Scene #8500: Final Fantasy MDCLXIV

Owner	Pose
Aidan Proudpick	We Begin In Media Res The Sewers beneath Capitalisia City are at once magnificent and disgusting. Rather than crafted by brick and stone, by man and sweat, by hard work and BLOOD, the sewers are a majestic interwoven maze of pathways. Water stretches hither and yon in a looping and endless highway devoted only to waste water and feces. In this world which has been crafted by magic alone, human ladders and lights have been strung up, pounded into the perfect wall, marring this glorious edifice with signs of industry. Ever since the Pure Earth Society, a seemingly benevolent paramilitary charity, took over the city from the EVIL POLLUTOMAX CORPORATION, water has been free! But fouled. People who have attempted to go into the sewers to go and find the Water Crystal which gives the Greatest City it's lifegiving water have NEVER BEEN SEEN AGAIN! Death and woe come to all who go down here into the non-elucidian extra spatial sewers. SO YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED. Fier, a purple haired dour ex-military magic juiced up woman with a sword that's also a GUN, has brought you here on RAIDFINDR. The premium app for finding an Elite to help you kill a monster today! She is joined by Crii, a young man who appears constantly about to burst into tears, John, a ten foot tall black Zen Buddhist, and Choppy, a bunny with a knife. She begins to narrate her story noir style. "We've already dealt with the Air and the Earth Crystals. We solved the climate change crisis brought on by PollutoMax, my ex-employer, but something is wrong. We keep fixing the crystals, but to what end. Every time we fix something, more monsters suddenly appear." She clenches a fist with BRIMS with fiery magic and looks sourly at it. "I have all the power of a Magicop, but I can't stop the monsters from killing people..." "That's why I summoned you. To help me clear out the Endless Sewers, defeat the Aquaris Rex, and help me discover who is truly behind all this." Crii sobs, "THIS IS SO SCARY!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru	"You'll figure it out eventually. There's only so many monsters and crystals to find, right?" "That does sound like a reasonable pattern for things to follow... But don't beat yourself up over it. Nobody can be everywhere at once." "Maybe /they/ can't." There's already some dissent brewing in the crew from Chaldea as they join the sewer crew in handling whatever's down in these odd sewers. Ritsuka has her hands crossed behind her head idly while she wanders along, whistling lightly and keeping her eyes peeled for whatever this group is after today. Mash, carrying her giant shield and already clad in her funky purple armor, keeps close to Ritsuka while occasionally glancing over at Fier for something resembling guidance in their task. Jalter, meanwhile, is just holding her nose and letting the other two take the lead on this one. She has her armor on already and has a long spear in hand, but she keeps flicking the fingertips of her gauntlets together for some reason. "Do you have any clues on where this creature might be? Or... Whoever might be behind all of this?" "Maybe it's that company she works for!" "Eager to throw accusations around already? Hm... Hey, you! Be quiet, and quit crying! Whiny little bastard."
Sarracenia	Yesterday was yesterday, and today...Sarracenia finds herself...in a sewer. And not even a clean as possible sewer. Why did she even answer this call? No one here really knows her, so not only is she grumpy and in possibly her most hated of locations, but her princess status is likely to amount to nothing. She answered the call though, and so she is here. In a full haz-mat suit that she pulled out of her purse as soon as she saw where they were. So, now she's the strange woman in a yellow full-body suit. "Why did it have to be a sewer?" she pouts as she listens to the explanation. Crii cries about it being scary, and Sarra nods in agreement. "Just look at how filthy it is down here? If I were in my dress I would never be able to get the smell or stains out!" she exclaims. Then she reaches into her purse and pulls out a hammer bigger than she is. "But, I am good for something. And that something is smashing monsters." It is possible that Ritsuka and her friends might recognize the princess, and if so might notice a decidedly different demeanor about the princess. While she was sunny and bright during the beach party, today she seems dour and dark. "Let us just get this over with. I do not wish to tarry here any longer than necessary." The princess does recognize them either way, and offers a light wave in greeting since no dress.
