Scene #7277: Evil Time Part 1

Owner	Pose
W	The world of Terra is not so far from a modern Earth; the map is similar, and much of the environment and climate remains the same in similar locations. Yet it shares no nations with modern Earth, and true Humans are rarity. Instead, the world is populated by various races of near-Humans largely all displaying some manner of animal traits in their physical make-up. The most stark difference of all however, is that the world of Terra is periodically wracked by powerful storms of unknown origin. Known as 'Catastrophes', these storms devastate the landscape and leave behind the precious mineral known as Originium, prized the world over. A mineral that is also incredibly dangerous to those who do not handle it safely, resulting in fatal illness and mutations. As such, anyone foolish or unlucky enough to be caught in one of these Catastrophes is almost certainly doomed. Which is precisely what makes the situation in the city of Chernobog so dire. The massive moving city would normally move on from a location should a Catastrophe be predicted to happen there, but an act of sabotage has crippled it and endangered thousands of lives. Not only that, but the culprits behind this act of terrorism have opted to make an example of the population in retaliation for lengthy mistreatment by the nation of Ursus. It is a dire situation indeed, and the distress will surely have been picked up by more than just the autonomous organization known as Rhodes Island... The Multiverse is a big place, after all. The attackers in this horrid state of affairs, the Reunion Movement, have taken to the stricken landship through its cargo docks and quickly flooded into the populated areas with malicious intent. Although many of them are decidedly poorly equipped, they have numbers and fear on their side. Numbers, fear, and a shadowy figure directing the troops from outside the population centers... The enigmatic Sarkaz known as 'W', presently standing atop a building overlooking an entire cityblock, might not appear to be much given her smaller frame. Yet the fact she's carrying a rifle slung over her back, a combat knife in one boot, and some manner of remote in her hand, would indicate she's not all that she seems. With a small smile on her face, she hits a bit on the detonator, and the neighbourhood suddenly erupts and begins to crumble, amid a rising cacophony of screams.
Karlan Nobles	At least it wasn't a day off for Pramanix. She had just finished delivering a report to Rhodes Island about one of her recent excursions when news of the situation in Chernobog came in, and it didn't take long for her to gear up and head right back to the field. Rather than heading out with her allies from Rhodes Island, however, the religious leader opts instead to head towards the source of the chaos immediately. Landing on a rooftop, Pramanix takes a moment to dust herself off before raising a hand her the earpiece. <<"I've landed. we'll need to move quickly if we're to evacuate the survivors.">> She relays to her allies on this operation, gritting her teeth at the sight of an explosion not too far from her position. <<"The people responsible are probably still around. Don't let your guards down.">> With that warning given, Pramanix starts to ring her bell rhythmically as she begins a ritual, calling down a light snowfall on those erupting blocks to try and contain any flames that may have been set by those erupting buildings. The bell itself is rather noisy, of course, but she doesn't seem all too worried about the potential attention she could be drawing that way. If anything, that would make things easier for her.
Tamamo	A distress call is broadcast. Its breadth allows it to reach unexpected ears, and its cast hooks into the attention of one Tamamo no Mae, who has no particular business dealing with terrorists, but does find the call rather difficult to ignore. Invaders in a moving city, saboteurs, numerous attackers, seeking to strike it such that it cannot find its way from a terrible storm. For being a city, it is a novel problem, but the concept of ships in storms is not at all new to her. This particular storm is likely unrelated to 'him,' but that's no matter. Unless the dangers have something of a mystical nature, scouring a city for them is rather beyond her abilities. If it can't be seen from above, but is spread out over a large area, and is a matter of sturdily-contained chemicals with silent timers, then she can do little beyond reacting to those explosions as they take place. Still, she does take a look from above, peeking out from the side of a helicopter sporting a Paladin insignia, only recently convinced to take her through the gateway and to Chernobog's airspace. People run about on the streets below. These she can watch, silently analyze, and make a simple guess as to points of origination. She directs the pilot in that direction, then leaps into the air. Tamamo does not fly. She does, however, land lightly enough, when a glowing shield disperses her impact equally in all directions. "Oh-tou!" It does require some care not to trip. "And here we are. Now, now." Wherever 'here' is, it marks the beginning of her search for those troublemakers, their weapons and vehicles, and their victims, with particular care to those who may be injured.
