4590/Season of Pain 2 - I Had An Angel

Season of Pain 2 - I Had An Angel
Date of Scene:	23 September 2016
Location:	Earth-<GITS>
Synopsis:	Season of Pain 2 - The Drowning Doom looks to show cyborgs who shed their flesh what isolation really means. A 'Altered Perception Virus' is propagating through Tokyo thanks to a combination of techy and death metal magic; One that removes all sight and sound of any other human, leaving one lost and alone in a world of ghosts. Can the heroes halt it before someone gets seriously hurt?
Cast of Characters:	975, Kotone Yamakawa, 1006, Staren, 673, Inga, 571

---

Drowned Ophelia (975) has posed:
It begins not with a sound - but with confusion. A screech of horns on the street, as a car suddenly whips sideways and parks right in the middle of a thoroughway. The man - japanese descent - steps from his vehicle, staring around wildly. "Hello?" He begins, before cupping his hands over his mouth. "HELLO?!" He's stumbling wildly, which would be a lot less amusing if he wasn't smack dab in th e middle of a huge crowd of concerned pedestrians beginning to gather around. "IS ANYONE THERE?"

One of the pedestrians jerks back, and looks around as well. "Wha-.. hey! HEY!"
And the problem seems to spread faster and faster, people seeming blind. Sort of. They navigate streets and cars just fine, sometimes pausing to slap hands on cars and scream at them to stop. The drivers within utterly ignoring the pleas, wide-eyed as well when they begin slamming on breaks. More than one person stepping out of vehicles, looking around with shock and confusion.

Somewhere in an apartment, there is a crash of crockery as a pot falls. "Sakura?" States a father, staring around in his living room in confusion. His young daughter looks up at him, equally confused, but he utterly ignores her. "Sakura! SAKURA, where are you?!" He throws the cooking implements aside, running wildly through the house screaming for his daughter. His wife. Anyone. The wife doing so as well, calling for her husband - right next to her. More than one person wandering into hallways, shocked when they are brusquely shoved aside, confused and afraid.

And, above, the sound of -hammers- begins. Eyes peel upwards, towards the darkening sky where clouds are beginning to form. They bruise and darken, even as the guitar rolls in. And there, far above the streets below, stands the Queen of Tears herself. Smirking downwards, as behind her the Dorcs work. Corrupted Orcs from MiddleEarth, with stainless steel glasses. Occasionally trying to out-hip one another with comments such as 'But you wouldn't know that' or 'I liked them before they were cool' as they tap away at razor edged laptops.

"That plastic bitch will be here?" Whispers one dark creature at the Queen's elbow, who looks -remarkably- like Kotone. Save for the frankenstein stitching.
"She will." States the broken creature, with a dark little smirk as she looks up at the sky. Rain already beginning to break and fall...

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone had been home in newport since her recent outings into the multiverse, she had jobs to deal with, orders to work on and she was fine with that. She also needed to clear her mind as she'd been wondering about some of the jobs she's taken as of late. She promises herself she's going to be far more careful about employers in the future. She had some music going while she was going over some designs on her computer. That's when one of the feeds she has watched popped up a warning on her HUD. There was a look on her face and it wasn't a very happy looking one either. She gets up, pulls the jack out of her neck and heads for her motorcycle the Knight on the other side of the hanger. This was going to be a bad day it seemed.

She was getting the odd reports and paused at some of the growing chaos.

It's some kind of mass hack? The only ones who'd be safe from that would be those who didn't have want or the means to cyberize. Kotone hugged her motorcycle after she'd taken a moment to load a few weapons into it's cargo compartment. The laws on weapons were always tight in Japan and only found the means past it with several laws relating to those who work off world. She might end up getting in trouble with the police but better that than a higher body count. She sends out a call for help on the Daedalus Initiative radio even as she goes.

Razel (1006) has posed:
    Ophelia, the dark creature with the Frankenstein stitching, and the Dorcs aren't the only ones there. As if the broken Queen of Tears didn't have enough help, another stands at her side. He wears what one might think of as an Arabian-style outfit, though done darkly-- loose robes around his legs but snug at his chest. The man has red hair, long enough to be tied into a ponytail. And one might notice the black horns sticking out from either side of his head. Or possibly the fang poking out from under a lip as his mouth curves into a smile.

    Ordinarily Razel wouldn't have that much of an expression on his face. Normally it's extremely hard to see ANY expression on his face. But see, Razel is a creature that feeds on rage. And being around Ophelia? Well, think of walking into a restaurant and the entire place's food supply has been cooked into a single meal-- all for you. Now imagine the food somehow never ends. That's what it's like for Razel being around Ophelia. So to say she keeps him fat and happy with her mere presence is not completely inaccurate.

    Razel's not alone, either. There's a handful of his servants and minions there. All of them are clearly cat-people of various types. Most have sharply pointed ears, like a domestic cat. But there are a couple whose ears are rounder at the tips. These cats are bigger than the others. While they differ in build and size, there is one thing they have in common. All of them have empty, glowing red eyes.

    And most of them? Are hanging around the computers. Because they've never seen them before. Humans and their creations have been gone for millenia in Razel's world. So none of these cats know what a computer is. They'll be staying out of the Dorcs' way, though. They're good at that, observing without being obtrusive. It's most of their job description under Razel, after all; they're his spies.

    Razel himself stands near Ophelia and Flesh Doll. And he hears the question. "A vendetta?" he asks, raising a brow. Of course he's interested in this. Because vendetta means Wrath. And Wrath means he can feed more.

Staren has posed:
    Staren's not /directly/ watching Kotone's world, but when it's mentioned on Daedalus Initiative radio, he's quick to check the news. A mass hack, and camera views from far away show... Drowned Ophelia, and some kind of empty-eyed catpeople. Oooo-kay.

