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Operator	Aboard the Flying Circus, the airship base for the Wired, the crew has gathered in the hold alongside the Watch members who have volunteered to help. The crew is all clowns. All faces made pale with makeup and big rubber noses that honk when you squeeze them. Their clothes are clown-inspired, but all in drab greys and dark blues. Baggy pants held up by white suspenders with laced boots and stocking caps.     The leaders are Captain J, a tall, thin, wiry man with light brown curls poking out from under his cap. His eyes are clear, worried, but focussed His second-in-command is Big J, a woman built like a fridge with wild brown curls scraped back into a ponytail. Her eyes are wide, frenzied, and filled with the promise of violence.     In between the two, on his knees next to the open trap door in the floor of the hold, is a vampire. His naturally pale face is partially obscured by a length of green cloth that covers one of his eyes. His dark hair and wispy moustache is lanky, unwashed. His purple suit is rumpled and torn in places. His hands are bound behind his back. He looks to the trapdoor with concern, then to Captain J. With a sombre, serious look on his downcast face, he signals with his hand. Big J immediately grabs the vampire by his shoulders and shoves him out the trap door, into the empty space between the ship and the ground.     He falls, tumbling and twirling. J, both Captain and Big, watch him fall. The former with nervous concern, the latter with a kind of focus that could bore through steel. As the vampire's fall stabilizes, a spark of green flickers from his hands. Dimensional magic severs the ropes binding him and coalesces into a swirling vortex between his palms, one he throws forward.     A swirling hole in the world is opened. Through it, one could see a great, dark castle below, surrounded by forest, some of it glowing. Captain J smirks, all worry banished, and yanks on the air. A thin, imperceptible wire, running from his belt to the jacket of the vampire snaps taut, arresting the latter's fall. Big J is tense and still for a moment, before exploding into song and movement. "HIGH ON THE WIRE BUT I WON'T TRIP IT"     She leaps from the airship and lands on the vampire. "EYES ON THE PRIZE OR YOU MIGHT MISS IT."     She produces a red and white-striped rod from her belt and lunges from the vampire to the portal they've opened. "KEEP IT IN A NEAT AND TIDY CIRCLE DON'T SPILL IT." The rod extend to a long pole, pressing against the edges of the portal and holding it open. Big J swings from the pole, arresting their falling momentum before launching themselves at the castle below. "News of the clown crew on the move, zip it!"     "Go go go go go!" Captain J orders, gesturing at the trap door. The crew begin dropping through it, opening parachutes and descending through the portal. The Watch has been supplied with the same. The raid has begun.
Operator	The Concord's time at the headquarters of the Nightsaints has, for the most part, been a pleasant one.     Jean-Luc, their initial high-strung contact, has made sure to procure some regular food and drink for the Elite guardsmen they've been assigned, as well as their own rooms with comfy beds. It's obvious that said rooms have been cleaned out and renovated just for them. Anything they require, he personally sees that they get.     It's honestly remarkable how composed he is (occasional eyetwitch aside), considering the personal ball and chain he drags around with him. Little J, the 'mini-clown' the Nightsaints captured, is with him at all times. Reason being that every time they left her alone in a cell, she wormed out and caused a castle-wide lockdown as they looked for her. The child, with her brown curls, freckles that go unhidden by her makeup, and small red nose, keeps her silence at all times.     For the first few days, things are mostly relazed. Jean-Luc ordered every member of the Nightsaints to come to the castle as soon as they can. There was a general trickle of new arrivals, all vampires. These ones tend to differ in appearance a lot. Some, like Jean-Luc, could pass as pale, knife-eared humans as long as they kept their fangs hidden. Others have fantastic skin colors, while others still exhibit bat-like features, like fur, ears atop their head, and winged arms. There's a real sense of camaraderie among them, one that the Concord soon feels a part of.     But as the days go by, nerves fray. Particularly, the absence of one of the capo, Gomez. The one who delivered the Nightsaint's ultimatum to the clowns. He reported in afterwards, but has yet to respond to the call to assemble. Daily patrols of the castle are ordered as Jean-Luc frets that he might have been captured, but is unwilling to send anyone out to investigate. All they can do is anticipate an attack.     And eventually, it happens.     "Sir, we're reporting shadowgate activation from the outside," one of the warlocks reports to Jean-Luc. "Keep it in a nice and tidy circle, don't spill it!"     "Oh! That might uh, be Gomez. From the front gate?" "NEWS OF THE CLOWN CREW ON THE MOVE, ZIP IT!"     "No sir. From the sky above." "Above?! No... nononononononoNO!" "WEBS IN THE WIND LIKE DEATH FROM ABOVE!"     The strange song from above gets louder and louder as Jean-Luc slams a fist on a dusty red button. Ancient sirens squeal to life, broadcasting a state of emergency. "LIKE FITS LIKE A GLOVE, NO RIPS IN THE SEAMS!"     Anyone outside can see why. A portal hangs above the castle, and tactical clowns descend from it in swarms, born aloft by parachutes as they drop towards ramparts and roofs. One of them plummets like a rock, landing on a tower with an almighty slam. "YOU'RE FUCKED!!!!!!!" she roars, her impacts causing stone to shatter and grind, the top of the tower sliding off from the rest of it as the foundation gives way. The rest have caught up now, separating from their parachutes to descend upon the vampires on patrol, taking them down with quick, efficient CQC.     "Take 'em out!" Jean-Luc orders across the radio bands as he grabs Little J and starts trying to usher her into the depths of the castle. She's putting up a hell of a fight though.
Forte	Forte gets offered a number of specialty gear items or helpers. He takes none of them, and simply stands in silence if anyone asks as to why. When the go signal is given, he goes - simply stepping out of the trap door and casually just letting gravity take hold and bring him down through the portal, cloak rippling around him as he falls head-first through it. The black navi rights himself once he's through to the destination, taking some control over his falling without entirely stopping it. He glances around the castle from above, trying to pick out targets - wherever they may be. The castle walls might provide some cover, so... < <AUTONAVI SLOT IN> > BARRLROLLR D - EXECUTE ... he brings up both hands, a wooden barrel materializing between them, and then swings his arms back to wind up to throw it, and then another and another. The barrels sail towards the castle, not smashing when they hit the ground but smoothly bouncing or rolling, taking physics-defying paths as they roll up walls or take sharp corners, seeking out their vampire targets behind whatever cover they may take!
Arcadia	Arcadia didn't require proper food or a lot of sleep, but that doesn't mean she couldn't enjoy the amenities their allies had been providing. She is, after all, part cat, and cats do enjoy being pampered. Plus it helped keep her from getting impatient, which would of just escalated with all the other nerves fraying amongst the Nightsaints. As was she was just lounging in one of the provided rooms, licking her claws after whatever meal she had just enjoyed. Then the radio buzzes. Her ears snap to attention (even though it's technically inside her head). She leaps off the bed, summoning her magitech armor and visor as she does. Wings spread, arcane vectors glow to life... wait is she going to take off directly from that room?! At her speed capability, and not crash? Which exactly what she does, though it's less of a launch and more of a dive in appearance as she lunges towards a corner of the room that was purposely kept in shadow... and disappears... And reappears zooming out of one of the castle's exterior shadows, immeadiately banking upward and skyward. Having been granted access to the shadowgate process made sure she didn't get lost in the multitide of castle space. She rises to a hovering point as she looks up at the circus themed airship assault. "There's something you don't see every day." Even with the somewhat thematic gatherings Line gangs will take to. Her visor HUD lights up, pinpointing several of the descending clowns. She raises her arms, and brings her wings forward. The vector pylon *feathers* switch from thrust to beam, sending a scatterblast of magic laser bolts crisscrossing along the sky in and effort to cut down the number of castle crashers!
