2413/The N.O. Channel Opens

The N.O. Channel Opens
Date of Scene:	08 June 2015
Location:	Boston-666
Synopsis:	A mysterious robot bursts out of Nathan Hall's head, forcing people to fight it.
Cast of Characters:	168, 253, Riva Banari, Ayako Hasekawa, 792, 805

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Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan has been on edge since the excursion to Lordran, in that way that's very difficult to precisely perceive. He's seemed like he's been trying to work up the nerve for something; in a way, advice from Psyber and Haruko has sort of twisted up and combined inside his head. Confronting his own lack of openness. He and Psyber, being essentially best friends, do habitually tend to go out and about with each other when it comes to errands, getting food, and things like that, partially due to Nathan's chronic need for defense. The other members of Heaven or Hell could, of course, accompany, and tend to spend their time locally; it's likely they're within responding distance for what comes next.

    Of course, today he's wound up grabbing a meal at some cafe around Boston. None of the usual adventure gear, of course, just plain and normal street clothes, though notably he's still got the bandages for those head wounds he got. Still not going away, huh? He's been a bit more quiet today than usual, but as always the stoic monotone and the absolute lack of expression have not broken. In the midst of a long silence in the meal, he eventually does sort of speak up, in a slower version of the old tones of voice he used to have, forcing through a bit of reluctance. He's got Elliana's plan on the brain. "Psyber." He says, staring at his own meal with a concerned sort of noise. "Left field question. Something I have had on the mind for a while, since our operation to acquire the Dark Soul. The... Issues with Lady Fairchild. If you could resolve them all to the absolute perfect end state, one where the whole cycle of feuding is halted without real, permanent sacrifice, how much transient pain is worth that sort of thing?"

    There's a low, silent atmosphere of something building below the surface, like air pressure, like the feeling of hair raising on your neck before a bolt of lightning strikes, or the feeling you get when a balloon is inflated just a bit too much.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber blinks a few times. From Nathan, the question is especially surprising because the two have generally resolved of recent times not to pry into eachother's morals or emotional states beyond necessity. So the half-angel actually stops when he's asked that, spoonful of clam chowder halfway to his mouth.

    "Huh... interesting question," Psyber ponders, trying to figure out how to answer the librarian. He sets the spoon down into his soup and leans back, pondering that. As a nervous tic, he picks up a butter knife off the table and begins to twirl it between his fingers, "It's hard to answer because you're asking a subjective metric. Though if you're asking me personally?"

    He sighs a bit, "Well. I've made a career out of being the heat sink for a lot of people's pain and trauma. Which means my answer is naturally skewed towards the belief that if I can take more pain to resolve that of others with finality, it's a worthwhile exchange regardless of how it affects me."

    "So... a lot of transient pain, I guess?"

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako is of course accompanying the members of Heaven or Hell! She's dressed as a maid today and cheerfully has her hands folded in front of her body in the normal modest maid pose. What? She's a self-styled maid, not an actual one. Although her clothes sticking out like a sore thumb in Boston probably does catch a glance or two. Then again, this is Boston-666. Stranger things visit. She might not even get a second glance.

    When Psyber and Nathan go into the cafe, Ayako just hovers around. It's not like she eats, after all. And she doesn't want to intrude on the pair's conversation. Eavedropping is a bad habit, too! The odd... atmosphere does make her pause and glance about a bit nervously, though.

Riva Banari has posed:
Today, Riva is enjoying herself with a big club sandwich, side salad, and some clam chowder. This is Boston, you can get clam chowder /anywhere/. With how much she's had to adventure for justice and love and friendship (and loot) lately, she's not too worried. These calories will get burned off fast enough, never mind that she's THAT PERSON WHO CAN EAT EVERYTHING AND NOT GAIN A POUND. She's sitting in a specifically chosen spot: Just far enough away to not look like she's intruding on Nathan and Psyber's bro time while also quietly listening in. Because she's REALLY NOSY. Not that anyone would likely think she was with her chowing down. Having Ayako around helps keep up the illusion that she's not paying attention as well, as she chats with the water spirit. "So, have you managed to get through all my books yet?" Riva jokes to her.

Nonon Jakuzure (805) has posed:
IF you would believe it -

Over the side of one of the dividers in the cafe is a hat - a skull resting right above the divider, a plume on both sides of them. Lost in the chatter, now and again there is a small bang on the table. One that couldn't have been made by someone very 'strong' or larger, for that matter! "Oh. Well, that's fine then~." She declares as she slides the object away, stretching out. The hat slides back as well, Nonon sipping the 'Boston coffee' as it were. She has decided Tea is still far more enjoyable.

Nonon is enjoying her brief time off. By 'brief' she means 'while the other students clean up the school'. It could take a day, at most. Or a while longer. It's likely even mostly complete, but going out into odd places - getting lost in this case - has its benefits. Such as the ones that make her ear twitch. Dark So... Hmm? Nonon's eyes open once more. Issues, Lady Fairchild? Absolute perfect end state - no permanent sacrifice. Pain. Oh.

All of Nonon's attention is suddenly focused, more so as she spies a maid and ... just two weird guys. But what they're talking about seems rather serious. That, and they seem a bit loaded in weaponry. Is it normal for people like the transfer student to just carry around weaponry? It seems to be so. What gets her attention the most, however, is a giant club sandwich - and even MORE about Riva. Who even needs that much food? It's clear she's focusing a little too much on them - but that passes a bit later as she turns away, still listening in.

