Scene #6016: Frozen Aether-3

Owner	Pose
Priscilla	Just as discussed, Pia 'Renegade Prime' Nalaar, a select pair of Renegades, and the doubtlessly more used-to-this Elites that choose to follow them are on their way to see 'Gonti', of ominously no other name nor title. Of course there's no way to just walk right up to someone like that without contacts, and so Pia has made arrangements with one of the masked 'employees' of the backstreet lounge that currently serves as the Renegades' base of operations, and two of them have showed up at the door to lead them the rest of the way. That wouldn't just be down the street however. Though portions of the trip do indeed go through more of those dark, winding back roads and through causeways that are cramped only because the city everwhere else has grown so tall and glittering that it casts these older places in their dense shadow, some of it requires skipping more populated areas by brief trips down underground waterways and beneath bridges, making use of portable Aether lamps left on hooks for maintenance staff who rarely, if ever, show up. It's odd, then, for how ostensibly public the building they arrive at is. Though they end up having to ascend from a service ladder from under the pavement and climb into a deserted courtyard, they end up surrounded by the fabulous rises and spires of an opulent private mansion, spaced from the streets and plazas at the heart of Ghirapur only by an excessively large garden. Popping up from behind like this, they're shielded from eyes on the street, known by only a constant, babbling chatter rising on the opposite side of the building, but they're immediately in the middle of busy grounds staff as well, pointedly paying no notice to the strangers coming up from the duct that should be feeding a courtyard five-layered fountain, or else pointedly paying a whole lot of attention to them if they're the men at any of the polished doors leading into one of the building's four wings, quite probably being bodyguards. Even the actual natives here look completely out of place, surrounded by so much privately owned luxury that somehow manages to communicate that fact in an entire city where even the street lamps involve baroque baskets of gold. Even Pia is bid not to speak until spoken to and to let the escorts handle this. Hooking up their lanterns, they approach the grounds guards at one of the doors and exchange words and motions. When they might actually come to the door however, one of the guards warns them away with a hand and says "Gonti will see you in a moment.", expressing no concern for who he is apparently keeping waiting.
Priscilla	Elsewhere, but not elsewhere enough, others have their very own reason to see Gonti, at the same time and in the same place. After a few days of investigations, something turned up through an anonymous contact that a local 'merchant' (i.e. basically a CEO in Ghirapur) might have some idea of where the significant chunk of stolen Aether had been carted off to. Considering the Consulate's apparent desperate need for as much as they can skim off of civil infrastructure without causing an outright riot, and how much face they'd lose if they couldn't recover it, the lead has been seized upon immediately. That means the Elites of the investigative branch Yuuki Kuran had promised, as well as co-interested Paladins, are sent to the door only on the other side of the very same building, where they too are held up by burly, well-dressed guards. The sweeping roads of tawny sandstone behind them, replete with running automobiles, massive metallic statues of famous inventors, and hundreds of living bodies make the heat in midday something oppressive, and thus the waiting especially obnoxious, until someone comes to meet them, and usher them in where it smells of cinnamon and turmeric instead of dust and construction. While the Renegade leader and her escort are kept waiting in the courtyard, the investigators are let in and shown to a variety of domestic servants who offer to take coats and shoes, provide directions, acquire refreshments, and similar, and then guided deeper into the mansion, where someone who stands out even in Ghirapur's citizenry greets them: grey-white from head to toe, with skin resembling some kind of weathered slate or rough paper, and no facial features to speak of save a pair of gleaming blue embers for eyes, the same colour as fine veins of light that can be seen around the corners of his face -the same colour as the Aether itself. Dressed in a whole lot of dark silks and gold chains, he bids them sit around an 'office' that is the size of an upscale restaurant lounge, and better decorated, filled with works of ludicrously expensive art, imported exotic plants, and shaded by the huge velvet curtains that cover a lengthy row of floor to ceiling windows behind him, just thin enough to let through a pleasant amount of daylight without sacrificing privacy. He addresses them in a voice that is as weird as one would expect coming from a guy with no mouth, but which somehow evinces the sense of being middle-aged, deeply masculine, and slightly pleased with himself. "Good, good, I'm glad you're all here. It's a shame the Chief of Compliance couldn't come to see me personally, but in the end, I'm only doing my civic duty as a citizen of Ghirapur. I suppose it isn't anything all that special." Gesturing at a full set of way more wines than someone should really be drinking (and how?) on his desk, he lets people take any drinks they might like. "For the sake of my business, you'll understand if I can't give away my sources exactly, but since your sole and only concern is retrieving stolen city property and bringing these 'Renegades' to justice, that shouldn't be a problem, should it?"
Kyoko Takada	Kyoko Takada, acting as "Hibiki, information consultant" and on retainer to this Renegade venture, has arrived in progressively closer-to-accurate and less-touristy getup, and still with those ruby-eye goggles. Prior to entering the "no speaking until spoken to" zone, she shares some notes with the group. "First, background. The aetherborn are just what it sounds like--intelligent beings born from the aether. That kind of life doesn't tend to be so stable as to last long, nor to be all that well-connected, which makes it odd that our subject has gotten this far, and more so that he isn't making any funerary plans. He is widely regarded to be something like a triad boss. He probably has connections within the Consulate. They have reason to crack down on him, but haven't. I expect him to be clever, competent, and secretive. I advise concern that he'll take actions to protect those connections, to the detriment of the Consulate's opposition. Since the Consulate should also oppose him, it may come down to a balancing of priorities and what can be offered, versus what can be assured." This is accompanied with supporting documentation from local radio caches and foreign reporting. Once inside, Kyoko starts up her scanning, sticking to passive detection rather than risk alerting what any sensible, cautious, or paranoid person might put in place to protect the secrets of themselves and their guests. She should still be able to pick up anything dangerous enough to be radiating magic and without elaborate containment measures. The local equivalent of an electrical grid is another likely source of mapping data.
August Kohler	August Kohler doesn't know what to feel about this entire situation, but Renegade Prime made the plan, and August trusted her judgment. The teenager was wearing a coat and jeans, t-shirt underneath the coat, with a revolver and a knife at his sides. On his wrist, sleeve pulled down to be visible, there was a mirrored bracelet, which seemed like tacky fashion, but was actually the most important weapon he had. August took the rear of the group, and was quiet the way there. Quiet climbing, travelling, etc, unless addressed. It's not until right before they get to the courtyard and reach the 'no-speaking zone' that the redhead finally speaks up, directed towards Renegade Prime. August had done what little he could to investigate, but he still wanted to know. "So, how much do you know about this guy, besides being exorbitantly rich?" He's assuming not much, since they requested the Watch to information-gather, but what little they might know would be helpful. Or atleast, he thinks it will be.
Theo Morrison	Theo is present once again, though this time, not with the Renegade contingent uninvited. Instead, he gets to do the marvelous thing and go in through the front door like a normal person. Isn't that a nice change of pace? He sort of expected to have to kick it down. (Or, more likely, blow it up. 'tis the plane for impressive explosions.) He politely declines things like coat-taking (his decks are in there) and refreshment-having. Despite his lack of surprise at Gonti's appearance, he's actually blinking at the way he /sounds/, like the voice of someone without a real mouth was the true shocker instead of the lack of a mouth in the first place. Kaladesh has been kind of an experience, one which Theo has a number of questions about that he doesn't think he'll ever get the answer to. "Thank you for meeting with us," Theo says, smiling in a generally genial sort of way. "While I understand your desire for privacy... well, I'm not one for chasing wild geese, either. Still, if it helps us find what was taken, it shouldn't be an issue." Kickotron stands next to Theo, watching Gonti attentively. He's still brass-colored, and wearing a thopter propellor beanie. He's also carrying a pad of paper and a pencil, and is apparently taking notes. Personal myrsistant?
Riva Banari	What's this? They have to go through a winding, nonsensical path in order to get to their destination, especially having to take detours and unused halls? Riva seems to take in stride when they emerge into a courtyard of a luxurious area, no doubt occupied by someone who's probably older she is by an order of magnitude and has massive riches and hidden power. It's like she's back home, really. Her eyes gleam as she walks about, watching the opulence as they enter the area. She doesn't talk to the hired help. She doesn't talk to the groundskeepers. She's sure they've been explicitly instructed to minimize contact. She folds her arms, whistling to herself and tapping a beat out that only she knows. She's a mediocre whistler.
All-Seeing Eye	At last, a place which shares Eye's passion for aesthetics. It's a shame his visits here have been purely business, up to this point. As usual, he's dressed boldly. A two-tone, blue short sleeve button up shirt, white slacks, a daring pair of wine-colored suede shoes, and a pink neckerchief to tie it all together. A pair of rose-gold framed aviator sunglasses rest in his shirt pocket. His arms rest one upon the other, crossed most impatiently as he waits for the guards to let him through. He's supposed to keep others waiting--not the other way around. This 'Gonti' must not have gotten the memo. Despite his body language, the Exalt's face conveys a warm, friendly smile. Complaining to the guards won't help, after all. When he's finally ushered inside, Eye offers his thanks, in his usual, cloyingly sweet way. "Oh, thank you ever so much," says the Exalt with a few bats of his eyelashes. "I don't know how much longer my summer attire would've lasted in that /dreadful/ heat." It's a little too sweet to be sincere. If sarcasm were a flavoring and his words hors d'oeuvres, there would be a faint little pinch, for sure--but juuuust a pinch. Just shy of making him vulnerable to retort. Upon entering the opulent office, his expression does improve past the facade of pleasantry he initially offers. "Gonti, I presume," says Eye after the initial spiel is given. "I assure you, the pleasure is mine. All-Seeing Eye, Warden of the Paladins, Head of Public Security, and so on, and so forth," he says with an airy, dismissive flick of the wrist. Like any polite guest, he indulged the offer of having his shoes taken--and the sight of the grand office before him somewhat validates that decision. Even his socks match the outfit. "You'll find the matters of the stolen property and the Renegades are my /primary/ concern, dear--if the Consulate requests my aid again, or if my investigation requires knowledge of your sources, rest assured," he says in a warm, comforting tone. "I'll find them.~ But let's not dwell on that! You're a busy man, and so am I. The information, if you would?"
Staren	Staren is accompanying the renegades, wearing a colorful cloak over his clothes... although, without the white labcoat, he might almost blend in anyway. ...He doesn't really have more to say, honestly. They're meeting this guy who may be trying to work with both sides. He'll probably be careful, and offer limited help, but... the Renegades need all they can get.