Utsuho Reiuji	Why is Utsuho here? Well... Why not? Utsuho has absolutely no problem hanging out in a castle full of bloodsucking gangsters. The creatures of the night generally make a whole lot more sense to her, a raven from literal Hell, then humans do. Even if these are pretty human-acting vampires as these things go, she's a pretty human-acting raven, so it works out. And if she has to play guard, well, that's fine by her. At least they appreciate having her around! She had plenty of time to poke around, talk to people, otherwise interact and do all the things she can't actually do from the Underworld. She even tried to talk to Little J, which may have been doomed to failure. Right now, however, Utsuho was asleep. She doesn't sleep a whole lot - she has too much energy for that - but every once in a while she just kind of takes it easy for a while. It takes the alarm sirens to wake her up: "Aaah! What's going on? What's happening??" It only takes her a few moments to exit her room by the window and take off, flying upward into the sky. She fires a spray of energy upward as she goes, which doesn't really hit anything important but may convince some of the paratroopers to come down somewhere else.
Guzma	Something about this job doesn't sit right with Guzma, but the Concord has accepted it, and they haven't hurt the kid. So, the punk leader has been here, eating their food and hanging out, planning for the mission. When the attack finally comes, though... Clowns. As far as the internet had told him, they were the worst. As they parachute down, Guzma moves to pick a target, and see one that basically starts crushing through a tower. She scares him. But...if he can take her out, that'll be worth a lot of cred. A lot of respect. Having taken that shadowy teleportation access, Guzma releases two Pokeballs, his two titans of battle, and has the three of them blinked towards the big scary clown lady. One of the two monsters is a blue and white bug, with a hard carapace and armored wristguards that could possibly stop a tank shell. It's big enough Guzma can ride on it, barely. The other is lean, human-sized, but certainly not human. A red mantis made of metal, with two sharp pincers and a pair of steel wings. "Yo! You think you're tough? You haven't met Big Bad Guzma, Dealer of Destruction. Let's play." It's words to make him feel confident more than to scare his foe, but he's much more confident than he was when he joined the Concord. After all, he has his found family backing him, and Golisopod and Scizor are ready to square down.
Hibiki Tachibana	Clowns are not consorted with frequently, but Hibiki doesn't particularly mind them. Maybe if they honked a lot more, but all things considered, the Wired and their captain are a lot more serious in attitude than she would have expected - or maybe should have expected, given the occasion. The Captain's little sister was taken. That's more than enough reason for her to be in, even if these vampires didn't sound like some real pieces of work. Seriously, using her as a bargaining tool to force a magical contract?     The captive capo is cast out, with a mild look of concern on the girl's own face...until it looks like the plan is a go. She looks /surprised/ when Big J bursts out into song on the spot, but after a few blinks, she shakes her head and puts on a small smirk herself. "...Not my kind of genre, but it'll do." She leaps out the trap door, foregoing a parachute. "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron..."     There's a flash of golden light right as she passes the suspended vampire and dives into the portal, with the mechanical armor of her Symphogear finishing locking into place over her limbs right as it dies down. "And I'll take a page out of your book too...!" Indeed, her idea of a landing method isn't that different from Big J's.     In the sense she's going to simply plummet as fast as possible through any interception fire lobbed upwards, punching her way through any stray shots that might hit - wait, was that one of the Utsuhos? - to pave a wave for herself and any of the nearest droppers to come down right on one of the castle's highest towers. Most of it is probably going to cave in from the force with which she twists and plants her heavy leggear down onto to touch down, but before it collapses, she leaps off to make onto one of the nearest exterior walkways to kick any guards straight off the sides and take stock of what's going on. "Looks like they didn't know we were coming, but they're sure fast on the pickup!"
Priscilla	It could, and probably is, certainly said that Priscilla isn't at the castle on guard duty. There are members of the Concord doing that. It'd also be a little out of character for her to drop a lot of things to hang around a spooky old castle for days on-- would it actually? Maybe she's been here the whole time but only *visible* a few times? For who can tell what is a regular check-up and what is weird, socially inappropriate behaviour. "The company thou keepest is certainly the most varied lot of thy kind I hath seen before." She opines one day. "I am no longer certain . . . Is that one the child of a clown, a child who wouldst dress as one for her own reasons, or a sort of clown that groweth not beyond a child's height?" she asks the next. "Perhaps thou shouldst abandon thine faith in cells and bars." is her professional opinion a while later. ". . . Is this an anomaly particularly given to clowns?" she asks Jean-Luc now, hand over her eyes to shade it from the portal sliver of sun. "I admit, the research I didst undertaketh for this purpose made no mention of this."     It might be good for a nervous guy that the woman next to him seems utterly unruffled. It's also probably best that he not know *why*, and just assume it's pure professional confidence. "Very well. Which shall it be, Sir Jean-Luc? The miniature clown? Thine own life? Or the bloodworks beneath this very keep? It seems thou shalt not overcome them in a head to head countering charge; thine fortifications art most certainly better suited to a retreating defense and consolidation in these narrow halls and twisting corners. Name thine priorities carefully."
Maricel Thorne	Her entire time on the airship, Maricel looks as if she's absolutely really going to puke. It isn't "airsickness"- she could cure that in less than an instant. No, she looks at the other Watch members with silently pleading eyes as if they could somehow free her from her personal hell.      It's only when they're all descending through the portal, and they're no longer in forced proximity to their greasepainted comrades, that Doctor Thorne finally manages to speak up about what's eating her. <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says over rushing wind, "SO ARE YOU GUYS DRESSED UP AS CLOWNS? OR ARE YOU, LIKE, *REAL* CLOWNS." <J-IC-Scene> Maricel Thorne says, "BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE FUCKED UP."      Before she can get an answer, the wire attached to her clothes pulls taut and slows her labcoat-fluttering descent, allowing her to touch down in the courtyard. Deep breaths, Maricel. Steady yourself. Just... worry about the vampires. What are the odds you'll have to touch the clown-grub yourself?      Neon-staticky portals open "away" from her and disgorge what looks like literally several tons of disorganized candyapple-red meat and jumbled moon-white bone. She surgically assembles it into something that can, impossibly, bear the spark of life; lashing bone to bone with stitches and ligaments, gouging it through with vessels and spiracles with a needle, and threading neurons to muscle with the impossible dexterity to mold individual cells.      It looks like a dinosaur-sized stick insect of vertebrate bone and skinless meat, its body a long articulated tube balancing on six triple-jointed scythe-like legs. At its head is a gemstone- no, a compound eye- behind which brain matter visibly roils and chromatically shifts, as if viewed through a kaleidoscope. Its creator triumphantly hops up on top of it, sitting primly "side-saddle" atop its hinged spine. It staggers towards the castle gate- clumsily at first, but then with surprising grace, like a newborn giraffe rapidly learning how to walk.      The monster looks like a battering ram. Maricel confirms its raison d'etre a moment later when she points at the castle's gate dramatically. "Collide-o-scape! Would you pleeeease bring that down for me?"      There's a gleam in its brain-lens-eye, an awful rising shriek, and then- with a wrenching tearing sound- a huge pulse of unwholesome telekinetic energy does just that, slamming into the castle doors with enormous force and shredding them to splinters. She pats its side with an utterly oblivious positivity. "Awwww. Good boyyyy~"
