299/Abstractum Red Wing 3v1

Abstractum Red Wing 3v1
Date of Scene:	28 July 2014
Location:	The Homeworld
Synopsis:	Kirito, Ariel and Homura attempt to fight Psyber in a Versus Paradigm.
Cast of Characters:	Kirito, 2, 219, 253, 347

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Psyber (253) has posed:
    The Red Wing of the Homeworld! Known for many functions such as the generation of new forms and Combo Frames. But today a particular function is being used most dominantly: the COMBAT SIMULATOR.

    Psyber has spooled up the most basic arena imaginable while waiting for people to actually show up: It's white walled and white floored and largely just a giant cube. If you need a good idea, think of the Training Stage from Street Fighter. Super basic and utilitarian.

    Getting in isn't too hard for Homura, Kirito, or Ariel. And Psyber is already waiting there when they arrive, Adjudicator slung across his shoulders and held in one hand. The half-angel seems rather excited at the prospect of fighting three fairly cool people and letting loose a little, since most of the time he doesn't get to. So there's a bounce to his step while he stands there.

    The most notable fact about him right off the bat otherwise is that Psyber is NOT wearing his usual jacket. His outfit is otherwise the same: Black pants, boots, black shirt, simple belt. Pair of guns at his sides in holsters.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Expecting a fight, when Homura does her usual 'appear out of absolutely nowhere' thing, she is already dressed in purple, black and white, her Puella Magi outfit, though without visible weaponry. Unless we count her Abstractum as weaponry instead of a ring (which she honestly wouldn't).

    If Psyber enjoys the idea of going all out, it's more likely Homura is going to be avoiding it. The Versus Paradigm boost will probably help cross the power gap without having to burn magic needlessly on it.

    "Is this really a good idea for Ariel?"

Kirito has posed:
    Having already had a match with Psyber and his Adjudicator once in the flesh, and suffered greatly for it - AUGH REAL PAIN! - this time Kirigaya kazuto's brought in his alter-ego, - if it can be called that when they are one and the same in his mindview - the Spriggan adventurer, Kirito. The Black Swordsman treads lightly into the Red Wing, drawing Double Fault from his back in a smooth motion the moment he spots Psyber and Homura.

    He seems to pick up on the fact that Psyber's doing something a bit different this time though... a few seconds pass, and realization flickers on his face. "... Your ditched the jacket?"

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel is here and dressed again, ready for battle! Or, supposedly. As much as she ever is. The small unicorn-girl fidgets a little, and this time she's entirely unarmed... but she's going to request that Diea be in Shield form for this fight.

To Homura, she reassures, "Mom said it was okay. She said it would be better to make sure nothing goes wrong here, where we could safely stop it, instead of in a real life or death situation."

To Kirito, she replies, "In case he loses, you won't get it as a Loot Drop."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber nods to Homura and Ariel, "Basic rule is if she starts to have a malfunction, we call the match. But it's good to test just what happened," Psyber assures to Homura, looking towards Ariel in a concerned fashion, "So as long as she feels up to it, I'm all for continuing the match."

    Psyber takes a few moments to roll his neck, popping and cracking it while he shifts his footing. He responds to Kirito, "Yeah, for a number of reasons. I didn't wanna risk it getting damaged when I take a huge hit or two, it kinda restricts my movement and I need mobility in a 3v1. Plus what Ariel said!"

    Psyber then shifts his footing, "I'm actually NOT sure if I can win against three, especially with Homura taking a substitution in for Asuna. But I'm gonna give it my all so that we can keep it interesting."

    "Yo! Welcomes! Answers! Someone set us up a nice arena and some bitchin' fight music."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Adjudicator maintains its usual composure, which is of the silent and mature type, the eye in an observant and calm expression.

    Homura's ring, on the other hand, is just as silent but much more agitated, slightly nervous about this sparring.

    Double Fault, manifesting in its own virtual form exactly like its real-life one. It's as enthusiastic and energetic as ever! Ready for fights.

