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Dr. Vahzilok     The forces outside of the Hive have been vastly reduced. Where previously there were thousands of Devouring Earth creatures, now only perhaps a few dozen roam the entire zone of Woodvale. Heroes are taking this opportunity to establish additional forward bases, though scumbags like Crey Industries are also scrambling to do the same. Now is the time to enter the Hive and put a stop to any attempts to recruit a new Champion to replace the Woodsman. The psychic call of the mysterious 'Hamidon' is stronger than ever... But focused mostly upon those with nature powers, trying to draw them forth from all over Paragon City, from Primal Earth as a whole, or even beyond its boundaries to other worlds.

    Someone will likely respond eventually. So before that can happen, the responding heroes must go forth and put a stop to it! No more magic is interlaced with the Devouring Earth, so their abnormal growth rates are not longer viable. They can still create more of themselves from the planet steadily, but no instant-armies.

    The area that was once south-western Woodvale is now just a mount with a stone tower reaching up from it towards the sky. They'll have to go inside of that Hive and see if there's a way to curtail recruitment efforts. The Woodsman's spirit stands nearby the entrance. A hole, leading into what looks like a huge wasp nest of sorts. Muddy, with stone spires jutting out from it, forests woven into its walls.

    Dr. Maccabe is doing her best to coordinate over the radio (+radio/init pdd=6.29) while organizing support efforts, but can't be here for this. Probably for the best. She isn't quite at the level of the other Elites present.

    Cortex is here though. The psychic super hero in his black and purple outfit ready to face a foe that terrifies him immensely. But he is determined to keep going regardless.
Emiya Shirou     Still wearing his slightly munched-on colorful armor, Shirou has joined the effort and stands near Cortex and the Woodsman, gaze steady and spirit in the process of steeling up. The conflicts never end, even when you think they have.

    But he just can't resist repeated glances at the glowing ghostly Woodsman. Eventually he strolls over... and speaks.

    "Sorry. A lot of this happened because we bungled. If we'd just found you just after you went missing... Woodvale might be in better shape, and you'd not be in this state. I hope you can forgive us."
Alexis Time to put an end to this, for once and for all. Or at the very lest an end to the Hive's ability to send monster trapsing off into other parts of the city and stay contained. But preferably just destroying the whole thing.

Alexis is still a bit shaken from what she experienced last night and in the dreams that followed, but she was hardly one to let that stop her from showing up to finish what she helped start. However, going inside the Hive means she's had to consider a different alottment of monsters, and leave some of the bigger ones that would otherwise have been useful against the giant monsters behind.

Trust me. She already found out the hard way that Clysm does -not- like enclosed spaces. We don't need a fourth rampaging giant monster freaking out on us now.

Instead she shows up with her 'Adventure' team (Braixen 'mage', Dewott 'swordsman' and Quilladin 'knight'), and more than likely she's got Scorch and Wildfire in the wings in their balls, saving them until she needs their strength.

Checkpoint is the one that makes a screwy face at seeing the hive structure, as if looking at it made him momentarily ill. "Quilladin. (Aptly named, this place reeks of corruption of earth and temptation of hearts!)" As a Grass-type he can feel a part of Hamidon's call, but his noble and loyal spirit is more than temptations can overcome. So far at least.
"Yeah, I know. If you start feeling odd, don't feel bad if I recall you prevent any sort of trouble."
"(Fear not milady, I only seek to end this corruption of the very Nature I defend!"
Cue an eyeroll from both Tsunami and Kindler. And probably Alexis too.
Archer      So this was to be the final charge... and if they succeeded, they would be effectively slaying the spirit of the 'World' here.

     A fitting expression of what was to be an inevitable outcome; the World being slain by mankind in retaliation for doing what was natural - defending it's homestead.

     It may have attacked first... but had this war really been started by those attacks? Or had this just been the culmination of something waged for far longer as the world was slowly choked out by humankind?

     Whatever the reason... it begged the question of whether they really were as justified as they believed - regardless of what the Devouring Earth actually were... they were acting in what they believed was best for their world. Was that truly a crime to wage war over? Surely wars had been waged over less - the Servant of the Bow could personally attest to such.

     But it didn't change the fact that he was most assuredly on a side in this war... one he couldn't change regardless of if he wanted to or not... or regardless of how pointless he might find it.

     And so, materializing behind his Master, Archer looks across the site with his arms crossed and expression impassive, sparing a moment to glance at the Woodsman's spiritual form. An existence not entirely different from his own, now - a 'hero' chained down to serve as a guardian of balance. The only difference was that Archer felt he knew better just how big the cost of such really was.

     As usual, the bowman takes note of Emiya Shirou's words, scoffing lightly - "Asking forgiveness of the dead is pointless, as it implies that you'd had the ability to do more... or change what's happened. All that can be done now is to follow this path to the end."

     "That doesn't mean we can't respect him for all he's done" snapped the Magus beside him, as Tohsaka Rin cast a scathing glare at her Servant before giving a more appreciative and sympathetic look to the Woodsman. "If it makes any difference... I'm grateful for all you did. And for all you're doing to keep helping us. It makes a big difference to everyone here. In fact, I don't think we'd be as eager to do this if you weren't here to help - you're probably saving our lives with this."

     Rin also gives a glance over to Cortex, though her greeting to him is a bit more awkward and curt considering she remembers having been hauled around by him last time like a bride. "Good to see you, too."
Shadowed Aesthetic     Sure, there aren't many of the Devouring Earth left outside of the hive, but those that are there, are still a problem. They're still dangerous. And if they re-enter the Hive behind the Elites, that's likely to make it harder to get out when it's time. And a pincer attack is not something that needs to happen.

    The job of cleaning up the remnants of the Devouring Earth around the hive will fall to Shadowed Aesthetic today. He needs to take it easy, so to speak. And while these monsters aren't exactly child's play, they are significantly less strenuous on his still-damaged body than whatever he'd face while going into the Hive itself with the others. Shadowed Aesthetic is in no shape to enter a monster-filled dungeon and kill bosses. As it is, he's going to be using as little power as he can get away with using, and trying to take as little additional damage as possible while he does this.

    You see, an Alchemical can heal almost any sort of non-lethal damage to his body at the Vats Complex in 25 hours. But the downside is that it takes 25 hours. That time has not passed, and he hasn't had time to heal up completely. He's been patched up so he's not actually bleeding anymore, but he's still hurt, and some of the bandages are visible.

    At least he's replaced his damaged robes for this. In fact he's not wearing them now. He's wearing what amounts to a white, futuristic-looking bodysuit with silvery-blue lines on it. It streamlines his shape, makes his movements faster. But he IS wearing his Discreet Essence Armor, a pair of moonsilver bracelets and anklets.
Dr. Vahzilok     The Woodsman turns to look at Shirou when he approaches. He nods solemnly and says, "I am not certain you could have helped. I had already succumbed to the infestation within me. The call of the Hamidon. I am very attuned to nature, and I too have witnessed the destruction than humanity can cause, even as I fought to protect them. Some part of me wished to give in, and to undo the devastation with an even greater power. The Hamidon showed me many things that battered at my mental image of human beings. And then, it Devoured me and remade me into a monster. By then it was too late to even think of resistance. Whatever might heart might have told me, body and mind were committed to undoing all that I had fought to protect. I gave in, and many died because of it. I will deal with that failing, and the worry of what might have changed if I had been stronger, if I had resisted with all my being from the start, for as long as I exist."

    He smiles then and says, "Do not blame yourself, young hero. There was nothing that could have been done to prevent what happened to me. But what should have been my fate, to serve the Devouring Earth until my death, was changed by your efforts, and those of the others who reached out to me and pulled me free. You gave me a chance to correct my mistakes. That opportunity is rarer than you may think. It is not you that should seek forgiveness, but I. You have all of my thanks."

    He then gets a distant look upon his bearded face as he listens to Archer's words, and Rin's. "Let me lend you further aid then. I have seen the true face of the enemy. It is not nature, nor the world, as I originally thought. It is a force that seeks to usurp nature and world alike for its own ends. It is something the Devouring Earth call 'The Hamidon' within their own heads. And there is nothing within their heads that was not put there by the Hamidon. I do not fully comprehend its origins or its true identity, but the thing itself is, I believe, not a manifestation of the Will of the Earth... It is an incarnation of hatred for humanity itself. The Will that has been afforded to the planet is the tool for wiping out all that the Hamidon despises and rejects."

