the crowded ledge, the fact a very visible super hero is helping them causes a lot of people to simply trust in his words and do their best to calm down, even as though that keep coming up behind them make it harder and harder to not get pushed right over the edge. Thankfully, Shadowed Aesthetic starts rearranging debris, and the fact that it's possible to go around to the north, even if a more round-about method, alleviates some of the pressure on the growing crowd. With an improvised bridge as solid as can be set up in a situation like this lies before them, people start crossing over to the other side as well as they can given people are still in a rush to not die and that panic and self-preservation may cause recklessness or abandonment of others for the sake of one's self.

    But that's just how it is in crises like this. And in a City of Heroes, even the completely ordinary civilians show better judgment regarding helping others than might be the case elsewhere in this world, helping those who have fallen.

    Blurr may be taking plenty of hits from the enemies that fill the path before him, but he's running over lots of them in turn, many before they can even react to his presence. When a huge vine bursts through the tunnel wall, and the autobot seizes the opportunity to attack, his gunfire tears into the dense plant flesh, causing some sort of green ooze to splash out of it. The moment the substance touches the walls of the tunnel, they become coated in dense moss, and flowers and grass both start growing rapidly to cover the ceiling and floor as well. That substance coming out of it, the vine's 'blood' is like... Concentrated life itself. And as it thrashes from the damage it's taking, the ground tremors resume, but this time it's the enemies below the ground that are suffering damage from it, as their invasion tunnels are collapsed.

    Devouring Earth that are exposed to the hyper-concentrated plant life are soon immobilized as they are fused with the increasingly dense foliage around them. Blurr seems to have done serious damage to the vine, nearly cut one of them in half with his gunfire. Invasion tunnels are being closed off and the influx of new monsters is sure to be far less and far slower.

    But staying down here and finding out whether these plants can grow on metal or worm roots into his body or something weird like that might not be a good idea! Time to go in reverse before THIS tunnel collapses as well!

Shadowed Aesthetic (872) has posed:
    Yes! A path is made across the chasm! But this is no time to breathe a sigh of relief, not yet. There are still people who have fallen into the pit, who fell when the ground first split open. So Shadowed Aesthetic goes to help them next. He's going to be careful however; there's a possibility that these people have been hurt by the fall. He also needs to watch the retreating people, make sure they don't hurt themselves or each other in their panic.

    And he needs to do one more thing. He needs to make certain that none of the monsters make it to the makeshift bridge to damage it. So once he's done what he can to help the injured and escaping people, he positions himself at the monster-y side of the pit and gets his fans out again. He stands there as a glowing beacon-- and a very painful stop sign for any monster that try to make it across. There are more people that need to be rescued, and they'll need an escape when the others free them.

Duke has posed:
Live continues to be save and Duke's eyes continue to flicker with blue energy, but they are managing. This is good, the situation may be turning around! He flips back and summon up his power as a magical circle spins under him and rises up above him. Then with a turn on his heel, he yells out, "FINAL CREST!!" and as he throws out his hand the circles form into a large crest, sending out a heavy streaming blast for several of the monsters to clear the way for more people and try to make a large dent in the numbers.

Duke wouldn't be able to do that again for a bit.

In that moment, he looks over to Tiki in the short time they have, "Duke." He says to her, "My name is Duke." He readies his lance again. "I will be in your debt by the end of this, m'lady." His eyes turn to the spire, they narrow gently. How much trouble these creatures were causing, he thinks to himself, and how much he wishes they would be gone.

Hive Monsters (885) has posed:
    The flames from Entei douse the enemies in a sea of fire, that spreads to other plant-based creatures. The orbital fairy laser death cannon also explodes in their midst, sending more Devouring Earth creatures to the ground. It's not surprising that firepower like this could take out huge swaths of foes. And it's not surprising that some of those less susceptible to fire might not be as obviously injured, even if they're taken out. What may be surprising is the number of them that get back up if they aren't defeated.

    What's going on? This firepower is no joke! It's almost like the ones here are tougher, stronger... Maybe even healing right before Alexis's eyes!? There's mushrooms and stone outcroppings and glowing green mini-trees scattered around... Crystals too... They all seem to be radiating some sort of power. They must be buffing the Devouring Earth. Maybe their benefits wouldn't have been significant enough to survive Elite attacks of this scale ordinarily, but this isn't just one or two buffing 'pets'. There's dozens. Hundreds, all in a confined area. And their overlapping buffing range means that these guys are a lot tougher than they would be normally.

