Multiverse Crisis MUSH - User contributions [en]

6249/P:WtWM - A Hurried Pursuit

2018-12-28T06:57:32Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/12/28 |Location=Alberichstadt City |Synopsis=Die Reisende cause urban destruction in pursuit of a member of the Wildekinder |Cast of Character..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/12/28
|Location=Alberichstadt City
|Synopsis=Die Reisende cause urban destruction in pursuit of a member of the Wildekinder
|Cast of Characters=909, 894, 714, 6856, 6733, 6381, 934, 6828
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The city centre of Alberichstadt is packed with people seeking to take advantage of the post-Christmas sales. Well-intentioned but poorly-thought-out presents are being returned, gift cards and presented cash are being redeemed, and preparations are being made for the New Year festivities. There's barely enough room to scratch yourself, let alone take part in a hurried foot pursuit.     And yet, that is exactly what Janine Liberi is doing. Leading with her right shoulder, she barges through crowds of people in pursuit of a scruffy-looking young woman. While Janine is taking at least some interest in not causing a scene, her quarry is ploughing through anyone who gets in her way, creating obstacles out of their prone forms for Janine to leap over as she brings her cellphone to her ear.     "I've got one!" she hisses down the receiver, the phone tapped in to the Multiversal broadband. "One of the assholes who razed Drachenblatt! They might know where their boss is! We find their boss, we find whoever the Woodsman is looking for!" The Wilderkinder squeezes between a couple of buildings and then, in a startling display of dexterity, hop from wall to wall to reach the rooftops. "I need help, quick! Can't afford to lose them!"     With that, she sets her location to broadcast, and runs into the same alley before summoning Biancabella, who takes her to the roofs with a gust of wind. Now out in the open with no people around, the chase is truly on! 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August was just done scouting out in the Mirror Forest, hunting Shadows, when he got the call. With his gun still at his side, and winter coat tightly over him, he concealed the pistol inside it and made sure his mirrored bracelet was tightly around his wrist, before rushing into town. Once in Alberichstadt proper, August would, following Janine's coordinates, head eastwards and try and cut off the Wilderkinder. He does this by finding an alleyway and then climbing up the buildings to the roof top, using parkour and wallrunning to reach the top, and then crossing from roof to roof. He doesn't summon his Persona yet - too risky, but instead hopes to get close enough to come in at the Wilderkinder's side. Speaking over his communicator, August talks. "On my way. Gonna try and cut them off at the side." Hopefully, this doesn't have to get messy. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Having had little to do following the Christmas haze of binge eating, Sanary had been in the area already looking for something relatively healthier to eat. With the call for assistance coming over the radio, she's quick to respond.      After ducking into a convenient alleyway, the healer fiddles with her magitech anklets while muttering to herself in the hopes that they'll still work well enough. They take a bit to power on, but power on they do, and the white-coat-clad healer is soon taking to the skies.      <<"On my way, Janine. Let's see... I'll try and box 'em in or whatever the word is!">> And then she takes off like a figurative rocket: Not a great deal of mobility, but a decent amount of speed as she launches herself eastwards along the edge of the blocks she's traveling along in the hopes of discouraging the runner from coming towards her side! 

:'''{{#var:6856|Kalia (6856)}} has posed:'''     There's no shortage of food around cities this time of year. For everyone enjoying a warm Christmas there's someone suffering a miserable one, usually because of someone or something. It's not like rural regions at all! And then sometimes you get the ping that's just a bit louder, more vivid, more visible and more desperate.     But which of the two to linger on?     A pursuer seeking revenge and a runner desperate to live. It's win-win. A reversal would taste a lot better, though.     Like a dark specter, Kalia's form appears ahead of the runner - floating in midair, fast enough to stay ahead despite the mad run. Pale white skin, glowing white and black eyes, and clothes more akin to rags and a patchworked-together cloak of various shades of black to grey.     With that scarf covering their mouth, their voice may as well be telepathic, and they reach out, to tug at the runner's feelings.     Why do you run?     Do you lack the power to stay and fight?     The reason?     The payoff?     What if you had them?     Kalia attempts to pull on the puppet's strings.     Do you want them?     Their gaze looks past the runner, towards Janine. It's explicit and intentional, with the next statement hammering it in.     If you don't, maybe she will. We don't care either way who gets stronger today. So, tell us, do you want to rise above your pursuit? 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' EARLIER Tony Stark was not keyed in to the skeins of Fate. Tony Stark was not engaging in prescient Golden Age Heroism. Tony Stark was sitting in the waiting room of a municipal building, messing with his phone. "Friday, I'm pretty sure we had a 4PM." "You did." "And did it get moved?" "Nope." "So why am I sitting here at four thirty?" "Working... Apparently the Secretary of State was called in to another emergency meeting." "Right. I'm over the white glove treatment, cut a check and send a formletter, bill SHIELD, find me something to do." "Already have something." Tony smirks. "You know me so well." NOW Squawking on the broadband is a good way to get eyes on your target, especially ones who would slow up your quarry to take them down. It was also a great way to get meddlers. Swooping in from the sky ahead of Janine and her scruffy target was the unmistakeable red and gold form of Iron Man, 'running lights' glowing a bright blue as optics panned across the area. Stark's voice magnified through the square, he raised both palms in a 'alright, stop' pose, while hanging in the air. "Alright everyone, if you could stop where you are, especially those of you committing either A) Crimes, or B) Past Extreme-and-or-War Crimes, magical or otherwise, that'd be appreciated." In his helmet, Stark starts picking out Persons of Interest. "Friday, what are we looking at?" "Anywhere Germany?" "Exoenergy reactions? "Still calibrating for local ambience." "Do we have anything?" "That guy in a hoodie looks pretty suspicious..." "Save it for the city PD, keep working on it." 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Nova jumps.     As her invisible ship rises away from the city again, likely missed by everyone below, Nova plummets out of the sky. She activates her own cloak, light quickly washing over her as she vanishes from view. After several seconds of falling she hits the roof of a building in a roll, quickly rising up onto her feet and running up to the edge of the building.     As the location for Janine's position comes in, she is highlighted on Nova's HUD. This allows the Ghost to look ahead and see the target. She hmphs, "I hate it when they run." Nova reaches out with her mind to try and touch the thoughts of the runner that she is tracking. Unfortunately the barrage of thoughts from those on the streets below drown out everything. Not to mention creating the beginnings of a headache. Nova wobbles for a moment, clutching her head. That's not going to work...     Trying to shake off the cacophony of thoughts, Nova reaches up to her back where her rifle is, offering helpfully over the radio, "I could shoot them in the leg." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will was, in fact, out with August as well! Hunting shadows in the middle of the Mirror Forest alone is a good way to get killed or abducted into the depths of the collective human subconscious and shortly thereafter getting replaced by an evil, hollowed-out replica. So, you know, Will wasn't just there for moral support. Besides, he's needed to get out for a bit now. Hunting shadows down for fun, experience and interesting resources is as good an excuse as any! When the call comes in, Will immediately turns about and races back into the city. Quite literally, at that. He brought his motorcycle this time, and now it seems as though it's time for the scifi cowboy to ride again. "I'm headin' in over-land," Will says as his motorcycle screams from rooftop to rooftop in hot pursuit of Janine's coordinates. Fortunately, compared to the appearance of IRON MAN, he'll only be the second most eyecatching thing on the news today. "Let's see 'em try to outrun us all. Also uhhhhhhh." Will... sort of side-glances over at the guy soaring through the air. "...Hm." "I have... an idea. Openin' up a secure channel--!" 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     Despite references to scruffy-looking young women on the run, Janine isn't after Orta. It could be said that the girl who had inconvenienced Janine by her very existence and general proximity to loud noises and fire once before isn't all that terribly scruffy by appearance's sake, so much as weird and seemingly not aware of the fact that wrecked shackles don't count as cuffs, regardless of how silver anf ancy they are, but one would be splitting hairs.     The two had run into each other with the latter lifting wine from a tasting, which she has since pawned off to nomads for coins to buy dubious odds and ends. It's more out of a vague feeling of guilt for scaring Janine away (by blowing up the building, which she doesn't feel bad about) than anything else that is Orta's reason for responding to the call.     A chase isn't super difficult to follow for her typical method of transport; the one that allows chases to happen and not just be 'running away'. For being at an altitude high enough to mistake for a bird (not for very long, albeit) from the ground, Orta seems to be fine with leaning over the Dragon's neck to assess the ground with vision alone. Logically, the fleeing person should be as much an ant to her as she and the Dragon are a gull to them, but the winged part of the duo has better senses for things that should go on a radar, as well as things that should go on a threat detector.     From her saddle up high, Orta slips free another one of those odd little chitinous computer chip things, snaps off the little tab that leads to the tiny white phosphorous sparkle, and the drops it like a malignant child drops a penny from the top of the eiffel tower, aiming to have it fall onto a rooftop just as it goes off so that all the flash and the bang and the extrasensory scrambling happens to the pursuit target, and coincidentally not the people on the street, who are shielded by not being on the roof and the basics of how line of sight works. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Do not shoot!" Janine orders. "Too much noise, I expect some stuffy prick has already called the police about us. Don't make it a serious thing!" The arrival of very obviously out-of-this-world people like Will and Iron Man has her fuming, but she has no one but herself to blame. "Try not to draw attention!" she yells as she leaps over a gap in her pursuit. At that instant, Orta's strange sensory-srambling grenade comes down and goes off, catching her in the umbra of the blast. She makes the jump, but slumps, as does the fleeing girl.     This poor gangster's life has in just a few short minutes become the point of focus for the Multiverse. Sanary and August are coming at her from the sides, some flying machine man is hovering before her, a motorbike is driving across the roofs towards her, and the crazy cripple is coming up behind her.     But there is a voice in her mind, asking her why she runs. Truthfully? While she has a Persona, she barely used it. She was on guard duty by the gates during the attack, and got put down instantly by some shiny gold guy.     Ever since then, she's barely been able to sleep, wrecked with guilt over what happened. Feelings of worthlessness would come off the girl like a tide for Nova and Kalia. Right now, she just wants to curl up and hide from the world, and the world has come looking. So it has to go away, one way or another.     "... I want them. Please help me," she chokes out, audible to all but addressed at the spirit. 

:'''{{#var:6856|Kalia (6856)}} has posed:'''     That's a lot of pursuit. All the better, really. And lucky for Kalia, they're not the target of all that ire, and what blows rain down are brushed away by virtue of continued floating - and when they're momentarily blinded and deafened by Orta's flashbang, darkness surges around the specter to restore their senses immediatly.     Then rise over your worthlessness and make it all go away.     The girl's emotions become power. With the contract in place, a dark (personality-colored) aura surges around her, granting a variety of boosts atop the ones they no doubt already have. Maybe even enough to rise up to the challenge! Or at least make quite a dent.     But maybe not. It's a lot of challenge.     Kalia backs away, still floating, now content to just watch unless engaged. At least for now! 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Doubts become strength. Fears become power. Insecurity becomes empowerment. The girl has all of these in spades, as a mingling aura of blue and magenta arise from her, the latter swiftly overpowering the former as her Persona arises from her form in spite of a lack of her own reflections. It's feminine in shape, dressed as a shepherd and bearing the large crook that implies.     But rapidly, its form begins to distend in awful ways. Wool sprouts from its form in a way evocative of stuffing poking out of tears in a plush toy. Its hands become cloven as the crook melds with them, becoming a shaft of curved bone and vertebrae. Its blank heads takes the form of a frenzied goat with wild, sharp, curling horns spilling from its skull. It stomps upon the roof with warped feet before braying an awful cry.     The bony crook is waved, and the heavens reply. Bolts of lightning rain from above, each one aimed precisely at the many pursuers, even those high above! 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' Flying stuffy prick in a suit, Tony Stark immediately gets told that this is NOT, in fact, a magical world of fairies and bullshit and/or Just New York, where people would continue walking by the apocalypse if they could to get to their meetings or across the city. "Right. Ha ha. Hey, everyone!" Tony waves at the confused crowd as things go a bit sideways. "We're... shooting a movie! You're all a part of Paramount Magic." Internally, Stark sighs. "Friday, get me a line on that footloose and funky fresh magic criminal." "Rooftop, seven o' clock." "Got it." Getting only SLIGHTLY disoriented by that magic flashbang Orta drops like some sort of Tactically Shit Child. Shielding optics with a metal hand, Iron Man raises to roof level to pursue just as SOMEONE IS MAD IN PARI^H^H^H^H LEGALLY DISTINCT GERMANY. "Exoenergy reaction just went crazy, boss!" Friday announces, just as frikkin' lightning bolts start blasting out from the heavens. "That damn dragon girl is here, too. Divert auxiliary power to---" A bolt cracks through the air, sizzling into the FLYING METAL OBJECT before finishing its travel to the ground, stalling the Iron Man armor out as the internal HUD reboots - and Stark catches his breath with another, deeper groan. "--repulsor shielding. Still sore from London." Raising back up to roof level, Stark fires a series of magnetic clamps, targeting the strange demon-sheep's legs to drop the Baa Baa Black Sheep and let the dogpile commence. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      No shooting. Low attention. Simple enough, right? Sanary's flying, but her anklets don't give off any sort of visible radiation or effects that would make it look... Fancy and movie-like.      Thus, she has to create a few effects of her own to do just that. Taking a cue from William, the healer looks over towards a random rooftop and waves while channeling some healing magic under her feet, leaving a green light cloud that makes it look like there's something SHINY and LIGHTFOGGY there. "Hey! This thing's safe, right?!" She calls out, momentarily distracted from whatever's going on wit the runner and Kalia. After waving again at the totally-there-crew, she turns back around and notices that there's suddenly an aura around the running girl.      "... Ah, crap. Uh. Places, people!" That's about all Sanary can call out before she starts turning to fly towards the shepherd gone wrong, drawing her axe just in time to get hit by lightning herself. She tumbles out of the sky and lands with a loud crash, bouncing and rolling along the surface of the roof before settling into an upright position.      Convenient placement, but that hurt quite a lot. At least she doesn't have to worry so much about being seen now that she's on the roof instead of flying alongside it. "Oh... You ass. Alright, you want do this hard way, let's do it hard!" She stomps once and points her axe towards the Wilderkinder, striking a sort-of-pose while charging in with her axe poised to strike at the Persona(?)'s legs.      Someone /did/ mention taking off a leg to begin with. 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Grabbing her rifle, Nova chambers a round. Shooting the fleeing whateverkinder in the leg to slow her down sounded like a good plan. Nova lowers down into a crouch as she raises her rifle to look through the scope. However, as she's sighting in on the runner, she catches sight of something flying near her. Nova tweaks her aim to focus in on that spectre... What the hell is that?     Something's not right about this...     Forgoing shooting for the moment, Nova straightens again and then jumps, easily clearing the gap between buildings. She begins to run towards the target and her new friend. If Nova can close the distance, she'll have an easier time picking up on their thoughts and maybe learn something about what's happening.     As Nova runs and jumps across the rooftops, she starts to get a sense of the girl's mental state. Judging by what little Nova's heard of the context of this mission, it's not too surprising. Nor is it really Nova's concern...     Nova's fast pace slows as she feels the target's emotions change rapidly. It's one of the most bizzare things Nova has ever felt from someone before. Such a rapid and extreme change in her mood. Nova finally stops as her visor shows the manifestation and subsequent mutation of that Persona. Yeah, this just got a little more problematic. Nova really should have shot her in the leg.     Nova is saved from being hit by lightning by the fact that their target probably doesn't even know she's there. That's not going to last much longer though as Nova kneels down, once more raising her rifle, "Shit shit shit, this is going bad fast." Nova quickly puts the Goatsona's head in her sights, before firing off the well aimed shot, her cloak shimmering in the process. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Oh good, the living bullet-man took his advice! Perfect, now to seal the coverstory proper-like. "Yeehaw!" Will yeehaws as he crests another jump, rootin'-tootin'-shootin' harmless pyrotechnics into the air with his amazing scifi handgun. It's hard to say why, but the glow emanating from the weapon seems somehow displeased with being used as anything but a kill-shooter. "That's right y'all! We're gonna need a bunch'a extras to act the part of a fleein' crowd, iff'n y'all'd be so kind as to oblige! Ahahahaha!" This... Is probably a good idea. Considering the fact that Little Bo Peep seems to have found her sheep ON THE INSIDE. THE BLACK GOAT EMERGES. IA IA SHUB-NIGGURATH GLASYA-LABOLAS. Will doesn't quite have time to curse before a bolt of lightning streaks out of the clouds and aims for the two most obviously metallic targets they can find. The scifi cowboy tries as best as he's able to make sure his feet don't complete a circuit with the ground. Electricity arcs through empty air between the base of his motorbike and the concrete building below, taking the most convenient path to ground that doesn't involve going anywhere near those huge rubber wheels. Will's teeth chatter and spark as the bolt surges through him, and finally... He... Seems to still be conscious? Smoldering, sparking, but conscious. "I-I think w-we can p-probably shoot now, right?" Will asks, his weapon's energies turning blue-white as he takes aim at the evil sheep and its quite obviously evil-swathed mistress. "I'm bettin' lightnin' ain't gonna do much so..." Why not try NUCLEAR ELEMENTAL shots right to the Persona!? 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     Oh hey, it actually worked. Not just the penny off the Eiffel Tower gambit, but it actually succeeded in stopping the runner in her tracks and letting Janine and her even-weirder-this-time friends catch up. That means Orta can turn around and leave, feeling better about being mean to Janine (and precisely no one else) and go about her day again with nobody-     She'd only just turned her head from the 'crash site', starting to put her gun away at her back, when some kind of horrible beastman resembling nothing she's ever seen before folds out of the aether and calls lightning down on her for the trouble. Whether or not it was wise of it to do so depends on whether or not it was wise for Orta to interfere in the first place. Lightning bolts typically aren't things you react to; all she gets is the faint whiff of ozone and the desire to look up more out of curiosity. The Dragon is significantly better equipped, and significantly warier about a situation wrapping up this quickly. When the pillar of electricity comes crashing down, the ancient bioweapon is prepared to bank its rider out of the way, taking the bolt to the sternum at the last second.     The explosion of the lightning hitting the Dragon is somehow loud and distinct next to the thunder itself, distinctly bass and solid. White sparks and blue wisps are thrown up from the impact, as the beast smokes, catches fire, briefly spirals out of the air, and then arrests its fall with a massive thump of its purple and gold ripple-patterned wings, extinguishing the flames on its body at the same time. Having lost enough altitude to be visible from the ground, it rears up into a semi-vertical position, with Orta essentially astride its shoulders, pushing her hair back out of the way and drawing her gun with a dark, angry expression.     She hadn't heard anything about pretending this is a movie, or keeping bystanders out of the way. The air pops and fizzes into a multitude of circular blots of incandescent plasma light, creating a rotating orbit of multicoloured orbs around the pair, linked by shifting rings of energy. While they remain circle around the Dragon and its rider, a swarm of pale, translucent green blades form outside of those, remaining briefly fixed in midair, before suddenly orienting on the hideous sheep-apparition, and firing off in sequence, painting dizzying green trails of corkscrewing afterimages through the rising fire smoke. They seem to blink in and out of view, as if viewed at too few frames-per-second to keep track of, but hunt down the Persona like living things, taking turns diving and slashing into it like blood-frenzied sharks. BASE WING 3: BERSERK EXECUTE: VENGEANCE ORBS. BERSERK EXECUTE: PHANTOM SLASHERS 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August closes up, but there's a problem. The Wildekinder girl makes a pact with a ghost, and summons her Persona. August swallows his wish not to summon his own, as he raises a mirrored braceelet to eye-level. "Light em' up! Tin Soldier!" In a flash of blue energy, a robot soldier with a rifle-leg is summoned, and the plan is formed over radio. Smoke and fire. As lightning burns the Persona's hull, August clutches his chest in pain, but prepares to fight. He hangs back from the flashbang, pulling his head away, and prepares to strike. Sweeping the gun-leg forward, the Persona moves to make a big streak of fire blast forward across the building, setting a controlled fire that won't consume everything in its path but will create smoke, as well as hopefully hit the sheep Persona in the process with the flames. As August focuses on this, though, he does shout out. "Hey, red spirit! What the hell are you doing?!" As the Dragon appears, August's eyes widen. People might definitely think that's real, but...it's sure as hell Awesome. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The battle is joined.     Tony immediately deploys clamps on the goat monster's legs, trying to bind them together. They fall foward, but their whole form immediately begins crackling with electricity to try and short them out. As Sanary rushes over to start chopping at those legs, they pull them closer, aiming to block the strikes with the clamps. This is no dumb brute, there's some intelligence behind those freaky red sheep eyes.     August sets upon it with fire, causing it to break out into horrified bleats as its fur catches. It seems that fire is its weakness as it rolls about, before taking a bullet to the head courtesy of Nova, followed by a piercing beam to the body from Will. And then lastly, incandescent blades seek to carve it to bits, over and over again. Surely that should do it?     Unfortunately, there is no power greater than a teenager's self-loathing.     The sheepsona rises, its many many wounds filling in with more and more wool as it swings about its crook. The segmented bone extends on nervous fibres as it lashes about, covering a wide area before suddenly collapsing seeking to wrap up everyone, Kalia included, and pull them close to it.     Should it succeed even once, it lets out a long bleat, one that steadily rises in pitch and fury as the heavens open. A single, somehow 'fat' bolt of lightning streaks down, aiming right at the monster borne of angst, and all those who have been dragged close. 

:'''{{#var:6856|Kalia (6856)}} has posed:'''     "We're not doing anything anymore," Kalia responds to August, presuming the shouting was directed at them. Maybe not! Either way, that's their statement made. The spirit backs away - having no interest in being caught either in the sudden onslaught of lighting bolts, or the ensuring disasters (case in point: Orta and William) that proceed to rain on the rooftops with evidently no regard for collateral damage.     Though something does pique their interest.     Kalia's form disappears, rematerializing behind August with few indications besides the then-obvious source of their voice.     "But why do you care? You were going to fight her anyway. This way you can go as hard as you want and your odds of accidently killing her are way lower. We think that's a pretty good deal, right? You can cut loose and give in too if you want. Don't let us distract you."     There's no string-pulling here, just words.     Kalia's already feasted. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August knows fully well that there's no power greater than a teenager's self-loathing, so he's not so surprised when the Sheepsona keeps moving. As the segmented bone fibres extend and grab him, he ducks out of the way, but they latch onto the Tin Soldier, pulling it forward and striking it with lightning. The lightning surges through the metal, causing both the Persona and August great pain as he drops to his knees, before August thinks through a plan of action. Slowly shaking, slowly trying to climb back up, he takes a breath, and then the Persona rises again... And moves to dash past the sheep and for the girl herself, moving to throw a punch at her. It's purposely held back to not knock her out into a concussion or kill her, and August wouldn't be upset if her Persona protected her. The plan is to make an opening long enough for everyone to get shots in. And then Kalia speaks up. August is like a dormant volcano when it comes to negative emotions - they're welled up and there, and he's a very emotional person, but they're not currently active. "Sorry. I don't cut loose when it comes to what I consider my job, whoever you are. If you caused this, though...stay the hell out of this!" Frustration mounts. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      As Sanary's axe clashes with a clamp, she winces at the crackling electricity flashing in front of her and draws her axe back in front of her to shield her eye. "Son of a... Okay. Plan B!"     She has no idea what plan B is. Flames seem to work well enough, though, and watching it get torn asunder between getting shot multiple times and chopped apart by flying blades make her feel only slightly bad about not being able to take in their target alive.      Except their target is still very alive. "Heads up, people! Job's not done yet!" Bringing her axe up again as the crook comes sweeping in, the healer grimaces lightly even after blocking it with her weapon. That wouldn't be a problem in itself, but she's not quite so prepared for getting pulled in. She resists the pull of the crook, digging her feet and relying on brute force to keep herself steady. "That all you got? Come on, I've fought tougher things than you in my sleep!"      Her taunt is quickly repaid with another lightning bolt to the face. Quite literally, even, drawing a sudden sceam of pain from the healer as her head sizzles and her body tenses up. She topples over for a moment before catching herself at the last moment, slamming a fist against the ground to steady herself and try looking cool despite nearly faceplanting seconds earlier.      First things first: Fixing herself and her allies up rather than getting drawn into trading hits with this sheep thing until one side falls. Using her axe as a brace against the ground, Sanary pushes out a (relatively) massive wave of healing magic, spreading it around to try and catch as many of her allies in it at once. It'll mend wounds and speed up natural healing to freakish levels for anyone that is caught in it, but it won't fix any psychological damage! 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Nova watches as their damage piles upon the warped goat creature and yet it all seems for naught as the wool fixes it all. Nova is only passingly aware of what a Persona is but that just seems like cheating.     While trying to determine what to try next, Nova is caught off guard by the fibres that have spread out. The invisible Ghost is caught by them and dragged across rooftops, smashing into a few along the way, until finally coming to rest on the same one as the Goatsona. She doesn't have an opportunity to get free before she is engulfed in the large blast of lightning. Nova cries out in pain, appearing amidst the electrifying energy as her cloak fails due to the excessive charge.     After the blast passes, Nova slowly climbs to her feet again, still smoking a little bit. On the one hand, that really hurt! On the other... She's now a lot closer.     Seeing August have much the same idea as Nova, the Ghost moves to follow him. She tries to take advantage of August's opening, whether it be him distracting the Persona, or actually getting a hit in on its owner. Nova slips around him and tries to place a gloved hand against the side of the girl's head and delve into her mind to try and find the source of her anguish. 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     Truly sheep must be a special kind of horror if they can regenerate from these horrible wounds by overflowing with wool. Orta has seen plenty of murderous beasts recover from obscene injury in the blink of an eye before, but none quite so grotesque --so uneasily offputting-- as this one. It might be the lack of blood more than the splaying of nerves and bone that agitates her instincts; the piece of the picture that, even in the absence of any other context as to what is wrong with it, feels alarmingly amiss on a very deep level.     When the horrid tendrils come lashing and grasping, Orta levels her strange, black and white chitinous firearm and begins unleashing a grossly disproportionate hail of withering interception fire. Blasts of green light each bigger than a head go flying at dizzying speeds, strobing back and forth across the tangled maze of bone and nervous tissue, obliterating not only organic tissue, but building and street around it, leaving continuous lines of smoking craters as deep as bowling balls stitched this way and that from sustained automatic fire, oddly no more audible than jets of burning gas, as only a small mercy.     Her unease about the Persona is why she'd communicated for the Dragon to set up its Vengeance Orbs, and that paranoia pays off as much as vigilance. When the gigavolt bolt comes down for a second, much nastier try, the dragon lets loose a cry that is part furious giant reptile and part cascading speaker failure, and the lightning smashes down on the matrix of orbiting spheres instead, instantly turning harsh white and fixing in place. Only once the bolt finishes forking, the charged and ready orbs launch away, directly towards the source of the attack, tracing back to the sheepsona and blasting it with two dozen impacts of disgustingly overcharged plasma that move so fast as to look line laser lines, easily piercing through the unfortunate terrain of a 21st century urban area and atomizing chunks of building supports, water pipes, gas mains, and knocking down telephone poles and power lines.     This unfortunately includes the Persona's owner, and probably Will jumping in. It's completely indiscriminate overkill, steadily launched from the Dragon in a hovering position as Orta urges it to circle ground zero for multiple angles, hosing it like a gunship, and thus probably hitting all sides of the street and 'things necessary for the building to keep standing' as well. It's a monster. You shoot the monster until it disintegrates. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Well, look. You don't just cart around a ridiculous scifi supergun without causing a /bit/ of collateral damage. And Will's plasma blast is still a little less of a concern, as far as collateral damage goes, compared to setting the whole place on fire. But that's one thing. This is another. This... Is about confronting a teenager's self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies head on...! "Tarnation--" Will hisses as that deadly bone-crook sweeps out with its strange woolen sinew. Worse, his eyes dart up just in time to see something-- some/one/ he recognizes all too well. "Shhhhhhiiit, that's that crazy dragon-lady. Shit, shit. Uh--" The way things are, there's no way for him to dodge it properly. No way... And so... "Okay," Will says. He... doesn't bother. "I... have a plan," Will grins, and quite possibly triggers August's PTSD. He sees the crook coming and revs his motorcycle /into/ it. With a roar, he aims /back/ and fires, unleashing a blast of plasma that acts as a veritable secondary vectoring thruster. The Mistral skids and shrieks as he nearly loses control, when a couple of grapnels shoot out from its front end just as an enormous set of boosters unfold near the wheels. The grapnels streak around and dig into the ground just beyond the runaway persona as Will ignites his motorcycle's rocket boosters... ...And turns his motorcycle into an apparent crash-course with the monstrous Bo Peep. Is this a suicide maneuver? Is Will about to sacrifice himself to take down a single Persona...! Nope. As the Mistral is launched like the world's most over-convoluted missile, Will fires his /own/ grapnel amidst the storm of dragon-born disintegration beams. He whoops and yells as he launches himself... straight for the Persona user. It might be crazy. It might be /stupid./ But Janine's right, they need this girl and they need her alive. His grappling hook whirrs back just in time for him to throw his arms around her waist to try and tackle her to safety. But... As-is, Will's momentum is probably enough to hurt them /both/ pretty bad. If only he coul arrest his momentum somehow, if only he could take the brunt of that impact...! "Don't worry, darlin'!" Will yells, mostly to dispel his own fears but also because /that's what cool guys do/ when they rescue damsels in distress,* "Just hold on tight! Here we gooooo!" Will... Aims at the rooftops beyond his target... And fires /just so/ in such a way that the recoil imparts enough angular momentum to ensure /he's/ on the bottom end of this likely extraordinarily painful maneuver when they inevitably hit the ground. ...At least it's a better fate than being disintegrated or smashed by falling building debris. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' Wounds that fill with wool, a segmented body that snakes out to lash around, grabbing up even agile powered armors and starts drawing them in. Struggling for a few moments, Iron Man is trapped in the constriction and the drawing in to the Danger Zone, before finally bursting free with a servomotor whine as the enhanced strength of the Iron Man suit finally found purchase, and the roar of breakaway thrust beat TEEN ANGST enhanced powers. And sent Iron Man into a nearby window. "Friday?" "Already buying it." "Great." Tony wheezes. "Time to go see if we can cut this off at the source." Pushing through the broken glass and masonry, Iron Man moves back into the air, pointing a palm at... Kalia? "OK, creepy ghost lady. That's a real interesting power you've got, Enhancing people on the spot. Turn it off." The whine of the repulsor in the palm spinning up adds a threat to his words. "Not gonna ask twice." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The corrupted Persona's regenrative power is a clear problem, and so the obvious solution becomes clear; deal with the user instead. Even if it means that the Persona has to focus on defence, that's a bonus. But there's a problem with that; as it stands, this sheep thing is fuelled by teenaged frustrations, and when has a teenager ever had 'self-preservation' as a priority?     Hence, August's fist connects with the girl's face, and her Persona doesn't even bat an eye. Instead, its crook begins to arc with electricity as it swings it, aiming to disable its attackers further with stunning strikes! Nova also gets close and delves into the teenager's mind, trying to untagle the twisted feelings fuelled by Kalia's power. The inside of her mind is like a dense, constant scream, and once the soldier probes at it, the Persona turns to look at her and jabs with the crook! The girl may not have self-preservation in mind, but the creature her mind has birthed certainly does, it seems.     But now Orta is responding, with her usual level of disregard for anything. The Persona is hosed, and the user is dangerously close to the blast, before Will comes barrelling it to tackle her, leaving his bike to slam into the Persona and knock it off-balance. Will, the girl, and possibly Nova go flying off the roof and crash to the ground below.     Things are confusing down there for a moment, as hands come down, seemingly to help. But they ignore anyone except the girl, grabbing her up and restraining her as a knife comes up to her throat. It's a group of Drachenblatt students, all with eerily blank looks on their face in spite of the situation.     "Bring Adelle Kaufmann here," the ringleader says, a boy who looks built to demolish any sport he decides to play. He presses the blade of the knife against the girl's throat, causing the goatsona above to freeze up. "If you do, we'll trade." 

:'''{{#var:6856|Kalia (6856)}} has posed:'''     "We won't interfere," Kalia confirms for August, raising their one visible arm to wave dismissively at the angry teenager. "But we'll defend ourselves if we have to."     And case in point, Kalia does nothing to interfere with August's attacks - or even Nova's, whose psychic probing prompts a curious brow perk from the spirit. That's interesting. Really interesting! Kalia's never encountered another psychic before. They're curious to see what happens. At least until Tony levels that glowing hand cannon at the spirit.     "We didn't do anything. She chose. She wanted this. But it doesn't look like it matters now," Kalia says, with an idle glance towards the situation. Kalia likes the spunk of those 'changelings' at any rate. They can relate. When their head turns back towards Tony, ther eyes look through the visor of his armor, piercing metal to look at his'.     "But you know what that's like, right? Failing. Wanting to be stronger. Better prepared. To fix things. Are you going to admonish her for wanting this? If we'd offered you power when you needed it, would you have been able to say no?"     A pause, and then: "Be honest." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August doesn't make it in time to reach Will. The massive laser blast catches him off-guard, and he continues moving to avoid the fallout of the destruction. "Shit!" August moves forward to approach, dropping to street level, and he sees them. The changelings. As they make their declaration, August considers his course of action. They look so human. They act pretty human. But they're not human. They're not people. He knows this. He hates what they are. But they'll bleed like anyone else. Die like anyone else. So he hesitates. Is this what he wants to do? Is this what he wants to be? He's already come pretty far. He's already killed in cold blood before. He's a quick draw. The pistol is brought out of his jacket and pointed at the ringleader's head, a quick pull of a trigger. It's a pinpoint shot from someone who trains frequently, though he's no master. August's voice is cold. His eyes are full of fiery conviction, even if his shot is slightly hesitant in timing because of his fear. "I'm sorry. But I don't negotiate with monsters." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      With that initial issue dealt with, a new issue arises when several people go sailing right off the roof and onto the street below. Sanary's eye flickers as she struggles to even watch what's going on, hitting the side of her head a few times as if that would actually fix whatever's going on with her eye. Scrambling to the edge of the rooftop, the healer peers down at the goings on below while letting Stark and Kalia do their thing over there.      Part of her is curious enough to go see just what it is they're doing, but she can ask later. Probably. If only she knew.      Alas, she doesn't know, so her attention is on another priority entirely. Following August's lead, Sanary readies herself for an impact as she flings herself over the rooftop. As she comes down, she aims herself boots-first at one of the students while swinging her axe down at another.      Moments later, she speaks up in the hammiest tone with the most stilted delivery possible as she tries to keep up the movie facade. "Looks like you've had an unfortunate AXE.. Iddent." 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Nova is a bit distracted trying to break through the sheer mess that is the girl's mind and get through to her. So unfortunately she notices neither the jab from the Goatsona, nor the curious attention from the other type of ghost here, nor the charging Will, nor the barrage from the dragon. The result is that Nova is sent flying, disappearing amidst the collapsing structure of the building.     As the dust begins to clear from the collapse, a large piece of debris starts moving. It rises into the air before collapsing over, revealing a rather battered Ghost beneath, looking rather indignant. However, she freezes at the sight before her of their target held at knifepoint to some punk. Unfamiliar with this world, Nova doesn't realise their true identity. Not until the others inform her.     Nova frowns in further annoyance as their target is kept from them. Even if they weren't monsters in human guise, by this point Nova wouldn't have a problem with inflicting pain on them. So when August enacts his plan-though that description is just a bit generous-Nova reacts quickly. She doesn't draw like he suggested though, because even as fast as she is with her rifle, her mind is faster. A blast of telekinetic energy rushes from Nova to smash into the other changelings to hopefully send them flying, smashing into the ground, nearby building walls, or simply breaking something from the sheer force of the impact. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Well. You know, all things considered, a situation that could have ended up with several disintegrated limbs resulted only in collapsing in a heap with only a handful of potentially fractured bones! It's trading-up in the world! And then a set of... Not /familiar/ individuals, but things that Will quite clearly recognizes seem to emerge out of nowhere and go for the hostage play. But before Will can even respond, August... August busts a cap in the guy's head. But it /is/ like he said. These are changelings. Not truly /alive/ in the strict sense. And yet, they look like people, talk like people. Will hesistates and, by the time he lifts his own weapon, Judgment's light has turned to something like rippling violet waves. He's not sure if the persona-girl is resistant to electricity, but it's a decent bet. And these other things... Well. Will has... always been a softy. He pulls the trigger, and discharges a cone of convulsive electrical energies into the crowd of changelings. If he's right, then it'll at least keep them all from swarming in at once, and the girl won't be nearly so badly affected. Unless, you know, she's like August Kohler and weak to her own primary element. That'd be kind of funny in the not-so-ha-ha kind of way. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' "You didn't do anything? Bullshit you didn't." Tony snarls, the nigh-impassive mask of the Iron Man armor's faceplate hiding the lip-curled disgust in his face but not his tone. Well, perhaps Kalia sees. "You turned that person into... whatever that is. Was. And now someone's got a knife to their throat, and a whole bunch of people were put in danger... For what? Your sick jollies?" Hovering there, clad in an armor of the most cutting edge technology a world had never seen (largely because he jealously horded all but one example of it), Tony Stark - Iron Man - continued to level his palm weapon at Kalia as she interrogated him. "It doesn't matter if they want it. There's a difference bet-." The words catch in his throat, and his eye begins to twitch due to an involuntary itch, and Stark has to breathe for a moment. "--Between tricking someone into a deal and informed consent! I'm not admonishing her, though. That poor girl deserves a hero. Probably deserves Steven Rogers." Iron Man slides through the air to land across from Kalia, bringing up a second hand (which had been steadying the hover). "Instead, she got Tony Stark. Instead, you got Iron Man. I don't hold her responsible for reaching out when desperate. I've been there. In the cave. Waking up with a car battery hooked up to my chest - I've been there. But would I have been able to say no?" The two hands of the suits close, the palms dimming as he does, the held charge returning to the suit systems. "Yes. She's not Tony Stark. And I didn't have to ask for a good man to pull me out of a ditch like he did." The 'knuckle plate' at the back of both hands of the suit pop up, revealing an array of emitters, which immediately begin pulsing out a screeching harmonic cone of suffering mixed with suppressing waves of force. "And I gave you a warning." 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     "Is that . . ." Orta murmurs to herself, getting her feet up on the Dragon's shoulders so she can lean over its head and watch as Will does a flying motorbike tackle and clears the Persona user out of the way at the last instant. Something about him looks familiar to her.     "No. He had normal arms." The Dragon warbles near-electronically in assent.     The fact that the monster and teen don't seem to act together, or with any unified ideas of keeping themselves or each other safe, doesn't do anything for Orta's understanding of the situation. To her, they're both separate entities completely, and the random girl who just happens to be near it is in the way; now out of the way, as the hero types do what heroes do and evacuate the innocent. Great. That means escalating more. A Holy Sphere might do. Sliding back down, knees to the side of its neck and hand against the side of its jaw, Orta urges the Dragon back down, swooping lower over the street so she can properly pick out faces and targets.     Now the girl is being accosted? Kidnapped maybe? The brief idea that they might be assassins vanishes as Orta realizes the mystery youths haven't actually cut her throat while they have the chance. Does a world this rich and with this much plenty have bandits? If the others are trying to get hold of this one girl, and there are menacing people with knives who aren't them, however, the situation seems pretty cut and dry.     The Dragon's gaze flicks left and right across the ring of changelings, and red confirmation markers appear in Orta's eyes for the targets locked, receiving a mental confirmation. Blue-white light builds up between the Dragon's jaws, becoming larger and brighter with a rapid series of iterative pulses. Biting down, the Dragon splits it into a spray of searing laser beams, scattering light in a wide cone of fractured rays around it --which then curve gracefully through the air and warp inward to the changeling crowd, spiralling through the air with perfectly calculated trajectories that are almost artistic to watch. Exactly one (homing) laser(?) goes for each changeling student, effectively a precisely guided missile aimed to blow top halves off of bottom halves or makes heads disappear in salvo of raining light.     That's good! That's actually helpful! Orta doesn't *know those aren't actually human kids*, but it's helping!     Then there's all that screeching racket from a sonic attack elsewhere drawing her attention. Orta clamps her hands over her ears as best she can while still clutching her gun in a death grip, turning her head back and forth to look for the source of the sound. Spying Tony, the mental math goes like this: grunge ghost lady had been with girl held at knifepoint, there are a bunch of people trying to save the girl, there are multiple completely different enemies, Tony is attacking a clear accomplice of the girl who is apparently supposed to be save, and Tony is already known as a tricksy liar who ambushed her with a piece of furniture last time she stopped to listen to him (let's ignore the fact it wasn't him who threw it), thus Tony is another enemy.     Orta has no idea what he's even saying, but yells "Don't listen to him!" in a panic anyways, a little too late to prevent Kalia from having an attack sprung on her. She twists back in her saddle position and fires a burst of bowling ball plasma bullets at Tony's back, doing her best to save more people she doesn't know from more weird enemies. 

:'''{{#var:6856|Kalia (6856)}} has posed:'''     "Our purpose is ours alone," Kalia responds to the accusations, suddenly semi-distracted by August. The spirit, in fact, seems to have entirely lost interest in Tony in favor of the teen, at least right up until Iron Man works his emotions up and stands for something. It's unfortunate this is followed immediatly by CANNONS, specifically of the awful and disabling kind. Kalia's form materializes fully, the spectral qualities disappearing as the demon's boots hit the roof. Their one arm is used as a shield, a circle of darkness forming to protect Kalia, luckily long enough for Orta to step in.     That was unexpected. But not unwelcome.     Kalia immediatly seizes the opportunity. They're not sticking around to be wrecked by Tony! Their form blurs, and reappears several rooftops away, ragged clothes a bit more ragged than before and scarf slightly dislodged, just enough to reveal there's... nothing under it? No jaw. Kalia hurriedly adjusts the scarf back up.     "You're not being honest," she counters Tony. "But that's fine. We understand it's hard to be sometimes. You have an image to keep up. A shield to put up around the whole world. If you ever want more drive, we'll be there for you. We promise. We won't even hold the attack against you. Everyone deserves our help when they most need it. So when you do, we'll come running to help you."     Kalia vanishes again. This time she doesn't return, but leaves a lingering voice in August's head.     That's right. Monsters don't deserve pity.     There might be an ounce of pulling on strings there, but... August already took that shot. There wasn't much else to do. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     BANG!     That gunshot seals something that is yet unseen, but its immediate effects are apparent. The large jock slumps, that knife dragging across the girl's throat, but not going deep enough to nick an artery. His body dissolves into nothing, and the rest begin to act, several reaching out to snatch the girl themselves.     But Sanary comes crashing down, breaking them up, and Nova shoves them all back, giving the girl clearance to run free to hide behind August. She dives through the wave of electricity (it not harming her in the slightest, thankfully) as the crowd of Changlings convulses, keeping them still long enough for Orta to rain down devastation from above, disintegrating each and every one. While that is many 'children' now gone, the girl and Adelle is safe, as is their foster families from whatever darkness they would have unleashed.     The girl looks to everyone with a kind of panicked relief. "You saved me..." she breathes, pressing her palm against her cut throat. Up on the roof, the dark Persona begins to squirm before fading away, the girl's panicked outrage giving way to relief. However, that does admittedly leave Kalia, but she makes herself scarce, much to Janine's annoyance. "Who the hell was that?" she grumbles before leaping down and making the Wilderkinder tense.     "We just wanna talk," Janine says. "Not gonna turn you in. We just want Sascha." The girl looks worried for a long moment, before giving an address. A small house in the abandoned warehouse district. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      "That's what I wanna know." Sanary replies to Janine with something resembling actual seriousness for once, standing tall for a moment as she looks up and over towards where Tony and Kalia had been. She stares that way for a few moments before dipping down to a knee and holding a hand out towards their target.      Healing magic time. She keeps the intensity lower this time around, focusing a little more on relieving pain with that nick to the neck being what it is. No sense letting this kid stay injured after all that's happened, after all!     And then she'll work on tending to the rest of her allies. She'll leave the movie facade to someone else for the rest. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' Tony begins this awful ten-second span hearing a really strange set of words. 'Don't listen to him!' Well, that doesn't make any sense, Kalia asked Tony a question, and he answered it. Why would anyone shout 'don't listen to him!' at Tony Stark? Certainly, this is August Kohler's problem. He's a 'him' that people shouldn't listen to, certainly. Yes. "Exoenergy spike, tracking--Multiple wounded. Local authorities and rescue is on its way." Friday buzzes in Tony's ears, but he's bearing down on Kalia. The dark spectre that had directly pressed on his rawest nerve, Iron Man wasn't letting this one go. He takes a step, and then another, disruptor emitters distortedly howling to suppress the ghost, the tinnitus in his ears from his tightly-clenched teeth blurring into his suit's proximitor sensor from the oncoming attack. Orta smashes the ball of plasma into Iron Man's back, and a ripple of blue energy shatters outward from the suit's back where it connects, a portion of the heat-energy wicking away as the sneak attack doesn't connect and surge against and across the invisible shield, but instead violently shatters the screen, impacting with a meaty metal 'kthunk!' and a slagging, sizzling heat-crackle. Iron Man goes flying, unconrtolledly, into the building he had just blown a new window into (and then bought), smashing through the roof and support structure of the building, debris crashing into him with a further issuance of clangs, thwongs, and chungs from Tony bashing against walls, beams, and floors of 'his' new building. He doesn't move for almost a minute, blacked out from getting thrown about, shock, and probably a bruised head. In his mind, Kalia's 'offer' plays, as Stark 'hears' her from his dark subconscious. It's not a pleasant feeling, or a pleasant offer, like a gentle caress across an open, raw wound. Tender, and still agonizing all the same. Delirious and head swimming, Tony wheezes a cough and a struggling sucking for breath from these new injuries bearing down on his sore chest and ribs. "..D-damage report?" "Reactor power twelve percent, flight system compromised. Also, I'm detecting multiple contusions." "Yeap." Tony wince-affirms. "I detect those too. Any... brainwave patterns? Exoenergetic reactions? Did the regular ghost get in my head?" "Beyond the concussion, there's no change to your brain activity." Sitting up as his HUD crackles back to life, Tony heaves out another pained groan. "What the hell hit me?" "The dragon-lunatic." "Really?! What the hell?" 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Nova hmphs with some satisfaction as the changelings are vaporized by the barrage of lasers. Finally things settle down with the Goatsona fading away and the target choosing to not run anymore. Nova begins brushing dust from the building collapse off her suit as she replies to the girl's comment, "Of course we did. Wasn't about to let someone else take you out before we had a chance to talk."     The information is retrieved and Nova considers that mission success. No doubt the locals will soon swarm the area trying to ascertain what happened. At that thought, Nova glances around at the destruction surrounding the group...     "Well. Good luck with all this."     Nova turns around and starts walking away, raising a hand in a goodbye wave as her cloaks reactivates and hides her from view. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The gun is still smoking in August's hand. August only flinches when the tactical explosives come down and disintegrate every one of their enemies, but he doesn't move. Despite the fact their bodies dissolved helps him know he made the Right Choice(TM), he still just shot someone dead of his own free will. It's going to haunt him a little...but he'll be able to get past it, hopefully. Part of him knows the path he must now take. As they get the information, August steels himself, putting the gun away. "Good. Go home. If your information is wrong..." August doesn't say anything. He doesn't actually plan to do anything to her, he's just adding it for effect to make sure she's honest. And as Nova extracts herself, August nods. "I need to get out of here, I can't get caught near the scene of a gunshot. We'll investigate the place soon." And then August desummons his Persona and moves to extract himself back to his cabin in the woods. Though he does call up to Orta as he does so. "Hey, dragon-girl! Thanks for the...help, even if it was super destructive." And also slightly out of range, "You too, Stark." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' It looks like Will's hunch paid off! The cowboy breathes a relieved sigh as the lst of the replicants are reduced to a squirming mess of shadow-stuff. That's a whole host of them gone, at least. And... "That's what we do, miss," Will says, tipping his hat at the distressed Wilderkinder. "We just want everyone to get out of this situation nice and safe, and--" Uh. That... Iron Man guy just went spiralling into a building. And the one who's responsible for it is... Uh. ...That... Dragon Girl. ... "...Hey, Dragon Girl," Will says up to the Dragon Girl. "You uh. You /are/ that same one what almost exploded me, right?" Will just kind of sighs and shakes his head, but... Now he has to make sure TONY STARK ISN'T ACTUALLY DEAD. And so Will grapnels up to that crater what Tony made in that building he owns. "Heeeeeey, Tooooonyyyy," Will calls, "Are you still aliiiive?" Beat. "Do you need repaaaaairs?" 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     It worked! Orta did the thing and got rid of all the bad guys!     Okay, even she isn't oblivious to the fact that she has no idea what was going on, and basically fired randomly with her tag team power kaiju buddy, but things seem to have worked out. That much is cause for a little sigh of relief, putting the gun away once a gain and slumping in the natural depression in the Dragon's white body armour as it lowers to the ground, crunching into the massive sprawl of heinous collateral damage that is 90% her fault and almost shrugging her off it with a soft hiss.     Coming down the side of its neck, yet refusing to break hand contact, Orta comes up to Janine as far as that allows, and after an awkward pause, slowly blurts out "Sorry. About your wine. I ran before, so, I wanted to help. This time." She swells up with just a little confidence when she turns to look at the Wilderkinder, evidently proud of herself for this mission accomplished, completely negligent of the utilities she's knocked out for blocks and the urban damage she isn't paying for because she's not a billionaire. August actually *thanks* her, and that much gets her to step back and halfway hide behind the Dragon's head, currently in the process of giving him A Look (as far as weird bioweapons can), the top half of her face visible for a short-lived, enthusiastic nod.     "Oh." she suddenly 'says' when prompted by Will. "You remind me of someone, but he had arms." She makes clenching motions with the fingers of one hand for emphasis, which is slightly helpful given the uncertainty of that bizarre creole she speaks. When he goes after Tony, she yells out "Be careful! He almost got her friend!" she points to the VIP, before looking around the street. "I don't know where she went though. If he's still alive, don't listen to him! He tries to distract you before attacking!" Biting her lip, Orta suddenly scrambles back into the saddle. "W-wait! I'll come and finish him off! Just to be sure!"     Yeah kid. You do that. That's totally what'll happen. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' It's okay Orta. Will lives in a backwater pseudo-USA and speaks with the kind of twang that only shows up in the cartooniest of western-themed cartoons. He can understand you juuuuust fine. "THAT WAS ME," Will says from his position at the crater. "I /had/ normal arms! And then I shot too hard and blew them off!" The sad irony: Will didn't even /get/ his arms disintegrated. He did it himself! By accident! WHOOPS! His big ol' metal hand waves and makes a nice friendly O-K sign. "It's okay, it's okay! He's PROBABLY one of the good ones! Nobody who goes along with one of my great plans can be TOTALLY BAD!" 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Janine blinks in shock as she receives an apology. This is not a common thing for her, so she's a little out of her depth. "Uh... hey, that's fine. I managed to snag a good bottle on my way out. We're cool, thanks for the assist." She offers a shaky smile, one that looks like its fallen out of disuse.     "Whoa, no!" she shouts as Orta starts getting back in the saddle to finish Tony off. "No uh, that's cool. We can take it from here." Again, that wobbly, crooked smile. "Don't worry, I never listen to adults. We'll get rid of him. You and your uh, dragon buddy can get out of here." 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     That makes two girls who aren't old enough to be doing this who are awkward and bad at smiling. Clearly this was meant to be. Orta only just has that weird 'gun' out again for the second time today when Janine catches her with a half-explanation that seems to at least do the trick. "Oh. Okay." she says, a little lamely. "If you're sure." She doesn't sound sure. "I don't know why you need her, but if it's about the Queen, I hope you have good luck. You were kind to me before, so I will help more if you need it."     And then on the way out. "That was you? You should be more careful with your arms." A brief, thoughtful pause. "I forget why I shot you last time, so I forgive you." Fwoosh. Away. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' Will goes over the lip of the roof to check on Tony. Iron Man raises an arm, palm dim, to wave, before he goes back to heaving cieling beams and drywall off of his legs. "Yeah... yeah, I'm still alive. And yeah, I need repairs - which you are categorically incapable of rendering to me, so-woah-woah-woah!" He draws up a knee as Orta decides she's gonna finish the job. "Girl just hit me with energetic plasma the size of an engine block and you're just... Hey, kid, we were on the same side!" Janine isn't reassuring either. Muttering to himself, Tony rises up to his feet, taking a strong-looking stance, fists clenched at his side - the classic hero pose - as dust and wall fill drifting off his chalked metal exterior. Muttering to himself internally, Stark muses on his current predicament. "The hell is the Scooby Doo gang gonna do, walk this off? Reroute damaged stabilizer power to manual control, and get something to meet us halfway." "Replacement enroute. Systems rebooting, flight to manual control." Outwardly again, Tony takes a step back, glancing over the rubble at what was out behind him beyond a story of drop and a backyard - not much. "You're just gonna leave?" 
}}

6212/FateParadox: Burning Saber

2018-12-15T09:35:18Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/12/15 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=Saber tries out the device made by the Concord. Ruler takes issue |Cast of Characters=562, 70, 1143, 42, 6..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/12/15
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=Saber tries out the device made by the Concord. Ruler takes issue
|Cast of Characters=562, 70, 1143, 42, 6756
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     'Social media' has become a recurring thing when it comes to the Paradox Grail War's Berserker. A wild woman with the lower half of a snake isn't that uncommon in the Multiverse, but her wild, demanding bearing is certainly attention-grabbing. This time, posts and pictures place her at a drive-in theatre out in the middle of nowhere, whereupon she slithered into the concession stand to help herself to snacks and then removed a couple from their car so she and 'that musical hobo' could sit in it.     The theatre occupies an old lot surrounded by a chain link fence on a lonely road that stretches across a lonely prairie. Small hills dot the surrounding area, and it is upon one of them that Saber and his Master, Cenedril, have set up camp. Thanks to the Concord's efforts, Saber now has a device capable of returning him to his true glory. However, first comes the tricky part. Trying to teach the elderly how to use technology.     "Here Lord Gwyn, you push this button here-" "This one?" "No, that is to shut it off if need be." "Hrm. Art thou certain this device is quite necessary? I am certain I shalt handle these two regardless." "Better to be certain, no?"     Down in the lot, some old movie about knights is playing. It's transparently low-budget, considering the poor effects on the monsters and the bad costumes, but it seems to have the audience happy giving the occasional bout of laughter heard from the crowd. Berserker has slithered up to sit on the roof of her 'commandeered' car and is clapping with delight. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "I hath gone through exceptional pains to acquire these, grandfather. Regardless, I wouldst be appreciative if thou were to maketh use of them." says Priscilla. It's an understatement. Motivated by several different kinds of confusing feelings it'd taken weeks to sort through, Priscilla had spent almost two months wrist deep in assassinating state officials, inciting a rebellion, taking over a national government, and siphoning off rare and exotic aether resources in massive quantities in order to even out what she feels is an error in the Grail War; a mistake, made by that miraculous device; that someone like Gwyn, Great Lord of Sunlight, even so little had she ever known him, could possibly be mistaken as an equal for any other paltry hero or villain summoned to challenge him.     Unwilling to have Lordran's legacy represented by anything less than absolute, unassailable power, Priscilla had done her research, repurposed a hefty chunk of the Concord Elite forces towards this, made use of the Paladins and Watch, and killed quite a few people to get to the point where stockpiles of aether --the stuff of the magic immaterium from which creatures are summoned by Planeswalkers-- are sitting around, waiting to charge up Saber on-demand. It's almost surprising that only a tiny handful of people ever realized what it was all for. Then again, considering the passive approach of the others . . .     "So then, pray, as a favour, see what I hath brought to thee." she continues, taking her eyes off the drive-in theatre for a moment. "No doubt, it is overkill, but the unquestionable might of the gods is precisely that. Let them knoweth the absurdity of challenging thee with thoughts of a mere 'Saber'. This one is a suitable trial, so unconcerned with anything as to be wasting time with cheap entertainment, rather than anything to win. It is negligent. Carefree to the point of insult. Arrogant. Of more importance, it cannot continue exist whilst thou do so as well." 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''      Touta can't say that he's the biggest user of social media, but considering his age there's no way he can't say he doesn't keep up with a few trends and such here and there. So when a familiar face pops up in pictures detailing some sort of snake-woman begin to trend, Touta decides to do what he said he would after his conversation with Priscilla some time ago, he was going to observe. Touta Konoe has no stake in this war and for the most part had only been keeping up with it because of Nagi. Before he had tried to help out Reiji in regards to his father and the results were less than pleasant, but the end result was that he accomplished what he had done.      For now though, his goal was just making sure that the Servants weren't doing anything too outlandish. Well...Barging into a drive-in threatre and hopping over the concession stand is outlandish, but so far it didn't seem to be actually causing any major physical harm to anyone, at least from where he was standing. Speaking of where Touta was standing though, the young immortal had been just outside the chained fence of the old lot. While he was adorned in black like usual, he had decide to borrow a hoodie from one of his pals to conceal his face. While he's pretty sure not too many of the Servants care about his presence he did know that there was at least two in particular that recognized him that he had fought before. The winged Servant he had facedand Saber...Priscilla's grandfather. While he had made amends with her, he had never did such with the Servant and for all he knew, still held some lingering grievances.      "Jeez, looks like that Servants really gotten comfortable..."      "I can't see..." A voice comes from a dufflebag at the boy's side. Trying not to look too conspicious with a sword being carried around he had placed his sword in said bag, but that meant that this sword wasn't going to be much use as a second pair of eyes. "Anyway, do you really think Nagi will show up here?"      "Not sure. But he's suppose to be keeping track of the Servants, plus there's a movie so...Why not right?"      "And have you figured out what you're going to do when you see him this time?"      "That's..." Left without much of an answer as Touta looks up at the sky above the lot. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren is standing by, in his armor as usual unless someone's explained why that's a bad idea. The visor is open, and he watches Gwyn stonefaced, not making any comments about the man's difficulty with technology.     People have suggested that Priscilla was the one responsible for the assassination that kicked events in Khaladesh off, but he doesn't believe it for a moment. She would have told them. Whoever started it, it created a situation with an opportunity, and the Concord moved in. That's what the Concord does.     When Priscilla says the word 'overkill' he fails to stifle a chuckle. "No such thing." he mutters, quietly. 