    The Woodsman turns to face Archer and says, "Humanity is not innocent. Humanity is guilty of much. But a creature that is nothing but hatred and death is not qualified to decide the fate of an entire world. Whatever happens to humanity happens. While I will work to protect them, they are part of nature too. And many things in nature do not survive. To wipe out all that one despises, in order to create a mockery of 'Eden', a 'perfect world', is not nature's way. I believe you understand that. The World is more than just what one likes about it. There is much bad, along with the good. That does not mean all of the bad does not belong."
Dr. Vahzilok     Shadowed Aesthetic may also understand. While the Woodsman may know just about nothing of this dedicated ally who has, along with many others, fought to preserve this city and this world, and who made it possible for him to come back even when the Woodsman himself had turned against those he wished to protect, there may be at least some similirity. Would Shadowed Aesthetic's own home seek to harm itself? If not, it is hard to imagine why THIS world would seek to do so. Humans, for better or worse, are part of the world.

    Thankfully, the Alchemical is watching their backs as they venture forth into the Hive, so they won't have to worry about that. The Woodsman, as well, is staying outside. But he can still offer support even from out here, and make sure that none fall on this day other than the enemy.

    Cortex, meanwhile, grins towards Rin despite his uneasiness and says, "Glad to get to work with you again. I think we'd have had a way rougher time without you back when we made contact with this thing!" He has listened to the explanation, but his thoughts are elsewhere. They are going inside the hive of monsters. He takes in a deep breath, and then lets it out as he looks back at Alexis and her companions. The more help the better. And it looks like those are some tough customers, who are as determined as Cortex is to put a stop to all this. Further, they've already clashed with these Monsters once before, and have come out of it intact. Their experience dealing with these giants may be invaluable in knowing their strengths and weaknesses and attack methods.

    Cortex faces forwards again, and says, "Let's go!"
Alexis Alexis tilts her head a little to the side, listening as Woodsman explains his insight. Which, after what she felt when she used that artifact, and the vage notions that haunted her dreams last night, she can only concurr with. It still weirds her out, but as usual for her stubborness she puts on plenty of braveness upon it. Knowing what they're dealing with may be screwed up sorts of nasty, but that only makes her want to stop it more.

"Can't say I'd blame Nature having some animosity towards humanity for the stupid shit they often do... But wanting to outright destroy them seemed like overreacting. It being some elderitch THING manipulating aspects of nature makes... well, still don't make a lot of sense, but it at least seems more plausible."

Enough philosophizing, Cortex is ready to go, and Alexis is right with him. She'd rather just get straight to the problem and beat it into submission. "Gear up guys," she remarks even as she pulls her usual augmented hockey stick out of her bag. "We probably won't get far before we have to start fighting our way in."

The trio of Pokemon nod as they follow her. Kindler pulls the stick out of her foxtail, the end igniting in magical fire as she holds it up like a wand. Tsunami pulls the seashell shapes from his thighs, which become the hilts of a pair of swords as rippling water-like energy extends from them for blades. Checkpoint clenchs a paw into a fist as vines and thorns amass around it, turning into something between a mace-head and a spiny boxing glove.
Reiji Arisu "Humanity and Nature are One. All Things in Nature can be found within Man."

    A voice calls from somewhere... Nearby. No, above. Standing atop a stone outcropping, a shadow looms. The sun beats against its back, wrapping its shoulders in the archetypical Solar Disc found in so many representations of divine manifestations from all around the world.

    But the silhouette does not belong to a spirit or a god. It belongs to a man who straddles the line between the physical and the spiritual- a man who acts as an intermediary between the supernatural and the mundane.

It is the shadow cast by Reiji Arisu, Agent of Shinra, upon the blighted district of Woodvale.

    "Usurping the power of the Earth, claiming to be the manifestation of nature's wrath, denying mankind's place in the world, these crimes cannot go unpunished." The rocks shift. He leaps, the air briefly rushing past his ears. When he lands, it's obvious that he's rather... armed to the teeth. His weapon rack clatters at his side, and several spare clips of ammunition hang from his armored coat. "I apologize for not coming sooner. Matters in Lordran have been occupying most of my time."

    "Shall we, then?" Reiji inclines his head, his hand finding its way to the array of weaponry he carries. "I believe," he says, proceeding towards the hole in the world that serves as a gate into the Hive, "That there is hubris in dire need of punishment."
Emiya Shirou     "Man, you know the jerkiest things to say no matter the occasion." Shirou openly complains about Archer, flickers of anger sparking up in his soul. It's rare, RARE indeed that he would have anything negative to say about ANYONE. Even Crey, whom infuriate and irritate him, he has never considered in this sort of light. Even the villainous Heroic Spirits like Mordred do not draw this sort of personal ire and irritation from him.

    It really says something that the only person he can really show hatred for is... himself. Although he bites that back somewhat. He really doesn't want to start anything right at the beginning of a situation. So his attention is on the Woodsman.

    "If you're sure. What you went through's about the most awful thing anyone could imagine." He shudders. "So now we'll set things as right as they can. The Hamidon, whatever it is, has to go. I don't have an answer for Humanity being a blight on the world anything... but we can't solve that if something kills everyone!"

    With one final nod of respect and a smile for the Woodsman he heads forth into the Hive.
Archer      Archer seems somewhat more contemplative at the claim that they aren't in fact facing the will of the World itself but rather a possible incarnation for a single aspect of it; it's crystalized hate of humanity.

     Rin is quick to voice her own opinion, though it's perhaps more optimistic then Archer's; "So... this is just /part/ of the world at worst, and an outside influence corrupting it at best? Then... that would mean cutting it out would be almost equivalent to... 'killing the hatred of the World.' Or the current state of hatred it's in right now." She glances at Shirou as she says this part, knowing he in particular will likely be all-too-happy to think of it this way - in fact, it may be that she is saying this specifically for his benefit, as if to help solidify his argument. "In other words, this would be equivalent to saving the entire planet."

     Archer doesn't seem to share in Rin's claim, his expression remaining minutely skeptical beneath his normal air of indifference. However, even he is not able to entirely deny the Woodsman's claims or viewpoint. If anything he agreed with them for the most part, though as always some modicum of cynicism leaks through - "Perhaps. Though it is a lesson that humanity in this world is going to have to learn at some point as well. That is hardly something that can be disputed" - he glances purposefully to the boy at this.

     "Well, then we'd better make sure they live long enough to learn it, shouldn't we?" Rin quips, trying to shut him down from agitating Shirou further and seeming somewhat satisfied by how the Woodsman has at the very least shut down much of Archer's argument, or at least the bowman's outwardly expressed sentiments.

     Archer takes note of Alexis and the arrival of, surprisingly, someone else who was garbed in red and black with white in their hair, though the newcomer had more black in it at the moment. A stylistic choice, or something else?

    Regardless, the Servant suppresses a rather cynical chuckle to himself, though he seems to agree more with Alexis' sentiment overall in regards to their being more then enough reason for nature - among many, many other things - to hate humankind. "I wouldn't be surprised if this was only one of many ventures that were used to strike against mankind with. Humans have a way of making enemies out of even the most passive forces."

     "Mistakes happen - sometimes unavoidably" Rin snips back, taking the initiative as she begins walking forward alongside Cortex and the others into the Hive, Archer seeming to shrug offhandedly.

     "True enough, Master... but which mistake was made? And by who's hubris?" He leaves the question hanging, while Rin refuses to comment lest she humor her Servant's raging, nihilistic cynicism.

     Rin in turn takes note of Cortex's unease, trying to give a reassuring smile as she forcibly reminds herself that this is not the time or place to let something as relatively petty as embarrassment over some prior event, and one so minor at that, get the better of her. "Thanks, though I daresay you got the worst of it compared to me. I'm actually surprised you were able to keep going after that - so whatever's left to be thrown at us shouldn't be that big an issue compared to before."

     She knows it's probably a lie to some degree, but Rin at least hopes the reassurance helps somewhat.
Shadowed Aesthetic     "Some people," Shadowed Aesthetic replies to Shirou's complaints. Though he is smirking, even if a little grimly. Woodsman's information is processed. "Ah, that makes more sense," he replies. "Now we'd just have to figure out what this 'Hamidon' is, hm? Though depriving it of its... well, generals, I suppose, would be dealing it a crippling blow."

    Once the group makes to head inside, the Mirrorblade nods. "Be careful, everyone. I'll keep these creatures off your back as best as I can." When they enter the Hive, Shadowed Aesthetic gets to work. He engages his Discreet Essence Armor's field, then makes for the first concentration of Devouring Earth he can find, and starts fighting.

