3129/Woodvale Trial: Time Bandit

Woodvale Trial: Time Bandit
Date of Scene:	01 October 2015
Location:	Paragon City <CoH>
Synopsis:	Portal Corp's main head quarters is under attack! The Woodsman needs help!
Cast of Characters:	560, 769, 774, 821

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Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    A call has gone for help! Faith Maccabe has something a bit more concrete than yesterday. There are reports of Portal Corporation's main headquarters here in Woodvale being under attack! Woodsman has gone to investigate, but the nature of the attackers is not yet known. After a brief meet-up with Doctor Maccabe, those who respond will have agreed to have formed a special Task Force. While on this Task Force, they can more easily support and communicate with each other via equipment specially prepared for them. Magic crystals have been provided for the mystically inclined, radios for those more comfortable with radios, even cybernetic tuners if someone happened to have cybernetics, or nano-machines that grant temporary telepathy restricted to the local radio and team frequency... Something for every Origin of Power that is common to Primal Earth, if so tesired.

    The default, however, is a radio.

    Once the trip through the forested areas to the west and to the high-tech facility of Portal Corporation HQ is completed, the responding heroes find dense pillars of smoke they may have seen well before they actually arrived, curling upwards from a partially-destroyed facility. There are monsters everywhere. Creatures like humanoid crystal giants, walking boulder constructs, similarly humanoid things woven from plants, and even mushrooms with arms and legs. All of them are considerably taller than an average adult human being.

    They're swarming the place, roaring, throwing boulders or pieces of human engineering like chunks of the parking lot or car fenders or parking signs (and the cement they wre planted in)... Somewhere in all that, the Woodsman is fighting to get the Portal Corporation employees out of there and to safety.

    Mission Objectives: Rescue the employees and help the Woodsman.

Archer (821) has posed:
    He had tried to have her stay behind. Had told her it was stupidity to go in... but when she found out that Emiya Shirou was there, Archer could not convince Rin to stay behind.

    She'd become so much more impulsive... and more openly emotional. A side-effect of having herself a family now. But it did not make Archer's job easier in any way. Of course she would stick to the sidelines so that her prana was mostly utilized in fueling his abilities,

     but that didn't mean he trusted her to not act rashly. She was far too attached to the boy.

     Rin herself was already listening in on the communications crystal - and had nearly sung praises to the heavens for having something she knew how to operate and trusted more then technology. She also seemed more at-ease due to the fact that those present were other mages - one of which Archer knew from his ongoing mission in Hyrule. Rin in particular eyed the mage somewhat dubiously, seeming unsure of what to think of him at first glance - though she didn't seem off-put by him at all.

     It was the sight before them that made the pair more on-edge, Archer being the first to comment- "Was this an unprompted attack... or did these people do something to make themselves a target?"

     "It hardly matters now" Rin replied promptly, taking the first steps ahead even as she readied several gems in one hand in the event of getting drawn into combat. "We need to focus on getting these people out of here. You handle the creatures and occupy them - I'll try and get as many out as I can."

    "Throwing yourself into the fray" Archer sighed and smiled dryly, slightly disapproving a gesture it was even as he muttered the words of his aria - "Trace; On" - and materialized his bow. "To think that breaking Emiya free of those doomed ideals would cause you to take some of them on. You've gotten far too soft, Rin."

     "Then help because they can probably tell us what happened here - heck if I care what the reasons you do it are you rotten jerk" Rin bit back somewhat irritably. "I don't see you refusing to help."

     "Of course not" Archer replied, knocking back an arrow on his bow while Rin began to move to go around the beast's projected path. "I am but a humble Servant. It is my duty to follow my given objectives... regardless of what they may be."

    And such would that be the case forever more... or at least for now.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    Dorian hadn't turned up any information in his quick search for information that would indicate he needed to operate undercover in this world and try to blend in.

    So he'd gone in dressed in his usual outfit -- a light tan leather outfit that was armored as much as he could deal with. Being a mage, it's difficult to cast with very heavy armor. He has a white cloak thrown over the lot, and his serpentdragon-headed staff slung at his back.

    Oh that's interesting -- the magical crystals are something that he's actually familiar with. Thedas has those. That's actually something of a relief, to be using something more familiar to him. That's likely to be the only relief he gets, though, considering all the mayhem that's about once they get through the forest. Though he can sense a faint magical trace here amongst everything.

    To note, Rin's staring at Dorian didn't seem to put Dorian off either. Apparently he's accustomed to being stared at. He's a perfect gentleman on the way however.

