4419/Missing Links

Missing Links
Date of Scene:	11 August 2016
Location:	Southern Urbania
Synopsis:	The Union has finally tracked down Anne Blakely, and cornered her at her shop, where she reveals the final kidnappee's fate.
Cast of Characters:	983, 253, 255, Staren, 2, 134, 824, 996, 604, 1030

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Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    It's a pretty mundane city, and so very quiet. Very very quiet. Not at all where someone who likes to cause trouble as much as Anne would be expected. Unless it were... subtle trouble.

    Keeping an ear to the ground was useful. A recent stream of attempts at hanging were caught and stopped, and one of the local police was a contact with just a touch of Second Sight. He spotted a strange mark on one of the girl's necks... indicating that this area was under the sway of a witch. Naturally, this news rapidly reached Certain Parties.

    The city itself is... fairly clean, though about at 1950's tech, with imports of newer things still trickling in. It's been here a few years, but the people are conservative. The area that was located was in the shopping district, where the little mom and pop stores are mostly shuttering up for the night. One, in particular, might take notice due to the Witch sense if any have it. This one is 'Homeopathic Remedies.'

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Today's Operation is brought to you by the word 'Blitz'.

    "One of my contacts in Urbania just came through for me. Guy I helped get a job in the force when he retired as a Hunter," Psyber explains flatly, wearing enough gear to look like a one-man army. The long coat and slacks are absent in lieu of a full tactical loadout of cargo pants with a heavy vest and a soldier's loadout of weapons, to say nothing of the weapons he keeps in storage with his Fetch Modus.

    "Witch Symbol popping up on the necks of local girls. Since this is far outside the realm that Puella Magi usually operate in, he got in touch with me," Psyber cracks his knuckles, "As usual, we discovered that the local Homeopathy shop was just making things worse for the city. So we're gonna go in fast, hard, and abrupt."

    Which brings us back to the present.

    Psyber takes no hesitation in just sieging the front of the shop. On the base logic that anyone in a Homeopathy shop wanted to die anyway, he chucks a flashbang through the front window to try to cover his entrance before aiming to kick the front door clear off the hinges and barge in.

    "Everyone out! Unlike Homeopathy, we're here to actually work!"

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    There is at least one person present whose figure is almost as tall and imposing as the half-angel that's just kicked open the front door. Unlike him, however, the silver-haired swordswoman immediately behind and to his left chooses to remain silent. This is, at least partially, out of deference to her own state of mind - her cold, sharp expression alone is probably at least a little unsettling to most people.

    She's had to arrive here as quickly and smoothly as possible; if anyone within dozens of miles can sense the supernatural in any way, they know she's here. So for this particular occasion, Setsuko Kaminagi has waited until the last possible moment, and fallen in with Psyber at exactly the moment the operation begins. She'll let her mere presence do the work it needs to; and if anyone turns hostile, she's always got her sword.

Staren has posed:
    They haven't opted for subtlety today, which is good, because Staren has once more placed his trust in and empowered himself with a robot body built of the finest 21st century materials and methods, and he's not going to pass as a police robot in 1950's Earth. At least, not this one. He isn't as covered in weapons as Psyber, mostly because he has twin beam cannons and missile racks built into his armor, and keeps a lot of backup weapons in his magic bag.

    Full frontal assault. No subtlety. Smashing things until they find people and save them. This, Staren can do.

    Although... Maybe he can put a /little/ more thought into it. The obvious thought that people might escape out back -- Okay, if Anne is here with a construct they'll want to fight, for sure, but they might have someone run away with important stuff not needed for the fight -- So, Staren makes his way around the back of the store. If there's an alley he goes that way, otherwise, it's over the roof. Either way, he has insect-sized drones checking corners.

    He chuckles at Psyber's homeopathy joke.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "That was absolutely awful," Homura groans, having presumably arrived with Psyber and only just now stepping up to his side. As last time she's remained untransformed, and wears a glove over the hand that would give away the ring she wears, and by the same token give Anne a new target. It's possible Anne already knows anyway, but it's best not to take chances.

    "Please be careful. If the Witch, whatever state it's in, has already begun applying its Kiss to people, it may be fed and powerful. And given the captor's inclinations I don't doubt one second she's been fed for as long as it's been an option."

    It's a generic warning, but it bears putting out there. The average Witch is intercepted before a massacre can occur, and is as a result no stronger than, or a bit weaker than, the average Puella Magi. Who knows how many people Anne let it get so far.

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    Flowers had been expecting subtlety and sneaking and all those ninja things she thinks she's so good at. She's even gone so far as to wear a hat to hide her hair, even though the hat is actually fairly bright and also her hair's visible in the back under it. There's a flower sticking out of the brim. She'll look a little disappointed by the approach that Psyber chooses to take, even as she steps up a bit behind him.

    "...Some of the things in homeopathy are sort of kind of similar to some of how my stuff works." She'll point out, because of course Sakura'd run across that in all of her research over the years.

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    Fiora, naturally, accompanies the others, the moment she gets word. A cloak is worn around her shoulders, which is more substantial than her usual fare. Beneath this is her sword, which like Setsuko, she's ready to put to use at a moment's notice. She's not wholly about diving straight in. Not now, at least. She decides to flank around the building, to see if there's a rear entrance she can make use of, and possibly prevent any unwelcome surprises.

If not, she can always try to make one.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    BUST THE DOOR DOWN! This is totally fine. Psyber, in front, kicks in the door of a... totally normal shop. It actually /does/ look like Anne(presuming that's who is running this place) was running a Totally Legit business in here, at least at the moment. Jars of ointment and 'memory water' and stuff abound... along with a clay pot that is apparently radioactive! This is a real thing that was marketed by the way.

    No alarm system, and no clockwork automatons are here. What IS here is a locked door that appears to go downstairs... and the strange sensation of something from below is there. It's like... the Witch is clawing at the mind, but barely doing so, more like a lazy mumbling than the usual invasive screeching.

    Those going into the back will find that there IS some evidence of something else here. Some metal scraps, brass fittings, and the like are strewn about by the back door. Going in that way reveals the back storeroom, which is mostly just... more jars and storage, plus cleaning supplies and the furnace. The only oddity is a clockwork spider the size of a fist spinning a web in the corner.

    Anne's voice floats up from below, "You could have just knocked, you know~"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Absolutely awful like Homeopathic Treatments," Psyber replies to Homura, hoisting up a shotgun and pumping it once. He looks over at Sakura and waves his hand a couple times, "Yeah, but what you do actually works. The only thing Homeopathy ever cured was a case of too much money."

    "I coulda knocked! You're right," Psyber shouts towards the general direction of downstairs, "I also coulda sent you a fruit basket and 'Save The Date', but what can I say? I'm an old fashioned guy who believes that visiting a friend is best left a surprise."

    "Exterior teams, get ready. Interior teams, stay on guard," Psyber says crisply, "This doesn't feel right. It's different from normal Witch manifestations. Something's really off about all this. Setsuko, take the door, I'll cover you."

