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Steve All of the preparations and hard work, not only by Steve, but by his fellow Elites, have been for this. To stand on the edge of nothing, and then cross the threshold. It is in the stone brick fashioned portal chamber that the miner-sometimes-thaumaturge awaits, all of the 12 sockets rimmed around the gateway filled with large jewels. Their interiors all seem to show that same angry, reptilian eye, though seldom maintaining focus on one object for long. The room is lit more by the puddle of molten rock beneath the horizontally situated portal, itself, than the torches that were placed by more recent, mortal hands. Its orange glow casts long shadows of all those gathered. (Someone broke out the shader pack for this one.)

    Most of the words that could be said have already been exchanged, so Steve won't waste too much of his breath on it. Yet, as he turns to address his fellows, it's with that huge grin on his face, that he seems to greet both friends and foes with: A welcoming smile to every challenge. "Alright, I'm not really much of a speech writer, so I can't really get anyone ramped up that way. Also not much to debrief -- I've forgotten a lot of what this thing is capable of, and I didn't exactly get much time last I was in there. So, here's the deal. We're going to go to this other space that the Stronghold builders called 'The End'. There will be those Endermen there -- but more importantly, we're going to take down the dragon that lives there. He's got some built in advantages, as you'll see. Anybody in here can fly? Or jump really high?"

    With this, a teenage girl with what seems to be bat wings on both her back, and a smaller pair on her head, floats in. "That would be me, Master Steve!" The miner's smile fades a bit with this, "Izumi, you sneak. Thought you were asleep when I headed out here. You really want to get out of your chores that badly? This is serious!" It doesn't seem that she's leaving, though, as she sets down on her feet a short distance away. He just doesn't have it in him to argue with her any more, and he gives a relenting chuckle, "Well, just stay out of everybody's way. We'll probably have our hands full. You're from a place a bit like this, so maybe you'll know your way around a bit."

    Clearing his throat after the interruption, Steve nonetheless doesn't seem to have much else to say. He's got his trusty iron sword, glowing as it does with the enchantments laid upon it, but what he instead seems to have most handy is a wooden bow, a supply of ammunition for it, as well as his greatwood staff and several ranged attack focuses. "Alright. We're heading in. Prepare yourself, it's a little bit trippy!" With that, he jumps in, his body vanishing into that swirling abyss of endless stars, rather than getting dunked into glowing magma. Izumi winces slightly, but she also follows behind, floating in rather than jumping. Those following would experience a fading to black, a smothering sensation as a thick pressure seems to be swallowing them, and the chamber seems to recede increasingly into the distance. This was an enormous mistake, wasn't it? Maybe this is what death itself feels like. Kord might know, or the thaumaturgists of Mihk's world, so attuned to the boundaries of life and death as they are.
Kazuko Kawakami "I can jump high, too!" Kazuko might not have been around for the last few forays into Steve's world and whatever lied beyond, but she's promised to finish what she started. She arrives looking sufficiently pumped up and ready for a fight, her trusty (and real) naginata held over her shoulder with a rope tied to two ends of it for convenient carrying.

     "Fighting a dragon, though... That means we really gotta take this seriously, then. Especially if it's an <End Boss!>" Putting her English lessons to actual use, the martial artist checks her clothes (a track jacket!) and weapon once more before bringing her hand up in a quick salute to wards Steve.

     "Good luck, everyone! Make sure not to land on your face!" And she's diving in! The fall is very different from what Kazuko was expecting, however, and she ends up flat on her face once she's finally on the other side.

     Smooth.
Mihk Lihzeh     "I summon forth the Wind, By my will I bind thee to this gemstone and by my contract, bond thee to my will. I call you. Carbuncle!" The deep, prim tone of the Arcanist can be heard, as she walks into the portal room, casting a red gem before her, which resolves into the aqua-hued Emerald Carbuncle. "I am ready, Magus. Lead the way and I shall do what I am able with my Arcanima. I pray this beast will succumb to the poisons and miasmas I conjour. If not, I will focus on protection and healing." she says, then leaps in after Steve without hesitation.

    She's felt this once. During a Contest on the League's battleground, Summoners Rift. It feels very much like dying, but Mihk doesn't succumb to the fear that wells up inside of her. She still has Carbuncle. If she were truly dying, the construct would be the first thing to dissipate and vanish. She readies her tome, and checks her belt pouches. Potion, Ether, fire resistance tincture, splash poisons, and explosive cocktails.

    Once on the other side, the miqo'te shows why her race is often mistaken for cats, as she lands daintily on her feet, and strides a step forwards, tome open and Aetheric energy already flowing into the Ruin glyph on the page before her.
Staren     Staren hasn't been here as much as he'd like -- thaumaturgy is interesting, but somehow he's just scarcely had time... He's suited up in his power armor. Hopefully being a walking arsenal will be enough.

    "Yeah... I can fly." He manifests energy wings briefly, then dismisses them. Staren watches Steve go, and rubs his helmet. "Sheesh... This better work...!" He leaps into the portal!
Alexis Maaka     DIIIIIIVE!

    Maaka's toting a veritable arsenal of weaponry affixed to her suit. Slung across her back is a heavy duty railgun, not the GASH but a gauss rifle that's only BARELY able to be used shoulder-fired by the cyborg due to the recoil it affords. She also has a heavily modified AK-104 as her backup, in the event minions come by to ruin the group's little mission.

    "Whooooooooooooagh!" She yelps upon leaping into the portal. There's little else to say other than they're fighting a dragon, so it's best to get that over with.
Count Kord     Kord was prepared for this.

    The Dark Dragon's Chosen found himself standing among a mixture of people that would never form a proper squad in his own world, with their differing world views, unless it came to battling the Hollowed. He took some time to marvel at the varied natures. Kazuko seemed fairly ordinary compared to the others, a human being of a more modern persuasion. Mihk felt more familiar, and it helped they were on the same side, factionally speaking. The Count turned to look at Alexis, her gungho behavior and the presence of a very advanced weapon momentarily bringing a sigh out of Kord's mouth, but only after he's sure she wouldn't be near enough to hear it. Staren, finally, the last on the spectrum and a familiar presence in his multiversal adventures. "Have faith," he tells Staren, perhaps to jab at him because he knows the lad is a scientist at heart and this is a Great Big Unknown they're leaping into.

