552/A Hunting We Will Go

A Hunting We Will Go
Date of Scene:	06 September 2014
Location:	Urbania
Synopsis:	Lila and Amalthea go shopping... and WOLKENRITTER ATTACK! And then... GIANT ROBOTS!
Cast of Characters:	15, Staren, 177, 253, 274, 381, 395, 430, 545, 558
Tinyplot:	Power Games

---

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Welcome to ARKHAM CITY!

Wait what?

"We are certainly far afield from our normal grounds," Shamal notes softly. "But there is definitely magical power here. A lot of it... and some of it is very close by."

Signum, the pink-haired one, just nods as she walks through the small crowd, turning to duck into an alley. "Do it."

And that's when things get weird for anyone in the immediate area! An area nearly an entire city block wide, holding a shopping center and several buildings, suddenly gets a muted, washed-out look as a Barrier expands over the region. People vanish with a shimmering effect, fading into nothing... or rather, those inside the barrier are brought into the picket dimension that is formed, suddenly clearing the streets of anyone but their target. Or targets.

Lila (545) has posed:
    "What do you think of this dress?" Lila chirps, twirling about. Most likely the people in the city are giving Amalthea weird looks, but Lila is enjoying the time with her grandmother that she's conned into helping her shop! She would have preferred Ariel, but Amalthea is a lot of fun to tease as well.

    When everyone in the store vanishes and the sky grows overcast, she realizes that something weird is going on. "Oh... um... I think we may be in a bit of trouble. You'll have to protect me, Grandma!" And just as Amalthea ordered over radio, Lila is now CLINGING to Amalthea's arm, just like the helpless young girl that she most assuredly is.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    It's true, Amalthea is here. Though she's tried to be as inconspicuous as she could, it's kind of difficult. But a good application of a HAT and some bulky clothes should at least make her look only extremely weird and not completely out of the ordinary if she gets it right.
    So here she was, rubbing at her eye after being conned into helping Lila shop for clothes, leaning on her cane and still feeling fairly miserable from her encounter with Nox not so long ago, when the color seems to wash out of everything and people vanish.
    In an instant she shifts her weight, flipping the cane in her hand to grip like a sword, a black ebony dagger tugged from the ankle of her boot to fill her off-hand, and...
    Suddenly having a small girl cling to her arm, calling her grandma.
    Sigh.
    "Stick close, but I kind of need my arm free, okay?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    While not in the IMMEDIATE area of the attack, Psyber wasn't too far off. He'd stopped in at Arkham PD to try to mend some fences with them from the last few times he'd been in their city. Hopefully he wanted to get a good rapport with them and maybe get some leads next time shit went down. Never hurt to get in good with people.

    However that had worked out for him, he was buying a hotdog from a streetside vendor when he heard the call come in over the radio and took off running. He'd come pick up the car later, but he wasn't driving it into an attack zone. For all he knew, this was the result of the Senor West Limited Edition Silent But Deadly Crowd Clearing Fajita Method. Or something.

    Instead he's running towards or onto the scene with a pistol in one hand and a sheathed longsword with belt and scabbard in the other.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
A battle nearby?!? Time for Nanoha to help out her friends! She's curious too... and she still owes Signum for what happened to her mom! This is why she's here, and why the DIMENSIONAL SHIFT that tears open a hole off down an alley, letting the VERY CONSPICUOUS giant gray tiger-like cat leap out, with Nanoha and anyone who wishes to ride on warkitty atop her back.

"Ah, thank you, Vesta! Um..." Nanoha looks around. "I think it's this way. I wonder who would be here for them to go after, though? I've never heard of this city. It seems like a normal harmless city."

Well it gets giant robot attacks now and then, but Nanoha is from Japan so she doesn't really even think of that as weird.

Staren has posed:
    Staren hears there's trouble! And the description reminds him of Confederate Fate and Lance Benson's attack on that research facility, so he suspects foul magical play. And apparently a child is caught in the mess... So Staren grabs a spare laser pistol for her, just in case.

    Armored up, Staren teleports to an alley near Lila and Amalthea's position... however, seeing the normal coloration and people walking by, he realizes he's on the wrong side of the magic barrier. Drat.

    So plan B is, Staren runs out of an alley near Psyber. His white-and-sea-green armor of rounded plates, not to mention the shape of his ears and tail, indicates that he is obviously not from this place and this time, but whatever, noone said he had to be discreet.

    Staren runs alongside the ancient angel, powered armor helping him keep up. "I tried teleporting in, no dice. Do you have a way into the barrier?"

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Riding atop the back of Vesta with Nanoha is a clone of Nanoha, much more stoic and composed. Atop /her/ shoulder is a small kitten. It wasn't there when she got on Vesta's back, so it's a mystery where it came from. She doesn't seem to notice it's there. "We will need to get inside the Barrier, quickly. I should be able to get us through within a few moments, provided the Wolkenritter are busy. I am familiar with their Barriers. In the meantime..."

    'TEMPORAL BARRIER,' Luciferion pings, and then the area NEXT to the Wolkenritter Barrier suddenly goes all muted as well, all the civilians vanishing. This likely catches any of the incoming Unionites in another field similar to the Wolks.

    "I am going to attempt to merge the pocket dimensions into one Barrier."

Material-L (15) has posed:
    Material-L rides atop Vesta.
    She seems oddly used to riding a giant cat.
    She even knows exactly how and where to pet a giant cat and where not to touch or cling. How she misses their ability to make war kittens.