    The cutting fans are better for the plants, but he can utilize blunt attacks-- kicks and elbow strikes-- for the rock and crystal creatures. Hence why the bodysuit in place of his normal attire. Not only because he needs to move fast, but there's no soft fabrics to cushion the blow.
Dr. Vahzilok     Cortex is glad to see another familiar face join them, and gives a thumbsup to Reiji, before turning and heading down into the tunnel. What lies down there is a darkened cavern... But perhaps not as dark as one might suspect given it's 'underground'. Hulking spires of stone splinter the landscape all around, at this, the outermost edge of The Hive. So this is what a world re-shaped by the Devouring Earth would look like... A place completely inhospitable to humanity, a land rendered hostile to their very presence. The Elites are likely to overcome a sudden feeling of insignificance as they gaze upon Hamidon's creation. Cortex takes the attempts at reassurance for what they are. Attempts at reassurance. His fear is what's insignificant.

    Because lives depend upon them. The feeling of pinpricks, of buzzing, of a pressure behind the eyes of those assembled, as they remain so close to the Hamidon's seat of power. Cortex can feel it very acutely, given his psychic powers. But he knows he is not the focus of it. He is glad that his powers are not nature based, or he might very well succumb as the Woodsman did. To just be hollowed out by a power far greater than himself, broken down and remade as something else, and then simply worn like a suit of flesh...

    He's shuddering as he looks around at the Devouring Earth creatures that roam in this shrouded, murky environment. He, and likely everyone else here, can feel the presence of the Woodsman watching over them. He can not fight their battles for them. His power was greater before because he was correcting he imbalance caused by the misuse of his own magic. But he is still strong enough to grant them a way out, to bolster their spirits, and to keep the lesser creatures out of their way. Vines ambush creatures of crystal and stone, their screeches echoing throughout the Hive as their are wrapped up and immobilized, or distracted by thorny lashes. Which is good, because there is a sound like thunder growing louder. Giants of stone, gem, plant, and fungus. Wait, weren't there only three of these giant Monsters before? It may make sense that they'd have one for each of the enemy types, but... That's one more enemy than may have been planned for. Every stomp of the giants is an explosion of sound as they bound across the landscape towards them.

    Cortex lifts off into the air, and offers a telekinetic bubble around himself that lets willing allies join him in flight. And then he yells, "Let's not wait until they're in range to step on us! Hit them with everything! The mushroom first!" With its spores and impairment capabilities... Yeah. Best to take out the one that could lock them all down while the bigger ones roll right over them.

    A blast of telekinetic force erupts from Cortex's fingertips, but the impact of it is barely noticeably against the blood-hued cap of Stropharia. But the others are still coming as well!
Dr. Vahzilok     There is agitation on the surface as the incursion into the Hive is noticed. Just like Shadowed Aesthetic suspected, the scouts and ambush parties that were accosting those seeking to establish forward bases turn and try to come into the Hive from behind after the other heroes have entered! Thankfully, the Alchemical is ambushing them in turn, taking them out as they approach, distracting them from becoming reinforcements for the enemy, and the Woodsman's spirit supports Shadowed Aesthetic in this, putting down a glowing spirit tree that grows up from the earth at heightened speed and grants regenerative capabilities to the Exalted as long as he remains within its range.

    It may not be a substitute for the normal process of recovery for Alchemicals... But it definitely is keeping him in the fight even if he should happen to take hits. And if he doesn't take hits? The damage from yesterday may start to fade as well.
Alexis The pokemon can feel the taunting and tempations of Hamidon more than their Trainer can, but reminding themselves of why they are here and what they are fighting for pushes it back down. They are here to protect and heal, not corrupt and consume.

Tsunami is the first to launch into battle, the saumrai otter going wall waixu by leaping to and running across the length of a wall, and then launching himself off of it once more. "DEWOTT! (RIVER CUTTING STONE!)" He comes down towards the stone boss monster with both of his water swords leading the way. Yes his Scalchops generate actually blades of water. Because screw you Greninja, I was generations before you!

Being more of a ranged fighter as one would expect of a mage Kindler stays closer to Alexis' side, but she's hardly staying out of the fighting. A few waves of her stick-wand and the flame atop it turns into a searing blaze as she flings a Fire Blast at the plant boss-monster.

"Quilla (I do believe I need a boost)" "Got it." Checkpoint curls up inside his bark-like armor as Alexis winds back with her stick, and then swings it to launch the hedgehog knight high into the air! As he arcs over the battle Checkpoint sitcks his limbs back out, and swings the thornball formed over his paw with Needle Arm at the crystal boss as he comes colliding towards it! "(FALSE BEING OF EARTH, FEEL THY WRATH OF THE TRUE FORCE OF NATURE!)" He gets a little wrapped up in the whole paladin thing.
Archer      Archer is, to a degree, able to sympathize with Cortex's feelings, though he doesn't show so outwardly. However, he does contemplate how he may very well know what it means to be hollowed out as a vessel for something beyond himself... and sent forward like an automated construct to do whatever task was set before him.

     What else could you call a Counter-Guardian if not a slave to something beyond them? Or a hero in general for that matter?

     Then again, what the were facing was hardly any different - it just served a different master... for the opposite purpose. Archer had been pledged to defend humanity... and even though this wasn't his humanity, Rin's intervention in the matter made it his priority to see this through. No matter the outcome.

     As they approach the end of the tunnel, Archer is already setting his gaze against the oncoming monstrosities, following the somewhat haphazard attack plan of striking down the creatures with concentrated focus - the first being the immense fungal-based creature.

     Heat alone wouldn't kill it. Cold would only slow it down. Cutting and piercing was likely the best bet.

     "Trace; On."

     His western-style black bow appearing in one hand, a familiar shape appears in the other - the spiral sword modified from the Blade of the Ulster Cycle. In short order, the weapon twists and distorts as it is swiftly drawn back against his bow, it's tip centered at the creature's center-mass.

     "/I am the bone of my sword./"

     A foreign wind disturbs the atmosphere of the Devouring Earth's realm as prana distorts the air around the bowman, collecting into the warped arrow as it's form strains from the power-

     "Caladbolg!"

     -and is fired straight for the immense mushroom-shaped beast, the bullet of light crossing the distance in the span of a breath to punch into it's body and detonate within it's form with the force of a warhead detonation.

     Perhaps the ground will collapse on the creatures. Their immense size will make that all the more harder to work around - and add to their advantage. Regardless, it seems his blow is among the first to be struck.
Reiji Arisu     The depths of the earth are normally forboding enough as they are. Terrible things lurk in the dark beneath the world, creatures beyond even the most frightful nightmare, horrors which came into being as they emerged from the molten afterbirth of the planet's genesis. Here, now, Reiji Arisu walks through the halls of a much more modern monster.

    Indignation overwhelms fear. There is only one end for these things- these weapons of a man who dares to call himself the Will of the Earth. Reiji advances with sure, purposeful steps...

And then his foes make themselves known.

    As the spirit of the Woodsman ensnares and entraps the endless throngs of corrupted earth, Reiji wastes no time in engaging the behemoth manifestations of the Hamidon's power. He murmurs in acknowledgment of Cortex's direction; the mushroom first, then.

The right weapons for the job have been decided upon.

Unfortunately, it means he won't have the opportunity to join in the bombardment.

    Shinra's Exorcist breaks into a sprint. His will floods his limbs, driving him forward at speed that few humans can match. Reiji's hand finds its way to the first of his blades.

Flame.

    Karin explodes from its sheath, illuminating the cavern with a vast plume of heat and light and roiling, consumptive fire. The spores that fill the cavern ignite as they pass near the burning blade, transforming into winking motes of cinder and ash. After all, Fire consumes Wood; and his present opponent seems to be quite flammable.

    Reiji leaps to make his first cut, Karin tracing a brilliant trail through the darkness of the cave. With each strike, he consumes more and more of the behemoth's towering form.

But fire isn't all that he carries.

    Reiji lands on a nearby rock outcropping. His arsenal... Is gripped in his teeth. Now free, his hand falls onto an ornate hilt set just over his shoulder.

His eyes draw into keen focus.

DEATH.

    Kuroshio emerges from its sheath without even the slightest sound. The razor of mortality, death's own guillotine, Darkdrift is not unsheathed, it passes /through/ its sheath, the saya providing no resistance to the inevitable blade. He leaps, flame and shadow join in a deadly dance as he swings his weapons again and again and again into Stropharia's ropey body.

Where flame cannot consume, death may strike, severing its victim's life-force at the root.
Richard Stadler That mental prickling at Stadler's head was... concerning. Especially given the fact that they weren't properly underground yet. He had troops that could be prepared for any horrific monstrosity that was found down there; plant monsters were old hat, and living rock and gems could be shattered. And one could always resist the horrible things they /saw/, letting training and muscle memory carry them through. But when something was in your head...