    After a few minutes to get ready and travel, Staren teleports in atop a tall building near the edge of the range of chaos, carrying an armful of camera drones which fly down to investigate. His own equipment is mostly blocking outside signals now -- he has his radio, and his drones and armor and headware talk to eachother, but don't accept new wireless connections. While observing, however, he does pull out a tablet, tell it to connect to any available wifi, and sees what happens to it.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    IT doesn't take long for Rory White to arrive - she's been preparing for this, after all. The Starbound Flotilla teleporter technology thrums to life, sending spears of light down from the heavens and into a park near the chaos. Silvery drones materialize one after another, followed by a sleek, human woman in a skintight white bodysuit covered in stylish blue circuit designs for decoration. The suit boasts several hardpoints on the limbs and shoulders and Rory White's deployed with each bearing a slim Transhuman weapon - a rifle, a pistol, a short-looking stubby pistol-like weapon... and over her back, what looks like it might be a cluster micro-missile launcher. Her hair's been tied up into a tight ponytail and tucked out of the way. It's quite a different look from her graceful white robes and free-flowing hair. She's here for business.

    She's here for battle.

    Wary of the hacking going on, she's also arrived with her WIFI INTERFACES disabled. Only one drone has it active - a frisbee-sized silver Saucer, which floats up past the skyline along with several others. All of them communicate with each other using laser lights, tight-beaming instructions between each other and using the one wifi-enabled device to sweep around the area and see if radio's the source of this hacking! ... Or if maybe it's something else.

    Four weird spider-like drones with wheelfeet fan out around the park, followed by two large vertical disks that go rolling along, seemingly harmless enough. Last but not least, great machines the size of small cars with four piston-like legs stand at the ready. Industrial bots that have been refitted with... speakers? great big speakers. Speakers, and also missile launchers.

    One of the two 'Dwarfs' opens a panel, and unleashes a dozen drones that scamper off on wheels and legs and hoverjets in every direction, guided by a pre-programmed AI. They know their mission.... which, for now, is 'spread out, stay out of sight, and wait for the signal.'

Drowned Ophelia (975) has posed:
Flesh Doll - Kotone's face darkened by some deep seated hatred - moves through the collective Dorcs and Cat People, even as the Dorcs continue to try and one up each other.

"The japanese word for cat is 'neko', but the appropriate term is 'neko onna'. But you wouldn't know that."
"Technically the slang - which is more appropriate for this situation - is 'neko mimi', or cat ear. But you wouldn't know that."
"Under certain situations, the appropriate term..."

Out in the hallway goes Flesh Doll from the penthouse, towards the elevator. Which - itself - has been disconnected. Violently. The lights here are off, the entire thing cast in shadow, but not empty; Shifting forms await within, disembodied heads shifting about walls and ceiling on spider-like appendages formed of their luxurious hair; Fright Wigs. A few of the Grave Diggers looking up as well, moaning in their plaintive voices.
"This music makes me want to kill myself - but in a good way, you know?"

Flesh Doll does not respond, but instead waits by the hole where the elevator once was. Grinding her teeth as her own personal hate builds.

"Vendetta? Yes.. against them all. Every one of those fuckers. Everyone who draws warm breath. I'll let them taste just how lonely they truly are - and then I'll drown every fucking one of them." Despite her cruel words, the dark creature almost seems pleased as she puts her foot up. And the hate - grief fed loathing, twisted from the inside out - rolls off of her. This is not a creature that can be shown mercy, this is not something fixable. Drowned Ophelia is, to her very core, a wicked, hateful, spiteful bitch. She leans back, the guitar beginning to really hammer away, the very air beginning to thrum to the sound of beautiful fucking METAL. Lightning webs outwards from the growing storm, before it begins crackling along the side of the next building. Almost seeming to climb upwards before it strikes the antennae cluste - and ther it focuses. STriking again and again, until the antennae practically glows - and the affect spreads. As does the storm, rain beginning to pound downwards onto the crowds below as Ophelia cackles madly.

For Kotone, there is a moment - a brief, desperate moment - where her vision 'futzes'. And people begin to fade away from her like ghosts. But her offworld security systems kick in, fighting off the Altered Perception Virus. But other people aren't so lucky, more than one already getting hit in low-speed collisions from drivers who are panicing. And have no idea they've hit someone.
Staren and Rory can find the same thing in their isolated systems. Anything human? It fades. Human noise. Human voice. Human -vision-. A world of isolation, of emptiness, with cars driving themselves, doors opening on their own. Blood on the ground but nobody, no screaming pedestrian with a busted shin from a low speed hit.
That's going to get worse if the effect doesn't stop soon!!

"Incoming~" Whispers the Queen of Tears, pale blue chin rising, eyes half lidded. A few of the park goers screaming as they see Rory's drones begin to deploy, confused and scared and -wet- as the rain falls.

Razel (1006) has posed:
    Razel looks to Flesh Doll at the comment. "'Onna'... that was 'woman', yes?" 'Was', because in his mind, the language no longer exists. He looks to his minions. Most of them are male, actually. There's maybe one female. "A bit unfitting for this particular situation, yes." He can't help the slightest of smirks as one of the empty-eyed catboys gripes a bit at the word 'woman'. Razel doesn't respond.

    Ophelia's comment draws his attention to her again. And that smile widens, just a touch. It's not a happy expression. Or well, it's happy, but not for a nice reason. It's a happily EVIL smile, as the effect of the virus begins to spread. And he looks to his minions again, nodding once. As one they move to where Kotone waits, also waiting for their signal to join the fray.

    There are times when Razel's sphere of influence overlaps a little with that of the late Froud. And this is one of those times. You see, Froud called himself the Devil of Joy, but the kind of 'joy' he meant was the feeling of exaltation from tearing into living things and watching them die. One can almost see Razel's Ribika minions wriggling in restrained anticipation. Like Ophelia, their glee at the mayhem and havoc they're about to be allowed to cause is palpable.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone is not having a godo day and it's going to get worse. It's going to get so much wose she's unaware that Flesh Doll is here hell she's not really aware of what Flesh Foll or what the rest of the Drowned are up to but? It must stop, she weave in and out a mess of cars that auto driving features have kicked in to prevent crashe and she sees everyone? Seems to be alone. She hears the people panicing and calling out she stared.

