2810/Adamastor Rising

Adamastor Rising
Date of Scene:	15 August 2015
Location:	Paragon City <CoH>
Synopsis:	The Banished Pantheon's summoned monster arises in Dark Astoria.
Cast of Characters:	346, Alexis, Blurr, Reiji Arisu, 707, 736, 748, 769, 806

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Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    In a previous encounter with the villain group known as the Banished Pantheon, an attempt was made to bring a relic known as the Scepter of Mot to Dark Astoria. They failed, but a construct fuelled by the rage of ancient gods laughed at his own defeat, and told the assembled heroes that the 'Dead Giant' would come. Magic users throughout Paragon City, especially at the organization known as MAGI, have been alerted to the sudden appearance of a dark and powerful presence within Dark Astoria... A place already steeped in death, horror, and terrible magic.

    As such, the call for help has gone out, to stop the mysterous 'Dead Giant' and the Banished Pantheon's plans, before they have the chance to do anything against the citizens of Paragon City!

    Dark Astoria is a bleak place, constantly dark, and constantly shrouded in fog. Tall office buildings stand like giant tombs, further darkening the streets. Street lights line the initial street that goes north and south before the security gate leading back out into the Talos Island zone. Efforts have been made to set up a hospital at St. Elegius Medical Center to the left of those who enter this zone... The work to clear out all the remains from that hospital is probably not anything anyone envies the workers.

    The gates into Dark Astoria have been closed off ever since the incident that killed every single man, woman, and child in this city zone. Every life extinguished and sacrificed, while heroes and law enforcement could do nothing. Now those gates are finally open.

    And even as they look upon Dark Astoria, the responders to the call for aid may be able to make out the sight of civilians still walking the sidewalks. Ghostly images of they who once dwelled here, seemingly unaware of their own demise. Transparent, faintly luminescent... And if one gets too close to them, they simply vanish, leaving one standing in an empty street.

    Mission Objectives: Locate the 'Dead Giant' and defeat it!

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
GoGo Tomago grins as she looks down at the place. "Pretty creepy." she says as she does a final check of her gear. "Now the question is, where's this Dead Giant, and is there anything special we need to do to kill it?"

Domon Kasshu (748) has posed:
     Callous as he may act, Domon's concern for others does sometimes shine through his rude exterior. He'd come to Paragon City to search for Kyoji, but, having been mistaken for a hero while driving in the Corelander, he'd been warned by a MAGI operative about the coming danger. The blue hovercraft pulls into Dark Astoria and comes to a stop, the driver stepping out to stretch.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr remembers having to deal with these Banished Pantheon people. The dead-but-alive fleshy things. Anything but pleasant. And now there's a giant one, apparently. How giant exactly is yet to be seen, since huge compared to a human might not be so huge for a Cybertronian.

    As such, another blue hovercraft also approaches Dark Astoria, only this time no one steps out of the vehicle. Bright headlights attempt to pierce through the fog to see if the Autobot can pick up on any trace of this 'Dead Giant'.

Alexis has posed:
Alexis walks through the recently opened gateway, already suited up in her full battle gear. With how the last encounter with these cultists and their supernatural abominations, she was not taking any chances after getting word there was going to be a push made into Dark Astoria itself to nip this issue in the ass. The way that tiki totem pole thing laughed at them never did sit very right with her.

She stops at the rest of the gathering. "I heard we might have a psycho giant sort of problem."

That's when the giant lion-like beast tromps through the gate behind her, folding down it's wings to its sides to fit through. Might give people a start, but all he does is thump down on his haunches behind Alexis. Good thing she gave GoGo a heads-up the creature was one of hers now.

"So I brought my own giant to deal with it." Her training methods tend to be a bit trial by fire so what better chance than now to see how well the training is taking?

The Missing Lynx wrinkles it's snout a little at the dark mist, viper-tail lashing a few times and hissing irritably. Even the large beast can sense there is something inherently wrong with this area.

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
GoGo Tomago stares up at the Manticormera beast, growling slightly. "You sure we can trust that thing?" she asks, flexing her hands as her discs grow razor edges.

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
GoGo Tomago says, "It seems like we just got done fighting that thing. Are you SURE we can trust it to not turn on us?"

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
The Gray Team has become Mercenaries out in the Multiverse and while they are still UNSC/ONI soldiers, they are allowed to do as they like and under no direct authority from anyone. This is just the way Gray Team likes it. When trouble came up on their scans for some work, they decided to take a strange one, mostly by the voice of Adriana-111 who snuck the job acceptance right under Jai-006's nose.

Now the sound of a motor can be heard as they get clearance to enter with their military four wheeled vehicle, not much unlike a jeep, but low to the ground, some heavy duty tires, and no canopy top. Instead, it has a bar in the center and one hell of a mean looking M46 turret mounted weapon; Meet the Warthog.

