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Janine Liberi     The Black Throne is as dark as ever. With the new knowledge that its darkness represents not evil, but absence of any conviction in the hearts of man, it carries a far more ominous vibe. Are people truly so directionless? Does this one chair really represent everyone?

    The whole throne room has been cast in blue light as sapphire flames dance upon candles, in braziers and on the chandeliers above. Standing before the throne is two figures. One is Spriggans Jack, who offers a big smile and a wave to all those who arrive. The other is a tall, older woman, the one who was driving the carriage. She is clad in a blue riding jacket with tails and golden buttons, along with black jodhpurs and black riding boots. Her hair is a faded gold, tied back into a bun and her lined, wrinkled face is set in a warm smile.

    "My dear contractors. You have arrived at the end of this long journey, and mastered the Forest around us." She claps, sincerely. "I could not be more proud of you," she adds, like a kindly grandmother praising her descendants.

    "Yeah, you were all really cool! And I wanna be cool too! But um..." The tiny aspect twiddles his thumbs and looks away. "I need to know you have what it takes first!" He delivers this as a boisterous shout, pointing at the party. "... but I know I can't beat you, so that's not a fair fight. So I asked Agatha to help!"

    The kindly older woman's smile gains a slight edge to it as she strides forward, producing a thick tome bound in leather. Holding it in one hand against her chest, she raises the other hand above her head and snaps, causing multiple full-length mirrors to rise out of the ground around her. She and they both begin to hover, the bronze inlaid mirrors orbiting her.

    "Come forth, masters of the Forest. After all your battles, I think a friendly spar is the order of the day."
Tina Natsumi Although Tina knows what the darkness represents, the Black Throne's air of danger still lingers in the back of her mind. She still hasn't pushed that discomfort away fully even as she arrives at the Black Throne, looking relatively normal for once in a track jacket and jeans.

She doesn't even have her hat on today. Instead, she comes with a two 12-packs of bottled soda, and she raises one in a light wave in greeting. "Evenin', ma'am. Jacky. Did I... Uh. Underdress for this?" She seems caught off guard when the prospect of fighting is brought up, and she looks for a nice, safe corner to put those drinks down before moving back to the center to face Agatha properly.

"You wanna...? Heh. I didn't think you'd have this much spunk at your age." She laughs mirthfully, drawing her phone from her pocket to call her mechanical Persona out with the power of her phone's flash and reflective backing. "Alright, Agatha... Let's make this a fight to remember!"

A beat, and then she tones her voice down a bit. "Also, maybe a hand signal or code word in case we're ready to call it quits. Like touchin' our elbows together or...?" Naturally, she's not recording any of this fight of (relative) youngsters ganging up on a senior, so she sends Uncle Sam in right from the start!

... To start blasting at the mirrors. It whips out a pair of revolvers, taking direct shots at the mirrors first to try and whittle down whatever it is Agatha might have up her sleeve.
Big Boss Big Boss is here. He's smoking a cigar, and is silent as they talk. He doesn't speak up to the praise - he was barely a member of the group assisting - but he does nod as they mention a fight. He's not armed fully for a fight - no rifle, only a service pistol, but... "Very well. I'll take this seriously."

As the mirrors rise, Big Boss waits. And then, he takes his cigar with two fingers, stamps it out...

For his age, he moves fast. Big Boss suddenly is up at Agatha, hands moving to slam into the human weak points he knows well, carrying nothing about the age of his foe. To underestimate her, even in a friendly spar, is to lose. His hits are rapid, but more especially, they're skillful, that beret on his head tilted forward, as he ends the combo with an elbow strike to the solar plexus.
William Pauwel After almost dying (again) in the course of averting the seemingly inevitable end of the world, Will certainly did not expect to be back at the Black Throne any time soon. He certainly hadn't considered that he'd be back here specifically to fight an old lady and also potentially Spriggans Jack.

"Aw don't put yourself down like that, pardner. You were as cool as any of us back there. Heck, without your help, we would've been swallowed up by the yawning maw of human despair! But--"

Mirrors whirl around the strange old woman. Somehow, in spite of her physical frailty, she seems just about as dangerous as anything else they've found in here so far. Maybe even moreso...? "Uh, a friendly spar? I mean... S...sure?" The Solano's light shines as the weapon ignites in his hand. "How friendly are we talking about here--"

Big Boss straight up goes to CQC an old woman to death. Will winces visibly, "H-hey, that's... Beatin' up old folks is... Uh." Beat. Will frowns, looking deeply conflicted. "I really don't know how I feel about this!"