"God ... what have they done?"

She bring her bike to a halt and now she looks about pulling her weapons out of the storage compartment on the big.

"OPHELIA!!!"

Inga has posed:
Concealment spells are a wonderful thing. They're not flashy, not immediately impressive, but they are terribly effective. Inga's concealment spell isn't like a classic invisibility. It gets inside your head. Makes you think you don't see the person or object being concealed. Blending into the background, the eye moving right past her...

Inga reaches up to smear the sigil written in blood upon her brow, breaking the spell. Suddenly, Ophelia and Razel are no longer alone. Inga's gone right into the hornets nest. Indeed, she's actually been there for quite a while.

She wears a long black dress, classically witchy with black fitted sleeves and an a-line skirt, various talismans hanging from her belt and an iron hammer around her neck, white hair tightly braided. "Hello Ophelia," she greets, one hand on her staff, the other resting on the small dagger she keeps at her belt. "Oh, and you have brought a friend," she says, tilting her head slightly at Razel.

Inga's grip tightens on her staff, the runes carved into the oak surface beginning to glow as she prepares to get things started.

She probably should have brought back up, but she knows friends are nearby.

Rory White (673) has posed:
At first, there is thrashing Death Metal and plenty of it to go around!

    Rory White remains relatively motionless for a while. Her eyes and ears, after all, are all around her - and as she determines that her system architecture is relatively safe, she brings up her Wifi! The Drones all link up with radio signals, and her awareness of the surroundings expands dramatically. Every camera is her eyes, every microphone her ears, to say nothing of the assorted other sensors the robots all carry. With all of that to focus on she has no reason to bother making any expressions or even twitching a finger in the park. Even the rain that starts to fall doesn't bother her much - as soon as she determines it's simply rain with the typical airborne contaminants, it's dismissed as nothing but an annoyance.

    The screaming people around her though... THAT has her wincing inside. It's not something she has any way to express with her awareness so spread-out, but the many drones sweep their cameras all around at the people in ever-increasing distress and panic...

    "This creature really is despicable. What does she even gain from inflicting misery and chaos? It goes beyond trolling and sociopathy... some supernatural compulsion or nature, like a demon, I suppose." Because that is apparently a logical deduction when you factor the Multiverse into things!

    Nevertheless, it is time.

    A Signal goes out over the Wifi!

    One single command, and a chorus of responses. Or maybe it would be better termed an orchestra.

    Because all of the large drones halt in place and deploy wide-panel SPEAKERS. MUSIC begins to blare forth from all of them at ALMOST deafening volume - it sure won't be comfortable for the panicking people but they already have the rain and the Death Metal to contend with... not to mention each other.

    "Can only hope this helps... You really shouldn't go on parade about who and what you are, what you like. It just gives other people weapons to work with!" Okay, yes, she's ranting in an irritable tone in the park, and Drowned Ophelia is unlikely to hear. So is everyone else. The monologue is pointless. She's pretty alone over there.

    Because in a world full of Humans toying with advanced Cybernetics, she's probably the only self-willed Artificial Intelligence anywhere around these parts. With very few exceptions...

    The music of LONG AGO barrages the performance! An intricately orchestrated arrangement of Bach's 'Little Fugue in G Minor' with a heavy beat thunders across the park, down the streets... and if any of Rory's little crawly-drones can reach any public PA systems and hack in, over city speakers across the block!

Staren has posed:
    <"I dunno, people can be pretty terrible..."> Staren replies to Rory's deduction. He sets his drones to tracking Inga's signal, then teleports atop that building.

    This doesn't seem like the time for stealth. Moments later, a grenade blows out one of the penthouse windows, and then Staren drops into view on translucent orange wings of energy. He's quick to head for any available cover, snapping a couple of beam cannon shots at minions. And if he has a clear shot at Ophelia... he has an SMG loaded with silver rounds, thanks to Sigrun's intelligence about Ophelia's 'weakness'!

    He can't think of anything to say, really. Words won't change Ophelia.

Drowned Ophelia (975) has posed:
Black lips curl up into a cruel smirk as she hears the scream from down below. And how could she not? Even beyond the hammer of DEATH METAL, even beyond the frightened -maggots- rolling about down below - pushing and shoving at something they can't see (each other) - even beyond the drum of rain and the distance, the Queen of Tears can -feel- that loathing. That sorrow from Kotone at what has come to her world. The first song fades, and she snaps her heard around. White teeth behind black lips flashed wide in a smile that has less to joy with happiness than PREDATION. She flicks her claw out, and hisses a single command.
"GO!"
The METAL pauses - as her arm swings wide - the tapping of cymbals in the air, of pure -anticipation-, of the distant echo of songs long past. And then she hits hard, as the scream bubbles up from somewhere deep in her throat. In her gut. Rising in pitch as she turns her chin upwards, screaming at the storm ladden skies above. Potfires ripple along the side of the building she has possessed, a long tapestry unfurling with thunderous rippling;
The Drowning Doom logo. A falling raven with an upside down anhk.
The doors on front of the building burst open, pale faces grave diggers and fat bellied RatGuts moving outwards. Skeletal NecroMoshers and worse. Screaming. Cackling. Moaning. Hating. The crowds below begin to panic - all alone, each and every one is, against a Death Metal Corpse Attack. Shoved and pushed by forces they can't see, hands stamped and shins kicked. It's not bad right now, but it's only time until someone gets -seriously- hurt.
The tide flows AROUND Kotone as she stands. For there, in the middle, is.. Kotone? Flesh and blood, stitch and hate. Breathing hard, her teeth bared with twin guns in either fist.
"Hey, BITCH!" She begins, lowering her voice. ".. That's -my- brain you've got there."