    Ariel's cloak wraps around her protectively, comfortingly, but lightly, giving her plenty of space to move.

    The ARENA for tonight is clearly based on Homura's node! It's the City of Cycles, a wide rooftop with strange obsidian spikes of monolithic size jutting out from it at odd angles here and there to make for erratic cover. Huh.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I'll put a metaphorical hand behind my back and lay off the time magic," Homura says, in answer to Psyber's uncertainty on his chances. Like this, they're a damn lot higher, anyway, and she's not going to be wasting quite as much magic.
    Also training, always worth it.

    The battefield randomizer earns a frown.
    On the other hand, at least it's familiar.
    Well, the spikes aren't. But what can you do?

    Having cleared up that Ariel is apparently fine to try fighting, and that they can just stop if it gets back, Homura does manage to lose a bit of tension. She's mentally poking at weapon options, mostly discarding her swords since Kirito will be filling that niche out perfectly.

Kirito has posed:
    Wait a moment, something happened to Ariel? Kirito turns his head her way, clearly concerned about how she's faring. "Malfunction? Are you hurt...damaged?" He's not really sure WHAT word to use for her, with her odd nature!

    And he's unfortunately a tad out of the loop, apparently.

    But his concern is only amplified for other reasons given Psyber's declaration. The boy's eyes widen a little. "You WEREN'T being serious last time? ...so I was right..." Well, their last battle was quite clumsy on Kazuto's part, too, wasn't it?

    He's not used to fighting in the flesh.

    With Double Fault raring to go and a city forming around them, he drops into a battle stance, raising his lone Abstractum blade like a scorpion's upraised tail, knees bent and grip two-handed.

    "Then I'm glad this time I'll be fighting you as a Spriggan."

Ariel (219) has posed:
"Hopefully it will be fine. I just have to make sure I don't accidentally push myself," Ariel reassures. As the battlefield forms, she clutches her Abstractum lightly and sighs, "All right, we're going with Green tonight. Diea, let's show everyone what a Tandem can do."

She glances at Homura and Kirito. "So... I know I'm not the most experienced, but I'm going to have to be the leader here. When I give you orders, please follow them as closely as you can. We'll start off with some easy ones though... the boost won't be as much but I think it will help anyway."

Saying that, she slots an Eleanor 1 and a Himei 1 for now, then huffs as she weaves some Sorcerous protections for Kirito while she explains, where Psyber can't hear, "Hazel removed my limiters. I've got them under control right now, but if I lose focus they may go again. Don't worry. Kirito, you're going to be our defense in melee, and our striker if he goes to long range. Both of you have mobility on him, but none of us can stand up to Uncle Psyber in a direct attack. So, if you're on defense you need to focus everything on keeping yourself safe and keeping him busy. Don't try to take any openings, it's probably a feint. Whomever isn't on defense is on striking. Psyber's put all his Drivers in Strike, so defense is actually his weak point."

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel adds, "Homura, you're our striker while Kirito keeps him busy. If he switches to long range, you two trade places. Sound good?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber flexes a bit, shifting his footing while he lets them coordinate and make their strategy. Being a polite opponent is rather important, plus it lets him gauge his opponents. He's fought Kirito directly, and while Psyber is raw power, Kirito is going to be using heavy speed. Homura... if Homura is restricting her time magic, that will even his chances a bit, but he will still have to deal with her guns and bombs. Ariel doesn't have much combat prowess, but she makes up for it by surpassing him in coordination, plus her unorthodox thinking will put him on his feet most of the fight.

    Psyber reaches towards his belt and takes some cartridges out of a pouch. Combat ability won't be his weakness here. He wants to supplement his non-combat attributes. And so the cartridges he takes out are not his average loadout for brute force. Instead, he is loading THREE into the sword at once: Fiora, Vruasa, and Ariel.

    "Let's begin, shall we?" Psyber inquires, swinging his sword around, "Jude, Gauntlet."