Instead, he joins Tina in blasting at the mirrors. He could /probably/ hit the old lady around the old man's wrestling moves, but there's no need to take that risk just yet...!
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa had got the call to come back. Kotone had not been expecting it heck? She'd expected that short of Tina most of the persona users might just be choosing to get on with their lives and she couldn't fault them all. However when called? She would come as asked she seems to be in good spirits at this point she looks the woman over for a moment she bows a little bit. 5R
"Hello a d thank you and good to see you, Jack, as well.."

She hear the talk of a spare and the thinks about it for a moment.

"I think I can accept such a request."

She girns a bit and will take a moment to get her weapon out rather than a heavy rifle it's a pistol for the moment and she will also open fire.
Janine Liberi     Big Boss closes the distance, weaving between the mirrors to strike Agatha in the stomach. She wheezes, and floats up to escape the full combination. "A fine strike sir," she says, as his younger companions open fire on the mirrors. They shatter and melt, falling to the ground and dissolving, but Agatha just snaps and makes more. "A clever idea, children. But simply trying to circumvent the whole fight flies in the face of what we're trying to accomplish."

    Janine has moved, flying up behind Agatha and swinging her sword at the woman's head. The carriage mistress simply looks askance at her own reflection and says, "Come forth, Soldier of Myth." She flashes blue, and a great combat knife blocks Janine's swing.

    It's a Persona.

    A two-faced man, with one on the front and back of his head. An eyepatch wraps all the way around, covering one eye on both faces. His body is covered in ever-shifting camo patterns, and he carries all manner of weapons. His left arm is mechanical, and glows a nuclear blue.

    Soldier of Myth pushes Janine back, and then does an appoximation of CQC on Big Boss himself, but bigger due to his own size. In between each strike, he shoots a pistol at Tina, Kotone and Tina, a flurry of hand-to-hand and gunplay very similar to how Big Boss himself fights.
Tina Natsumi "Yeah, but..." Tina's treading on dangerous ground here. She can't exactly call Agatha old to her face, but what other excuse does she have? "I've seen what guns can do to people, and I've seen what anythin' can do to... Uh."

Thankfully, Soldier of Myth is there to save the day! By shooting Tina. Uncle Sam's moves just in the nick of time to take the shot straight to the face, and the Persona user recoils at that piercing pain lancing through her forehead. "Ggh! B-but a gun to a... Certain type o' person? If you're sure, then... Well, you've got a Persona in play. I don't gotta worry about that!"

Probably. There's still some obvious discomfort around the notion of shooting Agatha directly, but she has no qualms about doing the same to her Persona. While hunkering back behind Uncle Sam to nurse her throbbing head pain, Tina directs it to start firing at Soldier of Myth once more, taking carefully aimed shots at its left arm in particular.
Kotone Yamakawa Things are already heating up, as she expected to with someone like this wanting to spar. The plan to shatter the mirrors seemed like it might be a good idea. After all, she was expecting some form of attack from them. Agatha has other plans however she watches as the soldier of myth appears. She will find herself up in CQC range, which is an issue. Kotone generally relies on the pure brute strength of her body when caught in close combat. This does nothing for being who is very skilled in and she just gets shot, it buries itself into her cybernetic body. It hurts a fair bit, ut's not enough to stop her in her tracks though and she'll open up with her pistol as well darting away trying to get some range on the soldier of legend as she keeps shooting back.
Big Boss Big Boss nods as Agatha praises him, but says nothing. As she floats out of the way, he makes distance, knowing she'll have a trick up her sleeve. She's not fit for CQC of her own. So what will she use?

The Soldier of Myth.

He seems...familiar. Big Boss glances at that mechanical arm specifically, and grimaces. This isn't just a Persona. It's...

No. Doesn't matter what it is. She wanted a friendly spar. She'll get it. As the Soldier of Myth comes at Big Boss with the heavy CQC, Big Boss is prepared, but the size difference gets him hit hard. He staggers backwards, but follows it up by hitting his own strike at the Soldier of Myth. Mid-strike...

"Let's see how resilient you are."

