2553/What My World Is Waiting For

What My World Is Waiting For
Date of Scene:	29 June 2015
Location:	Ar Ciel <AC>
Synopsis:	Bourd Rade's location is tracked. To the Confederate Mir's tower of all places. Chaos ensues in the Silver Horn, but in the end Misha retrieves what she's been seeking for so long.
Cast of Characters:	96, 253, 340, 415, Riva Banari, Reiji Arisu, 707, 747, 757

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Misha (757) has posed:
    After enough digging and rooting around on one tower... It looks like it's time to start sniffing out another. Though this journey is slightly awkward for Misha. The Tower upon Mir's world- the confederate Mir- is a place of many What Ifs and Could Have Beens about the present and future of the world of Ar Ciel.
    Still, the last viable lead pointed this way, out of all the directions that it could have possibly gone, but still worth following. Of course an unnanounced Union visit on the lands of a known and fairly influential Confederate probably would have raised some eyebrows and earned a very cold welcome. Which is probably why there's going to be an escort on arrival. Still, the Union transport, packing the various party members arrives on Ar Ciel to see a very different sight than the Tower Misha hails from.
    Where the Sea of Death- a noxious miasma of deadly clouds and gasses blanketed the whole planet, there is... Nothing. Nothing obscuring sight of the land below, no terrible antibody monstrosities floating through the skies. Just a clear view of verdant green fields, a world rich with life regrown after three years of death. Fields of crops and settlements by the base of the Tower showing that life here is no longer constrained to eke out a miserable living on a technological marvel doomed to fall into disrepair as centuries pass.
    "... It's beautiful..."
    Having never seen anything of her home aside from the Sea of Death, the stark contrast of a live Ar Ciel from a dying one is enough to leave Misha in silent, melancholic, awe for most of the trip.
    The transport eventually lands at an airpad lower on the tower- at the airport city of Nemo, a city on the edge of the Wing of Horus, a city of white marble and rivers falling off the floating continent in a stream of waterfalls. This is the meeting point for the investigators and their local escorts.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    It's been quite a while since Psyber got to take a trip back to Mir's tower on her own world. It's something he occasionally said she should do, both to check up on the Reyvateil and to see how her world was doing, but so many other things came up of a higher priority or that were more demanding of his attention. It was a subtle pleasure that work finally got to take him somewhere that he actually wanted to travel, instead of to Terra Majora for the billionth time or into some terrible hellscape.

    For his own part, Psyber is dressed in his usual outfit. Black slacks, black shirt, long duster; Weapons holstered under all of that. He hangs out not too far from Misha, watching what she watches and putting a hand on the top of her head to pat her a couple times, "Yeah, it's pretty great. Crazy how much it's changed so quickly."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva still doesn't know what Misha is looking for. However, these worlds are super pretty, which is a nice bonus. There's a lot of character to it, which she appreciates. Being around so many people she likes (and Fassad) is nice too.

The arrival at Nemo causes Riva to prance out of the transport, looking out over the statuesque city with the same eagerness that she had in the ramshackle town before. It's a new land, a new experience.

But some things never change. "MIIIIIIIISHA!" Riva calls, hopping over with a sucker in her mouth. "This place is /awesome/." She states. "So why are we here again? Not that I'm complaining. Hell, we should get lunch or something." She offers Misha a handful of candy almost absently. "All these snacks are going to go straight to my hips."

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    Having been to Misha's world, coming here to see such a stark difference in this vibrant, living and breathing world is a breathtaking experience for Kazusa as well - although perhaps not quite as /much/ so. She's still got eyes glued to the land below, however, murmuring a soft, amazed, "Pretty..."

    As they disembark the transport, she adjusts her purse a bit on her shoulder, then reaches up to straighten her glasses while she looks around. "It really is nice here," she agrees, nodding Riva's way and falling into place somewhere near Psyber. The other girl's asked the question she's wondering most, so she'll be silent and let that answer come in due time. Instead, she sets about fiddling with her purse, making sure her cards are in reach - or rather, card, as only one active one remains.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Where Xiaomu might normally be spending a lengthy flight playing video games or catching up on manga, she's curious enough about spaceflight to keep the amusements tucked away, for the most part, while the transport is on its way to Mir's Tower.

The view on approach, to judge by the rapt look on her face as she gazes out of a viewport, is TOTALLY WORTH IT.

She pulls her attention away from the view as the transport comes in for landing, hoisting her carrypack and slinging it across her back, making sure her handguns are secured in their shoulder holsters (not that she expects to need firepower) and lifting her staff (again, not that she expects to need it). Then she disembarks with the rest of the group, just barely suppressing an impulse to hum cheerfully.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro was always happy to come along on trips here; she didn't even particularly mind the escort, since it had been a little bit since she'd gotten out this way, and getting to see this world brought just the slightest bit of pride and a lot of joy to her heart, even if it was confederate controlled.

    Caro's in civilian clothing toward, the white mage-esque hood and everything, as Friedrich floats along behind her. She, at the least, does not seem to be expecting combat today, though she's got her device with her of course in case that comes to pass. Also, bringing a dragon means never being unarmed.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
It's always strange visiting a parallel version of a world one has already seen. As Reiji stares out over the rolling, green hills and the very much living world down below, he quietly wonders how often this sort of thing happens. Is there another world out there which is much like his own, but subtly changed?

The possibilities are... Fascinating. But also not immediately relevant. One thing is for sure though, it is gorgeous down there.

    Reiji follows the others out as they depart the transport, his mobile arsenal clattering quietly at his side. The blades and shotgun have been peace-bonded for now, though it's probably unlikely that a strand of thread or two can keep him from drawing them if he needs to. Still, it's the gesture that counts in these situations.

"So," he says to nobody in particular, "Where are we meeting our contact, anyway?"

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    Scarlet seems to have been dressed up for some other occasion before coming here, perhaps some kind of upscale lounge, and hadn't had time to change. It can't be all that comfortable, but at the very least it isn't hot to wear. She passes the time on the flight with a thick, leather bound book in her lap, leafing through gold-edged pages covered in size 8 font of some incomprehensible dead language. She only looks out as everyone starts mumbling exclamations of approval, staring out the window at the beauty unfolding below before quickly calling up her smartcollar's holographic viewfinder and smapping several pictures to admire later, and perhaps post on her various social media accounts.

    She puts the book away as the transport lands, disembarking near the rear of the group to let Riva go charging on ahead. "Misha~" she greets, inclining her head. "I'd like to second Reiji's question, and furthermore ask who they are." She adjusts the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder.

Mir (340) has posed:
    Greeting the crew will be... well, not Mir, surprisingly. Instead, a youngish man wearing elaborate armor and carrying two curved blades at his side will be the one meeting the Union, complete with an escort of guards. Ayatane marches up to the transport with a smile on his face, giving a nod to several of them. "Caro, Psyber, a pleasure to see you again." The soft-voiced young man seems friendly enough, Confederate or not. Misha gets a long look, though the smile doesn't falter. "Not our Misha, but it is good to see you healthy nonetheless."

    With those he knows now greeted, he turns to the others. "Welcome to Nemo. It now serves as the gateway between the surface and the Tower of Ar tonelico, and is one of the few places where humans and Reyvateils mingle freely. We will be going to meet your host shortly, in a place where humans are rarely allowed." He motions upward. "I am Ayatane, Captain of the Guard, or somesuch. I believe that what you seek is in the Silver Horn, so if we could move to another airship quickly, we can take you to it in all haste. I have my own duties to attend, so will not be accompanying you myself past the entrance."
"

Misha (757) has posed:
    The world of Ar Ciel is pretty. A living Ar Ciel is gorgeous, in fact. A fact that Misha seems keen on on silently ruminating on, for the whole trip, staring out the transport window. But once landed and everyone is disembarked, a somber Star Singer follows afterwards. "We're here to see if Bourd Rade was really dumb enough to try running this way." Muttered to Riva at first. "I'm not sure who they'll send for us but..."
    But Reiji and Scarlet's questions are answered in short order with Ayatane's arrival. That way-too-pretty face on a young man is impossible to forget, even across the boundaries of worlds. "Ayatane." Misha returns the greeting. On her world, everyone is on friendly terms with the virus-samurai. Here this is a different Ayatane, and that only makes things a bit weird and awkward, but the politeness is returned for what it is. "... Thanks." At least until something dawns on her, expression flashing with a mixed look of confusion and mild alarm. "The Silver Horn? And Mir is really going to let us poke around in there?" This revelation seems to be a shocking one, but the transfer to another ship means there's little time spent in Nemo. Sightseeing can come later- if it's even allowed.
    From Nemo the Silver Horn is impossible to miss, a massive construction of silver-and gold in the form of a gigantic horn and pan flute wrapped around the midpoint of the tower, and flying up to it only reveals just how absurdly gigantic it is. The entry point is on a ledge upon the overgrown stonework and carved facade of the Tower itself, leading through darkened corridors lit by songstones and several elevators and security doors. Finally the journey ends inside the Horn, where the floors, wall, and ceiling comprise of hundreds upon hundres of golden pipes in an intricate and almost nonsensical tangle. The air seems to hum with an ionized tingle; low levels of Symphonic Power that's safe for now, in the very entrance. But the crackle in the air seems to be utterly pervasive.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Does that answer your question, Reiji?" Xiaomu grins at her partner, then bows politely to Ayatane.