Operator	Barrel Roller proves to be a pretty ammo-efficient choice. The castle, with it's twisting stairs, outdoor paths and crumbling architecture, a single barrel can cover a lot of ground. Each one eventually gathers a small crowd of vampires running from it, rushing to get outdoors where they have more room to dodge. This, unfortunately, makes them easy targets for the descending clowns.     But the clowns themselves are easy targets for Arcadia. Someone with true flight and guns is able to easily outmanoeuvre and blast at them. Even the clowns that don't get hit directly have their parachutes chewed up, condemning them to a nasty fall. A lucky few manage to complete their landing in the castle, but others fall the forest below.     The blinding flare Utsuho throws up does indeed convince the descedning clowns to sharply (well, as sharply as a parachutes allow), about-turn to land somewhere else. Unfortunately, the blast of sunlight also scorches the lesser-blooded vampires below, sending them scurrying for the shade. She'll have to take care with that.     Hibiki crashes through the tallest tower, and immediately several Wired turn to follow her lead. Getting immediate cover has become a priority with Arcadia and Utsuho flying about. They assist her in clearing out the bridge, one leaping off after a vampire who is flapping their wings to deliver a meaty kick, sending them falling and leaping off them to land back on the castle.     Priscilla converses with Jean-Luc, who is chewing his thumbnail. "Hrmgh... can't lose the kid, she's our leverage. The bloodworks can be scrapped, we can always rebuild, but it's also the safest place..." With a grunt, he picks up Little J and puts him over his shoulder. "I'm gonna call a retreat. We'll hunker down in the bloodworks. These guys haven't killed us before, but that big scary one is bigger and scarier than ever. All of my crew has entrusted me with their unlives, and I'm not about to gamble them against a stronger force." His twitch and stutter is gone. "I'll leave some of my best enforcers with you. If you can take down the leader and the scary one, I expect the others will rout easily. Come get me once you do, and we'll get the contract signed." With that, he begins barking orders into his radio and descending down a spiral staircase. The First is soon joined by a tall, bulky vampire with blue skin, tall horns, and a pinstriped suit. He's accompanied by a very bat-like vampire with white fur and bloodshot red eyes. "Boss put us with ya ma'am. Let's get these clowns," the big one says.     A lot of the vampires here are kinda freaky-looking, but not a one has anything on the thing Maricel makes. A lot of them scatter in fear immediately, leaving her free to rip open the castle gates with telekinetic force. It will inconvenience the vampires greatly, as well as make a great secondary escape route.     Guzma, the brave fool, issues a challenge to Big J. She leaps from the crumbling tower to stand before him and simply ROARS in response to his braggadocio. She charges, shoulder lowered in a classic football tackle, rushing along the ramparts towards Guzma. But partway there, she suddenly leaps, jumping again off Scizor's head to leap over Golisopod and aim a vicious roundhouse at Guzma's head!
Forte	Forte breaks off - picking out a particular target to focus on. "You." That turns out to be Utsuho, also up in the air right now, who's sprays of energy have attracted Forte like a moth to a flame. "You would fall in with these kidnappers?" The barrel-producing program is (temporarily) put aside, and Forte coolly brings up a hand and turns it into a sword. "Then you shall also perish with them." Forte is a navi of few words. Instead of saying more, he wraps his cloak around himself, and starts flying in towards her further, zeroing in on her- < <AUTONAVI SLOT IN> > STEP_SWORD S - EXECUTE -and then, abruptly, blinking out of existence and appearing *right* behind her! "It's nothing personal," says Forte flatly, as he brings his energy sword around in a cut that could decapitate her from behind!
Arcadia	Shooting down clowns is all well and good, but while she's doing so Arcadia gets another ping on her HUD as something else comes plummeting through the assault. The sphinx turns her head, tracking the descent, and determines something coming in like that might be a bigger threat than all the clowns dumping out of the portal like it was some kind of comical tiny car. Her wings flare back into their usual flight position and with a twirl Arcadia reorients to speed after the downward bombarding form, leaving contrails of aether in her wake. It's not hard for her speed to close in, getting a bead of the figure. "And just where do you think you're going?" She points one hand forward, magitech rings glimmering around it, and then burst of energy bullets erupting from her palm.
Priscilla	"Such is wisdom better befitting a man of thy stature." Priscilla says to Jean-Luc, with a cool but vaguely approving lilt. "It is unfortunate that thou must be saddled with such painted fools, though perhaps maybe the fool is only the part painted." The corner of her lips twitches downward. "Though, it wouldst seemth, joined by their own share of fools elsewhere. Whether amateur pirates eager for their share, or would-be officers of the law that no sensible officer wouldst taketh, we shalt see."     When Jean-Luc runs off with Little J, Priscilla gestures for the two vampiric enforcers to follow her, and then proceeds to skip the whole wall and stairs and seriously fuck stairs over the gate as the giant monster --the thing that is best left to her here-- breaks through, so that she can deploy the Most Reliable Attack In The Game.     The other two probably have to use the shadowport to get to ground, but hey, they're distracting.
Utsuho Reiuji	In retrospect, having the power of the Sun on hand to defend a bunch of vampires might not have been the greatest idea ever. At least it's unexpected. Who would have ever expected that? Still, Utsuho realizes she should tone it down a little bit and mentally shifts gears slightly. "Me!" Utsuho seems... weirdly pleased to be called out by Forte. Even though she doesn't know Forte well, and even if the only reason she was called out was because she was bright and flashy, it still counts! "Huh? Oh, they asked for my help, so why wouldn't I? Anyway, it's not like they hurt her or anything." Utsuho sees Forte diving in at her, and she braces for impact - but then he isn't there at all! She has seen this particular trick before (although not by Forte) and she whirls, spinning a hemispherical shield of flame between her and Forte. The shield catches the blade, and though it can't entirely stop it, it dampens the blow. It doesn't decapitate Utsuho - it sends her flying a good twenty or thirty feet before she catches herself in midair with a powerful wingbeat... upside down. She rights herself with a fast roll and raises her rod-arm, chopping downward with it. A ring of flaming spheres - not even solar energy, just fire and heat - springs into existence around Utsuho. She flings it, 'rolling' it through the sky, following it up with a second ring at a more horizontal angle in more of a Frisbee-style toss. "Well maybe it SHOULD be personal! Who are you, anyway? I'm Utsuho Reiuji, the Scorching Divine Flame!" Big names, but she's going to try to back it up with a *third* one of those wheels of fireballs.
Hibiki Tachibana	Landing is the easy part, relatively. Between Hibiki and the few of the clowns with her, they have a good starting point. Now they just need to find out where in the world in this entire place they could be holding someone prisoner. In a tower? No way, not against sky pirates. That'd just be silly. Deeper inside? Maybe, but that's a lot of stuff to look through. She doesn't get terribly long to think about it before the other of the Concord's airborne fighters swings back this way, and she picks up on it just as that one really cool Wired does that jump kick. "...! Watch out!"     Energy bullets rain down, and Hibiki has to turn and raise both arms up hastily. They ping off her gauntlets, forcing her back a few inches with each round, while others impact where she can't defend herself on such short notice and soon send her flying back off her feet. She flips, catches herself, and uses the same motion to brace her feet against the stone of the walkway. "You guys! Get inside and start looking around! I'll handle this!" Someone needs to be hunting for Little J, and also, they won't be able to help much against someone like this.     With that, the pistons in Hibiki's leg armor pull back out a full meter, strain further for a split second, then slam back in - in time with her throwing herself upwards and forwards with her full strength, leaving cracked material behind while she closes in towards Arcadia a lot like a human missile. "Right here!" All of her momentum is transfered into an attempt at a mid-air tackle - which is probably going to hurt just from the speed they're both going at, and will also send them both plummeting!