    Psyber swings the sword to let it fold around his arm and become an armored gauntlet. He brings one foot forward and another backwards. His left hand comes up across his sternum protectively to deflect while his armored hand is held forward. Psyber then coils his fist back and...

    Slams it into the ground at his feet. He's trying to start the match off by removing the terrain out from under his feet with a titanic strike.

Kirito has posed:
    Follow orders from a newbie, huh? Well, it's a practice match. "It's what practice is for." Kirito announces, as though this were a matter of course. The way this is going has him pretty interested.

    He does seem to have understood the instructions however, as after a few moments he gives Ariel a solemn nod, and turns his attention Psyber's way.

    Seeing Psyber starting things up in a RATHER odd way, Kirito decides the ground won't be trustworthy and forsakes it. His shoulders nigh-imperceptibly twitch as he begins the intricate muscle control needed to command his fairy wings. Black, translucent, and stylized much like a dragonfly's, they thrum into motion with a sound like wind instruments and carry him just a foot off the ground. Without proper footing, he'll have to rely on pure speed and momentum from the wings to give any weight to his blows - any fighter would know that immediately, and so his next move is rather predictable.

    He charges straight at Psyber. What might be surprising the half-angel, however, is the SPEED he can tease from those wings. He shoots off like a bullet, bringing up Double Fault for a light and swift strike aimed to force Psyber's attention entirely on him!

    The other perhaps surprising thing is that as the avatar, all traces of Kirito's previous clumsiness have vanished. His swings are polished and confident, and now something ELSE becomes clear as well.

    Kirito is NOT a pure Speed type as Psyber guessed. His primary stat focus is instead Strength, with Speed secondary. He has never been seen wielding any blade less hefty than a sturdy longsword.

    "uuuuuuurahhh!!"

    The Black Swordsman is upon you, angel!

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura nods to Ariel.
    "Of course. I know how Tandems work."

    And besides, Ariel is a pretty good tactician. Win-win.

    As Psyber decides to take a chunk of the roof out, Homura forms a pair of angelic pink wings, and vaguely hovers off the ground. There's no use taking big steps when staying calm down the job just fine.

    "Let's cover Kirito for now, Claire."
    SLOT IN: FIORA-1.

    With the vaguely added effect of slightly more quiet and stealthy attacks, Homura produces a hand-held machine gun, one-handed, small model, and starts unloading-- not at Psyber, but in bursts of suppressive fire meant to make it harder for him to maneuver around Kirito. Hopefully, Fiora's cartridge make the trails of her bullets harder to catch even with Psyber's exceptional eyes.

    It's pretty obvious for now she's more hanging back; just in case the half-angel targets Ariel, or if Kirito needs more extensive defense.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Ariel will... Yeah, Ariel's gonna be fine." A firm affirmative noise from Diea. "Loading up the Green chroma then." The cloak hums softly, changing to an ethereal green light. Ariel then slots HIMEI 1, which gives her a sudden boost in her athletic ability! It should keep her mobile while she handles orders! Eleanor's has another, stranger effect. It's still a bit unrelated though. It's an augmentation stabilizer. Useful! If, you know, Ariel ever augments herself. We'll get to the results of her orders in a moment.

    "Versus Paradigm Aligned." All speak in unison.

    Psyber casually slams gauntlet-form Jude into the ground. Much of the building explodes, falling obsidian shards and chunks of concrete descending rapidly. Psyber's at the epicenter, so he has the capacity to drop lower than the rest in the structure. The released energy blasts out of every window in the skyscraper with an inferno of crimson fire.

    It suddenly disappears when Fiora's cartridge properly installs. Vruasa's cartridge fills him with a different ability: He can DELAY SKIP to immediately fast-forward himself through a stun, though it's limited-use in terms of the total application of this. Ariel's allows him the CROSS-CHANNEL ability, like it did for Homura, but none of the actions he's doing so far call on that functionality.

    Kirito is going in for the primary attack though, to keep Psyber's attention. His own substantial Abstractum strength blasts him through the obsidian spikes and concrete chunks launched up, splitting the collapsing roof-ground structure apart as he rushes over it.