    Already transformed in her standard Barrier Jacket (blue cape, black leotard, tiny white-blue skirt, black thigh-highs, black gloves with armored silver bracers, etc) with Vulnificus in its scythe mode already (though its blade is off-- the mechanical part is still large and wicked enough to make a scythe even without a mana blade), she just WHEEEEEs everytime Vesta makes any sort of large movement.

    "Okay~" she asides to Seikou.

    She is totally useful!
    Nah not really she's just here for the ride.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Somehow. It's impossible to figure out precisely how, but somehow...

    Somehow, Satsuki Kiryuin has managed to make riding the back of a giant cat look regal.

    Houka Inumuta is doing a much less impressive job of it, but Satsuki herself looks nothing less than her best even now. She has not transformed, but brings her blade with her regardless, and at the very least she is wearing Junketsu. "I am prepared for whatever comes of it," she replies to Seikou calmly, sliding off Vesta's back and standing at the ready. Her companion of the moment, however, is already analyzing the area out of sheer curiosity, both at what the Wolkenritter have done and what Seikou's about to do.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
<<Someone has put up another Barrier and is attempting to merge with ours,>> Zafira notes telepathically.

"No need to worry," Shamal reassures. "If it is the TSAB, it will take them at least an hour to adjust to our magical wavelength with the encryption the Book provides. But still, no need to be complacent. We should get what we came for and leave swiftly, before something unexpected happens."

Of course it will take Seikou under a minute to actually sync up, considering her shared ancestry, but Shamal doesn't know that. The Barriers will merge shortly, and in the meantime...

Amalthea and Lila will see a short, young girl with a hammer propped on her shoulder land right outside, cocking her hat with an annoyed look. "What, seriously? Another little girl and... what is that? Some kind of familiar?" Shrug. "Whatever."

Some distance in the other direction, pinning down the two, Signum lands. The regal-looking Knight already has a hand on her sword, and she's assessing Amalthea with a considerably different expression. Quietly, "This will go much easier if you simply surrender. Neither of you will suffer any permanent harm. It will be much simpler to just hold still."

Material-S (177) has posed:
    "I think I have found it," Seikou states, lifting off from Vesta's back. "Thank you, Vesta. We should prepare for battle. The Wolkenritter are not weak enemies, and are extremely stubborn." Her Device pings, and ahead of the group, down the street, the edge of the barrier shimmers and disappears, leaving the way open to the other Barrier region. This will happen for Psyber and Staren, as well, of course.

    And with a streak of orange, the silent Material is already off, rocketing down the street and searching for any readings of magic that may be spiking in the area. She'll be rounding the corner around the end of this pose round, let's say.

Lila (545) has posed:
    Lila lets go of Amalthea's arm, but steps in right behind her for protection. Her brow furrows, though... these are not the people she expected to see! "Who... are you?" She has to ask that, of course, because she genuinely does not know! Silently she adjusts the collar of her dress, looking back and forth between Signum and Vita. In further silence she mentally starts to feel out the spell sealing the area away. She isn't alone here, she can tell...

    Her use of Sorcery is very brief, just a quick 'ping' to the Barrier, to give her something to analyze. It might go entirely unnoticed by anyone but the Wolkenritter, of course.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "AMALTHEA!"

    The first thing Psyber says when the barriers merge. He has a ping on her location in the city from her Union transmissions, so this is immediately followed by Psyber blind-hurling her the sword from whatever distance apart they are. His strength means that it would sail right for her like a long-distance football pass and be a pretty easy catch. The blade itself is a very well-constructed longsword made of a personal alloy of Psyber's invention.

    The half-angel is then back to sprinting along the streets, trying to make his way towards Amalthea and his grandniece, wanting to meet up with them and give the defender some backup. The sword he threw is replaced by a red and black one that crackles with electricity occasionally. He hasn't brought Einherjar out in a while, but he has it out in his right hand now, his left holding the pistol he had before.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    As the barrier merge completes, Satsuki stands with her hands on the pommel of Bakuzan, waiting. She doesn't have to do so for very long; as soon as Seikou lifts off, she looks over her shoulder. "Inumuta. I'm going on ahead." Without waiting for his reply, she breaks into a run down the street after her dour ally, her strides swift enough to keep her close behind the flying mage.

    Meanwhile, Inumuta himself will be giving Nanoha and Levi a little nod, before taking a few steps back. His collar snaps open long enough for him to say, "If you don't mind, I'm going to go find myself a rooftop to watch from." And he will do just that, leveraging the superhuman physical abilities his Uniform grants him to go roofside. Given half a chance, he will begin analysis immediately, with special focus on the Wolkenritter (when it becomes obvious who they are) and particular focus on whomever Satsuki eventually comes to blows with.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
"Okay, let's-" Nanoha starts to say.

"Ah, Mistress... I have an idea..." Vesta interrupts. Nanoha blinks and looks down... then nods firmly.

"That's a good idea, Vesta! We'll be right behind you all! Trust me!" Nanoha calls out before gripping Vesta's fur and hunkering down. If Levi stays on Vesta, she'll get this benefit as well... because the two of them shimmer and fade from sight, though the puff of dust and dirt that sometimes rises from the ground of the street says that the two are still there. Invisibly, the duo dashes down the street to keep an eye out for any unexpected surprises!

Material-L (15) has posed:
    It seems that for the moment, Levi stays with Nanoha.

    Perhaps out of worry of ruining Seikou's plan, or just because she REALLY enjoys riding the giant cat. It's not very clear, and she isn't saying!