Amelris Belthrone	The biggest obstacle in the life of an adventurer is to keep your mind open and not remain in the same haunts. That is why he's here, wishing to get a good look at this world Pramanix came from -- with how she describled it, it sure seemed like somewhere he'd be interested to check out, with how different it is. Already, the big city-sized machines was a thing to behold. Less so the sad state of affairs related to the sick and 'Infected'. Plus, he happens to fit nice and well into the general populace, which is a bonus compared to some other worlds. Mind you, in a city already stricken with fear, dread and downright malicious insurrection, it's not the best time for tourism. What he didn't expect was things to explode out into a cacophony of screams. Explosions, fire scouring through made things imensely worse for everybody. Amelris deploys from the borrowed part of Rhodes Island after Pramanix, landing a few moments later into an alley. He's adjusting the ear-set over his left ear, it fluttering annoyedly once or twice. It's a little annoying but he'll get used to it. It's not worse than a Linkpearl. <<"I've landed. I've sure chosen the right day to ask you to show me your world, huh?">> The Red Mage comments, drawing his rapier and casting floating gem implement, squeezing it in his hand. <<"I'll be moving on into the buildings to search for people I can get out.">> True to his word, Amelris dashes off into a building where he hears screams, launching a blast of water at the fire that blocks him then dive inside fearlessly. Well, a little fearful. You never get fully used to DIVE into fire no matter your experience.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry Princess is, by tactical design so ingrained as to almost be habit, difficult to see coming. After coming through a reasonably nearby Warpgate, she revs her wand's reactor, ascends to cruising altitude, accelerates to supersonic speeds on wings of sparkles, circling around the city before descending so as to approach with the sun at her back. A minor advantage, but one takes what one can get. There's no convenient giant monster here to slay- just people doing awful things to other people. Strawberry grimaces as she looks down on the scene from on high; nobody who wears pastels likes a messy situation. The first order of business is to get enough intelligence to make it feel simple again. Strawberry's awareness fractures into dozens of vantage points as invisible scouting eidolons split off of her. Externally, she seems to only hang in the air motionless; internally, her mind is racing as her eidolons disperse across the land-ship, trying to synthesize everything they're seeing into a single tactical picture. With her real eyes, she glances down at the five-minute countdown on her wand's reactor. Never enough time. 04:12 First: protecting civilians. Her scouting eidolons first locate Reunion Movement fighters coming aboard, then find chokepoints to wall them off. One of the eidolons solidifies itself into a ghostly pink magical girl, though it uses Strawberry's expanded awareness to stay a step ahead and out of sight as it weaves solid forcefields to block the invaders' progress and pin them down. Second: that girl on the rooftop. None of Strawberry's weapons are anything she can aim at another person in good conscience, but potential hostiles don't need to know that. She descends slowly, looking like some blend of pastel magical girl and golden-age superhero- the costume's almost sickeningly protagonist-coded. The magenta visor blocks the top half of her face, but her posture says it all: guarded, stern, 'please lay down your weapons' attitude. She looks like she's about to call out to W, but the boom of explosives and the screams of the civilians below robs her of the chance. The "Justice Hero" demeanor immediately falters as she pulls a quick dive, plunging down into the smoke and rubble to conjure up bubble-forcefields and shield who she can from the collapsing buildings and flames. 'Protect the innocent' always comes before 'attack the guilty'.
W	Reunion's troop movements are not the most orderly or practiced in the world, so it isn't particularly difficult for those in the area to follow or find them. It may be more difficult when they start to fight however, not just because of their numbers, but because they have apparently decided to weaponize the wildlife, as it were; Originium Slugs are the final stage of Originium infection, the illness known as 'Oripathy'. The slugs themselves have long since ceased being anything but beasts following a core directive. In this case, to seek out and propagate by way of infection. Easily dealt with by anyone with the right gear, thoroughly terrifying to civilians. Flanked by grey-clad troops carrying shields and sabers? Many waste their dying breath screaming. Really, it's a service that W is doing, she concludes. So many of them lose their lives in the collapse of the buildings she brings down that they have no time to suffer and die in fear. A kinder death, to be sure... That's being interrupted by snow fall? Inside a landship. During an encroaching storm with roiling red-and-black clouds coalescing in the sky, bolts of energy streaking through them. It does not take the Sarkaz any real length of time to locate Pramanix and her mischief-making, harmless as it may be to simply be put out fires. If nothing else, it rouses the silver-haired girl's interest enough for her to make a move from her perch! Much as Strawberry Princess' arrival and threat rouses her interest too. W smiles warmly in response to the 'Justice Hero'. "I'll be riiiight back." She disappears in a puff of smoke, as far as any onlookers may be concerned at least, making her way towards the Feline's perch instead. "Hey, kittycat. Mind stopping with the snowfall~?"
Karlan Nobles	<<"Right? Sadly, this isn't as uncommon as we'd like. And as extreme as Reunion's methods may be, the root of their anger isn't entirely unfounded.">> Pramanix replies to Amelris with a light sigh, her bell ringing continuing even as she notices multiple unfamiliar faces arriving on the scene. Tamamo doesn't strike her as someone aiding Reunion, at least, what with the way she looks like she's searching for something rather than spreading the fires. Strawberry Princess' sudden dive into the rubble has her hackles raising briefly, the Saint breathes a sigh of relief when she sees those forcefields. "More allies in this... Good." Seeming mildly reinvigorated, Pramanix continues ringing her bell even as she turns slowly towards the sound of W's voice calling out to her and her sudden appearance. "Of course not. These people are in danger, and you're..." Pramanix trails off, narrowing her eyes for a moment as she starts putting things together. The rifle, the combat knife. "... Are you here to help rescue them?" Her stance doesn't change, but there's a distinctly guarded tone in Pramanix's voice as that ritual continues uninterrupted. She's keeping the wind from blowing hard in favor of just letting the snow keep falling to help contain the flames. "Or are you with Reunion? Identify yourself, please."