Yuuki Kuran	Being kept waiting in the Kaladeshi sun and heat would be unpleasant for most people who dressed up for being seen. Yuuki Kuran had a more 'street'-wear finery look today, with a loose tan half-jacket over a white top and matching tan skirt/sarong/wrap/thing. Even for the heat, she's relatively covered, though she's obviously tense and squinting under her large sunglasses as she's made (and bade) wait. Stepping into the interior of the mansion is a welcome reprieve, and she allows her sleeved half-jacket to be taken, peeling off her sunglasses to hang them on her collar, close at hand. She makes a polite half-bow at the enigmatic contact in the palacial reception area, doing her best to 'glance around' and also not glance into the well-lit parts of the curtained luxurious room. "Baral is pursuing the leads from his own angles, as I am aware, and left this one to our team for... Well, probably to see how we'd do." She admits, with a light shrug and a tiny smile. "He probably is on the prowl for that 'pyromancer' the Renegades roped in for their last operation." "While the returning of property is a high priority, of course, as power needs are a serious concern, trying to run down stolen consumables is less than ideal for investigatory time, isn't it? It could all be long gone, used up, or frittered away. You can't fret over every drop of spilled blood-" Says the person who micromanages every drop of her own. "-but you should act vigorously to root out the source, don't you agree? If you are stolen from, re-acquiring what was lost can be less important than catching the thief. Treating symptoms and treating illnesses." She flutters her eyes a bit, bringing up a hand to rub out some of the irritation from the outside light. "I've grown used to people doing their 'civic duties' out of the 'goodness of their heart', of course." She skips going 'so, yes, and?' because others have exhaustively pressed that point already. "Theo, we missed you at the planning meeting. Did All-Seeing Eye give you the update?"
Zero Kiryu	Zero Kiryu is present in the mansion, because he was asked to be. He's less withdrawn than he was during the previous visit-- more lively, and less tense. It's as if whatever was causing him pain during that time has subsided for the time being, and he has a greater measure of energy with which to simply Be without fighting his own body in the process. He's chewing on something at the moment, which came from a paper packet he's carrying in his pocket. On entry he declines coat-taking (for much the same reason as Theo, but with guns instead of decks) and... just keeps his mouth shut for the most part. For most practical purposes, he seems to be leaving the talking to All-Seeing Eye. Even without the borderline hostile body language dominating his presence, he's simply not the person you have talk to upperclass folk. As with everyone else, he's just too coarse. A sidelong glance is cast towards All-Seeing Eye, who... is approaching this only /slightly/ more politely than he would. "... If you're hoping that I'm the more reasonable one, don't." He says, and jerks a thumb towards Yuuki. This is probably not really reassuring.
Thomas Alva Edison	Thomas Alva Edison, has gotten involved in this strange affair. Truly, this is his first MAJOR excersion into the greater universe, and his first one on behalf of the Paladins. Edison feels the heat just as much as anyone else, but being a summoned ghost spirit thing, does not actively sweat. It's just hot, but is mostly unphased by this. To an extent, a small part of Edison wishes to be able to experience that again, but the rest of him...well, cold efficency runs his heart. Edison is dressed as a Presiking should be, RE: his default outfit, because also ghost-wizard-scientist thing. When being shown in, he does not allow his coat to be taken, he does not take anything to drink. First off, he doesn't have a coat to be taken, second, he has a suspicion about that method of exicution...and the fact that it COULD hurt him puts him on guard. Hands behind his back, he holds them there as introductions are made, and Thomas finally speaks. "Thomas Alva Edsion, Presiking of the United States of America, and King of Inventors." he says, offering a hand as accepted of course. Still...this man does not rub him the right way, while Edison remains...cordgial, he does not especially appear to be warm. He wishes things to be efficent, the transaction to happen quickly. "I share my comrade's desire for directness."
Starbound Flotilla	The Flotilla is here. But most of them are only nearby. "I can be polite." "You can be /snide/." "Snide is like polite." "Snide isn't close to polite." "Oh yeah, come tell me all your diplomatic wisdom, mister Lord of War." "Hopeful. I could come help." "Seft, your moral fiber has my utmost respect, but you are a pushover." "HAW!" "I don't respect your moral fiber though." "Oh, bite me, fishface. Acquisition is acquisition!" "Floran didn't even want to come to dumb meeting." "I doubt he was planning to let you." "I will go. Just be nearby, there will be no trouble." Moonfin is here. Yuuki's the side of this investigation that was better reported on the reports systems, and so he's joined up with them. Now, what's all this about fine wines! Moonfin takes his share and sips them politely. "The ends justifying the means depends entirely on reaching the ends." Moonfin says to Gonti. "Protecting trade secrets is important, if they provide results. Whether those who make such decisions mind your secrecy can be discussed, once we know its fruits well. Please, elaborate as best you can on the destinations and leads that ought to be pursued."
Priscilla	It's less hot in the courtyard, shaded by the bulk of the mansion itself, but that doesn't stop Pia from sweating. "Not much more than anyone else in Ghirapur knows." she says to August. "Gonti is rich, yes, but also old for an aetherborn. He has a lot of connections in this city. He can put anyone in contact with anything, or make someone disappear just like that, if you believe half the rumours. He has a lot of people working under him, especially aetherborn, with all the capital, real-estate, and importantly, equipment, that we don't have. I'd guess Gonti alone has a quarter of the assets the entire Consulate does put together. If he has some kind of interest in our cause, you can bet it's either to take something of theirs for himself, or keep something that's his away from them." She mostly just looks really grim when Kyoko reports her findings, seeming more and more like she wish she hadn't come here, but still trying to put on a serious face for the two younger Renegades who'd come with her, one young man who just got his wrist out of a cast since the raid. When Kyoko starts scanning, it's unsurprising to find the mansion lit up like a Christmass tree, with more Aether getting pumped into it than many of the Consulate buildings that are getting fat off of energy redirected from disaffected civilians. There are extensive levels of it well below ground, deeper than the tunnel they'd come from, before it terminates at what might be some kind of vault or secret passage. There are also many blobs of magic in the shape of people, which make any aetherborn hirelings and contacts really easy to spot. One of them is rather dim, a couple of floors up, seated with several other signatures that don't at all fit the same profile. Upstairs, the rather large investigation team is treated to their niceties, and their host waits a little while for them to be at least partially settled. "Good, good, I'm glad we have an understanding." he says, when everyone seems to be aboard the same train here, exhibiting no heroic slackjaws thinking too dimwitted to figure out the context. Despite being a well-dressed blob of magic inside a thin, human-shaped shell, he has that secondary expressiveness to him that charismatic leaders usually find themselves relying on to impress anything subtle on their dumb goons. "It'd be a shame were I unable to come to the aid of my own home city in future, were the Consulate interested in anything but ensuring the security of their citizens, and bringing anarchists to justice. I'm glad we agree." He gets up from the desk, pushing out his chair and starting to pace towards a bookshelf at the back. "Rest assured, I wouldn't call you all the way out here, all at once, just to meet over the location of stolen Aether. A discrete letter could hand over that information. Of course, I /definitely/ have exactly what you'd need to find it, but because of your civil-spirited cooperation, I'm able to lend a hand to your investigation in a way you may find more expedient than chasing a paper trail." He meanders over to the back window, firmly grips the curtain chain, and forcefully pulls it open, uncovering the panoramic window that looks directly into the courtyard. Those in his office now have a plain view of Pia, the Renegades, and the Elites being stonewalled at the back door. Aforementioned stonewall-ees now have a perfect view of the investigation team up above. "And don't be ridiculous. Of course I'm not actually Gonti. This kind of thing is precisely why he has body doubles. I'll pass on your regards."
Yuuki Kuran	Yuuki turns down the wine, a personal joke and a private humor playing across her lips. She takes a moment. "Moonfin, I'm glad you showed up. I had actually thought to involve you in a side project of the 'power' concerns and the 'compliance' needs of Ghirapur. I'll discuss on your private band." She smiles, genuinely, at his entrance. Zero gets a light and clandestine poke in the ribs for being a dour doofus and chewing his Emo Pez. "I'm quite eager to get down to business, of course, but I've been consistently impressed with Ghirapur as a city, and the citizens..." She gestures around. "Inventive and pleasant natures." However, this isn't Ghonti himself, and 'Ghonti' explains his position (vis a vis Concerned Citizen-ness) and reveals the deception in one extended charismatic flourish. Looking down the window into the courtyard, she spots Staren. She dimly recognizes Renegade Prime, and of course, certainly recognizes August Kohler." She gestures to the assorted Consulate Team members about her, and points directly (and openly, and very visibly) imperiously down at Pia Nalaar. "Gentlemen, please take that woman into custody. The rest we can leave for Baral and his Compliance team - but do not let Renegade Prime escape."
August Kohler	"Sounds like we only trust him as far as we can throw him." August says with a scowl, tapping his own foot against the ground. He glances around the courtyard for a while, waiting..."How long do you think he's gonna keep us waiting, huh? I really-" And then, before August can finish whatever he was going to say, he spots the curtains opening, notices a really big group of people, and identifies those he's familiar with as Paladins. "Shit, Paladins!" One hand moving to his revolver, the other moving the mirrored bracelet up to eye level in preparation, August turns to Renegade Prime and her security guards, as well as the rest of their allies, clearly panicked. "We've been set up. Primary objective is to make sure Renegade Prime gets out of here safe. Go!" He barks to the two escorts, before waiting to observe for exits. He's not going to start firing yet. Maybe they'll ask for a surrender, which will buy August some time to get Renegade Prime out of here safe. He also keeps his eyes on Gonti's bodyguards, no longer trusting them at all. If any of them look like they're going to start hostilities, August draws his pistol and moves to defend Renegade Prime from any potential attack.
Kyoko Takada	Kyoko would like to also find how the security here functions, but it's rather difficult to do that without starting to give away that you're checking for it. How does one surreptitiously but thoroughly search for hidden surveillance? One doesn't. Instead, she feeds the not-electrical data into memory as a local map, and provides it for transmission to her appropriately-equipped compatriots, along with the note "lots of basement levels." There's another note up top: "If bright signatures = aetherborn, dim signature = aging aetherborn / Gonti ? Non-aetherborn in room, guests? underlings?" There's some scratched-out bits. Whether Gonti can currently be thought of as "old" or not is uncertain, given prior mysteries. She can manipulate the arcane machinery without giving away too much, so she's still keeping to that "no talking" rule. Getting a bit nervous over the environs, though. Thank goodness she's the least likely to get lost if she has to run back the way they came. Getting blockaded in is much more likely. And then it hits the fan. "Ra--" She's not stupid. There's no way this could be anything good. "Run for it." It's all she can do not to scream. "Fighting retreat." Instead, her voice almost seems to become calm. "Expect traps." Her scanning goes full-force active as soon as she recognizes the danger. It's an obvious pulse at this level to anyone even slightly sensitive, and a crawling sensation to the particularly astute, though it's only able to divine the technological and magical, rather than biological. She needs, at the very least, to know how many they're up against, and how fast. The cross-checking against her database from prior jobs is automatic. This time she will find what kind of security systems are in place, in all likelihood. If they're no worse than the Consulate's golems, she might even be able to do something with them. Kyoko is backing up, but not too fast. Running quickly isn't all that much a skill of hers, and running while doing high-powered work even less so.