    Kord is probably the last to step through. He reaches the portal, staring down into it. "No worse than the doorway into Lumiere," he decides aloud, and steps forward into it with confidence. It helps that Yveltal gently suggested it wouldn't kill him, deep in his subconscious. No panic when the oppressive embrace of the End's dimensional flux washes over him, his eyes simply closing for a moment while he waits for simple rules like gravity and space to reassert themselves as he's almost sure they will, so he doesn't stumble when he gets to the other side.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa often would show up in her light body armour which was made for stealth but today? She owed someone on Miter Station a favour and that favour was testing out a new design of body armour in live multiveral condtions. So she was clad in a form fitting suit of armout, nothing indecent but it was clearly hard to tell just how it was made as there was nothing in the way of any seams. It had a dull metalli sheen to it and Kotone was carrying some of her normal assortment of gear, though with the Matter Manipulator at her hip? Who knows what else she's beought along with her?

She felt the strange feeling as she shifted over with everyone else after she jumps in.
% She feels strange for a moment like somehting is eating them but it's far too late now for her. She does try to reach out on the tac net to Maaka and Rory though.
Steve As disorienting as the journey may have been for some -- considering once the image of the other side of the portal fades into an orange-gold pinprick of light, it can be hard to tell which way is even up or down, if that concept has any meaning in this space -- it does eventually end. (Heh.) For Kazuko, that unfortunately means a quick introduction to the simple fact that the other side has a rocky, but thankfully relatively smooth, if lumpy, surface. At least, by some definitions of a surface. It can be difficult to come to grips with the topology when you're actually standing on it, but those with the vision or senses would know that what they had actually landed on appears to be an enormous, oblate lump of beige stone, the same color as a weathered bone. The atmosphere, in contrast to the portal here, is quite breathable, in fact quite similar to the air mixture on Flat Earth (itself, quite pre-industrial Earth-like).

    Yet, that sky is not an endless blue expanse. Instead, it feels extremely...wrong. Rather than its depths being an inky black, there instead seems to be a diffuse glow to it, all around. The nature would soon be apparent, as there is an absolute glut of stars, swirling around in decidedly non-Newtonian manners, some appearing to follow pre-determined streams, others moving entirely on their own. The glow, then, is likely even more distant, densely packed stars. A space like this simply shouldn't exist, even within the thickest of globular clusters. It is not entirely pristinely bleak, though. There is evidence of structures. The apparently hastily put together cobblestone 'pen' that Steve erected around this landing zone, for example, likely to prevent locking eyes with the Endermen, that can be heard babbling between one another immediately outside the two meter high walls.

    Then, there are the far more obvious objects. Gigantic and towering, the obsidian monoliths are likely not Steve-created, dwarfing his creations in this world to date. It can be a little hard to see from the ground, but there appears to be something perched atop them. The magically, or aetherically, attuned might sense the presence of an energy there. Or rather, a potential, like they are storage or conduits for it.

    On the other side, Steve has a somewhat easier time of it than the first time he got here. He's already hopping up on a small, roughly cubical boulder to get a look over the border wall, but after seeming to confirm the new arrivals hadn't been noticed yet, he glances back to take a quick head count, as others either drop in and land gracefully, or not so much. "Everyone make it over safely," he wonders? Seems sound carries in this atmosphere, as well. "We won't have long. Everybody file out and separate so that we won't make as good of a target." He gives pointed looks at those that had responded in the portal room earlier: "Staren, Kazuko, and Izumi. There's crystals on top of those pillars. Smash them if you've got the time...and get back down in a hurry when you do. You'll see what I mean." He seems to have entered a different mindset for the moment, very focused on the goal and without his usual mirth. Maybe it's the pressure of the situation. "Every one else...just try to stay alive and on the island. And don't stare at the locals."

    It's more that the miner knows 'it's' coming. And right on cue, mere seconds after Steve and Izumi had left the enclosure, a growl echoes across the surface of the island, even though it by rights has little to echo off of. The sound resonates almost as though it is coming from the End itself, the entirety of it. And then it could be spotted. A being well adapted to life in this habitat. It is not seen, so much as the absence of light behind and around it, its pitch black and deep purple-toned body forming a void in those stars. The only thing truly 'visible' about it from this distance, aside from its size, easily a third of the island itself from wingtip to wingtip, are the glowing eyes set into its head, which gaze
Steve It's more that the miner knows 'it's' coming. And right on cue, mere seconds after Steve and Izumi had left the enclosure, a growl echoes across the surface of the island, even though it by rights has little to echo off of. The sound resonates almost as though it is coming from the End itself, the entirety of it. And then it could be spotted. A being well adapted to life in this habitat. It is not seen, so much as the absence of light behind and around it, its pitch black and deep purple-toned body forming a void in those stars. The only thing truly 'visible' about it from this distance, aside from its size, easily a third of the island itself from wingtip to wingtip, are the glowing eyes set into its head, which gaze across the mass of land at those that would dare intrude on its sovereign territory.

    Yes, that's definitely a dragon.
Staren     Strange stone. Staren's never seen anything quite like it, but he's no geologist. There's no time for taking samples right now. Besides, there's more to see, like...

    The sky.

    Staren holds a hand to his head. "What the..."

    Right. Crystals, apparently. Staren sends a drone up to scout them out and confirm them for indirect targeting.

    And then there's a dragon.

    Yep, that's a dragon alright. Staren only isn't intimidated much because, after a decade of Multiversal adventures... this is far from the first giant monster he's fought and survived. They'll beat it.
Count Kord     Kord comes in for a landing. He's an agile man and it shows when he has no trouble finding his footing on the other side of the portal. The experience would have been harrowing if not for the abnormal, perhaps foolhardy, confidence of their defacto leader. The Count turns his head to take stock of everyone, ensuring none of his current allies are injured by the trip over. He checks himself, too, the standard way that an experienced travel might shake his feet and flex his fingers, and check his breathing. When Steve speaks up and assigns the self-professed jumpers and fliers to deal with the crystals on the pillars, the Count looks momentarily distracted, but he has no plans to take flight unless it's absolutely required.

