1145/Ixpellia

Ixpellia
Date of Scene:	14 December 2014
Location:	Void - Space-Time Storms
Synopsis:	The source of the Mariage is found... but what about Hayate?
Cast of Characters:	96, 162, 177, 320, 381, 401, 430, 455, 558, 560, 570, 597
Tinyplot:	Power Games

---

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The coordinates given actually take the group through a series of jumps, as is usual when trying to conceal an approach. After all, if this should fail, it wouldn't do to lead the Mariage directly to an inhabited area, right?

But where they end up is... not as expected. The final hop(or warpgate exit for those taking more Multiversal means of travel) leads to a secluded beach on a strange world, with the sun harshly beating down upon the lapping waves and the rocky shore. It doesn't look like a fortress at all.

But some distance from shore, the tip of a building can be seen. A sunken city, hundreds of years old, buried beneath the waves. No sign of Mariage here right at the moment, but there is an impressive sense of /age/ about the place.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr is coming in prepared this time. Mistral Form already called, in Storm Mode. As she appears from the final jump, the Bits fan out, forming a small phalanx around her as they orbit lazily.

    "This place is /old/." she murmurs. "Reminds me of the Guardians village back home, and we both know what /that/ hid." she says, looking down at her Device. <INDEED. NO MARIAGE SIGNATURES IN RANGE OF PRELIMINARY SCANS. WE ARE CLEAR FOR NOW.> notes Divine Wind.

    The Windmage's eyes then turn out to the tip of that building, mismatched eyes narrowing slightly. "Is that where we're heading?" she asks, glancing to those that came with her during transport.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint is not stupid enough to deliberately bring the Wolkenritter along on this. When he got Nanoha's message, he'd made his way to a transport skip and left his ship a few jumps behind. This does not account for two things: Stowaways and Teleporting, both of which are totally within the capability of any group of people he doesn't wanna bring along.

He does have a personal obligation to see Hayate's little mission in to completion. So he also tried to reach out and further indebt himself to his own personal Davy Jones. But more on that later.

It's with a soft touchdown onto the ground that Flint's small transport ship taps down on the ground, the Captain hopping out. He's dressed in his normal outfit this time, along with a rifle he's carrying. He also has... a box of those Japanese Strawberry Kit Kats from that store he looted the other day.

"I brought Terran Candy. I thought we might all need a morale boost before we march into the jaws of the space kraken.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro will provide one set of transportation jumps for any Union sorts who wish to come along, arriving already in her barrier jacket, Fried in his sealed form for ease of transit while bringing others.

    She's double checking the coordinates, naturally enough, to make certain that they've arrived in the correct place once they're there. "I'm not sure. I was kind of expecting something more fearsome looking, too."

    She'll pause, looking almost troubled as she adds something. "I wonder if Jail made a mistake in sending us here." This will translate nominally into something along the lines of 'scumbag might have sent us into a trap or something on purpose', but she would never actually say such a thing.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Rather than taking the warp gates all the way, Kimiko's chosen to first meet up with the other Union TSAB agents, and make use of their proficiency in dimension-hopping. This should save both time and energy, at least on her part. She arrives already transformed, but that's no different than the last several encounters, so should be expected.

    "Nothing in range? They've attempted ambushes before, haven't they? How sure can we be of that?" She's giving the area a hard look, both to the obvious location of the ruins and the surrounding clime, until Flint's ship gets her attention.

    To the candy, "No." Pause. "Thank you." Politely enough.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Next to the vast number of fancy TSAB and similar agents, EMIYA SHIROU doesn't look like much. He's wearing jeans and a shirt, doesn't radiate magic of any kind, has no fancy equipment (certainly no talking equipment) and as Elites go? Well, appearances are deceiving in his case, but still...

    "This is the spot?" It sure feels important. Ancient. Like the footsteps they're making here are the first in countless aeons.

    "E-er... thanks, we might need it later. I'm good though." he's in the same boat as Kimiko, whom he shuffles over a bit closer to. "Any idea what's even in there?" he asks her.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    To say Fate Testarossa is careful when it comes to Dimensional Transfers is understatement. Having learned from the Garden of Time incident, and prior dealings with the TSAB, in dealing with the Mariage triple the care must be taken so that prior coordinates cannot be traced and lead them back to somewhere they are most assuredly not supposed to be.

    A clap of thunder heralds the Confederate arrival. Not from a mere series of jumps, but a practical maze that would make back tracing a process of jumping through hoops and sudden dead ends. Alternating trading coordinates and the process of Transferring between Bardiche and Yersinia Kreuz, before one last crackling jump of gold and purple light and arrival is complete. Bardiche slung over one shoulder, Nanoha's hand clasped lightly, Fate arrives on the beach, cape fluttering in the wind.

    Arf is already flopped on the sand.

    "Oh my GOD -are we there YET?!-"

    "Yes."

Samael (455) has posed:
    And teleporting is something that everyone's favorite person to be around is rather skilled at! There's a sort of blur right above Flint's head, before the anomaly finally turns into a sort of crack in space-time as it distorts. In the next second, the figure of Samael appears, lightly stepping on Flint's head (though curiously, it feels to him like she weighs less than a feather; it seems that she hadn't even messed up his hat) before hopping off and landing right in front of him gracefully. In spite of having made no previous appearance or having any vested interest in the goings-on aside from Flint's participation, it seems that the event had attracted the girl's attention, and she beamed at everyone else, waving.

    "Oh? Is there something going on? I had just wanted to check in on the Cap'n here!" she said, apparently completely ignorant as to what everyone was gathering for. "Is it a party? Or maybe...you're doing something else? Fighting, maybe? It seems that's what mostly people gather for, nowadays. Or is that always? Hmm. Anyway..." She looked around, before sniffing the air. "Hmm. This feels like...well, it feels like that there's something important here. I should know!"

Material-D (597) has posed:
    The rift in spacetime opens for one last time, allowing the silver-haired youth with black wings to step out from within, trailed by other Confederates, namely Seikou. Material-D looks rather determined, now, despite her normal lack of care for others.

    Seeing who is here, she gives a curt nod, surveying the area. Some unfamiliar, but she's worked with the Union before in some rare cases. "Hmn... well, We suppose the ruins are the best place to look. Unless someone has a better idea, We will freeze the water and drill into them."

    She hasn't personally met Samael, so she doesn't react. Once she hears the name, that may be different, since she has read reports.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
"Thanks, Fate!" Nanoha says, squeezing her friend's hand before letting go. Vesta is flopped atop Arf, looking exhausted despite not really doing much work this time. So much travel. She almost whines about it, too, but Arf beats her to that.

"Eh... eheh. M-maybe we should try something a little less um... drastic first? Does anyone know a way to get to underwater ruins that doesn't involve blasting them apart?"

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Seikou is here. She's politely nodding to everyone else, already in her Barrier Jacket. She DOES know who Samael is, and eyes the new arrival warily, but the rest are not of concern. Either they are not a threat, or in other cases they are known to be allies in this case.

    As for Nanoha's question:

    "No."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Once again, where Nanoha and Fate appear, they are accompanied by a third young lady in elegant white, seemingly armed with only a sword. By now, though, almost everyone there is familiar with Satsuki Kiryuin and what she can do; just wearing that white outfit shows clearly that she's brought everything she can on a personal scale. Bringing school forces would improve their chances, but... no. Not for an assault like this. Still, though...

    "If I had known what we faced ahead of time, I would have brought underwater equipment. The Honnouji Scuba Club's gear is all top-of-the-line."

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Flint may have intended to leave the Wolkenritter behind, but that isn't going to happen. Nope, the Mariage are the key to getting their Master healed, or so they believe, so they're coming along as well. Whether Flint likes it or not.

    All four of them appear in a shimmer of a Dimensional Shift, the green lighting saying who was behind it. Signum is ready for battle, Vita has her hammer over one shoulder and is making a vague 'yo' to everyone, Zafira is in wolf form and stalking around the group, and Shamal...

    Shamal tsks, "Oh my, Captain Hawke. You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend. Isn't she a little young for you?"

    Signum is all business, as usual, and is already staring at the ruins and the beach. "If the Mariage are here, they have likely detected an intrusion. We don't have much time before they'll react. We should move quickly if we do not want to be in an ambush."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Fate and Nanoha get a glance from Kimiko, but she expected their presence, so there is no further problem. The same goes for the Materials, though Seikou is one she's seen less frequently than Yami, regarding this matter.

    "I could reach it through the water, but it would be difficult and unpleasant."

    Samael, however. Samael. That one. She remembers that one. Flint earned her ire by betraying someone he'd claimed to be helping, that Kimiko had attempted to protect. An upsetting act, to be sure, and she still thinks of him as a no-good scoundrel, even if her stance has softened some since the appearance of this third option, this way to save Hayate without stealing from others.

    But the Pure-user isn't just someone who's annoyed her.

    This is a girl she wants to kill.

    The sword is in her hand before she even realizes what she's doing. She is only just able to stop herself from launching directly forward. Her heartbeat is rather louder than she remembers it being.

    "What. Is she doing here." Kimiko's tone could freeze hydrogen.

    It's true that they should be focusing on the matter of the Mariage, but letting this go without comment is completely impossible.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr tenses up when Samael appears. Her stance shifts subtly and the Bits orbitting her begin to spin more rapidly. She's on edge... the Pure User is a wildcard and they really don't need that in an operation like this.

    She doesn't /say/ anything though, biting back some reckless tonguelashing she might have had. Not the time or place.

    The Wolkenritter earn a nod, more for the distraction from Samael than anything. "I agree with Signum... we're out in the open, and we're right outside the hornets nest. We've gotta move, and fast."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
No one accepts his Strawberry Kit Kats. Bothersome. Flint takes a single pack out and then underhand tosses the rest into the back of his ship, shrugging a bit, "Very well, don't ask for em later. But I understand."

Then he opens the pack and starts to munch on one, choking on it a moment later when Samael appears, "*hack cough* Samael! You're here! What a surprise." He says with a mixture of both intimidation in his voice and casual flippance, "Ah I haven't seen you in a while. We were going to attack this place and try to help the downtrodden people. Feel like being a hero today?"

"N-n-no it's not like that!" Flint says to Shamal, putting his hands (and candy) up defensively, regaining some composure a moment later, "I think Sammy likes some boy in the Union."

"Ahem, right, let's move." He unslings his rifle and puts the rest of his Kit Kats in his pocket. He'll let Samael and Kimiko sort out their own interpersonal issues.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    That discussion gets a slightly nervous laugh out of Caro. "We should look around a little bit before we risk going so far as blowing through the place, though." She doesn't know Samael, so she won't be nearly as on edge as everyone else Union.

    "If nothing else, you should think of all the fish that might be in there. You could really do bad things to the ecosystem here." Bad things above and beyond what the Mariage being present has probably done.

    She doesn't seem to have any better suggestion, either, beyond scouting out the area. Still, she'll agree that moving is a good idea, and follow wherever Shamal or anyone else might lead. Whoever seizes initiative, really.

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Ah, well, you see...the Cap'n and I arn't involved like that. He simply owes me a debt! A sort of lease, if you will." Samael said, nodding. "So I come in every now and then to check on him." A piece of string was produced, and the girl immediatly started to play around with it, attempting to form a few simple string figures.

    "That is what I am doing here. Oh, don't worry about me, I'm not going to ruin your gathering! Or whatever it is you people are doing. Unless, you know, you really want to go here. But that would be kind of rude to everyone else, wouldn't it? Don't you have more important things to do? I'll gladly help you mess up eeeverything for everyone else, but! You have to be the one to start it."

    Samael gave Kimiko a beaming smile, before nodding to herself. "Who knows? You might be thankful I'm here!"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    When Samael appears, Shirou does whirl about to face her. Something about her is Off and in a very unsettling way, but he can't quite place it besides a horrible ominous feeling. Still, when Kimiko freaks out he follows in kind. "Trace on...!" Crackling like lightning, emerald prana glows in his hands and forms into the white and black yin-yang short swords, Kanshou and Bakuya.

    But the situation calms quickly, and Shirou just makes an aggravated grunting noise into the wind. "If the place is underwater, wouldn't there be some kind of access hatch? Maybe a tunnel? Although they use all these portals to get around, so maybe not..."

Material-D (597) has posed:
    Yami sighs at Caro. "Really? The number of fish we kill with this would be less than a normal fishing boat. We believe the Mariage are the greater threat. If it will cease you from whining, We shall keep it small."