    Between the smoking building and the plant-things running wild, Dorian can only quip, "Obviously we've missed the party and this is the after-party rioting. Do you think they've run out of beer?" But nonetheless, there are people to save. Not the least of which may or may not be another hero who went in to save other people.

    Some of these things are plants, so it stands to reason that fire would be something that would work quite well against those particular monsters. Dorian is very good at fire. However, he's keeping his fire under control and tightly contained. This is a forested area after all, and it wouldn't do to burn the place down while trying to get through the monsters.

    He'll be trying to make slow progress through the monsters, and head towards that magical 'ping'. Either it's someone they need to help or something that needs to die, he figures, so they might as well check it out.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Thankfully Shirou hadn't left Paragon city since last night and had been crashing in a hotel, hoping to set out in the morning for more searching.

    That was a mistake, maybe. Or maybe not. Depends on how you view 'crazy monsters sprouting up a few blocks over!'

    But Emiya Shirou's response to such is very, very predictable.

    That's why a half-dozen THINGS come flying out of the sky from a two-story building overlooking the park. Some are wreathed with light, others are engulfed in twisting, drilling winds, some with a hellish crimson light...

    They are mystical swords. Cheap copies of legendary weapons straightened crudely into an aerodynamic, arrow-like shape. None of them come close to their originals, but evena crappy knock-off of Caladbolg, Clarent, Froberge, or Kusanagi is capable of devastating mooks and monsters when it's packed with a little energy and launched at speeds no ordinary archer could manage.

    "This city is just too crazy. The trouble never ends!" He complains to himself, lowering the black bow he copied from Chloe...

    Just a moment later Shirou VAULTS off the building and goes sailing forth a hundred feet. he lands on the grass, rolling and tumbling back up to his feet without more than maybe a bruise or two. Reinforced bone, muscle, skin and clothing can carry him far, but he's no Heroic Spirit.

    That's okay though. You don't need to be a Heroic Spirit to save people who desperately need to be saved. "Trace, ON!"

    With a snap, fizzle, CRACK of prana, Kanshou and Bakuya materialize in the boy's grasp and he goes charging for the monsters in his path to the employees and lone hero. Fighting with experience beyond his years the boy weaves, swerves, and leaps about, occasionally cleaving into a monster only to backflip away, hurl his blades at another, and produce another set of the married swords without caring what happens to the first set.

    "Breaking through this'll be a nightmare...! Where did they even come from?!"

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Fire seems to work especially well against the woven plant things, Bladegrass and Razorvines they're called... Those who have investigated known threats or paid attention to the news may have heard about the Devouring Earth, a mysterious bunch of monsters that invaded Independence Port from the nuclear reactor-bearing island of Terra Volta a few months back. Many heroes stepped forward to keep the invasing back, but the sheer numbers were nearly overwhelming, as were the built-in organic weaponry seemingly designed specifically for wiping out human beings through inherent chemical and biological attacks. Spores that infests the lungs, thorns that impale vital organs, boulders that crush fragile human flesh and pliable human bones, crystals that worm their way under the skin and shred delicate arteries and sensory organs... Things that normal folk would stand no change against.

    And that's not even counting the fact that they are all giants with considerable physical strength, and seemingly no fear of death. Some even have further resistances to damage from non-Elite sources that makes them even more of a threat to non-superheroes.

    They're bad news, in summary. And no one even knows what they truly are, what they want, where they come from... Any of it. They just showed up earlier this year and started attacking, seemingly with the intent of erasing human civilization from the face of the planet. And if they succeed here on Primal Earth... What's to stop them from expanding to encompass other worlds?

    Of course, maybe no one here heard about any of that. Maybe they have no clue. But just watching them as they respond to flames and the bombardment of arrows that tear into them, both attacks even destroying a number of them, may leave Task Force Rose's members to draw similar conclusions.

    These things are either designed or evolved specifically to kill humans, and they are truly monsters. As green, crystalline creatures, Geodes, shatter under the rain of explosive arrows, small pieces of them rise from the remains and gain arms and legs and heads of their own. These miniature versions are quite fragile, but if left to accrue in large numbers, they could take a human being down. Severing ligaments in the legs could drop even a full-grown man to his knees. And from there, more vital locations could be slashed at will.

    Likewise, any of the rock monsters, though they take a beating, who are destroyed spawn smaller pieces of themselves come scrambling over the pavement and onto the grass where the Task Force is gathered. The plant monsters may get a few thorny spears thrown before they succumb to the flames, but eventually they do, blackening and burning on the ground.