    Homura's Fiora-1 cartridge gives her an advantage in effect and stealth as well! The bullets would normally come with intense streaks of red fire and trails of witchy runes, but now, the fancy effects stick strictly to huge explosions on impact, tearing up the rooftop even more.

    Kirito's BARRIERS and ENDURANCE are boosted by Ariel's orders, as is Homura's OFFENSE. The former shines with a soft green light; Double Fault will likely interpose a barrier on any of Psyber's counterattacks.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    If Kirito is charging straight in at Psyber after that huge explosion, Psyber wants to compensate for the incoming assault. The half-angel confidently steps and turns, letting those devastating blade strikes fall around him, whistling past him with shockwaves and coronas of energy. He steps easily and with a confident nimbleness through the rubble and debris that explode around him.

    But eventually Kirito strikes a hard hit home. Like Ariel said, Psyber has zero barrier drivers. So while most Abstractum users display a dampening effect or a barrier to lessen damage, Psyber instead puts up flesh and bone to stop the falling blade. When it digs into his shoulder, Psyber's eyes flash red with intent. Psyber's cornerstone ace has always been to take a hit in order to give a hit. So while most people would want a blade OUT of their shoulder, Psyber wants the opposite. His shoulder tenses up, muscles and bone gripping the sword in his wound, trying to keep Kirito from drawing the blade out. The half-angel lunges inwards, bracing himself and then turning his entire body to throw a devastating punch towards Kirito's solar plexus with just as much force as he used to obliterate the building beneath him. Raw power directed at him like a freight train that learned how to box.

    But Kirito is not Psyber's only problem in this scenario. Homura is up high, raining down gunfire from the sky and he can barely see the bullets coming. He rolls back and away after his attack, hopping and fleeing across the rooftop as he is forced into retreat by the stealthy barrage of bullets from the sky. A particularly well placed shot hits him mid-roll and he staggers a bit, a scorch mark appearing on his back, the shirt burned away to reveal a blue scar. Ariel's strategy of coordinating them has, at the least, put Psyber into a retreat and a regroup while he formulates a new strategy. Taking one last roll, Psyber vanishes down into the bowels of the building that he and Homura just cracked open the top of like a walnut.

    He flees through the office and vanishes as best he can, aided by the Fiora cartridge. But two can play the game that Homura is playing. Suddenly, from deep within the building, stealthed sniper shots begin to pierce up through the roof. At the rate they're coming up, it might feel more like a machine gun. Psyber is trying to, from under them, throw heavy shots into all three combatants and discourage them from following after him while also returning some damage.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Whoops! Now shots are fired! Ariel ducks behind the nearest wall with a squeak, momentarily forgetting she's in charge. This might cause a slight hiccup in the Tandem's power, but she does have orders to give. Good thing Himei's cartridge is there, though now she's going to have to figure out a way to watch the battle without exposing herself too much. Of the three here, she can take a hit the least.

"Homura, swap to keeping his attention and destroy the foundations of that building! As many as you can! We don't want to give him any stable footing where he can get his bearings!" Huff. "Kirito, go up and then slam through the roofs and ceilings! Attack from above, you're on DPS again!"

As for her part... she waits just a moment for the others to start whatever they're doing, then she hops out from cover with her spell visualized. "Diea... Mystic Driver as much as you can." It's not all that much in Green but every little bit helps, and her spell is an enhancement of Homura's attack. Namely, she's doing her 'Gravity Trap' under the building to try and bring it down atop Psyber, when Homura blasts the supports.

Unfortunately this will leave her exposed for a moment, so if Psyber is fast enough, he'll have a clean shot.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "You want me to bring a building down in normal time?"
    Homura fake-weeps a bit.
    "Must I truly lower myself to only having as much time to do what I want as everyone else?" From king to peasant. Truly a horror.

    No matter how much she jokes about it though, she can't make Psyber's stealth-shots go away. She swerves right-- a round shreds up along one of her sleeves, 'grazing' but tracing a vertical red line from her wrist to her shoulder, and cutting the sleeve into two.

