866/The General's Daughter: Finale

The General's Daughter: Finale
Date of Scene:	27 October 2014
Location:	Terra Majora
Synopsis:	The new Amethyne, Neuvina, suddenly arrives at an old haunt.
Cast of Characters:	12, 92, 168, 183, 253, 292, 299, 347, 395, Ayako Hasekawa, 596
Tinyplot:	New Blood

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Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    It is once again Arnol's Watch that features this situation! What an unlucky city, huh? They're still rebuilding the noble quarter from where Elliana invaded with a giant tree, and now this! Neuvina is passing close by over the city, whooshing past the roofs and sometimes, her tail flicking to smash through one, or shatter a building. The damage isn't so bad, from that, as it seems more like an accidental passing.

    The real problem is that everything it touches, like those shattered houses, immediately sprouts vegetation. Vines, small trees, bushes, grass, flowers... they bloom like an eruption when the tail strikes stone or wood, the roots further demolishing everything. Just her presence is causing the plant life to grow at an accelerated rate, and the local animals to glow with vigor and energy. This means that the stray dogs and cats are suddenly more problematic.

    The defenders are... unsure how to react. This being basically one of their gods, they don't want to kill her! The fortress nearby had cannons, state of the art for this world, and those erupt with smoke as the rolling booms sound out. Those paying attention to such things may note they're shooting grapeshot, which is not particularly effective at the range they're firing. This is probably on purpose.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    For chasing an Amethyne, particularly one that can fly, Psyber has requisitioned a flying vehicle. He doesn't trust most stock pilots to handle the rocket-powered VTOL, so he's instead put on a headset and sunglasses and is sitting in the cockpit of it himself, hand on the flight stick and strapped into the seat.

    "Alright, Nathan, you tell me where to fly and we're going to take this one in. I'm following your lead here," His voice comes over the on-board radio over the roar of engines as he carefully tries to maneuver into pursuit while avoiding coming close enough to be in risk of vegitation.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    To be honest, Zwei has no real vested interest in this world. It's too new to the multiverse to have heard anything of note about it. What it does have however, is far too much free time, and the advice of a godling to 'go adventuring'. A giant, probably magical creature attacking a city seems like a safe bet, as well as a good opportunity to potentially study something interesting. After picking up the handful of news broadcasts in question, Asche is deployed straight to the warpgate in advance, and enters Terra Majora at a speed that immediately causes a sonic boom to go echoing out over the city. The air pressure wave following him more or less disguises him as an arrow of white mist as he circles out over the water to slowly drop velocity in an effort to tail the Amethyne.

    At some point, Zwei has made use of its shared location function, and dropped Weiss just into the city limits after Asche's initial pass. Taking one look around at the people still out on the streets, she immediately designs a complexion, hairstyle, and composite outfit that should blend in with the locals. Asking around for what the creature is would probably out her, so she begins making her way towards the castle, listening in on all conversations in a multi-block radius to see if she can pick up any pertinent information.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Move over," Saber of Red suddenly says, appearing out of blue and red wisps of light atop the fortress, on the ramparts by the cannons. Helmet on, no sword, the knight pushes one of the cannoneers aside, moving forward to put her right hand on the cannon as it is ready to fire.

    The result is a blood red discharge of prana along with the cannonball, which completely ruins the cannon firing it into rubble and slag, but has a fairly significant amount of punch to it compared to a boring old shot.

    "Get the hell out, I'll grab its attention."

Charity Whiteheart (299) has posed:
    Charity does not, technically, need much to fly, since she can glide from such a height that she might as well be flying from the Drasillum. It's still a huge target for her to do that, though, with an Amethyne snooping around. That's why she has a little airskiff instead, which is barely afloat by normal mechanics, since she's giving it a bit of 'oomph' with her own powers. This can give Purity a ride too, if she wants.

    Bringing it down toward the edge of town, she sighs as she sees the rampage going on. Inadvertent or not, that's a problem. "What now? Why would it come /here/ of all places?" Oh well. The assassin draws her hood up and starts walking toward the major disturbance, pondering how the hell she can actually stop this thing.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan Hall is familiar with Arnol's Watch. His eyes wide and his mind racing, he's desperate to find some kind of pattern to the Amethyne's movements. He is, of course, in a massenger section of the craft, practically hanging out of the deployment section just to watch. One hand goes to his own sound-dampening headset as he calls out in droning monotone.

    "Taking this one in is not the optimal path." He says, simply. "We need it free, but without interference from individuals such as Wightseer. If a conspiracy such as the one he proposes does exist, it will act to find Neuvina soon. No... For now we focus on minimizing damage to the locals. It is exuding life, follow and monitor for trouble, like those animals. I will try to determine its path. From there, we need to intercept it and then attempt to establish a method of tracking it long-term."

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    There is a third figure in the VTOL cockpit with Psyber and Nathan. Clad in full shining silver platemail, scarlet cloak worn over shoulders and under the bulk of a heavy jump pack. With one guantlet-clad hand resting on the back of Psyber's seat, Amalthea's hitched a ride, peeking over the half-angel's shoulder while leaning on her lance.
    "Soooooo... Yeah. She's gonna be a handful isn't she? Just tell me where you two need me, and what you need me doing, and I'm there."

Purity Hopesong (292) has posed:
    Purity, who is not particularly blessed with regards to her options for transit, is certainly happy to take that ride that Charity offers, her own hood up the whole time - she's not unaware of her particular look being a bit offputting to most people, after all, especially when she's missing an eye.

    It's hard to tell if she is or not, right now.

    "No idea. We want to drive it away without killing it, though? I'm not necessarily the best at that." She hedges. Though, in truth, she's not certain about fighting it and killing it. The tainted is mostly earthbound, after all.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako Hasekawa is sitting by Nathan Hall as she quietly looks out from the deployment section. Her hands are covering her ears and she's wincing slightly at the noise that the VTOL's engines are making. Once in a while, she mouths the word, 'loud' and winces more. She's not familiar with the area at all, and so she's trying to take in as much as possible.

    She nods her head quietly to Nathan's words, and then agrees with Amalthea while smiling softly. "Un! I'll do what I can." Ayako inclines her head to the side gently, "Even though I don't know if I'll be of much help."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The Elliana situation is a delicate one, they had said. Something that will demand much of her tact, they said. In earnest, the winged girl who has thus far been trailing behind Psyber and Nathan in an invisible, incorporeal form doesn't quite know what to make of this. Walking embodiments of nature's reclamation - because what else would an uninitiated person think to call this rampaging God anyway? - do not seem in the least to demand her tact or delicacy. Ah, but the radio speaks quite contrariwise; Nathan says that this monster is not to be slain, and she has learned to abide by what the man says in times like these. So until further notice, she shall.

    Before Mizuki becomes fully visible, though, she gives the scene some cursory analysis. For one, it's almost literally raining cats and dogs. For two, the soldiers are being -quite eerily halfhearted- about this whole monster slaying business. Each observation earns a unique quirk of Mizuki's brow, and a subsequent folding of her arms. Slowly she would fade into some visible plane, likely in time to see another aspect of the city transform into the Garden of Eden in microcosm. She flattens a palm over her eyes to get a better look.

    And where else would she be when she decides to pop into existence than right above the cockpit of Psyber's plane? Naturally, her body is wrapped in a quickening field to match the speed of the plane and make this morose affair remotely feasible, but she elects not to waste her energy trying to speak over the loud noises at the moment. She'll hop off in due time when she sees an opportunity to make herself useful, but until then she largely mirrors Nathan's behavior. Watching. Waiting. Praying to some arbitrary deific figure that something doesn't come flying to knock her off her perch.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Observing the folk about isn't hard. They have a fairly varied look, but the bulk of it is a seaweathered and tanned look with dark hair. From the shouts and confusion, there's a lot of 'why is she here?' and 'what is she doing?' A little more listening can determine that the energy being is viewed as some sort of benevolent god, one that is new to the world, so they're naturally confused as to why it's wreaking havoc all over the city.

    As for the others, there are several squares that have yet to be overgrown that one could land in, reasonably. Those already on the ground can see they're being used to muster a ragged defense... and any who were here before can recognize that this time, General Steppenworth is out and about, handling military duties by barking orders to the militia that gets them forming up much more quickly and effectively into a spear wall. What they're going to do against an Amethyne is questionable, but Steppenworth probably has a plan. Even if that plan is 'keep them from panicking.'