    Kord pulls his battle scythe out of its holster from behind his waist, the weapon clicking and creaking and snapping into place. The mechanical bits lock together with an odd shower of sparks that is far too flashy to be normal, and the weapon gleams menacingly even in this unusual light. He chooses to follow Steve out of the enclosure after the explanation and steps aside to get a good look in the direction of the immense dragon. As a man who routinely conquered beasts that could emit energy beams from their mouths or paws and could easily snap his spine if he were to misstep even once, a fact that people don't think about often when it comes to Pokemon, he is not intimidated by the Ender Dragon.

    He does, however, have a healthy respect of its power. It is clearly the master of this domain and the only way they could ever hope to exist here without dying would be to slay it. And they can't leave now that they're here. So he starts walking, calmly brushing by Endermen, keeping his eyes instead on the location of the dragon. "Give us a good fight," he murmurs in its direction, the Count hoping he gets a challenge that properly batters him. He does want to have fun, after all.
Mihk Lihzeh     "I am unharmed." replies Mihk, as she moves to assist Kazuko back to her feet. "Remain close. I will protect you with my magic, if you can protect me while I cast." she says to the human girl, and then that roar sounds out, and mismatched eyes turn to the source. "Your reckoning is at hand, dragon. I have fought your kind and won before, your fate shall be no different." she says, not caring if the beast can hear her, or even understand. "Carbuncle, Heel. Obey." she says, before exiting the staging 'pen', book open and ready to fling a Ruin spell at anything that comes too close and acts aggressively.

    Carbuncle, at the command, sticks as close as it can to Mihk. Scampering along at heel, though its hackles are all raised and it's gathering Aether into itself, ready to lash out. "Be careful!" calls Mihk to the fliers. "I sense a vast store or conduit of energy at the pinacle of those towers. I suggest using range if you are able!"
Kazuko Kawakami "Ngh... Th-thanks, miss." With Mihk's help, Kazuko gets back up after a brief groaning session, sporting a brand new red mark on her nose and forehead for her trouble. Breathing in slowly to refocus her ki, the girl glances around a few times to look over each of her allies and get a better idea of who she's working with. Steve, Alexis, Staren, and Kotone are familiar enough, but Mihk and Kord are new faces to her.

     That means it's time for a bow and an introduction. "Hi! I'm Kazuko Kawakami. I'm a close range fighter, so leave the fast stuff to me! I'll keep you covered along with... Uncle Carp?" She's eyeing the Carbuncle curiously in particular, but Steve gets her attention soon enough once he starts laying out the battle plan. "Crystals... Okay! We'll get tho-"

     And then the dragon makes its presence heard. Although she can't quite see it clearly yet, she can definitely sense that powerful beast's presence even without knowing where it is. She's become rather tense from that alone, but the martial artist takes a few deep breaths to steady herself before venturing out of the cobblestone safe zone.

     "... We'll break those crystals real fast, and then I'll come back to cover you." She gives Mihk another directed nod at that, then glances back at Staren and Izumi. "Ready, Mister Staren? Miss Izumi?" There's a pause, and then Kazuko is off! She's bolting for the furthest crystal tower, of course, because her stupid pride won't let her take the easy path just because she can't fly!
Alexis Maaka     Maaka synchs up with Kotone's tacnut before she exits the portal. Slamming against the ground, she picks herself up with a few pained grunts, before she gets back into the swing of things. "I'm good..." She gives a thumbs up, before she draws her AK and follows Kord and Steve into the enclosure, weapon drawn.

    The idea of facing a dragon reminds Maaka she might need more firepower, and so she slings her carbine in favor of the hulking gauss rifle. This thing is big even in her hands, and right now she could use something to rest it upon given how front-heavy it is.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa does take note of Kazuko againm she's come along with them once more and she seems to be aware of most of the people here though Mihk and Kord she's had little contact with. Maaka and Staren being here is a good thing for Steve as they work well together. Kotone takes a moment to recover as she comes in for a landing with everyone else. Kotone seems to be trying to get her footing, yet? Something feels very wrong here, very wrong indeed here. She doesn't like it and she reaches for the device on her hip as she moves to spread out as Steve has suggested she knows there would be something coming anf she just /stares/ as the Drgon makes itself known.

<<That..would be a drgon.>>

She's now moving to pull something from her MM unit, and that would be a Rail gun nearly as big as the cyborg is but she's got no issue holding it as she makes reayd, she knows what she's going to need to do with it.
Steve Izumi is from a fantastic land, and a land of demons at that. While she does hesitate slightly at that black shape growing ever larger in the distance, a void among the stars that remind her somewhat of home, she has more resolve than the average koakuma, as well. It comes from having lived in the same house as Steve for several months now. "Right!" She moves in much the same direction as Kazuko and Staren's drone, at first, before breaking off to find a crystal of her own. Steve had mentioned getting away once they blasted one of these things, which means they're probably dangerous, somehow, given the usual way he half-warns about things. Accordingly, she doesn't even get close, instead levelling a hand and spraying it with magical darts. The crystal ponderously, and apparently, remains unfazed for several moments after, before it suddenly shatters, the release of energy from inside blasting the devil girl back even from what she thought was a safe distance, not to mention sending crystal shards everywhere, like shrapnel, "Ahhhh!" A good thing her danmaku reflexes are still sharp.

    "Careful, Izumi! That stuff's worse than a creeper!" Steve, himself, separates just as he'd suggested firmly that the others do. Though from a proximity point of view, he remains relatively closeby to the Count, as well as Kotone and Alexis Maaka -- he'd come to trust the latter, in particular. Maybe once this is all over, provided they survive, he'll have to draw up a more formal mercenarying agreement between the two of them. In fact, perhaps sensing the need, he takes a break from fiddling with his bow to place down a chest-high wall of cobblestone for Maaka to use, before flashing a thumbs up. "With any luck, Kord," he also offers, to the uttered desire for a worthy combatant. "I have my reasons, too. And it's not just about the egg." The ancients saw something in this place, and he's counting on it giving him some insights into some other, further mysteries.

