3773/God Will Rise - Finale

God Will Rise - Finale
Date of Scene:	06 February 2016
Location:	The Tundra
Synopsis:	The conflict over the Power of God finally reaches its climax.
Cast of Characters:	Deelel, 385, Riva Banari, Sanary Rondel, 757, 821, 908, 915, 916

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Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     The time had come. Lyner and company set out from their respective locations, through the warpgate to Lucrelia, and off to Mount Luminous. The city in the opposite direction was still ruined, but they could see contruction on the gates if they bothered to look. But that wasn't important now. The people were free of Laurence's control, and the situation was explained to them. The knights of Lucrelia agreed to fortify the city as best they could and keep the citizens safe.

     That left the Elites free to scale the mountain and return to the Temple of God up at the summit. The journey was an uneventful one. This would be the third time they crossed this way. And after some time, the group arived safely at the wide, stone walkway leading to the impossibly tall temple doors ahead.

     Lyner couldn't help but feel apprehensive the entire way however. Something just bothered him. He spoke to Riva on the radio earlier about that feeling, but no conclusion was drawn. It was just a simple trip. They'd find Eir, take a look at the well, maybe check out any other rooms in the temple, and figure out what they can really do about Laurence, now that it's come to this. Simple, right?

     But like they had also said earlier; some things are just never that simple.

     After walking some ways, a gruesome sight comes into sight before them. The body of a winged woman lay face down on the stone path. Pooled in blood with rough claw marks and countless thin lacerations all over that had rent armor and flesh alike, it was clear that someone had beaten them here. And that someone had decided that Eir was an obstacle. Based on the fact that her sword was drawn and lay several feet away, there was an attempt at resistance, but perhaps she was overwhelmed?

     She wasn't moving.

     Lyner grimaced. "This is...." He knelt down to check the body. "...We're too late. Someone's here already! And I think we know who!" Angry now, the knight balled his hand into a fist and punched the ground. "If only we had come sooner...!"

     MEANWHILE

     Laurence stood deep within the temple, standing before the gates that Gudako and Sanary failed to open last time. Alweyn was also here, looking human, rather than like an Einherjar. She looked no worse for the wear, considering the explosion she got caught in last time. The only clue that she was even affected was the fact that she was now wearing a totally new maid outfit. Ever the professional, this one.

     "It's here." He announced, smirking to himself with triumph. "That lone Einherjar won't be bothering us now." He raised a hand and pressed it against the gates. Power channeled from him, and into the door, lighting up the various lines and carvings within with a white light. Mechanisms within clicked, turned, and creaked, before finally, the gates began to open inwards.

     Inside, was an impossibly wide, pristine, white, circular chamber that extended nearly endlessly upwards. "It is here. Just as I had last left it so long ago..." Laurence muttered, as he stepped inside, peering upwards.

     Floating high above in the chamber, were trace flecks of rainbow energy, pulsating and revolving in a slow manner... That was the remnants of God's Power. That which Laurence sought.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva approaches. It's no longer Serious Time for the Bee.

Now? Now she's angry. The humming power of the environment seethes around the channel of Gaia's power, soaking it in and practically vibrating with the energy. While before she basically sipped at it, passively taking it in, now one can practically see it hum about her, flecks of energy becoming visible as space shifts, distorting slightly.

The fallen Eir is just another bullet point. The Templar kneels down next to her. She's not Inga. She doesn't know healing magics. It's all she can do to check for some kind of pulse, maybe see if she can take some of that power that she is drawing on. She doesn't expect it to work, the woman already closing her eyes and murmuring. They're not words of solace. They're last rites.

Finally, she looks up to Lyner. "Don't get bogged down in 'if only', Lyner. We're here now. We can stop this from getting worse."

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Gudako, accompanied by both Servants, stands by and slightly behind Laurence, usual 8D plastered on her face as she watches the gate open and its contents revealed. Berserker, in particular, seems to already bear scratches and tears to her outfit, obviously sword-inflicted. Her wounds must have been healed already, at least.

    "So this is what was worth the risk, huh? It seems a bit underwhelming. I mean, what's being a god worth if you're walking right into an obvious trap? It's not like we can come here without the Union knowing."

    Oh, she has a lot to say about the folly of this adventure. It is sub-optimal in so many ways. Laurence's power is already very, very impressive, and the cost of being here doesn't seem to offset the risks in the slightest. Well, stupid people don't tend to live long enough to make two critical mistakes, so sometimes problems solve themselves.

    If you're just proactive enough to push them toward such.

    "So, now what? Are you going to become this world's God? That sounds pretty boring, there's not much to do here, is there? It's not even that much power compared to what you already have," Gudako notes. 8D
    "It's pretty pure, though..." Caster remarks, glancing up.
    "Ah?" Gudako asks.
    "It's raw divinity. Maybe not God capital G, but... for sure, someone could become a god with that, master~. A real god, like in all the myths. I wonder a god of what..." the foxgirl ponders.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
As far as she's able to, Yuna has determined that she's pulling out all the stops for this. Lucrelia may not be her world, but the idea that anyone can steal the power of a deity with anything resembling impunity does *not* sit well with her on any level. Partly it's the fact that she is (as far as she can tell) something of a paladin herself, assuming the Queen of Light is indeed a goddess; moreso, it's a matter of her holding strongly to the religious beliefs that she's grown up with.

That said, she's still clinging to some hope that Laurence/Arnest III can be made to relinquish his stolen power without having to sacrifice his *life* ... but if not, then he's earned however painful a death the God of Lucrelia sees fit to dispense. Maybe Gudako will see reason after Laurence meets with his own fate, but given how the Confederate girl keeps treating everything like a game, Yuna's not terribly optimistic.

In any case, she's brought the full Matrix of Light, and is switching freely between partners as necessary. Erina of the Sky when Yuna needs to take to the air; Jiina of the Earth for fast ground travel, and Marina of the Sea in the event that she has to traverse the aquatic passage between the two valleys (and might do so out of choice, just in case it'd be a handy second perspective) - and all the while, the little robo-faerie, Elner of Wisdom, accompanies either Yuna herself or sticks close to the two androids whom she's not using.

When the group reaches the gates into the temple, Yuna is in her Powered Form; the sight of Eir's corpse prompts Yuna to close her eyes, a look of resolve settling across her face. "We came as quickly as we could, Lyner. Let's just not waste any more time. Elner, scan the temple, find the Confederates and give us the fastest route to them. Presumably Laurence will be with them."

Elner replies, "Scanning now," and sets to work with its sensors. While the robo-faerie is doing that, Yuna summons her shield (onto Powered Form's left exo-arm) and the Matrix Divider (in her own hands), and - even without waiting for Elner's scan results - she proceeds into the temple's front hall, looking for other hints of where the Confederates might be.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Sanary has to admit that she's actually rather surprised at how smoothly things have gone so far. No Union resistance, the Einherjar going down without nearly as much of a fight as the last time they had encountered her...

     No wonder the healer's on edge. "It's been too quiet. They're going to come this way sooner or later, probably sooner." A cautious look is given to Gudako as she says that, and the healer takes a look at the entrance behind them. "It wasn't that long ago, was it?"

     Her gunaxe is strangely absent today, although she's just as geared up as ever: A massive kite shield in her right hand, an oval one to protect her back in case the green samurai-like armor isn't enough, and two staves clutched together in her left hand. She's clearly taken some of her earlier fights to heart, the Physic and Rescue staves tied together with a fishing line just to keep them from moving around too much.

     As Gudako and Caster inquire about Laurence's motives, however, some thoughts do stick a little more to the healer than others. Becoming a god? Even if it's not as much as Laurence himself took the first time... "Even with that little of the stuff left? Interesting... Well, let's get things over with. We don't want to be around when anyone else shows up." The seeds have been planted, but will she bite?

Misha (757) has posed:
    It would seem that Misha has missed a lot since the last time she tagged along to this frozen little ball of forsaken slush. Yet once again, the Reyvateil is here, wrapped up tightly in the thickest robes to her name, climbing the mountain with her compatriots and not complaining once about the difficulty. ... It's the heights that get her.
    Though she's sure to stay very, very, clear of edges and ledges, huddling perhaps a little too close to Lyner at points, she doesn't say a single negative thing about the journey to the Temple. ... And looking all the more relieved at reaching it. Only until they find the body.
    She remembers this one- mangled and bloody though the sight may be, Misha recognizes Eir, and with a gasp, the Star Singer blanches, losing what little color remaining in her cheeks after the trip up.
    Too late?
    Misha is already there checking her with Lyner. "Lyner, you can't mean..."
    Maybe- just maybe if there's just a slim thread of life to hold on to for the Einherjar, Misha could do something. But that's making a long stretch of an assumption considering those wounds.

Deelel has posed:
The time had come to end this madness. To say Deelel was angry was an understatement. Some might think her weak but she had a breaking point and the man they are hunting, is far too much like Clu, and yet Clu would also fight himself. This man hid behind mind control victems he was a virus he was liks Abraxis. The memory of the terror that virus let slip upon her world haunted Deelel to that day. She was ready and she was seriously armred too, she'd hit up Alpha and company for some system monitor grade hardware she had translucent glowing armor on her body now to give her addecd protection and she was carrying a number of photon charges on her legs as well.

"We're here to end this, Lyner I'm sorry but we have to stop this now. We can mourn when this is over?"

Archer (821) has posed:
     The smoking city seemed a fitting backdrop for the situation. A portrait of the possible future should they fail here. Or rather, should they fail again.

     At this point, trailing in the steps of his Master as Tohsaka Rin marched up apprehensively along the path alongside Yuna, Archer had already traced Kanshou and Bakyua, ready to move straight into the inevitable battle.

     He had little hope this was going to be as easy as their trek back up the mountain - something nagged at the Servant, as if warning him that one way or another, everything to do with this mess would end here.

     But since he seriously doubted this would end out with an amicable ending, let alone a 'happy' one, the Counter-Guardian's only priority at this point was damage control - if they couldn't 'win', he would at least shoot for making sure the Confederacy didn't either.

     ...

     Of course, the sight of Eir laying in a pool of blood seems to immediately set the tone for this day. The gasp from Rin seems to seal that feeling, the Magus running over to the prone form with an open grimace. "Damn it" Rin muttered, leaning beside Eir's form to check if, somehow, the Einherjar was still alive.

     Archer didn't even bother - a lifetime of disappointments and regrets didn't leave him holding his breath on vain hope. Nor did it leave him terribly shocked that the life he and Rin had fought so very hard to protect a month ago - with Rin even throwing away a Command Seal for it - was felled when their backs were turned.

     Still... fate didn't /need/ to remind him quite so blatantly that everything he ever did was an effort in futility.

     Lyner's words get a pause from the Servant though - "I think you mean 'if only we had stopped Arnest before now" Archer intoned gravely, gaze hardened as he moved ahead to scout the area. "This is the price we pay for letting him escape. He surely knew about her - no amount of timing would have mattered."

     Rin seems to glare at Archer for his rather callous way of saying 'Arnest living means Eir was dead no matter when we got here', but she bites her tongue on that - she knows how little it helps to rise to Archer's jabs. "Either way... what's done is done. Like Yuna said, all we can do now is find the Confederates - before anyone else dies."

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     Lyner glanced aside as Misha as she attempted to heal the fallen Einherjar. "...." He watched, and waited, Archer's words lancing into his back like arrows. He was right, of course. They should have stopped Laurence before now. But Lyner didn't want to kill anyone. He wanted to bring the man to justice the right way. Without drawing blood. But it seemed that it would no longer be possible.

