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Lyner Barsett	A WEEK AGO      An event that quickly came to be known as the Day of Light took place. Aptly named due to the pillars of light that rose up through the Sea of Death. An army of alien beings launched attacks on all three towers, with Sol Ciel's frontier taking a huge hit. A pink haired girl who yet goes nameless, but is considered to be their leader, made a bold proclamation to all of Sol Ciel.      They failed the test long ago. And now, the time to cleanse humanity has come.      PRESENTLY      Scattered attacks from the alien creatures have taken place across the Wings of Horus, and the Church of Elemia and Tenba have worked together to push the enemy back. The people are growing worried and it's eventually time for Bishop Radolf himself to address the public and speak about this new threat. That brings us to today.      At the Airport City Nemo, home of the Church of Elemia, the press conference is set to begin. It's taking place in a spacious rented party stage. There are refreshments for guests and many, many people are gathered here today to hear Radolf's words. The media is out in full force, and there are knights of the church posted all around the outer perimeter, as well as outside and with regular airship patrols in the skies above. Security is somewhat tight. Which is a given, considering what's going down soon enough.      Among those present are Lyner Barsett, Knight of Elemia who seems to be perpetually on the lower lands of Sol Ciel. He's dressed as usual in his armor and cape. He's got a little drink with an umbrella in it, casually sipping while the preparations are made. Also present are Ayla and her two robots. They're dressed casually, rather than in any showy harmonic bodysuits or combat armor like usual. Her story hasn't completely gotten out, but it's best to lay low anyway. The dark skinned Reyvateil looks a liiiiiittle bit uncomfortable to be here. Phonon and Sonnet stand by in a vaguely protective manner on either side of the girl      Hell, even Luke Faelan; the Tenba associate who was partially behind the Phantom Cocoon incidents appears to be present. Though he's keeping waaaaay to himself and watching. Chances are he knows 'something', but he's mum on it all. As far as he's concerned, this is a chance to hear the thoughts of those who were there in Karulu last week.      "The conference should begin at any moment now..." Lyner mumbles aloud over the din of the gather attendees
Kazusa Ujikane	Also also present is Kazusa, because she's got a vested interest in this world at the moment for a number of reasons.     And of course, she's over by Ayla, cheerfully visiting the reyvateil. Well, as cheerfully as can be expected under the circumstances. She's smart enough - or, perhaps, simply read enough fiction - to know that this kind of event is a prime target, and wants to be on hand just in case something goes wrong.     ...even if she's only got two cards available. And neither of them are loaded. And one of them is The Beast.     "Hey, hey, have you ever tried this? I only got one recently for the first time myself, I guess they're called... 'churros'?" Kazusa stumbles over the pronunciation a tad, but lands it in the ballpark. "It's really good." No worries here, no sir.
Jakuri	The most important part that SHOULD have been in that summary of last week... Is that Mir had loudly called someone 'surfboard-chested' while steadily picking her apart because UGH WHAT A BITCH. And now Mir was mad. Mir was mad to the point she had pulled out a doomlaser, just because it seemed like the most appropriate choice at the time. (Please note it was not even slightly appropriate.)     Where does this leave Mir this week, however? Well, considering how she tends to be attached to Lyner at the hips these days... She's attached to Lyner at the hip today. Doubly so because it's a public event and those are possibly The Worst Thiiiing(tm). So much to his potential consternation she's leaning upon his back in a thoroughly unhelpful way, having been convinced not to take ELMA with her today. Instead there's a totally inconspicuous purple bunnything hopping around her feet, keeping watch as the Reyvateil looks, well. Perpetually unimpressed, as ever. "The conference should be over any moment now," Mir parrots.
Taro	In the time leading up to his jaunt here, Taro hit the database and archives to glean what, if any, information about the world he could from them. Some of it is likely outdated, some of it may be completely inaccurate. Still, at least he put some effort into not stepping into this completely cold.      The android priest is attempting to keep a low profile as walks down the street to where the press conference will take place, a dark green cloak tossed over his usual cassock and fastened at the throat with a rather plain broach. It's not much of a disguise, and anyone who knows him is undoubtedly going to recognize him. A trio of cyber-elves, twinkling blue-purple spheres to most eyes, wiggle their way out of the folds of the cloak's hood, their inner light muted under the greater brightness of the sun.     "Sitta, Isten, scout around. Watch for trouble but take care not to cause any." This time. The words implied in his voice but not spoken.     'Yes, Em Taro!' the pair warble in soft electronic voices, then alight to find a windowsill or lamppost from which to observe. The third remains behind, and wiggles up further to where neck meets shoulder, partially obscured by his hair.     And then he enters the plaza. Light refreshments are on hand, and so he finds a cup of tea (or something resembling it) to occupy his hands as he mingles into the crowd. He is here to observe and assess, not to make trouble.
Yuna Kagurazaka	It hasn't been a great week for Yuna. The attack last week in the middle of a relief mission, the incident at Nemos Diana this week, and the fact that she literally has not been able to be on Ar Ciel as much to help save lives as she's driven to ... Yuna hasn't entirely lost her ability to smile, thankfully, but events are clearly taking their toll. She's already in her Light Suit when she arrives at the press conference; Elner is sticking close to her, while Jiina, Marina, and Erina are staying outside, ready to provide additional pairs of eyes on sentry duty, or to combine with Yuna's battlesuit in the event that she needs additional firepower or mobility. Hopefully Yuna won't have to actually address the reporters. She's mostly here as moral support and potential added security; she doesn't think she has it in her to talk about an ongoing disaster that's been stubbornly beyond her ability to stop ... but for now, she's waving and offering smiles to those familiar faces which she spots, on stage or in the crowd.
William Pauwel	It's been a long time, hasn't it...!? There's a figure in the crowd near Ayla, but in many ways the silhouette he casts is... Maybe a bit odd for this part of the multiverse. It's very Old Western. Poncho, fancy hat, and a very brilliant glow radiating from an unusually large handcannon at his hip. "Ain't had churros in a while, myself," the gunslinger drawls from his place near his ~favorite reyvateil.~ "We used to have 'em on the regular, but then the old gunslinger what owned the store got swallowed up by a wandering turkey." Yeah. That... That sure is Will Pauwel. "Glad t' see you up and around though, Ayla!" Will grins, actually moving in to... To rustle her hair!? Will is tempting fate. Again. Especially with these two combat gynoids at either side of her. "How've you been? Adjustin' well to the outside world?"