Lilian Rook	Despite the sheer number of unfamiliar aspects to this scenario, demanding to be comprehended all at once before one should even think of setting foot near the area, there are two very pressing reasons that Lilian feels she has to be here. No she isn't going to share them. What she does instead, is that the minute the Paladins helicraft is near enough to the Rhodes Island moving city, she uses the selfsame organization's official hailing frequency to make contact with whatever tactical command center they have currently running their rescue operation, spending the absolute bare minimum of time explaining anything beyond the premise of 'you see the frequency; you should know we're the good guys; just talk'. "--You have agents in the field right now, correct? Relief workers, technicians, bodyguards; whatever it is, I want their locations, their IFFs, and I want access to their situational update feed. They're critical to getting this place moving again, so I need to know where they are, if any have been targeted or attacked, how many are still mobile, and contacts with your terrorists. Furthermore, upload whatever files you have on these Reunion degenerates to this link. I need to know the calibre of what we're working with here, and any significant names, faces, or logos. ASAP. On the double. Chop chop. Hurry it up. Whatever version you prefer." Lilian closes the comms link with a fingersnap, briefly busy tying back her hair into an arrangement that the heli blades won't disturb and closing the holography summoned a foot in front of her eyes for review, leaving only the tactical uplink on. Shortly after Tamamo descends from the helicraft, Lilian takes a two steps running drop out the side herself, though she angles and flattens her body to descend to ground at enough speed to beat her there first, hitting a rooftop at considerable velocity, but absorbing the landing shock all but soundlessly, with only a pop of black static at landfall to show for it. She takes one sideways look to the storm not far in the distance, hideous and angry thing that it is, she thinks. "ETA not long enough. Unless they're suicide zealots, they came prepared with a means to leave in a hurry. Likely the same means by which they got here in the first place. Even making all this fuss, they're still operating on their own clock. I'll follow you in a minute. Just focus on keeping the situation contained for now." From on top of the city, Lilian turns and takes off again, using that eerie, soundless flight to cut along Chernobog's perimeter and target its landing pads and loading ramps; sites where a large number of people could enter the city without rolling up in their own landship. She searches for vehicles -- aircraft, rovers, cargo trucks, it doesn't matter -- that don't belong here, laser guided towards them by some preternatural instinct, followed by those that are are both gassed up and in working order, and are either idling and ready to run, or basic in construction and easy to hotwire. Her purpose in doing so is to yank the plugs and dump the tanks on all of them she finds, rendering them inoperable for an escape, and collecting the caps while she's at it.
Amelris Belthrone	Lifting his scarf up to his nose to handle the smoke better, Amelris dashes through the burning, crumbling part of building, leaping off into one part that is still, relatively, stable. It's at times like this that he wish he could be than one person at once to take for of everything. The screams and gun fire ringing all around shoves him back into a battlefield. Old reflexes kicks in, he have to make quick decisions in order to survive this, let alone save people. <<"Unfounded or not, I'm not going to let this to pass without doing anything.">> Once such decision comes in the shape of unloading a large, rotating blast of lightning down at a collum of Infected Slugs and Reunion attackers that lined up to fire at fleeing civilians down an open lobby. They were the lucky ones to escape the collapse, only to fall into the ambush. His spell done, Amelris lands between them and the line, flourishing his rapier forward to unleash a second barrage, this time of stones erupting from the ground in a wide area, focusing on the slugs. "GO!" Amelris shouts back at people running. "As for YOU masked lot, fight someone who can fight back!"
Tamamo	Soldiers and... 'slugs,' it seems, advance on the terrified locals. Tamamo has means of dealing with each, though these means do differ, and so she walks into the battle line with casual calm and a brightening smile. The way parts of her, her eyes most of all, seem to glow is only a side-effect of the magical curse she emanates, forcing those who catch sight of her at all to be unable to look away, for all else to fade from view, searing the upper layers of consciousness of those extraneous thoughts as well as one's vision fades when looking directly into the Sun. The slugs have no particular purpose to her. Their fate will go unnoticed by the soldiers charmed by her, as they burst into flames, or freeze into penetrating ice unexplained by the steady snowfall. It's only those humans--or whatever should pass as personage in this area, that has the Sun Goddess's attention. She holds a tight rein on those vulnerable minds, long enough to ask several of them as to their plans, their leaders, their means of escape, their methods of sabotage--and gets precious little information in response. Why, they don't seem to have been told much at all about their operational plans, making them either particularly foolish or coincidentally well-guarded against charming foxes. Though this is unfortunate, Tamamo instructs them all to sleep, and then continues on her way. Next, perhaps, she should simply head to the damaged city areas on her own, and see what might be the trouble. On the way, she taps into the same link Lilian sets up, focusing on the locations of those engineers and staff who would have to be targeted to strand the city.