Guzma	Big J doesn't seem to be much of a talker. Guzma doesn't blame her for that, but he does blame her for coming straight at him. Luckily, his Pokemon have faster reflexes than he does. As she leaps off of Scizor's head... Golisopod suddenly jumps, raising arms to hold back the attack. Big J is powerful, so it pushes Golisopod backwards into Guzma, bruising the trainer and knocking him on his butt. But it's clear she's not going to be able to take out Guzma without dealing with his Pokemon, as he moves to start getting distance, teleporting through the shadows to be in vocal range but not easily assault range. "Pincer attack!" Scizor suddenly regains stability, moving to slam a hard metal claw straight into one side of Big J with rapid force, while Golisopod moves to charge, trying to headbutt the other side and stagger. Either way, they're attempting to reduce her mobility, and ability to dodge their attacks.
Forte	"It's possible to hurt people without physically harming them," says Forte flatly as Utsuho reorients herself. He doesn't wait for her to recover or counterattack - as she tumbles, he's chasing after her. The ring of flames catches him by surprise - he stops his aerial advance, abruptly changing his acceleration to start going backwards, and manages to get clear of the first ring of fireballs - only to helplessly flow right into the path of the *next* two rings. Forte desperately pats his cloak out - it looks a bit more singed now, as does he himself, but he's still in pretty good condition despite that. "Good for you," says Forte, not answering the question about who he is. "But they're still using a small child to coerce their caretakers. That is the sort of behavior and attitude I wish to purge from this world-" < <AUTONAVI SLOT IN> > DASH______ * - EXECUTE And he's dashing forward through the air, a sudden burst of speed attempting to clear the gap- -=--=--=-COSACK INDUSTRIES - AUTONAVI.SYS-=--=--=- -=--=--=--GETABILITY.BAT READ MODE READY--=--=--=- -=--=--=--=--=--=--=-EXECUTE--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- - and a glowing hand outstretched, trying to grab onto her! If Forte makes contact, even for a moment, it takes 'something' from her. A precious thing, stolen, in a manner that hurts to the very soul.
Maricel Thorne	As her meat-beast lurches to one side and paints the castle walls with a tight spray of implausibly-pressurized blood, Maricel stands up on its spine, taking a deep and graceful bow. Her labcoat flutters dramatically behind her, partly from the breeze and partly from her wire. "Ahhhh, Priscilla! It's been so long. Do you even remember me? Ahaha."      Collide-O-Scape recovers from its staggered state and rounds on Priscilla with an alarming kind of agility. The square-cube law says it shouldn't be this swift, but its mad-science-enhanced muscles make a convincing argument to the positive. Small mercies that its attacks still have decent wind-up; its brain-lens-eye glimmers with lethal energy well ahead of the upcoming attack, mirroring the gleam of Maricel's glasses in the moonlight.      "Doesn't matter. If you truuuuly admire the pursuit of excellence, then stand in awe of the greatest physician ever to live!" The monster's wide-angle telekinetic blast fires, scouring dirt from the yard and bricks from the walls with an overwhelming kinetic force. Over the roaring din, her one-liner is almost inaudible.      "I quiiiite look forward to being a Thorne in your side!"
Arcadia	It doesn't help the matter that Arcadia is coming in fast herself. Not at her full velocity, but it's still faster than almost anything else on the field at the moment.     It's fast enough that only the fact that her visor is specifically designed to compensate for her own extreme speed that she see's Hibiki turning and leaping back at her with considerable speed and force of her own. The biomechanical sphinx abruptly pulls up, spreading her wings for air brakes and engaging the retrothrusters built into her warskirt. It's enough that, while she doesn't avoid the living rocket, she arrests enough of her own momentum that they don't crash suicidally into each other. Hibiki still tackles the sphinx with enough power to drop her to the ground though. "Oof!" She hisses, fangs bared, and pushes off her opponent to get off the ground and into her usual hovering stance just above. "You're only delaying their inevitable demise, you know... But right now you have a bigger problem!" Arcadia raises both hands over her head, creating a sphere of whorling fire and wind energy between them. Which she hurtles at Hibiki, the elemental combination exploding like a bomb at proximity in a shockwave of extremely superheated pressurized air!
Operator	The Wired with Hibiki looks to her as she flies up to punch Arcadia. There's a look on their face like they want to join in the brawl. But they can't fly, or jump quite that good. So they heed her words and scatter, searching the castle for Little J.     It takes the enforcers a bit to catch up with Priscilla through the shadowport system, but they make it eventually! "What the hell is that?!" the bat-like one exclaims at the sight of Maricel's mount. The two keep their distance, not exactly keen to fight this, but ready to back the First up if she needs it.     Big J slams against Golisopod and shoves hard against the large Bug-type. She's strong! Incredibly, madly strong. Her eyes bulge as two Pokemon surround her. She twists to avoid their strikes, and falls off the side of the roof! But her hand comes up, grabs the edge and immediately vaults herself back up to launch a vicious split kick aimed to squash the two bugs underfoot.
Utsuho Reiuji	"...?" Utsuho doesn't get it. Cultural disconnect, habitual villainy, complete ignorance or whatever else might be the reason, but she clearly doesn't see what Forte is talking about as something to be avoided. "Well, then she can stop them," Utsuho says, "or you can. It wasn't my idea, though, I'm just helping. They asked for help and they're getting it!" She is, at least, sure about that part. Forte rushes in at Utsuho, but at least this time she can see him doing it. The flame barrier comes up again, but - thanks to his sudden burst of speed - it's too slow; he gets his hand through it before it finishes forming, blasting it apart in a splash of wispy, barely-there fire and hot air that might be uncomfortable, even painful, but is not really hot enough to burn. Forte gets one glowing hand on her. And he does find power, something deep inside Utsuho. Utsuho's power of nuclear fusion, and the side effects: heat, light, energy. But... it's not just Utsuho. There's something - someone - else in there, bonded to her so deeply it seems impossible to remove. And while it cannot stop Forte from taking, there is one thing it can do: It can get angry about it. "Don't... touch... that!" Utsuho lurches away from Forte, as something new happens with the third eye on her chest; it lights up, burning as bright as flame, and it rotates to focus straight at him. Utsuho clasps her hand on her chest, as if trying to hold it in. She cannot. She flies up higher, intentionally, before solar energy erupts out of Utsuho in all directions. The stellar light and heat blasts out of her for long, agonizing moments, forming a huge sphere in the sky like a second sun - it would probably be a good idea for the vampires to *not* look at her (actually, that's true for everyone, she's so bright it hurts) and it's also very good that she's flying high so that she doesn't, say, melt part of the castle. It's still enough to threaten anyone still in the air, if they get too close. Utsuho is just barely visible as a silhouette in the middle of the solar apocalypse, hunched down as if in pain. She struggles, eyes squeezed closed, as she tries to regain control from Yatagarasu - Eventually, the sun goes out. Utsuho falls from the sky, trailing smoke; she lands on top of one of the towers with enough lingering heat on her body to cause the stone she hit to glow reddish, and the only reason she pushes herself to even her knees is because of that 'sampler' she tried from the Nightsaints earlier. "Kkh..."
Hibiki Tachibana	"Ngh...!" The pair hit the ground hard, and Hibiki eases up her wince just in time to get hissed at. Flung off, she rolls across the ground a few times before coming up to a knee and shaking her head entirely clear, turning her head up as Arcadia takes back up into the air. Of all the things she might've been expecting from an opponent this fast, producing an attack like /that/ wasn't actually on the list. The Symphogear user forces herself to her feet--     And is surprised again when she raises up her arms to defend herself, the elemental bomb instead explodes right before it makes contact. She's swept off her feet and sent flying backwards, heat striking across her body and only kept from scorching her heavily thanks to the properties of her armor. But keeping her balance so she doesn't actually go tumbling, she manages a skidding landing and comes back into a stance with her footing spread out and her fists readied. "...Not bad. But you'll have to go through me to get to anybody else. They're trying to get a kidnapped family member back--why would you even help the people responsible for that!?"     Raising a leg high only to slam a boot into the earth, the force causes a heavy uprising of earth directly in front of her, stone and dirt piled up to at least three times her height...and with a spin on her heel, she roundhouse kicks the entire thing straight up at Arcadia as a makeshift projectile! It's big enough that it'll take some effort to dodge on short notice--and it's partially a feint, as Hibiki leaps off the ground immediately afterwards to arc up high and come down from above, foot extended with the intention of kicking the sphinx straight back down!