    He looks to Sakura, "You wanna dig down into the basement through the floor and take Homura with you?"

Staren has posed:
    Nothing in back. Staren kicks in the back door and blasts the spider (and probably blows a hole in the wall) with his beam cannons -- he's taking no chances.

    He'll look for a trapdoor down for the few seconds it takes for his beam cannons to cool -- if he doesn't find one, he's going to start blasting a hole in the floor.

    "And /you/ could come quietly back with me to Lazlo to stand trial, but I don't think either of those things is gonna happen."

Staren has posed:
    After Homura mentions witches, something starts to needle in the back of Staren's cyberbrain. When Psyber mentions witches /again/, Staren remembers that he has sensors that can detect dimensional distortions and starts scanning. /Shouldn't/ they be inside the Barrier, this close?

Fate Testarossa (996) has posed:
A small figure casts a dark silhouette from the edge of a nearvy roof; scarlet eyes watching as Psyber makes himself- and by proxy the rest of his allies known, though forceful entry.

This time Fate Testarossa doesn't speak up. This time she gives no warning across radios nor telepathic links, nor any other means, when the knocks come so forcefully.

Bardiche is held in her hand, clutched between two fingers in the form of a golden triangular medallion.

"You know this is probably going to make some people very angry." The red headed woman at her side says.

"Mm."

"Fine fine I'm going, I'm going." Arf sighs and leaps off the roof. She lands and... Starts casually making her way towards the shop. Short of someone actually stopping her, she's going to walk right on in, though now her wolfish reatures are hidden, and she does stop to knock on the destroyed doorframe courtesy of Psyber.

"Hiiiiiii! I'm looking for 'soul of a little girl', do you know where I could get my hands on one of those? It seemed like something you could get in a homeopathy shop."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    "Sir."

    It's a much more crisp, formal response than Setsuko typically gives. She's falling back on military discipline, keeping herself focused on their task here - rescue the girl - above all else. But at the very least, it ensures that she moves with smooth, clinical precision, taking a step ahead of the group to stop right before the door. And where most people would kick down the door, or try the lock, Psyber has asked the demigod to be the one that opens it. That means her typical approach is the one called for here.

    The first slice comes out lighting-fast, Zanjintou's blade clearing the sheath impossibly fast. The slash goes diagonally upward, from the lower left to the upper right, only to be followed immediately by a perfectly vertical cleave.

    And before the severed pieces can fall away from the parts still connected to hinges, her left palm comes up and unleashes a quick burst of divine power, concussive force to simply blast the four sections of door inward. "HAA!"

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine Arland was here tonight. Not that he's particularly interested in the subject matter that Anne's got to work with here, but a job's a job. He's leaning against a back wall, arms crossed and eyes closed as a jarring noise sounds from upstairs. "Heh. And here they come. Knocking down the door like usual"

     He doesn't bother to open his eyes still, remaining at rest, with nary a weapon to be found on his person. "Sheesh, girl, what the hell'd you do to these people? Kill their puppies?" That was rhetorical question of course. He already saw 'the stuff' beforehand. So really, he was just being an ass.

     The various shouts in return draw a crack of a smile from the black clad mercenary and he just shakes his head. "I hope you've got some amazing, ass kicking thing prepared for all this aggro."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Another groan as Psyber decides to make a second joke about it. Homura immediatly understands she cannot stop his power over those things and gives up. Instead she focuses on what's ahead, and nods. "You handle keeping Anne occupied, I'll stay with Flowers, yes. I don't know if she knows," about her being the same kind of magical girl, presumably, "But I'd rather not find out." Also Flowers is a healer so it's never a bad idea to be within arm's reach of the person who can save your life if something terrible happens.

    "Feels like she's taunting us, though. It's definitely a trap."

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    "You want me to try that? Well, alright..." Flowers will start, before trailing off, listening to Anne. Well. She's certainly not going to object to the idea of trashing another of that person's shops. "Hold on." She'll speak over towards Homura, without really giving the Puella anything to hold on TO.

    She'll raise a foot up, concentrating chakra to it, before driving her leg down, trying to blast a hole through to the basement below from a combination of strength and earth techniques. This might result in a bit of rubble, but she's going to be counting on her own skills to heal anyone she hurts that she might not want to. Besides, best to get it done quickly...

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    More explosive attacks! Fiora and Staren can hear this easily... though just rounding the corner will bring them to see the fiasco. By the way, the spider? Totally explodes. It COULD bite but was largely just an annoyance and a spy, though Anne isn't bothering to share the drone's senses so it fails even at that right now. Then again she knows people are coming, so why bother?

    Also there is now a hole, because once again, Anne's mostly just dug out the shop and... waaait a minute. To Sakura, this will look VERY familiar, because it weirdly looks like almost the SAME underground chamber as before. There's even signs that it's been patched up! Though there's no dragon this time. A large lab, that's all. Well, that and a large, broad-shouldered construct with a single gleaming eye, which is currently shifting back and forth, twisting its torso oddly, and a strange rippling effect is all around it. There's no Barrier, but the Witch is definitely there, and dimension-sensing abilities can pick up a distortion there.

    Anne is next to Raine and two others, actually sitting at a desk right now, with a much larger doglike construct seated beside her. To Raine, "They're very persistent. I think they're Marxists. Or something. Interfering with my business and work. This is the second time they've wrecked my shop."

    There is, behind her, a large coffinlike apparatus. Spoilers, it holds the girl's body, but that isn't visible right now.

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    Fiora just steps over and around all the devastation. "Calm down." She remarks to Staren, as he starts shooting. She heads down into the basement area, along with the others, and is thusly confronted with the same sight. "Spare us." She spits at Anne, "The girl. Now. We are not negotiating her release. We are taking her from here. Away from you. Along with her gem."

She glances at Psyber and Setsuko, "After that, well.. You have some rather disgusting acts to answer for."

Staren has posed:
    Staren sticks his arm down the hole -- he doesn't actually have to stick his head through because of guncams on the arm. He immediately fires the beam cannons at Anne, and two miniature anti-tank missiles (about the size of magic markers, thanks to future technology!) which split up, one going for each construct in hopes of hitting a vital component.

    Others can talk, or comment. He doesn't see the point. Just attack first. There's a tiny chance it might catch them off guard, if they were /expecting/ banter.

Uriel and Qemuel (1030) has posed:
    Standing near Anne are two others! New people! They look... normal? One is dark-haired, with dusky skin and appears to be in her early twenties. The young woman's hair is quite long, down to mid-back, and she's wearing a snug black top and denim jeans, nothing fancy at all. Her hand is on her hip, and the apparently normal human is staring at the construct with a hint of discomfort. "I'm pretty sure any decent human would hate what you're doing, really. Can't blame them. Ugh."