Strawberry Princess	After smothering fires and buttressing collapsing buildings with forcefields, Strawberry's plans bifurcate again. Step one: she ducks into an alleyway, takes the cell phone out of her pocket, and presses it into the hand of one of her solidifying eidolons. It rapidly calls up a map of the landship and starts manually tracing dots where her expanded awareness picks out Reunion Movement forces and concentrations of civilians- unless they have some particularly effective stealth, it ought to be more or less a complete map of all major squads. From there, it's a couple of taps to upload it to relevant radio channels. Step two: with that done, the eidolon on the cell phone starts trying to access the landship's electronic systems. Are there any emergency lockdown protocols that haven't already been activated? Any defense systems that could be reprogrammed with updated enemy recognition? Firefighting systems that could be juiced for more effect? As the quiet electronic work proceeds, Strawberry Princess herself soars into the air, shunting her eidolon's network into the back of her mind. She races at barely subsonic speeds towards the storm, stopping at a safe distance and surrounding herself with a protective bubble just in case. What can she discern about its movement?
W	"What, you think i'm wearing grey as a fashion statement~?" W asks, her half-smile returning. She flips her remote detonator in the air once at that, her smile becoming a little more harsh. A button is pressed... And another building comes down. "If that doesn't answer your question, i'm not sure what will~! You can call me 'W'. People seem to like having a name for their villains~ I don't know why, most of them are dead before they can use it~!" Deeefinitely screams 'bad person', then. Still, she pockets the remote for now at least, crossing her arms. "Don't worry though, that was the last charge i'd set for now~ Whatever else happens is up to the little guys down below, I suppose~ Makes me wonder what a cute kitty like yooou is doing here though, hmm. And these other weirdos~! Pretty sure they aren't from around here, either~ Pretty sure Ursus doesn't have aaaany boots on the ground... The Chernobog local government is gone, after all~! Ehehehe. Pretty fine job on our part, huh~?" The taunting note in her voice is undeniable. For someone who is apparently surrounded, she seems rather comfortable in her position. For everyone else not close to the Sarkaz and her brand of weirdness, things are suitably hectic. Orange-black spiky murderslugs, untrained idiots running at them with swords, screaming civilians... Chernobog has descended into lawless hell. If nothing else, Rhodes Island's presence has brought a little stability, but not nearly enough feet on the ground to help everyone. Still, a small voice identifying itself as 'Amiya' responds to Lilian's demands without argument, sending through trackers for their Operators and vehicles, such that she has a very effective picture of what's going on all laid upon a full map of Chernobog itself. It takes little time to discern where the Reunion forces are coming from, their orange-marked ATVs on standby at the various cargo docks and almost instantly opening fire on anything that lacks relevant identification. It is at this point that Amiya also relays knowledge of the absent local government, too. All this as those angry clouds continue to steadily approaching, impossibly dark and now striking mountaintops with streaks of red lightning. It is approaching, quickly as far as one might say of a weather system. Tamamo and Amelris prove decidedly swift and capable in dispatching whoever gets in their way, the Reunion troops apparently lacking much in the way of self-preservation. Indeed, many simply run at them heedlessly and fall at their feet before they even manage to make any kind of useful resistance. Those civilians nearby are quick to circle about their would-be saviours, groups of injured, dirtied and scared people who woke up this morning like it was any other day. Strawberry discovers that yes, there are hackable systems... But many of them have been rendered inoperable in a way that can only suggest physical tampering. If nothing else, there are fire suppression systems and public broadcast systems to access.
Karlan Nobles	"I was being optimistic." Pramanix replies, offering W a cold smile as she takes a step back when that detonator is brought out. She grimaces at the sound of the building coming down, and that smile disappears almost immediately even as W starts provoking her. "I'm here to save this people and stop you. They're here to do the same." She's pretty sure they're here to do the same, anyway. Pramanix won't admit to not being certain, of course, but she certainly sounds certain enough! "How could you enjoy this? Killing these people isn't going to win your movement any support!" The anger in Pramanix's voice is undeniable, but she's hesitant to just rush W. Judging from the knife and the gun, she's probably much more suited to close-range combat than the Saint by a large margin. Pramanix can certainly hear her allies in other areas, but she's not quite sure how close they are in comparison to W standing right there. Thatust leaves her with one other option. "If you style yourself a villain, though, then I suppose it's only fitting that the Saint of Kjerag is here to face you. If you lay down your arms and repent now, though, then you may still be forgiven!" The bell rings again, and the snow shifts direction abruptly. Rather than falling on the flames, it starts billowing in W's direction, congealing into a denser hailstorm focused on and around her. It's clear that Pramanix is aiming for quantity rather than quality in trying to limit W's movement options, aiming to barrage her with a localized blizzard while backing away steadily.