Riva Banari	Riva is bored. she stands there, still whistling and being passive-aggressively annoying to the guards as she waits. And then there's that dramatic woosh as the curtain is pulled back and a GIANT PILE OF PALADINS is revealed. Oh look, they've been doublecrossed by their 'mysterious benefactor'. "Welp." She says, and brings out the Ajoran Cross, the huge anchor-like repurposed holy symbol sweeping up into a defensive position while she interposes herself between Prime and the Paladins. A golden hexagonal wave of energy spreads out, seething as she plants the weapon into the ground and providing a frontal arc of barrier to dissuade ranged engagement. "PRIME! Get out of here! We'll cover your back!" She says. She doesn't move as the golden energy leaks from her spirit, swirling into the defensive field.
Theo Morrison	Theo doesn't seem bothered by the mixed (factionally speaking) company he's keeping at the moment, but Zero Kiryu gives him the weirdest sense of being in the same room as a loaded gun. Fortunately, Edison exists, and his entire demeanor and appearance is the opposite of that. It works out. "Yeah, I was chasing a different lead. He gave me the run-down," Theo tells Yuuki. "Seems like we've got our hands full, huh?" It's vaguely, well, vague, but he's scanning the room while he's talking. This doesn't feel /quite/ right. But then the curtain opens... and Theo's curse goes muttered under his breath instead of shouted out loud. "Right. Okay. Sure. Great." Theo rolls his eyes and extracts a box from his pocket. He takes a step away from the window and disappears from sight. It looks briefly like he was stepping through a gauzy curtain. He sidesteps out of thin air some distance behind the Renegade contingent down in the courtyard. Theo takes one look around, spots the hole in the ground, and drops black-backed rectangles onto a table held over the head of Kickotron, the three-foot Myr that has appeared just as inexplicably as he has. "Island. Sol Ring. Consulate Skygate." A band of gold appears around one of Theo's fingers, flaring with captured sunlight. The ground rumbles, and magic surges as a gold-colored gateway stretches up into the air behind and around him. It's a colossal wall, and clearly a checkpoint from the local environs -- albeit one that is now filling the gaps between buildings and rapidly surrounding the hole the Renegades climbed up through. "Memnite." Another card down. A four-legged spidery-looking automaton materializes, the size of a horse, with small arms drooping from the center of its backswept, pillar-like 'head' filling the middle of its body. This one does not look local at all. "I'd say something about it being funny to see you here," Theo comments, "but I kinda had a feeling this was where this was going."
All-Seeing Eye	The body double's confession draws a single, merry chuckle from All-Seeing Eye. "Oh, would you?" he gratefully replies with a slight forward bow. "Thank you ever so much. Now... if I were you, I would get behind something /very/ solid, hm? And do /also/ pass on my apologies." The Exalt raises his right arm. There is a click, and the warm brown skin of his arm raises mechanically, revealing a wrist-mounted crossbow. He fires several times, the bolts passing harmlessly through the body double if he's still in the way after that inital, menacing click. The bolts shatter the window, exposing the office to the open air. His lips curl into a confident smile as he approaches the precipice. With a look over his shoulder, he addresses Yuuki. "My thoughts exactly, Director Kuran. Please, sit back and enjoy." His next declaration is shouted from the proverbial mountaintop down to the lawbreakers below. "Salutations, and welcome! You are all under arrest for crimes against Ghirapur." He raises both arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "Please get on your knees and put your hands, tentacles, servomotors, and any other fine-manipulators behind your heads. Your compliance in this issue is mandatory." As the Renegades and their benefactors take up defensive positions, his smile grows all the wider. And, his vision zooms in on Kohler. "Is that you down there, Mr. Kohler? I must say," the Exalt further shouts. "I'm somewhat disappointed! But not surprised." All this talking is probably giving the fleeing renegades a window to escape. And considering Eye is sitting there watching them do it, he's probably all too aware of this. He gives them a second or two more, then leaps out of the window, his hair whipping behind him as the air buffets him. A steel cable whip wraps around a baroque light post just in time to halt his descent. Of course, that momentum doesn't just vanish. Eye swings low, sending his pink socks crashing into Riva's barrier. "Hello there!" He rolls with the impact, flipping backwards to land upon his feet and survey the damage. His arms snap out to either side, increasing the number of whips in play by three--another steel cable, and two of pure lightning.
Starbound Flotilla	"Mr. Petrov, the tides of battle have come in anew." "WE'RE LOUD! HIT THE TELE-DROPS! GO GO GO!" "Oooohoho, here we go, this is the good stuff." "Urgent. Dropping!!" "Weeeee! Time for fiiiight!" "Oho, can't wait to have this go stupid." From orbit above, the Flotilla dispatches a quintet of signals. Those with scanning such as Kyoko Takada will have an easy time identifying somewhat familiar signatures, and where they're about to land; if she tries hard, it's possible she could quickly spoof signals to the teleport systems and scatter one or two particular members of the Flotilla she wants out of the fight especially. She'll have a few seconds to make that decision, if she wants to. They're trying to get all around the structure, in a general "prevent-escape" formation, so it would be wise to make a gap somewhere. For now, Moonfin is the only one on the ground. "Ahhh, a body double? Please, forgive me if I still hold to our policies and provide for you our most excellent VIP treatment regardless. I know from the nature of Hylotl leadership that body doubles are hardly disposable -- I am sure Gonti would find those regards passed on much better in these ways." He bows a long, deep bow, during which he summons his heavy Diving Samurai styled armor, and draws his katana as he rises. "I am quite certain the Consulate will look quite fondly upon your employer when this is done, if we have anything that we might say about the matter. For example, having secured our employment in repairing the terribly damaged waterways." He doesn't explain what he means by that. Instead, he heads through the window -- no doubt graciously handled by an ally -- and leaps high into the air, on a rocket-assisted blast-jump. "Sixth Sea Hylotl Style: Storm's Wrath Upon Still Waters." And then he falls hard, blade first, with a charged blade impact full of the terrifying energies usually used for mining. He slams his blade straight into the courtyard, intent on collapsing the waterways they used to enter, though with the resilient engineering here, it's likely to just fill them with precarious hazards instead of making them truly impassable. It will no doubt create massive shockwaves in the earth as well, but the energy doesn't stop just because he landed, it keeps going! Someone had better hit him hard if they want to keep using that tunnel to escape!
Thomas Alva Edison	The massive figure of Thomas Alva Edison flies out of the window a moment after All Seeing Eye and Theo. Unlike the others, he busts through the window. Moments earlier, "I am going to break this window on the way out." he says, a desprate cry for some sort of pety revenge against an obvious and see through manuver by this man, who can't even be here. Cowardace, and despite it being something Edison might do as a normal human, THIS Edison, powered by the bravery of AMERICA and it's PRESIDENTS, rubs him the wrong way. Especially when it's just so badly telegraphed like it is. Still...the game must be played. Now, with that unnecissary flash back to litteral seconds ago, Edison floats in the air, held by the power of DC ELECTRICAL POWER, As he finally comes down, aiming to land and to flank the Rebels. Electrical energy crakles down his body, as his hands are now covered by SPARKING boxing gloves. He notices the retreating Prime...well... He decides to go with the flow here. This is a time of learning...and fighting. Fighting WHILE learning! Truly, it is like the turn of the centry again!
Priscilla	Being much less subtle about it, Kyoko is immediately able to detect many kinds of security systems on the mansion grounds, many being fairly similar to the Consulate's own, but annoyingly, without being terribly standardized. The doors can remotely lock themselves, and shut themselves down with magical screens if need be, same as the windows, to prevent simple smash and climb maneuvers. Many of the crystal ornaments are essentially discreet cameras, though not ostensibly hooked up to anything except human eyeballs deeper in. The main entrances in and out have some sort of silent enchantment slash metal detectors built into the door frames, and at least a few places have 'fences' set up to target and zap those objects with dispelling effects. There are some more physical barricades present to slide out block up corridors if need be, but none are deployed. There being multiple stations to activate a silent alarm is also pretty obvious. The main issue is that tons of rooms have complicated and seemingly one of a kind artifacts without any standard design to compare to and without an immediately obvious purpose. Gonti has filled this place up with both useful and beautiful things as a collection out of pocket, rather than as a standardized system meant to be maintained by rotating staff, and though maybe that means less consistency, it's predominantly an advantage when it comes to protecting a small area from 'everyone but him'. She can make guesses at a few of them -stuff like knockout gas and anti-magic bubbles- but the rest are exactly the kind of eclectic one-offs one would expect from Kaladesh and its city of artists and inventors. Pointedly though, nobody moves to stop the Renegades. Going by all the stony, surly, or eccentrically masked faces, it's /really/ hard to tell whether they aren't being paid enough to get into this fight, haven't been ordered to and aren't interested in, or have been specifically instructed to keep out of it, and if the lattermost, whether that's just so Gonti doesn't have to pay workman's comp, or for some other reason. The Renegades can in fact run right past their handlers, escorts, and the mansion guards, so long as it's not directly into the building they've been kept out of so far. "Absolute /bastard/!" one of the Renegades yells, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a cobbled together ball of bolts and coils that sparks loudly when he throws it, puffing up a huge cloud of dense, electrified smoke around the fountain and associated tunnel. "I knew we shouldn't have come here!" says the other, struggling to pull on his quicksmithing gauntlet. Pia's tone isn't changed. "Both of you insisted on coming here, so neither of you can whine. You knew the risks." she says. Though she's certainly more than smart enough to make for the tunnel by the time the Watch is yelling at her to back up, Moonfin damages the tunnel badly enough for the water main to burst and for the passage to start flooding, causing the barriers Kyoko had detected to spring automatically and seal the leak, now blocking up the easy way out. The second renegade has lit up an Aether torch, but Pia is already looking around for a better route. "Any other plans?" she asks. "You've done this before, right?" Gonti's double graciously bows out of the way, exiting his office with his back to the window as all hell breaks loose, and trudging down the stairs to find a telecommunicator.
Zero Kiryu	So that's what this is. Zero gazes down upon the 'enemies', and in particular the Renegade Prime at which they are being pointed. His mind focuses in on their presences, the dots on his radar becoming distinct. He's been around some of them before-- not all, but some. The smell of them is familiar too, but that's just a bonus. If he's not mistaken he's encountered this exact team in similar circumstances before-- only he was the defender at the time, if he remembers correctly. And yet, he doesn't really dislike any of them. He definitely doesn't have a personal stake against them, apart from Yuuki wanting something done about this. He vaults out one of the windows and falls to the courtyard below. His hand dips into his jacket and out comes his handgun. Rather than shooting anybody however, it immediately begins to sprout a great mass of thorny vines that pour out across the outer perimeter of the courtyard. It just so happens that this kind of manor house is the precise range limit of his ability to 'just infect an environment'. "I'm not interested in them," he remarks to All-Seeing Eye, "we were told to fetch that woman. So if you lot want to leave her and go, that's fine by me."