Aidan Proudpick	Fier looks up into the ceiling, her gaze becoming distant. "It could be PollutoMAX. If it's Pure Earth, what reason would they have to bring monsters into the world." It's really hard to see all of John's body at once, making his head hover towards the ceiling and just out of sight. His voice is deep and smooth, calm and soothing, "It could be anyone. What reason would someone have to be so evil." Choppy, who is mostly a rabbit, but just different up to be perhaps cute, points a knife at Sarracenia, "She knows how to deal with this! Let's GO!" At Mash's question, Fier looks over, her sparkling blue eyes glowing bright with their infused magic. "It's at the very center. The sewers go out in every direction, taking water in, and then the Water Crystal purifies them. PollutoMAX Corp then would sell the water to the rich at exorbitant prices, leaving the poor to scrounge in the dirt for water." She turns around sharply, fire bursting from her hand at Jalter's sudden outburst. Only for it to falter. She closes her hand slowly. "I put my entire life on the like for the Pure Earth Charity. It CAN'T be them." She murmurs, "it can't be." Crii speaks up, his voice trembling, "We have to get to the center of the sewers." He pulls out a smartphone, which projects a huge map onto the wall. "All we have to do is turn on all of these levers in order. We'll have to back track... here... here... here... here... here... here... there... here... there... over here... here... here... here... here... here... hold on, I have to scroll to the next page. Here... here... here... here... and... here. And that's assuming all the levers are there. If any of the hundreds of Water Slimes and Killer Fish down here took any of the levers, there are all these side corridors where they might be." The group takes a step forward and looks out over the first pipe. It zooms downward, showing dozens on dozens of various Calcium/Grease Puddings and Water Slimes. Fier pulls her SWORDGUN down. The sword parts down the middle and fires a mighty FIRE BEAM into one of the slimes, splatting it. John speaks up, "We know the crystal is in the center of the maze, I can sense its power."
Ritsuka Fujimaru	Sarracenia isn't recognized immediately! They know what she looked like at the party, and they vaguely recall speaking to her in varying degrees (mostly Ritsuka). Seeing her in a hazmat suit, though, just has Jeanne raising an eyebrow, Mash trying not to draw attention to it, and Ritsuka staring right at her like she's trying to figure something out. "Hm. At least we can agree on something." Jeanne says in response to Sarracenia, prompting Rtisuka to snap her fingers once she realizes that there's some recognition there. Mash, ever confused, just smiles apologetically at Sararcenia before... Fire happens. Jeanne doesn't flinch, but instead raises an eyebrow at Fier as a maniacal grin spreads across her face. "Was that supposed to be a challenge just now? How cute. Let me show-" Before Jeanne can make things worse, Mash interrupts by just getting right in between her and Fier. "Let's just focus on the job for now, hm? Then... You can challenge each other later!" She gestures at Crii when he starts going through the map, breathing a sigh of relief when Jeanne and Ritsuka seem sufficiently distracted by the too-long explanation. "That sure is a lot of side paths to go through. Why do we need all these levers?" "Sounds like a hell of a lot of work for nothing." "Well, who knows? Maybe there's extra pay to be earned from doing all this extra stuff. If we split up, we can-" "Senpai? We still have another mission tomorrow morning, and if this takes too long..." "... Let's go right to the center!" After looking at the map some more, it's time to actually get moving again! Rather than trying to do all that back tracking, Ritsuka and Jalter take the lead to start heading for the center with the power of fire, fire, mana regeneration, and yet more fire. Mash is on hand to deploy her shield, too, should the fires cause any untimely explosions that she can stand in front of the group for.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia can't help a slight smirk as Choppy points at her. "Of course I do. A hammer or bomb to the face is usually enough to deal with most monsters. And if it is not, I have plenty of other tools." she says. Then, Crii starts up. And with each there or here Sarra deflates more and more until she just looks completely exasperated by the end. "..are...are you serious?! W-who designed this?!" she exclaims before letting out the biggest sigh. Ritsuka speaks up, and Sarra nods in agreement. "Yes, could I not just use my hammer to smash through whatever barrier is preventing us from getting to the crystal?" The slime is vaporized. Sarra looks a bit relieved (who knows what kind of germs a slime creature picked up in this place!) then looks toward Fier. "So...what shall it be?"