"Well, I know at least three of them have big mouths." She comments, mostly to herself. Riva, is of course, placed at the top of that list.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko is currently in her apartment, located in Boston. She's just laying down, waiting. She managed to clean house for Nathan earlier, and with a number of the members of Heaven or Hell out for lunch, she doesn't have to worry about making a meal til dinner. She is just laying back in her bed, playing her bass guitar.

     And then she hears a soft metallic clinking sound. She glances down, looking at the metal bracelet on her arm. Her eyes go wide. A smile appears on her face.

     As Psyber gives his answer to Nathan, something suddenly happens. The bandage on Nathan's forehead flies off, pushed aside by a bulge of round flesh. It looks like a long, multijoined limb. The feeling of this coming out is not painful, but unusual. And, almost certainly, shocking. Four other similar limbs burst out from Nathan's hand as well, following this one. The creature bursts towards the wall of the cafe, slamming straight throught he wall.

     The silvery metallic creature is quite large. Big enough to fill up most of the cafe, making it very good that it is crawling outside and bursting through the front of the cafe. At the least, it's not likely to cause /more/ damage to the inside of the cafe. It's shape is strange and yet familiar. It looks exactly like a hand, except all but one of the fingers are bent backwards and used as legs. Its middle finger sticks up, moving around. On the tip of the middle finger is a bulge of metal, containing a red crystal eye with a large black pupil. It looks around the streets for just a second, before moving to step on a car. On the palm of this robotic hand creature, a mouth begins to stretch open, filled with teeth. And, its bends down, moving to bite into the car.

     Haruko, meanwhile, is leaping out of her apartment window. She slides down the side of her building, bass guitar in hand. As she nears the ground, she leaps straight for her Vespa, turns it on, and starts driving off. Her eyes look at her metallic bracelet on occasion, as she follows it to the source of energy causing it to react.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan had hoped, unfortunately, for an answer that was quite a bit less than what he got. He had hoped for something that was more conservative, something that said 'some things are not worth the pain required to achieve them' about this sort of situation that he finds himself in. For the first time in a while, Nathan makes a face of actual distress, before he mutters, "Psyber, I think..." And that is when it hits him.

    A brilliant crimson pulse in his mind that slams through the cranium. His head moves as if it were impacted by something from within and then the creature is launching right out of his head. "oh", he says, and the lack of capitalization is audible on his words. As it emerges from his forehead, he makes a profoundly worried noise. It's not until the thing has slammed its way out of his brain and then out of the cafe that he looks and sees the singular crystal eye. Psyber will be able to see his intense reaction. He fixes his gaze on the one single eye the creature has and completely freezes stock-still in the middle of his scrambling around their cafe table. No change in his stoicism there, just... Freezing.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako smiles cheerfully to Riva and claps her hands together softly in front of herself, holding that pose as she responds just as cheerfully. "Why yes! I've read through all of your books and..." Her amber eyes close as she smiles brightly and says proudly(?), "I've forgotton almost everything that I've read too!" Is... that something for her to be proud of? It might just be how she is, really.

    She does curiously watch Riva eat, though. Food is one of the big mysteries of the world for Ayako, as she can't taste, smell, nor really enjoy food. So she satisfies herself by watching Riva tear through her lunch. "I think I've learned what 'post-modernism' is and then forgotten it just as fast!"

    And then... Nathan's forehead bandage flies off! Like any good maid, Ayako immediately goes into action! She swiflty moves to pick up the bandage and-What the heck is that?! Why is there a limb popping out of Nathan's forehead? No, wait, why is there a creature crawling out?! "What is this?!"

    The broom that Ayako usually carries and rides around on when she's in her witch outfit is pulled out of nowhere and is held defensively in front of her. When the creatures busts it's way out of the Cafe, the water spirit sweeps her broom about swiftly. "Water Bubble!" And Ayako's prepratory water barrier that really doesn't do anything but get ready for a real barrier forms about the members of Heaven or Hell!

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber's reaction pretty well sums itself up:

    "Sonuva bitch! Goddamnit, Nate!"

    In an exclamation of shock, annoyance, surprise, and the faintest hint of fear... the practiced motion of the hunter sees him flip backwards out of the chair and land on his feet, "Get down, Nate! Stay in cover!"

    As he lands, he drops to a knee and pulls a handgun out from his jacket, lifting it up. But the creature is scrambling out of the restaurant soon after. Psyber's first instinct is to chase it, like any good hunter. But he restrains himself, stopping to put a hand on Nathan's shoulder, "Deep breath. Calm. Stay here, I'll be back."

    Spotting Nonon as he moves towards the door, Psyber looks at her, "Miss! Are you okay? Do you need medical assistance? If so, please wait here it will be along shortly."

    Psyber then jogs out towards the street as Ayako's barrier appears around him. The half-angel fishes around in his jacket to find a badge, "Attention Manifested Creature! You can call me Psyber, if you can communicate! I am a member of the Boston Police Department's Freelance Contractor Division. You are currently in violation of city immigration ordinances, vandalism, and interfering with the parking department."

