4442/THE GRAND PRESENTATION

THE GRAND PRESENTATION
Date of Scene:	19 August 2016
Location:	City of Ravnica <Rav>
Synopsis:	Yunomi officially unveils the Mana Nexus! AND NOTHING BAD -- everything bad happens. A coup, betrayal, fighting -- and pain, so much pain.
Cast of Characters:	272, 985, 325, Bahamut, 481, Corona Arclite, Staren, 385, 750, 639, 215, Lyria Mason, 151, 300, 395

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Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
(https://youtu.be/-HgjSlyTJAA)
RAVNICA, THE CITY OF GUILDS
IZZET SECTOR: THE MANA NEXUS

     The whole of the sector has been closed to heavy traffic: it is PARTY TIME.
  
     The Izzet Sector hasn't seen this much foot traffic in centuries, throngs of people surge in the crowds in the atmosphere of a carnival. Costumes and balloons, members of the Izzet walking around in striped robes of brilliant blues and bright reds, brass polished to a brilliant sheen. Humans and brightly colored djinn talk with full glasses of sparkling red and electric blue liquids. MErfolk in watery robes of blues and greens stride proudly for their part in supporting the Izzet, and the odd Elf in green and white stops to admire the spires, alive with electricity around them. Vedalken in brilliant white robes stride calmly through the crowds, their azure skin eyecatching. Goblins laugh harshly, calling out insults to one another in garbled tongues and poking their noses into places that they might not belong.

     The Boros are here as well, above the spires the occasional flash of a wing can be seen from patrolling angels, thought that this presentation was important enough to warrant their personal address. Human patrols walk the streets, sometimes enjoying samples from the vendors.

     Food carts line the streets, everything from exotic meats on sticks, roasted freshly over glowing blue-hot coals to floating candies tethered by licorice rope strings to deep-fried cakes, candy, doughs and battered, delicious nothings that go right to the waist, and of course vendors selling everything from bagels to waffles to ice cream. A ferris wheel manned by a pair of diminutive fairies operates, spinning forty-seven cars around in a circle, while a huge, tripple-decker carousel spins with a menagerie of incredulous animals.

     And in the center of this all was the massive honeycomb structure of the Mana Nexus, glowing in its pre-start up phase.

     YUNOMI STADLER, clad not in her armors but a stylishly cut dress of red and blue, her hair curled and strewn with red and blue miniature roses is currently hiding behind a curtain at the grand podium, large enough for herself -- the Guildmaster, Rhapsody Mizzet -- and her tutor, the mechanical Soul-Twin of Niv-Mizzet himself. To say that she was nervous... would be an understatement.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    The Atmosphere is one of celebration -- NOTHING BAD COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN.

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
Nothing bad could possibly happen!

That's why Nina is here.

Nina heard about the Mana Nexus and thought she'd come to see it, or the presentation around it. What she understood of it - that it was a magic energy plant of some sort - seemed intriguing in a theoretical sense, and of course she's never actually been to Ravnica, so it had that going for it too.

She didn't expect quite this much of a festival for something magic, though. At home, it would have gotten interested onlookers, and maybe they'd be able to spin a fair or a circus to come, but something like this? No way. Not what looks like the entire contents of a capital city. She may have misunderstood how important magic was to this world...

Either way, she's here. She stands out a little less, though despite her wings she doesn't look that much like a Ravnican angel. Maybe an Orzhov angel, with her black-indigo wings and blue robe, but she has the wrong attitude for that and they probably wouldn't be in the Izzet sector anyway.

She came alone, and is looking somewhere between curious and lost. Nina is currently trying to guess if it is legal for her to fly out of the crowd and sit on a rooftop or a streetlight or something, or if that breaks one of the laws of the city. She's never been in a city this large in her life - she's never even /considered/ a city this large.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    It was true, EVERY guild was in the Izzet Sector, in one form or another, tonight. Some for the festivities, some for information, some to present, some to protect, and some with alterior motives. However, on this night, even the Azor are actually enjoying themselves, the Gruul are behaving and the Rakdos are partying. It was spectacular.

    Behind the curtain, a trio, a master, and an apprentence had been making sure everything was going perfect and thus far, it was! Such a turn around from days before where some magewrights actually feared being singed by dragonfire on this day. Now? Now it was a celebration of inovation, of the Izzet League, and of all the things they stood for, and showing that they worked for the whole of the city, and not just themselves.

    Sidonia, for her part, was buried in a mass of red and white, organizing the security that was flying over, patrolling around, and even moving below, the whole of the Izzet Sector. Ryxinel was managing all the resources needed by the guards, the guilds, and maintaining the main concourse from the local Warp Gate to the main festivities. Thianel was at a distance, watching from the Span, a bridge that connected Nivix and Thirix far above. Flanked by Boros griffons and a pair of Steamcore Weirds, it was here he was simply keeping an eyein the sky.

    And the Guildmaster? Simply behind the curtain with the #1 Offworld apprentice, helping in any way possible. For once, Presentation Day was the circus of both, and there were a LOT of monkeys to be kept in place. For now, however, until things got going, the curtain was down and each were out of view. After going through nearly a dozen checklists and getting GREEN statuses for all the reports, the white dragon slips over to Yunomi. "We are good to go," she says first before poking the tanuki in the shoulder, "And if you don't give me a go signal I'm gonna drop that curtain in a few minutes anyway." Smirk.

Bahamut has posed:
     Although he is not part of the Izzet or the festivities, Bahamut has come in his best regalia to the Grand Presentation. A polished gunmetal grey cheshplate with cloth streamers of purple and yellow-orange gives him the look of wearing a robe himself, and golden shoulderpads emblazoned with the symbol of Bevelle Temple make him look even more regal and majestic than he already would. And strapped to his back is a two-handed sword of obsidian black, shimmering softly with grey and blue. It looks to be some sort of clockwork weapon, but the gears and knobs around the hilt could be decorative.

     He has been enjoying the many foods on offer as well as the myriad of people moving through the celebration area. It is highly likely that more than a few vendors have had much of their stock purchased already by the mid-sized dragon, and so now he is standing near the Mana Nexus awaiting the beginning of the presentation as he enjoys a wooden horsecart full of food and drink as he watches the many different creatures mill about enjoying the celebration.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika is mostly here out of concern for the well being of all present today, so she's volunteered to assist in running security. The kitsune hasn't let this keep her from dressing fancy however, as she's donned her finest kimono to celebrate this occasion.

    Being so curious as she is, Kirika can't help but linger close to the presentations, trying to get a look at what's been put on display while munching on a waffle snack of some sort. These are -bloody delicious- as far as the fox is concerned, so her tail swishes happily while she dines and strolls.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Partitioning off the sector to heavier traffic and vehicles was probably a good idea, considering how absolutely packed this place already was when Corona got here. Just finding a place to park was difficult enough in itself, if one didn't just take the warp gate. How was she ever going to get to where the actual demonstration/celebration was going to go down without having to wedge her way through dozens upon dozens of people, metabeings and otherwise?

The answer comes not in voice, but in the sounds of hissing steam and click-clatter of cogs churning away. One 'chicken walker' style leg driven by pullys and gears steps over the heads of most of the crowd to find a safe spot to put down as people back up a bit to look up at it. The other leg soon follows, and while steampunks and clockworks were nothing new to Izzet, this was clearly not one of their design. The metal cube the walker legs were moving through the crowd was less magical and more greebly, with visible piping and bronze fixtures on the various sides that despite looking really complicated don't appear to really serve a purpose. On the front a trio of lenses are mounted on a rotary fixture: one for close vision, one for long range, and a third that is a wide-view to make sure it doesn't scrape up against anything.

As it ambles by one of the many food stalls a gloved hand reachs down from the top to grab a meat-on-a-stick, and tosses a few gold coins down to the vendor without really bothering to count out a price. "Keep the change!" Corona settles back into her spot atop the automatron, sitting under an umbrella weged between two of the plates to give her some shade. "Now this is how ya travel," the silver-grey vixen muses with a chuckle before taking a chomp out of whatever roasted deliciousness she just picked up.

Staren has posed:
    Okay, take II! Hopefully it will go better this time!

    Staren's in high spirits, certainly! He swings by the food carts ('Okay, floating candy I have to try, but it doesn't have any side effects, right?') His attention is on the mana nexus and Yunomi, though, he doesn't want to get distracted by the rides!

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Between the demonstration earlier in the week, and being within something resembling earshot when Yunomi got some bad personal news, Yuna has made a point of being around the Izzet Sector as much as she can this week - when not studying or training or putting in public appearances elsewhere, pretty much. Fortunately the Izzet have very comfortablt guest beds.

Yuna's in a casual but presentable sundress as she explores the party; Elner is alternating irregularly between sticking close to her and monitoring things from somewhere on high. Jiina, Marina, and Erina are blending in with the crowd - they look perfectly human, even if they don't look local, and as long as nobody gets too curious about what might be detected locally as ambient white mana, they should be fine.

Danger is one of the last things on Yuna's mind tonight, and she wants to keep it that way. Maybe she should be dressed up more nicely, but she didn't know what was appropriate and didn't really want to *over*dress - and she didn't want to wear something that was going to be hard to clean if somebody spilled a drink or a plate on it. Given the carnival atmosphere and the prevalence of finger food, Yuna's *pretty* comfortable with her fashion choices for the evening.

And of course she's saying hello to all the familiar faces she meets, from Nina to Corona to Bahamut. (There is a small but non-zero chance she won't recognize Staren outside of his armor ... although if that happens it might just be her teasing him.)

Rebound (750) has posed:
    Somebody said food vendors, and within a few minutes Rebound had mysteriously appeared in the Izzet sector. One has to wonder how the 'roo girl doesn't weigh a few hundred more pounds with how much she likes to eat. Must burn a lot of callories when you work like she does.

    She has, at the moment, a funnel cake in one hand, a huge drink in the other, and a turkey leg in her mouth. Seems she's been busy. She is actually in line to get a meat on a stick when the clockwork walker comes up to the stall. She slips in behind it, taking a bite out of the turkey leg in her mouth as she looks at that gloved hand, head tilting a bit.

Merlin (639) has posed:
    Monday was...interesting. Today should be spectacular. The wizard from Dun Realtai slips quietly through the crowd, turning down his usual uncontrollable aura of magnificence and sexiness. Instead he spends his time observing the equipment from afar, noting little changes here and there and reminding himself to inquire about them later. Merlin hadn't been able to talk to the insanely busy tanuki after the first demonstration, so he'd simply had a gift delivered and bided his time.