Aidan Proudpick	Fier is no lightweight, but battles like these take time. And resources. Even though Choppy is holding a large bag of potions, trying to get through the sewer by fighting everything will take lots of resource management. Crii points out, "No, wait, the reason we have to do all the levers is because the path gets blocked by water an-HEY WAIT, I WORKED REALLY HARD ON THIS!" The blonde haired mage puts his head in his hands, quietly sobbing, I worked so hard on this. John puts one of his hands on Crii's shoulder, "You worked hard on it. I know." Fier frowns at Sarracenia, "Just... break through a wall?" The rest of the party looks on at her as if a block of tofu had learned to talk and was doing a small spritely tap dance. "I suppose none of us re-" seeeee-WOOOOOOSH! The path below Sarracenia and the rest of the party suddenly fills with orange fire as Ritsuka and Jalter begin to melt their way through the rest of the slimes. You are SUPPOSED to use lightning, but the ROOM FILLING FIRE seems good enough to mow down the puddings and slimes. Fier has to lift her voice as Mash provides a fire cover for everyone to walk through. She shouts over the sound of fire blasts. "NONE OF US REALLY SPECIALIZE IN BREAKING WALLS, WE NEVER THOUGHT TO TRY IT BEFORE! IT SEEMS REALLY UNFAIR TO NOT DO THE LEVERS, YOU KNOW, LIKE...THE JOURNEY BEFORE THE GOAL!" Choppy roasts a hot dog over their head.
Aidan Proudpick	The path at least smells better since it smells like FIRE instead of DOOKIE, leading up towards a barrier. Crii moves up to a lever on the side, and points out on his map, "Okay, if we operate lever one here, that shoulllld..." He uses his puny bishonen mage arms to push down the lever with a sob. The stone parts slowly, allowing passage into the next slime, pudding, and now large fish floating out of the water, not in the water. "That should close door Two Hundred And Fifty Six, but we can open that by flipping lever number Eight Hundred and Eight!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru	"Breaking through the walls? That sounds cool!" "What about the stability of this place?" "It's all garbage no matter which way you go. A little coming from above won't kill us." With Ritsuka and Jeanne using those flames to carve a path through so many of those lurking creatures, Mash hangs back to try and get some actual words in with Fier. "Really? It's much more efficient if you have the right tools for the job!" She raises her shield briefly for emphasis, then gestures at Sarracenia's hammer afterwards and heads right back in to join the two burning everything. Mash can't burn anything herself, of course. She's just good at smashing things that get too close. None of the three seem keen on following that lever puzzle, though, instead just following what they can remember of the previous map to just keep surging on ahead. They know Sarracenia's got that big hammer, after all, and Jeanne's not too proud not to grab Mash's shield every now and then if an extra smashing arm is needed to get through gates and the like.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia is happy to let the others BURN IT WITH FIRE as they go, staying under the shield so that her hazard suit doesn't get damaged. As Fier says they should go through wit the plan, Sarracenia sighs. "I SUPPOSE IT WOULD ONLY BE PROPERLY HEROIC TO DO IT THAT WAY!" she begrudgingly agrees. And since they are near Mash, she says, "I AM SORRY I LEFT WITHOUT ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS AT THE BEACH PARTY. BUT, I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY NOW." As the number of monsters increases, Sarra reaches into her purse and pulls out a strange-looking flower with red coloring and big cute black eyes. Since Mash can't burn anything, Sarra hands one to Mash. "Squeeze it." If Mash does, then Mash finds herself in fiery colors with the ability to throw fireballs. Either way, Sarra takes one and uses it on herself, turning her yellow suit red and starts burning things along with the others.
Aidan Proudpick	Crii nods at Sarracenia's decision. John lets out a mighty 'hmmm'. Fier nods stoically. Choppy groans out, "I AM BOOOOORED!" Thankfully, Sarracenia has powerups for everyone. HOUR 1: "Alright." Crii shows his map. They've been through a couple treasure chests so far, but with limited space, Choppy has to run back to other treasure chests and drop something to pick up the new item. While he is doing that, Crii is drinking a PollutoMAX Brand Energy Protien Full Nutrition drink. "See, I uh... okay, we are on... lever five... we should be going next east." Choppy brings back a big axe with a blade made of PURE WATER and shoves it in the bank, throwing a pair of BRONZE SHOES on the floor. Crii continues, "We'll just need to get lever ten!" HOUR 4: "I had to uphold the law under PollutoMAX control. I didn't like it, but, it seemed like the important thing to do. I mean, the poor people would pull themselves up by their bootstraps eventually, right?" Fier goes on, using her fire flower to angle fireballs at a slime before it can get too close. "But I am not sure about that anymore." She turns towards the others, Mash, Ritsuka, Jeanne, Sarracenia, "What are you fighting for?" Crii is in the background of this shot, solving a timing based puzzle where he and John have to press a button at the same time. HOUR 12: John murmurs, "Do you really think we can change the world? Wouldn't it be better just to live our lives out? Find what little happiness we can?" Fier is using her gun sword to carefully fill a ball up to 75% for two whole seconds while Choppy eats the head off a rat. HOUR 35: "Okay, Choppy, do you have that perfectly shaped wooden stick with a picture of a horse on it we found up on floor one? This is the LAST door, the crystal should be on the other side." Crii turns around, caked in burned slime towards the Rabbit Mascot. Choppy blinks huge eyes, "Uhh... why would I keep a wooden stick?" Fier grabs Choppy by the neck and pushes him up against a wall. "YOU LITTLE BASTARD, NOW WE HAVE TO GO BACK!" John puts a hand on Fier's shoulder, "No! No. It's not worth it. Choppy will starve to death. Don't do it."
