2072/Threads of Fate: Election Day

Threads of Fate: Election Day
Date of Scene:	21 April 2015
Location:	KLK Earth <KLK>
Synopsis:	The climax of the Honnouji Naturals Election! Ryuko and her companions face off against the Elite Four! But, just who is Nui Harime?
Cast of Characters:	Tomoe, 112, 140, 162, 381, 401, 430, 627, 678, Sanary Rondel, 754
Tinyplot:	Threads of Fate (Part 1)

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Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Far below, the mountain of housing that is Honnou Town could be more accurately called Ghost Town right now. As many people as can possibly cram into the Honnouji Academy courtyard have done so - and given the stadium size of the place, that's not a small number. A girl in a lacy dress jauntily strides through the town under a parasol, a handful of poor families cram around shop window TVs, a vendor hawks food cart hot dogs to the sparse handful of people who aren't already there; it's easy to tell just by a glance at the deserted city that today is the day.

    Today is the final battle of the Naturals Election.

    The courtyard itself has been cleared of the free-for-all's equipment; in its place, two huge half-circles appear to have been drawn, separated by a good five meters - each a hemisphere of ground on the, er, ground, that has been set aside for the two prospective Student Councils. One of them has already begun to arrive, in the form of Honnouji's Elite Four, all of them already standing in one circle. Next to that circle stands a sign: 'For Disciplinary Chair Ira Gamagoori and Chosen Council Members'. The opposite bears a similar sign, though one into which much less effort has been put: 'For Disciplinary Chair Ryuko Matoi and Chosen Council Members'.

    And high above, of course, the absolute ruler of this kingdom stands, looking out over her land with an absolute, iron confidence. "Comrades of Honnouji Academy, and citizens of Honno Town: I welcome you to the NATURALS ELECTION POLLING PLACE!"

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Within the half circle set aside for Ryuko's team, a glowing diamond spell seal appears. It draws slowly into the ground in deep royal purple, and once complete, fills the lines with scrolling kanji. Atop this, appears a girl with a flash of light. Standing in her TSAB Uniform, arms crossed with the silver bracer on her right arm visible.

    She doesn't transform just yet, merely standing stoic and waiting for the others to arrive. "This is gonna be fun, right Divine Wind?" she asks, earning a resonant chime from her right arm. <YES! ALL SYSTEMS REPORT GREEN. READY SET.>

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is here today and she seems ready she's not appeared in her more commonly known form in some time, here but given what's on the line? She can not hold back anything, given what is riding on this for Ryuko. The Salamander woman is here, in full armourm her naginata is resting on her shoulder she's ready for a fight as she's eve going to be. She narrows her violet eyes a little bit as she takes in the location of the fight to be. She seems about as ready as she's going to be.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji is present in this showy event. He looks exactly as he does back when he had arrived the previous time.

It pleases him to participate in this event. There is much to appreciate in Satsuki's method of handling things. Souji stands there in the circle, standing with his arms folded and the Murasame Blade at his side, clothing perfect and his eyes focused not on Satsuki, but looking over those of the opposite side. They are the opposition. They must be defeated in whatever form of contest that Kiryuin chooses to enact.

He is prepared. Are they?

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    One of the many people crowded around one of many electronics store TVs is a large, jovial man, surrounded by a willowy woman, a boy, and a dog in a hoodie. Barazo Mankanshoku laughs, "They've sorted it all out, now! Bash 'em to bits, Ryuko!" He makes a few punching motions, interrupted when the store owner slides a sign in front of the TV and turns it off.

    "A thousand yen fer ten minutes."
    "A thousand yen?!" Barazo roars, "You crook!"

    While Barazo and Mataro both argue with the shop owner, Sukuyo suddenly turns around with a 'Hmm~?', just barely sighting pink lace and blonde hair rounding a corner. After a moment, the Mankanshoku matriarch tilts her head, touching her finger to her cheek, "Who was that~?"

ELSEWHERE
    A heap of discarded, groaning One-Stars shudders, but nothing else of note happens.

    As more fighters on the Challenger's side start to gather, the heap shudders again, possibly drawing attention to itself.

    A full minute later, the pile of dazed students suddenly erupts in a burst of black, white, blue, and red and a shrill roar of excited fury. Dressed in her Fight Club President's uniform and gripping a student's leg in one hand, Mankanshoku Mako waves him back and forth like a club, eyes squeezed shut and screaming a wordless but downright silly war cry.

    And then suddenly she stops, "Oh!"

    The student-slash-club is dropped and Mako hops the line, "It's over already, awesome~!" Approaching Ryuko's right side, Mako folds her arms while her uniform's sleeves extrude big white gloves and stretch out, retrieving various gold-colored weapons and sliding them back inside her jacket. Only when finished do the sleeves retract and prop their big gloved hands on the girl's hips.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
As it appeared his disguise was seen through entirely, he arrived in his normal green jumpsuit and chuunin vest. He stands on Ryuko's side of the half circle with his arms at his sides, staring intently at the other side. He clears his throat, asking for anyone who may be listening, "Will we be voting on something?"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    News had circulated among some of Alexander Academy's students that Honnouji Academy was scheduled to 'elect' the Student Council soon. Rather than voting with their voices, however, the voters were to be decided by a MASSIVE BRAWL. Sanary, of course, isn't going to miss something like that. Not when the fighting abilities of...

    ... Okay, so maybe she doesn't actually know anyone at the school well enough to figure out who to keep an eye on. Still, the event is certain to be a spectacle, and people are bound to need medical treatment. It's for that reason she manages to push her way into the circle marked for Satsuki. For the time being, she's just standing not too far behind Souji Murasame dressed in a three-piece suit with a complicated-looking axe dangling off a rope on her side.

    "So. Should I just stick to healing or watching or... Getting in there? I'm fine with whatever."

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    Nanoha is here, to show support for Satsuki of course! Her Familiar was also here, but not as the busty catgirl that won the round last time. No, Vesta is instead perched on Nanoha's shoulder, the kitten curled up and... sleeping. As a normal cat. That does make it easier for her, doesn't it?

    Nanoha herself is already in her Barrier Jacket, which looks kind of like a school uniform but far less skimpy. She's fingering her staff, Raising Heart, and fidgeting at the company she's hanging around with. "Mn."

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Among all the so many people in the courtyard, the tiny figure of a nine year old blonde from out of town is probably a wildly out of place sight. This is why Fate Testarossa has attempted some measure of blending in, by wearing a white uniform trimmed in black, mildly different from the usual Honnouji No-star uniform. She missed the Naturals Election, but she is still capable of being some form of quiet support for friends and allies, right?

    Nevertheless, she is here, Arf at her side. And SOMEHOW the Famliar has managed to procure a huge bowl of ramen to watch the event.

    Fate is letting it happen.

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    Ryuko is here, of course. It's her big day. The day she's been worrying and stressing about. Training and preparing for. The day she's fought this whole school to get to. And once it's done, she'll have the answers she wants. Whether she likes them, or not.. well.. She'll just have to cross that bridge when she gets to it. For now? She's focused on the fight to come.

All four of them, no less. And she knows what two of them are capable of.

"So, this is it, huh?" She pats her chest, feeling her heart racing. Senketsu, too, responds to her touch and that physical change. <<Just stay calm, and we'll win. I'm sure of it.>> He seems confident, if nothing else. And that seems to reassure Ryuko, somewhat. "Yeah. I got it."

HK-47 (754) has posed:
He doesn't have much in the way of disguises. Not that much would disguise his frame.

A simple cloak to cover his head and torso, and bindings around his limbs to cover their metal platings. Strapped to his back is his ever-present rifle, and his eyes are disguised by what the meatbags refer to as 'sunglasses.' All in all, he looks, in his opinion, somewhat ridiculous.

However, given the rather incomprehensible attire worn by most of the other meatbags, he ought to blend in just fine.

Looking over his internalized target list, he pulled up the listings to examine his priority targets - Ryuko Matoi and Satsuki Kiryuin, both owners of the strange symbiotic lifeforms that were native to this section of the multiverse.

But at the same time, there are multiple other high-power signals that he is picking up, and he designates them as secondary targets, as well as placing markers on those that his Master's interests would deem 'allies' - namely those in the Confederacy. Therefore, his secondary mission was rather simple - help his 'allies' gain the upper hand... in whatever way possible.

Then maybe he could get close enough to see exactly what these Kamui could do.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    As the members take their place in their respective circles, there is a moment of quiet... and then the deep, vibrating thrum of powerful motors kicking on under the ground. The two half-circles shudder under the feet of those standing on them, and then /lift/, slowly and steadily up out of the ground. On a pair of tremendous mechanical columns, the huge hemispheres are lifted up, up, up until they stand high over the ground below. And then, slowly, they slide themselves together, forming a huge, circular ring raised for all to see.

    "All those present know the stakes! The only rule for this battle is simple: Those who remain on the platform at the end are victors, and those who are knocked off are losers! There is no further need for fanfare or bombast!"

    With a step-CLACK, Satsuki plants her boot and her sword, and declares in a booming voice, "BEGIN!"

    A few of those present have already seen the Three-Star Transformation of Ira Gamagoori; a cocoon of ribbons and spikes, freezing him in place to the point of seeming uselessness, but even in that state his towering figure is unmistakable. "THREE-STAR GOKU UNIFORM: SHACKLE REGALIA!"

    And while a few people have seen the Three-Star Transformation of Houka Inumuta, none of those are here in the stadium. So it is probably impressive enough when his own transformation wraps him in a high-tech skinsuit, covered in glowing keypads and visored for perfect display. "Three-Star Goku Uniform: Probe Regalia."

    But none present have been privy to the transformation of Nonon Jakuzure - and what a transformation it is. A red bodysuit decked out in a jaunty, cheerful skeleton motif... and backed by a RIDICULOUSLY HUGE piece of mobile stage equipment the size of a cargo truck, riding on treads. Nonon herself sits right in the front, dead in the middle of the heart-shaped speaker face. "Three-Star Goku Uniform: Symphony Regalia Grave! Transfer student, get ready to be pummled cheerfully, jauntily, and utterly one-sidedly!"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    The final member of the Elite Four, Uzu Sanageyama, simply stands in the back, kendo shinai resting lazily on his shoulder. "I need a minute to warm up. I'll take over when you three go down." Despite her inability to see him - or indeed, much of anything past her ridiculously large 'uniform', Nonon turns her head to bark a sharp, "/What the hell?!/ Don't just assume we're going to lose!"

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Rock Lee looks around at everyone. Satsuki said to begin, Ryuko said they just have to fight. While he may have been thrown off by the mention of this being a polling place, he's just going to go with the flow and do what Rock Lees do best!

He starts running. He's not exactly a blur, but he's still -very- fast. He has not even an ounce of hesitation as he tries to immediately punch Houka in the face. "I am Rock Lee, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha! I am here both to help bring Ryuko's dream to life, and to show the Goddess of Honnouji that I am worthy of fighting her one day!"

HK-47 (754) has posed:
No sooner is the signal for wonton carnage given then HK-47 eagerly brings up his arm, activates the internalized flamethrower and begins dousing the area two meters in front of him in a pressurized jet of flame, roasting anyone foolhardy to stand in the way. As most of the adversaries in this particular world seem to gain their power from a unique breed of clothing, the most simplistic way of defeating them would be to simply burn the coverings off - so burn them off he will.

"Status - Active! Advisory - All meatbags that wish to escape with a minimum of second-degree burns, leave now or be immolated!"

He also takes a passing note of the man in the coat with bindings over his eyes, remembering the miraluka Visis Marr - a meatbag born without eyes, who learned to see using the mystical energy called 'The Force.' As such, he opts to place this particular meatbag on the 'elevated threat' list - if there was one thing the droid had learned not to underestimate, it was the unpredictable skills possessed by sightless meatbags.

How they could compensate for the loss of a primary sense, yet not be capable of being easily disassembled for compacted storage, the droid would never know.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    As the arena rises, Zephyr remains stoically set. She watches the transformations with a slowly growing smirk. "This is gonna be fun. Ready Dee?" she asks, unfolding her arms and taking the coin-like Device from her bracer. <SETUP! BARRIER JACKET SET! BREEZE MODE. DEVICE SET. MISTRAL FORM! MISTRAL SQUALL AREA MODE!> announces the AI, as the girl is sheathed in purple mana. Her outfit changes, and the coin expands out into a short-haft axe with a wickedly curved blade. She doesn't attack just yet, opting to keep her defensive stance for the moment.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji does not require fanfare. His demeanor, as the battle begins, becomes almost stiflingly oppressive, like the air before a great summer storm. "Prepare yourselves." He says, simply.

He shifts, extending a hand. His eyes narrow as he begins to form a Pattern, sizziling lines connecting to each other before him as he forms his spell. Through it, Magic Particles pour, and the construct flares with gold and orange.

Victory is all that matters.