:'''{{#var:6756|Stella (6756)}} has posed:'''     "You are large," Stella says, arriving to stop and glance up at Priscilla. It's a hard fact! "I was warned but did not expect it to be wholly true," she adds, as if it helps anything. Well, this is the first time they meet, so that's mostly why.     Of course, the fact Gwyn was a 'Saber', a knight for all intents and purposes, had interested the crystal golem in and of itself. Finally meeting Priscilla was a bonus.     One she doesn't fail to capitalize on by kneeling, as she had the first time she heard her voice. It's basic respect - you bow to your king, always.     "If I may be allowed to question a statement, is he not small to be your grandfather?" 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Gwyn chuckles as Priscilla /insists/ that he uses it. "Mine apologies, granddaughter. I did not intend to make light of thine efforts." Stella's question draws a look from Saber. "Perhaps you shalt see mine full height once I understand this contraption." Finally, he seems to have it figured out, and activates it.     He hooks it onto his belt and waits. For a long moment, nothing happens. But soon, the cinders that alight on his very being begin to dim. Ash sloughs off his form, and while his beard becomes no less gray, his eyes gain a bit more vitality to them. He looks at his hand and wriggles them. "Hurm. I certainly doth feel odd. Let us see..." He raises his hand to the heavens, and in a loud crash of thunder and flash of light, a massive lightning bolt is held aloft in his hand. The stench of ozone fills the air as the power of the electricity makes hairs stand on end. Finally, with an almost casual lob, he sends the bolt flying at Berserker.     Down at the theatre, Touta would see Berserker swivel her head just before a bolt of lightning strikes her car, igniting the fuel and making the whole thing explode. The snake woman has thrown herself clear, Griff currently wrapped in her tail. His clothes are burning through, and he seems out of sorts from the loud noise. Berserker has her staff in her hand in an instant, and screams out, "Hey! That was getting to the good bit!" With a wave, spears of ice manifest around her and fly off in the direction of the lightning.     Upon the hill, Gwyn seems unhappy. "Blast. I had hoped to smite her directly." He draws his sword and faces down the spears of ice, waving the blade to counteract them with the sheer heat rolling off of it. "Keep thine distance, Master," he cautions Cenedril before leaping from the hill and crashing down into the theatre.     "Saber! I was wondering where you went, old fart! You'll pay for this!" Berserker insists, even as she shakes Griff in her tail, trying to make him come too. A flurry of spells erupt from her staff, but Gwyn moves far too spritely for a man his size and age. He circles around, and grabs a (mercifully now empty) car to use as a shield from the onslaught, before returning fire with another Lightning Spear.     They're definitely into it now. If there is to be any interference, now's the time! 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''      There's only a moment's notice as Berserker becomes aware of the thunderbolt and the flash of light passes by Touta entirely crashing into the car and causing that explosion. A boom of thunder follows in a roar and with it a shout once more comes from the bag.      "Touta, what happened?!"      "Lightning..."      "Lightning, you mean Nagi attacked?"      The young man turned away from the lot back towards the hills, the direction the lightning had shot forth from and to his surprise he could say, "No...That was...That's Saber?" Yes, he was sure of it. While there was quite some distance between the two, one doesn't forget such an imposing figure like that. Though Touta definitely didn't remember him lobbing lightning bolts at people the last time the two crossed swords, that was for certain.      He looks around the lot making sure that no one had been caught in the car explosion. He's not sure how crowded this theatre is but it was possibly someone might have gotten hurt from that. Though as he peers into the lot he realizes that Berserker's already on the move charging at Saber with shards of ice going full force in retaliation. Frankly speaking if any Servant should have had the ability to take on Saber it should be Berserker. Or at least, from what he knows of Servants that should be the case. That the might of Berserkers were suppose to be their strong points. Something even Sabers had to respect. It would probably be difficult even for Saber to handle a Berserker so easily right?      Well, whether that was the case or not there was another problem. Berserker's Master. For some reason the Servant had snared him in her tail and charged right towards the enemy.      "What is she thinking?!"      There shouldn't be a reason she needs to drag her Master into harm's way and yet she was. Touta's just about ready to intercept but he stops himself for a moment. He had said it before, he was just going to be an Observer. His job was to make sure that the Servants didn't do anything to those that weren't involved in the Grail War. That the civilians that weren't caught up in this mess. So...Would he be stepping over his bounds if he jumped in to try and help Berserker's Master? It was true that he was placed in danger, but at the same time he was a part of this Grail War. So was helping in this situation going to be an issue? Would it not cause another dilemma like before? Besides if Saber was here than Priscilla was as well. Was he willing to unintentionally spite her by acting?      A hand unzips his bag and reaches inside slowly. Grasping at the blade within. He turns back towards the lot to make sure that there was no one there that needed him.      "Touta..." The blade says as its gripped with great force, and a shaking hand. Whether out of outrage or discontent was hard to say. Though even as the boy faces the lot, his eyes keep shifting back towards the two Servants and the Master dragged into the mix. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla doesn't particularly feel the need to respond to Stella's first statement. She is, by all accounts, still pretty new here. Having spoken with her a little before, the crossbreed is already away of her mind for very literal terms and connections and difficulty with elsewise. It is, indeed, a fact. Let her say it.     The second part she answers with a sudden cough, having tried to breathe, say something, and make an involuntary sound all at the same time. Clearing her throat, she responds properly with "It is a confusing matter. The man thou see'st before thee is . . . summoned from . . . a very long time in the past. A specific time, shortly before his original . . . passing, wherein he didst giveth up most of his powers for the good of all others. Unfortunately, the good of all translates not very well to a duel to the death amongst seven competitors. It is a disparity that I seeketh to correct now."     "Indeed." is all she affirms before Gwyn puts it on and revs it up. The difference is already visible straight away, but it is subtle so far, like clearing the accumulated dust from a clean surface. The crack of thunder is less arguable, causing Priscilla to clap her hands over her ears and blink the splotches of light away. "A lightning spear." she states. "Certainly a step forward. Pray continue to maketh use of it. I wish to see how far we art able to push."     When he leaps down, Priscilla takes the role of stepping ahead of Cenedril, going from shielded by one of her people's legends to another. Since the idea is to demonstrate the fact that Gwyn is obviously far beyond the means of any other Servant to defeat, her jumping in to tag team on Berserker with him would be undermining her own point, but the human is, as usual, the weak link in the chain.     "Thou hast had more than time enough to enjoy thine brief stint in the world of the living again, serpent. It is pure greed to expecteth more. If thou wished for something greater than to breathe for a short while again and disappear once more, thou hast wasted thine opportunity utterly. Gone is the time thou didst hath to maketh any difference. Those who lay idle in war, dull and rusting, deserveth to be purged first." Her words aren't for the civilians. Berserker and her Master had chosen to involve them by coming here, and Priscilla will not be cowed away from winning because of it. Surely, they're capable of getting clear on their own. They're all sat in cars for goodness' sakes. 

:'''{{#var:6756|Stella (6756)}} has posed:'''     Suddenly, ice and lightning. And people are fighting. And Gwyn... isn't huge yet. Well, Stella will take him to his word. Old people get smaller with age so maybe he just got really old and thus really small.     Also Priscilla basically says he's a ghost.     Summoned thing.     ~Magic~. Stella made no effort to hide the fact magical matters are confusing to her, even if they aren't surprising, given she is technically one herself.     "I see," she answers, straight.     With Priscilla bolting to shield Cenedril, Stella rises, looking at the First. "With your permission, I will ensure no one disrupts the battle. I will not engage your grandfather's opponent unless you wish me to."     She seems about ready to jump down, at any rate. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Ah!" Staren shouts in surprise, reflexively covering his face. The visor was /retracted/, his eyes just saw a lightning flash nigh point-blank! And a lot more of the sound got to his ears than otherwise would have. The visor closes, and he's left covering it pointlessly with his hands for a moment before he remembers he can see through his suit's cameras. He stands up straight, relaxing, and looks around. He has a brief conversation on the radio and is ready to support Saber, but... then Priscilla says her piece, notably /doesn't/ help, and he gets it. Gwyn shouldn't need help.     ...But even the most powerful sometimes need help, or Priscilla wouldn't be running a faction...     Still. He stands by her, helping guard Saber's master. After another moment's thought, he starts deploying drones -- a mix of hand-sized quadrotors and fly-sized robot insects -- that spread out to cover the battle area aerially and give him better map awareness. In case anything starts to go wrong. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Cars begin to peel out of the lot, smashing through the lever gate as the battle between Servants rages on. It is immediately apparent that Saber has the upper hand here. Fire spells that Berserker shoots are just absorbed, ice spells just melt on the flames he gives off, and lightning spells are just caught and hurled back. This is all clearly very vexing to the woman, who takes a moment to vent at Priscilla.     "What do you know, bitch?! Who even are you?! We're fighting here, so don't butt in!" She fires a barrage of ice shards at Priscilla, but Gwyn deflects them handily. At this time, Staren's drones would pick up something speeding towards their location at incredible speed. "Enough. Thou art outclassed. Present thine neck, and death will be quick and certain. Flee, and I shalt follow. Fight, and die. Choose." The snake woman hisses, as Griff finally stirs from his stupor. "God, what hit us?" the bard groans, eliciting a triumphant grin from Berserker. "Griff! Listen, I need to do my Noble Phantasm! Ready?" "Oh, sure."     Saber immediately starts to rush in, as Berserker intones                                 NOBLE PHANTASM-                                 When suddenly, a figure plummets from the sky to land in between them, impacting the concrete hard enough to fracture it. Said figure rises, wrapped in a cloak and clutching a crooked wooden staff. Ruler has arrived on the scene. "Hey, sorry I'm late but I gotta put a stop to this real quick to check something." He looks at Saber, and points right at the aether device on his belt. "What the HELL is that? I know nothing like that exists in your legend, old man!" He looks about, and spies Priscilla. From his cloak, he produces a notebook and opens it to a page containing clipped newspaper articles. Newspaper articles all talking about the Concord's takeover of the land that permitted that this device exist. "Wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this, would it? I know I said that Servants couldn't interfere with other worlds, but stuff like this for the betterment of a Servant I might class as 'interference by proxy' you know!"     He doesn't even glance at Touta this whole time. 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''      The battle begins and with it, pandemonium from the drivers that attempt to avoid the chaos of this ensuing war. Touta can't really evacuate anyone sadly. He has no presence here, he might as well just have Presence Concealment as far as anyone was concerned for him in all of this mayhem. But with this 'concealment' he's able to watch the fight and it's...      "It's one-sided...Was he this powerful when he fought Archer?"      Saber's capabilities beat out Berserker's attacks with little to no issue. Which just seemed strange, he knows Saber was strong but was he this strong? Maybe this was just a favorable match-up of some sort? After all, it appeared like Saber had been using Fire Magic that was nullifying Berserker's attacks but...Was it still going to be so lop-sided a match. Something just didn't seem correct.      And upon that thought 'he' arrives. The one dubbed as Ruler appears just as the battle gets heated. 'Ruler', Nagi Springfield descends doown towards the the two Servant. It's probably one of the very few times he's actually seen his great-grandfather actually intervene but he's doing it now all of a sudden. It would make sense that Nagi doesn't look at him, he's no assassin but he figures that Ruler doesn't really have an ability to track the presence of non-Servants. So a hoodie should be enough to keep his face hidden as long as he's not being oblivious, right? Sure let's go with that.      Upon his arrival Ruler makes a declaration of foul play to which Touta looks generally surprised to hear. His attention turns back from Ruler to Saber and the belt he was wearing. "Yeah...He didn't have that on the last time..." But Ruler's deductions don't stop there, even pulling out a notebook of some sort as if he had proof of some sort of wrong doing. Though, Touta can't see what's written from the angle he's watching from so he tries moving to an angle that allowed him to read what Nagi was presenting yet still keep a reasonable distance.      "Touta, what's happening now? I hear Nagi speaking. What's happening? Oi, Touta." Touta says nothing only hushing his blade as he tries to look at the details entailed within Nagi's notebook. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     What Priscilla sees so far is pleasing. It isn't quite the Great Lord Gwyn towering twenty feet over the impudent wretch and smiting them with jagged pillars of crackling sunlight, but where the upper hand lies is abundantly clear. The natural result of a snake that loafs around watching movies coming to blows with a god is the former's crushing defeat, of course. She barely pays any mind to Berserker's Master until he opens his mouth and she catches his name, followed by the two words (aside from "I Surrender") that mean anything in this situation. She doesn't know what Berserker's Noble Phantasm is, but they're rarely trivial.     Then she is almost made to make the same complaint as Berserker herself when Ruler, in turn, interrupts right as things are getting to 'the good part'. "Thou art exceptionally skilled at existing nowhere to be found whence thou art requested, yet appearing instantaneously when thine presence is a waste of all gathered's time." she says, still not moving from her position between Cenedril and the battle that actually demands her attention, barely looking to Ruler any more than he does Touta, for all the irony there is for the fact that she deigns her blood relative, or at least the spirit of him, more important than rules.     "Thou art not late; thou art unwanted and irrelevant." She doesn't have to look to know what Ruler is protesting. "Neither do cars, nor movies, nor the Beserker, nor *thee*, wastrel. Meanwhile, lightning is at the very core of the Great Lord's --whom you shalt address as such-- legend; something conveniently 'forgotten' I presumeth." Only a glance goes to the papers. "Thou 'might class'? If thou art uncertain of even thine own rules then why wouldst I care? If thou cannot stipulate the directions thou wish to be followed clearly, than they art worthless. Since it wouldst seemeth that thine only objection to anything here is that erstwhile events hath so happened to transpire in favour of the most cheated and undeprivileged member of thine little farce of a war, then begone. If thou shalt not treat with dignity, I shalt hath thee removed." Staren and Stella are still right there. 

:'''{{#var:6756|Stella (6756)}} has posed:'''     Stella has been waiting for Priscilla's call.     Ruler gets a chance to scram, and so she remains perfectly still, save for the sudden growths of crystals that pierce out of her wrists and form into long, prismatic jewel-blades in her hands.     It is, if nothing else, her way to confirm to Priscilla she's interpreted her warning correctly and is ready to play bouncer.     Sadly, she lacks even the most basic of context to really grasp who Ruler is and why he matters, beyond apparently 'being in charge of the rules'. Which, evidently, nobody gathered cares about. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren suspects the high-speed incoming object is Ruler, and is swiftly proven correct. He reflexively starts assembling a retort in his head -- about how they are only restoring Gwyn /to/ the glory of his very own legend, so it doesn't matter where the power source came from -- but then he remembers Priscilla is right there, it's her family, and her place to speak first -- He's been here following her lead so far, why stop now? His head stays turned towards Nagi as they talk.     He nods as The Boss finishes her speech. He doesn't particularly /want/ to fight Ruler, but Priscilla's made some good points -- and ultimately, if he's going to get in the Concord's way, he may need to go. Maybe he'll surrender after he loses enough? No, probably not. Damn it, predicting other people's actions is hard, and he can't hear himself think over the ringing in his actual ears, even if he can simultaneously hear just fine through his armor's microphones.     No, Nagi wouldn't surrender. Nagi would find some way to get what he wants, something that at least /seems/ like a victory to him, but what form could that take...? 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Both Berserker and Saber both seem affronted as Ruler interrupts the fight. "No one cuts me off jackass! I was about to win this!" "I sternly disagree with mine opponent, but mine sentiment is the same. Begone, Ruler. 'Tis folly to think there art rules in a war." This, coupled with the verbal berating Priscilla gives him is clearly vexing to the man, as veins begin to bulge in his neck and forehead.     But in the midst of his vexation, Touta is able to get behind him and peek at the book. All of the newspapers are from the Multiverse, but there are notes upon them, in two different sets of handwriting. One is elegant, flowing cursive, and the other is chicken scratch that is quite apparently Nagi's. But whose is the other? Did someone else help Ruler put this together?     "Hey. Shut up," Ruler intones coldly as he begins to crack his knuckles. "I'm feeling downright disrespected over here. And I know exactly what /your types/ respect. So you all got five seconds. Kid, you better get outta here," he says, glancing at Touta. The threat is apparent, and both Berserker and Saber try to retaliate, the former by getting her tail around Ruler's neck, and the latter by running him through.     But the man is high in the air in an instant. But even from there, his voice carries clear, overpowering the sound of the movie.                        NOBLE PHANTASM: CHILIAPLE ASTRAPE                             A massive circle of runes balloons beneath his feet, taking up the entire airspace above the theatre. And in the next instant, lightning rains down. Uncountable bolts, arcing straight down to the ground, towards everyone gathered. Upon impact, the concrete liquefies, the petrol in the remaining cars ignites, and the earth becomes molten. This is not something anyone wants to get caught in. And as per Ruler's word, it only took five seconds. 

:'''{{#var:6756|Stella (6756)}} has posed:'''     An immediate attack, and intensely powerful at that.     Stella leaps from her perch, finally. She ensures that as the bolts rain down, she is between them and Gwyn. No, more than that.     Her body erupts into a storm of countless crystal blades which scatter around the parking lot, planting into the ground, into lampposts, into cars just outside the blast radius (and some inside).     Then the bolts rain down.     Stella is blasted into fine dust and glimmering chunks of crystal, though provides a nice, hefty shield for Gwyn specifically in that instant, lessening the amount of lightning he'll have to contend with significantly. He is the one they came for - he is the VIP here. If anyone must be protected, it's him. Chunks of broken crystal fall around him on the slagged ground afterwards, all that's left of the crystal golem.     Then the swords she scattered around the battlefield light up, as the last mote of light from Ruler's lightning still shines on them.     The swords erupt in that same blast, aimed up at Ruler, every sword releasing a smaller version of the attack that converges on him from a dozen directions with similar lethality, although he has the advantage of knowing how to deal with his own attacks.     As for Stella, the crystal dust starts pulling itself back together, regrowing with a sudden explosive burst of prismatic jewels that clump back together into a humanoid shape, her features eventually reappearing.     "Saber. Are you alright?" 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Destruction rains from the heavens!     Staren's armor is blackened and scarred. The forcefield goes up and starts glowing increasingly bright, successive layers shattering into sparks before the now-smaller field repeats the same -- it's neither strong nor weak against magic, but quantity has a quality all its own -- Staren isn't sure whether Priscilla's planning to stay and fight Ruler or not -- they're kind of going to have to at some point, aren't they? -- but it's clear that he can't stay in the lightning.     His wings manifest and he flies out of the lightning as fast as he can. "He's got a point! We asked for that." Staren comments, but the tone is expectant -- he expects Priscilla to give an order, through voice or action, and he's ready to follow. If today is they day they fight Ruler, what's he gonna do, say NO, this guy is allowed to tell them what to do? 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "If thou feel disrespected, it is because I do not respect thee." Priscilla insists. "I do not respect this ritual, this war, this grail, for it wouldst not respect the dead in turn."     Ruler reaching the limits of his patience is understandable. It is natural, even. Priscilla had involved herself in the Grail War he is tasked to preside over, in the first place, because of her rose-tinted memories, because of her pride, and because of her contempt for the ritual of the seven classes that repeats itself over and over in the Multiverse having dared to infringe on something that is so privately hers. She had never come here with the intent of respecting the way it works. She'd never intended to keep her hands off. She had only not killed Saber's Master and taken the reins with both hands for Cenedril of Astora being one of hers, a charge she is meant to protect, and a devout follower. She was never going to listen to Ruler.     She was never going to give him any respect. She was never going to follow the rules, honour the spirit of the Grail War, or allow for any other outcome but the Saber that assumes Gwyn's mantle achieving unquestionable victory and the wish of his Master going to the betterment of Lordran. Anything else would be negligence of duty, negilence of obligation, negligence of honour, and negligence of family. Even if she still hadn't asked the questions she knows she should as soon as possible, Priscilla was never going to be a spectator, cheerleader, or peacekeeper in any of this. The only possible outcomes were, from the beginning, that Ruler bowed to her, that Ruler stayed out of her way, or this. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla disappears just as the lightning crashes down on her, briefly the center of a nexus of whirling frost and chill wind, before the bolt itself turns it into an explosion of flash-vapourized ice and a billowing cloud of superheated fog twice the size. "Indeed, he dost." comes a reply to Staren, from not only on the opposite side of him, but the opposite hill entirely, in the blink of an eye. "As much as thou wouldst wish to spit the words, would-be judge, it is truth that I oweth no respect to those without power, and that I care not in the least for bluster and condemnation. If thou wish for mineself to taketh thee even slightly seriously, such is the natural course of action."     Priscilla is definitely there alright, way too far away without a real route, way too quickly. She is in the process of wrenching off her left sleeve, burnt all the way through, leaving only tiny threads glowing like lightbulb filaments in all the crumbling black. Her bare arm has crisscrossing patterns of burns across the pale skin from the shoulder down. Flexing her fingers, she confirms they work, but seizingly, spasming with the effort from so much electricity shot through them. Enough to grip something, though. She turns her head back up.     "But thou hast made a mistake regardless. Mine only reservations towards thee were uncertainty of nature of what power thou didst possesseth over these affairs. Thou hast revealed to me both the shape of thine might and thine intent to use it; thine ambiguity, thine mystique, is lost, and with it thine safe distance. If thou art to clearly declare thineself as another enemy, then the way ahead is very clear."     A quick check indicates that Stella has Gwyn covered (and not Berserker, double bless), and so Priscilla gets the idea that the crystal lady knows what she's supposed to be doing here. Staren is in one piece enough to keep talking. "Indeed, we didst. I couldst hardly ask for something simpler and clearer than a foe to slay, in this mess of affairs." Priscilla draws a massive bow of warped, organic-seeming obsidian, as tall as she is, holding it in the mortis grip of her left hand and planting the wicked spike at its base in the asphalt. A fiery, orange gemstone that looks far too much like a living eye, blazes to life above its grip, giving off a cross-shaped flare of inexplicable heat and light that sounds like a hot glass knife being dragged across steel bones, aimed at Nagi with the malevolent power in its 'gaze'.     "Die entertainingly." she says to Ruler, before pulling the silver bowstring and releasing a steel lance both longer and far heavier than any parked vehicle towards him, one which erupts into a bolt of ink-black and gold flame as it flies. 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:'''      Touta is able to get a glimpse of the notebook from behind Nagi, and in doing so he takes notice of two different kinds of signatures within and it raises a brow at first but what truly surprises him is the contents within. It's hard to see from the distance but reports of a place called Kaladesh. Incidents reports detailing unpleasant information, and within those reports are circled portions detailing certain individuals appearences. Individuals that Touta is familiar with and it leaves him speechless for a moment. There was a clear sort of implication being made in these notes, and if it really did have something to do with that belt then...The rules of possibly involving outsiders might have already been breached as Nagi had said.      Before he can ask any sort of follow-up, Nagi speaks to him. It's not a mistake, he knows that he's here and stares dead-set on his great-grandson. The next instance he's already in the air, and while he's never seen Nagi use his magic before, he's seen his son use that spell and he knows what's coming. There's only a span of five seconds to work with but he's already moving out of the lot as quick as he can. He may be immortal but that doesn't mean he wants to be struck down by lightning for any sort of reason!      While he runs he gets caught in a shockwave and blown back by the eruption of lightning. He gets a bit dirtied up and a couple of scratches but they disappear in no time at all. But this was a mess now. A true and utter mess. Ruler had unleashed an attack against everyone and that meant that Priscilla and her forces of the Concord would retaliate.      "Should I use that...?" A thought rolls in his head. He could try to end this war for Saber here and now but in doing so he would invoke Pris' wrath once more. But did it matter if what Ruler's documents said were true? He'd have to ask him to confirm but the way things were going he'd never get this opportunity unless it was now! It felt like he was stuck in a rock and a hard place. Either protect Ruler to find out if what the Concord was doing was wrong, but at the same time become their target or... Let them take out Ruler, his own relative, and forever ponder on the situation...      A snowstorm rages and with it Priscilla's icy wrath unfolds. He doesn't know what to do....Once again he just doesn't know who to raise his blade against... "If only I could get Saber to take off the belt maybe Nagi would st-...Wait..." 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:''' That's when it comes to him. Maybe, just maybe there was a way to end this. A way to end this confrontation with Ruler getting what he wanted but without directly confronting Priscilla. But it was a gamble, and the odds were probably against him. That said... He pulls out his radio and makes a statement.      "Master of Saber...If you can hear me you don't have to say anything but please listen to what I've got to say."      Throughout this Grail War, Touta has only ever confronted other Elites and Servants. But not once has he ever directly interacted with a Master. The people who were probably the most important individuals in a Holy Grail War. It was true that Priscilla was Saber's grandaughter and she had taken it upon herself to strengthen him, but at the end of the day, could she really be the one to be making all the decisions? He was going to find out. So far he hasn't seen Saber's Master as of yet. Perhaps they were hiding or maybe just out of Touta's sight but with that said...      "I don't know who you are or what you're fighting for. I don't know what your wish is. You don't know me and you probably don't think I'm on your side, but with that said..."      At this point Touta allows for Priscilla's strike to go through against Nagi. He does not jump in or anything of the sort and the reason is simple..."I'm not on that /jerk/'s side either..." This was Ruler's fault. He lost his cool and cast the first stone this time. If Touta tried blocking for him than he'd lose any room to try and speak to Saber's Master as someone without bias. Besides, this guy was a heroic spirit, if he got one-shotted that'd be a pretty lame hero wouldn't it? "But, if Ruler said is right and what you're doing /is/ breaking the rules, if Ruler /dies/, than that lets all the other Masters do as they please too. They'll probably try to find anyway to keep up with Saber who's gotten stronger and they may do anything they have to...Anything. I don't know too much about Ruler but I do know he's been a part of actual war! And he can probably tell you that when one side gets more fire-power the other side tries to keep up, and I bet the other Masters seeing this will do everything they can to get their Servants stronger..."      "Look, I don't know what your wish is but is it worth the possible sacrifices...? Look I'm not asking you to stop fighting, but don't give anyone an excuse to use others who aren't involved in this." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Ruler remains aloft as he examines the damage he's caused. Berserker and Griff pulled through by using their already-blown-up car as cover, though it turned into liquid slag partway through which has scalded them both. Saber was covered by Stella, who inclines his head in thanks towards the crystal woman. He then joins in on her counterattack on Ruler, producing many lightning spears in the ground around him and then tossing them, one after the other up at the man. Such a miracle would be impossible outside of the Age of the Gods. He's getting stronger still!     Up above, Ruler begins to defend himself. The sharp shards of crystal are parried by unusually skilled hand-to-hand techniques. Strange, for a man who just screams 'wizard' with every aspect of his appearance. The flurry of lightning is caught in his hand, mirroring the same trick Saber did against Berserker, each successive bolt adding to the arching storm in his hands. Once he has them all, he turns to the bizarre cross-shaped arrow Priscilla has fired at him, and slams the bolt into it.     A high, keening explosion rings out in the sky, like the sound of bass-boosted thunder as played by nails on a chalkboard. But when it clears, Ruler still stands with only a shredded sleeve and slightly cut-up hand to show for it. He's laughing too. "Mmmmmm, that's a good warm-up. He puts on a show of stretching and flexing before dramatically discarding his coat.     Down below, Touta appeals to Cenedril, who had mercifully stayed back out of the target area. Her expression is a stiff one as he tries to plead with her, but the notion of other Servants doing what the Concord did for her makes her frown. "Surely, it cannot be that easy..." she begins, putting a hand to her chin. "But..." She turns things over in her head, and begins to arrive at a conclusion. "Were the rule that only our Servants may kill other Servants gone... Lord Gwyn is mighty, and mightier still now. But that would be an unacceptable risk to take. His edge may vanish were anyone permitted to kill him." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Above, Ruler carries on. "But you're confused about something, lady. Namely, you think I can die. Firstly, I'm a Servant. By nature, I'm already dead. Just like your pops over there and... whoever she is," he says, gesturing at Gwyn and Berserker both. "But your second mistake is thinking /you can kill me./ I was chosen for this for a reason. I am the sum of my stories, just like any Servant. Ask anyone from my world about me and they'll say the same thing. 'The strongest mage ever,' 'Undefeated,' 'Invincible,' 'A living cheat code.' All of those manifest as me, and as my real Noble Phantasm. What you just saw? Anyone could learn that spell if they tried."     He exudes an aura of palpable menace now. It was slight before, but now it seems to fill the whole prarie. "My real 'NP' is 'Undefeated Thousand Master.' It's always on, and makes me strong enough to defeat my opponents as a fight goes on. You all just threw a lot of attacks at me, marking you as my 'opponents.' And with the Grail writing me a blank check for all my mana, well..."     He claps his hands, and another one of those magic circles appears. Then another. Then two more, then four. In just a few seconds, he's constructed a massive dome of them, one that completely encapsulates the wider area. "Can you take this? Maybe you can. But can you cover your granddaddy and his fancy toy, his Master, the people under you, and yourself at the same time? I kind of doubt it!"      Suddenly, Cenedril rushes to stand before Priscilla, and bows, putting her forehead to the ground. "Ruler! I beseech you to forgive the Lady Priscilla for her harsh tongue! She is a bystander, and I am Saber's Master! Should it bring an end to these hostilities, I will use a Command Seal to have him destroy that device here and now!"     The air is pregnant as Ruler takes that in. No doubt that everyone else is as well. But in an instant, the circles are gone. "That's a good idea kiddo, but let's give you a chance. How does this sound? I want something. Namely, details on all the past Grail Wars that happened here. But not just from your local library. I want them from those uh... those weird places where the two bigger factions used to hang out. If you and yours bring that to me, I'll forgive the whole 'conquering a whole nation to make grand-dad happy' thing." A cruelly mischevious smile crosses Ruler's face. "But if it's anyone other than you who brings it to me, Saber's Master has to fulfil what she just said. And that will be /your/ fault First of the Concord, because you had to be such a cow about all this."     With his ruling stated, Ruler begins to fly off. At some point, Berserker and Griff made their exists also, leaving the fight well and truly over. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     He can't just assume they'll win. Nagi's going to do /something/. Trying to make his brain think like someone else, though...is incredibly hard. it's like trying to push his brain through a brick wall. Really, worrying about this is someone else's job, but something inside him won't let go, and he's not sure he should question it.     Almost on automatic, his brain spits out the dramatic words to say, and the accompanying dramatic motion: Draw your beam sword and say 'So be it. Might does not decide who is right, but today it decides who is left.'     He ignores the impulse though. It's pointless to try to use the plasma sabers here, and this problem with not getting caught by the enigmatic Nagi Springfield is vexing him, why? Ah, control. He doesn't /like/ being caught off-guard. He needs to fit Ruler into the pattern. Ruler thinks he's right. Ruler is an upstanding, honorable, law-abiding type. It's unlikely his personal power can stand up to all of them together. What does the lone hero do in this situation?     Some scrap of a lesson learned or taught long ago comes to Staren: 'You don't have to do it alone.'     If Ruler has a way to turn this around and win, it will be because of his friends.     Who the hell are Ruler's friends?!     Touta convinces Saber's master to do just what Nagi wants, to undo all their hard work. Oh Morg damnit, he /almost/ saw it coming, but too late.     He starts flying for the edge of the dome.     And he has no belief that Nagi is truly undefeatable. Not for a second. The grail has limits. Nagi hasn't turned every sun in the Multiverse blue yet, and heroes killed the guy who managed /that/.     On the other hand, if they make the grail use up all its power fighting them, it won't be able to grant any wishes at the end of all this, will it?     They need to sever the connection between Nagi and the Grail.     Funny, how the answer to THAT puzzle came in an instant, while trying to work out what Nagi would do was so hard.     ...And it was wrong, too. Nagi really believes he's unstoppable, or wants them to /believe/ he believes that, anyway. His only ally is the grail.     Before they can sever it though, they need to get out of here. Ruler has won this battle.     Ruler is a fool. Telling them about Undefeated Thousand Master will be his own undoing. Nagi should have poured everything into destroying them, rather than telling secrets and letting them go.     Behind the visor, as he speeds through the air towards the edge of the dome, Staren smiles. 
}}

6177/Yuletide Wine-Tasting

2018-12-01T06:03:56Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/12/01 |Location=The Tapestry |Synopsis=A big wine-tasting convention ends in trial by fire and nuclear dragon explosion. |Cast of Characters=9..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/12/01
|Location=The Tapestry
|Synopsis=A big wine-tasting convention ends in trial by fire and nuclear dragon explosion.
|Cast of Characters=909, 571, 714, 7, 6384, 598, 6828, 6733
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     There is an intense hustle and bustle around a convention centre in The Tapestry. Local police, supported by the Paladins, are patrolling the grounds. A throng of people flow through the entrance with a banner above that reads;                   7TH ANNUAL GRAND MULTIVERSAL HORIZONTAL TEST                       To anyone not in the know, the title of the event seems like nonsense. But in the wine community, a 'horizontal test' is a wine-tasting event in which wines from different wineries made in the same year are sampled together. As such, wineries from every corner of the Multiverse coming together to display the fruit of their efforts truly deserves the title 'Grand.'     Peoples from all worlds and all walks of life are in attendance. Merfolk arrive bearing wines made from fruits grown in coral reefs, while harpies arrive with wines made from fruits grown in the constantly aerated soil of their sky islands. Dwarfs bring wines created in their lightless caves, and elves arrive with wines created in dense forest.     With so much alcohol on the premise, the necessity of so much security becomes obvious. Should any get drunk and rowdy, things may go south quickly. But surely it will be fine. Wine-lovers are a cultured bunch, right?     But then again, Janine Liberi is also here, tapping away on her phone as she awaits whomever answered her call. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Well, when Janine put it like that...     Maaka's here with a suit, sunglasses hiding her cybernetic eyes and all that. Eyeing the crowd, she's pretty surprised there's any dwarves here at all. She always pegged them more as a beer type of race.     "Yo, Liberi." She greets nonchalantly as she spies the Italian girl, ditching the shades once she realizes this is DEFINITELY not Janine's world. "Aren't you a little young for wine? Don't get me wrong but..." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      The notion of sampling all sorts of fancy cheeses and yogurts is an intriguing one to Sanary. She's not exactly a connoisseur of fine anything, but she can at least look the part dressed in a formal tux! She's even got gloves on, a fancier-than-normal eyepatch, and shoes that have only been used for a fight once!      Wine is fine, too. Probably. If nothing else, Sanary's at least got a sensitive enough tongue to know what tastes good or bad, so she's more than willing to help if it means maybe convincing Janine she's not a completely terrible person!      She's just not sure how to actually play the part she looks right now. Spotting a few familiar faces, the healer approaches with her hand raised in a somehow-practiced wave leading into a bow. "Evening, Janine. Alexis. So... How does this all work? Do we wait for them to come to us with the drinks, or...?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Culture? Culture is good catching up with Janine is also good, and she might have some fun she's clad in her more traditional sleeveless jacket outfit as she goes to catch up with her ally? Friend? It's hard to be sure of where she sits and wine would be wonderful to try out. It's not like she can really get drunk in that way anymore. Not that she intends to drink that much and she'll be showing up a bit behind Alexis with a grin on her face. "Hello, so you said something about us getting some culture injected I'm curious to see that." She also looks over to Sanary who has arrived and nods. "Rondel and hey Alexis o/~" Ko may be plotting something against Alexis from that tone of her voice. 

:'''{{#var:6384|Orchid (6384)}} has posed:'''      Wine really isn't Orchid's thing. She much prefers a good soft drink. But given that it was happening in a place where Orchid didn't have to dress up fancy, she decided to come. So she turns up... not that it is easy to tell. She's kinda short, and with such crowds... yeah. At least people aren't tripping over her, she's not that short. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' There is someone here who isn't here because Janine called them out. He might be kind of distinctive, but he's on the other side of the crowd at the moment, walking amongst the various winery products with a peering, measuring gaze. He seems to be measuring the vintners as much as their product, using some undisclosed reasoning to sway one direction or the other. His hands are folded behind his back, his cloak fluttering in the crowd which around him without touching him. It would not be wise to run directly into Lezard Valeth, after all. 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     Someone else is not dressed up, though because she doesn't own fancy clothes. She, in fact, owns precisely one set of clothes, which probably stand out hard visually, despite being on a small-framed girl with a real lack of personal presence. Jet black ringed and checkered in bright scarlet designs with odd engraved silver bands, the noble effort of trying to half-hide a face with an even brighter and more abstractly patterned scarf doesn't really help, given bleach white hair.     Just never mind this one. There are probably bigger weirdos, right? Literally bigger, given that she stands maybe head and neck over a dwarf. She has a bag of some sort, made of what might possibly leather, but mostly covered in some kind of worn white enamel, uncannily like a shell, in the pattern of a hardcase. She is making her own tour around the tables, but making a habit of looking around constantly, checking for spots where the crowd is dense but talking to itself instead of looking at the wine, taking samples here and there, and where she finds one she particulaly likes . . .     She's pinching bottles while nobody is looking. She is surprisingly good at it, but not pro-street urchin good. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' There are two constants in life: Tony Stark loves being the P being VI, and a good party is hard to stay away from. So, of course, when there's a red carpet rolled out and a big posh event featuring VIPs (and alcohol) the meteoric, streaking column of fire that resolves itself into a gold and red mechanized battle suit is almost 'oh right, that makes sense'. The Mark XLIII throttles back from its approach vector, angling vertical before stepping onto the access route and walking forward. The suit opens up as Stark walks, and keeps pace with him a half-step behind, closing back up. "Alright Friday, you know the rules." Stark begins, pulling on a pair of augmented reality glasses and running a hand through his hair, before adjusting his cufflinks in his three-piece suit and buttoning at his chest. "Don't get into trouble, and get the car back to me by eight." The suit issues a tinny female laugh. "Of course. I'll call if I t-bone a tree and need triple-A" Stark winces. "Or the forestry service. Link up with the local Paladin tac-net and make sure nobody's having too much fun without me." The suit aims its palms down, mid stride, and begins flying off, just as Tony hits the doors and moves inside. "Well well. I've never done... whatever it is we're doing, but I-- Oh, Doctor Strange!" Tony beelines for Lezard Valeth, Sorcerer of Midgard, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Now I get to burst in on your tim-" Thaaat's not Doctor Strange. "Ah. Heh, my mistake. Swishy cape and all. Tony Stark." He removes his shoulder-hand promptly, transitioning to offering a handshake in one smooooooth motion. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "I'm 18 now, dipshit. And I've been drinking since I was like, 12," Janine retorts at Alexis. "Besides - and I want to make this very clear to you pissants - this is a wine /tasting/ event. You don't actually drink the wine, you taste it in your mouth and then spit it into those fancy buckets." She looks to Sanary and snorts. "Figures you wouldn't know. Nah, every winery here will have a booth, we just move about and taste as we go."     And with that, she leads everyone inside! The reception seems to have been set up as a 'cool-off' area. The AC is on full-blast, and plenty of free water is being provided. The main hall is packed with booths in orderly rows, each one decorated and bearing opened bottles or filled decanters, wine glasses, and those buckets for spitting wine into. The place is packed, meaning it's a bit of a squeeze to get around, but Janine just raises her voice to keep talking.     "So here's the thing with wine," she begins. "Wine's great. One of the last things on this godforsaken automated earth that can really let the creator's influence shine through. A lot of little things like 'how you deal with vermin' and 'how many grapes allowed per vine' can really influence the outcome. But wine makers, and people who really like wine? They're the most sanctimonious, fart-snorting jackasses you'll ever meet." As if to prove her point, she gestures over at Tony Stark's swag entrance. "As such, pay them no compliments, and give them no praise. Like this;"     She goes up to a booth, gets a glass, and tastes from it. After a bit, she spits the sip out into the bucket and dumps the remaining in the glass on the poor sommelier's shoe before looking back at everyone. "That stuff was actually pretty good, cheap too. Not what I'm looking for though."     She catches a glance of Orta swiping a bottle, and actually busts out a laugh. "She gets it!" she says before sidling over and looking at one. "Oh I know that vintage," she says to the strange girl. "It's fucking trash. Stick with me, I'll tell you the good shit to swipe."     Meanwhile, Tony Stark draws cheers as he arrives, and every booth in his path goes into overdrive to get a glass ready for him. His sheer star power actually manages to overcome the wide berth everyone was giving Lezard. He's the kind of guy who has that maniac glint in his eyes that suggest he might stab you without warning.     Elsewhere in the convention, things begin to heat up a little. With so many wineries competing for attention, tempers start to run short, and 'anything goes' becomes the day's motto. A dwarf 'accidentally' nudges the table leg of a neighbouring elven booth, making their vino spill all over their white table cloth. "Oops," says the dwarf, smirking behind his beard. The elves give him a filthy look, before humming an old song, causing the live vines they decorated their booth with to grow wild, totally consuming the dwarven booth. "Oops," they retort. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Even Lezard's ostensible ally, Maaka, refuses to get too close to Lezard. It might just be her general distrust of wizards, mind. Sanary and Kotone both get grins from the cyborg, as she hugs Kotone and wiggles fingers at Sanary. "Lookin' sharp, Rondel. How've you been?" She asks, just in time to see Tony arrive. As Janine explains the ins and outs of tastings, she makes a confused face, having already actually drank from more than one booth. Explains the weird looks she was getting from people, anyways. "Why the hell would you spit it out? Seems more like an insult than just drinking the stuff." She remarks in confusion, before sampling the wares of one booth.     Judging by the look on her face, she's not too pleased with it. Spiiiiiit. Maaka nonchalantly wanders far from the dwarf and elf feuding, once she notices a vine is wrapping around her ankle. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      That explained all the buckets. Sanary still gets an incredulous look on her face at Janine's snort, though, narrowing her eye after a moment. "Of course I wouldn't know. I'm not some fancy rich asshole." Cracking a grin, she follows Janine and the others inside while glancing around slowly at the unfamiliar surroundings.      Maybe not completely unfamiliar by now, but unfamiliar enough to be worth gawking out. Janine's guidance keeps her from looking too much like a dumb tourist, though, even though the whole sipping and spitting routine is more confusing than it should be.      Luckily, Tony's drawing attention just by existing, and the commotion between the dwarves and elves means Sanary has an opportunity to try some wine without looking too stupid when she spits it out almost immediately! "Ugh... This tastes like ass. Does that mean it's good?" She reels slightly from the taste, peering at the cup, then the bucket, then the spot on the floor she just spat on.      Better to step away from that and just turn to Maaka instead. "Hey, Alexis. Yeah, I'm doing alright. It's... I think it's a rich asshole thing to do that." She gestures towards the floor-wine with her head briefly, then moves to scoop up another glass to repeat the routine again while watching the commotion to see where it's all going. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard seems to be moving from location to location, trying to decide what to try. Elves get active disdain, incidentally, for Reasons. Turning, he tries a Dwarven vintage instead, swishing it in his mouth before frowning and spitting it into the bucket... And then the container and remaining wine in the glass promptly are immolated in fire, being deposted in a smouldering pile of molten glass and scorched alcohol on the table. "Plump Helmets, /really/?" He says to the Dwarf as he turns away, walking towards the next promising stand... And the hand comes down on his shoulder. Lezard blinks... And stiffens as he gets called Doctor Strange. The Wizard Who Will Kill You If You Call Him A Harry Potter Cosplayer turns around, staring at Stark, and scowls lightly, showing his irritation visibly for a moment before he replies. "Do you believe anyone wearing a cape is Doctor Strange?" He replies. "You think we all look the same, do you not?" He sighs, and shakes his head, then finally gives the man the handshake he offers. "Mr. Stark. Here to enjoy the festivities, I presume?" He asks. "Found anything worth actually drinking? Most of this has been pathetic so far. I've had better vintages in Flenceburg, and that is a low bar indeed." Lezard might be a Wine Asshole. Still, the growing crowd might incidentally shield his presence for the moment, 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone has some plan but it's mostly just to mess with Alexis a little bit as it's her turn really she had not expected this much of a turn out as several unexpected souls would be arriving. Notably, She makes a note of Tony whose very hard to miss as he arrives, Orchid has dropped into this as well Otra's skills at sneaking about and nicking some wine of her own are skilled enough Kotone is distracted by friends and allies to not catch notice of her actions, for the moment. It also helps she too it distracted by the unexpected hug from Maaka as well. "Good to see you too Alexis." She'll break off the hug after a moment and she listens to Jaine on wine tasting. She makes note of it while there is somewhat of a Whine making industry on the coast of North America that she's from? She's never really got into it. She just kind of blinks nods and breaks off to go try her own wine for the moment She also makes note of Sanary here? She's not sure if she or Sanary is the most out of place person to be at a wine tasting. Who cares she should cut loose a bit as she heads to a stall and starts trying to taste it, well it's not like the booze from Coronas world and her inside have not actually caught on fire. She does spit its outlook at the winemaker for a moment she says nothing as she turns off and tries to keep track of Alexis and Orchid. Let along everyone else in this sea of wine tasters. % <<Maaka? Orchid where did you two go??>> 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' VARIOUS SOMEONES take private snarks at Tony Stark Himself. This is normal. People are always jealous of P being VI. It's why when you get a glass, you smile, smell, spit pleasantly, and give a firm nod or a few kind words ('hints of cherry and tobacco' are the easy and auto-snobby things to call out in most robust reds, for example). But Lezard Valeth challenges Stark, who clasps the Sorcerer's hand with a firm, yet cordial shake. "Not at all. There's an aura - erudite, scholarly, yet powerful. The flowing cape helps, of course, but so does the exoenergy readings. His free hand taps his smartglasses. "Posture, too. Many will stand up straight, but few carry power on their shoulers." He finishes the shake with a firm bob of his hand. "I think power looks very similar in motion, mister Valeth. Smile!" He turns, and poses for a picture with the throng of the crowd. "And frankly, I have a lot of respect for people with destructive powers on your field, especially with energies I don't understand. Magic, as the good Doctor Strange has not explained well at all, is fascinating." Stark laughs, accepting a glass and sworling it before taking a tasting sip, offering a few comments, and then swallowing. Maybe he's a llllitte offput by his ill remark. "And so, Sorcerer of Midgard, when a man can bring down meteors out of thin air, a man who was once the biggest name in weapon development sits up and starts taking notes." 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     Orta has been caught stealing. This is usually the part that triggers the fight or flight reflex used to 'being caught stealing' being really really bad, and she is three quarters of the way through the process of reaching into her bag and pulling a gun on Janine before Janine is instead saved by how slow it is to get a gun out of a bag rather than off the hip by immediately blurting out approval of being an uncultured scavenger. The weirdo in the scarf mostly looks really surprised (from being snuck up on, before being let off lightly), and then replies in a language that's even stranger than her appearance, giving an extra good idea as to why she'd been keeping her mouth shut.     "Vintage? I need . . . the valuable ones. I won't give them all to you." she says, defensively, expecting some kind of demand of 50/50 and also not knowing what a vintage even is, all spoken in some creole language of latin, german, greek, and english. She doesn't want to hover around a booth she just almost-stole and make a lot of noise though, so she hurries off along with Janine anyways, trying not to make too many clinking noises with her satchel. She is apparently blind guessing which wines are the most expensive by taste, and planning to try and sell them off to people who are probably equally as uneducated to wine as she is, but with more money. She has multiple water bottles filled in that bag as well, by making repeated stealth trips to the front, as if she doesn't expect to find water of all things very often.     She stares intensely with dark eyes at all the spitting going on, before rather astutely asking "Are they spitting it so that they don't get intoxicated?" choosing some slightly awkward and proximal words. "There is more than enough, if they drank a glass from every stand, I think." Moving out into the greater throng, she locks eyes on the departing iron man suit, and doesn't look away until she can't see it anymore, accidentally walking into a guest in the process, and then silently sliding around them. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Do you have any idea how much wine people would drink at a testing if they actually swallowed? Forget getting drunk and doing a bad job, everyone would need their stomachs pumped," Janine says, swiping at a bottle of water and sipping it to clear her palette. She looks to Sanary and laughs. "Yeah, that's the spirit! Crush their dreams and make 'em feel like shit for being shitters." To Orta, she raises an eyebrow. "Just selling them? Okay then, let's forget the whole 'good taste' part, I'll show you where the primo wineries have set up."     With that, she begins to muscle through the crowd while talking aloud again. "How we all been? Lemme tell ya, my life is shit lately." In between various rude wine tastings, including but not limited to spitting the wine back up and saying it'll taste better now, splashing it into faces, and telling them to sell the glass bottles to recoup inevitable losses, she explains.     "Me and my crew spend literal months tracking through this big shitty shifting castle, killing the minions of this evil queen so we can take her out. We get there and do the dirt, but it turns out the 'Queen' was actually someone possessing someone else, and the possesser escaped. So now we gotta find her /again./ But then she had escaped into our world and gave a crew of punk-ass kids powers like mine and had them raid my school to try and kill us. I thought I had a bead on who the not-Queen was, and nearly killed them but-" She pauses for a second, and actually drains her glass for once. "But I was wrong. Anyway, that person was connected in other ways so we spirited them off to grill 'em. So now, we gotta find this not-Queen and deal with her for good, but everyone who might know where she is is maddeningly unhelpful, crazy, or hostile. Fuck everything."     Meanwhile, fire bad. Fire doubly bad considering how much alcohol is on the premise. Fire extinguishers are employed before the sprinklers can come on as Tony pals around with the creepy wizard. That picture will certainly not be used against him in future. The other pics people take of the two of them together, on the other hand...     Tensions continue to flare between wineries. Now all the merfolk winers are getting flack, due to their booth having little fountains. Claims are being made that they're trying to raise the humidity so as to ruin other wines. A few scuffles are breaking out now. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' "You flatter me." Lezard says, but he doesn't frown at it. Looks like flattery WILL get you places with some people. He does, however, make that little smirk as he is prompted to smile. "Oh, I will be smiling quite a lot soon enough." He says, apparently knowing something someone ELSE here doesn't. "Magic is as potent a power as science. I have dabbled some in the sciences of my own land, though nothing like the... suit you possess." He shrugs. "I make do with what I have." He says with a measure of ironic and totally insincere self-depreciation. He tries another wine, this time causing him to sigh again, banishing that wineglass the same as the one before. "I am not sure how you can put up with this, Mr. Stark. It's like entering the Multiverse has robbed them of their craft." Yes, definitely an asshole. He turns away, walking from the cooling mound of glass and travelling with Stark "You continue to flatter me. Nice, but that isn't going to have me tell you the secret of my spells. Even Strange likely would not tell you his actual tricks." He chuckles, and then continues. "Your presence here, of course, is quite reasonable. Are there any other lights in the Multiverse that have caught your attention of late?" Next, he picks up a glass from one of the merfolk wineries, tasting it... And squinting, before hurling the glass to the ground. "This is terrible. Never come here again." He says, turning away. As he does so, several bottles begin to vanish from the table. One of them he offers to Starn once they're out of view. "This one was acceptable. Leave it to the soggy ones to learn how to make a drink." He asides. May as well share the bounty a bit, making a little splash as he inevitably drifts close and closer towards Janine and her cluster. Because of course this is going to happen. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      More familiar faces! Kotone gets a quick wave and bow from Sanary as well, and the healer soon turns her attention to figure out just what else she should be paying attention to besides bearded and stick-like snobs getting snippy at each other.      Tony and Lezard are easy to focus on. She's not entirely sure what it is they're talking about, but all those adoring fans probably mean something's going down! "... Eh? Is that Lez-" She stops, the gears starting to turn in her head while she follows Janine's lead to wash out that awful taste.      If it's the same guy, great. If it's not, though, then she'd probably just make a fool of herself. Instead of waving at Lezard or making any grand proclamations of recognizing him, the healer in the suit simply gives him a vaguely signalling nod, then continues following Janine and... Not really needing to act as the muscle for once.      It's actually kind of relaxing, notwithstanding all the figurative and literal fire.      "Speaking of... I mean, just 'cause they're crazy doesn't mean they can't be useful, right? Maybe we can-" She pauses to snatch another glass, not even bothering to drink it before moving to her other hand, then flinging it towards the scuffles. "-tie one of 'em down, stomp on their faces a bit, then tell 'em that if they want to kill us, then their best shot is having us meet their boss head on." 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     Orta blinks over the edge of her scarf, considering the question. "No." she answers, truthfully and flatly, about as uncomprehending of what a stomach pumping is as a vintage, but less expressive about it. She follows Janine around for a little, looking progressively more and more bewildered as she seems to hate everyone and everything present; more and more tense and uncomfortable about spitting wine on people's faces and insulting them, and then *not* getting beat by an angry merchant for it. Janine is old enough that Orta doesn't consider her a kid, so how is she getting away with this? Is it a rich people thing? Are the vintners actually slaves?     The entire babble about the Queen is even *more* confusing. Since she has nowhere to go but orbiting Janine as the one person who won't rat her out, she listens to the whole thing in stone silence, brow furrowing to gradually greater intensities as she tries to puzzle out the slightest bit of sense from any of it, eventually making a mildly frustrated noise at the end. "What are you doing here if there is an evil Queen, then? A Queen is like an Emperor and a school is a place of learning. If she tried to kill you there, wouldn't she try to kill you here? How is this any safer?" she asks, tensely, realizing she is dramatically less likely to have an uneventful day here and make some quick money than she first assumed.     The rising tension level has her progressively acting more and more strained, stiff and mechanical in her step, glancing back and forth between the crowd and her satchel. Her hand slowly snakes under the flap of the bag, hitting the claps on the hard plate on the outside, gripping hold of something inside reassuringly. Fires start multiple times as Lezard decides to be even more insulting than Janine, begging the question of why anyone here puts up with it, and further increasing the girl's level of regretful nervousness at being here when she sees someone lighting things on fire with a snap of his fingers for trivial reasons. Her gait slows as Lezard and Tony are inexorably lead towards Janine, and by proxy, herself, watching him with almost animalistic wariness, not breathing. As much as she might wish to pass him by without issue, it's not exactly subtle.     "Thank you for not telling anyone, but I should leave." she says, in more weird ancient European Creole, starting to hurry towards the door, glancing left and right at the increasingly threatening atmosphere of the crowd; even more obvious for the sake of trying to leave as quickly as possible. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' "Flattery would be 'excessive and insincere', and I don't really have an agenda per-se." Stark ripostes easily, an easy smile working its way across the corners of his mouth. He does, of course, 'get something' out of it. "It's free, to me, to recognize success. You're not Justin Hammer, some poseur to power - or intelligence. You weild both. Thus, I'd rather our interactions be positive than negative. An investment in good faith." He raises the proffered glass Lezard picks out from the bunch, taking a taste as they move along. "Mmm. That is good. I've never actually tasted wine before, so I'll defer to your judgement." It's the sort of 'nodding along to your racist cousin as they spout mess' deferment, but genuine enough. "And of course I'd never just spew into the paper the technical specifications of my suits or reactors. Come on." He chuckles. The two Powerful Assholes do their Powerful Asshole walk towards Orta, Janine, and Sanary, as Stark raises a single eyebrow, canting his head back towards the Sorcerer of Midgard. "You expecting a blockbuster, Mister Valeth? That'd be rude. I'd rather keep my dance card clear - I don't get overtime pay." He remarks, before approaching Janine, stepping up to the plate, glass still in hand - he probably walked off with the one Lezard recommended and started sipping from it. "Something the matter, ladies?" He Smooths, his glasses lighting up with little visible displays, and Tony takes a moment to slide an earpiece into his right ear, crossing his left arm to do so - his right has that damnable glass. "You look..." Orta gets a pointed Look. "A little spooked." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Things are drawing together, and the centre cannot hold. Security are starting to come in as a response to Lezard setting things on fire. Janine, mercifully has not noticed the wizard yet, but it really is inevitable.     "That's my plan," Janine says in response to Sanary, "But they've either scattered to the winds or are being held by the police. I'd rather not get on their bad side. August has been arrested once already." She looks to Orta next and shrugs. "I can't find her. If I could, I'd be going without sleep. But she could be anyone, and I don't have the means or the time to track her. Even this isn't a leisure trip, I'm looking for a wine to bring to Christmas dinner. Which is looking more and more like a bust anyway." She offers the short girl a vicious grin. "But we'll get her. If we made it this far, we'll get her."     And then she makes to leave, startling the Italian. "Hey, where you going?! We still haven't stolen you the expensive shit yet!" Tony is there to intercept, but Janine takes an immediate dislike to the man. "No one with a porn stache as shitty as yours has the right to speak to me," she retorts. And then she sees who is with him.     A lot of feelings cross her face as she sees Lezard Valeth again. Surprise, then anger, then fear, then anger again, but building more and more. Her hand lashes out, grabs whatever bottle is available, and smashes it against the nearest surface to make a jagged weapon. "Figlio de puttana!" she shouts, reverting to her native tongue before rushing at the wizard and trying to gore him on jagged glass. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard shrugs as Stark explains his Angle. "I have no problems with remaining on good terms with a man of intelligence... Which you have proven in your work and approach, of course." He smirks again. "If you don't interfere in my work, then I have no reason to interfere in yours." "Actually, I normally drink ale." He replies to Tony. "The people of Midgard can make some stout brews, and I find them bracing. Wine is for special occasions." That said, Lezard is absolutely That Racist Cousin. He shakes his head to Stark as they progress. "Nothing you would likely be concerned with. I have made my current multiversal interests clear. I trust your associate Sorceror Supreme will relay anything of note, as we will inevitably cross paths." Then Stark moves to engage... Janine. His eyes light up, a cruel grin literally powered by pure schadenfreude crossing his face. It's almost Grinch-like in its intensity and pure disdain. The woman reacts exactly how he expects her to react (which is basically how anyone in Midgard would react in her situation), and as such his hand is already moving, snapping his fingers. Flames erupt from his hand, dripping down and circling around Janine, roaring up in a column of flame. A hollow column of flame that runs about six feet tall. A ring of flame, much like certain other famous Norse Epics. She can absolutely gore Lezard, but to do it she's going to have to literally hurl herself through flame to do it. Does she have the will? 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' "Well well well, Janine, I believe. So /nice/ to see you again." Lezard says, conversationally and with a level of smug that can crush small vehicles. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa gives Sanary a wave as she drifts about her own wine tasting adventures continue she gets why you spit though getting drunk is not really a thing she can do anymore as much as she'd like to. Still, she spits anyway because hey why not it's fun to get to do it in a public situation. She's lost track of Orchid and Alexis in the big crowd here and she continues to drift. She'll find them later right for now she'll keep exploring and tasing where cha cane, but she's also keeping an eye out for anyone she knows even in passing. Then she spots Janine, then she sees Tony, Lezard? Okay, Lezard is here things could be a little tense, then Janine breaks a bottle shouts in her native tongue and charges Lezard and the Wizard brings up a ring of fire, in a wine tasting event. There's a lot of stuff that could turn this whole place into a flaming death trap. She gets on Paladin comm's rather quickly Tony is going to intercept Janine she gives a warning she's not just a normal girl with a glass bottle. There's likely a reason but for now she does not know, she rapidly will move weaving in and out of people to get to the fire suppression systems and turn it the hell on, the last thing they need is Lezard's fire turning the place into an inferno from all the wine that is here. Just what the hell is going on Lezard had a well-deserved reputation but what did he /do/ that would make Janine just strike out like this? There's got to be more but there's no time to find out right now. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      "Huh. That.. Would make things harder, I guess. Unless..." Sanary rubs her chin lightly, the notion of fighting the police to get to someone that already hates the people she's working with not sounding all that practical nor smart. It's better than nothing, but she'll hold off on that until there's really no other option.      Too much thinking. Sanary's about ready to grab another glass to toss to sort out her thoughts when she comes face to face with Tony Stark and Lezard Valeth, and she seems completely confused by the former's question. It takes her a moment to put two and two together as she looks from Stark to Orta, but eventually gets it just in time to see Lezard conjuring up the flame column and Janine trying to stab him with a broken bottle.      "Whoa, whoa! Janine, Lezard, what the hell?!" She's not moving to punch anyone or grab anyone, but she does start conjuring up something of her own: A green light cloud of healing magic. She's not as worried about Lezard just yet, but knowing Janine? Better to get that healing magic on her sooner rather than later. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' Tony Stark hears a few words he doesn't want to hear (specifically: 'stolen the expensive shit yet'), and not-so surrepticiously taps a command into his watch. When he finishes his approach, Janine insults his Objectively Perfect Facial Hair. "Excuse me?" he asks, unshocked and disappointed. He does not defend it further, because defending something like that will never win, and validates the original question as legitimate. It's not. His facial hair is perfect. When she smashes a bottle, however, Stark takes a step to the side, manipulating his watch as the device's face flips, revealing a small azure point of light, and a metallic glove encasing his right hand, which he levels at Janine and steadies. That's before the Sorcerer of Midgard starts posing his 'well, what is it' gesture while throwing up a wall of sorcerous fire. "Friday, call fire containment and local PD?" His earpiece buzzes. "Local authorities have been alerted. A safe-distance order has been issued for the building." Stark's eyes flick between Janine and Lezard. "Are we really doing this at a party, people? You're not gonna have anything to steal if he burns the whole place down, and--." Tony bites his tongue, muttering under his breath. "Friday, I need the suit." A small time - under a minute - appears on his glasses, visible if you squint and can read backwards. Stark's jaw sets. That's not that quick. 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     In the instant before Janine goes apeshit, Orta's critically wary stare flicks from Lezard to Tony --to his glasses specifically; also his watch. "Communications device. Threat analysis and assessment. Mobile weaponry in reserve. ETA to arrival." she suddenly mutters in an almost feverish tone, something seeming to hit a breaking point. By the time Janine smashes a glass on the table, just the violent sound and loud swearing is enough to set her off. Just because she'd met the young lady and she'd been nice to her doesn't mean she can escape the fact she is the sudden threat stimulus in the room.     Her hand comes out of the bag, clutching some kind of chip or drive, but cased in enamel or bone instead of metal or plastic. A push of her thumb, and a yellow light flicks on, before she drops it on the floor and bolts. A blast of sustained light erupts from it like staring into a phosphorus burn, instantly becoming completely blinding, then gradually petering out over several seconds, throwing sparks everywhere that probably set fire to a tablecloth or three. She runs to the door, then abruptly stops on the front steps, waving and yelling up at the sky "Suos! Ekshia festina! Sancitu sphera et fugaf!"     A little bit before Stark's suit is going to get there, something else appears from the sky. It is preceded by some sort of screech that is equal parts animalistic and electronic, like an eagle fed through a shorting loudspeaker. A beastly shape crashes out of the air and onto the steps, cracking the stone and wood under its four point landing, and splintering a decorative pillar with a lash of its tail. Like some kind of a surreal impression of a wyvern, covered in white carapace that looks too much like body armour, with forward double horn the length of its whole neck, and elaborate golden 'circuitry' in concentric circles rather than right angles stencilled all over its violet wingspan and green-black scaleless skin, it seems to be there on purpose when Orta expertly steps off its lowered wing and swings her leg up onto a depression ahead of its shoulders.     A burst of fragmented radar/lidar static fills the tasting hall. Stark's glasses will pick up a bunch of jittery, partially detected targeting locks. If his glasses have the capacity to visualize them, he'll see glitchy reticules popping up on a wide swath of people in the room, including himself, Lezard, Janine, and Kotone, but with a number of random civilians in the mix. Why that would be coming from kind of alien dragon thing is uncertain, but it can't possibly be good, nor can the radiation spike building up in its throat. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Janine freezes as the wall of fire goes up. It really is a downright dirty move to use fire after what he did last time. Her eyes are unfocussed as she remembers how their last encounter went down, and not even Orta's flashbang shakes her out of it. Her hand trembles, on the verge of letting the broken bottle slip from her fingers. There's a lot more people around than a single ignorant nanny. If she attacks, he might take it out on them. It'll be the same as last time, but worse.     But, she was this scared once before, against the Black Queen. And she helped kill it (not really, but close enough). Lezard is a scary guy, but he is just a guy. Not that much taller than her, and 'shooting fire' doesn't seem like such a deal, considering the company she keeps. A lot has happened since he burned her apartment down. She's changed. She's stronger.     Even as the situation escalates around her, with an impending weapons platform and some kind of alien dragon bearing down, she can only throw her head back and laugh, a wild, crazed, yet unafraid cackle. "Listen freak. I hang out with a guy who shoots fire for a living. Your shit is downright tepid by comparison!"     And with that, she lunged through the flames. It is an immediately terrible idea. The product in her hair catches immediately, and her clothes aren't far behind. She hasn't even summoned Biancabella to use her winds to clear a path. But she's through in a blink, and her arm flashes like a snake, the jagged glass speeding towards Lezard's belly!     The sprinklers and fire alarm go off once Kotone hits them, the shrieking alarm helping to evacuate the place. Not a moment too soon. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Good thing that healing cloud is already on its way to Janine. It gets diverted momentarily as Sanary's blinded by that flashbang, quickly followed by a string of colorful curses because of course she'd stare right at the odd thing bouncing on the floor instead of away from it. Once she recovers, she guides that healing cloud back towards Janine to take some of the edge off all that burning, although she makes sure Lezard gets a hit of that healing juice as well.      She needs to hedge her bets once in a while, at least.      With the water coming down from the sprinklers, however, Sanary's attention is soon diverted upwards towards the freaky alien dragon thing. Her eye opens wide, and for a moment, the healer's too stunned to move. "No... No no no no screw you!" Sounding moderately freaked out rather quickly by its sudden appearance, she doesn't even notice that Orta's riding the creature. She's looking a bit too freaked out by the dragon itself, and it's reflected in the following application of panicked dumbass strength:      A table gets thrown at the dragon. Not a small four-person table, but the sort that would probably be more suited for holding displays or trays of hors d'oeuvres if it wasn't presently being hurled by an angry healer in a suit. 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' So, things get worse. They always do. Janine patently ignores his warnings, but Tony Stark has waaaaay more pressing matters to attend to. Friday buzzes in his earpiece. "Boss, there's an exoenergy spike in your area." "Lezard's lighting the place on fire." "Not that. Tony doesn't get time to finish his 'oh shit'. Orta's strange white object is activated and sent sailing throuhg the air. His glasses flag it wild a heartbeat before it goes off, and Tony is halfway on the ground in a lunge to get clear, expecting an explosive. It's not. His smartglasses immediately polarize, but they're not goggles, and he shouts in surprise and pain as his eyes and ears temporarily become useless. "Friday! Step it up, we're on the clock, I need that suit now!" For the effect of the camera, as Tony wipes both hands on his eyes and comes up into a crouch, the timer goes from under half a minute to scant seconds -- as the Mark XLIII just bursts through a wall, front-flipping into a heroic landing pose (fist down, you know the one). Stark stands, t-posing as the suit rises to meet him, and seamlessly integrating itself over him. "Everyone, get down!" He shouts, before taking off in hot pursuit of Orta. "Yamakawa, start shoving people towards exits and make sure nobody gets trampled. Hit the back half of the place, and stay away from the windows - you're being targeted." Stark's voice switches from internal/tactical net communications to an outside amplifier. "Valeth, Lady, something's painting targets on you lot, so hurry it up!" Then he's outside shortly after the dragon makes its four-point landing. There's a dramatic moment where Iron Man hovers in the air outside of the wine tasting building, taking in the sight of an Actual Factual Techno-Bullshit Dragon. "Friday what am I looking at?" "The thing currently painting us with enough conventional target locks to make a missile base operator blush." Stark gives a choked half-laugh. "Well, that's illustrative." His voice re-amplifies. "Hey! Can you... nnnnot freak out and point dragons at people?" Maybe talking will work. To assist 'talking', Iron Man doesn't openly POINT any guns at Orta or her Large Lad. Oh, but the helpful '''local???''' throws a table at the dragon. That's great. "WHhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy?!" 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Everything goes straight to hell. Lezard likes this. He's visited Hel. Well, Helheim. Research purposes, you understand. She pauses, and he shakes, a deep chuckle coming from his gut as he watches. Perhaps she isn't as ready as he thought she was. And then she cries out her defiance, and hurls herself through the flame. His eyes widen, and that chuckle dies in his throat, a moment of shock, a sharp stab of pain in his gut, the grin falling off of him like a badly erected billboard. Pain, anger, indignation begins to roll across his expression in that eternal moment.. And /satisfaction/. He grunts as he immediately folds over that glass shiv, a hand going to his gut as blood pours out. The flame dies out immediately. Instead, the next movement comes from under his cloak as he retaliates by trying to straight shatter a full bottle of merfolk wine across the side of Janine's head. Lezard lives in Midgard, he's been in a couple bar brawls in his life even as a nerdy wizard... and he is hardly as physically weak as he looks Succeed or fail, all he wanted to do was get Janine off of him. He striaghtens, struggling to stand straight through the intense pain. He shakes... And begins laughing. A deep, throaty laugh, rough and dark before he suddenly chokes, turning to spit blood from his mouth. Sanary's healing comes in, taking the worst off the edge of it as he strightens. "You... You haven't learned a thing, have you? Do you think anything has changed? Do you think you have the power to stop me now?" Stark brings up a salient point, and it would be impossible for him to miss the arrival of that beast regardless. "Very well. We will meet again. And you will meet the fate of all Heroes." He spreads his hands, and a circle of energy begins drawing itself below him... But not his 'blow crap up' circle, no. His teleportation circle. He kind of doesn't want to be right here, and he wants to preempt that dragon before it's finished charging up to murder everyone. Well. Mostly him. But everyone else is a thing he supposes. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Before the flashbangs (If one could call a Dragon doing this Flash Bangs) go off she gets to trip the sprinkler and fire alarms off. Even with her artificial body? She's still visually overloaded by whatever she was hit with, it's going to take her a moment to recover. She's got a job to do now any personal things are out the window. That was one heck of a flash bag as the sprinklers are online people are starting to get out but Tony's correct, there is still more to do. She won't be getting answers any time soon, she's going to not try to break off the fight, she's not sure she could short of lethal force. She's got to make sure people get out of here, as she recovers from the flashbang that's exactly what she's going to focus on directing people out, she'll flash her badge if she has to and anyone being stubborn might just get picked up and carried by the small cyborg out of here. This has been one hell of a night she came to catch up with people maybe get a few gifts. That is totally out the window, she also takes note of the window waring and will do her damndest there to do that. Still, if it means she gets hit over a civilian she will be the one to take the hit if she's got anything to say about it. Even as she works she's still dealing with visual issues from the blinding attack she's also very focused on getting people out of here before things get even worse. Kotone is just not having one of those days today, and it really likely could get even without much warning with the unknowns they have here. 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     The Iron Man suit crashes through the wall and into the tasting hall. It appears as a little yellow blip on the radar circle in Orta's head. She doesn't think twice about it. She knows what to do with yellow blips. This time what she grabs from her bag is less 'soft'. She produces something very large and handgun shaped, made of swirling pieces of white, organic enamel joined together by smooth black material in its recesses, mostly visible down the muzzle aperture that isn't deep enough to call a barrel, and difficult to identify with no trigger, sights, bolt, or magazine, more like abstract art than a weapon.     It clearly is one though, because she snaps it in Stark's direction the second he comes flying at her. There's no targeting lock this time, because she's aiming it manually, but she does a frighteningly good job of jerking it to his head. He's a fraction of a second in time to make her hesitate, pulling the front of her scarf down and pulling it tighter around her neck in preparation for flight, placing a steadying hand on the side of the dragon's neck as a hold signal, fixing him with the steely and analytical look of a wildcat. He's bought himself a second without pointing weapons at her, the mental gears visibly turning, but there's no comprehension of him as a person in those eyes, nor any thought paid to the people behind him.     Sanary throws a table at them and ruins it. It registers as an incoming projectile and Orta shoots at the red blip out of reflex. The gun snaps down to the flying piece of furniture and instantaneously blows it to flaming splinters with a burst of lancing green energy half as big as the table is, released with an oddly quiet, incendiary fwoosh, before being drowned out by the furniture vapourizing. The dragon launches itself back, partly with a tremendous flex of its oddly 'hoofed' legs and a beat of its wide wings, but seems to take to the air with almost a rocket thrust of blue-white energy exhaust that materializes from nowhere in particular, hurling it back to what is obviously 'safe range', as the targeting beam drops half its count and narrows to the front of the building.     A point in space, a man's height from the ground, sparks and pops. Little bits of air turn into molten embers, converging together into a single point, without any apparent influence from the Dragon, save some harsh magnetic interference Friday can pick up easily. On a very short delay, the molten point detonates in an instant, exploding into a perfectly spherical fireball so hot and bright that there is no smoke whatsoever, blossoming out to the size of a large house. The fulgurous conflagration erupts out of nowhere, lingers in a roiling ball of churning fire, and then disappears a few seconds later with a crisp, clean, nuclear fusion-esque burn.     Since it'd drawn the aim to the front of the building, where Tony is (and was obviously trying to trick Orta and lure her into a surprise attack), only the front third is gone instead of *the whole thing*. Not just smashed, but actually gone, evapourated along with all of the ground inside a wide and deep hemisphere, like something had taken a big bite out of the terrain and left it covered in black glass. There is no real blast wave, but the rush of waste heat is so intense that it'll badly burn anyone who hasn't retreated to the back of the building yet, or isn't behind a decent chunk of cover, immediately setting everything wooden on fire and causing probably every bottle of wine to spontaneously explode. Every civilian inside would *definitely* be dead if it'd gone off at its original target point.     It made sense to assume Lezard would be the one to cause a scene, but Lezard doesn't resort to the nuclear option because someone stared at him with an AR display and someone else smashed a bottle and yelled. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     A rush of triumph floods Janine's body as she feels the sensation of flesh shredding under her hand, smells the harsh copper scent of Lezard being made to bleed. "Haha, fu-" she says, before biting her tongue as a result of a bottle of wine slamming against her head. She stumbles, and very nearly falls onto her bandaged arm, but managed to right herself and glower at the wizard even as her own blood mattes her hair and blinds her in one eye.     "Stop you? That implies I give even a single shit about what you do. I'm not some fucking superhero like Porn Stache. You hurt me, so I'll hurt you. This is purely vendetta, Valeth. It only stops when one or both of us are dead."     Though her head is ringing, she can see that crackling caused by whatever it is that Orta summoned, and it just screams of bad news. Her eyes struggle to focus as she looks at her broken bottle, Biancabella forming behind her. A strong just of wind picks her up and launches her back as the fireball blossoms, sending her careening back where she impacts with an abandoned stall. A bottle of wine rolls onto her prone form, and she snags it before fleeing out the back.     It'll have to do for Christmas, and she's not sticking around to pay for this. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Note to self: Freaking out dumbass strength doesn't really matter when all Sanary has is a table and not a real weapon. Good to know.      Maybe it'd be better to just bail with how things appear to be going. Lezard's teleported away, Janine's blasting off with Biancabella, a freaking ROBOT just flipped in out of nowhere into a cool pose, and that weird dragon is charging something undoubtedly painful.      Also, there's probably going to be police and other people fairly soon. Sanary's not one to stick around to pay for the collateral damage, so she starts rushing for the back as well! She even makes sure to stomp on the sides of a few tables to put some (probably wooden) cover between herself and the blast, too, but she never quite stops to look back.      She does, however, make sure to snag a few tablecloths on the way out. They might be useful back home! 