Big Boss draws his gun, pistol-whips the Soldier of Myth, and then moves to fire one shot into his center of mass in a fluid combination, turning the pistol into a skillful CQC weapon.
William Pauwel Well, that's a question that Will really didn't want to have the answer to. Not 'does the old woman have a persona' necessarily, but more 'I wonder how bad it hurts to get shot by another brain ghost's mind bullets?' The answer is that it hurts. It hurts badly. Will bites back a yelp of pain as a flash of red erupts from one shoulder. His own weapon barks back a barrage of blazing bolts as the gunslinger darts deftly behind the great, black throne.

"What the heck, 'Soldier of Legend?'" That isn't exactly the most descriptive name in the world. But if this is anything like fighting August, then this thing... Might? Have an elemental weakness?

Time to try a full range and see what they can get away with.

Will darts out of cover. His weapon flashes, strobing white and blue and orange and purple. He holds down the trigger, unleashing blasts of kinetic energy, bolts of sizzling plasma, globes of smoldering sunfire and pulses of electrical chaos...!
Janine Liberi     Soldier of Myth's mechanical arm takes a beating as Tina fires at it. The blue glow intensifies as chunks are chipped off. Kotone's shots thump against his chest, causing the camo pattern to fracture like ceramic armor. Will spams a variety of elemental attacks, but if the Solider of Myth has an elemental weakness, he's not finding it.

    Big Boss clashes with him, matching CQC against CQC. His swiftly drawn pistol smashes through the cracks Kotone caused, damaging the Persona. It disappears in a shower of blue as Agatha flips through her book. "Very good. Let's try a different tact..."

    "Come forth, Scientific Cowboy."

    A new Persona arises. A brain in a jar, with a 10 galleon hat atop it, plugged into a mechanical body. Hose-like arms end in mechanical claws, and treads replace the legs. The whole thing is wrapped in a thick lab coat with a long hem, more like a cowboy duster. Its chest opens up, revealing racks of guns that spray lasers at the party!
William Pauwel The Soldier of Myth is shattered, broken into a storm of swirling blue flame. Will lowers his weapon as if maybe hopeful that this friendly spar was limited to just a single manifestation of the collective consciousness. It's not to be. The world is not nearly so kind.

Though, if Will is being completely honest, the next trick that Agatha pulls out of her charming old lady hat is... Really actually kind of flattering? Will's eyes flutter at the delightfully retro-looking cyber-gunslinger. You can almost see the stars winking in his stare. "O-oh. That's... That's what's going on? Oh, uh. I don't know whether I should be terrified or flattered--"

The Cowboy's torso unfolds into SO MANY GUNS and Will's stupid grin freezes as the color flushes out of his face. "Ah," he says in the moment before the flood of painful light, "Yeah, that'd make sense."

Lasers fill Will's world. It's a feeling that he knows a little too well. Being fried by laser-fire is perhaps one of the forms of pain that Will knows best. He isn't sure how to feel about that either.

Or, rather, he knows exactly how to feel. 'Painful.'

Will grits his teeth and ducks back behind cover. If he peeks out, he risks getting his eyes fried out of his skull. But if he can't see, how is he going to counterattack...!?

Will blind-fires around the corner of the throne, firing bolt after bolt of white-blue plasma at his mirror-manifestation. It's an ineffectual attack at face value, but...

Will has pushed a button on his person. Not far away, a powerful engine roars like some kind of wild animal. The Mistral, Will's motorcycle, explodes onto the scene, charging in from where Will had parked it. Its thrusters fire, sending its armored front end crashing right for the Scientific Cowboy's bristling, firepower-festooned center of mass!
Kotone Yamakawa The Soldier of Myth is no weak foe given who it might be connected to, she does manage to connect with her shots. This opens up things for others to keep attacking it's dot done yet however something new is called into the battlefield ait's a brain in a jar with and a 10 galleon hate on it. It looks like something out of a 1950s sci-fi story to Kotone. There is no time to muse on that as this thing is attacking them. Its chest opens up and she gets hit by the lasers. She's fat but there's no way for her to dodge light, save move before the trigger is pulled. Which she's unable to do in this situation.

Kotone switches out weapons at this point, summoning up a rifle and returning the pistol to her storage.

She opens fire with the rifle but it's a diversion she's trying to get in close, as her body surges with electrical energy as she brings her integrated taser systems online at full power and attempts to grab hold of the Science Cowboy. She will time this attack to delay until Will has done his thing. Also Will seems to be right, the woman is summoning them somehow.
Big Boss As the Soldier of Myth disappears, Big Boss prepares for the next attacker. This one's themed after Will, huh? As it manifests, Big Boss starts moving, taking his pistol and mentally counting the number of bullets. As he does so...