    He pulls back the hammer on his gun, "Put your hand in the air, keep the handmouth shut. If you comply, this is a ticketable offense with community service."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan unfreezes, breathing as if he'd just been drowning a moment before and then diving back into cover. Muttering under his breath, he speaks in an urgently swift sort of monotone. "One eye. It has one eye, like all the other ones, just like the others." He's going to wait for Psyber to handle the initial approach. He'd not come out loaded with his Adventure Gear today, and so for all intents and purposes he should look fairly normal by now... And no head wound under that bandage anymore. He's probably going to go ahead and dive over the divider, likely winding up somewhere near Nonon.

    "He's right, you know, he tends to be right. Has that habit. You alright?" He'll say, crashing into cover somewhere near Nonon. The WATER BUBBLE is noted, and he peeks his head up just long enough to give Ayako a swift, firm nod and then get back down under cover, where he swiftly starts trying to figure out if there's still a hole in his head. Someone should probably inform him it doesn't work that way, thank goodness.

Riva Banari has posed:
"Well, even if you've forgotten it, that just means it'll be new and fresh for you go go through them again!" Riva says brightly as she picks up the club sandwich and in a display of abject ridiculousness, dips the sandwich into the clam chowder before taking a big bite. Riva isn't really conscious of Nonon's opinion of her food consumption habits, which is probably for the best. It might kill her appetite.

Not really. Actually, what does kill appetites? THE ERUPTION OF A GIANT ROBOT FROM NATHAN'S HEAD. Riva's seen a lot of crap, but that's hella something. She looks up in awe as the place crashes open, the sandwich hanging from her mouth as she stares with wide eyes.

"Mmmph." She says eloquently. She stands, pulling a large, two-handed mace that looks like the Ajoran cross from... somewhere, and hoists it onto her shoulder as she scurries up next to Nathan. "Mmmph! Mmmf mmmphle mpprf mrf!" She says.

Then pauses, and pulls the sandwich out of her mouth with her free hand having bitten off the part that she was gnawing on. Then she chews, and swallows. "Okay, Nathan, just hold back. We've got your back, man, don't worry." As Ayako's Water Barrier forms, Riva leaps through the ruined hole and sidles up next to Psyber, looking up at the giant one-eyed hand robot. "Meow what do we have here?" She asks. "Robot, sir, please calm down meow and we'll work this all nyaout."

Nonon Jakuzure (805) has posed:
So the three of them are big mouths and the fourth is an airhead! She reminds her of that one slacker back at her own Academy. That knows magic. "What." A statement is made. A flash of bright light and the sudden crashing of tables, dishes, chairs and ceiling - and then cafe wall - fills the air, sounds obviously reaching Nonon as her slight peeking becomes full on wall hugger, Nonon grasping the divider and standing atop the seat - "A Dotonberi Robo-!? No... wait.." For one, the guy is not strapped in the robot - it's just crawling out of his HEAD. Two, he's wearing far too many clothes for it to be /them/. "It's just some weird robot. What was it doing in that guys head?" of course as it thrashes backwards, the divider is /divided/, leaving Nonon sprawling onto her back onto the table. Now, that wasn't really painful - but the coffee, which was on the table, is definitely staining the absolutely pink and perfect uniform.

Of course she's both furious and at a loss for words - what is even going on!? Psyber even addresses her - "Yeah? No!" What she needs is revenge! Though there's a bit of curiosity in it all, Nonon absolutely clueless as to the day-by-day ongoings of the Multiverse, save for the rather odd battles that took place in the Academy. Getting herself up, Nonon 'dusts' off the coffee, though it does as much as she dreaded it would. Nathan - unfreezing - goes on about one eye. One EYE. Monoeye? Monohead. "Is he now?" Nonon asks, smirking over towards Psyber. "If he's always right, maybe he could tell you if anything useful will be coming out of that head of yours." Nonon responds, flatly, in regards to her clothing being marked by coffee.

Giant mace. That's the next thing Nonon notices, Riva not even losing the food ( of course not ) as she joins Nathan and her. The whole cat thing? "The ONE time the doggy isn't here..." She groans, disgruntled, "He'd actually be USEFUL for once." Just like him, though, never there when he'd be useful - has he ever been?

Surprisingly, Nonon hops the wall and over the cover, getting a closer look at the robot - Nonon of course being barely over 4 feet. "I don't think it'll listen." She smarms, as it takes a bite out of the car.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     The car the hand robot eats now has large chunks written out of it. As the robot consumes these bits of machinery, it grows in size, just slightly. It might be hard to tell, because it is only a slight increase. But it is incredibly sudden, so might be noticable.

     The hand robot turns towards Psyber as it is addressed. It's hard to tell if it understands what he is saying or not, but it can at least be ascertained that it is responding to him addressing it. Sadly for him, it isn't in the way he'd like. Yes, it lifts two of its fingers, the pointer and ring finger. Its entire posture can be described as similarly to a T-rex, standing tall like a hunter. Its two finger-limbs open up, in a complex series of hatches and mechanical parts moving. What is revealed look akin to gatling guns. The fire upon Psyber starts immediately, aiming straight at his center. With Riva making her appearance outside as well, some of the gunfire is aimed towards her.