    They, and the mushrooms, Fungoids, are the only ones that don't seem to create miniature versions of themselves when slain. But the clouds of spores that are hurled towards the heroes are probably best not inhaled either way.

    It seems like the magical presence is around on the west side of the facility, but there's people visibly being threatened INSIDE, through the windows all along the exterior.

    If the Woodsman is fighting to keep these Devouring Earth busy, then it would be best to rescue these people, probably. Unlike a super hero, they have no chance against these monsters.

Archer (821) has posed:
    After waiting patiently for Shirou and Dorian fire into the swarm, Archer begins letting loose as well, shooting several arrows into the creatures as they face the attacks launched by the others.

    After all, why throw the first blow when you can instead strike them down while distracted by another?

     Much like Emiya Shirou, Archer's blades are all swords of different make, their forms elongated and warped into arrows. One of these weapons is Durandal, the peerlessly-sharp holy sword that, if Archer's calculations were correct, should cut through the diamond-born creatures. Another is Caladbolg, though it is fired in it's base state and not broken into it's highest outpu

    In spite of himself, the Servant of the Bow can't help but give a bemused smirk. "Why don't you go and ask them? They look friendly enough."

    When they shatter into smaller fragments that form new, smaller hoards, Archer's smile flickers but does not drop, once again giving a comment to Dorian - "See what I mean? They're practically swarming to try and meet us." He readies another arrow - this time it is a page borrowed from Emiya Shirou's actions, slightly distasteful as the Servant finds it to follow the boy's example as a traced Clarent forms in his hands, though he winces inwardly as he can almost /taste/ the bloodlust recorded into it's history by the blade's original owner.

     "Mind giving me some cover?" Archer commented as he knocked back Clarent against his bow, the blade's edge lengthening and twisting into a thinner, if not warped form. "This one will need some time to charge... especially if I want to be sure none of those larger stone golems leave no remains to spawn more from."

Archer (821) has posed:
    During the chaos, Rin sees her chance to move in and takes it. The creatures might notice her, but Rin is more focused on controlling her own breathing as she runs, time dilating from her point of view as her eyes close.

    An image of a dagger in her mind... followed by her own heart being pierced by it.

    And what flowed out of it... flooded her body and pooled into her limbs.

    /"Es ist gro�... Es ist klein...!"/

    Prana surges through Tohsaka Rin, her body undergoing Reinforcement in an instant as she suddenly propels forward far faster then a normal human can, much like Shirou's prior free-fall leap from the top of a building. She crosses fifty feet in the first step, and with the second-

     "/Vox got Es Atlas!/"

     -Rin springs off the ground and sails straight for one of the building's windows, arms crossed over her face to shield her eyes from any glass fragments as she makes her attempt to enter the building in an entrance much like something Shirou would do.

    Idiot that she though him to be sometimes... she'd come to find his methods surprisingly effective in times like this. Though she would die before she /ever/ admitted it freely.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    There are people here, one of which is being a little reckless. "Do be careful, Mister Shirou," he cautions between casting. "The title 'hero' is often given posthumously too. And then it's no good to you." Nonetheless he follows this up with a casting of a Barrier. He'll aim to hit as many people as he can, but the range isn't endless, and Spirit magic isn't his forte.

    Fire may work on the plant-monsters, but it's likely not to do so well on crystal and rock. Besides that, there are spores and thorny spears to deal with. As he finds out when one of those spears impacts his shoulder. Thankfully the Barrier should keep the damage from being too bad. Though it does knock him back though. And hurts an awful lot besides.

    He'll have to let the others deal with the rock monsters. For the time being he deals with the clouds of spores, using fire on the little clouds of spores to try to burn them away. With extreme prejudice. He has no idea what those clouds are, but they're probably bad news if they're this thick.

    Ultimatly though he'll be trying to get to the building. As Rin goes in, he aims to head in after her. Though her method of entering is one he can't exactly follow, since he can't jump quite that high. Mage or not, he's human. But since the doors are open, there's no reason to try. He just begins to run, about twice as quickly as he normally can, blue-white contrails of magic flowing off of his body as he runs. It's a quick burst of speed that won't last long, but it should get him into the building at least.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Ghhhhhh!" Shirou's only not getting torn to shreds by the Devouring Earth because he's way more agile than he looks and doing the majority of his fighting at medium to long range. If he closed in with those massive rock and crystal creatures he'd be pulverized! But as a few go down and split apart into smaller and smaller things, the boy decides that being at ground zero is BAD IDEA.