Strawberry Princess	The glowing pink eidolon tucked away in an alley is faceless, but one could imagine it wearing an expression of annoyance. Fire suppression is turned on in any areas where Strawberry's awareness network can spot flames; goodness knows why it wasn't activated already. Public broadcast systems in areas with imperiled civilians are patched through to Strawberry's radio headset: <Public Broadcast> Hoarse, Strawberry Princess says, "Please move to the upper floors if possible. The residential areas are the primary focus of the attack." The rush of air past her microphone is faintly audible. Still ensconced in her protective bubble, she moves in closer to the approaching clouds and creates another force-bubble to cleave off a small chunk of them like an ice cream scoop. She drags it several miles away from the land-ship in a few seconds, then starts to experiment. How does the mini-cloud she's cleaved off react when shot with a matter-obliterating blast from her Annihilator Beam? Is that capable of diminishing its mass? How does being 'shot' with a nuclear laser affect its movement? There's only 03:24 left to figure things out.
Tamamo	Tamamo isn't doing anything worse than putting the hostile soldiers to sleep, though she is doing this in a bit of a rush, and so there remains a significant risk that they'll wake traumatized by the event, in the happy case that they no external factor should prevent them from waking at all. Those blades that reach her find little purchase, turned aside by the large, ornate mirror that hovers near her, a divine relic that surely was not intended to be used as a blunt instrument in this manner. But she doesn't really care about finding the attackers. Especially not when there are people crowding around her, looking for someone to keep them safe. She's focused on helping these people along, all who enter her vision, calling out others to join her and travel in the direction of--according to the mapping information sent to her--that other city ship, the one that came here to help. It's as good a spot as any to move toward, and she may as well keep moving while she makes a call. "Amiya, is it? Are you prepared to accept refugees? If not, there must be some plan to take shelter from the storm, yes?"
Amelris Belthrone	The lack of self-preservation shown by the masked soldiers troubles Amelris. This is how an army fights that have nothing to lose -- which by what he heard from Pramanix, is probably, absolutely the case. This is an attack filled with so much anger, rage and desperation that it's easy to leave a sick feeling in his stomach, even if it is a very understandble feeling coming from Reunion. Amelris meets the yelling charge straight on, thrust to meet their blade, glowing with an innate sheen of energy to enhance his strikes. He tries to leave them alive but... for his own self-preservation with the sheer ferocity they are throwing themselves at him, it's hard to LEAVE them alive even if he tried. He's surprised briefly when his ear set extends out to let out a brief screen, allowing Strawberry's overhead sight of everything to show up, giving him a good look of where might be the next vector of people that are in dire trouble. Once he is done and giving a brief moment to the people some directions to run to, Amelris charges off into the street, diving off to ambush another squad of Reunion out into the open, casting down further lightning strikes on as he charges through. The flying fox is doing a lot of good work, he notices. That Goddess, wasn't it? Good, good.
Lilian Rook	"Good work, Amiya. I'll be certain to mention you favourably later. Expect further calls." Lilian terminates that connection as Strawberry's Eidolon data comes in, quickly compiling the two maps over each other, and keeping an especial eye on where she and Tamamo are headed in relation to the Reunion forces. So far, what she's seen of them is disgustingly sloppy, so she won't worry overly much until she sees them about to head into a suitably enormous cluster at a tactically disadvantageous location. The ATVs are the obvious target now. The fact that they're clearly marked as belonging to the Reunion terrorists is perfect for her purposes. When the guns swivel to her location, identifying her immediately in the otherwise cleared landing bays, Lilian skips the length of the bay and mantles the gun ports. Faint rivulets of light pulse through the wire thin etching in her undersuit. The air vibrates with just a split second of harsh interference. She brings a booted heel straight down through the mantlet and hardpoint of a mounted gun, crushing and warping steel with an audible bang. She unholsters the firearm magnetically attached to her right thigh, aiming it at a second turret with a pneumatic pop of the extendable stock, and blazes through sixty rounds in the blink of an eye, leaned forward and tensed over the sighting holography to control the flickering fountain of cyan blue muzzle flare. Turning and crouching, she empties the other half of her tungsten cores into a third ATV beyond it, punching another three score smouldering holes through the motor and magazine, and then suddenly crushes a fourth across fifty meters of bay and unloads another 120 rounds into number five and six. Satisfied that they're suitably disarmed, she begins ripping out the starters and power supply, and when done with that, she taps her link with Amiya again. "I'd like your agents to broadcast the following." She uploads quick digital photographs taken of the gutted ATVs. "Deliver the news that their means of escape has been eliminated, and that they are stranded within Chernobog for the foreseeable future. That is, unless they want to run to Rhodes Island, where you will gladly accept them, by taking them on as military prisoners. They can live with that, or turn into those metal urchin things." She then relays the same news to Strawberry Princess, along with the same images, and then the news to Tamamo (without the photo files).