Staren	Dawn brought Staren a report that that world with the song magic and the weird sphere pocket dimension thingy is under attack by pompous aliens that believe humanity failed some test long ago and that makes it okay to kill the humans that are around now. Staren is all for kicking alien ass. He asks for permission to park his mecha nearby or to wear his armor, seeing if they'll recognize him as a potential ally given the risk of alien attack. Apparently they do, so he's wearing his armor today Just In Case. He finds some security forces to stand with, offering them a reassuring nod and, if given the opportunity, explaining at length the philosophical reasons why the aliens are poopieheads and he supports fighting them.
Deelel	Deelel had yet to report to the watch what happened here, she needed more data first. She was also concerned about how some of the more short sighted members of the watch might react. Hence her keeping them in the dark till they had more data to go on. Hopefully she's get uch things today she now finds out there are more attacks gong on and she's at the press confernece now keeping as lowish of a profile as a woman wearing semi body suit like clothing that has glowing portions of it can. She seems concerned but hey it could be worse there could be no one out to help with this thankfully there is, so here she is waiting to see how this whole affair plays out. Also with Will here? She'll have to make a report one way or another now.
Lyner Barsett	Alya glances at Kazusa and blinks a few times. "Chu...rro?" She sounds awfully confused! But also kind of interested. Hey, the girl's been asleep and almost dead for like, three hundred years. Of course she's got no damn idea what a churro is! And so she looks off towards the refreshments table idly. "....." he don't wanna go over there and deal with people.      Sonnet apparently notices this and smiles. "Leave it to me, Lady Ayla! I will acquire a 'churro' for you without fail!" The more cheerful robot of the pair salutes and then stiffly turns an marches off past Will without giving him a word. Her mission is set. It is time to go. To acquire this treasure of modern society. Without fail. Without pause. Without loss. Without all the things in the world to prevent her from seeing this mission through to the end.      Or something like that.      Phonon meanwhile gives Will the dullest look she can humanly... or robotly manage. Which doesn't take a whole lot of effort, given that she isn't nearly as emotional as her sister. "......." Jiiiiii. But Ayla gives the COWBOY FROM ANOTHER PLANET, a nervous smile. "Um... I..well..." She looks about. "It's kind of scary. Everything's so new and different, and... um... I'm not really sure how to adjust." ...Or if she even can adjust.      Ayla does give Yuna a wave and a smile when she spots the idol though.      Lyner meanwhile feels a weight on his back... well, it's been there a while now. And while he's kind of just let it be, it was juuuuuuuust a little bit embarrassing. "Hey uh...Mir? I know I asked you not to bring ELMA in for this, but could you maybe ease up just a little bit on using me as a replacement?" Pause. "A smidge? A tiny bit? Slightly?"      No? Okay.      He shakes his head and looks toward the stage with the podium set up. "Aw, come on. It's not that bad, is it?" It might actually be that bad. Taro of course, is given no trouble, because he's making no trouble. And Staren is allowed to help shore up security, along with Yuna. Multiversal forces are recognized to be assets. Though some may be a little bit wary of their power. Nonetheless, it's better to have them as allies, than enemies. that's for sure.
Kazusa Ujikane	The nerdy bookworm doesn't skip a beat. She tears off a piece of her own churro and holds it out. "Here! Be careful, there's some cinnamon on it, it'll be on your fingers too.     As they chat, Kazusa's attention span briefly wanders... and then she looks at Will, and then her purse, and then Will again.     Then she takes out one of her cards, and holds it up to Will. It's got an image of an old-fashioned revolver against a black background on the front, labeled 'THE MARKSMAN'. And when she holds it near Will... well, the front /shimmers/, just faintly. Kazusa's eyes widen. "Ooooh! I knew it!"
William Pauwel	Phonon gets a big, dopey grin. The kind that says 'I've got a headpat for you too!' But later. Will has to focus on headpatting one girl at a time, otherwise people might accuse him of being some kind of... Serial Patter. By extension, though, Ayla gets a big smile too! "Ah, don't you fret little lady! Y'all've only been awake for a little while yet, there's plenty of time for you to see the world." Or, there will be, hopefully, if they can deal with this particular brand of apocalypse. But then... Kazusa... cards him. Will blinks at the adorable nerd. "Uh. What's up? Did y'all want a patting too?" His hand menaces with headpats.
Taro	Taro deems his drink 'not unpleasant', and he sips it occasionally while finding a spot that's close but not too close to the temporary stage. No doubt all of the reporters have staked out the most prime spots up in the front already anyway. Conversations are going on around him, to which he listens rather than joining. He also moves out of the way of the Very Eager Attendent making a beeline for the refreshments table, eyes following her for a moment after she passes, then turning back in the direction from which she came. A moment of watching, before he turns his attention elsewhere.     Yuna's noticed, but since they are not exactly what one would call friends, he has no reason to draw her attention. Staren hasn't been noticed yet...but then, considering how he's been acting toward him, it'd be hard to say whether he'd acknowledge Staren's presence even if he had.     Meanwhile, the cyber-eleves flit overhead at the edges of the crowd, watching with silent interest at all of the people gathered for this. It's all so unlike home!
Kazusa Ujikane	Kazusa shakes her head, visibly excited now. "No, no no! You know that thing where I borrow someone's powers and their appearance and some of their personality for a while?" She nods her head sharply at the card. "You're a Marksman! Come on, card, do your thing. Go. Go on, do it." She sort of shakes it once or twice, frowns, then holds it out /with empahsis/, and-         O keen-eyed ranger, will you lend your eye to this brave soul?             It's not spoken in actual words. It's more basic than that. It's like... an impression, a sense. A very basic 'idea' of 'meaning'. But if words COULD be put to the question the card impresses upon Will, those would be the words.     Kazusa is looking between card and Will expectantly.
Jakuri	"Well I *wanted* a piggyback ride, but you're being a stick-in-the-mud. So i'm going to lean against you and you'll endure it like the good, stoic knight you are." Saaarcasm. Mir is apparently just a little sour about having to leave ELMA behind. ELMA is her lifeline, after all! Her only defense against this cruel harsh world! A world that cannot accept her for who she iiiis...! Or maybe Mir is just antisocial and Lyner's forcing her not to be is not sitting well. Despite her smarm in reply to his request, she actually does pull free of him, scooping her bunny virus up into her arms and hugging it as she stands beside Lyner, at least settling her cheek against his arm. "If I don't get a box of chocolates for this, I might just anex your bed as an outpost of Fort Funbun."