And then RORY'S FUCKING MUSIC STARTS. Ophelia claps her claws over her ears, the METAL staggering before she manages to recover. Then hisses at Razel. "Go kill that! It's -ruining- my fucking show!" The affect, the storm, halting in its outward progression. Even the Drowning Doom staggering, giving the 'lonely crowd' more time to flee.

And then motherfucking INGA is there. Ophelia barely has time to register her before STAREN leap to the fray. Black blood splattering from the Dorcs as he strikes hard, grenades flashing and laser beams going off. The broken creature twisting away, putting herself in front of Inga. Even as she continues to thrash -hard-, the blue candles of her Six Stringed Sorrow flaring. Holding back fucking CLASSICAL MUSIC. FUCK THAT SHIT. Battle of the Bands indeed, but someone's fucking with Ophelia's stage.

"How many fucking times are you going to get in my way?" She snarls. But the beads of ichor are plastering to her forehead; Holding an invasion on your own is -hard-, until she can build up enough where the METAL will exist on its own. STretching limbs of blackened hair and rolling disembodied heads all moving for Staren, lashing out to try and tangle - tear - and rip!

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
<<It's like they feed on misery and suffering like you need power or I still need some food!>>

Is it right? She doesn't know but Kotone is starting to think there may be something to it and then Rory starts to let lose with classical music and as Kotone knows? Classical music is what spawned the Metal after all. How will the Drowned deal with that from which Metal itself was spawned? Okay Rock played a hand two but one of Metal's parents had come out to play and she wonder how it's going to go.

Kotone keeps moving the battle of the bands have stated and she shuts down all her wireless systems. Sure it's going to hurt her in some ways, but on the other it might keep her safe. Yet she's about to make a move and she stops for a moment and stares in abject shock.

"Wait ... what is this?! No what are you talking about it's mine!"

She moves to bring up her pistol.

"Who are you really?"

Kotone doesn't fire yet, it's rather hard to fire at what seems to be your self. Could this be a shadow somehow? No it doesn't make sense the forest doesn't work that way, right?

Razel (1006) has posed:
    It happens all of a sudden. Razel becomes aware of a presence nearby. It's just as Inga breaks the spell that cloaked her. His minions see her a split-second later, and move to block Razel and Ophelia with their numbers. It's not too terribly many, only about 10 of them or so. But it's still a lot to have to take on alone, considering each one is a humanoid creature with the proportionate strength and speed of a cat. They don't attack immediately, though.

    Inga's instant sense from Razel? Something incredibly ancient and magical. And also incredibly dark and evil. Though his expression is kept carefully neutral, he radiates anger and malice. She may not even need to touch him to see glimpses of things that mark him. Anger, bright and burning, behind a black sigil in the dark. A red viper with scalding skin, hot to the touch, hissing in a way that is less threatening and more... beckoning? Can a snake beckon with a hiss? How can rage and malice be... enticing? And flames. So many flames.

    However, not only is Staren suddenly appearing with a grenade explosion that throws several of Razel's minions away from Inga, there is also Ophelia's orders. He could remain and assist her -- because he's not sure she can take on both Inga and Staren alone. Also Staren looks a hell of a lot like a Ribika, and Razel is curious. As are the Ribika in question, as they turn to Staren and peer at him curiously.

    But Ophelia will be stronger if she can concentrate past the other music. And if she's stronger, she'll probably be able to take them on herself. So he nods in the Queen of Tears's direction. Then he looks at his minions. "Go. Silence it." But he doesn't just send his minions. He looks to Inga, the bright spot he can see in all the darkness around him -- she literally shines with life energy to his eyes -- and offers a mock bow. Then flames erupt from the ground under him, obscuring him briefly, and when they burn away he is gone.

    However, Rory will probably see the catpeople rushing from the building with Ophelia's minions, past Kotone without harassing her. Flames suddenly erupt from the ground again, burning away and leaving Razel where Rory can see him. The cat-people that spilled out from the building move to his side. "Silence that music," he orders calmly. "I will find the music maker and silence him myself." The 'him' is both for grammatical correctness and because Razel doesn't know the gender of the interloper yet.

    As his minions move away to deal with the speakers, Razel seems to take a single step, and rise into the air. No wings, no mechanical apparatus for flying, he just rises into the air, appearing to just stand there. And then he begins to move, seeking the source of all this music Ophelia finds so objectionable.

Drowned Ophelia (975) has posed:
Flesh Doll hunkers down low, nothing but pure -hate- written in .. Kotone's features. And it is her face, her eyes, her lips, her nose. Interspaced with the fine stitches of Ophelia's own hair, bathed in the misery and sorrow until the very flesh awoke, but Kotone none the less.

"My name is Kotone Yamakawa. I was born in BC Canada, at Sunshine Coast." And suddenly she's leaping forward, the small automatic pistols chattering.
"AND I'M TAKING BACK MY FUCKING LIFE! DIIIIIIIIE-"
Copper shelled bullets pepper outwards as the darkened copy tries to do nothing more than kill the 'plastic pretender'.

Inga has posed:
Inga smiles to Ophelia. "As many times as it takes to pull you out of the water," she answers.

Inga looks to Staren, making a flashy entrance complete with explosion and broken glass. Well, good, distracting Ophelia is the objective. Make her lose control of the invasion. Defeat her or make her run. Most likely she will run. Inga is convinced the Ophelia issue will not be resolved by brute force. Brute force helps though.

Inga turns her attention to Razel and his...minions. For a moment, Inga is incredibly vulnerable. Her pupils grow wide, a vision assaulting her. It is brief, only seconds, but it is powerful. The wyrd of one that is old is more complicated, more overwhelming, more powerful. There's simply more of it--and this is tainted in anger. Indulgent, passionate anger.

He bows then disapears, leaving Inga shaking her head, trying to clear it. Ophelia needs her full concentration.