Couldn't think about that now. Traffic snarl at the Zone entrance and the difficult terrain getting to the entrance to the Hive itself had slowed them down, leaving them without time to stage, plan, and ingress. Luckily, they had a fix, and the whole was already there.

The two tracked Bradley's rattle and crush the small rocks around them, autocannon swiveling slightly as they attempt to target any small fry heading toward the entrance. Tagging close behind is a command vehicle, antenna already up and transmitting. Both come to a halt right at the entrance, next to Shadowed Aesthetic's defense, letting ramps down and troops deploy. Stadler's the first one out of the command track, hand on the filter of his mask as he blows air out hard to clear it, before checking the seal on his face. A quick check that everyone else did, then a nod to the current defenders, before moving to the disembarked troops. Snapping of fingers has him with a combat medic and two Cavalry scouts from the Bradley's home squadron, and the two Z-Team members he could scourge up from one of the units off the line. "You five, you're with me. Sergeant!" He yells back into the command track, who returns in a moment, tossing out a mix of flamethrowers and Gustav recoilless rifles. "If it's green, burn it. If it's not, blow it up. The rest of you, this entrance does /not/ leave our hands. Hold this position until relieved or we're getting out of here. Most of the problematic shit is going to be in the direction /we're/ going, so you shouldn't have a tough-"

He stops as a Bushmaster 25mm autocannon suddenly swivels to the left, firing at Devouring Earth target that might or might not have been there. "You get the idea! Air support is coming, but I don't know how long, so keep monitoring the goddamn net! Let's move!"

The five troopers plus Stadler then move down through the entrance, the pilot lights on flamethrowers sparking up and shells loaded into have weapons. There's already sounds of combat ahead of them, and Stadler breaks out on a run. His people follow.

Somewhere between breaking out into a flat run and slamming himself against a rock outcropping, he's wondering why they didn't just send over a few GBU-57s on the top of that dome, and cause the entire thing to implode from the ceiling above. Probably something about environmental devastation, or civilian casualties, or the hundreds of other good reasons why they sent down heroes and bloody infantry instead of making this the Air Force's job. When he looked out behind cover to see the massive giants of the four elements rumbling toward them in their earth-shaking glory, those answers no longer satisfied him. Presumably, there was a good one, he thought, as he quickly gave a hand signal to have his people spread out. Not enough time. That was probably the reason. Never enough time. And if there was another one... well. It would have had to have been bad.

A whistle. "Volley on that goddamn rock monster!" Stadler yells, and the cavalry scouts lift up the 82 millimeter recoilless rifles, watching to make sure no one would be hit with the blast back, as Stadler and the Z-Team members joined in with lighter 40 millimeter grenades. They would hopefully have the force to slam against it, chip it, and crumble it. Before it got too close.
Emiya Shirou     Emiya Shirou emerges into the cavern, mind still abuzz with things Archer had said, among others. The Woodsman's problem really is a doozy... but what's he supposed to do about it? He's not sure. He can barely handle the Hellions, let alone change the course of all humanity.

    He's never once thought he could operate on that scale... yet, still, he really wants to save everyone. As many people as possible. It's another contradiction he's known about for a long time that he'll just have to deal with.

    There's a force tugging at his mind, making this all the worse, but it would be, it COULD be, so much worse. He's felt that once before... "that wasn't the Earth, it was the Hamidon!" Whatever... a Hamidon is.

    It's definitely not those giants, but they're enough to make his blood run cold. Too damned big. Too damned strong. And not at all something he wants to be dealing with underground for many, MANY reasons.

    His lessons from Bedivere all scream at him that this is the worst place imaginable to be fighting FOUR GIANTS. Still, Cortex has the right idea. Bombard them. Don't LET them close in.

    An idea churns in Shirou's mind. "Alright, then that's the plan."

    Shirou does NOTHING while the giants approach. Or at least, he doesn't attack.

    Instead, he extends a hand.

    "/My body is made of swords./"

    The single sentence echoes through the chamber, cutting through the din and chaos for one brief moment.

    And his soulforge stirs to life.

    "/A shell of steel with fire for blood./"

    Magic power flickers between his fingers, flowing out into the world ever so faintly. Drawing a boundary encompassing much of the cavern.

    "/I have created over a thousand blades,/"
    "/Never retreating, never knowing victory./"

    The sizzling power awakens in his hands, congealing into his favored pair of weapons which he expertly twirls almost ceremoniously.

    "/I stand atop a hill of swords,/"
    "/Forging weapons from my flesh./"

    With a spirit renewed by the Woodsman's convictions, the boy steps forward. But he waits.

    He waits, he waits, and waits ever longer.

    Until the giants are nearly upon the group, no matter how much they are pelted and bombarded... that is when he will finally act.

    And his chant takes on a new flare of determination and fury!

    "/This lonely path needs no reward."

    "/My whole life is UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!!!/"

    Shirou slams Kanshou and Bakuya into the yielding Earth, and crimson, blazing fissures sprout from it. Flames erupt from the cracks and criss-cross outwards at the speed of thought, bringing a wave of white light and heatless flmes to engulf everyone's perceptions for a brief moment.

    When it fades...

    The four giants are once again... quite far away from the group and out of melee range. Between the group and them is a barren wasteland of cracked, dry, iron-rich soil. The sky's a brilliant twilight bereft of any actual sun. Pristine, polished weaponry impales the ground every which way. Every so often a sourceless wind brings with it flickers of sparks cast off from a smith's forge and anvil.

    It is the spitting image of the choking wasteland Archer summoned forth yesterday, but wildly different.

    No frozen gears locked in the sky. No choking smoke and ash. The weapons are well-maintained and not left to rust, caked in blood.

    Shirou stands with his allies, eyes amber eyes opening. "Did you think we'd play in your chosen battlefield, Devouring Earth? Ooooahhh!!"

    With a yell and a gesture, Shirou commands a thousand blades hoist themselves from the ground and fly at the four giants all at once!

    Well, it seems the bombardment can continue!
Shadowed Aesthetic     "Nope~!" Shadowed Aesthetic declares, dealing out punishment as the Devouring Earth who had been harassing the people setting up forward bases try to turn back into the Hive. "See I have friends in there." A few swings. "So you're not getting in there while I'm still functioning~." he knows they can't really hear or understand him, or would they even care if they did. But who hasn't yelled 'here's mud in your eye' when fighting an opponent from long-range who could never be able to hear one?

    The appearance of the tree gets a confused look, and initially he thinks it may be an attack tactic by the Devouring Earth that he hasn't seen before. But it doesn't take the Alchemical long to figure out that it's beneficial. Particularly when the discomfort from pulling on the damaged skin around wounds he still has starts to ease. Once he figures that out he will most definitely stay in range.

    As for taking hits? Yeah, he's definitely taking hits. One person, even an Alchemical Exalted, against an army, is a tall order. Particularly when said Alchemical Exalted isn't at full, nor has he been able to optimize his Charm loadout for the situation he's been presented with.

    Shadowed Aesthetic sends a merry wave of one war fan at the troops exiting the vehicles. "Hello there~," he offers pleasantly. And when they run into the Hive, he gets back to the business of keeping the Devouring Earth minions out of the Hive.
Archer      Rin seems to wince rather openly at the feel of the Devouring Earth's presence, reminded slightly of her fight in the Greater Gail Chamber at the end of the Grail War.

     This was something malevolent... and now that she was within it's dwelling, it was far easier to categorize it as unnatural to the world. Fueled in part by it, or using it for itself maybe... but it was not a natural fact of this place.

     It's enough to make Rin briefly choke on the tainted air, forcing herself to take deep breaths through clenched teeth as she remembers how this presence had very nearly crushed her mind like an eggshell the last time she interacted with it...

     Whatever they were facing was more then a simple being - it wasn't anything equivocal to a mortal human... or at the very least, had it ever been such, it certainly wasn't anymore.

     When the monsters burst forth and approach them, Rin grits her teeth and curses inwardly, glaring back at the creatures as she takes out several gems - she'd been sure to stock up this time, even going as far as borrowing from-

     She shook her head. She was /not/ going to give that nouveau riche bitch the satisfaction of Rin even so much as /thinking/ she owed her anything.

     The point was that Rin had brought a grand total of thirty-two gems with her this time... all of which were loaded to the brim with enough collective prana to blow back even a Servant.

     She waits until the creatures approach-

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

     -then throws six of them forward at the oncoming mushroom-creature, intending to intermix the blasts with Archer's arrow to add to the destructive power.