:'''{{#var:6733|Tony Stark (6733)}} has posed:''' Having to dodge and weave along Orta's flight heavily to evade her rather accurate fire, a few shots exploding off his helmet plate with strange, energetic fizzles like water splashed on sodium, her strange weapon's fire still harries him off and buys her plenty of time to get astride and prepare herself on her mount. "Let's just everyone calm down?" Stark tries, before his suit picks up the molten 'point'. Temperature, pressure, energy readings all spike, and Stark begins backing off as well. "Friday, countermeasures?" "Analyzing..." "Friday, I'd really like an answer or a safe distance indicator!" A floating sphere populates his vision, indicating the safe zone of the blast. A few people, terrified on the steps, are within the criticality zone. "Out of time, Friday, let's hope those new deflectors work!" "Not for... this!" Friday protests. "Really wish I didn't hear that." Iron Man swoops down, and ungently - there's no time to brake - scoops the people out of the 'blast' range to safety, averting a nosedive into the dirt before letting off the people. His ears rang, still, a persistent tinnitus. "Where's..." His vision swam from diving almost through the pressure area just ahead of the detonation. "... Search & Rescue?" Looking up, at the hovering dragon, Stark doesn't muster a spray of missiles, or even active deterrance. Without a good angle to beam 'please just go away, I want to go lay down', Stark just thinks that very hard at Orta and her dragon. He does not see Sanary stealing tablecloths. Wine-stained tablecloths. That's shameful, Sanary. Be ashamed. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Janine stands forth and continues to defy Lezard. This isn't uncommon. Most heroes just continue shouting ephitets at the Sorceror of Midgard until he puts them into the ground. But then she declares vendetta. A dark glint enters his eyes, and he smiles, not responding as he begins to fade away. The hellish blast from the Dragon comes next, the fusion-bomb like explosion radiating out. Lezard is bathed in that light, a shadow in the pure murderous power of the beast, and he covers his eyes, the shadow fading in the light as the shockwave hits and obliterates his position. There is nothing left where he stood... But he certainly couldn't have died, he was already desyncing from reality, right? Only the good die young. This is why immortality is reserved for the greatest of evils. 

:'''{{#var:6828|Orta (6828)}} has posed:'''     Tony is, for once recently, actually in luck. Since he dived out of the way to scoop civilians away from the blast, he is deeper inside the evacuating building, whereas Orta is up in the air at a respectable distance, having no particular reason to try and shoot deeper where her goal had been to be to bail and torch all pursuit. Sanary is fleeing. Janine has stolen a bottle and likewise bailed out in the chaos. Lezard teleported or something. It's just the Iron Man left trying to see out the panicking normies, and he's declined to shoot back just yet.     Good enough. Orta lays down a hail of further giant energy bullets, turning the area a few meters around/including Tony into so many burning craters rather than aiming them all directly at him, but she does so while the dragon turns and climbs, pumping to a surprisingly high altitude, where it then folds its wings, Orta turns back and braces on its back, and it rockets off at an extremely alarming speed, developing a corona of that blue-white energy around it again, streaking off towards the horizon.     Well, that's something learned. Two things, in fact. She has no interest in trying to murder a ton of people who are all just running away, and her idea of reacting to a brawl breaking out is to nuke the place and run without apology. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is also focusing on getting people out of here she might be able to make a go at the girl and her dragon? There's no time to do both Kotone is moving as fast as she can working with Tony's stunt she's able to make a good deal of progress getting people out but Kotone herself is caught in some of the heat and her synthetic skin starts melting along with her hair turning to goo. It's painful it's ugly and she's still moving to try to help she's also clearly in a good deal of pain, as even as a cyborg she's still got a sense of pain and touch at the very least comparable with a human still if not a bit more. She keeps moving and is too focused on the bystanders to get chase to Orta or do anything about her. 
}}

5943/Undone - The Mancers Dilemma

2018-07-22T06:51:25Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/07/22 |Location=Caelondia |Synopsis=It all becomes done. |Cast of Characters=798, 70, 1094, 7 |pretty=yes }} {{Poses |Poses=:'''{{#var:798|The..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/07/22
|Location=Caelondia
|Synopsis=It all becomes done.
|Cast of Characters=798, 70, 1094, 7
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     It's an uncomfortable, but thankfully brief trip down the elevator. Not because it is a short one, but because said elevator moves at surprising speeds. By now, they must be beneath the foot of the hill the Pinnacle sits atop, and there's still more to go. The discomfort come from the two other Mancers bearing guns. One has one trained on Flamel, while the other has one on each hand (having snatched the one from Flamel's desk), with one on Rucks and the other on Venn.     There's hissing from their radios, distortion borne of the thick rock between they and the surface, or perhaps some kind of interference from an Mancer device. It's getting worse the further they descend, but there is a final transmission from Zia before it cuts out entirely. "...ryon... ou ok... I fou... id an... e car... here soon!"     "So," the dual-wielding Mancer says in a forced cheery tone, "What exactly did Venn do to the weapon Rucks?" The older Mancer clutches his walking stick, the corners of his mouth going tense before he answers. "The transformer ain't configured right. It'll dump in too much power at once, short the whole thing out." The Mancer fumes, but keeps his aim steady. "Ugh, that'll take forever to fix..." He aims a kick at Venn, just as the elevator finishes its descent.     The room they emerge in is a massive stone chamber, and contains multiple elevator systems. One for every office of import in the Pinnacle, no doubt. "All right, everyone off," the single-pistol packing one says, ushering with the gun. The massive room leads into a long corridor, dotted at points with massive metal vault doors. They're brought to a stop in front of one labelled 'Project Calamity,' and the single wielder starts yanking on three ropes that dangle from the wall beside the door in a specific sequence.     After a long moment, the door hisses and begins to swing outward, permitting access. If the party wants to storm the place, take it by force? Now's the time. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla considers all facets of the situation, and is most annoyed by the fact that the Mancers are smart enough to be pointing their guns at Rucks and Venn. Of course, they'd hardly be Mancers if they were dumb enough to try and threaten the three Elites at gunpoint, but it doesn't irk her any less that there is no way out of shielding the weak link here.     And it doesn't make her heart slow down at the very real risk of losing Rucks again.     Once again, she is reassured of the man's character. Despite the ugly hate that they had shared, and which she still feels more than a little, Rucks is Rucks, and the smooth lie reassures her. When the Mance swings that kick at Venn, her tail slaps down on the top of his boot, pinning his heel to the floor. Still looking ahead, she says "I had been assured that thou were professionals. Pray, act as if thou were." Just because they have guns on the vulnerable members of the group doesn't mean she's going to act below her station.     She keeps her strategization on the downlow, using the private radio system when going through the vault halls. The idea is to play it cool until they actually see whatever insane machine is supposed to be responsible for the Calamity, let the Mancers get Rucks and Venn to fixing it, then incapacitate them and hold the area while those two instead disarm it of any capacity to blow up the world anyways when they smash it. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons smiles the whole way down, guns or no guns. Not because he's happy, but because he needs to stay positive. He needs Venn and Rucks to believe they can find a way through this situation. He needs to hold on to the belief that there's going to be a solution. And he needs to not seem like he's going back on his offer to help Rucks. Not, of course, that he didn't help him.     As he walks, he keeps a telepathic link with the group, chattering with them over the brainwaves, and letting them do the same. Not unlike Kotone's own natural unvocalized voice systems, Flamel's mentalism allows them to discuss tactics on the way down and out. As he does, he does his best to make what happens next subtle: A small pulse of light around his eyes, a soft sound like a heartbeat. He's trying to use CLAIRVOYANCE on the no-doubt psychically impactful future event of the possible firing of the Calamity weapon. If he can zero in on that branch of psychic probability, he might be able to draw information out of it...     When and where might make it fire? Can he get any visions of actions that might lead to it firing, intentionally, maybe unintentionally? Are there any potential disaster-prone aspects of what comes up, something to handle Priscilla's worries? He's ready, though... Inside his skull, a pair of translucent hands are charging up, intent on grabbing Rucks and Venn away from their escorts and bringing them where they need to go, and charging up the shield to leap in and block fire on them.     All on Priscilla's signal, or so he hopes. Just waiting for that signal... 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' It was getting close to go time the plan is laid out, there was a large number of lives on the lines here and this world being habitable really after as well. She'd done a few tricks to get what she needed in here. She does not deploy it yet. She knows they have one chance, one chance that people have died to get this far. She's going to have to have some faith in Rucks here today and pray she's not misplaced it. She cringes inside as Vaan gets a kick she hates her self for not acting but there are so many people going to burn. She's going to have to wait for the right moment when Priscilla says go? It's time to go she muses. She has her hardware ready and outside she's just the calm doll seemingly like nothing is wrong. So Kotone waits and gets ready to spring to life, god help her. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The Mancer is surprised when Priscilla's tail intercepts his kick, but just fumes quietly and doesn't object. Flamel expands his consciousness and tries to peek at the worst possible outcome. There are two, should the weapon be fired. Either it is fired as it was previously, and the continent is devastated. Or it is fired correctly and... the continent is devastated.     The door opens just enough for everyone to slip inside before a Mancer at a control panel has it seal itself behind them once again. They now stand in a chamber heavy with the humming of machines, the floor tangled with insulated wires. Multiple Cores hang in sealed chambers, set beside consoles far more advanced than anything they had seen in Caelondia previously.     And everything feeds into Project Calamity.     In terms of appearance, it's not that imposing. It's mostly the same as the Calamity Cannon the Kid had wielded in the days leading up to the Bastion's activation, but much larger, and mounted on a swivel designed to let it adjusts its vertical height only. The reason for this is the massive diagonal tunnel that skews upwards from the chamber, where the weapon's multiple barrels are pointed.     However, the aura the machine gives off is sickening, even worse than the Something Wrong that sprung up in the aftermath of the Calamity. This weapon, in and of itself, is Wrong. It goes against the natural order of this world in such a way that anything can feel it. Close observation would reveal that even dust particles from the ceiling have not fallen around the device in a perfect oval.     Someone marches across that oval to approach the party. It's a man, old but with a cleanly lined face, neat hair, and relatively plain robes. On the surface, very unassuming. Under the surface... Flamel would find that investigating this man is akin to staring at a still pond on a moonless night. He gives nothing away. "Hello. I am the Administrator of the Mancers," he says simply, not even offering a name. "I take it that you're all here because you found out what the issue is?" One of the other Mancers quickly chips in with, "Issues in the power transformer sir!"     The Administrator offers a subtle nod. "Very well. Then let us execute Venn and begin correcting it." He gestures at one of the Mancers to do the job. To their credit, they don't comply immediately. Be this because of Rucks' claim earlier, or Priscilla's intervention previously is unknown.     But the situation has clearly escalated. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Let him fume all he wants. It's important to remind people sometimes -especially those used to commanding absolutely respect from the safety of a desk- where power ultimately lies when face to face. It isn't elegant or terribly respectable to solve things like this, but it'll work. Priscilla knows that much. They can leverage where they are strongest and the Mancers are weakest, here in the bowels of their stronghold.     Entering the project Calamity room, Priscilla takes a moment to count heads, sweeping her cold, gold gaze from right to left, taking stock of who is in the room. The Cores being here certainly explains a lot, both about where they'd ended up, and the process of retrieving them for the Bastion, not to mention why the Ura wanted to take them. That's a thing of the past now (or future?) though, and so her attentions are on finalizing the last of the instructions. She hardly pays attention to the Administrator, only nodding vaguely towards the no doubt highly important man. She doesn't have time to give due respect. She doesn't even have time to shudder at the skin-crawling aura of the giant Calamity Cannon. She has things to do.     "It is unwise to execute the saboteur before thou hast confirmed the entirety of his claim." Priscilla says, with the flat, clinging intonation of a bank of cold grey fog. "Though, nothing thou were to do here was wise in the beginning. Brilliant, yes, but not wise."     Priscilla acts first. Her tail lashes out again at the dual wielding Mancer's shins, slapping them out from under him as part of a lightning fast turn that involves backhanding the weapon in his outer hand and snatching the one inner at the end of the motion. She doesn't have time to waste for body orientation or changing momentum after, so she turns her head over her shoulder and fires a brief, sharp pulse of her breath weapon at the third gun owned by the second Mancer, either destroying or turning it to crystal in his hand. As scientists, she anticipates they'll be more or less useless in combat without weapons, and right now she is the apex predator in the room.     "Parsons! Yamakawa!" she yells out, not needing to give further instructions. She twists to throw the one Mancer into the other and out of the way. "Rucks! Venn! Upon me! Do not stray, for thine lives dependeth upon it!" She's quick to scoop them behind Flamel and start directing them to the machine in the center of the room, braving the feeling of Wrongness. "Both of thou shouldst be very aware of this contraption's volatility. I wish it disarmed /immediately/, even if only temporarily. Thou hast no choice in this." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons looks at the man and comes to several conclusions. He's seen people like this before: Depersonalized to the point of becoming an intense and powerful danger to everyone around them. That's a brain he wouldn't get into -- maybe a brain he couldn't get into, psychoportal or no. The Administrator won't be someone he can solve the mind of tonight, or maybe for a long time. He's got to do this the hard way. The right way.     Priscilla starts it. In the confusion that follows, Parsons leaps into action, starting to levitate as he rushes into position with levitation and establishes his PSI Shield. The nearly impervious translucent hemispherical construct swirls into place, intended to shield Rucks and Venn specifically, though giving the others plenty of cover as well. As he does, he ejects one of his mentally-recovered Confusion Grenades from one stray hand, trying to make a longer-term sort of stun in the area, giving the gang a little breathing room before things get bad. "GO GO GO!" He calls out to them, trying to keep them from being fired on by any Mancer backup, security, or other such terrible threats.     This is it. This is where it all happens. A secret agent, deep within a secret underground base, rushing to help disarm a dangerous doomsday ray-weapon, with millions of lives and sanities on the line. This is the fire psychonauts are forged in. This is what it really, truly means to be a super-spy. He has to hope. They have what they need. And however precarious this position must be, he has to believe it's going to work.     "Alright!" He calls out. "Venn! It's time! It's time to take back your life! You're going home to Zia safe and happy after this! Rucks! It's time to show me how many lives you can save from the dangers of war! I want to see what that Bastion looks like when it's properly finished!" Hope. He can't do much but provide the shield as best he can, projected out of his skull, but he does his best to give his new allies hope. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone knows the madness that can lead a civilization to something like this. It happened to her world, many old hates still lurked and festered such as the Empire of America or the fading powers that had lived through the war there. She shouldn't have been an elite, had her world never unified she'd have gone on and been a face in the teeming masses of humanity, nothing special was intended for her. Yet she had and now she was not just a bystander to be walked on. Rucks had died giving his world a chance to be rebooted, which is what they have done. The Administrator? He nearly was as wrong feeling as the nightmare weapon which was before them. Her Ghost was shivering in terror at this thing, a creation by the hands of man. She checked her internal hud her systems were ready to go. The moment the signal was given the war machine that was her body would spring to life. She gazes upon the horror of this place she waits for all of this, every action. Every fight, every joy? Every moment of sadness since she'd met those few people who had lived through the Calamity? It had come to this. She sees Priscilla act and gives the command to act. Her left arm starts to twitch, followed by cracks appearing, finishing off with it splitting apart hand folding back, and one could see her Matter Manipulator mounted in it, it powers up, Kotone has a weapon in hand now and her arm snaps back into what could be considered an arm again. Then she vanishes from sight under her casual outfit? She'd been wearing the basic layer of her stealth armour the pat with the therm optic cameo system. She rippled and starts to vanish and she would start to go after the guard not spending munitions at the moment but making use to grab them and use her built in taser to bring them down, and she's moving with inhuman speed, she's not holding back tonight, but she is being mindful of attacks that could set off the weapon as unlike her friends? She's out in the open moving to buy them time. <<Do what has to be done don't worry about me! Got it?!" 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Things explode into action the moment Priscilla lashes out. The Mancers are quickly disarmed, one pistol send clattering across the room and the other grabbed up. The other Mancer finds the gun crystallized to his hand, rendering the mechanisms useless. Both are then immediately brought low by Kotone's tasing strike, putting them out of the picture. The Administrator's placid face registers a moment of surprise before he begins to flee, leaping behind a desk.     In total, with the two guarding them disabled, there are eight Mancers in the room, the Administator, and no guards. Flamel's Confusion grenade manages to catch three in its cloud, making the start to spasm lightly and lose focus on what's going on. Rucks and Venn both begin to move with the Psychonaut, the battered Ura shrugging off his wounds to begin issuing his own commands. "To properly shut it down, we first need to cut off the power. This thing is fed by four Cores!" Rucks nods, and says, "We'll split up. Leave two of 'em to me."     And before Flamel can argue, as he probably would, the old man is heading off, but not straight for the Core. Instead, he heads for a desk that a Mancer ducked behind, getting low to hide in front of it as the man himself pops up, bearing an Army Carbine. He lines up a shot on Venn, but Rucks uses his strength the flip the whole desk onto the man, snatching the rifle from his hands and leaving him pinned.     However, the others are also producing weapons. The Mancers recruit the best and brightest from all walks of life, and the array of weapons here is evidence of that. Flame Bellows, Brusher Pikes, Dual Repeaters, and Fang Repeaters are brought to bear. Even the Administator produces a War Machete and regards Priscilla, a slight crack in his grim facade forming as an upward curl of his lips.     "I've heard tell you can kill anything that lives. Perhaps I'll find out how through vivisection." He rushes forward, sprightly for an old man, and then seemingly vanishes, only to appear in the air above the First to slash at her eyes.     Kotone vanishes, and the Mancer with the Flame Bellows steps up. The odd weapon in his hand is far different from the one the Kid used. It's been worked on, bearing a massive fuel canister and a built-in shield. He squeezes, and a massive torrent of flame fills the air. He distributes them evenly, keeping clear of sensitive equipment, but trying to catch the invisible cyborg.     Flamel sticks with Venn as he begins tapping at a console beside a Core, bringing down the flow of power to the weapon. A bullet drills into that Shield from the Mancer with the Carbine. It too has been tuned beyond the one the Kid carried, and the bullets are engineered to have razors that make them shred at the psionic bubble. The one with the Brusher's Pike uses it to pole vault and slam down on the Shield, that sharpened tip also jagged. Both weapons designed to get through natural defences.     The radio is hissing again, fragmented bits of conversation filtering through. "...o ... way..." It was not Zia's voice, but a man's. A familiar voice. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     All things considered, Priscilla feels that they're off to a solid start. Flamel has Venn under his protection, and as undesirable as it is that Rucks had run out of it, it may in fact be necessary to split off like that, and the man is a former soldier and handling himself fine. Really, she should have expected that most of the others on this project, designed solely to eradicate the Ura, would be, but things aren't completely out of hand yet. Still, it woudn't do to be here when the guards inevitably arrive.     The Administrator himself is actually the one she finds least surprising would come at her. By all indications there was something a little wrong with him, even despite his perfectly plain and inoffensive facade, like the shade of plain grey sky that warns of a storm nearby. One glance to his choice of a war machete, and when Priscilla looks back up to his face, it is with the quiet stare of one who recognizes exactly how cracked someone is.     "An excessively bold statement to tie to the one that didst just cometh before. The unfortunate fact for the both of us however, is that I yet need thee alive."     A crazy old man disappearing on the spot is a little beyond what Priscilla had expected, but then she'd have been surprised if he just openly charged her anyways. She locates him only just in time to guard her face with what she has in hand, that being the stolen handgun, and the machete with a falling man's weight behind it chops through that easily enough, biting into her hand and drawing a slick stream of dark red blood. "Didst thou not thinketh it strange that the lot of thee hath faced no assassins? It wouldst certainly be much easier than all the trouble I hath gone through thusfar." Having the machete wedged in a block of wood and iron at least helps her get some leverage over it, where Priscilla then wrenches it sideways and downward, taking advantage of the jump attack's lack of surface to brace against and resist her with. She discards the broken firearm at the highest velocity possible, then swings her arm to intercept the falling Administrator with a rather inexpert but incredibly beefy hit to chuck him back into the desk. Given a bit of space, she'll turn to where Parsons is under assault and release a lengthy stream of her breath attack, raising a thick barrier of crystalline spikes facing outwards from around his shield to delay his attackers. She imagines the Mancers are probably too smart to expose themselves to the stuff after the stunt she'd already shown.     "Sir Parsons! Art thou able to locate Lady Zia! Sir Zulf! Sir Kid!?" she shouts, hearing the radio crackle and hoping telepathy works better. No point in keeping their names secret now. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Wait, Rucks--!!" Parsons calls out as Rucks abandons safety. Oh no! But he demonstrates more than enough strength there. He keeps pace with Venn, keeping him under cover, despite his urgent, desperate compulsion to go keep Rucks safe. That was the whole motivation for turning back time! He has to fight tooth and nail with his own mentality to keep himself from abandoning his wounded ally... But the thought of Zia keeps him focused. Enough that he can keep things together when the bullet drills into the shield. "W-woah!" He calls out, as it flickers far, far more than it ought to. That felt like sustaining a burst of machinegun fire, not getting shot with a single bullet!     Wait... DAMMIT, THEY HAVE THAT SAME ADAPTIVENESS THE URA DID! This must be the real byproduct of the war! He desperately keeps it up, but he can only keep it up so long when it comes under the barrage from above. The pike slams through the shield, utterly shattering it! Parsons is almost thrown back, but forces himself forward, keeping his body between Venn and the Carbine Mancer. "STOP!" He calls out, letting the spear streak towards him with seemingly no regard for his own safety.     A spear surging towards him.     A battle with Rucks at his side.     A failure to meet adaptation.     He recalls the War Machette of the Ura commander.     "NO!!" He calls out. Psionic hands rush out, slamming around the haft of the spear and keeping its head from plunging too deep into Parsons' body. "I'm not going to-- I won't make him do that again!" Not that Rucks was likely to take a blade for him again, but it sure did provoke one of the deep traumas in one of the few memories Parsons had allowed himself to keep recently. Twice now, he's found himself fighting in a siege alongside Rucks at the very end of the world. The only thing that has finally made him stop focusing on keeping Rucks alive... Is keeping the same situation from happening a second time.     He yanks it back, evoking a spray of awful crimson psi-energy, before squaring up those two big psychic hands and engaging the pikeman in one-on-one close-quarters melee combat to try to wrestle the spear back from Venn and Parsons, zipping in and out of invisibility and making sure he's always, always keeping the man between Venn and the Carbine Mancer. Another pair of hands emerges from his skull, pointing their index fingers at the Carbine Mancer and firing big blasts of orange directly at him, trying to drive him into cover or knock the wind out of him.     If he can just get... Maybe a hand on the pikeman's head, a palm on it, he might be able to inject a shock of memories, clairvoyant visions, and other information that might make him more aware of this, or at least stun him and batter his mind. This is a psychohazard run amok, a dangerous set of thoughts and beliefs that have put so many lives at risk, Parsons is compelled to try his tactics, and to hope that they can buy him at least enough time to get the shield back up and save Venn! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is quick she knows not to underestimate the locals fighting abilities. She's seen the Kid fight, after all, they have done things with weapons her world long left at the wayside in its own march forward. She moves she weave she acts and doe snot really thinks, her HUD relays important information and she processes information at no unaugmented human on her world could do. The Mancer with the Flame Bellows is a problem it's an area saturation weapon, which means he just has to have an idea of where she might be to have a good chance to hit her. She weaves and moves trying to dance about the fires the heat doesn't have to get her to cause trouble after all right? She dances about the flames and will then drop freezer foam grenade, she does not know what might set off the terror weapon here, after all, right? So the foam goes off and should help to restain the guy using the Flame Bellows. If she gets that opening from him dealing with it or trying to move away from the non-cloaked grenade? She will attempt to pounce on him and do her darndest to take him down. The old man has more spine than she thought someone behind a project might have. She can't focus on that she's got to get the Flame Bellows operator out of commission, which is Kotone's hope for the moment. Then comes a distorted radio call, it's not Zia, is backup on the way? 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     With a resounding clang, the Machete bites into the stolen gun, embedding deep. With no leverage, the Administrator has no recourse when Priscilla hurls the two away, leaving him disarmed before he is smacked away, slamming into his desk. It crumbles, but he rises back up in an unnerving way. Standing the same, even though there was a definite 'crack' of bones in the impact. Reaching under the rubble, he produces a second War Machete, and watches as Priscilla breathes some covering crystal by Flamel.     At which point, he swings and touches a button in this new one's hilt, causing the blade to separate and fly at the First, aiming to sever her cheek.     As for the Psychonaut, he engages in some telekinetic grappling as Venn pounds at the console. The Pikeman pulls back on his weapon, trying to free it from the telekinetic hands. The constant manoeuvring to use the Mancer as cover from the one with the Carbine, coupled with the crystaline walls created by Priscilla, keeps him from getting off another shot. However, Flamel is still free to return fire, sending him scrambling behind a desk.     The Mancer right in front of him displays a crooked grin and twists the grip, causing the weapon to suddenly segment. He grabs for the tip to use it like a dagger, but Flamel gets a palm on his head first, unleashing his knowledge of what will happen when Project Calamity is fired. He gasps, and slumps to the ground, gripping his head and screaming at the pointlessness of his work.     Kotone weaves around the flames before deploying freezer foam. The substance gums the barrel, blocking out the torrent of flame entirely. "Eh?!" its wielder barks, immediately going very still. Who knows what could happen if he keeps going while its blocked. However, the Mancer with the Fang Repeater fills his place, spraying darts at Kotone. However, these ones somehow bend and arc mid-flight, tracking the cyborg even as she dodges!     At that moment, a voice echoes out from a speaker in the wall. One of those old-style communication devices you would see on old ships. "A-Administrator?"     The man strides over, in spite of the battle that is taking place, and begins talking into it. "Proceed." The voice on the other end, the receptionist, begins to say, "Um, we have some Marshals here demanding to be le-" However, she is suddenly cut off, and someone else begins speaking. "Administrator Fyxe, glad I could get you personally. This is Second Marshal Dion speakin'. I was wonderin' if ya might spare me'n my men the trouble and just let us down there to see what you're up to?"     Another voice begins speaking, that of the Kid. "Are you all there? Say somet-" However, he too is cut off by the Administrator slamming the cover down. Flamel feels a massive surge of bottomless misanthropy roll off his form as his works begin falling apart around them. "Not to worry," he hisses, his voice carrying. "They'll never breach the door."     "Got it!" Venn suddenly declares as the chamber housing the Core winds down with a lowering hum. "Ditto," says Rucks across the room, having done the same. Only two to go. "Kill them!" The Administrator shouts! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is able to get the flamer user down good but he's got a partner left and the Repeater Mancer is now on her flying darts at her, he's got an idea of where she was from how she took the last guy down. Images of the ruined world, keep going through her mind, in perfect clarity, one memory comes up Ruck's death, the effort to try and save him. The pain is made raw again. So many people. She presses on even as some of the darts hit her, breaching her suit and into her. She's forced to pull them out, or the Mancer will damn well use them to aim for further follow-ups and she'll use her sidearm to try and shoot the weapon out of that mancer's hand even as he goes. Then comes the voice of Dion and the Kid? Thank God, backup is here she keeps going she hears the Administrator scream and she finally does reply. "A shattered world full of ash. That is what you desire?! I have seen what a deployment of this weapon will do! You hate the Ura more than you love your own people!" This will likely draw fire to her but she just can't say anything, not at this point. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Despite the gap in ability, there are a lot of Mancers and they have a lot of contraptions that Priscilla doesn't have the time or the knowledge to properly assess. With Flamel fully on the defense, there is only so much of the field that can be covered at once, and in trying not to kill anyone, Priscilla is limited in her options. Her agitation is increasingly apparent, going by her lowering stance, twitching tail, and accelerated rate of scouring her surroundings. The one with the fang repeaters next, she thinks. Turning towards him, she-     -hadn't expected the Administrator to get back up. He seems much too old to be doing that. Priscilla looks back to him with a hint of confusion -and apprehension- in her eyes, and once again isn't prepared for more trick weapons. The flying blade slashes deeper into the side of her face than she would have liked, flecking blood over the control room floor, and sends a spike of anger through her mingled with the razor pain, knowing exactly why he's aiming for where. She hates weak but canny foes like this.     "Clearly thou art studier than thou didst first seemeth." she says, pressing her palm to her cheek and scowling at seeing it come away red. She doesn't want to move her jaw much more, so instead her fingers slip into the case on the silver chain around her waist and scatter a trio of primitive, baked clay spheres at the Administrator's feet. Where they shatter, instead of releasing gas or blowing up from gunpowder, the erupt into coils of electricity sparking from the gold resin packed inside, indiscriminately electrocuting anything in their area. She doesn't wait to see if that alone is enough to put him down; Priscilla rushes the Administrator right as the lightning urns are blowing up, disappearing from view right near the end, rather than the start, of her charge, and curving to tackle him from the left and smash him back down into the desk where she'd put him first.     One last bit of misdirection: while ostensibly invisibly pinning the Administrator, Priscilla instead teleports across the room to where Rucks is, stepping out of a ripple of non-existent water and grabbing the closest Mancer from behind, hurling him overhead and ripping his weapon away. Defense missions aren't her forte. "Sir Parsons, if thou art able to send a message, direct the Marshals down here at once, assuming Sir Kid hast not already begun hammering his way towards us." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "You think they won't get here? Well they will!" Parsons calls out, both in words and in telepathy -- enough that the Kid can surely hear, if there's no psychoisolation. "I've seen how reliable that Kid can be! I've seen him refusing to break at the /end of the world/! I've seen him strong enough that Pith himself blessed him! You're not going to kill us, and it's because I've seen how strong Rucks is, fighting off an Ura siege! I've seen how strong Venn is, surviving months of torture to save the world! I've seen how strong that Kid is -- breaking a fortress in half, and forgiving them for making him! I don't just have hope! I've got certainty! As long as everyone is trying their best, I'm sure, I'm /sure/ we'll stop this!"     His speech is less to discourage the Administrator, who he recognizes quite well as suffering from enough depersonalization that Parsons couldn't change his mindset with real psychic powers, and more to keep his and his allies' hopes up here on the edge of the end of the world. He tries to use his own morale to great effect; now that he's disengaged from the melee fighter, he can clench those two big psychic hands together into one fist and slam them into the ground, dissolving them into a shockwave of stunning psychic effect, trying to keep the wider array of enemies off-balance enough to grab Venn and dash in a levitation-accelerated rush that ramps stylishly off those crystal spikes! "They'll be here soon, Priscilla! It looks like the message I sent out telepathically got to them!" And then it's back to Venn. "Alright! One more each!" He calls out, sliding as fast as he can and blasting much more intense bolts in wide sprays, now that he has a bit more room to work with. "I know you can do this! Venn, Rucks, keep going! We're almost there!"     He blasts his telepathic output as hard as he can to Dion and the Kid. With luck, this can guide them to the right room. The door is hard to breach, but... Well, he has high expectations for the Kid. One day that wall is gonna fall for sure, but Parsons knows the Kid is the kind of man who makes that today. God, though. That misanthropy. As soon as Parsons gets stabilized and hopefully shielding Venn, he recoils, like there's a bad taste in his mouth. What is in that guy's brain?! It hurts just to feel the surface thoughts. He was so reluctant to try to affect it before, because it seemed like such a densely psychohazardous space, but...     He should try, at least. If he can hold his own against Priscilla, he's too much for Parsons, but the special agent can at least help a little. Amid his blasting, he tries to toss out a grenade that's... Sort of a confusion grenade. But instead of disorientation, he's loaded it with something that ought to leave 99% of people utterly unaffected and unharmed, and ought to disorient just the Administrator: A concentrated dose of optimism, positivity, and general hopeful attitude. Despite everything, Parsons still has that in unspeakably large amounts. If anything can get that guy off-balance enough for Priscilla to land a crippling electro-tackle that he can't roll with, it's that. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The Fang Repeater clatters out of the Mancer's hands, but he's not done yet. He's drawn a dart intended to be ammo, and is using it to clear the freeze foam, reopening the nozzle to allow flames to spray once more! The air heats once more as the flames spread, aiming to take advantage of that brief opening.     "A world of true peace, free of rabble," the Administrator says to Kotone coldly before returning his attention to Priscilla. "I was a Graver before all this. We don't die before our targets do." He begins to blur, several images of himself scattering away from his position, but the arcing lightning catches the real one, making him stagger, giving Prisiclla the opening she needs to tackle him back into his desk. A few shards of wood drive into him, eliciting small grunt of pain that should give the First some satisfaction before she vanishes to defend Rucks.     He's doing a fine job with that Carbine as those Mancers put down by the Confusion Grenade get back their senses and join the fray. One nabs their Bullhead Shield while the other produces a Galleon Mortar, the former offering some cover to the latter as they begin to load shells and fire them all around the room. They do not explode, but unfold into small turrets that start firing at the party.     The Administrator pulls himself off the wood as Flamel shouts at him, shouting of his faith in the Kid. His psychic slam knocks down the two recently revived Mancers. His mind reaches out, and feels the Marshal and his old friend. The former is driver, but the latter has a mind in turbulence. Thoughts, memories, and experiences that seem like his own race throughout as he fights through the corridors of the Pinnacle, showing prowess with his Hammer and borrowed Musket he thought beyond him. Flamel's last glimpse is him stopping at Rucks' door thanks to the signal, and bringing his hammer down on it.     But now, Fyxe is dosed with a cloud of positivity, optimism, and goodwill to man, and he is not liking it. He arches his neck back and screams, drowning out the sounds of battle before swinging his machete seemingly wildly, sending detachable blades all over. It seems random at first, but four land in a way that seems supiciously premeditated.     One impales the door controls, rendering the heavy vault door inoperable.     Two slam into the panels besides the remaining operating Cores, ensuring that their power flow to Project Calamity cannot be so easily cut.     And one flies across the room, smashing through the glass covering on a single, auspicious button. The dizzying aura around the weapon intensifies as it begins to hum.     "I can't take it... I can't take people, and I can't take being wrong. So I'll throw away the canvas. Remove both. Then it'll be fine," the Administrator mutters, biting his thumb as Project Calamity enters its firing sequence. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' It is Doomsday, it seems fate will not be denied the death of most of this world. It's human nature to rail against it to keep fighting even as that last bit of life drains out. It's how they are, it's why they endure things with the odds against them at times. Never lay down and die, the cock is ticking now. She calls out to Pricilla over the link with an idea, and she's now dropping her cloak and she has grenades out, plasma grenades that are about as common with her as her stealth gear. "..." There is nothing to say there as she races for the power sources, grenades in hand they are armed, set to a delay count down. She plants them then runs like hell leaving Priscilla to do the rest. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "No! No no no!! WAIT!!! PLEASE!!!" Flamel calls out desperately, screaming as the weapon tears apart some of their last hopes at stopping this. Fyxe fills his clairvoyant perception with visions of a world annihilated in the fires of yet another Calamity. The impact is enough to almost bring Parsons to his knees. He's up off them as soon as he can be, just in time to see the doomsday weapon humming to life. "No. No no no no, no..." He mutters, losing his cool entirely for a moment. His teeth grit and his face screws up in an intense expression of profound pain...     Keep hoping. Keep sticking to the optimism. Keep trying. He has to try. It worked with Venn. It worked with Rucks. He has to try with Fyxe. He moves into a ready position and rushes towards Fyxe, looking like he's about to try to rip the man's head clean off his shoulders for his defiance. But no, his plan's much, much more intense than that. The confusion got to him, enough to reveal some things. Parsons has only a little material to work with, a little time to work in, and a little psychic energy to do it with. Instead of an elaborate infiltration, or an act of violence, he leaps forward to plant his palm on Fyxe's forehead.     Some important, crucial psychology trivia. In 1957, a man named Curt Richter drowned dozens of rats. Now, anyone else drowning a dozen rats wouldn't have made the news, but Dr. Curt Richter had a labcoat on at the time, and so it was much more meaningful. He discovered that, when the rats were shown that the situation was hopeless, they drowned within minutes. And when the rats were shown that they would be lifted out of the water when drowning, or when they were often handled by their labcoated tormentor, they gained hope, and survived for days. It was hope that turned their situation around, and allowed survival. Simply introducing any aspect of optimism gave them power beyond their wild counterparts.     No time to project. Just to try his hardest. Fyxe's brain is like a nuclear reactor of misanthropy in meltdown. Parsons attempts to get a palm firmly on the man's skull. And then he takes more of that energy he put into the grenade, and DUMPS it into the man's prefrontal cortex. Nothing but positivity. Nothing but optimism. Nothing but goodwill. Nothing but pure, pure hope. Hope that one might solve this problem and save the world. Hope that people will be friends. Hope that people will accept feelings that aren't left bottled. Hope that people will be kind. Hope that incomprehensible people can still understand you. Hope for the world. For one's legacy. Hope. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons utterly disregards the insane amount of psychic backlash this is likely to earn him. With the level of intense, profoundly bitter misanthropy that this man was just shedding in waves before, Parsons is doing the equivalent of walking unprotected into a nuclear reactor. And he calls out: "BUT THEY CAN TAKE YOU!" His surge of optimism strengthens. "They can take it when you can't! They can bear the pain of mutual misunderstanding! They can take the mistakes! They can survive it when you're wrong! With them, it can be fine!" His voice is shuddering and his mentality is fraying under the stress of raw exposure to this much misanthropic thinking, but he's going to keep trying.     "Everything's going to be okay!" He says, with an unspeakably determined tone. "People will forgive, or forget, or stop thinking about the times you've been wrong! People will learn to deal with the problems that come up when you can't deal with them! You don't need to take all that!" No matter how much mental fraying he's undergone, he pushes further. He's willing to burn out chunks of his own mentality to strike through to the core of this, with or without an astral projection. "Think about it! Think about that living, breathing, thriving world! That world full of people! The stories they have! The lives they live! And how you can have no more responsibility for them -- just as long as you take responsibility for this, this one moment, this one chance!"     His voice rises, and his eyes blaze a brilliant white. "Have HOPE!" He screams. "HAVE HOPE!! HAVE HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE!!!" Just blowing up the Cores won't be enough -- who knows how many will die with even a partially-powered firing -- but Parsons hopes he can overload and overwhelm Fyxe's mind with enough optimism to make him want to save the world, want it enough that he'll help Venn and Rucks keep the Calamity weapon from discharging. Please, please please please. Please turn around and save this. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla grunts as she throws away yet another piece of Mancer artifice, more seemingly coming out of the woodworks and complicating the field in more and more preposterous ways. She has to duck low behind one of those desks herself when turrets begin popping up and firing, with the room providing such limited area to maneuver around their streams of fire, and without the surety that she can bet they won't shoot at someone with the cannon behind them. At this point, she feels as if they're effectively awaiting the cavalry to arrive, and to let the Marshals handle a task she is fundamentally ill-equipped for.     That doesn't seem to be the case when the Administrator goes berserk. "Must I hold him down and strangle him?!" she laments out loud in incredulity, before looking to Flamel. "What didst thou /do/?" She ducks one of those machete blades, not about to be hit by the same thing twice. "Am I to understandeth . . . this was the intention all along?" Priscilla asks out loud, but the question is clearly rhetorical, going by the disbelief and disgust creeping into each word one by one. "Even amongst such esteemed company, truly, it only taketh one."     Her eyes go to the door panel. She could break that down given a bit of time and her Obsidian weapon. Looking to the button however, it seems Fyxe was accurate enough to nail it under the glass and start the firing sequence, of which she has no idea of its length. The two cores are the obvious case, but Rucks and Venn are now out of luck in shutting them off, and surely severing the power conduits on them without turning the power off would destroy more than just the machine itself. There aren't a lot of options here, and the sheer noise and chaos inside isn't helping the gradually rising urge to go full force on the problem, intensifying in turn with her accelerating pulse. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Surprisingly, it is Kotone who reminds her of something. Though Priscilla had asked for her presence here, she hadn't quite been sure what she was expecting. At her urging over the private network, Priscilla suddenly whispers to herself. ". . . essence of windbag, smaller than the eye couldst see . . ." Seemingly repossessing her focus, Priscilla leaps upright from the thoroughly perforated desk she had taken to use as cover, on the nearest console with Rucks in an instant, and pushing the old Mancer to the ground where he'll be safer.     Breaking the Cores is out of the question in terms of risk, and likely in terms of time they have left, just as liable to explode horrendously as they would be to shut down the machine. With Kotone blowing open the casings, Priscilla can get at them, but doesn't have the luxury of smashing them. Instead, putting both hands, Priscilla calls on what she'd brought out in vengeance on a boy just the other night, some tiny corner of her mind under her pounding pulse and swirling thoughts chiding her for not thinking to practice with these powers.     The space around Priscilla becomes pitch black, curling off of her in liquid tongues of ink and flame, not flickering with the monochrome greys of Humanity, but bleeding grave-cold hues of ice and abyssal water. After a moment, the aura coalesces towards her hands, and then stabs inwards on a column of disturbance much like a bullet of black smoke shot through clear waters, plunging into the Core contained within. Even without the perfect facilitator of the Lifehunt Scythe, the level of charge is great enough to complete the circuit on its own, and the vicious and alien Dark Priscilla carries within her pierces into the old and unfortunately precious stone, blossoming inside it to voraciously consume the essence of the millions of Windbags that'd gone into making it, and the memories they contain.     If that goes by without a total catastrophe, she uses the very short time they have left to warp open to the second chamber, repeating the process before someone can stop her. Then however, she has to take a moment to recover, planting a hand against the wall as she shakes off a wave of disorientation. The world flickers dark and monochrome in her vision for several seconds, sounds reaching her ears as if through a great depth of water. The air smokes and ripples in contact with her, as if unwilling to quiet down so soon. Not with this towering pinnacle of Wrongness so fully on display. She can't do anything about Fyxe, or continue to battle the other Mancers. Instead one hand reaches over her shoulder, and with a trick of invisibility, she slams the wicked obsidian profile of the Dragonslayer Greatbow she had made of an entirely appropriate avatar of calamity once upon a time. The cruciform gem-like eye upon its flared rest gazes into the vault door, letting loose an ear-piercing keening like molten nails on a glass chalkboard, leaving the sizzling imprint of a baleful reptilian eye on the metal.     She knows who must be on the other side by now, and so she says: "I hope that Pyth, too, well remembers thine worthiness." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     There is no clock, but everyone in the room can feel that time is short.     Many of the Mancers, upon hearing the words of their leader, falter and cease their attack. The one with the Mortar hits a button that shuts down the turrets. The one bearing the Flame Bellows stops shooting. An odd peace falls across the chamber as the other Mancers start feeling what the one that Flamel showed the world in ruins does.     But the Psychonaut does not falter, nor does the First, nor the cyborg. The latter brings explosives to bear on the remaining two chambers, breeching the containment and allowing Priscilla access. Indeed, Cores and Shards are made up of millions of tiny lifeforms. That renders them susceptible to the Lifehunt, the lethal force spreading across the stones and snuffing out each tiny life. The stone crumbles, no longer held together by the baby Windbags, and the humming and Wrongness lessens.     "No, stop!" Fyxe shouts as she warps tot he final one, only to be tackled by Flamel, and his mind assailed once more. He screams and thrashes, his own disdain for being around other people lashing back as an unconscious psychic instinct. It's a true tug of war that hurts both, but there is one key thing that tips the scales.     Misandry, by default, leaves you stranded on an island. When you hate being around people, you only have yourself. A healthy mind requires socialization to not become stunted. Flamel, on top of being a Psychonaut, has formed many bonds here and abroad. He has grown invested in the people here, and this gives him cause, gives him the will to press on. The man beneath him gave up long ago, and that is why his mind falters.     The torrent of goodwill overcomes, and he spasms on the floor, shown what he had been missing out on all this time. The world through different eyes is much brighter, and he can barely stand it. Justice, true justice has been attained here, for Fyxe has been given the capacity to be sorry for what he tried to do.     But there is one more brand of justice that must be meted out. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Just before Priscilla turned her eye on the vault door, a massive impact came from the other side, driving it out of its frame and making the whole wall buckle inwards. The hole she creates spares the place a second one, and reveals exactly who she was expecting on the other side. And her hope has already been answered.     There stands Kid, wreathed in an unearthly power, given a wide berth by the Marshals around him. It's just as he was in the final battle with the Ura. He is Pyth's chosen, granted immutable strength by the God of Order and Commotion. Attacking his own people's most honoured is no doubt a big Commotion indeed.     He strides through the door, advancing on Fyxe who is wracked with sobs. "I had no idea..." he chokes out, hyperventilating. "I'm so, so...!" He doesn't get to finish. Man's justice will come in time, but the justice of the gods is immediate.     Kid pulls back a fist, his eyes glazed. He is, at once, seeing the present, and the past. The horrors of the Calamity fill his mind, granted unto him unfiltered by Pyth himself. Even when man forgets, the gods don't forgive. The fist is driven forward, impacting the Administator's face with righteous fury, accompanied by the Kid's scream mingled with a bull's roar. The old man sails back, finally having taken all the punishment he can. Blood pours from his nose as he lays unconscious, and Pyth's power flees the Kid, making him slump over too.     "Well. This is a fine 'how do you do.'" Dion says as he looks around. The Marshals raise their Muskets, and the remaining Mancers surrender. "This is gonna be death to explain to everyone, and havin' y'all around will hurt more'n it'll help I think. Reckon ya should make yaselves scarce until this sorts out. Take them along with ya," He gestures at Rucks, Venn, and the Kid. "Already arranged to get the little lady, the diplomat, and his beau off-world, my men'll bring 'em to ya."     He pauses for a long moment, before adding, "Don't mistake my tone for bein' ungrateful. Y'all did somethin' I never could alone. Caelondia owes y'all a debt, I'll make sure that gets in people's heads." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons had hoped that Fyxe would be helping, but at the very least, it meant he wouldn't be interfering anymore. Now, at least, not one single person in this world is left who has the entirety of the Calamity's power in their mind, /and/ the willingness to use it. And the bonds that Parsons has made have come through. The man's brain is steaming and smoking visibly, emitting a distressing purple mist, but it looks like he's settled this out.     Parsons is still catching his breath. All of this is too much. A betrayal, a double-depth projection, a double-agent infiltration, a drawn-out battle -- Parsons and his psychonaut skill have been pushed to their very limits and beyond. So he's a little overwhelmed, and needing to take a moment to catch his breath. Once he's done, though... "You're right! It'd be pretty tough. Luckily, we were really late to our appointment and never got in here before you guys found out about the firing and stopped it!" He gives a wide grin, and a thumbs up, something a little less effective because of the visible "psychic bleeding" around his eyes, nose, and ears.     He strikes the most inspiring pose he can, with his hands on his waist. "It took everyone putting in their hardest work, but I think we've managed to keep the world from ending. It's going to be a while more to clean up the mess, but you've made sure there was anyone to care about the mess in the first place. Everything will be okay because of who you are and what you've done!" He smiles broadly at the pair, and particularly at the Kid. "I'm glad to have had the chance to work with you again. It'll be a long time until I meet someone as reliable again!"     "Anyway, let's make as little trouble for Dion as we can, and make sure we weren't here, what do you guys say?" Parsons says, smiling wide. And then... Vanishing. No doubt sneaking his way back upstairs and out of here! 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla feels the overwhelming urge to slide down the wall and take a grateful seat on the floor, but she won't do so before the Marshals. Moreover, she still seems to be dead set on watching the Kid, seeing those two selves blur together even in her eyes. "Vacation indeed." she says, loud enough only for herself to hear.     "I wouldst be more than gladdened to hand such a situation over to men like thineselves." Priscilla then says to Dion, straightening up and dusting off her dress, before looking for her healing items. "Considerable effort went into taking these men alive, as I believeth they shalt be needed to answer for much. Sir Rucks and Sir Venn art to be considered key agents instrumental in narrowly averting utter catastrophe, and are hereby recognized with diplomatic status under the Concord until sch a time as their affairs may be settled. It is mine desire to keep worthy help close by, once this nest hast been thoroughly cleaned of roaches. Thou art men of justice, and thou amongst them an uncommon example. I trust thine handling of these ones to be responsible." She then looks to the Kid. "And I trust that Caelondia shalt recognize he, and his companions, what they owe." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' The Mancers falter Kotone sees this her cloak fades she moves but Flammel is already on the head Mancer. Time also seems to slow down for a moment as Marshalls arrive with Dion and Kid at the head of them. Then comes the divine wrath the Gods have not forgotten and have not forgiven the act this man set up to happen upon the world. She just watches taking a step back. She looks away, she just does not want to see she knows what is coming, which is the justice handled by the Gods of this world. She just slumps a bit. "It's been changed." She looks to Dion for a moment nodding. "I getcha we need to vamoose." The plan to get Everyone connected to them and their relations off world? Is a good one. "Sounds like a plan to me Flamel and Dion? Thank you." She looks to Kid and grins a bit she smiles. "You did it." She just seems pleased at it and Priscilla going to bat for Rucks and Venn is welcome to her. "So long as this world keeps on turning it's enough for me." If she gets credit she does if she doesn't. "I think we need to celebrate once we're off world." 
}}