Guzma	The pincer attack isn't as successful as they'd like, but as the double squash kick comes down, Golisopod and Scizor move their gauntlets to block and do a weird dance that creates energy swords that then disappear, respectively. Scizor is sent flying backwards, while Golisopod is sent deeper down. But they're not out. Golisopod moves to claw at Big J's legs, while Scizor suddenly flies in for a rapid-focus punch, super charged by the swords, with enough power to break bones easily. She's too accurate, and they shouldn't take another hit like that, so to ensure some defense... Another Pokeball is sent out. A large red spider, which Guzma calls out to. "Ariados, blind her!" In unison, a spider-web is flung out of the spider Pokemon's rear, straight to cover Big J's face and make it harder for her to sight her targets accurately.
Arcadia	Unfortunately for Hibiki, dodging on short notice is kind of Arcadia's specialty. When the mound of earthen material is sent rumbling into the air like a reverse landslide the sphinx twists to the side, passing the formation as it hurtles past! Unfortunately for Arcadia, her opponent has taken this into consideration, and while she avoids the rock projectile Hibiki's flying kick intercepts her out of the evasive maneuver. And once again crashing towards the ground!... and into it?! Unable to avoid the painful attack, Arcadia instead avoided the brutal crash afterwards by activating her temporary access to the shadowgates, falling into one of the long shadows cast by the towering castle walls instead of slamming into the unrelenting ground. Hopefully it'll take her opponent a few moments to figure out just what happened. Long enough for Arcadia to step out from the shadows again, arcane rings of purplish hue spinning around her forearms. She thrusts her hands forward and together, the rings collapsing around her arms and a stream of purple electricity erupting from her outheld hands! The magic purple lightning seems to home in on its target, to the point that it will twist and bend itself midair to pursue her if Hibiki attempts to avoid it!
Forte	Forte drinks deep, a vampire in his own way, before the flame shield forces him to withdraw. "Have I gotten through to you?" he says, flatly. He watches her rise further. "Apparently not," he says, more to himself than anything. He starts moving forward towards her again, but some inner instinct makes him pause - something's wrong. Is she trying to get away from him, or is she trying to- He gets his answer to his question a moment later - - Forte is lost in the brightness that lights up the sky. He doesn't make a reappearance till some time later, nearly a full minute after Utsuho's set down on the castle tower. The Forte that arrives, floating down and setting down gently on the other side of the tower, has not fared well. He's no literal vampire, but for the damage the miniature sun has done to him he might as well have been one. His cloak is entirely gone, and most of the rest of him is scorched to various extents - like someone who has gone tanning and done it very, very wrongly. "That." This is different, too. No longer is he speaking flatly - now there is actual emotion. "That was power that exceeds your control - a reach that exceeds your grasp, wasn't it?" Maybe the flat-voiced Forte was better, this one sounds like a starving man who's just gotten a free ticket to the buffet. "I ache for it. I yearn for it. You will relinquish it, give it to me-" He runs forward, glowing hand extended. "Even if I have to take it from your CORPSE!"
Hibiki Tachibana	Arcadia was right - that's one of the last things she was expecting. Planting her into a crater with the kick, maybe, but there's no sensation like that. It's almost like her opponent sinks into it, leaving Hibiki's now sphinx-less boot to smash into the earth instead, the sheer unexpectedness of it having her stumble forward a couple paces before blinking and righting herself. "Wh--where did she...?" As if elemental combos weren't enough, what's this supposed to be?     She's not even looking Arcadia's way when she re-emerges, and it's only the sound of crackling lightning arcing towards her that gets her to turn with wide eyes and rush to backpedal away from it. Not nearly quickly enough. It strikes into her body, starts surging through her system, and forces out a sharp yelp of pain as she falls backwards and buckles underneath the attack. It looks like she might collapse under it, but partway through she grits her teeth and manages to tense her muscles, holding up a palm towards the stream of electricity.     That hand suddenly closes into a fist, and the pilebunker-like piston within her Symphogear's gauntlet sides back much in the way the ones on her legs did as a golden shine builds up in the empty space where it normally rests. "HaaaaAAAAH!" Rearing it back as much as she can, she punches forward in time with the piston slamming back in!     The energy forced forward releases a barrage of a half-dozen golden blasts of Gungnir's raw energy, circling around Arcadia's own attack and coming in from multiple angles to barrage where she's standing! Each one is volatile and explosive on contact, and if she stays where she is, all of their detonations will combine into one extremely painful one!
Priscilla	"Indeed. It wouldst be surprising if I had forgotten someone such as thee so soon, Lady Thorne." Priscilla replies, as a free action during landing lag. It's a slightly funny definition of 'soon', but then Maricel is hard to forget, so it balances out. Probably.     At least, square Cube Law means precisely dick all to Priscilla, for fairly obvious reasons, and so the giant bony monster's movements aren't too surprising for her. It says something that, for the moment she's still there, her gaze is unfocused on any particular part of the battlemonster's anatomy, but rather diffused to absorb all of it at once. It means that the any part of it that begins winding up, or glowing, or making dangerous noises, is something she can then thoughtlessly react to.     She's just seen that attack on the gate, and so the glow catches her eye immediately, and her rapid movement causes a streak of white to cut sideways and *towards* the attack, angled to exit the blast template at the nearest border, rather than reflexively backing up. When the thundeous boom sounds, she disappears in the same, practised instant, such that she has that movement to move very quickly and forcefully without hope of being tracked by sound.     The two vampires she'd brough with her aren't that deep in the Boss Battle grind tank though. Bats, closest to her tries to follow, throwing himself to the ground just in time to be showered with sharp, falling masonry, while pinstripes just tries to run to the opposite side, and is blasted way off his feet, howling a parabolic arc into the shadow of a wall, and then disappearing into it, like a deep, dark pool.     "Such even begs the question of why thine efforts are expended thus." says a weirdly directionless voice from, precisely, 'headphones on low' angle and distance. "I wouldst scarce dream of declaring the skills I hath witnessed of thee any less than that of the highest calibre. And so why is it that you use them in service of these?" Pinstripes is flung out of the giant stickbonebug's shadow, up into the air, and comes down on Maricel with a big and schmeaty double-fisted haymaker punch.     "The clowns, yes. The company thou keepest as well, certainly. But in this sense, this moment, itself, what is thine purpose? At best, a feud between rival houses of rabble, in which thou hast most arbitrarily chosen sides. At worst, I dare sayeth that I sense a desire to 'assert order' in thee. The intoxicating pursuit of 'a pack of criminals', as is said."