    Yet, that would be getting ahead of the situation. "It's here," Steve calls, as the dragon finally arrives, its size becoming far more apparent now that it enters a circular pattern around the island itself, apparently taking stock and sizing up the inhabitants, especially the outsiders. It does not seem to have the ability to speak, but there is a clear, malevolent intelligence behind those intensely purple eyes that pass over each and every mortal-and-otherwise below. Even the Endermen seem to be agitated by this presence, some spontaneously beginning to screech and warp around, as though trying to reach and rebel against this tyrant. Yet, for all of their trickery, they can not hope to stand against it.
Steve The curious property of those crystals, at least all but the one that Izumi shattered ahead of the dragon's arrival, also makes itself readily apparent. As the dragon passes closeby to the towers, a beam of energy reaches out to its form from inside, further infusing its own abilities, and indeed causing its plating of scales to grow even more, observably resilient in their presence. That would probably be the home turf advantages that Steve was mentioning, and why the crystals are such a priority, despite their danger. The miner isn't wasting any more time, himself, despite that, since the party has to start somewhere, and better they be the aggressors. Drawing his bow back, he lets an arrow fly. It pathetically glances off the dragon's scales, inflicting very little harm, which is rapidly regenerated. However, it *did* succeed in pissing the beast off, and it suddenly exits the holding pattern, plunging straight at Steve. "Yeah, that's right! Down here!"

    On its course, the dragon exhibits another interesting property. It would seem to be heading for a collision with one of the obsidian pillars -- but it instead phases right through as though it were immaterial. Steve doesn't seem to be shaken by this, perhaps having remembered it, "It's focused on me. Everybody take your shots. I'll...uh, TRY to hang on." Is he planning to face tank it or something? Hey, he's had weirder plans.
Count Kord     "Try not to hit me," Kord says to those with ranged capabilities, his voice picking up as he spots the dragon advancing. The explosion from earlier had barely caught his attention, but he has spent a good portion of his life learning how to prioritize his attention. He watches the dragon come in toward Steve, a predictable thing to do despite its ability to phase through the impediments that more physical beings would have. Kord waits for the creature to reach a certain point, and then he advances to intercept it before it hits Steve.

    And he swings his scythe in a vicious arc aiming for it's big face, a flash of black and red energy slicing out like an enormous guillotine blade from the battle scythe. It serves to give him more mid-range capability, able to hit the dragon even if it were to try to swerve out of the way of the physical weapon. This is the Night Slash Pokemon move, for those familiar with the effect of a Dark-type attack! He completes the maneuver by landing in a slide, his momentum carrying him past the dragon itself so that he isn't right in front of it's jaws when it recovers, if he managed to hurt it.
Mihk Lihzeh     Mihk stops running, having run partly into a group of Endermen. She remembers the warnings about looking at them, so focusses her entire view on the dragon. Vast and malevolent and terrible.

    Then Steve goes and pulls aggro.

    The Arcanist 'grabs' from the open page, and 'throws' her hand forward, a bolt of colourless light flying out to strike the approaching dragon. It's only a weak blast, quickly formed, but she did it to clear her aetheric 'bank' so to speak, so she can draw a different affinity into her tome, turning the page to a new glyph. "Power of the Earth. I summon thy strength. Grant us a Shield to guard us from harm." she says, then pushes her consciousness outwards, envisioning all her allies. "Protection!" An interlocking 'shield' of blue hexagonal plates suddenly forms around each of her allies, it'll serve to dull physical blows, and even provide some shelter from magical effects. It's not as good as a Conjurour's Protect or Shell spell, but it should do.

    Carbuncle chirps, and unleashes a sudden updraft right under the dragon as it swoops in, altering the air pressure to try and knock the thing off course, while the air itself solidifies into sharp razors to cut at those scales.
Kazuko Kawakami As Kazuko runs along the strangely smooth and lumpy ground, her sight is drawn towards the winged girl as she heads up towards the first crystal. The martial artist jumps a bit when it explodes, but her pace keeps carrying her forward. She's already come this far, and she's not about to give up before she's really done anything yet!

     "Worse than the green d... P.... Exploding tihngs?!" That does get her to hesitate a bit, but it's probably for the better since it gives her a chance to see the dragon itself. Odd-looking scales aside, she's observant enough to notice that the crystals seem to be giving it some sort of protection, and it refocuses the brunette on the task at hand.

     "Destroy the crystals, get back to everyone else... I can do this!" Psyching herself up, she focuses ki into her legs before running at the side of the tower, then trying to run right up its surface to her crystalline target above. She's not looking forward to getting crystals exploded into her, but... Well, how else is she supposed to try smashing it? If she can reach it just by running, all the better!
Staren     Staren inclines his head slightly at Steve in acknowledgement.

He carries a small armory. He could attack the dragon... but that's not what Steve said to do. Instead, he pulls from his magic bag what appears to be an assault rifle with a /massive/ bore... And then when he points it up and fires it, its nature becomes clear: A small cylinder pops into the air and an instant later thrusters kick in. The missile flying up and homing in on one of the crystals.

    Staren makes a thruster-assisted leap atop the pen wall, and keeps firing -- It's not like he has to waste time /aiming/, after all. There are six missiles in the magazine, although the action takes a few seconds per shot to load the next round in.
Alexis Maaka     Focused on STEVE? Maaka looks worried for a moment, even if her helmet hides it. As she begins to feed targeting data into her gauss rifle, she also scans the target itself for weak points, feeding that to Kotone's own feed as well. "We're gonna need a bigger boat." She says with forced calm, making a run to evade the dragon's line of sight.

    Resting the gun across a thing of cobblestone so graciously provided, she takes aim as the gauss gun charges up, the weapon bracing against Maaka's shoulder while she locks her joints and grits her teeth. Maaka sights down the approaching dragon, and she fires off the massive weapon. It might be better described as a thunderbolt gun, as it practically breaks the sound barrier from hypervelocity slugs being fired, a sonic clap *piercing* the immediate area. It's gonna be a good idea to keep their distance away from Maaka for now.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa is getting the warning from Steve to Izumi she also knows they need to not sit still. Kotone's ablke to heft her weapon and makes reayd for the figh that's coming. She has her railgun ready, and she sees the cobble that's been set for Maaka by Steve. She'll ready hwe own rail gun and honestly why she's here? She's curious and it is a freaking Dragon hunt she readies her rifle takes aim and will now open fire at the Dragon and she'll keep time with Maaka's own fire trying to help support her as she keeps moving about not wntint to sit still against something like that.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa says "A bigger boat? We're going to need a flotillia for this!"
Steve Mihk's opening blast might be weak, but it still strikes by chance at a seemingly weaker point on the dragon's exterior; one of those membranous wings. Unfortunately, much like Steve's arrow that got its attention in the first place, the light damage that was inflicted on its still-thick hide seems to be rapidly repairing itself, though it didn't appear that bothered to begin with, focused as it is on Steve at the moment. Its nature even allows it to partially dive slightly below the end stone surface of the central island, offering it further cover as it zeroes in, though the Carbuncle's efforts do delay its entry somewhat, allowing more time to adapt to that CHEATING it is subsequently doing.