William Pauwel	"Oh... Oh! Oh...?" Will rubs at his chin as another mysterious voice speaks into his mind. This is happening a lot these days. Do all magical artifacts and/or entities just sort of brainspeak or something? Hmm. "Weeeeeellllll." Will considers the possibilities and implications of the existence of Another Will. ... ......... ...Well! What could go wrong? "Sure! I don't see why not!" (THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY NOT) "Knock yourself out! Couldn't hurt, right?" (YES IT COULD)
Deelel	So it seems things are about to start now, she sits back and waits.Things seem to not be going too well but it couldbe going a lot worse. Deelel is keeping watch in her own way but she's not formally reached out today she's more watching the crowds given with things like this? There will be the mad who might end up trying to aid the ones out to purge all life from this region of the multivese. But honestly what could go wrong here?
Kazusa Ujikane	The surface of the card shimmers again. And the firearm on the front /changes/. It goes from a generic revolver, to something far more specific and familiar - the Solano.     Kazusa holds it up happily. "Nehehehe~... thank you, Will! If we get in a fight, this will help a lot."
Yuna Kagurazaka	At least, Yuna thinks, there are plenty of familiar faces here. Yuna watches idly as Kazusa goes over to William and cards him; *she* can't think of a particularly good reason why Kazusa shouldn't copy Will's abilities ... although maybe the risk of duplicating the Solano in all its detail is a thing that's worth worrying about. For now, since she's not supposed to go on stage (that she knows of), Yuna goes over to the two of them, getting there just in time to hear Kazusa's comment post-copying. "I almost think you mean 'when' rather than 'if,'" the blonde says wryly, "but positive thoughts, right? How've you been doing, Kazusa? It's been a while since we had a chance ot talk ... hey Will," she adds, nodding politely to the Chaser, just confirming that no, she's not ignoring his presence.
Lyner Barsett	Ayla watches Sonnet run off, then she sighs. Kazusa offer her a piece of her churro. She takes it hesitantly and then pops it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. ".... ..... ...." All the while, her eyes widen ever so slowly. "This is... really good!" Wow, it's just fried dough and cinnamon sugar, but even that's new to her. There's a smile and the Reyvateil nods to Will. "I... okay. I'll do my best!" Evidently cheered up by having soomething new and tasty, she clenches her fists and gives a determined nod.      Lyner meanwhile just groans and hangs his head at Mir. "Uh... ... I mean I guess I can? I'm not sure how not bringing ELMA correlates with buying chocolate, but... I kinda need my bed to sleep in so..." SIGH. What is this this psychological hostage situation!? Where is Ayatane!? If only he could help deal with his moody mother! Like come on! ...No really, where *is* that guy?      Anyway-
Lyner Barsett	All of that aside, things begin to quiet down as announcements are made and Radolf is finally called up to the stage. He stands at the podium and adjust the mic before addressing the people in the crowd. "Good day, everyone. I'm Bishop Radolf Schneizen, as I'm sure you're already aware." He smiles and proceeds. "Over the past week, Our land ha been under attack by mysterious lifeforms that claim that we failed some kind of test long ago. And that now, we were at the mercy of Ar Ciel's will."      He shakes his head. "They all but destroyed the frontier. And they make attempts to advance on Nemo. But we're stopping them. We'll always stop them." A fist is clenched. "We as a race, have come too far in our history to just lay down and give up now." He shakes his head. "We've made mistakes. Countless mistakes. But even so, we've also made progress. Undeniable progress in every way imaginable. And we'll continue to make that progress into the future. Hand in hand with one another. That's what I believe is the correct course for-"      Suddenly, right then and there, the lights in the party hall all go dead, plunging the entire place into total darkness. Barring whatever glows are being emitted from people's belonging and equipment, of course. The mic goes dead too, but Radolf's voice is quick to raise. "What the- Men! Get auxiliary power running!"      Lyner, meanwhile, frowns from where he stands in the darkness. Not moving an inch. "...I knew it."
William Pauwel	"Ahahaha, well it's fine! Anything to help a friend--" And then Radolf comes on stage. Radolf speaks, extolling the virtues of humankind. Will nods long, agreeing pretty firmly. After all, the people of his world lived through a similarly apocalyptic event, right? But then the lights go off. Lyner... Seems like he was expecting this. To Will's credit... So was he. "Hold on, one sec--" He reaches into a pocket and unlimbers a handful of chemical torches... And a flaregun. The latter is launched into the air. The former are distributed amongst anyone who happens to be nearby. Adding to the lightshow is Terminal Judgment's bright, blue glow as Will unholsters his trusty sidearm. "This looks bad. Keep your eyes open, y'all. Who knows where they might come from?" Switched to firing mode. Please do not stare directly into or stand in front of my barrel.
Staren	Staren spots Yuna in the crowd, but he doesn't want to attract too much attention. Will and Kazusa too, he recognizes... Yeah, Will would be awkward to talk to.     Finally, it's time for the big announcement! Staren turns to watch...     Pretty standard stuff, until the power goes out. Staren reaches into his bag and starts throwing little battery-powered LEDs around to get some light up. And pings Elner asking to share tactical data if he's around.
Jakuri	Ayatane is in daycare, don't you recall Mir saying that ages ago? ...She might have been telling a lie. It's difficult to tell with her, in honesty. When the lights go out though, she looks entirely... Well. Unimpressed. Standing up more straight and glancing up to Lyner, she merely frowns slightly. "And this is why you should have let me take the robot tankdog with me," comes the flat reply, eyes rolling slightly. Tossing her bunny up such that it disappears in a flurry of what looks like... Data particles, she stretches. "So we have to do this the old fashioned way!" A slap on Lyner's back. "Vanguard! You must defend the fair lady Reyvateil while she summons death upon our enemies."