5942/ICoT - The Mancers Dilemma

2018-07-22T06:51:01Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/07/21 |Location=Caelondia |Synopsis=It all comes to a head. |Cast of Characters=798, 1094, 7, 70 |pretty=yes }} {{Poses |Poses=:'''{{#var:798|..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/07/21
|Location=Caelondia
|Synopsis=It all comes to a head.
|Cast of Characters=798, 1094, 7, 70
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Sitting atop the highest hill in Caelondia is a grand manor of tarnished brass and polished wood, the combined effect giving it a slight radiance in the setting sun. The stairs leading up to it are stately, but oddly barren, especially considering how bustling the streets below are. A few men and women walk along them, noses buries in books and sheaf of paper, not making eye contact with each other or the passers-by on their way to their appointment.     For today, they have arranged to meet Rucks at The Pinnacle. Supposedly to discuss Mancer/Concord collaboration, but the true purpose is an attempt to convince their once-dead friend to join their efforts to save Caelondia from itself.     As they cross the courtyard to the front doors, a massive shadow blots the sun. Floating high above is a familiar chunk of land, swaddled in canvases that hide the workings on the underside. The Kid did say that the Bastion was the gathering point in case of trouble, but now it's clear as to just how incomplete it was at the time of the Calamity.     Little time to ruminate though. Through the handsome wooden doors and into the reception. A woman behind a stately desk pays a man clad in light armour who carries a shortbow and quiver. He takes a satchel and adds it to the pile that he has strapped across his chest before rushing past the Elites out the door. The receptionist notices the very un-Cael guests, and recognizes their intent immediately.     "You are Mister Rucks' appointment, yes? Please, right this way, and don't stray. We take security very seriously here in The Pinnacle." With efficient strides, she guides the party deeper into the building. Through brightly lit corridors filled with heavy doors that prevent even a snatch of sound escaping the rooms they protect. The place, it seems, is totally soundproof.     Soon, they reach a door the same as any other, save for the plaque upon it, bearing only Rucks' name and identifying him as the 'Mason Consultant.' The receptionist knocks on the door, a very precise series of taps that brings about a nearly inaudible series of clicks that mark the door unlocking. It swings inward, and she inclines her head before striding off. "Glad y'all could make it. Come on in," says Ruck's caramel gravel voice.     The interior, as opposed to the corridor, are dimly lit with only an oil lamp on the old man's desk casting light on the shelves of scrolls and books that surround him, some scattered on the floor. "Sorry 'bout the state of this, too much work to clean up, and work's too important for janitors." He fiddles with the lamp's knob, brightening the flame. At the very least, some chairs have been pulled up before the desk, and gestures to them for everyone to sit.     Sitting down, they get a good look at Rucks in the firelight. While Kid seemed less morose than he was post-Calamity, and Zulf was /much/ happier, Rucks actually looks worse. His wrinkles cast deep shadows on his face, his hair and moustache is in disarray and his clothes look slept in. He also smells like he hasn't had time to wash lately either.     "So. What can I do ya for?" 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons regards the dangerous-looking man on the way in. Hmmm. Maybe just a quick little scan on the top of the brain...? Nothing too much further, surely. Anyway, he greets the receptionist. "Oh, don't worry! I recently had erroneous impulses of curiosity stripped out of my mind, it'll be fine." Parsons says to the receptionist, cheerfully. "Thank you, ma'am." And then it's time to head on in. "And glad we could make it as well! Wonderful to see you, Rucks. You don't at all have to apologize about the state of things, you seem like the kind of man who has a system." In many ways! "Oh! Sorry for the familiarity. I'm Flamel Parsons, psychonaut, and agent of the Concord. I've been especially wanting to speak with you, for a lot of reasons."     He leans forward, immediately clasping his hands. Let's dig right into this. "We really need your help with something we're hard at work on, and you're a man whose time we shouldn't be wasting. What I'm about to say will sound like there's been a clearance violation! If it's possible, I'd like you to consider the more likely alternatives. We're wanting to try to head off explosively dangerous tensions before something terrible happens to Caelondia. Above all else, we're here to make sure that people don't die, and I know beyond any doubt that you're the kind of man who wants that too. There's a lot of reasons why I know I can count on you above all else."     Parsons explains quickly. He tried to be subtle with enough other people around here, and it never worked, so he handles this with as soft but as firm of an impact as he can. "You're the man who built the Bastion, correct? So you know what it does and how it works? It's been activated at least once now, and we'd like to speak with you about making sure it doesn't need to be activated again in the future. When it was activated, it was to turn back the effects of a Cael superweapon that caused mass deaths."     He gestures to himself. "I'm one of a number of people who was unaffected by the process, due to being off-world at the time! So are many of my colleagues." He's trying his best to avoid the issue of how exactly it got subverted, and by who, but that's as far as his lack of faith in Rucks is going to go. This is a man who sacrificed himself to save Parsons, and under no circumstances -- especially after finding out more about himself -- is Parsons going to let go of high respect for someone like that. So he's putting many of his cards on the table, and working from there. "So. We want to work with you to make sure this doesn't happen. And I know that with the others we've gathered, if we have your help, we can find a way." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is the only non-Concord in the party, but honestly this goes back further than the new factions, she's not about to leave the Kid, Rucks, Zia, Zulf and their peoples snapping in the wind. There was a task to finish and by god, she was going to do so. She's dressed up a bit as she does not expect trouble. She's not in combat gear she's actually in something far more casual. Cargo pants, shoes a vest with detached sleeves, she's just keeping it causal right? No need to be threatening and she appears she could just be some sort of Aid to the Concord bigshots who are her, that worked well enough. She bows slightly to the receptionist. "Thank you!" With that she heads on in after Flammel. She'll wait for someone who speaks which is Flamel and she pauses for a moment before she introduces herself. "I am Kotone Yamakawa." Then the Agent goes full-on unsubtle and whelp? She's going to run with it since being subtle has gone out the door. "It's true I am one who was not affected by it as well." The memory of Rucks death is something she can never unsee due to her cybernetic implants she will never have it fade, it will be clear down to the smallest detail. She does not want this to happen again nor to see this world burn. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Truthfully, Priscilla had been hoping she'd have a little time to poke around in here in the believable timespan they have for Rucks' meeting, but even only the security visible on the bare surface on the way to his office is starting to make her reconsider that. Sure there's no spike pits and tripwires, but the soundproofing and door codes are so much more professional than those that it makes her slightly . . . not worried, per se, but concerned. The silent, hard, narrow stare she gives to the other routes in passing is one that considers 'what /else/ are they doing here if not just the Bastion and the Calamity weapon?'     Actually in the office, Priscilla is immediately tempted to tell Parsons to pull it in this time, and actually raises her hand halfway to bid him so, but then immediately stops when he begins with the fact that Rucks knows exactly what the Bastion does. For once, she won't have to dodge around the topic of time travel. That could be called refreshing, if one were being generous. "It is as the Sir Parsons says." Priscilla says, apparently needing no introduction if she assumes Rucks has done the slightest bit of research on the Concord he's supposed to be meeting. "Given two choices between the Bastion's fledgeling functions, I insisted, and ultimately we elected, to side with that one which wouldst giveth us an opportunity to change the circumstances behind its activation."     "The fact that it didst work at all indicates that thou art a brilliant, and highly valuable man. I imagine thou must also hath some idea of what else is being designed somewhere within these halls. If thou couldst imagine a disaster of such scale that the Bastion's ultimate function wouldst be needed, I am certain thou wouldst knoweth immediately what I referreth to." Priscilla is pretty glad the these doors are soundproofed, all things told. "The face thou wear suggests a man who is far from blissfully ignorant as to what comes shortly into the future." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Rucks had a pen in hand, prepared to take notes, but Flamel's words make it freeze in the air above his desk. His head shoots up to stare at the Psychonaut, his hand trembling. "It works?..." he asks, his eyes lighting up with delight. He starts to put the pen to paper again, but suddenly stops once more.     "Used to undo the effects of a Cael weapon? Sorry, can't think of a thing in our arsenal that would do all that," he says stiffly. "You might be confused. But... gimme a sec." Finally, he puts the pen down proper and interlaces his fingers, thinking carefully. Behind his bushy brows, his eyes flick about, the old man clearly deep in thought. It's a few minutes before he snaps out of it and nods.     "I'll believe ya, for now. Forgettin' was a factor we had in mind as we built the Bastion, so I reckon it could be the case. The fact that you approached so many... people says a lot. Other survivors I reckon." He rises from behind his desk and begins walking around it, approaching one of the shelves.     "Pardon the sudden change in topic, but we had something curious happen. Some of the Gravers we sent to protect one of our most vital assets all had a 'loss of time' so to speak. None of them can remember what happened in the span of a few minutes. All the same minutes." He begins to fiddle with one of the scrolls on the shelves, rotating it until a metallic 'clunk' resounds from the shelf, the whole thing starting to slide aside. It reveals an elevator, currently bearing two Mancers holding up a third. His pale skin has been bruised all over, and his robes are stained in blood. One eye is swollen shut.     "This is that asset. His name is Venn. Perhaps you've met him?"     The Mancers drag Venn out of the elevator and dump him on the office floor. "I'll be honest. After that message, I thought y'all were up to somethin'. But if what you say is true, then the weapon worked. It just misfired. And Venn here is the only one who might let that happen." He limps back to his desk, opens a drawer, and produces a single pistol, loading a single round into it, before slamming it on the table. "So if that's the case, y'all just make him fix what he did, and we're good, yeah?" 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons' eyes go wide. He takes his sunglasses off with a start, and tenses up. This is where things go bad. Because he knows -- thinks, at least -- that he can't get Venn's sabotage undone. And he knows -- assumes, at least -- that even if they did something as unthinkable as disable Rucks here, that weapon will get fired one way or another. And as long as they don't have Rucks on their side and helping here, they won't be able to get this solved. But they can't do Parsons' natural tactic, astral projection, not with that gun and that backup in play, not in the middle of a hornet's nest of super-science high security. His mind races. Deep inside the elaborate complex of his mind, mental aspects are running and screaming, desperately trying to figure out a solution to his problems. Thoughts are in a war room, trying to find a tactic.     He arrives on one.     "Alright, Rucks. I actually owe you my life. You saved me before the Bastion's activation. I've done my best to make sure it got activated just to make sure that wasn't in vain, and to make sure that I could repay you dying to save me. So as much as it absolutely horrifies me to help you murder another nation, I'll do my best if that's what you want." Parsons says, brightly. "The reason that the Gravers lost those minutes is because I'm a Psychonaut -- a sort of a mentalist, you see. I can go into minds and change them around, or look to see what's in them! Now, obviously the stronger the mind, the deeper the secrets, the harder it is to go into, the further you have to go to find something out, so I doubt I'd be very good at getting into a Mancer brain and figuring out what he did, especially on my own. Very complicated! A real maze, probably." He smiles widely, and hopefully.     "But, I don't think I can do it alone, or even with my allies here. And, well, I don't really think you'd trust me when I tell you what we find in there even if we do. And I know for sure we definitely, definitely wouldn't understand it once we found out. So," He gestures to Venn. "Would you like to accompany us inside his brain? That way, you can help us get through Mancer psychology, and you can get a chance to see and understand what he did!" He makes sure to move slowly when he retrieves a little... Door from his jacket. Really? A little door? Well, at least it has the self-serious look of a spy agency's door "Just put this on his forehead and we could get started finding things out. I'll get your problem sorted and everything fired up by the end of the day!"     Then he looks directly at Venn, and "speaks" in soft telepathic tones. "Zia says, 'Keera yun parush'. Everything's going to be okay. I promise. Relax and don't fight us. Help us when we're in there." If Rucks goes along with this plan... Well, everyone will be diving into Venn's mind shortly. Is Parsons' plan really to go along with this? Not exactly, but he's gotta improvise the next section, if this first one works at all. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla expresses only a flick of mild irritation across her face as Rucks denies that one, but it's only mild because she isn't much good at expressing moderate upwards. "Indeed, thou art correct to assumeth others didst surviveth. One of them in particular is capable of remembering the entire ordeal, whilst other chose to forget, and for good reason." To go with Rucks' stiff tone, Priscilla's becomes prim and businesslike. Do tell mineself if this wouldst sound familiar: a weapon to shatter the earth and bury the Ura in their tunnels, of such scale as to target an entire country in thine estimate, mired in stone and built of something Wrong."     That discussion has to be tabled when Rucks abruptly changes the subject, and then the subject turns out to be pressingly and immediately critical. Priscilla would be a poor . . . well, absolutely nothing she's done so far would have made any senses if she had the type of nerves that'd be liable to betray her now. She had wholly anticipated that Rucks would share the Caelondian's hatred for the Ura. Just because man 'progressive heroes' had liked the man a great deal doesn't somehow mean that he'd share all of their values, and of course it'd be easy for him to put that aside after the world had already ended and he had nothing left but guilt. What she has on hand for such an eventuality is a small selection of items and records from her extensive time with the Bastion project, and one immediately becomes an obvious choice when Flamel starts talking.     Unfolded from her sleeve is about half the message Rucks had left the Kid at the very end; not enough to name all the names and give all the details, but enough to be blatantly his own handwriting, go over the Bastion, and indicate that it was a posthumous letter. She gives that to Rucks for his perusal, wordlessly and seriously. "Unfortunately, Sir Rucks, we art not 'good'. Aside from the fact that Sir Venn is of the Concord's interest as an established contracted party, and not currently open to interrogation or corporal punishment as part of this diplomatic overture, the simple fact is that Sir Venn is not capable of undoing what it is that thou art about to do not very long from now. Thou art a brilliant man Rucks, but thou art perhaps too skilled for thine own good. A saboteur is not a necessity for what is about to go so very wrong." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa gets still as a Doll as Rucks puts things together and she starts to wonder with his reactions as things seem to be going south. Flamel seems to have a plan and she's going to run with it here. It's a dangerous plan but it's very much needed to keep two civilizations from ending up in utter ruin and the world in pieces. She's going to go out on a limb here, trust those she considers friends here and if it goes badly she could very well end up in a very bad place with the Paladins. The number of lives top be save though is more than worth the risk to her mind. She looks to Flamel for a moment. She nods she trust in Priscilla on this. She also thinks the carnage of seeing the weapon actually used? Caused a Change in Rucks she suspects. She has an idea of where Flamels plan is going so she just plays along she's just the hired help right? 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Rucks crosses his arms and stares at Flamel as he lays it all out. "I did huh?..." he says in response to Flamel's claim that Rucks saved his life. He adds, under his breath, "Don't sound like me..." He raises an eyebrow as the little door is procured, and the other Mancers titter a bit. "Well... not the oddest thing I've heard of other worlds. Sure."     And then Priscilla hands him the letter. He takes it, frowning slightly. "This is only half. Who is this 'Kid?'"He looks at Priscilla, who only responds by telling him that having Venn fix the weapon won't undo the things that the Concord want undone. "Caelondia can't afford another war," Rucks says simply. "We can't truly be 'safe' until the possibility is wiped out. This is the only way.     He starts affixing the door on Venn's head as Flamel's telepathic message reaches him. He twitches, reflexively outraged at the use of Ura tongue, but the promise that it was Zia who told him soothes him.     Sure enough, the door flies open, and everyone is pulled inside alongside Flamel. Venn's mindscape, on first examination, looks just like his comfy, Ura-styled home. But a single glance out the window reveals a darkened, ruined land. Hunks of rock float against a black, stormy sky wrack with bolts of lighting. Far far below, the screams of the dead and damned almost drown out the thunder.     Venn's mental representation sits at the table where everyone ate dinner, staring at the blood that constantly issues from his hands, pooling at his feet.     "Well, this is a fine mess," Rucks mutters as he looks out the window. "So now what? Where would we find what we need?" 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, this is what we need!" Parsons says, brightly, pointing outside. "I've seen this. This is what happens to the minds of survivors of the weapon. I actually saw this in an Ura diplomat once. It was absolutely awful. It's pretty likely that a sizeable portion of Cael population will need to have this purged out of their minds in order to keep your society stable if we pull the trigger on this. He's sort of like patient zero of the psychological disease, so to speak. The weapon's effects are like this, and I'd probably say it'll happen on a broad, social scale. It's likely that we'll find out what he did somewhere in either the ground zero of the blast, or at wherever the weapon may be in his mind, but either way, we got in close. Now, how do we do this..."     He looks out the window, trying to find something. In fact, a big, comical "?" pops up out of his head. "Huuuhhhh... Okay, so if I look at that angle..." He mutters, reaching up to the thing... "And if we..." He mutters, glancing to Venn, hoping he'll provide mental support -- crucial down here. "I think... That should be our objective. What do you think, Rucks? Based on the blast patterns?" He tries to get Rucks to look out one of the windows, out into the landscape of the mind so he's distracted.     And then he pops the top curl off the question mark like a grenade, dropping the resulting psychic construct and releasing a blast of CONFUSION ENERGY intending to stun Rucks! And he takes the second PSYCHOPORTAL out! "Watch out!" He calls out over telepathy. "He might have more strength on a mental plane! Get him still without hurting him!" Rucks is a man who is important to Flamel. And that's why he needs to dive into his mind. And there's nothing but Psychonaut warnings and regulations to keep someone from diving into someone's mind, /while/ diving into someone's mind. People will need to hold Rucks' still, hopefully while not stunned themselves, while Parsons tries to get the psychoportal onto his forehead and dive them -- Venn's self-image included -- into /Rucks'/ head, while they're diving into Venn's head! 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla's first words upon falling through a mindscape door for a third time and taking a look around at the bleak and horrifying scenery are the following:     "It is more literal than I wouldst hath assumed."     Clearly Venn is a man whose attention is extremely consumed with one very specific thing.     Without the extra Mancers around, Priscilla continues her discussion with Rucks. "A young Caelondian man who didst survive a certain Calamity, alongside thineself. There art very few hands to help with the effort of completing the Bastion in such a future after a certain weapon hast been fired." She then gestures around herself, helped by the fluttering of her broad white sleeves. "Caelondia cannot afford to utilize such a trump card at all. A further war wouldst be untenable, yes, but soon enough, there shalt be no Caelondia /or/ Ura left. The question is only which of the two is worst off." She's not being /completely/ honest, but not dishonest either. Venn had, after all, aimed it at Caelondia, but in the end it'd obliterated most of the world. A second piece of evidence comes out: pictures of the petrified Caelondians in the shattered city square, taken from Staren's helmet cam. She just lets him have it, so he can be distracted and concerned at his own pace.     That may be useful for Flamel's /batshit insane/ plan. Even Priscilla looks shocked, almost sputtering to say "Is this even meant to work? By what rules?" when he pulls out a door inside a door to do a mind dive inside a mind dive. Given, she is easily the physically strongest person here, and so she has the job of grabbing Rucks from behind, in a pretty simple under arm lock. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone seems mute, to Priscilla and Flamel? That might hint to just how worried she is, she tends to get more Doll like when she tries to reign in her emotions and given how her body responds to things. She does s Parsons has asked of her, she gets ready to mind dive, and away they go into the mind. She will trust them on this into the mind they go. She can't even afford Venn a look as she shifts into a whole other world. When the call to action comes in, she moves she will move to hold him down, the good news is Kotone has some experience in this and she will heed the warning and be ready for a major fight. This is god damn crazy and she knows it if she'd not been with the Flotilla for so long? With the likes of Biteblade and George's antics? She might have frozen, nope here she is power bombing the tornado. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla finally gives a proper answer. "Hm. I'd like to meet 'em after this is over. Sounds like a true son of Caelondia." And then he sees the pictures of Caelondian citizens petrified into ashen statues. He trembles a little at the sight. "I know some of them. Chat with 'em on my walks in the Hanging Gardens... Nordy the bird boy, the Jawsons, Grady Senior and Junior..." He shakes his head and thrusts the pictures back, quickly going over to join Flamel at the window.     "What am I lookin' at?" he asks, stunned by the nightmare going on outside. He doesn't even comment on the neon question mark above Flamel's head, leaving him wide open to take the blast of confusing psionic energy. He stands there, stunned, murmuring, "Secret to a good moustache is Scumbag juice, gives a real enchantin' aroma..."     And now, the first ever attempt at the Cobb Technique! Through Rucks mental projection, they dive into the Mancer's mind, blasting through his mental defences weakened by the Confusion Grenade and the doubts they've instilled. It still feels like slamming through multiple sheets of corrugated iron though.     His mind scape is much classier and a welcome respite from the storm and screaming. It's his office, but much much larger and well tended. Decorations have also been set up, like an Army Carbine above his chair, a mounted Cael Hammer above the door... actually, on closer inspection, there are weapons all over. Guns hidden in bookcases, a spear in the umbrella holder, grenades in the fruit bowls. Classic indication that something is going on at the subconscious level. The man himself is sitting in his chair, still out of it from the grenade. But the projection of Venn has also followed, still bleeding everywhere. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons springs into action. He doesn't have the ammo or the focus for another confusion grenade right now, so he had better get this figured before the keen-minded Mancer gets his bearings. He doesn't know how much self-awareness this guy has to work with in this mental space, but he knows for sure that he doesn't want to be on the receiving end of any of those weapons. First, he tries to activate his invisibility, to give himself even a few seconds of extra wiggle room if Rucks goes active in a hostile way. How does he work this... How does he figure this...     "Venn! I don't... I don't know what to do! Has Rucks told you about any reasons he wants the Ura dead specifically? The guy was old enough that he was probably part of the old war, maybe if I..." He mutters over telepathy, and then pushes as quick as he can towards the weapons! Maybe if he uses his Clairvoyance, he can get some clues. He's seen enough Ura, and Ura weapons, to know he needs to look around for one thing in particular: A War Machette, like the ones wielded in the Ura siege on the Bastion! Like the one Rucks died on...     "Focus!" He mutters to himself, amid his search. If he can find one, and if he can draw some clues out of it with Clairvoyance, maybe he can get an idea of where to start navigating in Rucks' mind, to track down his feelings towards the Ura, and take them down once and for all! This is such a huge collection, if he can just trace the history and route of these weapons, maybe he can get to their source! 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Frankly, it is the weapons Priscilla notices before the office. That's just how she's been trained -no, that's just how she grew up. Flamel said something about a 'War-Hawk' hazard on the radio, but this doesn't seem quite to do with war. Not one hundred percent anyways. The closer she looks, the more she finds, far beyond simple wall directions. Picking up one of those grenades out alongside a pear, she hefts it into her hand, narrows her eyes, and says "I assumeth one of these men with the name 'Mancer' wouldst be afflicted with a certain layer of paranoia and violent readiness." Then she rubs her shoulder more on reflex than anything, from the rough trip that it had been getting into. She can't imagine what it'd be like under normal circumstances.     "What is our objective, specifically, to appear as, Sir Parsons?" she asks. "Am I to expecteth another monster from this?" The Scythe, or rather her mental approximation of it, appears in her hand. Unlike the real world, it lacks a certain level of material form. In her mind's eye, it is some kind of murkily swirling smoke and ink abstraction, as if missing its quasi-metallic 'shell' and exposing its formless guts. Not being a psychic though, she has relatively little ability to search the office for something terribly meaningful, and so she begins at least with the effort of finding something to tie Rucks to the chair, however mediocre. "And Sir Venn. Knowest thee any particulars of Sir Rucks' direct involvement in the war? He is certainly old enough." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa hears Rucks bring up various names and at least one name she does know frowning she does not like to think of the people turned to ash, it brings up memories of the third world war to her. She ends up in Rucks min and now she's looking about she notices the place is like a trap-filled dungeon. She also looks to Ven and does what she can to stop the bleeding without thinking about it. She's not sure if it will help and she nods to Flamel. "Old hates die hard, really hard." She will try to help Flamel once she's done what she can for Venn. "Maybe look for things related to that day Flammel, you know the one I mean." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The search begins. Flamel is convinced that Rucks feelings about the Ura are key to all this, all he needs is a representation of those feelings. He was a soldier, and mentioned fighting in the war... but all the weapons they can find are of Caelondia. Not a single War Machete or Fang Repeater in sight, and the spears are Brusher Pikes, rather than the naginata-esque spears that the Ura use.     However, there is one thing to be found that directly relates to the war. Whomever deigns to search Ruck's desk, taking care to not jostle the stunned mental representation would notice the framed photo upon it. It existed in the real world too, but no one ever got on this side to look at it. It depicts several young men out in the bush, bearing weapons. One of them is clearly a younger Rucks, based on the moustache.     Should Flamel apply Clairvoyance on this picture, the office dramatically changes. The walls fall away, and plantlife spreads from each weapon like a cancer, rapidly overtaking the stately office. The mindscape is now a warzone, with the sound of gunfire and screams of pain coming from the thick foilage. The distant glow of fire mingles with the scent of gunsmoke and the noxious plantlife of the Wild. Uran chanting echoes from the distance, harsh and menacing, mixing with a distant war chant.                          I dig my hole you build a wall                                                  I dig my hole you build a wall                                                 One day that wall is gonna fall                             The Rucks mental construct has regressed in age, now a young man bearing a rifle. All around him are the bodies of the other men in the photo. "I remember..." Venn says horsely, in response to Priscilla. "The one time I saw Rucks drunk... he fell asleep, and began to weep, calling out their names. Folez, Gurn, Xander... I can't remember them all now. His unit got wiped out in an Ura ambush, I think." He gestures at the bodies, all of which exhibit wounds that ooze in the same way that Rucks fatal stab did. Poison. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons does go through all that, Clairvoyancing everything he can until something works -- and boy does it work. "Aaaaaaaaauh!" He falls behind the desk, now probably a barricade or something like that. His eyes flick around, trying to figure how to approach this... "Um... Okay, okay, I'm... not sure, but I think if we can find the mental image of the Ura that killed his men, we can stop them and defuse this. I don't know for sure, but that's where we should start. Make sure he doesn't get hurt by any Ura if you can!" He peeks up at the signs of nearby Ura battles. "I think... Guh, I think we'll need Rucks for this!" He says, wincing and screwing his eyes closed. "I don't know. I don't know how this works, what this is going to be like... But if I'm right, he feels /unsafe/, like he can't deal with the potential threat any way but the biggest gun in the world. And if we make sure he feels capable of dealing with these problems on his own, maybe he'll be able to think of this in a healthy way! As long as he sees how strong he is, maybe he'll be able to use that strength without the Calamity!"     Optimistic, Parsons. But it's the only plan you've got. The secret agent tries to jostle Rucks' mental self-image awake. "Hey!" He calls out, urgently. "We're here to help make sure nobody else dies, sir! Where are people in need? We'll make sure everyone remembers that a Caelondian Trigger won't get broken that easily!" As always, his voice is full of hope, optimism, and positivity overwhelming. He's planning on heading out towards whatever looks like it's in the most dire straits, and fighting for his life and Rucks' sanity against whatever looks like it might best represent Rucks' feelings of being imperiled or in need of such dangerous weapons! He's got no other options he can think of, and at least this is a way to seek out more hints. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa looks to Venn as he explains a bit about when Rucks got drunk and what he did things start to come together somewhat. She looks at the bodies leaves her feeling a sense of loss. She can't even guess what it would be like to be the one person to escape a fate like this, the crushing survivor guilt. The constant eating at you, that if something had happened differently? She looks to Flammel now as she thinks. "Right we protect him then." Kotone isn't unarmed and she's willing to fight there's a Hum as she powers up here internal taser systems to ready mode. "We're here to help." She moves to grab a weapon off the ground a hammer, kinda of fitting when she thinks about it. She is ready to defend young Rucks though and she might not be trained to use a melee weapon like this? Yet she's certainly got power to put into it. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Funny where folk songs come from. Priscilla had thought those lyrics were ominous when first she had heard Zia singing them, out in the wilds of the frontier. Even from that girl, something about that beautiful song had tingled just the wrong way. This is the bloody reality of that little piece of lore -one she had thought likely to never be relevant.     Of course, in the process of originally trying to tie Rucks up, Priscilla gets behind the desk. That's where the chair is at after all. The picture only briefly interests her, until it becomes the main subject, or rather, once it reveals it was the main subject after all, as if the weapons in the Mancer's office were the place where his mind truly is bubbling up through the veneer of his modern life, like grass through the cracks in pavement.     "An intensely personal grudge, then." Priscilla says, unhappy by her tone. A simple patriotic hatred of an enemy nation would have been one thing. Even simply serving on the frontlines might have been another. This kind of grief and trauma as to having lost all his comrades however, Priscilla hasn't the foggiest of how to fix. It is in part because of the fact that Priscilla's own past has long ago encapsulated this kind of thing, time and time again, that she sees no way past it.     Priscilla looks to the dead men and their seeping wounds. She looks to the fire and smoke in the distance. She looks to where she hears the Ura chanting and psyching themselves up for another charge. What can she even do here? This man needs to be persuaded /not/ to destroy these people, and what had she herself done. Her fingers sink deep into the murky blackness of her scythe-abstraction remembering the murderous fury with which she herself had charged into the Ura's lines, eager to wreak bloody vengeance on their race for the death of Rucks. How can she convince him to do anything else with any credibility? Just hearing those shrieks makes her want to do it all over again. Her rod stiff body radiates a literally visible aura of it, curling off her in monochrome wisps, frost spreading and crackling from where her feet press into the dirt. Doing so would probably be psychologically disastrous, but what else is she good at? She can't bring these men back to life.     It's a very good thing she has people for this. Flamel's enthusiastic urging towards Rucks snaps her out of the increasingly dark brooding she had sunk into without noticing, finding herself staring at ice-covered ground instead of looking around herself. This is how it'd been for a while now. Having better qualified -no, more wholesome- people to fill in her blanks. There had always been these people, even before she'd lost them all and found them again. Hope. Reassurance. Guidance.     Lowering the scythe in one hand, Priscilla draws the weapon she'd only obtained thanks to those people. Something that represents a mental block of fear and hatred she herself had once had. It too is something abstract, as she seems to regard these strange arms made of souls, but a sword of glittering, dancing blue lights, part firefly, part star, shines like a beacon from her left hand raised upwards.     She turns the hilt towards Rucks. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The Ura get closer by the second, continuing their war chant.                       Gon' build that wall until it's done                                             Gon' build that will until its done                                                But now you got nowhere to run                             The first emerges from the brush, and everyone can see how Rucks sees them. A being of smoke and shadow, moving in fast blurs like they stepped out of an overcranked film reel. They immediately make a beeline for Rucks, likely being put down by Kotone's borrowed hammer. But another joins it, then two more, all chanting until they are snuffed out and replaced. They're surrounding the area now, menacing with blades attached to their forarms, darts that erupt from their mouth.     Flamel tries to shout some life into Rucks, reminding him of what he is. He looks up, with tears in his eyes as he struggles to hoist his friend's body. This is no Trigger right now, no soldier. This is a boy who has had his life yanked out from under him, one who would never recover. But Flamel's psionic optimism dries his eyes and starts inspiriring him enough to talk. "They're all over, there's no way out. They know these Wilds like their own hands!"     But then Priscilla strides up, and offers him a shining, shimmering blade. With wide eyes he grasps the hilt and struggles to heft it. For a moment, a courageous light fills his eyes, and he looks around, only to see the sheer mass of Ura that start to materialize from the trees, chanting, braying for blood, blades oozing poison. His heart falters.     And another pair of bloody hands grasp the blade.     "Rucks," says Venn, the flow of blood starting to stem as he looks his colleague in the eyes. His expression is a complicated one, but his eyes shine with resolve. "You've been struggling a lot too, huh?" He offers a grim smile and says, "My parents died in this war too. We all lost someone here. I know you don't want another one to happen. But you'll be creating a lot more orphans if you go through with this. Let's go back, together, and fix this."     The soldier says nothing. But in the guiding light of the sword, his appearance reverts to his elderly self. He offers only a nod, and the two men heft it, before swinging. It's light extends, cutting through the surrounding brush and the Ura, leaving a clear path towards the warm light of the office in the distance. Rucks returns the blade, and hoists up two of his comrade's bodies. "Let's get these boys home," he says, before heading towards the light.     Once they all comply, they all begin to snap back, returning to Venn's mind, before returning to the real world. The psychic backlash is likely a bad one, but it seems like barely any time passed during their two-layer descent. The two Mancers seem confused as they keep their guns trained on Venn. "Well?" one asks. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons is wide-eyed, amazed as Priscilla demonstrates the overwhelming mental power of her artifact. No doubt the Psychonauts would love to have their hands on something so wonderful. And this deep in the psychic space, it's nothing short of incredible in its power. As it cuts down the mental psychohazards in Rucks' own hands -- and even Venn's, thank goodness he brought him along too -- the whole fiasco is as put to rest as it seems he can. No, he can't get rid of Rucks' traumatic experiences in losing his men, but... Can he get rid of the feelings of threat and vulnerability? Well, it got rid of something that had Rucks threatened.     Snapping back into the office practically puts Parsons straight off his feet. "Woah!!" He calls out, stumbling a little bit. They were ejected from the mental space so hard that the door itself flipped straight off of Venn's forehead, clattering weirdly to the ground. "What the-- Woah!" He says, sort of padding at his own head to assure himself that his brain sure is still in its skull. "Oh, uh... That's..." Parsons starts, anxiously. At least they're not holding the guns at him right now, as he so often has had happen, but now he's got a different matter to deal with. His whole body freezes up. Did they get enough that Rucks will feel sane enough to call off this effort? "I think we might have... Helped Rucks with what he needed to see?" He says, gritting teeth in a worried way and looking to Rucks hopefully. "Ummm."     Please don't point a gun at me. Please don't point a gun at me. "What do you think, Rucks? Was that, uh, did that let you find out what you need to know?" He awkwardly fusses with his hands at Venn, hoping he doesn't begrudge Parsons the beaten state, and hoping that nobody gets a bullet in them. Right now, he doesn't know for sure whether or not he's managed to save many millions of people or not. The uncertainty is killing him almost as much as those guns could. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa will put her hammer to work as she brings one down, she will then keep moving to hit the next and the next, they still are attacking. Kotone keeps going, she does not have the insight for mental stuff as well as Flammel and Priscilla do on this. She does have the drive to keep going and desire to save not only this world but Rucks too. She swings that hammer for all she's worth she will take hits even it does horrible things to her, they will have to rip her apart to get past her. When the attackers pull back she stops, lowers the hammer and will set down the hammer. She will help with any of the remaining bodies and head towards the light with everyone else. Kotone picks herself off the gfround looking to the two Mancers looking quite dazed from the experiance. She still a bit wide eye from what Priscilla did in there and she now look to the mancers for the moment she does not want to get shot, but she also prime her body to move if she needs to take a hit from someone... 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Never had Priscilla quite expected to use this particular weapon in this way. She had never expected it to even possess the properties it does, ill-understood as those in excess of its normal magic are. It'd come to mind as something that symbolized to her back when her own friends had given her the determination to continue forward and face something from her past head on, and the way it'd made her feel more confident and at ease, if not even at peace, is something she had ascribed to be partly sentimental. Seeing Rucks and Venn reunite here, she knows there must be something special about it, because even she watches wide-eyed as the two men show something very different than mistrust and secretly terrified scorn for each other.     "It is as I had said. Some men art too brilliant for their own good. They becometh lost in themselves, maketh enemies of friends, and cease to see a way forward." Those words are for the mind divers only, and not the Mancer guards when they pop back out all of a sudden. Priscilla blinks against the light of the desk lamp, holding up her head near her eyes and looking vaguely disoriented and confused. How long had it actually been? She isn't certain on the relation of mindscape time to real time, never mind double mindscape time. Mindscape squared? Root mindscape? "I believeth the venture to be productive." she says to the Mancers, steadying herself where she stands while the vertigo wears off. "Sir Rucks shouldst be more well informed than wouldst be possible exchanging words here." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Rucks blinks blearily for a long moment, before exhaling hard through his nose. "Yeah, we got it..." The other Mancers exhale a sigh of relief and say, "Great! So, should we..." They aim the guns at Venn again, and Rucks quickly snaps "No!" They freeze, and look to him suspiciously. "We'll need his help to get the weapon functional. He's coming with us." Cool as a cucumber, that Rucks.     The two look to each other and nod. "Right... just so you know, the Administrator said that if you get involved with them in any way, we're to consider you compromised." The other nods, and raises his gun to point at the old man. "Nothing personal Rucks. Just means you'll have us keeping an eye on you as you get it ready. He wants it fired today, if possible."     His eyes go wide as everyone is ushered towards ths secret elevator. A lever is pulled, allowing them to descend into the depths... 
}}

5922/P:WtWM: Even Speedwagon is Taken!