    It makes for a difficult and surprisingly low profile target to track, but Count Kord has the advantage of having a front row seat and close proximity to Steve. Maaka and Kotone similarly have a clear line of sight, though will have to adjust for the surprisingly low profile and elevation. The Night Slash causes a deep and coursing wound, and the gauss rifle shots actually blow several scales free, prompting a series of resounding, almost metallic 'thunk' even without actual steel to scale contact, as well as a deep growl from the creature itself. While it doesn't heal quite as quickly as the damage to its wing, though, it is still visibly recovering before their very eyes, by the time Kord clears to the other side.

    With the Ender Dragon pretending to be a land shark, were it not for the Count's close range intervention, it might have had a straight path to Steve. Instead, a combination of the wounds, and Mihk's protective warding, gives him at least a fighting chance. The miner has switched to his sword at the last possible moment, taking a relatively ineffective swipe as the dragon comes up from the ground practically at his feet, driving another gash into it. There's just enough time to try to sidestep, but he still gets whalloped pretty solidly, the aether of the Shield shimmering as it absorbs some of it.

    Steve goes sailing through the air as a result, impact cuts forming on the arm that he had braced himself with despite the Shield, but in the end he still manages to land on an incline of rock, finding a grip on it with his free hand. Some of the agitated Endermen that had been trying to reach the dragon aren't so lucky -- they get plowed through and smashed right off the island. Their teleport ability seems to have some limits. "Haha," he laughs, on that precious edge of jolly and lunacy, as one such Enderman screeches while flying overhead. "A good start!"
Steve However, it seems those crystals are going to be important to deal with, unless they want this to become a war of attrition on the dragon's own turf. Hopefully the ones more capable of doing so will find success in it!

    Thankfully Steve's warnings didn't completely put Kazuko off the task at hand, and what had happened to Izumi serves as a bit of a warning. Having Mihk's blessings should also help with dealing with the...explosive results, of getting up close and personal with an End Crystal. For now, she wouldn't find much resistance. As with the ones that had somewhat crowded around Mihk's position, the local Endermen either are disinterested, or are completely focused on something else. The obsidian is slick like glass, but there's still enough of a texture for her to find purchase enough to run right up the side. Once atop the pillar, the crystal itself is actually quite pretty, for a floating, nonsensical, hyperdimensional construct. It's almost a shame to destroy them. Yet, the beam that fires out, harmless to her, but bolstering the dragon it's tethered to, would remind her of the purpose. SMASH IT.

    Staren takes even less risk than did Kazuko or Izumi. Aiming to take them out from the ground is probably the safest way to go about it, though for conventional projectiles can be a hefty task in itself. Fortunately, guided missiles are not conventional projectiles. The crystals almost seem to be in a relatively fragile quantum state, and this is likely overkill, but it still does the job ably. One thing that might be noticed is that Staren, by circumstance, happens to target one of the crystals that is actively 'feeding' the dragon. While getting rid of any crystal is preferable, this actually causes it to growl in what can only be called pain, as though severing a beam in current use does harm, in itself. This has the unfortunate effect, however, that when the dragon rises back up, it next plunges on Staren's position, aiming to ram him off his perch, or worse!
Staren     Less risk might be why Staren's still alive after a decade of Multiversal adventuring.

    Still shit happens, and now the dragon is coming towards /him/. "Yeah alright, let's go big guy." He flies backward over the island, and fires the beam cannons on his arm at the dragon, followed by a volley of six micromissiles from small ports on his armor that try to embed themselves in its hide at mach 2 and then explode.

    And then there's plenty more where that came from...
Kazuko Kawakami Kazuko fights back a cringe at the sound of Alexis' explosive death cannon, her heightened hearing actually proving to be a bit of a problem for once! It doesn't stop her from getting atop that obsidian spire, but she does rub her ears a bit while surveying the battle going on behind her. The dragon seems to be distracted enough, at least, although Mihk looks like she might be in trouble with those Endermen so close. But Kazuko's all the way over here, and the Conjurer's all the way over there! What to do, what to do...

     Well, the crystal's right here, and Izumi had gotten blasted away when her crystal exploded. Put two and two together, and... Kazuko's standing at the edge of the obsidian tower, roughly creating a straight line between herself, the crystal, and Mihk.

     "I... I'm on my way, Miss Kitty!" She's just hoping she can actually withstand the blast well enough for her plan to work. Channeling ki all around her body to try and strengthen her endurance some, she starts whacking away at the crystal with the back of her naginata. She braces with each impact, just knowing one of those is going to set the thing off and (hopefully) launch her towards the cat lady instead of just putting her out of commission!
Mihk Lihzeh     Mihk flats her ears as those hypersonic projectiles fire. The pitch is painful to her sensitive hearing, and she keels over onto her knees, covering her ears for a few moments. Thankfully the Dragon is aggro'd elsewhere, and the Endermen don't seem to care about the outsiders unless looked at. However, the Arcanist is down for the moment, leaving Carbuncle to fend for itself. It scampers and tries to get a better position, waiting for the Dragon to come close... before it unleashes a massive gust of wind to knock the thing about, the Backdraft being a speciality of the Wind Carbuncle for knocking foes out of melee range.
Count Kord     Kord laughs joyfully as well! Steve's enjoyment of the chaos is infectious, and the warrior-minded Count is easily coaxed into a good-natured mood of MURDER. He takes a few hops to maintain pace with the Ender Dragon, his cap swishing in the wind of his movements. His head momentarily flicks to keep track of the position of the others, particularly Alexis who had used a very, very loud weapon just a moment ago. He makes note of the weapon's power, comparable to an expertly trained Octillery from his world, and he HAS been shot at by one of those before.