A laser hits him square in the chest. He's not wearing his bodysuit. Big Boss flies backwards, skidding across his back, pretty injured by the strike but not to the point of real fatigue yet. He aims his pistol at the Scientific Cowboy's brain in a jar and tries to get a shot off, aiming to recover and stand back up over doing big damage.

"I'm too old for this."
Tina Natsumi As Tina pulls a shotgun out from Uncle Sam's back, she can't help but watch her allies go after Agatha and the Soldier of Myth. She can't quite imitate what Janine and Tomoe are doing what with her lack of close-range weaponry, and William's gun is a little too advanced compared to what Uncle Sam can bring out, but...

She really does't want to admit that watching Big Boss might be worth just to learn from. Perhaps another time, though, since it looks like the fight is just about over when the Soldier of Myth fades away. Tina has just enough time to breath a sigh of relief before seeing the cowboy hatted brain jar appear.

"Multiple...? Damn, why can't I get more o' these?" She jokes briefly, but there's not much time for banter as Agatha goes right back on the attack. The lasers burn into flesh and steel alike, Uncle Sam's steel body doing little to protect the cowgirl from teh intense heat. "Seriously, Agatha. You really know how to turn up the..."

Tina's already in mid-sigh before she even trails off and gives up on the delivery for that pun. It's easy enough to focus on the fight when it's already going about as painfully as it is, and she actually withdraws a bit to try and figure out her options here.

The problem: Her options are all heavily skewed towards GUN. "Maybe if we..." Tina trails off again, some frustration evident on her face as she struggles to think up a solution to the problem of Agatha's guns being considerably more potent than theirs thus far. Instead of doubling down on firing hard and fast with no regards to safety, she remains on the defensive as she and Uncle Sam start advancing towards Agatha directly with short bursts of gunfire aimed at the brainjar. "Keep it together, people! We just need to find an opening or make one... Don't get caught with your pants down!"
Janine Liberi     Mistral revs in, a valiant steed turning against the image of its master. The Scientific Cowboy reels back from the impact, several gun barrels bending under the force. Kotone slips in close and bursts with electricity. Several popping sounds erupt from the machine as she shorts out many wires.

    Boss's gunshot slams against the plexiglass of the brain case, causing it to crack. The fluid within begins to seep out, until Uncle Sam's shots drum against it in a constant staccato. The cracks spread and intertwine until the whole thing finally comes apart. The Persona vanishes as Agatha reels, clutching her head.

    "Haha... not even my own children have ever pressed me so. Come forth, Engineer Reborn!"

    She glows blue, but no Persona appears. That is, until some incredible force strikes everyone, launching them airborn. A figure shimmers into the visual spectrum, a sleek, doll-like humanoid with a head of shiny reflective chrome. It leaps up in pursuit, arcing with electricity as it tries to zap everyone!
Tina Natsumi Buying time. Good. It seems to be working well enough as the brainjar cracks and falls apart, but Tina doesn't let herself relax just yet. After the first one disappeared, she'snot entirely convinced that there won't be more, and her patience is rewarded when Agatha replaces the brainjar with... Nothing?

There has to be something. Tina does't move back in to attack again just yet, simply sticking closer to her Persona as she watches for something else to attack. When the human doll Persona(?) appears, she's already clambering onto Uncle Sam's back to keep herself out of the direct line of fire. She grits her teeth as the lightning courses through her Persona and herself, but it's still not quite enough to put Tina down entirely.

"There's an opening... But there's bound to be more than this one, too!" She warns her allies as she prepares for the worst, still holding in the real big guns even as she starts firing that shotgun at close-ish range. As she does, Uncle Sam actually dives at the doll, aiming to grab on and slam it down against the ground with the power of being a heavy steel monstrosity!
Big Boss Another one down, but then, the Engineer Reborn launches Big Boss into the air out of nowhere, even as he prepares to watch for another. Electricity surges through his body as he goes flying, several ribs cracked, but he keeps his cool, pointing his gun and firing off two shots at the doll-Persona. As he goes arcing back down...