    That she'd be wearing the band of undying roses woven into her hair is just an adorable touch, and it gives the wizard a smile. Oh, why not - a touch at his temple summons one of silver, duplicating the one she'd given him in the past. The language of flowers between friends, just a different dialect. And then the wizard simply settles in among the crowd to watch and wait.

Iria (215) has posed:
It's been a while since Iria has been here in the area. Granted, her recent bounty hunting exploits have been occupying her time, but with some free time on her hands, there's no time like the present to check out things here in Ravnica. Iria's even donned her classic attire from what she wore during her initial time here, as if attempting to get back into the mood of things!

Even though she's usually a bit of a grumpy and impatient girl at times, Iria still has a spunky and playful side. She enjoys having fun in her spare time.

She arrives in Ravnica with a smile on her face and a cheerful attitude, a contrast from the usually short-fused girl most might see. She walks around, nodding to people and stopping to admire things that are for sale, especially the foodstuffs. Once she arrives where the others are gathered, she gives a friendly wave to those she knows, especially Yuna.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    "This is revenge for kissing you on the start-up, isn't it?" Yunomi counters to Rhapsody, and she reaches for the white dragon's hand, and glances behind to Thianel. "I can't tell you both how glad I am that you stand with me tonight." she gives them a smile, and glances to Ryx, and then far above to the Span, and she twists her fingers nervously around a little bit of green mana, letting the comforting color encircle her hand. She leans back on her heels a moment.

    "I've never spoken in front of a crowd this big." she whispers, spotting a familiar unbridled pillar of attraction in MErlin, and she gives a small smile. She shakes her head, and lets the curtain fall back down from where she was peering.

    She swallows, nervously.

    "... I don't suppose cold feet is an option?" she jokes, turning to Rhapsody.

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria has been here for the rests but now it's time for the formal boot up, if she understood it or at the very least it's a full on party. She's more than happy to get in on this, heck her mother's here Yoko Mason has a stall up and she's happily hawking things to the various party goers. Lyria was bright eyed happy and ready to see she and anyone who interacted with her have a good night! Merlin might find that Lyria was coming up upon him as she came to wish Yunomi the best to Yunomi. She did however take a long look at Merlin.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    "Maybe..." the guildmaster teases. "And well, to be fair, I don't think I've been in front of as big a crowd, short of the inauguration. I kinda cheated that day, though. Either find a person in the crowd, or a spot in the distance, and focus on that when you're talking. With such a crowd, no one really expects direct eye contact, so, you don't have to really look at them, just pretend you are." Smile. Handsqueeze. "You'll be fine. You'll have an amazing presentation that, to be fair, I feel bad for whoever tries to present after you."

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
Nina Windia figured a good robe fit in pretty much anywhere there was magic. If she'd thought ahead more she would have looked up what they wore in Ravnica and checked her closet to see if she had anything similar... but she didn't, and even if she had there's not a whole lot in her closet nowadays, so this will have to do.

Nina has decided flying - or, rather, finding something high to perch on - is probably gauche even if it isn't illegal and taking someone's roof is definitely rude, so she's staying on the ground. She has nothing to eat but she did find something to drink... plain water, even if she had to conjure ice herself and wait for it to melt.

She's smiled at the few people she recognized - not many, but Yuri counted. Other than that she's stayed out of the way, though perhaps surprisingly seeing Rebound is vaguely reassuring, if only because she looks a little like the Clans of her homeworld. Even if she doesn't recognize the exact Clan.

Corona Arclite has posed:
It's nice to not have to wedge her way through a crowd that's probably big enough for even her to get lost in. Corona waves back to Yuna and others from atop her 'ride'. Then flicks back an ear as she hears familiar footsteps coming up behind the automatron. That's some hearing even by fox standards if she can pick out a familiar stride from the backdrop of muffled mechanical noises the construct makes.

A moment after and the fox pokes her head over the back edge, ponytail falling down one side and over her shoulder. "Heya Hoppy. Ah'd say Ah reckon this ain't quite yer usual kind of scene, but guessin' by yer prize there ya came for the grub."

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika wasn't too reserved to not say hi to Yuna, when she saw the Galactic Fraulein among the crowd. Grinning warmly, Kirika gives Yuna a hug, careful not to get crumbs all over her. "It's been so long, Yuna. How have you been?" Small talk for the most part, but Kirika hasn't been able to catch up with anybody for a while now.

    Her ears twitch at the stomps of that massive machine Corona brought, and she tilts her head curiously at the techno-fox's walker-mech. "Did you build that?" she asks aloud, brow perked.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi gives a smile, and she takes the spindle of green mana she was twirling about in her hand, and matches her own undying roses, brilliant in reds and blues with a loop of thornless roses around Rhapsody's wrist, the brilliant blue of a sky deep in the freeze of winter and the warmest rose reds of a summer garden's bounty. Satisfied with her little bit of working energy out, she releases the dragon's hand.

    "This will be a Presentation Day that will be recalled in Ravnica for /centuries/." she smiles, brilliant and confident when she's caught Rhapsody's gaze, looking up to the dragon.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    A long gaze is directed to the sudden accessory that's conjured onto her wrist. She would SO be making sure to keep it later on. Eventually she looks past it toward Yunomi, eyes meeting the eyes of someone she has known nearly all her life. She was proud, and she knew the names of the others that would be proud, and those that are absent that would agree.

    "I have no doubt of that," Rhapsody muses, looking toward the curtain, toward the rope to pull it back, and then back to the tanuki again. "I think it's about time, isn't it?"

Rebound (750) has posed:
Rebound waves her drink-filled hand dismissively, and then with a quick motion flips the turkey leg up into the air, catches it agian, and then pulls the stripped bone out of her mouth, chewing a bit before she swallows, "Yeah well, I know I ain't a fancy egghead but I can still respect folks who can do stuff like this." She bangs on the side of the walker and then grins, before tossing the bone into a nearby trashcan, "Plus I can't pass up fair food. Gotta keep my energy up."

Corona Arclite has posed:
"No, but y'all got some 'egghead' friends now don't ya?" Corona replies with a wink to the mutant roo. Then tilts her head a bit in the other direction. Another fox? Wasn't really expecting that. "Ya betcha Ah did. A few of 'em, actually. They do general work 'round the shop when Ah'm out doin', y'know," she makes a lazy twirl of vaguety with her unoccupied hand. "Cowboy shhotgun justice type stuff."

And that's literal on the shotgun part.

"Ah think this is a good spot fer seein' the show." Corona sits back up and gives the top of the construct a thump. "Down, fella." The automatron lowers itself to the ground, mainly by retracting the legs back into it's body to do so. She's still a good head higher than the rest of the crowd. Better than she'd be able to see on her own, she's not exactly tall. "Either of ya need a seat? Better vantage point up 'ere."

Kirika (481) has posed:
    "I see. Most impressive!" Kirika smiles and bows her head. "Corona Arclite was it? I've heard you around on the radio time to time, it is good to meet you in person for once!" She says, finishing her waffle before she approaches the machine with less fear than perhaps the locals show of the big walking robot thing. "Do you mind?" She asks, indicating if she can join Corona aboard the walker. Since Corona offers anyway, she hops aboard and gets all prim, letting her katana hang along the side of the automatron where Kirika spies a nice nook. "It must have taken a lot of time to build them, I've not seen such things outside of a workshop back home. They're..." She winces, frowning. "'Tempermental', in my experience."

    Now that she thinks about it, Ravinca does remind her a lot of Kasun, technologically anyways, a good mixture of science and sorcery that powers every machine and appliance.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley is actually here. At some point during all of the mingling, she had floated along and found a nice high up vantage point to observe Yunomi's big presentation. She has a gentle smile on her face for now, but her tail cannot stop wiggling. It just. Can't. Stop. Wiggling. Look at it go!

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
Corona has the right idea. /She/ gets to sit up high.

Nina, on the other hand, goes for a walk. She doesn't know many of the people here and so she takes the opportunity to just... move around, explore in a way she wouldn't have been able to back in Windia or even when she was with the Magic School.

This means she's spoken to a few of the people working what she thinks of as the fair, finding out a little more about Ravnica and, specifically, the Izzet sector; she comes off as a pleasant, if slightly distant, tourist. (She's very polite, far more formal than this situation really calls for on the part of a visitor.)

Beyond that, she tends to wander, though she /is/ trying to get a good spot for the actual opening, or activation, or whatever it ends up being, which means she may run into a few other people who have the same idea.

Richard Stadler (300) has posed:
If Stadler wasn't going to miss the smaller pre-open, he certainly wasn't going to miss the big annoucement. Once again, it was a bit of a tough issue to get through the crowd itself, given how packed everything was. But Rick still knew how to plow his way through, with enough of a team and a group to flank and press through, flowing like water when they can and hitting like a hammer where they couldn't. It was like warfare, only more useful for getting into soccer matches.

It helped that the unit was all wearing the standard Army dress greens with proper Union insigna; a regular recruitment visit, if there ever was one. It also made them stand out just a bit, so Yunomi would be able to see them with a quick scan of the crowd. Wise idea, as well, given how packed things were, and that was important to Stadler.

As were... other things. Less lovely things, more paranoid things. It's why, despite how it looked, every one of Stadler's small, close-knit group, from the doctor to the spy to the quartermaster to the sergeant had side arms concealed neatly in holsters... and why there was a UH-60 idling a few world away, at a rather pastoral warpgate. Rick was cautious, and while Monday had it's accidents, Friday could have worse.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"Hey Kirika!" Yuna answers the foxgirl with a big smile, hugging her back. "I've been all right! Busy as usual and then maybe a little more ... been taking classes at Beacon, it's the closest thing I've found to a college with a degree program in being a heroic magical girl."

Which is actually nothing at all like becoming a Huntsman or Huntress, but 'train to do battle against creatures of darkness and destruction' is close enough to her non-idol day job. Her attention drifts over to Corona's automatron as well, and the blonde smiles, waving up to her and letting others talk mechanics for now, while Yuna takes a sip of her apple cider.

Eventually, she starts drifting towards the area in front of the stage; she wants a front-row seat (or standing space, whatever) for when Yunomi takes the stage.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut had been so distracted with all the bustling and his food cart that he almost doesn't realize it as people he recognizes start appear. Well, at least one. He raises a clawed hand to greet Yuna when she greets him, then offers her something from his food cart. He has quite an assortment of things.