    The girl next to her is blonde-haired and fair of skin, but a close eye will note that she has... the /exact/ same proportions and body. The colors are different, but the shape is exactly the same. She's more calm and passive, staring at the new entrance and saying mildly, "It isn't our business now." She's wearing a WHITE shirt, but otherwise dressed the same.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Go on ahead of me," Psyber says to Setsuko, looking towards the stairs, "We put too many people on the stairs, it's gonna be a hassle. I'll come after you in a bit." He lets her and Fiora, specifically the swordfighters of the night, take point. That's because Psyber has other business to attend to.

    Namely Arf. Psyber turns towards the arrival of the mysterious figure in the door and raises his shotgun menacingly, "I know you're not coincidentally looking for a Little Girl's Soul in a store that sells Homeopathic Solutions, because the former actually exists." Can't stop, won't stop.

    "So, tall, busty and busty. You here to help or hinder? Because if it's to help, we got about four different ways in. If it's to hinder, we can just go to fisticuffs right here." He rests his shotgun against his shoulder non-threateningly as he asks this.

    "Wait..."

    He abruptly turns away from Arf, tilting his head a bit, "What's that?" His eyes shine up, scanning the area directly below him and tilting his head a bit, "That's... I don't think that's right."

    He reasserts a moment later, "No, that can't be... right."

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine finally openes his eyes, one green, and one a demonic red, as he regards the calvary crashing down into the basement like the big damn heroes they probably thought they were. "Man, look at this rogues gallery." He mumbles, eyeing Staren, then Fiora. His response is one tired look.

     "Don't you guys get tired of spouting some flavor of 'Goodness will prevail!' all the damn time?" he held a hand up at that, and shook his head. "Don't answer that." And then, once Staren opened up with the starting volley, Raine clenched that held up hand into a fist, causing a burst of red plasma to form into a large, sickly looking, black sword.

     "Don't forget about that pay now." He grumbles as he moves in front of Anne, holding his weapon up like a shield. The Staren's beams impact against the flat of it, flecks streaking around it, and hitting the black swordsman here and there in a minor way. But most of the energy vanished into the sword, causing it to glow. The micro missiles explode around him, but he weathers the heat and concussive force, grinning just a little bit.

     Once it was all clear, Raine smirked and lowered his blade. "So, you like firing lasers, huh? Then I've got a special delivery for you." He tucked forward, gripping his blade in reverse before swinging the sword forward.

     What followed was an identical burst of a beam cannon blasting out of the weapon's surface and hurtling through the air right for Staren. And then he swung the sword outward, sending a second burst of energy firing off towards Fiora as well. Just for good masure.

     The glow of the weapon faded at that.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Woop, down they go. Homura has nothing to hold on to but at least knows how Flowers' powers function, and so expected something sudden and direct. Like digging a hole straight down instead of gently lowering the ground.

    A not-so-elegant landing later, dusting her black pants and white shirt of, well, dust, and Homura-- remains in the back of the party, with Flowers, while others engage Anne more directly. She sees the dog-- the coffin-- the twitching humanoid, and even worse, associates, three of them. That severely complicates matters.

    She still avoids direct confrontation for now. Let others talk. She's sure words won't amount to anything, but people have things they want to say.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Going down the stairs is a risk at all. So, after a moment's consideration, looking around the stairwell, Setsuko gives Psyber a brief nod...

    And then leaps.

    Her boots hit the ceiling. She starts to run, completely upside down, along the ceiling and wall of the stairwell, such that anyone coming up the stairs aiming at her would be dealing with a rush from a completely unexpected angle. The end result is that she seems to spring through the door into the basement from above, turning in the air to land in a crouch. It's just in time to see Raine unleash his attack on Staren; she herself rapidly shifts to one side, coming up into a calm ready stance, with her katana in front of herself.

    "Your employer has stolen a girl's soul and used it to create an abomination. If that doesn't bother you in the least, then your provocations aren't worth listening to. Stand down. This job isn't worth whatever she's paying you." Well, she's got some good ears.

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    Flowers is not normally confused by where she arrives when she's tunneling and such. Even when she's more blasting than tunneling. But she's deeply confused this time, even as she spots Anne. Not just because she has absolutely no idea what a Marksist is. It's probably some fancy term for an archer.

    "Th.. this place again? Did we get teleported, somehow?" That's towards Homura, though Anne will probably hear it too. Sakura's not really quiet. Besides, she's going to move towards the more traditional sorts of efforts here, looking to Anne. "Can you just surrender this time? I'm tired of you running away." In total fairness to Anne, Sakura had been probably losing at one point, but she's pretty blustery anyway. Even if she's eyeing the others with Anne a bit warily, probably expecting them to secretly be clockwork monsters as well.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    "Thank you, Raine," Anne says to the swordsman. "Of course you'll get paid. Though it might need to be insurance money, at this rate. Seriously." Wrecking her shop AGAIN! Though she is wisely sidling behind her construct, just in case someone else tries to blast her.

    To Fiora, Anne shouts back, "Oh, the girl? You can have her! I even preserved the body! I think it would have started to rot, and really, who wants that in their shop. Go ahead, no charge to take it. I keep the box though, that's mine. You're welcome to her gem, too..."

    The massive construct turns, then, and the rippling effect grows stronger. It doesn't lash out at anyone, but everyone near it will have to dodge gold and silver chains that erupt from random spaces in the air, whipping about and scouring furrows over the ground. Setsuko might be the one most immediately affected, but Sakura is close enough as well. At the same time...

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     --   ---  --

    It's almost like a Witch announcing her presence, but disoriented, lost, and with no real meaning. Anne finishes her statement, "She doesn't like people touching her though. She worked much better before, I swear."

    She turns to the girls next to her. "It looks like they've brought quite a few. Think you'll be all right?"

Fate Testarossa (996) has posed:
Arf has a shotgun pointed at her. Her hands come up, but the red-headed woman flashes an easy, if fanged, smile.

"Well it's not like I can just head on down to the grocery store and look there, they don't really keep that kind of thing next to the kibble or ramen cups." Arf defends.

But is she here to help or not?

"Oh, yeah, I'm totally here to help and hinder, though I'd do a much better job with that not pointed at me. Besides, if I was here to thro down with you, I'd have already swung."

It's pretty honest. But when he turns around and focuses on Something Else, she scootches close. "You know I don't have half an idea of what's really going on here, and I kind of don't want to know any more than I already do, so how about you just tell me what to punch, and we'll call it square, neh?"

Arf cracks her knuckles.

Staren has posed:
    As soon as it's clear Raine is about to attack back, Staren... pulls his arm up? He shifts back and forth, keeping moving and watching for raine to come up through the hole (everyone can fly or jump good, right?)

    Instead, a copy of his own beam blasts right through the floor. It hits Staren's foot, scorching the armor and leaving part of the boot glowing hot for a second or two, although the material seems to be pretty good at heat transfer. One shot just isn't a lot. Still...

    Staren jumps down the hole and lands in the basement. He's holding some kind of two-handed future weapon, looking like it's made of one piece of black metal or plastic, just gun-shaped enough that it's clear you don't want to stand in front of it.