    Yeah, Yami isn't waiting up for people to argue. She glances at Samael, then considers. "Hmn. Your decision to help us take down an ancient empire's weapon of mass destruction." She gestures to Nanoha and Seikou. "Both of you, with me. Captain Hawke, keep that candy around. We expect a good celebration." Then she pauses, looking more seriously at those gathered. "This is going to be very difficult for some of you, and We do not mean the battle. The firepower we have assembled here should be enough for what follows, provided we can destroy the Mariage."

    Yami then takes to the air, floating up over the sea and calling out her own Book of Darkness. Well, Tome of the Night Sky, whatever. The pages flip through as she summons up a spell. "O' ruler of the white snow, with sliver wings turn all the earth in vision into ice! Come forth, breath of frost!"

    <ATEM DES EISES.>

    The seawater roars about, ripples sent through the ocean and the waves starting to lift in a circular motion... before they freeze solid, a pillar of ice extending downward through the sea rather than forming a plate of ice atop it, as is usual for the spell.

    Okay, mostly a pillar of ice. It's kind of ragged all the way down. Yami has inherited Hayate's aiming skills. Or lack thereof.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Seikou stares at Kimiko, then shakes her head. "Unless it is of immediate concern, we should deal with the immediate problem first. Sort out your grudges quickly." She can kind of understand, so the statement isn't as stern as it could be. No doubt it sounds pretty harsh though, considering the way Seikou keeps her voice even like that.

    She nods to Nanoha and then to the others. "If you need transport across the water, you should start working on that. I doubt many of you can walk on water."

    Streaking upward with an orange trail, she readies her Device and lowers it toward the ice that has formed. <BLAST DRILLER. PIERCE THE HEAVENS MY MASTER.>

    "Wuh-" Seikou barely has a chance to look at Luciferion before the spiralling flame drills down toward the ice, using the heat to melt a tunnel downward.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha is also in the air after a moment of worry. "Mn. Vesta, help give people a lift, okay? I'll be right over here. Um..."

Pause.

"Drilling."

She also lingers and looks at Caro, "Do you think your dragon could help carry anyone? That would help a lot! Please?" She even asked nicely! Before she flew out to join Seikou, sending out a few smaller spheres of pink light. She's working on chipping and blasting fragments to make the tunnel smoother, and to try to shape it better than the raw flaming drill can.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    "Aah.. Yes, okay!" Caro replies to Nanoha, though she's looking all worriedlike at the ice, too. She's going to have to have words with Yami later. With that kind of callousness, she might not be taking proper care of the kittens!

    For now, though, the summoner needs to focus on the mission at hand, and she'll do what was requested. Of course, the pink runes of her magic, and the giant white dragon appearing, both are likely to attract attention.. but it's not exactly like the group's being subtle anyway.

    "Anyone who isn't sure they can hang on should use another method." She warns; it can be difficult at first, after all.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Satsuki regards Vesta. She regards Friedrich. She's about to open her mouth when the dragon goes from micro-size to rather large.

    It's a rare thing to see Satsuki dumbstruck, even briefly. Treasure it, Caro.

    "...I believe I will avail myself of your familiar," the Queen of Honnouji decides, speaking to Nanoha but eyeing Fried suspiciously. She knows Vesta is trustworthy.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Speaking of Flint's luck and inability to fly, as the epic drilling process begins, Arf picks herself up. "Oh my god, I was getting so bored, finally I get to stretch my legs."

    A flash of orange light and she's on all fours, an absolutely massive orange wolf in war form. She proceeds to scruff the pirate captain by his coat. "Hey, need a lift, Captain? I'll ferry you across, but you know what I want in return~."

    He's not given much room to haggle when she just tosses him on her back and runs to the water like a spaztic dog excited about going to the beach. She... Hops in the water and starts dog-paddling out to sea.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint is not given much choice in this matter. This series of actions resules in Flint looks incredibly startled. Arf's wolf form he's somewhat used to, but being tossed around like that is not.

His only real option is to cling to the fur of Arf's wolfen back while getting ferried across the water. He can't tell her NO, exactly. She could just dump him off, "Fine, fine!" This is a very splashy experience and he takes his hat off his head so he can hold it higher and keep it dry.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Cue Shirou gaping. There was enough magic in Yami's spell that he could feel it in his BONES let alone Magic Circuits. He flinches back a few steps... what kind of power does it take to freeze, UTTERLY FREEZE, a huge column down through the sea...

    "That's perfect. We can just bore on down!" Well, Shirou actually has his own form of transportation come to think of it. One he's spent some time practicing with in the Ring of Philosophy.

    Because this is not the sort of transportation you use without any practice.

    Kanshou and Bakuya erode into nothing, and instead he replaces it with---

    *KSSSSHT-CLANG!*

    Vruasa Telash's AERODYNAMIC ROCKET SHOCKSPEAR.

    Which he proceeds to seat himself on oddly like a toy horse, grip hard... and--

    pchoooooooo!

    ... yeah, it's basically a rocket witch's broomstick. And he's hardly pushing the thing. He's not a Troll, what do you expect?

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The Wolkenritter watch with some worry at how the group decides to invade the ancient ruins. Shamal is at least being helpful, though a little disappointed at Flint and Samael's answer. "Oh... my mistake~" She smiles, "I can also teleport anyone over there who doesn't want to fly. LIne of sight is a simple and short jaunt, hardly disorienting at all."

Whether or not anyone takes her up on the offer, the other Wolkenritter nod to one another, then take off in flight. They'll cluster around Flint, since he's the familiar one here. The Book at Signum's side rustles and starts to say something, but she holds her hand over it to silence its protests.

On the way, Zafira speaks, "The Mariage work like ants. From what we've been able to learn, they have a Queen. The Dark Queen is the one that makes new Mariage cores, and if we can stop her then the threat will eventually fade by itself."

Those who actually go down the icy tunnel will find the ruins have an opening... now. A thin layer of seawater from the melted ice lingers, but there's a blasted hole from the drill that leads to the underground installation. Ancient and musty, it's just now getting water into it. The tunnel beneath shows aged machinery and corridors, now long empty... and the feeling of being watched. NOW senses who can pick up magic can easily sense a great quantity in one direction.

Samael (455) has posed:
    Wordlessly, Samael was gliding just above Flint, high and dry. Her mechanical-ish wings, floating right behind her back. Flint probably couldn't see her expression, but that same beaming smile was visible. Even then though, it seems she got bored where along the way and started blinking in and out, before finally just disappearing.

    She'd probably appear near Flint sooner or later.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko considers her options. She can attack Samael, and... probably lose. Either way, the operation will suffer for it. She can leave, and let Samael stay, and the operation will suffer for the lack of her, even if Samael is being honest. Or she can stay, the only downside of which is that she, herself, will still be here if things go wrong past her ability to resolve. Putting it that way, the choice is obvious. Her own safety is what she values least.

    This doesn't mean she relaxes. It doesn't mean she lets down her guard. She pretty much just stands there and stares at Samael, weapon drawn, until everyone else decides on an approach. Her lack of expression makes further information difficult to glean.

    To likely little surprise, she chooses to get aboard Friedrich so as to enter the ruins. Swimming is possible, for her, and if she works it right she could probably just stop breathing, but--best to not have to pull that kind of trick. She's barely seen Shamal before, and is wary of relying on the Wolkenritter for anything, in general.

    She gets back on her feet as soon as possible, the better to be ready for sudden action. Primarily, she's going to stick close to Caro, figuring the summoner can work better when she doesn't have to worry over defense.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr lifts up on her flight spell, and follows after the group. She's quiet for the moment. Her role will likely come when the group encounters the enemy.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha floats down with the others into the chamber beneath the ground, and Vesta hops down beside her. "Ah, Mistress! Maybe... hmm... I know! Why don't we do this?" She claps her hands as Nanoha gives her an odd look, and then...

An illusory copy of Nanoha appears in the air, little wings and all, and streaks off down the corridor toward the magical area. Vesta is going to try to draw out any hidden Mariage along the way with her illusion, so the allies can just blast them.

Nanoha ehehs, "Oh... right. Maybe we should have tried something like that first."

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Seikou's job is largely done... for now. She floats down the tunnel with the others, then just starts forward without saying anything. Not much TO say, really. Unless she wants to comment on Shirou's ridiculous mode of transport. She looks pretty lost in thought, though. One could almost say nervous, but that isn't like her, is it?

Material-D (597) has posed:
    Yami is also fairly quiet, for other reasons. When she finally speaks, it's to murmur softly, "We have not encountered the Mariage... yet the Wolkenritter know of them. We wonder what else is hidden in the Book? And why they can access some of its functions We cannot. Or is it part of Nachtwal?"

    It's mostly musing aloud, though she'd welcome an answer. She doubts she'll get one from anyone present here.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Once they arrive in the ruins, Satsuki stops for a moment to simply close her eyes and take in the smells and sounds of the place for a moment. When she opens them, she turns to look over her shoulder at the tunnel of ice through which they arrived, and offers, "Someone should seal that breach to some degree or other. That much ice will take a while to melt, but it /will/ melt. If we're here for any length of time, it will be a concern."

    And then she steps up, falling into step... beside Signum, of all people.

    If they're going into hostile territory, she'd prefer to be alongside the most similar fighter here to her own style. Someone she synergizes with near-perfectly.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou skids to a halt at the end of the tunnel and into the corridors. The shockspear's dispersed as soon as he doesn't need it and replaced once again with Kanshou. He might need his free hand, and he can always project Bakuya again later.

    "... man, who'd just leave something like this laying around to cause trouble for everyone? Who made it to begin with?"

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Arf could have flown the whole way, sure. But after all that travel it was only natural her one response would be to... Leap in the water. She dog-paddles fairly fast though, so Flint won't have to wait too long to get across and join the others. When does catch up and rejoin everyone, and once the captain is off her back and people start surveying the tunnel...

    She shakes herself off.

    Water goes -EVERYWHERE-.

    Fate simply sighs, waiting for the results of Vesta's Copy Nanoha no Jutsu.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro will edge Friedrich down the tunnel, if he'll fit into the area - if not, she'll have to reseal him, which will just take a few moments.

    Either way, she'll proceed onwards after the others, murmuring in low tones. "This place is really strange. How do you think they normally get in and out of here?" Probably teleporting, she decides after a few moments, but it still seems terribly incon...

    She's interrupted by dog water. Caro will make a slight noise of protest, and Friedrich looks rather disapprovingly at the familiar. At least, it seems to be disapproving. It's hard to tell, truthfully.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The hole isn't dragon-sized, but the corridor widens out soon enough, and Friedrich can return to his combat form as Caro wishes. Until then, it's... mostly a musty, spooky journey downward, as the tunnel slopes some. Zafira takes a moment to seal the entrance behind them magically, which isn't a permanent solution but should last long enough for someone to handle it.

Signum will answer the questions. "Galea is the name you are looking for. Presumably, this is Galea we are on now. The lost homeworld of Ix. I can't tell you more than that... most of our memories from before a couple centuries back are fuzzy and indistinct. The Mariage are a weapon meant as a last resort, but somehow, the Belkan Empire defeated them... and now this."

Zafira catches up and adds, "Nachtwal calls you Materials 'Eternal Ring Nodes,' so it is perhaps a separate system in the Book. We have not heard of it. Nachtwal is not even an original function of the Book, it was added later. Perhaps you are part of the Book's original function that has since been overwritten... or you overwrote the original function."

Sending a scout ahead was a good idea though. The fake-noha is suddenly riddled with numerous slugs, and a leaping slash up ahead. It took quite a while to get that far, but the ambush was tripped, and it's in a wide open area. The only cover is at the edges of the room, the fringes with machinery and the like... and the Mariage Controllers are using those bits of cover. There have to be at least two dozen drones and perhaps a handful of Controllers here, lending support with tactics and cannon.

In the dim light of the machinery, a throne can be seen at the far end of the room, with a shadowy figure seated upon it. Tubes run from the throne down to the bottom, the basins beneath kept very clean and tidy compared to the dust of the rest of the facility.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
"AUGH!"

The protest isn't loud so much as it is emphatic. Flint had only just gotten off the back of the wolf woman before she shook herself up and covered him in a nice layer of dog water. The Pirate Captain is now dripping wet (except for the hat, eternally protected). He looks very unhappy at this current situation as he wrings out the long, blonde hair of his that perpetually flows around him.