    Since people are looking, it's becoming easier to tell that there /is/ a pattern to Neuvina's attacks. She's following a cloaked and hooded figure that is dashing in and out of alleyways, or leaping from one rooftop to the next, using his familiarity with the city and smaller profile to keep the fast, flying creature from catching up. Those who have been here before will recognize The Rat, especially since he's still carrying that lance.

    Everything changes when Mordred fires a prana-charged blast at Neuvina. It clips the Amethyne, causing the creature to wail out in a shrill voice and twist in midair, trailing smoke and writhing in apparent pain. The pain passes quickly, however, and the half-burnt wing begins to regenerate as she looks /directly/ at Mordred... a powerful presence holding one of her most ancient foes. She gives up pursuit and heads directly for Mordred, who can likely feel the Shajem inside stirring somewhat, though not enough to actually have any effect.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    Zwei picks up on the situation rather quickly with Weiss' ears, and figuring that attacking a local god would be a bad idea, disarms Asche's main weaponry. Instead, the Armiger finally drops below the sound barrier; the white shroud following it flying away and revealing the black armoured silhouette inside, with a set of hefty back and shoulder thrusters trailing out wings of blue-white fire. Angling into a steep dive, Asche plunges out of the blue and aims to clip the bird at a relatively safe velocity - smashing into it hard enough to get its attention, but likely not hard enough to actually hurt it - and then wheel back to draw it away from the castle.

    At the same time, Weiss seems to have isolated the obvious factor moving through and across the city streets, picking him up from the ground with simple infrared as one of the only humans present not moving within the constraints of a crowd panic predictive model. Engaging her optical camouflage to prevent standing out, she starts on an intercept course, using her superhuman physical ability to simply leap right over buildings in the way in an attempt to cut him off. Should she be successful, she'll de-cloak at the nearest convenient opportunity before approaching him.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Oh? You want out? Help yourself."

    Mordred's form sinks an inch into the stone of the fortress, as intense pressure is released from within her. The knight's armor is set ablaze, bright red flames leaking out of the holes in her helmet, every joint of the armor, and out her back, taking the form of wings made out of nothing but the undying flames of rage.

    An aura that induces rage washes over the fortress, though it is fairly trivial to detect and resist with just a bit of minding it. The Servant rumbles, and grins wide under the helmet.

    She's let the Shajem out to play.

    Mordred may or may not produce Bloody Amhar at this point, but even if she does the sword won't be serving a sword purpose just yet. She raises her right hand (and/or sword), pointing it towards the incoming Amethyne. The weapons inside the fortress start shaking; guards who don't hold onto them are robbed of their swords, their polearms, their axes and their shields. The cannons sizzle to life and open with another barrage, cannonballs replaced by fireballs.

    And the weapons, all at once, rain onto Neuvinia, trailing fire.

    A fortress is really the best place to use this.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Shit. Mordred just got its attention," Psyber calls into his headset, voice repeating into the radios in the passenger section of the ship, "If you need to bail out, just grab a chute and go. Otherwise, buckle up, we may be in for a bumpy ride," The half-action cautions to people, swinging low to the ground to let Nathan off.

    His moves get a bit more erratic after this. He wishes he were in a gunship, but the best this particular machine has is a nose-swiveling peashooter turret meant to deal with footsoldiers, not anything bigger. Of course, trailing after Neuvina puts Psyber clear into the falling arcs of weapons fired by Mordred.

    The aircraft rolls not too long after Psyber's warning, weaving and circling in the air as he tries to steer out of the line of fire. He figures the Amethyne can survive a hit or two, but the craft may be less lucky. Air brakes kick in as he pulls back on the stick, trying to disengage and get distance.

    "Nathan, watch out for that lance. It won't be pleasant if it gets swung at you," Psyber says, raking the ground with a line of turret fire. More bark than bite, he just wants to force the Rat to give his position away.

    Poor Mizuki, by the way, whom Psyber had not noticed was anywhere near his ship when he started performing aerial acrobatics.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki squints to the surface, eyeing a few of the rooftops that still provide refuge from the growing forest and selecting one to land on. With a nod, she kicks off of Psyber's plane - gently, so as not to disturb him too much - and unfurls her wings to begin a gentle descent.

    Ah, but things get busy on her way down. It would seem -someone- is not alltogether reluctant to punish the stampeding verdant nightmare; Mordred's blast and the subsequent scream from the might-be God draw her attention quite readily, keeping her looking that way as her wings beat against gravity to soften her fall. This keeps her distracted until she lands, turning her head toward the ground to get some impression of how the populace is faring. Not... well at all, it would seem. She would likely have missed any of the buzz about divinity and a typical propensity for benevolence seeing as she was in the sky, though.

    Though she doesn't miss the cloaked figure when again they show themselves, no. From her temporary vigil, she may catch the faintest glimpse of something as it falls into the weaving alleyways. Then, in concert with Zwei, she would follow them, likely positioning herself -above- this could-be situational manipulator to limit their vertical avenue of escape. As for the horizontal ones? She leaves that to the cybernetic woman now in her company. She much prefers to stay where she has a nice view, thank you.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Amhar roars, a wide jaw opening on the blade lengthwise eagerly. As a Carnage Abstractum, it constantly seeks the highest Shift level possible, but still seems to insist on that price. Mordred won't just feel the Shajem, she'll also feel the Abstractum pushing its power to the fore, red lines softly pounding, always offering the temptation of absurd levels of Shift in exchange for letting Amhar take the wheel for a moment. "Never gotten in a fight with a god before, just made a meal of one! I wanna see what it's got before we have to go!!" The blade says, in its mucky, aggressive tones!

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Adjudicator, the sword probably somewhere on Psyber's back or the gauntlet on his hand, can be felt wincing at the sight of the god being assailed. "Animal cruelty - even divine animal cruelty - is morally acceptable within the bounds of necessity. But only within those bounds. I hope she does not intend to indulge too much." It says, simply. "Regardless, we focus on the matter at hand. Keep close and with an eye that leaves nothing left unknown. We need to understand this matter in full before we decide our actions."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako inclines her head to the side when Nathan mentions a Rat? Although she has no idea what's going on, she blinks her eyes quickly when Nathan decides to deplay on his own. "A-ahh... alright... although... Eep!" She startles visibly when Nathan quickly exits the VTOL in mid-flight and deploys his mechanical wings.

    "M-my discretion? Then..." Ayako quickly jumps out of the vehicle when Nathan does. Her hands quickly reach into her witch hat and pull out a broomstick, which is swiftly placed underneath herself. She rides her broomstick, side-saddle, floating quickly after Nathan. "I'll go with you, then! No sense you going alone!" The floating broomstick catches up quickly with the gliding mechanical wings, and Ayako positions herself so that she breaks the wind in a way that helps keep the gliding Nathan from losing altitude too quickly.

Charity Whiteheart (299) has posed:
    Looking at this mess, Charity sighs. "I'm going to check out the Rat. Purity, why don't you see what you can do about the militia? If you tell the General you're with us, they might listen to you." She suggests that to the Tainted before she takes a deep breath and leaps onto a rooftop, using the opening that Mordred gave her.

    It actually takes some effort to NOT use her wind powers to try knocking Nathan out of the sky. It would be easy, and taking down a General of the Union would give her some major cred in the Feds. But for now, they're on the same side, and Elliana would roast her for breaking that word. Instead, she zips from roof to roof at inhuman speed and agility, not even bothering to use her phasing as she approaches The Rat as well. "Seems someone is popular tonight!"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Mizuki's got a watch and it flicks open every so often, the little thing speaking with a curious and straightforward sort of tone. "Oh, hey, are we gonna cut him off? Hang on, ummmm..." Equinox immediately attempts to exploit Mizuki's own power in its own, enhanced ways; the area above the Rat where Mizuki's trying to cut off routes will experience a temporospatial adjustment that tries to render it much more dificult to pass through, as if elongated chronologically and geometrically.

    "Something like this would help, right? I think?" It seems very eager to help out, and generally rather straightforward in seeking feedback.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Truth be told, Amalthea lives for insane aerial acrobatics. Mordred pissing off Neuvina however did not seem like any part of the orifinal plan, and thusly her gauntlet is like a vice on the back of the half-angel's seat as she sets her boots. A thump of her elbow against the chair though says she's detaching.
    Parachute?
    "See you on the flipside, flyboy." She grunts, and throws herself out the VTOL. With a running start and a flare of color and rainbow light, she immediately arrests her momentum to take control of a brief freefall. Only once out of the VTOL's air wake does she kick her jump pack on. Nathan and Ayako are already headed for the Rat. Steppenworth it is, then. A burst of speed carries her in the direction of Steppenworth, boots skidding as she touches down. "Yo, hey, sorry we're late to the party. You guys have a plan for this? Civilian extraction, God-chasing, angry Servant antics?"