     Unfortunately, Eir did not move, she did not heal, she did not get better. The healing is too late. She was already gone. Lyner closed his eyes, having a moment of silence, and then he stood up, a look of determination clear as day on his face. "We have to go. Riva's right. We can't let anything more happen now." Misha is given a nod. "Thanks for trying, Misha." He could at least offer that much. Eir's fallen body was given one last look. The Knight of Elemia would not look away from this sight, as much as it pained him. "....." And then he moved forward with the others, forging on ahead into the temple.

     Elner's scan would reveal...that the temple was untouched. The people that entered, apparently didn't want anything from it, other than the main gates inside. It was a straight shot ahead, into the main foyer of the temple, where the countless inert Incarnation statues stood, watching over the placee as a testament to times long past. From there, up the wide set of stairs straight ahead, they would find the previously closed gates opened up inwards, leading to a pristine, while chamber...and to Laurence, Alweyn, Sanary, Gudako, and her Servants.

     Alweyn, who was bringing up the rear, looked back from where she stood at the entrance to the chamber, and towards the foyer below where the Union Elites were arriving. Her eyes lingered on Riva for a moment, and then she calmly stepped into the chamber, uninterested in the remnants of God's power. "As was predicted, we have been followed." She spoke plainly and curtly, coming to a stop at Laurence's side. "I advise battle preparations at once."

     Laurence looked aside at Gudako and smiled. "A trap? Nonsense. Once I obtain the remainder of God's power, and complete myself, I will not remain here." He chuckled and nodded to Alweyn as she gave her report, totally unbothered. "Lucrelia is a hollowed out husk. It no longer deserves the attention of God. I will take all of this power, and strike out on my own. I will find new land, new power, and new purpose."

     He spread his arms then, and the same rainbow of energy channeled off of him. The remnants in the sky proceeded to gravitate downwards, absorbing into him with some resistance. His back was turned to Gudako and Sanary. He was totally focused on the task at hand.

     The rest, he would deal with after.

Riva Banari has posed:
She's gone. Riva had steeled herself to that before she even knelt down. Perhaps the Templar's gaze might resemble Archer's at this point, an iron mask of determination.

There will be time for grief later.

She rises, turning to pick up the fallen Einherjiar's blade, and sweeps it up before her. "Even in death, maybe she'll have something to say about this situation yet." Riva says, turning towards the heights. Towards the temple.

With one swift motion, the huge hammer on her shoulder is banished, and she withdraws a slim, well-made rapier with a Celtic patterned handguard. The two blades are whipped out at her sides like wings as she crouches, Anima swirling around her.

And with a dull thud, launches forward at high speed, the Templar blurring as she streaks up the path towards the temple.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Of course the Union would show up. Why wouldn't they? It's not as if they painted a giant flashing neon sign on the outside of temple saying LAURENCE IS IN HERE YOU GUYS or anything, barging in like that. Sanary lets out a low sigh as she follows behind Alewyn, keeping her shield and the staves ready even as the Union starts to arrive.

     "Sure. Whatever. I got your back, Alewyn." It's probably rather obvious to allies and enemies alike that the healer's focus isn't completely there, but... Well, she's got a job to do. Might as well make sure it goes off without a hitch, right?

     "Come on. We'll handle it on this side." She gives the maid a light nudge with a staff and glances upwards at the rainbow of energy moving into Laurence. Would his plan actually work? Only time will tell. She turns to the Union Elites that are starting to arrive and approaching them slowly, her shield held ready. "Alright, let's get this over with. You know how this is gonna go." She calls out the Elites, not focusing on any of them in particular. There's... Quite a few more of them than she had expected, and part of her is wondering about the wisdom of even standing where she is.

     Well, it's not as if they'd just let them leave if she asked, right? "... So. You wanna just let us out once we're done here? We don't have any other business with this place, anyway." It's worth a shot.

Misha (757) has posed:
    There's nothing that can be done.
    Misha isn't a stranger to death, but still, the moment strikes the Reyvateil deeply. But her means of coping are quite different from the Knight's. Where Lyner does not look away and seeks to emblazon the image of Eir, fallen, upon his ming. Misha pushes to her feet and dusts herself of snow, something of a dark look forming on the Reyvateil's face as she turns away to continue on. "Mm. I don't think she'd want us just standing around. Let's go, Lyner." She says, voice gentle but firm to help urge him on in the process.
    There goes Riva, too. Misha picks up her pace-- but for obvious reasons remains towards the back row of the party.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Seven life-signs, says Elner. And they're pretty much straight ahead.

Yuna's expression hardens further as she ignites Powered Form's hover-thrusters, accelerating forwards and upwards, skimming up the stairs with little concern for stealth. She knows what's going to have to happen - and after meeting Eir, and getting to know the Einherjar even briefly, Yuna can't simply dismiss her death as a casualty of her opponents' cruelty.

With Riva taking flight up the path and into the temple, Yuna adjusts her speed and path to keep pace with her, glancing at her comrade. The sword she collected from Eir's remains is easy enough to recognize, and for a fleeting moment, Yuna almost envies Riva's readiness for the fight ahead.

Because as much as she hates Gudako's casually treating this conflict like a game, and for all her loathing of what Laurence has done and is going to *keep* doing unless stopped ... Yuna still has a hard time wanting to *HURT* them. She has trouble bringing herself to *hate* the people in question, for that matter - it's easier to focus on just interrupting each crisis as it arises. But putting an end to *this* crisis is increasingly likely to mean killing at least one person, probably two or more - Laurence himself, his maid-turned-Einherjar, and depending on whether they're smart enough to cut their losses and run when the chance presents itself, maybe one or more Confederates.

There's been too much suffering already, and Yuna would sooner leave that kind of judgment in the hands of a God she trusts in ... even though she's pretty sure Lucrelia's God, if He (or She) survives this, is only going to make one brutal decision on that front. And it won't be painless for the victims.

She keeps going, calling out to her allies (over the radio) that she and Riva will take point - which Yuna probably would have done on her own without thinking much about it. Ironic, that she's now thinking too much for her own comfort.

The inner sanctum beckons ahead of her, doors standing wide open; Yuna's first target is Laurence himself, and as soon as she can draw a bead on him with the Matrix Divider, she shoots - a single concussive blast aimed for his back, either the back of his head or square on his torso. It's *far* from a killing shot, but the distraction may be enough.

May.

She has to *hit* first.

Only after attempting that shot does she answer Sanary, "As long as you take *NOTHING* from this place that should be left here! God's power *does not leave Lucrelia*!" ... clearly, she meant for Gudako to hear that too.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Archer watched impassively as Lyner stared at Eir's fallen body, feeling some form of grim nostalgia at the knight's expression.

     How many times had that look crossed Archer's own face in the beginning? How many times did he have to learn first-hand how naive it was to try and save everyone - how impossible it was to uphold the storybook ideal of justice?

     Today, Lyner had learned that lesson somewhat. And hopefully it would steel his resolve for the future - and for today.

     Rin on the other hand was more sympathetic, having watched in a similar situation with Shirou. Placing a hand on Lyner's shoulder, her expression is stern and grim, but understanding. "We'll make it up to her. She fought and stalled them for us - she gave us a bit of time. So for her sake, let's not waste it."

     As they move through the temple and past the dormant Incarnations, Archer's expressions darken as they discuss what they learned via radio; Eir's gashes pointed to one of her killers being Gudako's Berserker, and the lacerations matched the razor-wire attacks of the Einherjar who'd been serving as Arnest's maid, who would no doubt be guarding him.

     And then, when they reach the actual foyer, Archer sighs and Rin grimaces as they sees yet another familiar face next to said maid - Sanary Rondel.

     Rin's gaze narrows as Sanary speaks, looking both skeptical and disappointed - "What you're doing right now is bad enough. Did you see the state Lucrelia's in right now? /You/ helped cause that, Sanary - and those people didn't even have anything to do with this!"

     Even though Rin tried to focus on Alewyn by throwing two gems at her to try and distract from Yuna and Riva, the magus's mind was still on the cleric; she no longer had any clue how to categorize Sanary's behavior, the girl seeming amicable yet perfectly willing to dismiss atrocity so long as nobody she knew died.

     Archer had no such issues - there was only one category he needed to place her in; enemy.

     "Trace; On."

     Dismissing Kanshou and Bakyua, Archer reached through his mindscape to call forth bow in one hand, while the the perfect weapon to deal with Sanary took shape in the other.

     It was a simplistic weapon, yet by sight alone one could easily tell it was impossible for human hands to have forged the hooked scythe-blade. From there, it twisted inward as it's blade was forced straight, drawn back on the bow as an arrow.

     On it's own, it was an unremarkable blade... but the wounds it dealt were not, as they were cursed - immune to any sort of healing save for the passage of time and conventional methods. The bane of immortals - or of mages who relied on magic healing.

     "Harpe!"

     And a split-second later, the aptly-named 'Immortal-Slaying Scythe' takes flight straight for Sanary, it's use signifying, unlike Yuna and Lyner, that Archer is fully willing to outright kill his opponents.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel :Does see quite the group's here to dela with this horrible state of affaires she sees Misha arrive and she gets greetings.

"We need to meet in better situations, Misha."

She's going to focus on the matter at hand as she simply looks to Riva and to Lyner now as she makes ready to get ready for a fight. She moves in now keeping a light staff in hand, for the moment as she goes.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "I don't think getting out of here is going to be that easy, mister, they're all very pissed," Gudako says, as she watches the king start absorbing the power. She glances at Caster, exchanging unheard thoughts with her.

    <<It's not enough, right, Caster?>>
    <<Mmm, the Union people coming aren't weak... just one of them can take us on, so, four, five, six of them... it's not good odds, master.>>
    <<Does he close the gap?>>
    <<Not enough, master.>>
    <<And what if...>>
    <<That might do it, master. If Berserker and I can access our original forms, it might even the odds. I don't know if this is enough power to, though...>>
    <<But it's still better than our current odds, Caster.>>

    Gudako produces a knife. It's ornate, complex. The hilt and crossguard are covered in paper talismans, a layer of the slips deforming it slightly. It must have taken Caster weeks to make this-- a single powerful enchantment made of a hundred much smaller and weaker ones. And given the design, a one-use item before magic runs out. Item Construction really isn't her thing.

    Without a word, Gudako plunges it in the king's back. And then she talks; talking first would have been stupid, after all.

    "Sorry, mister. But you're a liability. Our odds without you are better, see? I'd say it's nothing personal but you're really pushing my buttons with this awful plan," she admits, 8D as ever. "Don't worry, we'll beat them! Probably. Maybe! It won't be your problem though. Oh, and Caster says 'that's for mind controlling people!'. I don't get it but whatever."

    This ultimately puts Gudako in the way of Yuna's shots, though, and neither Servant is in a position to intercept. They were ready to take Laurence down if he resisted, not protect him. They should have expected it, really, but oh well. She's going to take those shots to her mundane human back, and it won't be pleasant. Unless someone can intervene!

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    Gudako will /probably/ be alright. Probably, because a mountain of a teenager gets in between Yuna's incoming blasts and Gudako herself. Everyone will see the back of Ira, a giant, six foot tall, redhead, interposing itself between them, arms outstretched. Scortchmarks dot the broad back, flesh sizzling slightly, wounds cauterized by the energy.