    "Who said I care anything about titles?!" He snaps at Dorian, sounding just a bit pressed by all this crazy stuff. But the barrier Dorian offers is very, very welcome.

    Still, he can't keep up with THAT MANY without bringing out a Noble Phantasm.

    And in comes Tohsaka too! He goes wide-eyed at her landing nearby then vaulting up at tremendous speeds. That's magic alright!

    And he hates to admit it and ditch the fight down here, but she has the right idea. Skip the horde, if you can't wipe it out!

    "I hope the guys in there can hold on a bit longer." With a grunt of his own, Shirou puts power into his legs and goes sailing through the nearest door... even if he has to use his weapons to pulverize his way through it.

    Away from those mushrooms and their goofy, deadly spores!

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Rin successfully jumps through one of the smashed windows. The windows, like the doors, were meant to keep out super villains with super powers. Stuff like 'teleportation', 'super strength', 'intangibility', and so on. Power dampeners are even usually in place here. But not now. How the Devouring Earth overpowered such defenses is unclear, but the fact remains that they got inside, destroyed reinforced transparent material tougher than bulletproof glass, wrenched open the kind of vault doors you'd expect something valuable or something dangerous to be behind, and are now rampaging inside and outside the building.

    Rin's leap takes her into a room where a scientist is being menaced by a rock monster and a vine monster. They don't appear to be aware of her presence yet, but there's no telling how long until the hatred towards humanity these monsters bear causes them attack instead of merely to threaten! She will have the element of surprise, at least!

    Archer may be charging up right now, but any arrows fired prior to that would have found their marks and caused damage to these hulking creatures! They don't appear to be mindless completely, since they have emotions and adjust their tactics in the manner a predator would in response to enemy attacks, but they also don't seem to be hugely intelligent either. Any words they utter are mostly along the lines of, 'Death to the humans!' or 'For the Hamidon!' HOW crystals and vines are talking remains a mystery, of course.

    Flames seem to take down the Fungoids reasonably well, though not any faster than they would rock or crystal... But sharp attacks like arrows and blades cut them down quite readily. Much more readily than fists or other blunt attacks.

    The parking lot is gradually being cleared of monsters by the good guys, Archer and Dorian managing to pull off small to medium-sized groups and dispose of them, but soon it's just Archer out there, charging his attack, while Shirou and Dorian head inside. The halls are filled with the smell of smoke, but there's no visible fire in this area yet. There are rooms on either side of the hall, some of which have monsters in them, some of which are empty, and some of which have scientists running in a panic or being threatened by monsters.

    The sound of plants growing at high-speed, a sort of tensile sound like rope swinging, can be heard outside. From the accompanying shout of effort, it seems the Woodsman is still fighting back! Best not to let his heroic actions go to waste!

Archer (821) has posed:
    Archer appreciates the protection afforded by the mage's barrier as the arrow's power continues to build, leaving him to hold down the fort so to speak. The bowman winces slightly though as the air becomes almost sticky with the cloying scent of blood emanating from the tainted weapon he now wields.

    He pointedly ignores it... even though he privately wonders, and is revolted by, the idea that he is even using this weapon. The weapon of the renegade knight Mordred.

     The weapon that killed Arturia Pendragon, who's blood may very well be part of the haze enveloping the altered blade's edges.

    Granted, in terms of statistics it was an advantage - not only did it's C-Rank nature make it easy to use... but there was also the fact that a Heroic Spirit was naturally weaker against the weapons that killed them in life. Meaning that having this weapon on hand gave Archer a new advantage against the King of Knights if it ever came down to it.

    Logically, it was a good thing... but emotionally, Archer privately hoped he would /never/ face those circumstances.

    Archer's aim zeroed in on where several of the creatures were now herding towards him, recognizing him as a threat - and to his surprise, capable of speech.

    So they weren't just animals. They had enough sentience to hate humans... and something must have prompted this. But what?

    However, these questions are not immediately relevant - stopping them is. And with any luck, one shot would clear a pathway needed for Rin to get out with whoever she, the boy and the mage could find. The air-pressure released from the shockwave ought to help disperse those swarms, if only for a moment.

     "A split-second later, the clouds of red, condensed in what could only be described as a cloud of malice, focused upon the tip of the twisted arrow as it reached the peek amount of power Archer could put into it without breaking it - this close to the building, he couldn't afford to cause a collapse. Still... this should be powerful enough to wipe some of them out, the arrow igniting red as it's name is invoked-

     "Clarent!"