Purity Hopesong (292) has posed:
    Purity will be given pause by Mordred's assault, and its effect on Neuvina. The pause is mostly to consider that she is working with people with no sense of survival, even if they might have the power to do such things.

    She does pause to look over to Charity. "Right." She agrees, the mercenary being very much used to that sort of arrangement. And she has no way to pursue after, in any case.

    Purity will approach on foot, moving over to where the General is organizing things as quickly as she can, raising a hand in greeting. "Hail!" She'll call out, trying to draw attention to herself so noone gets ideas and just stabs her.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan locks in on that. "Wait." He says, narrowing his eyes. "Is that... Take is lower. Marking a target, Psyber. It is the Rat. Swing us low. The target will likely slow after pursuit has changed. What could it be chasing them for..." He makes a terse, distressed noise. "I am deploying. I will remain in contact. We need to assess the situation. Deploy to Steppenworth or the Rat as you see fit. I will try to run down the latter, or meet with the former if I cannot."

    And immediately, he deploys, his mechanical set of wings wide as he descends in a slow glide, trying to reach where the Rat was when Neuvina went to focus on Mordred instead.

    As he glides next to Ayako and meeting up with the others... Nathan is keenly aware, as he assesses the situation, that nobody has focused on Steppenworth. A hand goes up to his headset and he says, "Amalthea. Try to link up with Steppenworth. Assess his plans and intent, and act according to your discretion." He says, simply. "I need to find out everything about what is going on here. Report info back to me when you can."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    ELSEWHERE...

    The mana link between Elliana and Saber suddenly has an extra layer of Resonance as a tandem flares up; soft green light comes off of Elliana's amulet. She'll be able to give orders to provide the relevant minor buffs to Mordred from even this distance! Worth something, at least. It's also projecting a convenient map of her allies and their positions.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    As expected, while the energy being hisses and whips a wing toward Asche, it's... not really hard to dodge. The Amethyne is powerful, but not actually trying to hurt Asche, so there's no chance of damage. Most of the attention is on the strange destructive energy emitting from Mordred, causing the creature to speed toward her and shriek in surprise at the sudden fusilade of animated weapons and shot slamming into it. Holes are smoking in its body, but there's a curious effect. Since the power is Shajem-fueled, the holes are sealing up almost instantly. Though the roaring anger of the soldiers in the fortress is causing some chaos, as they're starting to fight one another. Oops.

    Psyber's damaged aircraft has a good place to land, but it would put him close to the oncoming storm between Mordred and Neuvina. Neuvina is already slamming into the wall, tail whipping wildly, and the castle is starting to be overgrown with vines in an instant.

    Amalthea and Purity approach Steppenworth! He's barking orders to form up, and seeing the two approach, he motions them over. Purity he doesn't know, but the masked General is taking all the help he can get. "We can't do much about the Amethyne, but these beasts are really getting out of hand! YOU!" He points to Purity. "You look like someone competent. Take a small squad and try to scout out where they're gathering."

    Amalthea he KNOWS is from offworld, so he has to yell, "You, you and you! Follow her!" He turns to Amalthea. "Round them up as best you can!"

    All the others converge on the Rat. He's breathing a little heavily, but not /nearly/ so much as someone who has been chased through the city like that should be. Seeing Charity, he's immediately wary, but the others he mostly knows. "General Hall, isn't it?" He doesn't see the others, except Ayako, and her riding on a broom doesn't bring him to bat an eye. The brilliant glow of his lance is strong right now, almost quivering with power. "She just went straight for me. I... think it's the lance."

Zwei (596) has posed:
    Asche banks out of the way of Neuvina's wing with relative ease, climbing up again to reorient for another dive. Predictably, he mistakes the infighting visible and audible from the castle walls as having something to do with the Amethyne's presence, not knowing anything about Mordred or Abstractum. Giving up on attempting to lure the creature away, he simply aims to do so by force; diving for Neuvina's back, wrapping both massive arms around her neck, and setting his boosters to near-maximum burn, intending to literally drag her away by impossible levels of raw, physical force.

    Weiss is having much more fun. Disguised as a local girl and using the local language, she too is more or less completely unmoved by the presence of the other Elites. Attempting to act shocked and amazed would detract from the amount of time she has to fire off questions. She mentally files away the 'General Hall' part though. Generals are probably important. "Hello! Is that lance special in some way to that thing? Where did you get it? And what does it do?" She points up towards Neuvina. "Why would it make 'her' angry? Isn't she supposed to be a benevolent figure? Did you steal it?" Yeah, she's not really trying to act all that much like a local at this point. That was just to get here without drawing attention or being attacked on sight.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    Whether or not Mordred knew about the way Shajem and Amethine powers interact is left to the opinion of the reader. It sure would have been a brilliant move if she did, knowing she'd go berserk but probably couldn't harm the thing too much either, just completely distract it.

    With the creature slamming into the wall, it is the debris that rise now, bursting into flames and flinging themselves at Neuvina without pause. Whatever gets destroyed, just gives the Servant more things to hurl at it. Eventually it might catch on and start wrapping stuff in vines more tightly.

    That's when the flames intensify instead.

    With a wordless roar the Servant finally moves into close quarters, swinging Bloody Amhar with reckless abandon one-handed. When, occasionally, she uses the left hand, bloody spills from her gauntlet, like there's an open wound underneath.

    She tries to cleave clean through, and might even temporarily give Bloody Amhar control to do whatever it wants. Her trajectory is to end up behind Neuvina, essentially passing Asche even as he attempts to tie the creature up and yank her back.

    Might make it easier to pull it in that direction if that's where the Servant is headed. Unfortunately anything in her way is going to get completely trashed, and that's without mentioning the aura of rage bleeding out and inciting it in people.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Mayday, mayday," Psyber says calmly, despite the VTOL spinning around in the air like a frisbee after taking a nasty hit or two from Mordred's onslaught. He cringes a bit in the cockpit, trying to hold the stick steady while rotating through the air in a most ungraceful fashion after Neuvina clips a wing and grows some vines that tangle the engines up.

    Sparks and debris fly as the aircraft skids across the 'safe place to land' on the ground before it eventually wobbles to a halt and Psyber groans while climbing out of the cockpit, "While I appreciate the sanctions on appropriate animal cruelty, I think we might need to get a bit crueler, Jude. I have a wicked idea."

    Adjudicator, in gauntlet form, is used to draw a gun from his side. Psyber doesn't have any tracking rounds, they don't work well in a handgun. He mulls over his options and then points the gun up at the sky, "Jude, all strike drivers."

    As he aims the gun skyward with one hand, he covers the barrel with his palm using the other, still trying to aim at Neuvina despite this. He takes a deep breath and pulls the trigger, letting out a, "Motherf-" And we'll cut off the long string of expletives there as a slug goes through his hand and comes out the back of it soaked in blood and trying to embed itself in Neuvina, where she will likely heal over the bloodsoaked bullet.

    Shaking his bleeding hand, Psyber starts to stagger-shuffle his way over to where Nathan's locating device is saying that he is, "Well, at least if they don't kill it, I did that." He grumbles.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    As Mizuki positions herself over the alleyway, a curious feeling washes over her. Something not at all unlike foreign temporal influence, really, but... different, somehow. Her eyes widen if she's privy to any tangible evidence of the extrapolation of space-time, turning almost immediately when Equinox speaks up. '-Equinox- did this?' is all that she's able to think for a moment, but thankfully she's not too stunned to continue her pursuit. With their help, she'd just accomplished something similar to the spatial manipulation Faruja had been using when they last sparred. But this is more... tailored to her, clearly; it's almost like an illusion. Elegant.

    "I-Indeed it does help!" She sounds fairly emphatic, as indicated by the brief stutter. She turns to Equinox for a fleeting few moments with a smile and a nod of approval, both of which were likely made feasible without some negative consequence by the ability itself. "Truly, I had known you were capable of -something-, but what I've seen thus far has been quite impressive. Do keep this up, please." Blink blink. Ahem. "... ah, but we had best let the impact itself be our objective metric, I suppose..."