Misha doesn't seem to deem it necessary to make a lot of introductions to Ayatane, so Xiaomu doesn't bother with that either - unless Ayatane needs to collect names for something, at any rate. Otherwise, it's onto the next transport to head to the Silver Horn ... and once again, Xiaomu spends most of the trip rubbernecking, admiring the scenery. And the Horn is certainly some scenery worth the admiration, in her opinion.

Riva Banari has posed:
Charging ahead is probably #2 or 3 on the 'things Riva is good at' list, behind perhaps hugs. and, depending on your opinion, painting. HOWEVER, the Templaress waves to Ayatane. "Hey there." She says, smiling. "Is it really so rare for Reyvateils to work with people? That seems kind of odd to me..." She blinks. "But then, I guess I'm an odd person sometimes." She continues with a smile. "Thank you for your help."

She glances to the side and arches an eyebrow at Misha's reaction. "So what's the Silver Horn and why is it important?" She asks. That much is pretty obvious. "You can tell us while we're going, right?"

SHIP TRAVEL, NOW LOADING...

And then Riva pops off of the transport onto the ledge, shuffling forward to poke at some of the architecture. "Man, this place is super pretty... But does anyone feel something weird? It's like a combination of a Disney Princess and a thunderstorm."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Ayatane, good to see you again. I'm going to have to get you to cook for me again some time, if you can find the time around being the Captain of the Watch," Psyber notes, the hand withdrawing from Misha's head to go back into his pocket.

    "Misha's explanation is the best, though, yes. Bourd Rade, known Human Supremecist and Reyvateil Terrorizer has theoretically fled here," Psyber notes coldly, "I said I'd track him down, so obviously when coordinated pinged here I came along," He looks over the area before following after Misha in their travels.

    The change in the air as they arrive in the Silver Horn and assess the new location causes Psyber to assume a cautious stance. He's not fully experienced with Symphonic Energy, but he can sense an ionization in the air. The last thing he wants to do is get zapped.

    Though he does ponder as he walks, "Air feels charged with like... music magic. If someone gets zapped, are we gonna have a flash dance, you think?" He asks to Riva.

Riva Banari has posed:
"Hell yeah, flash dance!" Riva affirms, throwing her ponytail to one side with a flick of her head as she does a little twirl.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    There are a lot of things passing between people here that Kazusa doesn't have the context for; but awkwardness and hints of tension are hard to miss even for her, so she's wise enough to be quiet as they re-embark for the next destination. Scarlet, Reiji and Xiaomu all get bows of greeting, and Caro a polite, introductory bow. For the most part, she remains close to Psyber, who has firmly been labelled 'safe person' in her mind; she might be distracted somewhat from her choice in groupings, however, when they reach the Silver Horn.

    "I-it's /huge/," she murmurs in amazement, before her imagination finds traction and her voice picks up. "Is... is it a giant instrument? Is there some special song you have to play here? Ooh, can we play /any song/ we want here? It feels really... I can kind of feel all that power, too! This place is really amazing..."

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro will lift a hand in greeting to the virus, offering an open smile to him, though allowing him to speak fully to the group; she didn't know the location they were going to by name, but as it sounds rather fancy, she's going to look forward to seeing it.

    Once they arrive, she seems slightly less worried about the zapping feeling in the air than some of the others are, in spite of very much being able to feel it. This is probably because she's got a barrier at the ready if things start going wild, rather than her being shorter than everyone else and thus unlikely to be the one struck by lightning... but that is also true.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "It does," Reiji says to his partner, inclining his head at the viral samurai. His eyes fall on the other man's swords, and idly, passingly, approves of them. Two swords are almost always better than one, after all.

But that man is a busy one, so he instead goes to follow the others into yet another transport, and on to their semi-final destination.

    The Silver Horn is a goliath structure. More of a geographic feature than a manufactured place. Reiji takes a moment to admire the architecture before concluding that staring too long at where all the pipes are going will probably give him a headache. He moves to enter, only to notice something that smells oddly like ozone... If ozone also seemed to vibrate at frequencies at just the very edge of human perception.

It's beautiful, but like many beautiful things, Reiji can't help but feel like it's also... dangerous, somehow.

    "We sure he's here of all places?" Reiji mutters, hands falling to his weapons to undo the threads. He won't need them bound anymore. "This place doesn't seem too receptive to our arrival."

Mir (340) has posed:
    Perhaps noticing the interest, Ayatane notes to the passengers, "If you'd like to see more of the city after this is handled, or perhaps the surface city, I may be able to arrange it. Mother is much more mellow than she used to be." He sighs. "The Silver Horn is... think of it as a defense system and a power regulator for the Tower. It is very complex. It is also an extremely dangerous location, though I believe that mother has some means of helping you through it."

    As the group disembarks, Ayatane bows to all. "I will take my leave for now. The airship will return shortly to pick up the survivors. Bourd Rade is a very canny opponent, you should be careful, despite all the power you have gathered here." He turns to leave, letting Mir take over.

    Speaking of... it's not long before the slender, youthful girl steps out from a nearby door, shaking her long dark hair out. Beside her, a mechanical doglike being prowls, eying the others warily. Mir herself doesn't smile, but the lack of cold in her voice is sign enough that she's in a good mood. "Misha, hello again. And others... I remember some of you," she murmurs. She folds her arms and motions to the passage. "I can temporarily - and briefly - lower the symphonic energies within this place, but I would recommend whatever protection you have just in case. Raw symphonic power can be deadly." She mns, "For those who don't know, I am Mir, and this is my Tower. Psyber and Caro have known me for some time, and can explain further. For now, just know that I have been investigating as well. Someone or something has been trying to divert power to the Horn since last night. I suspect this is your target. I will be attending personally, along with ELMA here."

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    Silver Horn? The name is a little fantastical, but no more obtusely ostentatious than what Scarlet is used to. The man seems more than a little irrelevant considering he's only just come to greet them and then send them on their way again, but the others seem to be familiar with, and what's more, on favourable terms with him, and so Scarlet does the polite thing of at least introducing herself and waving goodbye as the board the second airship.

    As opposed to the name, the actual sight of the Silver Horn, coiled around the Tower's breadth, is well outside of her realm of experience. She has little idea why anyone would go through the trouble to build a giant musical instrument on top of the tower, save that it probably has to do with the way Revyateils sing to use magic. She has absolutely none for why they decided to cover it in silver and gold. She's already trying to estimate the no doubt staggering construction costs.

    The inside is no less bizarre, reminescent of certain surrealist children's books in a few ways. The aura of energy however, is palpable even without Scarlet's enhanced senses. So much that it actually distracts her from Kazusa for a time. "I think that would probably be a bad idea." she says to the card wielding girl. Instead, she turns towards the new arrival, caught at somewhat of a loss as to what gesture to use in greeting for this particular culture.

    The fact that Mir says "my tower" is enough to tell her that she's probably the most important person in the room, and so she goes to great lengths to filter herself as coming off as respectful without being subservient, projecting a finely calculated balance between confidence and deference. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Scarlet Everille." She looks to the pipes on the walls briefly. "I've already made adequate precautions, or so I think. Do whatever you think is best."