    This is going to be rough. But maybe taking out the leaders will end the invasion prematurely!

    Speaking of that, the tornado attack upon Thorn hurls many lesser foes away, and bends the Monster backwards, its 'feet' snapping out of the ground and breaking its connection to the vines that have been tunneling all over the zone. They'll probably die off at some point. But with its attention now focused solely on Clysm, a monster with enormous strength of its own attempts to grab Clysm in both of its huge hands and simply start trying to crush it with the power of vines that can strangle other forms of life, tear apart all that humans have wrought, and bury forever the evidence of their existence. Strength far beyond its mere size and construction is there. Power, though massively diluted, inherited from a being that is directly connected to the source of all super powers. It's a tiny, tiny sliver. Almost nothing. And it is enough to make Thorn a menace that multiple Elites would be needed to defeat.

    And now it's trying to grind Clysm to a pulp in its wooden talons.

    Right then, Deelel bombards its back with fire, and unleashes more slicing wind upon it and the enemies around it. Thorn loses focus again, turning to the new threat. If it had a hold on Clysm, now is an opportunity to break free! But now Deelel has a swarm of insects flying at her. The Swarm is coming right out of the gaps in Thorn's viney body!

    Quarry is likewise a threat that takes multiple Elites to defeat. But as it is wrapped in the coils of Titan the Steelix, it loses its mobility, staggers and crushes several Minions beneath its feet, and has to resort to wrestling with the powerful, sturdy pokemon, working huge fingers around the Steelix's head... And trying to... Pry its jaws apart!? That could be bad! Stone cracks and crumbles away beneath the pressure of the mighty Steelix. But Steelix may be feeling pressure too!

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "This just isn't working!" But Shirou's hearing reports of people trapped in buildings... and more than that, he can hear screams. He can see the monsters trying to invade buildings and crowding through the streets. They're all grouped up.

    "My body is made of swords." Casting his bow aside, the boy instead leaps OFF THE BUILDING. Which is CRAZY for anyone to do... but he has a reason for being this crazy! "A shell of steel with fire for blood." Whirling about in the air while wind rushes past him, Shirou extends a hand and GRIPS the solidifying prana. Moving without thinking, he lets the skill of the spear's wielder guide him through the air. vruasa telash's AERODYNAMIC ROCKET SHOCKSPEAR kicks into high gear, sending Shirou on a scorching path that's almost SURFING for a brief moment towards the ground below. but while he flies at breaknecked speeds he keeps his chant up, prana flowing through his circuits at ever greater intensities. IN the back of his mind, images begin to form. Of gun hammers cocking, circuit lines glowing, and an endless twilight sky. The beating of hammers on anvils, shaping glowing metal. Of legendary swords from all ages in pristine brilliance.

    once more, he must make this world a reality. "I have created over a thousand blades, never retreating, never knowing victory. I stand atop a hill of swords, forging weapons from my flesh." His standoffish, firm chant is paused only briefly as he nears the ground in front of an advancing horde of monsters. The rocket spear's REVERSED just a bit too clumsily though, and while Shirou bleeds off his speed quite effectively he also SLIPS and tumbles from fifteen feet off the fading weapon. He lands with a CRUNCH on one shoulder, but the reinforced bone doesn't break... definitely some minor fractures though.

    And PAIN. Lots of pain.

    But pain... pain, he can deal with that.

    Ignoring the pain like some kind of machine, SHirou forces himself up with only a few grunts and extends his other arm out. "This lonely path needs no reward... my whole life is UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!"

    When previously he's invoked the Reality Marble, many, many allies were in range and were pulled in too. Not this time though. Anyone watching the area where he landed - a street between two blocks of damaged buildings, filled with monsters and the screams of those trapped in rubble - see what it's like to be on the OUTSIDE of a Reality MArble as it's forming. For a brief instant the Boundary Field is visible, a twisted warping in the air encompassing roughly half a city block... the furthest SHirou can push it while keeping it remotely stable. Reality ripples like the surface of a disturbed pond. There's an incredibly intense white flash, like looking into the heart of a nuclear explosion - but it's over instantly. Reality hiccups, burps, and reverberates, but in that single instant...