The Seer looks back to Ophelia, taking a deep breath and letting it out slow. "I thought we had a productive conversation the other day, didn't we? I've seen what is inside of you Ophelia, and no matter how you deny it...she remains," Inga says, raising her staff.

The air vibrates with electricity. Hairs stand on end. The smell of ozone permeates. Then a nearly deafening crack sounds, lightning lashing out toward Ophelia in a bright bolt. If the minions still protect her, it might help--but it might power through or even chain. Either way, it sure is distracting.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    WELL

    This is a thing. Maaka only got the news while she was in the middle of coffee, leaping right out of her chair in surprise. Kaz, master of the obvious, is first to speak. "Boss, it's Kotone's world!"

    "I KNOW!" Maaka snaps, furiously plotting a course as the Spectre zaps out of Samira's world, and heads immediately for Kotone's.

    The Spectre stops just above the city, her captain decked out in STALKER gear and loaded for bear as she leaps right out of the ship's hangar, clinging to what can best be described as a tactical buggy loaded for greater amounts of bear.

    Maaka enters the Razorback as it makes its descent, using a parachute to slow its fall as it lands onto a convenient highway, driving like the Devil's behind it as Maaka and Kaz both track Kotone's signal. Shame it's hard to find the exact location of everybody on the tactical net,

    And then Kaz notices there's TWO signals matching Kotone. "Boss? Is it just me or is Ko-chan's signal fucking with us?" "Probably glitching. Our instruments are already fucked up, lots of shit over the radio and everything."

    "At least the choice in tunes is pretty rad." Kaz mentions, shrugging as he breaks out his own soundtrack. Maaka scowls, unable to contest that opinion.

    Fucking Finnish power metal, why does it have to be so hype?

Staren has posed:
    Staren holds his fire on Ophelia since she steps close to Inga. Then he jumps backwards, buzzing wings reappearing to carry him back out the window and out of range, but some of the hair just snags his foot. Letting the SMG dangle from its shoulder strap, he draws his beam saber and severs the hair -- if a couple of the heads manage to grab on in the time that took, he tries to fling them off, then stabs them if that doesn't work.

    He remembers, now, that Inga won't actually die if she gets killed, but still, taking her out to take Ophelia with her should be a last resort.

    Also, some demon guy is floating out of the building past him and down towards Kotone. Staren grabs his gun again and fires a long burst of silver rounds at him, but... There are other people down there to handle it, so unless Razel comes back for him, he won't pursue after.

    Staren buzzes around outside the penthouse, trying to figure out how to quickly deal with all those minions so he can help Inga, WITHOUT blowing up the entire penthouse in the process.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa Stares down her twin, she wonders if this is how Miho felt? She stares at her town face she looks like she's about to freak out a bit but then the bullets come at her. She seems to know where Kotone was born and she bnarrows her eyes.

"...I am not some damn COPY! I don't know what you are but I damn well know who I AM!"

Kotone starts to move with a speed that is clearly inhuman, nope Kotone is making no pretenses today about being made of flesh. She falt and fire back while trying to evade th shots she's unaware of more help is coming, she's too busy dealing with her twin. She's turned off her networking to keep her self safe from the mind virus the drowned have let lose upon the city.

"So what you want my brain?! You seem to be already moving and aware!?!"

Kotone then changes tactics to one she doesn't use normally she tries to get up close and maybe even get into a grapple with Flesh Doll.

Drowned Ophelia (975) has posed:
Flesh Doll - empowered by her bitter, broken heart - moves -just a fucking quick- as the real cyber deal. The Black Tears giving her power far beyond her mortal shell; Even as it drives her fucking nuts. Step for step, her pale skin a blurr of stitching and creaking muscles as she keeps pace. And when the REAL Kotone moves in to grapple - So does Flesh Doll. Tossing the guns aside as she pulls out a vicious gutting knife, looking to plant it -right in Kotone's guts-.

"You fucking tincan clone! It's -MINE-, that's why I want it! You stole my life! You stole my future! You stole -ME-!" She screams in Kotone's voice, black tears slipping down her stitched together face.
"I'LL RIP IT OUT OF YOU!"
The two - for a moment - locked in mortal combat. And who can pull a BATMAN BANE now?!

Drowned Ophelia's snarl grows, before she screams. "There is no SHE. There's only -me- you fucking moron!" Her voice grows quiet, calm and deadly. "And I'll drag you under long before you pull me up. I'll teach you the sweet release of sorrow's grasp-"
LIGHTNING! FUCK! Drowned Ophelia raises the Six Stringed Sorrow, lightning striking; Crackling along the strings, along her forearm, heating up. Smoke rising from her form, claws blistering as her voice rises in pain. Sweet, miserable pain. The Six Stringed Sorrow shatters at last with a peeling note, a concussive explosion that blows out what remaining windows there were, the storm outside staggering to a halt. Flattening out. Even the Drowning Doom pausing in their madness, stumbling and seeming confused. Undriven. Staring up at the rain above. The Queen of Tears pressing back against the wall, weeping openly; Hate written plainly across her features.
"Why can't you just fucking -DIE-? Is that too much to ask, you stupid fucking-" She pulls away from the wall, shoving the spider-legged Fright Wigs aside. Who, instinctively, turn towards Inga. Crawling along walls and ceiling.
Ophelia herself? She leaps from the busted window, wings snapping out, heading right for - STAREN! Claws bared, a wordless shriek, madness in her eyes. Intending nothing so much as to CRASH into him, and drag him kicking and screaming down with her.

Rory White (673) has posed:
Of course Rory sees it! She has eyes all around the block. Her perceptions are not unlike those of someone playing a God Game of some kind - or a Real Time strategy, more properly. With the array of drones around, all of their cameras link together to create a completely comprehensive 3D view of the entire situation. Advanced sensors in the Saucers are even able to see through building walls and locate people via infrared and other means, adding to the composite image. Heuristics and a measure of manual oversight apply colored overlays to everything - green for her allies, red for enemies, blue for civilians. And all of Rory's drones are marked in dim green. DROWNED OPHELIA's location though? The Queen of Evil Metal over there's marked with a giant flashing crimson icon and anyone viewing the tacnet knows what this means: PRIORITY TARGET!