     ... then... as she's pulling out new gems... the shift occurs.

     At first she thinks it's Archer... but when she hears the words - similar, yet with such a very different sense of purpose behind them, reinforced by a separate philosophy, she is left barely containing her awe and surprise as she looks at Emiya Shirou's form with something akin to amazement visible in her gaze.

     As the world around them alters, she takes note of how, even with many of the baseline characteristics intact, it is overall more hopeful and even a bit more serene - the ground isn't caked in ash and the sky is filled with actual clouds instead of being choked out by endless smog. The immense gears that ground endlessly across Archer's reality were absent here - perhaps symbolic of how this world was not some automated response as opposed to being fueled by a genuine belief.

     As this perhaps less-aged but no less developed Unlimited Blade Works takes shape... Rin can't help but let a somewhat awed, yet warm smile form across her features as she glances at the boy maintaining it, the words slipping out so softly that it's debatable whether or not he will hear them... but the meaning in them is all too evident and ernest.

     "You really /aren't/ him... and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, Emiya-Kun."
Dr. Vahzilok     Various attacks are launched at the giants as they approach. The damage is divided between them, though, rather than focused on the most dangerous one. Even when Shirou engulfs the Monsters in his Reality Marble, that isn't enough to stop what comes next. Stropharia's spore bombs rain down upon them, the area of effect far larger than the smaller fungoids and such. The spores attempt to induce lethargy and sleepiness in those exposed to them.

    Thorn hurls a barrage of thorns in a narrow cone before it, trying to impale people.

    Quarry stomps on the ground, sending tremors through the ground to try to disorient people.

    And Lattice hurls crystal shards like a mix of broken glass and diamonds in an attempt to both smash and shred those before it.

    They are taking damage from the attacks against them, but unless they focus on just one, they are going to be whittled down before the enemy is...!

    Cortex isn't exactly a damage train, so once he is pulled into the Reality Marble, the best he can do is try to redirect people's efforts. "The mushroom! Focus on the mushroom!" he lets out right before he descends into a coughing fit from the spores and starts to droop in the air. But he fights against it with all his will, Breaking Free of the effect and using a technique he recently developed to focus his telekinesis very narrowly and intensely...

    And then SLASHING at the mushroom and leaving a gouge across its cap. Weapons of water, flame, rock, gun, blade, arrow, needle, missiles, and even hockey stick all leave visible damage upon the enemy... It is NOT that they are ineffective. But the enemy clearly has a high damage threshold. With all these Elites, they have a better chance of winning than not, but they'll have to work together if to make that victory assured!
Emiya Shirou     For Shirou's part, there really isn't much point in trying to focus fire when a seemingly endless supply of swords is coming down from the heavens. You can only pack them so densely after all before they start getting in each other's way.

    This is -exactly- why he is wearing a gas mask, but some of the spores inevitably get through. Others, well, they might be absorbed by skin, won't they? Even wearing armor won't help. He takes a few steps backwards, only to be knocked flat on his tush by the shaking and bombarded by crystals. The sword rain doesn't falter though. He keeps his vision focused... but, well...

    It's kinda hard to hear Tohsaka over all of that.

    Forcing his body to move, Shirou vaults to his feet. A sword flies across the infinite expanse - Caliburn, the Golden Sword of The Victorious. His japanese-style bow appears and he draws the weapon back, reshaping it subtly and somewhat crudely into a more streamlined form.

    "Ghhh.... these things don't quit! Cortex is right. The Mushroom one. The Mushroom!"

    While the sword rainc ontinues, Shirou gathers some of his remaining prana into the 'arrow.' Caliburn glows softly at first, then fiercely. A glorious golden light roils and stirs, focusing around the tip...

    "CALIBURN!"

    FWOOOOOOSH!

    The Broken Phantasm - minor though it may be - cuts across the expanse with tremendous speed right for Stropharia's center!

    An impact will result in a sizable explosion of golden light and roaring flames!
Alexis "Incoming!" Alexis winds back with her stick and uses it to smack a projectile away from her. Tsunami is quick to break off his attacking and dive for cover behind her, seeing as a Water type would be more susceptible to those attacks. He focuses on defense, using his shells to slap away some of the projectiles as best he can. "Kindler, cancel out those spores!" The Braixer conjures up a different technique, casting out a Safeguard to protect the group against the sleep and other status inducing effects of the plant monsters.

Checkpoint tumbles away from his attack, getting pelted by thorns and shards in the process. They hurt, but thankfully he has the Bulletproof ability that makes such projectile attacks less effective, so he can tank the projectiles on the return. "(We need to work together. I think you know what that means.)" "Mmhmm. Do it," Alexis replies, even as she grabs another pokeball. Checkpoint puts his paws to the ground to use Grass Pledge, and a cluster of thick grassy vines sprout up to start climbing over the mushroom. Likely it's not going to even notice them there, they're not going to hurt another plant monster much. On their own.

Which would be why Alexis releases her Charizard over the battle, and points at the monster. "Fire Plege, now!" The flame lizard shoots a single scorching blast of fire, but the combination of the two attacks starts Checkpoint's Grass Pledge on fire, which magnifies the burning power of his own attack to tear into the creature!

With that, it's time to bring out the BIG guns, and Alexis is quick to follow up with letting out Wildfire and Scorch as well. It was going to be stressful keeping six pokemon active at once, but they NEEDED the firepower. "Both of you, ERUPTION" Entei and Typhlosion focus in tandum, causing several more gouts of searing flame to erupt around the mushroom monstrousity, turning the heat up to the max since they're both still at full strength.
Richard Stadler Outside, at the entrance, the IFVs have manages to place themselves perpendicular to ther command track at the center of the formation. The horizontal postion of them allows the infantry inside to fire out of the firing ports, and allows the chain guns a full field of fire, as well as allowing the single M2 .50 caliber machine gun on the top of the command track to start taking out targets as well. At the very least, Stadler knew something about having his people hold a defensive position. The vehicle operators were well versed in engaging targets with short controlled bursts, and every spare cubic foot of space not needed for Stadler's troops had been taken up by spare ammo for both the M16s, M249 SAWs and the chainguns on top of the Bradleys themselves. They could hold this position for some time. If they couldn't, they'd know very, very soon.

Inside the cave, Stadler's volley is halted for a moment, the crack of pistol fire in the air as one of the Z-team soldiers puts three nine millimeter rounds through (or rather, at) a rock creature that had gotten too close. It was as good a time as any for Cortex to yell over his instructions. "What?" Stadler yells, looking confused and pressing his hand to his ear to indicate the difficulties in hearing past gunfire and earth shaking and thorns simply coming from /everywhere. His people have to lean hard aganist the rocks, attempting to find purchase adnd protection from the shards thrown at them, one of the cavalry troops yelling out in pain as a thorn gets to the meat of his left arm.

Stadler snaps his fingers, looking to the Medic and nodding, before looking back to Cortex as he just starts coughing. "Put your fucking mask-" He beings to yell, before stopping, and looking around to the rest of the troopers here, and then to the spores. Goddamn it. Mushroom. He said mushroom. He was right; there were enough spores here to shut down unprotected Elites, and with the amount drifting here, it would be only a matter of minutes before Rick's own mask would clog up, and he'd be in a lot more trouble then. Breathing was already coming more strained.

A hand signal comes up. "New target! Fungus! Burn it down!" Unfortunatly, Rick had expected larger rocks, and smaller plants. The flame throwers they had weren't long range... but they were napalm based. Rick fumbles with his spare cannisters at his MOLLE gear, pulling out one, then two, as his people load white phosphours grenades. Rick whistles again, holding both canisters up after forcibly puncturing the vavles, and then tossing them out like a pair of greaades which as much of a heave as he could.

THe cannisters shimmy, roll, and bounce toward the mushroom, spilling a bit of the flammble gel, just a bit, right before a trio of white phosphourous grenades are fired forward. The resulting white hot flames would be very hard to put out... and igninite those cannisers themselves, sending a large heared fireball of an explosion over the mushroom itself. It hopefully wasn't /too/ enclosed of a space, because that was a lot of smoke.
Archer      Seeing the attacks coming for them, Rin bites back a severe curse as she throws out eight gems, the glimmering objects forming a barrier to block out the oncoming attacks as best she can. However, it's not as strong as the defenses a Servant can summon, so she is forced to strain herself trying to keep the barrier wide enough to prevent the attacks - especially the spores - from hitting them.