Taro	The two cyber-elves in the air suddenly become much more visible as the hall goes dark, twinkling like a pair of Christmas tree lights. They've been caught as much by surprise as everyone else, and their first instinct is to hover where they are. After a moment, one of them warbles, 'It wasn't me!'     The cyber-elf still perched on Taro's shoulder is also more visible now, though she's otherwise remaining silent. Taro himself blinks a couple of times as his eyes adjust to the sudden lack of light, his usual frown deepening somewhat. The cup is transferred to his other hand as he reaches under his cloak, drawing a pocket scanner from its holster on his belt. It certainly isn't as poweful as a full sensor suite, but it ought to pick up energy readings in the immediate area. Perhaps it might even a little better now that there is a distinct lack of energy flowing to the lights and sound system.
Kazusa Ujikane	The lights go out.     "Hiiiiiiiiii-!"     That was Kazusa, squealing like a little girl.     The glow from the Solano reveals Kazusa clinging to Ayla. After a second or two, she lets go, with a deeply embarrassed giggle. "Eh... eheheheh... I was just... gonna cover her, yeah." She takes a step or two away, a-hems, and then holds up her card between a pair of fingers, as if in readiness. Thankfully, that leaves her one hand free to take one of Will's chemical torches. "A-anyway, everyone be ready. I'm set to transform any time now."
Deelel	Deelel was never unarmed she would never be so. She seem to be taking things in stride now as they are still making ready for the moment and then finally the informationc omes and she listens but then seemt very troubled something doesn't seem right as the light goes out and Deelel becomes like a becon n the night with her clothing and tattoos giving off a good deal of light she doesn't go for her disc nor summon her keyblade just yet but she seems concerned and turns up the light output from her clothing a bit.
Yuna Kagurazaka	"From above," is Yuna's answer to William. There's a soft glow from her Light Suit, so the darkness in the hall isn't *complete*, but good luck actually navigating by that subtle radiance coming off her armor. "Not sure if we can get outside before they get here, but -" What tactical data Elner has is filtering in from Jiina, Marina, and Erina, stationed as they are around the outside of the building; with their input, though, Elner is able to extrapolate approach vectors and a smidgen of additional sensor data. For now, Yuna just glances around at the other Elites present. If Elner's prediction is right, they won't have time to get outside before those incoming signals actually arrive - unless somebody here goes straight up, or something. And that doesn't seem like a great idea. "Elner, have Erina meet me at the side door," Yuna asks the robo-faerie before she starts making her way towards the door in question. "And if whatever's coming in is as big as what we fought Karulu, get Jiina and Marina over there too!"
Lyner Barsett	It seems that most of those here can get by on no light. Good, because right about after Yuna informs those nearby of the conditions of what is happening and start to scramble, the glass roof above *shatters*. Glass shards and debris fall down like a deadly rain, exposing the approaching evening sky as several large forms hit the ground in landing. They rise to their feet. Sleek, golden forms, different from the creatures fought last week. Their arms are elongated and curved, resembling blades.      "They're here after all..." Lyner murmurs, stepping in front of Mir a she so pleasantly suggests, blade drawn. Ayla meanwhile takes a good couple steps back, retreating to the back lines. Sonnet passes her, handing a plate with a couple churros on it to her master before she stands next to Phonon. "Multiple unknown lifeforms sighted. Likelihood of combat: 80%." The more dull one of the pair coolly reports.      At that point, the lights on the perimeter come back on. But they're faint and red in hue. Auxiliary power indeed.      Those large, golden creatures tower above people, and they immediately start fanning out, unleashing a flurry of slashes from their arm blades. Aimed for civilian attendees and knights alike. It's indiscriminate and the screams and panic start up immediately. Along with a rush of people trying to *get out* of this hellscape.      "What the hell are those things!?"      "They're attacking! Run! Run!"      "All civilians evacuate now! Move move!"      But that's not all.      In the roaring rush of the crowd that runs to escape the party hall, there's a single individual that walks against the tide in the slowest, most casual fashion.      ...It's wearing the oddest clown costume.      It's also carrying a scythe.
Kazusa Ujikane	Well, Kazusa did say that she was ready to transform any time. Now is as good a time as any! Especially with all that glass raining down. She stays beside Ayla long enough to ensure the Reyvateil is unhurt, and then thrusts her card out and yells, "By the card I choose, I stand as a hero! THE MARKSMAN!"     The card erupts into a shower of white sparks, that passes over her body in a wave. In her hand it leaves a familiar, high-tech pistol. On her body, it leaves a grain-golden poncho, a brown vest plated in makeshift armor, black cargo pants, odd boots. Her free hand has a cowboy hat in it, the white feather fluttering as she sweeps it up onto a head full of hair that's now a dirty brown-blonde. Blue-green eyes dart around the room-     Switched to firing mode. Please do not stare directly into or stand in front of my barrel.     -and Kazusa's voice issues from the newly-copied Solano, speaking with Terminal Judgment's exact tone and intonation. "Y'all get back, we got this! Will, y'know more about how to use this stuff well than I do, you call the shots an' I'll take 'em!"     It's gotta be weird hearing Kazusa speak with Will's exact delivery.
Taro	Chaos erupts.     Taro leaves the scanner on full record as he jams it back into its belt holster, and his cup becomes an unfortunate casualty as he drops it to shield his head from the rain of glass. "Isten, Sitta! Exits! Guide these people out of here!" A monster he may be, but the wanton slaughter of innocents for no reason does not sit well with him. "Myrrh, stay with me."     As the pair of 'elves zip over to the exit doors nearest to them (and the third alights to hover over his shoulder), the android draws his beam sabre from his belt and walks with purpose toward the the gold-hued creature nearest to him. With so many fleeing in the opposite direction on either side of him, he's forced to wait until he's practically nose to nose with it before he can activate the energy blade. His plan, insofar as he has one, is to give them a suitable distraction, hopefully allowing the non-coms to clear the area. And trust that their flight doesn't lead them to a worse disaster outside the building.