2018-07-01T07:21:00Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/06/30 |Location=The Mirror Forest |Synopsis=Die Reisende rush a tower in the Mirror Forest to save Speedwagon |Cast of Characters=909, 894, 57..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/06/30
|Location=The Mirror Forest
|Synopsis=Die Reisende rush a tower in the Mirror Forest to save Speedwagon
|Cast of Characters=909, 894, 571, 901, 42, 7, 1141
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     It's been a while.     Die Reisende return to the Forest at the urging of Tattoo, Kenpo, and the other Ogre Street boys. Their frantic claims of 'another Speedwagon' showing up to spirit the real one away is shocking, but even more so is their mention of the other Speedwagon having bright yellow eyes, the same as a Shadow. This should not be; the Piper was supposed to be the only one who could move between the real world and the Forest.     Janine is aggravted by this news, and insists that it's probably some other 'Multiversal bulllshit,' but eventually concedes to let the Pig sniff at Speedwagon's trademark bladed bowler. Obviously, she only gets more aggravated when the Pig actually goes trotting off, following the scent into the thick glass trees.     The Pig's meandering nose eventually leads it to a clearing in the trees. Said clearing is utterly dominated by a massive tower that extends into the endless grey sky above. It's composed of grey stone, with a single entrance of heavy wood doors, and a single window at the very top, closed off with iron bars.     "This is some Rapunzel-ass shit," Janine bemoans, before drawing her sword and peering into it's polished surface, drawing forward Binacabella. A blast of wind is launched at the doors, blasting it off its hinges before she rushes inside, with the sound of fighting soon following.     No time to stand around! 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August follows behind Janine. He's not happy, and it's clear on his face. He's dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans with his gun and knife at his side, and he moves to take point beside her. "When we find his Shadow, beat the shit out of it, and then let Speedwagon handle the rest. He has to be able to accept himself, otherwise stuff will probably go horribly wrong." Once the door is blasted open, August raises his own mirrored bracelet to his wrist. "Persona." The Tin Soldier appears in a flash of blue, and then they slam into the door. The minute August sees opposition or Shadows, he'll attack them with a mixture of bullets and fire, using his Persona to tank wounds to his real body, all the while looking for a lead on where Shadow Speedwagon is. It's go time. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka's checking her FN FNX-45 as she arrives. Watching the pig trot off, the cyborg shrugs her shoulder at Janine before taking off after her. Sidearm only today, mostly because trying to sneak an HK416 into the town would be a nightmare. It was hard enough hiding her matter manipulator as it is. If she sees Shadows, and there's a good chance she will, Maaka opens fire with her .45. Time to go get Speedwagon. 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''     After Hoshi's escape from the grips of the Forest not so long ago, she'd suspected she would be drawn back in fairly quickly. No matter what Kohler had said, it seemed obvious that whatever dark things were stirring in that abominable place were nowhere near at an end. She's dismayed and angered when she lears just who had been targetted by the eldritch forces this time: one of her saviours from before. THerefore, when the expedition is mounted, the kendo champ is among the first to answer the call.     She seems no more pleased to be here than either Janine or August; in fact, the act of just being here is bringing uncomfortable flashes of her imprisonment back before her eyes. "Ugh..." With a grunt, Hoshi touches her locket, hanging and shining dimly over her kendo gear, trying to gather strength from it. "I feel gross just being back. Why would Mr. Speedwagon have been targetted? Is this the first time someone outside of our world has had this kind of problem?"     Looking over the rising tower before them, Hoshi scowls lightly and lets her hair tie-katana grow in her hand, ready for use. "Assaulting a tower, huh? If it /is/ Rapunzel like the story, we might need to watch out for a scary mother-Shadow-thing, along with whatever came from Mr. Speedwagon." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren's not on the best of terms with August or most of the rest of Die Resende, but a rescue mission is a rescue mission. Personal and political issues can be set aside for a bit. He's in his armor, as always, and follows the pig somewhat impatiently. If only it could run directly towards the target.     And then they get to a freaking Rapunzel tower. Before anyone can decide on tactics, though, Janine's charging in. "Geeze." Staren mutters, running after to see what she's fighting and support with beam cannon fire.     He does smile briefly when he sees that Amakasu still has that katana, though. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' It's been a while, Kotone had expected activity to just taper off into nothing with the fall of the Queen. That does not seem to be the case here as it's come to her awareness something has happened to Robert. With the tip off from Tatoo, Kenpo and the rest of the Ogre Street boys. She was deeply concerned given what she was told it seemed to be a Shadow that had run off with Robert. She has no idea what the hell is going on now with this still being active. She doesn't argue with Jaine she wants it to be other multiveral bullshit, herself. She was now arriving at the tower and looking up at it. "Could be because he was involved with the Forest? Could be a crazy sort resarcher who wants to see how this works. A Tower assault, that's when Kotone grins a little at Hoshi and the rest. "I think, I'll be able to help with it." She has an assault rifle today rather than an SMG and she's quick to move in aiming to keep pace with Hoshi today. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Those who pursue Janine into the tower would see her clashing with towering knight Shadows. The swords they carry are downright dinky, but they carry massive tower shields. As such, they can easily hunker down to shrug off Janine's wind attacks. "Fight me properly shitbirds!" she yells as the others come in to assist.     The combined assault of bullets, fire, and energy waves manages to overcome the defences of one, making it topple back. But the other immediately starts backing up the stairs to the next floor, blocking it with its massive shield. "Oh fuck this," Janine declares, before making wind strike it from behind, sending it tumbling down. "Move on up!" she barks, urging everyone upstairs.     The second floor is suspiciously barren. However, the numerous holes, gaps, slits, and partitions in the walls, floor, and ceiling speak of a multitude of traps that bar the path.     "Oh my gooooooood," Janine groans as she stares at it. "Any bright ideas?" 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''     Seeing Janine in such trouble, Hoshi quickly charges into the fray to confront one of the shield-bearing SHadow mooks with her katana, for all the good that it does her. Her katana certainly can't breach a wall of metal, leaving her to just push against it with all of the strength she could muster in herself. Of course, that was fine; her greatest weapon was never her sword in the first place, and screw caring about honor and fair fights against a Shadow.     "Rosamond!" She calls out, and her mirrored locket shines clear as the giant shrouded woman appeared behind her mark and buried her broadsword into the Shadow's back with all of her incredible strength. Though it's not quite dead, the giant blade sticking out of it leaves it easy pickings for the rest of the group.     From there, Hoshi grimaces and charges up to the next floor after Janine clears the way, but when she sees what awaits them she comes to a screeching halt just before stepping out into the death trap. "Uh... Crap. Well, our Personas could carry us, but everyone else..." 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka raises her pistol to fire at the shadows. She can see a black blurry thing, which seems about right. Dodging their strikes, she replies with pinpoint accurate shots and joint locks. Can these things get their arms broken? Whatever, Maaka's gonna find out in a second or two. In any case, she helps clear the room as reinforcements pile in. "For fuck's sakes..." She growls harshly, swiftly reloading her sidearm.     Then the trap room. She backs off, just in case August decides on burninating.     It's usually burninating with that kid. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As they fight through the Shadows, August is especially driven, giving them no mercy. He replies to Hoshi as they fight. "Once. They got a Persona by accepting their Shadow." And then, Janine knocks one of the Shadows down, letting them past into the second floor. Which is littered with holes for traps. Traps after traps after traps. August takes a moment to see if anyone else has ideas, notices that no one really seems to, and decides to do it his way. The Tin Soldier raises its rifle...and then August leaps on its back, charging forward. The Tin Soldier pivots as it moves, moving to spray its gun as it runs and try and seep flames into as many trap holes as it can to damage the trap mechanisms so the others can pass behind him. If this leads to some flaming projectiles, well, they'll just have to deal with that, won't they? 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is quick to make user of her matter maniplator to pull a spare weapon out with some mags. She'll pass the SMG off to Maaka quickly before putting the storage unit back on her hip. With that handled she will be moving in and opening fireat the defences. "I have options that should give me a chance to travese this so long as I don't take a head shot I'll be okay in the end." As August does his thing she opens fire with her rifle on any shadows in the way. She's going to then sprint ahead, just after the wake of the fire, she's also not slowing down, a little reminder she's nearly fast as a car when she's running on foot, in the wake of such a Trogdoiran tatic on August's part. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Aaand knights down! Staren reaches into his bag and tosses Maaka a caseless SMG, "Maaka, catch!" and, as he passes the knight Janine knocked down, he pulls a heavy pistol out of his bag and gives it a couple of headshots to make sure it stays down. The bullets burst into tiny lances of energy that may melt right through it and the floor.     Up the stairs they go... to the obvious trap room. Staren considers this. He could try to gum up the works with foam, or start disassembling it and exposing the traps with the matter manipulator.     And then while he's thinking, August charges ahead. Well then. Any traps that still go off behind August after the fire, he fires little missiles that explode into quick-hardening foam into, and then hurries to catch up. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Flames fill the trap room, flooding each little nook with burning goodness. There is the sound of weights falling as the ropes that suspend them burn. Some spike traps pre-emptively erupt as their mechanisms fall apart. Staren follows up with foam missiles, gumming up the ones that start to trigger as the redhead runs through. They're clear!     The stairs to the next floor lead to no floor, but a massive vertical chamber that seems to stretch the rest of the way to the top. This chamber is filled with stairs that fork and branch in strange ways, but they all lead to the same place. A simple wooden door, far above.     "I hate this. Spread out, just in case," Janine bemoans as she begins running up the stairs. The forks are all fine and stable, there's no 'true path' with the others being traps. But as everyone gets close to the top, something happens.     Paritions open in the roof above, and from them, massive iron balls fall. They begin to slam into the stairs, collapsing them around the party. Not to mention the massive heavy weights threatening to crush them, now their path up and back is falling apart! 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''      Lucky for them, August's method of burning the place down... doesn't actually burn the place down, how convenient! Of course, Staren helps too, but Hoshi can't help but sigh and rub her face slightly in exasperation. "It /really/ doesn't always have to be fire," she mutters, more to herself than anyone else. She's quick to push her way through the series of damaged traps as fast as her legs can carry her, and push into the next room...     Only to be confronted by something out of an M. C. Escher painting. "Guuuh... It's always traps and puzzles and riddles!" Her one weakness! So, she picks one at random and goes as fast as she dares, which at least seems to be working. Until... Hoshi stops dead and glares up at the giant ball as it falls upon her stairway, seemingly about to challenge it instead of let it put her aside. But no... she turns to the side and jumps from where she stands, out into the thin air. "Persona!" Rosamond responds by catching her summoner in the air and pushing her further up, towards what seems to be their exit. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka accepts Kotone's SMG with a grin, before returning the one Staren tosses her. "I'm good, thanks." She says, before taking off once burning does begin! She produces a chest rig and stuffs the spare mags in there. This is a pretty nice piece, she thinks to herself. Maaka takes off in a dead sprint, moving quickly just in case traps still kick in. She really doesn't wanna get held down in this place.     The cyborg goes up the stairs, covering exits as suddenly iron balls fall. "Shit!" She slams herself against a wall, trying to get out of the balls' path. "You wanna try burning -them- too?" She asks August with a hint of sarcasm. She uses the Escher styled geometry to her advantage, as she leaps from one set of stairs to another, mostly to avoid being smooshed by these balls, going from stairway to stairway whenever one gets too close on her way up. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August sighs as the flames are successful. If he hears Hoshi's under-breath comment, he's ignoring it, but does reply to Maaka's directed one, as he stares up at the giant iron balls and moves to start dashing forward up the steps. "I could if I wanted to!" Dashing upwards, August considers his approach...and has the Tin Soldier pick him up and /throw/ him up the staircase with its superhuman might. The impact is probably going to hurt, and he'll have to desummon the Persona rapidly upon impact to stop it from getting crushed by an iron ball and killing him, but even with whatever bruises he'll get, he should make it to the next door if he's lucky. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren follows someone else up one of the stairways. He can fly, but there's no point in flying up alone.     And then balls fall, breaking the stairs.     He trusts that the others will be able to handle the fall and balls somehow, and leaps off the stairs, flying this way and that to avoid the balls and make his way up to the door. Once there, he'll find some way to affix a rope for the others to climb up! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is quick to spread out and keeps moving her body is looking to be running pretty hard. "Oh you ahve to be kidding me..." The balls fall and Kotone is moving to bunce off them, the walls or anything she can get her feet on, when she's at the apex of a jump she will double jump as she goes, a tell tale sign of some Flotilia tech.She wants to help but there's not much she can do right now, though if she makes it up there? She'll help Staren with the rope... 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The stairs collapse underfoot as everyone races to get to the top. Janine launches herself with a gust of wind while her compatriots fly, parkour or have their Persona throw them. Eventually, they all stand on the last bit of unbroken stairs before the door, watching the balls impact through the roof of the second floor, sending tremors through the tower. "All right, let's do this," Janine says, before blasting the doors open with wind.     On the other side is a lavish bedroom. A fire burns warmly in a fireplace, the floor is richly carpeted, thick curtains obscure the window they saw from outside, and massive four poster-bed contains Speedwagon. However, he is unable to get up due to the blankets being tucked around him far too tight, along with the iron bars that block each side of the bed.     Before them is Shadow Speedwagon, looking much the same save for the intense yellow eyes. "Ah, salutations friends! I'm glad you could make it. That means I can protect you all as well!" he says, wringing his hands together with an eager-to-please smile on his face. "Frightening place out there, wouldn't you say? All manner of nasty things waiting to take away anything you care about. But here, everything you care about is safe and protected! Nothing gets in, so nothing new to worry about. Nothing to hurt you! So c'mon, pull up a chair! I think Robert's been lonely without you all!" 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka uses her grappling hook to get to the top of the stairs, before the group reaches Shadow Speedwagon.     The yellow eyes don't exactly bode well, and the apparition begins to talk before Maaka asks anything. "Where is Speedwagon?" She demands, training her SMG's sights on this doppleganger's beedy eyed mug. "Give him over or this is gonna end bloodily, mate." 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''     Rosamond fades as she gently deposits Hoshi safely upon the landing; the kendo ace pauses to catch her breath and look around to see that everyone had made it, then gives Janine a firm nod. "Okay. When you're ready, Ms. Liberi." THe doors blast open with a WHOOSH, and Hoshi marches inside and sets herself into a swordsman's ready stance. Her lips are pressed into a firm, no-nonsense line while the Shadow waxes poetic about how safe they are here. Of course, it's bullshit.     "There's no point in trying to spin this. We know just what 'safe' means in a place like this. Let Mr. Speedwagon go." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As August gets thrown up the stairs, he gets a few bruises, but toughs through them, forcing himself up to his feet as Janine blasts the doors open. The Tin Soldier is desummoned and resummoned, moving forward to spot...Speedwagon trapped in a bed, and the very obvious Shadow Speedwagon. The Tin Soldier raises its gun at Shadow Speedwagon, August almost hissing as he speaks. "So what's your problem, afraid of the big bad world out there? You're not going to let Speedwagon go with words alone, I know that. So..." As the others talk to the Shadow and try and negotiate freedom for Speedwagon, the Tin Soldier suddenly dashes to shouldercheck those bars and try and see how durable they are. As August follows after, he shouts out. "Hold off the Shadow! I'll try and break Speedwagon out!" If smashing the bars doesn't start to break them, August will actually try to burn through them as well, using small amounts of fire to see if they'll melt, while being careful not to set the bedsheets aflame. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Just because Speedwagon CAN'T get out doesn't mean he isn't TRYING. He's thrashing under the covers, trying to loosen or dislodge them, and he looks to have been at it for some time. And his lack of gentlemanly upbringing is clear here, as he's emitting a stream of curses as he wriggles to get free that would make a sailor give him the stink-eye!     Of course, all that struggling and cursing comes to a stop when he hears other voices. Hopefully he can still see, in which case he'll look out that way (if not, he'll probably recognize voices)... and he freezes. "Oh no. Oh no yer don't..." He suddenly snarls loudly, "DON'T YER EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! Let 'em go ya demon!" And his struggles (and curses) begin anew. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     As some people try to diplomacize the Shadow (it does seem to be a Shadow, as far as Staren can tell, it isn't obviously some other multiverse shenanigan), Staren starts to ask, "Does talking to them ever work?"     And then August provokes the shadow, and Robert starts yelling -- "We'll be fine!" Staren shouts back -- and he starts moving to get between August and the Shadow, levelling his beam cannons at it. "Look, buddy. ...Okay, seriously, does talking to them ever work? I'm not gonna waste my breath if it doesn't." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa sees the rest of the party has made it up and now she ends up turning her attention to what lays ahead of them all. She sees the bedroom she walks slowly keeping her rifle at the ready an she looks to the Shadow of Speedwagon for a moment. "Where's Robert?" That question is answered qickly enough as she sees Robert's tied to a bed in a cage? Okay this was getting to a level of creepy she didn't like. "So let him go, this place is the last place one should consider safe." She sees her frriend fighting to get lose this is good. "Safe? If I wanted safe I'd have never stepped through a warp gate." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Shadow Speedwagon is afraid!     He cowers away as everyone refuses to engage with him meaningfully. "I'm just trying to look out for you! I know I can't do much, but I'm trying! Yer all a bunch of godlike folk but I can worry! You all makin' me owrry then sneer at me when I show it!"     His form begins to twist and bulge, his scarred face shifting to a hideous sneer. "Well I'll show ya! Lemme elucidate on somethin'. Ya stuck here with me now! We'll see how tough you all are!"     His back erupts into a scarred, battered turtle shell that rapidly engulfs his whole form, his face distending into a sharp beak. One of his eyes becomes blind as his hands become clawed fins . That bowler hat remains on his head as his skin become a mottled blue. And he grows and grows and grows, almost filling the whole room. ================================LOVERS REVERSED================================= ----------------------------EMBODIMENT OF REFLECTION----------------------------                                   THE GUARDIAN                                                              HE WHO PROTECTS FROM AFAR                             -------------------------------PREPARE FOR BATTLE------------------------------- =======================================VI=======================================     the attack is immediate, as the towerng turtle Shadow withdraws into its shell before spinning. Water begins to gust from each hole like a hose, flooding the room and knocking down anyone it strikes. All the water flows through the open door, out into the long drop below! 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The bars don't budge or melt. That's a problem. August is glad he had the time to check, but it looks like they're going to have to fight if they're going to get Speedwagon out of there. As he turns*, August does consider the Shadow's words. He's saying them for a reason, after all. "I don't sneer at anyone for worrying. If you worry, you can show it. But when you hurt others in the process? When you're a twisted fragment of humanity inside a /death castle/? I have a problem with you." The Shadow transforms and starts to attack, water blasting against the Tin Soldier and trying to knock it down. Due to being next to the bed, it grabs onto the iron bars, and August grabs onto the Tin Soldier, which is showing rusty, falling apart metal from the damaging burst of water. "Hhhh, take this!" The Tin Soldier's gun-leg rises, and it sprays a hail of bullets on the turtle, aiming to try and crack through that shell with force. Though, with every blast of water, the grip on the bed starts to weaken, and if it keeps it up, August is going to find himself knocked off out the door, besides all the damage he's taking! 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''     So much for maybe taking the peaceful route. Hoshi grimaces and starts to move, trying to circle the Shadow and go for the bed, maybe to help the Tin Soldier by adding Rosamond's strength. She's unfortunately cut off as the creature suddenly begins to change it's form, growing and bulging into a gross turtle-like monstrosity that takes up a lot of space in this enclosed area. "Damn. Mr. Speedwagon!" She calls out. "This thing is a part of you, right? So you have to understand--crap!" With nothing to hide behind to blunt the watery assault, Hoshi gets swept off her feet and crashes into a wall with a grunt.     She manages to grab hold and dig her fingers into a raised bit of stone, so she doesn't get sent flying outside with the draining current. A critical eye on the situation says that swords will be pretty much useless against that thick shell. "Rosamond, light it up!" The hooded bride appears and points her sword at the spinning creature, waiting until one of it's holes is almost level with her before firing a stream of golden light inside of it, trying to harm the softer flesh hidden inside. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     For once, Speedwagon is NOT afraid! Or so it seems. Maybe because it's not really him that's in danger. But there are people he cares about that ARE in danger!     ...Actually that's a more frightening thought...     He does wince though -- that's fire, and fire's HOT! "Nngh... don't worry about gettin' me out! Get rid 'a THAT thing first!" Mind, this is before he notices what's happened.     Though as he notes the sudden change over there, he looks up again. "What the blue 'ell?!" he exclaims. "'E just... changed inta some kind 'f monster?!" Now it really IS a 'thing' that needs to be got rid of, isn't it?     And as water starts spraying from the monster, he tries to shout, "LOOK OUT!" It's a little too late, really... and besides, where's anybody gonna go to take cover?     Hoshi's words draw his attention, and he looks towards her. They're lost in the water and her getting swept off her feet from the water. But he catches some of it. "Part 'a me?! THIS bloody monster?!" He's been reading up on these Shadows and all... though a lot of it has gone over his head. Jonathan would have understood it, he knows.     Suddenly he gets an idea. "Take cover be'ind the bed!" he calls out. "If this bloody monster's serious about 'protectin' me, it might not risk hittin' me!" He hopes. It doesn't matter though. Better that than have friends get hurt over him.     Ugh, and that's what makes this all the more unpalatable. Friends are getting hurt... because of HIM. Because this thing chose to take an unhealthy interest in keeping him 'safe'. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaak opens fire upon the doppleganger Speedwagon. In the corner of her eye, she can see August have little luck with the bars. "Goddammit," She mutters under her breath, setting off bursts of SMG fire at the Shadow Speedy.     She jukes the spinning turtle as it heads toward her, before she spies the holes Hoshi points out. Dodging with a leap, Maaka's swept off her feet as water fills the room. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Well now things are going to get crazy and Kotone springs into action as the towering turtle shadow pulls into it's shell and fires water at them. She springg from the ground with such force it cracks as she opens fire with her rifle while she's mid jump, spraying rounds for the holes when there's a pause in the water, and if not she'll attempt to try and get a shot or two through. "On it Hoshi!" She also has an idea about the shell but she'll need to get in close enough to that, for now she's shooting at the hooles. She keeps going though keeps moving, and she's going to try to get in close... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Well, Staren doesn't just stand there. He starts firing the moment the Shadow threatens them... but it's probably not enough to kill it before the transformation is over.     He's /certainly/ not expecting water to gush from it. That is so unexpected, that Staren doesn't even realize he needs to dodge. The water slams into him, washing him towards the bed. He scrambles to grab onto the bars, misses, and ends up grabbing onto the tin soldier as well! The catboy immediately sets to climbing towards the bed to get a grip on the bars and help the tin soldier and August hold on! He... has not figured out how to attack in this situation just yet. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The torrent of water threatens to wash everyone away. Janine is swept up in it first, but she manages to find footing on the stairs before calling Binacabella. A vortex of wind is conjured, blowing the water aside and creating a safe zone for anyone that slips and washes away.     However, those that stand their ground launch a counterattack. The bullets that August fires bounce off the battered shell. In spite of the obvious wear, it's hard as rock, and will take more than that to break. Hoshi has a smarter idea, firing a stream of light into one of the shell openings. The spin loses momentum as the Shadow takes damage, the water coming to a stop as it emerges. Just in time to hear Speedwagon's suggestion.     "DON'T YOU DARE!" he bellows, before scooting over to the bed and trying to flip it onto the back of his shell. But his new form makes this tricky, and he's so invested in doing this that he's stopped attacking.     Now would be the time for lining up a sure-kill attack! 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The bullets don't work as well as August would have hoped. As the water comes to a stop, he comes to a better conclusion: pure physical assault. Hanging onto the bars, the Tin Soldier is close enough to let go of August and suddenly dash for the Shadow, moving to shoulder-rush it and slam its fists hard into the Shadow, with superhuman might backing it up. As it does so, August shouts out. "Everyone! It's open, go in for an all-out attack!" Hopefully together they can subdue it, August thinks. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone sees Janine is swept up by the water,r still she's managed to keep from washing away and makes a safe zone. This is where Kotone moves now the rifle is slung over her shoulder. The water is stopped thanks to those fighting for the weak point. She hears the plan Robert has made. It's a good one, "Go." She notes to the party and now she's making for how distracted the Shadow now is? Kotone springs at them with inhuman speed and will attempt to latch her hands on to the turtle shadow's shell. Her hands will try to crush into the plates, given her strength, this could be possible and then Kotone will Wrench and tea trying to one, hold on and two rip part of the shell free of the shadow to leave it with a bigger exposed point. There is strain from her body through as she attempts to do something it's not made purely for there are several alarms going off as she moves to try and make a hole for everyone else. "GO!" "HIT IT NOW!" At worse she might be able to hold it for a moment if she can make a hole? Well then it's all good right? As this happens though one of her arms starts to give out and Kotone cries out in pain as she does so. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka stumbles, but she remains standing as she sees what Kotone has in mind, and she gives a quick command over comms. Then, she rifles through a pouch on her jacket and produces a grenade. As Kotone tries to rip the turtle's shell open, the elder cyborg pulls the pin as she hurls the grenade like a football. Hopefully her aim with hurling is as good as it is with shooting things. 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''     Hoshi manages to find her feet, thanks to Janine's quick thinking and the creature's sudden preoccupation with protecting Speedwagon instead of fighting them off. Still, she's left in an untenable position; her Persona's magical skills were still less than stellar compared to their sword work, and they wouldn't pierce an inch into that stupidly thick shell. Kotone and Maaka seem to come up with a plan of action, though; one that definitely looks like it will cost Kotone some pain, especially now that explosives were involved!     Still, now the thing was distracted, and it was time to strike. Hoshi points towards their foe, with Rosamond mirroring her actions.     Light gathers again along the tip of the Persona's sword, and fires into the new hole created by Kotone, hopefully making the grenade go off sooner so that Hoshi herself can charge in with a battle cry, and attempt to bury her katana as deep into the thing's guts as she can go. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     There's a cringe from Speedwagon at the cry of pain from Kotone. But he notices that the turtle-thing is distracted trying to get to him now. So of course he's going to alert the group, because that's what he does. "NOW! 'E's left yer an openin'! Knock 'im down!" Or whatever they have to do to get this thing to stop what it's doing.     He's hoping he can at least get a kick to the corpse in once he gets free, but right now he's more worried about stopping this thing from hurting friends. Particularly if it IS part of him. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     See, the monster's mistake was A. letting someone shoot it in the weak point (okay, it couldn't help that) and 2. stopping the waves of water. Now Staren can attack!     Staren lets go of the bars, wings briefly buzzing to get him into position for a straight shot at one of the shell openings (or the exposed head if it's out).     PEW PEW! The beam cannons and six tiny missiles launched from the forearms fire, conceiving to propel a lot of high-energy, high-velocity particles into the shadow's squishy parts! 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Tin Solider slams into the Shadow, driving it back from the bed and keeping it occupied. With an almighty wrench, Kotone manages to rip up one of the chipped sections of the shell, drawing a pained roar from the Shadow, but leaving a nice meaty gap for everyone to focus their attacks on. The grenade is tossed, and speared by Rosamond's sword to drive it deep. It gets buried in the wound created by the sword, before Staren's barrage impacts it, setting it off to create a massive blasts that mingles with his own missiles.     When the smoke clears, a massive scoop has been carved from the Shadow's back. The explosion also tore open the bars around the bed, freeing Speedwagon. Black motes issue from the turtle as it reverts to a clone of the Englishman. "It's not fair..." he croaks. "All I can do is worry about ya. I can't pick the wings from a fly at 100 yards or lift a mountain. I couldn't even mug a ponce from the countryside when he wandered in on my turf. All of ya look out for me, and I can't return the favor..."     He lies there, defeated, speaking the words that Speedwagon never could. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As the smoke clears and the Shadow is defeated, August coughs, covering his face as the Persona disappears. He stands over it and moves to respond, but his eyes turn up to Speedwagon instead. "Do you really think that? You've been a part of the team. You might not have the flashiest stuff, but you're pretty tough for a normal guy. You've fought Shadows, you've put your own against them, hell, you have the coolest hat I've ever seen. But I'm not going to tell you not to feel that way. I can understand it, honestly. Just, if you do..." "Be honest about it. Speak up, damn it." The Shadow needs to be accepted, even if August is giving advice he doesn't normally follow.. That's why August isn't continuing his assault. He wants to see if Speedwagon accepts his Shadow, or if they need to shoot it again. 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''     The grim work seems to be finished for now, and Rosamond fades away while Hoshi takes a tired seat on the wet floor. "I can't say that I know why you feel this way, or what things have happened since I was in that prison, Mr. Speedwagon. It doesn't really matter, though: you helped save me. You got me out of this hell, and that's all I could have ever asked for." Said simply, the kendo ace sighs and rests the tip of her katana in the stone, wincing as she feels bruises on her back starting to form now that the adrenaline has washed away. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa has had an arm go limp and it's likely not falln away due to the nature of the body armour Kotone is wearing right now but it's clear she's in pain. She's not one to turn her ability to feel pain. She is ho;lding the shoulder trtying to keep the arm inplace and she shoots a look to Robert. "Be honest, don't hide how your feel and Robert Speedwagon. I hadn't even thought we might have made you feel helpless." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren's not sure what to say at first. So, this Speedwagon guy is insecure. He can kind of identify with it -- while he's pretty competent, he kind of has spent years trying to get stronger so he can be on par with heavy hitters that can fight /anything/. But since Speedwagon doesn't know him, there's little point in comisserating.     So what can he say?     Well, he's Staren. And he thinks people should become what they want to become.     Staren turns from the shadow to look at Robert. "So get stronger. There's a whole Multiverse out there, with power for the taking. Learn magic, or get some alien supertech armor that's been left in some ruins somewhere, or... I mean, those are just examples. Maybe picking up some kind of ki manipulation martial art is more your style, I dunno. But there's a whole Multiverse out there, with power for the taking. If you feel too weak to help... then do something about it."     Staren smiles. "We'll help! Just like others helped us get where we are. But the first step is not hiding it or keeping it in. What do you say?" He holds out his hand invitingly... although, if Robert's still stuck in the bed, maybe that can't really work. Still, it's the gesture that's important. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     One might expect Speedwagon to have a snappy comeback, or to gripe at the Shadow for hurting the people here. Though the 'snappy comeback' energy was probably spent in getting himself free from his confinement. So instead of racing over and kicking the defeat Shadow in the chin while it was down, he meanders over slowly. The words from the Shadow have... kind of sapped him. Well, that and struggling to much.     But what he's got to say? "...Yeah. S'all true," he admits quietly, when August looks his way. "Said it once before an' I'll say it again -- I'm always on the sidelines. When I went with Mr. Joestar ta face Dio, I always found meself watchin' while he or Baron Zeppeli took on the threats. I did what I could, but more often that not, I had ta just watch horrible things happen ter 'em... The Baron died before me eyes, an' there wasn't a bloody thing I could do!"     There may or may not be MANLY TEARS involved with that statement.     Hoshi gets a shake of his head. "I jus' did what I could, ev'ryone else was more of a help," he notes. "I'm glad yer got outta there, though." And Kotone's words? "No, no! That's nobody's fault but mine. I made a promise I'd do whatever I could ter 'elp, whatever little that was. I couldn't bring the Baron back... but dashed if I wasn't gonna try ta make sure it never 'appened ter anoybody else!"     He sighs. "Comin' 'ere... ta this Multiverse... made me wonder why I couldn't 'f changed more. Why couldn't I 'ave gotten stronger? I didn't want anybody ter 'have t' suffer over me. I'm sorry."     Staren's got a point. There are more worlds than his own to consider now. "Yer may 'ave somethin' there. Sure, I've not got the discipline for Hamon... but there's gotta be SOMETHIN' out there I can do. Worlds and worlds 'f possibilities, right?"     Speedwagon, of course, is still Speedwagon, even when depressed. And he's still got an attitude. And there's someone else he hasn't addressed. The Shadow. So it's the Shadow that gets the edge of that attitude. Appropriate enough -- he was harder on no one more than himself. "All right then... if yer ARE part 'f me? Then LISTEN UP!" he growls at Shadow Speedwagon (Shadowwagon? Speedshadow?). He does kick at the Shadow's foot, but it's for emphasis moreso than actually trying to hurt it. "Look what ya did, ya ruddy buffoon! Yer hurt the very people we've been trying ta protect this whole time! All the times we went inta danger, it was so they wouldn't have ta! Yer became one 'f the very things we've always wanted ter protect ev'rybody from!" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is just going to hang back for the moment as she listens to her friend. "That's good to hear and your not without power you network like no one else. Why not organize to protect people in a different way from Baron Zeppeli or Mr. Joestar?" What if what the things Speedwagon faced come up again and there's no one in the future who has an idea of how to fight it? 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Shadow lays there quietly as everyone addresses it and Speedwagon both. There's no need for it to speak, because Speedwagon does all the answering for it. The air gets lighter as the tower becomes insubstantial as the two finally speak. It flinches as its foot is kicked, but manages a weak grin at Speedwagon. "Heh... you shoulda been there ta look out for 'em... guess that's my fault."     He begins to glow, blue light coming off his form as he fades away, a hovering figure taking its place. It resembles a mermaid floating in midair. The classical tail looks more like cobblestone than scales, and it's chest is clad in unisex finery, with a black tailcoat over a white stuffed blouse. A deep red cravat is stuffed down its front, and it's head is completely overtaken by a jaunty, psychedelic top hat that constantly shifts pattern and colours. It speaks in a voice only Speedwagon can hear. ===================================THE LOVERS===================================                                    I AM THOU                                                                        THOU ART I                                           I AM THE LITTLE MERMAID, STRENGTH THAT ARISES FROM YOUR WEAKNESS                            TOGETHER, WE WILL DEFEND THOSE DEAR TO US.                   =======================================VI=======================================     The shimmering form vanishes, and so does the tower, thankfully leaving everyone on the Forest floor. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     "OUR fault," Speedwagon corrects firmly. Yeah, he's not cutting his Shadow any slack, even if he does accept it. Though he takes a step back when the Shadow starts to glow. He makes to place himself between the glowing figure and as many of the others as possible, just in case the Shadow's pulling some last-ditch thing.     ...And suddenly there's a floating mermaid -- Mermaid? Or merman? It's hard to tell. "What--?" Before he can get any further than that, he hears the voice. And now he's confused. Wasn't this Shadow supposed to... go back inside him, where it came from? Or something like that?     Though... there is the rest of this to deal with. "Well. That was... a thing, wasn't it?" He turns to the group, scratching at the back of his head. A sigh. "I'm sorry about that. I thought I was keepin' it under wraps well enough. Guess not. But thank yer all for bailin' me outta... well, I s'pose that was me own trap, wasn't it?" Yeah, he does NOT feel good about what just happened. He's glad it's over, though. 
}}

5856/FateParadox: New Beginnings

2018-05-27T04:34:37Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/05/26 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=The new Grail War begins with a battle on a big bridge |Cast of Characters=533, 451, 1161, 6381, 1142, 42,..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/05/26
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=The new Grail War begins with a battle on a big bridge
|Cast of Characters=533, 451, 1161, 6381, 1142, 42, 19, 705, 1123, 1016, 707, 70, 1143, 562
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:'''     The moon hangs low over the river that cuts through the Quilt, a silvery, gibbous fruit. It's grimy reflection in the muddied waters sits beneath a dull gray bridge for vehicles to pass over it. Here in the Quilt, traffic would consist of cars going bumper to rear axle with wagons, whose beasts of burdens would sniff at the jet fuel of hovercraft.     But on this night, the bridge is mostly empty, with multiple abandoned vehicles dotting its eight lanes. The reason for this is the sudden, abrupt battle that broke out upon it. Not just on the road, but atop its curved arches and among its supporting pylons. The air is literally hot and electric, gunshots ring out and mix with the clash of steel, the shouts and the taunts.     A new Grail War is beginning.     In the middle of the northbound lanes a tall, wizened man battles with a hulking monstrosity. The old man stands at least 10 feet tall, clad in faded robes and armor and wears a tarnished crown atop his gray head. He swings his sword, wreathed in intense flames, and scores a hit on the brute he faces. Embers dance through the air, mixing with the stench of burning dead flesh, the giant's mottled skin charred and oozing. But his pursuit continues, an arm like a tree trunk grabbing the old man by the face. "Saber..." snarls out from between the monster's ever-bared teeth before he hurls the swordsman at an abandoned car. He impacts hard against the chassis, crumpling it and causing the anti-theft alarm to start squealing. But the old man rises, seemingly unhurt.     Atop the arches, two other figures are engaged in battle. One figure wears a hooded cloak that conceals their features, but keeps their complicated five-part sheathe exposed. The other a woman with the lower body of a snake laughs in a haughty manner as she sends lightning flying from her staff. The air fills with ozone as her opponent ducks behind a giant rivet, the lightning striking it, making it burn cherry red and begin to melt. "Ooohohohohoho~!" she crows as she slithers over towards his hiding place. "Is this all you have to offer, Archer?!" she asks, before leaping around the molten hunk of metal to see... nothing. It is at that moment that Archer loops around from under the arch to land a firm dropkick to the woman's back. A satisfying 'oomph' comes as all the air is driven from her lungs. She nearly plummets, but her tail snags a pylon, allowing her to coil around it and halt her fall, her face a rictus of fury. "Not at all, Berserker," the man under the hood says. "I just didn't want to show you up too badly." 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:'''     A figure soars overhead, riding upon some manner of skis linked to a backpack. This might seem ridiculous, but the man riding them is clad in a gray military uniform. His face is haggard, an eyepatch covers one eye, the exposed one looking frenzied. He swoops low, strafing the bridge as he draws a Thompson sub-machine gun and fires at all the combatants. Bullets impact, and then explode violently upon impact in a flash of magical light, forcing everyone to take cover (save the gruesome monster, who just takes the hit). Retaliations ensue, as the old man hurls a lightning bolt, the monster fires a rocket launcher, the hooded figure fires with a golden shotgun, and the snake woman conjures a fireball. The military man weaves through the attacks before rapidly ascending to the same height as the figure who observes all this.     He too wears a hooded cloak, but his is golden brown to oppose 'Archer's' dark grey. He stands atop a wooden staff with a crooked head, arms folded. The military man reaches his level, and seems to be gauging his options. The man on the staff looks to the other, just as an M1 Garand rifle appears in their hands, a single shot unleashed at the observer. But his hand comes up, and flicks the bullet away like it were a gnat, sending it spiralling away before exploding.     The face under the hood crooks into a smirk as the military man goes back down for another strafe. Sirens are heard in the distance as responders rush to the scene... 

:'''{{#var:451|Karian Icefang (451)}} has posed:'''     Somehow, Karian of the Space Wolves had found himself drawn to the currently battle. Letting his wolk-skin cloak catch in the wing, he simply points his hand forth. "Go forward, and show our enemies who is destined to win. Bring the Emperor's Wrath down upon any who stand against you, Sanguinius." He says, his order given to this war's Rider-Class Servant. 

:'''{{#var:1161|Ryu (1161)}} has posed:'''     Ryu arrives to the battle in progress. His wings glow in the night sky, an array of dragonfly veins that seem too angular to be natural. The silvery dragon comes to a stop atop one of the bridge spires to perch and look down into the battle. His gold eyes flick to and fro, the dragon's nature only familiar to one of the participants of this fight. His tail coils around the bridge as he leans side to side, following the violence. His head rises as the flying one makes a fly-by shot at everyone at once.     Ryu frowns to himself in thought, and scouts for any bystandards that might be caught in the fray, maybe people recently injured or killed. He flies down and lands, moving with a darting pace to avoid the bulk of the fighting, his head jerking as he focuses on halted or smashed vehicles here and there, prying open doors or peering through windows one at a time. He has no time to get into a protracted conflict with a bunch of strangers. Not when innocent people might be getting hurt in the crossfire. 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Standing atop the roof of a building near the bridge is... Nothing. Well, nothing obvious. There's a brief ripple in the air of something invisible, but it doesn't last long.     Reports from operatives in this area had indicated a battle starting up. One hell of a battle at that. Definitely the kind warranting a response of some sort from elites. Which is why Nova is now standing upon a roof in the area, her cloaking field active as she looks out upon the bridge. She's some distance away, so uses the zoom feature in her visor to get a closer look...     An old man with a sword. A large monster. A snake-woman. Some hooded fellow. A guy flying through the air... On skis? Okay, that's a little odd. And a second figure in a cloak.     Welp, Nova isn't sure where to begin. She gets the feeling she's seen some weird stuff before. But this is certainly high up there on the weirdness scale. For the moment though, Nova simply observes from her hiding spot. Now is not quite the time to act yet, not without more information. 

:'''{{#var:1142|Ice King (1142)}} has posed:'''     Swords clash, bullets fly, lightning and fireballs scorch the air and cast light upon the walls in jagged, nightmarish outlines to match the creatures they belong to. And a wizard is peeking over a cement barrier alongside the road, fingers, nose, eyes, and Crown the only visible parts, giving a 'Kilroy Was Here' look to him.     "Maaaan, this is inTENSE." he mutters. Then bullets begin exploding in huge bursts of magic light, and Ice King lets out a strangled cry as he turns and drops down behind the barrier, putting his back to it to avoid the shockwaves as he claps his sharp-fingered hands to his ears. "HEY, BUDDY, ARE YOU SURE WE SHOULD BE HERE!? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely getting to see some amazing magic like you promised, but you and me... We're survivors! If we get caught up in all that, we're in deeeep doo-doo. Maybe we should just let them duke it out a little longer."     He then rolls over and peeks above the barricade again. "Besides, I don't even see any princesses out there." His eyes alight on the snake woman. "Well, HELL-oooo~! Scratch that, maybe she'll be interested in joining up with us! She's obviously some kind of... Snake Wizard. More the merrier, am I right?" he calls up to someone or other.     Who is he talking to? Why he's talking to... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     SOMETHING unusual is happening here. The question is... what? It's not like a monster attacked and is threatening civilians. It's more like a couple of elites who are enemies with eachother suddenly spotted eachother, started fighting, and everyone around them ran. Except there's a whole bunch of them, so clearly some kind of Shenanigans are going on, because this many people who know eachother and want to fight in one place is not chance.     This does mean that there's no clear 'side' for Staren to jump in on. Well, he COULD take the side of 'You're all endangering the peace', but antagonizing this many unknowns, especially when they don't seem particularly hostile to civilians, seems unwise.     So it is that he beams down off to one side of the bridge. Armored up for combat in heavier than usual power armor, but instead of approaching the combatants or attacking them, he deploys several hand-size quadrotor drones to surround the fight from various angles and get him a good view of what's going on. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya sensed powerful magic, the old elite was drawn to it, for reasons she didn't know why. Yet the blue-haired woman clad in leather and metal does arrive alone. Soon it becomes clear, there are Servants here. This means something that Maya greatly fears is occurring there may be a grail war on and rarely do good things ever come from such things in her experience. Memories of a plan to build a light of the dawn to deal with such a war come into her mind and she shoves it away. She won't let it get that, far the Junke can not. Maya is quick to respond, Maya gives off a hell of a lot of magical energy herself she can't hide it and anyone who can sense it will easily be able to see that she has arrived. She does not jump in yet, but it is clear. Maya is ready for a fight, and her rifle is at the ready along with her deck of fate cards. 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' A Holy Grail War. To say that there's a certain infamy associated with these events isn't particularly a surprise. Even with the multiverse now stitching together so many different worlds with so many different avenues to power, it's difficult for anyone to overlook access to a magical wish-granting engine like the Holy Grail. For good or for ill, its effects are well known by many in this joined world. Those dedicated to keeping the peace are particularly challenged by the emergence of another grail war. It must, after all, be ensured that the power of the Grail be used wisely, and not to imperil the public at large. And so, the Paladins have arrived. A thin plume of smoke rises from a cigarette tucked between a man's lips at the far end of the bridge. Reiji Arisu, an agent of the Shinra organization, makes his way steadily and intently towards the heart of the confict. His goal... To end it, if at all possible. To contain the Holy Grail-- or at the very least, to ensure it doesn't fall into foul-intentioned hands. "Xiaomu," Reiji says to the night air. "You all ready? Everything loaded up?" 

:'''{{#var:1123|Tanya Degurechaff (1123)}} has posed:'''     The bridge is easy to see even at a distance. The unfolding battle's lights and explosions even more apparent. A small blonde girl approaches in the air, floating with the assistance of an armored boot and waist mechanism. An Imperial flight unit, as befits an Imperial Major-- Tanya von Degurechaff lifts her free hand, shading her glowing blue eyes. When explosions ripple along the bridge, incited by obvious small arms fire from an aerial target, Tanya's eyes narrow.     She halts herself, swiping her hand to one side to produce a magical screen. Reticles appear, encircling the aerial target and then zooming in. Her eyes widen. No, he should be dead. She watched him explode. Tanya bares her teeth, expression growing tense as she un-slings her rifle.     "Time to earn our pay," she mutters, racking a round into the chamber. 

:'''{{#var:1016|Eithne Sullivan (1016)}} has posed:'''     Eithne has an awful lot of experience with Servants, as she's been living with some for a couple of years now. If she's careful, and at full strength, she knows she's capable of going toe-to-toe with a weaker Servant for a short while. Too bad none of it prepared her for an actual Grail War.     They've got no reason to listen to her if she asks them to stop fighting long enough to ask some questions. For starters, she's not even a Magus!!     She'll just have to make do and hope the Servants and their Masters don't get too out of hand.     The Scion arrives on horseback, saddle-less and holding on to the beast's mane as the kelpie charges up the length of the lane divider, bounding over the occasional deserted car as he charges directly into the middle of the fray. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' "As ready as I ever am," Xiaomu replies, only a hint of grousing in her tone. She *had* been all settled in for a relaxing evening of demon-busting, and then the call came through about a bunch of wacky weirdoes tearing up downtown in the course of a seven-way battle royale. Or something roughly akin to one. But when duty calls, the sage fox usually answers - especially when Reiji plucked the controller out of her hands, saved her game for her, and shut down the entertainment center. That pretty much put the kibosh on any further protests Xiaomu might have mustered. At the moment, Xiaomu's perched on the roof of a building overlooking the river and the bridge; her gaze moves from one probable Servant to the next, trying to sort out who's wearing which hat, so to speak. The Archer in the cloak gets a double-take from the sage fox, as if she's not quite sure what she saw, but she finishes her sweep before rising from her perch. Her monk's staff is slung across her back at the moment; her right hand holds a short, technological-looking baton ... and as she jumps off the roof's edge, the baton activates - - and her lightcycle manifests on the way down, taking full shape and solidity underneath her before it lands, next to Reiji, with Xiaomu already astride it. "This is gonna be a pretty big mess, put out your cigarette and climb on if you want a ride!" She revs the cycle's engine, ready to charge into the fray. Besides her staff and her lightcycle, she's got several clips of ammunition and a full load of 'Shinra Special' grenades, so she wasn't kidding about being as ready as she gets for this. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Despite the absolute chaos on display, it only takes Priscilla a few seconds to figure out the barest basics of it. Battle banter is something she is rarely prone to, and listens to carefully, and it only takes the words 'Saber', 'Berserker', and 'Archer', to put two and two together. Just about everyone with a year in the Multiverse Elite Forces has heard of a Grail War, and yet very few have heard of them ever ending well.     As the First of the Concord here, at the head of several hours, her place isn't to sit back and 'get ready'. Despite the ongoing clusterfuck of high-octane mass combat, wrecking scenery and turning the night air into an open firing zone, Priscilla steps out onto the bridge on full display, Lifehunt Scythe at her side with her grip all the way up to the blade. She may have to duck a few lightning bolts and gunshots to get there, and potentially move fast, but she makes a show of deliberately intruding into the middle of the firefight.     "Servants of the Grail, I presumeth." she says, taking and holding a position, and starting to look over each Servant she can pick out one by one, slowly assessing each one individually for details in sequence. "Dost thine masters knoweth no better than to conduct their battle within the borders of their own territory? This is heavily traveled fully-Multiversal territory, thou of the Holy Grail's war. Rather than simply involving bystandares, thou bringeth on thineselves the involvement of more substantial entities concerned with maintaining these routes. I shalt hardly bar thee from pursuing the wishes that drive thee, however this is the place to do so not." Rather than going for a regally commanding tone, she falls back on her much more traditional, and somehow more sincere tone: soft, even-tempered, slightly stilted, and oddly carrying. There is no political bent to it, nor official weight of the Concord behind it.     The flying figure seems to be one Tanya is familiar with, she thinks to herself, and bears too many resemblances in equipment and magic to dismiss. The snake-woman is such a popular fixture that there is nowhere she could begin in identifying her. The behemoth reminds her more of Number Nine than anything else, but chasing this particular thread of comparing them to people she might know of isn't turning up much so far. 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' The cars are, thankfully, empty, and there doesn't seem to have been any casualties whatsoever. There's the signs of a clear rush, with left-behind objects such as teddy bears and technology inside of cars, but everyone got out safely, beasts were have been cut off their chains, and similar. As he gets close to the battle, a car suddenly goes flying in Ryu's direction, chucked by the rotting monstrosity fighting the swordsman. He doesn't say anything, simply trying to bat Ryu out of the way of their fight. 

:'''{{#var:1161|Ryu (1161)}} has posed:'''     "WOAH!"     Ryu reacts quickly. And when we say quickly, we mean so fast that other living things would probably shatter their bones in the attempt. He leaps up, and twirls in the air to avoid the brunt of the car's mass, but it still clips him enough to send him flying off the bridge quite a distance and barely catch himself before landing in the water below. His wings flutter as he gets up, and when he's hovering back within view, he's popping his arm back into place noisily, his wounds visibly repairing themselves and a puff of white fire rolling from his nose.     "Fuck you too."     Ryu hovers over to land on the bridge's edge, fluttering his wings rapidly. Air buffets behind him, and his legs curl up underneath him like tensing springs. Then he blasts himself toward the vicious, gross monster as hard as he can, his claws extended to try and dig into the thing and spear it off the side of the bridge with him in a very reckless move. His claws and teeth have anti-undead properties, as a matter of coincidence, and he hopes this guy is as susceptible to them as he looks. Not all undead fall under the same umbrella. 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:''' The news occurring in the Quilt blasts through the comms and even reaches Touta of all people. Having come across so many Servants, some to which he has the pleasure to call friends did always wonder what the Grail Wars they were a part of were like. He had gotten the basic jist of how they usually went. A battle to the death for a single wish. While Touta can't say that he agreed with that sort of risk and reward outcome he felt like he should see for his own eyes what kind of battlefield the Holy Grail War was. Though from just what he was told alone he could never have expected such a scene. Creatures and warriors of all kind looked as though they had arrived at one point in more of a free for all than some sort of organized war. The air's tense in more ways than one and the sounds of gunfire and battlecries make it difficult to pinpoint any sort of dialogue that was going on. Yet even in all of this mess he can see that others Elites have already arrived. Some more familiar than others but all looking as though they are ready to help intervene in some way in this war that seemed to have spontaneously occured from nowhere. The real question was...Where did one even start and try to stop this mess. Fights were going on all over the place. On the ground, in the air, it was difficult to keep one's attention in a single place without missing something that may be occurring only a few feet away. That apparently doesn't stop others from entering the fray directly, though for the moment Touta stands at one of the edges of the bridge not sure where it is that he's needed. "Touta...Look up..." Kurobo's voice comes from Touta's blade and with it brings his attention towards the sky, unsure of what exactly he was suppose to be looking at. 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' Standing beside Karian is a shining armored knight with great white wings, who is holding a great sword with a red jewel in the hilt. The Servant standing next to him tall and proud nods, as his wings lift him up. "Understood, Master. I will bring glory to you!" Sanguinius soars over several cars, raising his voice so he can be heard. "I am Rider! If there is a grand battle to be had here, I will partake in it. Let us begin!" And then, the Rider-class Servant lifts up to the arches, once he has gotten the attention of the hooded man and the snake woman. Deftly moving forward with his blade, he moves to slash the man in the hood, who quickly draws a sword out of that strange sheath and moves to slash him, impacting against his armor. "Hey, can't you tell three's a bit of a crowd, buddy?" The snake-woman takes this chance to actually disengage from the fight, moving down the arch towards the greater bridge. As more and more people come forward, including some actually riding a motorcycle across the bridge, she leaps down, spiralling fire through her fingers until it leads into several miniature firebolts. They surge forward at anyone who crosses onto the bridge, several moving to aim for Eithne as she charges straight into the battle, with a haughty laugh emerging from the woman. "Stay out of the way, you brats. I'm busy here, and there's far too many of you to care about." 

:'''{{#var:451|Karian Icefang (451)}} has posed:'''     With a returned nod towards Sanguinius, Karian makes his way into the city. He held little fear of the war around him, but rather wanted a better view. He made his way towards where the rest of the elites had started to gather, but on his face a knowing grin, made wider only as he drew into sight of the others. 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' Standing next to the Ice King is an ancient elemental with beaked feet and a white beard, who sighs at the crowned man. Caster sounds a tiny bit frustrated as he speaks, but he's dealing with it. "We need to know what they're capable of if we're going to be fighting them, of course." His own magical signature draws attention to him, as the military man moves to fire a shot at him, pointing visibly enough for both Caster and Ice King to see. The bullet surges forward, impacting cleanly, and causing a retaliation of a ray of ice back at the flying man. "Besides! They're obviously a bunch of troublemakers who need to be dealt with." Hopefully, his Master will agree, as ice starts to form from his hands again, hoping to get a clear shot...and there's shortly a salvo of barrages back and forth between them. That's probably going to be a problem for Ice King, who is right in the middle of it! 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla's soft voice carries across the bridge, drawing the looks of the Servants presents. They had become tacitly aware of the mounting Elite forces, but she is the first to approach. The old man grabs the car he was thrown into, and swings it at the hulking brute as he began to lash out with a tentacle that emerged from the sleeve of his coat. The vehicle hits hard, and actually sends the monster sliding, buried under it.     "We hath been bid by our own Masters to do battle here upon this day," he says in a strong voice that belies his age, the tone of a stern but caring father. "We know not of the landscape of this 'Multiverse,' nor of its people or political climate. Their wills are our only reason. Rest assured however, that I, and Archer up above, saw to it that those contained in these strange carriages got away."     It's a voice that likely stirs old memories within the First. The man before her is both older and younger than she remembers. Older than the one who banished her to the Painted World. Younger than the corpse she met at the Kiln of the First Flame. But it is undeniably Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight that stands before her, now know as Saber. 

:'''{{#var:1016|Eithne Sullivan (1016)}} has posed:'''     It's not a great idea to engage with a Servant. Clearly, it's not even a good idea to get too close to one, as bolts of fire rain down on Eithne and her steed. Daisy (the man-eating bog monster that looks like a pretty pony) snorts and ducks her head, skittering away to the side in a very un-horselike manner, with Eithne hanging on for dear life as the flames miss them by inches.     "Break it up, all've yeh!" she calls out in the most commanding voice she can muster. Her sword is drawn from Somewhere Else - not the tactical, modern one that Yang made for her, but the ancient pitted iron one older than some of the Servants present. Held out to one side like a much lighter blade, Eithne charges /right for/ the snake woman with a sweeping blow that she hopes will knock Berserker into the water and out of the fight. 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     More elites are beginning to filter into the area, showing up on Nova's visor as she looks out from her hiding spot. A couple she recognises, technically, as her HUD reports them as friendlies. Nova was intending to simply observe the battle, gathering information on the so-called Servants and assess them as threats. After all, there wasn't reason to do much more than that. But then Nova notices one of her allies charging the bridge on horseback. And thus subseqently attacked by fireballs. The car sent flying at Ryu doesn't go unnoticed either.     Tch... She can't sit around now.     Nova drops down to one knee, raising the canister rifle in her hands. Tilting her head, she looks into the electronic scope and sights in on her first target... The snake-woman. An attempt to cover Eithne's approach. Crosshairs lined up on the woman's head, Nova pulls the trigger. The rifle is supressed, so the shot is unlikely to be heard in the chaos of the battle. But the 25mm anti-personnel round zips through the air, Nova's intent to go for the headshot even if she has to tweak the bullet's path after firing to account for her target's movement.     As Nova fires her cloak shimmers again, briefly revealing her position. 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' "This a no-smoking motorcycle?" Reiji deadpans, flicking his cigarette onto the asphalt, the stub crumbling slowly into a mound of grey ash. "If those are the rules, then I guess I'll have to oblige. Looks like there's some fireworks tonight. You handle the ride, I'll keep the flames at bay." The exorcist slings himself up and onto the motorcycle, anchoring his feet into the seat behind his partner-driver like some kind of amazing street-surfer. Reiji readies his own rack of weapons, an unusual parallel to that of the distant Archer. He leans forward ever so slightly, a subtle, electric crackle-pop sizzles through the air as a bare sliver of his shortblade is drawn from its sheath. As Xiaomu rides onto the bridge, her partner springs into action, sweeping chirai into incoming fireballs, the wakizashi's elemental essence drinking deep of the swirling flames. That should give them abundant opportunity to close in...! 

:'''{{#var:1123|Tanya Degurechaff (1123)}} has posed:'''     "Believers, have faith in the Lord's blessings," A young girl's voice announces over local band radio. The static in the transmission suggests she's far away. Or that the technology she uses is very old-fashioned.     A few present, Servant or otherwise, may recognize the voice: Major Tanya von Degurechaff.     "For the Lord will not abandon us," At her distant, hovering position, the young Major raises her weapon to a ready position. The projected holographic screen fills her vision, tracking the flight path of that Ski-riding military man.     "Give me the power..." Eyes narrow, motes of golden light drifting away from her, "...to destroy the enemies of the Fatherland." Her eyes snap open wide, the blue glow washing out immediately to a bright, golden color. She squeezes a single round out of her weapon, a bullet accelerated by magic which traces a streak of blue across the darkening sky. 

:'''{{#var:1142|Ice King (1142)}} has posed:'''     "Uhhh..." The wheels in his head turn. Then Ice King says, "...Riiiight. Which is why I said we should keep watching! I mean look at them out there," Ice King says, gesturing indicatively at the other Servants while talking out the side of his mouth. "They're not even trying to hide what they can do. It's total crazy town around here. But hey, as long as they aren't attacking us too, why not chill and keep OUR magic hidden too. Right? Right."     Ice King props his hands on his hips and nods, satisfied at his reasoning, but then bullets start flying and exploding and Caster is shooting back with ice at their attackers, and Ice King ducks and covers. To get further away from the fire/ice fight, he crawls on hands and knees until he's out of the danger zone (relatively), then he begins flapping his beard and takes off into the air. "Whoop!"     Once he's up there, he holds his hands above his head, and yells, "Hey, Cloud Skiife!" Then he begins blasting a wave of snow at the military man, thinking maybe he can knock him out of the air or blind him or at least distract him. After all, the natural enemy of a skiing enthusiast who skiis on air instead of snow is obviously snow! 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' As luck would have it, Xiaomu had kind of earmarked the snaky chick of a Berserker as her priority target anyway; the fact that the snaky chick in question is actively raining fireballs on anyone who tries to get close to the fighting just makes her even more important to take down. Whether that means 'killing her outright' or just pounding the fight out of her is pretty much up to the Berserker ... which likely means it's going to come down to the former, seeing as ... well, *Berserker*. The class presumably didn't get its name for a tendency towards level-headed tactical withdrawals. So once Reiji's braced behind her, Xiaomu accelerates smoothly onto the bridge proper, swerving to dodge as many of those fireballs as she can when the snake lady starts tossing them around like T-shirts at a fandom event. She barely needs to look up to see Reiji's using Chirai, which is what she would have recommended against an apparent lamia or naga or something ... snakes are water-aspected animals, aren't they? Although in *that* light, seeing one use *fire* so casually ... Xiaomu shakes her head briefly, then drives with one hand long enough to pull out the Roc's Icebrand. Elemental cycles notwithstanding, snakes *should* at least be slowed down by the cold - And as she tries to drive past *underneath* the Berserker, Xiaomu squeezes off a single shot at the chick's big snaky lower body. "Getting the civvies out is one thing," Xiaomu calls out to the combatants - not just Berserker, not just Archer, but as many of the Servants as are inclined to pay attention, "and don't get me wrong, it's great - but you're still gonna rack up the collateral damage like this, and *that's* not gonna do your Masters any favors!" 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Even more faces and voices. Aren't Grail Wars supposed to have only seven participants? Priscilla has heard something of an eight class in highly aberrant situations, but not multiple kinds at the same time. If were to be a two-team war, that'd indicate fourteen Servants at te minimum, many of whom aren't here. Deciding that this situation is going to be large and long-running not to try and predict so many unknowns, Priscilla briefly sends Staren a signal to record as much as possible about each of the Servants possible and try to match any identifying characteristics. At least a couple of people make it easy, such as Karian walking out and shouting at a 'Sanguinarius'.     "Am I to believeth this an entire Grail War made up of Masters about the Multiverse, rather than a sorry excuse for one to bumble into the possession of a Servant by serendipitous accent amidst one more legitimate?" she asks aloud, almost rhetorically. "I see precious few Masters, and none very wise if they wouldst bid thee do battle here." She squints at the other cloaked figure, the flying golden knight, and then turns back to the voice she hears a-     "Grandfather?"     Priscilla just blurts it out. There is no hesitant pause or expression of veiled uncertainty. The conclusion is so naturally obvious, looking upon him and hearing him, that she doesn't stop to consider it strange until it's already out of her mouth. The not-so-faint cast that comes over her face is in fact confusion that she'd even said it at all, where her memory had betrayed her and her feelings run ahead of her mouth.     She had come here as the most powerful figure of the Concord to request, then demand, then possibly forcibly see to, a stop to this disruption. All of a sudden, she finds herself simply standing on a bridge in the middle of nowhere, one person in the crowd, and suddenly experiencing the strangest sensation of vertigo where she is abruptly no longer entirely certain of her age. Her posture relaxes in the strangest way, the haft of her scythe partially slipping through her grip, her eyes completely absorbed in the sight of the man before her, and even her tail batting swishing faintly at the dusty asphalt, suddenly as unassuming as she had been when she first emerged blinking into the Multiverse, her stare just as equally bright and wary as back then.     "How is this- no, I knoweth that the Throne of Heroes calls upon the dead, but thou were no member of- thou art he, art thou not? What grail /is/ this? To which war dost it belongeth? Art all of these Servants of completely different places and times? Is there no origin and-" Priscilla's tail suddenly stiffens and bristles. Her knuckles go white around the Lifehunt Scythe again. Her pupils contract into slits against gold. "And who is it that wouldst be so presumptuous as to call themselves thine /Master/? Thou art above following the orders of a cowering Magus; especially one so unwise as this." The tense hiss that suddenly creeps into her voice is the least of it. Priscilla's breathe slips through her teeth as icy steam, and her shadow in the moonlight abruptly splits around her feet into four, wildly distorting in size and shape for the blink of an eye. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren's eyes track Ryu getting clipped off the bridge, across the screens in his helmet. There's a split-second where he thinks about going after him, before remembering that Ryu can fly.     Among all the other arriving elites, Priscilla commands special attention as First of the Concord. She's going to decide what to do about this situation, and it's... nicely asking them to leave, apparently. Makes sense. But what will their response be?     To not leave, apparently.     He's already recording all of it, Priscilla! But he does slightly adjust his strategy of drone placement to focus more on watching individuals than getting an overview of the battle.     But wait, is that...     'Grandfather', Priscilla says.     It's strange to see HER so rapidly jumping from thought to thought, trying to theorize and hypothesize and make sense of the situation. Usually he's doing that. It does kind of detract from her commanding presence. Maybe there's a lesson for him to learn here.     <"You know that's not how grail wars work."> He radios her, speaking softly. <"People like Nero and Nobunaga are summoned regardless of whether they would serve a master. Although... this is certainly unprecedented, all the same."> They can both clearly see that the Heroic Spirits are from across the Multiverse. But how? 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:''' "No way...Why the hell is he here?!" A voice filled with surprise and panic arises from Touta as he looks at the skies above. For the man watching from above holds the staff of one he's all to familiar with. His attention is all but consumed by the visage of the hooded man in the sky. Yet when one of the fireballs aimed at the Elites is just about to collide with him without even looking in the direction of the attack lifts his blade to slice through the bolt of fire dispersing it upon impact. From there his eyes turned back towards the direction of the attack of the snake-woman. In the next moment Touta's body becomes a blur as it heads in the direction of the snake like woman. He's going so fast he's probably speeded past Xiaomu and Reiji on their motorcycle and possible Eithne on her stead. The snake woman would be totally caught off guard by such a blinding attack! Touta doesn't intend to attack her though. In fact, he intends to ignore her entirely using his speed to pass by her as a blur. Touta's main objective was in the sky. The hooded man upon the staff. Builded up momentum from his Shundo as he reached just below where he flew Touta jumped into the air. He had no ability to fly on his own, but with the use of his ki he was able to jump several stories into the air in a single bound. As he ascended into the air his sword raised above his head. He doesn't know why this person is here. From what he knows the Grail shouldn't be able to summon those who were alive. So why the Hell was this person someone who was immortal here now?! He doesn't know if this person was a Servant, a Master, or any just another onlooker but Touta knows that who that staff belongs to, and if he's right then he can only imagine that this person may be one of the most problematic people here! So as he finally gets into reach and his blade swings at the hooded figure he shouts above the noise of all that transpires below them. "What the hell are you doing here Gramps?!" 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya takes note that it seems these Servants have not gone out of their way to cut down bystanders as most have been allowed to flee if not all of them. That speaks well for at least some of the Servants here, that they thought to do that or just let the people run. She keeps going she's tailing after Reiji and Xiaomu at fairly high speed as she keeps at a high-speed run, out comes the fate cards. Both of them are blue they rise up floating in the air after Maya even as she moves and blue fire drains into them, Reiji and Xaimu would find themselves warded from physical damage, not perfect protection but it is an extra layer of armour they also get a faint golden glow as Maya follows on their heels. 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' Ryu moves to retaliate against the monstrosity of dead flesh, launching himself straight into it. His fangs and claws rip into the mass, tearing apart chunks of dead flesh...but he's tough. As he makes a horrible grunt in pain, he suddenly launches a tentacle from his sleeve, moving to try and wrap around Ryu and slam him into the ground, before attempting to launch him towards the water again. His actual flight path, if it worked, would be in the direction of Berserker, who... Well, isn't doing so great. Berserker is charged by the swordswoman Eithne, who sweeps a powerful blow into her, sending her to the water. At the same, a headshot is coming for her, which is diverted by a chant and a sudden magical shield appearing where her head would be, diverting the force to her torso, cracking skin and scales and getting a startled hiss and a look of hatred in the vague direction of Nova. That, and Xiaomu's SMG shot sends her careening into the water, trying to cast a manner of spells to stop her impact. It doesn't work. However, any attempts to retaliate on her in the water would find she's quickly gone, the water rippling briefly as she disappears underneath the bridge, coiling around the supports. Berserker's going to take a moment to readjust and get her bearings during all this fighting. And as Xiaomu drives by, someone up on the arch spots her. The Archer, who is in a sword duel with the knight Rider, breaks away rapidly, leaping down and in front of Xiaomu's bike. "Xiaomu! Long time no see!- Reiji, is that you?" He rapidly pulls down his hood. He bears a great resemblance to Reiji, except he's older, with jet black hair. This is Shogo Arisu. It's the only person it could be. If their bike comes to a stop, he'll move to suddenly wrap both of them in a hug, grinning. "Wow, you're big. Reiji, I mean. You're looking like your old man already!" With a sigh as his fight is suddenly interrupted, Rider takes for the skies to get an overview of the battle. He avoids stabbing Archer in the back with the opening he gets. 