Utsuho Reiuji	Utsuho takes the time she has between Forte's disappearance and his reappearance to recover. More or less. She hurts, and she's only just managed to keep Yatagarasu under control; the third eye keeps roving, and the spinning lights around one foot are very fast, as if agitated. Honestly, if she had any sense she would leave immediately. But if there is one thing Utsuho does not have, it is sense. "I can handle it!" Utsuho's voice is a little tight, and too loud, as if she's trying to convince herself as much as Forte. "It's *mine*! You can't have it. Not after everything I've given for it! I'm not giving it to you!!" Utsuho raises her control rod, pointing it like a rifle at Forte. It is lit by a faint corona of flames, brightest at the tip but spread most of the way up her arm. "You can't make me!" She fires. Flame comes out, but it's more like a flamethrower than the massive power she was throwing around before - try as she might, with her trying desperately to keep Yatagarasu under control, she has very little to give. She sweeps it, trying to keep Forte away with the waves of flame. Utsuho might clip him, but he gets in once again. Utsuho lets out a louder yell, this time, and sputters into full-body flame - enough to break Forte's grip, but no more. It only lasts for a split second before all her fires and light go out at once. Even the eye in her chest is dimming back to its normal look. Giving Forte one last look with an expression somewhere between 'furious' and 'upset', tears at the edges of her eyes, Utsuho lifts off and dives. She isn't trying to fight, now - she's trying to escape, losing herself in the castle. The defenders will let her in, after all.
Arcadia	If that wasn't crazy enough for you, the Raiden Arc also twists when Arcadia herself moves. An aspect of the magitek weapon she uses to her advantage as she maneuvers in such a way that the stream of electricity twists away from Hibiki to intercept several of the energy spearpoints before it fades out completely. Arcadia whirls in the air and manages to avoid a few more on her own, but in the sheer number of projectiles makes it hard to tell how many still managed to catch her in the side and detonate. The sphinx leaves a brief trail of aetheric smoke as she tumbles through the air, managing to land, as one would expect of part cat, on her feet. And one hand, leaving three trails of clawmarks in the ground to arrest the rest of her movement. "It is not my place to question the actions of those willing to ally with those would give my orders." It's a belated answer to the question poised before, but it is at least an answer. "Besides," her tail gives an annoyed lash with her words, "I should ask you the same thing. You're the one fighting with the -creepy- ones!" Yes, she would find the clowns more creepy than the vampires. Go figure. Maybe something to do with being mythologically and magically based herself. Or just because it's clowns. Arcadia gets back up to a crouch, and there's an audible thrum as the magitek in the apex of her wings rev up like turbine blades. They start to glow, until the cyclonic energy is released, sending streams of spinning windforce back at Hibiki. It is far from the most volatile attack in her arsenal, but it's one the refined control of wind magic allows her to execute with little drain on her systems.
Forte	Forte... ... has to force himself to *not* chase after Utsuho. It's a battle, all on its own - he has a *target*, for the first time in a long while. He has to remember why he's here. He's here because of a kidnapping victim. He can go hunting later. He's here as part of the Watch. He can go hunting later. He's here because someone needs his help. He can go hunting later. He can go hunting later. With more reluctance than he's willing to admit to himself, he floats down from the top of the tower, beginning the search for Little J. He can go hunting later.
Operator	Big J's legs are slashed. Golisopod's claws snag slightly on the toughened fabric, but blood spurts regardless. Taking out the legs is a smart play against such an acrobatic opponent, and the follow-up blow from Scizor is rewarded with the promising sound of breaking ribs.     And yet, when Ariados spits it's web at the clown, her hand comes up and catches it. Her eyes swirl as she grabs the length with her other hand, snarling in a gutteral tone, "GIVE... HER... BACK!" With an almighty tug, she yanks the spider Pokemon off it's eight feet and swings it around by its web over her head, launching it at Scizor before rushing Golisopod and slamming into it, driving her fist against its carapace over and over again, driving it back.     "GIVE LITTLE J BACK!" she howls before one more drop kick, aiming to send the big bug toppling to fall on its master!
Guzma	Guzma can understand Big J's pain. Family...if he lost a member of his family like this, he'd do anything to get them back. In different circumstances, he'd be aiding them. He feels guilt, but the Concord are HIS family, and this is their job. And the guilt subsides quickly as Golisopod is beaten and bruised, as Ariados slams into Scizor and the two go sliding off the tower. As the dropkick comes to launch Golisopod at her, Guzma clutches his medallion, the one he took through Item World. Whether he knew it or not, it gave him power. Real power. What he'd do next is something only two creatures with an absolute bond could accomplish. Using a running leap and the shadow teleportation, Guzma appears on top of Golisopod, and with the momentum, moves to jump up and towards Big J. "You'll get her back, one way or another! But you're NOT GONNA WIN THIS FIGHT! Because *my* family is the greatest in the whole world!" And with one more blink, Guzma's suddenly up above Big J, using her shadow, and comes down fist-first towards her face, moving to send her careening into the ground as hard as he can. It's going to hurt him, too, whether he succeeds or not. But he's taking advantage of everything he set up - the blinding, the pincer, all of that led to this moment. Meanwhile, Golisopod hits the ground, wailing, but looks towards Guzma. If he succeeded, it's worth it.
Maricel Thorne	"'Assert order,'" Maricel says, turning the words over in her mouth like she's savoring the novelty in them. "Ahaha! Nobody's ever accused me of that before. You're impossible. I like it a lot actually." Maricel turns to confidently look over her shoulder at the incoming haymaker- but it doesn't reach her. One of the stickbug's legs comes up to intercept him as if it were an extension of her, clotheslining the vampire at the waist and slamming him back into the ground, then trying to impale him through the chest with its diamond-hard chitinous point.      Without even looking to see if the vampire's died, Maricel flurries stitches around the beast's gaping Priscilla-inflicted wound, then yanks the end of the string to pull them all taut at once and yank the wound perfectly shut- save for the thick sutures themselves, there's no evidence that it was ever harmed at all. But even a feat like that doesn't absorb enoguh of her attention that she can't banter back. Why? Because I hate clowns. And I hate vampires. And clowns working for vampires would be abjectly, utterly awful. But also- "Because I'm a doctor," she responds after only a moment's thought. "I want to alleviate harm. But the morrrre one understands wellness, the more one recognizes new forms of harm. These vampires are at the nexus of a web of esoteric and indirect injury. I don't like the clowns, but if they were successfully enslaved, it'd be disastrous."      She pushes her glasses up her nose, causing them to glint anew. The bloody instruments of her craft are telekinetically suspended around her, arranged in a gleaming and dripping halo. The beast she's standing on arches and bridles as it stares Priscilla down as well. "Have you anything worth fighting for here beyond material gain? Surely the Concord's coffers are so full that mere acquistiveness couldn't be an efficient use of your time. Because if you do... you reeeally ought to start swinging harder."
Hibiki Tachibana	Really, Hibiki is happy to just stop getting shocked, especially when the Raiden Arc reveals to have had even /more/ tricks up its sleeve. She'll take some of her attacks being deflected if it means the others catching her and breaking it off. While Arcadia recovers, Hibiki takes to a knee briefly just to get some of her own breath back, glancing back up at her with a furrowed brow as she speaks.     "First Maricel, now you...? What is it with people and clowns? They're not even that bad! They were actually really nice on the ride over! And have you seen some of the vampires here!?" She's apparently one of the few people in the multiverse who doesn't think clowns are unsettling. A minority, to be sure, and for good reason. But as the sphinx readies herself again, the Symphogear wielder also tenses up and returns to a stand, fists tight.     And spiraling windstreams come arcing in, embodying one of the types of attacks Hibiki isn't good at dealing with - fast, ranged ones. Even if it's not that powerful, compared to something like the fiery bomb from earlier, they slip through her guard one after the other. Even as the first pounds into her raised gauntlet, another pounds into her stomach, followed by another to her other shoulder that stops her from defending against the next. "Damnit--besides, what do you mean, not your place...? Are you saying you don't even care about why you're here or what they're doing?"     Several meters of ground have been lost before Hibiki grits her teeth and speaks through them, and her leg pistons lance backwards to embed themselves in the ground and help her brace herself against the barrage. "Then...!" Suddenly, the thrusters on the back of her skirt fire up. They flare, and just like her first jump at Arcadia, the her leggings' pistons slam back in to provide a very abrupt forward acceleration. She willingly plows right through additional windbursts, not even bothering to dodge them to instead outright force her way through them to take the shortest possible path towards her opponent, directly ahead. She's nothing if not straightforward.     But with some frightening speed of her own, it might just work out--because she's once again going to close back in with the sphinx with frightening suddenness. "I'm sure as hell not going to let someone like you get in my WAY!" The final word is punctuated by a punch forward towards Arcadia's stomach with force comparable to a bullet train slamming right into her. Only if slash when it connects does Hibiki follow-up with a wrenching of her wrist, twisting her fist around to deepen the blow and try to send her foe flying backwards all the way back towards the castle walls!