William Pauwel	And then everything goes to hell. The sound of shattering glass gets Zed's his attention almost immediately. His eyes go to the ceiling, which is only an OK decision due entirely due to his insistence on wearing wide-brimmed hats everywhere he goes. Shards of glass fall and shatter against his choice of headgear. "Aw damnit, they've got the drop on us-- SOLANO!" Roger. Will snaps his arm skyward. Bolts of rippling hot plasma streak into the air, swallowing larger pieces of falling glass and reducing them to clouds of SiO2 vapor. "Phonon," Will calls, "Y'all take care of Ayla. I've got--" ... Will stares at Kazusa. Time seems to stop. Will takes advantage of the fact that talking is a free action and sort of waggles his jaw at... At that there. ...I am uncertain how to feel about this. Searching for legal options. "D-do I really sound like-- no, wait! Focus, Will! Y'all have a job!" "Kazu," Will yells, "It's a gun! Y'all point the shooty end at a thing you don't like and pull the trigger! Aim for bits that look shiny or partic'larly like weaknesses, and you'll do fine!" That's... Not very good advice, but...! "There's someone else here. Looks like a... Clown?" Will... Does not trust clowns. No particular reason, clowns are just weird. Also this one has a scythe and is moving THROUGH the crowd, nobody's dying, but... "...I'm going to see what's up," he murmurs, "Kazu! Watch Ayla!" And with that, Will moves into the crush of humanity... And fires into the air, trying to part the metaphorical sea around him and give he and the clown a bit of space to... Parley. At gunpoint. As giant horrible monsters whirl dangerously around them-- but Will's used to that. He's not used to creepy, casually walking clown masks. "Hey. Who're you, and what're you doing here, pardner?"
Deelel	There seems to be something here after all and the Dual Disc snaps into existance in Deelel's right hand. The Keyblade itself glows with a light of it's own and Deelels' already moving first goes up the protect spells to protecvt the people then the's trying to do what she can to help them get out. It's a darn trap, and she's muttering about these enemies. They are liokely for the ones seeking genoicde here. She's seen the end result of Genocide after all and it's something that really sets the basic off pretty darn hard.. "I'll cover the evacuation you guys worry about this!"
Yuna Kagurazaka	Yuna makes a face; if she's upset enough to actually curse, it's conveniently obscured over the crashing noise as the roof gets smashed through - which is exactly what she might (or most likely is suppressing the desire to) curse about. Again, innocent civilians aren't merely in harm's way but are being directly attacked .... and again, Yuna's in no position to protect everyone who needs protecting. It's almost worse this time, because while the big gold things are easily large enough to require El-Line, the Matrix Figure is *NOT* an option this time around - they're technically indoors, and more importantly, there's no room for El-Line to fight without being as much of a danger to the civilians (and the Knights) as the monsters are. At least she doesn't need to get outside now; Erina takes the initiative and simply flies into the 'hall' through the newly-opened ceiling. Not that assuming an alternate form is at the top of Yuna's list right now. More than merely being upset, she's *angry* - angry that forces like this keep singling out civilians, angry that this world's been doomed by something that doesn't care about details like 'not warned about the tests' or 'trying to improve'. Angry that no matter what she tries to bring out, it's not enough. With a crackling flare of light, the Matrix Divider materializes in Yuna's hands, its blade/barrel business end starting to glow brightly even as she levels it at the nearest of those great golden beasts. "Haaaaaaaa ... !!!" Yuna calls out, a wordless kiai that crescendoes in tandem with the brightening charge in her weapon, punctuated by a yell as she pulls the trigger - And a veritable lightning bolt of concussive radiance erupts, trying to *splatter* what passes for a head on one of those creatures.
Lyner Barsett	Everything goes to hell.      The knights of the church are joined by Yuna in stopping thosse merciless creatures. That energy shot blasts the head off of one of them. There's no splatter of anything resembling blood. It just stands there and undulates subtly. But.... it's still moving. With a *sweep* of it's blade it strikes several surrounding knights away, and then turns to Yuna, headless but somehow still knowing where she is. Then it charges right for her, engaging in a deadly dance of dual blade slashes from close quarters.      Lyner... doesn't dive into the fray, no. He keeps right where he is, critically eyeing the situation and guarding Mir. "So uh...Mir. We're gonna need ssome serious firepower here." He looks back at her and grins idiotically. "It's okay to fire off a mass of lasers this time." Fool. But right then, one of those gold aliens swoops in with a strike. "Tch-!" He lashes out and parries the strike. "Ball's in your court now!" And with that, he preses forward, putting space between the creature and the Reyvateil.      Meanwhile, Radolf is busy. It seems like Luke has joined the battle as well. The two of them are back to back, clashing with their own problem golden invaders. The evacuation appears to be going well. It's far too hectic to determine if anyone's dead just yet, but the knights and the multiversals are doing a decent job keeping the enemies busy. Taro walks right up through the crowd, and then...      The creature turns to look down at him. "......" Some sort of electronic warble is made. And then...it unleashes a heavy dual sweeping slash!      But in that time, Deelel and Taro's Cyber Elves are guiding the evacuation, along with other knights. Directing the chaos out to the exits rather than all around in a confused mess. That would be terribly bad!      In all this chaos, Ayla meanwhile stays in the general assumed safety of Kazusa Pauwel, and with Phonon and Sonnet guarding her as well. And she starts to sing. Hymmnos streams out as a mass of energy forms above her. At least, she can do this much.      MEANWHILE Will parts the rushing crowd of escaping people like christ parted the Red Sea, and that slow walking clown loses it's cover. It stops and stares at the cowboy. With those eyes within the mask. They dull and glow periodically. "...... ......" Nothing is said. Nothing is said even in the face of that gun pointed at it. Then- Then a woman's voice speaks.      "You're not my target."      And then, she's gone.      No, she's not gone, she's right in front of Will, scythe swinging to cleave mercilessly. Seems this one isn't really much for negotiations, is she?
Deelel	Deelel is working witht he knigths and Taro as they seek to get the people out she may be making herself a target. She's not sure what' going on on the other en od things ight now but once the people are cleared out? Deelel will rejoin the battle but for now people come first there are others who can deal with the right right? But she woners will they be able to hold out against osmething unknown like this genocidal woman? Construct? She has no idea /what/ they are.
Kazusa Ujikane	"Well I get /that/ part! I jus'--"     Oh boy here they come.     The creatures are coming. Kazusa immediately begins to snap off shots at the things, even her shooting form eerily similar to Will's own. She gets the hang of that much pretty quick - or rather, 'having the hang of it' is part of the basic package. Seeing Yuna take one's head off and subsequently receive an attack for her trouble tips the faux Chaser that it's pointless, so instead she starts sending those bolts of plasma straight for the center of mass. She's paying a particularly high degree of attention to the ones approaching her and Ayla, but she's not above sending a shot or two out into the crowd to cover civilians, too.