    She swerves left, just in time for another round to pass by her head. Just far enough it doesn't do anything but make her on edge. She already misses her powers.

    Discarding the firearm, she produces a long string of C4 charges, all pre-wired and ready for chain detonation. She accelerates, crashing through one of the windows into the building and chucking the explosives at one of the larger beams inside, before producing another cluster of C4, and then another and another. Fortunately she doesn't need time hax to whip stuff out of her inventory, and she's obsessive about being ready-- so she keeps ready to use explosives in there.

    Then she flies back out, and pulls a detonator.

    That's probably a bit TOO much, but oh well.
    "Kirito, it's going to get hot in there, so try to double up on the run part in hit and run." Her finger hovers over the button for a few seconds, just to give Kirito some time, and then she sets it all off. RIP the building.

Kirito has posed:
    "What the--" An enemy who's trying to trap his sword. Why did he NOT see that coming?! Kirito's eyes reveal hints of panic for a moment as he sees Psyber's plan moments before it comes. he manages to half-twist his body about, causing the fist to strike at an angle and lose half its power, but even THAT...

    The blow leaves a MASSIVE crimson gash along Kirito's gut and side in the shape of Psyber's fist, and the Spriggan's HP takes a dive.

    "Ghhh!" But oddly, the blow doesn't wind him. It hardly even causes serious pain. Such is the advantage of FullDive! So he can focus on wrenching his blade free... but just then in comes gunfire and Psyber goes swooping off. "No you don't--!!"

    Except Psyber then runs into the building, and Kirito pauses his pursuit.

    But then... Holy crap GUNFIRE! Kirito's got no chance against gunfire with a simple sword, now does he? Well, there was that one time he managed to parry a handful of bullets in utter desperation during the zombie apocalypse debacle, but he was never able to repeat that in the simulators when his life wasn't on the line. NO way he'll try that now.

    A few bullets slam into his shoulder before he narrows his profile considerably by going horizontal in the air and using Double Fault as a barrier. If he only has to guard a small profile, THAT he can manage, with the sword's help!

    "Got it!" He replies, extending an arm and quickly chanting a spell. A tiny black glint flies from his palm once the spell completes... and that glint EXPLODES into twisting snake-like plumes of thick, chocking black smoke. They cover a radius of perhaps 50 meters, and completely mask his parabolic path to the building's roof.

    "We're breaking through!" He readies Double Fault for a Sword Skill, and a strange blue glow flows along the Abstractum's length - probably in tandem with whatever the sword has planned.

    Because Kirito intends to come crashing THROUGh the roof and bring it down on Psyber.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Homura's assault on the support results in subtle lines of green fire, mostly suppressed by Fiora's cartridge. Her efficiency against the structure itself is going to be vastly multiplied, as she follows Ariel's orders. The building's chunks themselves burn and blaze with the bright green light when they come down, though, and crash through all obstacles before they reasch Psyber's level. And they're guided by Ariel's spell! Which, of course, Harmonious Diea has now helped with.

    That's just Ariel's additions to Homura. Homura also has Claire, who blasts huge amounts of power into the explosives themselves. The entire simulated city is rocked by the ensuing detonations which blast invisible waves of force down whole city streets. In the distance, cars are launched up in huge waves. Meanwhile, Claire is spinning up the Barrier Driver - Psyber's next attack is gonna have a respectably powered magical barrier intercepting it, but under Psyber's probable power, he's likely to shatter the thing, the block only serving to blunt the strike!

    Meanwhile, Kirito rushes down, and Double Fault's own light rushes over its blade, reaching its tip as soon as Kirito strikes through the roof. There's a massive explosive effect that doesn't seem to affect the boy himself, intending to disorient and daze, and then when Kirito comes down at Psyber, he'll come down like some kind of meteor strike; the shockwave from his impact is going to crater much of the office building's lower levels, and blast out many of the immediately surrounding walls.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Inside the building, Psyber leans back on a desk and pants a bit. A hand comes up to wipe at his shoulder and look at the wound. While it's already starting to close, it was a nasty one and he's nursing that shoulder a bit despite his superhuman healing. He uses the time while he's shooting upwards to take a breather, chest heaving while he catches his breath. Of course, that doesn't last too terribly long since Kirito is descending upon him like a meteor strike.