The passengers inside were near identical colored trio with dark grey armor, silver visors, and the only part that changes each one of them was the design of their armor based on what they do, but for those who knew anything about people like Noble Six, they knew these three were part of that same group. The one at the steering wheel was Mike-120, the one in the seat was Adriana-111, even though her armor hid that female figure, and the one at the turret was their 'leader' Jai-006. Once they arrived, Jai-006 stepped off the back, which the Warthog leaned just smidge as he did so. He was a tall guy, they all were. He stood around nearly eight feet tall, "We are here to help with the mission. Just point us at the bad guys and we'll help get this job done."

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    The exact location of the disturbing presence in a place FULL of disturbing presences was unclear to the specialists at MAGI. But the suggestion that the neighborhood of Moth Cemetery might be a good place to start had been provided to any who wanted more details. City maps are readily available, including computerized versions that show not only an entire zone, but also how much of it one has personally been to, to help track movement.

    Thus, the location of Moth Cemetery, taking up the majority of the north-east part of the map, should be readily identifiable. It's a dangerous area even among the rest of this highly-dangerous zone. The exact state of the place is unknown in the present due to the lack of hero presence until just now. Attempts to penetrate the fog with lights results mostly in a glaring white haze where the light lands, though some of the darkness beyond is also pushed back.

    Every overhang from an oddly-shaped building looks like an ambush site. Every unlit street a death trap. In this lifeless place, the active helicopter landing lights on a distant rooftop along the north end of the street before the group may seem terribly out of place, given there are no helicopters that would be landing. Street lights that still have power here is just as confusing... And eerie. Abandoned streets, with nothing but the dead walking them, but they still have power?

    When ghosts walk beneath them, they disappear in the pools of yellow cast by these beacons of illumination, only to reappear when they've passed beyond the light.

    The sounds of vehicle engines in this creepily quiet city is like thunder... Echoing off buildings and through the many alleys and canals and street tunnels. Not being noticed may be difficult, but if they're in a hurry, the group may be willing to sacrifice stealth for expediency. Besides, it's doubtful any of them can see in the dark better than the Things that walk these haunted boulevards.

Domon Kasshu (748) has posed:
     "What happened to this city?" Domon looks between the other Elites curiously, then towards the depths of the abandoned burg. He grabs a map from a shelf on a forgotten kiosk, unfolding it and searching for the cemetery. "I think we should make a run for the cemetery. The faster we get there, the less time this thing has to prepare for us."

Alexis has posed:
As we've previously learned, stealth really isn't Alexis' thing. She prefers the direct approach, get to the problem and solve it. Or beat the shit out of it, which is probably what's going to be the case here. There is some logic to it, after all. The less time they spend dealing with trash mobs, the less wore out they will be when they get to the big scary monster hiding somewhere in this zone of creepy madness.

"Don't worry GoGo. I've had plenty of time to establish who's the dominate species here. I'm a lifelong specialist at monster taming, after all." After she replies Alexis grabs a shock of the beast's mane and uses it to pull herself up onto his shoulders, more or less stradling the base of his neck where she sits. "Com'n, Clysm. We'll take a look from above." Clysm nods his head, unfurls his wings, and despite his size makes a pretty apt take off from the pavement. Though Alexis keeps him at a low altitude since the fog is hard to see through and she doesn't want to stray far ahead of the group. That almost didn't pay off in the caves last time.

But there is little doubt that, avoiding buildings aside, she's taking as direct of a route as possible towards the cemetary.

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
GoGo Tomago nods to Domon. "Anyone need a speedy lift? I'm stronger than I look, and I'm the fastest thing alive." she boasts. "I bet I could be there and back again before the thing has a chance to yawn." she says, turning around and lowering herself into a squatting crouch. She's raring and ready to go, whether alone or with someone on her back.

Blurr has posed:
    The Moth Cemetary was the place recommended to investigate first by MAGI, located near the northeast sector. Well anyway they knew this area better than anyone else likely, so seemed the most logical choice of places to at least start with.

    Blurr was about to take off when GoGo started boasting about how fast she is. Smirking inwardly, the speedster just can't resist a comeback to that. "Fastest thing alive you say? Well we'll see about who gets there -first- then!" he challenges, and takes off down the haunted streets toward the cemetary. Hopefully at his speed, he won't have to deal with any of the trash mobs.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
Jai-006 listens to everyone try to decide what to do and then watches as Alexis takes up into the sky with her monster, he can only tilt his head gently. "I'm in agreement with him," He jabs his thumb back at Domon. "The faster we move, the better off we are."

Mike-120 leans on the steering wheel as he talks, "And this place is like one of those horror movies, I bet this darkness is unnatural... Like those people." He points as a person seems to fade away under the light. "I'm still trying to scientifically wrap my head around what is actually going on."

Jai-006 then gets back up on the turret. "Remember where we are, Mike... Let's get to that cemetery and see if we can draw some of the unwanted attention to us while the others make a more direct line." He glances at those still here. "See you guys there."

With a roar of the Warthog's engine, even as it thunders across the buildings, the vehicle takes off and goes slightly off the track to make sure if anything horrible wants to chow on some folks, they go after them first. It isn't even running with its lights, though it does flash them sometimes just cause Mike-120 is a jerk like that and to see if it draws any further attention on them.