     As a 15 foot dragon, he is trying not to move much in the packed area. And he is careful to keep his manners well displayed. It wouldn't be good for those around him to see a tall dragon in regalia scarfing down food like some Jund gorger. He continues to scan the crowd as the people go about their partying and socializing business. His sharp eyes spot Nina moving through the crowd, obviously looking for somewhere to observe the festivities, and raises his big clawed hand to try and get her attention. If he succeeds, he will motion to the big flat paulderon he is wearing. With his 15ft height it would be a good place to watch from.

Iria (215) has posed:
Iria takes the time to get some cider as well, as well as some apple cinnamon donuts too. (Hey, she has a sweet tooth too!) After that, she proceeds to take a seat as well, next to Yuna no less. She smiles and offers a donut to her while waiting patiently for the presentation to begin. "This should be fun for a change!" She says.

Corona Arclite has posed:
"That'd be me, ayup," Corona replies, giving a polite tip of her stetson to Kirika as she climbs up and makes herself comfortable. "Machines can be ornery when they wanna. An' the more they can think fer themselves, the more ornery they can get." Pauses to bite off another chunk of her meat-stick. "But Ah ain't quite gotten 'em to that much calculatin' on their own yet. Most of 'em. Tinderbox can be a snot when it wants to."

Kirika (481) has posed:
    "Aye, that tends to be the case in most affairs involving technology. I can never understand half of it to be honest." Kirika nods slowly, her tail swishing softly as she produces a modern looking thermos from her traveling pack-of-holding. It contains tea, and she's more than happy to offer some to Corona if she wishes!

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi gives a nod, "It's time." she replies, and with an air of confidence, she throws her shoulders back, and rises to her full five-foot-almost-one height. Drums sound, calling the world to attention as Yunomi Stadler, Izzet Leage Mage, steps out from behind the curtain of striped gold, red, and blue. Each footstep was like an Iron Bell, the people who should be here to see this accomplishment.
    Oya.
        Chuck.
            Kaeruhime. Sakiaro. Tadeshi.

    Niv-Mizzet.

    ... Niv-Mizzet...

    THe drums roll like thunder, calling out in tremendous voices, and call for attention as Yunomi takes the small dais set up so her dimunitive form can be seen. Before her, the throngs and crowds, the shield generators to protect them in case of blastback -- the rapid ricochet of mana slinging away from its intended source, and protect Rhapsody from attack from outside -- and behind her the mighty spires of Nivix.

    She looks over the crowd, thousands strong, and Pidge circling around her as she brings her hands up to silence the crowd.

    "Ravnica, my brothers and sisters of the Union, my family -- please, lend me a few moments of your time between bites -- I'll try to make this short!" she calls out, her voice magically booming over the crowd.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
        So It Begins.

Yunomi vanishes to the otherside of the curtain and Rhapsody moves over toward one side of the stage. After all, there were still things to be done! Especially when it came to dealing with the massive curtain behind the tanuki who was now startin her presentation! All she could do now is wait..

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason beams as she gets near Yunomi and is bouncing onher feet a littlebit she catches sight of the guild master as well. This clearly is abig to do. She grins but thinks it might be better to leave her be for the moment. Lyria does however move to tap Merlin on the shoulder. "Hey there you got a moment to talk?"

then the drums start the people are cheering and she now just settles in to listen to what Yunomi has to say she and Merlin may have to put a damper on whatever she wanted to talk about.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Normally after finishing her munchies Corona would go for her flask, but Kirika offers to share her own drink. "Much abliged." Tea isn't really her thing usually, but a friendly offer is hard to turn down. "Oooh, sounds like they're about to start." There's Yunomi coming on stage now. Corona has to resist the urge to whoop a bit. Save that for after the show.

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
It doesn't even occur to Nina that Bahamut is offering what he is, because - when she looks at him - he is a dragon. Dragons are... well, she's not about to go climbing all over them based on the small amount of information she has on them, that's for sure!

That, too, would be rude. And Nina is nothing if not courteous. Which is why she raises one hand back, in slightly confused greeting.

But she's found a place where she can see, at least, and it looks like it's starting. Nina stands up on tiptoes, which makes her wings reflexively spread a little until she conciously pulls them in to avoid getting in anyone else's way. Feathers in face is not a good way to make friends.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika nods with a grin, before she goes silent in respect to the speech about to be made. Tea is had between the foxes, and Kirika watches with rapt attention.

Merlin (639) has posed:
    And now the lady of the hour takes the stage and addresses the crowd. It's quite impressive, he must admit - and the event brings a shade of nostalgia to Merlin. Perhaps Camelot is but a memory, but in this case a good one. And seeing the diminutive engineer step forward and address the crowd, to instruct them and /lead/ them into a new future, he can't help but remember a very similar slip of a british girl who did the same once. At least Yunomi can celebrate being who she is, rather than forced to wear a guise for history's sake. With a nod of appreciation for the past in his memory and the future before him, Merlin leans forward to take in Yunomi's words.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Right on time, right as Yuna's staked out her place, the drums roll and Yunomi steps into view.

Yuna smiles, applauding - probably drowned out by the percussion, but it should be *visible* even if it's not audible. And if Yunomi's not looking at Yuna's hands, then hopefully she'll still see the blonde's bright, warm, reassuring, reencouraging smile.

'You've got this,' is the message that Yuna's trying to project. 'Everything is gonna go just as you have it planned, so there's nothing to worry about. No tears today, no screaming, just showing off your creation the way it was meant to be shown off.'

Whether even the sunniest of smiles can convey a message that complex - well, Yuna doesn't want to raise her voice and interrupt anything, so her smile's going to have to do the job.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut gives a good-natured chuckle at the confused look from Nina. He can't blame her. A strange dragon in purple and yellow offering a seat? Or perhaps some sort of confused message if his attempts at gestural communication failed. He nods his head lightly after she apparently declines, then turns toward the stage as Yunomi starts speaking. He sets down whatever he was gnawing on and gives the stage his full attention while his hands clasp behind his back in a respectful, venerable posture.

     And he of course nods to Yunomi and Rhapsody if they happen to glance his way, his grin one of confidence in the both of them and their guild. He knows this is going to be amazing, and he knows almost nothing about the project.

Rebound (750) has posed:
First Rebound grabs her own meat stick from the vendor, and then with a quick jump, she hops up through the air and lands on the walker, balancing on the edge of it before dropping her tail down and landing on it to gain a seat, "Thanks Corona." She says, having managed to not spill any of her food through the leap."

She looks around and then spots Nina looking for a good spot, "Hey!" She calls out to Nina, "Come on up here, plenty of room!" She tries to wave the winged girl over. She really doesn't know if there is plenty of room, but why not? Corona won't mind, or Rebound wouldn't be offering in the first place.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi looks out over the crowd. Her eyes don't settle on anyone, familiar face or no. She smiles.

    She feels the pressure and it feels like a heart attack.

    "Some years ago, Niv-Mizzet, Parun of the Izzet Guild brought a scared, nervous creature from offworld into Nivix. He sheltered her beneath his wing. He taught her what it meant to be Izzet, and every triumph, every set back, every explosion -- and expansion of the fire control system -- he took pride in what he saw. Niv-Mizzet was more than just a teacher. He gave me so many gifts -- he gave me a home, in Nivix, among those who understood my spark of talent. He gave me a family in his three children. He gave me inspiration in his guidance, and in his patience, and tonight, I give a gift to Ravnica -- the gift of energy. The same energy I have felt all my life in the city -- the jolt of electricity in the air, the fire in the hearts, the peace of its green spaces and the wild, rolling thunder of its wild places -- and yes, even the fear, because that too is part of who we are as a city, and who we are as a people." she states, and she takes a deep breath.

    "Tonight, Ravnica, with those two stars shining above us, I give you the MANA NEXUS."

    And she motions backwards. The massive curtain tumbles to the ground, leaving Yunomi on the platform high in the air, above the humming of the shield generators as she begin to climb to life.

    There is the feeling of electricity in the air. Long hair may begin to stand on end as the mana nexus begins to sing and hum, a whine that climbs to a throaty sound as it begins to light up the night. The lightning towers to either side, and in the distance, begin to crackle and pop, dispersing extra energy safely into the sky in a display of brilliant blue and red lightning.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    PULL

The curtains fall away, the Mana Nexus is revealed in all its glory, and as the city of Ravnica, its allies, and its visitors, all set sight on the new creation for the first time, Rhapsody walks out from where she brought the curtain down to applaud the creation, and play the part of 'hype man' ... or would that be hype dragon? It doesn't matter. She starts to applaud, waves her arms in an upward motion toward the crowd, and probably sets the whole audience on fire. Magewrights cheer and clap, weirds boil up, goblins hollar, and all of Ravnica joins in a massive accomplishment!

    After a few long moments, the guildmaster would call for quiet and move into a place a bit to the right (to the audience) of the dias, allowing the tanuki to continue her presentation.

Merlin (639) has posed:
    Long hair would stand on end, but Merlin's been here before. And this particular bishounen is not quite going to let that happen again, since he does have a reputation to maintain! It takes him merely a moment to apply a cantrip that braids his hair, maintaining those eminently fetching looks while managing to keep from getting a little too staticked. That said, he also takes a deep breath, and readies various protections against potential blastback. Yunomi probably has plenty of defenses against it, but Merlin was caught by surprise and doesn't plan on letting that vacuum of life strike again. It's just in time, as the barrier manages to keep Merlin and those immediately around him from the over-wash of Rhapsody's (probably) unintentional mild pyromania.

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
Nina Windia understands that much better than dragon waving. (Sorry, Bahamut; she's not much of a dragon whisperer.)

Nina is still listening to the speech, but she inches around as she does - and with one last bounce when she's in a clear spot, she does take to the air, momentarily. It's only a flight of a few dozen feet and it ends at the feet of Corona's... machine. Nina doesn't want to guess what it is more than that.

"Is it all right?" she asks, still looking mostly at the mana nexus. Unfortunately for Nina, there are some... side effects. Nina has very long and very fine hair, and now parts of it are starting to drift outward. Worse, her wings are looking a little puffy as the feathers fluff out - nothing serious, it's as if she was about to wrap herself in said wings against the cold. She fusses uncomfortably with them for a moment, wings flicking open and then closed as a spark arcs out toward the closest bit of metal.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Corona Arclite's fur bristles a bit, both from the electricity building in the air and from the rousing speech of the event's star. And clapping. Lots of clapping, hollaring and what-not. "YEEEHAH!" Even if the cheering is lost in the mass of celebratory encourgement. Followed by a brief, "Yeah, plenty o' room. Iffen need Ah can extend out the sides, too." added on the side as if only now realizing Rebound was offering someone else.