    And with whatever effect it has, the group at least gets some response out of The Rat. Mizuki gives the lance in question a long, curious look. "Now may not be the best time for information sharing, I understand --" Ah. Nope, Weiss has this covered. Mizuki nods along with their inquiry. "-- yes, my question is hers. However, I'll add one of my own as well: if you /are/ being pursued, why come to a heavily populated area such as this one of all places? Did the circumstances force your hand? Pray you, I don't mean to sound accusatory -- just an errant curiosity, nothing more."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako lands lightly on her feet and scoops her broom up in her hands. She stares at the glowing lance. "Umm... lances aren't normally supposed to glow, are they?"

    She startles slightly when Weiss-in-disguise and Mizuki suddenly ask Rat a few questions. Seems Ayako wasn't aware they were even there until now! After she recovers, she nods her head slowly... and then turns towards the Rat. "Un un! Umm... I think the more urgent question is... Do you know how to turn the lance off?" She quickly glances around. "Does anythone know how to turn it off? Or can figure out how to?" The broom in her hands absentmindedly has it's brush swept in a circle around her. "Because that might solve a whole lot of problems at the same time!"

Charity Whiteheart (299) has posed:
    Charity knows what the lance is thanks to the last time. "I'd bet she's after one of the Hundred for some reason. Maybe it has some Amethyne power or... something. I'm not real clear on what the Hundred /do/ exactly, they're just kind of myths." She rubs her side though, as she certainly remembers the effect the lance had on /her/ to be sure.

    "General," she says to Nathan with a nod, warily. She hasn't drawn her knives though. "Saber should be able to hold off Neuvina, but driving her off without killing her might be hard. I didn't think she'd actually let the Lord of Rage out to play, but I guess she got impatient."

    Charity gives the not-so-local girl a wary look. "You're asking a lot of questions." Unfortunately, Charity doesn't have any extrasensory tricks. Her eyes flick to Ayako and, if she's visible, Mizuki. While there's a way Charity could see the invisible like Mizuki, she isn't using it now. "Union?"

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Amalthea gains a squad of guys. No sooner than she arrives the general is bellowing orders and has men following her and Purity. This is fine and all, as she lifts arms in a light shrug and she hoists her lance.
    It's about to get all tactical squad based action up in here now as she motions for the men to follow her. "Right so." Looks like she's on this with Purity then. "Alright boys, let's go."
    It's just like those first days questing... What utterly horrible memories.
    Deliver this.
    Go here.
    Kill ten gigantic rats.
    Skin five wild dogs.
    Why the hell does this guy need seven cat tails?
    Amalthea pushes her horrible memories aside and starts working on culling and or capturing beasts.

Purity Hopesong (292) has posed:
    The Tainted will nod in response. "Of course. You and you, you're with me." She says, pointing at the closest competent looking soldiers, before leaving to attempt to scout out the location where the beasts are coming from." She'll not wait to see if they follow or not, because she has the faith of years of leadership that they won't dare not obey the orders she gives. Even as she cuts a hand free to scamper off, looking for clues independantly of her body, giving away something of her nature to the men if they're watching closely enough - it's a very natural motion for her.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Amhar can't push past more than Shift 1 with only a brief burst of control, but with a quick, aggressive roar of "INSCRIBE REDSHIFT!" The Abstractum flares with a brilliant red light, and bright crimson lines of light rush up Mordred's body from her hand, and her sword gnashes its jaw viciously, trying to tear through flesh and devour blood with all the force of the shajem magic behind the blade.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Adjudicator's gauntlet form flares with seven sequential increasing bursts of red fire. "Strike Drivers." It says, simply, and calmly. The ensuing gunshot is turned into the rough equivalent of a tank round, and the fluid payload sprays everywhere. Elsewhere, Bloody Amhar gets a weird, familiar taste and is briefly confused.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "A knight does whatever they must to protect people." Ironclad Oath says, simply. "Even if the monsters they need slain are ignoble and unworthy of legend." Its endurance boosts and pain reduction are only going to be useful in a pest control sense, but it applies them to Amalthea, regardless.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan stares at the Rat's mannerisms, but either something's not caught in his head or he's not gonna comment on it, so he's not going to comment on it. "Correct." He says, simply. Nathan's not looked up yet, but he's noticed Charity at least, and Weiss... He can't pierce her illusion power, so he doesn't remark on her particularly much. "Why was the Amethyne close? What were the circumstances of her arrival? What drew her attention? Has she acted with apparent aggressive posture, as she did when attacked? I need to know immediately." He says, urgently, and intensely, and yet, still with a simple monotone.

    Prioritization is getting this figured out, apparently! "You need to get out of Arnol's Watch immediately, to minimize danger to the locals, while this is done. We can speak while we move." There's a glance to Weiss, who he assumes won't keep uo, but he guesses everyone can manage to keep up. And... Just in a cursory way, he does what he forgot to do before. His glasses glow a brilliant white for a moment while he engages his scholar ability and SCANs the Rat and his spear for magical data. Usually it gives weakness, but maybe there's alignment data he can use here...? There's also a nodto Charity. "I do not try to predict Saber." He says, simply. "I trust that Lady Fairchild will do what is /necessary/ to prevent the death of an Amethyne. It is something I assumed to be an implicit intent of hers."

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Mordred's animated blocks slam in and cause shrieks, the Amethyne lashing out with tail and vines to wrap around the flaming blocks and weapons. It's easy to see why they were in a stalemate for so long... their particular powers don't seem to affect one another very well, allowing their rejuvenating natures to overcome the natural force. Still, one could overwhelm the other eventually, given enough time. More importantly, Mordred's /sword/ slices right through, opening up a gigantic gash that spills forth brilliant blue light! This will have an effect later. For the moment it just washes over Mordred as an invigorating energy, much like Weiss feels an energy surge from it before hauling the creature back, flailing body and all. Amidst all this chaos, the bullet coated in Psyber's blood plows into the side, embedding itself with relatively little fanfare.

    Getting actually /hurt/ like that seems to stir something in the creature's not-quite-mind. It thrashes more, then spreads wings and begins to shoot off toward the sea, or trying to. Looks like Neuvina is retreating.

    Amalthea and Purity are on duty for the animals! Purity's... unique abilities get a murmur from the two, but they've seen some strange Blooded effects, so they're going to assume that's what she is for now. It makes them uncomfortable though, and Steppendworth glances back with a frown. Either way, the skittering hand can find that the animals aren't really congrating, so much as the wild law of nature is going out of control. The rats are grown, and the grown wild dogs and cats are attacking them as they are seeking out some of the sweet fruit blossoming in the nearby square. This should let Amalthea drive them out any way she wants, especially with the empowering presence fleeing. With Steppenworth's pike wall, it should be easy cleanup.

    Elliana feeds some power into the tandem, while she observes the motions. But really she's only now deciding she should head toward the scene.

    The Rat answers softly, "I'm trying to turn it off, and I'm not sure what it will do if it catches me. I'm doing my best to avoid casualties." He lifts the lance, and as Neuvina retreats the weapon's power and light seems to fade. "There it goes..."

    What /doesn't/ fade is the fact that the scan reveals that a faint magical aura is ALL OVER The Rat. Not coming from the lance, either. He doesn't seem to notice the scan, suggesting instead, "Steppenworth and I put aside our differences for now to defend the city. He's... like that." Conversationally, really. Weiss might notice something else.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber manages to, eventually, regroup with the others. In passing, he leans in and whispers something to Nathan before standing upright and looking around, "Hey everyone. I managed to aggressively land my aircraft a ways away and had to hoof it over here," He explains, dusting himself off while he wraps the hand he just shot in a bandage.

    "Rat, nice to see you again," Psyber says, looking up at the sky as the Amethyne starts to make a retreat. He hopes Mordred knows to back off there, otherwise he's half-concerned he may have to go interfere. He scowls a bit and then lowers his gaze again.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    It's a little bit difficult trying to neutralize the Amethyne non-lethally with someone doing their damndest to kill it, but Asche is getting all sorts of data from Mordred and Bloody Amhar tearing it up. Data that Zwei will have to wait to process for the meantime as it dedicates all its attention to both scenarios being encountered by its two bodies. As Neuvina finally begins to retreat, Asche lets go with a hefty throw, slowing down to a hover on the steady whine of his thrusters at low burn. If Mordred doesn't take care of herself, Asche will go out of his way to catch her, easily done given his size. "Is there a reason for your rage, knight?" He rumbles in that disturbing electric tone. "It is clear none but you had any intention of harming the beast."