Thankfully SPARTAN-IIs are genetically enhanced humans and darkness is not an issue for them, unless this stuff is unnatural, in which case Mike-120 has even more reason for his light show.

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
GoGo Tomago takes off like a shot. "Come on Blurr!" she shouts over the radio. "Let's see some real speed!" she says. Her wheels whirr and spin as she parkours her way through the city. Not an ounce of motion wasted, not a drop of speed lost as she takes corners at a pace that would paste a normal person.

Saber (346) has posed:
     Mortal beings human or otherwise were not the only ones who would be unnerved by the ward-sized tomb. Servants generally had to die in order to become what they were, but the tainted prana and overwhelming death energies were enough to overwhelm even someone steeled against them, such as the Servant Saber. Though her face only subtly revealed her emotions given her usual stoicism, her slight frown spoke volumes enough as she entered the zone and sped towards the area indicated in the PPD call. It reminded her in some ways of what Caster had attempted; he would have loved the place. That made it very bad for nearly anyone else.

     Saber cleared the crumbling buildings in a series of lithe leaps, though rooftops and ground were obfuscated by supernatural fog. A few times she even passed what seemed like villain groups even attempting to stem the tides of whatever evil threatened the rest of the city, a clear indication of just how dire this threat was. Unfortunately, one such group assumed she would attack them and pre-emptively turned their attention to her, delaying her arrival. But they were dispatched easily enough before the petite knight finally spotted the heroes already en route to the cemetery. A blur of blue and silver stood out against the dark grey from rooftop to rooftop in the same general direction.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    As Blurr and GoGo take off down the streets, they'll be treated to a rush of horrors on their way to the cemetery. Ghastly, pale, withered faces seem to rush towards them out of the darkness. Bursts of green smoke and flame rise from rituals being conducted in abandoned parks. Crazed shamans bearing knives trace arcs in the air that cut the darkness and make it bleed. Dead, dead, dead, everywhere dead. Even the living look like they belong among the Husks and Chambers they command. Streets they pass by and through are plunged into total darkness as the two speedsters enter areas where the street lights are dowsed, the fog added into it only serving to make the vapor seem like a black mist... Tangible shadow.

    However, these two are quite fast. Fast enough that in some cases, the enemies they pass may not realize they are even there until after they have gone, or perhaps not at all. But Jai's team is after the opposite result. A street that is dark except for dots of strange pale-blue lights clustered together is driven down. What those lights are attached to surge up out of the gloom, withered frames and hulking dead men with magical glyphs carved into them, shining with supernatural light. The dead are slow, but they are also armed. And while they may not be quick to react, more than one musket ball or bullet charged with a power from beyond this universe chases after the Warthog and its occupants, pelting the road and shop faces in their trail. More than one walking corpse lashes out with a tomahawk, or a fist, or a wooden club, with a strength that can cave in a steel door. More than one madman driven beyond mortal concerns by the whisperings of gods that wish the annihilation of all other gods, and the consumption of all life, releases a cloud of blackness that tries to eat away life and flesh, or cause a snow storm to suddenly howl into existence around them to slow movement, or send bolts of lightning arcing after them.

    Driving too slowly will allow not only these enemies to attack but for the ones being aggro'd to catch up. But driving too swiftly around blind corners and onto streets strewn with abandoned vehicles and the marks of red from bodies being dragged that still stain the pavement, may cause Gray Team to find itself in just an unsavory a situation.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    As Saber blurs across the dead city zone, seeing the husks like wandering lanterns that roam the streets beneath her, she indeed runs into some tattooed men conducting a ritual that is trying to twist and defy the darkness that surrounds them. A tall, spectral figure that radiates ancestral spirit power, but not the menace and malice of the Totems or Spirits of the Banished Pantheon, notices a (somewhat) kindred 'spirit' as Saber passes it by, and flies forth to engage her. As far as it knows, she's not only a hero here to interfere, but a threat to it on a more primal level. Competition for human souls, as it were. That's how some Servants feed, after all.

    Eventually, after her engagement with martial artists and a super-strong Ancestor Spirit, she makes it to Moth Cemetery. If the rest of Dark Astoria is a dead city, Moth Cemetery is a City for the Dead.

    Likewise, Alexis on her manticore may face dangers akin to Saber and Gray Team, but her low altitude, as long as it's not TOO low, may leave her out of both detection range and attack range. But if she is not careful, wooden masks with vividly carved and painted faces may unleash everything from psychic blasts to pure death energy to concentrated 'pain energy' to weaponized despair that makes one's body stop wanting to live. The Spirits of the Banished Pantheon can fly, and may give chase for a time. But ultimately, if Alexis doesn't try to face too many of them, then much like Blurr and Gogo, and Gray Team, and Saber, she will reach her destination. Domon is the only one left behind right now, and with his abilities, he should be able to travel as well as any of them to his intended destination. Maybe even using the distraction Gray Team is providing to get through unscathed.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    All those arrive here, even if only eventually, will see marble paths wind this way and that admist healthy-looking lawns and well-maintained gardens. Huge, beautifully constructed mausoleum buildings bear statues of angels and lions on their multiple-sectioned rooftops, and more statues crouch upon the pillars that mark the various entrances through the lengthy stretches of high walls that surround this entire area. The shamans and undead are even more densely found here, and the souls of those who have already had their flesh taken from them now lie in the midst of clouds of supernatural green smoke.