W	"We're taking as many as we can get on-board before we have to leave ourselves. We have the space to at least temporarily house refugees until we can get to a safe port of call... But the Catastrophe is close, and we can't risk endangering our own civilians too." Amiya's response sounds more than a little pained; clearly Amiya doesn't like the prospect of abandoning people, yet it's that or everyone dies. "Reunion has just been driven off from one of the docking bays and we have a fleet of our own vehicles moving in to take on as many people as we can funnel in while our Operator squads sweep the areas they can get to. I'll ping the location to everyone on the friendly frequency." "Nonono~ I don't enjoy this. Who'd enjoy thiiis~?" W near sing-songs in response to Pramanix. "I just do what i'm paid to do." Then she's being addressed with Pram's full title and her brows actually briefly arch, right up until the point she's being pelted with hail. W grits her teeth and bows into the oncoming blasts, tugging her scarf up to cover mouth and nose while an arm does its best to shield her eyes. Her orange eyes seem to flare with energy at this point, a burning irritation that is followed in its appearance by tug of something from her coat pocket... Another D12 charge that slides along the floor towards Pram's position, slowed by the gusts and thus becoming a threat to neither with its explosion... Maybe the collapsing roof when it goes off, though... Amelris and Tamamo's efforts to continue gathering people, steer them where they need to go, is made easier once Rhodes Island sets up a position and their own Operator squads starting pulling towards it with whoever they can save. It is very evident at this point that their numbers are not going to be enough to evacuate everyone, and the public broadcast is starting to quickly draw Reunion's troops towards them such that there is very soon to be a pitched battle to save enough the handful they've found. Sloppy, but painfully numerous. Lilian's work is precisely the 'driving off' Amiya had been mentioning, the wrecks of the ATVs cutting off an escape route while simultaneously encouraging the few occupants within to exit and hastily do what they can to try and return fire with what paltry weaponry they have; in this case, modernized crossbows. Rhodes Island's vehicles arrive, less blatant about their livery but nevertheless bearing the Rhodes Island rook badge, their own guns starting to open fire from the opposite direction in order to open an avenue to embark refugees. And what of Strawberry's experimentation? Whatever the source and composition of these storms truly is, she discovers that they can be deleted. Filled with dangerous radiation and particulate matter as they are, they can still at least be destroyed in a fit of desperation, if not completely stopped from ever happening again.
Tamamo	Tamamo doesn't wait for word that she's going the right way, that there will be room for the refugees, but hurries them on, regardless. Along the way, they are continually beset with unthinking attacks. "Ah, they are quite troublesome." Strawberry has a plan, and though it strikes her as rather dangerous, she is not Susanoo, and so, she cannot speak to the particulars of dispelling storms. "Strawberry-Princess, please do what you must, at least to weaken the storm's advance, or there will be no path through which most can be saved." There is no room for them. But even if that is the case, she will still act to save those she can. Amelris has his own plans. An unexpected ally in this situation, but the distress call did attract all sorts, and he's not an unknown face, either. "A funnel, you say? I can create such barriers as they would find difficult to cross, and that might provide us some shelter, besides." With that in mind, Tamamo pulls out a rather different sheaf of talismans from her sleeves, breaks the sealing twine, and scatters the yellowed, ink-scrawled paper with a flick. Rather than obeying initial momentum, they fly far and unerringly, slapping against street lamps, buildings, benches and signs. There's no outward sign, no strong telltale that they've activated, as their magic is more one of misdirection. The barriers created between each linked quartet is wholly invisible and difficult to distinguish by touch, compelling those affected to turn aside and take another route, rather than push or investigate this particular obstacle. It is exactly that sort of barrier that protects sacred areas, but here its purpose is only to force those walking through the area to follow a narrow channel, without questioning why they must do so.