    Shirou, a few nearby streets of monsters, and all the civilians trapped in nearby buildings or under rubble are simply GONE.

    And that's the way it stays for about a minute. Then...

    Then reality ripples again. There's another, smaller flash - like some great metaphysical knot coming untied faster and faster. With a final FWOOOSH the Boundary Field collapses and the Reality Marble is undone.

    Countless Devouring Earth corpses topple to the streets, all of them impaled with three or four swords at the very least. Fragments of bladed weapons are scattered hapzardly in the wake of the reappearing Shirou, and behind him on a clear patch of pavement...

    Every single survivor is released just a tad roughly on on the street and sidewalk.%R    Shirou's armed with just Kanshou and Bakuya, and panting hard though. "Come on, let's get out of here. The others are doing their best!" He tries to get out and sound inspirational, but he's out of breath! It doesn't really sound so heroic!

Blurr has posed:
    Ha! The vine's 'blood' or what have you spews out in droves, immobilizing its own team. Blurr keeps up the pressure until the thing has been completely disintegrated, and if any more show up they're getting the same treatment! As flimsy as these things seem to be in comparison to him, their sheer number has certainly put some dents in his armor and perhaps even some open wounds. All the more reason to get this job done and fast.

    Hmm...it seems that the passage beyond has almost fully collapsed, and there is now not enough room for him to continue forward. But now that the monsters are getting paralyzed, this has allowed the Autobot an opening to enact a plan that he's managed to come up with on the fly.

    Quickly, he activates his holoform inside of his own passenger compartment and it starts stringing a series of detpack grenades together. He then ejects his auxiliary fuel unit and attaches the grenades. Adjusting the holomatter's size so that it can easily carry the makeshift bomb, he then takes the assembly outside and shoves it as far down the tunnel as he possibly can. And then he sets a detonator. Just one will be enough to set off the entire thing, or should be.

    The space in here is certainly cramped and not enough for him to stand up to his full height, but it's enough for him to -partly- transform--enough to get himself turned around so he can haul aft out of there before the bomb goes off.

    Ideally, the vibrations caused by the explosions will be enough to collapse most of the tunnels leading to the city, cutting of the creatures' access to the area and maybe even damaging wherever or whatever the slag the thing is that these things are coming out of. That's optimistic thinking, though.

    ...and, the bomb will probably cause more earthquakes. Okay he hadn't thought about that beforehand, but now it's kind of too late. But at least this will keep more of those things from surfacing, right? That way, they just have to deal with the three giant monsters that are already up there. And everything else that's already up there.

    WELL ANYWAY. He manages to get himself turned around to speed off back toward the surface. << Uh, guys, there might be a few more tremors...just a heads up. >> The Autobot has just reached the surface when the tank is detonated, hopefully collapsing the last of the tunnels and preventing more reinforcements from arriving.

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Amidst all the chaos, Tiki pauses briefly to notice that those they saved were in turn saving others. It was sights such as this that inspire her to realize that all is not lost in this millennium. The ancient Manakete knows that she must continue to do everything within her power to ensure that no monster interferes with these rescue efforts. Despite being wounded, Tiki takes flight once again and picks up one of the rock creatures, soars high in the air, and then launches the grabbed foe towards its comrades with all the force that she could muster. It seems that her ability to grab and carry things works both ways and can also be used to fight against their mutual foe!

    The great green dragon turns to watch the fireworks when the colossal armored knight launches his mighty attack. Such destructive force! It was a fine thing that this mysterious proved to be an ally instead of an enemy this day. Hopefully that attack will buy the fleeing civilians a little time to continue helping others escape. "I am Tiki, last of the divine dragons." The fire-breathing dragon replies before adding, "Sir Duke, you owe me no debt for you too fight to safeguard those fleeing from this destruction." She bows her head gratefully before turning her red eyes upon their foes. "Together, we can do this!" She then rears up so that she's standing on only her hind legs and spreads her wings out as far as she can muster in an attempt to look as big as she possibly can. "Let none pass!"