    "M'retu! We offer you the soul for your hunt!" one of the shaman calls.

    The ghost of a woman, floating helplessly in confusion and pain, only manages to get out, "...ere is my family...?"

    Somewhere in all this, the Dead Giant has been brought forth. There's no doubt much work to be done in stopping the Banished Pantheon here, many rituals that can be disrupted, many immortal souls that can be spared from some sort of awful 'hunt' in a plane beyond sane reality by a horrible god that chases down spirits, tears them apart, releases them, and then chases them again for all eternity. But is there time right now? How many rituals must be stopped before all of them are stopped? How long will that take? Will that prevent them from starting back up again? And what of the Dead Giant while people are doing that?

    It's the same problem the heroes faced. No matter how much it pains them, no matter how much they want to save people, in Dark Astoria, you can't save everyone. And if you try... You may lose everyone instead.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
The Warthog makes tracks, this thing is designed for all terrain and can easily ride over boulders and thankfully, is in the hands of Mike-120, the master driver who processes events at speeds that can only be rivaled by a super computer. Yet, Mike-120 /is/ human, even with his augmentations and all that military training since he was six.

All these ghostly and unnatural horrors are a bit distracting and his mind scrambling to find a /logical/ explanation. The best he can come up with, is what he speaks out loud as he drives, "Flood. These are like, some type of... Mutated Flood."

Adriana-111 meanwhile on the passenger seat stands up and uses the bar to support her backside as she takes potshots at enemies coming up in front of them and along side with her assault rifle. "Just focus, Mike, we will be there soon." She says with a calm voice, even with her slight Slavic accent. Jai-006 meanwhile, is covering the rear and does have to duck down slightly as a tomahawk flies over his head, "F***" He barks out as it does clip the edge of his shield cause a spark of blue to flicker over his armor. "Mike, how close we are from the meet up point?"

"N-not far." Mike-120 manages to get out as he drives to avoid whatever that smog was and turn down a sharp alley and almost into another car. "This place is crazy, like horror movie crazy. Multiverse or not, I pick the job next time!"

"It's good pay, now shut up and keep your eyes on ze road." Adriana-111 barks back at him with her accent getting a touch heavier due to her own focus being on re-killing things along the way.

Once they do arrive with the others, the Warthog skids to a stop sideways and Adriana-111 steps out, with Jai-006 just laying down a few more bullets from where they came from just to be /sure/ nothing comes out of the fog still following them. Mike, on the other hand? Is just laughing with his arms rested on the steering wheel and his helm against that.

"He'll be fine." Adriana says to everyone else, her accent still a bit heavier then she likes, "What is ze plan now?"

Domon Kasshu (748) has posed:
     Domon looks up from his map to see almost everyone on the way already. He's not...really used to people just immediately listening to what he says, much less being left behind. "Hey!" The Gundam fighter is quick to hop back into the Corelander, speeding off to try and catch up. Gray Team makes an excellent opening for him to arrive at the cemetery more or less unscathed. He leaps out of the vehicle and immediately begins hopping from headstone to monolith to mausoleum, searching for the most immediate threat--the Dead Giant.

Blurr has posed:
    There are a lot of weird rituals going on, but Blurr doesn't really understand enough about these strange paranormal things to assess their threat level. He just knows that there is a massive 'Dead Giant' that is a physical threat to the safety of Paragon City, so he focuses on searching for that. He's not exactly sure what it will look like, but he just assumes that it will just look like the other dead things, except much larger.

    It's giant, so it shouldn't too hard to spot, right?

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
GoGo Tomago's eyes carve their way through the landscape as she jumps and twirls. "I'm not seeing anything," she says over the radio. "I've only got these boring old mortal eyes and technology... Speaking of which," she says, landing atop the highest building she can find, "Any of you magicy types got a way for me to do some damage to this thing?"

Alexis has posed:
On the flip side, if you leave the rituals entirely alone to focus on the big bad monster, you're going to likely get mobbed by them interfering. Or healing said big bad monster. Those are hardly prime options, either. This was already shaping up to be a rather prickly fight to contend with. It was going to take balancing disruption, with keeping pressure on the Dead Giant...

And there's those damn masks again. They weren't flying too high, but in the same regard, the Missing Lynx was hardly a small monster, and pretty hard to miss when it wasn't taking a high altitude. But slowing down to deal with them wasn't something they had time to waste on, so we're going to have to just hope too many of them don't notice.

Nearing the cementary, it's not hard to see the Dead Giant from overhead. Or the rituals surrounding it. "... Damn. This is gonna get ugly."