Misha (757) has posed:
    "Mir's tower is kind of... Well I heard it was different, in how Reyvateils and humans interact." Misha replies to Riva. At least before Mir herself makes her appearance- with ELMA no less. To her credit, Misha manages a faint smile to go with her greeting. "Ah, hello, Mir. Sorry about the short notice. It's kind of important." That said it looks like a straight shot down the hall, but Misha is most certainly not leading. "Ummm. Lady Shurelia once said it was more like a weapon. Something she never wanted put on the tower in the first place."
    But then there's a shake of her head, "You won't be dancing, Psyber, you'd be dead. Or at least feeling pretty terrible. Like Mir said, the symphonic power here can be lethal, so let's try to avoid the more saturated areas. We might have to shut off power in places or... Re-route maybe?" There is something of a pointed look towards Mir on that one, it is after all her tower and Misha had promised to not break anything. "... Even if he's not here, maybe there's a clue, or..." A shake of her head and the journey is underway.
    Indeed, the tingle in the air seems to grow more powerful the deeper the group goes in, to the point where nausea might start hitting people, double vision at the worst, but for the lone path the only choice seems to be to tough it out. Though what appear to be massive plugs stand in several places along the path, embedded in sockets on the ground. They're huge though, easily as thick as a supporting pillar or column. They can probably be brute forced if someone is physically strong enough. Or there's the control panel on the side.
    The issue might however be the sudden ratcheting CLANK sound of something emerging from a side path in the pipes. It's about the size of a small dog, but walking on two reverse joint legs. It's not alone either. Multiple mechanical constructions of green metal and machinery stagger out, and those look like guns attached on their undersides. They're not viruses, and they're not tower defenses. Anyone who's been to the Tenba facility might recognize the Ikaruga... But on a much smaller and more numerous scale.
    These DEFINITELY do not belong here.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu frowns slightly. "'Raw symphonic power' ... should we be wearing ear protection of some kind, or are you talking about overall physical or metaphysical power? - Anyway, I'm Xiaomu," she introduces herself briefly, giving Mir a polite bow, with a friendly smile as she straightens up from it. "Thanks for letting us come to look around."

Introductions complete, she's going to defer to Misha and/or Psyber further, and continues making her way along with the group. And along the way, she starts getting her answer: apparently, symphonic power is NOT just a matter of the ears - which would have been bad enough for Xiaomu's sensitive hearing - but an overall ... 'miasma' in the air, or maybe something like high radiation except not as strictly physical as that would be.

And then the 'dogs' show up. "Well, at least SOMEthing is here to justify a heavily armed visit, right?" the sage fox says wryly to her allies. Rather than drawing her handguns, she grasps Suiren tighter, drawing on the elemental sword's power without drawing the blade, and tries to encase the three mechbeasts in ice.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    'To pick up the survivors' is a choice in phrase that Kazusa doesn't miss. "How optimistic," she murmurs, her tone a bit dry. She has /total/ faith in her allies. But the lady of the tower herself is soon to appear, and Kazusa goes quiet long enough to absently murmur, "...she looks really young..." before realizing what's being said about the location being dangerous. "So it's kind of like radiation?" she asks, curious; her question and the words that follow after are as much for everyone else as they are Mir herself. "I don't think I can protect myself against that. I have my last card here, but..." Fidget. "...it's kind of an ominous card. I don't think I should use it unless things get desperate."

    She does keep glancing at that robotic hound, however. She can't help it, it's /really cool/.

    As the group gets moving, though, Kazusa's ability to process cool things begins to dip little by little. She's putting on a brave face, so to speak, but judging by the way she starts adjusting her glasses more frequently, the green-around-the-gills look that starts creeping onto her face, and the somewhat distracted way she reacts to the Ikaruga, she's starting to feel the symphonic power's adverse effects quite noticeably. "A-ah?! Where did... oh, crap, um." She eyes her purse warily, then takes a step or two back behind the group.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva stops twirling when Misha corrects just how ugly it is. "Eeew. That /would/ be horrible." She replies, but gives a little bow to Mir. "Hi there! I'm Riva. Glad to meet you!" She exclaims brightly. "Don't worry, I take everything seriously!" She replies with a big smile that probably says she prooooooobably doesn't. "We're really glad to have you both along." She says, looking to the mechadog. "Oh man, that's so cute! And probably hilariously deadly too if someone makes it mad, I bet. Well... We should get to work!"

They proceed into the Silver Horn, and the symphonic power seems to bear down on Riva, her bright expression quickly turning into a mask of misery. "Ugh. I thought songs were supposed to make you happy. Why is this even a /thing/?"

Just in the middle of her grumping, the little robots show up. "Oh hey, look, something I can take out my general irritation on." With a sudden flourish, Riva produces a massive anchor-shaped twohanded hammer, and sweeps it through the air in preparation. "RIVA SMASH!" She yells, leaping to the offensive as she initates on the enemy group. The hammer glows with red-gold Anima power as she slams it into the middle of the robots, releasing a small shockwave. "COME GET IT!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Mir's uh... a queen. Or an Empress. I forget which you like to go by," Psyber explains when prompted by Mir to do so, "She rules this tower and has the power to back up her claims to the throne. Overall, she's pretty mellow. Used to have a real problem with Humans, but she's at least open to cohabitating, which is better treatment than some gave her," Psyber notes seriously. While he doesn't agree with Mir's leadership methods, he does sympathize with her.

    "Symphonic energy is, from my understanding, the raw magic that Reyvateils craft into spell effects. So it'd be like eating raw magic right to the dome," Psyber says, walking along after this. When the dog appears, he steps protectively in front of Kazusa, "Reiji, guard Misha. Mir, stay on the back lines too, please," He requests as he tears a slip of paper off a notepad and it turns into a double-barreled shotgun.

    He slips two shells into it, flicks it shut, and then unloads them into the attacking mechanized beasts. He quickly flicks it open, the empties coming out as he reloads it and slams in two more. He's aiming to gun down anything that tries to get into the back lines.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "We don't exactly have that kind of protection handy," Reiji says with a grunt. Hopefully raw physical endurance and limited magical resistance will do the job. "It should be fine though. Somehow." Reiji inclines his head deferentially towards Mir- she IS sort of in charge of this entire realm. It pays to be respectful. "And I am Reiji, Xiaomu's partner and an exorcist with the Shinra organization. I understand this is sort of... unusual, but I appreciate your patience with us."

    He peers over at the little dog-virus-thing at Mir's side. What is that, even? It looks... odd. Maybe a robot, maybe something more? Definitely mechanical though. Interesting.

He can ask about it later. There is a superweapon to explore.

And actual dog-machines to kill.

    Fortunately, despite the environmental hazard, Reiji seems to be holding up well enough. It's only years of experience with similar ambient energies that keep him seeing straight, though. This is a good thing, considering the exorcist wastes very little time drawing his two firearms from their holsters.

    Gold fires first in a quick burst- just in time to meet Xiaomu's ice-wave. Then comes Hollywood, roaring out clusters of enchanted shrapnel and plumes of choking smoke. If they can get a drop on these things, then maybe there won't even /be/ a fight.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    "How do you distinguish between humans and Revyateils anyways?" Scarlet asks with genuine interest. "I can't quite grasp what kind of societal divide exists when they appear so similar. Is it a cultural thing rather than a physiological one?" She doesn't question anything else Misha says though. She can certainly imagine this place being used as a weapon if the amount of ambient energy is any indication. Her wards crackle ever so faintly as they filter out the symphonic background noise, surrounding her with the odd, near-invisible flicker of transparent electricity.

    Even as unfamiliar with this world as she is though, Scarlet can easily place the origin of the machines from having visited the Tenba hangar once herself. Whether or not that means Misha's man came this way still seems a little inconclusive, but it's a pretty strong indicator. "Tf it's the same design, they have a singular power core in the back near the legs." she offers helpfully, making no move to do anything herself. With this many heavily armed Union Elites around, she estimates there's no real need to exert herself, and more importantly, no requirement to appear threatening in any way.

Mir (340) has posed:
    Mir moves to the back row without complaint, giving a mellow shrug to Scarlet. Though she might be the 'superior' of the tower, she's kind of laid back amongst this group. ELMA lingers near the front, but growls at Riva. Mir is actually amused enough to warn, "ELMA does not like strangers. Best to leave her be, even if she is a little flattered."

    Since she's lingering back here, Mir explains, "Reyvateils are physiologically different. Betas, like myself and Misha, are not even human at all and possess different organs... this is why humans cannot use Song Magic. Third-Generation Reyvateils are the product of a Reyvateil and a human, and manifest their organs at puberty." She pauses and looks back at Misha. "I am doing what I can, but you know I can't completely shut this place off. It should be tolerable if we do not take a wrong turn or linger too long."

    When the mechadogs appear, Mir quietly begins to sing... following Misha's lead, actually. With two Reyvateils, they might as well sing together. ELMA will handle the offense, growling and sending out a lash of twin lasers cutting toward one of the dogs.