"Haste-2." He pronounces, his voice without inflection as the Pattern compeltes. The orange light bathes the opponents of Ryuko's team in seething temporal acceleration, clocks appearing and speeding up for several moments, before vanishing and leaving them with increased action speed.

Control the battlefield, control the victory.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Sanary opens her mouth and shuts it quickly at the sight of... She's not even sure what the hell she's looking at. A giant spiked pillar man-thing, a guy in too-tight... Something, and a freaking /orchestra/ out of nowhere?

    Maybe there still are weirder things to see in the multiverse. Glancing towards Souji briefly, it doesn't take long for the healer to settle on... Well, healing. There's plenty of heavy-looking hitters around, anyway, so at least doing this would give her a better shot at actually observing people and still being useful.

    And so, she starts focusing the magical energy in her body to her hands, letting it build up as a translucent green glow around her slowly while waiting for her first targets.

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    Well, if there's one person Ryuko's wanted to shut up from day one, it's the loudmouth band leader. So, that's exactly who she goes for. Her transformation is rapid, and once she's in fighting form with Scissor Blade in hand, there's no real objective beyond 'beat her to a pulp'. Standard tactics, for her, in this case. The speed boost just makes the already fast Ryuko a blur of red and black, hurtling straight at Nonon, and her colossal Symphony Regalia.

"What the hell is that stupid thing, anyway? How's that a uniform? It looks totally ridiculous!" She snaps at her opponent, raking against the side of it with her weapon as she passes by.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    A little wave is sent toward Fate. "FAAAAATE! Wish me luuuuck!" It's a cute little wave, and Nanoha beams brightly with a smile, as opposed to the other kind of beams she is known for. As for THOSE beams, they'll come soon enough. The child hears that things are starting up, and that means she's going to have to move! "All right, Vesta, you know what to do!" The cat meows and leaps from her shoulder, behind HK-47, to shift into a massive great cat-sized feline. There she... sits. What is it she intends to do? Time will tell!

    Nanoha, sped up by Souji's spell, bolts upward in a blur of pink light as she whips Raising Heart about. Cheerily, she flashes a smile toward the opponents. "Oh hey, hiiii Zephyr!" Uh oh, she recognized someone! Considering the shimmering cluster of pink spheres that start to collect around her, numerous and tiny, the flying little child might have something in mind. There must be dozens of the things.

    It's explained a moment later when they launch in a /rain/ down upon the other group, blasting the ground with concussive force! Though it seems that a large percentage of them are purely illusion.

    Raising Heart pings, <ACCEL SHOOTER PHANTOM SHIFT.>

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks at whom they are about to fight, this is going to be a hell ofi a battle, Tomoe thinks as she looks the three stars over. She gets they have to remain on the platform. She needs not to fall and she wonders would flying get them kicked out? She doesn't want to risk beinging that rules snarl uyp so she remins with her armored boots firmly on the ground. She readies her polearm and looks over the three stars for a moment longer.

"I am Tomoe the Iron Lily."

There's no trash talk, just a simple introduction. She now is ready to enage in this crasy battle, she also keeps a way eye on the feds who are here as well.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    SLUUUUUUUUUUUURP. "NFMNFHA! GRD RCK!" SLLLLLLLUUUURP.

    Fate is surprisingly stoic, as her Familiar gets a little too excited with her ramen.

    Sigh.

    Nevertheless, if anyone is paying attention, the tiny blonde can be spotted smiling slightly when Nanoha calls out to her. But it's gone before there's a second glance.

    None of you saw that, as she settles back to watch the beginnings of what is prettymuch looking like a brawl. Though Gamagoori's Regalia seems to make her shudder slightly.

    "HNNFJI ISH A PRTY INTRSHTING SKLL HUH FMMTO?"

    "Yes, Arf. Yes it is."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    For almost the entire charge, Houka Inumuta doesn't budge. But at the last second, his head shifts aside perfectly, and Rock Lee's fist meets empty air - only to be followed a moment later by the fist of Probe Regalia being driven straight up towards the martial artist's abdomen, trailing a shimmer of the Haste magic Souji's imbued him with. "Rock Lee. A martial artist of superhuman parameters and skill, without the aid of a Goku Uniform. Your abilities are impressive, but your style is very straightforward. And I've analyzed it completely."

    Nonon doesn't look the least bit surprised that Ryuko's picked her for a head-on charge. But though the transfer student's attack brings her in close, that doesn't seem to bother the Non-Athletics Chair in the least. In fact... "Why don't we begin with the Light Cavalry Overture~!" And with a wave of her baton, the Symphony Regalia begins playing a full symphony, true to its name, complete with a thrumming bass powerful enough to serve as a blast attack against Ryuko, or anyone else who gets too terribly close.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr grins a bit, watching Nanoha leap into the air. "Hey Nanoha. Lets dance huh?" as the bullets rain down, Zephyr buckles down under a transluscent barrier. It takes a couple of direct hits, cracking and splintering away.

    As the dust clears, the teenage Windmage leaps out of the bubble, scuffed and a little battered. She tears forwards at high speed, trailing her bits as they try to keep u-- no, they're not trying to keep up, they're flanking.

    <NICE! TRY THIS ONE! IMPULSE CASCADE CONCUSSION SHIFT!> replies Divine Wind. Large purple motes surround the Mage, and the Bits gain a glowing mote within the central hole of their rotating frames. These then start spitting out a fusillade of unguided, highly explosive 'bullets' that detonate in proximity! A flak screen right at Nanoha!

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    No sooner has Mako retrieved all of her impliments of pain and destruction has the horn sounded (figuratively) and the next round has begun. Mako starts, looking upward with a "Huuuh~?" sound, directed at no-one in particular, "Wait, don't we get a drink of water between rounds?" Snapping her head around, she catches sight of everyone on her team and everyone on the opposing team all leaping at each other. In the space of a heartbeat, Mako starts flailing her arms, "Wait, wait! Don't forget me!"

    With her eyes squeezed shut, Mako slams down the big gloves protruding from her uniform's sleeves and propells herself up and forward. She's not watching where she's going. She has no idea she just bodily hurled herself right into the face of the current Disciplinary Committee chairman. Mako does, however, throw her arms out to either side and let out a loud, clearly cheerful shout that ends with laughter, "Here comes Mako! Prepare yourself--"

    Eyes open. In midair, Mako realizes she's hurled herself straight for a tall, spike-covered monstrosity.

    "--U-U-Upperclassman Gamagoori!?" Still in midair, Mako whirls around, flailing as if trying to swim away, "Wait, this was just a test run! A test run!"

    It's too little too late, as the eldest daughter of the Mankanshoku Clan assaults Gamagoori with an almighty two star butt-bump.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Lee doubles over, grabbing his abdomen with both hands. The tier of enemy has definitely gone up! "Have you?! I am a ninja, we do not give up all aspects of our fighting techniques all at once!"

He immediately flips to the side, landing on his hands, upside down. Then he starts trying to swing very quick kicks at him, both from the side and aimed at Inumuta's head. "Were you prepared for this?! My hands are as good as feet, and my feet are as good as hands!"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    "Mankanshoku-?!" It looks like of all the people who could have thrown themselves into the fray - quite literally, in this case - Gamagoori didn't expect Mako Mankanshoku. And with him completely immobile, there's no way he's getting out of a butt bump enhanced by the power of the only Two-Star Goku Uniform specifically designed 'to enhance brawling'. WHUD.

    There is a silent pause. "...HAHAHAHAHA! /HAHAHAHAHA!!/ I'm impressed by your courage, Mankanshoku!"

    The Shackle Regalia swells out as if overfilled, that single powerful smash enough to trigger its transformation. "Three-Star Goku Uniform, SCOURGE REGALIA! If you wish to be my opponent, I won't hold back, even against you!" You'd better watch those whips, Mako!

    The moment Lee's foot swings towards Inumuta, the computer adept moves as if on perfect cue. "There are individual moves you haven't shown me, but I can predict them with 99.38% accuracy. The fighting style you've displayed within the walls of Honnou Town is especially simple." The next kick, he shifts his body to one side, and then comes up with a kick of his own, swinging it right for Lee's back. All the while, his free hands are hammering away at any keyboard he can reach on his suit. "My data gathering is already peerless, and the Probe Regalia improves it a hundredfold. I've accounted for all your physical parameters."

    In the meantime, the battle between Ryuko and Nonon has heated up... almost literally, in the sense that hot air rises. "Symphony Regalia PRESTO~!" The huge mobile weapon that is Symphony Regalia can, as it turns out, reconfigure itself to fly on a cushion of sound. And given that Ryuko can transform Senketsu to do the same, the fight has taken straight to the sky.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
Seeing that most of the Union-affiliated meatbags have been occupied, HK directs his attention on one of the more unusual opponents brandishing a pole arm against her opponents.

An opponent that was oddly familiar. One with a style of movement that he was certain had been recorded into his memory banks before...

If that was the case, then of course he had to attack - he so very much hated to leave matters unfinished. Taking a knee, he readies his weapon - a disruptor rifle. A weapon that fires a directed energy bolt that destroyes most meatbag organisms at the cellular level, disintegrating them into nothing but a charred skeleton. However, he has learned a long time ago to never accept anything as a given, even when it was executed to perfection.

"Affirmation - Target Locked."

The next instant, he pulls the trigger.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    The rain of projectiles ceases as Nanoha has something else to worry about! "Oh, all right!" She says brightly... before Raising Heart pings a warning, Souji's Haste spell giving Nanoha and her Device the extra speed they need to react to the onslaught. Which means...

    <PROTECTION POWERED> Raising Heart chimes, an instant before impact. The impact blasts into the sudden pink force field, and when the smoke clears Nanoha is left rattled and singed, but not battered. "Ehehe... oops. I'll be more careful this time." She's seen Mistral before, but hasn't had a chance to analyze it. The little wings on Nanoha's ankles flutter, and she moves a high speed in a dash to the side, engaging the other Aerial mage with...

    <ACCEL STREAM,> Raising Heart chimes. Wait, what's that? It looks like Nanoha's been picking up a few tricks from Seikou, as the numerous pink spheres are joined in a chain of projectiles that snake out and seek out Zephyr. It's a pretty nice attack, but she has yet to fully account for the wind mage's control of the atmosphere.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Lee goes flying back, sliding across the ground. He frowns, staring over at Inumuta, trying to do his -own- calculations. But how do you calculate what is already calculating what you are a million times over? "That is not possible... You cannot calculate all moves! I simply have to be stronger and faster, and a calculation will not matter!"

He thrusts himself back up to his feet, and then stops holding back. At least as far as current physical state goes. He runs at the man, punching and kicking at random intervals. But even if it's faster and stronger, it's still not difficult to calculate. His punches are well within observable speeds, and in the end he has a great deal of difficulty completely breaking away from his style. "Fighting is about spirit, and emotion. Yes, calculating is important, that is the foundation upon which ninjas are built. But you cannot completely replace fighting spirit with calculation! I will show this to the Goddess of Honnouji!"

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "I'm really in it now!" Mako whines. She'd literally bounced right off of the Shackle Regalia, rolling midair until she lands on her butt a few meters away, "Why'd it have to be Upperclassman Gamagoo--HII~!" SUDDENLY, TRANSFORMATION. The Scourge Regalia looms over what in any context is a small young woman and compared to Gamagoori, is downright tiny.

    Scrambling back to her feet, Mako produces her gold-tinged bat, the nails gleaming when Mako swings the weapon down defensively, just in time to block the whip swinging against her.

    "This might've been a mistake, but--" Oh yeah there's more than one whip, isn't there. Within seconds, Mako's overwhelmed and starts bouncing around amidst flailing whips, squeaking. She'll probably be fine; Mako is nothing if not able to take a beating!

    "--Too late to run away! Yeow!"

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr grins a little. "I'm expecting a good fight outta you!" she calls, as she draws her Bits closer in. <AREA MODE! MISTRAL SQUALL!> chimes Divine Wind.

    The Bits fling themselves out to their operating range, and the atmosphere within a sphere 150m around her begins to boil and churn, lashing out and slapping mana-infused gusts into the chain, aiming to deflect it, or break it up. It's not a perfect defence, and Zephyr has to rely on her speed to stop herself from being pummeled to oblivion. "Pretty fancy! How about this one!?"

    <HALCYON DIVIDE.> That's a new one! The blade of Zephyr's device shifts and begins to glow brightly, and much like Tempest Razor, Zephyr heaves the weapon around in an arc... what is /different/ is that the blade doesn't send off a spinning boomerang... it emits a /beam blade/ that travels right at Nanoha at high speed.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe pause as she spots an armed robot of some sort, which is lining up a shot to shoot her. She's rushing in and it hits her. However theblast is while very painful the reaction it not what HK would expect, there's semeingly damage the blast point causing things almost to fail like a computer model losing it's skin layer. There's a distropted red wireframe nad a hole so to speak in the humanopid womn, the hole closes it self after a moment, but it does not fade back to as it was before. She's however moving in at high speed, moving left and right trying to make her self a harder target for the droid to pick off. Her intention is to get up in his grill and put that polearm of her's to use.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Things actually seemed to be going pretty well so far. Freaky looking allies aside, Sanary's glancing about at those fighting on the same side as her to continue trying to decide on a suitable healing target. Noticing the lights and action going on in the air, the healer takes a deep breath before punching into the air and firing off a quick wave of healing energy towards Nanoha. It's not much, but it's something!