Clysm circles the cementary so she can get a better look at it. While doing so his muscles tense and additional vigor starts building in his large form as he uses a bit of Oomph on himself to start boosting his attack power.

Saber (346) has posed:
     Unfortunately, the ambient prana was so laden with death energies that it was difficult to find the exact trail Saber was hunting for. Yet, she seemed to make out a set of glowing eyes trailing sickly-coloured wisps above the spires of the tombs at the crest of a large hill. Was that the creature they were sent to eliminate?

     "I believe I have located our target," she commented, her voice calm even in the midst of the spookiest part of the spookiest part of the city.

     Being unable to save everyone was a reality the King of Knights had faced time and time again. Yet, even as she made the necessary decisions with a stoicism that led to whispers among the discontented which questioned her humanity, each was another regret leading to the regret of her entire rule. Had she merely been stronger, she would have been able to save everyone, and her kingdom remain standing. But it seemed even with the powers of a Servant, she still lacked the necessary strength to save all. Not, however, that she wouldn't try. Besides, she had some sense of obligation to save helpless spirits, as she would one day become a Counter-Guardian in service to Alaya, the part of the Earth governing humanity. And then, there was the obvious issue of healers which might potentially cast their protective magic on the monstrous zombie. Two birds with one stone, as the saying went.

     "I believe that I can eliminate some of these cult followers surrounding the creature," she replied over the radio. In fact, if she could lure them away, that might give the others the necessary room they needed to attack Adamastor.

     "I shall attempt to lure them away. Focus on the giant creature."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    Moth Cemetery. It's about as eerie as you can possibly get, even in Dark Astoria. The mausoleums rise high over the rest of the now quite thoroughly abandoned metropolis. The ziggurat at its center towers especially high, looming like a great ritual tower-- or an antenna, broadcasting words of dread malaise over the spiritual airwaves.

But it's still not the tallest thing in the zone.

Next to Moth Cemetery is a small skyscraper. A helipad, unused and empty, waits forlornly atop the structure. And on top of that...

Reiji Arisu.

    "I think they've found the target," he says to the woman next to him. The Agent of Shinra pulls the binoculars from his eyes, handing them over to his companion. "Giant zombie, over there," he says, pointing into the distance, through the fog. "We should be able to make it without much trouble. A few of those Banished Panteon cultists too. It'll be rough if we don't eliminate them ASAP."

"Whenever you're ready," he grunts, sliding a fresh clip into his pistol. "I'm good to go."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
So word got out to Shinra's liaisons to the Union that there was a small problem with some big zombies; specifically, word reached Reiji first, and he called up his partner, the sage fox Xiaomu. Leaning her monk staff against her shoulder for a moment, Xiaomu takes the binoculars from Reiji and peers through them, adjusting the focus a little bit. "So big that we wouldn't need binoculars to see it without the fog, I'm guessing?" she asks casually.

Then she pauses. Lowers the binoculars to squint through the fog, then looks through the binoculars again for a moment. "They should give us shotguns for this shit," she mutters before handing the viewing instrument back to Reiji for safe keeping; he's got more pockets than she does. She DOES have a field pack slung across her back, though, in addition to her Shinra uniform vest.

"I guess we'll need anti-spirit rounds for the most part, plus I'll be going through a lot of grenades," Xiaomu adds in a more serious tone. "Shall we?" she asks, taking her staff in hand and giving it a brief, ring-jingling twirl.

And then ... she jumps off the skyscraper's roof, none too worried about the landing. Any undead monsters (or even cultists) underneath will just make a more forgiving landing than the ground itself would, anyway.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "For the record," Reiji chuckles, swapping his handgun out for Hollywood. "They /did/ give us a shotgun. But it's just the one. Usual SOP then. Well," he gesutres towards the cemetery, "Ladies first."

And so she goes.

And then Reiji follows.

    Somehow, he- and apparently other Shinra agents- are trained to leap from tall buildings in a single bound! Without breaking any legs!! "Alright, Xiaomu" he grunts, levelling the enchanted shotgun at the cluster of cultists surrounding the giant... And depresses the trigger. Over and over and over, filling the air with enchanted gunpowder, "Let's get this party started."

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
Off GoGo Goes, cranking it up to top speed. "Follow me, opposite side, widdershins!" she calls on the radio to Blurr. Then she goes faster... Faster than is probably safe for her, the G-forces pressing against her suit and helmet.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    The giant is spotted, and plans are made to engage it. Drawing off the Banished Pantheon cultists and their undead legions may be a good plan, and as efforts are taken to make it so, the cultists are all too willing to cooperate. Life-devouring gloom, lightning bolts, localized earthquakes, deafening thunder claps, hurricanes, cages of stone, stolen life, more zombies being called forth from the ground, and that's just the Shamans. At least the Spirit masks seem to be absent from the area, but one of those green-fire filled Totems looms within line of sight, supervising the sacrifice of souls. Hopefully it won't join the battle.