Riva Banari	All-Seeing Eye comes in hard and fast. Riva is good, but she can't be everywhere. There's an unspoken understanding that some of these people are going to have to run delaying tactics as well. The impact into the field sends a massive ripple through the barrier. A lesser defense probably would have been crushed under the impact along with the person behind it. For Riva, the barrier just shudders and shatters, sending the Templar tumbling and skidding backwards until she lashes out with the Cross to crush it into the ground, forcing her backwards momentum to alter as she suddenly pulls with a titanic force, reversing her motion to fling her forward (and leave a big rut in the ground). Looks like she's stopped caring about property damage. "Suuuuuup. Nice to meet you. Riva Banari, Knights Templar assigned to the Watch. You REALLY enjoy your job, don't you?" Her somersault takes her flying past the same lamp post Eye is using, one side of the Cross hooking onto it as she whirls around to come sweeping in at the Alchemical from an oblique angle. "GOOD! SO DO I!" She yells, a grin spreading across her face despite the damage as she tries to clothesline the Exalt with her weapon.
Staren	Khaladesh is added to Lordran on Staren's list of 'places you never visit unarmored even for social calls'. On the one hand, he didn't think it was the best idea to go to a mobster for help, but it's /their/ rebellion, not his. On the bright side, now they know that organized crime and the Consulate are working closely together. When Theo warps behind him, he turns around, drawing his laser pistol automatically, although the finger remains off the trigger. "Theo?! I thought... why?!" There are a lot of questions about divided loyalties, but the conflict here isn't what August expects -- there's no greater Concord 'plan' which calls for him or the Renegades to surrender to the Consulate. However, the possibility of surrendering to Theo, instead of to the Consulate, is an attractive one... well, somewhat. He himself would prefer to stay out of Paladin custody, but it might be worth it IF it can prevent this fight. "Miss N... 'Prime', I think you might want to consider surrendering to him; he'll protect you from the Consulate. Probably not going to be an option for long, though." His support AI gets images ready of all the cards in both his decks and starts parsing rules text, for the off-chance Theo plays a card he has. "Four cards on turn one? What kind of bullshit is that?!" He does at least know enough about the rules of Theo's game to tell that this means Consulate Skygate's not a land like the Ravnica guildgates. So what is it? Staren tries shooting it to see how it reacts.
All-Seeing Eye	"More than you know!" His cheerful smile remains even as Riva hurtles towards him. With the Cross hooked around the lamp post, his vision alights in predictive calculations and warning symbols. These warnings are heeded with the barest possible effort. Eye simply leans his upper body backwards, watching the weapon pass within inches of his face. The air disturbed by Riva's flight even briefly rustles his long hair. The Exalt takes a few leisurely steps forward, his whips dragging across the ground. The electric ones leave singe marks upon Zero's thorns. He pauses, briefly, to offer a response to the bodyguard over the radio. This response--that Eye can handle whoever is here--is deliberately spoken loud enough for Riva to hear him. And to add insult to injury, his next attack is drastically less forceful. With an upwards sweeping gesture, all four whips rise into the air. Like a conductor before an orchestra, his hands sharply fall. The whips oscillate and scratch at Riva when she lands. It's a brief, terse gesture, more a taunt than a full-fledged attack.
Kyoko Takada	There are only so many things that Kyoko can do at once. She could focus on the familiar signals overhead, but it only takes up part of her attention, as she revs up the ECM and gives Biteblade, as the most energetically dangerous person on the team in usual circumstances, somewhere to land that's as far away as possible in the wrong direction, and in as dense a cluster of buildings as she can find. That opens a small hole, but with Theo and All-Seeing Eye on the ground and fighting, it's not nearly enough. And that's before taking into account whatever Zero is doing, seeming as it is to be purely for making the "getting out" part harder.
Riva Banari	Riva grunts as Eye straight Matrix Dodges her attack. "Whoa." She says, impressed as she flies past uselessly to hit the ground and skid to a stop on the other side, turning to look back at him as she holds the oversized thing in one hand. "Well, you're not /all/ talk." She says, smiling irreverantly... Just in time to get some whips snapping at her, more annoyance than lethal. "AGH!" She yelps, reeling. Taunt or not, it's no fun to get whipped. "Hey, that's not my jam!" She calls back. "And you haven't won yet!" With a sweeping motion, she straight hurls the Cross at the Exalt, the weapon tumbling end over end at him. But that's a feint. She expects he's going to do that dodging thing again, and more problems abruptly appear for him as she draws a shotgun out of that glowing spatial distortion, whipping it forward and firing several salvos of slugs from the tactical shotgun at the Exalt, each blast augmented with bursts of Anima.
August Kohler	As the tunnels are blocked off and the Paladins come slamming in, forming up vine walls and other hazards. August isn't sure how to react to such a strong outnumbering and ambush...but Renegade Prime needs his guidance anyways. He's done this before, after all. "This is usually the part where I wing it...they're not trying to kill you. Stay back, but keep your eyes on any doors or windows. Once we have some breathing room, I'll melt us a path." Looks like August is ignoring all common sense and revving up to fight, especially after some comments over the radio. The fact they don't have an exit helps him choose this decision. And so, with the mirrored bracelet to his eyes, August shouts out. "Persona!" In a flash of blue psychic energy, the Tin Soldier, August's Persona, is manifested. It's a robot soldier in a military dress uniform, with a long rifle for a leg, though the Tin Soldier is also covered in burn scars etched into the metal. The Persona takes August's front, providing security, and that gun starts to wreathe with fire, incredibly hot and dangerous. Instead of attacking anyone just yet, August moves to try and identify the weakest-looking part of the terrain (though he's no expert at all), and start melting through it. He's not doing the whole work yet - he wants to see roughly how long it'll take, and he definitely expects to be impeded by the Paladins. Therefore, he's on his guard, ready to defend from any potential attack.
Yuuki Kuran	Yuuki holds her pose, finger pointing down and out of the window at the people below for too long - far too long, essentially letting the entire first "surprise" round of the fight pass without acting. Truly, it's well past battle is joined in general as she hops down to the lower courtyard level, shielding her eyes with her left hand from the sun as she walks along the stonework ground. Pia was being bought time for, but if all went well, she wouldn't escape. "Renegade Prime! If you stop now, if you give yourself up, everyone else - the outsiders, and your two people - can go free! We don't want them. You can even give yourself up to Theo, and not to me. It doesn't matter. Otherwise, all this pain is on you." Yuuki has a specialty in Extra Edgy Statements That Are Also Stupid And Potentially Proveably False. As August summons his Persona, though, she raises a hand before swinging it down like she was pressing down on a flat surface, a similar wave of kinetic force slamming down upon the top of his head and body like she had made gravity crank way up locally to him. "August Kohler. You, especially won't be here. If you leave, now, /maybe/ Baral doesn't get here in time to have an 'accident' with you. He's more bloodthirsty than some of my relatives when it comes to pyromancers." She lets up with the sustained blast a few moments later, obviously giving him a moment to leave (because sitting there locking down someone while shouting at them to leave was Stupid). "So walk calmly away." Unfortunately, basically everyone else is locking the area down, so she's STILL a dumb woobie.
Kyoko Takada	Ideally, Kyoko would be running tactics to give some real-time combat prediction to Riva and August, along with the Renegades and Staren, but she's sorely lacking on data on most of those present, Flotilla captains excepted, and the benefits might be marginal compared to the costs of tying up her attention. The more she lets these numbers crunch, the more likely it seems that they can't get the Renegade out. Scratch that--even escape becomes increasingly unlikely, especially for someone whose superpowers consist primarily of really good number-crunching. She was paid for private investigation, not the physical requirements of bodyguard work, a job she'd like less than landmine removal. Kyoko's full attention swings around to the four-legged spider-bot Theo's brought out. While alien to the current environments, if she can hack the city guard so easily, her confidence in her full force finding a chink that brings the memnite under her control is pretty high. The artifact creature comes bounding at her, not the largest or strongest of bizarre, monstrous fighters, but plenty suitable for the purpose of a single woman grabbing ahold and clinging above its face as it wholly fails to attack, but instead keeps on running, straight at the courtyard wall, Kyoko swinging herself around for an uncomfortable mounting posture, but still managing to hold on as it takes her out and into the city.
Theo Morrison	Staren's laser pistol burns a big ol' hole in the Skygate. It doesn't blow it the hell up, but it certainly proves that it's a destructible sort of terrain. The gates are closed, but enough lasers will punch through any sort of big damn metal barricade, even a very cool-looking one. (It isn't made of some kind of shiny chrome, see.) "It's part of the job. Sorry, Staren." He draws off his deck, slapping another card down. "Seat of the Synod!" There's a ripple effect, and the ground turns... organic? Techno-organic. It looks like the entire courtyard is rapidly becoming overlaid with metallic mycelium, a carpet of ropy steel fungus that reshapes the manor into something adorned with mushroom-styled canopies and towers. He touches bits on his board. "I don't want to fight you if I don't have to, Staren, so why don't you just sit this one out?" Fwip! "Time of Ice!" A tapestry unrolls behind Theo, on the wall of the Skygate. It depicts icy cold and figures bearing torches on either side of a corpse beneath the glacial crust. It's a beautiful piece: closer examination would find all sorts of artistry in it. It has no place on a battlefield. The temperature sharply declines. Snow begins to fall. Staren in particular feels it the worst, the unnatural winter chilling him to the bone as whatever sorcery Theo enacts tries to incapacitate him through numbing cold. That's about when Theo notices his Memnite gets 'jacked. "Hey! /Hey/! I'M TOTALLY GONNA REMEMBER YOU DID THAT! Ugh, sovereign... /ugh/! What a dick!"
Thomas Alva Edison	Edison looks up at the giant Tin man that just appears. "I SEE! A Heroic Spirit!" Thomas, are you even trying? "I can not identify what you are...so you must be some assassin.." A beat, "Though giant tin men that are basically giant lighters don't bring anything to mind...and you did just...call it a Tin man..." A beat, "ENOUGH ANALYSING!" he says, aiming to give the Persona very powerful and dramatic uppercut, aiming to try and grab it by the head and turn this into an ELECTRIFYING Suplex! "FACE THE MIGHT OF AMERICAN HOME GROWN DC BASED WRESTLING MOVES!" he shouts, as he lands. "Ahem...I would also listen to the young lady, young man. It is a generous offer."