     She's trying to keep them protected... but she can't extend it everywhere, as proven by how some of Stadler's men seem to have gotten caught in it... and Rin knows she must have gotten some of it herself as the world periodically blurs for a few seconds, trying now to fight off the worst of the effects and keep her allies covered.

     "We need to bring that giant mushroom thing down first!" she spits out, swaying to one side ever-so-slightly as she struggles against the spore's effects. "We won't make any headway until we do!"

     Archer in turn realizes that for now he will have to focus more on variety as opposed to power... and he stops focusing on single shots -

     "Trace; Fractal"

     -and proceeds to begin materializing his weapons continually. For each arrow traced and fired, another is already being conceptualized, drawn into the world and formed in his mind.

     The expenditure is noteworthy - the prana he is using not insignificant at all - as the weapons fly forth one after the other in streaks of light, prismatic rainbows, blood-radiance, crimson fire and blazing solar flares; Caladbolg, Joyeuse, Clarent, Hurnting, Aestus Estus, Durandal, Excalibur Galantine and even Gae Bolg. All are lesser version of their originals, and none are charged to the breaking point - their baseline effects should be more then enough to start pushing back, the backblast of their firings enough to start clearing the immediate air of the spore-dust, preventing it from reaching him in conjunction with Rin's efforts to keep them safe.

     All of the shots are are focused on Stropharia's form to try and finish the creature that he, Cortex, Emiya Shirou Rin had already started on.

     At the same time though... the Servant of the Bow is unable to keep from tensing up at the sight of Caliburn in the hands of Emiya Shirou, wondering if the boy had seen the weapon in his own Blade Works... and wondering if he knew just how much value that weapon had to an Emiya Shirou who had actually lived through the hell that had been the Grail War.

     Perhaps when the boy has time to actually absorb the history of it... or a chance to read through it himself.

     Putting that aside for now, the bowman continues his assault, proceeding to fire shot after shot to try and bring the massive fungal creature down first and foremost.
Reiji Arisu     A bombardment of crystal and toxin, concussive force and ripping thorns, and Reiji is caught in the middle of all of it. Blood wets the ravenous earth as a gemstone shard tears through the exorcist's shoulder. Poisonous spores burn at his nose and throat and lungs, before being set alight by a swing of Karin's blazing edge.

He has his target.

He will not be dissuaded.

    The exorcist rebounds off a rock wall, leaping up a ladder of lumbering golems. He kicks off the crown of a gemstone colossus, before sprinting up the side of the enormous Quarry. He leaps--

Karin flashes through the air.

    A thin, red line weaves across the enormous mushroom's wirey midsection, carved in a perfect diagonal from its hip to the point where its arm joins its torso. Light flickers across the cut before the entire thing explodes, erupting into flame. Reiji is still in motion. His momentum carries him towards Lattice, where he kicks again off its towering, spire-like shoulders.

Carried high towards the cavern ceiling, Reiji has a moment to catch his breath.

He slides Karin back into its sheath, and takes Kuroshio with both hands.

    His mind draws into tight focus, the world beneath him disappearing into a haze of intense violence. Only one thing occupies his thoughts. There, above it all, wrapped in shadow, Reiji stares down at the great, fruiting cap that serves as Stropharia's head. Darkdrift is raised overhead, its translucent blade vanishing entirely into the darkness that surrounds him.

He falls.

He strikes.

    Like a guillotine, Darkdrift is swung. It cuts straight down, cleaving a precise, singular line from the mushroom's top end to the point where its legs join. Against a foe composed entirely of living matter, Darkdrift is free to cut as it pleases. The line it carves is not simply a wound, it's a permanent severing of life's current.

When he lands, only then does he remove Karin, once more, from its sheath.
Dr. Vahzilok     After facing flames and blades and explosions and magic weapons, and all the armament that has been brought to bear, Stropharia, despite its resilience, eventually falls, toppling in a pile with spores flying up all around it. One down, three to go. Quarry seems to tear up a large chunk of the ground, but this being a Reality Marble, it's unclear if it reall did so or if it just somehow formed the boulder form its own body. Given the power of the Hamidon, growing boulders from its body without diminishing its own over-all mass might very well be a power granted to the Monster.

    This huge boulder is thrown at the heroes, but Cortex tries to at least slow it, even if he can't stop it, to help give people plenty of time to get out of the way. He's occupied with that, focused on trying to halt or at least reduce the momentum of something big enough to flatten a house, but still manages to call out, "Now... The plant one!"

    The reason Cortex selected that one specifically becomes clear as Thorn attacks next by spawning additional foes! A horrible cross between wasps, mosquitos, and horse flies come boiling forth from between the vines wound tight as steel cable. The Swarm surges forth, targetting Reiji! But if Thorn isn't taken out, it may produce even more such clouds of insects... And with their slowing toxins in every bite, that could be just as much of a problem as Stropharia was!

    Cortex has come a long way from the amateur hero he was when everyone first met him. He has learned, he has grown, and now he is trying to lead, even when the people he is leading are probably even more experienced and more powerful than he is.

    He might never be as strong as they are. But he can do what HE can do. And right now, that's helping everyone.

    But it is not just Thorn and Quarry that remain. Lattice, the crystal monster, also contributes to the chaos with more foot stomps that make the ground tremble and may hurl people from their feet if they haven't accepted Cortex's telekinetic flight bubble! The shockwaves are so severe, that even being too close to the ground in mid-air may be enough to hurl one aside! But the blackened crystal giant has cracks in its body, just like the other Monsters show signs of damage as well. Even as Stropharia lies burning off to the side, and Thorn shows slashes in its viney body, and Quarry has crumbling craters in its body and face where it was impacted severely, the Monsters are taking hits and showing the signs of them.

    But they are also still deadly if they are not taken down.
Alexis Yes, teamwork could turn things in their favor despite the odds of power. But while they had to take the giant monsters down one by one, they couldn't just ignore the others outright. Plus those quakes were going to get annoying fast, considering the typings of her own pokemon. Redline is far enough in the air he's only midly annoyed by the shockwaves, but Wildfire and Scorch were soldering through the shockwaves and it's enough to hurt them and lower the effectiveness of any future Eruption attacks.

But first, need to clear some room TO attack the stupid plant. "Tsunami, the boulder!" Cortex is already slowing it down, but that's not enough on its own. The Dewott leaps towards the slowed mass of stone, channeling a flying kick into Rock Smash, which is specifically meant for breaking rocks like its name says. Smaller pieces means less mass to crush someone or try to hold back, at least.

"Kindler, sweep those bugs out of here." The Braixen twirls around her stick, conjuring up a Fire Spin and sending the fiery vortex swirling towards some of the bug swarms to try and sweep them out of the way and burn them up.

Redline doesn't need a direct command to know to follow up. The Charizard spreads his wings as they start to glow, and a single flap unleashes it into a blistering Heat Wave at both the monster and the swarms it's spawning. That leaves just enough of an opening for Wildfire to launch the massive ball of flame that's been building in his mouth, this one charge with some amount of blessed energy as well. The Sacred Fire is aimed for the Plant Boss, but it'll burn up anything else that's in its path as well.

And to top it all off, there is a HUGE STREAM OF FLAME roaring towards Thorn at the end of it all, which will violently explode upon contact as well, as Scorch puts everything he has into a massive Blast Burn attack!
Archer      Seeing one of the beasts finally fall, Archer focuses fire on the wounded Thorn, already having the perfect weapon in mind.

     Unlike Stropharia, Thorn has a definite elemental weakness. One Archer is, as of recently, able to capitalize on as the form of Emperor Nero's Imperial Longsword materializes in his grasp, it's elegant artisan contours being forced to twist upon itself as it is pulled back and remade into an arrow.

     He can't afford to pause... though he knows full well that his prana - and Rin's - will likely be drained by the time this is all over and done with.

     If the wood-affiliated creature can conceive of such a feeling, the sight of crimson flame wreathing and spiraling around, across and into the vermilion arrow, it's form an unsightly mix of red and black compared to it's once-enviable design... and glowing ever-brighter as the inferno being compressed into it's form increases in size and intensity.

     This time, prana is poured into the weapon until it can take it no longer, smoldering like an immolated cinder as forked tongues of flame trail off it's blazing outline-

     "AESTUS ESTUS!"

     -and becomes a blazing lance of fire, crossing the orange skies of the forge-world in a heartbeat as it strikes tried and true at Thorn's center, adding to the fire provided by the draconic creature at Alexis' disposal to become a billowing, rapidly-expanding tempest of flame almost equivalent to a newborn sun.