     With the robot standing tall, though? Something can be seen on its underside. It might be hard to make out with the gunfire, but near its mouth there is a corporate logo of some kind. It looks like a clothes iron sillouted, with two letters drawn on it: MM.

     Haruko rushes in at this point as well. Her arrival is loud and dramatic, as per usual. Her vespa zooms along the street. Haruko reaches to her back, grabbing at her guitar. With one leap, she is flying off of her Vespa towards the robot. Clasping the guitar with both hands, she lands on the back of the creature. She shouts out, "AAAAAAND HOOOOME RUUUUN!"She slams her guitar straight down onto the back of it.

     And then she is promptly knocked off as its middle finger slams back at her. She manages to catch herself on the ground at least, sliding along the pavement. She pulls her goggles off her face, and smiles up at the robot.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I really hope it won't be! The less crap comin' out of his head, the better my life is," Psyber shouts backwards towards Nonon in reaction to her question. That's about all the attention he can spare before the robot begins to open fire on him. He rolls, but takes several heavy shots.

    The rounds fired from the robot pepper him, putting a few holes in his jacket and probably doing enough damage that would have killed a normal person. Psyber, though, is hardly normal. And he pushes himself to his feet with a tired groan, the wounds in his chest already beginning to seep closed as he cracks his back, "Augh, alright. I warned you, dude."

    Holstering his gun, Psyber rolls his right fist into his left hand and pops the knuckles. And then he takes a dash forward while the robot seems distracted by Haruko's advance on it, "Tried to be nice, but you forced my hand here. I'm going to have to arrest you by force."

    That right fist comes up in an immensely powerful right haymaker towards the center of the robot with a huge show of Psyber's strength. He doubts he can lay it out with a single blow, even at his level of strength, but he can create an opening for the others to come in and deliver some beatdowns.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    "Riva! I'll lend you a hand!" Ayako points the brush of her broom at Riva and then spins it around in a circle. "Sea's Depth Barrie-No... wait..." A barrier of thick water forms about Riva. Although only halfway in a shell in front of Riva. She giggles softly. "Let's hit it really hard!" The broom's brush is thrusted downwards. "Wave Crusher!" And then the water barrier instead redirects itself to form around Riva's mace.

    Riva's mace doesn't seem heavier... but has much, much more of an impact now! It's no defensive barrier unless Riva shields herself with her mace, but rather an offensive one!

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "Bit more of a rare occasion than you would think." Nathan says, with a bit of deadpan, self-depreciating humor to his words to Nonon. But he did, most importantly, notice its reaction to consuming the car, as he watched it. "We need to keep it away from... Machinery? Metal? Can't tell, can't quite tell what it is." He says, with a gently urgent sort of monotoned pace. Clapping both hands together, he focuses; the palms glow gently for a moment, and with a few chants in Old Realm, he slams them onto the ground. The cafe's already busted, he might as well.

    From the ground emerge several stout, heavy-looking faceless CONCRETE GOLEMS, looking like simplistic, abstract humanoid statues. "Objective material: Metal, machinery. Clear it from the area surrounding the large robot hand." And of course, with this in mind, the simplistic creatures begin trundling outside to do just that. Of course, if they're struck, they're going to be going down in one hit, so that's not going to be lasting long if the hand goes after them.

    "Lamia." He whispers. Then, "Lamia?" And then some internal swearing. He doesn't have his Scholar-magic book! He can't even use his [SCAN] right now. For now, he just focuses on doing what he does best, which is functioning as a field commander, trying immediately to call out favorable points of cover and such, warn of any attacks compatible with his analysis, and generally optimize timing and positioning for the Unionites on-site.

Riva Banari has posed:
"Look!" Riva looks to one side, frowning at Nonon's sass. "Why are mew asking around for a dog? I like dogs just as much as the next girl." She shrugs. "So are mew here to help or just sass? Think about it, meow."

That's about when the hand gives its bullety response. Riva gasps, and holds up her mace, but she can't brace properly with one hand and the bullets slam into the weapon, knocking it straight into her own head with a KLONK, sending her sprawling. Her sandwich hand goes flying upwards, and time seems to slow down as Riva looks up, her eyes wide. A second stretches into eternity as the toasted bread separates, the crip lettuce nad juicy tomaro released from captivity, the bacon and cold cuts beginning their grand trek towards the pavement. Her voice is one of anguish and horror as she calls out, futilely grasping.

"NYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-" *SPLAT*

She pauses, a piece of mayo-coated bread silencing her. She twitches. Her free hand rises up methodically removing the bread from her face and stuffing it into her mouth. As she chews, she removes a handkerchief and wipes off her face, silent.

Finally, she swallows, and speaks. "You know. I can forgive a lot. I'm a tolerant person. I could understand the shooting at me." She stands up. "You're a giant alien robot, we're humans, these things happen." Then her eyes light up with fire. "But ruining my food... is /unforgivable/."

Ayako alley-oops her weapon with the Wave Crusher, and though bleeding and with a big ass bruise on her face, she screams in anger and charges! "NYOU'RE GONNA REGRET EVER COMING OUT OF NATHAN'S HEAD YOU GIANT DOOMBOT! PREPARE TO MEET YOUR MAKER!" With Anima-boosted reflexes, Riva launches forward, rebounding off of a parked car, hooking the anchor-like hammer around a light pole as she whips around it and launches off, spinning towards the huge thing's eye! With a crash, she slam the hammer down, the normal shockwave of red-gold Anima replaced with a blue-white tidal impact! Nathan hates the eye, so let's try putting its eye out! Man, if she only had a Red Ryder BB Gun handy.