     -and the weapon is released from his drawstring, piercing through the air like a crimson lightning bolt, promising destruction in the wake of it's impact.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    "If you're going to work so hard that you'll get a title bestowed on you, you might as well be able to benefit from it," Dorian notes. Apparently he's not at all offended by the sharp tone from Shirou. Given his usual demeanor, he probably gets that a lot. He's kind of a jerk. But if he didn't want to help out he wouldn't be here, so there's that. Not that there's time to note that.

    But upon noting that Shirou is being stretched thin by the sheer amount of monsters, he aims an explosive rune underneath the biggest part of them -- as long as he can see them, even from inside, he should be able to do this -- and plants a fiery explosion underneath them. It's a small explosion, so as not to damage the forest, but there's enough power to at least scatter the things.

    And then there's the inside of the building, where there are people trapped. "Smoke and monsters," Dorian notes, then coughs. "Wonderful combination." He is, of course, kidding. It's a very unpleasant situation. Dorian is however, an amiable and approachable fellow, and is generally pretty good with people, so his appearance should calm some nerves.

    hopefully he'll be able to get out to that magical signature... having to leave it be for so long is making him a little nervous.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Dorian's amazing magical work gets Shirou staring briefly. That'll come in handy, definitely.

    Not that he has time to stick around and watch. He leaps about downt he halls until he comes to a room with people who need help... along with dorian. the boy stays low, coughing periodically, but the smoke isn't going to stop him. "Leaves them alone!" The boy yells, leaping into the room and coming down at some monsters with Kanshou and Bakuya!

Archer (821) has posed:
    Rin covers her nose and mouth not just to ward off the smoke, but to keep herself silent to try and keep the creatures from immediately noticing her. With the other hand, she reaches into a pocket on her coat, cupping two of her gems - emeralds - in one hand and drawing them out.

     "/Sechs, in Flu�./"

    Muttering her spell under her breath, she swiftly stands up and pitches the pair of emeralds in a smooth motion, the two glimmering green gemstones shooting toward their targets like guided missiles. Depending on how they react or if they survive the hits, she is already preparing to focus prana to her limbs for the event of being forced into melee combat.

    However, given the damage that these things have done, Rin would rather opt to wait until they were weakened to resort to such a measure. After all, she needed her arms to work enough to actually get herself back out of here as well as anyone else.

    While true that she was working to save lives, that didn't mean Rin would throw her own away. She'd like to think she wouldn't become /that/ bad as to lose her sense of rationale like a certain boy was found of doing far too often.

    Not that she didn't owe him for it a few times... and judging by the new presences she could feel entering the building, she might ironically end up appreciating his nature again.

    After all, she had no illusions about being able to save even half the people in this building on her own.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Archer's arrow destroys the remaining Devouring Earth out front, securing a safe escape route for the civilians inside. Dorian's explosive runes are also effective, and Shirou's blades likewise strike true! The mushrooms seem especially vulnerable to his blades, though they are effective against all of them. A normal mortal without the skill, ability, and Power of Shirou might have far worse fortune. It's a sign that no matter what he may be in comparison to a powerhouse like a Servant, Shirou is quite a powerful mortal who more than qualifies as a super hero by this world's standards. Especially given all the lives he has saved since coming here.

    Rin's crystals get the attention of the two monsters, and deal significant damage to them. When she reinforces her limbs to enter into super-strong and super-fast melee combat, her skill likewise shines through by defeating the enemies after they've only gotten a few claw swipes at her!

    The menaced researcher thanks Rin for the rescue and flees towards the exit, rather than risk climbing through a jagged-edged window sill. After all, the way is clear now!

    And outside, the Woodsman still fights... With all the people within now rescued, all they need to do is link up with him and help him defeat his enemies and then the job is done, right? Though it seems that half the facility is going to burn up either way... But that is a small price to pay compared to human lives.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Rin watches as her gems cripple but do not kill the creatures, clicking her tongue as she closes the distance.

     "/Stark, Gro� zwei!/"

    Prana pouring into her limbs, she rolls forward and swings her leg out in a sweeping kick, moving with enough speed to cut the air with her strike as she takes out the legs of both creatures. Quickly hopping back up, she swings her right arm up in an uppercut that splinters the stone-creature's chest to cripple it further. Side-stepping it's retaliatory strike, Rin slams her palm into where it's elbow would be to collapse it's arm and finishes by slamming her ownleft elbow into it's forehead, the already-cracked and burnt head shattering into rubble. She then drives her elbow down into the stump where it's neck was along the spine to fracture what remains, just to ensure it doesn't get back up.