     Rin in turn focuses on trying to keep the rest of the larger chunks of rock from hitting them, grabbing four gemstones and hurling them as far and as fast as she can-

     "/Sechs, in Fluß. Ein Halt!/"

     -before they detonate like miniature grenades, shattering any stones that get to close to their group and blow back any of the small creatures that managed to close the gap.

     Use of Reinforcement on her body and senses have helped compensate for her diluted state... but it's still not good enough to get her to peek form. The continual drain of Archer using so many powerful Noble Phantasms, even if they had just been in their base forms, is eating through her reserves bit by bit. She has a ways to go before she's tapped out, but she knows that she'll likely be paying for all this in the morning... if she lives through this battle at least.
Reiji Arisu The mushroom collapses into a heap of inert fungus. Reiji glances up to see a plume of spores rising to meet him.

They get set aflame. Karin is quite good at this 'antifungal' thing.

    Of course, the question will be whether he'll be able to deal with a slightly more... persistent problem. Lattice causes the ground to quake, causing Reiji to stumble for a moment- just long enough, in fact, for Thorn to unleash its swarming payload unanswered. Buzzing fills Reiji's ears, he glances towards the enormous plant-creature in time to catch sight of a cloud of insects- thick enough to blot out the monster behind it entirely- swarm towards him.

Even Karin's flames can't take down that many at once, but...

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees... /it./

    Reiji ducks to one side, sliding Darkdrift back into it sheath. There, amidst a cluster of nameless blades, is a sword of simple, crude iron. Its blade is short and straight, its length chipped and ragged. The weapon is unmistakable.

Reiji claims it with his now-free hand, and feels its power surge through his veins.

    It's a mere simulacrum, a copy created by the power of Unlimited Blade Works. But the power dwelling within Reiji's soul calls out to the spirit of the forgery-blade. It has been replicated several times throughout history; it matters not, the symbolism and the legend of the blade is far more important than the legitimacy of its make or the origin of its iron.

Unlimited Blade Works can replicate that legend as immaculately as the sword itself.

    Wind screams across the roiling hills of swords. The stagnant air suddenly stirs to life. Reiji turns towards Thorn, a wicked glint in his eye. In legend, Yamato Takeru used this blade to transform the meager power of his fire strikers into a conflagration that shattered the forces of an over-ambitious warlord, and secured his place in the history of Japan.

Reiji does not have a 'fire striker.'

But he does have Karin.

    "Roar," the exorcist intones as the swarm is nearly upon him. "Howl. I beckon you. I call upon your might!" Steel and iron flash as one, two blades weave through the air as their wielder dances across the sands. The buzzing is overwhelming now, it will only be mere moments until he's consumed--

Karin bursts into flame. Kusanagi whips the wind into a hurricane.

    "Gathering Clouds of Heaven, dance upon these burning petals," his incantation builds as his spirit flares. Strength surges through his limbs as he turns his eye towards the swarm, and the enormous plant-creature behind it. "Fulfill the promise of your legend-- strike down all who oppose the power you and I possess!"

Grass-Cutter! KUSANAGI-NO-TSURUGI!

    Reiji swings. Again and again and again. Flame and wind weave together. Karin's flame is less than a candle in comparison to the conflagration the exorcist unleashes. Unstoppable gales carry enormous plumes of flame across the swarming insects, their master, and all the monsters who call this place home. Blades of wind sweep out from the iron blade, cutting trenches into stone and crystal, and shearing through wood and grass and leaf and fungus alike.

Is this the power of a Noble Phantasm!?
Emiya Shirou     Shirou's brain is all but on fire. Watching Archer is DIZZYING and forced upon him whether he wants to or not. His eyes seem frozen on the display no matter how much of a waste of time it is. But with a grunt the boy forces himself to leap backwards as Cortex advises. This doesn't really help him with the insect Swarm that's after Reiji or the flying crystal shards. The latter he beats out of the air, parrying them expertly with Durandal - the weapon appeared to simply be in his hands the moment he needed it! But he's losing ground nevertheless.

    Worse, the world tears at the seams. Reality flickers and everyone can feel it sort of lurge and grow shakey. Hints of the cavern they just 'left' shine through in the sky as the Boundary Field loses some cohesion.

    Shirou drops to his knees for a moment... but he's not done yet.

    "Uuuuoooooooooaaaaarghhh!"

    Durandal shatters the moment it parries another giant crystal shard, but Shirou takes off with a run.

    In the distance, a 'blade' carved from solid rock flies towards him.

    And he's charging wildly through the mess... straight for the plant giant. The boy takes a giant leap just as the enormous rock sword reaches his grasp.

    And in that moment, the 'weapon' of Heracles-Berserker reshapes, slims, lots of extra mass sloughed off to make it lighter. As Shirou falls through the air and comes face to face, his plan is executed perfectly.

    "Nine Lives... Blade Works!"

    It's over in a flash. His body is a blur of motion, unaffected by gravity for that one key moment. A whirlwind of strikes all seem to flow at once from his twitching muscles, wielding cataclysmic force.

    The impact is calamitous enough that Shirou is BLOWN FREE, flying backwards and tumbling over the ground assuming nothing else gets to him...
Richard Stadler Finally, one of those targets goes down, falling in a /whump/ of spores that still could be damaging... but they wouldn't be generating any more, and eventurally those would disapate. Over the long term, this would be a problem if it wasn't cleaned up, but, for now, it was much less of a threat. Much less than those targers that were still up and stomping around. Stadler's people are still in good cover, thankfully; the shaking on the ground has them wobble and shake, loosing footing, but there's still enough cover to block the thrown boulder from doing a large amount of damage... the bugs though....

Stadler just grumbled for a moment as he saw the swarm approch. Grumble in frustration because the alternative was screaming in a cold sweat at the flies that headed for them, attempting to get inside suits, inside filters, inside masks. Anyone who's seen something happen like that, /had/ something happen like that before could explain why those men were quick to activate flame throwers to protect Reiji. He probably had enough to deal with without those bugs slamming into him.

A z-team member has a crystal spike in his gut, digging into armor and trying to gasp and keep everything inside. The Medic is overworked trying to keep people alive at this point, and the rest of the squad (a scant three men, is pulled tightly to the side of a smashed bit of rock. "Count on Willie Pete?" Stadler asks, before it comes up. "All right... flame throwers are too short range for this... and there's already a lot of flame at it.

There's a sharp breath. "This is probably what got humanity into this, but I want to make sure it's dead. We go in with modified V-JOLT. Narrow focus, and it's not like there's going to be any farmland underground here." There's firm nod from the remaining spec ops trooper, and a much more nervous cavalry scout, as they pop M302 launchers to the side, sliding out expended grenade casings and loading the special rounds in. As one,t they slide out of cover and send the grenades soaring.

The grenades don't explode when they impact, so much as shatter in a spray of liquid. This liquid wan't flammable, and it wasn't acid; it was a very potent chemical compund., first developed to deal with T-Virus-infected plant life, and modified as a more general purpose combat herbicide. If you had to ask why a military unit needed a 'combat herbicide', you hadn't seen the T-Virus... or, for that matter, this god-forsaken, blighted land that sent bugs out of the fucking /vines/."

Stadler's back before cover again, hand pressed hard aganist his ear. "Defensive postion outside is quiet. Ammo count!" He yells out. The two combat effectives in the party scrougre for rounds from the wounded, but the enemy was too large, and simply too many for them to deal with the munitions they had. "Defensive position, prepare for extraction! Friendlies moving out on foot, two wounded."
Dr. Vahzilok     Thorn endures concentrated fire (literally, in more than one case), and even as more of the Swarm spill forth, they too are engulfed in the blaze. Eventually, facing far too much Elite attacks to remain standing, the creature of plant life that was as tough as steel finally topples in a burning heap. Half the guardians of the Hive are down, and they lack the ability to put them back together anytime soon, since the Woodsman's magic is on the side of the GOOD GUYS again.

    But now they still have two more to face. And while Quarry and Lattice are incapable of producing additional enemies, it seems, they still have diamond-hard shards of crystal to spray the entire area with, and Quarry is now rushing into melee range to attack with fists that even ONE of could likely fit all of the heroes gathered beneath if they stood too close together. Neither Lattice nor Quarry is in very good condition, but both appear to be ready to keep fighting to defend their maker.

    The most troublesome ones, the ones that could spread the Devouring Earth's toxins easily and infest the lungs of even more innocent people, are down. They've made a huge dent in the Hamidon's plans. It has no overwhelming army, half its protectors, and no Champion.

    Yes, it very well may be time to pull out after dealing this much damage, before they become the replacements. The Woodsman, someone who had nature powers able to control things like fungus and plants, succumbed to exposure to these spores and the Hamidon's mental influence with long enough exposure.