    The Devil of Fire coming so close to the park though means Rory starts panicking. One look at him and how composed he is during this escapade tells her he must be INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS... and not to be engaged head-on under any circumstances!

    But unfortunately, most of her firepower is tied up... the Arachnoids, Reapers, and Dwarves that blare music everywhere are not helpless. Each being slightly bigger than the average human (several times in the case of the Dwarves), they're armed to the teeth with weaponry. The Arachnoids sprout hidden weapons from concealed panels and open up with micromissiles for Razel's minions! The Reapers ALL BUT UNFOLD, going from compact disks to a split-open disk with a dozen flailing bladed tendrils and unfolding weapon barrels that unleash ferocious hails of supersonic metal shards, bursts of laser light for eyes, and agonizing microwaves!

    The Dwarves are forced to fold up their speakers, but they instead ready twin MISSILE LAUNCHERS. These aim upwards in arcs, fire off a dozen arm-sized missiles... and all of those projectiles swarm in from all directions, hoping to overwhelm the defenses of their attackers through sheer firepower!

    Rory White herself, well. She's dressed up for battle, but she decides to hide behind a tree in the park, keeping it between her and Razel while the Saucers keep him aware of his movements. She's not sure WHAT he can do, but one thing's for sure - she's getting increasingly aggravated that he's on the prowl and distracting her from dealing with Ophelia!

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Who can pull a Catwoman v Bane?

    Maaka sure can. She plows through the streets in the Razorback, bowling over skeletons left and right when not remotely mowing them down with MG fire. The 240B mounted on the vehicle does good work, using 7.62 NATO in short bursts to drop anything that's not in the way, but still a threat with whatever missiles they can throw at it.

    It's not long before she reaches the power building, and she has the clone in her sights. There's no hesitation in what she does; Her friend is in danger, and there's only a faint window of opportunity for her to intervene before Kotone is gutted by this doppleganger.

    And as far as Maaka is concerned, Kotone's the only person of consequence here. She guns the engine and radio's Kotone a very swift message before she makes contact.

    [KOTONE, GET DOWN!]

    Immediately following this, the Razorback will aim right for the Flesh Doll, smashing Kotone's lookalike with lethal velocity. Anybody without the right amount of durability would be pulped on impact.

Inga has posed:
The witch shakes her head, smiling unnervingly. "Yes. Yes that IS too much to ask, actually," she answers. Being honest.

Ophelia's freaky spiders come scrambling toward her, crawling over the walls, the ceiling, surrounding her...

Well, yuck.

Inga pulls her dagger and slices deep into her own arm. Blood splurts as the vein is cut open, crimson liquid rising into the air, pooling as if gravity no longer applies. She flicks her knife and the blood starts to swirl, spinning around her like orbiting rings as she feeds it anima. The ring expands all at once, blasting outward. Upon contact, it appears the blood is somehow a very nasty acid.

One of the creatures falls from the ceiling on top of her however, sinking fangs into her shoulder. Inga reached up and stabs it, spraying more acid-blood from her wound.

Things get very messy, very fast. Blood and broken glass strewn across the floor and sprayed on the walls. Ophelia leaps out the window at Staren. Inga isn't sure that's going to end well for her...

Razel (1006) has posed:
    Rory's sight is filled with images of the cat-people that follow Razel around, with their empty, glowing eyes. Mainly bcause THEY'RE ALL COMING AFTER HER DRONES! They aren't Elite-level, not these guys. These are just contractees from Sisa that blindly follow him. He doesn't call his more powerful minions without need. So what of his minions don't dodge? Are pretty well annhilated by the micro-missiles.

    That said, these cats are... well, cats, so only a couple fall to this fate. Those that do burst into flames, their bodies disappearing utterly. There's nothing but their soulless husks, basically animated by rage anyway. But the way they shriek, and yowl, and writhe as they fall, one could be forgiven for believing they wre actually dying and weren't already dead.

    Fortunately for Rory, her Dwarves' missiles are forcing Razel's hand there. His minions can't dodge everything. And he's not keen on losing ALL of them here. So as the second wave of missiles is fired at his minions, Razel's attention turns there. He extends a clawed hand forward, palm aimed out, and a black glyph appears before his palm, backlit by flames. And from his hand, 'bullets' of flame explode, aimed at as many of the second wave of missiles as he can reasonably hit.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is locked in close combat with her twin. She will find that yes the knife ends up in her gut. She lets out a cry of pain, were she still flesh? This might very well be fatal There's pain a shocked look on Kotone's face but he's not down and out she. She turns off her pain receptors and moves ti try and pull free.

"I'm ... not done yet."

She's gong to risk more damage but it's better than being on the ground bleeding. Kotone is in full on survival mode at this point but then come the rumble of Alexis' machine. She hears the warning and drive to the ground even as the red fluid that pass for blood in her body leaks out, emergency sealing systems are underway but damn she's glad she's not alone here she keeps her head down and is hopefully safely between the wheels of Maaka's ride. Still Kotone wonders how the hell did this happen, why is there someone with her face who seems to think she IS KOTONE?

Drowned Ophelia (975) has posed:
VICTORY! A snarl of joy as the 'false' Kotone bleeds red, Flesh Doll yanking the weapon back and preparing to gut her again. She then looks up as the vehicle bears down on her, and - for a moment - the anger falls from her stitched face to be replaced by confusion. "Alexis? What-"
THUMP
The monstrous copy is flung bodily away, tumbling end over end until she crumples into another parked vehicle. There she slumps, bleeding the ichor of Black Tears. Fingers flick, and she pulls herself upright; Shoulder dislocated. Several bones broken, in fact, but held together by the FUCKING SOUL THRASHING SORCERY of the Black Tears. And she looks up, something between sorrow and -hatred- flashing in her eyes as she looks towards Maaka's massive vehicle.
And then she's gone, leaping -backwards- and down a water-way incline.