Zero Kiryu	Zero Kiryu seems intent on avoiding actually engaging if he can. Even the endless vines spilling forth from his gun seem to be keeping their distance when possible-- at least, until /one/ thing occurs. It's when somebody makes a break for it using one of his ally's tools. There is a twitch of Bloody Rose's barrel, but weapons fire never comes. A wall already covered in vines bursts wide with more, reaching not for Kyoko but the Memnite she just jacked. The woman herself is carefully /not/ targeted, but those vines are doing their damnedest to grab and consume the stolen artifact creature. This is almost certainly a problem if Kyoko's difficulty competing close up is as sharp as it appears-- the vines are /made/ for this kind of interaction, much as she /isn't/.
All-Seeing Eye	Eye's smile is so unbearably smug, it begs having a cross thrown. Of course, Riva literally throws a cross, which is sadly more easy to see coming. As she predicted, he nimbly dodges it, again. Undoubtedly in an effort to show off, he does so by bending backwards into a somersault. The motion begs comparison both to ballet and to the precise automatons of Ghirapur itself. When Eye comes back up, Riva gets to savor the split second where that smug smile becomes an annoyed frown. Moreover, she gets to see nearly the entire cartridge's worth of anima-infused buckshot tear his dress shirt to shreds. What isn't tattered by high-velocity magical pellets is burnt, blackened, and most notably, stained. When he tears the remnants of the shirt off of his body, she can see just how much damage she's done. A pair of cracked sunglasses falls from the shirt's pocket as its tatters hit the ground. The physique of a martial artist: svelte, cut, and... riddled with bullet wounds that weep... oil? Some kind of inky black substance which seems almost to drink up the nearby light. The Exalt takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes, savoring his surroundings. If she looks close, Riva can see despite this display that his teeth are clenched. The breath is held, then exhaled. No, he's not all talk. His eyes slowly open, and his smile returns. "Clever," he admits. "And painful." With his best airline attendant voice, he further admits, "I've been ordered not to use lethal force." There is a surge of energy about him that even a martial anima user like Riva can detect. A hint of ozone upon the air, and his skin goes shock white. A champagne diamond emerges from his head, and all over his body, dark steel cybernetics begin to emerge, overtaking his porcelain flesh. Oh--he's one of those. "But you might wish I had." He charges forward, each weapon a blur. Whips snap at the ground, at her weapon, aiming to harry her. Each one seems to cover or take advantage of the other's feint, lashing at whatever purchase it can find. It's more than just the ones in his hands and wrists, too--new contenders arrive, steel cables sprouting from his feet. The attack, much like the evasion before it, could be mistaken for an elaborate, fluid performance, were it not for the myriad strikes hidden within. Even his hair is used--and it cuts just the same as those steel cables.
Priscilla	When the courtyard starts to fill with horrible spiky rose tendrils^5^5^5 vines, the Renegades sans Pia herself start to panic. Renegade Prime herself wears an expression that is unmistakable as anything but 'too old to panic', in fact. The young man with the Aether torch grabs hold of a mass of the vines coiling around an exit and jams the blue-white flame into them, trying to cause them to catch fire, or at least cut through them. His compatriot is cobbling together a thopter with a surprisingly menacing buzzsaw on the spot, and sends it flying in another direction to attempt the same. August finds that just about any direction he goes has too much 'mansion' in it, and if he starts pointing flames at the building itself, the guards are more than happy to draw weapons. It'd take going over or under. Kyoko has already alerted him to the fortified basement levels, though the courtyard is exactly as ornamental in its construction as it looks. "Absolutely not." Pia states flatly to Staren. "You lost me at the word 'surrender'. Really, do you have any idea what a revolt /is/?" Her expression towards the very large and very recognizable checkpoint Theo pulls out of nowhere is eight kinds of misgiving. It's even worse towards Yuuki, right as she clicks her quicksmithing gloves on powered. "You've got a funny way of placing blame, young lady. Our pain is a lot older than here and now, and the pain Ghirapur is going through started with that new Grand Consul inflicting it on his people." A beat. "No, it started a long time before that. Why don't you /Baral/ yourself? I won't listen to a single damn word that comes from someone willing to work with /him/!" Saluting to August, she drops down the maintenance tunnel that'd just sealed itself off and filled with water. The sounds of sizzling, spinning, ratcheting, sawing, and all other forms of tool-based industry echo from up the wall, in the middle of the scant group of people fighting for time.
Starbound Flotilla	"Star One on-site, sound off!" "You are well aware of where I am." "Professional. Star Three on-site!" "Star Four, getting to work." "Gaaaaah! Floran teleport got ssscrambled!!" "Oh fucking christ, can't wait to do a bunch of hunting with no hunter." "Doesn't matter. Close in! Open fire! Shock weapons!" The Flotilla are closing in. They're here to target Pia more than anything else, of course, but as long as August's guiding her, they're going to make trouble for him. When Yuuki comes in, they start assembling, and Moonfin breaks off from his spot in the courtyard to join in. With electrified stunning SHOCK WEAPONS drawn, everything from shotguns to rifles to stun-katanas to floaty shocking spheres, they close towards August and Pia and point threateningly to menace August. Even George is there with his shotgun, though he seems a little sheepish. Of course, August and Pia are unlikely to allow this sort of thing to stabilize. Pia drops to the lower area, and the Flotilla immediately open fire with a barrage of shocking ranged attacks! "Get to her! Get Kohler out of the way! Move!" They're focused on getting to her, but August can hold them back much more easily now that Biteblade is absent. Moonfin's the one to surge in close on him and his Persona, with that crackling electrified katana!
Riva Banari	Were Riva not in the middle of a fight, she would probably show a lot more appreciation for that cut physique. Actually, she does anyway, whistling. "Wow, you look /good/" A pause. "Or did, at least, before you started leaking. You might want to get that looked at." Says the woman who barely avoided getting her chest caved in a minute ago. The cybernetics appear, and she blinks. ".... Whoa. Hey, calm down there, Kilroy." She says, moments before he sets upon her with intense force and murderous flaying strikes. The world is pain. Riva brings her arms up, instinctively guarding her face as the cables and hair lash against her, some of it effectively monofilament as she is lashed and shredded. Her own clothes rapidly are gashed and shredded as she simply endures, her flesh and body far more durable than it looks. Even as she is cut open, her flesh begins knitting itself while he watches. "I SAID... CHILL OUT!" Suddenly she's hammering forward, gritting her teeth as she shoulder-charges right into the attack, trying to simply bull rush Eye through some metal mushrooms and right into the wall. While Eye is graceful, Riva attacks like a bull. A bull in a china shop, that is. When you hit hard enough, everything breaks.
August Kohler	The guards are gonna get in the way if he tries to go through the mansion, so August doesn't. Well, that's not the only reason he doesn't, as a force of telekinetic energy slams into him, trying to crush him into the ground. He grunts in pain, though luckily, he isn't locked down for a long period of time, but the force hurts anyways. As Yuuki tells him to walk away, though, August just stares at her. "Which way am I supposed to go? You guys have me fucking /surrounded/!" But that's not the real reason he's refusing, which he states himself as well. "Besides, you know nothing about me, Yuuki Kuran, if you think death's enough to make me betray an ally." The kid was pretty much tossing himself at every threat for a while. The Tin Soldier moves to respond to her pre-emptively with a burst of flaming bullets, fired from the rifle, but doesn't get out a big volley because there is a man with a lion's head doing electric American wrestling moves at him, suddenly grabbing August's Persona by the head. The electricity causes it to mime pain as it's suplexed, and August himself reacts as if he's been struck too, stumbling against a wall of the mansion. "What the hell are you, some kind of superhero? Assassin, what? You think I'm a Servant or something?" August just clutches his head, as the Tin Soldier moves to burst out of the suplex with superhuman power, moving to send a heavy elbow strike into Edison and try and force him back for some breathing room, as well as just hit him hard in the stomach in general. It's followed up with a burst of pure fire from the rifle... And then the Flotilla beams in. They fire a burst of shock blasts with their ranged weapons, and August moves to tank them with the Tin Soldier, which shocks it even more and causes August to squeal out in pain. The Tin Soldier spins on its leg, moving to pivot and shoot out the rifle in a flaming circle at them, a flamethrower burst for each, though as Moonfin slashes with his katana, the Tin Soldier moves to stop point-blank and just try and blast him with as much fire as it can. "Eight versus one isn't very fair, you know!" August grunts out, trying to figure out how to handle this. He doesn't have a part of him telling him to counter everything with rage and fire. So instead, August is trying to figure out how he can get all of them out...and the prospects aren't good for himself.
Staren	They don't /need/ the revolt. One way or another, elites are going to fix this. But Pia could end up in GOOD hands instead of BAD ones. He doesn't argue the point though. "Fine. When I blast a hole in the wall, get ready to AGGGGH!" So cold. So cold! SO COLD! Staren goes everywhere in environmentally-sealed armor with climate control, and even out of that, one of the first items he bought in the Multiverse was a charm that magically keeps him and his posessions at comfortable temperature in all but the most extreme of climes. So numbing cold is not something he's had to deal with, for the past... 12 years. He instinctively curls up and hugs his chest, trying to reduce his exposed surface area. Also Pia ran off into the tunnels. SO MUCH FOR THAT PLAN. Staren could use the plan to escape himself, of course, but then Theo would be free to attack the others. It's not worth burning that bridge with August yet, after it was just rebuilt! So, he'll just have to try and slow Theo down. Staren reaches into his bag as he stands up, his breath forming little clouds of mist in the cold. Fortunately, magic doesn't care about the cold. Neither does he need dextrous fingers to send arming commands. His hand comes out gripping a silvery cylinder, which he hurls over Theo's head with a shaky hand. Fortunately, 'close enough' counts in both horseshoes and hand grenades! "I c-can't do that!" he chatters! His target is the tapestry. Only in the last split-second does Staren's face show a look of horrified realization as he realizes this might hit the cards too. Does Theo's Life Total protect them too? How does that even work? He'd feel bad if he burned them. The cylinder airbursts into a great big fireball -- not as intense as his plasma missiles, but much larger and less-contained, the fringes of the explosion possibly warming Staren a bit. A lot of stuff is probably on fire now.
All-Seeing Eye	He might have guessed Riva was going to lose her patience, faced with such an oppressive attack. Indeed, when she shouts, there is an attempt made to evade. Riva's charge catches Eye upside down, the Alchemical in the midst of a sideways cartwheel. She is treated to a clanging cacophony thereafter. The metal of the mushrooms batters his body like a procession of aluminum bats brought to bear against a bent, bared back. Of course, this being a part of Kaladesh, no detail was spared in the construction of these mushrooms. A number of them also sprout from the ground, pummeling his head in rapid succession. Being slammed into the wall is a mercy compared to that. He is heavier than his slender frame would suggest, and also more solidly built. 'Built' being the operative word here--Riva's attack sees his body cracking and caving the wall he's slammed into, more like a machine than a person of flesh and blood. His wounds stain her clothes an inky black, but even so, he's not done. With another surge of energy, the gem upon his forehead begins to spark and crackle. His legs push against the wall, leveraging the both of them away from it and attempting to knock Riva off-balance. In that small window of opportunity, Eye strikes back. His whips--even his hair--coil around her and constrict. That in itself would probably just be an inconvenience, especially given his attempt to force her into falling. Tens of thousands of volts of electricity coursing through those whips as they constrict probably won't improve her mood.