Misha (757) has posed:
    Thus far into the Silver Horn and Misha is looking just as miserable as some of the others are already. Even for a Reyvateil the noxious effect of what amounts to a chronic HP drain with every step is becoming apparent. But in an instant the hallway of gilded piping is alive with the sounds of combat. When one mini Ikaruga is blasted down, another seems to replace it. Their construction isn't as hardy as the massive warmachine of the other tower but they make up for it en masse. Misha, too, begins singing, perhaps a bit surprised to feel Mir allowing her to take the lead. The song she sings is a gentle one, for now focusing on defense and protection, laden with a desire to keep friends, allies, and even awkward acquaintances alike safe from harm. It is enough to mildly abate the raw enegies around, but only to a degree. It's far more effective at protecting others from the sudden chatter of linked gatling guns and chainsaws that the out of place machines favor as they attempt to wipe out the party.
    For all their numbers though, it's not a WHOLE lot, just something akin to a large pack; Suiren-supercooled metal crumpling as Riva's initial onslaught bowls them over. Some don't get back up, while others twitch and spark, rising to throw themselves back in a fight there's no real chance of winning. Between Reiji and Psyber more drop, filled with bullets and buckshot, hissing and belching black smoke, and just as fast as it had begun, the sudden brawl is over, leaving the mini Ikaruga little more than collections of smoking scrap.
    "Those were..." Yes, Scarlet has it right, the design is almost completely matching the old Tenba machine, if just miniaturized. And this practically confirms the suspicion of Bourd's whereabouts. "It means he's here." Misha murmurs, looking even more greener than she did a moment ago. And it might not be due to the symphonic radiation.
    And said symphonic radiation only gets worse. A draining, soul-sucking, burn that hisses like a quiet simmer on the nerves, bordering close to searing pain. By this point some unluckier party members might feel like even in the dark of the Horn, their whole body is nothing but an angry and raw sunburn, and there are several paths that have to be navigated around almost completely due to the letal levels of saturation beyond.
    The plug-like pillars still dot the corridors along the path of what ends up being a buzzing maze of wearying energies, harried by several more packs of minirugas along the way before finally coming to a halt in a much wider chamber of electronic panels, blinking lights, and massive tuba-like instrument looking arrays emerging from the walls and floors.
    Something clanks in the darkness. Something large.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    There's some cliche here about how the pain inflicted by the Silver Horn is nothing compared to what Psyber puts himself through, but that's facetious. The truth is that while Psyber is putting on a pretty brave face and managing to numb himself to a lot of the pain and searing that is combatting his fairly weighty regeneration, he's still in an incredible amount of pain that runs through his entire body all at once.

    "If he's here, we'll find him. And handle him," Psyber says seriously, slipping two new shells into his shotgun. Instead of anti-supernatural ammo, for the moment he's using standard 12-gauge buckshot. He trudges along determinedly.

    He looks back to Mir, "I agree that we should get in and out as soon as possible." He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulls out a flask, which he takes a long drink from before putting away a moment later and looking to the others, "Pull in tight. Support people, stay behind frontlines. Combat experts, be ready to intercept threats."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu doesn't possess the Reyvateil's uniquely cool art of being able to use your voice for two different things at once; however, after asking about whether wards would do any good at holding the symphonic power back - somewhat belatedly - she begins chanting a sutra, punctuating each line with a firm strike of her staff's butt against the floor, eliciting a somewhat pointed jingle from the rings affixed to the top of her staff. Reiji is certain to recognize Xiaomu's incantation, and other experts could probably either recognize it or figure it out: it's a protective 'spell,' or rather, a prayer, meant to shield the group from some of the impact of the symphonic power suffusing the corridors.

As for paper talismans, she does have some - a dozen or so at most - and she offers them to Reiji without interrupting her incantation. She's also picking up on Psyber's tactical coordination and is backing out of the party's vanguard; while she CAN hold her own in direct combat, it's going to take most of her concentration to provide what protection this will give everyone.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    Hearing Misha and Mir sing together is enough to at least distract Kazusa from feeling ill, and between that, the fact the song-magic actually lessens the effects faintly, and the adrenaline of being in danger, she's able to at least soldier on for the time being. Granted, 'soldier on' in this case means little more than standing near Mir and waiting for the fight to end, for the moment.

    But continuing on is getting more and more unpleasant by the moment. Normally given to amazement at the fantastic nature of the Multiverse, Kazusa has grown quiet, hands in her pockets, visibly slouching; it's effort just to walk, breathing makes her everything hurt, and she'd be hard-pressed to recall any of what they're seeing if asked even a minute later - including hostile creatures. She's soldiering on in silence, not even sparing the energy to raise a complaint.

    That card in her purse is looking a little more tempting by the moment.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva gets shot and cut up a bit, but the bullets seem to graze her more often than not, the saws cutting flesh wounds. Wnat does hit seems muted, as if she was made of something tougher than mere flesh. Those with more magical sight might see the flashes of Anima around her, flowing through the talismans on her body and redirecting the incoming assaults. It's only augmented by Mir and Misha's song as well, allowing Riva to tank her way through it like a boss. The focused firepower finishes things off fast, and Riva hoists the hammer, making a peace sign. "YEAH! Man, that's the best fight I've been in in... months!" She exclaims.

She gets less excited as they continue. "Ugh. This just got worse." Riva grumps. "I feel like I'm gonna..." She pauses. "I'm gonna, ugh..."

She takes it out on robot dogs instead. Once they get to the large room, Riva looks around, blinking at the large clank. "Whoa there. HEY! WHO IS THAT!" She yells, going on the defensive. Maybe it's something she doesn't have to smash.

Mir (340) has posed:
    "It should not have any permanent damage," Mir notes offhandedly during the talk of radiation. She lets the song fade, once the dogs are trashed, and ELMA returns to her side with a few scratches worse for wear. She pats the robotic canine, then frowns. "Bourd has been busy. The man is far too ambitious. I really should have him executed." She doesn't actually sound all that serious about it though.

    She's feeling the effects as well, even if it isn't quite so serious for her. Maybe that's why she starts to croon a song of her own... an energetic, upbeat one that is meant to bolster Xiaomu's ward, feeding it more power to help against the oppressive energies.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    With all the firepower this group can lay down, Reiji doesn't actually take that many hits. A blade nearly cuts into him, but he parries it with a shot from his handgun. No, it's the /other/ hazard that's slowly getting to him. Even his endurance isn't limitless when pitted against the gradually growing symphonic irradiation permeating this place.

Fortunately, Reiji has a solution... Of sorts.

    He takes Xiaomu's talismans and goes to work on a series of them. As they stroll, he takes each in one hand and paints a series of characters on one side in dark, black ink. It seems 'talisman brushes' are standard issue parts of a Shinra Agent's repertoire.

With that, he begins handing them out to the group. Each one seems to be imbued with power that is noticably cool to the touch- and, what more, it seems to stick to whatever surface it's planted on, almost like they were drawing the surrounding space inward.

    Each one is a ward of Water and Metal, the two elements that are most representative of Yin. While it may not do much compared to Xiaomu and her now-strengthened ward, they may function for a while as the magical equivalent of sunblock, swallowing up incoming energy like greedy, paper-thin leeches.

    "I'm pretty sure he's done things that are easily worth the death penalty," Reiji mutters, pressing a talisman against the vest beneath his jacket. "But I'm not exactly an authority on extradimensional law."

Misha (757) has posed:
    The combined work of the protective singing, and Reiji and Xiaomu's chanting and talismans makes the toxic energies in the air at least much more bearable, and continuing on comes unimpeded until that motion in the darkness shifts again. Something large and metallic, creaking with a hiss of steam and motors.
    "Oh you're asking ME who goes there? That's rich." It's a new voice. At least for some people. Others would recognize the utterly patronizing and bilious gruff tone. A flare of headlights shings blindingly on the group at first before the chamber lights come on.
    The back of the room seems to have hastily been converted into a lab environment, cables siphoning power from the tower to feed machines that look entirely out of place in the Silver Horn. There are several men in the mauve purple Tenba armor, though from the disrepair and wear their equipment has seen, it looks like they might have been written off as 'severed from the company' years ago. It's not heavy armor though and the labcoats they wear over it denote them as technicians at best, working on the machinery. Even worse are the row of cages set aside, several girls languishing in them and looking miserable. Reyvateils. Though wether they were kidnapped from this tower or the other is speculative.
    It's the massive blue-steel walker in the room that dominates the bulk of the chamber, almost identical to the Ikaruga MKI, and the Mini Ikarugas, this one however has a notable difference. It has a pilot.
    Wearing black armor, blond hair done up in spikes, BOURD RADE leers at the group. "I figured I'd have more time before someone found out about this little setup but it doesn't matter. We're just about done here." He chuckles. Before an utterly digusted look forms on his scowling features. "A tower- a WORLD- run by a Reyvateil. It makes me SICK." Bourd spits, eyes focusing on Mir for a moment. "So I figured I'd blow it up and her little Reyvateil paradise. --And if it isn't -little- Misha, come back to see me again huh? I knew you would. You're just like the others. A singing doll, that's all Reyvateils are."
    That little monologue aside, he presses a button. More of those plug-shaped pillars descend from the ceiling, slotting into massive plugs on the floor.
    In an instant the Symphonic Power skyrockets to levels horrifyingly inimical to life, and he completely seems to not care that it's going to quickly strangle the life out of his engineers or his captives, it if means a quick victory.
    "I'll make this quick, I have business to attend to."
    After all, why should he care about anything when his mecha is shielded.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "You know... Bourd..."