    Kord takes note of the change in the combat dynamic. The Dragon is focused on those that are trying to break the crystals, so he turns and makes one big leap into the air, then a pair of semi-transparent wings (or arms, with dagger-like fingers?) appear, beating twice to propel him up into the air, high HIGH up. He spins with an expert wobble of the mystical appendages and the swipe of a distinctly physical tail of similar nature, and tries to track down one of the crystals so he can pick up Staren's task with minimal hiccups.

    If he finds a crystal, he points the scythe at it and emits a massive Dark Pulse at it, the energy obeying little of physical rules, trying to slam into the crystal with 'magical' force. The evil energy crackles on its way to the target!
Alexis Maaka     In total fairness, that railgun is /loud/. Maaka notices several scales get jarred loose thanks to her CYBER VISION, and she doesn't waste time in uploading exact markings of those exposed bits of flesh to her comrades should they have cyberwear, like Staren or Kotone.

    "FIre on these markings, and keep hitting him while we still can!" She calls over comms, before she goes for another charge on her railgun. It's taking its sweet the at this level of output, but the results ought to knock this dragon onto the ground if she can get in another good shot at this rate.

    Once she has her charge, she takes the shot, aiming to hit the dragon right in the side to send it spiraling out of control in mid-air. Hopefully that ought to knock him out of the skies.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa is not going to hold still here, that would be a very stupid idea but the Dragon is harder to track than she might thought even as she fires several shots ofgf at it. She never stays still for more than one shot, maybe two before she's on the move again. She's nto even sure how much damage she's doing at this way as the dragon's really in a bad mood and going for everyone else she does notice the crystals but she's laying down too much fire on it to be able to do much mroe hopefully someone else can do something abotu the crystals.

<<Maaka? Staren this thing is just more armored than a bloody Tank! Or light ship!>>
Steve It pursues Staren, its speed considerable when it folds its wings back and really lets loose. Is ramming all it does, besides the gnashing of teeth if it manages to close the distance? It's all that Steve could remember clearly, at least. Regardless, with the pursuit, Staren finds a multitude of open shots. The missiles explode against its hide, opening relatively gaping wounds, which with a handful of crystals still present, predictably begin to mend on the fly. Yet, with fewer crystals now, there seems to be gaps in the coverage. Rather than a smooth and rapid transition to full health and structural integrity, it comes in fits and spurts, as the dragon passes by crystals that can still broadcast energy to it. The beam cannons find similar purchase, scorching and ablating away more of the scales, which again regrow, but at a decreasing pace, on average.

    The Carbuncle doesn't give up, either; as the Ender Dragon passes relatively close on its approach, its course gets diverted slightly. It seems the phasing-through-matter thing is an ability that has to be consciously used, as one wing scrapes across an obsidian pillar, knocking several metric cubes of the material loose as it roars lowly in annoyance. Right as it begins to turn and try and take a bite of the Carbuncle, Maaka and Kotone's shots come in concentrated from their position. While it does get knocked around, this time it remembers to dematerialize its body, and rather than fall to the ground, it falls *through* the ground, where it essentially vanishes from sight and sensors for a brief few moments. Time enough to catch one's breath, or recover from burst eardrums, perhaps.

    When it re-emerges, the dragon has broken off the pursuit, perhaps having taken notice of the gaps in crystal coverage, and that its one track tactics work fine when there is only Steve here, but not when there are over half a dozen to contend with, not to mention their Carbuncles. Returning to view from the edge of the island, it beats its wings strongly, unfurling them from its more streamlined shape, and broadens the now slightly-tattered and damaged vanes, one of which is in slightly worse shape than the other, to cast a shadow across the ground. It turns out it's not only for show; it works for bracketing the targets for what comes next. As Steve climbs his way back up, he gives pause as the dragon does something completely unexpected. It opens those jaws and begins to spray what appears to him to be fire charges. A dragon with a breath weapon, what the hell!?
Steve The targets are varied: For one, Kazuko would find that Steve wasn't lying about the blast being worse than a creeper's. If it were a shounen manga, it could be said to be exactly 150% as bad. Hopefully there's still enough juice left in Mihk's Shield spell, despite her incapacitation, and just enough distance to make it non-lethal! Plus she's a tough Elite, she'll surely be fine, right? Count Kord's guess is also correct. The crystal shatters easily, even without the extra, malevolent flash to the Dark Pulse, and as the last of its kind, it had been actively 'feeding' the dragon at that moment. The dragon gives an extra growl of pain and anger, at that, but it only serves to narrow its focus further. Lastly, those that had dared to not only invade its turf, but also rob it of its rights to the sky -- Maaka and Kotone, with those thunder bows!

    They somewhat home in on those targets, but on impact they splatter into purple, acidic ooze, which emits acrid plumes of vapor. No, those definitely aren't fire charges, despite the looks. And to be honest, Steve doesn't know what the hell they are. If only their lives weren't in danger so that he could risk a look with his thaumometer. "I...don't remember that," he admits. "Urgh, damn it." The dragon turns its gaze to Izumi next, as she had taken shelter behind one of the pillars. Driving his sword into one of the Endermen's backs (critical hit!), Steve reaches his hand in and draws the pearl out, "I'll be borrowing this!" He then tosses it over in the direction of his errant Koakuma, just in case it comes to having to save her hide.
Staren     Oh, it can actually go pretty fast! "Aw sh--" Staren can't fly so fast backwards, or at least he's never tried, so it smashes into him, sending him flying with a forcefield that looks like someone took a baseball bat to a glass sphere, large chunks smashed and a shower of sparks of some kind of energy raining down.

    If he couldn't /fly/, he'd be falling into the void now, but instead, he halts his movement after a second or so.

    And it seems he's lost aggro for the moment. Okay. He was planning to missile crystals whenever the dragon is using one, but it seems they've got the last one.

    So no more regeneration.