His foot moves to slam straight into the doll, as he fires the last three bullets point-blank into her head. It's a brutal and stylish takedown, if it helps succeed, that he hopes can do serious damage to Agatha and give the wounded group an edge!
Kotone Yamakawa In the back of her mind? Kotone is very glad this is a spar, as she's being pressed very hard by this fight the Scientific Cowboy is still standing when she pulls away from him. To not get caught up in the counter-attack or further attacks by her allies. The Boss' shot does a lot and Tina's attack finally seems to bring it down making Agatha reel from the strain they are putting her on. She pauses for a moment as something else is coming to wait a moment, there's a ripple. A ripple, Kotone freezes for half a second she has an idea about what it is as it appears it's a sleek doll-like but made out of chrome and it's now letting electricity.

They are all being summoned, this looks like the Engineer Reborn is Kotone in some fashion. She has an idea of what might come next. She calls it right and that is what saves her from being fully lit up like a Christmas tree. She's still caught by some of it, though her body's surge protector saves her from the worst of the damage. It is clear though for all her endurance Kotone is nearing her limit from this very intense fight.

She will pause for a moment switch weapons again pulling out mini-gun from her storage system and opens up on the Engineer Reborn. Trying to make it hard for them to manoeuvre or hide from the assault.
William Pauwel Sometimes, it just seems like it isn't your day, your month, or even your year. Will is definitely feeling that. He's also feeling something else: the excruciating ache of several hundred volts of electricity coursing through his body. It's a damn good thing that this is just a fun little spar, or--

No, he's definitely still going to feel this. This might be a spar, but it's as real as anything else he's felt in the forest.

And it's all because he couldn't keep his wild imagination under control.

'She has kids!?' Will said out loud, moments before being blasted into the air and blasted by so much lightning. Will growls, the power sending his limbs into convulsive fits. Electricity arcs into his weapon, turning the little spark of light into a supernova. Will screams as the Solano discharges, sending a cataclysmic bolt spiralling out into empty air.

He falls to the ground, then, motionless. A final, useless shot discharged--

No. Not useless. The blast is hurtling right toward one of Agatha's mirrors... And from there it would rebound into the other, before bounding right back into the summoned persona.

Will might not be moving right now, but... Maybe his parting shot will still be able to be of use?
Janine Liberi     Big Boss kicks the Persona square in the chrome face, causing it to dent and buckle as he unloads his shots point blank. Kotone joins the assault with a burst from her minigun before Uncle Sam comes down and pins the figure to the ground. It writhes, twisting to try and get free. But then, Will's 'wasted' shot rebounds off Agatha's mirrors, causing her to gasp in surprise when it drills into the Persona's head, causing it to vanish.

    "Incredible," the old woman breathes. "All right. Let's see if you can take this..." The mirrors vanish, before more arise to replace them. These are inlaid in gold, much larger, and reflect a much clearer picture than the previous ones. Agatha glows, not only blue, but also gold and red and black.

    Three Persona appear.

    One is a lithe, feminine figure. The right arm clutches a sword, while the left is bound to her side by briar. A fencing mask obscures her face, but dark brown curls hang from her head. The other has a spotlight for a halo and a flat screen for a face that shows the world from their point of view. A shawl decorated like an American flag obscures the rest of its form.

    The third is a knight clad in armour scorched black. Their head is a matchstick, burning bright with fire. They clutch a hammer, one made from some kind of jet engine.

    The Lame Marquis moves first, a blur as cuts appear in the air itself. The Online Bard joins the assault, the screen depicting footage from a first-person shooter as a gun appears from under their shawl, blasting the crowd. The Burned Knight takes to the air, their hammer firing its engine to accelerate their climb, before blasting down to swing the hammer into the ground, sending a massive tremor through the entire castle.
Big Boss Big Boss suddenly moves to roll once the new mirrors come in. It's right in time, as the Lame Marquis comes in, barely missing anything but a shallow cut on Boss. The Online Bard gets a better hit, a shot impacting his shoulder, before the Burned Knight comes down.

The massive tremor blasts into Big Boss, sending him backwards into a wall, impacting hard. He can still move, still use his gun just barely, but any more and he'll truly hurt himself. He taps out, moving back and sheathing his gun.

They're done. He drops to a crouch, breathing heavily, the old man's trenchcoat damaged. There's a glint of red underneath.