Staren has posed:
    "Same to you!" Staren shouts, re: dying. But then she TACKLES HIM. He did not expect that! While he generally hates grappling enemies, he does have some weapons ready, so, he just stabs her with the beam saber and empties the rest of the SMG's magazine into her point-blank. Also, if she ever puts any part of her body in front of his shoulders, the missile racks detonate -- each one creating three lances of high-energy physics to try and punch holes through her. The splash damages his armor a little, but whatever.

    They fall.

    The claws scratch his armor. The wild, careless attacks could /eventually/ tear through it, but Staren's not going to let a grapple last that long if he can help it. "Get away from me!" He tries to elbow and kick her away, but--

    They hit the ground. Staren's armor protects him, somewhat -- he lets out a pained grunt, stunned instead of splatted. If she's /still/ on him after he has a second or two to recover, he pulls a satchel out of his magic bag. It's an ordinary satchel, full of like 11 more plasma grenades. "Burn."

    They're surrounded in an intense fireball, and a wave of heat washes out over the area -- the pavement around them melting, and Staren's armor too looking decidedly worse for wear, the plating melted and blackened, in a few spots showing small tears to its internal structure. If THAT didn't get her off of him, he's in serious trouble...

Rory White (673) has posed:
The cats are FREAKY to be sure! Rory's seen only a handful of supernatural minions like these, and every encounter is incredibly disconcerting. Leaving no corpses, reactions senseless and expressions eerie... there's nothing at all natural about these things and that's what worries her most.

    Sure, they prove to be throwaways that her Drones can barely handle - but there's a LOT of them, and her drones don't have unlimited ammo. Especially the missiles. Perhaps she should have kept more in reserve!

    Her attention shrinks down to a more personal scale and proper expression returns somewhat to her blue-haired human form. She doesn't need to peek around the tree to know that Razel is distracted...

    Between the Minions and the Drones though... they're making a mess of each other. The Reapers fare better than the Arachnoids, which are quickly swarmed and dragged down. They sizzle and groan, servos protesting the abuse of blow after blow from supernatural opponents. But it seems that maybe at least they won't explode? Because contrary to what most movies would like one to think, machines rarely explode dramatically when they go down.

    Unless there's a BOMB in them.

    The downed Arachnoids /DETONATE/ with prodigious force, though apparently not quite enough that it sunders their armored casings! Instead jets of heat and thunderous noise are flung from each joint along with jets of fire. Most of the firey plume goes UPWARDS...

    ... And that's when sizzling, molten metal rains down on any minions that remained too close.

    Good luck getting that stuff off, and even the downpour doesn't seem to be capable of dousing it, whatever it is. (Hint: It's Thermite.)

    Missiles are blown out of the sky by fireballs, and that leaves the Dwarves mostly spent and helpless! They're big and slow, and unable to runa way as such. But they're huge, lumbering machines covered in armor... and after seeing what happened when the Arachnoids went down one might have to question what a good way of dealing with them is...

    But Razel's back is turned. Rory grimaces. Dare she try to blow his brains out with a sniping laser? No, she hastily reconsiders. He's using fire magic, chances are he's RESISTANT to heat... and she's found that even Sectoids seem to have this uncanny propensity for dodging lasers, never mind that should be an impossible feat - nothing moves faster than light! ... right?

    So she leaves the laser sniper rifle attached to its hardpoint on her leg... and instead reaches into a pouch. She hurls SOMETHING Razel's way... and it bounce-bounce-bounces across the ground... reaches the ground right in front of him.

    It's only instinctive to look down, perhaps - but this is also the worst time to do so.

    KRAKOWWWWWWWWWWW!! An awesome flash of eye-scorching bright light mingled with an explosion of smoke and a thunderous BANG loud enough to rupture eardrums goes off at Razel's feet - unless he can somehow deal with the Flashbang before that happens...

    And Rory's plan is pretty simple. Befuddle and incapacitate Razel for however long that can stun him and RUN into a nearby alley!

Drowned Ophelia (975) has posed:
The Fright Wigs leap for Inga, entirely willing to tangle her - to bring her close to their dead, crumpled lips and sharp teeth. But she's full of BIG FUCKING ACID. They scream - a hissing, deathly sound, cut throats vibrating as they draw air up for the act. Hair thrashing as it is melted and torn by acid and knife alike. Inga is - after all - not a person To Be Fucked With. Her vision filled with the thrashing tendrils of hateful, luxurious hair-

Even as Ophelia is falling. Falling like an angel from the storm wracked heavens, locked in mortal combat with Staren. Bullets rip and tear into pale blue flesh, splattering the ichor of Sorrow upwards. Her vestments - her thin, torn black dress - rippling as the air passes between the two. But there is nothing, nothing but hateful grief as she pulls and rips at armor, her blackened claws cutting deepest of all. For nothing can cut to the core like sorrow's edge.
And then explosions hit. She turns her face, a hand blown neatly away, shattered. No bones; Only more ichor. A memory of muscle and structure. The scream is cut shortly off as they finally hit the ground, shattering concrete, tumbled away from one another.

A clawed hand slaps the pavement. And then the broken nub of a wrist. And she -hisses-, dragging herself quickly across the ground, claws sparking against the pavement as she claws her way atop Staren. Teeth bared.
"FUCK Y-AAAAAAH!" Her scream goes up as does her body in the burn. Thrashing like an Angel Witch, her wings burned away, her sillouette slowly dispersing. Black smoke rising from where she once was, rising into the air..
Storm clouds fold and slowly pass. The Drowned Doom slumping down, lost and aimless.

BRUTAL VICTORY.