    Staren's ready to dash to either side, but he focuses on Raine for a moment, and starts firing little balls or bullets of energy -- slower than conventional bullets, but the gun is clearly on 'autofire' or the equivalent. The RAISER projectiles have a tendency to pierce shields and armor, having to be absorbed one way or another, designed so they can't be deflected or reflected. If piercing doesn't work, Staren keeps firing anyway, possibly attempting to overload whatever method Raine has of storing energy.

    Still no words. Maybe he /is/ tired of shouting about how goodness will prevail?

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    "No. You will not be keeping anything related to your.. work. Or whatever you've done to that poor girl. None of it. Perhaps I stuttered, when I said I wasn't negotiating." Fiora responds, coldly, "Nor do you appear to realize or care about the situation you find yourself in, currently. Something we shall have to remedy. And, do not doubt that there are some here quite eager to do so."

Fiora's sword is brought up in an instant, the woman taking a step or two back, as those chains whip around. It seems to have been a reflexive action, perhaps, and not an attack.. but she still defends herself, and does so well enough that she holds her ground. "Your callous disregard for the sanctity of life is one of the most depraved things I've yet seen. That is certainly saying something."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Chains whip straight towards Setsuko, from random sources, at random angles. If they were fired from the creature itself, she might be able to read them easily. But like this? She can only rely on her hearing. Her reflexes. And her instincts, her feel for the flow of battle.

    It doesn't go well.

    A gash opens up along her left arm, her right shoulderblade. A thigh, her abdomen. She manages to avoid being torn apart, but by the time she gets enough sense for the pattern of attack to start evading it more reliably, she's taken some hard hits.

    But that just means that the next chain to lash out, is going to be a bit bloody when she grabs it.

    On a hunch, the demigod reaches out for the first chain she can reliably predict. She closes her free hand around it, grabs hold tightly, and yanks, with all her strength. It's not physically connected with the Witch in any way, but /meta/physically... well, there's a chance. It could directly transmit the force. It could 'pull' on her spiritually. It might just temporarily disrupt the chains. It might even do nothing. But it's worth a try.

    Because the yank also gives her forward momentum, hurling the swordswoman across the ground to the clockwork golem. Her first order of business? Cut its legs out from under it, with one fast horizontal slice - unleashing an arc of divine light to do the cutting with.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Fair point. But a Homeopathy Store won't get you anything useful." Psyber points out, sighing and looking at her as she scooches close to him and tells him to give her directions on who to start punching, "Got a lot of targets to pick from. Blakely herself is a good choice. Whatever's down there letting off that aura is another. Fuck is this a shitshow."

    "I don't recommend trying to throw down with me in my current mood. I'd probably put you through the foundation of the building." It's not a threat so much as an idle comment about how much he just wants this particular mission to be over with, "Punch the guy fighting the robot in the face. Solid solution, that. Not a lot of people can fight a two-against-one."

    "I gotta go check that out."

    Psyber, through the most convenient means possible (whether that be a hole in the floor or the staircase itself), heads down to check out something downstairs. Once he reaches the basement where everything is... well... popping off like the fourth of July, he mostly fixates on the two women (Uriel and Qemuel), staring at them in a puzzled manner.

    "What... ARE you two?"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Definitely not," Homura answers Sakura's question, though she supposes it's possible Anne created a teleporter that gives no feedback. Unlikely in this case given the way Sakura dug a hole right through the floor to reach the basement, though.

    The golem's odd ripples are pretty easy to identify for Homura, considering she'd learned to do something not entirely dissimilar. Not right now, she's too clean, though, but the point remains. "That golem is using the Witch's powers! Avoid proximity if you can help it!" Said as it engages melee specialists. Welp! A few strain chains are close enough to threaten her, too, which is in no way helpful.

    Homura is knocked back, as she lacks the benefit of her magical girl transformation at the moment. She reaches up to, at least, arm herself with the R'lyeh Text, the leather(?)-bound grimoire appearing in her hand from a sudden flurry of paper. It snaps open, dark energy radiating from it.

    Something is spoken in R'lyehian, which the player really doesn't have the capacity to actually manually piece together from the dictionary right now, causing a number of small rips in reality to open around the Anne's golem.

    Tentacles lash out, trying to grab all four of its limbs, and its neck, to immobilize it in place. They are not very dangerous, damage-wise, but open the door for someone like Setsuko or Flowers to do much worse to a now stunned golem, if they aren't taken care of.

    Also don't stare into the rips they're emerging from, it's not a good idea.

Uriel and Qemuel (1030) has posed:
    The dark-haired girl wrinkles her nose and gives Anne a disgusted look. "Really? You have a pretty awful fate awaiting you. I can't say I'll be sad when you're dragged down screaming." The disdain in her voice is clear, even from across the roo. But then she answers the question, "We'll be fine. I see plenty of warriors here, but those are what I know best."

    The blonde is just staring at Anne in confusion. She shakes her head, then speaks quietly, "Be careful, sister."

    The darker twin grins, "Hey, it's me! I'll be fine. Look, sword guy is already fighting!" Gesturing to Raine. Her free hand curls into a fist... and a long, black lance materializes in her hand, with a look like tarnished silver or something. "And /I'm/ certainly not going to stop them from fighting that thing. Maybe they can put the poor girl to rest. But I suppose we have a job to do, hmm?" She turns to face... Psyber asking her what she is. This gets a puzzled tilt to her head.

    The blonde looks up, and stares as well, before it dawns on her. "... sister, be careful. He's a Nephilim." Still no movement from her, though.

    The dark-haired one blinks, then shows a flash of anger. "In this age? I haven't fought a Nephilim since before the flood! Well then... perhaps this will be a challenge yet~" It is a playful tone, despite her earlier anger... but when she leaps forward, it's for Psyber, lance twirling forward in an astonishingly fast lunge toward him... fast, but clearly meant to test his reactions.

    The blonde sighs, stepping forward at last and looking to the rest of the room. She doesn't seem really intent on stopping attacks at the Witch Construct. Rather than answer Psyber directly, she just replies curtly, "You'd best fight for real, half-blood. She doesn't go easy."

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Setsuko is given a look.

     "......"

     And Raine falls silent, rubbing the back of his head in an awkward manner. His eyes close as he considers what to say. "Look, lady...yeah, that's shitty. And I wouldn't do it myself, but..." There's a shrug. "I got a job to do. I'm gonna do it." And apparently that's just gonna be that. He's got enough of a conscience to realize this is horrible. But not quite enough to become a turncoat.

     Sorry.

     Or not really. Raine nods to Anne, and then hops aside to avoid the sudden explosion of chains from the Witch. Damn it, don't hit your allies! ..Well, okay it probably didn't really recognize that kind of thing, did it?

     Nevermind.

     More pressing matters right now were thhe fact that Staren hopped in, gun of some sort cocked. "Hunh. So you're the guy." Raine mumbles, angling his weapon defensively. He doesn't look like he has any shields on him, so... How'd he do it? Staren would find out first hand.