He looks utterly defeated while following after the group and frowning the entire time. This frown only grows deeper as metal slugs come flying in at him and there's a loud crackling and popping as they tear up against the energy shield he seems to have perpetually up at convenient times.

He takes the rifle off his back and then pulls the trigger. There's a crack and a sizzle and an acrid, almost acidic smell. He lets out a swear and then throws the rifle down the tunnel. It skids across the ground before the sea-soaked laser rifle promptly erupts in a corona of energy, taking out a cluster of Mariage drones.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr watches the fake Nanoha, and then as the shots ring out and the Mariage reveal themselves, she tenses and blasts forwards. "Dee, Striker Two. Booster One!" she calls. Two of the orbiting 'Bits' clamp onto the counterweight side of her axe, while the third hovers over her back, between the wings of her flight spell. She doesn't seems to mind the water trailing off her Barrier jacket, as she surges into the open room, trailing purple light as she zips this way and that, acting more like a high speed magical pinball than anything really damaging... she /does/ slash and shoot magic bolts at Controllers and Drones as she passes, taking grazing hits from the slug-throwers, raising welts and drawing a little blood through her defenses.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko takes the time given before the ambush to get properly kitted out, which in this case just means adding a heavy shield to her left side. For related reasons, she keeps to the front and left of the group, once things start to widen out and give more space for their formation. She's focusing ahead, now, waiting for the inevitable ambush.

    When it does spring, she lets out a curt, "Down," more as a reminder than an order, the necessity varying from one present elite to another. As she'd planned, she keeps her shield in front of her and Caro, providing cover, and not yet charging ahead. She might not charge at all, depending on how this goes down. Her sword is held low and to the side, ready to come up in a quick, hip-to-shoulder slash should anything carelessly approach. Her tension is hard to spot, and she's a good chance of moving far more quickly than expected, at least in that first strike.

    Should more than one strike be required, she'll be ready for that, as well, but only against what approaches.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    The false Nanoha was a clever idea; the best thing you can do with a trap is spring it preemptively, on your own terms, and it looks like that's been accomplished beautifully. Satsuki's lips curl into a faint smile, and in the blink of an eye, she's leaned forward and taken off at a run to launch herself into the fray.

    Even without the benefit of her Kamui's activated state, the heir to the REVOCS empire is an uncanny swordswoman, skilled and gifted enough to overmatch one- and even two-star Goku Uniforms on her own. An army of commoners that stands before her will fall, and fall the Mariage do. Any drone that comes within her reach is subject to an immediate strike from Bakuzan, with quick-draw techniques that ensure she can have the weapon cutting through any space near her in the blink of an eye.

    It's almost like watching a walking blender, in a way.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro will re-combat size Friedrich once the place gets to a point where he'll fit. It's not an insignificant amount of power to do so, so she'll try to avoid too much... But this does feel like a mission on which to cut loose.

    For the moment, though, the summoner is going to focus on defense for the group; Fried will fly forward to help with cutting down the Mariage, but Caro herself concentrates on shielding those with her, working with Kimiko in particular, but knowing that her offensive abilities are outclassed by many in the group.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    The rule of wet dogs is always: Wet dogs shake.

    The corrollary to this rule is: Wet dogs will always shake next to you.

    Arf lolls her tongue out at Caro and Flint. "Oops."

    On the upshoot of this, she's completely dry now, at least.

    Even though it's a fake, replicated by Vesta's spell work, Fate can't help but flinch visibly when the copy Nanoha is torn apart by a hail of fire. It's not a pleasant sight- especially for her. But there's little time to ruminate on it, and knowing that the real Nanoha is fine, allows Fate to slide into the action with little hesitation.

    [SCYTHE FORM.] Bardiche announces with a SNAKT-CLICK of locking his axe-shaped head into backwards position, a blade of gleaming golden light hiss-crackling to life. She reels the black axe-device back. And wordlessly HEAVES a mighty swing, hard enough to cut the air with an audible WHFF as Bardiche calls again: [ARC SABER.]

    The scythe blade is flung, a whirling golden boomerang sent in a curving arc like a buzz saw of crescent light to gut anything in its path. Arf is already leaping into the fray with a snarl of flashing teeth and claws.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Well, that was a good idea after all. And now there's Mariage everywhere! "Vesta! Just like before!" Nanoha calls out. She's already streaking through the air and up, weaving back and forth so she can more easily block any incoming shots. One still wings her shoulder, but she is too into the battle to pay attention to the minor wound right now.

"Right here!" Vesta calls out, leaping up to defend Nanoha and block a shot with a shimmering barrier of power. Then she whips around in front, holding out her hands.

<DIVINE SHOOTER PHANTOM SHIFT.>

An explosion of pink light fills the room, dazzling in its brightness, and /dozens/ of shooting particles zip down from the blast of light. They even hit her allies! All of the ones hitting her allies will reveal to said allies that the bulk of the attack is illusory, allowing her to guide the few actual shots as best she can into blasting any Mariage threatening their flanks.

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Oh, is this...hmm. Ah well, all of you will take care of them, I suppose, so it doesn't really matter!" Samael had appeared somewhere inbetween all the shards of metal and lasers flying around and was busy examining the controllers and their drones. She would take a second to examine one particular item before simply disappearing and looking at another.

    Eventually, she would appear at Flint's side, stretching and yawning. "Isn't throwing away your weapon and making it go boom supposed to be a desperating tactic, not a way to open a fight?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    All Shirou can do is follow along with the others and hope he can offer some extra firepower or a rescue if things go bad. He's under no illusions that he can possibly keep up with most of these people. They're all... pretty crazy, by any standards he was taught.

    Their opponents, on the other hand...

    "WHY are they firing normal bullets if they're magic?!" He complains, panicking as he rushes down a hallway and tumbles behind an old machine for some cover. Instead of Bakuya he projects Ornstein's Dragonslayer Spear, an ornate golden weapon that's bigger than Shirou himself. He takes him periodically peeking out of cover and fires off a lightning bolt from it towards a distant Mariage... but the aim's not too good in this situation!

Material-D (597) has posed:
    Yami is unfortunately in a bad situation. She's mostly thinking about what the Wolkenritter said, and the fact that Samael is NO HELP AT ALL. Which means she's left with... hm.

    <CALM WIND.> Ysernia Kreuz chimes out that name, and a flowing sweep of mystical air swirls through the chamber, healing wounds as they are given. Better than blowing up the entire place, right?

    She answers Shirou, "Mass-based weapons are effective, and were one way to fight the Belkan Empire."

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Seikou shimmers as her Barrier Jacket alters to something lighter and sleeker. It's still clearly based on Nanoha's, but different in structure. Twirling her Device, she enters into combat with an explosion of magic and flame, lashing out left and right. Seems she's decided to fly up and enter into close combat, disintegrating a Drone here and there, and clearing the way for her allies to get to the Controllers.

    She could just blast them, but she's actually trying to restrain herself, since they still need the source of magic here.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint looks to Samael and gives her a heavy shrug, "'unno, the saltwater overloaded the battery. Not much else I can do with it. Felt better than having it blow up in my face and losing m' good hat." He points out to the Pure, giving her a dashing smile.

"Hope you're not too bored."

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Yeah that didn't last long.

The Mariage go right for the Materials and the Wolkenritter, anyway, so it's easy to predict their movements. Signum lashes out, and Vita blasts one with a steel ball she summons.

They're given a lot of breathing room when the rifle explodes, and this makes several scatter... some literally. Zephyr then buffets the enemy and causes a commotion, the Drones losing the cohesion of a unit that the Controllers give them. This makes them easy pickings for Satsuki's blade and Kimiko's sword, slashing them down before they can truly bring their sword arms to bear. With Kimiko's tanking and Caro's support, it's difficult for the Mariage to actually do anything in their current numbers. It's too soon after their last battle where they lost numerous Drones, they haven't had a chance to repopulate.

So with Fate, Seikou, and Nanoha getting outright aggressive... the Mariage are collapsing into that flaming black goo pretty quickly.

Shirou's blast has an interesting effect, though. He does hit, and those paying attention will see that it sure does a number on the Mariage, blowing off an arm. The more interesting bit is how it ricochets, the lightning crackling over some machinery... causing a rush of visible power to course upward, along the tubing.

The figure in the throne stirs, visible now as the last of the Mariage are dying. It's a girl, in her early teens at the eldest, with tumbling red hair. She looks barely conscious, vaguely fluttering eyelids and looking over the group... then slumping back and shuddering as the tubing all around her spits out a glowing sphere into one of the basins, then a second, third and fourth. They're about the size of a marble.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko makes quick work of anything that comes well into her range, as that is simply how she operates. It's more difficult if she's forced to move much to get in there, as her battle mobility isn't the greatest, but once it's clear what priorities the Mariage have, she just needs to plant herself in the way, and use precise, cleaving strikes that put their momentum against them.

    She is also, by nature, thorough. This is helped greatly by the fact that Mariage combust when slain, making certain that each is down. Still, she takes her time, to be sure there's nothing hiding in cover even after the fighting has quieted.

    After that, three points have her attention. First, Samael is back. Second, the girl on the throne doesn't seem all there. Third, Shirou activated something, somehow--possibly. "Lightning weapon?" She hazards a guess in his direction, not certain what the light from his spear actually was. She's never seen Ornstein, so doesn't have that to go on.

    She'll leave interacting with the queen to others. For her part, she returns to a defensive stance and position as soon as the fight is finished.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro has exactly the right instincts about how to approach this! Well, maybe not the right instincts, but she's going to act anyway. Once the Mariage are cleared out, the summoner will approach the figure on the throne, a little uncertainly but intending to interact regardless.

    "Miss? Are you alright?" She asks, giving the basins a glance. It's possible this woman is a prisoner of some kind, after all, or at least unwitting in her involvement. The easiest way that Caro knows to find out is to go up and ask.

    She's trying to figure out just what all the tubing is doing, too, naturally. That's less important then finding out if this girl is coherent or not.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha lands, breathing heavily and tightening her Barrier Jacket around her injured shoulder. It's a shallow wound, but now that she's not fighting she is starting to feel it. Vesta is looking over it already, the catgirl's tail swishing in agitation.

But Nanoha's thoughts are somewhere else. "Are... is that...?" The production of those little marbles isn't missed by the young mage, and she frowns. "She doesn't look like much of a Queen. She looks in pain. Why can't things be simple for once...?"

Caro is already talking to her, so Nanoha just stays nearby, in case she turns hostile.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    With the cluster of Mariage toppled for the time being, Bardiche vents a small hiss of steam, scythe mode turning off and snap-locking his head back into axe position with a wordless ping.

    "Eeeeeh..?" Arf looks confused.

    As does Fate, but she's much less vocal about it, when the figure on the throne comes into view. She does not approach. Caro can do that.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
"No one should be trapped like that," Flint says sadly, looking up at the girl. He wants to help her, but he also knows he has no power TO help her. He scowls a bit and then looks through his coat, trying to find a weapon he can use. Eventually he manages to come up with a blaster that's not soaked through and salty.

He lifts it up and turns it on with a humming noise, gripping the pistol on his hands, "Can you help her? I will provide cover?"

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Luciferion hisses steam, a spent cartridge popping onto the floor. Seikou looks up at the Queen... then to the things produced. After some thought, she steps forward and collapses her Device down to the sapphire gem mode, several screens of holographic nature popping up about her. She begins to scan, to get a good idea of what is going on here.

    "It appears that those things are concentrations of magical energy," she states. "These must be the cores that create more Mariage. I... believe she may be producing them automatically once a certain threshold of energy is reached within her body, but she has yet to come out of full hibernation."

    She pauses to let the implications sink in.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    And so the ants fall, leaving their queen uncovered...

    And a scowl crosses Satsuki's face. That's not a queen - that's the core of a system, and no more. A queen has a say. A queen has authority. That girl has none of the above. She can only sit, and be drained, and feed the Mariage war machine.

    "Then we sever her from this system. That will solve the Mariage problem. Of course, we will have to be ready for the possibility that she is here willingly, and turns on us. Or a concentrated attack from the Mariage to retain their 'queen'. Or, I don't know, perhaps her body overloads after so long being kept at minimal levels. I don't truly understand the magic of your world. Just be ready for anything."