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is locked in heagy gighting now she's is training a lot o these creatures on her, she's got the bugs and sees they are coming out of the thing's body. She's got a few ticks and by now the monsters most have an idea there's nothing of flesh about this human seeming woman at all. She keeps trying to keep clear but this forces her to not make as many attack the fire does keep comming but its more of a diverseion. Several puck like items are on her hip and those seem to be a weapon as she lobs them into the monster's ranks a moment will tick by before the charges go off in powerful searing blasts of energy. She's trying to thin things out to better deal with the hulking plant thing or that's her hope.

Alexis has posed:
It's a good thing no one expects Alexis to be lady-like, because the string of words that comes under her breath as monsters either heal from the assault or spawn anew could put seasoned sailors to shame. Cussing aside though the Trainer's mind races, going through what pokemon she has with her. How fast or often can they heal like that? They need to buy time to finish off the 'bosses'. Are those crystals important? There's no time to formulate a stingint plan, but she'd rather think on her feet anyways.

Wildfire is hurt from the constant attacks, but much like the volcanic force he embodies the Entei is not about to stop easily once he was already erupting, as it were. Caddie was, frankly, too pissed off to care at the destruction... So Alexis just pulls out everything else she has. Her Typhlosion appears, followed by her Charizard. And to round it out, a Flygon, notibly this one a bit more sparkly than most with blue markings instead of red. She keeps a strange crew, yes.

"If you can burn, BURN." Alexis points at the Flygon, then towards the crystals. "Mirage, try and do something about that." The fly-dragon bobs her head and loop-de-loops to take off. Arcs towards the crystals, then banks to start flying circles around a formation. Speed, in combination with the harmonizing rapid buzz of her wings, builds up to the point that it manifests in a powerful explosion like soundwave blasting through the circling motion. Maybe the Boomburst can hit hard enough to shatter some crystal with soundwaves?

Burn? Easy enough to do. Both Scorch and Wildfire fire off Lava Plumes, sending multiple streams of flaming molten fury into the monster hordes. While the Typhlosion and Entei are doing that, Redline the Charizard rears back and starts spitting out balls of flame like fiery artillery, each Flame Burst exploding like a bomb to send flames flying in multiple directions. The idea is simply to exploit high damage AoEs, so if the horde is going to heal, they're going to be burning a lot of energy to do so. Caddie even chips in though she can't 'burn' per say, by bellowing even louder in her tantrum with Hyper Voice... And proves to be even more dangerous that the last attack as this Sylveron has Pixilate, turning that Normal attack into a power boosted Fairy type, also cranking it up even more due to becoming a same type attack.

It's a testimate to the strength Quarry is packing that cracks and stress marks are visible in the Steelix's jaw joint, but Titan isn't relenting just because that's managing to hurt like bloody hell. A metallic shimmer is briefly visible in the depths of the steel serpent's open maw, just before a Flash Cannon beam erupts from it, possibly blasting Quarry point-blank before the monster can realize what's coming.

Even with it's size and bulk, the crushing thorny grasp is enough to make Clysm roar out in pain, and even once Thorn is distracted by Deelel's barrage the kaiju-like chimera collapses to the ground in a heap. Defeated? Yes.

BUT apparently that isn't enough, as after a moment of laying there the Missing Lynx digs his claws into the ground and hauls himself back into his feet. But he was beat! Yes, but one of his skill sets provides him with the Comeback Kid trait, that allows for a dramatic recovering from defeat on occasion. With enough strength left to lunge back at Thorn to grab it with claws on all four limbs, and even the mouth of his snake-tail. Massive wings beat with all his might, in an attempt to rip Thorn right off the ground entirely. He may be the most monsterous of Alexis' creatures, but he's got the cunning of a predator to realize where his prey is getting strength from.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Shadowed Aesthetic rescues those who have fallen. Yes, some are seriously injured and may need further help getting to medical care. Others may have unseen injuries that will make themselves known later on. But they are in far better shape than if they had been trampled underfoot or been left in that ditch for the Devouring Earth to find them while they were helpless, and kill them where they lay. These creatures do not appear to have any mercy or compassion in them. Everything about them practically HUMS with hatred towards humanity and its allies.