William Pauwel	"Not one for talkin' are you? Well I--" Incoming. Discharging.     Soma seems to teleport, eschewing all notions of time and space to step suddenly into the empty air. A normal human's reflexes are nowhere near precise enough to avoid such a strike, but Judgment is no human, and he is certainly not normal. Will's finger barely brushes the trigger before the gun fires. A burst of plasma erupts from the Solano's barrel, blasting Will back just enough to barely avoid a fatal strike. Instead, he gets a great bloody gash across his chest, divided by a broad strip of black metal where the clown's scythe skipped across his sole piece of real armor. Soma is treated to a burst of the finest charged plasma the Ancients could shove into a handcannon. "Hnng," Will growls, aiming through the pain. "So what if I'm not!? I ain't gonna just let you kill who you like!" The Solano flashes thrice more, a burst of plasma screaming into the air... At Soma's scythe. And hands. Seems Will doesn't like her using that thing.
Taro	Taro's impormptu plan seems to have worked, in that he has gotten the attention of one of the attacking creatures through the sheer audacity of walking straight up to it. However, said creature moves faster than he anticipated. While he's able to jink cleanly out of the way of one of its claws, the second clips him on the right, ripping though cloak and cassock to gash his upper arm. Thankfully the armored bodysuit takes the brunt of the blow as it's torn. He staggers a half step to the side as he regains his footing, but otherwise he does not retreat.     His eyes narrow, and he activates his beam sabre with a snap-hiss of energy, and in that moment lungest forward , trying to get inside the machine's (or so he surmises) greater reach to slash in return. Small, neat, and rapid strokes with little waste of motion, trying to stay low and avoid its claws.     Meanwhile, the cyber-elves at the exits warble and wave. 'This way! This way!' 'Hurry, hurry!' 'Oh hi Deelel!' 'Keep them safe, would you?'
Jakuri	"It's... It's really okay?" Mir asks, genuinely astounded for a moment. There's even a look on her face to match, which is replaced by a wicked smile for a moment before she begins to Sing. Hymmnos rings out above the sounds of battle just as it has so many times before, at least for Lyner and Mir herself. With him defending her, she has all the time she needs to focus herself on gathering energy and summoning those lasers... The Gazing Eye arrives once more, a large black orb some could identify as a form of Beholder. With one large, red eye that opens a moment after it appears above her head, it looks towards the carnage and then that eye glows... It glows and a large, red beam is unleashed at the nearest attacker, before slowly swepping in an arch that cuts through all that are silly enough to be in the way. This may seem terrifying, but Mir is adept at both hitting those she dislikes, and not hitting those that she... Dislikes less.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Go figure, Yuna thinks bitterly, of *course* blowing their heads off doesn't stop them, it practically makes them more dangerous. She switches her grip on the Matrix Divider from gun mode to sword mode, watching the monster charge at her - But rather than trying to meet either of its blades with her weapon, Yuna *sprints* between the scythes, risking injury to herself (she trusts the Light Suit's protection, maybe more than she technically should) in favor of trying to leap up and lay open the creature's 'belly' ... punctuated with another concussive discharge of radiant force, aimed to release it as close to the creature's center of mass as she possibly can. How many more people are going to die while she's focusing on surviving being the center of *this* one's attention? How many more of these creatures are attacking elsewhere? She doesn't want to think about it. But that doesn't mean she isn't going to feel it anyway. For now, she just takes all of it out on her immediate adversary, trying to take advantage of being smaller, and *hopefully* being more maneuverable than the giant gold thing she's engaged in battle with.
Staren	Monsters are here! Tall, golden people. Huh, okay. This is, after all, /exactly/ why Staren asked to be here with heavy weapons. He just starts blasting. Mostly ranged energy weapons, aft first -- he'd prefer to wait to use the explosives until civilians are clear. There's a clown too, but other people are fighting it. These aliens need to be killed too, before they kill more civilians.
Lyner Barsett	Yes, there they come. En masse. But it's probably okay because everyone's here to deal with it!      Maybe.      Kazusa's lightning speed lesson in 'How to Solano' is all she's going to get because there's no more time to think. Shots are fired off left, right, and center, punching holes through the things dead center. They don't go down with the first shots, but it seems like they don't regenerate either... So then if one totally destroys their motor functions and disarms them... They're as good as defeated, no? Otherwise, these things are going to keep on coming.      Phonon and Sonnet change to combat forms, the dour one of the pair backing up Kazusa with an array of crimson laser fire to accompany the bolts of azure plasma assaulting the golden enemies. Sonnet summons an array of phantasmal weaponry that revolves around her in a circular formation. She takes hold of a huge blade and dives into the fray, attacking anything that gets too close to them all.      Ayla's singing continues, and the mass of energy above her grows stroger still. Then, her eyes open and she spreads her arms. What follows is a burst of explosive energy. It washes through a wide area, scorching the creatures nearby into half melted things...that still move. Curiously, friendlies and the environment are unharmed. "...These things are...so resilient." It's kind of frustrating!      But Mir follows it up with a similar spell, that conjured beholder firing off a blazing beam that tears through a wide array of the golden creatures. Some get shorn right in half, others lose arms or legs, and otherwise just plain lose a good chunk of motor or weapon functions. Which is just perfect for allowing the knights about to mop up.      Yuna is being kept awfully busy, unable to break off and do anything else. Which seems to be just as well, because Will is holding up what just might be the ringleader. She smartly avoids engaging it in a head-on duel and instead punches a hole right through it with concussive force. The shockwave resulting is strong enough to throw the thing onto it's back. ...The perfect chance to disarm it. After all, they don't seem to have energy weapons.      Taro's distraction proves to keep the golden foe in his sight from advancing on the evacuating crowd. Which is just as well for Deelel and his cyber elves, who keep the evacuation going as smoothly as possible. Blows are exchanged, with the smaller of the two being able to leave many slashes and stabs into the gold surface. But...despite all the strikes it's taking, it's not weakening at all. A more precise plan of action may be needed to ground these things...      In the meantime, Will is engaged with the strange figure in the clown suit. She immediately leans her head aside at the blast from that gun, which sears past her head and singes one of the costume's dangling ears. Annoying. How was she spotted so quickly? Regardless, she needs to pass through and get to her target... But she makes no indication as to who it is. "Whether you'll allow me to kill who I like isn't necessary information." She almost sounds amused. And she takes her time as she speaks, walking slowly forward while Will fires off several more shots.      Her scythe wielding arm blurs, and she slashes through those shots with precision. They divide and then strike the ground on either side of her. Then... then she vanishes again.      Will suddenly finds himself up close and personal with a clown head, red and blue eyes glowing intensely. "Move." And she sweeps her weapon outwards, aiming to bat the Chaser aside as much as she in trying to cleave into him.