Material-D (597) has posed:
    Yami eyes the cores, and she steps away. "Wolkenritter. There is your magical energy. Please wait until we are outside to absorb it, as you will likely trigger the final stages, and this would be a bad place to do such." She glances at Ixpellia. "Besides... We believe the others wish to deal with this matter first."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou's lightning lance self-destructs fantastically after a few shots, crumbling into metal fragments that erode into particles of mana. But he's glad that at least seemed to help...

    And now that they've fought their way to the queen.. he...scowls at the entire thing he sees.

    "What's a girl doing strapped up to a machine like this?! ... Is she being controlled by this system...?!" Yeah. It's not in him to even remotely expect anyone with a face like that might be doing this knowingly and purposefully... it's gotta be outta their control.

Samael (455) has posed:
"Oh, I've seen things like these! But...not quite exactly like these. But, this is your decision to make, I think! Though I'm fairly sure things won't be predictable either way. I'm not here to do anything, after all."

    At Flint's words, the girl flashed her smile at him. "Oh? Nobody? That's a rather wide and blanketing statement to make. You're only saying that because it's a young girl. What if it was..."

    Samael raised a finger, and started to sketch in the air. Bright red neon trailed behind her finger as she quickly worked, and as it were, it seemed that the girl could actually draw pretty well.

    "A murderer. A dictator. Someone responsible for the genocide of millions."

    A figure of a man, hooked up just like the 'Queen' was, appeared in the air as the girl drew, and maybe, just /maybe/, if you looked at it weird, what was visible of the man's features may have looked like a certain doctor.

    But as soon as the red neon picture was finished, it vanished, followed by Samael shrugging.

    "Or it could just be a fat ugly man. Either way! It's your decision to make, as regards as to what to do. But it seems you have a lot of heroes around you, anyway." she said, suddenly looking very pointedly at Shirou.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The debate going around them isn't really important to the Wolkenritter... even if Shamal is looking over the girl as well, showing a hint of that concern she has for others when she isn't in the middle of a life or death mission for her Master. Signum and Vita collect the cores, but do heed Yami's advice and don't immediately absorb them.

As for the girl? She responds to Caro, though it's clearly an effort for her to open her eyes and focus on the short TSAB mage. She whispers, barely audible, "Sleep... I can't... stop..." Then she closes her eyes again. She's not really 'asleep' as she is, but neither is she fully awake.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Caro pauses a moment at that. "I think we should pull her out of this." She decides, after a moment, glancing over towards those members of the group who are not approximately four feet tall and thus unsuited for picking up the girl.

    Not Flint.

    Finally, she'll gesture towards Shirou, figuring he can probably help and also isn't likely to suck the magic out of her or any other such thing. "Can you help, please?" She asks, though he may have concluded that on his own

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko walks forward when Caro does, continuing her role as, in essence, a bodyguard. Even if there's nothing hostile in the area, that doesn't change. As for words exchanged, she has little to add, as ever, though she does question how the pieces here fit together. What happens when they take it apart? That's the burning question.

    She has no way of knowing, and sees no better recourse. With a glance around to the others, she steps forward and--though she doesn't touch the girl, if she doesn't need to--she checks for anything that might be physically locking her into the chair. She'll unhook or, if that's not possible, crush anything impeding.

    For actually carrying the girl out, she leaves that to another volunteer.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha certainly can't carry anyone! She's going to hang back, though she does nod to Vesta, who flies on ahead to make sure no lingering Mariage have blocked off the way out.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr's loitering near the ceiling, but as it seems the fight is pretty much over and done with, she floats lower, and starts heading back out the way the group came in, joining Vesta in ensuring the exit is secured. The Bits disengage and resume their lazy orbiting around her.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou was about to rush in and disconnect the girl forcefully if nobody else did... but hey, they are. so instead he stands by. He'll carry her unless someone else pushes for the position! Someone's gotta get her out of there, after all... the situation's a mental handful of course! He's really not in a position like that very often...

    "Let's get out of here... THEN blow it up." Maybe. He remembers everyone was yelling about that. "... Unless... you don't think anyone else is stuck down here, do you?"

Material-D (597) has posed:
    "Tempting as it is, We believe that Little Dragon's TSAB should seal the place." Yami points at Caro when she says that. "That is their job, and they seem more competent at it than this world's TSAB, and not so malicious as Our world's TSAB. It would be the best alternative to ensure nothing else is released."

    Yami herself is already walking toward the exit. "There is still one task that we must all participate in. We hope that you are all prepared for what comes next. We cannot even say for certain what will happen."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
"Then he should be dead, not this."

Flint looks to Samael seriously, sighing a bit as she draws a picture in the air, "Maybe it's because it's a girl, I 'unno," He admits to her, shrugging, "I've been helping a lot of these lasses lately and maybe a soft spot's growin' in me. Who knows?"

He looks around as the others are starting to unhook and treat the girl. He'll focus himself mostly on talking to Samael while the others do that, "If it was a murderer or a dictator, I'd shoot em and call it done. But it's not and it's different. Why'd you save that little girl you did, Sam?"

Shirou can carry her and he'll follow the others when they start evacuating, but most of his attention is on his conversation with Samael for the immediate moment.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Disconnecting Ix from the machine is certainly possible. She stirs a little now that she's under control of her own body, but it's just enough to weakly grab hold of Shirou and then slump into something like a normal sleep. Maybe she'll wake up and can explain more later! We'll have to see about that.

No Mariage remain in the tunnels, though the tube of ice has started to creak and melt a little bit. Probably best to reseal the place for now and get out of there. The Wolkenritter certainly think so. Shamal is the only one who is lingering. "I think that she does what she does automatically. The machine was just to feed her mana at a faster than natural rate. I don't know if she'll naturally recover like this, we'll have to look once we're out."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko has little reason to stay down here. If anyone else /is/ trapped down here--she's reasonably certain that being unable to detect them means they're dead. A small part of her wants to look anyway, now that someone's brought up the subject, but a Puella Magi doesn't last as long as she has without tempering idealism, and understanding risks.

    That small part of her turns to self-loathing, like it always does. How dare she not jump at the smallest chances.

    Focusing on her job makes things easier. Just because they've sprung one ambush and unhooked the core of the facility doesn't mean they're home free. She'll be ready.

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Why wouldn't I? I did it because I wanted to. There are plenty of people who're in her situation and die anyway, you know. She just lucked out and was grateful that I was around! I wanted to see what would happen, and if I didn't, well...you'd be a little bit more heartless now, wouldn't you?" Samael said, before grinning and starting to stroll out.

    "Ah, it's always fun to be around and watch people like this."

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro glances over towards Yami, a bit surprised by both the name and the suggestion. Still, she can hardly turn it down. "..We can do that. I can get some help for it." She's got sealing, of course, but she'd really rather have others help with it and sealing and unsealing Friedrich so much is already starting to take a toil without even getting into what they were doing next.

    Which wasn't really a great idea, from what Caro knew about it, but she's not really certain how to bring that up. She'll give it a go, though, speaking with Shamal on their way out. "Are you certain about doing this? It's a very risky thing."

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Shamal just looks at Caro quietly. "If we do not, then you know what will happen to our Master, don't you? Any chance, even a small one, to save her... I will risk it. We all will." Signum doesn't even deign that with an answer, either.

It's Vita who speaks more bluntly, "Every day we wait is another day she could die. We've waited too long anyway chasing this little idea when we could have filled the Book by now."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint has less context for what's going to happen when they fill the book than most people here. He knows there's a defense program and he knows that everyone is highly worried about it. He also knows that he's begun relying more and more on his Pure for situations like that. He already forced a Shift once and that was a frightening experience.

A sidelong look is given to Samael as his memory flits to this moment and he follows the group out, "You enjoy tormentin' me too much, lass. You're a wicked woman."

He repeats it with a sigh, and his tone isn't hostile so much as if just accepting it as a fact about one of his associates, "A wicked, wicked woman."

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Topside and back at shore, the Wolkenritter are wasting no time. The Knights are in a circle - well, square really - and have the Cores gathered. The book's simalcrum is already out, pages flipping, and starting to absorb the tingling power of the magic stored within the surviving Cores. There's a lot there, and the pages are filling up rapidly... but is it enough?

Signum glances at the rest of the group arriving. "If this does work, you all have our gratitude. We had expected more resistance, like all the times before. But then, we had also expected a Master who used us as weapons, and only cared for gathering power. If we should somehow fail in this, please help her. She is a kind girl, and she did not even want us to collect energy... even if it meant her death."

Whatever thoughts she has on that matter... don't really get much more elaboration, because the book suddenly slams shut and a deep, stoic voice begins to speak. <THRESHOLD REACHED. ACCUMULATION COMPLETE. DISMISSING GUARDIANT PROGRAMS. NACHTWAL ONLINE. RECALLING CATALYST.>

The speech ends with the eruption of dark, snakelike tendrils around the book, growing and pulsating grotesquely in the fading light of the sunset. They twist and writhe about, completely covering the book. All four Wolkenritter step back in shock, but even as they reach for their Devices, they fade and dematerialize from feet to head, rapidly disintegrating and being drawn into the mass of tendrils.

A shining circle appears below the floating mass, and with a loud THUMP the limp form of Hayate is dumped onto the ground, confused and panting for breath. "What...?" Naturally she's utterly lost on the situation, but she doesn't have more than a breath to speak before she starts SCREAMING loudly, head thrown back as her body begins to be covered in red lines like Magic Circuits, and the childlike frame growing swiftly, maturing years in heartbeats, black wings sprouting from her back.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr blinks at the Wolkenritter. She opens her mouth to say something, then all hell breaks loose. "C'trath... Ready your weapons! This is gonna get rough." she says, gripping her Device a little more tightly. "Lets hope Caro's override is enough... Dee, lets get ready to use 'It'... keep it on standby three for immediate deployment."

    The Device chimes affirmation, and tension seems to wash over both Device and User as Zephyr watches Hayate's transformation.

Material-D (597) has posed:
    It's... okay, Yami wasn't QUITE sure what to expect, but she knows a little bit from her own experience of... being where Hayate is right now. Thus she knows a /little/ that can tip the odds. She shouts out as Hayate screams, "LITTLE CROW! Remember! DO NOT FALL ASLEEP! STAY AWAKE! REMEMBER!"

    Whatever that is supposed to mean.

    Yami flits back and also grows reddish lines all around her body. <DEFENSE PROGRAM ACTIVATED.> Whatever she is using is considerably different from what is going on here, because she doesn't have huge snakelike things. Instead, an aura of power envelops her, and numerous magic circles surround her as she begins readying one of her BIG spells.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Satsuki doesn't say a word to Signum; but she does meet the swordswoman's gaze directly, her own calm but stern, a look that offers no judgement in and of itself but promises something in the future - even if that future may not come.

    And so the Book of Darkness awakens. It may seem for a moment as if there is no reaction from Satsuki; as if the outflow of growing power doesn't even register and she is watching nothing but a curious show. But that's only the first glance, the unpracticed eye that misses the sudden tension in her stance, the utter stillness and the tightening of her grip on Bakuzan. It isn't that she's unaffected; she has simply prepared herself for life-or-death battle without letting so much as a change in her expression through.

    A samurai's heart is decided in the space of seven breaths.

    There is no room for hesitation in the face of an opponent that represents threat to your life. So Satsuki's first truly visible response to the emergence of Nachtwal is to reach up to the blue band at her left bicep, and snap in the three catches one after the other.

"LIFE FIBER OVERRIDE!"
"KAMUI JUNKETSU!"

    The spectacle of her Kamui's activation takes but a moment, and Bakuzan's sheath drops to the sand as she brings the weapon up in a steady guard. "If you have a place for my sword to strike, you have only to say the word...!" she calls out to Yami. Is that a trace of a smile on her face?

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro is rapidly getting the feeling that her assumptions that everyone else knew why the Book of Darkness getting completed was bad were incorrect, judging by the shock many of the others seem to display. Including the knights. She probably should have tried to go over this with them in detail.

    Not that there was no chance of this getting resolved happily, but Caro wouldn't have chosen to risk it. "I don't have a way to teleport directly to medical here quickly." She points out to the people requesting she move Ix rapidly. Still, she can at least try to shield the girl through such a fight - Caro's contributions are largely going to be through the use of her dragons.