    The Dead Giant seems to be aware of the fact enemies are in the area, because he turns as Reiji opens fire and Xiaomu leaps into the fray, and lets loose with a yell both physically and spiritually loud. Loud enough to break every piece of glass that can bear his reflection facing him. He has yet to attack, but that small demonstration of his strength should be enough. Regardless of not being the size of a transformer or a Gundam, he is stronger than he looks. And he looks plenty strong.

Blurr has posed:
    As the giant is spotted by the team and a plan is formulated to cyclone it, Blurr wastes no time in executing. GoGo starts first, then the Autobot falls in behind her, easily matching her speed as the two of them race around and around in a circle. The glass that had just been shattered flies up, as well as any loose debris in the area, as a literal tornado begins to form.

    This is something that either GoGo or Blurr could have pulled off alone as well, but with the two of them working together, the strength of and intensity of the whirlwind is doubled, as well as the speed at which it forms. If they can position it right, hopefully they can manage to incapacitate the monster at least temporarily.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
Adriana-111 and Mike-120 were on the move once they got the orders from Jai-006 on what to do. They are not the best teammates you can have, but they are the teammates these guys got stuck with. As Mike-120 and Adriana-111 make their move, Mike makes use of his shotgun and Adriana goes to find a high perch to use her sniper rifle.

They do avoid getting into too much of a tango with the others here to help, but if someone isn't careful they may find a sniper shot screaming by deadly close for that headshot from Adriana-111 or moving between them as she tries to cover someone. Welcome to dealing with the Gray Team!

Jai-006 makes sure Domon is ok first once he arrives, before he goes to unload the Rocket Launcher. He picks up the crate and goes to perch up on the Warthog to take aim, given the Warthog has all the ammo and he has no idea how many rounds he'll need. Yet when the Giant roars, Jai ducks his head down because the sheer force of the roar not only cracks the Warthog's glass, but it actually /shatters/ his visor, including destabilizes his shield.

As Jai-006 looks back up, those dark, almost black, inhuman like eyes stares at the beast. There was no fear in those eyes, barely any emotion, or soul. Only the stare of a man made into a war machine and some scars along his face from the long days of war and surviving deep behind enemy lines. Jai-006 raises up that Rocket Launcher and waits for the Speedsters to do their thing. Once that Giant is lifted off the ground, once they have it pinned down--- he will open fire and he will keep firing until it's in pieces.

Alexis has posed:
People are drawing off or distracting the cultist mobs. Good. "Okay big guy, time to show us what you can really do!" At Alexis' prod with her heels the Missing Lynx banks out of his circling, and in his prefered tactic divebombs right towards the Dead Giant. He roars as he dives, only for the roar to turn into a gout of flaming breath erupting from his maw. The fiery blast is aimed primary at the monster, but the flames washing down and away from the attack have a high chance of catching any cultists or spirits that try to linger close to the hideous being they summoned.

Desite the ranged elemental attack Clysm isn't pulling away from his dive, intending to follow it up by getting into physical range with the other giant monsters, even if it puts him at risk. He's the best option in the group for being the melee tank, given his own size and strength. He's actually pretty close to the Dead Giant in height, though likely heavier and more bulky due to his leonine form.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    The Banished Pantheon unleash the wrath of the elements. Adamastor bellows a roar that could shatter a lesser spirit and splinter glass. Reiji feels it more than any amount of wind or rain, the dissonant bellow hammering at the very foundations of his soul.

But his is no lesser spirit.

    Reiji receives the bellow and splits it with a tremendous kiai of his own. His spirit flares, invisibly bolstering his body and mind. "Xiaomu," he glances to his side, "I'll go in from above." The Exorcist produces a low grunt as he lunges into the cluster of mages and their shambling minions-- only to use them as a footstool for the massive undead creature behind them. He hops from one withered skull to the next, firing more shotgun shells into the crowd.

But they're only a means to an end.

    Hollywood snaps back into its place on the weapon rack. Reiji leaps from one last Chamber, Karin unleashing a wreath of flame as he draws it from its sheath. He swings the blazing blade in a fierce arc at the magic sigil on Adamastor's massive chest.

If this thing's like any of the other zombies, then distrupting the glyph should do... /something/ at least.

Domon Kasshu (748) has posed:
     Domon decides to improvise, once he spots the whirlwind of debris created by Blurr and GoGo. He leaps onto a statue of a blindfolded angel. The statue bears a great and heavy sword cut from marble or some other such stone. It's beautiful. Domon promptly breaks its hands off at the wrists, hefts the sword (with stone hands still grasping its handle) and chucks it straight up, leaping into the air and hitting it with a midair roundhouse. It flies, point-first, towards the Dead Giant.

Saber (346) has posed:
     The cultists might find themselves frustrated by their lack of ability to control a Heroic Spirit as Saber lured them out of range. A familiar far too wilful and powerful for even most learned magi outside the auspices of the Holy Grail War, she was hardly invincible, but magic was something she was especially resistant against. The summoned creatures and even magic-summoned natural storms would prove more difficult, but direct magic attacks dissipated even before they reached her. Large sweeps of the wind-cloaked Excalibur would bring down living and undead in equal measure, its holy properties ensuring the latter /stayed/ down. The Servant would dispatch these monsters and monsters-wearing-human skins before they began making nuisances of themselves and hindering their efforts.