    Psyber rolls to the side rapidly, avoiding getting hit head on. However, gravity is changed, and Psyber is not as fast. He's straining to move quite as fluidly thanks to Ariel's magic. Thus Kirito still catches his outer arm and drags him down into the building with a few bone-shattering impacts as they crash through floor after floor of office. Reaching an impact point, Psyber lets out a pained 'oof' upon landing, wheezing out a breath and then rolling to the side and away from his attacker.

    The hit and run attacks are working, as evidenced by the fact that Psyber is sent flying further into the depths of the office building as it explodes below him. Homura's explosives push debris up into him and rock him back through a number of walls. Chunks of building slam into him. Psyber tumbles and staggers in his footing.

    He practically snarls, "Jude. We're going big. Let's give it everything we've got. This building is toast anyway, let's make em regret loosening it up for us." He notes, coughing a few times and wiping his mouth with the back of his good hand. Psyber staggers towards one of the piers in the building. A load bearing pillar. He strains against the gravity in the building, muscles coiling and resisting its effects.

    Normally, even Psyber doesn't have enough raw power to lift a skyscraper. But if it's already falling apart, Psyber CAN hold a pillar and a few floors above it with his natural strength. So while the building is crumbling, Psyber yanks the massive pillar and tries to jump backwards as he does it, tearing a three-floor tall cross-section of the building OUT of the skyscraper. He's straining, sweat and blood soaking his shirt as he wobbles in his grip.

    With a weapon THAT size, bolstered by six strike drivers, he swings it up over his head and then brings it crashing down on the rest of the skyscrapers, trying to catch all three of his opponents in a cataclysmic architectural assault.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Oh, that's good! No shots fired at Ariel! She gets out... relatively unscathed. The earlier potshots hadn't been ineffective, after all, though she wasn't hit directly thanks to being a little coward. This is kind of where her leadership is still falling down... because without lives to save, she's pretty easily distracted in a fight.

"Eep!" The building starts to crumble when Psyber hits it, and she panics! Ariel leaps, shifting to unicorn form for a quick double jump to bound to another building. She stumbles as she skids onto something more solid, panting slightly... she does need to breathe when exerting herself. "Unh... oh no! Um... find him!"

So it's up to Kirito and Homura for the moment to keep Psyber busy, but... it also has given Ariel an idea. The unexpected... and keep pressure up. Those seem to be working. "I... I think I have an idea. Keep him busy while I figure this out!"

Really vague orders.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Regret: not establishing a 'do not swing building like melee weapon' rule early on. That sure would be helpful right about now.

    The barrier from her Abstractum is quite appreciated-- even if ends up shattering immediatly under that kind of assault.

    Time to play cartridge roulette and pray.

    Homura slots in ELEANOR-2 and LAER-1.
    She really hopes either of those is defensive.

    Regardless of backup, the Puella Magi would almost certainly be caught into the swing and slammed away like an arbitrary sports ball, crashing into the next building without much grace. The extent of the damage is probably not lethal, but when she hovers out of the dust cloud it almost looks like she wouldn't be able to stand on her legs if she landed.

    Also Psyber still has his god damn building-club.

    Homura produces her bow, pulling the magical purple string back. "Kirito, I'll create an opening. If you're still standing, you'll have to use it to be deadly."

    A bright arrow of light forms between her fingers, and then she lets it loose. It turns into a massive beam of pink-purple magical girly light, headed straight for Psyber-- possibly attempting to put a hole straight through his improvised* weapon to get to him. (*The narration is pretty sure using an entire building goes against the spirit of the improvised weapon rule and you need to buy an extra feat for that. :