    "Nope, sorry." Ira says through gritted teeth, the first words having spoken to anyone on this whole trip so far. She'd been a solid rock of nothing the whole time, not introducing herself, not making small talk, and barely deigning to look at the other people around her. Only /now/ she seems to interfere, all too happy to reveal her allegiance with Gudako.

    "Do what you need to do, Gudako. I'll keep you covered."

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     Misha gets a nod, as does Rin. "Yeah. We will make it up to her." Lyner replied, a certain calm in his tone. With fists clenched, he broke out into a run, headed right for the temple with the others, taking up the second line of defense. Riva's tearing on ahead, along with Yuna's is met with deep sigh. But there was no helping it. They could handle themselves in the immediate moment. Probably. Archer didn't mention any wire traps, so the maid probably didn't bother to set any. That gave them clear entrance into the temple, past the inert Incarnation statues, and then into the foyer, where the knight spotted Sanary and Alweyn standing guard. "I knew it." He muttered, activating the pod slung at the back of his waist, and drawing the white blade whose handle had expanded out. He then draw the dagger on his pauldron, gripping it in reverse to form his usual weapon loadout. Rin engaged Alweyn, and Archer engaged Sanary, Lyner wouldn't focus on them. They weren't the main problem. "Deelel! If you think you can do it, give it a try! Otherwise, leave it!"

     Whatever that was, Lyner didn't elaborate. Inside, he sped forward, into the chamber, and face to face with Gudako, Laurence, Caster, Berserker, and....who was that? Stopping short, Lyner squinted. "What...What's happening here? Gudako did you just...stab Laurence? Why!?" They were allies, weren't they? Then... "Wait, no... No! You're not going to-"

     Laurence, for his part, was caught completely off guard as a knife was plunged into his back. "Almost. Just a little more and-Ghrk!" Immediately, blood streamed out from the wound, and he looked back at Gudako. "What....What are you... Awful...plan?" Whether it was because he was not impervious to harm because of the incomplete power he possessed, or because of the enchantments on the knife, Laurence fell forward and collapsed into the white floor, red steadily staining the one pristine surface.

     And then it happened. Streams of rainbow energy flowed out from Laurence's rapidly dying body, no longer under his control. God's power was being freed rapidly, and those arcs of multi-colored energy ebbed and flowed, forming into a massive, rippling sphere that was attempting to float it's way upwards, where it previous was.

     Alweyn meanwhile was distracted by Rin's gems. She crossed her arms over, black gloves adorning them. There was a twang of metal, and several garrote wires whirled into sight, crossing over at various points to form a makeshift barrier. The gems made impact and exploded into bursts of wind and fire, pushing the maid back and slicing into her dress in places, and burning at other places. "....Hmph." Her dour expression worsened and she gave Archer's Master a tired glare, soot and ash marking her previously untouched face. These people were far too stubborn.

     A cry of pain from inside caused her to turn her head, seeing the situation inside. Tch. What the hell is Gudako doing? Damn it. Well, she didn't have time to speak up. These bloodthirsty Union people wanted her dead, no doubt. Facing them again, she dismissed the wire barrier, and with a swing of an arm, a new set of wires took their place. Five wires in total. One for each finger. They came whirling through the air from the side, aiming to slice Rin apart. One for each arm, one for each leg, and one for the neck.

     With a swing of her other arm, another set of five wires came to life, these ones from above, hurtling down to impede the stragglers Misha and Deelel and slice into them mercilessly. Two aimed in the general direction of the head, two for the legs, and one for the midsection. Each was a disabling stroke. Kind of cruel really.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "Isn't it obvious what I'm doing?" Gudako says, simply.

    The enchantments on the knife kick in. Unfortunately, the power was claimed the moment the blade dug into flesh. The rainbow light gushing out of the king's body starts streaming into the knife instead, and moments later just sort of torrents down onto Gudako. It's a bit too much to instantly take, even with Caster seemingly trying to guide it using her mirror, but it's enough. Even if there's some leftover, that's fine. She doesn't need all of it, she surmises.

    As a rainbow aura surrounds Gudako and she seemingly powers up, she drops the knife, and then spreads one hand towards Sanary, and the other towards Ira. "Ira, Ira~. Didn't I promise you I'd find a way to make you a god, pinky swear and all? Let's all ascend together, woo!"

    Bright white light shoots out of Gudako, and into Sanary and Ira. Einherjar powers! It might even come with a bit of a cosmetic makeover, but probably nothing too dramatic. Certainly nothing they'll be stuck in, since it seems to be a temporary transformation, if the maid is any indication.

    Gudako's Servants receive the power more directly from their bonds with their master. Both foxgirls now sport an ADDITIONAL TAIL, which radiates with almost blinding SUNLIGHT.

    "Sorry mister Lyner, but he wasn't very smart. He had enough power already, why come all the way here and fight you guys? It was a huge waste. At least now the power is in someone who can make good use of it, huh? Berserker, Caster~."

    The two Servants nods. Caster produces a set of paper talismans, and launches a stream of divine fire towards Yuna, trailing after the ofuda once thrown. Berserker attempts to pouncetackle Lyner, claws out and extended. Killkillkill, as is her usual, though she's a bit faster and stronger than normal!

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
As soon as Gudako moved to stab Laurence, Yuna had a distinctly sinking feeling that she knew EXACTLY what the Confederate game addict was trying to do. She immediately braces herself, planting her feet - or rather, Powered Form's heavily armored feet - solidly against the floor, adjusting the thrusters' output to hold her steady even as Gudako starts trying to turn the stolen divine power to her own ends. "You should have heard me the first time, Gudako, but --"

Caster launches an attack before Yuna can finish saying what she was saying; Yuna immediately interposes Shugoseiheki, the enhanced kite shield positioned to intercept the fiery blast, and her thrusters kick up a notch to keep her stable against the incoming attack.

Tanking rather than dodging has its cost; Yuna doesn't want to know how much that blast hurts her overall when her defensive aura has to help the physical shield deflect the blast - but she does NOT want to start dodging, either. She moves her shield out of the way again, partly so she can see what she's shooting at - and partly so she can bring both of her beam cannons to bear. Because by the time Caster's assault ends, the lenses on either of the exo-frame's shoulders sliding open to reveal mechanical bits, already crackling with power.

"HEAR ME, O GOD OF LUCRELIA!! TAKE BACK YOUR POWER WHILE YOU CAN, FROM THE THIEVES NOT OF THIS WORLD!!"

Yuna's loud cry is MEANT to be heard, not just by allies or by enemies, but by the God to whom this temple was dedicated - and to any servants of that God who are still in a position to hear and act. And while the echoes of her voice are still fading, Yuna focuses on Gudako (and ideally on Caster as well), and triggers her beam cannons, raging blasts of concussive radiance ripping forth to pummel Gudako and any other enemies who are in Yuna's firing arc. She warned her allies to get clear, so hopefully they're out of the way.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "I /do/ remember this!" Ira says excitedly, a smile on her face despite the pain burning through her. She's never been shot like this before, actually, and she doesn't want to admit how much it hurt, even with her new-ish superpowers earned from the persona. She reaches out towards Gudako's hand, fingertips touching against hers moments before the light shoots into her, melding with her body and disappearing. It doesn't, at first glance, look like there is much of a change-her jawline seems sharper, as do her teeth, but a closer look at her eyes...

    ...will reveal that her sclera have gone completely black, making the amber color of the pupils look a lot more /yellow/ than usual. She flexes her hands and the sizzling scortchmarks on her back quickly begin to heal back over. "Ahhh, Gudako, this feels /great/. Great, great, great! We get to /keep/ this, right? RIGHT?"

    She turns to glower at Yuna with a grin filled with too many sharpened teeth. One hand digs into her coat to pull out a shiny chrome-plated zippo lighter. She looks at the object, squinting, making eye contact with herself, not even flinching at the difference in colors. "Beast."

    When the Beast appears, he looks even more bestial than before, which is apparently possible. Normally he would resemble an oversized gorilla-warthog monster in regal finery. Right now, however, it looks more like a gorilla-warthog-manitcore that doesn't even bother with clothes. Massive bat wings jut out of its back and it possesses a long snakelike tail with a huge stinger on the end. Its features are even more hunched over, as if standing on two legs was very unnatural for the thing. Its form constantly writhes and seethes with black mist, making the edges hard to really grasp if looked at for two long.

    The Beast slams both knuckles into the ground and unleashes an ear-splitting roar, as if moving to counter Yuna's cry to the God of the temple.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel had not intended to sve the king she'd come to take him down, the Confederates betraying him however is not entirely unexpected. Yet Gudako's attuide hits home it's lot like some of Clu's and Tessler's followers, she's now making ready to move in the staff spins several times before it shrinks? Why she's summoning another weapon, she's got something else to worry about. The Basc hears out Lyner's call he knows what she's got to do, she's got to worry about the woman Lyner asked her to save, which is just what the basic is gong to attempt to do. She summons her keyblade and the cyberspaced styled weapon forms into existance in her right hand..

"Here I go."

She's going to now move in and attempt to save the maid.

"Misha you ready?"

the Program calls out as she now attempts to fight her way past the attack, but that's going to take a bit as she' forced cut her way through the wires or evade them by just not sitting still.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva isn't interdicted. This would normally be a major problem if the Feds weren't in the middle of a classic Judas Maneuver. Honestly, Gudako's timed it perfectly. Riva would appreciate it aloud if she wasn't in a /really bad mood/.

And perfectly timed, a certain maid appears to try to scythe their back line. The Templar's gaze turns, drawn like iron filings to magnets, and she explodes from her position in a massive cloud of snow.

Flakes begin to fall as Alewyn prepares to tear Rin apart, as if the heavens were crying frozen tears for what has gone before...

And then there is a burning, red-gold slash as Riva explodes between the pair, the wires severing. She does not look up. "Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;"

With a sudden turn, she levels the rapier at the maid, Anima surging around her as the blade seethes. "Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim."

As she speaks, she lunges forward in another column dash strike, her blade whipping past and through Alewyn's position, her voice heard above the shreak of supernaturally charged steel. "Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations..."

And finally, Riva turns, lashing out with Eir's blade, the weapon roaring as she slams it down into the ground, a crude wave of energy ripping into the stone. "And I will /execute judgments/ upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord."

A moment later, there is a crackling, brilliant spire of energy that explodes up through the ground beneath Alewyn, shattering rock in all directions.

Misha (757) has posed:
    Make it up to Eir. Misha can only hope. They were too late to do anything else except catch up. She really DOES need to catch up with Deelel when things are not at their worst. But for now the Reyvateil comes to a dead halt. Jade eyes widen as Gudako, literally, backstabs Laurence.
    He kind of deserved that, she thinks to herself.
    The flowing outpour of light, however, was probably not something she had really forseen. Okay the truth is, Misha didn't see that coming at all as all the energy rises. It's Alweyn that is... The most problematic for her in the heat of the moment.
    "I don't even KNOW anymore!" She replies to the Program in a hasty blurt, her first order of business being to fling herself out of harm's way. But it's not that effective. At the most inopportune time she reveals a horrible fact about herself.
    Misha Arsellec Lune is a klutz. Slipping on her own feet and tripping saves her life. It does not save her leg from the deep cut that draws a sharp cry. It's not mortal, but it'll probably slow her down.
    It's fine. She doesn't need to run to sing, anyway.
    Because the Star Singer draws a breath. And she begins to sing. A lyrical chant, her voice rises into the melodic language of Hymmnos, strained and stressed, bewildered and confused, but with one singular purpose and goal.
    Her song is one of desire- but it is not a selfish one as sweet stringed instruments and a whispering chorus of voices join hers from nowhere. That desire is a simple and wholly heartfelt one.
    To protect.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     "You Union people are really trigger happy, you know that? How am I supposed to...? Ugh. Fine, fine, we're not getting paid enough for this. But... You know this place was already getting f..." She pauses to scan the Union's forces. No children? No children. Good. "... Fucked up /before/ we did anything, right? If you wanna blame someone, blame-"

     The cleric raises her shield to block Archer's shot head on as it comes flying for her, relying both on the weight of the shield and her armor's guard boosting power to keep herself safe. A loud clang echoes through the hall as the blade hits her shield and spins off, nicking her face as it passes by.