    Psyber stares right at the blonde man, tilting his head, "I am generally a pretty gentle guy. Strong, but pretty gentle. Nice lady described me as a bear once. Protective, fierce, but also soft and fuzzy. I kinda liked that one," The half-angel lets the shotgun fall from his hand, stepping in towards Bourd with a fierce look as it clatters to the floor, "But sometimes people push that. Test it. Pry at the slight cracks or flaws in my demeanor."

    Psyber reaches into his jacket and pulls out a pad of paper. He tears off a sheet and it seems to shimmer and morph in his hand, taking on a new look and a different shade. It elongates and morphs, the slip of paper turning into a massive hammer that he hoists up and rests across one of his shoulders, "But every so very often there is one person who decides to shove a prybar into one of the gentle faultlines of my trusting and kind nature and leverage it."

    Psyber grips the hammer, taken from Annu itself, in his hand and glares up at Bourd and his massive machine. Despite the Symphonic Power that burns and damages him as he does so, which actually hurts quite a bit, Psyber is determined and hard in his stare. Fingers curl around the shaft of the hammer and he stares blandly, detachedly, "I helped save this world and restore it. I will not let some... racist piece of trash destroy it as part of his agenda," Psyber notes harshly, stepping forward with a heavy step.

    "Born from sin... weighed by judgment..." Psyber dashes in towards Bourd and his massive machine. He swings the huge hammer up over his head and tries to slam it against the shield in a powerful overhand blow, "Be crushed by my burdens. Erinyes, fall down upon him," Psyber commands to his hammer as he brings it down.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Well, it WAS going relatively smoothly for a while: between her own chanting, Mir's singing, and Reiji's inscribed wards, Xiaomu was starting to feel like they might not need to worry as much about the deleterious effects of too much ambient symphonic power imposing an effective time limit on this venture - or at least, not a terribly RESTRICTIVE effective time limit.

Then those thoughts go by the Bourd. More or less literally.

It's not just the descent of all those pillars that jostles Xiaomu out of her sutra; to a certain extent, Bourd himself slid a wedge into the sage fox's focus, and the pillars themselves drew more than a little bit of attention that she couldn't really spare ... but you wouldn't really know it, because the abrupt ramping-up of Way Too Much High Symphonic Power, Man is enough to disrupt her chanting all on its own, and Xiaomu staggers, leaning heavily on her staff as she struggles to catch her breath.

On the plus side, she gets to see Psyber do something insanely awesome while she's recovering. "Yeah, you've done it now," she snarks at Bourd. "You wish ALL of us were breaking out the big hammers ... but I've got something better. My most secret of techniques ..." She slams the butt of her staff down, draws herself up straight, and grins fiercely at Bourd Rade - just before a puff of gold-hued smoke envelopes her, hiding her from view ... to the sound of ... church bells?

"NOW YOU'LL GET TO SEE IT!!"

The smoke clears, revealing Xiaomu in an honest-to-god wedding dress - white silk with some gold embroidery, and a bouquet of white and yellow roses held close in her hands, the flowers lifted to hide her mouth and chin, and a veil tucked back so that it covers her hairtails. Almost as soon as the smoke clears, the bouquet is flung high into the air - and then Xiaomu herself leaps up, lifting the skirts of her wedding dress and kicking a bunch of BIG iron balls out from under said skirts.

Or rather, bombs, scattered amongst the pillars and Bourd himself, detonating on impact.

But before she descends again, Xiaomu pivots in the air to kick towards her allies, flower petals showering down around them with a moderate healing effect.

*Then* the sage fox lands, catches her bouquet as it falls back into her hands, and gives Bourd Rade a mocking curtsey before poofing back to her normal outfit.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva looks completely aghast when she looks over what is going on here... and then her eyes alight with anger. "What the /hell/ is wrong with you? What kind of /malfunction/ is in that head of yours that makes you think any of this is acceptable?" Riva yells. She turns on the other men on the ground, pointing a finger. "AND YOU! AND YOU AND YOU! How can you people ENABLE HIS BULLSHIT?"

She turns her attention back to Bourd. "What did these people even do to you? You spiky-haired little goblin! You're goddamn insane! YOU WANNA GO? FINE! LET'S GO!" She raises her hammer, and throws herself directly at the machine...

And slams into a wall of Symphonic Power. Despite the wards, Riva drops like a rock, hitting the floor. Blood begins to run from her nose and eyes, her sight going red as blood vessels rupture in one of her eyes, causing the white to flush crimson. She shakes, trying to force herself to stand up. "FFFffffffff...." She hisses, struggling againd mind-rending pain as she tries to force herself forward.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    Much like Misha, having a talisman from Reiji and the combined protection of Xiaomu and Mir makes things easier to bear for Kazusa; she's starting to stand a little straighter about the time Bourd Rade makes his introduction.

    And what an introduction it is.

    Caged girls being experimented on in a slapdash lab in the middle of a magic-radioactive hot zone. A man treating them as no more than things. And a callous, kill-everyone-but-me solution that will wipe out those captives as if they meant nothing, wipe out his PERSONNEL as if they meant nothing. The wave of increased symphonic power hits Kazusa, and she staggers... but her teeth are clenched before it happens, and when it hits she realizes the implications almost immediately.

    "...y-you're... you're a monster... how could..."

    The card she pulls out of her purse has unsettled Kazusa since she got it. But in this particular moment, she is upset enough, /angry/ enough at what she's seeing happen right before her eyes that she doesn't care anymore. "...by the card I choose, I stand as a hero..." It takes effort for Kazusa to stand up straight, but she does, holding the card forward. "The... THE BEAST!"

    A flood of white sparks passes over Kazusa. Hair fades to silver, eyes shade green. But that's all anyone gets to see of this transformation, because the sparks then flare outward, forming something strange and mechanical from the inside out. Esoteric machinery, powerful motive systems. A hull in greys and reds. The pilot lifts up in the air as her mecha forms around her, one that some present may just recognize - a marvel of technology, a Titan in the most literal sense of terms.

    The Dark Hero That Rebels Against All Tyranny.

    But as fingers flex, fists curl and uncurl, something seems... off. The Dark Hero hunches a little, moves in ways that Yuri Stinson - that any properly-thinking being - would not. Its head turns to Bourd and his machine, there is a moment of almost eerie silence...

    And then it throws back its arms and ROARS.

    There is nothing there but a furious, maddened howl of rage accompanied by a bright flare of crimson anima, immediately preceding the Exaltech machine hurling itself at Ikaruga in a pure, bestial attempt to tear it apart.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    There are few things in this world that can really, truly draw Reiji Arisu's ire. Maybe it's just the suddenly even more oppressive atmosphere. Maybe it's the way his skin is crawling, burning like he was set aflame. Any of these things could reasonably piss a guy off.

But, no. It's that THIS asshole is burning innocent civilians alive. He's throwing his own people to the dogs.

THAT is what really gets him pissed.

    The first indicator that something is terribly amiss is that Reiji doesn't seem to be bothered by the sweltering crush of symphonic power. His blood is boiling hotter than his flesh. Reiji takes in a deep breath, strolling, eerily expressionless towards Bourd and his machine. Flower petals flit by in an invisible wind as Xiaomu descends. A giant robot appears from nowhere. Psyber unleashes one of the heaviest weapons at his disposal.

His face is utterly calm. Almost serene, even.

Xiaomu should know how bad of a sign this is.

    There are no words as Reiji seems to /vanish./ There is no sound as a weapon comes away from its sheath-- no. It passes through its sheath. The sheath is nothing to the blade, dark and terrible, dripping with the burden of mortality and the inevitability of death.

Darkdrift emerges like a cat's footstep. It sings through the air like a whisper of wind.

    Reiji emerges over the machine's cockpit. His pupils are thin, pinprick dots. Preternatural focus washes over his mind and psyche, washing away all other thoughts except himself, the man in the machine, and the path his blade must travel to reach his target.

With a silent exhalation, Reiji plunges the weapon gifted to him by the First of the Dead into the machine.

But does it pierce its pilot?

Mir (340) has posed:
    Mir scowls, but she has something more to say, something far more direct to Bourd. "Yet you were the one dedicated to freeing me. I think your true issue is that you regard Reyvateils as dolls, yet you cannot stomach the idea that I used you... or my counterpart did, presuming that much is the same. You were never anything more than a tool for me, a means to an end to enforce my own will upon the world. It is quite telling that these humans have sided with me, and not yourself, isn't it?" Well, okay, so Mir isn't so genocidal any more and maybe that's why people are more willing to help her, but her point here is to piss of Bourd, not be accurate.