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    Uh oh. "Raising Heart!" Nanoha's anklewings flutter with a burst of pink light, and that tries to push her out of the way. Buffeted by a sudden gust of wind, though, puts her almost directly in the path of that slash... necessitating the child throwing a hand out in front of her to summon up a shimmering shield against the blast.

    It's strong, but she's off balance, and Zephyr's slash shatters her barrier to send her tumbling back with a painful impact, blunted by her barrier but still rattling her head. She'd been under the impression that Zephyr was weaker than her, but she wasn't prepared to fight the wind mage's style, it would seem.

    "Ah... um..." Eyes dart about, and the little mage tries to think of a way to negate Zephyr's temporary advantage. She comes up with the usuall plan.

    <LOAD CARTRIDGE> Raising Heart declares with a loud k-CHACK!

    Nanoha wobbles upright again as she seeks her target. "Um! I guess if you're going to knock off my aim, I'll just need to use something that doesn't get thrown off!"

    <DIVINE BUSTER>

    Apparently Nanoha's answer to wind shear throwing off her spells is to use BIGGER, STRONGER spells, as the blazing circle of spellpower rings around the tip of her staff an instant before a massive pillar of pink energy blasts toward Zephyr.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    "It is entirely possible. Your techniques conform to a strict style, and your use of them follows a fairly predictable methodology. By compiling data on your existing techniques, it is possible to project what other techniques will emerge to complete your fighting style based on the style's ideology, and it is then possible to predict which maneuvers you will use in a given situation based on your own tendencies."

    All this is delivered as Inumuta tilts and leans and evades blow after blow, dodging and weaving and typing away on those keyboards on his body; for the first few blows, he's actually hard-pressed to evade, and Lee probably feels his knuckles brush past the Probe Regalia at least once. But with a murmur of, "Oh? Pushing your body further? Interesting," he quickly begins evading more effectively again. It looks like Probe Regalia can even keep up with that boost.

    In the meantime, Ira Gamagoori has gone fully on the offensive. Whip after whip after whip fills the air around him, making the tower of a man a danger simply to /be/ near. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Your spirit is truly commendable, Mankanshoku, but this battle cannot be won simply by evading or absorbing my blows! MY SPIRIT WILL NEVER FALTER AND MY BODY WILL NEVER TIRE! Even if your Two-Star Goku Uniform cannot possibly stand up to the Scourge Regalia, I WILL BE DISAPPOINTED IF YOU DON'T EVEN MAKE THE ATTEMPT!!"

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr's eyes go wide as she's staring down that pink pillar of pain. She crosses her device in front of her, and pulls in her Bits to supplement her defensive spell. <MASTER!> "I KNOW! WORKING ON IT!" she retorts sharply, as the Kite Shield she used begins to chip away and crack with a spiderweb from the force. "BOOSTER TWO. GALE SHIFT!" she cries over the torrent, the Bits shifting to latch onto her back, over the source of her 'wings', while said wings shift from purple, to white, and become more jet-like.

    She rockets skywards, getting caught in the edge of that beam as her shield buckles. Legs singed, boots blackened and Barrier Jacket scorched and torn, the Wind Mage pants for breath. "That's her strong point... overwhelming force... we gotta play this smart." she says to herself, shifting her grip... "We have permission... lets show her how Marchians fight."

    <YES! MISTRAL SYSTEM OVERDRIVE SET. BARRIER JACKET RESET. TEMPEST MODE. MISTRAL TEMPEST. PENTAGRAM FORMATION. confirms Divine Wind. Purple light encases Zephyr again, but this time, she emerges in a heavily reinforced Barrier Jacket, and five Bits circle in a streaming pentagram around her waist level. She doesn't attack yet though, maybe waiting for her mana levels to equalize.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Lee suddenly jumps back, taking a deep breath. He stops fighting for the moment, then suddenly sits down, crossing his legs. "Satsuki Kiryuun!" he shouts as he pulls his leg warmers down, then back up, and stands as strange tan colored bars attached in sections are hanging from his hands.

"I wanted to save this for you, so that you could truly see my untapped potential. But I cannot hold back if I wish to overcome this challenge. I am going to remove my weights." he declares. And his weights hardly look all that impressive. Surely they could not offer -that- much of a benefit by removing them.

Then he tosses them, one to the left of the pillar, and one to the ride. he allows them to fall all the way down to the ground to avoid doing damage to the battlefield itself. Then when they hit the ground, it seems to explode under the pure impact of the weight, which likely rocks the pillar itself for a moment.

That's when he slides one left back, then holds the back of his hand up while the other moves behind his back. He's regained his composure. "Now, before the eyes of the Goddess of Honnouji, I will transcend calculation!" That's when, well, he vanishes.

And suddenly re-appears with a fist so quick, there's a loud -crack- of a sonic boom when it cuts through the air, aimed at Inumuta's jaw.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
That... was certainly surprising. Of all the things he'd expected, one thing HK-47 had not expected to see was what appeared to be a solid-form holographic construct. A digital projection, as it were, reminiscent of a droid he had recently encountered - PROXY.

However, as shown by the fact that she felt the need to move back and forth like that, it seemed this being, or whatever avatar she was using to represent herself, was not immune to damage. And, as expected of a melee-bound opponent, she was attempting to charge up at him. However, he does not intend to let her get too terribly close.

Reaching into his belt, he withdraws his adhesive grenade, tossing it straight at his opponent. It spirals through the air before exploding into a mass of bluish glue-like paste, meant to cement all targets in a meter radius to the ground for at least fifteen seconds - as that's all the time the glue can exist for before it breaks down due to oxygen exposure, degrading exceptionally quick.

The droid is banking on her apparently digital avatar to still be grounded in the laws of physics given that she is afraid to take physical hits, and therefore killing her movement will make her vulnerable to the many 'One-Star drones' in the area to gang up on her, which in turn should give him the time to make his next attack.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji continues to watch, reserving himself as he considers where best to apply himself and his powers to alter the course of the fights. He has a faint scowl on his face. He expected something more from the opposition. Some kind of a challenge.

"This is pathetic." He announces. "I had come here expecting a true challenge and all I see is weakness and naivete."

He looks over the enemy group, and sighs, forming a new pattern as he constructs another spell. Zephyr takes it to the next level and Rock Lee removes his weights.

So be it.

The forming magical force is purplish-blue, as Souji engages his next spell. "Slow-2."

The temporal distortion is the opposite, clocks slowing down in their motions as the distottion washes out over Ryuko's team. Their speed advantages might be hard to maintain if they get caught in that effect!

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    Battered from her brief ride, Mako actually hits the ground for the first time in several seconds. Immediately, her Goku Uniform rams its sleeves into the arena floor on either side, anchoring her while whips snap against the back of her jacket. Like this, the President of Honnouji Academy's Fight Club can at least weather the assault and gather her thoughts.

    Admittedly, gathering any sort of thought is a challenge for Mankanshoku Mako far greater than facing down Gamagoori Ira of the Honnouji Academy Student Council.

    "I'm not giving up..." the girl mutters, rummaging inside her coat. After a moment, she pushes down with her uniform's tattered gloves, hurling herself above the whippy assault and giving herself enough breathing room to hurl out several handfuls of random gold-covered items. Screwdrivers, shuriken, at least one carpenter's hammer, even a sack of marbles that summarily bursts apart when struck by an errant whip.

    "--Wait I didn't mean to throw that! My marbles..!"

    Mako's too distraught by the sudden destruction of her trinkets to notice the decrease in her reaction time on her way back down to earth, bat-first, directly at Gamagoori's face, "I was collecting those for ages! Guess I'll start over~!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    The wind roars around her, and Nanoha squints at the change in look that overcomes Zephyr. "Huh? Limiter release?" The child questions as she tries to maintain her stationary pose in midair, wings on her ankles flapping furiously. She whips her staff to the side, and with a loud hiss and venting of steam, the spent cartridge pops out to tumble down to the ground far below. This leaves Nanoha to lift her hand, palm forward. "Okay, if you want to..."

    <DIVINE BULLET>

    Numerous concentrated balls of pink light blast out, filling the air in a barrage of powerful, tiny spheres. Yet with that windstorm, they're easy to dodge. In fact, they're all quite simple to evade. Suspiciously simple...

    A faint shimmering heralds the only warning Zephyr is likely to get as Vesta decloaks, coming up behind the Wind Mage and aiming a Familiar-powered kick with her shin toward Zephyr's back, the Familiar now back in her catgirl mode. The false image of the one below, still on the pillar, vanishes now.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Even with the speed boost from Souji, Houka Inumuta is completely unprepared. "You were wearing weights that ridiculously-?!" He realizes the meaning of it just seconds before Rock Lee seemingly disappears.

    High above, one eyebrow arches with faint surprise. "Hoh...?" Satsuki murmurs. Interesting.

    KRAK goes the jaw of Inumuta, the Probe Regalia protecting him from having his jaw shattered, but not from being flung right across the arena - and right into Gamagoori's whips, which he has no way to evade. That smacks him right back forward, skidding across the ground until he can climb back up to his feet. There's a telltale, faint buzzing coming from his suit. "The Probe Regalia couldn't calculate-?!" His surprise alone has him wide open.

    Meanwhile, Ira Gamagoori is in for a surprise of an entirely different type. He's quite happy to unleash his barrage of whips upon Mako, smashing aside whatever projectiles she's going to hurl his way, though at least one actually manages to make it through, slamming right into the cheek of the Scourge Regalia. As a result, the whipping only grows more intense, and Gamagoori begins striding forward as if to hit Mako on her way down...

    ...only for his feet to go right out from under him, putting him on his back and temporarily halting the whip assault. "What-?! Mankanshoku, you scattered the marbles to destroy my footing?! I didn't think you had such clever tactics in you! But you had better be prepared to /CLEAN ALL THESE MARBLES UP AT THE CONCLUSION OF OUR BATTLE/!" He's still trying to get to his feet - wide open!

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is not qhat HK-47 would have expected in just what she wa smade of. She doesn't seem to stop however as she moves to get vclose. With her weapon she does have more reach than most melee fights might given the nature of her weapon. She eems to know what the grenade is and she's forced to leap she doesn't quite make is as she ends up held in place she does avoid getting it all over her. She attemps to struggle for a moment, halts and starts to chant in a lanauge from earth known as Norse. Strange gold runes fly about her body, and when she finishes chanting? There's a barrage of basically lasers striking for HK and the One Stars about heer. She's now also trying to get lose before HK can /try/ something else.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
"I will not obey the laws of calculation and math! This is the true nature of fighting spirit, Goddess of Honnouji!" Lee starts to run again. But realizes that something's off. He's not quite aware of that slowing spell, but rather than outright vanishing, his body starts to move around in a constant blur, leaving after images of himself trailing behind his movements.

He's slower, slow enough to see, but is he still slow enough to dodge?!

He runs directly up behind Inumuta, trying to stay away from Gamagoori's whips. Then he attempts to wrap his arms around Inumuya's waist and jump into the air, fully intending to deliver a flying german suplex. Both to deal damage and get out of the general range of Gamagoori and Mako at the same time. Mako is far too unpredictable!

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Uh!" Due to time magic slowing her movement but not her descent, Mako falls short, surprised that something she did actually dropped the Titan of Honnouji. When Gamagoori calls out her INGENIUS PLAN, the girl stares slightly over him, off into space while scratching her cheek. It's only the demand that she clean up after that snaps her back to the moment, "--Oh! Yes, right away as soon as we're done, Upperclassman Gamagoori--!"

    Though she spares another glance upward. Not quite 'into the distance'. Rather the idiot savant is wide-eyed staring at Souji, the man muttering weird words and making stuff happen. Her head tilts, and she returns her attention to Ira's attempts at getting back up.

    "--Right! I said I'm not giving up, Upperclassman! Even though I know I'm gonna lose 'cuz you're pretty amazing-- I won't let you just walk over Mankanshoku Mako!"

    While Ira is down, Mako's uniform reaches out with both tattered, gloved hands, snatching at the flailing whips of the Scourge Regalia. And if she manages to get enough of them, she uses them to reel the Disciplinary Chairman in with a sharp yank, right towards her.

    Pulling her hand back, Mako twirls something gold on her fingers until she closes her hand into a fist, revealing it to be an enormous set of brass knuckles in the shape of a star, with 'MAKO' standing out in mirrored letters.