William Pauwel	The target's reflexes are outside of expected parameters. "You think!?" Yes. "Damnit!" Will cusses as Soma not only dodges that point-blank blast, but ALSO cuts right through his plasma shots... Without even so much as a drop of molten metal. Incoming. Will comes face to face with an evil, too-fast clown. "Khh--!" He darts... In? His feet are braced against the ground. A polearm like that, getting too close is better than getting too far. Even that sees his back raked with its razor-sharp blade, he hisses a gasp of pain between his teeth. "No way, no how! I don't know who you're after, but... But this ain't right! What'd these people ever do to you!?"
Kazusa Ujikane	After all that shooting, Ayla finally manages to cut loose, and with her blast and the help from Phonon and Sonnet, Kazusa has finally thinned out the horde enough to feel that the reyvateil is safe... which is good, because holy crap that scytheclown is bearing down on him. "Will! Aw, hell--" She hastily turns to Ayla. "You get in trouble again, just holler, I won't be far!"     Then she turns to run. "Solano!" Kazusa Pauwel yells. Terminal Ujikane reconfigures on the fly as the pseudocowgirl runs; with Will that close to her target, she can't afford to take shots at range, so there's only one real option - get in close.     'Get in close', in this instance, being a running tackle on the clown girl.     At the same time, she triggers the Solano... which has been set to a lightning configuration, the closest she can get to a taser. The upside is that it's got plenty of voltage.     The downside is that Kazusa is also at point blank when she sets it off.     BZAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!
Taro	Taro's arm wound isn't bleeding, a sign that his human appearance is only skin deep. In turn, the golden creature he's been harrying shows even fewer signs of injury, even though he's certain he's gotten a handful of clean blows through. This is both a disappointment and a source of consternation for him. Unfortunately, he left his highly explosive devices in his other cassock. However...     A quick flick of the wrist by his off hand drops a knife into it - one that's rigged with an EMP emitter. If this creature is in fact as electro-mechanical as he is, then perhaps it has some of the same vulnerabilities. Time for an experiment.     After ducking his head to avoid yet another blow, he jabs upward in an attempt to bury the knife into the creature's hide as deeply as possible, then drops his grip and ducks back again. A second later, the blade would trigger a localized burst of electromagnetic energy. Of course, if he's wrong and the creature is more organic, then all it may do is give it a jolt.     Truth be told, he's too busy fighting his own battle to break off and check how the others are faring, let alone see to the (other) Bishop. Hopefully someone else is handling that.
William Pauwel	There. Out of the corner of his eye, movement. Not one of those alien monsters, but... Him!? No. It's just Kazusa Pauwel with the Terminal Ujikane. "Kazusa wait no--" Wait, no. This is exactly what people think when HE does stuff like this, right? He... He never realized. This is terrible! This is so dangerous! It's... It's... He... ... He has a brilliant plan. "I got you!" Will roars, ducking in and pressing his own weapon against Soma's chest. It, too starts crackling with electricity, but... No, it's reversed! The polarity, it's... It's forming a circuit with its counterpart in Kazusa's hands!? "Let's see how you like this, you grinnin' blackguard! JUDGMENT!" Confirmed. Improvising double contact. Dual Shock. Downside: This is really going to hurt. Upside: This is really going to hurt the clown, too.
Yuna Kagurazaka	They can be toppled? That's ... well, honestly, that's better than Yuna had hoped for, and she's certainly not going to hesitate to capitalize - channeling another big charge into the Matrix Divider, and pivoting into a big, sweeping slash at the creature's 'arms' to try and sever the scythes completely. If it takes more than one swing between the two of them, she'll happily take as many swings as are required ... unless it seems like her oversized opponent is about to flip right-side-up again. If THAT happens, she switches to driving the Matrix Divider as deep into the main body as she can, building up as much power as fast as she can gather it in the Divider's blade/barrel ... and then letting all that power erupt as deep inside the gold-colored mass as she can reach without risking a limb. Honestly, after what happened at Karulu, he idea of simply blowing these things apart is EXTREMELY appealing. And ... well, if you know Yuna, you know that it sholdn't be.
Deelel	Taro helps out a lot Deelel will not be forgetting that heck some o the old bad blood for him being a Fed is fading away but for now she's going o focus on the masses hopefully she's able to finish up getting everyone else as she'll use her keyblade to deflect attacka dn tyhe odd time she'll throw it like a spinning frizebee at the attacking flyners whn it's needed but all and all her focuse is on get the people out. She keep tabs on Taro as he wors andn she too keeps her self mobile while everyone else is fighting it seems things are working as well as could be hoped in the end.
Lyner Barsett	Lyner lets out a sigh of relief as he pulls his sword from a fallen creature, mopping up in the aftermath of Mir and Ayla's laser spam. The rest of the knights with Radolf and Luke can clear up the remnants on their own, but... He squints over at Yuna. She.... She seems to be enjoying tearing and/or blowing that fallen golden entity to shreds a liiiiiiittle more than he recalls her being prone to be.      "Uh...Hey, Yuna...?" He calls over to her a he approaches, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Hey! Hey hey- It's not moving anymore. You're just wasting energy." After that, he sighs exasperatedly. "Look, I know these things have caused a lot of problems lately, but what you're doing? It's not healthy."      Taro meanwhile is locked in combat with his opponent. He's more nimble, so he can manuever about and that works wonders for the gambit he sets up. Avoiding another swing, he jams that knife in and sets off a burst of eletromagnetic energy. The force throws the creature back, a gaping crater in it's chest with spiderwebs of damage all about it. The thing struggles to get back up, seemingly in no pain. Merely contending with reduced motor functions. It'll be easy pickings to take the rest of it out now. As the chuch knights rush in to assist with Taro posthaste.      MEANWHILE...      Will is an idiot.      And since Kazusa copied him, she is also an idiot by proxy.      But sometimes, you have to do the dumb thing to get results beyond what is possible. In this case, with two Solanos pressed into her and unleashing surging currents of electricity... well. "Nnnnnnnggrrrhhaaaaa!" She screams painfully under the suit. But even still... even still she doesn't fall. Instead, her costume seems to crackle and burn, and she grips her scythe, lurching in a circle to spin and break the deadlock before she leaps aside.      Skidding across the ground, parts of her costume fall away. The head is burned up, the body crumbles, and... what's revealed to be under it all in the smoking aftermath, is the figure of a girl. With long black hair. She wears a white dress...that's soaked through with sweat. Enough to see the vague outline of undergarments beneath, but who the hell is looking at that right now?      "Hmph." The girl huffs painfully and rolls her neck a bit, producing cracks. "Secondary mission failed." She rises to her feet, looking over all present. Her gaze lingers on Radolf for a moment. "But the primary objective was completed." Huh? What primary objective? No one's dead! She closes her eyes and speaks. "I didn't expect such stupidity from you people. A suicide attack?" The raven haired girl sighs.      "Soma. That's my name." She smirks. "You'd do well to remember it." Then, a large shape falls from the sky, landing behind her. A flying type golden entity. She hops onto it and takes to the air. "This is far from over." And then.... she's gone.