    Why yes, that is plural. There is a bit of teleportation magic Caro's going to use, and it's to bring out her own big guns - there's a distinct pulse of power from her as she starts her summoning, and Yami, who had once stolen a shadow of it, would recognize what's coming.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko is--ready, hopefully. Hopefully. She's unaware of the actual capabilities of the defense program. She was unaware it would operate by, as it seems to be, taking over Yagami, for that matter. There's a hell of a lot going on she doesn't fully understand, but the immediate objective, she gets. Defeat the program. Don't kill the girl. It's something that would be easier for people whose technology includes highly effective, 100% nonlethal firepower, honestly. Oh, if only all worlds had such an advantage.

    Enough nervousness. Enough delay. She'll do her job, as always.

    A magic circle spreads beneath her feet. Obviously different from both Belkan or Midchildian, but nevertheless a magic circle, filled with a concentric rings of flowing script. The shield on her arm changes form, but subtly, shifting in precise purpose. Her sword changes far more, becoming entirely unrecognisable for a brief moment, before it becomes clear that what she's holding is not a sword, but a lance. She lacks a mount, but with her shoulder set, she nevertheless raises the point above Hayate's position, as if ready to begin her charge.

    All is held in tense readiness. She cannot even look to the side to see what else is happening.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    <DESTROY HEAD,> Luciferion chimes as the Book summons Hayate. She looks unsurprised, but the fact that she swapped to THAT form right away indicates how serious she considers the situation. She's already blasting into the sky, leaving contrails of orange sparkles. Her staff whips down, the spearlike head aimed right at the changing Hayate. A shimmering orange circle appears on the tip.

    <LOAD CARTRIDGE.> *ka-CHUNKCHUNKCHUNK* That was three.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Needless to say, the journey to find the origin of the Mariage hit Fate with several surprises. Walking out of the very place where the zombie-dolls seem to spawn with their very 'dark queen' was not something that she had considered on the list of plans. So the blonde is rather silent, ruminating on just about everything by the time the Wolkenritter prepare to absorb the cores but...

    Did something just go very wrong? It would seem that way when -Hayate- of all people is suddenly called by the book, dispelling the guardian knights.

    "Uhhhh... Is that... Supposed to happen?" Arf is the one to voice what they're both thinking. But Fate's already sliding into a position at Nanoha's side, grimacing as Hayate begins to scream, gripping Bardiche at the ready.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
"Hayate!"

One of the few times Flint has ever called her by name instead of 'lass' or 'the lass' or 'the girl'.

Flint watches as the girl appears and then begin to transform. The Pure in his chest, sensing a potential threat to the lift of its host, begins to pump through him. It has yet to truly activate its powers yet, but it's reinforcing his body and making him more durable as if anticipating a life-threatening attack.

Flint, though, is simply lost. He doesn't know what to say to her, unlike someone like Material-D. He just kind of feebly says, "I don't... know how to help."

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha is kind of... staring. She swallows, then steps back... before the other activities snap her out of it. "R-Raising Heart! Vesta! Get ready!" She takes to the sky as well, darting on to the opposite side of Seikou, with her own staff held tightly and desperately.

It's Vesta who shows a little more gumption and cracks her knuckles. With a deep breath, she braces for an oncoming attack, and then calls out to Flint, "Captain Hawke, you just need to believe in her, right? Yami wouldn't lead us astray!" Okay Yami might, but Vesta doesn't know that, and chances are she won't /tonight/ anyway.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    With all of the crazy lightshows going on, Shirou rushes Ix over to Caro and sets her down while gazing down sadly at her. Will she be alright?

    Then his attention turns over to the awakening Defense Program as it devours the guardian knights and possesses the owner. Even with his shitty senses, the waves of ominous magic striking him make him nauseous. "Th-that's way too much prana!" And he thought Yami's earlier display was something else.

    Intuiting that since all of these mages love to fly around as if it were NOTHING, he doesn't bother conjuring up a sword. Instead... "trace... On!"

    The boy extends a hand and surges prana and an image through his circuits. The emerald light flares from his palms and fills out into an invisible mold to become... a sleek, black longbow.

    "How will we pull her out of that though?!" He worries. Can they save Hayate? Really? And the knights? All are trapped by an awful fate...

    More power flows out from his OTHER palm, forming into CLARENT, the fallen holy sword. Shirou then mounts the blade as his arrow. Power flows through Clarent, warping its shape into something more streamlined and arrow-like...

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Ah, so helpless. It was why I gave you that, you know! But maybe you need something extra. But I don't think you want that right now, do you? So...I guess it falls to me. Ahh, arn't you lucky? But it seems that your friends...or aquaintances, whatever you wish to call them, have something in mind. Still."

    There's a noticable crackle of radio static, combined with the reddish black spark of electricity as Samael closed her eyes. Her mechanical wings spread to a huge length, easily seven feet a wing as she took to the air, a smile on her face as they grew even further.

    "None of you have anything to worry about. I'm not going to do anything that'll be against your goals. I'll just be around, making sure all of you survive. Though, I might do something else if I see an opportunity o/~"

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Well, everyone is getting ready for battle, and that's good! Because Hayate's change is over in moments, leaving a more curvy, silver-haired woman that doesn't look anything like her in her place. The magic circle fades, but the writhing mass of snakes does not. Instead, it wraps itself around the woman's wrist on her left arm, hardening into a buckler-type bracer that clicks into place with a sound of finality. It intones, <THREATS IDENTIFIED. COUNTERMEASURES INVOKED.>

That can't be good.

The voice murmurs emotionlessly several times.

<SUMMON: LORD BYAKHEE.>

<SUMMON: KRAKEN.>

<PHOTON BULLET.>

<BLACK HOLE.>

Erupting from a shimmering circle in the sky, the massive yet frail and birdlike form of the LORD BYAKHEE mecha swoops down, shrieking with the wind whipping around its form. It's a flying mecha, aiming toward the airborn combatants in a rapid scything. Forty meters long, it's not easy to miss.

From the sea, a fifty-meter form erupts, towering over the battlefield and starting to lumber forth. The exact opposite of Lord Byakhee, it is a titan of metal and magic, slow and powerful.

Numerous powerful little bolts start to blast the area, showering the region with the Photon Bullet spell that she stole from Fate, learned from Precia herself. And above her outstretched hand, a powerful tug begins to form, as a miniature black sphere begins to form... and grow.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    <LIMITER RELEASE CONFIRMED! AWAITING YOUR ORDER MASTER!> chimes Divine Wind, as lightning bullets begin raining down on the area around the Mage and her allies. "Alright, we're gonna need everything we've got. DRIVE MAX!"

    As the Mage dodges, bolts slamming into shields and shattering them to drive home into her Barrier Jacket, the Defensive Garment changes form. Heavier plates form over her body, the entire thing becoming akin to an armoured knight's raiment. The three Bits already orbiting her are joined by another pair, totalling up five. DRIVE MAX. MISTRAL TEMPEST EMPOWER MODE. BARRIER JACKET SET TO TEMPEST MODE!>

    "Alright, lets do this!" she turns and punches a Photon Bullet out of the air with her armoured gauntlet, before firing a series of pulses back with her open hand, aiming at the Byakhee mech. <TEMPEST SHOOTER STORM SHIFT!>

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    When the transformation is complete, Kimiko activates the circle beneath her feet. She heeds nothing but what is in front of her. Kraken is too slow to reach her, and Byakhee will have scant time to intercede, as she throws her full power into a single motion. Photon Bullets do intersect her path, and she has no way to avoid them--she is struck, both against her shield and against the armor that's suddenly covering her, from crown to toe. The metal warps and cracks under sudden stress before bursting, and there's a stream of blood flowing from the head wound that also robbed her of her helmet.

    It doesn't matter. She will not be slowed. As her circle bursts into a heatless flame, it converts fully into motion, launching her forward with as much velocity as she can muster. With this, she's a knight that needs no horse, her lance held firmly on her target point.

    She's guessing, now, how much force is appropriate for her to use. She's guessing 'all of it.' If she's wrong, she may deeply regret this action. But this is a risk she feels she must take, for the sake of everyone here.

    Her charge should take her lance and place it, if nothing blocks her, through Hayate's(?) raised arm. She hopes this will get the summons' attention, as well, but that's secondary.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
"Yer right, it's an evil power, but I can still use it to protect her. Fine, Samael," Flint says, bolstered in confidence by Material-D and given some new life. He starts to peel off his jacket, "That's Captain Black Hawke." He corrects to Yami almost off-handedly. The Captain is much more important than the first name to him.

He drops the wet jacket on the ground and begins unbuttoning his shirt. It's actually a pretty mundane sight at the moment. He's toned, if pretty lanky, and covered in scars and old wounds that have healed. In the center of his chest, though, is a massive scar that runs from neck to gut. Flint rolls his neck and then puts his hat on right, fixing it.

THA-THUMP...
THA-THUMP...
THA-THUMP

The Pure activates. More than normal, because Flint is directly calling upon it and multiple high-level threats have appeared. Deep in his chest, the black heart beats and releases its power eagerly. A taint to his blood that flows to every part of his body in an instant, seeping into his muscles and bones.

Feet dig into the sand as a lanky man becomes a ripped man. And a ripped man becomes a man who is yoked follower of Brodin.

    'Listen well, my Children. For I am the whey, the truth and the lift. No one comes to the gains but through me.'
    ~Swole Jesus

Seriously, though, Flint has probably gained about 60 pounds of muscle in a few seconds, most of it tainted with black streaks where his veins would be.

He takes a deep breath and then charges straight in towards Kraken with an earth-shattering haymaker of insane power.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro's invocation finishes as Ix is set down in front of her, even though she can't really teleport the other girl away in a timely manner. Instead, she'll finish up, and her own giant monster will rise up behind her, Caro very politely directing Voltaire in the direction of the Kraken.

    He'll start forward, moving to try to meet the Kraken, ready to contest slow strength against slow strength. Caro will meanwhile drag Ix onto Friedrich with her; the small summoner won't be able to take too much in the way of action on her own while maintaining control over both summons. Given that losing control over Voltaire would be Very Very Bad right now, she's going to just hold on, direct Friedrich to try to keep a safe distance, and maintain Voltaire during what may be a slugfest.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
<ROUND SHIELD> Raising Heart chimes as Nanoha hurls her hand before her, trying to dodge the photon bullets. This... doesn't work out too well, and one of them slams HARD into her thigh, raising a cry of pain and sending her tumbling end over end. She's high enough that she won't hit the ground, but it clearly did some damage to her, and that means she's swaying a little in the air as she rockets toward Yami, staying barely ahead of the Lord Byakhee. This is not her forte! But she's trying, and spewing a few accel shooters after her, trying to pepper it with blasts to keep it on her tail.

Samael (455) has posed:
    Samael made her way through the air, swooping as she went. Her wings molted little mechanical feathers, leaving a trail of them as she flew. In less than a few seconds, the feathers quickly expanded into shields which sought out the photon bullets, blocking them. Eventually, they would be worn down, but wherever Samael went, she left behind her shields. See, she could be helpful as well!

    Eventually, she managed to get in front of the girl charging the rather large hole, and she quickly dodged to the side as Kimiko charged in with her lance, putting a fingertip to her lips.

    "That's not very nice now, is it? But, you know, maybe it'll work!" she exclaimed, before giving her target her full attention.

    "Now. What /are/ you? I've seen something like you, but..." The smile turned a little bit sadistic as a couple of molted feathers suddenly extended into long and sharp blades, floating on either side of Samael.

    "I guess I'll join in the violence as well." With a snap of her fingers, the blades quickly launched themselves into NotHayate's sides, but Samael mostly watched with a curious look, to see if that particular attack would even work at all.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Ordinarily Satsuki is a bastion of impossible precision and impeccable skill. A swordwoman so gifted that she can deal with even superpowered threats handily. The Kamui adds the one thing she as a fighter truly lacks: Power. Sheer, overwhelming power. It is a transformation that accelerates everything about her to impossible, superhuman heights. Strength, speed, reaction times, senses. It makes her a one-woman army in and of herself.

    That is why, once the enemy rises up into the air, she doesn't hesitate to follow. Nachtwal needs to be kept busy. Fate needs to get close. So, there is only one possible course: Straight in. Up Satsuki goes, leaping with force that kicks up a plume of sand, hurling herself into the mass of attacks and tendrils and the gravity of a black hole at full speed... if anything, using the tug of gravity to ease her attack on the silver-haired woman. "HAAAAAA!"