:'''{{#var:1161|Ryu (1161)}} has posed:'''     HRK! CRUNCH!     Ryu is grabbed and tossed around like a ragdoll, slamming into the pavement with a sickening CRACK and cartwheeling through the air with a roar of agony and startle. This is not a weak creature, its weight throwing him well off the bridge and toward Berserker. He lands in the water with a violent SPLASH! after Berserker has darted away, his wings having slowed his descent enough to not instantly get knocked out on impact. He bursts out of the water with a kick of his legs and snap of his tail, his wounds healing as quickly and violently as they were inflicted, but he lurches in the air, his gaze going hazy for a moment--     He spots Berserker.     "No. No no no."     He moves with a burst of speed and halts near the snake woman. His wings snap to stop his approach, and he glances about from beneath cover, his tail whipping out to grab the same post she's coiled around. He gives her a serious look.     "Deis!" he hisses as quietly as he can. "You need to LEAVE!" He makes an urgent gesture 'away' from here, pointing with one of his claws. He looks panicked. Why is he concerned for the safety of what he described earlier on the radio as a 'goddess of chaos'...? 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' The military man is having some problems. As Tanya announces over the radio her presence, he suddenly stops what he's doing, moving through the skies and attempting to find the source of the voice. He can't...and the bullet flies forward, impacting with his chest. There's a burst of blood, and normally, that should down a man. A man who isn't a Servant, anyways. Instead, though, there's a determined laugh and a rictus grin, as he turns in the direction of the shot. "I'm back from hell, Devil of the Rhine! They sent me to bring you home!" And then, he fires several retaliating shots from his rifle, highly accurate, at her apparent position, beginning to move to approach... And then there's snow blasting him back, in his eyes. He moves to get it out of the way, allowing Tanya a few precious moments to retaliate, before materializing his submachine gun in his hands and sending a burst back at Ice King. Once that's done, though, he's darting forward in Tanya's direction, hoping that she hasn't gotten away in those precious few moments. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya is a bit behind Reiji and Xiaomu and just tare the Servant knows them? She stares for a long moment at the man who seems to know them for a moment. Maya kids to a halt there lowing her weapon given the man's reaction to Xiaomu and Reiji? She looks to them for a moment and simply says. "You have my support." Family or someone close enough? It's clear this Servant knows them both and the resemblance to Reiji is uncanny she has her theories on this and won't press for now but she does fall in ready to support the pain in whatever actions they take, she also take a moment to hold a pendant she wears, blue energy wings flare out from her back and they flex a few times as she gets ready to take to the skies. 

:'''{{#var:1142|Ice King (1142)}} has posed:'''     Ice King was feeling pretty proud of himself. He actually got one in on this freaky flying ski guy! But then he sees a submachinegun come out.     "Oh, snag."     He brings both hands up and tries to make an ice shield, but the bullets tearing into the magical barrier send ice shards pelting into his face and torso, knocking him out of the air. "Ow ow ow ow ow!" he yells right before he plummets, face bruised from the high-speed impacts to land at Caster's feet in a jumbled heap. "Hey, uh, at least he's not attacking us anymore. Haha." He then sucks in a breath through his sharp teeth. "Hssss. Yeah. Laughing hurts. I shouldn't laugh anymore right now." 

:'''{{#var:451|Karian Icefang (451)}} has posed:'''     KArian approaches everyone and nods towards Sanguinius. He was about to give the order to break off, but was glad to see the Angel's honor was still intact. He quietly watched, taking stock of the Servant landscape. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Well, that's that then. One of the Servants has not only been identified by Tanya as an enemy, but has himself declared intent to kill her. The Concord can't have that, can they?     Still, the Legandonian colonel can't possibly know Staren's an enemy yet, right? So hopefully he's not being watched. Staren pulls the sniper laser rifle from his back and takes careful aim. He won't get another chance at a shot like this! A burst of three high-power laser pulses, center of mass! 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Nova watches through her scope as her bullet is forcefully redirect. Well, that's just a little annoying. However, her target soon goes into the water and out of sight. On the bright side, she's no longer flinging fireballs around. Nova counts that as a success.     Nova stands once more, looking out at the increasing battle. The radio chatter is just making this even more absurd, though Nova is silently grateful that there's no one from her own past showing up to haunt her... Not that Nova's likely to know them if they did.     Through her visor, Nova catches sight of the large dead thing throwing Ryu into the water. She's also notes the considerable wounds the creature has received and yet it is still fighting. Nova suspects for this one, one shot won't be enough.     Nova takes a step forward and jumps off the edge of the roof. She plummets to the ground, her suit absorbing much of the impact as she lands and takes off in a rush towards the bridge. Initially she's just a barely visible ripple in the air as she runs, but then the blue of her cloaking field briefly lights up, spreading across her body as it fades. The time for stealth has passed.     As she moves onto the bridge, Nova ducks down behind the hood of a car, leaning against it as she briefly pops her head up to look. Readying herself, Nova stands and brings her canister rifle around to aim at the hulking monstrosity. Pulling the trigger and holding it, the large rifle begins to spit its bullets out in rapid succession at the undead creature. Hopefully the large bullets will rip the creature up enough to reduce its capabilities. 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' The sorts of snakes Reiji is familiar with aren't exactly the type to care for electricity, no. The naga and their offshoots are fundamentally spirits of the rivers and waters, after all. Chirai and Hollywood should both be quite effective at this particular job-- but Xiaomu's concern is Reiji's as well. What kind of river spirit flings fireballs around like confetti? Apparently, a Chaos Goddess. But not just her. The spiritual pressure hits Reiji like a brick as they draw closer. He maintains his balance, but only just so, wincing as the scar across his forehead sends out pulse after pulse of pain across his skull. The cause quickly becomes clear, and Reiji's blood runs cold just about as quickly as Priscilla's. 'Grandfather.' That's Gwyn. Great Father Gwyn. But the last time they saw him, he was little more than a withered husk. A hollow, burnt to ash in the kiln of the first flame-- but even that ember of a god was enough to tie down an entire squadron of some of the most skilled Elites in the multiverse. And this is that same heavenly king in his full glory, shining brilliantly in his prime. Reiji grits his teeth as his hand goes to hover dangerously close to that ghostly blade racked along with the others. And then something else happens that makes fighting amidst literal gods pale in comparison. A voice calls his name. One he hasn't heard in years. One that he thought he'd never hear again. Reiji's frigid expression shatters into one of confusion, incredulity and disbelief. It's all he can do to keep from being flung bodily from Xiaomu's bike as she abruptly skids to a stop, only to find himself being wrapped up in the arms of a man who should have been gone forever. "--Dad?" Reiji asks, a trembling note in his voice. "Dad, is that... Really you?" Who else could it be? Who else looks like this, who could recognize them on sight like this? "What... What are you doing here?" Reiji scrambles to collect himself, confused relief and raw emotion creeping into his expression, "I thought you were-- the seal, there shouldn't have been anything left. How?" 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' As Priscilla addresses Gwyn, her words are confusing, for a moment. Grandfather...there's a light in his eyes, one of recognition, as he slowly starts to approach her. "Priscilla...?" He doesn't seem to be hostile, as he steps forward with that sword aimed towards the ground...and loses sight of the battle. An explosion rocks into Gwyn's back, from the rocket launcher that the hulking beast is suddenly wielding in his hand. He's completely blindsided, blasted forwards, and has to catch himself on his blade. He's not going to be replying to Priscilla just yet, it seems, as another rocket is loaded and being prepared to be launched in Gwyn's direction while he's recovering. Gwyn, for his part, starts to channel a lightning bolt in his hands to throw back, but Priscilla is probably in the radius of the rocket launcher, and may want to assist! 

:'''{{#var:1123|Tanya Degurechaff (1123)}} has posed:'''     Bulls-eye. Tanya lowers her rifle, squinting at the magical reticule's zoomed-in image when the shot strikes. The resultant fountain of blood. Her eyes narrow when he recovers and calls her out by the name bestowed on her by the enemies of the Empire. That's him all right. The Legandonian colonel from Norden, Osfjord, and Normandy. That face, thar voice, are burned into her memory.     She's already moving when his rifle comes up, artillery spells bursting around her. One impacts her shield, briefly materializing the shimmering blue shape that protects her. Another bursts behind her, cracking the barrier from the other side. Golden eyes remain narrow, fixated on the Colonel. What a day to bring her Mauser instead of her Thompson, that rapid fire would be pretty useful once he closes in... But the Mauser should have better long range accuracy.     That's a plan. The little girl racks her weapon's bolt, ejecting the spent casing and loading the next. If she maintains range, even volume of fire shouldn't overcome her precision advantage. Her position shifts, aiming 'down' between her own feet as she flies.     "You should have stayed dead," she mutters, squeezing off a shot. At a carefully calculated range, it explodes in what should be the Colonel's face-- a flak artillery spell. 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' As Touta jumps forward blade first at the man on the staff, he smirks again from undernetah his cloak. Touta's going to make it up to him... And then the man's going to stomp his head with a (very strong) kick of his boot, his tone annoyed at he looks down at him. "Who the hell you calling 'gramps'?! I'm not that old!" Regardless, though, he doesn't actually move to attack him otherwise, hanging in the sky. The staff-riding man instead just taps his fingers against it a bit impatiently. Looks like he's waiting for just the right moment to do...something. 

:'''{{#var:1016|Eithne Sullivan (1016)}} has posed:'''     The impact is solid. It seems like Eithne wasn't the only one attacking Berserker, either, as a bullet and - oh, it's Xiaomu! And that exorcist guy! - rocket past her. Daisy wheels around, barely missing Touta as the vampire kid shoots past. Something about his grandpa? Who is immortal?     "Just what the hell's goin' on here, anyhow?" she asks her kelpie, who just rolls its eyes at her.     The scene's devolved into several kinds of chaos - reunions taking place mere yards from homicidal declarations. Daisy paws at the asphalt, opening its mouth to reveal rows of knife-sharp teeth and a grey tongue. "Right, right, I guess it doesn't really matter," Eithne mutters, resting her greatsword across her shoulders to watch Reiji and his father reunite. Awww, that's so nice!! 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     He recognizes her. Gwyn, even as a Servant, honest to goodness remembers her. Priscilla hadn't really thought about her expectations one way or the other, but she had been tiny the last time she had ever laid eyes upon him, and it'd bee /millennia/ since. There were so many things she'd never known about him, either that day or thereafter. Things she'd never gotten to ask at that climactic confrontation at the day of Lordran's reckoning. The fact that he hadn't forgotten all about her, or even denied her existence, and instead recognizes her after centuries of age have grown her is . . . overwhelming. Priscilla even /looks/ like she doesn't know how to feel. Given a few more seconds, something really emotional and heartfelt might have burst its way out there.     The one with the rocket launcher sees to it that it doesn't, and in doing so communicates that it isn't very clever.     When the explosion throws Gwyn, Priscilla rushes forward to catch him, stopping him with her arms as much as he does with his sword. Still with one arm around him, Priscilla steps and turns around his side, and from the inside of her white sleeve, a flicker of silver and black jumps into her fingers, and then is launched like a streaking bullet at the rocket-wielding monstrosity. The dagger is far too long, wickedly curved, and strangely sculpted of heavy materials to really be ideal for throwing, approaching something better described as an 'elegant machete', so it speaks to the level of nastiness it entails when Priscilla exercises the manual dexterity and sheer force required to do it anyways. Furthermore, partway through the air, the dagger 'ignites' in the colours of ink and snow, leaving behind a streaky, semi-liquid trail of silent fire in its wake.     The monster may be physically tough, but it's in for an astoundingly lethal and agonizingly painful surprise if it tanks the Lifehunt-charged heavy projectile. The extra level of undue viciousness Priscilla has put on the unthinkingly swift reprisal is sure to slick the bridge red. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' To be perfectly fair, Xiaomu's lightcycle would have come to a screeching halt at about that moment anyway - not just because of a badass who was suddenly in her way, but because of *exactly who that badass is*: Xiaomu couldn't have done anything *but* come to a complete stop, and stare. And stare she does. Shogo Arisu. Maybe not technically 'in the flesh,' but - it looks just like him, sounds just like him; when he pulls her and Reiji into that big old hug, it *feels* like him, and - with a margin of error for not quite being a mortal human any more - even *smells* pretty much like him. (Taste doesn't enter into it; she wouldn't know that anyway and she's not about to try biting a Servant, and besides, smell is close enough to skip the fifth sense test.) Even before that hug, Xiaomu was making a weird quiet sort of squawk, like she wasn't sure whether to squeal in glee, shriek in terror, or just stare silently in stunned surprise. The hug helps jolt her brain back into working again, and for a moment, the sage fox returns that hug, one ear briefly flicking up as she hears Maya's offer of support. It's an offer which may be seriously needed in a little bit - just not the sort of support that entails buffs and supporting fire. "Shogo ... how in the Emperor's jewels ... seriously, a Grail War Servant? Who summoned you? How? This shouldn't be -" At seven hundred sixty-five years, and then some, Xiaomu could probably make a more credible claim than most people to having legitimately seen just about everything ... but clearly, the Multiverse has *not* run out of tricks, to judge by the look on her face. 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' As Ryu coils around the bridgepost, Berserker finishes climbing up to a mostly-stable part of the bridge's support underneath, making it so she can be a few feet above him to look down on him. Her eyes scan his form briefly...and she doesn't appear to recognize him, even if she can tell he's a dragon. "Hmph! Who do you think you are to address me like that? I am Deis, the Endless, the greatest of all people! Even if you are a dragon, I don't do what a lesser person like YOU has to say. Get out of my sight, or I'll make you regret confronting me!" She moves to slowly continue climbing the bridge, trying to get back up to the top. If Ryu moves to stop her, she'll send out a burst of lightning from her staff to send him back into the water and hopefully fully out of her hair. 

:'''{{#var:1161|Ryu (1161)}} has posed:'''     ...     Ryu doesn't try to stop her. He's actually visibly aghast at her. His understanding of her from the story was a little more... rational and magnanimous. But that was after she was cast down by her sister. Is... is this Deis from before that happened...?     Ryu dumbly watches her climb up to rejoin the battle, his mouth hanging open in shock at the way she spoke to him. It wasn't at all what he expected to come out of her mouth.     "Why are you doing this?" he asks, in utter confusion, once he remembers his senses. "Why did you come back?"     "What happened?"     The weak, frightened tone in his voice comes from a primal fear of the unknown. Her return could end very badly, if she's the version he knows. 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:''' Touta gets to taste the underside of the hooded figure's boot. It tastes like crooked staff... Touta's sent flying downwards now as he crashes into the bridge from several stories in the air. It takes him a moment but he finds himself picking himself up trying to figure out what the Hell just happened. He could swear that was his grandfather's staff, the staff of Negi Springfield. Though the agitated voice that came forth from under the hood seemed entirely different from what he remembered from his last encounter. "So that's what happened...This Holy Grail is even able to accomplish such a feat..." Touta raises an eyebrow at his blade confused at its words. "You've got something you want to share?" "Touta, I don't think that's your grandfather." That only raises more questions though as the boy looks back up into the sky at the man upon the staff. "Who the Hell's on grandpa's staff then?!" The sword stays quiet for a moment, "The Holy Grail is able to summon heroes of the past as spirits. If that's the case than there's only one person who this could be...The previous owner of that staff. The man who fought alongside my creator, Albireo Imma...The one that helped end the war on Inverse Mars and saved the world...The father of The Greatest Mage, the one who earned the title of the Thousand Master, Nagi Springfield." 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' "Beats me! But I'm really here. Old friend summoned me to fight for the Grail, can't just leave him hanging and say 'no thanks', right?" There's a mighty grin from Archer, Shogo Arisu, as he breaks away from the hug. "How are you doing these days? Never thought I'd be in this situation, but hey, what can I say? You seem more shocked than I am!" There's a playful tone from his voice as he just ignores the battle raging around them to take a moment to chatter. It's the type of moment he needs, after all. Ice King's retaliation and success does get acknowledgement from Caster, who moves back to ducking behind cover. "Right, see, now that wasn't so bad. We know more about our opposition now, and he's not focusing on us anymore. I'd say that was a success!" Right after insisting they move to combat, Caster is now making it clear he wants to take cover, especially after what happens next. The undead hulk keeps focusing on Gwyn, who is caught by Priscilla, where he turns his glance, which allows Nova the chance to get her shot off. The rifle tears through him, spilling greenish-yellow blood, and yet, it keeps moving. It grunts out some speech, as it moves to whip out that tendril. "Priscilla...!" The tendril moves as if it's about to lash at her... And then that dagger slices forward, thrown at the monster. It tears through his already-weakened flesh, and is something he has trouble resisting, especially with Lifehunt causing him to roar in pain. However, he keeps standing. He moves to lunge again, in what would probably be fatal for him...if it wasn't for an echo of noise, unrecognizable, in his ear. Suddenly, the creature turns, and leaps with all of his strength as far away as he can, moving to retreat from the battle. The military man is brought into a chasing battle with Tanya Degurechaff. He continues to fire his rifle in her direction, ignoring everything else around him with a grim silence. This leads to some more issues. Three lasers impact his back, ripping holes in him, which are furthered by the shot at his face. This one almost impacts directly, but he moves too fast, and it hits his shoulder instead, the flak ripping through it. The military man bites through his pain, and moves as if he's going to keep going, even when outnumbered... 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' And the man on the staff decides to change the situation. The staff rapidly lifts him up and in the military man's direction, who he grabs in a powerful headlock and moves to drag down to the bridge. The military man fights against it, but is incapable of breaking his grip, as the staff-rider speaks up. "Alright, alright, let's stop the fighting now. I thought I'd let you get a good few whacks at it, but one of you has already retreated, so I need to get my job over with." Floating above everyone, he continues to speak as the fighting stops entirely. "I'm the Ruler-class Servant in charge of overseeing this war. Otherwise known as Nagi Springfield! You said you were created by Albireo, huh? Just who are you?" Touta gets that in his direction, before Nagi shakes his head and continues talking. "Before the fighting can continue, there's some ground rules that need to be laid down. Number one! 'Servants summoned to this Servants summoned to this Holy Grail War can only fight within the War. Interfering with events outside of it is forbidden.'" "Number two! 'Non-Servants and non-Masters may contribute to the War, but any killing blows must be delivered by a Servant.'" "Number three! 'If a Servant dies, the corresponding Master may still partake in the War.'" "And finally, number four! 'The Holy Grail can only be claimed by a Master and a Servant.' If you break any of these rules, I personally will prevent you from continuing to partaking in the war." At this point, Nagi turns, specifically towards a cluster of buildings not far from the bridge. "For those watching, make sure to memorize these, alright? Write them down if you have to! I know you can hear me!" All of the Servants, including Berserker, who has finally reached back to the bridge (and doesn't answer Ryu's questions, just huffing in his direction), are pretty silent at this point. It looks like they're all taking it in. Nagi's body, meanwhile, is holding the military man from getting retaliated on, it'd seem. "Any questions?" 

:'''{{#var:1123|Tanya Degurechaff (1123)}} has posed:'''     Tanya weaves through incoming fire, magical flak bursting around her from the Colonel's submachine gun. She ejects the spent casing, loading another, and aims. Her finger touches the trigger. Then straightens again when a fourth party interjects and yanks the military Servant out of the fight. She slows to a halt, following both Servants with her eyes. After a moment, she dips down to pursue at a leisurely pace.     The Safety is still off on her rifle. Just in case.     Floating to a halt, the Major shifts her glowing golden gaze from the Colonel to the Ruler. Lifting her right hand, she turns it about to display the Command Seal on the back of her hand, her connection to the Berserker Asterios. "As a Master myself, I have only one question; how many Servants are involved in this Grail War?" 

:'''{{#var:1016|Eithne Sullivan (1016)}} has posed:'''     At last, the mysterious-est of all the gathered Servants reveals himself. Eithne...     ...has absolutely no idea who that is. Nudging Daisy with her heels, she guides the kelpie over nearer to Xiaomu, who she's met before, yet seems pretty reluctant to intrude on the reunion. It's just better to be near allies!     "Looks like we're gonna be busy," she hums to herself. Just thinking about it...     She's forgetting something, isn't she? 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren's eyes widen with surprise. It's been awhile since he's fought anything close enough to a normal human that lasers shot right through them! He wonders if this man has some kind of regeneration magic, or if being a Servant lets him keep going after taking wounds like that. Or maybe he's just that tough of a bastard, but shouldn't he be trying to heal himself?     As he takes aim for a followup shot, though, Nagi Springfield intervenes. Staren holds his fire, not having sufficient reason to piss off an unknown.     After Ruler lays down the rules, Staren actually raises a hand: "Isn't disrupting traffic and making this mess" he waves the rifle at the abandoned cars with his offhand "interfering in outside events? I mean, a lot of people's lives were disrupted. Jobs they can't get to, waiting for insurance claims on the cars, even if we move 'em all off the bridge the local authorities are gonna need to investigate and check that the bridge is safe, yadda yadda yadda... And that's assuming they were lucky and like that none of the commuters was a doctor on their way to save lives or something."     Staren lifts his arm in front of him, palm-up in a questioning gesture. "Are you going to make sure that future fights happen somewhere uninhabited? It's not like there's any shortage of out-of-the-way places to fight, on the supercontinent or in space. Even if they wanna fight in a city, there's ruins." 

:'''{{#var:6381|Nova Terra (6381)}} has posed:'''     Nova halts her automatic fire, pulling her finger off the trigger. Even after the damage it's taken, the monster creature is still capable of moving! Nova watches with some concern, but is relieved to see her target bound off into the distance. An unusual escape method, but Nova's not going to complain. She works on switching to a new target, raising her rifle to aim at the one flying on skiis, but just as she's about to pull the trigger, the stick guy intervenes, calling for a stop to the fighting.     Nova is briefly confused... She's not used to people just up and asking for a battle to end. Even more confusing is that the rest of the Servants appear to follow that lead, the battle quickly winding down. Nova glances over the battlefield to check on her allies, noting that they appear to still be intact.     But then the rules start to come in, Nova briefly snrking at the idea of a war with rules. Still, they're not much of a bother to her as she's not interested in the 'Holy Grail War' so much as the information she can gather.     Nova stands up from behind her cover, shifting her rifle into one hand to rest against her shoulder. She eyes the others present through her visor as they converse with the 'Ruler'. She's been around long enough to have heard of this war in passing, but the details escape her. It's definitely becoming a learning experience! 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Reiji's dad? It seems many elites have had people important to them brought back from the grail she has beheld one of the Emperors own sons a Priamch, Reiji's father. Priscilla's Grandfather as well. Maya keeps overwatch on Reiji's father though. She sees in him in some ways much of her own late father. Then Negi shows up for a moment as she looks for a moment at Nagi. She gapes, he's far older but she stares at Nagi for a moment. "Who is behind this grail being formed? Why is it being fought at all? The war tends to be a pretext for something else." She bites her tongue as she wants to learn more but it's clear from the look of her face she does not like to see a grail war happening, clearly something really bad happened in one of the Grail Wars Maya was involved in at some point. 

:'''{{#var:1142|Ice King (1142)}} has posed:'''     "Yeah, great. Let's go home so I can get patched up." He continues lying there in a pile, staring into space, blinking occasionally, waiting expectantly while some guy on a broom yells at everyone.     When all that's done, he calls out to Caster, "...A little help?" He gestures as limitedly as he can in the mangled state he's in, mostly just rotating his wrists and then letting his hands flop. "I hope you don't mind carrying me back. Heh! I know I flew us here, and I know you said you can't fly, but maybe you can, like, make us an ice slide or something, and rollercoaster us back!" His eyes get wide and sparkly for a moment as he flops his hands again. Then he thinks about that. "...Actually, wait, that sounds painful."     Ice King hmmms to himself as he puffs his cheeks out. Then, brilliance (of a sort) strikes! "Oh, oh! I know! I could make a second ice castle! A home away from home! An H.Q. where we can plan our next move while I recover! Then we won't have to travel as far! And I think I saw a soupery in this place somewhere, so maybe we can grab some dinner on the way back too!"     It is probably difficult to tell at this point whether Ice King is actually insane and incompetent or just insane. The latter is troublesome but not unworkable. The former does not bode well if he's the one calling the shots.     But so far, at least, he hasn't been useless.     "Also what's a Ruler? We're not getting bossed by a yard stick, are we?" 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' Reiji is just as flabbergasted as Xiaomu is. How could he be anything but? A whirlwind of emotion blazes across the exorcist's brain as his father pulls away and looks... Happy? Cheerful? What is this? What's going on? The Holy Grail War brought his father back, but... Is this the father he remembers? Or is it some other one? Reiji winces, his hand going to the scar that still throbs across his scalp. "An old friend...? Do we know who it is, or--?" Reiji shakes his head as explosions rock the bridge. "...Dad, I just... After what happened, I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I tried, after you died, but there was nothing. It was like your spirit was just... gone. What happened?" Something else blows up nearby. It casts Reiji's face aglow with firelight but he doesn't seem to even blink. He's used to walking away from explosions. But then the Ruler makes his pronouncement-- and is, apparently, that one kid's great grandfather? Hnn. "...Killing blows have to be delivered by a servant, but what about a Master? Are they allowed to kill, too?" Reiji murmurs, his brow furrowing. "And that means a grail can't be claimed by an independent master or servant. But..." "If a master dies, what happens to the servant? Can the servant be claimed by someone else?" 

:'''{{#var:1143|Touta Konoe (1143)}} has posed:''' Touta honestly can't believe this. Forget the Holy Grail War, the person standing before him was Nagi Springfield. There's plenty of question that go through his mind. One being, 'What's a Ruler Servant?', 'Why are you here?', and plenty of others. Though the moment he declares his name to the group, there's something important he feels like he should be remembering...But what was it again? As this so called Ruler descends and all the other servants cease their fighting. There's plenty that Touta wants to say but it's the sword that ends up starting the conversation. "My name is Kurobo. There seems to be much that needs to be discussed about our current situations whether that be now or later is irrelev-" Before the sword can finish speaking or Ruler can finish any of his explanations someone has the audacity to plant their shoe on Ruler's face! There's a grin very similar to Nagi's own as Touta plants that shoe on him. "Now I remember who you are. You're the jerk that broke Yukihime's heart! Forget this, you're coming with me!" "...And this is Konoe Touta, your son's grandson. Making you his great grandfather..." Truly this was a heartwarming family re-union to say the least. Clearly one that Touta felt took more precedence than explaining the rules of the Grail War to the others. To the onlookers it might be hard to see any relation among the two considering one looks completely European while the other looks completely of Japanese descent, though their personalities and way of talking definitely felt like they could be related at least... 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' "An old friend, huh ..." Xiaomu repeats. Shogo *did* have a lot of friends, and plenty of them had at least *some* magical talent and power. But she's still processing when Ruler makes his pronouncement, laying down the rules for this Grail War. She actually pulls her smartphone out to thumb in some notes about those rules. Reiji's questions seem pretty relevant, too, so she keeps an ear perked for those answers. But in the meantime - "Shogo? Ask your ... 'Master' ... if it's okay for us to meet him. I've kept the same phone number all these years, took a little doing but I managed to swing it. So just give me a call, let us know where and when." And that'll double as a spot check for if this is really the same Shogo she knew, up until he died. Maybe not a perfect check, but it'll be something - and behind her shock and awe at seeing Shogo in front of her, a little crackle of suspicion is making itself known. This many Servants who are known to one Elite or another ... what kind of Grail has *this* mix in its Throne of Heroes? And who could happen to summon exactly *these* Servants for a Grail War? If it were any one of them alone, it would be incredible enough. But four, maybe more Servants with ties to living Elites in the current Multiverse? Even if it's all completely legitimate, this is one Grail which *HAS* to be attended to, and not allowed to fall into any hands who would abuse or misuse it. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Hearing the raging monster even speak her name is a little bizarre for Priscilla, but the swift, vengeful hatred that reflexively freezes her features leaves little room to express it. Almost in same sense that someone more heroic would unthinkingly respond to an attack against the helpless, Priscilla's attempt to kill the creature is just as ideologically second nature, both for striking a Lord, and for striking family.     When this apparently famous Nagi Springfield calls an end to it, she doesn't particularly bedgrudge it. She has things to find out and business to settle, and if this whole war wrapped up on this one bridge due to the bumbling intercession of a dozen random Elites, that would be exceedingly difficult. She only speaks rather than looking to him though, being more concerned for Gwyn than is reasonable to be towards the highest class of Saber.     "I hope that thou overestimate thine powers not, Sir Springfield." she says mostly in reference to his promise of personal intervention. "Expecteth few who believeth themselves not somehow too clever by half to respect such traditions. Otherwise, thou understandeth how this hast becometh at very minimum a gross disturbance to both the Grail War and its surroundings, yes?" 

:'''{{#var:533|Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' As Tanya shows her command seals, Nagi quirks an eyebrow, but then begins to count on his fingers. Once he's done, he speaks up. "Looks like everyone's been accounted for tonight except for one. If my math's right, that means eight, excluding myself. Staren's response gets a sigh and a hand rubbing at his brows, as Nagi stares straight back at him. "By outside events, it means with the stuff like those big group, the Paladins and the Concord and stuff like that. If everyone decides to fight on a freeway, that's not my place to interfere." Maya gets a glance, as Nagi moves to answer one of her questions "The winners get to wish on the grail for whatever their heart may desire. Sounds like something you'd fight for, doesn't it?" "It doesn't work that way! A slide, that's...ugh. I'll just carry you if you really can't walk. Caster doesn't sound pleased about it, and IS going to use ice to slide across the ground quickly to get them back, but not before Ice King's question is answered by Nagi. "Ruler's a special job for mediating the Grail War. I make sure everyone doesn't break the rules, and deal with those who do. Simple enough!" Reiji gets a soft response as Shogo listens to Ruler. "You wouldn't know him. That's...I'm not entirely sure. We'll talk about it another time, though, alright? A nod towards his son, before he moves to focus on the rules Q&A. Xiaomu does get a reply though, with a wink and a nod. "Haha, you did, didn't you? Sure, I'll call you. Reiji gets a reply from Nagi soon after. The first question is simple enough. "Only Servants. It's in the wording, sheesh! The second question gets a smug look and a coy tone. "Maybe! Touta's shoe plants onto Nagi's face. His expression is hard to read...and shows some confusion...but begins to brighten a bit as Kurobo identifies him. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're Negi's grandson, huh? That makes us family, awesome. Now get the heck out of my face." He moves to grab Touta's foot with his free hand and just sort of /throw/ him back with superhuman strength, before the staff raises him a bit in the air to not be in foot range. "Konoe, huh. Anyways, I'm not going back with you, sorry about that. Have my own things to be doing around here, you see. Priscilla just gets a laugh from Nagi. "Just you wait and see, then. Make trouble and there'll be trouble, that's all I got to say." Eventually, when all the questions are done, Nagi moves to ascend again. "Alright, question time's over. I'm heading off, you do you, and for the last time, don't break the rules! He finally releases the military man, throwing him forward, and the various Servants stand tall, before moving to retreat themselves. Shogo gives one last half-salute to Reiji and Xiaomu as he heads off. Gwyn does glance at Priscilla before he leaves, but he does so either way. Soon, the bridge is empty, and there's no one but the Elites. Oh, and sirens. It seems law enforcement is catching up. 
}}

5836/P:WtWM - Party Time

2018-05-12T05:27:51Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/05/11 |Location=Alberichstadt |Synopsis=Janine throws a party, Agatha gatecrashes, Hoshi might be in danger? |Cast of Characters=909, 999, 894..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/05/11
|Location=Alberichstadt
|Synopsis=Janine throws a party, Agatha gatecrashes, Hoshi might be in danger?
|Cast of Characters=909, 999, 894, 290, 7, 1138, 1141, 934, 714, 901
|Tinyplot=Persona: Were the World Mine
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Things have been approaching 'normal' in Alberichstadt.     No more kidnappings. No more expeditions into the Forest. Bullying at Drachenblatt has been on the uptick, but that's all kept well undercover. Things seem back to normal in the sleepy little academic town, and that's just how Janine likes it.     She likes it so much, in fact, that she has called for a gathering, an actual party. Not a faux invite like the one to her birthday party, but a real celebration. That suburban home now only occupied by herself and Emily is warmly lit from within, the door left open on this spring night. Some Italian pop singer is blaring from inside, as is the smell of home cooking, no doubt courtesy of Emily.     Janine herself is waiting in that living room where the birthday party happened. The bags under her eyes have eased, her hair is clean, and she's actually smiling. A highly cursed event indeed. "'sup nerds. Thanks for coming," she says to those whoa arrive. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     In point of fact, the house smells positively wonderful.     Tonight, however, rather than the usual Italian fare, Emily's insisted on something a little more close to home. A deep fryer is sizzling away merrily as breaded strips of cod are dropped in, while a second crackles away full of diced potato. It's an old pub staple, a perfect unhealthy 'comfort food' for celebrating a victory hard won.     (Emily is, of course, not going to assume they've actually won for some time yet, but she can at least let them have a chance to relax.)     Both the fish and the chips are being served onto large platters, with a stack of plates nearby, and bottles of malt vinegar on hand as well. "Go on, serve yourselves as you like. I'll be keeping it coming until everyone's had their fill." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is pretty happy about the fact the Black Queen is gone, but you couldn't tell it by looking at him. Bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep, hair slightly unkempt, and overall looking like he's been stressing lately. The redhead is dressed in a jacket and shirt with a pair of jeans, luckily having not brought a gun (and isn't going to tell Janine about the knife in his jacket). The core sign that he knows this is a party is that he brought a six-pack of cheap beer, some casual brand. As he enters the door, August nods to Janine, lifting the booze to show it. "No problem." He keeps his jacket on, moving to set the beer on the counter, taking one for himself. "Hey, Branford." Emily gets if August spots her, as he moves to take a seat somewhere, stretching out. "So, I have to ask. Who are you and what have you done with Janine Liberi?" There's the slightest crack of a smile as August asks, cracking open his can and taking a drink. He takes a nod to the food, but doesn't move to get any just yet. "So, if things are as they seem, the Queen's finally dead. How the hell did we go from a ragtag group of teenagers and Multiversals to the saviors of the world?" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' "Rebecca, you're out of uniform!" That's what you might expect to hear if Rebecca were on duty today. The key word being 'were.' As it stands, Rebecca's actually off-duty, so she's switched to something a little more casual and comfortable. After all, you can't attend a party in uniform unless you're cosplaying or something, right? When Rebecca shows up to the party, she looks a bit more cheerful than usual, but then again isn't that how you'd look for a party? She waves to everyone as she enters, looking around to see what the party has to offer. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Things had somewhat got back to normal if you could call it that in Alberichstadt, Kotone is dressed Casually maybe slightly out of l;ine but it speaks of odd tate rather than froma nother world. She ajusts her strange little sleeveless jacket as she arrives. "Doing pretty well Jaine and glad to see things seem to be finished." 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      August has a ferocious persistance in Atalanta not wandering around their - his - world as an actual catgirl. This had been a long fight, but eventually, Atalanta agreed, but only if she could buy her own outfit, on her own terms. As such, she shows up to Janine's outside of her normal dress, with a ... you guessed it... black, fuzzy cat ear hat on her head, a large, black scarf around her neck, a light green and white sweater underneath a long fur-lined dark green jacket, a blue-green skirt, black tights with green stripes on the outside, and blue-green and white high-top sneakers.      She has about seven boxes in her grip, and she nods at Janine friendly enough. "I brought pie." The label is the best pie maker in the local area.      It is, of course, all apple pie. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     After everything that's been going on in Alberichstadt, Robert Speedwagon is concerned. So when the invitation for the party comes, he's definitely going, if only to check up on the group after everything's all been said and done. He's wearing his usual dark blue Victorian-style suit, and the odd diamond-patterned top hat that doesn't match the rest of his outfit.     He's not here alone, either, as he rarely is -- Tattoo and Kempo are with him too. But he also didn't come empty-handed, either. He's carrying, of all things, a large container of those mass-produced cupcakes. He probably picked them up on the way here.     That's confirmed when he offers, "Sorry if it's rude ta bring somethin', but I wasn't sure, and I didn't want ter bring three mouths ta feed and not contribute." He really doesn't have much in the way of etiquette knowledge. He also seems to be pleased with the cuisine choice too. "Oh! Didn't expect fish an' chips 'ere. That's a pleasant surprise!"     Robert will find some place to put the package of cupcakes, and then ask the gathering at large, "I 'ope everybody's well!" He is indeed in high spirits, very much not apprehensive that things are actually over. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' A victory well earned indeed, though certainly one that was not without its sacrifices. Take for example, the chipper-looking scifi cowboy drifting, nose-led towards the scent of bubbling oil and greasy breading... And the two mechanical arms mounted to his shoulders. Will gave his arms to fire the mother of all blasts into the Black Queen's face. He'd do it again, any day of the week-- especially considering what all the others have surrendered to make it this far. "Oh miss Emily," Will sighs, already forking himself up some golden fish n' chips, "This all smells positively heavenly. I haven't had a good fish fry in months! I uh. Hope the pies are enough from me fer today." A set of HOME-MADE APPLE PIES sit nearby, still nice and hot and fresh from Granny Pauwel's oven. They smell of apple and cinnamon and thus deliciously. 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      Atalanta quietly attempts to theft a whole Granny Pauwel apple pie in the back. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      How did Sanary get in here? Considering what's happened, shouldn't she be on Janine's and everyone else's shitlist right now?      Yes. Very yes.      And yet, she's arrived wearing some more casual fare: A yellow t-shirt, shorts/overalls, recently cleaned work boots. She's also hauling in a suspiciously large sack over both shoulders, smelling much like the comfort food that Emily has prepared. It's probably something pig-related.      No, it's definitely something pig-related. What else could it be? Whole roasted pork is her offering of the day, and the healer/pig farmer is looking uncharacteristically tense as she approaches the door and gives it a light knock with her head.      She's not so much of a barbarian that she'd knock on it by kicking it. She has some class, at least! Maybe that'll even be enough to convince everyone not to attack her on sight. Hopefully. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Listen smartass," Janine says to August with a wry smile on her face. "This is me when I don't have the looming threat of some bitch horror trying to conquer our world looming over our heads." She takes the beer and examines the label with a discerning eye. "You sure have the look of someone who would drink this swill right now. You look like I did fresh out of treatment. But hey, I'll take it." She puts it in a cooler stocked with more expensive brands.     "Not 'seems.' It is over," she says to Kotone with an insistant tone to her voice as she snags a piece of battered cod from the trays Emily brings in. "How the Brits became one of the biggest empires in the world with tripe like this, I don't know," she mutters. That doesn't stop her from eating it though.     "Now we're talking!" Janine says happily as she carefully takes the boxes from Atalanta. "Oh this place is pretty good. Emily, get some of that French vanilla ice cream out. We'll need it for all this pie." She can't say the same for the cupcakes that Speedwagon brings though. She gets a whiff and her nose wrinkles. "Cheap cocoa, and they've overdone the frosting to try and hide it with sugar. But I'll never turn down excessive frosting. Thanks."     She watches Will grab at the fish and chips and makes A Face. She almost looks regretful, but she bites down on her cheek and shakes it off. Only for Sanary to arrive, and now Janine's face looks like she drank toilet water. "Are you serious?" she asks, staring hard at the healer. Eventually, she can only sigh. "You're not allowed upstairs. Period. Got it?"     She begins handing out drinks from the cooler. August and Sanary get the cheap stuff that August brought, but everyone else gets some fancy microbrew cans. "All right! We actually killed some utter horror borne from the shittiness of man or something. I can't believe it, but it means that things will go back to normal. It was great knowing... well, most of you," she shoots a glare at Sanary. "But with this, normal lives will resume. Thanks for everything, everyone. Cheers."     She raises her can, no doubt to some confusion. Is she... going somewhere?" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     "Kohler," Emily greets with a nod, still bustling about the kitchen. She does, somehow, find time to get the pies from Atalanta and set them out, unless the cat is particularly possessive of them; either way, she'll soon have the ice cream set out as well, per Janine's orders. "Quite enough, Pauwel," she replies, with a warm smile. "Thank you, and eat as much as you like." Speedwagon, Kempo and Tattoo likewise get a pleased look. "Always nice to have a spot of home when you're abroad."     Then there is Sanary.     For a full three seconds, Emily Branford stops dead in her tracks. Her expression goes utterly cold and neutral, her eyes fix on Sanary, and she holds utterly still - waiting to see what Janine's take on the matter is.     The answer turns out to be 'she gets to stay for now'. So the butler continues on as she was doing, though there's now a noticeable coolness to her demeanor. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca finds herself getting a soda, as she's not one to tie one on. She thanks Janine politely and raises her can as well. "Here's to victory and peace!" She blushes a little as she realizes that she's not the best at toasting. Instead she smiles and sips her drink, looking around for anything else to do or say. When there's nothing else, Rebecca simply puts on a decent smile and looks around a little, trying to take in the general atmosphere of the party. How can someone like Rebecca be a member of S.T.A.R.S. yet seem a bit awkward? 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "It was on sale." August says with a shrug, fine with his cheap booze for now. As everyone else brings out sweets, though, August just laughs to himself. Looks like he's getting upstaged a little, as he ignores the actual food to grab a slice of both Will and Atalanta's pies, wanting to try both of them. "Man, you guys are awesome." Mood - significantly raised. And then it plummets a bit when August spots Sanary. He doesn't say anything to her, but the look he gives her is a bit unpleasant, as he eats a bite of pie. Seems he'll be civil, at the least, even if he's still hurting over the revelation. "Pie's fantastic. Wholly recommend it." He says to no one in particular, as he listens to Janine's speech. It gets a nod, and then a dawn of realization, as August basically starts devouring his slices of pie. "Wait, shit. Are you leaving?" August frowns sharply, and then exhales, crossing his arms. "Damn, that sucks. If you'd told us in advance, this could have been more of a going-away party." His voice actually has a hint of sadness, as he moves to get up and finally grab some food to go with his pie. "Going back to Italy? I mean, I don't blame you, just some funny timing. Though, admittedly, the only timing that really works." August thinks for a moment, looking at the nearest mirror in the room (or his wrist, where there's a mirrored bracelet, if there isn't one). "Don't have to deal with the Forest ever again, atleast." August proceeds to just eat his food, thinking about this a little more, considering it all. "Man, man, we /won/. I honestly didn't know if it was possible. I need to decide what I'm going to do next myself. Probably the same old thing, fighting bad guys and saving worlds. But that's the path I've chosen. Can understand wanting to take a different one." Over all, August's voice is a bit low, as he's entirely distracted away from bad feelings towards Sanary to thinking about the future. Two and a half years. Time really flies, doesn't it? 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Sanary's mouth is already watering some at the smells hitting her nose, but she's got REPARATIONS to make first. Janine's stare has her freezing up for a moment, but she relaxes visibly when she isn't met with a dropkick and/or series of knives to the face. Not that she'd be in any position or have any right to move out of the way, of course, but being prepared for it wouldn't make it any more pleasant anyway.      "G.. Got it. Er. I actually got a..." She trails off as she sets the roasted pig near one of the tables, making sure the contents aren't spilling out onto the floor and glancing over at Emily (just in case knives happen) before picking a slightly-grease stained card out of her pocket and sliding it to Janine.      "For later. Or... Whenever." After clearing her throat awkwardly, it's time for less awkward beer time! She even manages a more casual grin at receiving the can, the cheapness of it completely lost on the healer as she turns it over several times just to check out the can itself.      "Just proves that regular... Ish people like us can kill anything if we try hard enough. Good work!" Sanary breaks into a bigger grin, holding up her can shortly afterwards. She doesn't quite catch the implications of Janine's words until August makes it more obvious, though, and she raises an eyebrow towards the former a moment later.      "You'll still be out and around, though, yeah? I mean.. How far can this Italy be, anyway?" A pause, and then the healer chuckles once. "... Ah, can't blame ya if you wanna do somethin' quieter, though. But you need any good pig meat or pig parts or help raisin' a pig, you know who to call. Okay?" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' There is nothing in this world that delicious pies cannot make better. Will doesn't stop Atalanta from gorging herself on one of those amazing apple pies, but only because he knows... He knows far too well... That too much pie is sometimes just as bad... as no pie at all. "Howdy there, Sanary~" Will says over a mouthful of fish n' chips. "Fancy seein' y'all here. Is that pork I smell? Bring it in and let's eat!" But, then... Janine is... Leavin'? Will frowns, his mood faltering just a bit. August says enough for the both of them, but... "You're leavin' us? Is yer family callin' y'all home after all that business in the forest, or..." Is it /her/ arm...? 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Speedwagon narrows his eyes when Sanary comes in. He hasn't forgotten what happened at the Black Queen's throne room. But then again... maybe she's learned her lesson; the Black Queen did kind of throw her under the bus. Can never trust those sorts of people, like the Black Queen... particularly if they're only PART of people. At least, that's how he understood what those beings they fought were. So... well, let's try being civil, huh? He offers a smile in Sanary's direction, at least, and a pleasant wave.     Janine's assessment of the cupcakes gets a wince. "Ah... yeah, I noticed that too," he confirms. If he can smell evil, he can sure tell someone's using cheap cocoa. "Was rather a last-minute purchase, since I wan't sure what ter bring, or even if I should." And Emily's words get a broad grin. "You're not wrong there!" he agrees. "It's much appreciated!"     Janine's got a toast, and all three of the Ogre Street gangsters area gonna drink to that. Both Speedwagon and Tattoo give loud cheers of "'Ere, 'ere!" Kempo's cheer is quieter, but amounts to the same. He didn't notice the final sound to Janine's speech until August points it out. And then he blinks. "Oh. Well, I s'pose movin' away from that forest's preferrable, yeah... Particularly if it's so dangerous." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa says "A slip of tongue Jaine your right it is over." She sees the battered cod showing an effect of being from a former British colony. Oh she wants some of that, then again she's from a coastal area to begin with, so she's just kinda yes to seafood in general. She has not come without something to share, nope two things, she's brought several wracks of smoked Pacific salmon also a smaller container of Candied salmon, roast salmon glazed in maple syrup and she'll move to set those out to share. She is going to get the Cod though like so right now, she's not going to take too much, as eating is more of just for the enjoynment of it for her, for the most part. "Brought some Salmon to zhare dig on on that." Kotone gets a look of horror on her face of the brand August brought going right for the Microbrews. "To the return of normal lives!" She looks to August though for a moment, she will also get some of the pie. She thinks about the beer he still rboguht some and he did think to share. She does wonder though what Janine is up to and she looks over to Robtert. "Hry try what I brought over!" Then it hits Janaine is leaving, she can understand that wanting to get on with life and ...well just the meories of here. 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      Atalanta, being the impolite, irresponsible lack of social graces bear that she is, continues munching down pie, although her gaze slides from the pie giver - Will - to her Master - August - and back. Then her head tilts, nearly imperceptibly at Will before she frowns at Janine. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Janine looks confused as everyone assumes she is going to Italy. "What? No. I'm just... done. With the whole Multiverse thing." She looks around, looking vaguely bemused. "I mean, like... you never see me out there, right? And now that this shit is done, there's no need for you all to be here. I guess you'll see August 'cuz he's killing himself being a big hero, but... I'm done. I saved the world, you can't ask anything more of me."     She shrugs, and takes a long drink from her can, before looking at August. "You really thought I would run out without letting you know? I'm not quite that big of a bitch." She also takes that card with a slight scowl and opens it, a gift card falling from it. "Oh dammit..." she grumbles, reading the contents before staring hard at the healer. "You don't get to absolve yourself with an 'asskicking.' You did a shitty thing, and now you have to live knowing that everyone here who trusted you can never do that again because you're a goddamn sellout. That's what you get."     Her face was getting flushed there, but she takes a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry everyone. This was supposed to be a fun thing, and I'm dragging it down. Guess that's all I'm good at..." She lets out a heavy sigh and finishes her drink, when a knock comes at the open door.     "I do hope I'm not interrupting," says a matronly voice. Standing in the frame is an older woman, clad in a blue and black riding outfit with gold buttons. Atop her fading golden hair is a chauffeur cap, and her eyes are bright yellow. In her hands is a pile of four books.     It's Agatha, from the Velvet Room. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Looking to Janine, Rebecca's eyes go wide. "You're leaving?" She struggles to find the words to express how she's feeling, but all she can do is hold her mouth open as she struggles to figure out just what she needs to say. But the words never come. She can only stare in shock. Just then there's a knock at the door, and then Agatha makes her appearance. Rebecca forces herself to close her mouth as Agatha arrives. "Oh, hello," Rebecca says, trying to sound polite. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Shuffle shuffle bustle bustle... oh dear, there's Agatha.     And she's not in the Velvet Room.     Emily gently sets down the ice cream she's been getting ready, and then folds her hands behind her back, standing at an attention less like a butler and more like a bodyguard. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August actually sighs in relief as Janine reveals that they all had it wrong. "God damn, did I misinterpret that one. Sorry for thinking it'd be something relatively mundane!" August actually doesn't seem upset, though, more...glad? Relieved? It's clear on his face. "Okay, yeah, that's even more fair. I'm glad I got that wrong." There's a look around the room, basically an apologetic 'woops, my bad guys' for riling everyone up. There's a glance towards Sanary as the letter is handed over, and Janine basically explains what was in it. There's a low whistle, and a nod towards Janine, but he does decide to say something. "Look. Even if we forgive you, we can't forget. I think the fact that you were let here is a good thing. We're still willing to be around you even with all the shit you caused. Hell, I'd probably trust you enough for healing still. Can you accept that?" It's not something he's sure he would have said at another time, but the mood feels right, and it's what makes sense. For everything Sanary caused, August thinks she's /really/ easy to read, and she seems to mean what she says. August turns to Janine as if he's going to say something... And then Agatha walks in. August's eyes dart over to her, at first in confusion, and then he narrows his brow. His first question is pretty simple, because there's never just coincidences with the Velvet Room. "I doubt you're here for the pie. What's the situation?" 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      Following up on August, as Atalanta walks over to her Master and arranges herself against his side like some sort of cat that tolerates people, holds up a plate. "Pie?" She offers Agatha. She has no idea who this woman is, but still. There's pie, and it must be shared.      Besides, who doesn't like pie?      evil people, that's who. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Oh. Oh!! "Oh, well that's... Less a thing then, I think! At least we can still visit n' stuff, right? I mean, as long as we don't bring any multiversal business in and like, get aliens to invade Alberichstadt on account of stealin' their robot arms, there's no problem. Right?" Will says cheerily in Janine's direction, his bad mood immediately evaporating like dew in the bright summer sunshine. "Don't worry about Sanary," he says, then, taking a sip of his HIGH GRADE BEER. "She's like me! Except... More bloodthirsty, I think. Uh. Don't worry, I think she means well, she's just kinda dumb sometimes?" Beat. "It's adorable when it's not, like," Will wrinkles his nose, "...Hurtin' folks." And then he catches Atalanta's glance and nods meaningfully back her way. "There's plenty of pie!" Will says, coming up on August's other side and draping an arm around his shoulders like the ABSOLUTE BEST PALS they are. "Come on miss! I've uh. Never actually met you before! I'm William Pauwel. Nice to meet you! Some of the pie is from my gramma, so feel free to have some! You one of August's other friends?" 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      That wasn't too far off, at least. "Hmm.. Yeah, can't blame you there. It was pretty nice just focusing on the farm for a while." Sanary murmurs in agreement with an understanding tone in her voice, trying not to let Janine's more pointed response jab into her too hard while she raises her free hand in a stiff wave towards Speedwagon in return.      IT IS JABBING VERY HARD. The healer puts on a very obviously forced poker face at that, and she can't really fault Janine for any of it. Hell, she can't even respond to any of it!      So she just stands there and takes it, looking tense as all hell. August's words have her relaxing a bit more, though, and she even finally takes up Will's suggestion to munch on some food! "Th... That's fine. Hell, it's probably good for me that you all can keep me in check. A-and I ain't bloodthirsty! Or d..." She trails off, clearly unable to delude herself THAT much.      William does get a grumpy look, though.      "... Just need to get stronger is all." She huffs lightly and replies in between small bites, breathing a sigh of relief when there's a distraction in the form of Agatha. There might even be some small respite with Atalanta offering the mysterious woman some pie! 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Speedwagon's features clear when Janine explains her stance. "Oh! That makes more sense," he notes. Though he does tilt his head. "D'ya really think the only reason any of us would come 'ere was ter punch things?" he asks. "Hardship forges bonds stronger than steel! I 'ave me doubts everyone in this room would jus' leave and never come back. I can say for certain I would, only to visit, if yer would allow it!" Speedwagon is a bro like that.     August's apologetic look gets a chuckle. "Well, yer didn't know. I would've thought the same." And he starts to snicker at Will trying to make excuses for Sanary. But see... Sanary's reasons? That... he can't fault. Because, well... he's wanted to do that for a long time. Remembering how, despite doing his best, he was useless in helping Jonathan, how he hadn't been able to save Baron Zeppeli either...     Sanary gets a sympathetic look. Yeah, he can totally understand wanting to get stronger, even doing things that... maybe shouldn't be done...     Agatha's entrance gets a blink. He doesn't know her, but some of the others seem to. So he looks to those who act like they know her. Will gives him the idea, and he takes off that checkered hat, placing it against his chest and bowing politely to Agatha. As he straightens, replacing his hat, he offers, "The name's Robert E.O. Speedwagon. Pleased ter make your aquaintence, madam." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa looks to Janine. "It's totally understandable if you want to cash out I will not stop you and hope things go well for you after, Janine." She is going back to her food and is enjoying it and won't step in for Sanary to get our of the ass kicking. She keeps more focused on the party at the moment but as another woman she does not really recalls enter? Agatha arrives and pauses for a moment. "Hello there..." She looks to Janine, August and Emily to see if they know them or want to ask this woman leave. "I don't think we have met before, I'm Kotone Yamakawa." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, you are very kind. Thank you Atalanta," Agatha says with a smile, accepting the pie and taking a forkful into her mouth. She looks around at those she has not met yet and smiles. "I know who you all are. I keep an eye on those allied with our dear contractors." Here, she flashes a smile at August and Janine, the latter of whom scowls. "Yeah, what do you want?" she says, adding to August's question.     The older woman puts down her dessert and nods. "Yes, this is a bit unusual, isn't it? Very well, I'll get to the point." She sits down on the couch, and places those four books on it. "You seem to think that it is over. I am afraid to say that this is merely a roadstop. You may end your journey here Janine, no one could fairly fault you, but the road stretches on through the mists." She looks around again, and lifts one of the books. The title is simply 'Wonderland.'     "This story I will share with you first. Though it is important, please do not let it distract from what I have to tell you afterwards." She opens the page, and begins to read. Oddly, words do not tumble from her mouth, but a full-length mirror gilded in gold manifests. It does not reflect, but only shows something playing out on the surface... 