     "Really...? Ugh. Blame that guy, then!" She turns a bit to gesture at Laurence, glancing over before staring at that whole stabbing display for a moment. "... Well. There you go! So can we go now?" Sanary's sounding incredibly irritated by that point as she stares at the Elites again, already starting to move towards them while pressing a hand to the cut on her face. Despite the healing magic that's visibly flowing into it, it's.. Not healing.

     "... Goddammit, Archer."

     And then she gets hit with that sudden surge of power and a very odd feeling in her back. It's not a bad one, but her armor's suddenly too tight for a moment before going back to normal. By the time it's all said and done, Sanary's hair looks as if it's turned white from overbleaching, her eye is somehow incredibly shiny and a terribly boring brown, and everything just feels.. Slower?

     No. She's moving faster. "...Okay! I.. Kinda get what he was going for now!" Her first order of business: Running around in a circle with more speed than she's ever known in her entire life.

     Second order of business: Actually trying to figure out what her newfound power actually does. Keeping her eye on Archer, she holds her hands out to her sides towards Ira and Gudako while channeling this new energy. In addition to giving those two an extra boost of physical and magical regeneration, dense stone shields begin floating in front of the three of them. The shields move with their targets, acting as floating bulwarks!

Archer (821) has posed:
     When Arnest is stabbed by Gudako, Archer is hardly surprised. The mage had been nothing but a manipulative parasite from the very moment Archer had met her - this mess was nothing but a game for the insane Magus.

     And she was on the verge of taking a deity's power.

     ...

     Not this time. He'd seen what happened when lunatics tried to claim power they weren't meant to have - he wasn't going to let it happen again.

     Thankfully though, they did still have their chance - he was hardly the most adept Mage, but what even what little he had, combined with his status as a Servant, let him discern that something was /off/ about Gudako's supposed 'ascension.' Her body didn't seem to be accepting the foreign power easily.

     Granted, rejecting an outside power was natural even if the person in question wanted that energy... but for it to be this obvious meant it wasn't being circumvented at all. Was something in Gudako's own body rejecting the power, or was Gudako just not assimilating it properly? Either way though, Archer couldn't tell if Gudako was aware of it yet... and that gave them a chance.

     However, he would first have to bypass Sanary - now empowered by Gudako and empowering them in turn.

     But that didn't mean she was instantly going to know how to use it.

     Drawing Kanshou and Bakuya, Archer charges forward to engage Sanary at close range, opting to try and take advantage of his skill to offset her speed and slash for the gaps in her armor. At best he could match her, at worst he could probably keep pace enough to not be killed. But he needed the time - if he was going to use any stronger weapons, he'd have to gather the prana for them.

     In the meantime, though... the Servant can't help but, with a slight smirk, note Sanary's situation was something of a reverse for his own - she'd gotten power from an entity's strength like he did, but for different reasons. "Heh... so it seems you've followed my path after all, Sanary Rondel. But I wonder... was there ever any other path you could take?"

     He leaves it vague - wondering if she will madden herself trying to find out what exactly makes them so similar... well, aside from the hair.

     Honestly, what was it about contracts like this that bleached one's hair snow white?

Archer (821) has posed:
     Rin, seeing the wires coming for her, opts to leap forward and ahead - she lacks a tried defense against such nimble weapons as the threads, the Magus banks on a frontal charge so that the razor-wires hopefully overshoot her.

     ... or at least that was the intent, before Riva took the matter into her own hands. She blinks once in surprise as the Templar charges the maid alone, dimly recognizing the verses - one of the lingering traces of her days as the fake-priest Kotomine's charge being that she learned alot of Religious passages.

     Regardless, the important bit was that Riva was clearing the way for her, letting the Magus focus on moving ahead to try and push ahead.

     At this point, she has had enough - enough with the callousness, enough with the senseless greed, and enough of people treating the lives of others like a demented game. So when the 'Beast' opens it's moth to start roaring, Rin - over her own shout of "Oh, shut up!" - lobs three gems at it with the intent of them going right down it's throat.

     She doesn't even know if Yuna's pleas will do anything, but either way she's not going to let Ira interrupt her.

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     "...." Well, Lyner could agree on that. Laurence wasn't very smart. He was ambitious, but not smart. Coming back here for a few flecks of remaining power was dumb. But it made their job easier. What DIDN'T make their jobs easier was Gudako literally siphoning that power away, back into herself. "....Crap crap crap-" Lyner groused as the Master proceeded to impart God's power into her Servants, as well as Ira and Sanary. Crap. Crap!

     The blonde knight was poised to dashed forward and intervene, but his intervention was intervened upon by Berserker, who now had TWO tails. "Gah-!" With his main sword raised, the cat's claws made impact, and he was thrown backwards, with Berserker on top of him. Not a place he wanted to be for very long. Thankfully, he could hear Misha's song from some ways off, and an empowering aura washed over him. She always came through in a pinch, didn't she? "Sorry Berserker, but I have to do this!" Saying that, his feet came up, pressing against her midsection as he veered backwards into a roll...and kicked the Servant off, attempting to break the disavantageous position. Once onto his feet, the white dagger in his other hand crackled with electricity and he swung it upwards, sending a single wave of cutting air hurtling after Berserker. Knowing how strong she was now, Lyner didn't hold back. But still, he didn't plan to kill anyone...

     Alweyn meanwhile tsked as Misha klutzed her way out of the way of the wires, barring a slash on the leg. Deelel cut her way through, evading the wires she couldn't slash in time. Meh. They were side targets. The real focus here was Rin- No, Riva. The maid's eyes widened just slightly as her wires were abruptly cut, saving Archer's Master from peril.

     Those verses weren't familiar to her, but she could feel out the intent from the Templar's actions alone. And then came that dash strike. She wasn't falling for that again! With break to the side, she let Riva pass, clenching her hands into fists as she created new wires. "I could not care any less about your judgments, woman!" Ugh, this annoying woman just set her off. It's like they were fated to never get along. Her dour demeanor was gradually growing more and more annoyed.

     Eir's blade is swung, crashing into the ground and sending out a crude wave of energy. That energy seared at Alweyn's body, but she weathered it, arms crossed over. The clenched fists opened, and with a swing outwards, several wires embedded into the ground. What they were going to do, however, was cut short as a pillar of energy /burst upwards/ from below her. Caught completely by surprise, Alweyn was blown upwards and back, roughly crashing back first into a wall next to the chamber entrance with a cry of pain.

     "...You....You...!" Gritting her teeth angrily, the maid's eyes pulsed red and her hair faded in and out from blue to white, and back to blue. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and took a breath. "....." And then she dislodged herself and jumped down from the wall, brushing herself off.

     "Tell me...what is your name, little burglar?" The wires that were pulled up out of the ground then, burst to life with a soul draining, green aura. "...My name is Alweyn. Alweyn Engburg." She intoned calmly, wires writhing around her form. A thin smile formed on her face then. And with a flurry of arm movements, her wires followed, firing an array of draining energy shots towards Riva.

     ...Deelel had ample time to sneak in now, didn't she?

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "If we get out of here alive!" Gudako answers Ira, in all honesty. Just like the king's plan, hers has a flaw, but by necessity of having needed to follow the king here: they have to fight their way out now, and they're outnumbered. Outgunned, maybe? The odds are hard to figure out right now. Best not to assume too much.

    Yuna comes in hot, and Ira intercepts. But it might not be enough, so, there's no harm helping. Caster's mirror appears, in the way of the bullets that get past Ira; the divine fox takes the hits for her master, who is still relatively frail despite rocking that rainbow aura. Now she's the liability, really. Wounds on Caster close pretty quickly, but they aren't without purchase.

    "You guys are so spread out and disorganized," Gudako chides, and then points towards Ira. "Come on Caster, let's show them how you game your odds correctly."

    More paper slips! These ones fly for Ira, and provide a complement of stat boosts. Strength, speed, defense, haste, a little bit of everything. It'll stack pretty well with everything else Sanary threw out.

    Gudako takes a moment, then, to analyze the situation. Unbeknowst to her, the taint in her body just won't play nice with true, pure divine power. The taint of All The World's Evil just isn't having any of it, and it's starting to cause an assortment of bad things. Internal bleeding she can't feel, and the Power of God itself is diminishing, released in the air little by little. They would need to contain it-- something Caster can't do on a battlefield. If they retreat, she MIGHT have time to, but right now Gudako is too busy analyzing the battlefield.

    Caster's busy buffing; only Berserker could actually dig them a way out right now. And Berserker is held up by Lyner, who is, as a spiky haired swordsman, exactly as strong as expected. Well, that's fine, she can just break off and help dig a way out, righ--

    There's a CRASH, as Berserker slams into the temple wall behind her, thrown off by Lyner. And then another, as his shockwave of lightning impacts the Servant head-on. Unlike the usual Berserker, one couldn't call this cat... fox... god... person, very sturdy. As Servants go she has the lower endurance score you can get! A direct hit like that leaves her heavily wounded, which while the divine power can help with, it also drains Gudako's reserves that much more-- and thus her ability to contain it.

    "Berserker, stop hugging the wall! Come on, we need to leave! It's just one guy with a sword, push him out of the way or something!" Gudako demands.

    Berserker complies, sunlight gathering around her claws from her tails. She's making a fiery lunge towards Lyner this time, but not to ground him. To try and push him back, and back, and back, and all the way to the other ongoing fight. Like Sanary said, their best hope is to just... plow through.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Aw, shit. Now Archer's focused on her? Sanary grunts as she brings her actual shield back in front of her, the stone shield moving closer to cover the hand holding the staves. Something still feels incredibly strange about this situation, though, since... Right. She's moving faster. She can actually see what the Servant is doing now, and she's even able to process his moves instead of hoping for the best!

     Although her defensive techniques haven't actually improved, the speed boost means she's not only able to block effectively, but even backstep every now and then as well. Perhaps luckily for Archer, though, the fact that she's opted to bring only shields and staves means that she doesn't really have anything to strike back at him with.

     And to make things worse for her, he's also talking agonizingly slowly. As normal-looking as his attacks appear to be at with her newfound speed, his voice somehow seems even more droning than before. "Come on! Can't you talk faster, at least? And start making sense, too!"

     Although Sanary doesn't notice it herself, she's talking at nearly double the speed she normally would. A side effect of being sped up, perhaps.

     The demi-god cleric isn't going to stick to just defending and banter, though, as she draws on more of her earth-based powers to... Listen to someone singing? No, that's the girl that did some sort of crazy magic singing thing way back, isn't it? Time to prioritize. Spotting an opening in one of Archer's attacks, Sanary jerks herself sideways to let it slash across her shield before breaking into a run towards Misha. She holds her hand out at him before swinging her hand down in a dramatic fashion, sending part of the ceiling collapsing towards her!