Ritsuka Fujimaru	"Questions...? Oh, don't worry about that. It's fine!" Mash shouts in reassurance to Sarracenia, covering one ear briefly just to make sure she can hear properly. Eventually, though, she ends up taking that flower with a curious look, and she's soon imbued with the power of ALSO FIRE. Jeanne almost seems to approve, if the brief eyebrow raises at Mash and Sarracenia are any indication. It might not last long, though, since Mash is still more of a close-range combatant, and face-tanking hits coming towards the squishier group members is all but a given in her case! HOUR 4: "To protect humanity!" "To help my allies." "They're more useful to me alive than dead." HOUR 12: "It wouldn't be the first time." "It.. Um. It probably won't be the last, either." "Waiting around to die in obscurity sounds like a different kind of hell, anyway." HOUR 35: Hearing about the last door and looking rather tired of all the running about over the past day and change, the trio already look Done with this place. No words need to be exchanged as Mash hands Jeanne her giant shield. Jeanne gives Sarracenia one of those 'on your mark', and she's ready to burst through the door/surrounding wall in time with whatever she's got in mind.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia is asked what she is fighting for. She blinks, apparently not often asked that. "Me? I...fight just to show that I can be heroic in the hopes that it will help me find my hero or heroine some day." she says. Hour 12: Sarracenia has a constant -_- expression on her face. "Of course you can change the world. Anyone can if they try hard enough. Do not just give up because things are a bit hard. If I did that, I would have given up being a princess or looking for my hero long ago." she says, sounding rather annoyed. Hour 35: Sarracenia has become very whiny and even more grumpy. "Are we there yet?! I have been holding it for..." She checks her watch. "Are you serious?! I am a princess! Without my beauty sleep...I could get wrinkles!" she is exclaiming, along with other complaints throughout the days. The subject of left behind treasures comes up, and Sarra smirks and gives a 'I got this' wave to Jeanne. "So...I thought it was strange to be leaving the things we found behind. I put them in my purse." she says to John, Fier, Crii, and Choppy. "Luckily for you, my bouncy friend." she adds to Choppy as she pulls out the requested stick horse. "I may be sending you a bill for proper cleaning of my purse and the storage space." she adds.
Aidan Proudpick	Fier has her hands around Choppy's windpipe, strangling the life from him when Sarracenia lifts up the stick. "Oh." She lets go with a grateful and weak sob. She hugs Sarrancenia around the neck and leans into her. "I'm so tired, thank you." Crii takes it and jams it into the wall, then pulls it down. The stone wall opens up into beautiful white light. Beyond the wall is a beautiful crystalline palace. A thirty seven part water level in glass chalice test lies in shattered pieces on the floor. Water flows from pipes, both downward and upward. It is crisp, clean, beautiful. Not just clean clear water. Elemental water. The CONCEPT of water. It is water that cleans the mind and soul. Warm it up, and it will soothe your wounds. Cool it down, and it will make you as perky as ever. Vampires can't even look at it. A single sip will quench your thirst. A horse led to it WILL drink it. Rather than a cacophony of sound that induces urination, it is a beautiful symphony of moving water, each flow a note in the orchestra. And in that center is a curled blue form. A mighty eastern dragon, curled end over end around a podium in the center. On that podium is a sphere. The CONCEPT of a sphere. A sphere that can measure out pi to the last digit. A ball so round, it feels glorious to touch it. "Alright, that's the Water Crystal. All we have to do is fight Aquaris Rex as a test, then we can take the water crystal, and get out of here." Fier explains. Crii interjects, "There's a lot of treasure in the backroom, we can get your payment." "Yes, that. Now." "Hey guys. What's this on my head." Choppy points to the middle of their forehead. There is a small red dot on the middle of head. "What's-" KRRRRRRRRRACKOW! A single thunderclap drowns out the sound of musical water as Choppy's head disintegrates into a red cloud. Brain, skull matter and eye fly away from the corpse before it drops to the floor.