    And Shadowed Aesthetic, even if he doesn't look like a normal human, even if he ISN'T a normal human... Faces that hatred head-on as the monsters charge towards him, receiving fan slashes and skillful blows even as they continue to charge forth. Unlike at the lake the other day, these creatures are not just trying to rush past to get to an objective. They are aiming to kill anyone and anything in their path. And so they pile onto the Alchemical with everything they have.

    Shadowed Aesthetic has saved many lives today. Can he save his own now as well? Continue to buy time for others to escape? Only he can determine that.

    Duke's blast plows through the ranks of advancing monsters, leaving the number of enemies significantly thinned as their reinforcements become fewer and fewer. The pavement is turned nearly molten in the wake of the attack, and a chain link fence melts into the path of the monsters, setting one of them ablaze when it tries to push through regardless. Many others have been scattered or destroyed.

    Shirou's plan gets many people who were trapped inside the buildings and that would have required rescue crews to find -- rescue crews who couldn't even come here due to the Devouring Earth -- to relative safety, but there are probably several among them that will require medical attention. With loads of Devouring Earth monsters in the area cleared out as well, however, there's now a clear path out of here for them. Shirou may have exhausted himself, but he has saves dozens of people in this one act alone, to say nothing of all the others who didn't get clawed in the back during their retreat because he rained sword-arrows down upon them.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Likewise, though Blurr's bombs are going to devastate the area above in addition the tunnels, the only thing up there right now or down here is monsters. The civilians in the suburbs have been evacuated (the ones alive, anyway), and that's more or less what he's under right now. So when he gets to safety, and the timer goes off... BOOOOOM! The ground just starts collapsing all over the place. Homes and streets and facilities slide off the ground and crash into each other, gulleys of ruined structures are formed, sidewalks thrown into attics, cars piling up and leaking fuel that then explodes, setting many things on fire.

    Yes, all this destruction... But the monsters that roam through these areas and beneath them are the ones taking all the damage, not the people living there. Such probably wouldn't been the case if Blurr had let the Devouring Earth be the ones to tear down human civilization instead.

    Tiki's throw of an enemy to bowl into others is effective, turning the Granite into a sort of... Sort of...

    https://youtu.be/F90o8xrplSQ?t=39s

    Many enemies are smashed through, and the Devouring Earth have lost more of their kind this day than the humans have of theirs. But unlike the citizens of Paragon City, there seems to be no end to the invaders. Which only makes it many times more valuable that Tiki has saved the irreplaceable lives with her transformed powers. No amount of destruction can ever make up for a lost life. And getting people out of this veritable war zone when their other avenues of escape were closed to them is a truly invaluable act.

    With most people out of here or leaving... Now all that remains is to stand up to the final push from the waves of enemies for as long as possible, and then get themselves to safety as well. This invasion is probably far from over.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    The little girl that Duke saved earlier is waiting by the security gates. Her parents haven't found her yet, if they even made it out. But she did. And it was because of that knight-like super hero. She didn't know him, his name, or anything like that. But as she watches everyone else flee in terror, people streaming past her in a river through the security gate, she waits, with a stuffed rabbit held tightly in her arms, and watches for her savior to come too.

    She has to thank him. Her momma and papa always said you should thank people who do something good for you. And this was a very good thing. So she'll wait right here. No matter how long it takes.

    Until she can thank him.

Duke has posed:
As the final wave starts to come and Duke looks over to Tiki, "We need to buy more time, Tiki. Together! We can do this!" He then looks back at the wave and readies his power, as the ground under him starts to glow. One more time, he thinks to himself. "On my mark, Tiki-- let them have it!" The Knight Digimon continues to gather up energy.

His hands starting to gather up a flame between his clawed fingertips, his stance widening as he makes ready. As the energy continues to build, he calls over to Tiki, "NOW!" Then, with her own combined attack, he unleashes his own power alongside hers. What unleashes from the gathered power was a shape that takes on a head of an angry wyvern on fire. It roars out in the inferno, spiraling around the own dragon's attack and once it makes contact with the enemy forces, it explodes with great power.