"Reckon it's time to get properly in the mood fer the show." To which, Corona grabs the goggles from around her neck and pulling them up onto her face proper.

Seriously, it's an Izzet project. She's expecting explosions if this goes RIGHT.

Rebound (750) has posed:
Rebound cheers when the reveal comes to light, and then once she's done her cheering, shoves the whole of the funnel cake into her mouth. She wants her hands free for clapping, after all.

She's never been to an Izzet show before, so she doesn't know what to expect, but so far she's pretty impressed.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
And there's the distinct (and slightly familiar) sensation of her ponytail starting to floof out from all of the magical static electricity. Much like what happened the other night, really ...

Yuna just oooohs and ahhhhs, what she feels is an appropriate reaction to the unmitigated *spectacle* as the mana nexus cycles up and begins shedding extra energy. Elner, far less concerned with the aesthetics, decides this is the moment to teleport down to Yuna and make sure the airspace is vacant for stray mana to be vented without the risk of getting caught inside it.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut has no hair to stand on end, but he can still feel the energy in the air as that Mana Nexus rumbles to life. He raises his big clawed hands to clap as the crowd starts applauding, and his grin just grows all the more broad. Of course, he still doesn't know how this contraption does what it does, but as Yunomi promised it seems to be producing vasts amounts of power. So much the machine can't contain it all and has to divert some to nearby towers.

     If harnessed properly, Bahamut suspects it could power everything from here to the horizon. Which is quite a gift to a city world. He continues clapping until the Guildmaster calls for quiet again. He returns his hands to their spot clasped behind his back. He does take a moment to look the crowd over, grinning lightly as he sees the enthusiasm there. He knows that the guilds here are often at odds, but it seems that for today at least they are all in agreement.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    "Ohhhh..." Kirika's eyes go wide at the big display, cheering when the device is revealed and demonstrated. She protects her eyes just before the lights are at their brightest, and braces herself for loud explosions as well.

    Seriously. Izzet shows and explosions go together like chocolate and peanut butter.

Iria (215) has posed:
Even with short hair, Iria starts to feel something starting up with it. There's something really interesting going on, and Iria's not sure whether she likes it or dislikes it. After a moment, she decides to simply wait and see what happens. "Quite interesting," She comments, not noticing Elner coming by for the time being. She's a bit mesmerized right now.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    The Mana Nexus reaches full start up. Yunomi can monitor it from the goggles around her neck, and she smiles, brilliantly. Her baby is all lit up. Every single fibre of it purring to life like a great, abyssal feline, and she turns to the audience, searching faces... and her smile falters. Just the tiniest bit. Her hands grip lightly at the railing, and she mumbles something to Pidge before she addresses the Audience again.

    "Niv-Mizzet's legacy lives on in the Izzet League, in its creations, its dangers and its /wonders/. Every fire we have started tonight comes from his Spark of brilliance, every storm is decended from his lightning, every beat of this heart, in this chest," she motions to herself "... beats because Niv-Mizzet believed he could teach a small creature like myself to control that fire that I feared... and it has flamed into something so grand, that I can scarcely keep it to myself..."

    She turns, and glances to the white dragon behind her, and the other dragon above.

    "Rhapsody?"

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    The dragon didn't remember this being part of the presentation, but things tend to happen off the cuff rather often in the Izzet League. Curious, the guildmaster turns and glances up at Yunomi, waiting to see what she has in mind next. Would she really ask the Guildmaster to activate the Nexus? That would be quite the feat,"

        "Yes?"

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    No, this wasn't part. Yunomi's eyes are shining. She looks like she might be close to crying. Pidge follows her as she steps off the platform, showing the size difference between herself and Rhapsody as she approached. "From the day I came to Nivix, terrified, alone, missing Maryland and all the trappings of my life before, your family has enveloped me with its endless love and support. From Sidonia's rescues, to Ryx's advice and his help on repairs --" she lifts the goggles, and sets them back down around her neck, "to your endless pep talks between rounds of paperwork. You have become my family, and should anything ever befall you, I fear my heart would break in twain, shattered for a thousand years of pain without healing. You have watched my work grow from my nervousness at a seedling, to speaking in front of a crowd of billions, from here to the furthest reaches of the Multiverse... so, Rhapsody Mizzet,"

    THe shield generators hum to life again, crackling as they approach full power.

    Yunomi plucks an undying rose from her hair, and it grows. Long. Sharp. A blade catching the sun and the lightning.

    And Yunomi points the tip of the naginata in her hand towards Rhapsody.

    "I ask that you hand control of the Izzet League to me."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
        Did... she hear that right?

No, no. It couldn't be right. The crowd murmur simply dies. Thianel's head tilts high above. Sidonia's expression shifts away from a Boros sergeant back to the stage, bewildered. Ryxinel glances up from the gate near the concourse, confusion set across his face, wondering if a spell caused Yunomi's voice to go awry.

        A red star winks out.

"...W-what? The guildmaster's reply is stuttered, confused. Her eyes slip to the blade, then back to Yunomi again. "... What is this?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren is secretly a romantic, and so as the speech goes on, he of course thinks Yunomi is going to propose...

    No, no, that's not right at all! She must be posessed, somehow! Staren reaches into his bag, watching Yunomi as he slowly pulls out his phaser... maybe he can get a surprise stun-shot off...

Iria (215) has posed:
Iria does a double-take at what just happened, and what Yunomi's said. "What the hell?" She glances around to nobody in particular. "Has Yunomi gone insane?! Is this some kind of a joke?!" Now Iria's happy-go-lucky attitude has shifted into her usual grumpy self. "Whatever's going on here, I don't like it one bit!"

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika blinks.

    She blinks again. ANd then she exchanges a look with Corona, one that shows concern and confusion in equal amounts as she very slowly and discretely reaches for her sword. Just to be sure.

    She doesn't say anything else, the fox just stuffs her thermos away and starts to hop off the mecha while she tries to maneuver through the crowd.

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
"Thank you," Nina says, hopping up with another quick beat of her wings. Fortunately, she folds them neatly before she actually sits down so she doesn't take up quite so much room. She gives Rebound and Corona a slight smile as she does. "It was hard to see over the crowd from down there." She's not that tall. "I'm Nina; I'll be happy to talk to you after the introduction."

It really is fascinating to watch. Nina has a good grounding in the theory behind magic, at least /her/ theory behind magic, and she knows enough to know that she would never be capable of building something like this. It's a master's work and her skills don't lie in creation and enchantment and technology. That just makes it all the more impressive to her.

She applauds, quiet and polite and almost certainly drowned out, for the second half of the speech. Until the end.

Nina trails off, looking more confused than anything else. Now, granted, she doesn't know any of the involved people very well (read: at all) but she is pretty sure that this is not the time when you do something like - like /that/! She looks at the others on the mecha, the confusion showing on her face as her body tenses. This isn't right...

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley's tail has stopped wiggling. She slowly pulls her mouth into a thin line. She stares at the sight of Yunomi pointing a sharp object at Rhapsody...

    She looks so tense she might as well be a statue. She doesn't leap to act, because she's having trouble processing what's going on just this second.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Long vulpine ears snap forward. Wait, did she hear that right?? Corona's hearing is pretty damn exceptional, there is no way she could of misheard that, even in the crowd. "... Somethin' ain't right here..." Understatement of the night there, Corona.

For a moment she cranes her head back to peer at the shields, suddenly wondering if those weren't meant to keep people -off- the stage rather than protect against any accidents...

Forget maneuvering through the crowd. Corona bolts to her feet, followed by a stomp to get the construct to get up as well. Corona sighs softly, as this was not what she had intended when she brought it along, but pulls a bullhorn out of her inventory pack all the same. Holds it up to her muzzle as the automatron starts to step over the confused crowd again.

"GIRL HAVE YA GONE PLUM LOCO?!"

Corona... isn't one to keep her mouth shut in a crisis, for good or for worse.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
At first glance, Yuna doesn't really recognize what that is Yunomi's growing from the rose - maybe a staff, something ceremonial ... part of the show.

Then she realizes that nothing ceremonial gets pointed at a living being like THAT unless it's the ceremonial part of a formalized assassination or something, and Yuna's heart leaps into her throat, the trailing end of her last 'oooh' abruptly transmogrifying into a squeak that can only be rendered along the lines of a 'wait what' kind of noise.

"Wha ... Yunomi?" the blonde calls out, taking a step forward, then a second one - and then light swirls around her as Elner triggers her transformation, without waiting for Yuna's input. Yuna actually winces a little; a show of force, or even just of defense, was the LAST thing she wanted when she was trying to talk Yunomi down. But at the same time -

"It's about the family you've lost, isn't it ... You feel that with the resources of the Izzet League, you could punch through the boundary between our world and the realm of the dead, find a way to bring them back ... is that what this is about, Yunomi?" Yuna asks. It's really more of an informed guess than anything, but - she knows as well as most people how much Niv-Mizzet's disappearance still tears at the tanuki, how much she grieves for the lives lost among Namamura's elder spirits. And she knows that Yunomi counts herself as a 'Guardian' by calling - one thing that the two girls have in common is how deeply they desire to protect everyone, especially those dear to them.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    The shields go up, separating the dragon and the tanuki from the crowd below, only those up on the platform "This is a coup." Yunomi states, her voice losing its warm tones, turning steely as she takes another step closer. Her dress changes to armor, twisting reds and nearly blackish blues, organic in its form as ithugs her body closely, the Izzet Sigil not even making an appearance on her body. Her hair uncurls, tightening and twisting into a braid coiled like a snake at the back of her head. She can hear the crowd, she hears people calling out to her. She can /feel/ her chest get tighter...

     "How long have I labored beneath someone who can't even use magic? Loved someone desperately only to have them stolen away from me? I'm not about to let that happen again. Not ever. Again. Do you understand, Rhapsody? I want you. /To Kneel./" Yunomi pauses, and her ears turn backwards, her striped tail curling into an upside-down U shape.

    In the crowd, Boros are trying to contain League mages, white robbed mages are slinging counter spells to try and curb fireballs and lightning being thrown at wild into the audience. People are beginning to panic, turning away from one another. A food stall gets knocked over.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    "Kneel," she breathes, "And turn over the Izzet to my control."