Aidan Proudpick	"HA HA HA! YOU HAVE FALLEN DIRECTLY INTO MY TRAP! JUST AS I KNEW YOU WOULD! YOU OPENED THE DOOR FOR ME, JUST AS I PLANNED." The source of the sniper bullet stands on a balcony. It is a dromaeosaur, perhaps about the size of a very large dog. Like, not Great Dane sized, but still pretty big. The scaly creature pulls out a chart. "You also should have been here THIRTY FOUR HOURS AGO! DID YOU STUPID MAMMALS NOT BYPASS THE PUZZLE WITH A GIANT WEAPON OR A BIG DRILL?!" Aquaris Rex, the mighty dragon of water, begins to rise. And one notices that he has a helmet bolted to his head. A large metal cap that covers the eyes and ears, and comes with several blinking antennae. "Well, now I have tricked you into my trap and DID NOT FORGET TO LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN SO I COULD GET BACK OUT! And soon, I will have this crystal. You STUPID MAMMALS have been using it to make WATER! Pah. PAH!" "None of you understand the TRUE POWER OF THIS CRYSTAL! NOT LIKE ME!" He presses a button on a hit box fightpad made out of cardboard. A tinny thundercrash sounds. DOCTOR DINOSAUR! "Now. KILL THEM!" He presses a few buttons on the hit box. The ancient blue dragon uncurls, uncountable coils unrolling. It rears upward, head pointing down, snarling out clouds of steam. When it opens its maw, a great explosion of bubbles rips out, slamming and bouncing all over the walkway!
Ritsuka Fujimaru	With the end finally in sight, Ritsuka, Mash, and Jeanne finally let themselves take a load off again. They're still wary of drinking any water that isn't stuff they packed for themselves, though, despite how tempting it is just to try the water that's there. At least, Mash and Jeanne are wary about it. Ritsuka just shoves her head right into the flowing water, nearly waterboarding herself in the process before the Servants pull her back out. Eyeing the Water Crystal once their attention is no longer on catching their breaths, Ritsuka and Mash perk up when the topic of payment is brought up. Jeanne seems more interested in fighting whatever Aquaris Rex is, though, and Ritsuka and Mash are summarily freaked out when Choppy's head suddenly explodes. "Sniper! Find cover!" "You are the cover. Hold still!" "Holy...! Uh. Right! Mash, Jeanne, princess! The rest of you, one more time!" As Jeanne makes no moves to actually cover herself, Mash has to be the one setting up an actual defensive wall against... The sniper? No, it's a dinosaur shouting about getting the water crystal! And controlling the dragon of water, too, which appears to be getting controlled by the shouting Doctor Dinosaur. Mash soaks up the water rather literally for the crew, deflecting bubbles away and even stabbing her shield into the ground to keep herself from slipping back. "Oi. You three." Jeanne looks over at Fier, John, and Crii. "You can handle this water dragon, can't you? We'll take care of that." She points over at the balcony with her spear, flicks the weapon around in her hand, then hurls it at said balcony with far more strength than her arms look like she should have. And to make matters worse... The spear creates a fiery explosion on impact.
Sarracenia	As soon as they are in this wonderfully clean water room, Sarracenia's eyes widen and she pulls off her hazard hat. She reaches into her purse, pulls out a fancy cup, and gets a drink of water. She wasn't expecting the mystical properties, but she feels completely refreshed! Just in time for Choppy to ask what's on their head. Her eyes widen even more. Before she can say anything...Choppy has no head. The princess, very not used to such actual graphic death, screams like a little girl. But, she is not actually a little girl, and so instead of crying or running away, she grips the haft of her hammer tightly. "That bunny liked me! And they were a bunny! HOW DARE YOU!!" she exclaims. The explosion of bubbles comes from the dragon. Sarracenia tries to charge toward the dino, but those bubbles catch her and send her sprawling through the water. "...ow..." she murmurs, taking a moment to get back up. "...and you controlled a noble dragon to attack us?! You are truly the worst!" She reaches into her purse and pulls out a pair of bob-ombs. And can't help but smirk in appreciation as she and Jeanne seem to have the same idea. Those two bob-ombs get tossed in succession, leading to two fairly small but intense explosions aimed at Doctor Dino. "Here's a present from us stupid mammals!"