Thomas Alva Edison	Thomas Edison gets a strike to the gut, enough force to send him back, though his heels dig into the ground, causing him to not go as far as August may have wanted. A trail of the ground forms around his heels, as he looks up. Fire beats into his chest, but for all of that effort...it appears Thomas Alva Edison is built of some stern stuff. It certainly /hurt/, but someone else would have been floored by that...but no, he not only took it, but weathered it in such away that he's back on the offensive. "Not bad! However, young man, do you not think you should be looking for an escape, instead of posturing to impress your lady friend?" What is Thomas even implying?! Of course, which lady did he mean!? It's a mystery. His hands errupt with DC powered electrical energy...Before he swings his MIGHTY FIST, and with a BURST of color, the electrical boxing glove goes flying off of Edison's hand, followed by the other, aiming to ROCKET PUNCH the Tin man. "Who am I?! An important question, and while your manner in asking was quite rude, I will still answer, young punk with a plucky attitude! I am The Presiking, the King of Inventors...THOMAS ALVA EDISON!" A roar from the lion's head, "Do not be confused by my appearance, for I am he."
Starbound Flotilla	"What we have surrounded is our objective, that one particular entity. Were you simply separated from her, I'm sure you would find a much easier time escaping, and we, an easier time acquiring our objective." Moonfin says, surging forward. Blasts of massive fire are something one usually can't deflect with a sword... And in this case, that's true for Moonfin too! Unlike all the other anime katana weebs, Moonfin's stuck with plain old normal physics. Which is why he slams his foot into the ground, rapidly assembling a wall of plasteel between him and his foe just as the blast comes his way. "First Sea Hylotl Style: Waves Breaking Upon Unyielding Shores!" The others are forced to do similar, or take cover around the courtyard behind the vines. "Cover now! Fire's out!" "Gah, that's a close one. Why'd you help this little heretic again, George?" "Trust me, it'll pan out one day." "Well we have to focus on getting past him /now/." "Strained. I wish we had Biteblade here to pounce him so we could push through." "Star Three, pulling around!" "Flanking alone... Risky. Careful." "Keep up that shockfire, we just gotta stun him for a /moment/ to get at Pia!" "Affirming. Right! Pavo and Moonfin will make a gap with simultaneous melee!" Pavo and Moonfin have their swords drawn, one a cutlass and the other a katana; as they maneuver around their cover, they try to both assault from many angles. As long as they work together with their ally... Thomas Edison, the lion? Uh, as long as they work with /that guy/, it should create a three-way melee flanked strike while the remaining three Flotilla members come out of cover freely and aim for another melee barrage. More MINIONSQUAD TACTICS! And of course, Moonfin calls out, "Fourth Sea Hylotl Style: Surging River!"
Theo Morrison	Theo did not expect the incendiary grenade, much less one quite so big. A mix of training and experience makes Theo throw himself to the ground, rolling into the cover of the gate. The blast goes off above his head, and he feels it scorch his back, burning his coat and leaving the back of his neck red from the heat-burn. He'll feel it worse later; adrenaline is keeping him from feeling it now. The blast torches the tapestry, setting fire to the gate and everything else. Kickotron stands perfectly still amidst it all, the card table aflame. Staren can feel bad later. Right now, he can feel blessedly warm. The cold abruptly goes away, leaving a light covering of snow over the ground. The mushroom-styled metallic overlay does, too, returning everything to something like normalcy, albeit normalcy with more fire and more holes in things. Theo picks himself up, yanking his coat off and patting out fires, getting to his hands and knees in a runner's start -- -- and disappearing again. He flickers into sight behind Staren, barreling into him. Theo's arms move fast, one going under Staren's arm on the side with his bag and up towards his neck, the other going for his back. He tries to bear him to the ground and put him in a quarter nelson, to lock up one of his arms and try to take the fight out of him.
Zero Kiryu	The vines of Bloody Rose are metallic-- although they will /melt/, they do not in fact catch fire. This causes a number of problems in itself-- problem number one is that everybody is setting everything on fire in a room that is heavily ensheathed in metal. Vines burn and wither and die, but there are more to replace them and /that's/ the problem. Zero twitches the barrel of the gun again, causing the vines to recede somewhat -- but not COMFORTABLY. For some reason, he doesn't want to actually kill anybody with these, and that includes everyone cooking under the heat of the flames warming the metal. "I've heard a little about this Grand Consul." Zero chimes in, striding through the vines as if they weren't there -- borne aloft on them, in places -- and whips the gun about in the direction of the tunnel the Renegade Prime just fled down. Vines surge downwards, their radius centered on the courtyard beginning to recede further-- but very /definitely/ chasing after the Consul, and perfectly suited to burrowing through the earth to get into even a sealed escape route tunnel. "... Sounds like a serious impediment to this place's function as a society." The hunter muses, though he can no longer be heard.
Yuuki Kuran	Yuuki didn't expect Kohler to get suplexed by the Presiking, but that was mostly because she had thought he would shoot lightning or have a large weapon, not bust out the DC POWERED ALL-AMERICAN POWERBOMBS. It's... Striking, in a new and unique way. She had never seen a man like Edison before, and also never seen such wrestling moves! Truly, these moments of (DC powered) light were the highlights of a multiversal shoujo vampire existance. But the hollering-back gets her vexed, even if she can't quite argue with it. Well, not ALL of it. "I want to help you, but I already have a cause in Ghirapur. And, the problem with resistances is that --" She sends a hand forward, an actual wolf appearing from behind her as if a 2D animal was snapping into 3D relief. She doesn't finish her sentence OR her summoning of black attack wolves as she's shot dead on by a barrage of fire shots, sending her staggering back as if-- - Well, as if she was shot. Simple, right? Wounds smouldering, she has to pat out the burning parts of her body with her hands, which is really painful and leaves a few notable dark burns along her arms and front. The wolf, though, dashes off after Pia. "The problem with resistances is that you can't ever get what you want, because validating vandals tells people that's what it takes to get what you want!" She is forced to turn her full attention to August as he bars the way forward. "This is stupid. If you'll just let me fix everything, I'll give you a clean city! But nobody ever lets it be simple. Everyone has to make things hard and painful!" She clenches both fists, shoulders tensed. "Even me. I know. It's why I understand this too well. Now get out of my way, before you burn down someone else's house." She sweeps a clenched fist horizontally, flat of her fist 'in', and the hammerblow of tangible and visible force in time with the Flotilla's swarm charge with Edison's DC powered rocket punches. With... American flag exhaust. Good lord he is the Presi-King, isn't he?
Riva Banari	Well, it did what it was supposed to do. Unfortunately, the mansion wall is Built Ghirapur Tough, and Eye manages to not break either. Hopefully, she'll find a way to fix that shortly, because things are rapidly getting ugly. Eye's counterattack sends Riva stumbling backwards, putting her right where Eye wants her. Cables and hair begin constricting her, squeezing down to hold her... "If you think this is going to stop me-" Riva starts commenting.... And then comes the electricity. She crackles, screaming as the electricity floods through her body. She jerks and shakes, the current making her muscles tremble and spasm for several seconds. Immediately, some part of her is wondering if it might not be better to just let the robot win. The rest of her powerbombs that part and tells her that's quitter talk, now shut up and fight. Slowly, her head rises, eyes staring at All-Seeing Eye... And then she unfocuses, gazing past him. Clearly, she's losing consciousness or something, right? That's when a bolt of Anima lashes out past All-Seeing Eye and grapples onto the Cross, which gets pulled back in one swift motion. One side tries to hook around All's neck, suddnly bringing him nice and close. Through exquisite pain, Riva growls, "Gimme a hug." She says, moments before her arms wrap around the Exalt and she /squeezes/, trying to return the favor.
August Kohler	As the rocket punch comes flying at him, the Tin Soldier is impacted hard, sent flying backwards. August grabs his stomach as the Persona's stomach is dented and burnt even more from the electricity, though as Edison identifies himself, August just kind of...stares at him for a second. "Thomas...Edison? Wh...why do you have a lion's head?!" August has clearly heard of him - he's an engineering student, so Edison's a guy he knows about. Except he's still entirely shocked he's fighting Thomas Edison. Which is enough shock to allow the Flotilla to get their bladed strikes in on him. They cut into the Tin Soldier, spilling fluids and ripping apart metal. August screams out in pain, but before he can react again, Yuuki's speeching out things August absolutely hates to hear, and sending more telekinetic blasts at his Persona. As this hits, the Persona's knocked back again, and August has to stop himself for a second as he tries to run towards it. His end goal is to get back towards the tunnel where Pia is escaping before the wolf or anyone else can get to her, and to assist himself despite the bad pain he's in, he takes a moment once he's close enough in people's way, and powers up a fire blast with the Tin Soldier. The Persona spews out a big wave of flames, trying to douse all targets with it. As the flames boil out, August shouts out. "I'll burn down as many houses as it takes for this. The Consulate's your cause? It's corrupt, striking down against the people, so the people have risen up! You say vandals? I say freedom fighters, people fighting for rights and to make a choice. When your words don't matter, you use your fists, that's plain and simple! So if you want to fix everything, either side with us or get the hell out of my way, because I'm sure as hell not backing down without a fight!" "You have a better chance of taking me than her, because I'm not surrendering!"
Staren	Oh fuck he burned the card game. "I'm sorry!" He doesn't drop his guard though, watching Theo... But not thinking with portals, and ever un-prepared for grabs. He really should've gotten those lessons from Nova Six. Theo is a bit rough, and he cries out in surprised pain as his arm is put in a very uncomfortable position, "Ow!" and then he's slammed into the ground. "Aagh!" A simple hold and tackle hurts more than most hits he's taken, without armor and forcefields in the way. Although the past few years have certainlly made sure he's no longer a stranger to pain, it's still not something he's used to, and pushes him a little closer to just focusing on survival and escape instead of whatever it was he was fighting Theo over. Someone's trying to immobilize him. He can't reach them with any mundane movement... So he makes the first supernatural move to come to mind: And suddenly Theo goes from pinning a 180-ish pound human-ish to pinning a black cat wearing a cat-size bandana, which is trying to use its small size and cat fluidity to escape, clawing at any resistance offered. Surprise is probably the most effective part of all this, but if he actually gets away he just focuses on trying to scamper to someplace safe to hide and think. If Theo actually holds on for more than a few seconds, Staren relents and goes limp. There's no point in excessive clawing. Theo's going to get fixed up in a medbay, but hasn't he hurt Theo enough?