    Staren puts the missile launcher away, and pulls the RAISER rifle off his back. It looks like some kind of sleek, dark metal, all one piece with no clear parts. And as Staren flies back over the island, he alternates between firing the beam cannons each time they cool down, and firing bursts of photon molecules from the rifle. They behave like energy 'bullets' that penetrate and explode, and which he can recalibrate at will if, say, he misjudges the armor and needs more penetrating power and less boom. What a nice gun!
Kazuko Kawakami To KAzuko's credit, she's gotten hit by a creeper before! Maybe not so close or on purpose or that much harder than a normal one, but... Well, it's a very good thing Mihk's spell is there to augment her defenses. Otherwise, the landing would be much more splattery than it is! She tumbles along the ground with a pained cry, but the girl does pick herself up after a few failed rolls to hurry towards the Miqo'te and try to help her up if she's ready for it.

     "Mmm...! Th-that's one down! Or two...?" The martial artist uses her naginata as a support while covering Mihk, fully prepared to lash out with her polearm should any Endermen stray too close and prove themselves to be a threat. She's still got ki to spare, and with the dragon still coming around and shooting its purple... Whatever stuff everywhere, she'll put her all into defending the Conjurer.

     "Sorry I took so long! Alright... Come on and fight us properly, dragon!" Kazuko's certainly got a lot of spunk left in her, at least, as her body and weapons tart to glow faintly with a yellow aura. Sure, she doesn't know if it'll even get close enough for her to slash at, but if it does...

     She's gonna cut it. She's gonna cut it SO HARD.
Alexis Maaka     Sadly, Maaka only has one shot left worth of energy for this gauss weapon. She grunts, noticing the dragon beginning to finally take notice of her position. "Oh hell." SHe grabs her gauss rifle, before she books it hard as she can before she catches fire. It's not unlike being too close to an errant bomb blast, and she's sent flying a good couple yards before slamming into the ground.

    "GNNNGH!" Alarms blare in Maaka's ears and skull, and she groans as she tries to pick herself up. Her armor's scorched yet again, and she looks down at her weapons. Thankfully, they're made of sterner stuff than most. The Gauss rifle in particular's been designed for extreme conditions, nothing short of a nuke would damage the power core on this thing.

    That said, it does fizzle and crackle with energy as she tries to get it charged up one last time, taking aim at the dragon. "C'mon, you ugly oversized eyesore...kiss it goodbye!" And she lets off one last thunderous blast from the weapon before the battery finally dies out, the blast letting off enough output to match a small artillery piece.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa does not see her allies giving up and she does see her fire is doign some damage to the thing's body. She's not sure just about what's going on there as it falls through the ground itself? She was not expecting that /at/ all. She does however press the attack and is taking a moment to reload her weapon this is not a good idea. She's stopped moving and this is where one of the blasts full on catches Kotone she's sent flying and the armour she is wearing does a better job than one might think. It protects a good deal of her body but her right leg is just blown clean off sening poor Kotone skidding along the ground, she's in pain a lot of pain as she comes to a rest, but she's needing to fight still so she takes a risk turning on heef sense of touch and thus pain. This leaves her to doing more damage to herself. It can't be helped though as she leans up using one arm to fire the rail gun with what reaming rounds it has from her interupted reload, and fires.

"I HAD ENOUGH OF THIS DRAGON!"

And Kotone doesn't seem to notice the red fluid that's akin to blood coming from the wound, it will slow as repair systems kick in but it smells /horrible/ and there's a good deal of sparking from various severed power lines as well.
Count Kord     Kord is hit dead-on by the fireball, because it's a little difficult for him to correct his flight path after an attack like the one he just did. It singes the feathers (!) right off that tail of his here and there and covers his armor and clothing with searing purple ooze, the vapor leaving a trail as he plummets out of the air and only just barely avoids slamming into the endstone at terminal velocity. He tears his burning acid-covered cape off and growls in pain and unhappiness, but is otherwise fine enough to emit a magical Snarl at the Ender Dragon, a wave of black and red energy emitted from him and carrying his voice along with it in the form of a similarly bestial noise to a draconic roar. Seems he's got a fair bit of that god blood in him, doesn't he?

    "Aaaaaah DAMN IT!!" he curses and pulls his plate armor off too so that the ooze stops burning his skin.
Steve The dragon has long since abandoned trying to be strategic, if indeed ever it was. It's focusing its pure rage on those that would stand against it, especially those that had shattered its crystals, which leave it unable to repair the damage to its body. Those scars and wounds leak that same kind of purple fluid now, as the roars and growls that seem to come from every direction only deepen in its hatred. They would come to its realm and defile its crystals? If it had to fall here, then at least the next generation would be safe, and it would make those responsible feel every bit as much pain as was inflicted upon it, in kind. The blasts closeby to Maaka and Kotone do not satisfy its blood lust, as it hovers low over the surface of the island now, firing more of those foul charges at everything that moves, even the resident Endermen not being immune. In its half-mad state, everything looks like an enemy now.

    Staren's blasts prove considerably more brutal, now that the last of the crystals are down. The damage that had been mitigated or fixed now leaves large holes and scars across the dragon's surface. Its growls become more personal, now, seeming to come from the creature's throat itself, rather than the End as a whole. Another volley of those corrosive spheres are aimed in his direction, for the insult. Yet, that's not all the dragon has to contend with, as Kord toughs out the worst of being hit by one of these nasty things, and repays it in kind. The Snarl is met by a roar, in return, though not carrying nearly the same amount of energy. With its body beginning to fail, another curious thing happens, a consequence of its unusual physiology and relationship to the End. Kord's attack ripped up what was left of its wings, and it plummets to the ground. Or rather, it would if normal physics applied to an ender dragon. Instead, it sinks chest deep into the ground, its claws digging in to keep from falling straight through.