This attack, however, followed by the Final Crest, almost drains Duke and while he goes to head to step back, he almost collapses to he knee. His gold eyes spot the young girl at the gates, in the distance, with her bunny. It gives him the strength he needs to force himself to stand and not let exhaustion take hold yet. For her, for her he will be a bit stronger still. "We need to fall back, Tiki. That is all we can do, we gave them their time. Come, my new friend." She may notice his weariness and the dimness in his eyes.

If Tiki was to give him her shoulder or assist him back, he would not turn it down. Besides, he need to make sure that little girl fully left and he was not about to leave a child standing around helplessly.

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Tiki is well prepared to take immediate action when Duke calls out for her to join him in attacking. She was already there up on her hinds legs, wings stretched out, and her chest puffed out. The dragon turns slightly and nods her slender, elongated snout towards Duke, "Together!" She chimes back before slowly raising her head back and up into the air. Tiki begins breathing in deep to the point where tendrils of smoke start escaping from the sides of her mouth. All that is left for her to day is to follow up after the digital knight's attack.

    And that attack soon comes! When Duke's wyvern begins its dreadful flight towards their mutual enemy, Tiki comes down hard on her front feet and unleashes a rapid-fire succession of fireballs from her smoking maw. The nearly white fireballs would accomany Duke's attack towards their mutual target like a series of deadly and destructive will-o-wisps.

    This mighty attack leaves the dragon quite drained as well, but she must keep ahold of her dragon transformation until they safely away from the front lines. "Yes, I cannot sustain this assault. I must retreat as well before I weaken any further. Let us pray that our efforts today were bountiful." She then walks up alongside Duke and raises up one of her wings, allowing Duke to grab onto her for support. Her wing might not be the best shield, but it was atleast something that the weakened Manakete could do to help her ally and her withdraw from the field.

Hive Monsters (885) has posed:
    Deelel's energy bombs or whatever they may be seem to be effective regardless of if they are digital or something else. Just as the insects may be able to bite her without flesh, she can hurt them right back. Keyblades, whirl winds, flames, bombs... Enemies fall before the arsenal she wields, even as they continue trying to get close enough to get to her, or hurl attacks from a distance. Thorn still stands, but appears to be rather battered and torn thanks to both Deelel's efforts, and the savage combat with Clysm as claws and fangs tear into steel-cable-like vines.

    When it's lifted off the ground, while it doesn't seem to become weaker (or at least not right away. Maybe it takes time?) it can not fight back very well. Except by releasing more of those insects that are like a cross of the worst traits of wasps, horse flies, and mosquitoes right into its attacker's mouth! But in this position that really IS all it can do. And awful bugs with slowing/paralyzing toxin might not be enough to slow down or stop Clysm as the Monster is torn apart and thrown around, compared to the strength that was wielded before. Or, for that matter, the strength that Clysm continues to display.

    Quarry takes the powerful blast right to its rocky face and falls backwards to crash into the forming Hive's outer wall. A huge dust cloud goes up, as more and more cracks appear in Quarry's body, it may take far more of this combat to truly defeat Quarry, but it doesn't appear to be in the fight for the moment as it must extricate itself from its own group's base of operations without dealing further damage to it, which may be time-consuming. And its head seems to be half-blown off, which probably isn't helping. It might not have vital organs, but the rough approximation of physiology seems to be more than merely aesthetic. The center of its motivating force, whatever that is, is tied to both its main body and its head. And WHEREVER and WHATEVER that core is, it appears to have been significantly disrupted.

    Thorn is likewise suffering serious discombobulation. Before it can launch any sort of further invasion, it will need time to heal. Assuming it is left as it is now. And its feet don't look like they'll be reconnecting with those vines ever again from how they've been not just torn at the connector points but then burnt to 'cauterize' them. So THAT threat is dealt with as well.

    The huge mushroom thing to the south is still active, but to hell with that thing. The monsters seem to be slowing their invasion tremendously. No new forces except for a small trickle of small 'hunting parties' are still heading for Woodvale, with most milling around the Hive and the forest. Their leaders are unable to fight or lead anymore right now... Is this the time to pull out?

Hive Monsters (885) has posed:
    Given that the flames create a huge sea of burning bodies that are no longer fighting, and all those buffing and healing constructs were either incinerated or blown to pieces by the Flygon, and the shockwaves from that Boomburst are tossing even more enemies through the air when their buffing pets are gone. The sonic blasts from Caddie cause further damage to the Hive, causing more walls to collapse, and causing more Devouring Earth to have to stop invading and focus on repairing and salvaging.