"Good. I'll have to map out how I could have won that." Is all he says to Agatha. It's basically a compliment, even if the first Persona's appearance was a surprise.
Tina Natsumi Tina gets a nagging feeling in her gut as her allies start pulling out the big guns in contrast to her using largely the same guns against Agatha and the Engineer Reborn. Big Boss's methods, while rather brutal, do carry a certain efficiency to them that has her wincing even without being the recipient of those attacks. Kotone's minigun seems like something Tina should keep in mind for Uncle Sam if she can pull herself together enough to bust something like that out. William, meanwhile, seems to be melting himself again.

She's actually kind of okay with not doing that.

Still, noticing everyone putting themselves on the line time and time again isn't a particularly good feeling, and seeing those odd mirrors of Janine's, August's, and her own Persona... What's the gun-robot Persona-user to do against such overwhelming odds?!

Try and reduce the burden on her allies, at the very least. With Uncle Sam being a (relatively) larger target, Tina doesn't have to try very hard to use it and herself to eat those attacks to try and take some of the burden off her allies. Sure, she's getting shredded by the Lame Marquis' slash coming faster than she can keep track of, shot in multiple places at once by the Online Bard, and the tremors from the Burned Knight are launching her off her feet, but... It'll be fine!

At least, she's hoping it's going to be fine. She does't have much of a choice as she lands hard face down, groaning while her Persona and her consciousness start to fade slowly.
Kotone Yamakawa The fight is still going strong the combined effort of Boss, Janine, Tina, Will and herself? Seem to bring down the summon of Kotone then Will does a thing. As Big Boss and Tiana also keep fighting Will takes some more shots off the mirror which catch the Engineer in the face and that's it for that one.

"You still got fuel in the tank? Damn..."

This fight was a spar and she was being pushed very hard and then comes three new persona's at once she doesn't have much time to grasp on their nature. She has an inkling of it but even as that though form she tries to get clear of the attack it's too much she's caught in the shockwave of the hammer send her flying which leaves he caught by the FPS style attack and Kotone's body just has enough as she will not be able to get back up she's laying there beat up, alive but it's clear she's had enough as she starts to pass out.
William Pauwel Between all the volcanic hammering, all the cuts slicing the air to ribbons, and all the bullets smashing into the ground, there's one person who is just... not really moving right now? Will is still on the ground, exactly as worse for wear as you would expect from someone lying unconscious in the middle of that kind of onslaught. It's a miracle he's still intact, honestly.

Maybe getting almost murdered so many times in the last few months has improved his durability a bit...?
Janine Liberi     Spriggans Jack runs about placing his hands on everyone. Healing magic flows from his palms as he urges them back into consciousness. "That was a good try everyone!" he says encouragingly. "Yes, it wa-" Agatha begins, before abruptly slumping to her knees in exhaustion, the mirrors vanishing. "Goodness... it's been a long time since I've had to fight like that. A woman my age shouldn't push herself so."

    She manages to get back up, and smiles at Big Boss. "It was a close battle. It could have gone either way. Thank you for coming." She gets on her toes and plants a kiss on the old man's cheek. "Keep looking out for the children. They, and those that follow them, will continue to use the soil you water with blood." There's no judgment in her words, just an understanding that he will not avert his path.

    Will is next. She kisses him on the forehead and says, "Your efforts here were rewarded with these." She holds his hands. "Try not to lose them again dear. You can make many machines... but there is only one of you."

    Kotone is next, also receiving a chaste kiss. "You are you. Never let semantics about the nature of man get in the way. Even if you are different, you have done so much. You are better."

    Next is Tina. The streamer gets a light dusting off before her kiss on the forehead. "It is a shame I could not see you actualise, dear. But I know you shall. You'll discover what it is you want to be, and embody it."

    She does the same to Janine, and whispers something to her as well. Finally, the old woman goes to Jack and says, "Now dear... do you feel confident still?" The aspect nods firmly. "Yeah. They can handle it."

    He turns, and addresses everyone. "I... had an idea, for what I can do to help." He points to the Black Throne. "It's empty right now... but what if I were to try and fill it? Not... sit on it, not use it. But to go into that void, and try to fill it with Heroism?"

    He smiles bravely, even in the face of this suggestion of self-sacrifice. "I don't want to become like Wotan and get angry that people aren't acting like I want them to. But I don't want to force them either. I think that, if I joined with this, humanity's heart... I could help steer them. Be that little voice that pushes them to do the right thing."