     However, it still leaves her elbow and hand stinging slightly from the impacts with the hard stone -though it feels more like the soreness from hitting a punching bag too much as opposed to the broken bones a normal human would have right about now.

    Spinning on the ball of her foot, Rin quickly turns about-face and slams her palm into the plant-creature, the concussive force of her strike blowing a crater into it's torso. However, it's more malleable form seems to actually take her hits better and it responds faster, forcing her to duck and side-roll to avoid it's slashes. Another strike comes at her and she instead leaps up this time, swinging her leg down in mid-air to cut down into it's wrist, the creature's limb almost completely twisting around from the force. Upon landing she trusts forward and warps its shoulder with a downward chop and a quick knife-hand strike from her other hand that collapses the stalk that serves as it's neck. Finally, she delivers a palm-strike that tears it's head clean off of it's slackened neck and sends it flying across the room.

    Letting out a few breaths, Rin takes note of the researcher's thanks with a brief "Don't mention it - now hurry up and get out of here."

    She then heads out the door into the rest of the complex while the scientist flees, subsequently encountering Shirou and Dorian - and giving something of a wry smirk to alleviate the tension, for herself as well as the others. "You boys having fun? I wouldn't want to intrude."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Mighty though he may be in his own way, fighting like this is TOUGH. Shirou's already breathing hard, but very thankful that a few swipes and swings that come his way are neatly deflected through a combination of the barrier and a cross-block of the two weapons. "GO! GET OUT OF HERE!"

    THankfuly, the researchers are listening... and this gives him a chance to get the heck out of dodge too. And on the way he encounters Rin again. Kanshou and Bakuya fade into motes of light... "Egh... we're managing. What about outside?!" He finds it REALLY hard to smile at the joke she's cracking at a time like this, even if it does relieve him that she's in good enough spirits to do it!

    Power wildly flares from his one extended palm. Instead of the much smoother projection of Kanshou and Bakuya, this time Shirou spends a few extra seconds focusing. A sword takes shape, shifting from swirling translucent energies and fizzling light into a solid shape - a gleaming longsword of silver and blue with a streamlined guard. Excalibur Galatine... or rather, an extremely crappy knockoff of it.

    but not so crappy that the blade doesn't ignite with solar flames in his grasp. "Getting everyone out safely takes priority, we can deal with the monsters later!"

    And of course, he's completely ignorant of Archer's efforts outside. Hence why he goes charging out intending to cut a wide swathe through the creatures only to find very little out there... "Huh?"

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    That's one part of the job done. Well, two, actually, with the monsters in front taken care of and the people inside the building rescued. Now for objective three -- Woodsman! Heading in that direction, Dorian encounters Rin! Her words get a return smirk, and he observes, "I'm afraid not. My idea of 'fun' requires less monsters. And more alchol," he replies. "But let's get this seen about, shall we?" To Shirou, "This way, there's someone else to save." And a nod of thanks to Archer, if he can be seen, before heading for where Dorian can feel that magical 'ping' from.

    Once Dorian catches sight of the Woodsman, his first order of business is to attempt to cast a barrier around Woodsman, to protect him from damage for a while at least. Sadly Dorian doesn't have any healing abilities, so all he can do is try to help mitigate the damage as best as he can.

    "You're very brave to keep all these monsters occupied while we rescued the people inside," Dorian comments to Woodsman as the spell is cast (hit or miss on the Woodsman). He smirks. "But let's not trade one life for others unless we absolutely have to, hm?" Looking to the monsters, he asides to the Woodsman, "What exactly are these things, anyway?"

Archer (821) has posed:
     Archer watches with a somewhat smug expression as a large majority of the remaining creatures are obliterated by the impact and detonation of Clarent, opening a path to get the scientists out. However, he doesn't let his guard down yet, tracing another arrow - a simple one - and readying himself to trace several more in anticipation of another attack.

     However, this time the attack will be carried out by Archer himself, as the time for reactionary defense has passed.

    Upon finding the Woodsman locked in battle, Archer cannot help but wince internally at the sight of the creature he is fighting. "Well... that's disturbing" he deadpans. "And here I thought the rest of these things were bad enough."

    He fires his first arrows, but the larger creature is too far along in it's attack - and Archer doesn't know if his arrow will harm it. And yet if it doesn't do something then the Woodsman might end up dead.