    That's when she starts to sing again... a much more dynamic, building and crashing song with some amount of intentional dischordance within it. The instruments swell around her in volume as she gathers power from the Tower, a shimmering ball of light appearing above her. But she doesn't stop there.

    Holding her hand out to Misha, she subtly alters her song... bringing it in tune with the other Reyvateil. "Misha. I think we are of one mind when it comes to this. There is something Infel did that I would like to try."

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    A couple of weeks ago, Scarlet had asked Psyber who exactly Bourd Rade was and how he was significant. The answer she had gotten was evasive at best, assuring her that she'd find out herself if it ever really become relevant. The implication was that everyone hoped it wouldn't, but unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case, as Scarlet is now getting a very, very good idea of why nobody wanted to talk about him. He looks a lot different than she had imagined, but the way he chooses to present himself isn't too far off her vague assumptions pieced together by contextual cues. A cruel, obsessive, psychopathic, racial supremacy figure formerly on someone's payroll. The biggest surprise, more than anything, is how loudly he chooses to wear that identity on his sleeve.

    Though formerly alleviated by the efforts of the group, the renewed overpressure of symphonic energy causes Scarlet's personal wards to blaze with light, flickering and coruscating in the way only an extreme magical assault can make them. Even though they absorb the brunt of the harmful radiation, she can feel her skin starting to burn inside, eliciting a clearly visible struggle to try and keep a level facade. She glances towards the exchange of indignant outrage and malicious invective exploding into actual, full blown violence, but that fight is both out of her league and out of her care zone. Her first, second and third priority is shutting off whatever Bourd turned on, then maybe she'll spare a thought towards him. After all, she's not an experienced warrior like most of the group. Her ability to cope with pain isn't very high.

    As soon as she feels the mecha is suitably distracted by the Elites piling onto it, she makes a break to the other side of the room, weaving between the pillars to the control instrumentation set up at the far end. If any of the Tenba lackeys still have it in them to go after her, they will be swiftly and painfully rebuked by her familiars dropping out of Phase. Her face paling, her breathing becoming ragged and irregular, and her fingers twitching with the effort of keeping quiet, she briefly scans the panels for any kind of instrumentation she might recognize, before switching on her collar and projecting a circle by laser onto the dashboard to save time.

Misha (757) has posed:
    It is not the first time in his life that Bourd Rade has angered so many people at once. Normally it would make him laugh. The impotent rage of a group of heroes gathered before him genuinely amuses the vile bastard of a man. But also, not for the first time in his life, Bourd Rade has bitten off more than he can chew. Yet, he just does not truly know the depts of his mistake, still flashing the arrogant smile of a man who thinks he's won. "Oh go ahead. Get angry, even bears die when they soak in enough symphonic power to poison them completely. And if that doesn't, then I'll just crush you with my IkaruGear. That's cute though. I'm only a monster if one of you lives to tell people about me."
    The guns are already revving on his pilotable mecha as it takes a heavy step forward, enough to shake the room, already unloading the heavy caliber machineguns at a murderous rate of fire.
    What he did not foresee was the immense power backing the justified fury of each and every soul outpouring against him this night.
    In a heart's beat Psyber is upon him, the Half-Angel's divine might a force to be reckoned with, when he puts his mind, his heart, and his soul, into the protection of his friends and flock. Erinyes, the hammer gained from that tragic realm of Annu slams the IkaruGear with more force than Bourd could have imagined in one man, and the staggering blow immediately sets the tone for the next furious instant.
    Bourd, in an instant, is on the backfoot, eyes wide with shock and awe as he struggles to regain control of the mecha, metal plating buckled and dented terirbly. But it is a war machine, unlike the monster extermination machines of the other Tower. This one was made to kill and fight, and the fact that he manages to regain balance is a testament to its construction. But that's about as far as he gets. Explosives pepper the armor, scorching and warping it as Xiaomu does her best cosplay impression of a blushing bride, opening the way for Reiji. The exorxist is too fast, and the gatling gun arms are unable to track him on top of the cockpit, and for an instant, just an instant Bourd looks horrified. It's only his reflexes that save him from death, a jink aside in his seat sparing him from a mortal wound, but Kuroshio passes through the armored cockpit with the ease of wind through blades of grass, completely ignoring Bourd's personal armor as well and drawing a harsh cry of rage and pain as it soaks his sleeve red from a crippling stab right into Bourd's shoulder. And try as he might to dislodge Reiji, it only puts him on a path for...
    For Kazusa. A gentle and friendly girl wearing the mantle of a Beast, given form of a miniature titan. The Dark Hero That Rebels Against All Tyranny slams the Ikarugear, armor RIPPING and wrenching away, a now panicked Bourd swings the massive chainsaw blades wildly to try and dislodge himself. "THAT'S A LOAD OF CRAP! If it wasn't for that fool of a priest we'd have had you! You would have been nothing more than a tool, a weapon for us to use and take over the tower for ourselves. It wasn't supposed to be like that at all!" He snarls to Mir.
    This... This is when Misha's hand slips into Mir's. Though she looks near dead sick from the symphonic power, the Star Singer forces herself to stand.
    "I can feel it..." A slow breath and jade eyes slide half closed. Her grip is form but trembling, body wracked with ingrained fear of Bourd and his abuse, but heart and soul soaring with emotions, her voice join's Mir's, quickly building to a strong tempo'd melody, filled to the brim with the feelings of desire, freedom, glorious force that was once held back now unrestrained as two souls for one moment become one, that sphere of energy growing in size, brightness, and intensity at an astonishing rate.

Misha (757) has posed:
    It's almost funny. Despite the lethal levels of musical radiation, the ex Tenba engineers do attempt to stop Scarlet. They are suitably discouraged very quickly between their bodies giving out and her Familiars. But in her examining the machinery and panels, will find the means for something very important. All it takes is the flick of a few switches and a button press, and the giant plugs pull back with a hiss and crackle, popping out from their sockets and returning to the ceiling, the levels of Symphonic energy dropping to almost nil.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
It's kind of impressive that Bourd has actually survived the onslaught thus far - but with Scarlet finding the right switches to drop the Symphonic Power back to normal ambient levels, Xiaomu stands up straight once again, left hand gripping her staff tightly, but no longer leaning on it for support. "Oh, we'll be talking about you a lot ... don't you remember? Every mad scientist's work gives way ..."

The sage fox raises her right hand, mana flaring in her palm, as she finishes, "... before All Things in Nature. XIAOMU WAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!!!"

On the last two words, a sealing square appears on the ground around the IkaruGear, centered beneath Bourd Rade himself as a brightly glowing bubble of mystical force surrounds the machine and its mad scientist pilot, to pin Bourd and his mech in place - not just for Reiji's assault, but for that of their allies as well.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    There is no reason in the attack of the Dark Hero. There is no strategy, not even to the level of a common animal, let alone the cunning of a warrior Titan that the machine's real pilot would show. Kazusa is nothing more than fury in the shape of a girl, inextricably linked to a machine that conceptualizes Rebellion itself and only draws power from her formless rage. But even in that rage, hints of familiar abilities shine through. Anima Banner flaring, the Dark Hero neatly parries the first flailing chainsaw as if such a deflection were as natural as breathing, returning the favor by driving its fist into the Ikarugear's center of mass.

    The second chainsaw strike goes right through looped arms that simultaneously weren't there before and seemed to have been waiting the entire time for that attack. They clench down, and Kazusa /wrenches/ with the strength of gods. Pulls with all the strength the Dark Hero can bring to bear, looking to rip that arm right off the Ikarugear.

    And then bring it around and start beating Bourd's machine with it.

    Over and over, hit after hit, without letting up. No rhyme or reason, just a furious, unrelenting bludgeoning that won't stop even when Bourd and his machine do. And, perhaps most alarmingly and most unlike Kazusa, her attacks show no regard for Reiji or Psyber, putting them in danger simply by drawing near. They're going to have to watch her attacks as well as Bourd's.

Mir (340) has posed:
    Fingers curl into Misha's grasp, Mir holding the hand of her once-enemy. To Mourd, Mir smirks, "Did you really think I did not know of that? That you could keep me contained?" Her eyes narrow... and then she relaxes, her song starting to harmonize more with Misha's own. The others are hammering Bourd and his men hard, and she's going to join them... with Misha's help. The blood of Lune combined with the most powerful Reyvateil Ar Ciel has known, now synching up together to cause a sudden surge of power, not from the symphonic reactor, but from the two Reyvateils themselves.

    "Synchronity Chain! SHOOTING STAR!"

    It isn't a Song that Mir herself knows, nor one of Misha's, but a combination of the two. The Star Singer joined with Mir's Falling Sky attack, sending a blazing globe of purple and white light downward with such force that the powerful Mir shows that she really is in some ways just a slip of a girl, because-

    She falls over on her face as the attack launches. THUD.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "They're not tools. That you used her as a tool is what brought this world so much pain. Brings this world so much pain," Psyber drones, stepping forward again. He wobbles a bit in his step, exhausted from both physical exertion and the effort of pushing through the musical radiation that's ripping through his body. But, since everyone else is going fierce, Psyber refuses to back down.