All-Seeing Eye	Rather than the creaking of bones, Riva hears the groaning of metal. Her bear hug is enough to halt the advance of the electricity through his weapons. It's also strong enough to cause what must surely be a concerning series of popping and straining noises from the Exalt. In fact, she barely has any resistance at all, for the first few seconds. This might seem strange, until she hears, above that metal, measured breathing. It's not unlike that of a Dragon chaos magician or swordsman. The breath is expelled, and Eye's forehead, diamond and all, surges forward. Curiously, it seems to do so just as the cross flies overhead, as if he'd seen it--but how could he, without turning his head? In any case, he headbutts her. And at that same moment, his arms spring out to pry free of her grip. Despite the exchange of blows, there's still some agility left within him. With a lateral handspring, he pushes off of her, twirling through the air to land on his feet just a few feet away from her. Dark storm clouds begin to twirl and broil around his legs, slowly circling him. His hair is slightly disheveled, a lock falling before his eyes. There isn't as much of that smug mirth within them. The intent of those eyes becomes harder to discern when they suddenly fold away to reveal expressionless steel nodules. A light barrage of lightning rains down upon the Templar, spewing forth from those nodules. Much like the electricity from before, they aren't lethal--but they're not exactly hugs, either.
Thomas Alva Edison	Fire rolls across Thomas Alva Edison, even as he notices he is reconized, it appears that his name stretches into other worlds...that is heartening to know. However, it is less heartening to be set on fire. It is even less heartening to hear this...to hear the desire to 'burn everything down', to cure the sickness. The fires roll, and there is a massive ROAR from Edison. His fur and suit are singed, his body is slowly putting itself out, but the man...the King of Inventors stands tall. "I have a Lion's head because of my unique summoning, it is a long story, but I am more than just Thomas Alva Edison...as for what you said..." His tone turns cold. "I can not...I will NOT abide by this mindset. Burn away corruption? And then what? What about those who will suffer in the crossfire? I did not set the modern world in motion for such outdated ideas to still be lurking in the hearts of men!" "I wanted to bring a world where might is not always right. Corruption may form, where it is always human nature to seek to be better, and often at the costs of others...but to give the masses the tools to be able to RISE above such barbaric acts...to RISE above itself!" "WORLD FAITH DOMINATION!" Magical parana is pouring out from Edison now. His gaze, while cold a moment ago, is now burning hot... "If this is your truth...then face mine...the truth that lead to the modern age of man!" He says, and roars, again, before...the magical energy overflows, and the world changes just slightly. The area turns from a courtyard, onto a strange plane (with courtyard features), and a giant spotlight that shines down. Not just that, cameras, and recording devices are everywhere, seemingly observing and recording all. Worse...Edison appears, standing on a golden letters that say EDI SON 100 CENTURY Then the glow gets brighter. In this field magic that isn't from him or his allies is serverely dampened, powers that rely on mysteries are weakened, even here gods can die...but this power is focused on August, aiming to weaken him and his Persona dramatically, even as the force of this magical effect aims to tear at him. His allies, would now be at an advantage here.
Zero Kiryu	Although he isn't a part of their fight, August Kohler's massive amount of fire spewing is still enough to get to Zero Kiryu as he turns his vines towards the ground. The vines recede so that they can form a great, thorny shield that protects him from the flames. Dripping from the heat they unfurl a moment later to resume -- less powerfully -- their burrowing. For a moment, the hunter turns his attention towards August-- verbally, at the very least. "You might not be wrong," he says, "but you should consider the fact that your rebels sought support from somebody elbow deep in the people you oppose. If they were different enough to take up the cause the way you are, then even if you're wrong maybe you're not right either."
Riva Banari	All-Seeing Eye lives up to his name. Good enough, really. Riva is crackes and sent stumbling back again with that powerful headbutt. Tenacious as she is, All-Seeing Eye is giving plenty for what he's getting. The wound repair is clearly slowing significantly, almost as if her body is beginning to run low on the energy that she's channeling. Which she is. The edges of her vision are beginning to bleed crimson as her body is pushed beyond even her supernaturally augmented capabilities, something that isn't helped as that lightning begins to lash out at her like the Alchemical was a Sith Lord. The shocks might not be lethal, but that sure doesn't keep Riva from screaming in pain and frustration. "WHAT'S WITH ALL OF THE LIGHTNING!?" She yells in agony, crumpling to one knee. Surely, soon All-Seeing Eye will be able to enforce compliance in a few more moments... "Not yet." She gasps. "Not like this." She mutters, and her hand falls on the Cross once more. Golden light seethes over her, rolling down through her weapon as she clenches her teeth. She doesn't have any dramatic speech. Just pure will, pure anger... And 100 percent pure magical honey. Okay, maybe not literally the last, but close. She launches forward with a burst of speed, shoulderchecking straight for All-Seeing Eye once more before she rips the weapon to the side, hooking the Exalt behind one of the Cross' anchor-like tines and spinning. She spins faster and faster, roaring in anger before she turns and hurls the entire mass towards that poor light poll, sending it all hurtling over in a ball of burning light. But she's not done. As everything flies over there, she reaches into the rippling air and pulls out a /rocket launcher/, quickly flipping out the sight and firing grip, aiming down and giving a bloody grin as she pulls the trigger, following it up with a rocket-powered LAW shot.
Theo Morrison	Theo will also feel the sting of having cards burned to useless lumps of plasticky cardstock later. Fortunately, he has a pretty decently-paying job, so it won't be /too/ bad having to replace them, even if it hurts every time he looks in that direction (though that's probably because of the neck burn, come to think of it). Also, cat. What the heck. He legitimately forgot Staren can do that, which makes it much more irritating to get cat-scratches. "Ow! Damnit!" It makes him look dumb, too, because who puts cats in quarter-nelsons? Nobody, that's who. Theo absolutely goes for the grab -- but not himself. He points at Cat!Staren. "Cage of Hands!" Mana surges. Floating hands appear. Lots of hands. Dozens of hands. Dozens of magical, cat-scratch-resistant hands. Meanwhile, the whole world turns into a 20th Century Fox parody. Theo looks up, totally flummoxed. "Wh... what."
Starbound Flotilla	"FIRE INCOMING!" "Panicking. Shield up! Get behind-- Buzz-alarm!" "Fuck, fuck, we gotta back Seft off!" "Tell her to hold it up! Damn it! I need this cover!" "We don't have a choice!" "I shall do all I can to divert it!" "Back off! Danger close!" "Big guns from the Mane Man there. I like his command of belief." "And we shall do all we can to use it to its greatest potential. Strike!" "Star One incoming!" The Flotilla are battered and burned badly; Seft puts up a heavy tower shield, but the others at ranged positions have to gether behind it. Pavo is driven off, retreating to it with heavy burning on her armor. Seft herself is badly, badly damaged by the intense feedback, overloading chunks of her armor in waves, and she's having to fully retreat from the fight quite quickly. Only Moonfin manages to close two of his three eyes and almost dodge around it, slagging chunks of armor but keeping his melee proximity. Albert roars and leaps high over the shield, now with a shock hammer instead of a rifle, intent on falling hard on his foe, to maximize Edison's impact! The Flotilla works on science, for the most part; here is where they can THRIVE! A heavy overhead strike on that Persona, coupled with... Moonfin takes his position, readies a dash, and waits for the perfect moment; he zips in as fast and as hard as he can, trying to perform a tremendous slice on the Persona's thigh where the gun can be found, so that he can deal heavy damage where it hurts most with a classic Samurai Flash-Dash-Slice! "Fifth Sea Hylotl Style: Deadly Riptide!"
All-Seeing Eye	Hooked by the Cross, Eye is spun around like a ragdoll tied to a ceiling fan. His whips flail every which way as he's spun, trailing behind him as Riva chucks him into the air. He sails up towards the light post... and kicks his leg outwards, latching onto the arm as the Cross sails past him. From there, he swings a complete circle around it, landing on his feet. Slowly he rises. "Inadvisable," he says with a small smile as Riva procures the rocket launcher. He had been ordered to use nonlethal submission tactics, but... well, that IS a rocket launcher. His smile grows all the wider when his warning goes unheeded. The rocket soars towards him, thruster roaring. Not only does he have an excuse to play rough with a lawbreaker, he can bookend a fight. Just as the fight began, he casually sidesteps the rocket, his body's motion fluid and calculated, guided by dozens of predictive algorithms. As the projectile soars past him, he wags the finger of one hand at Riva. The other hand darts behind his back. As do the whips held within, and attached to it. They snare around the projectile, and with a grunt, Eye redirects the trajectory and hurls it right back at Riva. After so many opponents grabbed him by the whips and swung him around, somehow, this just feels right.
Yuuki Kuran	Yuuki would normally be revealing unmarred skin beneath DRAMATICALLY DAMAGED clothes thanks to her regeneration, but August isn't making this Difficult... He's making this actually Severely Inconvenient. And Yuuki doesn't so much dodge flame as tank it, her body just genuinely on fire in a lingering sense, as she burns and regrows over and over. It's macabre to look at, but mostly smells like burning fabric. Mostly because she can't control her clothes as much as she can control herself. As she calls out to August, her voice is filled with a half-strangled 'good golly miss molly I'm on gosh heckin darn fire'. "Kohler, you can't see. You've never seen. You'll burn down as many houses as it takes? You're a renegade arsonist, not a freedom fighter! Nobody can give in to you! You escalate too far! If you want compromise, you have to give, because nobody will ever validate having their things burned to the ground!" Her voices rises in volume, if not in tone, swelling as the ground quakes around her. And EDI SON Drops in to empower the allies of the Presi-King. The flames covering her abruptly go out as a blast of force is whipped over Yuuki like she was brushing off dust from her coat, brisquely and without further reaction, though the ground under her is pressureblasted 'clean'. "Do you know the reason that governments refuse to negotiate with terrorists, August Kohler? Because if you give up there, that's when the terrorists are taught mayhem and loss is what it takes. You don't get to escalate to fire and expect anyone to give you anything less than a fight. You're done here. You had your chance." She doesn't extend a hand so much as stare August down with furious, lambent red dinnerplate eyes all the while doing her best Darth Vader impression, with Tin Soldier being the trachea in question, aiming to turn the Persona into a trash-compacted cube with her force. "If I can't have Pia, I'll take you off the field!"
Staren	Staren's not really paying attention to whatever was going on elsewhere. Theo's side of the battlefield becomes a Youtube parody meanwhile, as magical hands lift a squirming cat, yowling a bit at the rough handling -- looks like the injury does map to his right foreleg, somehow. Eventually, Staren just dangles. "Alright, alright!" He pipes in a squeaky little voice. "I'll get you some heat-resistant card sleeves! ...Although really, you should have already, come to think of it. I did suggest Pia surrender to you." Also, some guy is shouting about how you have to give the masses the tools to rise up, while fighting the revolutionaries who are doing just that. "You moron!" Cat-Staren squeaks at Edison. "You're HELPING the corrupt government!"