    But she does make effort to say her "WHEEEEES!" very quietly.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    With her arm free, Amalthea is free to face down Vita, dagger and cane in hand, already lowered into a readied stance, steam hissing from her shoulder and knee as she forms a one-unicorn wall in front of Lila. She still has her own hangups about her daughter's sudden adoption of the girl without so much as thinking, but she wouldn't be able to call herself much of a knight if she were to let the child come to harm.
    "Hey who the fuck are you calling a Familiar?" She replies gruffly at first, before Signum appears as well and suggests just letting it happen.
    "Sorry, no can do. Knight's honor wouldn't let me just stand by and abide a sudden attack."
    This is when her ear flits. Hearing Psyber's call she drops her cane, hand snatching out at the air to catch the flung sword and scabbard, a well practiced flow of motion slinging the belt to her waist and unsheathing the blade in one action, though slightly jerky and ratcheting as her body complains. She doesn't show it though, now holding an ACTUAL blade in hand aside from her dagger.

Staren has posed:
    "I have no idea." Psyber replies.

    Staren hmmmhs. "I'll think on it..."

    And then Staren and Psyber find themselves in a barrier too.

    "Whatever is happening right now works." comments Psyber.

    And then the barriers merge and Psyber's off like a shot! Staren was going to offer to teleport him, but... okay! Flexible planning! Staren's wings activate, magical constructs of orange resembling stylized, abstract insect wings, and he flies up into the sky for a look around, before teleporting onto the roof of the building across the street from Lila and Amalthea to get a better look at what's going on...

    Which means he appears on the rooftop just as Inamuta's leaping onto it, and immediately Staren turns on him, levelling his right arm at the strange man (two barrels for some sort of weapon are built into the forearm of his armor.) "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"

Herbert West (274) has posed:
"Hey, you can have the robot unicorn thing, but that girl is mine!"

This comes from a young boy in a hoodie, standing at the other end of the street with a smirk on his face.

"Ours, you mean," comes the added reply to the much larger man in a mask that steps up behind the boy, to back him up. The kid starts to stroll down the street, looking at the standoff that's building up with a cocky grin.

"Damn, this is a fuckin' medieval showdown, isn't it?" the foul-mouthed boy laughs, looking at the sword and knights gathering up. "Maybe we shoulda brought Titus. He loves that shit."

"The girl," the man in the mask prompts.

"Yeah yeah," the kid says. "Huh, I thought this unicorn girl would look younger. Whatever, she's still an amateur. HEY! ROBUTT! Hand over the kid!"

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
"I respect your determination, but it will not matter in the end," Signum says confidently. "Vita, prepare the Book." Signum draws her sword, getting into a ready stance as the Device clicks loudly and hisses, settling into place. Looks like she's ready for combat.

"Got it," Vita says, the simalcrum of the Book shimmering to appear in her outstretched hand. "You want to take this one on personally, I guess? Just don't mess around, we don't have a lot of time. Someone threw that sword. I guess I'll keep them busy if they show up."

Speaking of showing up, the kid and the guy in the mask get barely a glance. Signum says firmly, "Stay out of this. I don't care what you want with the girl, but just because we are forced to do this does not mean I will allow a kidnapping."

Just to reinforce she means it, a large blue wolf lands in front of the kid, and a green-dressed blonde woman alights nearby.

That's when things get /complicated/.

Signum draws her sword back as if to charge, bracing herself while the blade flares with flaming mana. Prepping her charge, she's interrupted by Seikou and Satsuki dashing around the corner, along with the invisible cat and riders. The reaction is not what would be expected.

From the book above Vita's hand, a sudden hissing sound emanates, and twisted black serpents writhe out from the pages and announce in a mechanical, cold voice: <UNALLOCATED ETERNAL RING CONTROL NODE DETECTED. WARNING. WARNING. REALLOCATING PRIORITIES. SUBDUE AND CAPTURE.>

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Things are rapidly devolving in bad ways. What had been a shopping trip that Amalthea had so grudgingly agreed to accompany Lila on has now turned into a complete and total Mexican Standoff. For a good moment, Amalthea remains where she is, a solid wall of blade and body.
    The Wolkenritter want Lila. These new guys from out of nowhere want her. Now known Confederates are arriving... There is but one thing for the mechanical unicorn to do in all the ensuing chaos.
    She sheathes her sword.
    She sheathes her dagger.
    "Yeah well..."
    She can't just give the girl up so... She hoists Lila, grabbing the child duffel style, she proceeds to turn and...
    Starts RUNNING AS FAST AS SHE CAN DOWN THE NEAREST ALLEY.
    "Bye!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber runs around the corner, not too far behind Seikou and Levi, and manages to catch sight of what's going on in that situation. The half-angel flourishes the sword in his hand, trailing electricity as he does so. He appraises the situation and then watches Amalthea bolt off.

    At least now he has a rough plan of what he wants to be doing. Taking off in a sprint, he runs and jumps. This is immediately followed by a flair of wings and a dusting of feathers as he moves to step right in front of the alleyway Amalthea just ran down. He lifts up his sword.

    "Alley's closed. Private party."

    He slowly rolls his neck to the side, cracking it loudly.

Lila (545) has posed:
    Lila is peering at all the people interested in her, but saying nothing! This is actually a lot messier than she expected, and thus her uncertainty is actually pretty genuine. She isn't sure who to mess with first, or if she should stay helpless girl!