    And with the might of the Kamui backing her, the air pressure alone from Bakuzan can rend steel. Anything that moves, anything that isn't one of her allies, is subject to an attack from the Queen of Honnouji - and range won't save whatever it is.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
VESTA meanwhile will dart about, providing Barriers as best she can for those who need them. This is a poor decision, because in another moment she YOWLS loudly, blasted by a photon bullet. This bowls her over, skidding to a halt on the ground and shaking her head dazedly.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Seikou is streaking through the air, her shield absorbing the Photon Bullets. It cracks and shatters eventually, but she at least avoids taking any damage from them. It has put her on the defensive though, keeping her from joining in the chase. The only thing she can do, then, is take what opening she <span style="color:an.

    corange"><BLAST FIRE EXTENDED,></span> Luciferion pings, sending a roiling blast of flame toward the Lord Byakhee. Maybe that will get its attention. She immediately turns to flee toward Yami... only to find her progress distressingly slow. Particles of magic light are streaming behind her, and she's losing altitude. Looks like she got a little too close to the Black Hole spell.

    "Mn. This could be a problem," she admits.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    [SIR!]

    For a moment, Fate was caught up in watching the transformation take place, too lost in the sight of Hayate replaced by the black winged woman before realizing. It's all started.

    It's almost at the last second that she jinks aside, inhuman speed carrying her just a step aside, in time to miss...

    "M... My spell."

    She literally only gets a second to ruminate on this as Lord Byakhee and Kraken arise, and she's caught up in swerving and just barely dodging the hail of spell bolts flung around, cape tattering as she relies on her speed instead of trying to shield. By the time she's done, her cloak is perforated horribly. A frightening display of what would have happened to anyone slower.

    But she ditches it, ignoring the myriad of scrapes, burns, and welts from where various Bullet shots got a little too close.

    Arf is somewhere on the ground flailing and trying to keep up, before she scruffs Vesta to help the other Vamiliar back on her feet.

    "... Bardiche. I need to be faster."

    [YES SIR.]

    As ever the faithful and stoic device complies, revolver cylinder spinning with a triple CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK of loading <span style="color:artridges.

    c#ffec8b">[SONIC FORM.]</span>

    In an instant her Barrier Jacket strips down, streamlining and ditching layers of armoring vanishing in a flare of golden light that leaves her in a black bodysuit and metal gauntlets. Immediately she's a blaze of motion, behind Satsuki in nearly an instant and following the Queen of Honnouji down the path she seeks to open for her.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Feeling the surge of power welling up, Shirou has the breath stolen from him when the Book of Darkness manages FOUR great magics simultaneously. Two summoning of huge monsters, a massive energy spell and... oh what the heck is that.

    "The heck is this?! That's got to be cheating!" He barks out frustratedly. He ends up leaping back at high speed, dodging a good number of the shotgunned photon blasts... and taking a few grazes to the side when he wasn't fast enough. But it doesn't stop him from taking aim.

    Right at the Kraken. With the holy sword.

    The weapon gleams brilliantly - the blessed metal glows brightly enought to shift white! "Gggggghhhhargh...!!" Although the cost of channeling so much prana into it takes a toll. Pain wracks Shirou's body, but he doesn't lose focus. The prana-pumped Noble Phantasm's launched right for the Kraken with enough force to carve a trench in its wake, zip across the sea and--

    Well, chances are there's no way the Kraken can DODGE that.

    When it goes off though...

    KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

    Did someone just call in an AIRSTRIKE?! Because swords should not be exploding like that. It MUST be a missile.

    Yes. The sword-missile explodes catastrophically, erupting into a multicolored flare of pure magical energywith enough force to possibly break through a whole skyscraper were it aimed at one. Or possibly bust open a hardened bunker.

Material-D (597) has posed:
    With the Defense Program of her own online, Yami is MUCH tougher, and is able to weather the Photon Bullets. They hammer into her shields, but still manage to crack them, and her fingers flinch and twist in an unnatural way. If she could bleed, she might be bleeding now. For the moment she's okay, though, and that's all that matters. Her wings spread in a splay behind her, a little tiny mimicry of the Nachtwal before her. She's going to feel those blasts in a moment, but as long as she can let loose her spell...

    "Approach from beyond, mistletoe branches, become spears of the silver moon, shoot and pierce! Petrifying spears, Mistilteinn!"

    Spears of purple light lance out toward the Lord Byakhee. That is the fast one, the one that is a danger to air superiority... so she's going to take care of it with petrifying lances, trying to let them loose as soon as Nanoha hopefully leads it over here.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The LORD BYAKHEE mech gets spattered by Zephyr's shots, rocked with surprising power. Zephyr got a bit of a boost from that, didn't she? It also gets slammed HARD by a powerful Blast Fire from Seikou, who is one of the heavy hitters here. This blows a wing clean off, causing a bit of trouble with speed and maneuvering. This lets Nanoha extend the gap a little, and the Byakhee is having trouble dodging her attacks as well. This means it's caught in a crossfire... and the only way to escape is to go toward Yami.

Seven lances of purple light embed within the mech, and it starts to cover itself with stone. No, turning INTO stone. Inertia remains, and it soars right over Yami's head, smashing face-first into the ground and making a furrow that leads into the sea, sinking rapidly like a... well, a rock. It's already starting to shake off the petrification spell, but it was all well-coordinated. Hitting the ground like that has heavily-damaged it, and the skies are likely clear of threat for a while.

Voltaire launches into the air... or rather /grows/ into it as it is summoned. Not really flying, you know? Either way, it's facing the Kraken, which is lumbering forward with intent to PUNCH FACES with Voltaire! Thing is, it'd be a fairly even fight just between the two of them... and it isn't just the Kraken and Voltaire. Flint Hawke SMASHES his fist into the thing's knee, shattering it with a huge explosion of alchemical metal flying everywhere. It staggers the Kraken, even as the wound 'heals' almost as fast, but it also means it can do little to avoid Voltaire's attack or the SWORD MISSILE that explodes a good chunk of its side. It's going to get torn apart, because it's just too slow! It's keeping those three busy, though, isn't it?

Seikou will find the pull getting stronger and stronger... at least at first. The lance from Kimiko meets a powerful barrier, one arm outstretched to form it. With all her power behind it, the lance actually manages to pierce the barrier slightly, thrusting forward to dig in slightly to the shoulder. That's pretty impressive, and a flicker of annoyance crosses the being's face.

Then the Black Hole abruptly cuts off, possibly AFTER yanking Seikou in to crush her a bit. She has to release it to deal with the feathers from the side, because Samael is also powerful, managing to pierce the barrier and open up a few shallow but bleeding cuts in the Defense Program's side. Needless to say, this lets Fate and Satsuki draw much closer.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Even with Junketsu, Satsuki cannot fly. But a casual observer could be forgiven for believing otherwise. Her ability to spring off and run along tendrils, debris, attacking projectiles, anything in her vicinity, is absolutely uncanny, and throughout the process Bakuzan never stops swinging. Anything that might impede Fate, anything between the two of them and the Defense Program, is either another springboard to use or another target to cut through. But of course, she's not content to simply play trailblazer, oh no.

    She's actually aiming to hurl herself right past the Defense Program herself, right by the side Samael hit, in fact - so that she can lash out with Bakuzan and cut into an already-created opening.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr pumps her fist as the flying mech goes down. She doesn't take too long to celebrate though, this is serious. "Booster Three. Blitz Drive!" three of the Bits hover over her back, then spin up with the sound of jet engines, before the Wind Mage blasts forwards like a rocket. She seems to be aiming directly for Seikou to get her clear of the Black Hole and the Defense Program.

    In passing, Zephyr leaves a 'present' should the Defense Program attempt to back away from the advancing forces. It's a glowing globule of raw mana, a 'mine' of sorts. "I'll cover for ya, make it big!" she says to Seikou, grinning as she takes up a defensive position near the Material.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint Hawke, seeing the damage he did to Kraken in his brief strike, backs off and leaves it to the others to handle the overwhelming force. In fact, as he disengages from combat, he seems to shrink noticably, down to a normally buff man instead of a ripped bodybuilder. This is because his immediate danger is less present.

He taps the brim of his hat, "Mister Blade."

A voice on the other end, "Sir!"

"I need the other girl. Chikade Yoshida. Now."

"But sir, how can we get there in time."

"The button."

"R-ROGER!"

Those who remember reclaiming Flint's ship will remember that it has a button on the bridge. Specifically, the 'Find Flint' button. This button, when hit, teleports the ship to a reasonable proximity of wherever Flint is personally.

This time, the result of this function is that the sky is suddenly ship. See in space, most people forget that the thing is a fast cruiser. Speedy, but with a good amount of size and firepower. A raiding vessel. In the sky above a planet, it hangs heavy and fills the air with a massive black profile. It's not TOO low, but it is now in Low Earth Orbit, struggling to keep aloft with boosters.

It will be an easy hop down to the planet on a ship for Chikade now, but that's for the GM to pose.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Incoming ship? Clear the skies? Nanoha is fine with that! She's quite happy with clearing the way, and zips up swiftly to line up her shots. "Shooting mode Raising Heart!" The Device shifts to a long haft with trigger, and her vision is overlaid with that pink glow of a targeting reticle.

She pulls the trigger, sending a concentrated bolt of mana out. Then another. <DIVINE BULLET> It's the same spell as Photon Bullet, with her own twist to it. And she's using it to intercept any photon bullets heading toward the ship that Flint summons.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro's concentration being on a combination of defense and keeping Voltaire under wraps means the Kraken is effectively tying up all of her forces. Which is fine, because they can deal with that and then turn to Hayate herself if need be.

    "Now, Voltaire." Caro murmurs, though noone but Friedrich or maybe Ix is going to actually hear her. They'll see the effects, though, as the giant dragon attempts to grapple with the thing, the laser turret in his chest opening up to unleash a great blast of energy into it at point blank range, if he can keep it steady to prevent it from slipping away. Not that it seems very dodgey, anyways.

    Caro will spare a glance to see if needing to clear the skies includes needing to move where Friedrich is trying to stay out of the way of others; if so, she'll move.

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Ah, I see. You are a magical being of sorts. 'Defence program'..."

    Samael closed her eyes for a second, before shaking her head. "That sort of label...it's misleading, isn't it? It sounds a little..." There was a pause, before Samael shook her head. The smile had faded for a moment before returning with a vengeance. "In any case though, there'll be time later to see what really makes you tick! Or there won't. It can't be helped."

    More feathers seperated from the main wings before launching themselves at the defense program, turning into needles to try and pierce the barrier. Though, it seemed that instead of doing damage, the needles themselves were more aimed to pin the figure and hold her in place in the air for the others to do damage, even as Samael simply stood in front of her, waving her blades to attack with a lazy flick of the wrist.

    It seemed laziness trumped all, even know.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    The results were beyond Shirou's expectations. he's a bit awed at the explosion his own arrow caused. Though, honestly? No TIME to be awed, not with the threats still every which way.

    As soon as he moves his arm though... "haaauuuugh--!" Pain lances straight up it. The boy wobbles and nearly topples forward. he just stays standing by shifting his stance and almost drops the bow. That technique's still way behind his control - using it like that, over and over... one mistake, and he'll wreck his circuits. Then he can't be of any help to anyone.

    "If I can't handle a Broken Phantasm... then..."

    Ignoring the pain, Shirou sends yet more energy coursing through his circuits. Even ones he rarely uses. Anyone looking his way with mage vision might sense him lighting up like a christmas tree!

    Then power flows out from his whole body, wildly crashing around like chain lightning to form into dozens of far less complicated weaponry. Mostly mundane and lightly enchanted swords and spears from his collection. Bakuzan is among them, as is Souji's Murasame and Kirika's Kuniguri!

    With a single gesture he sends the collection of swords rocketing for the distant Kraken, hoping to finish it off while all HELL breaks loose around him.

    "Geeze, how's anyone supposed to match these people..." Mutter. They're scary. They're all AWFULLy scary.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    The black hole is pulling her in, and Seikou flinches as she hears the bottom of her Barrier Jacket tear away, the hem fraying. She's inches away from being pulled in, caught in the unnatural pull, and probably would end up badly hurt... if not for Yami's order and Zephyr's quick action. The lower-class Mage seems to have a power boost in effect, which is quite helpful in knocking her away and sending her flying through the air, only righting herself after she's well out of range of the collapsing spell.

    Empty cartridges finally pop out of her Device, and Seikou ejects the clip. Turning to Zephyr, she reloads her clip and states quietly, "This will get a little rough. Buy me some time. Be ready to clear any of the nonfliers out of the way." Yeah, she's giving orders to the other mage, despite the factional difference. Now isn't the time to be arguing. And if she thinks Zephyr can do it, why not use that ability?