    Yeah, this really might be the most ideal time to get out. But really, if they can keep toughing it out, don't they have a chance at winning? Don't they have the opportunity to defeat the invasion once and for all, even if they get torn up like hell for it? Maybe some of them might even fall in battle, but if that will make all this end NOW, isn't that worth it if they're THIS close...?

    Anyone nearby who is psychic feels it then. Maybe Entei might pick it up. There is a Force here. A Force beyond mere nature, even if nature is how it expresses its will. Something that is close to Power itself. A psychic presence so powerful that it would not be an exagerration to call it a God.

    It wakes up, and it starts sending out tendrils of influence towards the Legendary pokemon, and towards even those who are not psychic. It's like unseen drills are trying to penetrate into one's brain. There is Something here. Even if everyone who came here to save Woodvale today took it on at once...

    This is not a thing that can be easily beaten.

    No, it really would be best to get out of here as soon as possible. Immediately, even.

    There is no fighting that. There just isn't. Not right now.

Shadowed Aesthetic (872) has posed:
    Shadowed Aesthetic thought he'd dealt with as bad as these things could dish out. He was very, very wrong. Because before, the Devouring Earth were just trying to get PAST him, and only attacked because he was in their way. Now they're actually attacking him with full intent to destroy him! That's a bit more heat than he's prepared for!

    Rock and crystal creatures are difficult enough when they're NOT trying to hurt him. This is just insane! He needs to try and buy time, but there's only so much he can do, even at iconic levels of Essence use. He's just not built for this sort of thing! But he remains as long as he can, fighting the monsters that try to get across the makeshift bridge, fighting furiously.

    ...Right up until he's knocked back into that pit by the swinging fist of a rock monster that he failed to dodge! He's knocked into some debris, but thankfully not completely buried. He gets to his feet, a little more slowly than before. "Ah, I think that's a good sign to get out of here..." he observes, pressing a hand to his side. That hurts!

    He is going to try and get himself out of the area, but he doesn't want to leave any allies.

Alexis has posed:
Alexis rests a hand on one knee, huffing a bit. She may not be directly involved in the direct fighting, but you don't have to be a hyperlinker to feel the strain when you've got all six pokemon plus an otherworldly monster out on the playing field at once. This wasn't the kind of fight her competative spirit enjoyed, it was just the sort that had to be done. "Okay guys, just a little mo--" She stops as Wildfire ends his assault of fire and snaps up his head. "--huh?"

... Oh fuck no. He dealt with being corrupted already, thank you very much. Whatever THAT is, it's bad news trying to get into his brain, and he's having none of it. Before she can question farther he grabs Alexis by the hood with his teeth and tosses her onto his back, taking off at an Extremespeed pace.

The other pokemon just look at each other for a moment, but when the Legendary takes off like that, you don't question it. Redline grabs Scorch, Mirage swoops in to grab Caddie, and the fliers take off after the Entei and their trainer.

By whatever bond there is amongst them Titan seems to get the hint as well, slithering off instead of finishing Quarry for good right now.

"The hell, Wildfire!" Alexis exclaims in bewilderment once she gets her bearings back in order. "This could of been finished."
(Now is not the time. The invasion is done. But a greater power is awakening.) the great beast replies. (One that needs more than a pissed off fairy to stop.)
"(HEY I HEARD THAT!)" Caddie retorts from Mirage's arms.
".. Right. Okay. Something worse on the horizon we're too beat up for. Gotcha."

The buzzing and stinging and toxins are annoying, but unlike the claws and the monster's strength they really are like bothersome insects, save maybe a little more aggrivating than usual when Clysm isn't at full strength. A time is spent just clawing and biting Thorn as much as he can, until he notices Alexis and the others leaving. Must be something else afoot if the 'alpha' is withdrawing to fight later.

Clysm lets go of Thorn and gives just enough of a wing flap to make a small burst of wind to toss the monster in the side of the hive, loops over and soars off after the others. He'll probably be the first to collapse in exhaustion once they're home though, dealing with that monster on his own was definately a trial.