    Mako starts winding her fist up, "HERE I..!" And as soon as Ira is close enough, she hurls her fist forward with the force of a freight train, a shout that isn't quite a roar, and both a big smile and closed eyes, "--GOOOO~!"

HK-47 (754) has posed:
The enemy is finally immobilized and wide-open - and with the strange speed-obfucicating boost enacted by the organic Souji Murasame, the droid has his one shot to land a decisive blow... and he takes the chance.

He activates the second of his wrist-mounted weapons - the multi-spectral energy emitter. A directed beam of charged energy that could disperse and punch through energy shielding to sear armor.

He crouches down to one knee to steady the shot, ignoring the internal alerts as the beam from the strange runes graze his shoulder, though it would have been a direct hit had he not knelt down. The beam burns off part of his cloak and hood, searing a portion of his shoulder-armor and exposing the left side of his undeniably artificial droid-head to all around him as he fires his wrist-mounted beam straight for the digital-construct.

"Statement - I have you now."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr gets overtaken by the Slow effect, but she's in her high speed mode, so right now that doesn't affect her as much as it might. <MASTER! EVADE!> warns Divine Wind, which gets Zephyr moving through the flak burst. She spots the flicker of Vesta's cloak, and starts to turn into the incoming kick, managing to catch some of it on her armoured side, rather than her back. She still gets slammed down out of the air, but catches herself by skidding against the air. "Hmm, shoulda brought Darma so your Familiar could have her /own/ playmate." she comments.

    She eyes Vesta, then Nanoha before grinning. "Lets see how y'like this." <MISTRAL TEMPEST. AREA MODE!> the Bits fly out... and 500m of space become Zephyr's personal battlefield. "This is MY world now." she states firmly, before with gusts of wind, she begins to rapidly move about the area, bringing high speed slashes against both Nanoha and Vesta, empowered with <MISTRAL CUTTER!> Increase-type spells.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Sanary whistles lightly at Rock's sudden burst of speed when he lands that solid blow on Inumuta. Or she tries to, at least, since it just comes out as a weird blowing sound with brief squeaks that sound like whistling. She'll get it one of these days.

    "Not bad, fab-uh... Rock. Not bad at all." She can't compliment him for too long, though, since she still has a job to do! Namely, redirecting more of that healing energy to Inumuta. Holding that magic around her fist, she punches her hand once before thrusting her hand out, sending her next wave of healing energy towards the keyboard warrior. She's not too worried about inadvertently healing the ninja in the process, though, since she can't recall him getting hit much. With any luck, that healing wave might just pass through Inumuta (and possibly Rock) and speed up the healing process drastically.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    It turns out that even with a slow spell on him, Lee's speed is /still/ so high without the weights that Inumuta can only /just/ avoid taking direct hits. He still takes glancing blow after glancing blow, and it quickly becomes obvious that the Probe Regalia just cannot keep up. He's got no openings to attack at all, nor even to use his Goku Uniform's trump card; so when Lee comes hurtling in from behind, he uses the only option still available to him.

    There's a flash of stars, and the Probe Regalia returns to its untransformed state, while its user lifts his arms in a gesture of total surrender before Lee's attack can reach him. "Houka Inumuta hereby forfeits this battle!" He's banking on his surrender to halt the ninja's attack.

    As for Gamagoori, the Scourge Regalia is powerful. Perhaps one of the physically strongest Goku Uniforms produced. But so, as it happens, is the Two-Star Fight Club Uniform. Still on his back, Gamagoori cannot resist being hauled up into the air. And that high up, he's a sitting duck for being hit full force.

    No matter how much power the hit might give him, no matter how well the Shackle Regalia might protect him, he is not immune to concussive force delivered directly to his face. Not when the amount of it is so thoroughly ridiculous and concentrated into such a small area. And so it is that, for just that shining moment, the No-Star in a Two-Star manages to best a Three-Star. "GHFL-!" Down goes Gamagoori into a crater. "...As expected of the Fight Club's... ridiculous strength," he groans. He's trying to peel himself out of it, but his bell's rung enough by the force that got through his Shackle Regalia that it'll take him a moment.

    And then there's Nonon Jakuzure, whose battle with Ryuko has gone to the skies and come back down again. With the Symphony Regalia Presto wrecked, she's land-bound, but a final transformation has now been unveiled: "Symphony Regalia Da Capo! And for my finale, a tune known to children 'round the world! Beethoven's Symphony No. 5: FATE!" The power of Da Capo seems to be converting sound to pure energy, in a way that reverberates at just the right frequency to weaken Senketsu.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Rock Lee frowns at this, surprisingly. He crosses his arms as he stares down at the man, and doesn't sound like he's actually accepted the surrender. Though he's not attacking either. "You calculate and calculate and once someone has broken through your calculation, you simply give up? You do not meet fighting spirit with fighting spirit? How can you hope to ever truly grow into something great, or overcome your hardships, if you simply bow down and give up, even against seemingly overwhelming odds?"

He turns around, then begins to walk away, looking up at Satsuki. "I do not accept his surrender! A fight without honor and courage is not a fight, therefore he cannot lose and I cannot win. There is nothing." He sounds almost insulted at the man's display, then crosses his arms in the middle of the ring. "I will fight any other challengers!"

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    WHAM. Gamagoori strikes the earth hard enough to produce a crater. Mako gives her uniform's arms a snapping motion, untangling them from the whips and bandages of the converted Shackle Regalia. The face of Mako's brass knuckle sizzles from the pure force of the impact, the lettering dented and the star's edges bent. Mako takes a deep breath, then immediately leans back, shaking her hand, "--Ow, ow! What are you made of, Upperclassman..!"

    Smart money is on 'crystallized resolve'.

    Pulling her fingers out of the knuckleduster, Mako blows on her hand for a few moments, clearly disinterested in beating a man while he's down. Though she does eventually stoop down to recover her bat, her free hand pulling her hat's brim to one side so that when her gaze returns to Souji Murasamae, he only gets to see one eye.

    "I've had about enough of you, mister!" Mako plants a hand on her hip, lifting her bat to point straight at the spell-slinging businessman, "I think you should sit down and stop causing trouble for Ryuko and everyone!"

    It's not a request, though. The bat snaps apart into four sections, revealing the missile in its interior with a Happy Mako Face painted on the warhead. With a hiss of rocket propulsion, it bursts out of the field surrounding her that's been slowing her movements and arcs directly towards Souji's vantage point..!

    Whether he's still there when it hits is irrelevant to the size of the explosion it creates.

    Mako may also be Just Doing Things while waiting for Gamagoori to get back up so she can make sure she didn't break him or anything. That would be awful--She might get detention..!

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    Ryuko, after using her Shippu form to take the advantage of an aerial battle that Nonon might've had to level the playing field, has pulled her back down to earth. Though, after blowing up that huge tank-like Presto, has to deal with the Da Capo. That blast of energy literally floors her, and even her Kamui is affected. <<T-This music..! It's like all the fibers in my body are vibrating along with it..!>> Ryuko, wearing him, is barely able to stand, herself. "Yeah, and it's fuckin' loud.. Nngh! Gotta try and.. wait.. hold on..!"

Ryuko manages to get to her feet, and tucking her scissor behind her back, takes a breath. "Senketsu. Tune it all out. Everything. Just focus on me, alright? Shut out all that noise, and just listen to me. My heartbeat! Got it?"

<<R-Right..>> Initially hesitant, /something/ seems to be happening. The thunderous classical music is.. getting dull. The heavy brass and string instruments seem to be slightly muted, now. "All we have to do.. is focus on one another!! And we won't stop there.. we'll just make a bit of music of our own!!"

And out comes Ryuko's Abstractum, appearing in her hands. The bright red, six-stringed electric guitar thrums to life as Ryuko rakes her fingers over the strings, and Senketsu responds. <<I hear it! Your music! Your heartbeat!>>

A blast of red energy surges out against Nonon's pink, and shoves it back! Right back into Nonon, so forcefully, it blows her off the stage, and her Goku Uniform off her body.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    The area increases, and Nanoha's hair is whipping about, along with her Barrier Jacket. "MISTRESS!" Vesta shouts, the roaring mana-charged wind hurling her about and causing her to tumble far away from Nanoha, leaving the child alone for a moment.

    But Nanoha is a little more canny than she seems. If Zephyr's ears are sharp, the currents of air might carry the sounds of musical humming to her ears, as the child fights to stay aloft and steady herself. Fortunately, there are /very few/ fliers as talented as Nanoha, when it comes down to precision control. But what is she doing?

    The high-speed slashes are coming close enough that Nanoha is forced to block with Raising Heart, clashing once, twice... and then Zephyr's axe clipping her shoulder, forcing her to start to list to the side. Another impact staggers her back, but then Zephyr will feel something odd in the mana storm. The magically-charged wind lessens, very subtly, around Nanoha in a manner she might recognize as similar to the collection-type magic of a Starlight Breaker, even though the chant isn't there.

    <RESTRICT LOCK> Raising Heart pings abruptly, and the collected mana is shoved into several powerful rings aiming to snap around Zephyr and hold her still.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Sanary hums lightly to herself as things seem to be getting more interesting. Inumuta's given up, Gamagoori's down, Mako's after Souji, and Rock's unoccupied. That really only leaves her to keep him from turning any of the other fights into a two-on-one, doesn't it?

    "Hey, fanboy! Er. Rock! Let's do it!" Grinning widely as she slips the gunaxe off her belt/rope, she gives it a quick twirl before aiming the... Handguard? Yep, she's aiming the handguard in Rock's direction. It takes a moment, but she does fire off a Flame shell at the ground near his feet, hoping to get his attention with that before getting into a defensive position with the axe.

    "This should be good... You remember me, right?"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is still looking at HK as the lasers rain about them it's not enough to stop HK, it does however get some hits in on him enough to see what his nature.

"Heh a combat robot?"

Tomoe now manage to get lose as the goo finally gives way. She sees another shot coming for her and she starts to spin her naginata to deflect the shot or at least a part of it.

"Not bad, not bad at all!"

She's been hurt a bit but the worst of damage was prevented. She now leaps again high into the air and attemps to come down slamming into the ground near HK-47.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    As he leaves the platform, Inumuta stops briefly to turn and regard Lee with a faint smile... though it's one that only shows when he's talking, since his collar only opens briefly for that. "You misunderstand. I never cared about winning from the start. My purpose has always been information-gathering." High above, Satsuki merely arches an eyebrow in Rock Lee's direction, but says nothing.

    "My attack isn't working?!" Somehow, Ryuko manages to not only resist the power of Da Capo's attack - and not only that, it's turned back upon her in a burst of musical might that manages to fully and brutally overpower the Symphony Regalia - and blast it apart as surely as if Ryuko had used the Scissor Blade itself. "GODFUCKINGDAMMIT YOU SHITTY LITTLE-!" Before the unladylike outburst can be finished, her Uniform is entirely shredded. Down goes Nonon, and Ryuko gets the Life Fibers. And with Gamagoori on the ropes, all that remains is...

    "Looks like it's my turn!" At last, Uzu Sanageyama takes a few steps to the fore, swinging his shinai down into one hand and sweeping it around. One after another, he points to two people in specific - first Rock Lee, then Ryuko herself. "Oi, Matoi, bushy brows. If the two of you are warmed up enough, I might just let you both come at me at once! It'll be a pretty good test for the retuned Blade Regalia!"

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    "No way. If I don't beat you on my own, then I can't really say I've won." Ryuko takes out her sword again, "Don't worry. I'm taking this fight dead serious. It won't be as easy as the last time!"

She turns, and gives Rock a nod. "Let me handle this. You guys took care of everything else." And turns back to Sanageyama. Just one more hurdle.. then she'll be the one on top! Her piercing blue eyes glare right at the swordsman, her weapon already drawn and pointing at him as she awaits him to follow suit, and transform.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
Leave it to the supposed high-ranking meatbags to be defeated by lesser, unimpressive counterpart meatbags. Now the medic was in danger, and they were swiftly being outnumbered.

However, the blind sword-wielder had finally stepped down from his podium, after his prediction of the other three losing had come true - but if anything, HK thought that he seemed somewhat elated to be fighting the surviving opponents alone. Satsuki Kiryuin also seemed rather nonchalant, considering the circumstances.

But at the moment, the droid had other issues on hand, and, detaching the largest piece of his belt, activated his back-up defense - the mobile barrier. The small plate flashes on as it's rammed into the ground, projecting a small wall of solid-energy shielding in front of HK-47 and releasing a potent energy-dispersal wave, meant to send anybody within ten feet of the droid flying an extra twenty feet backwards to give him some breathing room for his next shot.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Mako turns her attention to firing a rocket at Souji. As the weapon fires, Souji's eyes snap open.