    She calls to Nanoha, "Don't use too much power. We'll need it for the finisher."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko's not going to be able to do that twice. Not quite like that, at least. She doubts she'll have time to leisurely charge up the same type of magic circle to launch her with that velocity.

    Nor will she give the Defense Program any such opening. When she pulls back her lance, it's already reforming, shifting into a more suitable shape for quick, yet heavy strikes. The Puella Magi's own defense will be lacking as a result, her shield broken and discarded, her guard near non-existent but for her armor and the pressure of her offense, but the hammer she pulls back might do Vita proud. With a twist of her hands, the front and back reverse, and it's the armor-piercing pick end of the weapon that she brings down in a two-handed grip against her opponent's barrier.

    She doesn't need to pierce it. She just needs to be dangerous. With each strike, every magically-amplified movement of her arms, pulling back and driving forward far faster than humanly possible, she threatens to again pierce this being's body, however shallowly. So long as she's dangerous enough, it will focus on her. So long as it's focused on her, it will be unable to deal with how very much outnumbered it is.

    Any Photon Bullets that get through others' barriers and again strike against her she fails to even acknowledge, despite her armor having already proven marginally effective.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Fate does not stop. Keeping very close to Satsuki's back as she blazes along. But then. Fate needs to go faster.
    A smooth flip puts her over and in front of Satsuki, boots planted on the high and pointed twin spires of Junketsu's shoulders as she hunkers down, legs coiling into a crouch.

    For a beat she just rides like this before springing forward, bodily launching herself with a force and speed that would strain a lesser person's body, possibly even break bones, lancing forward like a swimmer off the edge of a pool.

    A twist spins her once, Bardiche held forward, her speed is enough that when several of those Photon Bullets hit, they rebound off the haft of her Device, spanging aside. It's not perfect. And it leaves Bardiche cracked. And Fate is forced to grit her teeth and ignore the solid hit that slams her dead on in a shoulder, but she stops for nothing. She stops for no one, until she reaches her destination.

    Practically skidding in the air, she brings herself to a halt before the Defense Program, panting and bloodied.

    "Hayate..."

    ... This was the part she didn't think through. Let along the fact that she doesn't know the girl all that WELL. But Fate attempts reaching out anyway, ready to dart back and evade on a fraction of a second's notice. But... Just what is she supposed to say?

    "... Please."

    Well it worked for Nanoha.

Material-D (597) has posed:
    "Tch..." Another Photon Bullet slams into Yami, and she's starting to lose altitude. Those are taking their toll on the little replica of Yami. But... Shirou is asking how you fight a Book of Darkness. She has the answer. "Just a little longer," she murmurs, lifting her Device. Her own Book starts to flip through its pages rapidly, and then she begins to chant. It's a much longer spell, and it's going to take a while... but she'll need it.

    "Tridents of Poseidon, gather from the sea! Sighs of the silver snow, come from yonder! Skein of surges, gather in the sky!"

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The KRAKEN is moving to fistfight Voltaire, but it's already heavily-damaged. It's made to take punishment, but maintaining a Deus Machina is a toll on even the Book. It's weakened by this, and it'd be taking some heavy damage even if it were the 'real thing' anyway. Thus this one is getitng torn apart... and even worse when the chest laser ripts into it, slagging metal and crisping magic circuits. The giant robot begins to topple backward, finally. The exploding swords are working to shred its damaged armor, tearing it apart and making it land in pieces.

Seikou escapes, and then the rain of photon bullets begins to slow down. This is thanks to the fact that Samael attempted a bind, something that wouldn't hold the woman for long... except that she has other things to work about. Like the pounding she's getting from Kimiko, and the slashing attack from Satsuki that opens up her side. Feathers drift down, and... yeah, the Book of Darkness Defense Program is actually taking damage now. Deeper gashes and piercings, making her stagger a little... but even she isn't going to be overconfident enough to let herself fall into the mana trap.

This leaves a pretty good chance for Fate to beg her, which... might have an effect? It's hard to say. It certainly does when paired with the arrival of Flint's ship. A clear corridor is made by Nanoha blasting down incoming bolts, and thus... well, some people are insane.

Chikade stands at the open hatch, her magic just powerful enough to give her environmental protection with the field around her body. The girl is pink of hair and looks frail and sickly, though now there's some minor color in her cheeks. Her IV is still in one hand, though just the hookup and no tube leading to it. "You sure this is a good idea, lass?" the man behind her says.

The little girl, only about nine or ten, turns and smiles. "Well... no. But I don't really want to say I didn't try. I just hope they're paying attention."

Then she shoves off, and plummets down toward the ground at high speed. It should be noted that Chikade's Mage Rank is pretty low, and she has leukemia. 'Flight' is not even near any of her available powers. She's just trying to get closer to Hayate, and relying on the Wolkenritter to catch her. She doesn't actually know they aren't around...

BUT THAT'S OKAY! Between her friend being in danger, and her other friends earnestly reaching out to her, Hayate must have 'woken up' in there. The injured woman jerks sharply, eyes widening... and then there's an EXPLOSION of power, blasting anyone nearby with a wave of crushing force. When the light fades, Nachtwal is a writhing mass on the ground, taking on a monstrous shape like something out of the Akira movie. You know the one.

And up high, Hayate has wings now, and a Barrier Jacket. She's swooping in to catch Chikade, breathing heavy but looking healthy. Very healthy, in fact... she's moving her legs. "Ah... that was dangerous..." Is she talking to Flint's gamble, Fate's offer, or Chikade's jump? Or all three?

<GUARDIAN KNIGHT PROGRAM ONLINE,> the floating book next to her announces, and the Wolkenritter begin to rematerialize.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    "Right! Looks like we're in the end game. EMPOWER FIVE!" calls Zephyr. The Bits all begin orbiting again, then shift to the head of her axe as she levels it at the writhing mass of flesh and ugly. "I call upon the Great Winds. Ragios, Razgriz, Lethim. Temperent breeze, Howling gale, strike upon this sinful world and unleash the full measure of thy fury. Parijium, Gralith, Horaph. Deliver unto this wretch a Maelstrom."

    The power gathers in the gem at the head of her axe, but just before it releases, there's a heartbeat-sound, and she freezes, wincing in pain. <DRIVE FAULT! TIME LIMIT NEAR ELAPSED!> warns the Device. "Just a little longer... Maelstrom... B-Breaker!" <MAELSTROM BREAKER!>

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Serving as a springboard for Fate and getting in a good hit take all of Satsuki's momentum, and as a result, springing her way to an appreciable distance to wait for another opening without being injured takes some doing. She doesn't get out of it unscathed; the photon bullets have lessened, but one coming in from just the right angle is all it takes to send her tumbling to the sand and sliding. She pushes out of it just in time to see the Wolkenritter begin to rematerialize. The corner of her mouth quirks. They've succeeded, then. All that remains...

    FWOOM.

    An aura of blue-white light erupts around Satsuki, a fountain like the light from a road flare that bathes the sand around her in luminance. She adopts an aggressive stance, Bakuzan held above her shoulders, pointed horizontally, right at Nachtwal. "When the disease has been laid bare, the only thing left...!"

    It's like an explosion going off. Satsuki pushes off the sand with the kind of force that would shatter concrete under her, force that leaves a deep crater in the sand. Every ounce of Junketsu's power is drawn out, an explosive burst that will leave her absolutely paying for it later - but she's consigned to that. Eliminating this monstrosity once and for all, removing the threat against someone's life and granting its power to its rightful owner, will be worth it.

    Besides. She only needs that power for one single strike.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko is right in there when the blast goes off. Her magic reacts for her, renewing the armor across the point of impact--which is her entire body. Still, that shockwave is nothing to mess with. At least it /is/ spread out--her armor works as well as it can to distribute and absorb, though she'd have been in better shape had she time to actually concentrate on defense.

    She's knocked back and well away, letting go of her hammer in the process, which disappears in so many silver sparkles. Her landing point's somewhere on the beach, and it takes her a few moments before she can even stand. When she does, the sight before her--is something she'd rather not have to see, but she could have said that every day in the life she'd left behind. There's no helping it. This is her role and her lot.

    She steps forward, suddenly feeling her injuries, and struggling to merely stagger and not fall. There's far more blood than seems healthy pouring from a shallow cut on her head. More is dripping from her gauntlets. There are internal injuries that will have to be considered later. She'd really, perhaps, made a mistake in going all out like that. But it was necessary, wasn't it? She couldn't risk holding back, with everything at stake.

    There's never a day when there isn't too much at stake.

    Sand. Dirt. Water. Trees. Stone. Nothing she can use to lighten the load. Nothing that her magic will pull up for her. It will all be on her, again, but the price is something she'll think about later, as she heals. There are some small, clear cubes, in a pouch she often carries, that will become useful, soon.

    She's leaning forward, but she straightens herself. She holds her head up. She closes one eye, having no time to wipe off the blood. She stretches out her arm in front of her, and her soul directs her magic, pulling the energy it needs.

    A dozen, a score, a hundred--countless swords, spears, spinning blades, hafted weapons and pole-arms--innumerable weapons resolve into existence at her direction, and with a weak, almost careless motion of her fingers, her will directs them forward. They launch themselves, strike, embed--and release their energy all at once, in explosions of silver flame.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro will allow Voltaire a moment of exaltation and triumph as he stands over the fallen Kraken, driving his foot down at the fallen robot to finish it off. She's busy looking to see where to direct him next, though there's no fight quite as obviously suited for him as that slugfest had been.

    Still, the blast will catch her attention even now, as will the teeming mass of horror on the ground. Voltaire had used the charge on his main chest cannon, but he had others, and he'll turn to launch some of them at Nachtwal; they're relatively small, which is to say they're still orders of magnitude stronger than anything Caro herself could manage on a good day. Hopefully, they'll contribute with the attacks from others to defeat it.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint heaves a massive sigh of relief on the ground that this paid off. The man was glad that anything could be done to help this, and for him to have had a hand in it fills him with pride. But now is not the time for him to feel gratitude, because there is still a threat.

BGM CHANGE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxkBD3kbpUA

He bends over and picks up his coat, throwing it around himself in a flourishing motion so it hangs off his shoulders while he makes his call. When he does, his tone lacks his joviality and is one of the true Captain that is Flint Hawke, seriousness and vigor and confidence, "Wolkenritter. Hayate Yagami. Your Captain commands you." He swipes his hand, "All fire front and center. I want this thing blasted from the face of this universe for good!" He says in a firm tone, giving his first official order he's ever given to them as crew.

Composure, attitude and confidence exude from him once more as he crosses his arms and then brings a hand up to pull down his hat, "Black Sun." He states firmly. The ship merely crackles a response, his crew waiting on his every word. With the mutinous elements gone after last time, it's all loyal men and followers for now.

"This monster threatened our galleywoman, our ship's medic, and our forward attackers," A foot digs into the sand as he raises a hand up above his head, "Now the Space Pirate Code says if any man falls behind to leave them behind, but I say to hell with that. I say anyone threatens our crew, we come at em twice as hard. That means if you ever wind up on the outs, they'll come for you. /I/ will come for you. I say to hell with the Pirate's Code on this one, this is Flint Hawke's Code as a Captain. No one left behind. No one unavenged."

As he says this, nearly every gun on the outside of his massive warship starts to turn in unison. They're sliding around the ship, moving to the underside and into a huge cluster. They're all turning in a single direction and to a single point: Nachtwal. Inside the ship, guns are being loaded. Magazines are being fitted. Energy cells hum as they're being charged. More importantly, the ship fires gravitational anchors straight up into space, serving as a tether point for the massive shock that this maneuver will due to the ship's lower orbit.

Flint lowers his fist and says, "Black Sun. Supernova Protocol."

As soon as his fist lowers, the underside of the ship lights up like a fireworks display. The ship is unloading everything it has down onto that single point. Anti-ship solid projectiles, torpedos, ship to ship lasers, anti-fightercraft lasers, interception shots. If it is a weapon, Flint's crew is firing it all on that single point as Flint crosses his arms and watches with a serious look.

Material-D (597) has posed:
    Like the other big guns, Yami is holding off so that the melee attackers can let loose their attacks. She doesn't mind if they kill it first, because frankly, there's no such thing as overkill for this. There are few things that Yami hates more than being chained... and though she's still chained to her own Book, that doesn't mean she isn't going to help free this one. Besides, there's a chance for more Materials this way, and who better to appreciate her glory than another her?