Nonon Jakuzure (805) has posed:
It's just as Nonon gets out of the window that /suddenly/ there is gunfire from the hand. The... hand gun. Nonon's right eye twitches slightly due to this, once more as Psyber responds as he does. Her 'keen observation' that a giant hand robot is not going to listen... why, perhaps she can also be chairwoman of the fortunetelling club at this rate. To Riva, it's a clear cut case. Smirk, "Don't need to come off so catty~," She starts, giving Riva a cat-call. Of course, with new gains come new problems. Some come in pairs.

'AAAAAAAND HOOOOME RUUUUN!' Nonon's head snaps almost immediately as she steps out - the sight of a blur with a weapon ( red ). Her body tenses up - loud AND obnoxious and just comes out of the blue!?

Nonon's guard falls as Haruko crashes into, and is tossed off, the giant machine. However, she does catch her footing. Now, that one might be quite notable~... though Psyber is also PUNCHING the robot. Her keen observations come to a sudden stop, however, as the vespa, Haruko's, /doesn't/. Nonon has all of the time in the world to make note of the Vespa as it closes the every shrinking gap between her and and the knowledge of what it feels like to have a Vespa crash into you at high speeds. "You stupid B-!"

In what is expected, a plume of debris is kicked up upon teenager and vespa collision. As it clears, there is two notable things. A vespa that is seemingly hanging in the air and a wheel has suddenly replaced Nonon's face. Arms at her sides in a wordless expression of anger, hands clamped together, tightly. Slowly, but surely, it dislodges, falling infront of her and landing, gaining little more than a scratch.

Nonon's face however has helped it 'stop' gaining what seems to be railroad tracks across her face, as if it was the embodiment of the musical cesura.

She looks less than pleased, though it's surprising she can look at all, given the circumstances! Eyes narrow, but she follows the Vespa down shortly after.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     With Psyber's punch, the hand robot stumbles backwards enough that it actually flips over. And, that is where the brilliance of this particular design comes in. As it flips, the fingers bend backwards, catching itself. It's now backwards from where it was, lifting its eye up.to try and look back at everyone. This leads immediately to the hammer striking it /right/ in the eye. Chunks of glass fly off the eyeball, and the light of the eye flickers a bit.

     As the Vespa hits Nonon right in the face, the situation is likely a bit worse for Nonon than she might even have thought. Yes, being hit in the face by a tire of a vespa is annoying. A whistle from Haruko makes it more annoying, though. The Vespa turns on by itself, the tire rotating at her face a bit. Instead of outright crashing, it starts driving to Haruko.

     Haruko hops back on her Vespa, and starts circling the creature. Her guitar is swung at each leg-finger in turn, causing bits of machinery to break off. She makes this look fairly effortless, despite how hard it must be. She has to drive, balance, and swing her weapon, and rapidly.= at that.

     The robot creature is stumbling now. It looks punch drunk right now. Its leaning left and right, and walking randomly. It even crashes into the side of a building, obviously unintentionally. It lifts one of its gun-fingers, and starts firing randomly in all directions as it continues to stumble. It's not /likely/ to hit, but it's still likely to cause some property damage if it does so.

     Still, it's on its last legs. Or fingers. Finger-legs. One more good hit and it'll be done.

     ...Also is it pulsing a bit more again, and flashing red?

     Why yes. Yes, it is.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako actually gets hit by a randomly fired bullet or two! She winces and quickly smooths the holes in her body and clothing over. She spends a bit too much time fussing over her maid outfit, actually! What? A maid's clothing has to be proper and perfect at all times! And then she notices the robot pulsing and flashing red.

    "Uhm... uhm... is it supposed to be turning red like that? I mean... I mean... is it about to enter a rage mode like a boss from an old arcade beat'em up?" Ayako works her way towards Nathan and stands in between him and the robot, ready to create a barrier to defend the both of them if it should come up!

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Fuckin'... city's gonna blame me for all this damage. At least it's not another goddamn dragon," Psyber complains aloud as he shakes his hand after the impact of his punch, grousing as he steps forward, "The last thing I need is a second damn congressional hearing in a month. Pain in my ass," He sighs as he rubs the hand with his off-hand.

    "Nate, can you hit it with some counter-magic? Anyone here able to sedate this thing?" Psyber asks in an annoyed tone as he sighs and scuffs his foot, on the ground. If Ayako's right and that thing is about to go rage mode, Psyber wants to try to blitz it down before it can do so.

    Because of this, he dashes forward and grabs that car it took a huge bite out of earlier. With a heavy swing, he tries to hurl the car forward and into it for a massive impact. Otherwise, his biggest suggestion is, "Maybe, if it does explode, we should clear out or something."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    It's not entirely clear why, but Nathan seems relieved at the damage to the eye. That seems to ease his mind more than a little bit. Psyber asks if he can counter-magic it, and from his cover he gives a concerned stare. "It is a robot." He says, as if this explains everything, and then he makes a plaintive gesture. "I will do the best I can." With a quick motion, he begins to run like a maniac out of cover. Thank god for Ayako's barriers, honestly, or that random shooting might cause an issue.