     As the energy bullets start firing, the black swordsman raises the flat of his weapon, and charges forward. Bullets impact against it, absorbing into it. Others miss the sword and hit him, damaging his body directly, but he's not deterred. More and more energy is absorbed as he closes the distance and weathers the attacks, and then...

     He's right in Staren's face, looking a bit more damaged, but still standing. Not a word is said. He just grips his sword in reverse, the weapon glowing brightly from all the absorbed energy, and then he let loose with an upwards spiral uppercut, aimed primarily at the torso. And in doing so, all of that energy is released in a wave of energy spheres that follow the trail of his sword and attempt to impact Staren's armor.

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    The witchy greeting will send Flowers reeling for a moment, of course. Even a limited one always does. This might be the first any not-witch enemy has seen of it, though she doesn't really do much more than flinch and lift a hand to her temple.

    It's not until after Homura provides an opening that she'll really move again, the ninja trying to ignore all that evil energy and everything that's going on around the golem, instead attempting to just close in with it and land a smashing blow at the construct's joints, aiming for a weak spot and attempting to use all her strength in a punch to blow a leg off if she can. This means getting in range for it to do something similar to her, of course, but that's a risk that's worth taking in her mind. She hasn't yet really completely caught on to what Anne's truly done here.

Fate Testarossa (996) has posed:
"Oh you're no fun, are you saying you'd... Put me down?"

Arf's inappropriately light-hearted banter aside, her ears perk up from her hair.

Everything seems to be going on below the entrance to the shop...

This might be way Anne's store is just going to get another hole in the floor as she lifts one boot. And brings it down with inhuman force, to join the fracas after forming an Arf-shaped hole.

There's a robot fighting a guy, something about a face, a machine that's trying to make Arf's ascended doggie brain hurt.
Instead of intervening with Staren and Raine, that's what makes the wolf-woman halt the most. The feeling radiating off of the machine is just a fraction of what Fate had experienced when in a Witch Labyrinth; a fact she's aware of thanks to the link shared with her master. And that's why with a growl, Arf's priorities shift. The eldritch R'lyeh tentacles are joined by chains; formed from a glimmering orange light as Arf manifests a bind spell, growling the whole while.

Outside, the skies turn dark. A flash of lightning jolts brilliantly, before it is followed way too fast by the clap of thunder. And something way too fast storms into the store. The speed is enough to shatter windows in passing, as a shadow of black and gold streaks down the fastest path available.

Fate had been watching everything Arf had been seeing the whole time. This is how she knows just where to go. This is why the silhouette of black and gold that comes blitzing at top speed, scythe in hand, like a spectre of ill intent, halts before Anne Blakely herself.

"Scythe slash!" Bardiche announces. as the mage swings with as much force as she can muster, for a surprise stroke.

Staren has posed:
    Staren runs to the side, hops back, eventually manifests energy wings somehow and flies to the ceiling, trying to keep away from Raine while continuing to try ans overload the sword... It doesn't work, though, and now he's on the receiving end of a barrage of RAISER projectiles. His forcefield, a five-layered sphere of amber energy, appears, and some of the bullets sink into it and then part of the field around them pops and shatters into amber sparks. Many make it through, raining into his armor and leaving it pockmarked with glowing, sizzling impact points. The forcefield can be seen thinning out to cover the damaged section before it fades from visibility again.

    Staren slings the gun over his shoulder and draws an oversized revolver, firing something more like shotgun shells down at Raine. He somewhat awkwardly tries to brace himself against the ceiling while firing, sort of like someone might brace against a wall. It helps that he'sat such short range and firing shot instead of bullets, not that it spreads out much at this range.

    "You got a job to do. You can justify anything with that, huh?" He finally speaks, since Raine's words indicate he's not entirely comfortable with this. Anne has no conscience and can't be persuaded -- but perhaps he can find a crack in this guy's emotional armor and start prying it with a verbal crowbar...

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    "Sorry!" Anne calls out to Raine. She doesn't sound all that sorry, but moreso than she was when talking to the heroes. "I'll add a 15% hazard pay bonus!" Hey it's something!

    She's sticking WAY over here though! "Lectures are not something I'm really worried about. I don't understand you people! I'm GIVING you what you want. It's not like I TOLD her to attack you. They're normally much more obedient you know. Really it's win-win if you take it home with you. Well, the gem anyway. That design used a lot of copper, I would like to recycle it."

    Fiora has chains going after her, the block having gotten more attention. Space warps, and the very floor seems to melt away, with more copper, silver, and gold chains erupting from below to attempt to wrap around /her/ as well.

    Setsuko yanks hard enough to snap the chains, which are far from invulnerable. They explode in a spray of... sharp, jagged diamonds and rubies. It does hurl her toward the construct though, giving her a free slice at legs, shearing through them and causing an eruption of... diamond dust? It looks like steam, but it's choking, abrasive diamond dust.

    The free slash is aided by the fact that the tentacles wrap around, keeping the twitching construct still. The space warping around it sends out more chains, attempting to wrap around Homura and tighten, solidifying if they catch anywhere to form bracelets and rings. At least there aren't any Familiars.

    It also keeps Sakura from getting PUNCHED, but it doesn't stop a whiplike lash of gem-studded gold chain from flicking out, trying to knock the mednin away.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber tosses his shotgun away. Against this particular opponent, it's going to be somewhat useless. Instead, he reaches towards his sides and draws a pair of combat knives, lifting them up and twirling them as he stares the two down, "Damnit, you are. This is going to be a hassle."

    He may not know their identities directly, but he's got enough of a connection and sense to be able to tell they're both Purebloods. And that one is perhaps a bit more. He twirls the two knives in his hands as the dark-haired one comes in with a twirl of her lance, "You'll have to forgive me, old hag. The flood was a bit before my time, I'm only about two thousand." He quips back.

    Normally, Psyber faffs about or tries for stylish maneuvers. Today, however, the dark-haired woman has caught him in a professional mood that wants to get his job done and get home. That means he steps towards the lance as she thrusts, bringing the knife in his left hand up to deflect. The result is that instead of impaling him dead center, she digs a deep gouge out of his side that tears fabric, flesh and bone. It spills blood to the ground at his feet, but allows him to press straight in towards her.

    "What are you even doing on earth? Your kind are supposed to be bound to the Host." He asks in bewilderment. Of course, even as he asks, he's also using the instep he has towards her to bring his knife up in a horizontal slash right for her eyes. If they're on par with his ability to regenerate, they should grow back anyway, but the temporary blindness may give him an advantage for the time it takes for them to grow back.

    At least Qemuel has the challenge she seeks, though.

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    "You," Fiora rather quickly snaps back, "Are not in a position to make requests or demands. You will get nothing. Let me make something clear. You may be 'surrendering' this thing, the girl, and the gem to us. But there is the matter of your comeuppance to deal with. I thought I made that plain."