:'''{{#var:901|Hoshi Amakasu (901)}} has posed:'''     In the depths of the reflecting glass comes the familiar twinkling lights and interminable shadows that had marked the Forest's domain; it sways and twitches around as if seeing through the eyes of an animal. In the distance, down a darkened pathway, a town unusually sits bright and cheery in a clearing; two persons covered in heavy cloaks but festooned in flowering garlands and wedding attire make their way towards the viewers. At this distance, it's impossible to see who it is, but suddenly the camera is moving with agitation, shaking and twisting even as it sunk low into the earth and began stalking towards their position. Neither figure seems to notice that they are being hunted by what may be some Beast.     Until they pass the hidden position the Beast has took, it falls still and only twitches occasionally. The merry married ones seem entirely oblivious of the danger they are in, until the Beast roars, and the mirror the gang is looking through vibrates with it's fury! Suddenly it is bounding forth, powerful claws rivving earth and shattering glass shoots beneath their tread. THe taller figure moves to a protective position in front of the wife, but is suddenly flung aside with a vengeance. THe wife stands trembling before the beast, and her hood shifts away from her face...     Hoshi Amakasu stares at whatever is in front of her with wide eyes and her mouth locked into a terrified 'o', showing an unreasonable amount of fear compared to what she had been like in the past. Her golden eyes are wide and staring, and as the vision clouds and the mirror fades, comes a whisper of her voice, softly echoing for a moment before going dreadfully silent.     "Please...!" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Now standing with Will and Atalanta at his sides, August stares at Agatha for a long moment as she takes a bite of pie. He's not going to say anything regarding that. However, he does bite his lip when the fortune teller states that the journey isn't over yet. "Are you kidding me?" He's not against fighting for more, but it's such a way to sour his mood, for their big celebration to be ended with 'nah it's not over yet'. But when the book is shown, August looks through it... "Amakasu...what? What is this, Agatha?" August's expression is bewildered, as he recognizes his fellow Persona User who he hasn't seen in years. "That's the Mirror Forest. Why the hell is she in the Mirror Forest? God damn it, can't this ever end?!" He stomps his foot hard into the ground, taking several deep breathes as he tries to think on her words. Agatha said there was something more to tell them. "What else is there? Is that the good news, and now you're going to show us the bad news now?" His tone is sarcastic and jaded, August quickly taken out of the mood of revelry and into one of anger and frustration. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' The journey isn't over yet. Story of Rebecca's life. But now there's even more revelations happening, and Rebecca finds herself forgetting about the issue of Janine leaving the Multiverse. Now she's really on edge. It's no use trying to hide it, there's a look of shock and uneasiness on the girl's face. Apparently, this party has turned into something far less enjoyable... 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Well, at least Agatha isn't lunging to attack them all. That's a start.     But on the other hand, they're looking at an old comrade in serious trouble. "What is this?" the butler asks, adjusting her glasses. "Is this a vision of the past, present or future? Is that really Amakasu, or is it a doppelganger? I don't suppose you've many answers to give, but I feel I must ask regardless." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Squinting at Agatha as she conjures up that mirror, the healer remains silent while observing the story unfolding in front of them. The familiar face ofHoshi has Sanary narrowing her eye a bit more, and then she levels her gaze towards the matron.      "... Where's it happening?" She sounds like she's already made up her mind to go, although she's trying quite hard not to look towards anyone else just yet. No sense pressuring them into feeling like they need to go as well, even if several of them were likely to do so anyway. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa loosk to the new arrival for a moment she seems to understand she's not a danger. Kotones' gaze falls upon the page and sees. Hoshi her eyes widen and one word comes out of her mouth "Hoshi?!" Can't this end? This shit was suposed to end but she can't leave Hoshi, also the Admiral would have to be informed of this she thinks. The party's buzz has been killed hard. "We can't leave her like this." 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     In a way, Speedwagon knew it wasn't really 'over'. Stories only end when people die, after all. And they most certainly weren't dead. However, when the mirror appears intead of words from Agatha, of course he's going to be shocked. "What the...? This mirror... it's like a movin' picture!" Victorian time period, 'moving pictures' were top of the line tech, after all. Though as he watches the incident, he has to stop himself from trying to reach through the mirror to help. That probably would have ended badly, one way or another.     Speedwagon is not thinking 'doppelganger'. He's not thinking 'I don't know this person'. He isn't thinking 'goddammit we JUST got through saving the bloody world'. Much like Sanary, his only thought is... well, pretty much exactly what he voices. "We 'ave ta 'elp her! Can yer point us that way?" Not to worry, Sanary... you'll have at least three companions -- Speedwagon, Tattoo, and Kempo! 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "What the fuck, that was Hoshi. I thought she went back to Japan!" Janine exclaims, looking just as furious as August. Agatha meets their concern and outrage with a mere placid smile. "There is only news, August Kohler. Fret not, as I shall assist you in this one. This book, I leave with you. I'm sure your pig friend will know what to do. This shows the very present, and it is not a 'seperate' part of the Mirror Forest."     With everyone's questions answered, she now indicated the other three books. "I am afraid that, after what was no-doubt a very refreshing course of straight advice, I must go back to being vague and mysterious. It is my role, I do apologize. These three books tell of three key things happening around you. I will read to you only two of them. Please make your decision now."     The titles of the three books are WOODSMAN, LOST CHILD, and UNKNOWING SCHEMER. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Almost immediately, Emily speaks up. "We've done well enough until now having no clue what the Woodsman is up to until it pertains to us. I think we'd be fine ignoring his and reading the other two." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Unfortunately, Will is about as in the dark as a guy can be with regards to who this 'Hoshi Amakasu' person is. But... There's concern obvious on his face, regardless. William Pauwel is not a man who allows someone in need to go without help for too long. "...Well, I think we know what we're gonna be doin' first," Will says with a long sigh. "What's this all about, though? I thought dealin' with the Black Queen was it, unless... This has to do with that thing she was afraid of...?" Will shakes his head, then looks to Emily and shrugs, "I agree, but then there's that schemer there too and I ain't sure we know /anythin'/ about them. Might be worth crossin' that bridge later too? An' ain't the Woodsman responsible for... All this we've been through? I dunno." "I'm worried about that Lost Child one way or another though," Will says, firmly. "Lost kids. They ain't no joke." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August just scowls at the mirror, putting his hands out to take the book. He'll fold it under his arms, exhaling sharply when Agatha mentions she'll only read two books. "Got to make things difficult for us, don't you? Can't just give us all of them?" There's a sharp sigh, as he scans over the titles. August wants to know why the Woodsman has a book. The Woodsman's been a problem before, and if he's doing the Persona Game some more...but Emily speaks up. She makes a pretty good point. "Well, I want to know what he's up to, but we could honestly just go into the Forest and listen for smashing sounds. Other two, then?" August points to them. though he glances to Will. "If we don't know nothing about them, isn't that a bad thing?" A shrug from August. "If we're coming down to a vote, then at the very least I want to see the Lost Child. We can't ignore that. I /refuse/ to ignore that." A nod towards Will. Looks like they're in agreement. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Right back to vagueness. And it's not like they can just search the forest like any sensible forest -- not THAT forest. Speedwagon does have a little bit of input, though he's not offering it with any degree of forcefulness. For once, he's speaking relatively quietly. "A schemer might have information... but 'e might also lie," he offers. "The lost child might refer ta her, and might be what's goin' on with 'er now. But it might not tell us 'ow ta get t'where she is, or 'ow ta help 'er." A pause, and he looks at the third book. "I don't know what the Woodsman might 'ave."     Equal for and against the two books he can give an opinion on. But he's not familiar with any of the mechanics behind what's going on in this world. All he can really do is just take things as they come. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa says "I agree Will we're going to get Hoshi the heck out of there. I may be able to get us some backup on that one." She's pretty sure the Admiral would be interest in getting Hoshi the hell out of the forest. For now thought he matter of the books come up for a moment she looks to Emily, Janine and August. She hears Augusts fvote and htinks for a moment. "If I even have a vote on this I'm for the Lost child and Schemer." She's just listing to her ghost at this point on this, there may be other things to worry about with the Woodsman it's true but the other two books sound far more pressing to her. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     "I don't think the lost child will be a copy of the info we already have," Emily muses. "I concur with Kohler. We don't know anything about the 'schemer' whatsoever - and if anything, I'd call that more dangerous. We don't know who or what they are, or what they're scheming, or whether they're a threat or potential ally. That deep a lack of information makes them potentially more dangerous than the Woodsman. We at least know who he is, what he can do, and how he's disposed towards us. So I suppose that puts my votes for the lost child and the schemer as well." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "I believe that most of you are interested in 'Lost Child, and 'Unknowing Schemer.'" Agatha says. She picks up the former, opens it up, and begins to read. Again, no words fall from her mouth, but a mirror manifests, showing a strange scene.     The view depicts someone walking through somewhere dark. What little light is offered by the moon shining through a gap shows a place that is desolate and industrial. The viewpoint suddenly swivels, as if the person they're seeing things through the eyes of heard something. It then whips around again, seemingly focussing on a particularly dark spot.     In the moment before the view cuts, the patch of darkness seems to move.     Agatha smiles and shakes her head to any further questions, before moving on to the next book.     The mirror generated from this one shows the hallways of Alberichstadt. The person looks about at students, focussing on their faces as they go. The view then shifts to someone seemingly following who they were just looking through. It's a girl, but her face is impossible to discern. They then go up to one of the students the girl had looked at, and slams their head against the wall viciously.     The mirror fades, and Agatha finishes her pie before rising and taking the three books with her, leaving behind the one that showed Hoshi. "I'll take my leave now. I'm sure you all have much to discuss."     She strides out, leaving Janine looking... defeated. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa makes sure to save these time indexes to go over later, she will watch them and have them for the group to make use of later but it seems things are far form over. She watches as things end the woman leave and she sees Janine she has no idea what to say. 
}}

5778/P:WtWM - Final Breaker

2018-03-30T04:40:08Z

Blaze:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/03/29
|Location=The Mirror Forest
|Synopsis=Elites fell the Majordomo, the last member of the Black Queen's Court
|Cast of Characters=909, 151, 290, 999, 1141, 894, 934, 385, 7
|Tinyplot=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Black Queen's Castle is angry now.     Not that you would realize it as an objective observer of Die Reisende walking its halls. There are no Shadows, no traps, and the path is the same as it was before. No menaces stand in their way, but it's like every surface of the glassy walls, the floor, the roof... it's like they all sprouted eyes to stare balefully at them.     The atmosphere is like a physical thing, a crushing weight placed on everyone's shoulders as they trudge towards their goal. The darkness is thicker, blotting out anything beyond ten feet in front of you. Just one more door between they and Queen, but it's like she's here, all around them. Sitting. Waiting. Preparing.     As that waiting room finally comes into view, a crashing wave of relief rushes through Janine. She rushes forward, and looks back at everyone. "This is it. Time to nut up or-" She never gets to finish that particular vulgarity, due to a massive, meaty palm falling upon her good shoulder. "Not quite yet," says the Majordomo, having emerged from the darkness that seems to radiate from the doors to the throne room. He's the same hulking mass of muscles Die Reisende saw when they first entered the castle. But now, the tails on his coat are much longer, trailing away beyond sight.     "You've done far more than I could have anticipated. But this is your last chance. Turn back now. Give up on this meaningless effort. Mortal creatures such as you are fated to die, but you can delay it. Perhaps you can have a whole lifetime to yourself if you surrender now. Please, spare me the effort of cleaning you off the walls."     As he's talking, he's keeping a firm grip on Janine's arm, keeping her from pulling away or drawing her sword. She's looking to the glass walls, but the light is too dim to get a proper reflection. She's a hostage, but too small to be a human shield.     And, more concealingly, that jacket on the Majordomo seems to be shrinking. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley is once more accompanying Die Riesende. She walks through the castle with her eyes lidded, her reptilian visage showing only the slightest frown, her eyes lidding. She keeps her eyes on their surroundings, not wanting to get caught off-guard for one second. They could be killed if they get too cocky, especially this deep into the castle, with so many of the stronger Shadows already destroyed. She hadn't been able to participate in some of those battles, and she deeply regrets that, and so as they reach the waiting room she is already drawing her longsword from its sheath.     But then Janine rushes forward, and the Majordomo is there to correct her in her brief moment of overconfidence. The reptile woman doesn't wait for this to get bad, instead she strikes a pose to point her index and middle finger toward the Majordomo. She speaks a few words of primal meaning, and a flash of green and blue light emits from her hand. She tries to cast a spell to disrupt the Majordomo's cognition, to slow him down, distract him, or otherwise dizzy him for long enough for someone to respond and rescue Janine.     "You'd think you would know better by now," Ainsley quips back at the Majordomo. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Anger is one of those emotions that everyone has to deal with. Both humans and animals. OK, other living beings too that are within the Multiverse as well. But castles too? Well, apparently in this world, castles can feel emotions. Or something to that effect. It's so surreal yet it's so powerful that Rebecca can sense it herself. Of course that could be because she's angry too. Despite the fact that the whole atmosphere is pushing down on her like some kind of force trying to stop her, Rebecca isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Her MP5K is gripped, and she has that look on her face that tells you she's not in the best of moods right now. And hell hath no fury like Rebecca peeved! Even when they reach the waiting room, Rebecca isn't letting up at all. In fact, when the hand falls upon Janine's shoulder, Rebecca aims her MP5K at it, only to widen her eyes and step away as she realizes where that hand is coming from. She lowers her aim slightly as if to indicate she's not going to shoot in case Majordomo thinks otherwise. Despite this, Rebecca's scowl returns to her face. "We're all going to die sometime, but we're not dying today!" She narrows her eyes. "You might think you'll be cleaning us off the walls, but all I can say is that you're delusional!" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Forward they march. The oppressive air of the castle's displeasure descends on them so heavily that even Emily's usual even, calm demeanor has given way - but only to a cool, defiant sternness, a rising refusal to even countenance the thought of stopping. No, not when they're this close. Not when they can round the corner and see the waiting room so very close, and-     *SNAP*SNAP*SNAP*SNAP*SNAP*     There is no warning. There is no delay. The lengthy coil that is Strands of Fate snakes outward, whipped into impossibly fast movement and snapped with inhuman precision - right at the Majorodomo's elbow. Again and again, so fast as to sound like machine gun fire, with Emily's arm an absolute blur. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     That's about what Robert Speedwagon expected. This close, things have gotten oppressive, but not anything that he could specifically pinpoint -- it's all around them, pressing in like a vice. All three of the Ogre Street gang feel it, and it's got all of them on edge. Tattoo is looking around him, Kempo's keeping it mostly under wraps but it noticeably tense, and Speedwagon himself has his teeth clenched.     He's armed to the teeth, at least as much as he ever is -- his sledgehammer and that bladed hat. He hasn't bothered putting the concealing brims back on, so he is visibly wearing a bowler with four curved blades around it. Tattoo has his knives in hands; Kempo has an advantage in that his HANDS are his weapons.     Janine moves forward and he makes to follow. And then suddenly... "...Right. Might'a known." Because that was just WAY too easy. "Was waitin' for the other shoe ter drop." He hefts the sledgehammer, not intending to use it when Janine's so close to the Majordomo, but there WILL be sledgehammering soon. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' It's time. August is as ready as he'll ever be, even if he's clearly not slept. Gun and knife, check. Vest, check. Mirrored bracelet, check. The redhead's expression is sullen, and he doesn't speak up except to say one thing. "Let's do this." Though, as they're approaching, the castle itself is seeming angry. August glances around briefly, taking a deep breath, when as they approach, Janine moves to start speaking. August's hand moves to his mirrored bracelet the second something starts moving through the shadows. The Majordomo. The last one left. "Shut the hell up. You're just another screwed up piece of humanity like the rest of them. I'll burn through you like the rest...so get your hand off her!" As the others start to move, August does too. Ainsley's moving to do something to him, and Emily's moving to grab his arm, so August makes sure the mirror is at eye-level as he shouts. "Set him ablaze, Tin Soldier!" The burn-scarred robot soldier manifests in front of him, as the pair of man and Persona rush forward, that gun-leg pointed up at the hulk of a Shadow. The gun goes off. A burst of flames is aimed specifically for his coat, trying to soak some of it in fire. "His coat's made out of Shadows, be careful!" If he can hinder the Majordomo's use of it, that'd be great, but it's definitely not going to be this easy. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will has been in plenty of supernaturally oppressive areas before. They really don't get any better no matter how many times you find yourself in one. The gunslinger has returned once again to the halls of the Black Queen's castle to put an end to this chapter for good though. He can't just run away with his tail between his legs on account of some kind of super spooky malaise clinging to the place. It helps that Judgment's light seems to shine as bright as it always does. The glow is reassuring in this palace of shadows-- especially when the Majorodomo appears. Will doesn't even bother hesitating. He moves almost when Emily does, quickdrawing hand lifting to fire bolts of brilliant, coruscating light once, twice, three times into the withering cloak of shadows. "I hear you," Will replies to August. "I wager he's filled the entire area with the things. 'Course, ain't no guarantee he wouldn't sicc 'em on us the moment we turned tail. So ain't nothing to do but to fight! Let's finish this, Kohler!" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna is not at her best tonight. The recent foray to Maslow Peak took a lot out of her - maybe not in terms of injury, but in its toll on her energy reserves, and a good night's sleep and a day spent mostly-resting haven't quite got her back into full fighting form. But if you weren't there, you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell: the luminance of her battlesuit is stable, and she doesn't move as if she's favoring any injured limbs, joints, or other parts. She may, however, be relying more than usual on the Matrix of Light. She's been in Powered Form for the bulk of this run, even if she hasn't technically needed most of its features, while Erina, Marina, and of course Elner have stuck close to her, ready to assist however she needs. So when the Majordomo manifests with Janine in his clutches, the look which crosses Yuna's face is primarily an expression of 'you're kidding, right?' ... not that she's entirely surprised to have one more enemy to fight on the way to the Black Queen. "I can appreciate loyalty to your Queen," Yuna admits, "but this isn't going to end with our retreat *or* our deaths. What you call a 'meaningless effort' ... it's important enough to risk our lives. Doesn't that tell you it's meaningful to us?" She doesn't seem to be taking aim at the Majordomo, although she has the Matrix Divider in a steady grip ... and as she finishes her question, there's a distinct gleam of light from the weapon's business end, the assembly which serves as either barrel or blade depending on her needs. Her finger tightens on the Divider's trigger - and a single pulse of light erupts from the tip. If the floor and walls are reflective *enough*, that beam is intended to bounce off at a shallow angle and, with (admittedly a lot of) luck, put a new hole in the Majordomo's jacket. August's warning came at a really good time for Yuna to try this, so she'll have to thank him when they have a chance to talk later. And they WILL have that chance. She plans to make sure of it. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' The castle was angry now not that Kotone would know that directly bu there were no shadows, no traps? That left the cyborg very worried. It can't be this easy can it? No it had to be a trap, there had to be something to worry about and soon it's shown why. Someone has been waiting for the collective group's arrival. She's armed and ready for trouble today she's not carrying a SMG, she's got the MM unit in hand though as she's making ready. "Let my friend go." She's doesn't summon a weapon just yet, she's rapidly crunching numbers s it were in her head to try and figure out the best way to attack without putting Janine at more risk there. Then comes Ainsley who is making use of some of her magic and that's when she'll start to get a move on. "Tch, nothing lives forever not even the likes of you." Taunt them get them attacking her, she's far easier to patch up in her mind than anyone else responding here. So that's what she does she taunts and tries to draw attention on to her and off the others. "I'm just the puppet woman who cheated her death with a body made of metal and plastic." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:''' tA lot of things happen in a few short moments.     Ainsley dazzles the Majordomo with her mystical words, causing his eyes to blink rapidly and his grip to slack. Janine wastes no time in trying to slip away, but his massive fingers pinch down on the back of her dress, keeping her from getting away. "I do know you, Lizard Woman. Well enough to be wary of your words."     But Emily charges in, and lashes her whip, over and over, again and again. In an instant, she's carved the Majordomo's elbow down to the tendons, his grip going fully slack. Janine slips out, and rushes back over to Die Reisende, while August sets his coat ablaze, William and Yuna sinking shots into it. He seems genuinely aggreived by this. "Smart boy. Looking to the objective first. But your friend there has the wrong of it." His jacket is down to a few scraps now, exposing his ripped body for all to see. Black veins are bulging out of the skin, the muscles swelling. "Your fight with the Blacksmith and the Standard Bearer proves that a mob of enemies are nothing to you. So I took every remaining Shadow in the castle, and assimilated them to increase my own power."     Many small black hands stretch over the wound Emily inflicted, pulling on the lower arm to keep it connected. He wriggles the fingers on that hand, then makes a fist.     "You said I would not be cleaning you off the walls," he notes to Rebecca. "You're right. There won't be enough of all of you to clean up." ==============================HANGED MAN REVERSED=============================== --------------------------MANIFESTATION OF REFLECTION---------------------------                         THE MAJORDOMO ALWAYS AT HER SIDE                                              HE WHOSE GREATEST SERVICE IS GIVING UP                     -------------------------------PREPARE FOR BATTLE------------------------------- ======================================XII=======================================     He raises that fist, and throws a single punch. That one blow generates a shockwave akin to Janine's own wind attacks. It buffets the party, threatening to blow them all out of the room if they don't ground themselves! 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Janine is freed, and Emily immediately moves into a defensive position, whip in hand, staring down the Majordomo steadily. She can do little but watch the shadows start to hold that arm together, though; and only slightly more about the sudden shockwave that blasts the group. But her reaction times, at least, are as lightning-fast as ever, and an instant after the blast hits, her whip is snapping out to the nearest anchor. It stops her from losing too much ground, and the moment the shockwave passes, the butler darts forward in a sudden burst of inhuman speed.     The instant it looks like another shockwave is coming, she'll anchor herself with her whip again; she's aiming to lose as little ground as possible this time, and then cover that much more in the interim. If she can get behind him like that, she absolutely will - and then the Majordomo will be on the receiving end of another whip barrage, this one aimed center-of-mass. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley is briefly satisfied by them getting the Majordomo to release their ally, and smiles wryly at his noting of her presence. She's glad he remembers her, because she wants to look the Black Queen in the eye pretty soon as this dance of despair is brought to a close. But the reptile woman's smile washes away quickly when she realizes the Majordomo has become... huge. The power of this being makes her hesitate, and she widens her eyes when she realizes what he's doing. His fist raises, and she lifts her sword and STABS it into the ground, and leans forward...!     She's hit harder than the rest of the party. She screams in pain as magical wind rips feathers out and slices at her skin, and sends her sliding backwards with a spray of sparks, her sword dulling in the floor of the castle. When the wind clears, she staggers and gasps, holding herself up by her weapon.     "O-oh... oh shit..."     Ainsley's voice quavers, and her knees shake, and blood trickles down from the impact of his attack. Then she grits her sharp teeth, growls and jerks her weapon out of the ground, and rushes to the side so she will at least get blown into a wall and not out of the fight if he does that again. She pulls her metal-bound journal from her belt and calls her Persona, with a shimmer of light shards and the turtle man appearing with a grave frown on his face. His eye opens and he flashes a bright red and black blast of energy, which seeks to debilitate the Majordomo and reduce his combat effectiveness... because if the Majordomo has consumed innumerable shadows, he may be vulnerable to being slowed down by that very power.     "Urashima Taro!" 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Emily's seemed to tear the Majordomo's arm up pretty badly. "HA! Good shot!" Speedwagon encourages. But then he starts... healing? Not exactly, according to what he's hearing. Still. Robert is taken aback. "So THAT'S why there weren't nothin' else attackin' on the way... yer ATE 'em all!" Reducing it down to a base instinct/need, isn't that just like a human?     Suddenly there's a shockwave from that punch! The Ogre Street Gang hunkers down, trying to weather it, but that's not easy. They're very likely the only three people here who don't have some sort of supernatural powers to aid them here. And they're starting to be pushed back...     Speedwagon quickly swings his sledgehammer, trying to crack the floor. Not for an attack, no. He's just trying to get some leverage for the sledgehammer to catch in, so Tattoo and Kempo can hold onto him, and he to the sledgehammer, to avoid being swept out of the room. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Fortunately for Yuna, Powered Form is *also* too heavy to get blown away even by that hurricane-force shockwave of wind - at least, so long as its feet are grounded firmly. At that moment, thankfully, they were ... but the wind still slams into Yuna like the proverbial runaway train, forcing her to dig in further, even conjuring her kite shield and driving Shugoseiheki's lower point into the ground to help anchor herself. Even with that heavy armor and the shield, though? When the shockwave passes, she can feel fatigue already tugging at her like an anchor's chain. If this fight drags on too long, she'll go down no matter how many or how few hits the Majordomo lands on her. At least now they know why the castle was utterly devoid of lesser Shadows this time in ... all of them, every single mook or minion, is powering him up. Yuna grits her teeth, hefts the Matrix Divider - actually laying it along one of Powered Form's exo-arms, since it's her own two hands which hold the weapon - and starts firing shots, a couple of seconds apart. Partly it's testing to see how rapidly he recovers from minor injuries, partly seeing if she can whittle away at him. Mostly it's pitching in without overextending herself, and buying time to see if she can draw together the energy to fire off her beam cannons. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Sometimes, Will is glad to be wrong. This is not one of those times. "Ah hell," he observes as the Majordomo becomes approximately as swole as your average Heracles. "That's the exact opposite of what I reckon--"                                   **WHAM**                                   One moment there was a Will there. The next moment, there's a vaguely Will-shaped blur hurtling at ridiculous speeds down the corridor. Will has only experienced being transformed into a projectile once, and it wasn't pleasant then. It certainly is not pleasant right here and right now. The gunslinger doesn't make a sound as he's smashed straight through a castle wall and disappears into the hollow within. The good news: The Majordomo ate all the shadows that would almost certainly be swarming all over him by now. The bad news: Ow all Will's bones. For a moment, there is not even a peep from the hole in the wall. And then there is motion. And from motion, there comes a single, blazing bolt fired from the barrel of an ultra-futuristic scifi sniper rifle. Two more follow in quick succession, each one glowing with the light of a living star. "D-damnit," Will grunts, wiping the blood from his brow. "Damn near got me there." His ears are still ringing. He doesn't quite notice that he can't actually hear a damn thing right now. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Emily moves in, Ainsley uses her own powers to try and hinder Janine being held she moves now with inhuman speed there is no hiding what she is today. With Janine lose now to at least having a chance the MM unit is used and rather than the normal SMG Kotone often uses? She has a MEK Trooper issue Mini-gun with the ease of someone carrying rifle normally. "I was about to say the same to you!...you devoured your own forces?!" The weapon is wound up and she starts o let lose as spray of bullets at the Major Domo, with pauses in fire for when allies might chose to getting up and close. She sees Emily has Janine, in hand and it's really time to go to town here. Brass is flying everywhere in her wake as she fire on the move, she knows she'll have to change weapons soon but hitting the ground running is the best bet with someone like this. Then comes the shock wave, she stops she stomps with such force driving her feet into the ground shattering it under foot as to anchor herself in the face of the powerful attack. She does not escape harm but she does escape being sent flying at the very least. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' They said the Majordomo was the most powerful of the Queen's minions. The sheer fact he could assimilate himself with all of the Shadows in the castle...how is that possible? How powerful is this guy? August keeps on guard, as the jacket is burned, but the Shadows keep him attached anyways. "How...ugh!" Before August can say anything else, though, that punch is flying forward. August is blasted back by the shockwave, narrowly catching himself at the expense of several bruises and the fact that he's left entirely off-guard for future strikes. After several moments, the redhead recollects himself, the Tin Soldier lifting its gun back up to send out a big blast of fire, trying to torch the Majordomo some more. "Keep the pressure on, everyone! If you're bleeding, bleed later. Right now, we need to kill him!" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' "Tough talk," Rebecca says, still scowling. "But I'll have you know I've faced off against far worse than you!" Unfortunately, Rebecca isn't expecting such a huge shockwave to occur. Her scowl turns into a look of shock and then fear as she finds herself being hit by the shockwave, which does hit harder than she thinks it would. She finds herself being hit by the magic wind so hard that it literally cuts into her flesh and knocks her down, causing her to cry out. Fortunately, she's not blown away, but she is bleeding a little. Unfortunately for Majordomo, this makes Rebecca even angrier. Despite the injuries she's sustained, she's even more determined than ever as she gets back up! "You've picked the wrong medic to mess with!" Rebecca yells as she levels her MP5K. "Now pay the price!" She fires off a three round burst of gunfire. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Everyone opens up on the Majordomo. Gunfire rattles, flames bellow, energy blasts sear. Each one finds their home, the Majordomo not even bothering to block. Each wound is quickly tended to by those little hands. Bullets are pushed out and the holes tugged shut. Burns are peeled away by the hands, their mass filling the gap in his skin. "Can you afford to waste time trying to solve this puzzle? I am not going to stand around and wait.     Neither is Emily, as she finally gets her opening to get behind him. Her whip snaps, over and over, soon creating a hefty wounds upon his back. The darkness within writes as it struggles to pull it closed. When she just keeps making more, they give up, and reach out for her instead, intent to tear her apart.     And then Ainsley invokes Urashima Taro.     The Majordomo slumps, while Emily gets a prime look at the darkness within him bubbling furiously. The massive Shadow slams a palm to the side of his head, and it seems to soothe. "All right, none of that." He rises, and sinks his fingers into the ground to pull up a chunk of glass. With a casual toss, he lobs it into the air, and punches it on the way down. Once again, there is a massive shockwave, but now it is punctuated by a shotgun blast of broken glass. Now he's aiming to carve everyone to ribbons!     At the same time, he moves with a sudden rush of speed, more than he should be able to. His intent is to catch Emily before she can rush to Janine's aid. If he succeeds, he'll immediately spike her to the floor. "As fellow manservants, I have the advantage here. My master is not present, so I can fight to my full extent. What of you? Can you protect her when you separate yourself from her? 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Once there's a break in the shockwave, Speedwagon stands up again. Getting close to that guy just isn't happening, and even if he did, there wouldn't be much he could do up close. "Tattoo, see what damage yer can do," he instructs. "Try ter cause enough damage so that those Shadows gotta concentrate more on keepin' 'im together than on attackin'! Kempo, with me!" Both Robert and Kempo are basically bruisers, so they're not going to be able to do much in the way of damage.     So Tattoo starts to circle the Majordomo, to see where he can make an attack. However, when the Shadows start reaching out for Emily, Speedwagon growls, "Oh no yer don't!" He picks up that bladed hat (which he had somehow miraculously managed not to lose) and flings it in the direction of those reachy, grabby Shadows. He's trying to sever them before they get to her.     The 'shotgun blast' of glass throws him into a wall, imbedding pieces of glass in his front, and the glass behind him cracks. Tattoo and Kempo have about the same luck against it. Give those three a few, they're going to need to collect themselves after that. Speedwagon's still cursing, though, so he's probably not dead. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley carefully observes the reaction the Majordomo has to her attack. She briefly squints at the sight of the Shadows falling into chaos from the use of her ability... then she frowns with determination. She brings her arms up to protect her face as the glass and shockwave hits her, and her body slams into the wall behind her. Pain ripples through her, and she gasps in agony, enough that any normal person might've collapsed by now. Running entirely on adrenaline at this point, Ainsley ignores the burning sting of the glass sticking out of her scales, her hide the only thing stopping her from getting a more serious wound.     She is certainly not strong enough to do a lot of damage to Majordomo, so she's forced to get creative. She decides to reach out with her mind, and her emotions, to the Shadows acting as the Majordomo's power. She tries to touch their simpler minds, and she tries to hit them with complex emotions. Her emotions of desperation, of the need to defeat the Majordomo, she tries to tell them to disobey the Majordomo just for a moment.     A pulse of magical energy connects from her outstretched hand and the Majordomo as she sends her emotions, her will, her message to the Shadows. Do they listen, or do they disregard her completely? It depends on how gullible they are. She's done it before, although briefly.     "Listen to me!" she cries out. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Even though the fire is obviously hitting the Majordomo, the Shadows keep plugging him up. The group's going to have to work together, August realizes. As he's considering a plan, though, glass comes flying forward, cutting into the Tin Soldier's metal flesh and puncturing against August's skin, causing him to scream as he tears it out. "Don't need to waste time. Can just carve you OPEN!" August's arms and face are bleeding, as he calls his plan over the radio, and charges forward...desummoning the Tin Soldier. August isn't using his Persona. No, he's leaping forward, moving to slice into the Majordomo with his knife which he's quickly drawing. His goal isn't to cut the Majordomo, necessarily - it's to cut through the hands of those Shadows, trying to thin their numbers from up-close. At the cost of putting August in melee range with the brutish manservant! 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Simple air-pressure shockwaves are one thing; relatively blunt force, painful but not *usually* a matter requiring medical attention ... unless you get slammed hard enough to break things, by the wind itself or by subsequent impact with a large, heavy object or other flat and unforgiving surface. Add a cloud of shattered glass to the shockwave, though, and - well, Yuna's eyes go wide, and she ignites her thrusters without even thinking about what she's doing. "Get behind me!" she yells to any of her allies who are close enough to benefit ... And with Shugoseiheki raised to guard her face, Yuna hurls herself forward, trying to get in front of as many of her allies as she can - to take the brunt of as much of the glass as she can. Of course it comes at a cost: besides the additional drain of that sudden exertion, she's trying to tank a *lot* of sharp little pieces as well as the blunt-force pressure wave that's propelling them. By the time Yuna's exo-armor slides to a stop (thankfully still on her feet), there's a small but steady frisson of instability slithering all around Powered Form's bulky form. And this time, Yuna *isn't* able to resume firing. She's cautious about lowering any of her guard, but if there's no more of that glass flying at her at the moment, she cautiously lowers the kite shield enough to see what's in front of her. Which is really most of what she *can* do, given how August's going in with his knife and others are similarly dependent on close range ... 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' There are few times that Will would ever be glad to have been punched through a wall. The ensuing storm of glass and concussive force is one of those times. He ducks behind the makeshift cover his hidey-hole has provided just as those deadly shards begin raining down. Crystal fragments crack, shatter and fall to the ground in a disconcertingly melodical clangor. Only when the shockwave passes does the sniper peek back up over his wall. This time, he's not just firing blind. The Chaser whispers a hiss as he taps at his earpiece, not quite aware that it's not the machine that's broken, but his eardrum. He cranks up the volume and makes do, hearing just barely what Ainsley has planning. He nods and answers, "You open him up, I'll shoot him through. T' might be we can't beat him 'less we get in there and purge those shadows proper, but I've an idea for that." The idea is, apparently, to switch to Terminal Judgment's primary firing mode. Will leans into his scope, waiting for just the right moment to fire. The barrel begins to glow as Judgment slowly accumulates power. It shines brighter and brighter and brighter in the dark until the blaze at the heart of the weapon burns blindingly from the end of its barrel. As soon as he sees a chink open up in that armor, he depresses the trigger. Terminal Judgment fires a focused, charged blast of impossibly focused plasma with enough force to actually recoil. Will grits his teeth as the kickback hammers into his already half-broken shoulder. The might of the Ancients is unleashed as a slug of pure, radiant power-- but will it be enough to banish the shadows completely? Certainly, the boom on impact might be big enough...! 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' The gunfire goes off but it doesn't seem to do much good. Then again, at the beginning of a battle, things like that generally don't do much good at first. Especially because this thing seems intent on healing itself using whatever powers it has to do so. Of course, that pales in comparison to the next situation. A shockwave punctuated with a shotgun blast of glass? Unfortunately, even Rebecca herself isn't able to avoid this completely. The shockwave hits hard, and several pieces of glass cut her exposed flesh, while the majority of them hit her vest thankfully. Bloodied and bruised, Rebecca tries to pick herself back up and apply a first-aid spray to her wounds, more intent on stopping the bleeding... 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     The bladed hat toss from Speedwagon slices through the air between Emily and the Majordomo - the air and, quite possibly, other things as well. It certainly makes the butler's defense quite a bit easier. She certainly doesn't relax, though, keeping that whip moving in a whirling pattern that will allow her to snap it out at any given moment. But while she thinks she spots an opening, and the lunge has already begun, it's too late to abort when she realizes that the glass is going to be coming down in a deadly hail. The whip is whirled around in a defensive flourish above Emily, but quite a few still get through, cutting her coat open and drawing blood in spots where the garment isn't protectively lined.     Then comes the Majordomo, shockingly fast. Only the woman's own speed saves her from a direct hit, and even then she still eats the shockwave almost point-blank, blasted off to the side. But in the same heartbeat, the whip snaps out again, snagging his arm, and yanks her forward... sliding along the ground between his legs.     "You and I differ on that point," she calls as she slides. "You fight in your master's stead. I fight at my master's side. I've every faith in her to take care of herself - I shall be there in an instant should she need me, but until then I can fight to my fullest, just as she'd have me do!"     Slide, turn, crouch - and that whip lashes out at the Majordomo's back again. This time, it's all focused strikes, all slamming at the same wound, over and over. A concentrated strike to see how deeply she can wound him, how those hands respond to a deep injury... and, perhaps, if an idea that's come to her will be feasible. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa does not think the opening moves of this fight owuld bring the enemy down, maybe put him off balance, weaken him somewhat? Sure? That's certainly possibe but downing them in the inital salvo? That's not so likely and now she moves to pull herself free from the floor to face the enemey down. The battle rager on but she sees the Majordomo slump? Is it done? No it can't be done he was holding back it seems there's anotehr shockwave and this time? She's ready and she leasp once once but at the apex of her jumpo she jumps a second time vaulint into the auir, she's forced to drop her minigun however and is going to ahve to chance weapons, she drops down. Kotone has another weapon in hand a braton given to her some time ago by Kushiko the weapon was fist with corrive rounds which might just do a number on the shadow. Or at least that's what Tomoe homes these exoitc ap rounds more or less can do as she fires off several controlled bursts at the shadow leader. "So she's not here? Well then...she can't bail you out now can she?!" 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley cry sinks into the Majordomo. The Shadows within writhe, being marshalled not by unified purpose, but by the Majordomo's own will. Her voice reaches them, and they bestill their struggles for a moment. This has ramifications for the Majordomo, as his regeneration slows down.     This gives August his opening to begin slicing their hands off, keeping the wounds from closing. Speedwagon's hat gets the ones that are out of reach, snipping them and sending them to wiggle uselessly on the floor. The Majordomo is not well pleased, and his great palm comes up to try and slam down on the German's head, aiming to drive him into the floor. His other hand swipes in a vicious chop, aiming to strike down Speedwagon's hat and catch the side of Yuna's head as she peeks from behind the shield, all in a single motion. "Your defences are an irritant. Disappear."     And then that superheated plasma slug makes contact.     A hole is blown clean through the Majordomo, and the Shadows within him do nothing to close it. But he's not down yet. His teeth clench, and his form abruptly shrinks. His muscles less impressive, but the reduced mass means the wound becomes smaller. He bounces on his feet and looks about, spotting Rebecca trying to heal herself. He moves, fast. Much much faster, almost on par with Emily herself, and tries to punch the medic in the head and claim the healing spray for himself. If successful, he goes to apply it to himself.     Emily retorts as she snaps at the smaller wounds on his back, making him scowl. "If you need to fight alongside your master, you are a poor servant indeed. You should be able to crush anything that would threaten them on your own." He turns to face her, and uses his heightened speed to start smacking away her whip while closing the distance to aim a vicious kick at her knee.     Corrosive rounds from Kotone begin eating through him, and he looks up at her. "No, she is here. She merely has far more important matters to tend to. You are mere whelps, a mosquito bite." He crouches, and leaps up, delivering a bicycle kick to try and catch her on the way down! 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Oh no, you don't. Rebecca's already sprayed a good portion of the spray onto herself. Not to mention, just as the fist comes at her, Rebecca drops and rolls away, while the can goes rolling in another direction. "That was too close," Rebecca says to herself. "I can't believe what I get myself into sometimes." Once Rebecca's finished her roll, she drops into a crouched position and opens fire again. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The movement worked. In return, August gets slammed downwards, a powerful blow knocking him upside the head, rendering him blurry, and sending him into the ground with a hard crack. He's lucky it didn't kill him, the natural resistance from his Persona assisting, as the redhead lies on the floor for several moments. But he can't stop fighting. Not here. August rises to his feet, the German lifting up the mirror to his eyes. "Once...once more, Tin Soldier!" It's difficult to speak, but calling a Persona is as natural to him as breathing when he does so. "Shut up! I'm going to burn you to ash! TAKE THIS!" The Tin Soldier manifests in front of August, fire fanning around that gun-leg, which begins to grow and grow. It's forming into a massive burst of flame...as it and August move to line up their shot to not hit the others. Trying to hit it center-mass, trying to time it with the Majordomo's movements. "Now!" The fireball flies forward, and hopefully, impacts with the Majordomo and burns into him, dealing as much damage as possible when it explodes! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa says "Mosquitos can kill a human." Kotone notes as the fight carries on the Bratons rounds are working and she's going to keep it up with that as she slams a fresh clip in and start to drop and whelp? She gets a full on kick to the chin, she's far heavier than a woman of her size an buuld should be, though that doesn't help too much as she's kicked an goes spinning landing frace down on the floor cracking it and leaving an small impact crater as she attemp to get back up and into the fire, shooting even as she rises back up. "Okay I didn't think I could find you more of a pain in the ass? Yet somehow you have!" Then the bursts of fire pause and she tosses a plasma grenade into the mix the weapob beeps a few secounds after impact and explodes in a burst of plama hoping to ruin the guyy's day and adding to the havoc Emily is hoping to cause along side August turning up the heat yet again. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     That speed is impressive - Even now, Emily is a bit faster, but unlike her, he can use that speed persistently. Hers is available only in bursts, and while she can chain them just about seamlessly, that gets tiring fast. So, as the Majordomo approaches, she reconsiders her options... and then just keeps right on whipping. "Utter nonsense," she scoffs. "Who said I /need/ anything of the sort? My master wishes to take the battlefield. That is the beginning and end of my consideration - if that is how she wishes to fight, then that is how we fight."     Whipcrack after whipcrack is deflected, until at last the swift Shadow draws near enough to swing a kick at her knee. It's a smart choice; the most stable stance for Emily to chain strikes with her whip is one that keeps her knee out, leaving it by far the easiest target for anyone who gets in close.     It's also a trap.     The kick swings in, and the butler suddenly shifts, expecting it the entire time. The move is fluid, almost dancelike in a way, but absolutely efficient. In the same movement, she snaps her own leg out, 'tapping' the back of the Majordomo's knee in such a way as to push him off balance. It will only be slight. Only for a moment. Only just enough to delay him for a split second. But that's all Emily is looking for. Just enough time to shift forward and around him, so that she can get behind him and swing her fist towards one of his shrunken wounds. It probably just feels like a particularly brutal punch at first.     But about the time the Majordomo leaps into the air, the spoon and pin from the grenade both hit the floor. Clink.     The only question is how well the smaller wound will hold the grenade in place until it goes off. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     The hat is batted away, bouncing about the room and rolling on the floor. Which is about what it would have done anyway, since Speedwagon's not standing up to catch it. The Ogre Street gang is kind of not quite collected yet!     It's Kempo who rights himself first, and pauses a moment, long enough to void some of his body of the pieces of glass from his body via muscle contractions of his arms. He's a martial artist, he can do that. Quickly Kempo heads to assist the others. Tattoo seems all right, if cut up quite a bit. And Speedwagon himself is... noticeably worse for wear, his suit ripped and the edges of the cuts dark with his blood. "Thank yer," he offers, and then goes to retrieve his hat. Thankfully it's still in reasonably good, serviceable shape.     He has an idea now. "Hem 'im in," he suggests. "If 'e's the fast sort, cuttin' off his movement might bring lock 'im down." So the three of them will try to get close to the Majordomo and try to make it more difficult for the Majordomo to zip around. Yes, this is a really stupid idea, and could result in friendly fire. But the three of them are doing the best thing they can figure out.     They're also trying to distract the speedy Shadow. Particularly Speedwagon, as he tries to get in close and slice at the Majordomo with his hat held in one hand -- slash damage has seemed to work better, and he's not willing to experiment right now. This guy's too strong for that. "Is it TRUST?! RESPECT?! Or FEAR?! Do you serve because you WANT to, or because you're AFRAID NOT TO?!"     He knows that, if the Majordomo even dignifies the question with an answer, he's just going to get brainwashed Shadow talk anyway. So he's not even going to pay any mind to it. The sole reason he yelled that was to draw attention to himself. Because if it's on him, the others might have better chances of getting this guy off-guard.     Besides, he's expendable. They're not. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' 'Right, stungun shotgun. Got it!' The Majordomo's adaptability is impressive. Of course, it would have to be. This guy isn't just a powerful shadow, he's the Queen's right hand man. Will winces, still recovering from that last blast as the shadow collapses in on himself, sacrificing power for raw, blisteringly fast speed. Which incidentally has the added benefit of reducing the lethality of that gaping hole in its midsection. No matter. Will gets decent advice as usual. He pushes himself up out of his hole in the wall, his weapon disassembling and reassembling in a flurry of Ancient metal and unknowable light. The Majordomo isn't the only one who can adapt to changing circumstances. Will doesn't bother properly aiming. He levels a stocky weapon coruscating with rippling, nearly invisible energies in the vague direction of the blur that is the Majordomo. "Hey," Will calls as he pulls the trigger. "Slow down. You're movin' too fast." He fires... A broad wave of crackling, stunning electromagnetic madness. If it hits, it'll probably do a little worse than just inducing convulsive fits. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley is finally not hammered by explosions of wind or glass for five seconds, giving her enough time to catch her breath. She gives a little pained fist pump to herself as she catches the sight of the Shadows powering up the Majordomo ceasing in their efforts to help him. She then lifts her sword and sniffs in, carefully watching for the Majordomo's movements. She flicks her eyes to the others to make sure she isn't caught in the crossfire, and keeps herself moving so she doesn't get singled out too easily in the chaos.     As Emily moves to try and blow the Shadow up with a grenade, and Will takes a shot to try and stun him with a big zap, Ainsley brings her book up and shouts "Persona!!!"     Urashima Taro, the turtle savior, appears. His arms are lifted, palms facing each other, as if holding a box. He claps his hands together firmly with a loud crystalline noise, and tries to manifest the reflective barrier around ... the Majordomo!?     No, it's inverted. Ainsley is trying to contain the grenade's blastwave and maximize it's damage, reflecting the blast inward again like a big pressure cooker. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Powered Form is *very* bulky with armor - but Yuna's face is still visible, protected mostly by the defensive field - which is already working overtime in the face of Yuna's overall enervated state. So while the blow to her face doesn't do much *actual* damage, it still rattles Yuna's focus, breaking her concentration, and allows the Majordomo to zip on to the next target. To her credit, she *still* isn't pulling out of the fray - much as she wants to just de-transform, go home, and sleep for a week. But she can't de-transform here, and more to the point, no matter how much she feels like she's taken enough, she does *NOT* want to leave her allies in the lurch. And let's face it: this particular fight is about as much of a lurch as she can imagine. She still can't quite muster the energy for her beam cannons - and more to the point, the Majordomo is all over the place *way* too fast for her to cut loose; she would probably miss him entirely, with or without the fact that her allies are liable to be in almost any line of fire. She keeps trying, though - turning to track the Majordomo, Matrix Divider attempting to follow his movements, and if he actually *stops* moving long enough, she'll squeeze off a shot - trying to kneecap him, for however much good that'll do. Or maybe just blow through the joint, much as she *still* cringes at the thought of doing that kind of harm - but still, she reminds herself, this is a Shadow. Or a whole mass of them, all wrapped up in one seemingly-human shape, driven by a mind solely dedicated to serving his Queen. If the Majordomo actually STOPS moving for any length of time, she can try charging up for her beam cannons - but otherwise, Yuna is being conservative with her firepower. She's not about to give the Majordomo time enough to regenerate, if she can help it, but she knows where she is relative to her limits. (Not that she'll mind at all if the fight is concluded without her having to fire off her big guns.) 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Majordomo scowls as Rebecca weaves away from his attack, denying him another means of healing himself. And so he turned his attention to Emily, forcing him to absorb the medic's shots in the back. He kicks Kotone in the middle of defending himself, and then lunges in to go for that open knee.     That was his first mistake.     The trap is sprung, and he takes a blow to his wounds. Clenching his teeth, he lashes out as he turns, trying to swat Emily away. And while Speedwagon's call might not amount to much, it does something. Something small, but massive in the grand scheme of things.     It obscures the sound of the grenade pin hitting the floor.     "You misunderstand. I-" he starts, only to be nailed by Will's stunning shot. Electricity arcs as his muscles convules, squeezing down on the grenade and pushing it deeper inside. Only now does he realize something is wrong, and it's too late. Many attacks converge at once, and Ainsley's shield comes up just in time to contain them all. August's Agidyne mingles with Kotone's plasma grenade mingles with Yuna's beam cannons while Emily's grenade detonates, carving a scoop of him out neatly, the conflagration filling the protective bubble, keeping everyone else safe.     When the flames and smoke clears, the Majordomo is a charred mess. Whisps of darkness spill from his burned, slumped form, parts of him crumbling away. His lips move, a hoarse whisper leaking from them, even in spite of his lack of lungs. "Before I was interrupted..." he begins, addressing Speedwagon. "The Queen did something... I thought impossible. She earned my devotion..." He exhales, ashes of himself leaving his innards with the slight breath.     "But... perhaps you all might do something more impossible... but as I live, I serve her. So I issue you an ultimatum. I'm opening the doors to the throne room for you..." As he says this, the doors do open, leading only to bottomless darkness. "But in five minutes, the whole castle shall shuffle. You will not find this place again. If you retreat to recoup, your quest will meet its end. But if you press on, you'll have your chance..."     He finally collapses, leaving a pile of soot on the floor. In the distance is a raven's cry, mingling with his final words. "Good luck..." 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Speedwagon's not going to completely discount the Queen having EARNED this creature's devotion. He's seen some people who were incredibly charismatic and yet perfectly horrible and irredeemably evil. So yeah. He's not going to doubt that. Then again, he's not really sure how much of these Shadows they've been facing are truly 'human' -- even if, as in this case, they look that way.     And the words of them having five minutes? "Oh bloody hell," he curses, as the Majordomo collapses into a pile of ash. He's mainly talking to Tattoo and Kempo with the next, but he does say it loud enough for the others. Because he's kind of a loud guy anyway. "C'mon, ya heard the man! Five minutes!" But in the next breath as the oppressive time limit, he encourages, "Almost there, ladies and gents! Just a little further now an' all this'll be over an' done with!" 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley flinches from the explosion, and her Persona fades once more. Her feathers briefly puff up, and she shudders as he speaks his last words, before evaporating into dust before them. She stares at the sight of him, and swallows dryly at what he says. It really puts them in a difficult place. So... She approaches the others.     "I'll tend to some of our wounds before we head further," she tells the others, as her head turns to view the open darkness that lays ahead of them.     Her pupils shrink and a chill climbs her spine as she remembers her deepest fears for a moment, and finds herself with the inescapable urge to push forward regardless of that. She hovers over to each wounded party member to provide some mystical first aid, to put people into at least a moderately combat ready state. Her magic glows a soft pink, white and red. She puffs and huffs as she finishes her work, because she's starting to feel exhausted already... But she can't stop now.     Not until she sees the end of the Black Queen. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Takes a powerful kick, if she still had a normach stomach? she'd likely have been hit so hard she'd throw up, she's sent back she's hurt though that has done some internal damage of some sort but she looks upon the combined assault and the terrible harvest that the Marjordomo reaps. She watches in the aftermath looking on and listening. "So we have no choice we're going onward then as he meets his end. There's no time for healing, time for repairs, maybe just time to reload and move on. Or Ainsley might be able to help some of them while they have time. "Right we can't wait for too long we need to see this through to the end." 
}}