Karlan Nobles	"You're a terrible liar, Miss W. Singing at a time like this...!" W's provocation is doing wonders in holding Pramanix's attention even as the hail keeps coming down with an even greater fury, distracting her from noticing thatcharge sliding forward. Indeed, Pramanix's sole focus is holding W at bay, and she seems to be doing it rather well judging from that look in W's eyes! ... Right until the roof collapses beneath the snow leopard-ish woman's feet. She doesn't even notice it right away when W starts to seemingly rise in front of her, but there's something distinctly off when she notices that there's more and more building in her peripheral vision than open sky and strange clouds on the horizon. The drop is all but confirmed half a second later, and Pramanix barely has enough time to brace before she hits the ground one story below. She yelps in pain from the impact, laying there for a moment while the hail subsides from the prayer no longer being maintained. "What kind of money would even be worth doing...?" She doesn't finish that sentence. Instead, Pramanix simply grimaces as she forces herself upright, hands and feet on the ground beneath her. Leaving the details of subduing the culrpits and evacuating the survivors to everyone else, she instead focuses on W, and she tries catching the apparent leader off-guard by doing something a fancy reigious leader probably would never be seen doing! She launches herself right up at W, trying to punch her in the face on the way up. It's not the most refined move, she's never done this before, and she's only seen it done once, but she's banking on the element of surprise to compensate!
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry Princess inhales sharply, and then lets out her breath in a slow, hitching exhalation as the mini-cloud 'evaporates' under the searing white light of the Annihilator Beam. Here it is. Here's her big monster to kill today. 02:55 As she swoops closer to the rolling, ominous cloudbank, Strawberry flips switches on her wand's reactor. Control rods rattle and grind, pulling out with a clank to let the fission reaction within boil hotter and hotter. She can already taste metal. <J-IC-Scene> Hoarse, Strawberry Princess says, "Please don't look at the sky." She lines up the shot against the front of the rolling cloud-bank, using her wand's feathery wings like iron-sights. The crystal tip of it is already starting to glow an incandescent white. The reactor rumbles and pings, shaking like a living thing: a runaway reaction has started. Strawberry's finger hovers over the trigger, hoping to cook the shot just long enough. "Firing on high! Three..." A column of blue ionized air stretches out from her wand like a searchlight, painting where she's aiming in an eerie Cherenkov glow. "Two..." A rising ringing-shriek like a kettle boiling, like tinnitus, wracks the air. The taste of metal floods the area. Little pinpricks of light tickle the backs of eyeballs, even through closed eyelids. Every smoke detector on the land-ship starts to beep at once. "O-" On the ground, every shadow briefly gains a twin as a second sun is stillborn in the sky. The light precedes the noise by a full second. It is a deep, bone-rattling roar of reverberating air, like a thunderstrike that forgot to stop. The Annihilator Beam paints a line of incandescent white across the sky, carving into the encroaching storm. It evaporates the clouds on contact, like water droplets hitting a hot frying pan. Radios briefly hiss with a crunchy static as the wave of electromagnetic interference hits them. And Strawberry shuts her eyes, even though she can see the beam burned into her retinas through the visor and her eyelids. It burns her hands. It burns her skin, like hours in the sun. Please let this be enough. I can't do any more.
Amelris Belthrone	The problem of mass communication is that, sometimes, the enemy can just as easily know what you're about to do. This is a slight problem in this case, as it was far better for the people living inside this city learns of it and be damned that the Reunion members hears it too. "Thanks you, Ms. Tamamo." Amelris replies to the fox woman, tilting his red feathered hat at her, adjusting it tighter on his head as he turns around. The masked attackers are coming in droves. The sheer amount of people in this enraged army is stunning him. Is there SO many people that were left behind because of this ... Infection? People left to fend for themselves, abandoned, turned to rage? This is a frightening AMOUNT. Still, understanding their plight is different than condoning it. Amelris steps on to the funnel of the walls created by Tamamo, a veritable maze to help funnel people through, positioning himeslf at the key, center position of the entrance and encroaches himself there. His rapier is brandished, gem floating above him and spinning idly around him, frowning beneath his scarf. "REUNION!" Amelris shouts out. "YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME!" Dutifully not looking up as it was suggested by the Princess, Amelris gambles on that's probably not been told to the Reunion people, casting an large gush of wind unloaded outward at the incoming soldiers and looks /the hell down/.
W	Pramanix is savvy enough to realize that W is going to look down to make sure she hit her mark as it were, looking just a little smug in the process. Betting that this will be enough to get in a surprise hit is risky, but likewise proves effective as she clocks W in the jaw with enough force to knock her back and onto her back with a loud CLACK of her teeth coming together and an puff of breath as she hits the concrete. Most ought to be winded, but she manages to get up and onto her feet swiftly enough, even if her lip is now visibly bleeding. "Hehe. Seems you're a craftier Feline than I gave you credit for," the Sarkaz responds, the lilt in her voice now gone. "Lucky for you, the damage is done, and the point has been made. I don't need to hang around any longer." She spits, a phlegmy red glob landing beside her foot. "Ciao, kitty. I'm sure we'll meet again." poof she goes into a puff of smoke again, seemingly disappearing. For everyone else, it seems that the Reunion's numbers are thinning. Anyone with the relevant map view will realize this is because they are leaving through whatever exits they can, some sort of retreat having been signalled from somewhere, although inevitably there are those stupid enough to continue harassing the civilians despite the arrival of Rhodes Island fully on the scene. The panic ends up proving somewhat moot thanks to Strawberry Princess however, as the attack that lights up the sky proves effective indeed. A V-shape is cut out of the encroaching storm, abruptly revealing blue skies above and leaving behind only a pair of smaller masses that seem to rapidly dissipate without the many body of the storm. What damage the storm did to the nearby valleys and mountains remains however, the landscape forever changed and noticably pockmarked by unnatural, glowing red craters and scars where the bolts of energy had been striking as it all approached. A reprieve has been bought, perhaps time to assess the damage to Chernobog... But whether people will return and society can be rebuilt within is another matter entirely. What IS certain is that there are some ATVs from elsewhere aroundt he landship beginning to retreat, speeding away in no cohesive direction, perhaps to throw off pursuit. Barring those that remain for the likes of Amelris and Tamamo to clean up, those civilians who have escaped falling buildings, mindless slugs and murderous terrorists... Can be saved, assured at least some kind of home, somewhere.