"Is that your best?" He asks, as he moves with a blur. There is a blur as Souji whips himself to one side, the comparative speed advantage making him seem absurdly fast compared to Mako. The rocket detonates, catching him in the backwash regardless, however. The flames and shrapnel lick past his suit, scorching it and leaving thin slices in his face and hands.

He reaches up to touch the blood, and then looks back at Mako. "You will live to regret that. I think you need to understand when you are outmatched." He replies, raising a hand as he resumes his errati dodging motion. "Thunder-2." He calls out, lightning blasting out towards Mako in a manner reminiscent of old wrinkled guys in black robes.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
"WAAAHH!" Lee is suddenly jumping around when the shot gets fired at his feet, his serious composure being broken instantly. "You should be careful! Things like that are very dangerous!" He eyes her axe, crouching slightly as he considers his next move.

Though Inumuta's last comment earns a frown. "Perhaps you serve the Goddess of Honnouji in your own way, but I believe that you are missing an important component of your service. The will to put everything on the line is required if you are ever going to truly understand that it means to never give up and to have courage! You cannot analyze these things."

He takes a deep breath again, nodding at Ryuko. "I trust you! You are an incredibly competent fighter!" With that said, Lee turns around to face Sanary, and suddenly, out of the blue, he's rapidly flipping and spinning around a pair of solid iron nunchaku as if they were an extention of his limbs. Then in a motion of afterimages, he's in front of her, swinging it rapidly at her axe, trying to send vibrations down the hilt and even try to aim at her face a few times. "I rarely require the use of a weapon, but I will not insult you by assuming otherwise, you... uh... you person who I definitely did not forget!"

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr's keenly aware of her Mistral Tempest, but she's not fought enough of her /own/ kind of mage to recognize a Binding spell, let along something entirely unique to Nanoha.

    The binding shackles lockk around her wrists and ankles, stopping the wind mage dead in the air. "Damn it... gnnnh. Divine Wind!" she struggles, unable to move the bindings... this could be bad, especially since there's so much ambient mana in the area.

    Zephyr's stuck, but, that doesn't mean she's unable to fight. The Bits break formation, shifting their position to encircle Nanoha. Their control of the air around the girl intensifies as they compress it down, attempting to use air pressure to crush her... this does leave the Bits more open to attack though, even if they are still rapidly rotating around the area.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    "Th... That's the point of shooting!" Sanary laughs freely at the ninja's reaction to the warning shot, taking a moment to throw off her suit and loosen her collar. Showing up here in a freaking suit probably wasn't the smartest thing she's done in recent memory, but it's much too late for her to complain about it now.

    She blinks once. He's fast. Very, very fast. Much too fast to for her to try and match his speed, that's for sure. It takes most of her concentration just to back up rapidly enough to avoid getting pummeled by the nunchaku.

    "Y-you totally forgot, didn't you? I was at the..." Although she can't match him in speed, the healer slash axe fighter is much more confident in her strength. ".. The birthday party! And the robot fight!" Rearing back with the axe, she lashes out sideways with the axe to try and meet his swings with a single powerful slash of her own in an attempt to cleave straight through his blows! As the axe head arcs forward, there's practically... No, literally flames coming out of it!

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    As she watches, Satsuki speaks casually. "Have you collected all the data, Iori?" In her ear, a voice replies, "I have. Analysis is complete on the Scourge and Probe Regalias; Symphony is still ongoing. We can begin making improvements immediately."

    "Tch. Whatever! I'll just come beat the bushy-brows down after I'm done with you! THREE-STAR GOKU UNIFORM: BLADE REGALIA, /MARK TWO!/" The transformation is fast, and in the beat of a heart, he's on the charge, launching himself and the Blade Regalia at Ryuko with a rising war cry. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/AAAAAAAAAAAAA/-!" With his colossal shinai lowered into an attack position, there is nothing tricky or sneaky or otherwise non-straightforward about his attack; he means to meet Ryuko head-on in a clash of skill. Closer, closer, like a freight train at full steam, until-

    A girl in a frilly, lacey pink dress, carrying a parasol, drops down between Sanageyama and Ryuko.

    High above, the expression change on Satsuki's face is instant and worrying. "Nh-!" A deep, fierce scowl, an expression she never makes.

    Sanageyama manages to stop himself, with a frustrated snap of, "Wh-who are you?!" The girl turns and offers a perfectly cheerful smile, that only gets wider when Satsuki demands in a low, dangerous voice, "Why have you come, Nui Harime?" She only plants her umbrella in reply, leaning forward and speaking in a chiding, cutesy voice, "This is totally unfair, Lady Satsuki! Doing something fun like this without telling me..." Satsuki's face remains cold. "I am not obligated to tell you anything." Nui affects a mock pout. "How mean~! I thought you and I were two hearts beating as-"

    "I'm not going to tolerate any more interference in my fight with Matoi! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!" Sanageyama has lost patience. "SANAGEYAMA, GET AWAY FROM-!" It's rare for Satsuki to fully lose her composure so openly. But the Blade Regalia's shinai is swinging down with bone-crushing force... until it stops cold against her umbrella. With seemingly no effort on her part, Nui Harime blocks it. And then shoves it straight up, only to reach into a gap in the Blade Regalia's armor, and pluck something with a pinkie. A thread. A single thread. She pulls it right out with her pinkie nail.

    The Blade Regalia /comes apart/.

    And as if an afterthought, she swats Sanageyama right off the platform. "Oopsie, he fell~."

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Well, no," Mako lowers the smoking handle of her bat, scratching the side of her nose, "'cuz you've been doing things I don't quite get and making me all slow." She closes her eyes with a shrug, discarding the bat's remains, "'course it isn't my best!" When called out on regrets, the girl stamps her feet, thrusting her arms down, "Not gonna regret it! Mankanshoku Mako doesn't regret anything, even the bad or dumb things!"

MEANWHILE
    Fed up with the store owner's stance, the Mankanshoku clan has barged into the arena proper to watch the fights in person. Barazo secures seats while Mataro pulls out a camera he stole some time ago. Just in time, he starts filming Mako right when she's struck by Magical Lightning.

    The girl suddenly jerks into all kinds of bizarre poses when electrocuted, while in the audience Mataro laughs, "Hey, I bet if I mix this with the right song it'd be really popular!"

    Mataro is quickly silenced by his mother quite suddenly elbow-dropping him, then catching his camera, "Yosh~. Fight hard, Mako~!"

    By the end of Thundara, Mako sizzles. However, before she can retaliate on Souji, activity further away gets her attention, between the shouting from Sanageyama and the utter ROAR from Satsuki, "Ehh? Who is--" ... "Whaaaat!"

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
"I do not remember the birthday party very well for some reason!" Lee admits before the axe comes at him, which he was just about to try and dodge before he notices the random flames. They cut through his vest and open a nice gash in his stomach, though the flames seal it from bleeding at the same time.

"And with the robots, I was very focused on defeating a robot!" he elaborates, holding his wounded stomach. But then he hears the fuss in Ryuko's battle, and suddenly turns around. He holds his nunchaku out to Sanary, spinning it rapidly by the chain in the middle, as if to offer some barrier between the two of them. His eyes hone in on Nui, though he doesn't make a move. "You! Do not interfere with Ryuko's battle! It is dishonorable, please have respect as she chases her dream!"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    Vesta is still recovering, floating in midair and... suddenly rather distracted by what's going on with the Confederates! A new challenger appears. "Woah! Who's that?"

    Nanoha might have a comment, but she's a little preoccupied right now! Crushed by the wind, she quickly puts up a barrier... and this time she isn't fooling around. Well, she wasn't fooling around to begin with, it's just that this time she's going to release everything she has in ending this quickly.

    "You've gotten a lot stronger than I remember," Nanoha notes. "But Alicia and Miss Testarossa gave me a couple upgrades, too! RAISING HEART, SET UP!"

    Turning the tip of her staff toward the bound mage, wings of pink light BLAZE outward, unfolding to a broad spread that the roaring wind causes to spray with fanciful pink feathers of light. With a loud announcement, Raising Heart chimes, <EXCELION MODE. ACCELERATE CHARGE SYSTEM ACTIVE. LOAD CARTRIDGE. DIVINE BUSTER EXCEED.>

    This time, three cartridges slam into place, causing a massive rise in energy output... followed by Nanoha clearly shouting over the storm, "SHOOOOOT!"

    By this time, the massive wave of bright pink energy should be expected from everyone, barelling right toward Zephyr.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
As if the encounter could not become stranger, there was now a female meatbag in glaringly bright-pink clothing with long blond hair tied into two large swooping locks on either side of her head - ponytails, as meatbags typically referred to the style. She was holding an umbrella over her head in spite of the lack of any weather that would prompt such action.

Was this an ally... or an enemy?

However... one thing that stood out above the others for HK-47 was...

"Warning - abnormal objected detected! Structural make-up - Hardened life-fibers! Addendum - Mystery object shares a carbon-dating and structural makeup that matches the scissor-blade carried by Ryuko Matoi. Structural and component match up... 100% compatibility rating!"

The announcement was broad and made as loud as his vocal projector s could make it - a deliberate act to fish for information or reactions from Matoi, to see if she would recognize it. Give him information on whatever it was the new organic was carrying.

Things were definitely getting interesting.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Why wouldn't he...? "Oh! Right. You were... Right. Don't drink so much." Sanary almost sounds as if she's scolding Rock as she says that, stepping back as well to give herself some more breathing room. "That stuff'll make you sick if you're not careful!"

    And... Okay, maybe he did have a point with the robot thing. Plus, it's not as if she really made her own presence known at the time. But... Still! "... Sanary! Now you don't have an exc-" She goes slightly slack-jawed at Nui's arrival and how easily she dispatches of Samagama.. Soonogem... Sword guy. Was that an umbrella? And exploding clothes?

    "So... is she with you, or...?" She spares a quick glance at Rock and keeps her axe readied in front of her, although her main focus is still on the pink one. Just how did she do all of that?

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    <BIND BREAK!> chimes Divine Wind, forcing a torrent of raw mana into the binding rings, shattering their matrixs through brute force. Zephyr turns as that pink blast barrels down, and begins to move... however her Linker Core throbs suddenly, and she curls up in the air in sudden pain... which leaves her entirely unable to dodge.

    The beam lands, and Zephyr is rendered prone, with Barrier Jacket shredded, in a crater on the stadium floor. Divine Wind pulses weakly, a repeating SOS signal.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji proceeds to electrocute Mako, though she does score a critical hit on his attempt to process Mako's unending hope and belief. He stands there, hand outstretched and pausing for a moment as he considers this.

"How do you even /function/?" He asks, a note of disbelief in his voice.

The arrival of Nui causes Souji to observe the proceedings. "Tch... to be defeated so simply..." He comments, looking away and adjusting his glasses... And then turns to suddenly whip his sheathed blade out towards Mako, sweeping it low in an attempt to cause her to fall back before he lunges forward, spinning to drive the sheathed weapon towards Mako's chest.

His goal, after all, isn't to kill Mako or even knock her out.

The victory condition simply requires him to remain on the platform and his opponents to not be on it.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is noticing this robot is no dumbass this can't be just a thing running on scripts. No there clearly's got to be someone home here. Whomeve this robot is? It's damn good and Tomoe knows this quite well fromt eh fight so She's forced back by the charge and land sin a crouch she's rising up to make ready for another attack at HK-47, when the devil drops in.

She pauses for a second at the unnknown arrival. There is something she does not like about them she looks at this Nui Harime for a moment.

Then Satsuki loses her cool?! What is going on, that reaction to Nui alone has a sense of dread forming in the back of her mind as she holds her weapon and keeps on guard now.

This time she doesn't move to attack HK from up close no she's chanting again, but this time? It's a burst of fire.

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    Ryuko is left with just enough time to react, slowing to a stop on her heels, to avoid colliding with the blonde who's suddenly made such a dramatic appearance. "W-Who the..!?" She drops her transformation, and glares at the girl, and at Satsuki. "What are you playin' at, exactly!?" She thinks it's something underhanded that Kiryuin has decided to pull, but.. she just destroyed his uniform, by plucking out one thread? And blocked his attack without the help of well.. anything at all! She tilts her head, "Look, I don't really care who you are.. If I gotta fight my way through you, then fine." She glares up at Satsuki again, and scowls. HK's loud announcement, for what it's worth, is ignored. Ryuko is far too focused on the new hurdle in front of her.

"So, what's your deal? Who the hell are you, anyway? Not fighting with a Goku Uniform?"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    "She was able to sever the Blade Regalia's banshi so easily..." Satsuki mutters, her expression growing more troubled by the moment. "Banshi?" It seems that's a term even Inumuta doesn't know - but Iori does, and explais it over their local radio. "It's the Life Fiber that has been imbued with the will to become clothing. It is the key to creating a Goku Uniform, and it's always heavily protected! Even when Matoi absorbs a Goku Uniform's Life Fibers, it's the last one to go...!"