Arcadia	A cat-like hiss of annoyance emits from the sphinx. "My job is to execute orders, not question them. Don't mistake it for ignorance you litt--" Arcadia stops herself abruptly as a warning of -huge- spike of power blares across her HUD readout. Eyes widen a bit behind the visor. She deals with this type of insanity on a regular basis, she knows a charging ultimate attack when she sees one. That's also when she realizes that after the way the combatants have moved from the previous spreading attacks she's not standing directly in the castle's shadow any more. "Shit." Her wings spread as thrusters ignite, launching from her position. Only for her vector of launch to get intercepted by the super rocketing piston punch. Which in itself would be managable. It's that twist at the impact, hammering into her center of mass, that is enough of a disruption to throw off the intricate balance that allows the biomechanical sphinx to reach the exceptional speeds that she does. Her being rammed backwards doesn't just slam her into the wall of the castle, but -through- it. And by the sound of it, several more inside before the sound of crushing foundation finally stops. She's not walking back out from that one.
Priscilla	It's worth remembering that if the regular vampires were capable of doing something like 'actually jumping out of a corner and punching Maricel Thorne to death', the Concord wouldn't be here, and neither would the Wired. Pinstripes ends up hard on his back. The foot raises, Priscilla wordlessly gestures to bats, who instead diverts his course from the giant monster to swoop in and tackle his vampire buddy out of the way at the last second. Priscilla remains more attentive to the main event.     "Pray tell. What is this of enslaving clowns? Mine own understanding was that thou art currently keeping the company of a crew of piratical rabble, seeking the lucrative spoils of another's laboratory. Of course, such a thing, as I understandeth, may not be uncommon to thine homeland, but it wouldst certainly seemeth as if thine companions had no intent of joining until the matter of 'underhanded tactics' didst appear. I had not taken thee for an honourbound corps, though admittedly thine own professional conduct is leagues ahead of most of thine predecessors."     Priscilla lightly dusts the dirt and rubble from the front of her skirts and both shoulders. "Regardless of whether or not I wouldst feel any urge to fight for our Nightsaints, there art those of our Concord who do, and thus it is at least mine own duty to see to them. However, if thou insist upon it . . ."     Though Priscilla and Maricel had met before, the pleasant terms of the engagement had rather prohibited any appearance of the Lifehunt Scythe. Withdrawing it now abruptly changes the mood so suddenly and violently that it's more like snapping the neck of a small animal than a 'conversational swerve'. Even for an experience purveyor of the grotesque and unwholesome, the recognizably sort of organic-sort of not-blade and its pattern of etchings that almost look as if it'd been eaten into shape, are one thing, and the uncanny gut-dropping feel of the audible sharpness noises it makes when moved about, is quite another. "Very well then." says Priscilla. The very edge of her weapon, shrouded in cold fog, is slightly, but still visibly, crawling.     Nothing else past that point is very much visible. Having a dozen brains stitched together, with all of the inefficient and primitive parts removed, may have an unpredictable effect on something generally felt more in the gut than the brain. It's just that Collide-O-Scape is in a *lot* of danger, and the vampire duo is standing well back.
Operator	Big J turns just in time to see Guzma descending on her. His fist meets her face, the loud HONK her nose gives drowned under the sharp crunch of her cartilage breaking. She goes down, bouncing off the floor. She sways as she gets up, blood pooling out from the accessory. "I'll get you, you little..."     Suddenly, two more Wired are at her side as she falls forward, each one grabbing a massive arm to support her. They both can't believe that she's been beaten. One flashes a thumbs-up at the portal above, and wires attached to their belts retract, pulling they and Big J out of the hotzone. Guzma is the winner.     Meanwhile, as Hibiki catches her breath, one of the Wired she dispatched returns. "Hey! Punch girl! I think we found Little J!" he calls to the magical girl. "They've got her behind this big barricaded door! Do you think you can help us bust it down?!"
Hibiki Tachibana	Arcadia goes flying, and Hibiki very nearly almost isn't in much of a better spot. She has to deal with the aftereffects of her own crazy momentum, which results in a lot of skidding and near-tumbling so she doesn't also go blasting through any castle walls. But she made it, and her stressed armor lets out some hisses of steam as everything locks back into proper position. "Ugh...execute /that/, you..."     Her muttering to herself and struggles to get her breath back are cut short when the call of the Wired crewmate gets her to straighten back up and turn towards him, her expression immediately perking up at the news. "A big door?" She pauses, for just a second. Then she nods and punches a fist into her palm, pushing aside the tiredness from the fight.     "Leave it to me. Let's go get her back!" Taking a deep breath, she starts forward and follows behind the clown without any delays.
Maricel Thorne	Maricel stares at the deeply, existentially wrong scythe for a good moment or two, soaking in its import. She doesn't visibly emote. The Collide-O-Scape, however, shudders from head to tail, even its primitive and artificial nervous system recognizing the Lifehunt Scythe's primal fear.      "Okay," she says in a weirdly even tone.      The Collide-O-Scape threatens the entire castle. As long as it's alive, Priscilla cannot break away from me. However, it is unlikely to survive *that*. Conclusion: stall to keep her tied up.      Priscilla can famously turn invisible. I have no answers to that. However, she is currently visible, as she's attempting to intimidate me. Conclusion: my best chance is now.      Maricel slides down one of her beast's legs, still slightly slick with the recent juices of its creation, and lands on the ground. As she steps closer, the Collide-O-Scape shrinks back, retreating either on her command or on pure instinct. "I can't convince you like this," she says, still sounding guardedly neutral in a deeply uncharacteristic way. "Thoughts are bigger than words are. It's impossible to convey... the vividness of one's feelings. The richness of one's thoughts."      Deep breath in, deep breath out. Focus. The best way not to be hit is if she doesn't swing. The air around Maricel crackles with an ominous neon-purple chromatic aberration as she raises her hand. Her fingers shake and quiver subtly as if straining against an unseen object.      Maricel's mental influence is like an omnipresent pressure. It's as if the world is being squeezed by a visegrip along some unseen dimension. Ordinarily there would be a kind of overbearing greediness to that contact; an all-consuming singularity that strains to warp other thoughts along the arc of its gravity. But today her psychic touch doesn't roar or cajole or demand. Instead it snuffs out the tension in the room like carbon dioxide gently pinching a candle.      It says, "let's please not do this right now". It says, "I was ready to fight, but not you". It says, "if you really really hurt me, I think you'd be sad". It says, quieter, "tell me about your mother", but that might just be the funny echo of a lone stray thought.      Of course, with her comrades largely prevailing, a standstill was Maricel's hope from the start. But if the gloves are coming off, she can be a little awful too.