    Weiss smiles at Mizuki, and then at Nathan, pleased that she isn't the only one asking questions here. If they all get answers that triples the amount of info she can gather in before the man they had tracked down starts getting suspicious at being asked too many. She gives Charity an innocently confused look instead. "Shouldn't I be? This seems really important, and I don't know what's going on. By the sounds of it, neither do you. That thing is an Amethyne and this lance is one of a hundred likewise empowered objects, right?" Respond to the questioning about questioning with more questioning. "Failing that, we could always destroy it, unless that would cause something bad." She says to both Nathan and Ayako. As Asche finishes wrestling Neuvina away from the castle, repelled with Mordred's help, Weiss records the sudden spike and then steady drop in energy, suddenly seeming to notice something about the Rat as he begins speaking. "Is there a reason you're disguising yourself? I'll drop mine if you drop yours." She offers in an even tone.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    MORDRED will find herself being forced through at least a few more slashes than she should do towards an enemy that's trying to retreat as a result of giving Amhar even one Shift's worth of control. The blade is very intent on consuming as much carnage and strife as possible. HUNGER! The gnashing jaws are vicious and brutal. But her very limited control allowance still leaves her mostly in control, so it'll stop sooner or later.

    The blade is BURNING with vicious, corrosive power, though, a brutal, savage energy that's hungry for anything it can consume. Very good partner to the Lord of Rage.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Oath speaks words of truth and wisdom as Amalthea flat out tackles the biggest, angriest, looking dog she can find and starts asserting her dominance in hopes the other dogs will soon bow to her violence as pack leader.
    "Cut down the fruits and let the rats get them all in one area! Then let the cats eat the rats- finish off the survivors!" She calls to the men with her.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    To say Mordred is in any state to mind is anything but accurate. Between Amhar and the Shajem she might as well be a Berserker, not a Saber. Fortunately, with the Tandem and all, it won't be hard for Elliana to order her to stop.

    Unfortunately until Elliana gives that order Amhar has the reins.

    Slashslashslashmaimkill.

    There is fire and blood red prana everywhere.
    And all matters of holes, lines and craters cut and torn out of the ground from the force of her blade and impacts whenever she lands or takes off. Self-control: zero.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    "Ah! Psyber! Here... no sense it getting worse." Ayako quickly notes Psyber's wrapping his hand in a bandage and cups her hands together in front of herself. Her broomstick still manages to sweep the ground by itself. Purple water forms in her cupped hands which she pours onto Psyber's shot hand, healing the wound quickly. She smiles softly at him and then returns her attention to the group gathered around Rat. Since she has no idea what's going on, she just does what's she's good at! And quietly listens.

Purity Hopesong (292) has posed:
    Purity will direct the group unfailingly towards the animals as they go about growing wildly, but she'll allow Amalthea to handle the actual cleanup. As that happens, her hand will be coming back to her, and she'll be reattaching it with a soft sigh of relief, her eyes shutting in concentration for that key moment.

    "Seems to be retreating." She'll comment towards Amalthea, stating the obvious. "But you should probably continue to mop up the animals. Seems a bit like cheating to not go and kill all of them personally, though." Which is not at all to say she doesn't approve of Amalthea's food chain approach.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki is in fact visible, and Charity draws her attention away briefly with her rather succinct inquiry. This elicits both a smile and a (hopefully) polite bow of her head; an abbreviation of her usual gestures, given the circumstances. Then, as cryptically as she can muster in reply, "For the time being, that is the Multiversally prevalent party with whom I am affiliated, yes. In this case, though, I'm really nothing more than an interested individual seeking understanding. Ah -- and perhaps something nice to write about, if that doesn't sound too pretentious. I'm frightfully certain that it will, but c'est la vie. One cannot always make a good first impression." As always, she has her special way of pulling several sentences in response from the prompt of a single word. Whether the contained 'self-awareness' makes it err nearer to or farther from the condition of 'intentional bombast' is more than open to listener interpretation.

    As The Rat kills the power on the lance, though, Mizuki gives a faint tilt of her head, rapping on a cheek with a pair of fingers. Would it /really/ have been so difficult for them to have accomplished that before? ... bah, there's probably no real warrant for the skepticism; it's doubtful that this person stands to gain much from dragging a monstrous super being through a city filled with civilians. So they wouldn't, right? Still, they're the sort that -begs- for intensive questioning out of nowhere. Questioning that they're sure to receive from others. Mizuki elects to allow the rest of them to do the speaking for her, as has become her custom when in the company of curious people, and listens closely while taking to the sky briefly to peek over the tops of the homes. Has 'it' ceased its rampage? ... well, it would appear so. Off it goes into the sunset. Mizuki smiles to herself and watches as it departs for a spell before lowering herself to rejoin the likely growing crowd around the rat.

    The approaching Psyber would accrue a nod in greeting, as would Ayako (finally). Shifting all too quickly into a more casual, relaxed state of being, Mizuki finds a place to sit and enters her wallflowering mode. She might even whip out a notepad as she hears things that interest her. Somewhere along the line she would pose a question to no one in particular: "So what exactly /was/ that being, anyway? I would be very glad to know what it was that was capable of levelling a sizeable fraction of a city."

Charity Whiteheart (299) has posed:
    Charity glances at Ayako. A healer, that makes sense. So she's back to Mizuki and Nathan and The Rat... and Weiss. "I don't really care, so long as you aren't here to get in our way," she says to Weiss before turning her attention back to The Rat. The glow is fading, and... the Rat is in disguise?

    "I'm going to assume you couldn't get it to shut off while she was here," Charity says drily. "Though why it wouldn't have the same effect on Saber... maybe because Saber's is technically sealed..." It's not hard to detect an undercurrent of concern in her voice for the rampage her companion is giving.

    To Mizuki, "Looks like you've found an interesting story. A vigilante who hides their identity and is fighting a decent man for the rights of slaves. I'm betting there's a lot more to this story than we know already." She looks very pointedly at The Rat.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Oh, a hero and their nemesis putting aside their differences to deal with a common cause that both believe is important? "I understand completely." Nathan says with a straightforward tone. It's a particularly dry sort of look. Then there's a glance to Weiss, whose words trouble him, and back to the Rat. "We need an explanation about this." He says, simply and straightforwardly. "The Amethyne is at risk. I cannot abide that. It needs to be protected, in order to fulfil purposes critical to stability and survival of this world."

    "I am not going to demand the entire story, but I am going to say that you need to tell me everything you know that could pertain to this incident if your interest is in the betterment of this world. That lance has some connection to the new Amethyne, Neuvina, and you have been holding things back for some time."

    There's a glance and a nod to Psyber as he lands. Nathan acknowledges the whisper and greets his ally wordlessly.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    "SABER! That's enough! Cancel Shift and reseal the Lord of Rage!"

    The sharp command comes as Elliana teleports into being, trying to pull back her Servant from chasing the wounded and fleeing Amethyne... and to get that rage aura under control, because most of the fortress is in a fistfight right now.

    Amalthea punches the lead dog in the nose. It whines and backs down, perhaps because she smells METAL. The scuffle, and the support of the troops, give Purity plenty of time to reassemble herself. Albeit with a lot of noise from cats yowling and stuff.

    The Rat looks around at everyone, then breathes a deep breath. "It was about time for the charade to end anyway." He turns, not particularly hurriedly, to drop into the alley and out of sight from the rest of the city. The implication is to follow, and those who do will get to see his body shift and shrink, flowing away like water to leave 'him' in a loose cloak, still carrying the lance.

    Only The Rat isn't a him any more, but a youngish woman carrying the lance, who has a marked resemblance to... Steppenworth. Sadly, Elliana misses seeing this, and the explanation. "It was entirely my idea. My father and I simply had some disagreements in how fast policies needed to change. He's... a good man, but rather conservative in his views. I'd prefer to keep up the fiction of The Rat to keep him out of trouble, you understand... but I think it's about time for a very public defeat and the loss of the Rat's signature weapon. I had no idea it would draw an Amethyne..."

    But she does look around to everyone. "It wasn't anything I had the idea would happen. These are weapons to fight the Shajem, supposedly, but they have great power on their own. I guess the Amethyne wanted it back? But I wasn't sure how easy it would be to give it back..."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Oh. Huh," Psyber says when The Rat turns out to be Steppenworth's daughter! That was not what he had expected. He figured a family friend or perhaps old soldier, but not daughter. He does take a pause in amazement to smile at Ayako, "Oh, thank you! That feels much better!"