     And freeing the spirits they were attempting to sacrifice? All the better, though she did have to shake her head and point for them to run...or dissipate their forms...to safety out of the way of the battle. Once the clearing out the surrounding cultists was finished, Saber was able to refocus her efforts on the giant itself.

     The Servant closed the distance faster than a normal human eye could probably follow without some kind of assistance, blurring into blue and silver again. Avoiding friendly fire was likely not going to be an issue as Saber leapt, attempting to use the giant's own body to ascend by running up its outstretched arm before springing off and aiming for the sigil on Adamastor's chest. Likely, that was its weak point, from the amount of tainted prana it was giving off.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Okay, Reiji!" Xiaomu calls out. She's already laying about herself with her staff, the rings jingling with every strike as she jabs or swipes with the walking-support-turned-weapon to knock cultists for a loop, or to simply knock them out. No reason to waste ammo or grenades if she doesn't have to, right?

At least until she sees a particularly thick knot of cultists heading for her. THEN she pauses with her staff, pulls a pin, and flings the grenade in their direction; a respectably large fireball ensues as the grenade goes off (releasing the fire-elemental enhancements cooked into it by Shinra's weapons-development branch).

Then Xiaomu continues on her way trhough the battle, drawing her ice-elemental sword Suiren forth from the staff's shaft - yes, it's a cane sword - and starting to slash her way through. Reiji's beaten her to the giant, but the sage fox is working on catching up as quickly as she can - and as fast as the tides of battle allow her.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    GoGo and Blurr create a whirlwind around Adamastor with their super speed, trying to draw the giant up into the air. His magical power rebuffs the attempt, though they succeed in slowing his movements and keeping him from chasing after those trying to kite the cultists away. The giant slams his foot down into the ground, causing a tremor to ripple through the ground in every direction, disgorging the dead from their graves in the process. Corpses fly into the air, then land on hands and knees, and begin to rise onto their feet... Already reanimated by dark magics as they were wasting away.

    The tremor may be enough to disorient those too close to him in the process, but Alexis aboard her manticore send flames washing over Adamastor to great effect. He catches ablaze and seems unhappy about it. He's definitely vulnerable to fire, like the other Banished Pantheon undead! He lashes out with one hand at Alexis and her mount, and if he hits, it is going to hurt. There is more strength in him than his size would indicate. But a manticore is no fluffy kitten, and it may not be enough to drive him back!

    A grenade goes off in the midst of Husks and Chambers, who seem to be vulnerable to blades, bullets, and flames, judging by the effectiveness of Reiji's bullets and Xiaomu's blade. But cold is something they are very much resistant to, so those slashed with the canesword take less damage than they would from Reiji's flaming weapon.

    Jai, Mike, and Adriana likewise see success with conventional firepower, doing heavy damage to the undead. Adamastor doesn't seem to be lifting off the ground, but he is definitely impaired. And if Jai fires the rocket launcher BEFORE Reiji or Alexis gets into melee range to strike with blade or monster-cat, he'll see results akin to the manticore's fire breath: Flame is a weakness. Likewise, as Reiji strikes, his blade carves a blackened line into Adamastor's chest... But sparks fly on contact with the rune, blue-white dots of flame blasting everywhere, even back into Reiji's face! Seems that's not going to be an easy win spot.

    Domon kicking the huge stone sword down at Adamastor sees it colliding with his head and snapping it backwards from the superhuman strength the martial artist possesses! He actually takes a step back, unsteadied, before pushing forward again and letting out a wave of dry air that sounds like he's wheezing for breath. But the dusty, decaying air that emerges saps the strength of those exposed to it, and they may find their ability to output damage reduced as their OWN flesh temporarily withers slightly as well! It's kind of horrifying (but, again, temporary)!

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Then Saber rushes in, taking down monster after monster, walking corpse after walking corpse. They may not be vulnerable to 'holy' power per se, but Excalibur apparently counts as an Anti-Undead weapon due to that status, because she is doing twice as much damage as she normally would to them. With Adamastor's ability to move or attack restricted by whirlwinds, sniper bullets and shotgun shells driving him back, flames covering him, blades and stone weapons keeping him unsteady in his weakened state, and all the cultists being kept from helping him, the powerful rune on his chest takes another blow from a strong magical weapon and power crackles over his body as spells of reanimation are undone.

    The Dead Giant falls to one knee, shaking the ground beneath him... But powers greater than mere spells have brought him back, and as the flames covering him turn green to match that which flows from his eyes, and the symbols of his new masters, he drives his own body into the dirt and crawls deep into the soil rich with death.

    Defeated, but not yet fully so. This is likely not the last that will be seen of him. But with the damage dealt, it will be some time before he rises again.

    The remaining Banished Pantheon cultists in the area retreat, the rescued ghosts likewise making themselves scarce, and a sense that the blow dealt to Adamastor so soon after his revival is not an injury that can be easily undone. Even when he rises again, his strength will be limited to a fixed level. That rune was half-carved from his flesh.