    He's not someone who usually has finishers. At least, not without Adjudicator actually with him. But he has a few that he can kludge together from various avenues when he really needs them. Including one that he's never actually used before this moment, but always theorized might be possible. He unsteadily staggers on his feet and then holds out his left hand.

    There's a peal of thunder and a flash of light. A bolt of lightning falls from 'up above' nebulously and strikes his palm. It leaves him with his other favored weapon, even moreso than Erinyes: Einherjar, the holy blade of thunder and lightning. The half-angel now has one weapon in each hand, both named after ancient beings related to the gods.

    "In one hand, a hammer named for the furies of vengeance. In the other, those fighters who died for glory and for honor on the field. Erinyes and Einherjar..." The half-angel says, carefully dashing in towards Bourd and his massive machine. It's a supernatural speed and he moves almost totally devoid with emotion as he moves forward.

    And then, luckily for him, he dashes straight up in the air and over Kazusa's attacks and keeping himself in safety. He twists in the air and then adjusts his stance. His left hand releases the sword, leaving it hanging in the air. But it doesn't stay there for long, since he twists his entire body and brings the hammer around, the back of it opening up to reveal an Essence-powered Rocket that boosts the force and speed of the swing.

    When the flat of the hammer comes around to strike Einherjar, it shatters to pieces and leaves a massive ball of energy in its wake. Psyber strains with all his might before propelling it down as a single, condensed beam of holy, fury, essence, lightning and power.

    "Pilate's Verdict."

    He notes flatly.

Riva Banari has posed:
Thanks to Scarlet, the cessation of the Symphonic Power allows Riva to marshal. For several seconds, it looks like she would be content to just stop, allowing everyone else to get their rampant beatings in...

But then Bourd opens his damn fool mouth again. Riva looks up, one eye blind and crimson, one eye watery... But focused. "What kind of LOSER WEAK-ASS WHINING IS THAT?" Riva yells. "YOU CAN'T EVEN OWN UP TO ANYTHING! YOU'RE PATHETIC! OH BLOO BLOO BLOO, I COULDN'T COMMIT AN ATROCITY ON ANOTHER PERSON, NOW I CAN'T RULE THE WORLD. DID THE GIRLS MAKE FUN OF YOU IN SCHOOL OR SOMETHING? WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY? YOUR CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND CONSEQUENCES? YOUR GODDAMN /BACKBONE/?"

There are sparks and crackling snaps of Anima that run off of Riva and her weapon as she suddenly hurls her hammer across the room, the weapon smashing into the IkaruGear. A burning chain of Anima connects her to the weapon, and she pulls on it, Riva launching herself to the machine and wrenching the weapon upwards with a detonation of red-gold power.

"You're not even a man. You're nothing more than a /spoiled brat/ that gives even /spoiled brats/ a bad name." She backflips off of the machine just before Kazusa smashes into it once again and Psyber begins his descent, and she spins and drives the hammer into the ground. There is a crackling wave that rolls outwards in a column towards the IkaruGear that blossoms outwards, exploding upwards in a spike of intense energy as a shockwave radiates outwards from the point of impact.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Flesh. It's the only thing Darkdrift- Kuroshio- really 'feels' when it's swung. If Reiji is satisfied, he doesn't show it. The exorcist leaps away as Kazusa charges in, sliding his blade back into its sheath moments before Xiaomu unleashes the Kimon Fuuji.

That's more than an attack. That's a /signal./

    Only now does Reiji raise his voice. His words are hot and cold. Frigid, but filled with such contempt that they might burst into flame when he speaks them, "Hateful fool. All things are equal before Heaven and Earth. Behold, the fury of the world you thought to rule." Reiji's hand drops to his collection of weapons, gripping tight to the hilt of his shotgun. "Tenchi Banbutsu," he growls, spiritual pressure rising from his body and shoulders now that it's no longer subject to raw, symphonic energy, "Give me the strength to encompass the world."

    "Wood-"

     It begins. Hollywood emerges from its holster with a click. That sound is swallowed up by a crack of thunder. "-Fall," Enchanted buckshot mixed with splinters from a blessed tree erupt from the barrel--

    "Fire-"

     --Only for the lot of it to catch fire as it reaches the machine. Reiji lunges, swinging Karin through the air in great, blazing arcs. The edge strikes into the gaps of Bourd's machine, melting metal and fusing wires. "-Whirl," He dances, filling the world with boquets of blossoming flame--

    "Earth-"

    --Broken only by arcs of lighting. Chirai chases after the fire, crackling tendrils of electricity snaking out from the wakizashi. They dig into the IkaruGear, shorting out electronics and frying servos, even as the blade plunges deep into the machine, over and over again. "-Pulse," Reiji lunges forward, plants a foot into the steel, and rips the thunderous weapon free--

    "Metal-"

    --To replace it with a massive, golden hand-cannon. Gold screams as it fires. Heavy, arcane slugs erupt one after another from its barrel. Each digs in, travelling far further than ordinary rounds- even ones of this incredible size- should be capable of. "-Howl," Even after Reiji lands, he keeps firing, spent casings littering the ground around him.

    "Water-"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
As Reiji invokes the fifth element in the cycle, Xiaomu ceases to stand her ground and dash-leaps forward, jinking around Kazusa's armored Beast form; the blade of Suiren flashes out of the staff and is driven deep into both the Ikarugear and into Bourd himself. "-RUSH!" Xiaomu calls out, channeling water and ice magic ...

And then she leaps clear, soaring through the air to land next to her partner. Only then does she sheathe her blade, hilt clicking softly against scabbard -

And the sequenced elements erupt in unison behind them.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    That's Scarlet's job done. At the cessation of the eroding presence scathing her from every side, she turns her back to the console and slumps against it, gradually catching her breath. Briefly, she thinks to the fact that she'd just saved a bunch of innocent girls from being killed. A nice, heroic smokescreen to the fact she hadn't participated in the fight. She looks on at the blinding and deafening cacaphony of light and sound that shakes the room under her feet, shielding her eyes with one hand as she tries to make out what exactly is even going on.

    Well she certainly doesn't envy Bourd Rade at this point. In fact she's very glad that she's well out of the way of that.

Misha (757) has posed:
    For all the might the IkaruGear has to bear, Bourd Rade simply cannot match the force of a suitably determined group of men and woman all working against him with one singular and determined focus of mind and goal. Not even the mightiest weapon he could ever hope to produce would stand a chance on equal footing with a gathering of some of the most determined Elites, and the collossal weight of their strength joined as one, each a legend and hero in their own right.
    "WHAT?!" And in an instant the machine cannot even move. Pinned where it stands by Xiaomu, the Ikarugear is rendered helpless. And not all the pity in the Multiverse could spare Bourd in this moment. Kazusa's limitless, mindless, bestial fury is in this instant like a force of nature, terrible and beautiful to behold as the machine's own arm is ripped from its chassis, the still revving chainsaw tearing huge gouges and deep rending slashes into reinforced armor, spitting oil and smoke. And she just does not stop. It is a terrible, horrible, frightening display, and even Misha's eyes widen at the unrestrained brutality. It's Bourd who gives voice to fear, however. "What is WRONG with you people! You're maniacs!"
    The panic now in his voice hits a peak as the Half-Angel passes judgement upon him. The crack of thunder resonating with a clarion finality in the chamber deep within the ancient weapon that was slapped onto the tower, The Silver Horn itself seems to echo the sound, the massive structure reverberating with the crack of celestial force, laud and audible for miles even beyond the tower as it exits the mouth of the horn as the rocket propelled hammer collides with the ancient blade, and the two unleash the wrath of heaven itself upon Bourd.
    The machine is barely standing, Bourd's teeth clench as blood trickles down his brow, eyes wide and wild with murder and fury as every battering blow keeps him from fully regaining any semblance of initiative. The barrels of the machine's sole remaining cannon spin to life, only to melt terribly and backfire in a pathetic display.
    Because just like that Riva is hammering home her point. Berating and battering at the same time, that anima-infused strength is titanic, the normally genial and good-natured artist displaying a righteousness worthy of a true Templar as the sheer wave of vicious anima and justified fury breaks the Ikarugear's legs. With a topple and groan it wobbles, but remains upright long enough for Reiji and Xiaomu the fury of the elements themselves brought to bear with each sword stroke, every gunshot, and colossal eruption of elements to follow, leaving the IkaruGear a smoldering wreck.