    And then a look over to Charity, "Miss Whiteheart, nice to see you again. I'm simultaneously glad and disappointed you're not falling on me from the sky, so if you ever want to try that again, feel free." He says with a wink and a fingergun gesture at her.

    A look is given over towards Weiss, "I have no idea what destroying one of those weapons would do. They're incredibly hard to come by, though, so it might be best to move it rather than destroy it in case it has future value. Speaking of which..."

    He turns from Weiss back to The Rat, "So. How did you come by one of those, anyway?"

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    Amalthea has gained superiority over dogs. And once she has done so, she scruffs the pack leader. He is now her bitch. She leaves the rest of the cleanup to the men as she drags the whining dog with her to return to the alley and meet with the others and the Rat... ?
    "Hey. The pests and shit are handled. What'd I miss, and does anyone want a dog?"

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako blinks her eyes and then quietly follows The Rat into the alley. "Ah... so it was a disguise." She sort of misses the resemblance to Steppenworth-mostly since she doesn't know him. Her head does nod slowly when she notes the disagreements. "Hmm... you have to be careful when you create an alter ego. Because sooner or later, you're going to be found out and everything you've done as them is going to be applied to you!" Her gaze moves off to the side, "Although... even I can tell you didn't mean any harm..."

    She smiles cheerfully at Psyber, "You're very welcome!" At Amalthea's offer of a dog though, Ayako scratches her head underneath her hat and shakes her head quickly. "Umm... I'm not very good with pets so..." An awkward giggle follows.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    It will take Mordred a moment to wrestle Bloody Amhar and the Shajem back into their proper places, but having a clearcut order to do so via Tandem makes it much easier than if it were just the order. She is going to writhe and scream for a bit and then, calmly, turn incorporeal, leaving nothing but blue and red magic in the air, like a colored gust of wind.

    And then the same effect announces her return by Elliana's side, the Saber's arms crossed. Her helmet has been removed during the short moment she was gone, the blonde teenager eyeing the situation with bright blue eyes.

    And blood leaking out of her left gauntlet profusedly but nevermind that, she doesn't seem to be minding it at all, so why should you.

    "That was fun. And brief. What'd I miss?"

Zwei (596) has posed:
    Seeing that Mordred is being dealt with, Asche decides to ignore the rampaging warrior, seeing her as being worthless as a source of information in this state. Instead he begins a slow circle around the city, converging on Weiss' location. The other Armiger is at first confused by what she sees, and then swiftly brought up to date on all the relevant details by the other parties involved. "So this one of the Hundred did belong to the Amethyne, and you took it as part of some kind of campaign? Against your father, or with his knowledge in the matter? And what policies are we talking about exactly? Some kind of cultural reform? And what's a Shajem?" Remembering her own promise, Weiss deactivates her disguise shell, letting the tanned skin disintegrate off her face, the dark hair give way to her longer, nickel-coloured style, and her height to adjust a couple of inches upwards. The clothes remain the same for now. "Also, hi Ayako! Sorry for not saying anything earlier, but I thought it was best I blend in!"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Well! A positive response. Good. Mizuki nods to herself, regarding Charity again with folded hands and a bright countenance. "Indeed, yes. And to think, I didn't even know that much until you elucidated the situation for me. This place may yet turn out to be a veritable treasure trove of discovery." When the word 'slave' comes rolling out of her mouth, though, Mizuki stops and gives a series eyelash flutters. A bit more quietly, "... slaves? My. It has admittedly been some time since I've encountered a world where sapient species could be considered property." She gives a cautious look in The Rat's direction as well, now, her thoughts running rampant with other possibilities of a world like this.

    ... and speaking of possibilities, did The Rat just... transform? Or is it just her? She glances between the rat and several other members of the group dumbly for a spell, eventually clearing her throat and swallowing down any questions she might've asked. Ah-hem. Certainly not going to ask about things that should be obvious and make herself seem less learned on things, no no. Things will clear themselves up in time, she imagines, so there's no need to embarrass herself.

    Naturally! So, off she goes to form a rapport of sorts with Psyber, Ayako, and Zwei. She would greet each of them individually with small bows. To Psyber following a subtle reddening of Mizuki's cheeks in response to his commentary to Charity, "G-Good... evening, Mister Psyber. I don't know if you were entirely aware of my presence, but nevertheless I thank you for the transporation earlier. I would never have known how to find this place had I not been able to follow you and the good general." Yeah, I was sitting on top of your jet thing earlier. It was fun! You should totally try it some time.

    ... actually, wait, he probably has already. Scratch that.

    To Ayako, she would give the usual bowing of her head and a smile. "And good evening to you as well, Ayako. My most sincere apologies for not greeting you earlier. Things were a bit hectic, you know? Though I did happen to see you. Ever impressive how you maintain your zeal in times like this, really." Then, finally, Weiss. She would receive the whole, 'unfamiliar' routine, complete with a full curtsey. "I have seen you a few times in the past, haven't I? Even if that isn't the case, it simply wouldn't do to remain strangers now that we've met face-to-face like this. I am Mizuki, if I may be so bold. Charmed to meet you~."

    ... come to think of it, had she given her name to Charity? Ah, well. She'll likely hear her name somewhere along the way anyway. No harm done.

Charity Whiteheart (299) has posed:
    "Tch... illusion powers. You won the Blooded lottery, didn't you?" Charity mutters. Those could be useful in her line of work! But then, her own ability was arguably even more useful, for what she did. She sighs, then glances at Psyber with a roll of her eyes. "We're temporary allies, not friends."

    Yeah, kind of grumpy, or possibly just all-business. As villains go, Charity is pretty mild though, and she relaxes slightly at hearing the reasoning. "A charade to make it easier to change policies, by giving him a scapegoat. Heh. Lady Fairchild would approve... probably. But that still leaves the confusion about why Neuvina went after the lance."

    Weiss gets a corroboration of what was said earlier. "The Hundred are artifact weapons used to kill the Shajem. Well... you're an offworlder, so the best way I can describe them is in the form of gods or demons. Most of them have been lost." That's the limit of what Charity and her player know about them, though!

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan stares for a while, blinking several times. "This explains a great deal." He says, simply. "We will not be interfering in family matters. You may choose to do what you like concerning this feud." He steps forward briefly and folds his arms behind his back. "But whatever the recklessness inherent to this may have been, it has given us insight. We need to know how and where you found this lance, and how Neuvina came to find you. It may give us insight into this, critical understanding of how this has come about."

    There's a quick nod to Ayako. "Good work." he says, simply, commenting on her healing, and then, he shakes his head at Psyber and Weiss. "We do not destroy it. We need to determine what connection this has to the reaction of the Amethyne."

    Then Amalthea. "The spear attracted Amethyne attention. We are determining why." He says, trying to elucidate quickly. And then he stares long and hard at Weiss, who is suddenly completely different. He knows this is majorly important, but he can't figure out exactly what the substance is. "Cultural reform." He says, simply. "There is great controversy concerning the way the nobility works here."

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Elliana lands not far away, with an appraising look to The Rat's new form. She gets the general idea, if not the specifics. She walks over to join the group, sighing heavily. "Saber... try not to lose /quite/ so much control next time. Though it was effective..."

    The Rat shakes her head, "It's been in the family for generations, just not often used. Most of the time, we fight against men... and there's no need to sully a weapon like this for a cause that's bloody and merely business." She frowns at Weiss asking another obvious question, but then sighs, "Offworlders..."

    To explain, she states, "The anti-slavery faction in the Empire is actually fairly large, I believe. The nobility of the Blooded, with the support of the Church, keep it in place. After all, they rule with divine right... so the people follow. Even those few Blooded who disagree, like my father or myself, must be careful to avoid repurcussions. A noble should act in the best interests of the people, I believe." So, she's not strictly against the caste system, it would seem, just... believes in responsibility.

    This does go well with Elliana's thoughts, though the priestess doesn't seem to really be in a hurry to thank her for it. "The politics of the situation have become more complicated with the appearance of an Amethyne," Elliana says, picking up where The Rat left off. "What I have yet to determine is how much of an accomplice the Church is in keeping the Blooded powerful, and the other Amethyne asleep. It would appear that Neuvina seeks out power like that of the Hundred... perhaps only after it is activated? Backbiter is similar, but I have not been hunted."