Aidan Proudpick	The water, notably, also makes you extremely hydrated, like pee clear hydrated. "Spread out, stay in range of Crii!" Fier dives out of the way of the water blast, rolling back up to a kneeling stance. She nods at Jeanne, "Copy!" John rolls forward towards the dragon, his head blocked by one of its coils. Crii drifts towards the back, trying to move as little as possible. "CURADORA!" Tears flow from his eyes and make a magical sprite. The sprite starts shooting little heal beams at Fier and John. Dr. Dinosaur calmly reloads another bullet into the bolt action sniper rifle, humming a little ditty to himself. It's NOT walk the dinosaur, THE DINOSAUR GETS KILLED IN THAT SONG. It's Poker Face. "Can't read my, can't rea-ACK!" The spear RIPS through the air, through two waterfalls and into the balcony. There's a mighty shatter, sending the ancient marble into the air in every direction. Doctor Dinosaur PhD scrambles at the air, "NOOO, I AM GOING TO DIE! NOOOOO, A MAMMAL REALIZED MY OWN WEAKNESS! Unless..." Doctor Dinosaur pulls out a belt of spheres, each of them a different color. "I HAVE A BACK UP PLAN!" Fier points up in the air, "He has Spellicite! He can use magic!" "BITE YOUR TONGUE. I am using SCIENCE to extract the power from these CRYSTALS and utilize them." He is currently floating in the air, very slowly drifting towards the ground. "Float science!" He turns around to see two bom-bobs hurtling into his face and lets out a shriek of terror. "INVISIBILITY SCIENCE, INVISIBILITY SCIENCE." BOOM! That part of the room explodes in another shower of marble, but Dr. Dinosaur is no where to be seen. Fier works on setting up covering fire. She pulls a core out from her gun and slaps in another before she hoists it up to her shoulder. The gun splits down the middle again, bright blue arcs of lightning jumping from blade to blade before it fires out a lance at the dragon! The sound of someone furiously tapping Sanwa buttons echoes through the room before the Dragon suddenly jerks upright. It turns towards the team of three, inhaling a deep breath. The vacuum is enough to draw in water, and the team towards it. The roar that comes next rattles to the bone, echoing in ones skull. The rush of water drives out, a wall of force to push them all back at the wall! "KNIFE SCIENCE!" Dr. Dinosaur leaps on Sarracenia from behind, wielding a massive kukri that he drives at her shoulder!
Ritsuka Fujimaru	"The little guy's got healing, too? Keep it up!" Ritsuka calls out in plain encouragement of the crying thing, taking her eyes off the water dragon for just a moment to flash him a thumbs up. That moment is enough for her to lose her balance, though, as it sucks herself, Mash, and Jeanne closer, but... Luckily for Ritsuka, she's safely sandwiched them once Mash finds her footing to halt their advance before the dragon can pull them all the way in. Seeing it preparing to blow something out, Jeanne summons her flag next and stabs it right into the ground before grabbing right onto the back of the Master's shirt. "Brace yourselves. Call it a hunch." That's the only warning Jeanne gives before the dragon blasts that water right back out at them. Mash's shield holds fast at first, but eventually it pops out of the ground with her going backwards with it, and Ritsuka looks like she's in danger of getting thrown back with her thanks to holding onto Mash's waist. It's a good thing Jeanne was holding onto that flag and Ritsuka, then, as she keeps them all from getting blasted into the wall. It's just not so good when she promptly flings both Ritsuka and Mash forward again, forcing them into a close range clash with the Water Dragon (with Mash mostly swinging her shield at its head while Ritsuka scrambles around shooting painful curse magic at its face). Jeanne sees the dinosaur going after Sarracenia, but this time, she refrains from doing or saying anything. Instead, she's busy summoning more spears that float ominously overhead, just counting them out two at a time. Surely that's not an ominous sign of things to come.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia yelps in surprise before shrieking as she is stabbed. And her mind reels with the thought of what kind of germs might be on a knife that has been in the sewers. She staggers forward, her royal blood flowing down her back. "You...stabbed me?! With a filthy sewer knife?!" she exclaims, now livid. She's tired. She's in a dirty sewer. And her self-worth is at an all time low thanks to things that happened yesterday. She grips her hammer more tightly, and a prismatic glow starts to build around it before starting to flow over her, causing her hair to float somewhat like she is underwater. "I have not had a good day the last few days. You do not fully appreciate who you are dealing with, you brainless gecko! I am Princess Sarracenia Sundew, Crown Princess of the Sundew Kingdom!" The glow fully engulfs her, and the prismatic sparkle fills her eyes. And suddenly it is like she is possessed. She starts slamming that hammer up and down in a barely controlled fashion, trying to drive the Doctor into the ground like a tent stak...or perhaps splatter him like poor Choppy...and leaving a small crater each time the hammer hits the ground.