    "Aww, but I'm going to be the one fighting Ryuko~! I want to see her Kamui at full power, and now that I've beaten a Three-Star Uniform, she knows she can go all out on me!" Nui replies to Lee, cheerful and almost pouty again - and then HK-47 speaks up, and she actually gives a guilty little start. "Oop-! It looks like the Grand Couturier's been caught~" With a cheerful twirl, she spins herself around to face Ryuko. "Don't be silly, Ryu~ko~! I'm strong enough to stand up to you without a tatty old Goku Uniform! Especially with what the adorable little robot's talking about..."

    She reaches into her dress. She draws out a weapon. Long, and purple, of a size and shape very similar to the selfsame weapon Ryuko holds - similar enough, in fact, that it only takes a glance to determine that they're of a matched set. With a rapid-fire whirling flourish, she levels it in front of herself, and exclaims a cheerful, "Ta-daaaaaa! Do you like it, Ryuko? I've been hanging onto the other half of the Scissor Blade hoping I'd get to meet you, after I used it to kill your father~."

    With such a cheerful voice. Without changing her tone or expression at all. She calmly professes her identity.

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    Drawn from the display Nui is putting on, Mako blinks dumbly at Souji's very pointed question. She seems to consider it for a moment, flipping up one of her uniform's sleeves. The other sleeve reaches up and, from the bottom of its partner, pulls down a chart depicting Mako in silhouette. There's a big empty void where her brain should be.

    "Well, you've got me! By all accounts it just doesn't make sense!"

    The fantastic businessman closes in suddenly, prompting Mako to discard her poster. One of the uniform's sleeves slams down to disrupt the sweep at her legs--simply caving against the scabbard but refusing to let it through to her legs.

    When he wrenches the weapon free and goes for her center of mass, Mako brings the other sleeve up, pushing the sheath aside to go over her shoulder rather than into her chest. She might be magically Slowed, but having four effective arms is its own advantage!

    "Goodbye, now! I might have to help out Ryuko, don't got time to spend with weird guys today!"

    From the depths of her coat, using her ACTUAL hands, Mako produces a length of golden pipe with, of all things, a sink attached. As if it had been ripped right out of someone's kitchen cabinet. With Souji's weapon fouled into Mako's uniform's glove, she uses both hands to swing the Kitchen Sink at his side like a baseball bat.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
Droid that he is, HK is unable to keep irritation from creeping through his circuits as the meatbag Matoi disregards his announcement. If she got eviscerated by whatever the new organic had on her, it would be no fault of his... though he was curious as to what would happen now, as the mystery meatbag apparently had slain the father unit of Matoi.

Once again, it seemed things were getting very exciting indeed, and he cannot help but throw fuel on the fire just to see the result - "Advisory - Do not stand there, Matoi meatbag! Excise her head and remove her entrails!"

However, it seemed the momentary distraction had not blunted the determination of his opponent.

Seeing the oncoming burst of flame, HK-47 decides to counter with the age-old adage of elemental opposites. He throws out his CryoBan Instant-freeze Grenade, banking on the explosion of supercooled coolant and chilled liquid nitrogen to backlash and cause the organic's flame-attack to blowback right at her while he stays behind his still-deployed shield-wall for cover.

He's used up his adhesive grenade, his cryo-grenade and one of his flamethrower charges, all in the span of one prolonged fight.

Yes - this was a very exciting outing indeed.

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    There's a look of complete shock on Ryuko's face, as she sees that weapon. The missing twin that belongs to the whole pair of scissors. Ever since she'd come onto the stage in the Multiverse, she's talked about it. Finding them, and thus the person who carried them and had killed her father. And now.. here that person is. Cheerfully, gleefully admitting to it. With that sickeningly wide grin on her face! She can't help it, at all. She feels her heart pumping faster and faster, her blood starting to boil.

And with a scream, a cry of pure rage, she lashes out at Nui. Didn't she drop her transformation? It's instantly back again, fueled by that anger that's boiled over completely, at this point. "YOU.. BITCH.. !!! Why!? Why'd you kill my dad!?"

Whatever focus and determination she might've had has gone out the window. Now, it's just blind anger. All she wants is revenge.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    Nanoha drops down again, floating in midair as Raising Heart ejects the hissing, spent cartridges. She floats to Vesta's side, just in time to see the dramatic confrontation between Ryuko and Nia. Well that's... interesting. "Uwahhh?" Really she isn't sure what's going on, but the girl's fingers tense on her Device, and she mumbles softly, "What are her chances, Vesta?"

    Vesta shakes her head, "Not really good, Mistress."

    She nods, glancing down at Zephyr, her downed opponent. A small gesture and a chime from Raising Heart encloses the wind mage in a pyramid of shimmering mana, keeping her out of harm's way until she can be picked up.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    And with all that unbridled fury, Nui if anything seems more cheerful than before - it's certainly easier for her to block and parry every single attack launched her way. "You know exactly why~! You're wearing the reason, after all. Your daddy meddled in things he shouldn't have, after all~. Even if taboos ~are~ pretty fun." She takes a chance to lock her Scissor Blade against Ryuko's, pressing in to hold the daughter of Dr. Matoi still for a moment while she talks. "It was your voice that let him take my eye, you know~? Even with the Scissor Blade that can stop Life Fibers from regenerating, he wasn't annnnny match for me. But he distracted me from the existence of your Kamui, and then /you/ distracted me just long enough for him to get a good cut on my eye~!"

    "So of course I was mad, and I cut him right up~! Stabbed him into the wall, and took a Scissor Blade with me as a souvenir. If I'd known a cute thing like you was coming, I'd have stayed long enough to play with you /both/, though!."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Mako's response that she in fact has nothing in her head just continues to stun Souji. How can someone so foolish exist? This, combined with her obvious skill, takes him off balance.

A thing Mako exploits when she literally hits him with the kitchen sink. The impact is colossal, as Souji is sent flying, tumbling end over end towards the rapidly approaching edge. Ironically, that was Souji's own plan for /her/.

The best-laid plans...

A moment later, Souji flies off the side, a hand desperately grabbing at the edge... It's just enough to cause him to hang off the side by the tips of his fingers. He is silent for several seconds, his teeth clenched as he forces himself to grab up with his other hand and pull himself up.

He pulls up over the edge and looks over the confrontation there. His eyes narrow as he sees Mako moving to back up Ryoko.

"Enough of this foolishness. Murasame." He brings up his blade, holding it horizontally by the scabbard while gripping the hilt with his other hand. "It is time to feed." The crimson ribbon binding the sword into its sheath unravels, and he draws the blade. Gleaming black metal and incides with crimson runes of hunger, the weapon has a terrible and ominous cast. Any blood in the area of the weapon begins to visibly seep towards the weapon, as if it is being called to the blade, where it would be absorbed and vanish.

It is at this point that he scythes in from behind towards Mako, cleaving with the blade. Though he wields it with the speed of a feather, the weapon bears a terrifying mass behind it as he strikes.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
With the explosion of fire and ice, HK-47 pulls himself back for a proper shooting position, lining up a shot and taking it as quick as he can, even if his opponent's speed makes targeting difficult - and that's discounting his stressing his sensors to take in every delicious moment of the mounting chaos. Especially from Matoi's fight.

Even from here, HK-47 can tell that Matoi's bio-chemical levels are fluctuating like crazy - and causing an imbalance in her connection to the Kamui.

Yet... at the same time, it seems to be making the girl stronger - like a rancor that's been force-fed potent rage-inducing stimulants.

He simply cannot help himself from taking the chance to mimic his current Sith Master's 'conversion techniques' and prod her further, feeling true excitement build in him as he eagerly awaits to see what the disrupted balance between Matoi and her Kamui will bring.

He strains his vocal unit to project a val tone that she should be able to pick up through her Kamui's enhanced hearing, provided she's not too sense-deadened to hear him - "Goading - Matoi, your endorphins are causing your power levels to spike! Continue giving in to your primitive meatbag anger and you will surely spike your power levels high enough to obliterate your father-unit's killer!"

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    "I'VE FUCKING HAD IT!!!"

Ryuko screams, after Nui goes over the details of her father's murder. Her rage has brought her to a literal boiling point. All of the red trim on her Kamui is literally bubbling over, blood starting to seep from the outfit. And then it outright starts gushing out. There's a sudden wave of humidity that fills the air, with steam and a fine pink mist. There's no doubt as to what it is.. but, when it finally does clear.. Ryuko is not herself.

Twisted by her rage, her Kamui has fused with her to such an extent, that her body and her weapon have been merged together with it. Legs bowed backwards, stabbed through with spikes, her neck and head popping out of her left shoulder, and where her neck and head /should/ be, there's.. nothing. Just a hole, that occasionally spurts blood. Huge fangs dominate her mouth, so long that they overlap. Her skin is a sickly, pale green. At least, is is where it's not drenched with blood. She doesn't speak, instead just making hissing, rasping and croaking noises, as she shambles about.

Even her movements are wrong, like someone walking on hot coals, or with broken limbs. "RRRGRGHHHGGGG!!!" Her scissor blade now a part of her sword arm itself, she lashes out with both that.. and her other arm, which has grown, into some sort of huge limb made out of blood and life fibers that's as large as the rest of her body itself.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
"I do not know her!" Lee answers Sanary as he stops spinning his nunchaku, watching this unfold very intently. He's watching as careful as possible, trying to absorb any information that might be useful on this mysterious woman. But there's only so much that can be discerned from this!

"She is going berserk, like one of the tailed-beast hosts..." He puts his nunchaku away, giving this his absolute full attention now. When someone that powerful goes berserk... "Everyone should probably be on high alert, regardless of the side! If she is berserking, then we may need to save her from herself!"

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Ryuko!" Mako calls out, having just turned towards the battle between her friend and the frilly newcomer. Shielding her eyes from the bloody, explosive transformation and mist, she calls out that name again, "Ryuko~!"

    A sound behind her suddenly causes Mako's eyes to narrow and she whirls in place, leading with the sleeve of her Goku Uniform. The blood-feasting blade Murasame cleaves through black cloth, shedding red motes of Life Fiber but tasting no blood even as it severs the sleeve completely from the Uniform's main center.

    "I'm DONE playing with you!"

    Mako's uniform's OTHER hand, swelling to the side of a person's body, slams into Souji's chest as he tries to slip past her mid-slice, slamming the businessman solidly into the ground and pinning him beneath the glove. On her face is not the goofy dope he's been fighting.

    Those brown eyes glimmer with resolve, set in an expression of utmost serious intent.

    "My friend is in trouble! You--! YOU leave me alone! Go help Upperclassman Gamagoori get to safety, he's your comrade, isn't he?!"

    Without actually squishing or doing more than perhaps knocking the wind out of Souji Murasame, Mako retracts her remaining uniform glove and turns her back on him, breaking into a run.

    "Ryukooo~! Don't waste your blood! Blood is expensive!"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    A simple swing of the berserk Ryuko's arm is enough to /shatter the platform entirely/.

    "Good, good, that's much more like it~! Now things have gotten fun!" And Nui Harime couldn't be happier, simply dancing right down the rubble as it falls.

    "Was that your aim from the start, Nui Harime...?" Satsuki growls, before standing up and planting her foot on a carefully-placed button. "I'm joining the battle!" A long staircase assembles itself before her in the blink of an eye. By the time she reaches the bottom of the steps, the Elite Four are there - despite that half of them no longer have a Goku Uniform. "Lady Satsuki, are you all right?" Gamagoori asks. "The destruction of the polling place can no longer be prevented. I want you four to evacuate the students. I intend to stop her myself."

"LIFE FIBER OVERRIDE! KAMUI JUNKETSU!"

    As Satsuki charges in, Nui is taking her dear sweet time, however, hopping and darting and cheerfully evading Ryuko's berserk attacks. "Come on, keep it up~! You're becoming a splendid monster!"

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Lee continues to watch it, grabbing his face as blood spurts once Satsuki initiates her transformation. Though somehow he continues to hold his serious composure while wiping his nose with a tissue. "Miss Sanary, I will have to fight you another day!"

He's jumped into the air once the platform shattered, falling and assessing the situation. "Miss Kiryuin! If required, I will open my inner gates and offer aid, but I do not want to make things worse somehow. How do I proceed with this?!" he asks, apparently one who's trained to ask for orders in times when he lacks information, rather than simply rushing in. Eventually he does land, legs crouched slightly on top of the rubble.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    "VESTA!" Nanoha calls out, as soon as Satsuki's orders go through. As she shouts, she ejects the clip from her Device and slams in another, letting Raising Heart cycle in another cartridge as needed. She's already flying around to move where she can hopefully get a clear shot... but with her allies there, she can't get anything off that would have a good chance of stopping Ryuko. All of her precision attacks would merely slow down the enraged girl at best.