    Meanwhile, some shouts sound from the fortress as many of the fallen blocks, irradiated with Neuvina's specific power, tumble together and twist into the vines, forming several humanoid figures. The golem-like beings begin to... poke at the walls and structures of the fortress in vague curiosity. They seem harmless enough. Congratulations, Mordred, you're a parent!

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako startles slightly when Weiss then deactivates her disguise shell. "Ah!" She claps her hands cheerfully. "Oh oh, well done on the disguises all around." She giggles brightly. A cheerful wave is given to Weiss. "Hello Weiss! No no, it's alright! You were in disguise, after all. It would've ruined it, and I do appreciate a good disguise!"

    And in return to Mizuki, Ayako curtsies gracefully. "Good evening, Mizuki. No apologies necessary. Hectic moments always have a thing for making us all rush." She smiles at her cheerfully and then shakes her head slowly, "If I wasn't excited and interested, I'd probably be somewhere in a lake." On that note, she probably would have loved to ride on the jet-from the outside! Maybe she should try broomstick riding just outside the cockpit next time! If there is a next time.

    Ayako does quietly listen to Charity's explanation about The Hundred and the Shajem. "Hmm... weapons made to kill Gods..." Likewise, on what Nathan says... "Amethyne... a being made of energy of some sort...?" She curtsies towards him respectfully at the 'Good work.'. "Cultural reform and the nobility... huh...?"

    Ayako inclines her head to the side and listens quietly to the former Rat and to Elliana, with her finger on her cheek. "Hmm... now I usually don't get involved in politics but..." She slowly blinks her eyes and lowers her hand. "Maybe... the lance has a... Hmm... particular flavor to it's magic that it found desirable?"

Zwei (596) has posed:
    "Hm, so if most of them are lost, we can't really count on there still being exactly a hundred. I guess that means returning it would be a better bet than destroying it. Especially if they're needed to deal with 'gods'. Presumably destructive ones." Weiss concedes. She shakes her head at Amalthea. "No, I don't like animals. Pleased to meet you though!" She does regard Mizuki somewhat curiously however, offering her best professional smile rather than looking put-off. "I'm sorry, you might have, but I don't really remember you! It's nice to meet you too Mizuki! My name is Zwei! This unit is Weiss, and that one is Asche." She places her hand on her chest, and then points up to the black hulk in the sky drifting down to the narest alley wide enough to drop into. "Does that have to do with the situation on slavery mentioned before? This civilization doesn't seem to be very far developed yet, so it wouldn't surprise me if they're dealing with their first reform of sapient rights. Oh, and are you a General here, or somewhere else?" She asks Nathan.

    The Rat seems to explain everything fairly well however. Maybe she should hold off on the questions and just absorb the conversation as it happens? Nah. Boring that way. "And the Blooded are the specific cast with unusual abilities, right? So it's a case of priviledged humans abusing greater abilities and religious control to enforce a state of societal affairs most beneficial to themselves. These Amethyne being inactive plays into their agenda why? Because there would be no need for them with the Amethyne around, or because the Amethyne would actively oppose them?" Weiss pauses at the end of her train of questions. "Good luck in reforming your nation's laws! I know it can't be easy." She turns to point at Elliana. "So you at least have to be from here as well, right? You seem to be in the know." Her finger moves until it settles on Psyber. "But you're not are you? You seemed familiar with this, but if you were the one flying the VTOL back there then you must have offworld experience." Finally, she casually waves to Ayako. "I do that. There was just no reason to do so on Solomon Island. Ghosts and zombies probably wouldn't care if I did. It's good to see you well though!"

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Yeah, yeah. Sorry master. Amhar got pushy again, and that was the first time cutting loose with that to start with. I'll probably get better at it eventually." Probably. She shrugs.

    The Servant's mind mostly trails off all the talk and exposion, glancing towards the fortress instead. Did that weird blue blood do that? That's creepy. And kind of cool. Too bad it didn't fix her hand. Oh well, the curse'll wear off eventually. It's not like she needed both of her hands, although she should probably do something to stop the bleeding.

    When they're home. Too many people here.

    "If you're that worried about the Amethyne why don't you just use the spear and either of our Shajems to lead it on a wild goose chase until you figure something else out? I mean, how hard can it be to keep it outrunned?"

    This is a question for both the daughter and Elliana, but anyone can feel free to weight in.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber smiles at Charity, "Aww, so cold. Where's the fun?" He asks to her, crossing his arms and then looking over to Mizuki, "Nice to see you again. Happy to have given you a ride. Next time you can feel free to just ride inside the VTOL." He says to her.

    Mordred gets... a look. And Psyber kind of frowns, "I don't like when you use that," Is all he says to her in a vague sense.

    Psyber looks to The Rat and says, "Considering your family owes me its lives, I don't suspect your father would let me root around in your personal library for some information I need?" He asks to her in a pretty blunt tone. Calling in a favor is the aim, but it may or may not work.

    His eyebrows perk up at Zwei when she talks to him, "Hm? Me? I'm Union Reserve Colonel Psyber. I'm something of a private investigator who took an interest in this world and its inhabitants." He says to Zwei, rocking back and forth on his feet, "I'm from a more modernized world. I hang around here to protect a friend of mine while we investigate its many fucked up workings together."

    He kind of waves a hand at Weiss, "It's hard to explain. I'm Elliana's BFF-sy. Best Fighting Frienemy."

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    No one seems to want the dog. So Amalthea lets it go wit ha growl of "Scram, before I have you fixed." Weiss then gets a thumbs up from the mechanical mythic as she turns her attention to the matters at hand. "So she was after the spear? Are there any other artifacts like this that we might need to know about?"

Charity Whiteheart (299) has posed:
    Charity sighs, rolling her eyes, though she does edge away from Mordred a little. The Knight scares her! "Well, what do you expect from the Lord of Rage?" she points out. She glances after the dog, then catches him by the scruff. "I'll take him. Or her. My... I know someone who could use one." Without effort she lifts the beast one-handed.

    She'll let Elliana answer about the artifacts, but she has something to say about the rest. Specifically to Zwei and her endless questions. "Most of them are with the opposing superfaction," she gestures at Nathan and Mizuki and Ayako. "We've worked out a treaty of sorts to try to get to the bottom of what's going on in this world. Suits me fine, I'm not really the sort to keep fighting without some personal stake."

    She gives Amalthea a meaningful look. "Nothing personal."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan addresses things in sequence. There's a nod to the Rat. "I greatly respect and share some ofyour beliefs." He says, simply. "And I believe this is as close to clarity as we can determine. So Neuvina, in her more animalistic method of parsing the situation, is seeking power that kills Shajem, and," He gives a glance to Elliana and Mordred, narrowing his eyes somewhat, though without aggression. "Shajem to be killed."

    "This is as close to understanding as we can achieve." He glances now to Ayako. "The Amethyne. Fragments of the original creator of this world. More akin to animals or forces of nature than sapient beings. Their thought processes are incomprehensible to us." And then, to Zwei, "Nathan Hall, holistic librarian. Also General of the Union, when need demands it." He explains. "And the matter of slavery here is skewed rather heavily by the facts of how the world has handled supernatural power among its bloodlines."

    Then he crosses his arms at the Rat. "We may need to work together in the future. I look forward to this potential eventuality. I am certain you know how to contact me if necessary. For now, the more immediately relevant matter at hand. Neuvina was already in the area and its interest was triggered by the activation of the lance? Or did the lance trigger the approach of Neuvina from a greater distance?" His head tilts to one side, with a passive sort of curiosity.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Bloody Amhar, the blade at Mordred's side, is making mucky, grumbly noises, and saying something about pearls before swine, but getting the chance for a quick burst of feasting seems to have calmed its heated blood a little. Brilliant Dawn, the softly green-glowing amulet around Elliana's neck, can actually barely be heard speaking to it over private communications to calm it down. It seems... Sheepishly guilty about this, in its own way? It did, after all contribute in a way to the power Mordred was using, both the Lord of Rage's and the Tandem.

Amalthea (395) has posed:
    The dog is relinquished to Charity, then. Though the unicorn gives her a scrutinzing look from that lone cobalt eye. She can gave the dog.
    "--Hey what is that supposed to mean?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki smiles to Ayako. "They do, yes. Earnestly, though, we -really- have to stop meeting eachother in such charged circumstances. Get together at a time when things -are- less hectic. Perhaps I'll have you over at my Clock Tower some time. That has been good fun with others, historically." She folds her hands and nods to herself. "You have seen a good bit of my world, but you're ~far~ from having seen all of it."