    He was, and is, an Elite. Can these heroes do a better job of resisting? Maybe so. With the barriers being used and the protective skills of pokemon and their combined powers and efforts, it might be possible to get anyone who starts to fall to safety.

    But what if they can't? Do they want to have to kill one of their own to try to save them? Alexis? Shirou? Rin? Archer? Richard? Reiji? One of the brave pokemon with their elemental powers? What if NONE of them can resist? Instead of one Champion... There could be several. They could become the very agents of this world's destruction.

    Maybe that won't happen. Maybe, as Elites, their luck will shine through.

    But some things... It is simply best not to tempt fate on.

    When the Reality Marble collapses, Quarry and Lattice appear disoriented, and the lesser Devourign Earth are much closer than they were before. All the forces the Hamidon has left to throw at them are being fought off by a wall of thorny vines, and a tall white tree that lashes out at them with its branches, without actually moving from where it stands. The soil here is rejecting it, and the Woodsman cannot keep back the ravening hordes for much longer.

    They have done more than might have been thought possible in these past weeks. It will have to be enough.
Dr. Vahzilok     Cortex and Dewott successfully destroy a large chunk of the boulder by working together, Rin blasts away fragments, and keeps any further adds from coming for them... Dangerous obstacles that could have impeded a retreat. Also, because of Reiji being close enough, he may have picked up a little something extra when he slashed the into Thorn and snapped ultra-strong vines...

    Salvage Found!

    HAMIDON LICHEN

    'The bright orange color of this lichen indicates that, like many Devouring Earth creatures, this lichen has undergone strange mutations.'

    Cortex, still maintaining Group Fly for those who are using it, is getting pretty low on endurance. He agrees whole-heartedly with getting out of there, especially as he sees all the creatures coming for them, and once more feels the pulse of the Hamidon in his head when they rejoin conventional reality. He doesn't want to be here anymore for a LOT of reasons. "We'll take the others down another day! We have our lives, and we have two victories! Let's gooooo!"

    If anyone or anything wasn't flying before now, hitching a ride with Cortex as he flies for the exit may be a good idea! It's a lot faster than walking out!
Alexis We're not sticking around to find out if it could happen or not. Time to NOPE on out of here.

Scorch's flame collar disperses as the Typhlosion collapses with exaustion. Blast Burn was the most powerful move he knew, but it completely drained his thermal energy. He'd have very little left to fight with, and wisely he's the first one Alexis recalls. Wildfire is next, before the Entei tries to do something brash and foolish to protect them. Alexis really doesn't want to have to go through purifying him -again-, thank you very much.

But that still leaves several attacks being thrown and one angry Giant charging them, even as she's getting her crew back in their balls.

But just as Quarry is bearing down on them Redline swoops down to dive between the monster's legs and zoom past, using Dragon Dance primarily for its speed boost. Alexis just barely manages to grab one of his arms, rolling on her skates to be pulled out of the way of the massive stone fist slamming down on their position. "I think we've wore out our welcome."

"Charrrrr (Y'think?)" Redline retorts as once they're clear he picks her up, clutching Trainer to his chest as he beats his wings and cranks off another Dragon Dance to pump his speed farther and blaze out of the Hive. Pushing speed and power like that is probably part of how he got the name Redline.

But it's one less person Cortex has to worry about flying out at least.
Reiji Arisu     As much as Reiji would rather stay and deal with... All of this, the fact is that one man probably can't stand against this many monsters alone. Taking out the two remaining Guardians probably isn't exactly a solo job either. But at least he's got something for it. Reiji shoves the bundle of mutated fungal matter into an empty ammunition magazine- probably best not to let it come into prolonged contact with his clothes.

Cortex activates his telekinetic field. Reiji allows himself to rise along with the others, away from what remains of the Devouring Earth's swarm.

Of course it's not like this is the end.

...And it's not like they won't be leaving without a parting shot.
Emiya Shirou     Unlimited Blade Works collapses. The world crumbles, revealing the cavern once more. The only sign it was ever there are the MOUNDS OF BROKEN SWORDS everywhere in the cavern, though they're slowly eroding in the winds of battle.

    Reiji might still have Kusanagi in hand, but it won't last more than a half-hour. Probably less if he hits anything with it.

    But as for Shirouh himself... he drops the rock sword, which looks kiiiiiiiiiiinda too big for him to have wielded to begin with, and leaps backwards. he's breathing hard and low on prana, but they've done quite a bit down here. "yeah, I agree. Let's get out of here and hope they don't follow!"

    It is time to GO.
Archer      Archer curses darkly to himself as Emiya Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works finally collapses, contemplating the fact that this may not be the battle that ends the threat of Hamidon.

     He could call out own Reality Marble... but with two of the guardian creatures here, he would risk being drawn into the same trap that consumed the Woodsman.

     He knew from the Grail War that his body could be preserved in the world even if he died... like Caster with Zouken's worms. He would not risk Hamidon doing the same to him. And he didn't have any cause to be a martyr when it would only drag down others with his display and potentially give the Devouring Earth more servants. He'd learned all too well how little such pointless heroics affected anything.

     And so the objective was clear; retreat and regroup.

     They'd weakened their adversaries. They knew how to combat them. They had slain the ones most likely responsible for the Woodsman's fall to prevent such corruptions from happening again /easily/. And they had information that could be used to try and form a more coherent and less desperate strategy against them.

     It would be a phyrric victory as the battle was not finished... but it would still /be/ a victory. That was more then enough - and certainly more then they had.

     Maybe even more then they deserved.

     Hearing the request of the red-clad fighter - the 'exorcist' it seemed - Archer focused his prana and once again called forth the spiral sword.

     "I am the bone of my sword."

     Only this time, when it was drawn back... the Servant of the Bow instead aimed it straight upwards, pointing the warped arrow at the 'ceiling' of Hamidon's lair.

     The twisted blade charges, crackling as the air around it distorts with prana as it is poured into the weapon's frame, the condensed power building up to the very breaking point.

     Rin herself, blinking back more and more severe fatigue caused mainly by the spores the now-dead mushroom had emitted, inwardly wondering if she is now infected like those children at the doctor Faith's camp - and hoping devoutly that it's not something she'll need to sacrifice her lungs to cure herself of.

     Half-running, half-staggering back, Rin decides to go for broke and reaches into her coat, taking all of her remaining gems - fourteen in total, seven in each hand-

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

     And hurls every last one of them, all of them transforming into fourteen guided magic bullets meant to cut down and clear out the hoards of small-fry creatures trying to chase them down, as well as force Quarry into stopping it's charge long enough for them to get out. Of course, if it lost an arm that would have been fine with Rin, but for now the most she could hope for was getting them all out alive.

     As Rin half-slumps and puts herself in the figurative hands of Cortex's power to be telekinetically carried out... Archer's arrow hits the peak of it's power. And the moment they are all out of the way-

     "CALADBOLG!"

     -the spiral sword is fired for the third time that day, tearing it's way straight up towards the ceiling...

     ... and upon impact, shatters it, the overhead surface giving way as the weight of the very earth that field Hamidon's forces collapses down on the Devouring Earth, blocking out the passage.

     The tunnel caves in, a massive burst of dirt and dust being thrown out of the mouth of the entrance... and from it, a flash of red shoots out, the Servant of the Bow front-flipping in the air as he finally lands on the ground again and out of harm's way in the wake of his final parting shot, looking slightly worn down but ultimately alright.
Richard Stadler There. The seocnd one was down with a mixture of flame and chemcials. And those were the two that Stadler was most concerned about. Granted, that was primarily because he could understand biological creatures, and how they spread. Rocks and crystal seemed like targets to explode, and not threats to worry about for the long term. At least for now. It meant that their were only two targets remaining. But then the burst of crystals slamming into decreasing cover and the worsening condition of his own wounded had to be considered... as well as their dwindling supply of heavy munitions. He looks up, then toward the exit. If he was sending a company down here, he would have been willing to take some losses to secure this area. But the people down here couldn't be spared, couldn't be lost... and absoutlely couldn't be turned. He knew he had the discipline to put a bullet through his own skull, and some of his men did, too. He couldn't know if the rest of these people did. Or if it would even help. So.

So.

His hand's at his radio, as he signals to Cortex, passing over his wounded to him to fly them out. "Security team, move to exfil positions once we up. We are /leaving/." He says, surviving, mobile members who aren't flying drawing rifles and firing at... well, anything that get pasts the wall of vines. On their way out, to load up into the Bradleys, and head the /hell/ out of there.