Riva Banari has posed:
The exchange is brutal, the environment shattering as the pair exchange their flurry of blows.

But she pulls herself off of the wall, and Riva salutes with the rapier. "My name is Riva Banari. I an a agent of the Knights Templar, and a soldier of God. I stand between Man and the Darkness."

The flurry of bolts strike, and Riva slashes out, twisting as she slices the first in half, a second skidding past her. The third hits her arm, causing it to go numb for a moment. The light along the blade winks out as the Anima flow is interrupted from the dangerous soul-draining strike, but Riva pulls back, focusing as she tried to pull on the local ley lines once more... And the light returns.

"You're holding back." She says, simply. "You want you kill me, but you're holding back." She says, darting from side to side as she closes in, forcing Alewyn to spread her shots. "... Is it because your master is now dead, and you have no wish to be bound to the one who betrayed him?"

There is sudden strike, as Riva strikes once more with that dashing move, but he knows she'll dodge it. With a turn. she brings up Eir's blade... And with a sudden motion, it flares with that red-gold light as she hurls it for where she expects Alewyn will try to escape. "You still have a chance to back out, you know."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"YOU'RE NOT GOING *ANYWHERE*!!!" shouts Yuna, even as her beam cannons are closed away behind those lens-like covers once again. She can't just fire them repeatedly, after all - and the fact that Gudako's allies were able to take that much of the assault for her rankles. It's not just that Gudako treats so much of this like a game that's getting to Yuna, after all; it's the fact that the game addict *doesn't even notice* that it *isn't* a game.

If nothing else, for all her normal compassion and not wanting people to suffer, Yuna *wants* Gudako to understand - not just with her mind, but with her *body* - what it really means to be in a battle such as this. To know, right down to her bones, that fights aren't just a game that you can stand back from and watch others play out the results of your orders.

Powered Form's hover-thrusters rev up to full power now, and Yuna hurtles forward, attempting to body-check Gudako; she's leading with Shugoseiheki, the kite shield still intact despite Caster's previous onslaught, but if push comes to shove, Yuna's got the suit's other big exo-arm, plus the body of the suit itself - this armor's basically built like a power loader, or a Landmate, and it's built for *fast* overland travel. And the Savior of Light is deadly serious about not letting Gudako get away with so much as a *spark* of stolen divine power - even if it's already draining out of the girl, even if it'll all fade on its own, Yuna has no intention of letting Gudako set one foot *outside* the temple so long as any of God's power remains with her.

And it's potentially costing her allies. Elner takes more note of the broader situation than Yuna herself does; Yuna spotted Rin's intervention against Ira's summoned Beast, but didn't have a moment to thank the mage properly. Yuna's focus on Gudako *does*, however, keep her from moving to protect Misha or potentially intercepting any of the other Confederates, no matter how the battle might hinge on them or their respective targets.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel will leave the others to deal with the confederates for now, the king is dead betrayed by the confedew4rates, Deelel will not be able to unsee that but well it only makes her think she made the right choice in joining up, right? She's able to make ue of the buff from Misha and is able to press on head, getting her chance to slip by the wires. Even as everyone edge engages the confederes. She's listening to the maid even as she speaks to the others the wires are going and she frowns a bit. She's going to hae to time this right or it's not going to go very well, not very well at all. Riva also is doing a great job distracting her. She see's she's holding back, but there's no time to worry about that. She redies her keyblade and the energy as before when she was delaing with the mind controlled holds builds up abnd she lets it rip on the Maid hoping to free her of whatever control she is under. She's also very vunrable ot attack while she does this.

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "Tch!" Ira calls back to Gudako, a laugh escaping her, "Why wouldn't we?" She hasn't encountered the more bloodthirsty members of the Union si why, mostly. She's heard plenty of them in the Confederacy but that was no means at all all of them! Stiil, her prefessional assessment, they were outnumbered. "Time for breaking through! Heh heh heh-ackk-" A hand suddenly reaches for her throat.

    The motion is being mirrored by the beast, who is the real sufferer of the 'gems in throt' afflicting. Rin would notice that the persona is quite corpreal so it is very capable of getting things stuck in anatomy. The beast's roar dies as it's airway is blocked and it doubles over, coughing and hacking until the gag reflexes return the three gems to the ground. Although now they're covered in saliva and black gunk that feels vaguely like the power she wields.

    "Your servant may be onto something, Gudako! Maybe we should go through that exit instead of the usual ones!" Ira manages, her voice rasp and hoarse as she recovers from the gems being caught in her mouth. With a grunt, she turns her attention to Rin-only Ira, though, as the Beast goes thundering off after the powered form of Yuna, the massive, hairy creature aiming to body check Yuna before she can body check Gudako!

    But from Ira-she doesn't so much approach Rin as gesture at her, making circular motions with her fingers, which are traced by the black stuff that seethes around the Beast. Darkness starts to creep around Rin's feet, threatening to crawl up her and root her to the spot. If she looks closely enough, she might even see the occasional eye peeking out of the darkness.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Thankfully, it seems Sanary's empowerment doesn't translate to her instantly having the skills of a demigod, so Archer is, if nothing else, able to keep even with her. Combined with her lack of anything but defensive implements and he could at least keep her occupied.

     It also seemed Sanary wasn't acclimatized to her new power. Her mind wasn't processing the increased stimuli properly - everything was slower for her, even his words. Though it didn't keep her from matching his speed - she must have been used to multitasking from her ability to heal entire groups at once.

     Then, abruptly, Sanary breaks off - an opening in Archer's guard that he expected her to strike at is instead used to side-step him, moving for Misha, and-

     ... and he lets her.

     Perhaps Sanary will pause at that - realize that Archer has shifted priorities... and let her get away from him so as to buy himself the time for it.

     It was a lost cause - a battle of attrition to keep going as they were. With the power of a god, there was a chance the Confederates were going to simply outlast them. And then they would escape.

     So he had to even the playing field. Even if it meant letting a comrade be attacked, lest they all lose.

     "I am the bone of my sword"

     "Steel is my body, and fire is my blood."

     The atmosphere begins to change - the air heats like the inside of an endless furnace.

     "I have created over a thousand blades"

     "Unknown to death, nor known to life"

     Any with the ability to perceive it - the Confederates included - will feel the distorting of of the world. The overlay as another's reality is forced unto the one around him.

     "I have withstood pain to create many weapons."

     "Yet these hands will never truly hold anything."

     A ring of fire forms at the bowman's feet, cracks forming in the ground. Even if Gudako and Ira thought themselves Gods... it only applied to this world. In his though... perhaps they would have the chance to change that. One final gambit.

     "So as I pray... UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS."

     The flames expanded outward in an instant, consuming the world around them...

     ...and overwriting it with a sky of unending, monolithic gears and clouds of ash. The landscape - formed of hills that were barren and charred over the course of centuries beneath an eternal forge - was littered with thousands upon thousands of blades, emerging from the ground like a forest of steel. And standing in the midst of it, the Counter-Guardian focuses on Sanary and the others with an impassive gaze.

     Caster assuredly will recognize this for what it is - a Reality Marble. One's inner world made manifest... and isolated from the rest of reality, sealing them in.

     Granted, it wouldn't last forever, and too much power being thrown around would disrupt it... but, with a field of weapons to aid them now, the Servant of the Bow didn't believe Lyner and the others would give them the chance.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Rin growls as she faces down Ira and her 'Beast', somewhat irritated that her gems didn't detonate. Did that... thing drain the power from them.

     Then the creature turns to chase down Yuna, leaving Rin alone with Ira herself - and she takes note of the shadows forming beneath her feet, immediately hopping to the side to try and move out of their path.

     Too many and too staggered for a single gem - so she uses a rapid-fire attack, bracing her right arm with her left. "Gandr!"

     A black nimbus, of Rin's own, tinged red at the edges, condenses at her fingers and discharges in a spray of magic bullets, meant to inflict 'sickness' on the target by debilitating them - would it be effective on these... blobs, though? Because if not she would have to try moving around - if she wasn't already glued to the floor.

     Still... at the very least, it seemed like the tide was turning - she felt the draw of prana as Archer manifested his Reality Marble, steading her breaths as she felt the world change around her in a burst of flame.

     Rin still wasn't used to it - not just to this world but what it represented - but she had no time to dwell on that. She had to focus on Ira, if for no other reason then to keep her from further helping Gudako... and because it seemed Ira and her 'Beast' were linked, meaning that hindering her might hinder the Beast. Or she hoped so at least.

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     "Sorry, not going to let you do that." Lyner spoke quickly, having stood back to his feet and crossed blade and dagger over. "Shield of Bond!" And A pearlescent corona of energy formed in front of the knight then, creating a barrier that Berserker's attacks impacted against. "Ergh...!" He grit his teeth, feeling the pressure from those blows as they attempted to break through.

     This power of God really was a problem. Especially in the hands of Gudako. But Lyner couldn't give up. "We're...not going to...let you leave with that power!" He roared, digging his feet into the ground and pushing forward into a dash to try and force the Servant back. Back and away from where she was trying to open to path to.

     Despite the barrier cracking continuously, Lyner gripped his blades and forced the charge ahead. He needed to buy time for Archer. ...And that time apparently came sooner than thought, as the surrounding suddenly changed with a wall of fire, and then....swords?

     A barren world, filled with swords. Swords as far as the eye can see. Swords from every age and every era. And above in the sky, cogs of varying sizes turned slowly. "What the..." It was enough for Lyner to momentarily forget what was going on. ...Right up until a claw broke through the barrier and tagged his side. "Argh!"

     That's what he gets for not paying attention! Ignoring the blood starting the drip from his side, he lashed out at Berserker with a dual slash with sword and dagger, aided by a current of wind to increase the speed of the attacks. "Archer, whatever this place is going to do, I suggest you do it fast!"

     Alweyn meanwhile frowned. She followed Riva's movements, her shots spreading out as a result. "I don't care about that man." She answered evenly. "He turned me into an Einherjar against my will hundreds of years ago." Briging her arm back, she brought a single garrote wire to bear and brought it down like a whip for Riva's current location.

     "I outlived my family, serving at his side for centuries because I had nothing else. And nowhere to go." And then Riva broke forward with a dash that the maid had of course anticipated. "So why should I care?" And then the sword is thrown. Right in Alweyn's path. Eyes widening, she jerked mid dodge, avoiding a chest skewer, but winding up with one of her arms pierced through as the sword embedded into a wall.

     That had to hurt terribly, but Alweyn didn't cry. She just grit her teeth and lowered her eyelids painfully. Silence followed between the two, amid the sounds of combat all around them.

     "......."

     A chance to back out...

     "...Fine. He's dead anywa-"

     PEW. KEYBLADE LASER TO THE CHEST.

     The maid blinked a few times, and then looked down at herself. Then towards Deelel. "...What did you just do?"

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     Before Unlimited Blade Works deployed...

     The power that was shedding off of Gudako was gradually streaming upwards, gathering into a slowly growing orb of rainbow energy. It pulsed weakly, as if in response to the battle below. But nothing else happened. Were Yuna's words from before actually affecting something?