    Not that it matters. "KYAH!" She's grabbed and hauled over one shoulder! Arms flail as Lila is just kidnapped by her 'grandma' and thus solves the whole issue. "Ah... well, so nice to meet you, Claudius, but this little Lila really has to get going!"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    No sooner has Satsuki rounded the corner than her eyes fall on an ancient Belkan warrior woman with sword at the ready; the intelligent woman within her puts two and two together with the description from the assault on Nanoha's mother, and the swordswoman in her spies a dangerous and powerful opponent, standing at the ready to attack a now-fleeing duo.

    Two different sides come to one inevitable conclusion, and without missing a step, Satsuki reaches up to her arm, snaps in the catches on her bangle, and then immediately draws her sword. A torrent of shining rainbow stars envelops her, and by the time she has Bakuzan at the ready, her Kamui has completed its transformation.

"Life Fiber Override!"
"KAMUI JUNKETSU!"

    The yell comes as both an announcement of her uniform's transformation... and a challenge, fully intended to draw Signum's eye the moment before she brings down a vicious overhead slash. She /wants/ the Belkan swordswoman to see her coming. That this will provide Psyber an opening is a simple side effect, but the side-glance she gives him says she's not unaware of the fact anyway.

    Meanwhile, on the rooftops, Inumuta finds himself face-to-face with some new guy in armor, pointing a weapon at him. Immediately, he lifts his arms in 'surrender'. "My, my. Here I had expected the rooftops to be deserted. Houka Inumuta, Honnouji Academy Student Council. As to what I'm doing here... the answer is that I'm leaving." He takes a step back and drops himself over the side. There is a bright flare from the alleyway below.

    By the time Staren gets there, Inumuta seems to have vanished.

Staren has posed:
    Staren blinks. This student council thing? Mako's world?

    But then the mysterious man jumps over the side. Staren rushes to see, but... he's gone. Hmm...

    Staren draws his rifle and runs to the other side of the roof. He looks through the scope at Vita and Signum... now to line up a shot...

Material-S (177) has posed:
    That was not what Seikou expected. Being called a 'control node' was really not making her day, and she halts in midair with a stare at the Book simalcrum. "Eternal Ring? I..." She frowns. "Your Book must think that we are the components still inside it. I am not sure that reacquiring us would be a good idea for anyone."

    Luciferion makes a loud clatter and loads a cartridge as she prepares for combat, though. The small girl lands in the street, observing the goings on. "I will not stop you from taking the Core of anyone here who is not my ally, but I will warn you that filling the Book will not do what you want it to do. Without external aid, Hayate Yagami will die either way. If you fill the Book, or if you refuse to fill it. You must talk to someone soon to find a third option, or you are doomed to failure."

    She's prepping for attack though, either way.

Herbert West (274) has posed:
The kid facefaults. "Really? A dog and a girl? Come on," he snorts, shaking his head. "Caligula, think you can take care of these while I get the girl? They seem more on your level~" With a sneer, he insults his companion and then... launches into the air, leaping up impossibly high to give Caligula a clear shot at Zafira and Shamal.

"Be careful the child doesn't beat you up," Caligula replies. He makes a short gesture as the kid jumps, and then Shamal and Zafira will get his own attack! A sudden ROAR of water erupts from nowhere, forming a small but heavy wave that CRASHES down upon the pair at high speed!

From above, Psyber and Amalthea and Lila will hear Claudius, the boy, shout out, "IA, IA! HASTUR!" The sharp whining noise will be the best indicator that something is coming, but the invisible wind blade will /also/ give an instant of warning when it slices the building above Psyber in half on its way down to cut into the street, trying to slash Amalthea's legs off.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Still hidden on the cat, Nanoha whispers in Vesta's ear, then gives a bright smile to Levi. "Okay, I think I'll go help your sister! Vesta, give me a paw here, all right?" She suddenly leaps off, streaking over to Seikou's side to hover above the Material, weapon at the ready.

But Vesta's illusion magic is what's really at play here. For Nanoha doesn't look like herself! She looks like... Seikou. With Luciferion lowered and pointing at Vita and Signum!

Also there are now FOUR MORE Seikou's floating around the original in varying states of readiness. For a total of six.

Material-L (15) has posed:
    "Ooh. Oooooh." Levi ooohs.
    A helpful fact!

    She's not sure if she's happy the Book finally caught on or sad it's changing the fight conditions. She does want to play! But this might not be the best place, Yami might get mad.

    "I'm gonna go help Shamal and Doggy! I dunno who they annoyed but I'm gonna make sure it doesn't end baaaaaad~!" Hop, and Levi is no longer upon Vesta's back.

    She slips out of the invisibility field.

    "Vul~ni~fi~<span style="color:us~?"
    cxterm45"><YES SIR. BLITZ ACTION.></span>

    The blue Material suddenly surges forward, turning into a literal lightning bolt as she skids towards Shamal and Zafira. She reforms there, her scythe suddenly pulled back over her shoulder. The bright cyan blade of mana forms, finally, and she swings the scythe forward, cutting a blue streak through the air aimed at the incoming tidal wave.

    "Hi hi! Shamal, can I use Doggy as my war steed?"

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
"If I have to break through ALL of you, I will!" Vita glowers. "It's just illusion magic! Kind of a neat trick for a Mid-Childan mage. What ARE you?" Her hammer readies itself with a loud CLACK noise, and then she gets braced, summoning up several metal spheres that zip off to streak toward all the 'Seikous' in an attempt to dispel the illusions. The Book also vanishes, for reasons made clear later in this pose.