August Kohler	"Then what should we do, lie down and take it? Because this is how we get heard. We force a change when the corruption stops us from getting one!" August is pretty angry, and doesn't really have a solid philosophy set into place (George is working on that), so he's just shouting what makes sense to him. What fires /him/ up. Zero gets a grunt, instead of an actual reply, though August is clearly considering his words. Though as August is shouting, Edison activates his Noble Phantasm, and the world shifts. Into...a recording studio magic courtyard...with a giant golden sign?! The aura of the area is actually what gets to him, though, as the Tin Soldier weakens, slowing in pace and feeling the aura spread over it. It falls to its knees, August following it. He forces himself back up, but the Tin Soldier's barely got the energy to continue firing, being sapped away, and the Starbound Flotilla is able to force their way in on him easily. The shock hammer smashes into the Tin Soldier's head, while the sword slices into its gun leg, luckily no misfires because it's a psychic construct, but it's disabling and highly painful, and August can't take much more of this, especially in this powerful field. And then, Yuuki shouts her words, while starting to crush the Tin Soldier. August would, at this point, desummon it, except the suffocation effect affects him too, as he grabs his throat, unable to breathe. August clambers to break through it, as more and more pain comes through and he can feel like he's going to die soon. He finally mangaes to push through it, desummoning his Persona... And the German falls back to his knees, disarmed. "What about when they refuse to negotiate at all?" August's voice is hoarse. "Are you saying I don't have the right to strike back at those who hurt us, because I escalate too far? I have to give, when I'm never actually given? Fine, I'll give without being given. It's not fair, but life isn't, huh?" August grits his teeth. "Let them leave and you can have me. The Cloak of the Watch. Is that enough for you? Or do you want to wring even more, take all my allies too?" August is hoping she accepts the deal. Staren probably wasn't getting kept anyways, but Riva's worth more than he is. He's yet to overcome that complex entirely, just yet.
Riva Banari	Well, he DID warn her. As Eye turns the munition around, the smile drops off Riva's face. "Oh, hell no!" She yelps, moments before she gets to be the recipient of her own rocket. The impact thuds into her, moments before the magically imbued charge triggers, blasting Riva several meters away, sending her tumbling to the ground on her back, charred and smoking from the massive damage. She lies there, the sass clean knocked out of her by the Exalt's clever reversal. She slowly sits up, staring at Eye. "Well. I think you won this one." She mutters, dismissing her weapons and pulling the Cross back to her. She staggers back to her feet, and turns to flee before they decide 'just capture them all' is a better option. Besides, she needs to catch up with Renegade Prime and see what happened to her.
Thomas Alva Edison	Edison looks around. "What allies?" He asks the surrendering August. "All I know is that you bravely purchased time for your allies to leave," Edison says, as if, perhaps, allow the man to make sure that they could make good on their end of the agreement of his surrender. "Son, do not missunderstand me. I appreciate the will to do right, but one has to consider all of their actions. While it is easier to burn out bad elements...what does that teach those who rule next? Or those who are ruled? That when we do not get what we want, we can use force to take it? Society is not build on war, not like it was when I was a lad. A devistating war or two was enough to awaken the collective eyes of mankind to this..." "Nor am I saying there isn't a right time to fight...but if nobody upholds the laws when it's inconvient...then what meaning do those laws have? What about that comes after the corruption is gone, and removing elements of the government that disagree with another is considered 'corruption'." He turns, looking to Staren. "Boy, you need to open your ears," Edison says, not taking the time to explain everything he just said again. He leans down, aiming to help August to his feet, so he could be taken away. Edison will make sure he is given medical treatment, and held with the rights that prisoners are garunteed.
Yuuki Kuran	"When they refuse to change due to peaceful protest, or positive action, then they should find a way to leave. To change things positively. This isn't a war, this is a city. One people, not two. Are you saying that the right thing to do is fire and violence? That never backing down is the way to get people to change? Selfish. A selfish game of chicken, that associates being smaller and weaker with being right." She releases her hold, with August surrounded and basically in custody. "Zero, release the vines. We can't have a scene, we can't have anyone die because they can't get out. Warden Eye, Theo, could you try to find anyone trapped in this blaze? I'll leave fire control to Mister Edison... And I'd appreciate if this deal was honored." Yuuki flips out her phone, eyes distant and glassy against the blaze. "Someone has to be the ethical actor around here." Her words ring empty and vicious, like a distant growl, no trace of the ameliorating and kind tones she had been using all day. Her phone screen glows as it awakes and buzzes. "Consulate Control, this is Director Kuran of the Concord. Yes, Compliance branch please." She pauses for a moment. "Send me a fire suppression team... and get me Baral." She looks down at the kneeling August Kohler, Pyromancer, Persona User, and Cloak of the Watch. "I have someone he's very interested in." The artificial light of the phone washes her pale face as she stares down her nose at Kohler. "If you hadn't stopped us, this city would have been yours to save painlessly. Now... Now we have to take measures."
Theo Morrison	Theo slumps a little when Staren finally gives up the cat-ghost and stops trying to get away from the endless amount of hands. He ends up grabbed by six or seven of them, held in a cat-sized prison of magic hands. It's a bit weird, but it's definitely some kind of cage. "It's not exactly a high priority for manufacturers," Theo points out, straightening and checking his neck (ow), "especially when I need them to still be able to use them instead of just keep 'em on display." He looks to the blaze. Theo points at Staren. "Don't try to go anywhere." Theo turns back to it, nodding at Yuuki. He makes a pinching and dragging motion in the air, opening glossy windows and quickly sweeping the house, searching for anyone trapped that he can pop in and free. Teleportation and the ability to scry makes it really easy to do just that. Theo does not feel particularly inclined to argue with Yuuki's dire declaration right now. He's in a pretty bad mood already; it'd just make it worse.
All-Seeing Eye	Standing atop the light pole purely through his own impeccable poise, Eye retracts his whips and conceals the Essence cannons in his eyes. "Let's do this again sometime," he calls after the retreating Templar. With one pink sock forward, he steps off of the lamp post, sliding down it with one arm wrapped around the pole. He taps a finger to his temple, offering a warning to his allies about the fleeing Templar--he doesn't imagine she'll intervene, but you never know! Some people have the silliest heroic streaks. The Exalt takes a moment to give the nearest of Gonti's guards a pointed look. "I don't suppose you could send someone down with my shoes?"
Starbound Flotilla	With August surrendering in a way, the Flotilla -- battered though they may be -- surround him with weapons drawn. Not firing, though, just keeping them on him, making sure everything goes to plan. They aren't really the kind to keep capture gear, but they can at least keep an eye on him and sort of hold on to him on the way out. Moonfin drops down to the waterways to take a peek, but it's unlikely that Pia has stuck around, more than likely she's gotten some distance between her and this place. George, of all people, keeps closest to August, making sure one of the arms is folded behind his back. "Fancy seeing you here, Gus." He says, pleasantly. "Sorry about the tussle. I have a feeling this business is going to aaaaall work out, trust me on that. Call it my intuition that you'll like where all this goes, you just aren't a fan of how it's getting there. Gotta admit I can see the reasoning." They're beaming down a transport to get August elsewhere in the city for the deals Yuuki intends to make. Always working that miniboss minions angle.
Staren	Staren attempts to cross his forelegs at Edison and Yuuki's rants, then winces and droops them again instead of saying anything. His 'arm' still hurts. Staren gives Theo a blank look. He's a Paladin and a multiversal elite. He could just /get shit made/ with custom technology. Although now Staren's on it, starting to write a manufacturing program for sleeves made out of advanced materials while he waits, because what else is he gonna do? He almost rolls his eyes at Theo's command, then realizes he said 'don't TRY to' and has to admit that is correct. He waits somewhat grumpily as he programs in his head. Edison has contradicted his own faction and himself, in Staren's eyes, and Yuuki is contradicting the Concord's ideology, it seems to him. Idealists holding ideals that conflict with his own can be frustrating, of course, but even MORE frustrating is people who seem to contradict their own ideals.
Priscilla	Truly, the most intelligent thing Gonti did as part of this whole Xanatos gambit keikakudoori clusterfuck is 'not be here'. The sheer amount of obscene destruction happening in his(?) courtyard has even the body double watching concerned from a high window. When the fire gets past a point, he calls the remaining guards back inside and raises the magical screens on the doors, prepping suppression systems that dispense fire-retardent mist where the flames creep too close to the steps. There are expensive things to protect here. The two Renegades trying to saw and torch their way out aren't making good progress with the vines, and spend most of their time fighting off Zero's lightest efforts, before eventually falling in with the Watch defenders to body check vines and wolves if they have to, at least intending to stall them from Pia. The sounds of an entire construction crew can be heard from that sealed tunnel the entire time, not even slightly shaken by the rage of battle. Silvery vines burrow through the stone sides and floor embedded in simple earth, but as often as not are caught and arrested by something that could be collapse, water pressure, a security system, or something Pia might have constructed herself, if not some combination or subversion of multiple elements. A bright flare of Aether energy shoots up from the shaft when summoned minions go towards it, electrifying whatever comes close. When August makes the final move to buy all the time he can, those taking the drop find the ladder rungs torn and and repurposed as part as some kind of wall-clinging robot that has managed to fill most of the passage with its legs, set ahead of a huge torch hole in the flood barriers and covered in semi-liquid cement that has turned it into a gigantic spaghetti ball of thorny metal vines, ramshackle metal legs, plastered rock, and more than a few menacing zappers and saws still able to point in the right direction. They're knee deep in water, but the next flood barrier isn't gone. Instead, the left hand wall has been tunneled right through by a second, completely different abomination apparently powered by the Aether lamp line from the rail, going all the way until it reaches a city sewer line, and having not only breached the wall, but cut and drained the lights, and formed an impromptu gate out of another ladder and a manhole cover. Pia is riding her second robot like half of an exo-suit, goggles down over her face and her hands wedged deep in its control edifices. "There you are! This way!" she yells over the shrieking of the machine's cutter as she bores through the last couple of inches of an emergency valve. "We're not going back to the safehouse! Follow me!" She doesn't stop to check who makes it after her. Far away, thirty storeys up the glittering gold height of the Spire, staring out through a panoramic crystal window, a certain man looks out onto the citscape of Ghirapur sprawling out beneath him, and his eyes trace a distant column of black smoke down to the amber twinkle of fire. The voice Yuuki reaches on the opposite end buzzes tinnily: "City services have been notified and a fire control squad has been sent. The Chief of Compliance left just a moment ago. I think he must already be on his way."