Merlin (639) has posed:
    Yuna's insight and pointed question speaks volumes of their relationship. It also gets overheard by Merlin, who then stares hard at the tanuki. So that explains it. There...had been a sense of /something/ in the girl, and there are secrets the wizard has. When she first looked at Rhapsody, the love was apparent - the second time...the half-incubus can feel a massive magical knot of emotion from here. Love, fear, and so much else - and then the crowd begins to panic. That, at least, the wizard can help with. A sense of calm settles over most of the crowd, those not Elites at least. 'It's time to leave quickly and carefully' whispers the wizard in a voice that echoes in a thousand minds. At least it's easy enough to reinforce what they want to do, just guide them to do it /calmly./

    Once that is done, Merlin turns his attention back to the stage.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    That's it.

    Kirika leaps into action, immediately running to the nearest Boros and flagging him down. "How might I assist?" She questions, before she immediately pulls out a handy tool of any Warden of Kasun.

    Ofuda seals are produced, and Kirika slams one into the ground once she gets between a small grouping of citizens and an errant fireball, a field of holy Ki forming to dissipate the projectile while Kirika remains firm.

Rebound (750) has posed:
"Whoa whoa, what the hell?!" Rebound gets up from her seat on her tail, "Corona, we gotta do something. These people are about to stampede, and that's going to get a lot of people killed." She plants one of her feet on the top of Corona's mech, and eyes the distance between herself and Yunomi.

    Can she make it that far? She's not even sure yet, she's probably made it that far before, when the stakes weren't as high, "Corona, I'm about to do something really dumb. I just want you to know that."

    She just hopes Corona's invention can withstand the amount of downward force she's about to project. But it's Corona, if anything it'd probably be able to withstand a nuclear blast. Everyone else wants to try to talk Yunomi down...Rebound is just trying to think about how to land right on top of her. She wishes she'd paid better attention in math, oh well. She plants her second foot, and leaps into the air, flying towards the stage with all the force she can muster. She just hopes she makes it before Yunomi does something even more crazy.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut's grin fades as something in Yunomi's expression changes, then he is left shocked as she actually pulls or conjures some sort of weapon and brandishes it at Rhapsody. That shock is quickly replaced by a teeth-bared growl as she demands the Izzet League. "Yunomi! What are you doing?" he demands, his loud draconic voice booming through the streets.

     A star winks out overhead, drawing Bahamut's attention for a moment. But, only a moment before he steps forward. He doesn't try to rush the stage, but he does make sure that Yunomi knows he is there, and that he will not hesitate to act. Yuna's words give him pause, however. He relaxes somewhat, but stays at the ready.

     That is until the crowd erupts in chaos around him and Yunomi starts into some speech about her opinion of Rhapsody. He growls deeply and draws the massive sword on his back. "Stop this now, Yunomi! I do not claim to know much about the situation, but I do know from what I have read and heard that Niv-Mizzet was a wise, honorable dragon! He would surely not approve of this!"

     He raises that sword, brimming with non-elemental power, and growls. "Do you think the Izzet will follow you if you do this? What can you possibly accomplish by doing this other than destroying all that you have worked for and losing the favor of the dragon you hold so dear?"

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    This is when the crowd goes bloody insane.

The Boros will have their hands full trying to contain the mass panic brought on by Yunomi's coup. Izzet League mage wrights start firing basically -everything- at the shield in an effort to bring it down. Thianel, high on the span, has already risen and is making a direct -dive- for the shields. Ryxinel and Sidonia have already taken flight and are making a beeline for the barrier. About this time, the more 'surly' guilds decide that it's time to party in their own way. Rakdos and Golgari parties? They tend to include -violence- and won't likely care to be calm when there is 'fun' to be had.

Inside the barrier, it appears that Rhapsody did, in fact, hear this right. There's a stabbing feeling in her chest that she has -never- experienced in her life before. Niv-Mizzet passing into the rift was a pain she was, in a way, prepared for. This was too sudden, sharp, and from someone too close. The sudden shock would have turned to despair, but the insults that are said strike a nerve so deep, so hidden, and so sensitive, that sadness vanishes and allows fury to rise in its place. She has a simple answer for Yunomi, and it is apparent as each of her spell blades are drawn.

( https://youtu.be/CYjW84zPCm0 )

"No."

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
It's increasingly a mess, especially when the spellcasters in the crowd - so many of them! - start to fire wildly. Nina isn't even sure what they're aiming at. Each other? Nothing? Anything?

"Excuse me," she says to Corona and Rebound, before launching herself into the air, wings beating strongly. She begins to fly over the crowd, toward the shield. If she knew proper, defensive magic, like a princess of Windia should, she would cast spells to protect the crowd -

But she doesn't. She can't cast any of that, not even the simplest defensive spell. And so she does what Staren suggests instead; she goes for the shield. She's not the only one, but she comes in hard and fast. Raising her hand as she flies, Nina gathers energy, so bright and quickly that her hand glows with an inner blue-white radiance. Energy dances around her arm as the magelight brightens, brightens -

Nina snaps her hand downward, and lightning starts hitting the shield (off to the side, so that if she actually punches through it is unlikely to hit anyone directly). It's not one big bolt but a multiplicity of small ones, machine-gun rapid as they trace a line along the shield, trying to cut through.

She would have started a second spell, but she had to swerve to the side to dodge a fireball. She doesn't even know if they aimed at her, saw 'something they didn't know flying' and fired at it, or it was just her own bad luck.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    Ainsley furrows her brow as this all happens. She turns her attention around her slowly, and dodges away from an errant blast of magic as it happens to slice by her.

    She squints toward the sight of Yunomi and Rhapsody. She processes what's happening in front of her in a way she didn't think she could.

    She clenches her teeth until she feels like they're going to break.

    She flees. She has no place here, and there's too much danger. She cannot get caught in the middle of this.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Corona fully intended to go ram her machine into that shield to break it if need by, but that kind of get sidetracked as a magic fireball smacks into the side of the metal cube, causing it to teeter to the side before stomping a foot back down to brace itself. Good thing the casing is made of brimsteel and this pretty fireproof. "Sunnova!" Corona skids a little with the jerk, grabbing the umbrella she had been using for shade. "Go, do somethin iffen ya can!" By which Kirika and Rebound are already leaping away.

"Always a bloody riot..." Fortunately Corona is familiar with crowd control. She stomps a foot on the machine again, and this time part of the top opens around her. Braces snap over her boots and extend up to affix around her arms in some kind of manual control rig. The fox moves a foot, and the construct responds in kind, shifting its weight back and turning its cube body back to the crowd. A scowl settles on her features behind the goggles, for which she's now glad she put on. "Now, Ah don't wanna hurt no one." She throws up both arms and thrusts them out. In response the sides of the construct flip open, and out extend multiple flexible arms, whizzing over the crowd to grab up several of the frantic spellslingers. "But y'all need to calm yer butts down before ya make the dung hit the oscillator any more than it already is!"

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is now standing back and watching the Nexus in all it's glory she seems quite in awe of such a feat of magi tech. She looks over the whole thing before. She watches spell bound for the moment. She listens intently to Yunomi's words and doesn't see that there might be some trouble going on for a moment. However something else happens Yunomi seem to be going nuts. She stares for a moment and she now stares she'd come to party she's not armed all she has is her Genomancey powers to do what she can to help with this what in the gods names is going on here? She snaps out of it and starts trying to help people get clear.

She finds a dropped blade and is now moving to assist the forces of the Boros, this has got mad all she can do is try to keep things form becoming even worse, even if it's just in a small way she'll also be using her Geomacy to support allies at range mostly bolts of magma and high powered winds.

Staren has posed:
    Shields up! So much for the phaser. Staren pushes through the crowd, hoping not to get blasted by a random spell, as he seeks out... an Izzet Mage? "Listen, if you want us to save your guild master, we need to get this shield out of the way! How do we do that?!"

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    Yunomi has faced off against Rhapsody countless times in training.

    She circles slightly, her head tilting as she examines the white dragon, looking up to her. That wristlet of flowers has not faded, blue as a frozen winter sky, red as the reddest summer rose. Her expression of love.

    An expression of pain.

    "So be it, Guildmaster." Yunomi replies dryly, and she presses into attack, swinging the blade of the naginata for Rhapsody's legs, knowing that there are no scales to protect her from the bite of its sharp edge!

    People in the audience are going crazy, but Nivix is going insane. Mages are scrambling for combat. Goblins are spitting at the mention of her name, and deep within the Singing Garden has closed itself up in fear.

    "What is she /DOING/?!" Yu calls out, the tiny forest sprite running as fast as her tiny legs can carry her. Mi is panicking herself, carrying a pocket watch as large as herself.

    "This wasn't part of the plan!" she calls back to her sister as they duck into a mousehole, escaping to the safety of the green pool of mana within Nivix.

    The crowd outside is getting rowdier. A Rakdos pitfighter gives an angry howl as he demands to be able to fight the dragons himself. A mage has slung vines around one of the shield generators in an effort to short out one of the shield generators. The Leaguemage turns to Staren, and she motions helplessly "If we can short them, one of the drakes might be able to get in -- or Rhapsody get out. If we don't -- we're gonna need a new champion /And/ a new Guild Leader! -- HAS ANYONE SEEN TIBOR?!" she calls out, iniritation.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
And Yuna's question goes unanswered - except that the way in which Yunomi doesn't-answer is an answer of sorts in its own right. And where Yuna's heart had leapt into her throat scant seconds before, now it sinks down through her legs and into the Ravnican bedrock.

This is so much worse than just despair over those whom Yunomi has lost, isn't it ...

Fireballs and lightning and magic missiles of too many sorts start hammering on the barrier; Yuna drops into a crouch and starts trying to get out of the way of well-meaning attacks not meant for her. There needs to be a way - some way, *any* way - to get past that barrier, if not through it then around. But her only options are to start hammering on it herself, or to try and find which way the barrier DOESN'T protect. She has a fair guess as to what's generating the force field, but if she's right, then it's still on the side that neither she nor her allies can do anything about ... and things are rapidly getting worse while Yuna's racking her brains for a way to make things better.

Much, much, *MUCH* worse.

"YUNOMI, PLEASE STOP!!" Yuna finally screams - not in anger, not even in desperation, but a plea of agonizing sorrow. "Rhapsody should be as a sister to you - the daughter of the mentor whom you respected and loved! She should be as close to you as your own kin! Please, don't fight her - or -"

Her voice breaks, and she sucks in a deep, ragged breath before finishing, the only way she can.