    "RIGHT!" Vesta calls, landing on the edge of the pillar. In a smooth, swift motion, she gestures with her hands and the catgirl summons up shimmering chains of mana, whipping around toward Ryuko to restrain her. In Ryuko's state, they probably won't last very long at all, but Vesta and Nanoha are hoping it'll slow her down long enough for others to calm her.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
Of all the things that HK-47 was prepared for... a shattering platform was not really one of them. If not for his extremely durable body and the fortune of being one one of the larger chunks of the breaking platform, he would have suffered very severe damage as he tried to work a controlled fall. In fact, even now he hadn't come out unscathed, as evidenced by the light scrapes that now lined much of his plating.

Upon impact with the ground, the chunk of the platform he was on shattered and he fell more then thirty feet to the ground, landing on solid stone and spiraling down another ten feet before he came to a stop, the majority of his remaining cloak and fabric bindings tearing away as he did.

When he recovered, he noted there was a sizable series of dents in his torso unit and in both his left limbs, as that was the side he had mostly landed on. To make matters worse, he'd lost his barrier-unit in the chaos, and was thus down an item.

However, the sight of Matoi's current form made it easier to recover from, in all it's berserk, chaotic beauty... although it was offset by the fact that he was likely going to have to offer assistance in restraining her, now that Kiryuin was making a move against her. But, if he wanted to get close to the REVOCS heiress, he would have to put up with undoing such a marvelous display - after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as... some random meatbag had once said.

Thus, he walked up toward Satsuki with marked reluctance, and as quickly as he could given that he was still recalibrating his misbalanced gyro-systems.

"Addendum - Meatbag -er, organi - ah, 'Lady' Kiryuin, this unit possesses six tranquilizer darts for close-range combat and non-lethal neutralization of organic targets, as well as a carbonite launcher with which to freeze and restrain the rampaging Matoi. Under the current circumstances, I shall temporarily acknowledge you as my Master for the duration of this situation. I await your orders on how to proceed."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Mako once again acts in a way that is completely contrary to his expectations. This woman is utterly incomprehensible to the corporate heir, and he lies there, suddenly finding himself on his back. He prepares to strike, but stop as he sees the look in those eyes.

He pauses, staring into those eyes... And his own eyes widen slightly in response, with an intake of breath. That... is something he can understand. He does not strike at Mako, letting her go to chase after Ryuko.

He straightens up, then, silently looking to the bloody horror that Ryuko has become. Kiruyin has given the suggestion that all hands should focus on dealing with her. The polling has become irrelevant. Life is now the focus. He looks to Gamagoori, who seems to have partially recovered, and then back to the Blood Golem.

"Murasame hungers." He says ominously... And then the platform shatters, sending them all into freefall. Souji twists and rebounds off of a flying hunk of stone, ricocheting between stone to stone as he suddenly closes in.

    >Samurai
        > Sword Tech
            > Sky Render

There is a low roar as wind begins to scream around him from the speed of his descent. Souji hammers down upon Ryuko with colossal force, his weapon splitting air and anything in his path as he comes down aiming for that oversized, crushing arm. As he lands, the air ripples outwards, sheared apart... Before it implodes back into place, filling the area violently.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Sanary's mouth hangs open again as she stares at Ryuko's bloody transformation, the healer having trouble figuring out whether she should try to heal her or shoot her or what. "You've seen this kind of thing before, Rock?" She tosses Rock Lee a quick glance before turning back to Ryuko. "Heh.. Yeah, when you get your face cleaned up. First things f-"

     And then the platform blows up. Well, if there weren't too many injured before, there's probably plenty of them now. Sanary does at least /attempt/ to jump forward to mitigate the fall somewhat, but landing safely from high places isn't one of her strong points. Letting out a string of curses as she falls and collides with other chunks of the platform on the way down, the healer does at least manage to land on one of the taller piles of rubble. Perhaps not on her feet, but still.

     At least she can still get back up. Eyeing Ryuko, she takes a moment to psyche herself up before gripping her gunaxe once more and charging at the girl. Once she gets within striking distance, Sanary pumps some of her magical energy into the weapon, a trail of ice billowing out of the axe's blade as she takes a broad swing at Ryuko's ankles. She might not have the techniques of everyone else or the speed of... Also everyone else, but she does have a lot of strength and a gunaxe loaded with Freeze shells!

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    Might've been a good idea. The chains, that is. Ryuko just uses her overwhelming strength in this state to /pull/ back. Vesta might need to be careful, or simply let go. Otherwise, she might be in for a rather unpleasant ride. All the while, she's still swinging wildly at Nui, charging and striking at her with far more speed than one would credit such an unwieldly form. Every miss also smashes into her surroundings, and the stadium is slowly being beaten apart. Ryuko's blood has another effect. It makes footing incredibly difficult, and the smell of it is everywhere.

    "RRRRGHHH!!!" A snarl escapes her, as Souji and Sanary both attack her. The large arm might as well be made of solid steel, for all the good using the wind and a sword against it does. The attack lands, but it doesn't seem to dissuade her at all. Her attention is also diverted. As for Sanary, ice is probably a good idea. The second that it touches Ryuko, however, it sublimates and turns into hot steam. And.. again, it gets her attention. Her arms seem to move like individual living things, lashing out at Sanary and Souji of their own accord.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    "It is unlikely that any ordinary armament or skill will even reach Matoi at this point," Satsuki calls out, speaking both to Rock Lee and to HK at the same time. "If you don't strike with every ounce of force and technique at your disposal, that's as good as baring your throat to her!" Her eyes then turn to Nui long enough to add, "And if you interfere, I'll kill you myself."

    And suiting her advice to her words, the Queen of Honnouji hurls herself into the fray. "OPEN YOUR EYES, MATOI!!" With all her strength she hurls herself into the fray, striking at Matoi again and again, and the first impact alone is like a bomb going off. Every time their blades meet, every time the power of Kamui is pitted against Kamui, produces a shockwave powerful enough to blow back the smoke in the courtyard, to shatter the ground beneath them. At this point, Nui actually seems content to take a back seat! She's picked a spot of rubble to sit on and watch the proceedings. "I guess this is pretty fun too in its own way!"

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Ryuko!" Mako shouts above the chaos and noise of the battle raging around the monster which used to be her friend. Even when the platform shatters apart, the Fight Club President reaches out with her Uniform's remaining sleeve, latching on to a larger chunk of debris and hauling herself up to it. Kicking off from this bigger piece, Mako runs across collapsing rubble, "RYUKO~!"

    The sheer power of two Kamui clashing together hurls more rubble up into Mako's face, pushing her back, protecting her face and chest with her arms and her remaining uniform sleeve, "--Whoa!" The spikes of her geta bite into more settled wreckage, allowing her to anchor herself if only for a moment. In the lull between clashes, Mako springs forward again, "RYUKO!"

    Tattered as it is, the Two-Star Fight Club President uniform holds as best it can. With each clash of blade against blade, Kamui against Kamui, Rage against Will, Mako ventures closer. By the time she's as close as Harime Nui, Mako plants a crowbar down from within her uniform's coat and hangs on to it while the latest burst of power shreds the uniform right off, leaving only her regular clothes.

    "--RYUKO!"

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
That's all Rock Lee needed to know. "I will not hold back. I will bare the full capacity of my soul!!!" Lee takes one, long inhale... then exhales. That's when an aura of green explodes from him, and HK-47 would likely be able to detect that this is sweat rapidly evaporating from him due to a dangerously elevated heart rate. Blood pumping through his veins at a rate that nearly brings it to a boil.

Three... four... five... -six- gates open, and some of that blood begins to swirl around his body in a vortex, before he suddenly darts forward.

The ground splits in two as he crosses it in a fraction of a second, both aided by his gates -and- the lack of his weights. And he does nothing more than aims a simple punch for Ryuko's face, a punch that carries with it the full force of his physical ability, his fist in flames fro the friction of the air. "This is what it takes for Naruto when he berserks, so I will not insult you by using any less!!!"

HK-47 (754) has posed:
In spite of himself, the droid cannot help but give a whisper to the seated Nui - "Conspiratory Whisper - I could not agree more."

With that, the droid gives Satsuki a simple "Yes Master," and activates his dart-launcher, firing every tranquilizer and concussion dart at Matoi to try and stagger her, and with his other arm he activates his carbonate launcher, firing a potent burst of supercooled, flash-freezing resin at Matoi's head and the swollen, distorted eye of her Kamui, attempting to blind her. He then starts readying his sonic grenade for when he gets his next shot, remembering the way that Nonon's soni-based attacks had disrupted the connection between the pair.

However... as he thinks back on that display, a worrying thought crosses his processor core.

"Query - What happened to her Abstractum? Has it merged with her form as well? Or was it rendered inert?"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe has stopped her fight with HK-47 is hover for the moment she's a mess but she's still standing and she's looking at the new foe that has turned up however she's got the warning about not to hold back, she nods once and she is holding her self ready should something else happen. Given HK has also got his nose on the duel she's not going to bum rush him. She's just going to try the an idea of how she can help, she does know she's disposable, however. If it comes down to it but it seems that Mako's on the job of trying to talk down Ryuko.

So Tomoe's going to do what she does best, get into face of dangerous people. She banishes her pole-arm, soon a long sword is in one hand and a shield in the other.

She takes a second, to cast a buff on her self and she's following Rock Lee into the attempt to contain Ryuko whom has for the moment flipped out.

"RYUKO! WAKE UP!"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    And there's the big flaw with Sanary's plan. Even with the ice backing up her swings, taking any sort of swing at Ryuko necessarily involves getting into range of her arms. Very large, very powerful arms. Although Sanary's able to narrowly avoid the first swing at herself, she's only barely able to defend herself from a second lash and finds herself launched back several feet from the impact against the gunaxe.

    At least the weapon's holding itself together nicely even if Sanary's arm isn't. Between getting flung back from that giant hit and landing directly on her right arm, it's very dislocated and possibly broken. Gritting her teeth and fighting the urge to cry out in pain, Sanary braces her good arm against her knee as she squats, aiming the gunaxe at Ryuko. "Freaking... Ass! Get your act together!" Although her aim isn't quite steady, she's still managing to keep the gunaxe's handguard barrel aimed just well enough to fire blasts of ice at the rampaging Ryuko's legs!

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    Ryuko is immediately grabbed again, as Satsuki joins the fray, letting out a wet, gurgling hiss. Shuffling rapidly but awkwardly, she moves towards the leader of Honnouji, meeting a strike from Bakuzan with the scissor blade in her arm. And another with her other arm. And another.. and another.. Each blow letting loose a huge shockwave, that tears up the ground and cracks the surrounding rubble. Darts and such are more of an annoyance, though the carbonite hits her in the head and manages to freeze her for a bit longer. But, what cold can cool the fire of the rage that's burning inside her, right now? It doesn't take but a couple of minutes for it to boil off and free her, just in time to take a punch to the face.

There's a loud /snap/ of bone, and her head is pushed back at a /very/ awkward angle. But it snaps back into place just as easy, and those huge fangs grab onto Lee's fist and she tosses him with her mouth, turning her attention back to Satsuki. Like before, ice does no good. She ignores it, and likewise, her arms lash out and smack Tomoe away. A blood-red aura starts to form around Ryuko, as she stalks towards the student council president, and a low growl in her throat builds slowly but steadily into a loud screech.

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Lee goes rolling across the ground as she tosses him, until he's on his back and holding his arm. Not only did the impact of his punch already shred a bunch of muscles, but this only added more pain on top of that. The double edged sword of not holding back...

He pushes himself up to one knee, continuing to keep his gates open. He still has a good arm and two legs. There are still useful attacks he could do, but he has to watch. He can't let this his next action go to waste...

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji cleaves into the arm, and... Nothing happens. Souji's eyes widen. Nothing? No damage? Impossible! Today has been a long string of impossible events to the Murasame heir, even as the arm hammers into him, unpleasant cracking noises echoing through the air as he is sent slamming through a pile of rubble and craters into a wall.

He slumps, hitting the ground and coughing up a spray of his own blood to join all the rest on the ground. His arms shake, the pain radiating through him, the organ damage, the shattered bones all adding up to incomprensible, mind-blanking pain.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    The chains around Ryuko burst, but fortunately Vesta wasn't really holding on physically. She does 'snap' backward when they're broken, landing on her ass with a dazed look. "Mooooow..." The catgirl shakes her head... then looks up in alarm and darts down the side of the pillar. "Uh oh!"

    Meanwhile, Nanoha has gone pale, but she's above the fight, quietly... singing. Yes, singing. Distantly, the words can be made out from below. "I summon the light of destruction down upon my prisoners. Stars, gather, and become the light which pierces everything. Tear through everything in a blaze of light..."

    An ominous pink glow is building at the tip of her staff, with tiny pink motes of light swirling upward. Souji might be able to tell she's gathering ambient 'MP' from the air.

    Nanoha mumbles softly, "Pretty sure this won't win me any friends."