Priscilla	Priscilla is rather oblivious as to the effect any of this has on others, outside of the notoriously flawed mechanism of external pattern recognition. She doesn't have the capacity to make herself supernaturally convincing nor intimidating in the way that some others might; namely Maricel. But she does recognize that effect when she sees it.     ||I hath seen the beast's primary mode of attack twice now. Though it is of a wide area, it emanates from an unmaneuverable point, with a considerable delay; it is suitable for demolishing these walls in minutes, but in close combat, not at all. I knoweth not Lady Thorne well, but it wouldst behoove her immediately to construct a more suitable servant. Is it that she cannot, for the necessity of dissembling her current creation? I must assumeth their forces cannot be hard-pressed if so. That sort of cautious optimism may very well be her downfall; if I may be rid of much of its flesh swiftly, there shalt be scarce opportunity to change course.||     The paradox of someone able to serenely exude unsurpassable murderous intent without any having any clearly committed clear intent at all is very much not how it's supposed to work, but also what allows for that brief moment of conversation; that loose, empty stance, physical and mental, absorbing everything and expecting an attack in no particular shape. "Certainly, thou cannot." she says to Maricel. "Thou may find it an easier task shouldst thou cause thine erstwhile allies to withdraw. It is in mine nature to be, I shalt sayeth, receptive, to those who may demonstrate their capacity for sense and observance before it is too late."     Mental contact is obviously not what she'd expected.     ||Of course mere words art too narrow a medium. Thus art the long centuries of divining meaning from action cultivated.||     ||There is right now, and there is never. One hath but moments to maketh their choice, with what they art given, or else forsake their hand, and the world passes them by.||     ||If thou chose to fight our Concord, then thou chose in spirit to do battle with mineself.||     ||I cannot be gladdened and saddened for the entirety of the world; I may only spare such thoughts for those for whom I am depended upon.||     ||And Queen Gwynevere hast nothing to--That's not right. It's----SHALL PARTAKE||     In Priscilla's opposite hand, a long, slender, pale blue sword of glowing moonlight; a blade-shaped beam of intefering light-ripples and indecipherable patterns. Something drawn from a scabbard of madness to expose cold, unnatural clarity, for just a moment. She lunges forward into Maricel, the thrust of the sword gathering a vortex of twisting light and glowing echoes, ringing like a bell. "I believeth, first, that I asked thee a question." says Priscilla. "An important one."
Operator	Hibiki is leads to the depths of the castle by the Wired, to a door made of iron. From the looks of things, drills and prybars have been taken to it already. It's quite sturdy, but far from Hibiki-proof.     When she eventually knocks it down, the Wired enter, finding themselves on a catwalk above great vats of blood. Strange fluids pass through distillers on tables below, vents suck away alien fumes and banish them to the forest for the trees to absorb. The Nightsaints are huddled here, with Little J's wrist being gripped by Jean-Luc.     Captain J pulls up beside Hibiki and stares daggers at Jean-Luc. The vampire's eye twitches. The situation has gone very south. The vampires bristle for a hopeless fight against the magical girl and the clown operatives, when suddenly...     "Take her!" Jean-Luc yells, shoving the tiny clown forward. Captain J dashes forward to catch her before she faceplants, and in that moment of worry, the vampire acts. Producing a scroll of parchment, he nicks his thumb against his own fang and presses it against the bottom. The lights in the room dim as a phantom breeze blows through it. The skies above rumble with an ill omen.     Jean-Luc smiles shakily and holds it up. "Made some changes to that binding contract, just in case." Beside his own bloody thumbprint is a smaller, bloody thumbprint. Captain J quickly catches on to what has happened, and checks Little J. Her own thumb is covered by a band-aid. "If any of youse meddle with the Nightsaints again, her life ends. Simple as that."     Captain J's face is grim. A stalemate. They get Little J back, and keep their freedom. But no longer can they attack the Nightsaints and hinder their operation. The small clown looks despondant, but her elder brother picks her up and puts her on his back with a fond nose honk. "Then I guess we better get out of your hair. Wired, fall back to the ship."     The clowns fall back to open air and one by one, thumbs-up the airship beyond the portal. Wires attached to their belts retract, pulling them up through the portal and out of the castle. The Watch has been issued the shame, whenever they're ready to leave.
Maricel Thorne	Were it the scythe coming at her, its aura of menace would alert (and force) Maricel to get out of the way. But the sword- she stares down the charge with her expression still oddly neutral. It strikes her in the chest. It goes deep.      It goes deep enough, in fact, that it ought to come out the other side. But it doesn't, somehow. Even when the blade is practically up to the hilt in her ribcage it still meets resistance, simply vanishing into a well of flesh that's deeper than the outward dimensions of Maricel's body.      "Ahaha. You really are incorrigible!" Maricel teleports two feet to the left, freeing herself of the impaling blade with a quiet pop-sizzle of psychic energy and a sparkle of neon-staticky colors. It's red all the way to the tip; in a few seconds she loses more blood to the now-open wound than a normal person could endure, and in the next moment she telekinetically sews the wound shut while keeping her hands in her pockets. Scalpels and hacksaws levitate in the air around her like a school of fish, ready to intercept a followup attack. "But your question... ahaha. I almost forgot. Their magical contract."      "They've abducted a clown-grub, of course. A child. And they were planning to force these clowns- or pirates, as you may have it- into servitude under threat of her life. Isn't that what you were sent here to ensure?"      Pressing her finger to her radio almost absentmindedly, she gives a thumbs-up to the airship above, and it yanks her upwards and away. Tentacles likewise reach out of spatial rifts around the Collide-O-Scape, roughly disassembling it and hauling its constituent parts back into some extradimensional space. "But another time!" she calls out cheerily. "I'll put up a better fight, I promise~"
Hibiki Tachibana	Door: 0     Magical Punchgirls: 1     If only everything could be as easy as punching it out of the way. A fact of life that Hibiki is very swiftly reminded of when the offsetting locale of the castle's underground leads into a confrontation with Jean-Luc and the other Nightsaints hiding down here. A hostage situation is not something she's equipped to deal with. There's no special move or function of her Symphogear that can resolve something like this--which is why she's equally surprised when the tension in the air and her body is suddenly broken by Little J just being given back.     And she's equally unable to even realize what happened until the deed had already been done. The explanation comes, and her expression goes from confusion, to greater shock, into a dip of her head and a barely restrained snarl. She looks like she's on the verge of breaking out into some very choice words when Captain J speaks up first, and she stops and glances towards him with a few blinks. "But..."     She doesn't have a follow-up to that, closing her mouth again silently as the Wired all begin backing out. If looks could kill, the glare she gives Jean-Luc when her attention goes back to him would probably hit about as hard as she punched Arcadia. "...You ever go back on your word, and I'll come back to dismantle your entire castle myself. I swear."     With that, she turns and follows suit with the others. Her ability to jump very good isn't quite enough to make it all the way back up to the airship, so she'll need to hitch a wire for that one. They might not have been able to put a stop to the Nightsaints' criminal activities...but they got Little J back, which was the important thing. After some internal back and forth about it...she can be content with that.
Priscilla	Priscilla's icily even stare twitches a little at the use of the word 'grub', as if second guessing, silently, if she's been using that word wrong until now. "Despite what many wouldst say about flexibility, the bending grasses grow tall only in short terms; it is indeed the most resilient trees that grow largest whence a hundred years pass." That is, ostensibly, something about being incorrigible.     But the rest . . . "I shall endeavour to seek more . . . particular details, of said contract." On one hand, it's not like she *really* cares what becomes of the weird Clown/Vampire turf war, but on the other, well, this is why she'd picked up the habit from her own vampire pair of usually getting things in print. Knowing that it's unlikely she'd actually be able to kill Maricel off in the single standard action it takes for her to whizz off, and not having any good reason to charge into that airship anyways, Priscilla turns to her radio instead, flicking a trail of weird protoplasmic blood from her sword across the ground, and intoning "Report in, if thou wouldst."