"- or you'll have to fight me as well! And I won't be alone! Please, Yunomi, for your *own sake*, PLEASE STOP THIS!!!"

Iria (215) has posed:
In the heat of the moment, one might look to where Iria was sitting and then do a double-take as they wonder where Iria went. Because her seat is empty now, not even her drink or snacks are still there. Apparently, she's not one to litter even in times of desperation. The reality is, though, she's still here, she's just taking care of something at the moment. Something that requires her not to be seen, or else it won't work, because you know how it is.

Iria makes her way to a spot where she can't be seen, and then ducks out of sight for a few moments. When she comes back, her Ravnican gear has been replaced with her armored bodysuit. Apparently, she can do the infamous 'change in a flash' trick too, she just needs to be out of sight for it to work! But now that she's better suited for the occasion, she's heading back to the area.

Using her acrobatic skills to her advantage, Iria leaps over people and others as best as she can, occasionally doing a somersault to give her some extra boost in her jumps, before she lands close to Yuna. Despite the aggressive look on her face, there is a hint of desperation in Iria's voice as well.

"Yunomi, I don't know what's gotten into you," Iria yells, trying to keep the aggression out as best as she can, "But you're making a huge mistake! Please, control yourself!" She grits her teeth and clenches her fists, breathing noticeably faster than usual. "We don't want to have to fight you, but if you don't listen to us, we'll have no choice!"

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Let it not be said, that when it comes to the people she has grown to love, Amalthea pays them no mind. No, such is not the case. Today was supposed to be a day of joy. One of celebration. One that Yunomi had been so looking forward to om such a manner that made even the haggard old knight cock an eyebrow. Rhapsody had always held a place in her heart, after the elder Niv Mizzet Moved On.
    And then... This.
    Amalthea had been silent for most of the revelling, though in her finest armor, it was worn for more ceremonial purposes. But now it looks like, with the tidings of the terrible announcement of intent.
    For a moment, to see Yunomi draw blade-- against Rhapsody of all people.
    For a moment. For a long moment, the ancient unicorn stood much like a statue; unmoving, drinking in the moment, and letting it wash over her. It would seem as though she would remain as such, for a long moment. Before she releases her breath.
    She did not realize she had been holding it.
    Amalthea makes not a sound as she moves; a slow approach. She had come to celebrate; to share joy with friends. And yet now this. The look etched upon the unicorn's countenance is one of purest weary woe.
    She looks so old, as she strides through the crowds, a slow breath and her very presence; each light touch urging another person gently out of her way, radiating an aura of peace, calm... And hope, from her very core.
    She stops, eventually, halting herself at the side of the great Merlin, that old, wild, eye looking imploringly to the grand wizard of Camelot for a moment.
    She does not speak.
    She merely stands where she is, looking so helpless and old.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Whereas Yunomi had probably been planning this, Rhapsody's heart is simply not in it. Rage is the ruler of the roost in her mind, but deep inside, something has shattered into a million pieces. When the strike comes, Rhapsody simply doesn't have the reflexes to avoid the attack. The dragon's leg is struck, she staggers back, and then with a cry, swings back with one of the spellblades.

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
Nina Windia's lightning fails to penetrate the shields. She didn't honestly expect it to; it must be meant to stand up to the best mages they have here, and those are very good mages indeed.

Nina rights herself from her impromptu evasion. She's a strong flier; she starts to circle, getting a better look at the shield instead of striking wildly. She sees the mages trying to take out the generators, and she gets an idea from that.

Nina lands nearish one of the other generators. She doesn't land on top of it, but she certainly gets as close as she can, trying to worry less about the sounds of violence around her - this is the first riot Nina has ever been in in her life and she doesn't like it.

She gathers her power for another spell. But this one isn't destructive; it's one of the few non-destructive ones she knows, in fact. Meant to sap a bit of power from another mage for some last-ditch casting - or simply to stop them from doing it to you first - Nina builds the spell.

But she builds it more powerfully than she would against another sorceress, because she's not aiming it at anything alive - she aims it at one of the shield generators, trying to desperately pull as much power out of it as possible to shut it down, at least temporarily. She doesn't even care if she gets the power - she's being wasteful, just pulling it as fast as possible from the shield generator, and through it trying to weaken the shield itself.

It's not quite shorting it out. But it probably serves much the same purpose, if it shuts off momentarily... NIna doesn't need to get in. She just has to drop it for someone /else/ to get in. Someone who knows Yunomi and Rhapsody. Or maybe for Rhapsody to get out; that would work, too.

Unfortunately, it's likely to leave her open. If someone comes to crack her upside the head, there won't be a lot she can do about it.

Bahamut has posed:
     With no response from Yunomi, Bahamut growls again. Unable to hear much over the rambunctious crowd, and with the danger stedily rising. Despite how much he wants to smash this shield himself and get to Rhapsody, he cannot let her safety outweigh the safety of an entire crowd of people. He brings his sword around, then 12-foot blade glowing with power, and in a rapid spin smashes it as hard as he can into the shield, channeling all his rage and might into that attempt to destroy the shield!

     He isn't really expecting that to work, but it helps him get some of his rage under control. He then turns to the crowd before spreading his wings to present the most intimidating and draconic presense he can. Then, in his loudest, deepest, most booming voice he demands, "DISPERSE!! The revelry has ended, and if it does not end this instance, I will end it myself!"

     But, rather than devistating attack spells, the dragon starts throwing around Stop spells. They can strike a wide area at a time, and any struck by them would be frozen as if time stood still. Bahamut tries to aim at the most troublesome of the Rakdos and Gruul that are likely causing most of the trouble so that the Boros can hopefully gain a foothold and bring order to the chaos.

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods to the mage. "Will destroying it work?" he nods at the shield generator. If the mage says yes, Staren just starts blasting it with his double-barreled laser pistol. If they say no, he asks 'Does graphene conduct mana too?' and sprays the shield generator with something invisible, sending nanomachines to gunk up the works / take things apart / short it out.

    He has to focus on the task at hand. What to do about Yunomi, will come next.

Corona Arclite has posed:
The construct has its hands full, literally. And it essentially has several. Though even in this fracas Corona's sharp ears pick up various shouts for help or general distress from the crowd. She grunts, disengaging the control rigging. "Just... do somethin' to keep the fightin' from ruinin' the place!" she yelps, before turning and jumping off the contraption. Plenty of people are converging on the shields already. People who know both Rhapsody and Yunomi better. So we'll focus on doing something the insanity in the streets.

Moments later Corona is proving that, despite her efforts to avoid doing so, she is quite apt at getting through a large ambient crowd. Mostly by ducking under attackers and bounding on top of toppled carts to get past the thickest of the melees. It's a little too much like the old days of her childhood as an orphan street rat, but she's too focused on other things to worry about that right now.

Too dangerous to pull out any guns in a crowd. So instead, she unslings the hammer from her back, the pulsarium core is already churning with energy as it powers up. She skids past a Rakdos that's several times her lithe 5" 2' height, turns towards him, and replies to the demands of a fight with a simple "No."

And swings the Corona Breaker with a uppercut arc at his center of mass, the energy charge giving the hammer what is likely a surprisingly LARGE impact in comparison to the size of vixen swinging it.

But then again, it's not the size of the fox in the street brawl, it's the size of the brawl in the fox!

Meanwhile, left to its own limited clockwork processing, the construct snatchs up several of the rowdier individuals with its manipulators, and makes do with what's around it.

By tossing them into the cars of the massive ferris wheel, then plugging one of its own gear-drivers into the main gears of the ride to keep it spinning so they can't get out again.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika sees the generators, and she narrows her eyes as she heads straight for one of them. The rioters in her path will be struck down, not with blade but barehanded. Kirika will not kill mere civilians, no matter what, and so she will incapacitate at best. Nerve blows and kidney strikes are doled out like a firesale of asskicking, before Kirika returns to focusing on the shields.

    She draws her sword, brow furrowed and blade blazing hot with holy flames. "RRRAAAGH!" she charges at the generator before taking a long leap to close the distance, trying to cut as deeply into the generator as she can, and if that doesn't work, she'll keep cutting until something breaks.

    Yunomi is going too far with this, and cannot be allowed to act unopposed.

Merlin (639) has posed:
    The approach of the armored unicorn-knight does not go unnoticed. At the very least, there's a aura of calm nearby, which gives Merlin and Amalthea a respite from the chaos - and hopefully enough for those Elites still trying to work.

    He nods, recognizing a kindred ancient spirit. And suspecting much of her questions. "That...is indeed Miss Stadler. I do not know her true motivations...but she is doing what she is doing by what appears to be her own free will." Why...he doesn't know the details of, but it is one he has seen before.

    It brings a sadness to the wizard's face as well. This...brings back memories, ancient and fresh. Someone had mentioned the very idea of tearing back the World to save one who was not truly dead, for love. This was not a lesson he wanted to have to teach twice.

    Merlin returns his attention to the shields, trying to feel a way, somehow, into that barrier. All he can do for the moment is wait, especially as the others begin to attack the shield generators themselves. There's not a glance spared for Amalthea, as he waits for the right moment, but instead simply reaches a hand to her shoulder. "I will have need of you, I think. Wait for the moment, and then protect Rhapsody." Protect himself, well...he's Merlin. He'll figure something out.

Rebound (750) has posed:
    The kangaroo undershoots the bubble and comes down near it, looking at it. Considering all the magic being hurled at it, she's not sure she's gonna be able to punch her way through this kind of thing.

But then she gets an idea, a thing she saw in a movie this one time. She closes one fist, and the Impact Driver sparks to life, and instead of punching the shield with it, she wheels around, and drops to a knee as she slams her fist into the stage.

    The shockwave tears the stage apart, and a BIG FREAKING HOLE opens up under Rebound. It's only now that she realizes her mistake, as the space between the stage and the ground below it is much further down than she had anticipated. Rebound vanishes into the hole.

    Thankfully the kangaroo mutant has been able to survive falls like this before. She drops into the bottom of the stage area, tucks and rolls when she hits the ground, and then takes a few moments to look around. There's generators down here that are powering that mana shield thingy. She charges the second Driver, and leaps again, intent on slamming herself and her weaponized fists into the generators. If she can bring them down, she can maybe drop the shield and get to Yunomi

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    OUtside, the crowds are calmed slightly, some moving calmly to the exits, away from harm. Others are trying to rabble rouse. A group of guildless, wearing brown are protesting until they realize that there is, in fact, a fight going on... and watch in abject horror as a giant loooms out of the way with a great piece of a tree, ready to start smashing heads as he gives a grunt, helping the Boros try to contain the more... violent crowds.