    The Endermen that had been so agitated by its presence, and not forgetting the dragon's attacks against their own kind, begin to crowd around the incapacitated creature. It creates the incredible scene of several dozen long-limbed, 3 meter tall humanoids, teleporting and converging to wail on their own former 'ruler'. Being effectively pinned in on all sides, the dragon lets loose one final wrinkle to it all; anything and everything that's relatively close gets showered by a more direct spray version of that acid breath from before. That includes Steve and Izumi, from where he'd teleported via ender pearl to cover her, as well as Kazuko trying to protect Mihk from the now-preoccupied Endermen. Steve winces as it burns into the flesh of his back, the aethereal protection having vanished long before. Knew he should have worn armor, but mobility seemed more important here. "Master Steve!" "--heh, I've had worse." Only half a lie.
Steve Yamakawa to finish off. The clamor of their weapons once again breaks the ambient sounds of Endermen and Ender Dragons within this dimension, the final bolts blasting not only through the surrounding Endermen but also opening gaping holes in the dragon, itself. Its internal energy failing, it begins to...glow? Or rather, rays of light begin to come from within it, as a final, droning and crackling sound -- which sounds half bridge collapse, half sci-fi fusion generator power down -- is omnipresent and tremendously loud. (Sorry, Mihk.) The dragon glows white hot, and then is no more.

    When the remaining Endermen adjust to this triumph, they wander off in their normal disinterest, and what is left is a curious thing indeed. It can only be the ender dragon's egg.
Steve And what seems to be a portal made of a curious stone, perched directly beneath it. The portal 'home', wherever that may be for the conquering Elites.
Steve Otherwise, immobilized, it's a relatively easy target for a tactically re-settled pair of Alexis Maaka and Kotone Yamakawa to finish off. The clamor of their weapons once again breaks the ambient sounds of Endermen and Ender Dragons within this dimension, the final bolts blasting not only through the surrounding Endermen but also opening gaping holes in the dragon, itself. Its internal energy failing, it begins to...glow? Or rather, rays of light begin to come from within it, as a final, droning and crackling sound -- which sounds half bridge collapse, half sci-fi fusion generator power down -- is omnipresent and tremendously loud. (Sorry, Mihk.) The dragon glows white hot, and then is no more.

    When the remaining Endermen adjust to this triumph, they wander off in their normal disinterest, and what is left is a curious thing indeed. It can only be the ender dragon's egg. And what seems to be a portal made of a curious stone, perched directly beneath it. The portal 'home', wherever that may be for the conquering Elites.
Alexis Maaka     Maaka's arms lower, and she unequips her railgun instantly as she sees the dragon fall. Before she even turns to look for Kotone, she feels her left arm go slack, and then the telltale popping sensation of armor seals being busted.

    Then her left arm just falls off, right off from the elbow. "Ah, shit..." She's too exhausted to even show displeasure at this, as she just bends over to retrieve the damaged limb to tuck in a pouch. Then she staggers in a limp towards Kotone, willing away the pain as she reaches down to grab Kotone's arm. "Hey, kiddo..." She murmurs, her helmet unfolding to show a beaten down Maaka trying her best to keep smiling, and she slings Kotone over her shoulder. "C'mon, let's get the hell outta here..."
Count Kord     Kord was probably a fair distance away from the dragon when all is said and done and had the presence of mind to avoid getting struck again by more acidic gunk. That said, he wasn't in a rush to leap into the mob of pissed off Endermen, which seem to be single-mindedly dedicated to smashing the bones of the thing that should be, by all appearances, their 'king.' He tries not to look directly at them while this happens, though he does have to slice at one a little desperately as it comes in to try to clock him in the face for his rude staring.

    When the coast is clear, the chaos is done and everyone is recovering, Kord walks across the bone-colored stone, folding up his scythe as he moves to put it back in its holster. He pauses to stare down at the dragon egg, fascinated by its presence.

    He reaches out to try to touch it, after climbing onto the edge of the portal. When the egg, predictably, vanishes with a shower of purple sparkles in the way the Endermen do, he stands up straight and feels youthfully embarrassed by what he just did.

    And he starts looking for where it ended up, and doing this while also trying not to look at the lanky murder monsters comes across as much more lighthearted than a man like him should probably look. He hurriedly walks about, checking divots in the stone and behind a nearby pillar and anywhere else it could've ended up. It seems he remembered it was probably important they didn't lose track of the egg.
Kazuko Kawakami Slicing through another Enderman that gets too close, Kazuko's got one last thing to take care of: The Ender Dragon's acid spray! She's seen what it did to her allies before even as a breath, and she can only imagine how bad it'll be if it actually makes direct contact with herself and Mihk. What's a speed-type fighter to do in this sort of situation?!

     Come up with a new technique on the fly, apparently. She starts letting out her voice in a steady grunt, slowly working up to a louder hum as that yellow aura surrounding her glows more intense. As her hum increases to an open-mouthed noise not unlike that of a certain warrior race, the glow seems to be focused on... Her track jacket? And in one steady motion...

     "Kazuko original: Cast Off Barrier!"

     ... Kazuko pulls her ki-infused jacket off! (She still has a shirt on, don't worry!) She tosses it in front of her, then stabs right into the collar with her naginata and starts drawing rapid circles in front of her, using it as an impromptu shield against the oncoming acid! The jacket doesn't last for very long, but it's enough to keep her from taking all of that acid directly to the everything while defending the Miqo'te!

     By the time the sizzling noises stop, her jacket is nowhere to be seen save for a portion of the sleeve, and the martial artist is covered in acid burns, panting and slumping to the ground. Still alive, though, and smiling through the pain! "C... Can we go now? I think I'm ready to go home now."
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa day is not going well she's lost a leg and she's trying to lay own more fire she can't well do much about the thing in the end as she can't move much. Thankfully she brings it dfown with everyone else in the end and the Dragon finally is dead. The remaining Endermen are eyed slightly but not looked at directly as they don't seem to be wanting to fight and she's fine with that. She'll accept Maaka's help.

"Can we recover what's left of my leg...?"

She askes she's not in pain but she can't /feel/ anything tight now.
Alexis Maaka     "Mhm..." Maaka mumbles in a slur, looking around confusedly with her AK in hand. She wanders over towards the remains after a few minutes of searching, then she just heads towards the portal. Her parts, Kotone's parts, and Kotone herself in tow. They've really earned a break.
Staren     Impact explosives like corrosion charges (?) would work better if Staren wasn't flying in the air. He just has to dodge the projectiles themselves, rather than the blast radius.

    When RAYS come out, Staren expects a big explosion, and takes cover behind the side of the island.

    Once it's all over, he flies back to land by the egg and portal. "So... it drops a portal and egg when it dies?" Steve's world is kind of weird. "What do you do with a dragon egg?"