     Now, that power hung high above in the sky, continuing to shed off of Gudako and gather. Whether she noticed or not, was up to her, but the Union Elites surely wouldn't say.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Exits, right! Exits. Sanary starts putting two and two together as she takes note of the distinctly mountainy... Mountain they're in, and with her Einherjar-like mastery over earth and stone... Well, why wouldn't she give it a shot? Sure, the battlefield might have changed from the inside of a mountain temple to a weird weapon-littered landscape with no clear borders in sight, but...

     Too much thinking, not enough acting. Also, goddammit Archer and such. Is he ever not going to get in her way? Probably not. With the plan sorted out, though, it's time to reprioritize... Again! Turning her attention to Ira and Gudako's servants, Sanary directs her energy towards them first, providing them with yet more regenerative magic and layer upon layer of earthen shields! She can't be too careful even with these powers, of course, and who knows when she'll get to use them again?

     Once that's taken care of, she redirects that magic power into the ground around Archer. "You're talking too slow speed it up already, you wad!" As she shouts at him and focuses her power, the ground beneath the white-haired servant will shift, trying to trap his legs within a thick layer of rock while the ground directly between his legs shoots upwards suddenly in an extremely dense, sharp wedge shape. Said wedge is centered almost directly at...

     Well, Archer's a Servant. It's not like he can have children, right?

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    "Ah, you're really insisting, huh?" Gudako asks Yuna, as the magical paladin girl evidently chooses RAMMING SPEED as the solution to this problem. Caster naturally interposes herself; she's got pretty high agility, what good does it do if she doesn't actually do anything with it. Yuna smashes into the foxgirl's mirror again, something she should be familiar with. The magically floating construct, guided by the now two-tailed sunfoxgirl behind it, seems a bit stronger than last time, and it probably doesn't help that Caster's tails glow like tiny suns either. She's still struggling, under the force of Yuna's push.

    While the Servant struggles, Gudako shakes her head at Ira, seeing as they are now stuck in a hellscape of gears, smog and swords. "It doesn't matter now, huh? We need to take down that Archer, otherwise we're stuck here unless we have a way to overpower it." Which... would require quite the expense of power.

    Gudako turns back to look at how Berserker is doing, but is distracted as she sudden coughs blackened blood. That is absolutely not good. In panic she turns back to Caster. "CASTER, STOP WASTING TIME. BLOW HER AWAY."

    "Right, right! Mantra: Merciful Sky!" Sunlight flows from her tails into her mirror, causing the surface of it to becoming a blinding white-yellow-orange. With Yuna still in full body contact with it, she immediatly takes her chance for a boosted spell. "Amaterasu~ BEEEEEAM~!" That's probably not what it's really called.

    But it's pretty much a solar flare laser gushing out of a mirror, so, who's going to take it up with her? Technically if anyone is allowed to call something Amaterasu Beam it's Caster.
    And Berserker. Kind of.

    Speaking of the cat, she trades blows with Lyner; where claws cut and burn, his sword and knife just cut, but no less effectively. The accumulation of those quick, successive wounds onto the divine catfox are starting to slow it down, and increase the amount of magic drained from Gudako to heal her Servant.

    "What do you care, nya?!" Berserker demands of Lyner, growling like a cornered cat. "It's not like master'll use it to hurt this world, so aren't you happy enough you saved it? Nya, selfish people always want more!" Getting pretty pots and kettles in here.

    "Separation of Day and Night, TSUKUYOMI!"

    Berserker's body absorbs the ambient light, and she surges towards the knight, trailing a line of pitch black no-light behind her. She even seems to create a few mirror images made of sunlight that strike from different angles with flaming attacks, but the main charge of the Servant is definitely the most dangerous part.

Riva Banari has posed:
As the environment shifts into the unnatural realm of the Unlimited Blade Works, Riva continues her battle against the maid-Einherjiar. "I'm glad you could see reason." She says as she reaches out for the blade to let her go...

And then the laser.

Riva, too is surprised. She looks at the maid, then over to Deelel. She points over to the maid, too. "... What did you just do?" She asks, quizzically.

Deelel has posed:
The Swrods come, not just any sworeds all of them, it seems every sword there ever was on Archer's world is called forth and are launched with out mercy at those he faces. Deelel Meanwhile has manage to avoid getting set on fire, or worse cut up by wires. She listens to the woman whose lived far longer than her people normally do. It was odd to her, basics in muliversal terms lived for centuries generally only dying by violence. She's long got eventually the end of line must happen? Yet to out live all you knew? Is that's what it like for Tron? She doesn't know she however smirks a little bit at the woman.

"Lyner suspeted something was controling I think I freed you from it."

She was being honest, even she isn't sure what she did now. Still ther are other threats to worry about at this point in time. She gives Riva a look for a moment, she's looking a bit ahem embrassed.

"It's like I said....it was never intended to harm."

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    Ira's happy to focus her attentions on Rin with a bit of attention paid towards Gudako and Sanary. Should they mvoe to retreat, she'd certainly follow, but all the sudden retreat seems impossible as everyone is transported into a weird, barren world filled with swords.

    The distraction does give Rin a good chance to slip out of Ira's brewing spell and counterattack. The creeping shadow greedily sucks up the nimbus of Gandr and, as a result, immediately starts moving much, much slower. It can't catch up with Rin now at that rate and Ira knows it. With a wave of her hand, she makes the blackness disappate. Instead of a subtle ooze, Ira quickly resorts to some kind of flat-out offensive spell from the darkness, summoning black-flamed fire to crackle upwards from beneath Rin for a few seconds. If she is fast enough, she may be able to slip out of the way. Only this does NOT target Rin.

    No, she turns to the creator of the reality marble itself and lays into him with her newly-gained control over darkness. Pound him into disruption, was the strategy. Likewise, the Beast pulls away to aid in this goal, though it can literally engage in pounding with its big, massive, meaty fists.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Amaterasu *what*?!

Yuna grits her teeth and *glares* at Caster, even if she has to look past her exo-arm and two shields to lock her gaze on the foxgirl. Another split second, though, and she's almost sorry she was trying - because enough of that mirror extends past Shugoseiheki's edges to be visible to Yuna herself, and when it goes from 'reflective surface' to 'solar laser,' Yuna squeezes her eyes shut TIGHT but the glare is still blinding. She just keeps leaning into it, bringing her own arms up to help cover her face ... which might be taken to mean she's out of arms to do anything with, given one is tanking Caster's beam at literally contact range, and two are shielding her face against the overwash.

Except that's only three arms - and Yuna is stubborn enough to use everything she's got to work with ... including that fourth arm, the other of her armor's 'additional' pair.

And the right exo-arm swings, not forward, but up and over, with Yuna trying to tank aggressively enough into the teeth of the beam that the descending fist can come down squarely (and *NOT* gently) on Caster's head. If the manipulator fist were smaller, it might be aimed right between those fox ears; as it is, Yuna just wants to clock Caster a good one and push onwards.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Looking at Sanary and to Misha, Archer closes his eyes once in contemplation. He hadn't had much choice but to let Sanary carry through with her change in targets... but if he was to try and protect her, he needed the time to do so. That and he'd hoped that she would be able to defend from the attack - Sanary was many things, but subtle in her approaches didn't seem one of them.

     And now, he was in a position to make sure Misha was covered... so long as he could deliver on it.

     As the ground shifts beneath him, Archer calls a weapon to his hands and cuts into it to keep his legs from being trapped, then bounds off to the side as the spike suddenly shoots up - fast enough to cut into his thigh as he pulls back, focusing on evasion for the time being as he focused his prana for the counter.

     Likewise, Archer continues to dodge even as black flames from Ira come at his flank, quickly grabbing one of the many nameless blades in the ground to cut through and diffuse it. His right hand and portions of his arm are scorched, the bowman wincing as his skin blisters, but the blade takes most of the hit, shattering as a result while he keeps dodging for a few more precious seconds...

     ... and then he stops, his counter prepared.

     Lyner called out, Archer's only response, now standing as the Beast and, assumedly, Sanary bear down on him... was a wordless motion of his hand - signaling the movement of /dozens/ of weapons as they pulled themselves from the ground around him, filling the sky with wrought iron. Many of them might be recognized by some present - Clarent, Durandall and Aestus Estus to name the strongest ones in this current volley - before they themselves for not just Sanary and the Beast but for every Confederate, the whole of Unlimited Blade Works reacting to Archer's command.

     As a result, the hail of steel bombards the opposing force with the intent to either to weaken them or push them back so that the Unionites can counter, with Ira's Beast likely taking the most hits simply because of it's sheer size.

     And truthfully... the bowman is hoping that it helps Lyner break through to the mastermind behind this. He can see Gudako is slipping - for the first time since he'd seen her, she seemed genuinely concerned. And that meant she'd acknowledged they could possibly beat her.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Rin takes note of both the gathering energy over Gudako - that she was losing her grip on the power she took - and, more pointedly, the black blood the Magus coughs out. Furthermore, Gudako actually sounded... worried.

     Good. It was high time she realized what happened when you treated life as a game and started losing yourself.

     Rin sees Ira changing tactics - but in turn, the Tohsaka heiress, upon moving away as her coat becomes severely scorched and right forearm blisters, does not try to block the attack or stop it. She trusts her Servant to handle himself - he has seen worse, and lived through worse then that... but she herself must play her own part.

     Therefore, when Ira focuses on Archer, Rin herself charges the empowered Confederate, pulling out all five of her remaining gems and hurling them at her.

     "Sechs, in Flu� Ein Halt. Funf, drew, vier. Der Riese und brennt das in Ende!"

     Then, the prana within them comes to live, the gemstones becoming homing missiles as they shoot forward like bullets, their power amplified and directed on one target to try and take her down.

     And, hopefully, bring that Beast of hers down as well.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva seems to accept that explanation. She looks between Alewyn and Deelel, and then back to the maid as she gestures to Deelel. "How do you feel?"

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     "No, but she'll just use it somewhere else. That's not good either!" Lyner countered Berserker's argument, keeping up with her strikes just barely. Once she breaks off to call out...whatever she was doing, the knight didn't waste any time. He raised his main sword to the air, and lightning surged across the blade, down into his body, creating an aura of electricity.

     "Your Master's already proven herself to be untrustworthy, so she has to be stopped! Here and now! Too many lives have been lost already!" Eir, the people in Lucrelia... No more. Lyner charged forward at the same time as Berserker, meeting the strikes of the Servant, as well as her mirror images in an electrified flurry as he jumped from one spot to the next. He could feel the cat's claws tearing into him at points, but he didn't falter. He couldn't falter here. "Faster...! ...Stronger...! Just a little more...!"

     With the final pass, Lyner leapt into the air, sheathing his dagger back into his pauldron before gripping his main sword with both hands. "Photon Storm!" And with a heavy swing downwards, a huge torrent of electricity burst out of the blade, taking the form of a flying dragon, jaws opened wide and aiming to devour Berserker entirely in it's wrath.

     Lyner landed back to the ground, panting heavily, matted with blood, and not having a whole lot left to give. Whatever Archer was doing, he hoped it would work. ...And that hail of swords looked like it should have been sufficient. He hoped sincerely.

     Alweyn meanwhile blinked at Deelel. Then felt her chest above her heart. ".....My life force was connected to Laurence's. It was ...insurance." She lowered that arm and closed her eyes. "I can't feel that link anymore." And with that simple admission, she looked aside at the rest of the battle, no longer interested in resisting. Whatever was going to happen now, it was up to Gudako and her allies, as well as the resistance of the Union.

     And they were resisting hard.