    An ancient looking mechanical cyclopes lopes down from the guild gate, Blistercoil Weirds decending in their slow fashion to defend the Guild.

    Yunomi should know that she has no chance of winning, not against the combined forces against her!
    Yunomi uses Rhapsody's rage to her advantage. She strikes the leg -- a glancing blow in truth. A clean, sharp slice -- should heal just fine.

     And then Rhapsody answers. She turns her blade up, catching the spell blade against the shaft of the weapon, bracing herself as she's pushed back from the force of the blow.

    "Oh Rhapsody -- if only you knew." Yunomi whispers in a soft hiss, her words tender and gentle, in contrast against the next attack.

    Yunomi stands back, her hand raised up as she summons red mana. All the red mana. Her hand is a shining, angry beacon as if she stole the light from that red star.

    To everyone on the outside, it may appear that the Guild Champion is planning on killing the Guildmaster.

    Yunomi doesn't like to lose.

    And thanks to the violence against the generators, one of the shield generators sputters and dies, opening up the top of the dome.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
        What could she do?

Glancing up at the red mana, Rhapsody actually notices the blue star but the clear lack of it's partner. If she could go more pale, she would at this moment. Eyes widen, a step back, and then Rhapsody appears to actually fall back and away from Yunomi, entirely unable to attack again, unable to sputter even a sylable. What she -does- do, however, is pull the trigger on her blue spell-blade, activating a charge of the Mizzium Skin spell stored within, in hopes of surviving what would come next.

Ryxinel and Sidonia are streaking toward the shield in hopes of finding some way into its 'protective' bubble. From above, streaking -straight down- from the bridge between the spires, a roar full of despair and rage echoes out of Thianel, a 'breath' being taken in. A precursor to something he thought he would never have to use against Yunomi..

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna's eyes go wide as she sees the red mana building up in Yunomi's hand. "Please .... I don't - !" Her voice breaks again, her eyes squeezing shut as tears begin streaming down her cheeks; somehow, she doesn't choke on the next inhalation.

            "LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT *UP*!!! EL-LINE!!"

Jiina of the Earth, Marina of the Sea, and Erina of the Sky had all taken to the air rather than try to keep dodging the general fracas at ground level; Elner took the further initiative of getting them into position - not all grouped together with Yuna, but arranged vertically above her - so that when Yuna calls out for El-Line, the pillar of light encompasses both her position and all members of the Matrix of Light. The pillar swells, light rippling against what's still intact of the barrier protecting the stage -

And the Matrix Figure, El-Line, materializes in the sky above the stage, already aiming its right palm through the hole and squarely at Yunomi, left hand bracing the right arm.

Yuna doesn't say anything from within the Matrix Figure's cockpit; she can't shape words right now, not even a syllable - but actions are supposed to speak louder than words anyway ... and if Yunomi has enough of her normal wits to remember who Yuna *IS*, and how she always reacts when a friend dies?

Particularly given how obvious Yuna's distress has been so far, and presumably still is?

Then Yunomi *HAS* to know what's going to happen if she follows through and slays Rhapsody, right where Yuna will see it.

And if Yuna were thinking straight, she probably wouldn't have simply called El-Line - she would have stuck with something more direct, more straightforward, less likely to entail unnecessary collateral damage. The fact that she *did* simply summon El-Line means that either she's way past reason herself .... or she's suddenly playing a very savvy game of her own. What are the odds of the latter, though? Especially when she's already under this much stress?

Staren has posed:
    Hole in the shield! That's enough!

    Glowing, stylized insect wings appear on Staren's back, and buzz like an insect's as he flies up to the hole, pulling a stun grenade from his bag and chucking it down at the pair. Hopefully it will make it easier for the others to subdue Yunomi! Or whoever that really is...

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    A slow breath once again. That old blue eye remains locked upon the tragedy occurring just out of reach.
    There are few people in all the world that can touch a unicorn. Pure maidens may do so, yes, but aside from them, it is a small select cabal that are allowed, for each individual beast.
    There is not one that would shrug the hand of Merlin off.
    "Aye." Amalthea's response is barely a whisper, head dipping in a nod.
    She is ready, when Merlin is to act upon his plan.

Iria (215) has posed:
"Dammit, Yunomi, don't do this!" Iria scowls at this whole revelation. "Please, we're colleagues, we're allies together! Get a hold of yourself!" Iria starts to reach for one of her weapons, but hesitates, deciding violence isn't the best solution just yet. "Someone, do something!" She yells in desperation, feeling like her efforts are hopeless.

Nina Windia (985) has posed:
Oh that was not easy.

Nina nearly flies backwards from the outflow of magic from the shield generator where she tried to draw enough power out to weaken it. But it worked! There's a hole.

Nina takes off again. She's a little wobbly at first but she rights herself quickly. She doesn't know Yunomi, but - "Please, stop it!" she calls. Compared to the others, it's nothing. She knows it.

Uncertain, Nina hovers for a moment - before diving into the crowd. She's going to help keep them under control now. Hopefully that shield doesn't come back up - she's not sure she can duplicate the same trick twice to open it again, but the fact that people are summoning into it is promising.

But instead she tries to break up the fight in the crowd, forming small walls of ice. They can be broken through, but it's often more trouble than it's worth, and she's hoping that simply physically breaking up the fights helps out.

Merlin (639) has posed:
    The sense of the shield flickering is enough - the damage the others have done to the generators, and the preparations from those great beasts above, have given Merlin all the opening he needs. His way is to go where and when he pleases, and there are ways of doing so that elude all but the perfect defense. This defense is no longer perfect.

    With his hand still on Amalthea's shoulder, there is but a whisper. "She will not fall today." Who? And then Merlin simply takes a step forward, slipping in and out of peripheral vision - out of Amalthea's, and into Yunomi and Rhapsody's, the knight with him.

    The scarlet and azure power that swirls around them is something that needs to end. There's a deep breath from the wizard, and then he begins simply /absorbing./ What Yunomi is planning to do, what Rhapsody might be trying...the wizard doesn't know, but the only solution he can see is to quite literally draw the ambient mana into himself, and quite possibly out of Yunomi as well. It'll do nothing more than put her to sleep at most, but even Merlin isn't sure he can do that - there is a tremendous amount of power here.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Okay so the crowds are starting to thin out some. At the very least, the ones leaving are the ones that don't want to fight. Just as well to Corona, because she doesn't really want to hurt anyone that doesn't need to be.

Unfortunately most of the ones that are staying are the ones from the two Guilds that think this sort of upheaval is a -good- turn of events. Which is bad for pretty much everyone else involved, especially if they try to interfer with the people trying to get through to help sort out the insanity on the stage. Corona is not about to allow that, though. And with the hapless part of the crowd thinning out, she can go back to more familiar tactics, letting the hammer rest at her side.

In one fluid motion she sweeps a hand to her belt and pulls the modified nailgun out of its holster, turns and snaps off some quick shots. A nail into some mage's sleeve to pin his arm against a wall and keep him from firing more wild shots into the crowd. Another punchs through the shaft of wood as a would-be rioter lifts it to strike, causing the end to fall off and clonk the weilder on the head instead. A third just hits someone's helmet and, thankfully instead of penetrating hits at an angle with the right speed to just bowl him over backwards.

With the other hand Corona pulls that 'shotgun justice' she mentioned earlier from its sling on her belt and flips it around in a one-handed 'cock' motion to fire up it's pulsarium generator. Flips it back around into a proper grip, and swings her arm towards another group of brawlers, krackle of green and blue motes already collecting around the barrels. There's a faint huff, tail flicking behind her. The angle her head is tilted at casts a shadow over part of her face from the brim of her cowboy hat, but it's not enough to hide the glimmer across the lenses of her goggles as she smirks eeeever so faintly enough to show her small vulpine fangs.

"Go 'head, punks. Make make my day."

Bahamut has posed:
     With the crowd mostly calmed down, Bahamut figures the Boros can handle the rest. He hears the crackling from the generator and turns to see...Yunomi building what appears to be a VERY powerful attack. "YUNOMIIIII!!" he bellows, then that disc on his back starts to spin. Energy arcs between it and the plates on Bahamut's back as his wings spread and he takes to the air. He lacks agility, but he does have speed, and he rockets toward the opening before crashing into the shield with his taloned hands and feet. He is sure it will hurt, but it is the fastest way for him to reach the pair without causing anyone else any harm. He slides along it's surface before tumbling in through that gap.

     Like a metal meteor, Bahamut falls through that gap in the shield and tumbles down, then his wings spread and he steadies himself before landing right behind Rhapsody. He quickly casts a Reflect spell, then wraps his arms and wings around Rhapsody, using himself as a living shield to protect her. He doesn't know if Reflect will be as effective as it is on his world, but surely it will deflect some of the spell that is about to hit him and/or the Guildmaster.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Yunomi's shield flickers just enough for people to get inside. Kirika is certain between Merlin, Amalthea, and Bahamut, she would just be overkill for that group.

    THe sounds of shotgun fire is enough to give her another option, and she takes it. She makes a run to flank COrona, her sword drawn and blazing hot as she joins the melee, slicing weapons in half and leaving superficial cuts on rioters left and right, leaving them alive but clearly dissuaded from continuing this melee.

    However, she's more likely to dish out punches, grapples, kicks, and tail-strikes to neutralize hostile attendees. "Cease this violence and disperse IMMEDIATELY!" She commands harshly, making herself heard across the crowd as she and Corona stand back to back, weapons brandished.

    Somehow, Kirika is pulling off all of this in a kimono and gets.

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    The mechanical dragon never gets the chance.

    It seems like an instant. One moment, Yunomi is ready to kill Rhapsody -- her friend, her Guildmaster, one she swore to protect until the last breath left her body.

    And in the next, Thianel would shimmer, a light from within glowing as his skin begins to crackle like molten glass, lighting up as brilliantly as a red dawn... except for this dragon, it is a sunset.

    Thianel, Yunomi's teacher in Niv-Mizzet's absence perhaps feels the greatest betrayal from this student as she Shatters his form with a spell, breaking the dragon into thousands of tiny pieces, raining them down over the assembled crowds and heroes, her voice still magnified by the small Izzet drone accompanying her as she looks around. Amalthea and Merlin, with Bahamut protect the Guildmaster. Others take aim at her, the amount of suffering she caused was /tangible/ in the air as her gaze returns to Rhapsody. Her eyes focused on hers.