Signum's response is more ready, as she prepares her sword and stares at Satsuki incoming. "It doesn't matter. Many of you have plenty of energy for us," she states. "And this is the only way we know how. If we are fast enough, then perhaps..." So something Seikou said was right. Not really important right now, since that flaming sword clashes loudly with the incoming one, and Satsuki will feel the full might of an S-class Belkan Knight suddenly PUSH back with a sweeping, powerful swing that intends to hurl the woman into the building nearby. "But not you. You have nothing of interest to us."

Shamal and Zafira brace, but then Levi comes to the rescue! Both stare for a moment, but don't lose focus long enough to matter. "VITA! THE BOOK!" Shamal holds her hand out, and the blonde woman received the materializing mimic of the Book of Darkness. She gestures up above...

While Zafira SNARLS loudly, and a sudden eruption of ice spires erupt around Caligula, snapping upward to try imprisoning the Sorcerer. <<Leave now,>> Zafira mentally snarls to Caligula.

As for what Shamal was doing, a shimmering in the air might give hints, because the thin wires she sends up in a web try to snap around the leaping Claudius, wrapping around him... while her other hand thrusts into the shining green disc that appears. The hand reappears erupting from Claudius's chest, with a brilliant blue-white marble in the hand.

Lila (545) has posed:
    Lila is a screaming and terrified little girl. She is doing nothing of import unless someone with magical senses happens to look at her at JUST the right moment. Then they might notice the brief flare of power.

    It's surely just luck that Claudius missed Amalthea, and most definitly not part of some subtle barrier that was placed right behind the unicorn. Nope.

    "AHHHH! It's slicing apart the buildings!"

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Blitzing as fast as she can, the call of the King in Yellow's name makes loppy ears flit. Amalthea knows one of those unknowns is chasing her and by no means does she have any intention of stopping. Even as the buildings get sliced and massive chunks uf rubble and debris begin to fall.
    "JUST BECAUSE I ONLY HAVE ONE EYE DOESN'T MAKE ME BLIND!" She snarls, leaping up, and only vaguely sensing something horribly dangerous licking at her ankles, halted by something else, as she hops onto a piece of falling debris, leaps to the next, and starts running up and along chunks of building in the air as they fall and she gains momentum and speed. No time to think about it though.
    Only once does she cast a glance back over her shoulder- in time to see a hand erupd from Claudius' chest and- it's enough for a misstep.
    First she smashes headfirst through a window, then out the other side of the building. A double jump rights her balance but she hits the ground in a skid and keeps running. Until her foot hits a manhole.
    It's partially open. Which means the lid flips up and just like that Amalthea flings Lila STRAIGHT UP INTO THE AIR while she herself sinks into the abyss of the Arkham sewers with a snarled litany of curses.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    The swing stops dead against Satsuki's blade. The ground around and behind her absolutely shatters under the sheer meeting of strength, her whole body tenses with the effort of halting Signum's attack... but halt it she does. She matches the Belkan Knight strength for strength, the uncanny might of a Kamui putting her on an even level physically with the elder swordswoman. And even though the flames blaze past her, scorching her skin and blackening parts of her outfit, her lips curl into a fierce grin, blade pushing back against blade. "Then that is your first mistake. To show disinterest in an obstacle before you is to invite your own defeat!"

    And then it is her turn. Without hesitating, she suddenly stops pressing against Signum entirely, letting Laevateinn go on past the point of blade lock - no, /shoving/ it past, trying to use Signum's own strength against her. This puts Bakuzan low and to her right, and she capitalizes on the position immediately by slashing upwards on the diagonal, then following up with a second, horizontal cut. Only then does she leap back out of range, levelling her sword at the knight of flames with a calm, piercing gaze. "Satsuki Kiryuin. Honnouji Academy Student Council President. I have taken an interest in the daughter of one of the victims you yourself attacked. And your Book has deemed my allies targets to be subdued. If you take any other path but retreat, I will be standing in your way. Shall we cross blades, swordswoman of the Wolkenritter?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren /was/ watching the Wolkenritter, but... the feds seem to be taking care of them, and now some kid is here under the impression that Lila is Ariel.

    It's all a misunderstanding! But, you know, Staren's not okay with them taking Ariel either. He changes targets, trying to draw a bead on Claudius, when someone oh-so-helpfully uses a binding spell! Well, Staren's not letting /that/ opportunity go to waste! He clicks the fire selector to burst mode (with lasers, there's no recoil, so bursts don't scatter much), swings the crosshairs over Claudius, and fires.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Well the idea of 'hold the alley' kind of falls through when the alley is abruptly destroyed behind him. Psyber holds out his arms to the sides, "Really with this shit? Does Hastur know you're using their magic to destroy Architecture? Boy'd they be piiiiiiiised. They really like art and design, you can't just go destroying shit like that. Learn your fucking deities." Psyber rants before sighing, "Don't you just fucking sprout hands from your chest at me when I'm talking to you. Goddamn teenagers these days with your Lovecraft-ass magic."

    Psyber's rant is only brought to an end by the fact that Amalthea is going down while Lila is going up. Psyber turns and wags a fingers, "You're lucky today, guy," Psyber, of course, not realizing what Claudius is having happen to him, is way off base here. Instead he's running and leaping towards Lila, trying to catch her in his arms.

    "Here, hold on, I'll put you someplace safe. You can trust me, I'm your Grand-Uncle," The half-angel says to her before unceremoniously stuffing her into his jacket of holding. She can totally feel free to poke her head out of there if she wants, it's mostly for easy carrying.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Metallic balls streak out to strike two of the Seikous, as the three others in the air move to dodge and summon up barriers. Two are missed entirely, but one has the barrier deflect it at an angle, though at the cost of sending 'Seikou' tumbling down to the street to bounce roughly. "AH!"