It's a good thing Fiora wears armor on her legs, though. The woman is able to get one out of the way, but the other is wrapped up by a length of several. And even a deft swipe of her sword isn't quite enough to get through more than a couple of them. "I have no intentions on lecturing you. I'm attempting to correct whatever misconceptions you seem to have about us being here. We are here for you, as much as we are the girl and her gem. The rest? I will allow my blade to speak for itself."

Wrenching her leg, she swings her sword and manages to cut through some more of the chains, leaving only a couple attached.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Fate's incoming blasts toward Anne like a streak of lightning, the speedy little girl bypassing the defenses of the occupied construct. Of course, she immediately gets pounced at by the snarling mechanical dog, a tremendous weight of metal and clockwork snapping at her and trying to pin her to the desk. Fate will have to deal with that.

    Anne herself is not very strong though. At least, not when caught with her pants down. The scythe sears through her front, slicing into her chest with a spray of scalded blood from the lightning slash, and she topples back against the wall with... her chest cut open. Blood flows sluggishly from the rent in her chest, and she stares at it in fascination. Though her top is now shorn open enough to reveal, amidst the blood, a long pink scar crossing over her chest. It would be a mortal wound for most... but though it certainly seems to have stunned and laid her out for the moment, Anne is showing no signs of dying right this second.

    "Fate?" She actually looks confused at why the girl would attack her.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine just chuckles at the sorry Anne calls after him, not really in a position to look and respond. But he does sarcastically call back at her. "I'm holding you to that!" And then it's back to Staren. Tch. Flight. Now that was annoying. Was there a way to deal with that? Heh, he'd improvise.

     The wave of returned bullets barrage his foe's shielding, and pepper his armor. But it's not enough to take the guy down. Not that Raine would have expected it to be that easy. Hah, imagine if it were? If only. Staren seems to wise up to the black swordsman's shenanigans though, and switches to using physical weaponry.

     Looks like Raine wasn't going to be handed free energy now. But that was fine. ...Well, those shotgun shells most definitely weren't fine! "Shit-" He curses, jumping aside as a spray peppers past his leg and tears through, drawing blood. "Wising up, huh." Raine mumbles, glaring up at Staren.

     "Yeah. I got a job to do." He says plainly, disconnecting himself from this situation. And he breaks forward into a run. Veering this way and that to avoid shotgun shells. Some pierced through his sides, some grazed past his legs and shoulders, but he was gonna cross this distance somehow. "You're doing your job, I'm doing mine. Simple as that. I get paid after this, and I walk away."

     Raine leaps to the side and lands onto the wall, and then starts literally running along it, going upwards before kicking off and spinning in the air, hurtling towards Staren before letting loose with a horizontal slash aimed for his shields and armor.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Effective tentacles or not, the golem reciprocates the binding attack. Fancy chains snap around Homura's wrists and ankles, forming bracelets that lock them in place. At least she's not being squeezed, torn apart or stretched, she thinks, but it's very little comfort.

    In an attempt to free herself, Homura drops her grimoire, which thuds to the ground and reforms into a girl. One purple eye, one yellow eye, white-green hair and blue robes, the R'lyeh Text eyes Homura, poking the chains unhelpfully.

    "Are you really going to make me ask," Homura grunts.

    "Huh?" Ry's expression switches from the bindings to Homura's face, and then she boredly turns to look at the golem, followed by Anne.

    "/Ry/."

    "You need a jeweler or a blacksmith, not a book," she finally replies, resuming her bored and empty stare towards the Witch golem. She sighs. "I miss master Cthulhu. He didn't ask me to do weird things and loved me unconditionally." That's the version of the story she's sticking with, anyway.

    Homura looks very annoyed, predictably.

Uriel and Qemuel (1030) has posed:
    The dark-haired girl's response should be a little predictable. "Mmn... I really need a crossguard if I'm going to be fighting people like you." The playfulness seems to be bleeding off, though, and her expression is one of cold focus now. Especially when the knife whips for her eyes. A jerk of her head keeps her from being blinded completely, but it drags across her cheek and one eye, slicing through it with a spurt of blood that immediately soaks her shirt.

    Mentioning the Host was... maybe not the best idea. The darker one in combat immediately loses the last hints of her playfulness. "I am not wanted there." Her free hand lashes out in a vicious backhand... very vicious, because Psyber isn't the only one in the room with unnatural strength.

    "Qemuel," the blonde says suddenly. She's standing up straighter now, and a shimmering blade appears in her hand. This one radiates heat... and her footsteps leave red-hot marks on the stone of the floor as she takes a few steps forward. "He didn't mean it. The Nephilim, I mean. I think."

    She's a lot closer now, and the blonde stares at Psyber. "Be careful, sister. This one has more blood on his hands than any angel or demon."

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    Flowers isn't really struck down, or anything like that, by the chain lashing out at her. But she is driven back a bit, and the opening seems to be gone. The mednin seems to hesitate, at least, because she'll notice Homura's plight.

    The good news is that she's noticed. The bad news is that she's not particularly great at dealing with this sort of chain, either.

    "Um." Sakura will say, giving Ry a sidewards glance. "...I can try to break it, but I'm pretty sure your bones are going to end up being more fragile than the metal. Maybe just wait here for a minute until we can get clear and I can try something more delicate?"

    Metal, for whatever reason, does not fall under earth for her. Sakura will still look for any obvious ways to break the binds, though, while keeping an eye on that golem.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    The good news is, Setsuko succeeds at her intended attack.

    The bad news is, it earns her a half breath's worth of diamond dust before her gut instinct of 'this is dangerous' can prevent it. She immediately exhales hard as she skids to a stop, but while it gets the dust out, most of the damage is already done; the exhale becomes a vicious, hacking cough, leading to the demigod spitting up a gout of blood.

    And turning around with a frustrated growl.

    Homura's chained up. Her book's not helping. Setsuko sizes up the situation, and then leaps. Her angle and speed takes her up high enough that she's nearly level with the thing's shoulders - and exactly positioned such that Homura is on the other side of the golem from her. Zanjintou lashes out rapid-fire, one-two-three-four, unleashing a quartet of divine energy arcs aimed to cut right through the golem's torso, come out the other side, and hit the chains binding Homura. With the fight growing so chaotic already, it's anyone's guess as to how effectively she'll accomplish either, but it's the best she can do on short notice.

Fate Testarossa (996) has posed:
Arf will help with the Grief Seed toting construct. Magic, wolf-like snarling, occasionallly flirtatious banter (with the others, not with the machine), and punching will be involved. But her help will probably be minor in comparison to everyone else, though.

What is more important is the grim expression etched on Fate Testarossa's face as she stands over Blakely. Bardiche crackles in her grasp. Her incomplete training negating the normally non-lethal aspects of Mid-Childan magic. It is not the first time she has seen blood, as a result.

"I'm sorry. I have reasons." Her voice isn't raised above a whisper. "But. I don't know you."