    Hopefully Psyber will cover him diving in. Summoning his magic to one hand, it crackles with storm magic, the only elemental magic he can access naturally without his Scholar Tome on-hand. Counter-Magic is also something he saturates it with, using a quick cross-palmed gesture. And with a quick motion, if he can just dive under those bullets, he'll try to go for a panicked combination electrical attack and countermagic attack. Hopefully it will work on a robot? Who knows, though!

    What he knows is, Haruko just said it might explode, and that has him VERY WORRIED, so he's doing his best to make this a 'deactivating' kind of shock.

Riva Banari has posed:
"Meow that's not even funny!" Riva yells back at Nonon before they get run over by a Vespa. Hey, that works. Riva considers the karma bank paid up for the moment. After all, she has bigger things to worry about. Like the robot shooting her. Gunshots spang off of her hammer as she blocks, but several wing her, causing her to reel a bit as they begin chipping her down. "UGH! THIS IS TERRIBLE!" Even as the thing begins pulsing red, Riva raises her hammer. "I'll show this thing SEDATE! RIVA SMAAAAAASH!" She yells, bringing the hammer down over and over again as she simply works on methodically beating it senseless in some fashion.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    And when Nathan advances, Ayako moves with him! "Ice Lily Shield!" A pair of large shields that resemble lilies made from ice 'bloom' on both of her forearms. She holds them defensively, ready to assist Psyber in covering Nathan and intercept any attacks made towards him! After all, a maid is meant to assist those she serves!

Nonon Jakuzure (805) has posed:
As Nonon is about to hit rock bottom, or rather the ground, the vespa magically /turns itself on/ and begins to rev, rotating at her face and driving right off of it. With a black V of tire tracks, Nonon - who has somehow managed not to become simply non(existant), turns around to face the owner of the Vespa and her outright crazy antics. She has more than enough skill, but this isn't what Nonon is thinking about. She's quite out there, but this isn't what Nonon is thinking about either. There's a very certain thought going through her head - hands trembling as she slams her heel into the ground.

The conductor's baton is flicked out, spinning in the air above her before she grasps it and points it towards - not the robot - but Haruhara Haruko herself.

If there needed to be a musical interlude, part duex of the 1812 Overture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW4C2h3lPac&index=33&list=ULrgOGl_OWOqg) blares outwards, a stream of notes from the tip of the baton, quite visible. Of course, she's moving quite fast, around the robot. The collateral damage is that it all but misses Haruko, instead impacting upon the robot. The benefit is that all will be able to enjoy quite a musical classic, as well as having Nonon indirectly help.

As the bullets come through, Nonon, already alive enough to take a vespa to the face, looks alive and uses Nathan as a springboard (yep) up and over most of them, a few clipping the goku uniform, one whizzing past her. "Look at that, maybe your head IS useful for something~." As Nathan dives into the fray, Nonon actively skips behind him, using /him/ for cover, because better him than her, of course. "Why won't you just STAY STILL!" She exclaims, frustrated that the robot is getting most of the punishment! The music grows louder as she whips it around, some of it detonating around Haruko but mostly only ending up on the road, or the robot!

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     The car strikes the robot, causing chunks of metal, machinery, and wires to fly all over the place. After this hit, the robot is on the ground, limbs squirming all over the place. The electrical magic from Nathan does in fact cause it to stop from flashing red, possibly helping keep it from exploding. More and more chunks of it keep getting broken off as Riva just keeps hitting it.

     Haruko herself is quite surprised by the musical note attack, and even more surprised it's aimed at her. And of course the aim is off, causing the notes to repeatedly slam into the robot. Haruko just grins as she keeps speeding along on her Vespa. She even pulls down some skin under her eye, and sticks out her tongue. Yes, that classic Japanese schoolkid taunting. Haruko keeps driving in circles, avoiding the music as best as she can. She'll even swing her guitar in defense at them if needed, though.

     The robot finally falls to the ground. Completely deactivated, and in multiple pieces. It's no longer flashing, thankfully.

     But it still blows up.

     Or more accurately, there is a significantly smaller explosion than it would of been, mostly localized to the robot's body itself. The pieces of it go flying all over the place, scattered probably a few blocks away. Much of it is even going over buildings.

     It's only at this point Haruko will slow down. As long as Nonon doesn't keep attacking her, at least. She'll wipe some sweat off her head, and smile at the group, "...Well. Looks like you need a housekeeper more than I thought, Nate, if you have problems like /this/ frequently."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako uses her ice shields to cover Nathan from any of the flying robot pieces that result from the small(er) explosion as the robot goes boom. She sighs softly as things finally start to calm down. The ice shields vanish and... Ayako starts to sweep the ground with the broom still in her hands.

    "Uuu... what was that all about? Since when do robots come out of people's heads?" Ayako sighs softly and then looks around at everyone. "Anyone hurt? I'll check you for injuries anyway!" She smiles softly and gets ready to heal anyone that needs it.

Riva Banari has posed:
Well, the robot exploded.