The two that were struck vanish in a popping noise.

'DIVINE SHOOTER,' Raising Heart/Luciferion says, sending out a series of quick blasts toward Vita while Nanoha rolls and hops to her feet, staff at the ready.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    <PANZERSCHILD,> Luciferion pings, causing a triangular orange barrier to appear in front of her. Vita is strong enough to shatter it, but it considerably dulls the attack and causes the sphere to slam into her shoulder without much effect. Seikou mns, then frowns slightly.

    "Please do not make me get serious. I know you are only showing a fraction of your own power, but I have no desire to fight you right now. I am only telling the truth. Though I recall you being stubborn."

    She gestures, and Luciferion pings, <SCHWALBEFLIEGEN.> Four shimmering orange spheres identical to the metallic ones thrown earlier appear, but these burst into fire before rocketing toward Vita.

    "I know everything you can do, unless there are considerable deviations from our worlds," she reminds. "Therefore I know you cannot win this fight alone." She's actually not sure she DOES know everything, given how different Nanoha is. But it's a good bluff.

Herbert West (274) has posed:
"W-What the... fucking... piece of shit..." Claudius is demonstrating the use of his mouth again at high speed, choking as he weakly struggles in midair. Shamal is /holding/ him there, and his eyes are suddenly wide and panicking as he lifts trembling hands toward the Wolkenritter's hand erupting from his chest. The shining blue marble begins to shrink, particles of light streaming into Shamal's fingers.

Claudius is thus in NO POSITION AT ALL to defend himself from the blasts from Staren. The burst of laser fire streaks through and lances through his chest, opening up five neat holes entirely through him, causing him to convulse with a sudden shrill cry of real PAIN!

Caligula is... encased in icy spires? Or whatever Zafira does. "Hrm... looks like you bit off more than you could chew, again." He doesn't move, but he can see the writing on the wall when the others are starting to act up and do plenty of weird things.

A sudden POWERFUL flare of magical energy erupts inside Caligula, and somewhere deep underneath the ground. The street buckles and crumbles, and another building begins to crash down hard. Mechanical tendrils burst from the ground, and one of them reaches up to attempt to SMACK Claudius down hard, to break him away from Shamal's grasp, violently. Unless someone stops that from happening. Caligula calls out, "KRAKEN, AWAKEN!"

Very shortly, more massive tendrils are bursting from the street.

Material-L (15) has posed:
    Levi stares back at Zafira.
    It is extremely tense.

    That is, until she starts giggling and completely loses her focus. "Nyahaha, Doggy! C'mon Doggy! Let's go destroy your enemies and collect candy! Because Shamal is in danger and you're a Guardian Beast!"

    The Material attempts to hop onto Zafira, with her still-lit scythe and all. She would point ahead, towards the massive, emerging robo-kraken.

    "C'mon, c'mon! Let's go play! I bet that thing has a yummy Linker Core! Or its summoner must! You can have it if you let me ride you~!" Bribery!

Staren has posed:
    Staren blinks. He blew holes through the guy? Was he not an elite after all? No... no, someone's still trying to save him. But he looks out it. This other guy though, he RELEASES THE KRAKEN. Maybe that means he's controlling it?

    Easy way to find out.

    Staren aims at the other bound man, and fires.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
SATSUKI: Satsuki opens up a shallow cut in Signum as the blade licks out over her armor, actually getting through her defenses. Blood starts to well up, showing these constructs can bleed despite their mana bodies. Stoically she tanks it, her blade coming up and sliding sparks along the other sword, sweeping up in a swift arc toward Satsuki-

Only for her OTHER hand to be the one that attacks, the scabbard stabbing out to drive in toward Satsuki's stomach in an attempt to wind her harshly. "You are of no interest to us. Stand down. Please."

LEVI AND WEST: Zafira blinks, <<WHAT?>> Oh well. He turns suddenly, determining the girl to be no threat if a little strange. The Book is squealing, though, more things about an Eternal Ring. Zafira is just leaping and snapping at the tendril going for Claudius, trying to drag it down long enough for Shamal to finish the drain. Which is exactly what Shamal will do, if she can, though she'll also dash over to 'catch' Claudius and bring out a brief healing spell to close his wounds, if she can.

NANOHA AND SEIKOU: Vita scowls and starts forward, "How did you... oh whatever! The book says you need to go, so you're going!" Graf Eisen lifts... and then her own spell, plus some Divine Shooters, are coming right for her. "GUH!"

A shimmering barrier envelops her, tanking the shots... but causing her barrier to crumble as she's forced back, battered and slamming into the far side of the street. She can't take on Seikou AND Nanoha, even if she has a high opinion of herself. And with Seikou apparently mimicking her spells and the Book still screaming warnings about them...

"SIGNUM! I think we'd better get out of here!"

Lila (545) has posed:
    Lila pokes her head out of the jacket, "Yeah you BETTER run!" She starts giggling, "Wow, it's very ~exciting~ living in this family, I think I could have fun here! But really, 'Great Uncle Psyber,' I think you need to spritz some Febreeze in this coat or something."

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
If Vita is not shooting back, then Nanoha can... deal with giant tentacles! "AHH! I hate tentacles!" That sounds like a Story(tm). She flails wildly, and the illusion vanishes to reveal... she doesn't look all that different from Seikou anyway. The two duplicates vanish as well, leaving the white-clad girl still flailing for a moment before she snaps Raising Heart into position.