Inga has posed:
Another burst of acid-blood and the remaining creatures are finished, but not before they could get a few bites in on the Seer. Groaning, Inga clutches her shoulder, still streaming blood but beginning to heal. She walks carefully across the floor, slippery with blood as it is, until she comes to the broken window. She looks down below to see the flash from the grenade, wondering how Staren would be after all that, even if he did cause it. Supposing he might need healing, Inga looks up for a moment, says a small prayer for courage and steps out the window.

Some force slows her landing, a certain buzzing sound... Inga looks down to Staren, clutching her staff, looking rather roughed up. "Are...you alright?" she asks. Blood is still flowing, she can turn the deadly substance into a healing balm with a thought. She expects he must be somewhat burned at least.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    As Fake Kotone, Fakotone as it were, scurries off like a boneless zombie, Maaka exits the Razorback, hopping out of the hatch. She's driven well clear of Kotone, and she goes to help the younger cyborg up. "You okay?"

    Regardless of KOtone's answer, Maaka pries off her helmet, and hugs Kotone tightly. She gives a heavy, tired sigh, trying to push away the fact she just smashed a clone of Kotone with her vehicle like a deer in the headlights. No matter that, that's not an easy thing to unsee.

Staren has posed:
    Drowned Ophelia appears to burn away! Staren stares at where she was, wide-eyed. "Did we kill her?!" He stands with a little difficulty, the armor's damaged joints screeching.

    He reviews the tacnet data. Ophelia is gone. Copy Kotone ran off. The minions are listless. Only the mysterious demon is still here. Staren has another magazine of silver rounds, maybe he should-- OH WAIT BETTER IDEA.

    Okay, the demon's in the air. That means there's nothing in the way. Staren reaches into his bag and pulls out a revolver, looking somewhat like an oversized Colt Peacemaker with a triple-M monogram engraved on the side. Staren pulls the trigger.

    The Mad Morg McGee Annihilator. A creation of mad science, forged by a man who'd seen far too much horror that ordinary folk stood no chance against, created a weapon to slay the supernatural beings that stalked his world in search of human prey. Staren's first best friend, who conquered the demon puppeting his body, and came back not just to life, but to godhood. A god of madness and invention, who Staren believes in as one would a most trusted friend.

    Two bullets exit the barrel, one behind the other, because MAD SCIENCE said that was a good idea. What matters in these things is more the intent, right?

Staren has posed:
    (Only because of the power armor does firing it not break Staren's arm. He still has to brace himself, and visibly shakes from the recoil)

Razel (1006) has posed:
    The hellcats' weaponry is fairly archaic, just swords and daggers. But they're stupidly strong and fast (though still not an Elite level threat), and powered by supernatural rage. The fire's inside them, too, so their blades can glow red-hot when they attack. A great danger to flesh and blood, but not so much to metal. Still, the minions are persistent and tireless in their attack, and watching one of their number screech and burn to death beside them has no effect on their morale. You can't frighten a zombie, after all -- there's nothing inside them to get scared.

    That may be their one asset, particularly when a couple more die to a combination of the Arachnids' detonation and the thermite shower, flung away and burning away to nothing in midair, with those inhuman screams and yowls. It's here that they sound most like a cat... if one mixed the sound of a human-sized cat with demonic howling! It really is an unsettling noise for a normal person to hear. Thankfully Rory's an Elite, so it shouldn't unsettle her too much. They are, however, smart enough to take cover when the thermite rain begins. Razel is the only one of their number who could conceivably stand out in the middle of a thermite shower.

    And stand out in it he does, the thermite sticking to him and burning, but the burning damaging neither skin, nor hair, not clothes. He is distracted once more by opening portals. But not to summon more minions. The minions that are there, those remaining, are heading INTO the portals. Seems like he's preparing a retreat, too, now that Ophelia's left the field. What villain wants to be all on his lonesome with several heroes? Certainly not Razel. And while this class of his minions are generally throwaway, he doesn't like loosing too terribly many. It's moderately difficult to replace them.

    And about then he hears something tink-tink-tink on the ground under him. He looks down, thinking it's one of those blasted drones, his tail lashing irritably at the prospect of yet another one of those blasted things harassing him. He realizes a second too late that it's not.

    In the next instant, Razel's eyes are filled with a white flash of light, his ears with a loud cracking BANG. And the composure of the Devil of Wrath shatters. He stays in the air, but his head goes back, his hands clapping over his face, giving a surprised cry. One that turns into a growl. Uhoh. He's mad. When he can see again...

    But then there is another loud, sharp report on the battlefield. This one from Staren's weapon. Razel cannot see it or hear it... but he senses it. Full of intent to destroy the supernatural that means harm. And yes, that's more important than composition. If it's made for slaying demons? It'll work just fine against Razel.

    The rounds pierce his torso, both of them, and Razel jerks, body abruptly stilling. It's unlikely anyone's close enough to hear the choked grunt. There's no screaming, no burning, no frothing rage. He just... stills, his hands still covering his face. His image seems to turn wispy, translucent...

    And then it shatters, breaking a mirror. And he's not there anymore. Shards fall from where he was, like fairy dust -- very ANGRY fairy dust! -- but apart from that, there's no sign of him.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is hugge but is also bleeding various fluids but it does seem to be slowling down. "Nanobandaged to stoip my bleeding. Damn it I made such a rookie mistake and tried to melee her." She seems to be remissing herself and she may have done more damage to herself with her pain sensors off but she's alive andshe's not alone. Maaka might get various cyborg fluids on her but she doesn't seem to care. "Thanks...she ... really thinks she's me...but how?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren shoots a demon and it SHATTERS. Staren is surprised, again, and stares at the smoking gun. "Wow." It doesn't usually do /that/!

    He puts the gun away and starts clearing out minions with the beam cannons and swords as he checks on the others over radio. <"It's okay, we all make mistakes. On the bright side, it seems like we dispatched /two/ problems today? Although who knows if they'll /stay/ dead. ...Rory, can your drones check the area for any civilians that need medical attention?">