Riva was standing on it. Whoops. The explosion causes Riva to get flung across the street, slamming her into an alleyway dumpster with a yell, "NYAAAAAAAOOOOOW!" She yells, just before she gets muffled from the lid slamming down on her head.

"Ow." She is heard, her voice echoy and metallic. Since she's some distance away, however, Riva struggles with the lid, trying to get out of the dumpster as Haruko makes her comment. "WHAT?" She yells, but that doesn't mean much since she's way over there and dumpster wrestling. "Hey, no kitty, I am not taking you-" REEAAAAOW! "AGH! BAD CAT!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber brings up an arm to shield his face from the explosion. Any other flying debris hits him, does the kind of damage you'd expect from a shrapnel wound, and then rapidly regenerates itself afterwards. By the time the smoke is dying down, the tell-tale sound of sirens can be heard from city streets as the fire department and paramedics begin to arrive on scene to respond to the damage or any collateral injuries on bystanders.

    The half-angel sighs a bit and then moves over towards Nathan protectively, more focused on keeping Nathan immediately defended than cleaning up the mess in the streets, "Nate, you okay?" Psyber asks seriously, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, "I think you managed to defuse the bigger explosion, so good job there."

    "It's still really bizarre that that happened."

    For the moment, Psyber turns his attention more towards Nonon. That music-based assault (even the parts directed at Haruko, sorry Haruko) was pretty cool. The half-angel's willing to set aside the annoyance of her vaulting off Nathan's head to see what she has to do from here. And if she sticks around.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    It's probably good that Nonon used the librarian as a springboard. Jumping off of his head wound up shoving him a fair distance after that whole rigmarole, and he'll wind up stumbling and tumbling away shortly after doing his own attack. And that's good. Nathan doesn't have Shivan, his armor! Nor most of his other protective gear. So he'll be at a distance where he sort of gets shoved over by the blast, instead of blistered and bruised. He'll live with those sorts of scrapes and such, honestly. But he'll probably be using Psyber to get back to his feet regardless, because honestly he's a bit dazed.

    "I'm not wounded." He says, in an unsteady monotone. "But I'm not sure, really, not terribly sure that I'm okay. A robot just emerged from my forehead head and I don't understand anything. It is extremely bizarre." He then looks to Ayako and makes a helpless noise. "Since just now, apparently, but hopefully never again." And then a flat look at Haruko. "This is not a normal thing. Robots do not come out of my head frequently." He pauses. "I will accept that things, in general, are chaotic around me, but nothing so centered on me."

    Riva's dumpster is regarded uncertainly. Nathan seems to be unable to form any particular reaction to it.

Nonon Jakuzure (805) has posed:
oh. No. SHE. /DIDN'T/.

Of course though, it's obvious. Haruko /did/. With the music still quite audible ( and very visible ), Nonon doesn't give up. Not even if Haruko is making a fool out of her! Second verse, same as the first?

Still on the upwards motion she gained, Nonon swings it downwards, the musical stream flowing out acting more like a 'whip', though it certainly doesn't fucntion as one on impact! The stream of music of the 1812 overture reaches the cannonball interruption and - wouldn't you know it - the robot explodes, causing the music to suddenly end! It might have just been just a warm-up. With Haruko coming to a stop, smiling at the ground, the group may smile back.

All except Nonon, who is landing on part of a destroyed wall, still pointing the baton towards Haruko!

Although there is a bit of a small grin at the trouble she can, barely, hear Riva getting into. Still, with the immediate danger over with - many might call it a day. Many might say 'hey, this is a dumb idea', but Nonon's gone through a lot for wandering about, even just randomly. A lot has happened to her! Most of it, somehow, degrading. Unfitting, really! "Somehow, I can imagine this is your fault. It's just your dynamics." Nathan is actually /helped/ by Nonon - imagine that! Thought Nonon certainly won't get any thanks, even IF she doesn't want it anyways!

"An apology would do it~." She states to Haruko, baton still pointed downwards towards her. "If it's good enough, maybe there won't need to be an encore."

Of course, Nathan's words cause Nonon to roll her eyes - apparently she's his verbal punching bag today. Flatly, "At least they can't accuse you of being empty-headed. Doubt that'll hold up now.~"

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko just smiles at Nathan for a second. She walks over him, rather casually. He doesn't show much emotion, he doesn't act too troubled, but this is almost definitely something that troubles him.

     And she casually lifts her hand, to rub the top of his head. Very casual, much like one would treat a kid.

     "Hey, we'll get it figured out. Let's scan your head a bit or something. X-Ray! Check out that brain of yours."

     She then walks around, looking at the wrecked robot parts. She spots a piece on the ground. The same clothes iron logo is on this piece. She bends over to pick it up, and holds it up to the light.

     "...Huuuuuh. Medical Mechanica. " A glance at Nathan again. And a smile. "You actually /miiiight/ be abel to help me find what I wanted, with that head of yours."

     Another sly, catlike smile is on her face.

     And then she looks at Nonon. Still smiling.

     "Sorry about your face."

     She says it in a way where it is almost impossible to tell if this is a sincere apology, or a stealth insult at her looks.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako cheerfully heals Nathan with healing water, checks on Psyber, oh. He's already regenerated. Wait! Where's Riva? "Riva?! Where'd you go?" She looks around for a moment and then hears her voice! Why is it all tinny and echoey? Oh.