Aidan Proudpick	Crii gives a weak smile and a thumbs up in return. Then he is struck by the dragon's tail into the ground. WHAM. Mash pops a TANK COOLDOWN and Jeanne pops SUPPORT COOLDOWN. The column of bubbles feels almost like being pelted with an iron ball, if somewhat squishy. An iron marshmellow. Still, keeping from being plastered in the wall. Dr. Dinosaur squawks, using one of his claws to hold down the AUTOCOMBO button as he flings himself back from the Princess. "FAH! I DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR SOVEREIGNITY! Your forefathers stole it from other mammals and you just REAP THE BENEFITS!" His pupils shrink as he sees the hammer start slamming up and down, almost of its own accord. Each WHAM into the floor sends out a crater, driving the stone downward and out. "PROTECT SCIENCE!!!" The hammer collides with a barrier of hexagons, behind which Dr. Dinosaur has his arms up over his head, shielding his face. "Hah! Trying to fight me with a SIMPLE PRIMITIVE TOOL while I command the VERY SCIENCE OF THE UNIV-ACK!" The hammer plows through, striking the dinosaur across the face with a sickening CRACK! and into the water(he keeps the hitbox above water, claw still on the autocombo button.) BACK TO THE DRAGON, a curse spell sprays purple across the dragon's face, then makes it rear back in pain. A perfect place for Mash to slam upwards with a CLANG! And drive the dragon's head up eeven further, making it reel. John follows up, his fists building up into a steady rhythm as they punch faster... faster... FASTER! A pa pa pa pa pa pa pa of rapid punches into the creature's hide. "Watch out!" Fier shouts. The dragon jolts into moving rigidly, bringing its head down into a series of smashes. First a downward at Mash's shield. Then a sideways swipe. Then it moves its head upward? Then it's tongue lashes out at nothing. Then it suddenly uncoils, pushing down into the water. John and Fier topple into the middle of the platform as the dragon starts spinning through the water, building up a mighty wall of water on every side of the room. "Tidal wave," Fier whispers. The water comes down like a hammer blow.
Ritsuka Fujimaru	Fier's warning gets Mash back on the defensive after her combination attack with John. There's not enough room to move, so she instead focuses on blocking those attacks directly instead, bringing her shield out of the ground to clash with each of its wild smashes. She's the only person standing between Ritsuka and the dragon, after all, so she has to face it directly! With the Master in such close range, though, she's able to really leverage her prowess as a defensive wall, and she's able to build up plenty of mana by the time the dragon starts spinning with that water filling the sides of the room. "Deploying Noble Phantasm!" "... Close enough!" The water comes pouring down, and Mash's shield glows as she raises it towards the coming water. Afterimages of the shield appear to the sides as well, creating a defensive barrier for all that stuff smashing down at herself, Ritsuka, and Jeann alike. She's certainly taking the worst of it compared to the other two, though, as the impact drives her further into the ground. "Your turn, Jeanne!" "Yes, yes, I know already! Let's see... How about we find out what this overgrown lizard tastes like?" Jeanne finally stops building up those spears, meanwhile, as she spots Dr. Dinosaur going after Sarracenia. Waving one hand towards the Water Dragon and the other towards Dr. Dinosaur, Jeanne launches all of those spears in one massive rain of darkened steel, each one of the weapons burning hot and exploding whether they strike directly against their intended targets or even the ground around them. Clearly, she doesn't seem to care one bit about causing damage to the surrounding area!
Sarracenia	Sarracenia laughs just this side of maniacally as the Doctor starts his speech only to get smashed by her hammer. She chases after him, still hammering. "This is a -magic- hammer! Not some mere tool!" she says, an equally nearly maniacal grin on her face. She really has some aggression to work out today. The hammer fever wears off before she reaches the water he landed in, though. Her hair returns to normal, and she looks a bit tired after that magically induced frenzy. She has to take a few moments to catch her breath. She just happens to stop just in the right place that the water crashing around Mash's shield wall breaks around her, leaving the princess a little drenched but unharmed. And it's magical water, so she is once again feeling refreshed! "Ah! Thank you, Lady Mash!" she calls out, waving toward the pink-haired guardian. Those spears come raining down, and Sarra takes the moment to get some distance. Then, she pulls out a box from her purse. A metal box with a big red button. She sets the box down, then...pushes the big red button. The box starts unfolding, and unfolds until it is a cannon large enough for someone to stand up inside the barrel. There is a loud hydraulics sound, then a KA-THUNK as a massive bullet with a shark face is pushed into position. Sarracenia lands on top of the cannon, grinning. "I love explosions, don't you~?" she says, looking over her shoulder at Jeanne then back toward the doctor. "And this one is my favorite!" "You guys might want to keep your distance!" she warns her comrades. The cannon fires, and the Bonzai Bill, a bullet as big as a truck comes...flying isn't quite the right word. It moves about as fast as someone sprinting. It spirals toward the Doctor, and when it hits it unleashes a rapid series of explosions, each one bigger than the last, ending in one slightly delayed but more powerful explosion that leaves a mushroom cloud in the air.