'DIVINE BUSTER,' the Device chimes, a shimmering magic circle appearing to send a roaring blast of power at the erupting tentacle nearby. Giant robot? USE BIGGER BLASTS!

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Normally a very affable, if slightly robust in uniqueness werewolf spends time in there. Sorry if it smells a bit like dog, hats, or old sandwiches," Psyber says to Lila as they run along. He's mostly trying to dodge debris (pronounced the French-Canadian 'Deh-Briss') and Kraken tentacles, "Still, very nice to meet you and all that. I wish it were under better circumstances! I'll look into getting it dry cleaned later."

    He does have one side-objective he wants to accomplish. Claudius is no longer being drained, people are starting to retreat from the Kraken and the gathered Elites. Psyber reaches towards his beltline and takes out a pair of handcuffs and a pocket knife, "We gotta arrest the bad man that tried to hurt you and all," He notes before he carves a star with a flaming symbol in the center. Next to it, he carves the more traditional single line with five branches. Can't remember which version of the Elder Sign this world uses.

    Then he sets about to swooping in and stealing the disabled Claudius away from healing and into his own arms, trying to handcuff him while he flees the scene of destruction, "You're under arrest for the slander of Hastur's name, illegal conjuration, city destruction, and being a douchetool."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    The scabbard meets Satsuki's own, a blunt attack for a blunt attack. This time, however, while Satsuki's ferocity has not diminished, the expression that ferocity underlies has gone from grin to scowl. She does not break the lock this time; in fact, she deliberately holds it, doing her best to freeze her opponent in place. Her arms tremble, the pavement under her feet cracks, and yet she stands firm, so that they can see each other eye-to-eye for just a moment.

    "I am disappointed, swordswoman of the Wolkenritter. You have my name and my challenge, you have seen my blade and my strength, and yet you look down upon me with softened blows and disrespect me with pleas for peace. Where is your honor as a warrior?! Where is your /resolve/?! A foe stands before you on equal ground, a hindrance stands between you and your master's salvation, and you do not cut it down without hesitation?"

    Satsuki pushes herself out of the lock at last, but rather than attack, she leaps back a good dozen meters, landing lightly on her feet. Slowly, Bakuzan is returned to its sheath, the hilt locking with the scabbard. "My allies seem fond of you, and I've lost interest in a superior opponent who refuses to use her strength against me. If you intend to retreat, now is your chance. When we meet next, you and I may be allies or enemies, depending on whether you choose to take their advice."

    She turns to go, still fully transformed... but stops, long enough to look over her shoulder again. "But if we meet as enemies, I will have your name and all your strength, or I will have your head. You have the strength to match, or perhaps even best me... but fighting me without resolve will get you killed."

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Nanoha appears to be taking care of the robot, to some degree. Seikou considers the situation. "Fighting with opponents of this level will just crack the barriers, even with two of them here," she points out. "Retreating is probably in all of our best interests. We have no real desire to level this town for no reason. Vesta, can you transport us out of here when the Barrier goes down?"

    Seikou could care less what happens to Caligula, honestly. Fortunately she can fly, and so can her allies except Satsuki. So she's not too worried about the Kraken for now. It looks more like a desperation measure to get free... and now that she thinks of that...

    As she flies upward, she looks for the center of the cluster of tentacles, firing a small shot toward it to bust open the pavement. Then her Device reforms into a more proper shooting mode. "CALIGULA, was it not? Cease this now or I will destroy your Kraken."

    She doesn't know if she can do that in one hit, but then... neither does he.

Herbert West (274) has posed:
Claudius is out. He can't do anything if Psyber gets him from Shamal. At least he won't die? He mumbles, "Fucker..."

Caligula, on the other hand, manages to HEADBUTT the spires and shatter them! Unlike Claudius, he is not in the middle of being drained, and has his full sorcerous power. Thus, Staren's shots... also connect, but he mostly staggers and grunts, grabbing his side and looking down as if more annoyed than injured, despite bleeding from this.

Following that, he ROARS and vanishes into a magic circle, evidently moving into the shimmering magical circle of the giant robot beneath that is cracking through the city streets, rising upward. One tendril is blasted by Nanoha, and the other is being wrestled by Zafira... but the damaged robot is actively regenerating circuitry as the group watches! This... could get pretty bad.

Material-L (15) has posed:
    Levi is on Zafira! "WHEEE DOGGY!"

    You'd almost forget she is a murderous little girl.
    Almost.

    "Vulnificus, combination strike!"
    <WITH WHOM?>
    "Doggy!"
    <YES SIR. LINKER CORE RETRIEVAL. LOAD CARTRIDGE.>
    Vulnificus' head snaps up and down twice, bursts of magic indicating two cartridges have been loaded and consumed for this spell.

    "Nyahaha! DOGGY, FOLLOW MY LEAD! I'm gonna try to expose it, you gotta break the last layers and snatch it before it heals back up around it!" Or that's the idea, anyway. It's easy to tell the Kraken has some sort of source of magic, but maybe it's external, or too alien to be affected by a Linker Core retrieval spell.

    Levi hops off Zafira's back, hovering up in the air. Vulnificus' scythe shaft retracts, pointing up like a spear instead, and extending wings of bright blue magic down the shaft of the weapon. She points it up, skyward. "Come on, come on, big robot! Play with us too!"