She is, after all, 'not part of the Confederacy'.

There is a weary, chill, look in the child's eyes but they momentarily widen at the sight of the woman's scar. But before she can speak or act further, the heavy weight of metal and machine is atop her. She grunts, the best she can do, at first, is fend off steel jaws with Bardiche's haft, struggling with the mechanized beast atop her, before her entire body crackles, unleashing a point blank surge of voltaic energies into the construct atop her to try and fry its systems.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    There's the resonating sound of a hand hitting his jaw. Psyber skids sideways across the floor. He doesn't fall over, but his feet make a loud shifting noise as the force of the blow sends him sliding. He wheezes a bit and lifts up his hand, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, "Well I guess that'll make two of us, then."

    He spits some blood onto the ground and stands up. The wound on his side is already slowly closing, his regeneration kicking in as he faces off with the two, "So it's you. Camael. One of the Ten. Figures I'd be up against someone of that caliber." He shifts his stance and mentally cycles through the weapons he could use.

    Nothing he has on him is quite on par with an angel's flaming sword except Einherjar itself. He sheathes a knife and snaps his fingers, a crackle of electricity heralding the arrival of his blade in his hand to face off against the two of them, "You're not wrong. There's a lot of blood on my hands. Sometimes there needs to be, to get a job done."

    He steps in towards the pair, swinging the blade in a shallow arc, mostly meant to give himself some space and show them that the sword in his hands is, itself, fairly potent, "I'd recommend you both leave. You're on the wrong side of the battle for a pair of angels to be sitting. I just wanna get that girl home to her family."

Staren has posed:
    Angels, constructs, magical girls, whatever the hell Anne is... Given their opponents, Staren is surprised to see Raine bleed. Is he a mortal, mixed up in this fight? "Switch sides and you can have a share of the bounty. Take her promised pay or more out of her home when we loot it."

    Staren puts away the revolver when he sees Raine going for the wall. He can see this coming, although he was expecting more of a wall-jump than a wall-run. He flies in to meet Raine, the forcefield briefly shut off. Staren tries to get in close and grab Raine's wrist before the sword can connect, but he'll settle for taking a sword hit (It cuts into the damaged armor, but not through the body where it hits. Staren does not appear to bleed. He's a robot today.) "Otherwise, the price shall be your life." And he squeezes with robot superstrength, trying to break bones.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    The good news for Homura and Sakura is that these bonds, once free of the Witch, are 'merely' silver and gold. They are pliable and can be bent away. That is going to take some time for the both of them, though.

    Fortunately, the Witch, in some ways, might be stronger... but in other ways is weaker. It is a prototype, basically. It has... flaws. Arf's distraction has the single eye turning to face her, and that leaves an opening. Setsuko slices through the chest, shearing off the limbs and 'freeing' the construct via removing the usefulness of binding limbs. With a wrenching shriek, it starts to topple.

    Good news for Fiora! The chains might still partly be binding her, but the toppling of the Witch is bringing it closer... and the damage reveals the socketed spot behind the 'eye' of the grief seed, attached to numerous hoses. It is defeated in the sense of being crippled, but an accurate strike could knock the source of all this problem right out.

Fiora Laurent (824) has posed:
    It is only a moment, but, that's all Fiora needs. She's able to shuffle back a single step, her body like a spring. And that sword arm of hers lunges forward, stabbing straight into that damaged portion of the construct's frame, her weapon piercing the components attached to the grief seed, in addition to puncturing several of those hoses. She feels the chain tighten against her leg, causing her to wince, but Fiora saw that momentary weakness, and took advantage.

Hopefully, whatever she struck was of great importance.

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    A shocking blast runs through the clockwork monster atop Fate... but it is not a robot in the traditional sense. There's nothing to short out. The lightning DOES fuse some pieces, making joints lock in place and a loud whine sound from it. She'll have to squirm out from under it before it can twist enough to bite.

    As for Anne, she clutches her chest, physically holding it together as the blood flows so sluggishly. She rises up, glaring angrily, and opens her mouth-

    To then turn white as a sheet as something makes a loud, clattering grind inside her chest, followed by several seconds of clicking. She collapses back to the ground, gasping and barely managing to choke out. "G-Get out..."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Please do not break my bones," Homura tells Sakura, a feeling she considers incredibly valuable. Luckily, Setsuko sends cutting waves her way, tearing the chains down and allowing the Puella Magi to take a leap back. She looks like she's about to scream the R'lyeh Text's head off, but a tentacle rises from the floor and places itself on Homura's mouth, like a finger calling for silence.

    "Shhh. No screams. Just vindication," Ry says.

    Something snarls behind the golem.

    A shoggoth tears through the veil between dimensions, the mass of eyes, tentacles, mouths and boiling flesh suddenly surging forward to start gnawing at the whole body of the golem, save the head. What's left of it after the damage, anyway. OMNOMNOM delicious golem powered by souls. Still just one shoggoth though, but it's obvious its goal is to deny Anne even the opportunity to recycle the construct.

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    Flowers will pause where she's helping rip apart Homura's bonds, giving a glance over to where Anne is, the mednin's own face turning to a grimace. She'll lift her hands up, moving a few steps in that direction, and trying to look non-threatening to the others besides Anne.

    "I'm a medic. Surrender now, and I'll see if I can save your life. You must know what's happening to you?" She'll add, though she looks like she's chewing something bitter when she offers to help Anne.

    Sakura'd tried to move closer to being a more traditional healer the last few years, offering peace and reasonable conditions and all, but she's clearly torn up to make this offer, bitter over the dead Union soldiers from her first encounter. This actually means she's not really paying the attention she should be to not getting tricked or anything.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    And there it is. Homura's free. Fiora has freed the Soul Gem. The rest of the golem is... being consumed? Cripes, that's unsettling. But it accomplishes the one goal Setsuko still wanted to see to - ensuring that Anne does not in fact get to recycle that golem.

    So down Setsuko drops, landing in a crouch... and immediately hacking up another gout of blood. Her lungs haven't had more than a handful of seconds yet, they're going to need more time to regenerate.

    It does, however, leave her the chance to watch what's going on with Anne, Fate, and now Sakura... and to prepare to intervene, if she has to. She may in fact already be drawing Zanjintou back, level with one shoulder, a pair of fingers near the crossguard. Anyone who knows her well might recognize that it's the ready stance for her Denkousekka. Just in case.

Uriel and Qemuel (1030) has posed:
    Einherjar is brought out. Qemuel raises her lance, stepping forward as if to engage. The blonde one's sword does indeed burst into flames, radiating a holy aura that answers the final question. Placidly, she starts to step forward... but then pauses when she sees Anne's predicament. "Sister..."

    "Let her die, Uriel. It's not like she doesn't deserve it any less than this one, right?" Qemuel snaps, with obvious distaste for the woman.