    So he focuses on defense. he has no choice after all - the Woodsman is their only lead to what's happened here... and maybe the key to stopping it.

     "/I am the bone of my sword./"

     Landing in front of the Woodsman, Archer's hand raises up, mauve tones of light forming in his palm-

     "Rho Aius!"

     -and blossom outward into an image akin to a massive, transparent series of flowering petals that in turn form seven layers of protecting before the bowman, serving to protect the Woodsman from the attacks of the creatures and the massive beast.

     "I suppose it's too much to hope this thing is the /worst/ they can throw at us?" he asks the Woodsman, wincing as he feels the impacts rattle the shield, the first layer already splintering from the hoard's attacks.

     Upon noticing the others emerging from the base in the wake of the escaping scientists, Archer casts a half-smirk to the group, especially upon seeing Rin. "How nice of you to join us, Master. I was starting to worry I'd be having all the fun by myself." His sarcasm is highlighted by the first layer of the Aius shattering under the repeated attacks, the second layer already being battered.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    Woodsman is glad for the added protection. He doesn't look very well. Not only very banged up, but somewhat physically ill. There's dried blod beneath his nose and around his mouth, his eyes are reddened and the lids swollen, he has plenty of scratches and gouges, though just how many opponents he has defeated while waiting for back-up is unclear since they get teleported out of here after awhile, if the enemies don't just decompose or crumble on the spot.

    As the monsters surrounding him are distracted by the arrival of four more heroes, he gets a moment to to unleash summon vines to hold and crush some of them. With the added protection of the Barrier, the nature-powered super hero has the time and to, with but a gesture, cause a glowing green tree to spring forth from the ground nearby that seems to provide healing abilities. Any friendly individual who enters into its range temporarily gains near-regenerative healing, their wounds gradually closing up before their very eyes.

    Woodsman in turn, not having time to offer thanks in a situation like this, just immediately answers the question being asked. "They are monsters we know little of. They are both of and apart from nature in a way I can not easily describe. They must be the disruption I felt before! Defeat their leader and leave the rest for now! They can be more easily defeated by other heroes than THIS one..."

    As if to prove his point, the clawed appendages (they can't really be called 'hands') of the Lesser Devoured slams into Archer's shield again, unleashing strength that even its stocky built would not seem to possess. Some of the other monsters nearby were defeated or heavily damaged by the arrows Archer fired, but there's still a small group here ready to both attack and be attacked! Thorns, crystal shards, spore bombs, and even a boulder monster charging at them like a living battering ram! But thankfully, those four, one of each type, seem to be all that is left to support the Lesser Devoured over here.

    One the Boss and its Minions are defeated, they should be able to safely leave and make sure all those researchers and workers get back to town safely!

Archer (821) has posed:
    Rin gives an approving smile and even a laugh at Dorian's quip. "Mine, too, though I personally prefer tea to alcohol. Not that I'd turn down a glass after the last few days." She seems to connect rather quickly to the fellow mage.

    That was one good thing she could say about being older now - she was just about old enough to have the occasional drink, though she rarely did so outside of special occasions. Magi had to keep themselves in shape after all, and excessive alcohol ran counter to that.

    She also casts a glance to Shirou, giving a somewhat awkward smile - she hadn't spoken to him since her deal to tell him about the Grail War, which they still didn't have the time to get to... and given how things were going in this world, it would be a while before they had the free time. Still, she gives a somewhat tender smile upon seeing he's relatively unharmed.

    Upon seeing Archer's situation, Rin half-gapes at the sight of the creature, shocked by it's appearance. She'd faced Angra Mainyu's shadows before, but those had largely been featureless. This thing was most definitely not that, though she wished it was. "What the hell /is/ that?!"

    Seeing that the last of the creatures are encroaching on them, Rin draws four ruby gems. "These are the only gems I have left on me, so once I throw these I'm all out of ranged weapons! You guys will have to attack while they're disoriented - and youll only get one chance!"

     "/Sechs, in Flu� Ein Halt. /"

    In a swift movement, Rin throws the gems - two in each hand - straight for two of the smaller creatures, intending to blow them away. After that though, she'll have to resort to hand to hand if this doesn't kill them.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou's not stupid. That beast rushing him, Dorian, and Rin is HUGE and there's no chance he'll be able to take it down if he gets into melee. So he doesn't bother. Instead he again projects his bow and takes aim at the creature's back. Excalibur Galatine blazes with a golden-orange flame that strangely does not burn Shirou's hands or the bow as he draws it back like an arrow...

    Then it's let fly! Straight for the huge rock monster!