    <THUNDER RAGE, DRAIN SHIFT.>
    "FIRE~!"
    <UNRECOGNIZED PHRASE.>
    "Oh. Oh! Oh. Oooh. PEW PEW!"
    <SHOOT.>

    Bright blue circles of magic instantly trace themselves around Levi as she taps into her power, and it shoots into the sky, illuminating the Barrier. And then, there's a rain of lightning bolts, dozens of them, crashing down towards the robo-Kraken, attempting to blast its limbs into metal shreds faster than it can regrow them-- but more importantly, the arcs of electricity are trying to find the beast's magical center, and expose its delicious insides! Maybe it'll work! Maybe not. Zafira'll probably have to work for it even if it does, though.

    Levi just keeps laughing and keeps the pressure up either way.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Signum replies to Satsuki by sheathing her blade. "Fine, we're retreating. I apologize, but it is my honor that demands I hold back. My Master would not wish me to strike you with intent to kill without good reason, and she would not consider a duel of knights good reason. My debt to her is greater than any I have to you."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Satsuki's foot stops the moment it hits the pavement. She turns to look over her shoulder a second time.

    "Hoh...?"

    And then she is facing Signum again. "I see... then while it is still my policy not to restrain myself in battle, I apologize for my own remarks. I would still have your name, knight. I know it already, but that isn't the same as hearing it from your own lips."

Staren has posed:
    Staren blinks, mildly surprised. Huh, that guy was tougher.

    But there's still a giant robot kraken.

    Should he...? The only concern, really, is his allies.

    So, he warns them to get clear.

    And then the boxes on his back rotate into position. Six missiles, maybe a foot or so long, launch from the boxes on his back and streak down towards the kraken, special warheads turning 30-foot-wide spheres of air into superheated plasma. Staren hopes it will melt the robot to slag. Or, well, at least part of it.

    Staren's used to fighting from inside giant robot. He feels he has to come as close to that as he can when he /isn't/ inside one.

Lila (545) has posed:
    A funny thing happened during the big battle. Because Staren's missiles will be joined, quite suddenly, by the thundering appearance of a massive red-painted giant robot out of nowhere. And when we say 'giant' we mean giant, as it's easily even larger than the fifty-meter+ Demonbane. It looks vaguely like an upright mantis, and... doesn't appear in any place that would block Staren's shots.

    One arm thrusts out swiftly, adding to the missile damage by plunging into the giant kraken-bot, disintegrating armor and plating as it goes. Just, outright destroying them without an explosion or anything. The point is to tear open and expose the central core, it seems.

    Then, just as suddenly, it warps and fades away into nothing.

    Lila is hiding in Psyber's coat.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Satsuki gets a reply: "Signum, of the Wolkenritter." She turns and starts to lift off, only stopping to stare at Seikou. "And you... you and your companion. We have questions, but not today. This Eternal Ring... why does Nachtwal concern itself with it?" But she's flying off before the answer can be had, joining Vita... because the Barrier is cracking. It won't last much longer.

Shamal has the Book right now, but ZAFIRA has LEVI! The lightning crashing out and Zafira's jaws tearing through metal aim for the core, but... with a giant robot helping them, he easily just flies in and yanks out the pilot and the little girl hidden within.

Shamal's hand reappears, starting to absorb the energies within, but she calls out, "I don't think I can get everything! We have to leave!" But she's still soaking up some!

Herbert West (274) has posed:
Between Levi's lightning shredding the limbs and armor, and Staren's explosions, the Kraken is staggering anyway. It's still holding up pretty well, but those two could probably take it out with a concentrated effort if they had no other interference. It might be a long and difficult battle, but they could... especially if Levi went all-out, too. Of course, the appearance of the other giant robot tearing it apart makes the issue moot. Against ALL of that, the nameless robot tears it open easily, giving Shamal free access to the Core of Caligula's wounded body. He struggles halfheartedly, unable to move enough to resist. "RRRRRRAAAGH!"

Well, he SOUNDS pissed.

"The Nameless One?! WHY?! HOW?!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber doesn't want to stick around the scene of this crime much longer. One, he has a criminal in his hands, one whom he talks to, "Yeah, yeah, I'm such a hardass. Don't go starting shit if you can't finish it, bro. You're lucky I don't give you to the REAL Hastur and let her show you some stuff you didn't know. Instead, you'll be a gift from me to Arkham PD. Hopefully then, Al Azif's Gun-Sempais will notice me."

    Of course, he's also getting out of there very rapidly for the simple fact that Lila seemed to be a target, a mysterious new robot showed up, and there were still people around. All the more reason for him to rush towards evacuating the area.

Material-L (15) has posed:
    Wooooo, success!
    The lightning storm quiets down, and Levi lowers her Device, glancing about. Looks like the Wolkenritter don't want to say around. Well, that's probably for the best, really. Lots of people here are gonna want to stop them now.

    "Aww, you gotta go? Okaaaaay."

    The Material produces A BOX OF DOGGY TREATS.
    Where she keeps this stuff is a complete mystery.
    She lobs one towards Zafira.

    "Seikoooou!"

    Unless stopped she is going to take off and regroup with her 'sister', probably to seek praise and headpats.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Seikou gives praise and headpats. "That was very well-negotiated, Levi. Excellent work."

Staren has posed:
    Now that the plasma missiles have done their massive damage, Staren prepares to follow up with the armor-piercing missiles on any weak points remaining--

    --Or, a mecha, BIGGER THAN DEMONBANE, could show up from nowhere and finish it off. That works too.

    Staren's missile packs rotate back into rest position, and he settles in to watch what, if anything, else goes on, and maybe shoot people if they need to be shot some more.

    Lila's safe, that's the most important thing. Staren's not sure what the Book of Darkness's deal is, but today they're the enemy of his enemy, so whatever, he won't pick a fight with them.