    Uriel gives a stern look. "Our task was to protect her, not judge her. Will YOU go against Master?" She steps forward, blade up, obviously willing to engage Psyber if he continues the attack, but her next words are to the others. "Take what you wanted and go. We won't stop you from that. WILL WE?"

    Qemuel struggles visibly with this decision, but then withdraws to let her sister cover Psyber, black wings tearing from the shirt as they erupt. Dark feathers swirl and dive, starting to cocoon Blakely in a protective shell. She'll only allow Flowers close if Blakely allows it.

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine's blade connects with Staren's armor, but doesn't actually cleave through. Not enough traction for that one. But he wasn't expecting to have his wrist grabbed. "Tch-!" He sharply intakes at the pressure applied to his wrist. He is just a man. A fleshy human with no immortality, robot bodies, or anything. But...

     ...One shouldn't count a human out. They always had something prepared. Raine saw that Staren's body was robotic, and then he peered at the man himself, smirking a bit. He didn't respond to the the threat. Instead, all he said was a single statement.

     "Fragarach, do the thing."

     From behind Staren, there's a shimmer of magic particles as something or someone comes into existence. A ghostly wearing a white dress, with long white hair, a long tail, and pale skin. Her arms raise, oversized sleeves indicating the outline of outstretched hands. And then a crackle of electricity built up.

     But just as she was going to get ready to envelop Staren in a web of sparks, Anne goes and gets herself into trouble. "--Shit." Raine cursed and looked ahead. "Do it!" The white figure behind his foe then let loose a burst of chain lightning, right for Staren. It would lance around, attempting to strike him, but also going right for the black swordsman's blade, to be absorbed.

     ...What would happen if he released it while the weapon was lodged into the armor?

Anne Blakely (983) has posed:
    Like the previous construct, this one collapses to inertness when Fiora's blade slices the last pieces holding the Grief Seed in place. It tumbles out, and the wreckage begins to be crushed and swallowed by the gurgling shoggoth. She's lost more than just the experiment, it's true.

    And in the meantime... Anne is holding her chest, breathing slow and shallow breaths. The offer doesn't escape notice, but she doesn't think long before answering. "Get out," she says more firmly, though still quiet. "You've won, 'heroes.' Now leave." She sounds far more angry now than ever before... but even now it's a cool rage rather than anything more active. "I will handle this myself."

    So that's a no.

Fate Testarossa (996) has posed:
Fate will settle for fusing the construct's joints. It makes it less of a threat. Not entirely neutralized, but handled enough for her to wriggle herself out from under it. If it keeps coming for her, it will get a much more concentrated blast in the form of a golden bullet of voltiac mana. Maybe several, pending how much it chooses to pursue.

Which leaves her staring down Anne. And by proxy Sakura approaching with offer of aid on the condition of surrender. The gravity of what she has done sinks in only now.

Fate's grim expression does not hide the fact that her hand is shaking, as she holds Bardiche up, several spheres of golden light forming, at the ready to fire. Either at Anne, the mednin, Setsuko, or the angels. Anyone really who might look hostile or particularly ready to make her uncomfortable, right now.

Arf told her at the start, she was probably going to make a lot of people very mad. Arf is a little more free now, with not wanting to be in between a shoggoth and its meal.

"Yeah I think she's mad. Now might be a good time to jet." The wolf-woman says, nudgingly to her master. A golden circle of light is already forming at Fate's feet to leave via Dimensional Transfer.

"Mm."

Assuming no one stops her, the two are gone in a clap of thunder.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    There's a dim part of Psyber that wants to use rank to tell Sakura to leave Blakely to die. But there's a separate part of Psyber who respects the dedication to her Hippopotamus Oath over the years and won't let himself force her to violate her ethics as a doctor.

    Thus he remains silent on the matter, turning his focus instead to the two angels in front of him.

    "Well this is one messed up little family reunion, now isn't it?" Psyber asks to the two of them, staring at them both with shining red eyes. His sword is lifted and at the ready as he takes a defensive stance. He's never actually gotten to test his own blade against one of the fabled swords of flame, but he's relatively certain it could at least hold up.

    Left with just Uriel as Qemuel withdraws, Psyber sighs a bit and grits his teeth, "Fine. I'll accept this much of a mystery for now. There are other people more invested in killing Blakely than me anyway, I just wanted the girl back."

    He remains squared off with Uriel, however, until the fighting has subsided. When the time comes to leave, as if to prove a point, Psyber uses his free hand to toss the combat knife at Uriel's feet. It's clearly more of a warning than anything, "Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis et ego reficiam vos."

    It sounds ominous enough.

    He'll eventually back away as the group withdraws.

Sakura Haruno (134) has posed:
    "...Fine. If you even survive, then I'll get you another time." Sakura says, with a resigned expression. Mostly because she's been ordered out of this, and with good reason; she'd really like to make certain Anne isn't loose, but the othersare right that the girl was the priority.

    And Sakura, in particular, is going to be needed for this. She'll start to back away, taking a moment to consider vandalizing the store a bit more before deciding against it."...Next time, I'm doing more damage to the store, too." She's not actually good at the banter or back and forth, really.

Staren has posed:
    Staren's key systems are insulated from the armor for this reason, but that sword could become a problem... Also, it's clear if this doesn't electrocute Raine by contact, then he's immune to electricity. Good to know.

    The armor begins to glow from heat. Is Raine immune to that too? This is... bad, for Staren, but he has pain turned off right now. This body, clearly, is takin g heavy damage anyway. His only chance...

    Is to try and kill the man before him, so he can't use the energy in that sword, and opefully Fragarach unsummons.

    Staren shoves them into a wall. Still trying to crush the arm, his other hand is about to punch into Raine's chest, hard. The Confederate medbay can fix cracked ribs and pierced lungs, right?

    But, they have the objective. There is no point in staying here, and Staren no longer needs to go THROUGH Raine, just escape.

    He flings Raine at Anne, hard. "You're lucky, this time. Don't make the same mistake when choosing employers again." And he hurries up the stairs, warped and half-melted armor screeching and sparking as he forces joints to move despite the damage. He just has to get out, now. They came here in a car or something, right?

Uriel and Qemuel (1030) has posed:
    Uriel makes a face, but doesn't object to Psyber's words. The flaming sword vanishes, and the heat buildup begins to die down, immediately cooling again. "There is nothing you can do." For now, anything else will be a mystery!

Raine Arland (604) has posed:
     Raine may have had to have an extended stay in medbay if Staren went through with that. Instead, he's flung through the air, righting himself and landing nearby Anne. He skids to a stop, sword planted into the ground to keep him from crashing into his employer.

     "Feh-" He scoffs, straightening up as he disperses the blade, rubbing his wrist as he watches the band of heroes depart after having done what they were after. "Fun bunch, those guys." He muttered with a frown. The white figure vanished from sight the same way she appeared, no longer seeing a need to be present.

     Not in any real hurry to give chase, Raine instead turns to Anne with a sigh. "C'mon. You've got to get to medbay, unless you've got some weird nonsense you're going to fix yourself with."