    Zwei... gets a curious tilt of Mizuki's head, though. "... erm. Yes. Now I'm quite certain that we've never met before. I would certainly recall if I had met two separate robots with a shared consciousness! Or at the very least I would hope that I'm not so far gone that I wouldn't." She would vaguely sweatdrop here if such a thing were possible. "All the same, though, well met. My well wishes for the near future, and all that. May the next time we meet be under more peaceable circumstances."

    Then, Psyber. He earns another small bit of laughter from her. "... I'll remember that, then. There's not as much pizazz attached to flying /inside/ of the vehicle though -- far too conventional. Still, that is what the seats themselves were made for, so I will contemplate it. Goodness knows I would not want to disregard the sanctified purpose of the aircraft's interior. Earnestly, if we do not respect that, who will?" She's... in a bit of a nutty mood today, isn't she? Moreso than usual even.

    But with those last few words, Mizuki quietly bows out of the various discussions, summoning her blade in what she believes to be the most harmless manner that she possibly can. Then she would use it to slice open a small rift in space-time beyond the focal point of the congregation, hesitating just a moment before she passes through and returns home.

    Even if she wasn't one of the people doing the God-wrangling, she's still a bit sore. Maybe she's becoming an acute empath? Or maybe she's just been sitting around for too long. One never knows for sure.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    The Rat shakes her head. "I think it was from when I triggered it fighting her." She points to Charity. "I've had trouble getting its aura to fade since. Maybe because it sensed something nearby, I'm not sure. There's still a lot we don't know about the Hundred."

    Elliana takes over for now, with a vague shrug to Mordred. "I suppose control does take some time. And you did demonstrate something very important." Mordred should know that this is probably as close as Elliana gets to high praise in public. Besides, she's distracted by Mizuki for a moment, recognizing the voice and frowning. Elliana doesn't like Mizuki, it would appear.

    Still, she is pragmatic. "Lady Healer," she says to Ayako. "Could you see to Saber's hand?" Oh yes, Elliana noticed the bleeding. For now, she has some explanation to do. "The Hundred are not entirely unknown. I carry one of them, and we know that the Emperor has a matched set. I suspect several of the older families have one or two scattered about, like my own did, but they are mostly lost to ancient battles. Scripture states that they were gifts to aid in the fight of the Shajem, but given recent discoveries, there could be some other link. Perhaps, later, we might use one as bait as Saber suggests."

    Weiss is given a long look, as is Asche. "Mn. Well, we suppose it was only a matter of time before offworld interference became more commonplace." Sigh. "Lady Elliana Fairchild, formerly a Priestess of the Amethyne Chalaine. I can say that in my time in the priesthood, I found no evidence of a great conspiracy, but perhaps I was not far enough in. Either way, the Shajem will break free eventually... and this time, I believe there are few who can fight them properly, and seal them. Scripture states that they were the evils to be defeated and the Amethyne worshipped, but I believe now that in fact, they were all dealt with due to their amoral nature destroying all that humanity had built."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako smiles softly at Weiss' summary and nods her head once. She's about to say something, but then she notices Mordred's bleeding hand. "Ah... your hand is bleeding..." Her hands cup together again and... pauses when she hears the word 'master'. Another glance is given to Mordred... and then she inclines her head to the side gently. "Hmm... I don't know if normal Healing Water would help..."

    She does pay quiet attention to Nathan as he explains. "Hmm... I see. I wonder if I could understand them a little?" Ayako glances upwards and off to the side. "Oh, but I guess that really is the question, huh? The lance or the Amethyne...?"

    Ayako then smiles brightly, "Oh yes! I'd like that, Mizuki!" She claps her hands together happily. "It would be nice to get meet other than just in strange circumstances." She waves cheerfully to Mizuki as she slices a way back to her home.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Psyber gets a level look from Elliana, but The Rat just shakes her head. "You'll have to ask father about the library, but I don't see why he wouldn't. You did help him before and now."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Well yeah. I'm great," Mordred answers Elliana.

    She will let her master handle the politics and paperwork. When instructed to show the healer the wound, the teenager grumbles, and the armor surrounding her left hand fades away, revealing a deep cut into her hand, with sloppy bandaging work over it.

    The wound seems cursed to prevent immortals from healing it, although it's not powerful enough to be permanentl. Still enough to block a Servant's healing, and constantly bleed without the ability to be sealed. She may or may not have hidden it from Elliana because revealing she's got a hand in less is kind of shameful.

    "Some asshole had a magic katana and I tried catching it."

Zwei (596) has posed:
    "Oh? Reserve Colonel /and/ General of this sector's Union presence? This must be a very high profile situation to have two people of your distinction here at the same time! I can see why you'd want to investigate it too! It's already very interesting! I might have to devote some time to resolving this particular problem in the interest of speeding up cultural and technological development. Once this Shajem slash Amenthyne thing is dealt with, I can probably check in every ten years and see how things are going. It'd be a nice side project, as would be studying these natural phenomena in question. I'm sure that part must be of interest to a librarian."

    Turning away from Psyber, sparing just enough time for a smile at Amalthea, Weiss looks to Charity at her proclamation. "Opposing would mean your world is aligned with the Confederacy then? Or at least you are. If the two of you are actually working together, you must be expecting something big out of this. Either that, or personal feelings and slash or nepotism are involved here." For now she seems content to let Nathan ask the questions (finally) and focus on Mordred's talking sword, and Elliana's exposition. "Pleased to meet you as well, Lady Fairchild. So this is a more classical interpretation of beings beyond human understanding rather than some kind of elemental forces of good and evil. Why seal them in the first place then? Does your world lack the necessary firepower to eliminate them? Were the Hundred not good enough, or simply misused?"

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako smiles softly to Elliana, "I can and wil-" She pauses when she hears the word 'Saber'. "Ahh... I thought so... well. Good thing I didn't use purple, then. It wouldn't have done anything." Her hands cup together again in front of herself and healing water with a whitish tinge fills her hands. She walks over to Mordred and pours the healing water over the bleeding hand. It does heal the wound-but only for a moment. She inclines her head to the side gently. "This is a cursed injury..." Ayako's sighs softly and cups her hands together in front of herself again. A light blue water forms in her hands and pours it over the injury. "This water can cure most poisons and curses, but... if it doesn't work, I'm not going to be able to do anything about it." She pours the water over the wound and waits to see if it works or not...

Charity Whiteheart (299) has posed:
    Charity shrugs, "Lady Fairchild's the expert. I'm just a thief, really." Though her earlier performance would hint at something greater, wouldn't it? "Well, I guess I'm her pet project, too."

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    "You said it is not often used against people." Nathan says. His tone is as straightforward and directly monotonous as always. "Had you activated it since the hatching of Neuvina? It is possible that her arrival was triggered by the fact that you activated it at all." There is a glance to Elliana, acknowledging that plan. Then a glance to Weiss. "It is personal." He says. "Not private, but the matter is important to both of us. So long as you have any interest in preventing massive theological disasters and are willing to work with respect to our own efforts, you are welcome to investigate as much as you like. I am less interested in documentation and more interested in correcting the path of history before it is recorded. Holistic librarian, you see."

    He shakes his head at Ayako. "I would not expect it. But perhaps you could surprise me. I will not discourage testing." Then back on the more immediate subject. "We need to stay in contact." He says, taking another step to the Rat. "How can we initiate a meeting? Do you have a... Signal?" He says, tilting his head. "Or perhaps subtle contact of your alter-ego may be better. Whatever the case may be: Your artifact is clearly crucial. Its activation has more power than you think, in some way. We may need to collaborate to utilize it to its best potential; it has a side effect that I may find crucial in plans I have to initiate positive social reform."

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Elliana replies to Weiss, "You are welcome to watch. I intend to enact some rather drastic plans, in the near future. But for now, we have the shared threat of the Amethyne and Shajem. My history with the Union is complex, and for this matter our needs and desires mostly coincide. Neither of us want the Shajem loose on the world, and both sides wish to see the truth of the matter that is ancient history. Unfortunately, only three of the Shajem are properly sealed right now. Killing them is quite possible, and the Hundred are capable of doing so, but killing them tends to spread their energies over the landscape and cause negative effects. That is why we needed Neuvina alive. The energies of an Amethyne may be positive, but they disrupt the natural order."

    The Rat listens to both Elliana and Nathan and Psyber, and eventually she nods. "I can be reached through my father..." And... that's when Elliana just gives in and hands her a radio. "... or I can have a device."