     Meanwhile, the rainbow mass in the sky grew a little larger...

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Sanary can't recall a time in her life where she's ever felt stronger. Better at fighting than others, sure, but actually /strong/ like this? Never. She's used so much energy already, but it feels like she still has plenty to spare, and she's more than willing to take full advantage of it for as long as she can.

     "I gotcha, Gudako! Freaking... What's wrong with just letting us leave, anyway?!" As she shouts towards the Union Elites, the cleric channels some of her energy into Gudako to try and offset whatever damage she might have taken to trigger that bloody coughing and might take from that incoming strike from yuna. As Archer's countless weapons lift into the air, however, she's forced to refocus her efforts entirely towards defense!

     "... Ugh." She's not saying it, but she's definitely thinking it. She slams her shield into the ground as dense slabs of stone pop out of the ground one after the other, practically surrounding the three Confederates and their extensions to provide them with protection from the multitudes of blades coming their way. Although the makeshift shields aren't particular strong on their own, the sheer quantity and density of the demigod-powered slabs should be enough to weather the worst of those attacks.

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Yuna puts her closed fist right on Caster's face. Predictably she goes flying back, bouncing off the ground and crashing by her master's side, the mirror sort of following in the air magically. She gets back up, slowly, grunting and obviously disoriented. She didn't expect that at all and it really hurt. The curse of being a Caster.

    Then there are swords EVERYWHERE.

    Caster brings her mirror forward, producting a large magical barrier of sunlight around herself and her master. As swords slam into it one by one and weaken it, Gudako's state seems to worsen, and she actually slumps down to one knee, the hand she's coughing into stained with her blood. She loses her smile and grin, her crazy expression, to stare confusedly at her hand. "I'm not wounded, this is stupid. Caster!"

    With the reprieve granted by Sanary, the divine fox inspects her master and then frowns. "Your body is rejecting the power, master. Your Magic Circuits can't seem to coexist with it. That... mud from the Grail, it's probably because of that!"

    Gudako now frowns, before glaring towards Ira. "Well, I'm not wasting this, Caster! If it's trying to get out then I'll burn it all actually doing something that benefits us!"

    The rainbow magic and aura, what's left of it, gathers in Gudako's hand. She shoots it straight at Ira-- and then, collapses. This causes Caster and Berserker to lose their second tails and weaken, and unfortunately for Sanary and Ira will result in the same happening to them shortly too, as the shards she granted them become dormant or otherwise escape. Ira might be a bit lucky in that regard, if Gudako's plan was up to snuff.

    Berserker is having a rough time on her end too. Lyner's swordplay is no joke, and though he may at first just be accumulating more cuts and bruises on the Servant, when he calls out his Photon Storm it's another matter entirely. The Servant is engulfed in the electrical stormdragon, and in critical state, opts to dematerialize. Even immaterial, she's susceptible to some of Archer's swords, though-- Noble Phantasms are sufficiently magical they can strike spirits, after all. So once Berserker reachers her Master and Caster, she's in even worse of a shape for it.

    Gudako's unconscious, Caster's injured and depowered, and Berserker's pretty much out. The trio isn't doing any more fighting, although Caster still has options if pushed.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
After delivering that punch to Caster's face - not quite where she was aiming, but she had a solar laser approximately in her face at the time - Yuna has to stop and recover a bit. She can barely see *anything* at this point, and Jiina doesn't have independently functioning optic sensors while she's acting as the bulk of Yuna's exoskeletal battlesuit. Elner, on the other hand, isn't quite so handicapped, and the robo-faerie keeps Yuna more or less up to speed, throgh the moment when Gudako chucks what's left of the stolen power to Ira.

And the fact that Gudako is actually and legitimately unconscious afterwards.

Yuna's aggression drains off quickly after that datum makes its way to her awareness. She can still *hear*, at least to an extent; the ongong sounds of combat make it hard to focus on conversations not carried by the radio. If it weren't for the robotic battleframe which surrounds her, it's possible that Yuna would just slump over while she's catching her breath and regaining her bearings; as it is, the left exo-arm has to plant Shugoseiheki's lower corner against the ground for a brace, or as a sort of crutch, to help stay upright.

"Gudako *did* get hurt, didn't she ..." She wouldn't complain about not being hurt if it weren't for some kind of actual injury, Yuna is fairly certain. There's no real satisfaction in the observation, though.

"Hey ... Caster. You and Gudako will be okay, right? Now that the stolen power's gone."

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    Due to sheer size, the Beast /will/ take the brunt of Archer's rain of swords. Extremely problematic since, as Rin observed, the Beast and Ira seem to be linked to some degree. Any damage upon the beast is reflected upon Ira. It is for this reason that the rock slabs summoned by Sanary are absolutely cruicial in the survival of the Beast and its master. The stone is able to weather a veritable storm of swords, though not completely, as the sheer intensity beats and sheers the rock away into rubble after a minute of the sustained contact. In the end, Archer does achieve his desired result.

    Swords stick out of both the Beast and Ira, all shapes and sizes at all depths. A normal person would have died easily at this point but the toughness brought on by the persona and the power imbued by both the faded godsharsd and Sanary's buffing means that Ira has the pleasure of living through this extreme pain.

    With reckless fury, the Beast and Ira begin to pull the swords from their bodies, discarding them-or most of them, as Ira 'keeps' some of them briefly. She's not sure how effective they would be if thrown at Rin, but she will try, especially as each gem missile slams into the redhead. Four swords are throw in return, the last strike staggering Ira too much to make a return throw.

    All the while, both Ira and the Beast have been regenerating, though the latter seems to be more and more incorpreal with each passing second. Perhaps a sign that the persona user was weakening? Her regeneration seems to be coming on a bit slower too, especially following Gudako's fall.

    Ira's quick to notice this and growls. "You wanna continue this to the death? I can do that. But look at her-her power is gone. Ours is fading." she sounds pretty angry about this. "Are you committed to killing us or just preventing us from leaving with the power of a god? Tell me!" She slips backwards, picking up Gudako and uncerimoniously hauling her over a broad shoulder. "Tell me so I know how hard I'm gonna have to fight to get us out of here."

Riva Banari has posed:
While the maid is distracted, Riva puts a hand on the pinned woman's arm. "Hold still." She says, and then pulls it out in a single, smooth movement. She looks down at the blade in her hand, and over to the maid. "Get going. Go live on your own terms. We're even now."

She turns away and looks up at that burgeoning light. "There's still something else that needs to be done." At that, energy gathers around her...

And she bolts off, heading... away from the fight? What the hell is she doing?

Archer (821) has posed:
     Just like Gudako, Sanary has proven herself in Archer's opinion to be nothing but trouble. "I could ask you the same thing" Archer speaks - though he truthfully knows Sanary probably still can't understand him. "So far, your bid for power seems to have been more trouble then it's worth."

     In turn, Archer pushes forward when Sanary summons forth shields to blunt as many of the weapons as she can, though their numbers effectively make it an equalizing move.

     That also means that her attention is occupied - and for Archer, that he may be able to break Gudako's metaphorical shield maiden now that their power has fade.

     Charging forward himself, Archer once again summons Harpe, expression set and grim as he lunges for her with the blade. He's not aiming to outright kill her anymore, though... but instead he seems to be trying to debilitate her with cuts she can't heal - to the point that she can't provide any support at all.

     Some trace of who he was before, then - trying to push Sanary to the point where she will just give up, if at all possible.

Archer (821) has posed:
     "Es ist gro�. Es ist klein. Vox got Es Atlas!"

     Reinforcing her body to the point of steel, Rin charges forward, speed and strength enhanced as she charges for Ira. Archer's swords, returned at her, are either dodged or deflected. It's a reckless move - one straight out of Shirou's playbook - but Rin doesn't have any other way to offset Ira anymore, having depleted her stock of gems and doubting Gandr had the power she needed. Hand to hand was the only thing she could use at this point.

     Though of course, a human can never truly match a Noble Phantasm; she evades the first one, but the magus is left gasping as her right arm is gashed open by deflecting the second just enough to keep it from hitting her. She jumps over the third one, but the last one bites into her right shoulder as she lands in front of Ira, additionally leaving a slice across her right cheek.

     At this point Rin is panting visibly, beads of sweat trickling down her face. Between Archer's use of Unlimited Blade Works and her own Reinforcement - not to mention the prolonged combat both have been through - the prana draw is leaving her gradually more and more sapped. That's to say nothing of her injuries.

     Rin likewise watches as Gudako coughs up blood, body seemingly ravaged by it's rejection of the power she took... and then as she shoots what remains of her energy to Ira, and as the latter hauls Gudako over her shoulder, pausing when Ira questions her.

     "You're the ones... that started this. You're saying... you'd be /surprised/ if we were committed to killing you?" Rin replies, teeth grit as she clasps the hand of her bleeding left arm over her shoulder, still facing Ira and weary of the Beast even in it's diminished state.

     ... but it's obvious she doesn't want to keep going either. She's in no state for it, and if she tries... Rin figures that at best she and Ira would kill each-other.

     She looks at everyone around her, and at the Confederates... and finally, at Gudako's limp form. Then... she just sighs, looking well and truly tired in spite of her gaze remaining resolute. "Personally... I /don't/ think you should be let go. Killing you might be extreme... but letting you leave wouldn't be my first choice. Especially not for her" Rin gestures to Gudako. "She's proven that she'll turn the world on it's head for what she wants. I'd rather see you all captured."

     A pause... and then Rin turns to gesture at Lyner's form. "But... I think that if you give up this 'God's power - and I mean /all/ of it - then I'm sure Barsett-San... wouldn't mind letting you leave, right here and now. This is his mission... so I'll differ to him on this."

     It's not ideal for her, letting them leave... but at the same time, she's not eager to keep the bloodshed going if they got what they needed.

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     Lyner was out of juice. He just stood back sheathing his sword and contracting the pod before putting his hands on his knees and catching his breath. A look upwards would reveal that God's power had mostly left Gudako, after she burned what she had left on...something. It looked like she aimed it at Ira, but he couldn't be sure.

     It's then that Riva ran off with a PLAN. "Wh- ...What is she up to /now/?" He muttered, straightening up and watching her run off. ...Well she said it didn't involve explosions, so how bad could it be? At Rin's statement, the blonde swordsman looked in her direction and sighed. "...Gudako is down. Laurence is gone. Eir is gone. God's power has been released..." He looked up at the mass of energy up above. "...Let them go. We're not murderers. And I'm not about to start down that path now."

     He closed his eyes after giving that verdict, and after a moment, smiled. "It might sound stupid, or illogical. But... That's how I feel."

     Alweyn is freed from the wall, and she stared at Riva after, with an unreadable expression. "....." And once the Templar ran off with a BRIGHT IDEA, she simply turned away and walked off. Off in Gudako's direction. Past Yuna without even looking at her, past Laurence's fallen body without sparing a glance, she knelt down to Gudako's unconscious body and checked her life signs. "...She will recover." A simple prognosis. Glossing over the finer details of INTERNAL INJURY FROM CLASHING POWERS TEARING UP HER BODY, but she didn't bother to say anything more.

     Without asking Caster for permission, she lifted the fallen Magus into her arms, and stood. "This battle is over. They accomplished their goals. There's no more reason for us to continue fighting." Lyner's verdict is heard, and then she glanced in the direction of the other Elites.