    It was enough.

BADGE OBTAINED: Keeper of Secrets

    'You have defeated the demon, Adamastor, brought forth by the Banished Pantheon to destroy the world.'

GoGo Tomago (736) has posed:
GoGo Tomago grins as she skids to a stop, her discs battering any stray beasts around her. "Well... That was one hell of a fight." she says, grinning and clenching a fist. "Need to do some work on this stuff once I'm done. Tune things up, maybe get my discs enchanted. A little something to deal with supernatural things like this."

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Reiji grunts as Adamastor's rune proves to be somewhat more resilient than it should really have been. He lands on a grassy knoll nearby, face singed ever so slightly- but not badly enough to be incapacitating. And then... A thud. Reiji peers back at the now fallen giant, and cants his head. "...That took much less time than I was anticipating," he murmurs, rubbing his chin. "Well, whatever. Xiaomu, let's clean some of these groups up before we head out. Nice work, everyone."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Bonus damage from sharp-edged blade, penalized by ice? .... eh, she'll work the math out later. For now, Xiaomu wipes Suiren's blade clean and re-sheathes it, then walks over to where she can get a better look at the spot where Adamastor ... just vanished back into the ground.

Well, it's not still trying to kill everything and everybody, so chalk it up as a win, she figures.

This position just happens to put her next to Reiji. "Huh ... so I missed the fun part?" she comments casually, leaning on her staff.

Then she digs out a piece of fried tofu from one of her vest pockets, munching casually on it.

Alexis has posed:
The whirlwind kicking around Adamastor courtesy of GoGo and Blurr doesn't bother the Missing Lynx in the least, as his own affinity for wind and flying gives him consideral resistance to such forces.

On the other hand, Adamastor's swing is still a formidable threat. The hand blow slams into the side of Clysm, who made no attempt to even try and avoid the attack. He doesn't need to, as that most certainly hurt, his sheer bulk is like a layer of natural armor. All the same, it hits hard enough to slam the monster into the ground in front of the demonic undead monster.

But not throw him away from it, as Adamastor finds out as the manticore-like beast is back on his paws, even as that's going to be helluva sore bruising once this is over. Alexis makes a gesture over his head, and Clysm snaps forward, trying to use his saber-fanged maw to grab onto one of Adamastor's arm and dig is claws into the pavement to brace himself, trying to hold the monster in place for the others.

Until the abomination finally tears into the ground, disappearing like he used Dig to escape a cavern. The beast roars, but Alexis gives his mane a tug to hold him back. "Down, boy. We don't know what he's going into down there. He's been driven away from the city, that's enough."

Clysm snorts and turns away from the hole. Only to let loose another loud roar to make sure the remaining cultists get the message that they best be running away.

Jai-006 (806) has posed:
Jai-006 lowers the rocket launcher once the Giant leaves and narrows his eyes. He wants to chase, but that isn't what they are being paid to do. Once Mike and Adriana come back, Mike's first concern is checking over the Warthog in seeing the cracked windshield, but Adriana is looking directly at Jai.

"Jai?" She asks him with some hint of concern in her voice.

"I'm fine." He says neutrally. "Lets get back to base and I'll write up the notice to ONI and UNSC that we need a new Warthog and I'll need a new helm."

Mike-120 looks up from where he is checking, "Pretty impressive that it shattered your visor."

"Yeah, it was, but more reason for us to adapt better to the Multiverse." Jai-006 admits, taking the helm off completely, before rotating it around in his hands to look at it. "But, that is what we do best."

Adriana-111 tilts her head before she looks over at the group, "Thank you," she says with that Slavic Accent almost impossible to hear. "It was a pleasure working with all of you. If you ever need our assistance, please feel free to contact us."

Saber (346) has posed:
     Excalibur's effectiveness against the undead in her own version of the world was, strangely, somewhat limited, though there wasn't much a good and direct blast of prana wouldn't fry. In Paragon City, on the other hand, the light-based properties were more than enough to take down more than a few defences...even helping Reiji to unravel the sorcery animating the giant corpse.

     As it began to unravel, Saber planted her feet on its chest and kicked off, somersaulting once before landing with a dancer's grace and the strangely light sound of shifting armour. As Adamastor retreated into the tainted earth, the Servant watched with a slight frown. This was likely not the last time the world would see the creature, she was certain, but perhaps they had allowed that world a reprieve.

     "Indeed," Saber added to the general kudos. "Excellent work."

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Looks like the job is done for now... Dark Astoria is still a place with a LOT of things that need fixing. It might not even be POSSIBLE to fix everything in this part of the city. But at least for now, one of the major threats to Paragon City, and the risk of further deaths, has been curtailed by the first heroes to ever defeat Adamastor. A blow has been dealt to the Banished Pantheon on this day. And with heroes like these around, the cultists and their dark gods won't easily get their way in the future either!

    Dun DUN dunnn... DUN!

    MISSION COMPLETE!

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