    He's still smiling, but it's becoming wobbly. "I just didn't want to do it without saying goodbye. And I know you guys will deal with it if anything bad happens! So... goodbye! I'll be right there with you all...!"

    He runs to everyone and gives them a tight hug. Janine gives him a fond pat on the head. "Give 'em hell kiddo." She looks a little sad too.

    The boy goes to the throne, and Agatha lifts him onto it. The glass ripples, and he slowly sinks through it, fading into the blackness until he is only a little pinprick of green light, surrounded by blackness.

    And yet, the light never fades.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa finds herself starting to heal up and it feels nice. That was quite the fight. "Hey, you need to cut loose once and a while...right?" She slowly will start getting up as she gets the kiss she gets the nature of it and would blush. If she were still able to do such a thing.
"That is something I hope to never lose sight of again."

She notes she's healed up and back on her feet for a moment. She looks to Jack as she listens to what he has to say and stars to grin more the further he goes on she'll hugs Jack back.

"Best of luck to you and if you need help you know where to find us..."
Tina Natsumi Spriggins Jack gets a slow thumbs up as Tina remains face down on the ground, taking a moment to get her bearings before rolling onto her back. "Should've recorded that.. Ach. Next time, next time. Hope ya don't pick up on our bad habits, at least." She chuckles softly and breathes a slow sigh of relief with the flow of healing magic, keeping her eyes closed for a short while until Agatha comes by.

That /is/ something Tina was hoping for, wasn't she? "Heh. Not yet, but... You know, I do these streams pretty often, so you might catch it happenin' when you least expect it!" She laughs, she winces, she laughs again, and then she goes quiet.

What does she want to be? That's a question for another day, as Spriggins Jack tells the group his real motives for bringing them here today. "Going into that hole would be pretty scary, wouldn't it? But you've grown a lot since the first time I saw ya."

It takes a bit longer for her to actually catch on to the real weight of his words. Once it hits, though, it hits Tina hard, and she gets up properly to hug Spriggins Jack tight. " You better not stay quiet in there! We're gonna be listening for you, and we're gonna be..."

Tina wipes her face off, eyes already red and nose running a fair amount even as she gestures at Janine. "... We're gonna be helpin' to steer this ship, too. So don't look back!" It's the best reassurance she can offer.
William Pauwel "Uuuuuuuggggh," Will groans as his wounds knit and his fractured bones fuse. He sits up groggily, looking every bit like he was just hit by the psychospiritual equivalent of a freight train. "Wasn't... Expectin' that kind of a fight for a 'spar.'" Especially not from someone who looks every bit like the sort of lady who his grandmother has over for bridge, gossip and crime-plotting twice a week.

Speaking of which, Will gets a grandmotherly kiss on the forehead and blinks slowly as his wits return. "...Yeah, I... I'm gonna try to take better care of things, I think. I'm... Going to need to figure something out. But I'll try, ma'am."

He pushes himself back up, trying to find stability on a pair of legs that desperately want to be a couple of rubber stilts. "...Confident?" Will asks, looking between Agatha and Spriggans, "What're you..."

Spriggans has a plan. A plan that's... Not death, not really. It's the opposite, really. To become an integral part of the human amalgam means living in every human that there is, and yet-- To subsume himself into that throne... It means they'd never see him again. A forever goodbye, is what this means. Even if he's right there with them forever, it won't be the same. It's the end of a journey, and Will finds himself a little more misty-eyed than he was expecting for it. "Spriggans, you..."

He gives the little Embodiment as big of a hug as he can manage, maybe for the first time in a long time really appreciating having... Arms. Real arms. Arms that can hug and not worry about crushing something or someone. He wipes at an eye as he lets go, fighting through emotion to keep a confident smile on his lips. "Don't you worry, we won't let you do this alone. Leave the outside to us, just... Take care, okay? And if you ever need someone to talk to, or if there's something you need help with-- Well, maybe that's a bit much to hope for."

"We'll be with you too, every step of the way. So don't hold back!" Will's own grin wavers, and he gives the little Embodiment one last squeeze. "And no matter how dark it gets, never stop shining. I want to come back here someday and see that whole chair lit up like a beacon. I'll try... I'll try to keep the light going too, so maybe someday if you need a little somethin' to light your way, you can look up to find it."

It's the least he can do, he thinks, as he watches Spriggans vanish into the throne. After everything, after all he promised August, after all he could never live up to what he made himself out to be--

All he can do is pick himself up and try again.