    The moment it's released from the bow though, Shirou extends a hand...

    "My body is made of swords!" Raw power flows from that hand like lightning bolts, forming a small wall of projected Noble Phantasms up above him. They quickly join the launched Galatine!

Archer (821) has posed:
     Archer finds himself agreeing with the Woodsman as, with a series of blows far more powerful then even it's size would suggest, the beast shatters the second layer of the Aius and begins to splinter and crack the third - something that Archer thought only powerful magic or Noble Phantasms could do.

    Supporting the shield-wall becomes a priority as this thing seems hellbent on getting to the Woodsman, and the others need to get the rest of those smaller creatures out of the way first. Drawing as much prana through his connection with Rin as he can, Archer focuses -

     "Trace; On."

     -and he takes several steps back, allowing Rho Aius to dissipate under the beast's strikes as Rin's gems - in the midst of bombarding the other creatures - create the smokescreen he needs to some small space.

     Five feet. All he can manage without endangering the others. It will have to be enough - Archer has no choice as he turns to diverting every drop of prana to projecting a weapon that could match an opponent equal to a Berserker.

     A weapon that had been wielded by one.

    The burst of prana, encompassing the space above his head, condenses and solidifies as he slides back several feet from the beast, right hand gripping his left arm as the stone blade he should not be able to wield takes shape, bones straining as his fingers wrap around it's grip.

     The beast is already in a charge, emboldened by his barrier being retracted. There is no time for anything else - he must destroy it here and now, lest it endanger everyone else... and the cities beyond.

    "Trigger; Off."

    Right temple, left knee, right thigh, right breastbone, left arm, left flank, sternum, right shoulder, central-plexus - the pathways to nine crossing strikes form in his head, each one conceptualized behind the nine firing hammers in his minds eye, clicking back as the beast comes barreling down right on top of him-

    "Set - /NINE LIVES BLADE WORKS!/"

     - and is assaulted by a maelstrom of devastation, the blade of Heracles swinging out, nine strikes rending the air with the speed and power befitting the God King's son.

Dorian Pavus (774) has posed:
    The information from Woodsman gets a nod from Dorian. And the demonstration of the beast's power as it batters Archer's shield prompts a quip, "Yes, I see your meaning." He wastes little time in aiming an area of his magic over as large a group of enemies as he can catch without hitting any of his allies. In a moment or two an orb of lightning apears in the area, shocking the enemies that he's managed to catch in the area.

Demetrios Vasilikos (769) has posed:
    The good guys successfully defeat the monsters through their team work and their sheer output of damage. Though resilient, it seems these creatures couldn't stand up to their combined forces. Woodsman still doesn't look too great, even with the regeneration provided by the tree, but he is apparently well enough to travel, as he says, "Thanks for the back-up, everyone. We need to get back to Woodvale as soon as possible and let Dr. Maccabe know who's responsible!"

    Dun DUN dunnnn... DUN!

    MISSION COMPLETE

Archer (821) has posed:
    When the creature falls - torn to pieces by his final attack - Archer pants for a few moments as he recovers from having expended so much prana at once. Behind him he can hear Rin panting slightly as well, his actions having drawn a sizable chunk of her reserves.

    However, it seems the battle overall is concluded. Emiya Shirou's weapons plunge into the rock-creature, Excalibur Galantine blowing away much of it's torso and the remaining weapons pelting it's crumbling remains to ensure it's demise. Between Rin's jewel-attack and Dorian's lightning spells, the other creatures are now nothing more then charred husks.

    Overall though, it's arguably a very good outcome for them... though Archer can't help but fear it's not the end of the trouble here.

    "If you say so" Rin replies to the Woodsman, taking several moments to catch her breath after Archer's attack. "Though you can tell Archer the details. I on the other hand... am going to a hotel in town, taking a nice long bath and try to relax after all this... especially if /someone/ decides to make a habit of using up so much of my prana at once." She glares rather pointedly at Archer, with the Red Servant simply giving a shrug and a characteristic smirk, though he truthfully is somewhat apologetic he taxed her that much. Using Rho Aius and Nine Lives Blade Works in quick succession was probably a lot for her to fuel in the span of a minute.

     Not that he would ever show it quite so openly. It was amusing to see her get so worked up - perhaps just as much as when she'd been younger.

     Watching as Rin leaves - the magus giving a wave to Shirou and Dorian - Archer thus sighs and looks across the battlefield, wondering just what lies a the end of these attacks.

     And what could possibly have been the reason for it all.