     "Objections?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna shakes her head at Alweyn. "The power taken from this land's God needs to be returned. Arnest the Third is finally dead, and no mortal is trying to take that power - hopefully all of it has drained out of Gudako by now, including the bits and pieces she stole from Einherjar and Incarnations. So long as God's power remains for God to reclaim, I have no problem with ending our battle without anyone trying to hurt anyone else further."

She also doesn't have the strength to go back to fighting, especially if it *would* mean fighting to kill. The bad guys have been stopped, and maybe - just maybe - they'll learn something from what's happened in Lucrelia over the past months.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks at Alweyn for a moment.

"Your leash is removed it seems."

She nods faintly before turning her attentiona t the fight that's ahead there's still the confederates there, some of the talk on the radio. She start to forumate a plan she sees Gudako is out of it along with Berserker. She's spent a lot of her energy doing that trick again, she's going to have to find a way to train with that but she was making ready to go somthing but Lyner requests they stand down.

"As you wish Lyner."

She does not seem happy about that? Odd but well she's banishing her keyblade she looks at Gusako.

"LEave the power for it's rightful master to reclaim. Go, get out of our sight."

Riva Banari has posed:
Yeah, its totally over.

Except for one small detail. Where did Riva go?

There is a low roar of displaced air as a form approaches the Temple, resolving into the familiar sight of the Templar. She's carrying something.

It's... Eir? OH GOD RIVA WHAT ARE YOU DOING

However, at this point, she looks up at the gathering mass of energy, and lunges for one of the cliff walls in a crouch, bouncing off of it to leap high into the air. "HOOOOOOOAH!" She yells, arching dramatically.

She's not going to make it.

But then, she doesn't have to. With a colossal effort, she uncoils, pushing the Einjeriar corpse with her hands folded around that blade...

And hurls it right for that mass of energy, the power of God.

Meanwhile, the Templar promptly arcs straight down and faceplants into the side of the Temple because Isaac Newton is a bitch.

What the crap, Riva. What. The. Crap.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     As Sanary keeps trying to pour more energy into raising more of the rock slabs, she's noticing things changing again. Things are moving faster, the rocks aren't coming out at all, there's a sharp pain in both of her legs, and... Wait.

     How did she not notice those swords going through her knees earlier? The power trip? It was probably the power trip. Slowly going into shock does keep her from feeling all of that pain right away, at least, although she does have to fling herself sideways to avoid getting cut again by that damned crowbar-shaped... Whatever the hell it is Archer's swinging at her.

     Once she does that and aggravates the knee wounds, though, she's going to be cursing like a sailor that just had his boat towed and set on fire in front of him. She still has enough energy in her to remove the weapons in her knees and close up those wounds to avoid bleeding out, at least, even if they might not necessarily be healed over properly.

     "Guh... Yeah, whatever. I already told you we were good and ready to leave from the start, but.. Ugh." Aside from the horrible tearing pain still shooting through her legs, the cleric actually sounds rather disgusted. "Acting all high and mighty just because 'oh, the power's in it's rightful place where nobody except us great Union-ies can use it!' Yeah, so great of you." She spits on the floor while dragging herself onto her feet, using the shield and staves to steady herself and watching... Riva throw a corpse at an energy ball.

     "... Okay. You have fun cleaning up this mess with your self-righteous bullshit. I'm out." And with that, she starts limping towards Ira, trying to get on top of her and providing her with extra healing energy. The healer needs a ride, too!

Ira MacNally (915) has posed:
    "Yeah, I'd be surprised, because I hear you guys are Union and you aren't in the habit of killing other Elites." Ira points out bluntly to Rin, uncaring of the scorn heaped her way. It wasn't that much different from the hate she usually got from normal people on her world. "If you don't plan to let us go either, well, I'm going to have to fight that too. Gudako is my friend."

    Lyner speaks, confirming what Ira had assumed earlier. "Listen to that guy, sounds like he knows what he's talking about."

    Then Sanary manages to out-bitter the usually bitter teenager. She'll accept the healing from Sanary then haul the healer up onto her other shoulder. She looks a little ridiculous with two 'feds over each shoulder but she seems to carry these burdens without that much problem. She leaves at this point, not really caring what happens to the rest of the power.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"We're not taking this power anywhere either, Sanary," Yuna states. "And if it were a Union member who'd stolen power from a god, I might not resort to violence against them, but I still wouldn't stand for it."

She doesn't sound angry - largely because she doesn't have the energy to be angry. It's just a statement of where Yuan stands.

... although she just kind of stares dumbfounded at Riva's next course of action. Well, it's not a matter of *stealing* the power in question, but ... trying to use it, sort of. In situ.

Her head is going to hurt SO MUCH when the adrenaline clears enough for her to feel it.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Rin looks at Lyner for a long moment... then nods, gaze seeming sympathetic. Perhaps she was seeing a certain red-headed boy in the knight at that moment. Likewise, she turns to Ira and nods. "You're right about that much. I'm not in the habit of killing if I don't need to... but you were practically strip-mining a whole world. if Gudako is your friend, maybe you should remind her that life isn't just a game. After all, from how you sound... I doubt you'd take lightly if someone did what she did to your home, Union or otherwise."

     However, it wasn't exactly a development Archer was thrilled about, limping away from where he'd had his final clash with Sanary, giving her a few parting words - another ounce of salt for her wounds; "Perhaps. But if we are no more just then you... then what exactly makes you /any/ better, or different, from me? After all... if our positions were reversed and I were the invader in your world, I doubt you'd do any less to stop me."

     The gash in his leg had been sealed with swords and his burned arm hung limply from one side, but his expression was still impassive. "After everything they did... you really believe we should let them go?" Harpe was still brandished in his other arm, his intent clear.

     However... when Rin looked up - her body still splattered with her own blood - the magus's expression was both resolute and tired... and strangely enough, directed at Gudako.

     The truth was... it wasn't what Gudako had done that truly made Rin hate the girl. It was certainly part of it, but just that - a part. The true reason Rin had come to hate Gudako so much... was because the Magus was a mirror of what her own sister had briefly turned into, on the Fifth Holy Grail War's final day - the smiling, callous, aloof demon that took pleasure in power and in proclaiming herself almighty, the world as her game-board.

     Her sister who's confidence shattered when her power didn't help her, revealing a scared girl who thought power could make her happy because it meant nobody could punish her anymore.

     Rin hated Gudako for reminding her of that. She hated her because, if the comparison was true... then Gudako wasn't even really evil. Just amoral. Lost. Drowning like Sakura had... only nobody'd shown her a different way.

     ... and because of that, here at the end with the chance in hand... Rin couldn't bring herself to try and finish the job. Even if she thought she could live through it.

     "I'm not going to debate it with you, Archer" Rin finally says, looking him dead in the eye. "Let them go. It's not like you can keep this up much longer anyway."

     True to Rin's claim, the unending rows of gears in the sky were now slowing to a crawl as the Reality Marble reached it's limit, eventually grinding to a halt entirely. Archer himself, though he didn't outwardly show it, was badly drained from the fight... and pushing things would be bad for both of them.

     Thus, at last, Archer relents, letting out a long breath - and with it, the endless hills of swords fades as Unlimited Blade Works dissolves around them, the Temple of God returning within moments, just as they'd left it.

     ...

     Of course, the sight of Riva carrying Eir's corpse toward the energy Gudako had lost has them both staring in disbelief, though Archer's expression quickly normalizes, curious to see if what the girl is planning will actually work.

     After all... at this point, he'd seen stranger miracles, few and far between as they were.

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     Riva's RIDICULOUS GAMBIT is set in motion.

     She tossed Eir's corpse right into the mass of energy. And upon entering the field, she began to float within the mass. ...Nothing seemed to be happening. At least, at first. Eir's body just floated there. But after several moments of stupefied silence, there was movement. The multi-colored mass of energy began to curve inwards, being drawn into the winged woman's body. Like a vortex, that energy was absorbed until it was gone entirely. Fully absorbed into Eir's body.

     The energy was gone, but she continued to float in the air limply. At least, until her wounds began to close. And then her broken wings reset themselves. And finally, her eyes opened. Slowly at first, with a few blinks.

     "......."

     Confusion. Eir raised her hands, processing the fact that she was here and moving. And then- "...I see." Eir's voice finally came out. Apparently whatever Riva did, whatever that energy did, cured her muteness. She peered down below at the ABSOLUTE WARZONE and frowned. Now she remembered.

     She descended from the sky and landed in the middle of the warzone with a soft tap. "...So that man finally met his end. After countless ages of having trapped me." She knelt down to Laurence's body, and pressed a hand to it.

     It immediately turned to stone, and then turned to dust after, the wind carrying his ashes away. "May this troubled soul find peace." And she stood, facing everyone still present.

     Silence.

     This person, Eir, managed a smile. "Brave souls who risked so much to return things to the way they should be; I thank you."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Sanary takes a deep breath while draping over Ira's shoulder, continually providing her with a small, yet steady stream of mana. She laughs quietly at Archer's and Yuna's responses, shaking her head for a moment before leveling her eye at them. "Difference is you already have enough power to fix things, but you don't. When we try to get that power to actually fix things, though? You stop us before giving us the chance. Because.. Well. We /have/ to be doing it for a bad reason just because we're not you guys, right?" She gives them sarcastic smile for all of three seconds before promptly coughing blood onto Ira's back, then groaning and wiping it off with her gauntlet.

     "... Let's just go. Gotta get this checked out."

Gudako Ordria (908) has posed:
    Caster has no objections when Ira and Alweyn pick her fallen master up. It leaves her hands free if something goes wrong, which, through some sort of cosmic alignment, nothing does.

    With Gudako suffering from extreme internal damage, they don't really have time to sit around and argue with the heroes, either. It's best they just leave, quickly, when given a chance. And so off they go! Every minute is going to count now.

Archer (821) has posed:
     Archer glances Sanary when she speaks, tilting his head before responding - "So you don't trust us to have that power... because you think you would use it better yourselves?" This time, a cynical smile crosses the Bowman's lips as he dematerializes; "I here I thought you said we were /different?/"

     Rin in turn staggers and kneels on the ground, tearing off strips of her red coat to tie around herself as makeshift tourniquets. Though she gives Eir a tired, though relieved expression, smiling and nodding in exchange for the latter's thanks. Then...

     "Archer... get me down to the gate."

     She makes a ridiculous reply of her injured Servant, prompting him to stare at her in disbelief. However, she gives him a look that says he can't argue back - "I'm hurt, I don't recover just with prana like you do and you ate up a lot of my stores up today. I think you're entitled to assist your injured Master."

     He was sorely temped to ask how helping her was something he was 'entitled' to... but it wasn't like arguing with her ever did any good.

     Besides, if she was able to make demands like that, it proved she wasn't dying.

     And so, with his customary "As you wish, Master", Archer promptly picked up Rin - against her protests as she never asked to be carried like a bride, though she never specified /how/ she should or shouldn't carry her - and began the trek back to the gate, the ordeal of the 'God's power' finally over for them.

Lyner Barsett (916) has posed:
     Lyner smiled at... Eir? "It's no problem. We just did what we could. If you are who I think you are...please, keep this world safe." And with that, Lyner went over to retrieve Riva, and haul her off with everyone else. "Seriously... You do the craziest things, you know that?"

     He said that, but he couldn't get rid of the stupid smile he had on his face.

     This was it, wasn't it? There was nothing more for them to do. If God took Eir as a vessel, then all should be well. No more people like Laurence will come along and try to steal that power again.

     Hopefully.