    The water spirit walks her way over to the dumpster and then winces when she hears the sound of angry cat. "Riva! Are you in there? Are you alright?" Ayako then drops her broom, which simply vanishes as her arms try to work with the lid. "Heavy!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Are you SURE you're not wounded? Because there's a four foot girl hangin' around droppin' sick burns on you and I was worried you might need to head to a Ward. Where's that dry, crushing wit you use to destroy people?" Psyber asks to Nathan as he takes a pack of cigarettes out of his coat. He smacks them against his hand a few times and takes one out of the pack. He puts it in his mouth and lights it, exhaling some smoke.

    At least Haruko is dropping the ripostes back on Nonon on her own (and by proxy Nathan's) behalf. The half-angel sighs a bit, exhaling plumes of smoke as he does so, "We better get you checked in with the in-house Doctor. And the Dogtor too, just to be safe."

Riva Banari has posed:
With the assistance from Ayako, Riva finally emerges from the dumpster, where an orange tabby cat seems to be clinging to the side of Riva's head as she tumbles out. "Agh! Just... let... GO! Ugh, thanks Ayako, I appreciate it." She says, tugging at the cat, who seems to be having none of it.

She grumbles and wanders over to the others. "Okay guys, looks like we've got this all taken care of-" She pokes the cat, who meows. "Well, it looks like everything ended well e-" Nya! "-ough. What are we going to do-" Meow!?

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "This head of mine seems like something that should not be ejecting robots. I hope that the person you're looking for can help with that." Nathan says, rubbing his forehead as if it was freshly wounded. "X-ray. Yes, medical assistance is best here." He seems a bit confused, terse not from grumpiness or hostility but an abject lack of comprehension. Thankfully, he has Ayako's simple assistance. Scrapes and cuts and the minor bruise from Nonon launching off of him are healed away! Thank goodness.

    Nonon is regarded as Psyber comments on her. Her unusual baton and outfit are noted, and connected with her commentary from before. "Having done nothing to offend her myself yet, I'm assuming she 'drops sick burns' on people by default. I'm doing my best to assume the best of her, despite her questionable tactics. And I believe she has other verbal jousting to indulge for now." Nathan isn't sure he can trade barbs with the tiny musician! There's at least a nod to Psyber at the end. "Yes. Best to get this examined after that."

Nonon Jakuzure (805) has posed:
The words from Psyber only serve to appease Nonon - but it's Haruko's response that doesn't just deliver the punch, it meets /what she wanted/, as well as is an insult. She may as well have just told Haruko to insult her and it would have been the exact same result! "What -" She goes to ask what does that mean!? But realizes, that might /just/ be a setup she was not going to so willingly walk into. This is terrible! This is horrible! ... This is kind of what she asked for, wasn't it? With the baton pointed down at them, it shudders and shakes a bit before she pulls the baton to face away, clasping it between both hands and hmphing, turning her nose a bit up.

She was /bested/ - and she can't ( well she COULD but... ) with little interest in sharing the same fate as the robot, she must be the 'bigger' woman. "I'll accept that~." She states, somehow cheerfully. It may be clearly forced, but she's had plently of experience in it. Sweetly, "It'll heal anyways~." Followed by a rather sweet and full of venom, "Maybe yours will, also." With obvious insinuation. Nonon can be such a prima donna.

"Your head robot stained my dress." She flatly responds down to Nathan, as if it was HIS fault. Still, with her pink and white dress with a stain of brown and black on the stomach level, Nonon turns about. "Thankfully, the Academy has /very/ good facilities." The three stars on her uniform sparkle, but they do little else for now. "So I won't need your help for that." A pause, "Or ever, really~." She states, waving with a bit of a smile, before beginning to walk off back to where she came from!

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Alright, well..." Psyber reaches into his jacket and takes out his tablet PC, "I guess this counts as a mission. I'll outsource billing to the city, they can cover damages too. Then I'll..." He taps his fingers over the screen as he smiles, looking sideways to the librarian, "Figure out what each person here would make for billed time as my employees," Excluding Nonon, who is not one of his employees, and so won't get paid unless she asks about it.

    "I'd say... counting in hazard pay... about four hundred a head," Psyber nods his head a bit and then confirms the pay order. Managing most of his finances electronically has been a major convenience for him as the business expanded. Riva, Haruko, Ayako (If she ever checks her pay), and Nathan are all going to find the extra cash in their accounts, "I'm really glad we're insured for shit like this. We'd spend half the year in red if we weren't."

    Nonon is leaving, though. Psyber looks up from the tablet and says, "Oh. I didn't even get your name, but bye! If you ever wanna stop by my offices, we're right nearby!" Unhelpfully, while he does invite her back to hang out sometime (mostly because watching people drop the business on Nate is fun), he doesn't tell her the name of the business. Or his name. Or any directions.

    They'll probably run into eachother again.

Haruhara Haruko (792) has posed:
     Haruko watches as Nonon heads off. It's only once Nonon is out of hearing range that Haruko says something in regards to her again.

     "She seems crazy, egotistical, and full of energy. She seems like she'd be a fun person to have around."

     She then looks at all of the others, smiling. "Anyways, since it's wrapped up here... What does everyone want for dinner? Mission days deserve fancier meals than usual."