     "When we meet again, it will be an Ending for the one of us."

    The red light is gone from Yunomi's hand as she drops her hand to her side, and with the other she throws the naginata at Rhapsody, in apparent disgust. The weapon turning back into a brilliantly colored Undying Rose at the feet

    "I am through with You All." she states, turning around, her eyes shining. Pieces of her mentor hail down around her. The "love of her life" was cowering in fear.

    Good. She /should/.

    "You saved the Guildmaster this time, but I will not forget this day. Search for me. /Find Me/. I dare you." she states, and the Mana Nexus crackles and pops, directing mana from the shieilds, curling it around whisps that form into spinning black holes.

    Those magically inclined would feel like the breath is being lifted from their bodies again, as the black holes charge, spinning rapidly -- and Yunomi goes to fall into one.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
        A million pieces of metal fall from the sky, the shattered remnants of a tutor, a friend, a father figure. The majority of the red hot shards fall within the shield, crashing onto the stage. A small amount of them bounce down off of the shield around the front of the stage, but nothing more. A few moments after the shattering, a blazing blue crystal crashes into the stage, glowing frantically, as if the light inside was desperately trying to claw out of the gem it was trapped within. The light does not fade, in fact, it only seems to glow brighter as it protests its sudden inability to move.

    Ryixnel slowly moves toward the bright gem, drops to his knees, draws it into his chest, and simply remains there in an utter state of shock, regardless of -anything- going on around him.

    As Sidonia finally reaches the interior of the shield, the blue dragon can only stare at the aftermath of Yunomi's failed attempt at a coup. A shard of bounces off a blue scale, but no change in expression can be seen. An angry Azor trying to get to the Guildmaster receives a glare so sharp and cold that he visibly shivers, holds both hands up, and slowly moves back and away in the same direction he came from.

    With it all said and done, Rhapsody remains on the stage after falling down to it, her back to the floor, staring up at the scene that transpires before her through the protective wings of another dragon she had met within the multiverse. The one that taught her to fly had now flown to protect her, but the damage has already been done. Directly below the opening, the majority of the pieces of Thianel rain down around her. What isn't deflected by Bahamut are deflected by the Mizzium Skin spell.

    Each word that comes from Yunomi feels like a sword in her chest, her back, her heart, her mind, and her stomach all at once. The silvery spell gives way to her natural form as Yunomi vanishes through a portal. A choked up "S-stop.." is all the Guildmaster can manage as she fumbles forward, actually crawling a step forward before the tanuki is gone. Everything goes silent on the stage. The crowd is no longer heard, only the echoes of those last words are heard in the dragon's ears.

        "THE IZZET SECTOR IS CLOSED!"

    The words crash into every corner of Ravnica from the Guildmaster before she simply collapses and the sadness returns. It crashes down like the weight of both spires, and only those on the stage will likely hear the weeping of a dragon betrayed.

Staren has posed:
    Stun grenades don't affect Yunomi OR Rhapsody. Staren will remember that in the future. Or... well, whatever this is. It /might/ be Yunomi, who knows.

    Thianel shatters. Staren wonders if he can be rebuilt, but there's nothing he can do this second: Yunomi(?) is what needs to be dealt with now-- but she's gone too fast, before he can think of hitting her with a tracking device. Damn.

    Staren lands next to Rhapsody. "...Do you want me to say anything, or just go?" he asks, a bit awkwardly

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Were someone to ask Amalthea if she was ready, the truthful and honest answer would be 'no'.
    For there is no simply being ready for anything of this sort. Yet it happens.
    Merlin Moves. And the unicorn Moves with him.
    Though she is placed within the dome, she takes no movement, hostile nor defensive. A simple step, at best.
    Her sword is not drawn. She could not bear to draw Faith upon Yunomi.
    Her shield is not raised. It would pain her to have to protect Rhapsody in this manner. She simply stands between dragon and Tanuki. Merlin will do as he will, but she stands there, lone eye upon Yunomi in silence; weary, tired, and old.
    Her eye slides closed with a defeated sigh, as Thianel is... Shattered.
    "Be still." She speaks, but a whisper to Rhapsody, watching as Yunomi takes her leave.
    "Yunomi. I think there's another story for that one to tell." Murmured quietly. More to herself than anyone else. The unicorn falls to silence. And statue-like motionlessness.
    She could do nothing here. She can do nothing right now.
    Perhaps, at another time, she may. But that is not now.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
For better or for worse, the blow that El-Line was poised to deliver does not fall upon Yunomi.

Partlty it's because Rhapsody didn't die. It may, partly, also be because Yuna clings to some vague hope that Thianel isn't as dead as it looked like.

But if anyone here is empathically sensitive, the inward scream from Yuna reveals the truth - even in the midst of her own emotional maelstrom, she couldn't bring it upon herself to deliver a deathblow to one of her own close friends .... even if, from all appearances, Yunomi may be abandoning all of them.

Queries and replies pulse back and forth through El-Line's systems before a beam of light is projected from its chest, and Yuna materializes on what's left of the dais, still in her Light Suit, but slumping to her knees. She doesn't stay there, though; Yuna manages - somehow - to force herself back to her feet long enough to go to Rhapsody's side.

Then she collapses, half against the young dragon, and doesn't move ... not much, at least. She's breathing. She may be sobbing. But she's not going anywhere else.

Not for a while, at least ... or not without help.

Merlin (639) has posed:
    As Yunomi speaks, Merlin listens - and speaks a single sentence to the tanuki. "We wish to save /you./" But he does not attempt to prevent her fall; a cornered and chased person like Yunomi must feel...and it is not as if she is truly suicidal. That portal has an anchor somewhere, and that is sufficient for the wizard. And then...there is silence, except for tears. Merlin reaches over, resting one hand against Rhapsody, and whispers a single word. "Rest." Rest and heal. It might put her to sleep, it might just take some of the worst away, but for now the wizard simply ponders what might have transpired so.

Iria (215) has posed:
After all is said and done, Iria rushes over to check on Yuna. "Are you OK? Come on, not you too!" She pleads, fearing that she may have lost more than one friend tonight. She figures someone else should deal with Yunomi, while Iria just does the best as she can. She then looks to Rhapsody and shakes her head. "Come on, snap out of it!" She pleads, tears welling up in her eyes. "Dammit, no! Why is this happening?!" Feeling like she can't win, Iria collapses to the ground and begins sobbing loudly, feeling like she's hopeless.

Corona Arclite has posed:
The shattering of metal into millions of pieces. It doesn't matter if it's by machine or by magic, Corona knows that sound all too well to be comfortable with it. She lowers her weapons a bit as she turns her head towards the stage. Ears lay back to the point they practically disappear under the brim of her hat at what she sees.

"Shit."

Screw these punks. A breath is spared in a "Thanks fer the backup" to Kirika as she spins on a heel and sprints towards the stage as fast as she can. Even if deep down she knows it is likely too late. That was pretty finite termination.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika says nothing. Corona barely gets anything short of a nod, the kitsune is so shell-shocked by all of this.

    She merely gives Yunomi a look that just says, "You lied to us all." before the tanuki escapes, falling into a portal and vanishing from existence.

    She looks hurt, angry, confused, and worried all at once.

    Sheathing her sword, the kitsune just sighs and hangs her head, eyes closed and welling up.

    There is going to be Hell to -pay- when kitsune meets tanuki next.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut finds himself surprised as no spell hits him or Rhapsody. He raises his head, then his eyes widen as he sees Thaniel, the magnificent metal dragon, disintegrate. It offends both of Bahamut's sides to their deepest. The dragon in him mourns the loss of another dragon, and the Al Bhed in him mourns the loss of such an engineering marvel.

     Those portals form, and Bahamut keeps Rhapsody protected. He would rather let Yunomi go than risk her causing any more damage here in the Izzet sector. But, he does growl to her. "You should know better than anyone not to trifle with a dragon. You will answer for what has happened here today. I hope you will return peacefully for your judgement, but I doubt that will happen. I cannot believe you would do this, Yunomi. Whatever happened...it can't have warranted this. If you are under some kind of spell, we will free you."

     He then stands slowly, gathering Rhapsody into his arms, one arm around her back and the other under her knees. "However, whatever your reason behind this attack, if you return again and try to destroy the Izzet or try to take Rhapsody's life, I will not hesitate to take yours." the grey dragon growls menacingly, keeping a wing between Yunomi and Rhapsody.

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is unable to get to Yunomi she's doing her rito control work but she does /watch/ she wonders has Yunomi been planning this all along? Shje does what she can but there's not much more she can do she does hear the Izzet sector is closed. She has no idea what's happened with Yunomi and she's too late to help with the Yunomi betryal of the Union and of The guild. She will ccontiune to aid the boros in settingling things but she wonder what the hell is going on here.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Still sheltered by a wing, Rhapsody is tugged up, at which point she just turns into his chest and, well, honestly, you can imagine, right? She'll probably be sobbing until she falls asleep at this point.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Oh good, Ryixnel already made sure the core is safely retrieved. Corona isn't as familiar with how things work around here, but gut machinist instinct tells her that the crystal is something equivilent to the heart and soul of what was a fine draconic machine.

She walks up next to the dragon, weapons already reholsters. Instead she raises one hand to the dragon's side in a moment of comfort. Thianel had been family to them, and she knows how much it hurts to lose family. "Iffen that's still in one piece, then there's still a chance.... Iffen y'all will allow me to help."

Yunomi Stadler (272) has posed:
    The Sector is Closed.

    Word travels quickly, and those who came from Namamura, lived in the Namamura District and had the misfortune of looking like outsiders began to band together, traveling quietly with their heads down. Outsiders to Ravnica, and now potentially branded traitors.

    Quietly, they return to their district to await with anxious minds if they would be allowed to stay.

Staren has posed:
    No response. He'll take it that now is not the time to attempt to reassure her that it's not Yunomi and that they'll find a way to rebuild Thianel. Staren looks away awkwardly, then teleports to the warpgate.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika takes a sigh after everything winds down, and before the last of those from the Namamura district leave to head home, the kitsune begins to follow.

    She is quiet and deft, an unseen protector of these outsiders.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    For the first time since he took hold of Thianel's core crystal, the red dragon glances up at Corona, offers a small nod, then slowly climbs onto his feet. "An extra pair of hands will be useful.."

    Sidonia has, at this point, vanished. It is entirely uncertain when she left or how she did. She is simply gone.