HK-47 (754) has posed:
Were it not within his best interests to offer assistance, HK-47 would have liked nothing more then to watch Matoi rampage against her enemies and cause a very bloody and efficient example of wanton chaos. If he were to dare try and place it in the terms a human would use, it would be like felt as though he were an artist being forced to slash a beautiful painting apart after a peer had just finished creating it before his very optical sensors.

But, due to her status as leader of this academy and her experience in dealing with Kamui, Satsuki Kiryuin was his temporary Master... and he would have to assist her in this if he wanted to get closer to her and her operations, anyway.

And that meant bringing Matoi down.

He had two carbonate shots left. And if non-lethal force couldn't bring Matoi down... well... such was the way of the world when dealing with... unfortunate accidents such as thus. At the very least, they ought to have a fascinating biological sample to study.

With that in mind, he cupped the sonic grenade in one hand, preparing to lob it the very moment Matoi gave him an opening.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is hit damn hard by Ryuko andf she's physically forced back by the force of the hit. She hols back however looking at Ryuko who now makes this almost inhuman noise. She does not attack and she looks over to Rock Lee to see if he needs anything. Where She was struck by Ryuko? Is nothing but the wire frame damage to her form indicating just how /hard/ she was struck. Her HP for lack of a better term is pretty low hell it's in the red from the hit, and she's looking pretty staggered too.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    Clash and clash and clash again. Even with the full power of her Kamui at her disposal, Satsuki doesn't look like she's having an easy time of it. Junketsu seems to only just be able to match against the strength Senketsu and Ryuko have in this state... and if anything, she might even just barely be on the defensive. But she's managing to avoid any full-on hits. When she comes to a stop just for a moment, Nui takes the chance to cheerfully chime in, "Wonderful, wonderful~! This crazy world that you and Ryuko are in right now, I wouldn't intrude on it for anything! All of your friends are so amazing!" Without looking away from Ryuko, Satsuki growls, "And you would find it amusing if we all killed each other, wouldn't you?" Nui's denial is a cheerful, "Of course not~!"

    Satsuki shifts her grip on Bakuzan. "Well, it won't happen. A girl who is merely being worn by her Kamui..." She brings the weapon up... and then drops into a ready stance, /exploding/ with a bright, flaring corona of blue light. "IS NO MATCH FOR SATSUKI KIRYUIN!" And with power pouring out of herself, she cocks her blade and lunges, pushing the power of her own Kamui to its absolute limits.

    'Let's finish this, Matoi...!'

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "STOOOOOP!"

    From where she crouches, clinging to a now-pretty-battered crowbar, Mako hurls herself forward into the energy blasting off of the encounter between the monstrous Ryuko and the Student Council President. With how dense the power is, like water, the girl flails her arms and kicks, outright swimming through it, screaming the entire time.

    "Ryuko! Ryuko! Ryuko! Ryuko! Ryuko! Ryuko!" A mantra of a single name that propells her forward more than her ineffective flailing ever could.

    Like this Mako forces her way between the two fighters, until the energy abates--and she hurls herself bodily into the superheated monster that used to be her friend, "STOP~!"

    On impact Mako wraps her arms and legs around the beast's midsection and refuses to let go, in spite of the searing heat. Eyes squeezed shut, she shouts, "Stop it, Ryuko! This isn't like you at all!"

    Despite any struggling, Mako remains firmly attached, "Did you forget what you said to me?! You said it wasn't about avenging your dad, but getting to know him better!" There's a pause as she gets her breath, then the tirade continues, "But you're just a monster right now! You're kicking and screaming and destroying our school! You're acting just like I did when I let the Fight Club go to my head! Back then you brought me to my senses--" Dipping her head, Mako screams, "So now it's my turn to do the same!"

    Finally letting go, eyes still squeezed shut and ignoring the full body red mark, Mako draws her hand back and then swings it up at that grotesque head in a single open-palm slap, "I WILL BRING RYUKO BACK~!"

Ryuko Matoi (140) has posed:
    Ryuko is stopped in her tracks, as Mako grabs onto her waist, the heat of her body temperature enough to burn. She snarls, and tries to shake and pry the girl off. She even manages to do so, but Mako clings back on. But, she's not moving. She's stopped completely, and.. is it working? It's honestly hard to tell, but that slap seems to do what Lee's punch did. Her head snaps backwards, with a loud /crack/. But, unlike last time, steam starts pouring out of her Kamui. The warped, distorted, and corrupted form Ryuko had taken appears to 'untangle' itself, the snapping of threads and tearing of fabric heard as the grotesque sillhouette of the monster is replaced by the more familiar one of Ryuko's human form.

Still wearing Senketsu in his transformed state, they both seem to be back to normal. ".. M-Mako.." Ryuko's voice is faint, weak.. but normal, again. "I'm sorry.. I.." Senketsu seems worried, as well. <<Ryuko..>>

"I'm.. okay.. Just tired.. I'm sorry I dragged you into that.. all of you.." She doesn't manage much more, before lapsing into unconciousness. Alive, but with anemia having gotten the better of her, Ryuko is back to her old self.

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "YAAAH~!" Eyes still shut, pouring out great big tears, Mako smacks Ryuko again, square in the face. The third swing is weaker, and by the forth she just beats feebly on the taller girl's chest, sobbing the whole time until they both fall over, "A-ah! Ryuko!"

    Propped up on her arms, Mako sniffs, "Geez... You nearly died of blood loss, you know!" She then drops, wrapping her arms around her friend's neck and shaking her head, "You stupid idiot dummy~!" And that's about when the taller of the two passes out.

    "--Eh? Ryuko? Ryuko!" Picking herself up, Mako shakes Ryuko a few times, "Ryuko! Ryuko!" pause, "...Did she die?!"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    With Mako positioned as she is, trying to fire any more ice at Ryuko would be too much of a risk for Sanary to attempt. "Crazy girl... Get outta there!" Keeping the barrel trained on the rampaging Ryuko's legs, she keeps watching as the girl latches onto the beast and even goes as far as slapping it. Once it looks like she's not about to let go, however, the healer drops the gunaxe to her side and instead focuses what's left of her magic reserves into her properly-functioning hand.

     Once Ryuko seems to be getting back to her senses and starts teetering, it's just about time to release that energy. "Freakin'... Nobody's dying today!" The healer turns in a full circle once to confirm her targets before thrusting that hand out, practically flinging waves of healing magic at Mako, Ryuko, Souji, Satsuki, Rock Lee, and Tomoe one after the other. It's not going to be performing any miracles, but it might just be enough to stem the life-threatening injuries and alleviate the worst parts of the pain.

    Sanary, meanwhile, falls over after that. Right on the busted-up arm, too. Fun.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
There were very few things that could surprise HK-47 at this point in his existence. He had just about seen it all. Kryat dragons? Killed them. Sith Lords? Killed them. Jedi? Killed PLENTY of them. Secret organization of bounty hunters responsible for silently protecting the Republic? Helped end them by ACCIDENT.

Seeing a child with one of the lowest I.Q. scores he could imagine working to literally slap sense back into the rampaging Matoi... that, quite literally, toped. It. ALL. It was such a repugnantly sappy and improbable scene that HK felt a distinct urge to press a blaster barrel to his processor core and pull the trigger, if only to be spared from the seeping sensation of what couldn't be anything but the feeling called nausea that was spreading through his circuits.

The worst part was that he was in a perfect position to just roast the annoyance and let the bloody carnage continue, and he couldn't because he knew that Kiryuin would likely not take kindly to any disruption of an operation to end Matoi's rampage.

Such was the cruel ironies of his existence.

However... it was not what he considered a total loss. He had arguably gained immense combat data on both of the only known Kamui in existence, as well as what happened when a Kamui was overstimulated by it's hosts's emotions... and the needed stimulus to push it over the edge.

But now... he had to try and play the part of the... amicable hero. Disgusting as it was. And to get closer to Kiryuin.

He shuffled slowly up to Matoi and Kiryuin, trying to be as cheerful about the situation as possible - "Appraisal - Lady Kiryuin, I find you and your cold, precise demeanor to be the traits that define a very amenable Master... vast amount of bulbous slushiness that you are" he cited, adding the last part on as an offhanded notation to the flesh-balloons that jutted out from her upper-torso.

Honesty - how did any meatbag become so efficient in combat with such dead-weight attached to their frame?

Rock Lee (678) has posed:
Lee's skin returns to normal, and the bleeding in his arm slows with Sanary's healing. His torn muscles also don't quite ache as much. This allows him to deal with what pain and injury is left over, he's trained to function through the pain.

He takes a look at everyone, as everyone seems to be more or less fine now. He looks to Satsuki, adding, "I apologize that my strongest punch did not reach her, but I believe that this girl may be your most valuable student!" he declares, pointing at Mako.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
    When Mako goes swimming her way up the river of power, Nui stands up and starts cheerfully sauntering her way in.

    She gets about three steps before Bakuzan presses against her throat. Without even looking, Satsuki bars the way. "Be silent and watch."

    And that's exactly what the both of them do. They watch as Mako Mankanshoku shatters common sense; the unstoppable rage that endured full-force killing blows and powerful magic and excellent technology, stopped by slaps from a friend.

    With a smooth, almost formal motion, the Council President returns Bakuzan to its sheath. "She's only fallen unconscious. She owes her life to your intervention." Her voice has grown, of all things, tired. The waves of healing from Sanary seem to perk her up a little, but nonetheless she turns to leave after a brief stare at Lee, having no further words for the fallen Matoi or her allies - no matter how peculiar their haircut may be.

    As she turns, however, she finds herself joined by a killbot. She doesn't stop walking, but she does respond. "If you are asking to be of service to me, I have no objections. But I will expect that disrespectful tongue to be restrained when speaking to me. ...I don't care how you speak to others, however." But as they walk, they go by Nui again, and this time she DOES stop.

    "Nui Harime. You are hereby banned from Honnouji Academy grounds. If I catch you here again, I will show no mercy."

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
    Oh. It looks like it's going to be okay. Nanoha eases off and quiets her singing, letting the pink power disperse with a faint hiss of swirling light. The gathering power suddenly plummets, and the small child smiles brightly as she lets herself down to land on the pillar with the others. "Oh. That's good. Come on, Vesta, it looks like it's going to be all right!"

    She didn't have to use her 'friendmaker' after all.

Mikase Yamato (112) has posed:
    "Lady Satsuki--!" Mako snaps up, glancing at the imposing figure looming over her. She tilts her head, then, and glances back down. After a moment of what could generously be called thought, Mako rises up on her knees and waves her hands, "H-hey, Ryuko, pull yourself together!" while seeming to forget the other girl is passed out.

    And then Mako is distracted by her arms. Jumping to her feet, she examines her hands, then pulls up her shirt to look at her middle, "Hey! I got a full body tan from that!"

    Turning, Mako waves her hands towards the stands, "Heeey! Dad! Bring the truck, we gotta get Ryuko home~!"

    MEANWHILE, IN THE BLEACHERS Barazo rolls himself upright. Mataro remains embedded in the bench behind where he had been sitting, while Sukuyo teases rock chips out of her hair. The roly-poly Mankanshoku patriarch, once right-side-up, flashes a thumbs-up to his daughter in the center of the school grounds, "You got it!"

HK-47 (754) has posed:
The droid turns to Satsuki and almost voice objection, but he forces it back by sheer strength of will, giving out a resigned reply - "Acknowledgement - Yes, Lady Kiryuin. However, I do have a few other obligations, such as occasional information-gathering and skill-honing excursions. The occasional 'peacekeeping' anti-pirate run, as well. But... many of these could be worked around, and I could be transferred into your service as a bodyguard and service unit that would come whenever you needed me to. That is... if you would permit me as such... Master."

With that, the droid falls in step with Satsuki, privately making out the calculations as to how this will affect his directives and observation missions. He was certainly becoming a busy droid. First a pirate raid... now a potential liaison to one of the most cold and calculating individuals on this world.

And to top it off... he now, thanks to this battle, had working samples of a Kamui wielder's blood, preserved in carbonite, for him to study.

He would have to be very careful not to antagonize the wrong people, now - at least, from intentionally doing so, that is.

But then again... that was what made this new interlinked multiverse so very, very exciting.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji observes the interaction between Satsuki, Mako, and Ryuko with a dull, inscrutable expression. It becomes more apparent when Sanary heals him and he struggles to hie feet, his expression watching the three with a narrow, laser-like focus.

He looks between his blade, and then to Ryuko and Mako. There is a moment of consideration. The blade still hungers.

He turns, practically spitting an expression of distaste as he presents his back to the situation, holding out his arm and setting his blade across it. With a quick motion, he cuts, fresh blood welling up once more. He lets it stain his suit as he sheathes his weapon. The blood of its wielder will have to do this night.

He says nothing more, stalking away with an expression of stone. This farce is over.