William Pauwel	It isn't an adventure unless Will is in serious physical distress by its end. Being essentially on the receiving end of a point blank discharge from not one but two of the Solano's electronic blasts is unpleasant to say the least. Electricity surges up his arms, tendrils of lightning creeping up his skin and between his teeth before finally the girl-- Soma-- breaks the circuit and... Spins away, revealing... W- Wh--! Who would wear something like... LIKE THAT!? "So...ma," Will grunts, falling unceremoniously onto his face. "I'll remember that... Remember..." "Gotta get her... Better clothes." Damnit Will. ... He's flashing a thumbs-up though. So he's probably OK.
Staren	Super-tough golden men. Like mini-Scions. Great. Staren has an array of weaponry to try on them though...     But it seems they're leaving. "Leave this world, and never trouble humanity again. Your test doesn't matter." Staren says to the girl as she and her aliens leave... but he doesn't think she's going to listen.     They never do.
Kazusa Ujikane	Later, Kazusa will probably regret her choice in...     ...no, no let's be honest, she won't regret a thing. Except all the pain.     Where Will collapses away, so to does his card-based Korean knockoff, staggering back a step, turning, and dropping quite solidly onto her back. "Will... y'got some crazy ways of problem solvin'..." she groans.     But at the same time, she's putting up a thumbs-up too. So it can't be all that bad, right?
Taro	Let us be clear: Taro is not a good person. By his own admission, he is a monster. However, the present circumstances are making him look good by comparison.      It's clear now that the golden creatures can be dispatched, though it takes a great deal of effort to do so. Said effort coming in the form of additional Knights and their additional swords are accepted without a word of complaint.     By the time he's able to turn his attention from that unpleasant task, the apparent leader of this mission is already making good her escape. Without so much as a chance to hurl questions at her, unless he could conjure up a method of pursuit, which he cannot. After watching her disappear into the night sky, his gaze lowers to survey the damage wrought. "This was pointless." A muttered opinion, though loud enough it might be overheard. Left unspoken: if genocide is their goal, surely there is a far more efficient way of accomplishing it....
Yuna Kagurazaka	The fact that blowing these big gold things apart is appealing doesn't actually mean Yuna is enjoying it, and there's not even a trace of a smile on her face when Lyner interrupts her. However, judging by the way she jumps and yelps when Lyner's hand rests on her shoulder does convey one thing: She REALLY needed to be snapped out of it, 'enjoying' it or not. The Matrix Divider disappears again once Yuna recovers enough to lay a hand on it. "What are we supposed to do? How are we going to stop wherever these things are coming from .... ?" For a moment, it looked like maybe she was going to try and latch onto Lyner with a hug - but Yuna just sinks to her knees, huddling in on herself.
Lyner Barsett	Lyner sighs and shakes his head as he watches Yuna just slide down to her knees. He kneels down before her and sets a hand atop her head. "Don't worry about it. I know things seem bad, and they are, but..." He looks around. There were injuries all about, some much worse than others... But no one is truly dead. That much, he can attest to.      "... We'll find a way to figure this out. If we give in to despair now, then they really will be able to wipe us all out." And so, despite having no basis to be optimistic, Lyner grins. "So chin up! We've got a ton more work to do if we're going to overcome this!"      Lyner pls.
Deelel	IT's chaoos it's madness but soon with the combined firepower of the elites joined into the fight. She banishes her blade for now and looks out at everyone else. "We're going to need more data on this. This is just madness a genoicdal purge system? IT brings back bad memories of somethign on the GRID." she nopts she'll slump a bit and then look to Lyner nodding. "I'm into it whtever happens can't leave you face this alone, right?"
Staren	Staren blinks at Yuna. "What kind of a question is that? We destroy them, that's what we're supposed to do. They're tough, but not invulnerable. We've fought worse. Plus, once we find out where they're coming from, we can just... y'know... nuke their base? And don't say 'Oh but then they'll nuke us back' -- they're fighting a war of extermination, if they HAD weapons of mass destruction they'd have used them." He tries to give Yuna a reassuring shoulderpat.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Yuna lets out a sigh, not trying to avoid or brush off either Lyner's headpat, or Staren's pat on the shoulder. "We still don't know what that 'test' was that the first one talked about ..." She trails off, focusing on getting back to her feet, even dusting her knees off a bit. "Besides, given the way this world's laid out, I'm not sure missiles would make it intact to wherever they're launching from. Between the Blast Line above and the Sea of Death below ... where *are* they coming from, and *how*?"
Staren	Staren hmms. "Good point. We need to learn a lot more about this world... but I wouldn't get my hopes up about the test mattering. If they were reasonable beings, they could have seen that these people aren't the ones who took the test in the first place. If they cared about it now, they'd probably have demanded someone go take it again before they start killing people."     He looks at some of the downed civilians, and sighs. "Relative peace was nice while it lasted..."
Taro	"There are too many questions, and insufficient information to answer them." Such is Taro's assessment, or at least the assessment he's willing to speak aloud in present company. He's quietly ignoring (or at least glossing over) the more emotional aspects of the exchange that's been going on around him. "Since it appears that they are unwilling to simply spout answers for us so far, we will have to find the information ourselves."