Misha (757) has posed:
    "No way... I haven't lost this yet..." It's a hiss from the cockpit, a bloodied and rage-maddened Bourd hits a single button. The shrill alarm that sounds afterwards is ominously final as his lips curl into a grin even after such a sound and one-sided beating. "I guess if I go down I'll just BLOW MYSELF UP AND TAKE YOU ALL WITH M--"
    He doesn't get to finish the sentance, trailing off, eyes wide with horror. Because another voice interrupts him.

    "Synchronity Chain! SHOOTING STAR!"

    In that instant, Mir and Misha's hearts are one, of the same mind and spirit, emotionally in synch now more than ever. Misha's terror assuaged by Mir's quiet and surprisingly gentle concern for the welfare of another Reyvateil. It is a righteous fury, an outcry of two souls against the atrocities performed by one terrible man, two of the strongest Reyvateils in living existence unleashing a world-shaking amount of power in one moment.
    And with a squeak, Misha topples all the same, half off balance, half pulled by Mir, ending in a toppled heap on her face too.
    When the sound and the flare fades, there is a MASSIVE HOLE in the floor where the Ikarugear was. The machine completely rendered to little more than its constituent atoms. And a gaping chasm is all that remains. And Bourd Rade is on the other side. Bruised, bloody, and on the verge of collapse. Yet he still sneers. "Dammit... Well if that isn't just a fine mess. But I guess I'm over here now and you're all over there." Smug even to the end, he reaches into his armor and produces a crystal. A green glinting gem that he waggles tauntingly. "And I bet this is what you came for too? Guess I get to walk away with it don't--" The crrreeeaaak of metal that sounds out next is fairly disconcerting. "Huh...?" Before the flooring beneath him gives out. "Wah?! NO WAY!"
    The gem goes flying. And Bourd is left hanging by one hand over a bottomless black chasm. "H-Hey! You guys are heroes right? You wouldn't just let me fall, would you?!"

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    The onslaught levelled against Bourd Rade is tremendous. Catastrophic, even. Reiji lifts a hand to shield his eyes as Mir and Misha unleash their twinned song. Nothing could survive that. It'd be a miracle.

Unfortunately, the universe is sometimes merciful to all the wrong people.

    Reiji gives a soft, quiet grunt. With a quick whirl of his hands, he slides a fresh clip into his handgun. He moves towards the hole in the floor- the great, gaping chasm... And proceeds to leap clean across. Apparently 'jump good' is something Shinra agents do. He takes a moment to wander over toward where that glittering, green gem fell, and deftly picks it up before it tumbles off into the void. It goes right into one of his many pockets for safe keeping.

Can't be too careful after all.

...But there's still other business.

    "Bourd Rade," Reiji murmurs, moving over towards the man. Reiji pauses, lifting his weapon level to Bourd's desperate, sneering face, "You're charged with more atrocities than I can even count, chief among them Crimes Against Humanity."

    Reiji draws back the hammer of his gun. "I've got half the mind to shoot you right now," he tilts his head somewhat, lifting his chin to glare down at the man dangling over oblivion. "Give me a reason I should spare your miserable life."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    -<RADIO: ArTonelico>- Reiji Arisu says, "Mmn, alright then. Psyber, I defer to you."

    Psyber had promised to kill Bourd Rade if he found him. He still wanted to. Being deferred to makes it a hard moment for him as he walks over to the edge of the cliff. The half-angel lets Reiji say his piece in regards to the armored man dangling over the abyss below him.

    Red eyes stare downward at the dangling man and letting his mind tick past several options. Despite all the radiation and exhaustion that soaks his body through every pore, he still has enough presence of mind to remember Misha's feelings in all this. He doubts she wants blood tied to her name any more than it already has been.

    So it's not to Bourd that Psyber speaks. It's to Reiji, "Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." He notes to the exorcist, pausing for a long moment, "First John, Chapter Two, Verses Nine through Eleven."

    "We don't have to save him from what he made for himself, but I think the violence has reached its end point," He says to Reiji seriously, giving him a somewhat calm look, "Let's just leave him," He says blandly, "He reaped, he's sowing, he'll meet his fate."

    And with that, he turns and starts walking away from the edge, dragging his hammer behind him.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
While Xiaomu does not leap across the chasm along with her partner, she's watching as he gives Bourd Rade the precious opportunity with which to try and decide his own fate. She also has a rather strong suspicion that Reiji's wording is going to clinch Bourd's fate for him, particularly given one bit of the mad scientist's earlier rant.

'Crimes against humanity,' when it comes to somebody who believes his victims didn't count as human ... ?

Xiaomu watches impassively as the last page of this drama plays itself out.

Kazusa Ujikane (415) has posed:
    The Dark Hero swings and swings and /swings/. Heedless of Psyber's heavenly might, heedless of Reiji and Xiaomu's elemental fury, heedless of Riva's augmented might, utterly heedless of the incredible song that Mir and Misha weave together. That severed mechanical arm just swings and swings until there's no Ikarugear left, until there's no /arm/ left, until the only thing the giant robot holds is a sparking, frayed section of mechanical appendage. The machine's shoulders heave as if panting, looking left and right, as if searching for an opponent.

    When none is immediately obvious - she doesn't seem to even notice Bourd hanging on for dear life or the gem being flung - the titan throws its head back and lets out one last furious howl, made all the more eerie and unsettling by the fact it's Kazusa's voice. And then it hauls around and pitches the remains of the arm in the general direction of the pit, an almost petulant reaction to the lack of enemies to tear asunder now that the Ikarugear is gone... the only problem being that the chunk of arm is hurled hard enough to reach the far end of the pit, slamming into the rim not far at all from Bourd himself.

    The Dark Hero whips around to look at Kazusa's allies next, particularly between Psyber and Reiji... but ultimately it simply stands there, doing not much more than staring. There seems to be no comprehension in its movements, but neither does she seem to have any intention to actually attack them.

Mir (340) has posed:
    Mir, pulling herself to her feet, leans against ELMA and... smirks. She pats ELMA, who vanishes in a little quivering display of digitization, then she crosses her arms and just watches for Bourd's fate.

Misha (757) has posed:
    Dangling by one hand, if Bourd were in peak condition he'd have no problem pulling himself up. But he's been sorely battered, weakened and injured in the resultant explosions, the nervous and defeated grin he flashes over his shoulder says he doesn't have much of a reason to give Reiji when prompted, "Because you'd all rather see me in jail. Right? Locked away where I can't hurt a fly, yeah?" He ventures kind of pathetically. Though his expression sours when Psyber's verdict is to just leave him be. "Y-you're kidding me right? You're not going to just leave me here hanging are you?" But fear turns into indignant rage. "Do you think I'll FORGET this? Just wait, because when I climb out of this hole, I'm going to be back, I'm going to have something far worse than the IkaruGear, and then you're going to be more than sorry you didn't give me a--"
    That howl cuts him off, eyes almost bugging out. Even Misha flinches when she sits herself back up, joining Mir in the magical land of pretending no one say what just happened. She does spare a furtive glance at the other Reyvateil. And the smile she puts on is much brighter than it was earlier.
    Still, Bourd's plight is not over. Trying to haul himself up ends in failure when The Dark Hero lobs the chainsaw across the room in a fit of monstrous fury while searching for a fresh fight. The impact slams the lip of the pit, the jarring vibrations shaking the floor- enough for fingers to slip.
    With one last scream of rage, Bourd Rade falls flailing into the depths of the tower.
    It earns a wince. But Misha seems more concerned with the gem now clasped firmly in her grasp.

Scarlet Everille (747) has posed:
    Bourd Rade has nothing to do with Scarlet. He's someone else's problem, someone else's grudge, someone else's decision and someone else's catharsis. She's not about to stick her nose in and give what little opinion she has on the subject during a tense, heartfelt moment. Instead, she busies herself with being productive, stopping by each of the cages one by one and running her fingers across the bars, making short work of the cheap material by simply slicing out tiny sections with transmutation magic so simple she doesn't need a circle for it.

    She takes the chains out in much the same way, not bothering with the shackles themselves just yet, asking if the girls if they need assistance and helping each one to her feet if she needs it. She radiates a magically enhanced aura of trust, tranquility and compassion from her posture, expression and voice, attempting to keep things low key and out of the way while the rest of the group decides what to do with Rade, and further under control while the man plummets to his death. Nobody gets to see the faint, impacable smirk on her lips when he does.

    "If we're done here, I think we should leave as soon as possible. The less time we spend in this energy field the better."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Bourd goes toppling off into the abyss, and Reiji just shakes his head. Gold is holstered, and he gives Psyber a long, knowing look as he heads off. Did the angel know that would happen? What mysteries dwell beneath Psyber's hard-boiled exterior? Will Misha finally properly fill out her wardrobe!?

TUNE IN NEXT TIME