    The book floating above her chimes, and she smirks as she sees the Defense Program taking form. Now without Photon Bullets to worry about, she can focus on her spell... which is almost complete. She raises her own Device, and when she lowers it the Armed Device announces the spell.

    <HEIMDALL.>

    The ocean water nearby ROARS up, rearing into a giant tsunami, which then lifts even HIGHER. The remnants of Lord Byakhee also inside, that blob of water begins to rain down upon the area... but the moment it's above the Defense Program running rampant, Yami flicks her staff up. Instantly, the entire mass is frozen, an enormous mass of ice forming an upside-down mountain. "Die."

    The mountain drops, thundering down to slam upon the massive Nachtwal, only disintegrating into swirling snowflakes AFTER that immense impact.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    When it's time for the big guns, Seikou knows just what to do. She lowers her Device, pointing it at the creature... and beginning her chant. It's a chant familiar to anyone who saw her fight in the WMAT, or who has fought her a lot before. It's not done OFTEN but these are the times she needs to use it.

    "Gather, star of morning..."

    Shimmering orange circles appear around the Material, ringing her and the tip of her Device. Tiny fragments of ambient magic swirls upward to join her... and with all the power being flung about, there's a LOT of ambient magic in the air. It's all gathering into a tiny orange bead at the tip of her Device. Luciferion's sides blaze with power, flaming wings erupting, either to vent the excess heat or to just look cool.

    "Become the flame that incinerates all! BREAK. SHOOT!"

    <LUCIFERION BREAKER.>

    The pillar of flame roars down with a massive wave, ending in an explosive eruption washing over the thing.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Just as Shirou expects things are about to get a lot worse, they sure seem to. he's blown right over by the magical wave and scrambles to his feet only to see Hayate recover and excise the thing controlling her. Amber eyes momentarily widen in surprise, but he decides what needs to be done.

    "My body is made of swords... a shell of steel with fire for blood." The words echo out, a heavy chant said to himself. Not a spell, but mere self-hypnosis. Yes. he is a forge. He will make what can do what needs to be done.

    Yet the youth's Magic Circuits are hardly up to the task he decides upon. Very little can handle actually demolishing the thing that needs to be - one simple glance sets that matter straight. Even so.

    "Huuuuaaaagh!!" Yelling a wordless battlecry he dashes across the ground, coming in low. Power flares through his arms and out between his cupped palms, sizzling and arcing about with abandon. Some of it scorches his body, some of it scorches the ground... or would, if it could easily damage anything. he focuses as he runs, summoning up the image of the greatest sword he's ever laid eyes upon.

    Yes. He's counted over a dozen marvelous weapons and learned to reproduce something close to them. But they all pale to this one he has in mind.

    Yet even as he runs the boy nearly stumbles from the agony shooting through his mind and body with each step of the image completed.

    As he nears the halfway point his weapon starts forming from the grip upwards. The green light melds into gold where it begins forming into a solid hunk of hope and glory in the form of a grand holy sword. A royal blue grip, upswept and somewhat ornate golden guard. The blade shoots out into full existence as he nears the Defense Program, fairy letters glowing. The white steel fills with some of the purest, dazzling radiance anyone's likely laid eyes upon. A holy light crystallized from humanity's dreams for glory and victory. Brilliant hues of gold, white, and bluish tinges flare like the birth of a star as Shirou finally gets up close and brings it down.

    All the power he can muster, pumped through the holy sword. "EXCALIBUR!!"

    On impact... all of that power's unleashed via a simple slash. Not a blast like the true holy sword would be, but a titanic local slash that can devastate practically anything it strikes. Yet even as it strikes the sword's existence wavers, fractures, and starts eroding... and SHirou's catapulted backward by the sheer FORCE unleashed by the Forever Distant Golden Sword.

    yeah. That wasn't even close to the real thing. A paper mache copy that happened to be able to channel a fragment of the real thing's power.

    But a crappy knockoff of the ultimate holy sword will probably be enough, wont' it now?

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Something big? Nanoha is supposed to do something big? She can think of two things that big. One is Starlight Breaker, but that uses ambient energy and so does Luciferion Breaker. So if she doesn't use it, Seikou's will be stronger, right? So she'll need something-

Oh.

Nanoha begins to sing, and Raising Heart pulses with power. Cartridges begin to load in rapid succession as the melodic voice floats out, singing softly to herself and, at the same time, forming a mystical shimmering circle that seems to form a 'wall' above her, then curl into a 'tube' of some sort. Or perhaps 'barrel' would be a better term. The barrel floods with power as her song reaches the climax, that sweet voice fully carrying over the shoreline. Her Device sprouts wings of pink, shifting into its more advanced Excelion form, the blaszing wings fanning out all around her in a giant starlike beacon. And then Raising Heart announces the spell <span class=" bold_bg_m fg_n ++ ompletion.

chm"><BLAST CALAMITY></span>

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Getting up in the face of the Book of Darkness with a very earnest if somewhat awkward request of 'please' is probably high on the list of Fate Testarossa's best ideas. It's up there with 'Let's dump a torrent of magical energy into the sea and raise an entire submarine full of zombies back from a watery grave'.

    That was a thing that happened once.

    Of course by 'best' ideas we really mean it was one of the worst. But this time it seems to pay off. And without terrible sights of rotten and fish-eaten sea-borne revenants. But the truth is, the blonde is sweating bullets by the time the Black Sun arrives with Chikade in tow. It was such a risky gambit, but it works out well enough, with Hayate emerging from the depths of the Defense Program.

    It's the sudden force of that concussive wave that catches Fate off guard. And with a yelp she's launched afar, gasping as she slams the ground with a nasty THUMP. She doesn't move for a long, frightening moment. Seconds stretch on as she stares up at the sky dully before her hand twitches, fingers curling around Bardiche as she starts to pick herself up with a groan. She hears a song. A familiar, sweet, lilting voice that draws her gaze back into focus, and with a cratering force, shoves herself up off the ground, at Nanoha's side in a flash as she wipes blood away from the corner of her mouth.

    CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK.

    Three cartridges and Bardiche pings, intoning: [ZANBER FORM.]

    The quiet and faithful Device's head snaps back, swivelling and splitting apart into the twin prongs of a sowrd's cross-guard, and an explosive blade of bright gold light emerges in the form of a longer than Fate is tall, and wider than the girl herself. Hoisting her collossal blade, Fate takes it in both hands, setting it dead in the center of the firing array tube Nanoha lines up, Bardiche already funnelling energy from Raising Heart and Nanoha.

    [BLAST CALAMITY.]

    It is this announcement that heralds an explosive wave of pink and gold mana funneled down the guidance rings on a course for the Defense Program, only seconds before a myriad of spitting cartridges from both devices herald another pair of pink-gold waves follow after it in the form of a monstrous Divine Buster and Plasma Smasher followup.

Samael (455) has posed:
    Yay, happy ending. Samael even made herself useful and made sure that people were okay and not hurt for once. The girl clapped as she spun into the air, grinning at Flint. "See? I told you I would help! But, there's something very, very curious about that thing..."

    Flint would find that whispered in his ear as Samael momentarily appeared behind him, her wings shielding anybody else from hearing what she had said to him, before she disappeared again.

    he area would become momentarily saturated with feathers as everyone unleashed their attacks. They would all unfold into shields, forming a protective barrier around the NachtWal. In the least of moments, An expert swordswoman like Satsuki would also have noticed that for the barest of moments, Samael had flown past her, faster than could be actually perceived with the eye. With the combined weight of everyone's attacks however, the shields only lasted but a second, and they collapsed soon after.

    A few seconds later, Samael had gathered in her hands a small piece of the creature, cradled in her arms. "Aww, I think all of you got the most of it. But...I think that in spite of everything, this thing deserves to live. A disease. Evil. That's what you're calling it, right? Well...I wonder what it would call you, if it could think? If it could be aware of what it was doing? Maybe it'd be sorry. Maybe it'd be angry for all the pain it endured from all of you. I don't know. Still, I don't think I'm going to get anything out of it anytime soon. But you're all supposed to be about doing this with the least casualties, right? That is a 'hero.' Or at least, what people say the ideal one is."

A giggle. "Not killing. Except when it counts. Like now. But this...it's a thing to you, isn't it? It was made for something, but it started hurting you, so you all decide to destroy it. But you're all probably very displeased with me. I'm going to try and make something out of this. Maybe it'll forgive you. Maybe I'll just wind up creating a monster that does nothing but destroy things and isn't interesting at all. If that's the case, I'll put it down myself, don't you worry! Flint of all people knows that I have no qualms about that. But...also, he should have an idea of why I'm doing this. Or maybe he doesn't! Don't blame him. He is your 'hero' for the day, after all. He used the power I gave him to help you, which is how things should be. But anyway..."

Another laugh. "If you really want, you can all say I owe you all a thing. Each and every one of you. No strings attached. Promise! I keep my promises. I really do."

And with that, Samael disappeared.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
And just as promised, everyone(except Samael) unloads everything on the mass of writhing... stuff. The horrific being is just getting formed when a gust of wind-charged mana tears into it, making it shudder, shrieking out with a surge that makes it swell- only for a large portion to slough off, the aftereffects of Satsuki's slice cleaving off a mass of the forming bestial flesh. It heaves in blind rage, lashing out and digging tendrils into the earth. That must be how it destroys worlds, really. Sucking the life right out of them.

But not this time.

Countless blades and weapons shred into that vast bulk, followed up by numerous lasers from the massive Voltaire. Kimiko and Caro are joining Satsuki in decimating its underside, and they are soon joined by the legendary Excalibur(copy) that slams down with great weight and power. Even as a copy, and even against something this powerful, it's felt by the bestial program.

Samael's shield flashes long enough to let her snatch a piece, but it's a tiny flicker, something that looks minor despite being so important. It's almost lost in the glory of the massive wave of attacks, from the blazing fire of the Black Sun raining down upon it to the combined might of Nanoha and Fate, a pillar of magic SMASHING downward to pulverize what the ground forces missed. Luciferion Breaker erupts with fire, burning away more pieces, while the iceberg slams down to pulverize into paste what's left of that.

All that's left is a smoking crater... and the little piece that Samael has snatched away.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    It's probably a good thing Zephyr didn't get too much altitude, because as soon as the beam from her Device peters out, she practically collapses in a heap, Barrier Jacket vanishing and replacing with her civilian clothes. Divine Wind looks cracked and emits sparks before it too reverts to Standby Mode. It chimes and reports <DRIVE FAILURE. SHUTTING D-DOWW--NN Nion gansuodg> The gem goes dark, showing many cracks along its surface.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Underneath the Black Sun, a cloud of smoke that is literally a cloud hangs in the air, drifting on the breezes. As the battle reaches a conclusion, it begins to rise up into the atmosphere, reeling in the high gravity anchors as it tries to pull back into space. There's still going to be time for Hayate to put Chikade on the ship again, however.

Flint, down on the ground, has shrunk back to his usual size. His jacket once more hangs around him loosely and billowing while he tries to make sense of the events that just unfolded. As ever, the help of Samael is a double-edged sword and she now has even more for her ultimate endgame, one that even he as one of her 'Pures' does not even remotely understand. Figuring out that girl is impossible for him.

The Captain tiredly reaches into his coat, though. And he pulls out a long pipe and a sealed plastic bag. He carefully packs some shredded leaves into the pipe and then lights it, taking a long drag from it and then exhaling smoke out his nose.

His other hand starts to head to the pocket before...

"Oi wow, I still have Terran Candy. Anyone want one?" He asks, holding up the pack of Kit Kats.

Material-D (597) has posed:
    "We think we will have some of that," Yami says as she lands. She's still glaring after Samael, but for now the problem is gone. Nachtwal may regenerate from that, but it won't be on the book... right? She isn't sure, but she's too tired to care right now.

    Stiffly, when Hayate returns, she'll greet. "Welcome back, Little Crow."

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Hayate frowns after Samael, but it's really not important. She finally lands nearby, the Wolkenritter in tow, and her frown turns into a smile. "Thank you everyone... for doing that for me. I had no idea..." she trails off, then sighs. "I guess I owe you all something. Ehe... that's not really a good position for a space pirate to be in, is it?"

It's a bit of a jovial manner, but that is kind of what she is right now. "I really want to check on Chikade, but... maybe we can meet later and properly speak?"