Tamamo	The future is uncertain for most of the people here, and Tamamo cannot resolve all their woes, but she can be point of calming light, listen to their troubles, cure their injuries, give her blessing to those seeking to find their missing family, and soothe crying children in the way only an overtly magical, maternally-minded fox-woman can.
Karlan Nobles	Pramanix's landing isn't quite as clean as her punch, likely due to acting more in the heat of the moment than expecting to actually connect. She tumbles a bit before rolling back onto her feet several moments after W's already back on hers, still grimacing at the destruction that's alrady been caused. "Wait! We're not-" And then W is gone. Staggering up onto her feet, Pramanix hears something odd happening above, only remember to shut her eyes and shield her face at the last moment following Strawberry Princess' warning. Luckily, she does it just in time to not get blinded horribly, and she gives it another half minute or so just in case before letting herself stare at the oddly clear sky. "What kind of power could do that...?" She marvels at the sight of it, but doesn't let herself get too wrapped up in that as she refocuses her attention on the actual matter at hand. With that blasted ceiling a good starting point as any, Pramanix starts seeking out people to reassure/evacuate and slugs to blast, only somewhat reassured by W's apparent exit.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry Princess is blinded and deafened by the blast. When she descends gracefully to the Chernobog's deck again, it's only because she's guided by her eidolons; invisible guardian angels to see for her and ensure she touches down in safety. The skin of her face- what's visible below the visor- is red like a sunburn. The radioactive wand, already cooling down and clamping its control rods in, falls from her hand to the floor. 02:32 She sits down beside it, still tasting smoke and metal and surrounded by the rubble of a city. Everything hurts a little bit. People are dead. But they did alright. She got to be Strawberry Princess again, for a few more minutes. Things turned out better than they could have.
Lilian Rook	Lilian knows what it means when Strawberry Princess gives the warning to look away. Reinforced and purified as her worldly flesh is, even she'd rather take the hint, and dips inside one of the neutered armoured vehicles by pouring herself through an opened hatch, slamming it shut behind her. The whole vehicle rattles with the thunderous boom, turning it into a dull, squealing mechanical roar around her, peppered by the clattering and stripping of screws. Thin rays of faint white light flash through the miniscule seams in the hatch and the cockpit door. She exits only after the vehicle ceases rocking on its shocks. There's a lot of discussion. A lot of 'whys'. Some 'who' and silent 'would do that'. Lilian has already seen enough to interject with an almost dispassionate level of automatic knowing. "Who knows with this kind. Whatever their leader sold them, of course. 'Cui bono?' And all that." She refers to this 'W' mentioned. "Once people break down to a certain point, they can be told anything. They'll believe anything. They'll do anything. 'Useful idiots', so the term goes. People who will die for your cause, should you tell them it's theirs." She even scoffs into the radio at the description of the 'infected'. "Exactly that. Broken down human dross, conveniently exploited and disposed of. People too far gone to know what's good for them." However, with the storm split by Strawberry Princess, and matters otherwise resolved, what she departs for is to first exit into the distance, surveilling the land blasted and molten by the remnants of the averted Catastrophe, and seeing this much maligned and feared as it is coveted 'Originium' for herself.
Amelris Belthrone	This went better, and worse, than expected. That's, of course, just when the Echo decided to rear it's head just when things calms down, the Miqo'te holding his head for a brief moment, leaning against one of the invisible walls. Words. Rage. Multiple voices of one person, words of some 'Mephisto' ordering the retreat, some 'Talulah' should be happy with the outcome, even with interference. He wakes after a few seconds, shaking his head and looking around. He takes a look around, clearing his head and taking note of the people there. This is going to be a hard ongoing issue, he fears. Rolling his sleeves, the Red mage sheaths his weapons and walks to the people they DID manage to save. Healing magic will, at least, prove to be somewhat useful here.