Aidan Proudpick	The mighty shield wall multiplies, spreading out first to one side, then the other, then up, a towering barrier of shield that the water SLAMS into. It is heavy enough to drive Mash back, but the shield wall diverts the rush of water back down. As the water dies, the dragon rolls up into the air, ready to attack once more. Where it meets the array of spears. The glimmering weapons take a moment to shine in the light of the room before THWACK!! They slam into the dragon's hide, into the wall with a mighty crash, into the water. Blade after blade sinks into the dragon, making a line upward into it finally strikes into the metal helmet with a sheering CRACK of metal. As Dr. Dinosaur slowly gets up out of the water and tries to patch up his dislocated jaw, he turns one eye around to see the lances. "erp." A lance slides across his back, then under his neck, making two long bloody scars in his body. "FOOLS, IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN THAT TO DEF-oh." The Bullet Bill runs towards Dr Dinosaur, who is furiously rolling through the belt of SPellicites, "Ah, ah, AH, AH, AH, AH! AH-HAH!" He lifts one up trimuphantly! "EXIT SCI-" The Bullet Rex gently brushes his cheek with its nose KABOOM. The Bullet Rex explodes, taking out the entire wall of the sanctum with it. Dr. Dinosaur is nowhere to be seen. Slowly, the dragon spirals back down into the room. It's voice is at once soothing like a gentle rain, but deep like a thundering river. And bleeding. Bleeding a lot from the spears. "You... are worthy of the Water Crystal." Another significant portion of wall slides into the wall with a tumble. Crii sags towards the corpse of Choppy, trying to rub him with a bright orange feather. John, his head hidden by the doorway out, is grappling with the chest of gold to use as payment for the group while Fier walks up to the Water Crystal. She takes it gently, looking into the white sphere. "Well. Okay, five stars for everyone, it wasn't really your fault that Choppy died, that wouldn't be fair."
Ritsuka Fujimaru	The trio still keep their guards up even after Dr. Dinosaur disappears following the explosions. They couldn't confirm a body or a retreat, after all, so they're still not quite ready to relax even after the Water Dragon declares this group worthy. Noticing all the bleeding, though, Ritsuka and Mash glance over at Jeanne (who's busy eyeing the chest of gold). It takes a bit of prodding, but she finally groans and disperses the spears before they can linger in there for too long. "Good work, everyone! Yeah, it... Uh. Yeah, it would've been better if your friend didn't..." "There was little we could've done about that, Master. It happened too quickly." "Yes, yes, so sad. Just give us our money and never call us again. That took far too long!" Perhaps tellingly, neither Ritsuka nor Mash actually say anything to contradict Jeanne.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia winces just a bit seeing what happened to the sanctum. "Well...I suppose collateral damage is part of being a hero." she says, then hops down from her cannon, which folds itself back up before being slipped back into her purse. She pulls out a green mushroom at the same time, and gives it a bite. The wound on her shoulder closes up, and she lets out a sigh of relief. "Would any of you care for one?" she asks, heading over toward the others and offering the healing mushrooms. "Amazing shield wall, Lady Mash!" she says, then hees. "And amazing fireworks, Lady Jeanne~" she says, apparently having enjoyed the flaming, exploding spears. Choppy is brought up, and Sarra looks sadly toward wherever the poor bunny ended up. She doubts it will work, but just in case she goes to press one of those green mushrooms - known as extra life mushrooms in her world - to the poor rabbit on the barest of chances that it brings back the cute little killer. "I am a princess and a hero. I do not require payment beyond my cleaning bills." she says, then sighs. "You may give the lion's share of my portion to Choppy's next of kin." she says. She slips her hammer into her purse, puts her hazmat helmet back on, then turns to the dragon. She curtseys respectfully. "Noble dragon. Thank you for your blessing, and you are welcome for being freed." she says, then looks toward the others. "Now...get me out of here in whatever is the most expedient way." she says, also not disagreeing with the request to not be called again.