5778/P:WtWM - Final Breaker

2018-03-30T04:39:41Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/03/29 |Location=The Mirror Forest |Synopsis=Elites fell the Majordomo, the last member of the Black Queen's Court |Cast of Characters=909, 151..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/03/29
|Location=The Mirror Forest
|Synopsis=Elites fell the Majordomo, the last member of the Black Queen's Court
|Cast of Characters=909, 151, 290, 999, 1141, 894, 934, 385, 7
|Tinyplot=Persona: Were The World Mine
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Black Queen's Castle is angry now.     Not that you would realize it as an objective observer of Die Reisende walking its halls. There are no Shadows, no traps, and the path is the same as it was before. No menaces stand in their way, but it's like every surface of the glassy walls, the floor, the roof... it's like they all sprouted eyes to stare balefully at them.     The atmosphere is like a physical thing, a crushing weight placed on everyone's shoulders as they trudge towards their goal. The darkness is thicker, blotting out anything beyond ten feet in front of you. Just one more door between they and Queen, but it's like she's here, all around them. Sitting. Waiting. Preparing.     As that waiting room finally comes into view, a crashing wave of relief rushes through Janine. She rushes forward, and looks back at everyone. "This is it. Time to nut up or-" She never gets to finish that particular vulgarity, due to a massive, meaty palm falling upon her good shoulder. "Not quite yet," says the Majordomo, having emerged from the darkness that seems to radiate from the doors to the throne room. He's the same hulking mass of muscles Die Reisende saw when they first entered the castle. But now, the tails on his coat are much longer, trailing away beyond sight.     "You've done far more than I could have anticipated. But this is your last chance. Turn back now. Give up on this meaningless effort. Mortal creatures such as you are fated to die, but you can delay it. Perhaps you can have a whole lifetime to yourself if you surrender now. Please, spare me the effort of cleaning you off the walls."     As he's talking, he's keeping a firm grip on Janine's arm, keeping her from pulling away or drawing her sword. She's looking to the glass walls, but the light is too dim to get a proper reflection. She's a hostage, but too small to be a human shield.     And, more concealingly, that jacket on the Majordomo seems to be shrinking. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley is once more accompanying Die Riesende. She walks through the castle with her eyes lidded, her reptilian visage showing only the slightest frown, her eyes lidding. She keeps her eyes on their surroundings, not wanting to get caught off-guard for one second. They could be killed if they get too cocky, especially this deep into the castle, with so many of the stronger Shadows already destroyed. She hadn't been able to participate in some of those battles, and she deeply regrets that, and so as they reach the waiting room she is already drawing her longsword from its sheath.     But then Janine rushes forward, and the Majordomo is there to correct her in her brief moment of overconfidence. The reptile woman doesn't wait for this to get bad, instead she strikes a pose to point her index and middle finger toward the Majordomo. She speaks a few words of primal meaning, and a flash of green and blue light emits from her hand. She tries to cast a spell to disrupt the Majordomo's cognition, to slow him down, distract him, or otherwise dizzy him for long enough for someone to respond and rescue Janine.     "You'd think you would know better by now," Ainsley quips back at the Majordomo. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Anger is one of those emotions that everyone has to deal with. Both humans and animals. OK, other living beings too that are within the Multiverse as well. But castles too? Well, apparently in this world, castles can feel emotions. Or something to that effect. It's so surreal yet it's so powerful that Rebecca can sense it herself. Of course that could be because she's angry too. Despite the fact that the whole atmosphere is pushing down on her like some kind of force trying to stop her, Rebecca isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Her MP5K is gripped, and she has that look on her face that tells you she's not in the best of moods right now. And hell hath no fury like Rebecca peeved! Even when they reach the waiting room, Rebecca isn't letting up at all. In fact, when the hand falls upon Janine's shoulder, Rebecca aims her MP5K at it, only to widen her eyes and step away as she realizes where that hand is coming from. She lowers her aim slightly as if to indicate she's not going to shoot in case Majordomo thinks otherwise. Despite this, Rebecca's scowl returns to her face. "We're all going to die sometime, but we're not dying today!" She narrows her eyes. "You might think you'll be cleaning us off the walls, but all I can say is that you're delusional!" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Forward they march. The oppressive air of the castle's displeasure descends on them so heavily that even Emily's usual even, calm demeanor has given way - but only to a cool, defiant sternness, a rising refusal to even countenance the thought of stopping. No, not when they're this close. Not when they can round the corner and see the waiting room so very close, and-     *SNAP*SNAP*SNAP*SNAP*SNAP*     There is no warning. There is no delay. The lengthy coil that is Strands of Fate snakes outward, whipped into impossibly fast movement and snapped with inhuman precision - right at the Majorodomo's elbow. Again and again, so fast as to sound like machine gun fire, with Emily's arm an absolute blur. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     That's about what Robert Speedwagon expected. This close, things have gotten oppressive, but not anything that he could specifically pinpoint -- it's all around them, pressing in like a vice. All three of the Ogre Street gang feel it, and it's got all of them on edge. Tattoo is looking around him, Kempo's keeping it mostly under wraps but it noticeably tense, and Speedwagon himself has his teeth clenched.     He's armed to the teeth, at least as much as he ever is -- his sledgehammer and that bladed hat. He hasn't bothered putting the concealing brims back on, so he is visibly wearing a bowler with four curved blades around it. Tattoo has his knives in hands; Kempo has an advantage in that his HANDS are his weapons.     Janine moves forward and he makes to follow. And then suddenly... "...Right. Might'a known." Because that was just WAY too easy. "Was waitin' for the other shoe ter drop." He hefts the sledgehammer, not intending to use it when Janine's so close to the Majordomo, but there WILL be sledgehammering soon. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' It's time. August is as ready as he'll ever be, even if he's clearly not slept. Gun and knife, check. Vest, check. Mirrored bracelet, check. The redhead's expression is sullen, and he doesn't speak up except to say one thing. "Let's do this." Though, as they're approaching, the castle itself is seeming angry. August glances around briefly, taking a deep breath, when as they approach, Janine moves to start speaking. August's hand moves to his mirrored bracelet the second something starts moving through the shadows. The Majordomo. The last one left. "Shut the hell up. You're just another screwed up piece of humanity like the rest of them. I'll burn through you like the rest...so get your hand off her!" As the others start to move, August does too. Ainsley's moving to do something to him, and Emily's moving to grab his arm, so August makes sure the mirror is at eye-level as he shouts. "Set him ablaze, Tin Soldier!" The burn-scarred robot soldier manifests in front of him, as the pair of man and Persona rush forward, that gun-leg pointed up at the hulk of a Shadow. The gun goes off. A burst of flames is aimed specifically for his coat, trying to soak some of it in fire. "His coat's made out of Shadows, be careful!" If he can hinder the Majordomo's use of it, that'd be great, but it's definitely not going to be this easy. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will has been in plenty of supernaturally oppressive areas before. They really don't get any better no matter how many times you find yourself in one. The gunslinger has returned once again to the halls of the Black Queen's castle to put an end to this chapter for good though. He can't just run away with his tail between his legs on account of some kind of super spooky malaise clinging to the place. It helps that Judgment's light seems to shine as bright as it always does. The glow is reassuring in this palace of shadows-- especially when the Majorodomo appears. Will doesn't even bother hesitating. He moves almost when Emily does, quickdrawing hand lifting to fire bolts of brilliant, coruscating light once, twice, three times into the withering cloak of shadows. "I hear you," Will replies to August. "I wager he's filled the entire area with the things. 'Course, ain't no guarantee he wouldn't sicc 'em on us the moment we turned tail. So ain't nothing to do but to fight! Let's finish this, Kohler!" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna is not at her best tonight. The recent foray to Maslow Peak took a lot out of her - maybe not in terms of injury, but in its toll on her energy reserves, and a good night's sleep and a day spent mostly-resting haven't quite got her back into full fighting form. But if you weren't there, you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell: the luminance of her battlesuit is stable, and she doesn't move as if she's favoring any injured limbs, joints, or other parts. She may, however, be relying more than usual on the Matrix of Light. She's been in Powered Form for the bulk of this run, even if she hasn't technically needed most of its features, while Erina, Marina, and of course Elner have stuck close to her, ready to assist however she needs. So when the Majordomo manifests with Janine in his clutches, the look which crosses Yuna's face is primarily an expression of 'you're kidding, right?' ... not that she's entirely surprised to have one more enemy to fight on the way to the Black Queen. "I can appreciate loyalty to your Queen," Yuna admits, "but this isn't going to end with our retreat *or* our deaths. What you call a 'meaningless effort' ... it's important enough to risk our lives. Doesn't that tell you it's meaningful to us?" She doesn't seem to be taking aim at the Majordomo, although she has the Matrix Divider in a steady grip ... and as she finishes her question, there's a distinct gleam of light from the weapon's business end, the assembly which serves as either barrel or blade depending on her needs. Her finger tightens on the Divider's trigger - and a single pulse of light erupts from the tip. If the floor and walls are reflective *enough*, that beam is intended to bounce off at a shallow angle and, with (admittedly a lot of) luck, put a new hole in the Majordomo's jacket. August's warning came at a really good time for Yuna to try this, so she'll have to thank him when they have a chance to talk later. And they WILL have that chance. She plans to make sure of it. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' The castle was angry now not that Kotone would know that directly bu there were no shadows, no traps? That left the cyborg very worried. It can't be this easy can it? No it had to be a trap, there had to be something to worry about and soon it's shown why. Someone has been waiting for the collective group's arrival. She's armed and ready for trouble today she's not carrying a SMG, she's got the MM unit in hand though as she's making ready. "Let my friend go." She's doesn't summon a weapon just yet, she's rapidly crunching numbers s it were in her head to try and figure out the best way to attack without putting Janine at more risk there. Then comes Ainsley who is making use of some of her magic and that's when she'll start to get a move on. "Tch, nothing lives forever not even the likes of you." Taunt them get them attacking her, she's far easier to patch up in her mind than anyone else responding here. So that's what she does she taunts and tries to draw attention on to her and off the others. "I'm just the puppet woman who cheated her death with a body made of metal and plastic." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:''' tA lot of things happen in a few short moments.     Ainsley dazzles the Majordomo with her mystical words, causing his eyes to blink rapidly and his grip to slack. Janine wastes no time in trying to slip away, but his massive fingers pinch down on the back of her dress, keeping her from getting away. "I do know you, Lizard Woman. Well enough to be wary of your words."     But Emily charges in, and lashes her whip, over and over, again and again. In an instant, she's carved the Majordomo's elbow down to the tendons, his grip going fully slack. Janine slips out, and rushes back over to Die Reisende, while August sets his coat ablaze, William and Yuna sinking shots into it. He seems genuinely aggreived by this. "Smart boy. Looking to the objective first. But your friend there has the wrong of it." His jacket is down to a few scraps now, exposing his ripped body for all to see. Black veins are bulging out of the skin, the muscles swelling. "Your fight with the Blacksmith and the Standard Bearer proves that a mob of enemies are nothing to you. So I took every remaining Shadow in the castle, and assimilated them to increase my own power."     Many small black hands stretch over the wound Emily inflicted, pulling on the lower arm to keep it connected. He wriggles the fingers on that hand, then makes a fist.     "You said I would not be cleaning you off the walls," he notes to Rebecca. "You're right. There won't be enough of all of you to clean up." ==============================HANGED MAN REVERSED=============================== --------------------------MANIFESTATION OF REFLECTION---------------------------                         THE MAJORDOMO ALWAYS AT HER SIDE                                              HE WHOSE GREATEST SERVICE IS GIVING UP                     -------------------------------PREPARE FOR BATTLE------------------------------- ======================================XII=======================================     He raises that fist, and throws a single punch. That one blow generates a shockwave akin to Janine's own wind attacks. It buffets the party, threatening to blow them all out of the room if they don't ground themselves! 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Janine is freed, and Emily immediately moves into a defensive position, whip in hand, staring down the Majordomo steadily. She can do little but watch the shadows start to hold that arm together, though; and only slightly more about the sudden shockwave that blasts the group. But her reaction times, at least, are as lightning-fast as ever, and an instant after the blast hits, her whip is snapping out to the nearest anchor. It stops her from losing too much ground, and the moment the shockwave passes, the butler darts forward in a sudden burst of inhuman speed.     The instant it looks like another shockwave is coming, she'll anchor herself with her whip again; she's aiming to lose as little ground as possible this time, and then cover that much more in the interim. If she can get behind him like that, she absolutely will - and then the Majordomo will be on the receiving end of another whip barrage, this one aimed center-of-mass. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley is briefly satisfied by them getting the Majordomo to release their ally, and smiles wryly at his noting of her presence. She's glad he remembers her, because she wants to look the Black Queen in the eye pretty soon as this dance of despair is brought to a close. But the reptile woman's smile washes away quickly when she realizes the Majordomo has become... huge. The power of this being makes her hesitate, and she widens her eyes when she realizes what he's doing. His fist raises, and she lifts her sword and STABS it into the ground, and leans forward...!     She's hit harder than the rest of the party. She screams in pain as magical wind rips feathers out and slices at her skin, and sends her sliding backwards with a spray of sparks, her sword dulling in the floor of the castle. When the wind clears, she staggers and gasps, holding herself up by her weapon.     "O-oh... oh shit..."     Ainsley's voice quavers, and her knees shake, and blood trickles down from the impact of his attack. Then she grits her sharp teeth, growls and jerks her weapon out of the ground, and rushes to the side so she will at least get blown into a wall and not out of the fight if he does that again. She pulls her metal-bound journal from her belt and calls her Persona, with a shimmer of light shards and the turtle man appearing with a grave frown on his face. His eye opens and he flashes a bright red and black blast of energy, which seeks to debilitate the Majordomo and reduce his combat effectiveness... because if the Majordomo has consumed innumerable shadows, he may be vulnerable to being slowed down by that very power.     "Urashima Taro!" 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Emily's seemed to tear the Majordomo's arm up pretty badly. "HA! Good shot!" Speedwagon encourages. But then he starts... healing? Not exactly, according to what he's hearing. Still. Robert is taken aback. "So THAT'S why there weren't nothin' else attackin' on the way... yer ATE 'em all!" Reducing it down to a base instinct/need, isn't that just like a human?     Suddenly there's a shockwave from that punch! The Ogre Street Gang hunkers down, trying to weather it, but that's not easy. They're very likely the only three people here who don't have some sort of supernatural powers to aid them here. And they're starting to be pushed back...     Speedwagon quickly swings his sledgehammer, trying to crack the floor. Not for an attack, no. He's just trying to get some leverage for the sledgehammer to catch in, so Tattoo and Kempo can hold onto him, and he to the sledgehammer, to avoid being swept out of the room. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Fortunately for Yuna, Powered Form is *also* too heavy to get blown away even by that hurricane-force shockwave of wind - at least, so long as its feet are grounded firmly. At that moment, thankfully, they were ... but the wind still slams into Yuna like the proverbial runaway train, forcing her to dig in further, even conjuring her kite shield and driving Shugoseiheki's lower point into the ground to help anchor herself. Even with that heavy armor and the shield, though? When the shockwave passes, she can feel fatigue already tugging at her like an anchor's chain. If this fight drags on too long, she'll go down no matter how many or how few hits the Majordomo lands on her. At least now they know why the castle was utterly devoid of lesser Shadows this time in ... all of them, every single mook or minion, is powering him up. Yuna grits her teeth, hefts the Matrix Divider - actually laying it along one of Powered Form's exo-arms, since it's her own two hands which hold the weapon - and starts firing shots, a couple of seconds apart. Partly it's testing to see how rapidly he recovers from minor injuries, partly seeing if she can whittle away at him. Mostly it's pitching in without overextending herself, and buying time to see if she can draw together the energy to fire off her beam cannons. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Sometimes, Will is glad to be wrong. This is not one of those times. "Ah hell," he observes as the Majordomo becomes approximately as swole as your average Heracles. "That's the exact opposite of what I reckon--"                                   **WHAM**                                   One moment there was a Will there. The next moment, there's a vaguely Will-shaped blur hurtling at ridiculous speeds down the corridor. Will has only experienced being transformed into a projectile once, and it wasn't pleasant then. It certainly is not pleasant right here and right now. The gunslinger doesn't make a sound as he's smashed straight through a castle wall and disappears into the hollow within. The good news: The Majordomo ate all the shadows that would almost certainly be swarming all over him by now. The bad news: Ow all Will's bones. For a moment, there is not even a peep from the hole in the wall. And then there is motion. And from motion, there comes a single, blazing bolt fired from the barrel of an ultra-futuristic scifi sniper rifle. Two more follow in quick succession, each one glowing with the light of a living star. "D-damnit," Will grunts, wiping the blood from his brow. "Damn near got me there." His ears are still ringing. He doesn't quite notice that he can't actually hear a damn thing right now. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Emily moves in, Ainsley uses her own powers to try and hinder Janine being held she moves now with inhuman speed there is no hiding what she is today. With Janine lose now to at least having a chance the MM unit is used and rather than the normal SMG Kotone often uses? She has a MEK Trooper issue Mini-gun with the ease of someone carrying rifle normally. "I was about to say the same to you!...you devoured your own forces?!" The weapon is wound up and she starts o let lose as spray of bullets at the Major Domo, with pauses in fire for when allies might chose to getting up and close. She sees Emily has Janine, in hand and it's really time to go to town here. Brass is flying everywhere in her wake as she fire on the move, she knows she'll have to change weapons soon but hitting the ground running is the best bet with someone like this. Then comes the shock wave, she stops she stomps with such force driving her feet into the ground shattering it under foot as to anchor herself in the face of the powerful attack. She does not escape harm but she does escape being sent flying at the very least. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' They said the Majordomo was the most powerful of the Queen's minions. The sheer fact he could assimilate himself with all of the Shadows in the castle...how is that possible? How powerful is this guy? August keeps on guard, as the jacket is burned, but the Shadows keep him attached anyways. "How...ugh!" Before August can say anything else, though, that punch is flying forward. August is blasted back by the shockwave, narrowly catching himself at the expense of several bruises and the fact that he's left entirely off-guard for future strikes. After several moments, the redhead recollects himself, the Tin Soldier lifting its gun back up to send out a big blast of fire, trying to torch the Majordomo some more. "Keep the pressure on, everyone! If you're bleeding, bleed later. Right now, we need to kill him!" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' "Tough talk," Rebecca says, still scowling. "But I'll have you know I've faced off against far worse than you!" Unfortunately, Rebecca isn't expecting such a huge shockwave to occur. Her scowl turns into a look of shock and then fear as she finds herself being hit by the shockwave, which does hit harder than she thinks it would. She finds herself being hit by the magic wind so hard that it literally cuts into her flesh and knocks her down, causing her to cry out. Fortunately, she's not blown away, but she is bleeding a little. Unfortunately for Majordomo, this makes Rebecca even angrier. Despite the injuries she's sustained, she's even more determined than ever as she gets back up! "You've picked the wrong medic to mess with!" Rebecca yells as she levels her MP5K. "Now pay the price!" She fires off a three round burst of gunfire. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Everyone opens up on the Majordomo. Gunfire rattles, flames bellow, energy blasts sear. Each one finds their home, the Majordomo not even bothering to block. Each wound is quickly tended to by those little hands. Bullets are pushed out and the holes tugged shut. Burns are peeled away by the hands, their mass filling the gap in his skin. "Can you afford to waste time trying to solve this puzzle? I am not going to stand around and wait.     Neither is Emily, as she finally gets her opening to get behind him. Her whip snaps, over and over, soon creating a hefty wounds upon his back. The darkness within writes as it struggles to pull it closed. When she just keeps making more, they give up, and reach out for her instead, intent to tear her apart.     And then Ainsley invokes Urashima Taro.     The Majordomo slumps, while Emily gets a prime look at the darkness within him bubbling furiously. The massive Shadow slams a palm to the side of his head, and it seems to soothe. "All right, none of that." He rises, and sinks his fingers into the ground to pull up a chunk of glass. With a casual toss, he lobs it into the air, and punches it on the way down. Once again, there is a massive shockwave, but now it is punctuated by a shotgun blast of broken glass. Now he's aiming to carve everyone to ribbons!     At the same time, he moves with a sudden rush of speed, more than he should be able to. His intent is to catch Emily before she can rush to Janine's aid. If he succeeds, he'll immediately spike her to the floor. "As fellow manservants, I have the advantage here. My master is not present, so I can fight to my full extent. What of you? Can you protect her when you separate yourself from her? 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Once there's a break in the shockwave, Speedwagon stands up again. Getting close to that guy just isn't happening, and even if he did, there wouldn't be much he could do up close. "Tattoo, see what damage yer can do," he instructs. "Try ter cause enough damage so that those Shadows gotta concentrate more on keepin' 'im together than on attackin'! Kempo, with me!" Both Robert and Kempo are basically bruisers, so they're not going to be able to do much in the way of damage.     So Tattoo starts to circle the Majordomo, to see where he can make an attack. However, when the Shadows start reaching out for Emily, Speedwagon growls, "Oh no yer don't!" He picks up that bladed hat (which he had somehow miraculously managed not to lose) and flings it in the direction of those reachy, grabby Shadows. He's trying to sever them before they get to her.     The 'shotgun blast' of glass throws him into a wall, imbedding pieces of glass in his front, and the glass behind him cracks. Tattoo and Kempo have about the same luck against it. Give those three a few, they're going to need to collect themselves after that. Speedwagon's still cursing, though, so he's probably not dead. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley carefully observes the reaction the Majordomo has to her attack. She briefly squints at the sight of the Shadows falling into chaos from the use of her ability... then she frowns with determination. She brings her arms up to protect her face as the glass and shockwave hits her, and her body slams into the wall behind her. Pain ripples through her, and she gasps in agony, enough that any normal person might've collapsed by now. Running entirely on adrenaline at this point, Ainsley ignores the burning sting of the glass sticking out of her scales, her hide the only thing stopping her from getting a more serious wound.     She is certainly not strong enough to do a lot of damage to Majordomo, so she's forced to get creative. She decides to reach out with her mind, and her emotions, to the Shadows acting as the Majordomo's power. She tries to touch their simpler minds, and she tries to hit them with complex emotions. Her emotions of desperation, of the need to defeat the Majordomo, she tries to tell them to disobey the Majordomo just for a moment.     A pulse of magical energy connects from her outstretched hand and the Majordomo as she sends her emotions, her will, her message to the Shadows. Do they listen, or do they disregard her completely? It depends on how gullible they are. She's done it before, although briefly.     "Listen to me!" she cries out. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Even though the fire is obviously hitting the Majordomo, the Shadows keep plugging him up. The group's going to have to work together, August realizes. As he's considering a plan, though, glass comes flying forward, cutting into the Tin Soldier's metal flesh and puncturing against August's skin, causing him to scream as he tears it out. "Don't need to waste time. Can just carve you OPEN!" August's arms and face are bleeding, as he calls his plan over the radio, and charges forward...desummoning the Tin Soldier. August isn't using his Persona. No, he's leaping forward, moving to slice into the Majordomo with his knife which he's quickly drawing. His goal isn't to cut the Majordomo, necessarily - it's to cut through the hands of those Shadows, trying to thin their numbers from up-close. At the cost of putting August in melee range with the brutish manservant! 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Simple air-pressure shockwaves are one thing; relatively blunt force, painful but not *usually* a matter requiring medical attention ... unless you get slammed hard enough to break things, by the wind itself or by subsequent impact with a large, heavy object or other flat and unforgiving surface. Add a cloud of shattered glass to the shockwave, though, and - well, Yuna's eyes go wide, and she ignites her thrusters without even thinking about what she's doing. "Get behind me!" she yells to any of her allies who are close enough to benefit ... And with Shugoseiheki raised to guard her face, Yuna hurls herself forward, trying to get in front of as many of her allies as she can - to take the brunt of as much of the glass as she can. Of course it comes at a cost: besides the additional drain of that sudden exertion, she's trying to tank a *lot* of sharp little pieces as well as the blunt-force pressure wave that's propelling them. By the time Yuna's exo-armor slides to a stop (thankfully still on her feet), there's a small but steady frisson of instability slithering all around Powered Form's bulky form. And this time, Yuna *isn't* able to resume firing. She's cautious about lowering any of her guard, but if there's no more of that glass flying at her at the moment, she cautiously lowers the kite shield enough to see what's in front of her. Which is really most of what she *can* do, given how August's going in with his knife and others are similarly dependent on close range ... 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' There are few times that Will would ever be glad to have been punched through a wall. The ensuing storm of glass and concussive force is one of those times. He ducks behind the makeshift cover his hidey-hole has provided just as those deadly shards begin raining down. Crystal fragments crack, shatter and fall to the ground in a disconcertingly melodical clangor. Only when the shockwave passes does the sniper peek back up over his wall. This time, he's not just firing blind. The Chaser whispers a hiss as he taps at his earpiece, not quite aware that it's not the machine that's broken, but his eardrum. He cranks up the volume and makes do, hearing just barely what Ainsley has planning. He nods and answers, "You open him up, I'll shoot him through. T' might be we can't beat him 'less we get in there and purge those shadows proper, but I've an idea for that." The idea is, apparently, to switch to Terminal Judgment's primary firing mode. Will leans into his scope, waiting for just the right moment to fire. The barrel begins to glow as Judgment slowly accumulates power. It shines brighter and brighter and brighter in the dark until the blaze at the heart of the weapon burns blindingly from the end of its barrel. As soon as he sees a chink open up in that armor, he depresses the trigger. Terminal Judgment fires a focused, charged blast of impossibly focused plasma with enough force to actually recoil. Will grits his teeth as the kickback hammers into his already half-broken shoulder. The might of the Ancients is unleashed as a slug of pure, radiant power-- but will it be enough to banish the shadows completely? Certainly, the boom on impact might be big enough...! 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' The gunfire goes off but it doesn't seem to do much good. Then again, at the beginning of a battle, things like that generally don't do much good at first. Especially because this thing seems intent on healing itself using whatever powers it has to do so. Of course, that pales in comparison to the next situation. A shockwave punctuated with a shotgun blast of glass? Unfortunately, even Rebecca herself isn't able to avoid this completely. The shockwave hits hard, and several pieces of glass cut her exposed flesh, while the majority of them hit her vest thankfully. Bloodied and bruised, Rebecca tries to pick herself back up and apply a first-aid spray to her wounds, more intent on stopping the bleeding... 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     The bladed hat toss from Speedwagon slices through the air between Emily and the Majordomo - the air and, quite possibly, other things as well. It certainly makes the butler's defense quite a bit easier. She certainly doesn't relax, though, keeping that whip moving in a whirling pattern that will allow her to snap it out at any given moment. But while she thinks she spots an opening, and the lunge has already begun, it's too late to abort when she realizes that the glass is going to be coming down in a deadly hail. The whip is whirled around in a defensive flourish above Emily, but quite a few still get through, cutting her coat open and drawing blood in spots where the garment isn't protectively lined.     Then comes the Majordomo, shockingly fast. Only the woman's own speed saves her from a direct hit, and even then she still eats the shockwave almost point-blank, blasted off to the side. But in the same heartbeat, the whip snaps out again, snagging his arm, and yanks her forward... sliding along the ground between his legs.     "You and I differ on that point," she calls as she slides. "You fight in your master's stead. I fight at my master's side. I've every faith in her to take care of herself - I shall be there in an instant should she need me, but until then I can fight to my fullest, just as she'd have me do!"     Slide, turn, crouch - and that whip lashes out at the Majordomo's back again. This time, it's all focused strikes, all slamming at the same wound, over and over. A concentrated strike to see how deeply she can wound him, how those hands respond to a deep injury... and, perhaps, if an idea that's come to her will be feasible. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa does not think the opening moves of this fight owuld bring the enemy down, maybe put him off balance, weaken him somewhat? Sure? That's certainly possibe but downing them in the inital salvo? That's not so likely and now she moves to pull herself free from the floor to face the enemey down. The battle rager on but she sees the Majordomo slump? Is it done? No it can't be done he was holding back it seems there's anotehr shockwave and this time? She's ready and she leasp once once but at the apex of her jumpo she jumps a second time vaulint into the auir, she's forced to drop her minigun however and is going to ahve to chance weapons, she drops down. Kotone has another weapon in hand a braton given to her some time ago by Kushiko the weapon was fist with corrive rounds which might just do a number on the shadow. Or at least that's what Tomoe homes these exoitc ap rounds more or less can do as she fires off several controlled bursts at the shadow leader. "So she's not here? Well then...she can't bail you out now can she?!" 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley cry sinks into the Majordomo. The Shadows within writhe, being marshalled not by unified purpose, but by the Majordomo's own will. Her voice reaches them, and they bestill their struggles for a moment. This has ramifications for the Majordomo, as his regeneration slows down.     This gives August his opening to begin slicing their hands off, keeping the wounds from closing. Speedwagon's hat gets the ones that are out of reach, snipping them and sending them to wiggle uselessly on the floor. The Majordomo is not well pleased, and his great palm comes up to try and slam down on the German's head, aiming to drive him into the floor. His other hand swipes in a vicious chop, aiming to strike down Speedwagon's hat and catch the side of Yuna's head as she peeks from behind the shield, all in a single motion. "Your defences are an irritant. Disappear."     And then that superheated plasma slug makes contact.     A hole is blown clean through the Majordomo, and the Shadows within him do nothing to close it. But he's not down yet. His teeth clench, and his form abruptly shrinks. His muscles less impressive, but the reduced mass means the wound becomes smaller. He bounces on his feet and looks about, spotting Rebecca trying to heal herself. He moves, fast. Much much faster, almost on par with Emily herself, and tries to punch the medic in the head and claim the healing spray for himself. If successful, he goes to apply it to himself.     Emily retorts as she snaps at the smaller wounds on his back, making him scowl. "If you need to fight alongside your master, you are a poor servant indeed. You should be able to crush anything that would threaten them on your own." He turns to face her, and uses his heightened speed to start smacking away her whip while closing the distance to aim a vicious kick at her knee.     Corrosive rounds from Kotone begin eating through him, and he looks up at her. "No, she is here. She merely has far more important matters to tend to. You are mere whelps, a mosquito bite." He crouches, and leaps up, delivering a bicycle kick to try and catch her on the way down! 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Oh no, you don't. Rebecca's already sprayed a good portion of the spray onto herself. Not to mention, just as the fist comes at her, Rebecca drops and rolls away, while the can goes rolling in another direction. "That was too close," Rebecca says to herself. "I can't believe what I get myself into sometimes." Once Rebecca's finished her roll, she drops into a crouched position and opens fire again. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The movement worked. In return, August gets slammed downwards, a powerful blow knocking him upside the head, rendering him blurry, and sending him into the ground with a hard crack. He's lucky it didn't kill him, the natural resistance from his Persona assisting, as the redhead lies on the floor for several moments. But he can't stop fighting. Not here. August rises to his feet, the German lifting up the mirror to his eyes. "Once...once more, Tin Soldier!" It's difficult to speak, but calling a Persona is as natural to him as breathing when he does so. "Shut up! I'm going to burn you to ash! TAKE THIS!" The Tin Soldier manifests in front of August, fire fanning around that gun-leg, which begins to grow and grow. It's forming into a massive burst of flame...as it and August move to line up their shot to not hit the others. Trying to hit it center-mass, trying to time it with the Majordomo's movements. "Now!" The fireball flies forward, and hopefully, impacts with the Majordomo and burns into him, dealing as much damage as possible when it explodes! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa says "Mosquitos can kill a human." Kotone notes as the fight carries on the Bratons rounds are working and she's going to keep it up with that as she slams a fresh clip in and start to drop and whelp? She gets a full on kick to the chin, she's far heavier than a woman of her size an buuld should be, though that doesn't help too much as she's kicked an goes spinning landing frace down on the floor cracking it and leaving an small impact crater as she attemp to get back up and into the fire, shooting even as she rises back up. "Okay I didn't think I could find you more of a pain in the ass? Yet somehow you have!" Then the bursts of fire pause and she tosses a plasma grenade into the mix the weapob beeps a few secounds after impact and explodes in a burst of plama hoping to ruin the guyy's day and adding to the havoc Emily is hoping to cause along side August turning up the heat yet again. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     That speed is impressive - Even now, Emily is a bit faster, but unlike her, he can use that speed persistently. Hers is available only in bursts, and while she can chain them just about seamlessly, that gets tiring fast. So, as the Majordomo approaches, she reconsiders her options... and then just keeps right on whipping. "Utter nonsense," she scoffs. "Who said I /need/ anything of the sort? My master wishes to take the battlefield. That is the beginning and end of my consideration - if that is how she wishes to fight, then that is how we fight."     Whipcrack after whipcrack is deflected, until at last the swift Shadow draws near enough to swing a kick at her knee. It's a smart choice; the most stable stance for Emily to chain strikes with her whip is one that keeps her knee out, leaving it by far the easiest target for anyone who gets in close.     It's also a trap.     The kick swings in, and the butler suddenly shifts, expecting it the entire time. The move is fluid, almost dancelike in a way, but absolutely efficient. In the same movement, she snaps her own leg out, 'tapping' the back of the Majordomo's knee in such a way as to push him off balance. It will only be slight. Only for a moment. Only just enough to delay him for a split second. But that's all Emily is looking for. Just enough time to shift forward and around him, so that she can get behind him and swing her fist towards one of his shrunken wounds. It probably just feels like a particularly brutal punch at first.     But about the time the Majordomo leaps into the air, the spoon and pin from the grenade both hit the floor. Clink.     The only question is how well the smaller wound will hold the grenade in place until it goes off. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     The hat is batted away, bouncing about the room and rolling on the floor. Which is about what it would have done anyway, since Speedwagon's not standing up to catch it. The Ogre Street gang is kind of not quite collected yet!     It's Kempo who rights himself first, and pauses a moment, long enough to void some of his body of the pieces of glass from his body via muscle contractions of his arms. He's a martial artist, he can do that. Quickly Kempo heads to assist the others. Tattoo seems all right, if cut up quite a bit. And Speedwagon himself is... noticeably worse for wear, his suit ripped and the edges of the cuts dark with his blood. "Thank yer," he offers, and then goes to retrieve his hat. Thankfully it's still in reasonably good, serviceable shape.     He has an idea now. "Hem 'im in," he suggests. "If 'e's the fast sort, cuttin' off his movement might bring lock 'im down." So the three of them will try to get close to the Majordomo and try to make it more difficult for the Majordomo to zip around. Yes, this is a really stupid idea, and could result in friendly fire. But the three of them are doing the best thing they can figure out.     They're also trying to distract the speedy Shadow. Particularly Speedwagon, as he tries to get in close and slice at the Majordomo with his hat held in one hand -- slash damage has seemed to work better, and he's not willing to experiment right now. This guy's too strong for that. "Is it TRUST?! RESPECT?! Or FEAR?! Do you serve because you WANT to, or because you're AFRAID NOT TO?!"     He knows that, if the Majordomo even dignifies the question with an answer, he's just going to get brainwashed Shadow talk anyway. So he's not even going to pay any mind to it. The sole reason he yelled that was to draw attention to himself. Because if it's on him, the others might have better chances of getting this guy off-guard.     Besides, he's expendable. They're not. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' 'Right, stungun shotgun. Got it!' The Majordomo's adaptability is impressive. Of course, it would have to be. This guy isn't just a powerful shadow, he's the Queen's right hand man. Will winces, still recovering from that last blast as the shadow collapses in on himself, sacrificing power for raw, blisteringly fast speed. Which incidentally has the added benefit of reducing the lethality of that gaping hole in its midsection. No matter. Will gets decent advice as usual. He pushes himself up out of his hole in the wall, his weapon disassembling and reassembling in a flurry of Ancient metal and unknowable light. The Majordomo isn't the only one who can adapt to changing circumstances. Will doesn't bother properly aiming. He levels a stocky weapon coruscating with rippling, nearly invisible energies in the vague direction of the blur that is the Majordomo. "Hey," Will calls as he pulls the trigger. "Slow down. You're movin' too fast." He fires... A broad wave of crackling, stunning electromagnetic madness. If it hits, it'll probably do a little worse than just inducing convulsive fits. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley is finally not hammered by explosions of wind or glass for five seconds, giving her enough time to catch her breath. She gives a little pained fist pump to herself as she catches the sight of the Shadows powering up the Majordomo ceasing in their efforts to help him. She then lifts her sword and sniffs in, carefully watching for the Majordomo's movements. She flicks her eyes to the others to make sure she isn't caught in the crossfire, and keeps herself moving so she doesn't get singled out too easily in the chaos.     As Emily moves to try and blow the Shadow up with a grenade, and Will takes a shot to try and stun him with a big zap, Ainsley brings her book up and shouts "Persona!!!"     Urashima Taro, the turtle savior, appears. His arms are lifted, palms facing each other, as if holding a box. He claps his hands together firmly with a loud crystalline noise, and tries to manifest the reflective barrier around ... the Majordomo!?     No, it's inverted. Ainsley is trying to contain the grenade's blastwave and maximize it's damage, reflecting the blast inward again like a big pressure cooker. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Powered Form is *very* bulky with armor - but Yuna's face is still visible, protected mostly by the defensive field - which is already working overtime in the face of Yuna's overall enervated state. So while the blow to her face doesn't do much *actual* damage, it still rattles Yuna's focus, breaking her concentration, and allows the Majordomo to zip on to the next target. To her credit, she *still* isn't pulling out of the fray - much as she wants to just de-transform, go home, and sleep for a week. But she can't de-transform here, and more to the point, no matter how much she feels like she's taken enough, she does *NOT* want to leave her allies in the lurch. And let's face it: this particular fight is about as much of a lurch as she can imagine. She still can't quite muster the energy for her beam cannons - and more to the point, the Majordomo is all over the place *way* too fast for her to cut loose; she would probably miss him entirely, with or without the fact that her allies are liable to be in almost any line of fire. She keeps trying, though - turning to track the Majordomo, Matrix Divider attempting to follow his movements, and if he actually *stops* moving long enough, she'll squeeze off a shot - trying to kneecap him, for however much good that'll do. Or maybe just blow through the joint, much as she *still* cringes at the thought of doing that kind of harm - but still, she reminds herself, this is a Shadow. Or a whole mass of them, all wrapped up in one seemingly-human shape, driven by a mind solely dedicated to serving his Queen. If the Majordomo actually STOPS moving for any length of time, she can try charging up for her beam cannons - but otherwise, Yuna is being conservative with her firepower. She's not about to give the Majordomo time enough to regenerate, if she can help it, but she knows where she is relative to her limits. (Not that she'll mind at all if the fight is concluded without her having to fire off her big guns.) 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Majordomo scowls as Rebecca weaves away from his attack, denying him another means of healing himself. And so he turned his attention to Emily, forcing him to absorb the medic's shots in the back. He kicks Kotone in the middle of defending himself, and then lunges in to go for that open knee.     That was his first mistake.     The trap is sprung, and he takes a blow to his wounds. Clenching his teeth, he lashes out as he turns, trying to swat Emily away. And while Speedwagon's call might not amount to much, it does something. Something small, but massive in the grand scheme of things.     It obscures the sound of the grenade pin hitting the floor.     "You misunderstand. I-" he starts, only to be nailed by Will's stunning shot. Electricity arcs as his muscles convules, squeezing down on the grenade and pushing it deeper inside. Only now does he realize something is wrong, and it's too late. Many attacks converge at once, and Ainsley's shield comes up just in time to contain them all. August's Agidyne mingles with Kotone's plasma grenade mingles with Yuna's beam cannons while Emily's grenade detonates, carving a scoop of him out neatly, the conflagration filling the protective bubble, keeping everyone else safe.     When the flames and smoke clears, the Majordomo is a charred mess. Whisps of darkness spill from his burned, slumped form, parts of him crumbling away. His lips move, a hoarse whisper leaking from them, even in spite of his lack of lungs. "Before I was interrupted..." he begins, addressing Speedwagon. "The Queen did something... I thought impossible. She earned my devotion..." He exhales, ashes of himself leaving his innards with the slight breath.     "But... perhaps you all might do something more impossible... but as I live, I serve her. So I issue you an ultimatum. I'm opening the doors to the throne room for you..." As he says this, the doors do open, leading only to bottomless darkness. "But in five minutes, the whole castle shall shuffle. You will not find this place again. If you retreat to recoup, your quest will meet its end. But if you press on, you'll have your chance..."     He finally collapses, leaving a pile of soot on the floor. In the distance is a raven's cry, mingling with his final words. "Good luck..." 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Speedwagon's not going to completely discount the Queen having EARNED this creature's devotion. He's seen some people who were incredibly charismatic and yet perfectly horrible and irredeemably evil. So yeah. He's not going to doubt that. Then again, he's not really sure how much of these Shadows they've been facing are truly 'human' -- even if, as in this case, they look that way.     And the words of them having five minutes? "Oh bloody hell," he curses, as the Majordomo collapses into a pile of ash. He's mainly talking to Tattoo and Kempo with the next, but he does say it loud enough for the others. Because he's kind of a loud guy anyway. "C'mon, ya heard the man! Five minutes!" But in the next breath as the oppressive time limit, he encourages, "Almost there, ladies and gents! Just a little further now an' all this'll be over an' done with!" 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley flinches from the explosion, and her Persona fades once more. Her feathers briefly puff up, and she shudders as he speaks his last words, before evaporating into dust before them. She stares at the sight of him, and swallows dryly at what he says. It really puts them in a difficult place. So... She approaches the others.     "I'll tend to some of our wounds before we head further," she tells the others, as her head turns to view the open darkness that lays ahead of them.     Her pupils shrink and a chill climbs her spine as she remembers her deepest fears for a moment, and finds herself with the inescapable urge to push forward regardless of that. She hovers over to each wounded party member to provide some mystical first aid, to put people into at least a moderately combat ready state. Her magic glows a soft pink, white and red. She puffs and huffs as she finishes her work, because she's starting to feel exhausted already... But she can't stop now.     Not until she sees the end of the Black Queen. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Takes a powerful kick, if she still had a normach stomach? she'd likely have been hit so hard she'd throw up, she's sent back she's hurt though that has done some internal damage of some sort but she looks upon the combined assault and the terrible harvest that the Marjordomo reaps. She watches in the aftermath looking on and listening. "So we have no choice we're going onward then as he meets his end. There's no time for healing, time for repairs, maybe just time to reload and move on. Or Ainsley might be able to help some of them while they have time. "Right we can't wait for too long we need to see this through to the end." 
}}

5738/ICoT - A N(o)e(l)w(d) Day

2018-03-11T04:10:25Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/03/10 |Location=Caelondia |Synopsis=In a restored Caelondia, Elites track down Zulf with the help of Zia. |Cast of Characters=798, 673, 934, 4..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/03/10
|Location=Caelondia
|Synopsis=In a restored Caelondia, Elites track down Zulf with the help of Zia.
|Cast of Characters=798, 673, 934, 459, 7, 1094
|Tinyplot=In Case Of Trouble
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Caelondia, as it was.     The buildings of wood, brick, and brass tower above the party as they stride through the warpgate. No doubt it once hovered high in the sky upon a drifting rock, but the Restoration seems to have shifted the warpgates as well. Now, this one has settled in a public square, with a small building constructed arround it. Cael Marshals, noted by the badges upon their chests and large muskets across their backs. Their 'unificatioin' was met with resounding shrugs from the populace. Caelondia was always content to live and let live, and as long as the Multiverse did not bother them, they would not bother the Multiverse.     As such, everyone called here was only required to provide some manner of identification for the Marshals to jot down before being waved through. The people in the square eat, converse, laugh, live. No longer ashen corpses ruined by the terrible light of the Calamity. The sun beats down, no longer obscured by constant smoke and ash. It's a balmy sub-Mediterranean heat, like what one would experience in central Africa . The people's dress, all loose, flowing clothing in plain light colours is clearly designed in direct response to this. Most of them have dark skin, and all have some kind of fair hair. It goes from platinum blonde to tan brown, but the only ones with white hair like the Kid are the elderly.     But the Elites are not here to sightsee. They're here to meet Zia, who beckons to them from an alleyway. Upon approach, they could tell she's cleaned up. Fresh clothes, no grime on her face, clean hair... she almost looks like a different person. But there's a nervous energy to her, a look in her eyes as they flick around, making sure no one sees them together.     "Good to see you," she says. "I've managed to track down Zulf. Kid is likely at the wall, making him harder to meet, but we could probably try... who should we go for?" She was a regular citizen before this, and she clearly still seems out of her element. Little wonder she seeks advice here. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''     Rory is actually feeling rather regretful that her last exchange with The Kid was so negative. She wasn't so sure this Reset idea was such a great thing. Undo everything. EVERYTHING. Even leave people with no memories...     She's not sure about the moral ramifications of this. Not at all.     But one thing that the Kid told her has changed her entire viewpoint on the whole matter.     The Mancers engineered the whole thing outside of anyone's oversight. Nobody could have stopped them. Nobody knew what they were DOING!     This in and of itself is damning, but it means perhaps Caelondia isn't just another nation that made the same mistake as hers...     So she's here to save them, and the Ura, from whatever awaits.     And for that reason she's in her human guise, long hair (switched to brilliant golden-blonde, if blue isn't among the local genetics) swishing behind her and coat pockets full of more normal tools for the local tech level. Magnifying glasses and the like. She's intent on not standing out too badly.     Using her skyborne eyes she easily locates the meeting place with Zia and skitters down the alley the moment she's got a clear chance!     In this form, Rory's definitely more expressive. Worry's clear on her face but it's a childlike expression with little adult tempering.     "Likewise, Zia! ... I feel conflicted over the young man's choice to remain ignorant, but it should be respected unless we have no choice... though I defer to you on that matter. If you believe otherwise, then let's. But all we truly need to do is locate the superweapon and secure it, and convince the Mancers to abandon this plan. Then get the local governance to ensure better oversight. I'm certain Rucks can be convinced using the recordings of... the Calamity's aftermath." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Caelondia as it was is something of a staggering thing. A massive, sprawling city that seems to meander across a good portion of the landscape. Will has been to various metropolitan locales across the multiverse, so it's not as intimidating for the young country bumpkin as some other places, but it's still... Big. Very, very big. And very, very interesting. The technology they use is remarkable, as it was even before the calamity. Seeing it now, in its full glory, is even more so. But! They're not here to sightsee. Rather, they're on something of a time limit. Besides, he wants to see what the Mancers are hiding more than anything else right now. "Zia," Will calls as he steps into the alleyway. "You look..." Beat. He blinks. "Wow, you look real nice-- uh, but business first. I'm thinking we should probably pick up Zulf and then swing up to the Kid. That way we get the guy whose location we do know first. Save time that way." 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:'''     Identification is easy. Alexis just flips open her Pokedex to the Trainer ID scene, and that is that. These people seem content to go about their business, making it a wonder that they caused a word ending event.     But then again, these were normal civilians, with no idea what had happened and been undone, which is probably for the better. The super weapon can remain a secret, and unknown as they hopefully can prevent unwound history from repeating itself.     "Heh," Alexis chuckles to herself as she tucks the Dex back into a pocket while strolling towards the alley. "Long time since I've had to actually ID myself." It was actually kind of refreshing to be unknown after all these years.     But there would maybe be time for sightseeing later. "Hiya Zia... Wow, ya cleaned up really nice there, gal." And she's not really the sort to deal in appearance compliments. "It would probably be easier to find the Kid when he's not on duty," she muses, leaving hands tucked in the pockets of her hoodie. "That, and if Zulf knows about the thing and what it can do even in this reset, he might be easier to convince." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Seeing the city state alive again was something to behild she'll use her own Id to get though she's not pakcing weapons but her strange clothing and looks would stick out here. Still they got a job to do and the fate of two peoples to change if they can. She doesn't take time to sight see, no they are on a clock and she knows it. She does catch up with Zia and Rory quickly enough though. "Kids' on duty? Makes sense as for Zulf you found him too? You did good finding them or at least having an good idea of where they are." She then smiles. "It's good to see you Zia, I can respect it they trusted in us and as Zulf said he wanted to forget eveyrthing for a a spell. I can't unsee anything I have ever experianced and your right. I think Rucks would have a good chance to be conviced by that. I have my own memory recordings ready if needed." She grins at Alexis comment about needding ID but she now focuses on the planning as Will also arrives. "Right Will we need to figure out how to appaorch this and we don't have that much time, the clock's ticking." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Flamel Parsons, agent of a vague yet menacing government agency, has plenty of identification. All sorts of badges with ominous markings! He's got ones with eagles, ones with eyes, ones with pyramids, ones with pyramids that have eyes on them, one with a pyramid of eagles...     He mostly shows his Psychonauts identification and heads on through though. With wide eyes, he takes in the sights of Caelondia, seemingly relieved that everything, at least for a moment, has finally worked out. They're on a bit of a time limit, certainly, but... At the very least for now, things are okay. As long as the Great Conspiracy can be established and soon resolved, all this can be saved properly this time. Ever an optimist and ever one to look on the bright side and the positive side of things, Flamel Parsons strides on in, wearing something a little closer to a Mysterious Frontier Ranger's outfit, which is as close as he can get to the aesthetic of a Vague yet Menacing Government Agent in terms of Caelondian culture.     He adjusts his sunglasses at Zia as she speaks, appearing from invisibility in the alleyway just because that's what a Man in Black is supposed to be doing. "Glad seeing everything turned out okay mindwise for you! It was kinda seat-of-my-pants there for a while. Let me know if you've started remembering any unlives, past-lives, or you find any strange spelling on bear-related literature. The Kid is, well, still /technically/ needed for his membership in the Concord. It's probably best that I make sure the First gets one of her Partners back soon. I think we should leave him with his break for a bit though. I'm only good at tracking people who're sticking out in other people's minds anyway, and Zulf is probably going to be more memorable just for now."     "He's a diplomat, right? Is there an embassy or some place like that we can start at?" He says, jumping /right/ into the conspiratorial political intrigue of course. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     A lot of compliments are flung at Zia. She sniffs a little, and says, "Why, did I look like a Gasfella before?" She's being huffy, but her cheeks go a little pink. The broad consensus seems to be 'Zulf first,' drawing a nod from her. She points to Flamel, who has hit the nail on the head. "There is an Ura embassy, and that's where he works. But around this time, he'll go out to lunch. We can catch him then."     They set off, through the busy cobbled streets. Zia walks a few paces ahead at all times, trying to seem distant from the others. "Sorry," she whispers as they wait at a wagon crossing. "I think the Marshals might get twitchy seeing an Ura like me consorting with off-worlders." The road is cleared, and they find the embassy. Decked out in blue and gold cloths that make it sound out powerfully from the brass and tans of the City. They're just in time to see Zulf himself exit the front door.     He's smiling, in a way he never had before. No terse, wry grin that masks pain. No haunted look in his eye. No longer carrying himself like he has a foot in the grave already. Just an easy smile, all directed at the girl on his arm. Her skin is fair, for a Cael, and her hair is honey blonde. Her green eyes sparkle as they cross the road together, bound for a cafe across the way. "Oh... that must be..." Zia doesn't need to say it. He did say he lost someone important in the Calamity. The Ura in the know looks to everyone and says, "How do we do this? Should we wait until she leaves, or...?" 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis snickers softly. "No, but you look a lot better without the post-apocalyptic wasteland survivor style," she replies as she follows. Zia's right, not just in seeing an Ura with offworlders but too many of them clustering together might look suspicious.     Seeing Zulf look happy like that almost makes her feel guilty that they're going to pull him back into things. Almost. Because they're doing so to prevent what put him in such a craptastic attitude in the first place so it cancels out? Maybe.     While the others decide what to do next she leans against a wall, putting one hand to her forehead and muttering about the headache of temporal nonsense. How do people like Flamel put up with this sort of weirdness, for a living no less? She deals with enough crazy with just maniac clones, would-be masterminds and primordial forces of nature. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     "Hahaha, nah it's just. You know, you and the world just look happy, is all. Freshened up, you know? Ah, well," Will laughs and scratches sheepishly at his head. "I'm sure the Kid would come running the second he catches a glimpse of you, you know? If not just t' beat everyone else off with that hammer of his." But soon, and with understandable degrees of caution, they find their way to a... decidedly unfamiliar sight. Zulf, actually looking like everything is right in the world? What was it that he asked them for... A little time, wasn't it? A little time to enjoy the happiness that was so cruelly taken from him. Mmn. Well. Hopefully they don't need to worry about that this time around. But to be sure, they need as much time as possible. And so Will tilts his hat down ever so slightly and steps out of the alleyway. "S'ceuse me, Ambassador Zulf?" Will asks with a friendly grin, "Sorry, I checked fer you at the embassy but you weren't there. Are you uh. Are you busy?" He glances at the woman at his arm and smiles, "Just some interest in the multiverse about the Ura and your role in the city, you see. It'd only take a moment of your time...?" 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''     "Oh..." Rory's quiet, following Zia's lead. So they'll be retrieving Zulf first! But as soon as the group reaches new view of Zulf and his... lover? By the cafe...     Well, Rory's expression turns neutral. No doubt she's not FEELING neutral, but she's not so good at keeping her expressions consistent when her thoughts turn inwards.     "Romance. I do not understand most of the data I've collected on it. But losing someone you know well. That pain I know all too well. I see why he was so stressed." She softly exclaims.     This just redoubles her will to see the Calamity nipped in the bud.     "If they're a couple, they will likely return to the same dwelling together. Getting him alone may not happen. Unless we request an audience--"     THough there goes Will taking action before they can even wait much. So, with that happening, she steps out after Will, whom she seems comfortable hanging with!     And by now manages a smile. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa gets the idea with Zia notes she shouldn't hang out with them when they do this. She understandf she sees Zulf's happy, and her heat sinks about what they are going to have to do. She looks at the woman with him and they seem quite happy. Now she understands more he wanted to be happy for a a ahile with her. She thinks abotu she's going to wiat to let Zulf have this last moment at lest for now. Then William goes in and whelp it's time to act she keeps it cool though as William is going in so she'll hold back with Alexis for the moment as she doesn't wnt to overwhelm zulf, but it's clear she is keeping an eye on him and the coverstation for the moment. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Flamel Parsons has no trouble accepting acts of subtlety. He gives a quick wink to Zia and keeps his distance, activating a network of telepathic communication with himself as the relay. "Hey, no problem! I mean, I'd love for us to all get a big dark room with a wide table and direct-overhead lights for us to talk over, but the rent for those is crazy!" He says, over telepathic comms. And then he approaches Zulf, and... Then he recognizes her! She's the one who he recalls from the landscape of Zulf's mind. Her!     "Oh! Zulf!" He says, as he wanders nearer. "And it's-- I'm sorry, I never got her name from you, now that I think of it. You have no idea how good it is to see you two in good health!" He introduces himself to her, with the implied impression that Zulf already knows him. "Pleasure to finally meet you, ma'am, I'm Agent Parsons. Zulf thinks so highly of you, I've been looking forward to this for a long time!" What social maneuver IS this even? Back to Zulf. "This actually might take more than just a moment. There's a bit of an urgent matter that we need to talk to you about, though more a matter of days than hours. We're hoping to head off and calm down some risky tensions and misunderstandings that are rising before they get to conflict, and we think you're the perfect man for the job, especially with your history." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Will goes right in, as he does. The Cael girl seems a little put-off as he asks him about work things. Both of them look terribly confused when Flamel acts extremely friendly. Zulf especially looks confusing, not recalling someone as... eccentric as Flamel. "We're having lunch, so if you don't mind-" the fiancée begins, but Zulf raises a hand to her, a patient smile on his face.     "It's fine dear. I'll take an extra-long lunch to make up for it." She pouts terribly, and gives Will a long look before nodding. Zulf gives her a thankful nod before rising and walking a distance away with the Elites.     "So, how may I help? I'll be honest, if you want to learn more of the Ura, you would be best meeting with them in the Terminals. Though I suppose it's a bit rough out there. I could supply you with a map, Mister?..." He looks to everyone, and his forehead furrows for a moment, a brief spark of recognition in his eyes.     Zia meanwhile, hangs back with Alexis. A native-born Ura like her talking with the Ura diplomat would certainly raise flags. As their attention is elsewhere, they might notice some activity in the surrounding alleys. People in tan cloaks that cover their whole form, skulking, leaning against the walls to camoflage themselves. Zia gasps softly. "Gravers," she whispers as well as thinks across the telepathic network, jerking her head at one as she looks to the Pokemon trainer. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Look, nobody ever got anywhere by just SITTING AROUND AND WAITING. Jump into the mouth of danger, turn two stars to the left and head straight on till morning! That's how a proper Chaser does it. Will laughs disarmingly, "Sorry miss! I promise we won't keep your beau from you fer too long. Right this way, sir--" Oh! Good, he has other people following him into peril. And out of peril, at least temporarily. "Pauwel," he says to Zulf in a hushed whisper while maintaining that cheerful grin. He's gotten good at this covert conversation thing. "William Pauwel, gunslinger. I'm here to save your life." Beat. "Or rather, /we're/ here to save /her/ life," he glances subtly toward the woman they left behind. "And those of everyone in this town." A pause. Gravers nearby? Weren't those the... Assassins? "Looks like we're being watched so I'll be quick. Will you help us stop this calamity, Zulf?" 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis nods as Zia is thinking the same thing, that they shouldn't all congest around Zulf for various reasons. She maintains her casual lean against the wall as Zia whispers and glances aside without moving her head too much in the indicated direction. "Not surprised we'd catch their attention," she whispers back, recalling what the Kid and Rucks had told them before about the different groups that had operated in the city. "Just to make sure strangers don't try nuttin' weird." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is chilling with Alexis and Zia for the moment and now she wishes she'd brought her optic cameo with her, but given what they were up to tramping around in strange armour, wouldn't have been something that woudl go over easy with the Marshals. She gives Zia and Alexis a nod as she doesn't act hostilke she tilts her head to Alexis and humms. "Nothing unexpected really, right?" She pulls a candy bar out and starts to much it after removing the wrapper. She'll offer one to Zia and Alexis as well, something called Coffee Crisp if thelable is noted. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Normally, I would be sort of subtle and, you know, very vague and cryptic for protocol's sake. We actually already know a lot about the Ura, we're trying to head off a bit of a disaster. You're one of the few folks who can save a whoooole lot of lives if we do this right!" Parsons says, still as cheerful as ever. "We have some people trying to keep you safe, and keep her safe. Boy you wouldn't /believe/ the work we put into that actually! There's a guy you have to meet who spent more effort on that than I think any of us, but we're needing to chat with him later." He's already spinning up his mental energy to project a barrier where necessary.     "Let's do this at your pace though! Once you're safe we can get plenty of questions figured out. Do you want to head somewhere safe that you know, head somewhere we know is safe, or deal with the risks here? You're being followed and I think they might try to do some dangerous stuff!" As ever, though, the psychonaut is... Almost exclusively concerned with mental wellbeing. He's doing his best to avoid Zulf being overwhelmed and feeling a loss of control, and thus making sure to avoid forcing the situation on him with a loss of his own control. And the embassy might be a safe place to head too! 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''     This Telepathic link through Flamel is most disorienting for Rory. It's strange having a method of I/O that she can't describe in terms of ports and sockets and mappings. But the message about the Gravers alarms her, and so she decides to signal one of her drones to survey the situation.     Said drone is not one of the stands-out-like-a-sore-thumb saucers, but instead a songbird that flits around between perches on buildings using its array of cameras to keep a bead on as many of the skulking Gravers as possible. Its AI shall do its best to keep track of them through infrared and other tricks so Rory can keep them properly tagged on her overview HUD.     <"Noticed. I shall keep them under covert surveillance and be ready to intercept. Hopefully they will take no action unless we do something that is overtly threatening to their interests."> She attempts to send back over the link. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     A lot of things are being thrown at Zulf right now. A calamity, the death of his fiance, how he's one of the only ones who can stop it. Though happier now, he always did have a bit of an explosive temper. "Are you threatening me?" he asks, his face fixing into a scowl. "I don't appreciate any of this. You think because I'm an Ura, I would let Caelondia be destroyed by off-world bullies like you?"     The Gravers see his aggravation. Though none move in, hands drift under those cloaks, no doubt resting on the hilts of the vicious blades the Kid himself used.     "You had better start making sense, or else I'll report you all." Over at the cafe, the SO is looking at Zulf's hunched shoulders, his angry energy, and starts to rise, to join him. This is going bad, fast. 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis accepts the offered candy from Kotone and unwraps it, maintaining the casual act even as she's mentally sighing at the turn of events. "Maybe going directly to him wasn't the best idea," she murmurs, taking a bite out of the candy bar. "Hindsight, 50/50, so on." They saw what the Kid learned to do with those machetes. She doesn't want to first hand find out what the Gravers themselves could do. She reachs over to put a hand on Zia's shoulder. "We might have to back off and reconsider a different approach." No battle is won on the first turn. Though she's also making sure Zia doesn't try to jump in and unintentionally make matters even more of a tangle than they're already becoming. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Of course it wouldn't be so easy as just going up to the guy and telling him straight up that the world's a few days off from ending. Will sighs and rubs at his neck. "No, no you got it all wrong. Look, I know it's hard to believe, but we're here to help. What's going to happen, it's not from the outside. It's from in. I promise, we're not here to do anything but help." "We need your help. You, specifically, because what's going to happen-- we can try to fix that, but people's hearts are another thing," Will says, his hands hooking into his pockets. "But you. You're the one who can build that bridge. I swear t' all the gods of the pantheon, I speak th' truth. We knew each other once. I know you're a good man. One of the strongest spirits I've known. We might be able to prove it, too, that you're one of the few who can help save this city." "Parsons," he says, looking at the Super Secret Agent, "You uh. Still have that list he wrote?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is savouring he candy bay she's just not doing much if anything to seem liek she's mixed up in this, how they go talk to Rucks and the kid thoough? They need to keep it quieter smoother. She doesn't blame Zulf for being cheesed off. He doesn't recall things and she can't fault him either for it. She looks back to Alexis nodding. "It should be taken in to considerion for making friends later." She looks to Zia as well nodding in agreement. "Looks like we might." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Huh? --Oh! Oh, I get it. No no, here, quick rundown!" Parsons says, making wavy motions. "Sorry, I'm really used to being cryptic and vaguely menacing, sorry. See, what's happening is, we actually owe a lot of favors to you, is the thing! You helped us out with a lot of stuff. We know you want to stop bad stuff from happening and we're trying to work together to stop them. They'll be happening if we /don't/ do our work, is the thing."     "Man, now I'm really seeing why weird conspiratorial agendas make sure to never try to explain everything or talk to people. Uhhhhhh... Basically, we know for sure that some bad stuff will happen in the future if we don't try to stop it, and we know that working with you would help it stop much more easily, and we know that you'd want to be stopping the same bad stuff we want to stop. And we owe you a lot of favors on top of that! Well, except for the thing you broke the one time, but you were dealing with some emotional things and I definitely don't blame you, considering the circumstances-- Look, time things are involved, very Mancer-like stuff."     "I'm not here to force anything on you, I'm just trying to make sure what you want gets done even though you don't know all the information right now, you know? We need your help and we want to help you, and we know at least that you're someone who wants the mess of Cael-Ura tensions to ease back. You're one of those few people we know for sure isn't just talk about that sort of thing." Parsons makes a plaintive, wide-palmed gesture. "If you want, we could try to just write it down in a pamphlet and let you read it on your own time, but that would probably compromise a lot more secrecy than I think you'd want to have. Please?" He actually takes a moment to remove his sunglasses and bare his much more youthful eyes. "Look, I mean, I'm actually specifically trying here to /not/ be vague and menacing, and I think I'm having a lot of trouble with it. So, um, sorry, I'm probably stressing you out when I don't mean to do that at all. But, there's lives at stake but we're trying to work together with you and protect them."     "We don't have a ton of time, but we do have, I think, days at least. And there's not a lot of people we can trust besides you. How do /you/ want us to handle it? I think you'll want the explanation in secret, so just tell us how you'd want it all dealt with." William actually suggests something very relevant. "Oh, right! The note! You wrote this for us, under some weird circumstances, when we were working together." Parsons takes out the list and unfolds it, baring it to Zulf for a moment. "It's-- Uh, it's your handwriting because of some time things. A list of a couple points of tension we need to look into and calm down." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Zia gives Alexis a single, terse nod. Though cleaner, she is not as happy as Zulf to be back, not by a long-shot. She's been on-edge the whole time, and it's only getting worse as the Gravers prepare for a fight. "Yeah, let's go," she says, quickly starting to walk away.     And then the paper is produced.     The long talks have him baffled. Knowing of future events, speaking of Cael-Ura relations as off-worlders, knowing of the Pantheon, the Mancers... and then the paper is procured. He takes it and reads it, frowning. "This is my handwriting... but I..." His brow is proper furrowed, and he looks around at everyone. Seeing Zia trying to leave... but his SO taps his shoulder. "Everything okay dear?"     Immediately, he is all smiles. "Oh yes, just a spot of office bother. I'll deal with it after lunch. Be with you in a moment!" She nods, still looking slightly uncertain, and goes back to the cafe. Zulf looks to everyone seriously. "Get your 'other man' and meet me on the Sundown Path at quarter past five. I'll wait there every day for five minutes. Don't be late."     And with that, he thrusts the paper back at Flamel, forcefully, and strides back to the cafe. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''     Rory steps forwards, herself having a difficult time parsing what Flamel was just ranting about. She doesn't much want to risk losing any attention on the Gravers, but she decides to speak up, although quietly.     "If you know of the Multiverse's nature already, then I will say it simply. There was another world divergent from this one. A terrible superweapon was unleashed there, not long in the future. We seek to investigate and prevent that disaster in this world, but we need help. It's either the proper approach through the right channels, or the emergency approach that could be a diplomatic disaster. Time is limited. Please help us, Zulf."     The explanation is... not exactly a lie, but not the whole truth either, huh? 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis pushes herself off the wall to walk away with Zia, though she does pause a moment as things seem to calm down around Zulf and the others. She nods and starts walking again, lowering her voice so just Zia and Kotone (if she follows them) can hear. "Sounds like they're working something out. But if we stop now it'll look suspicious. We'll meet the others to fill us in later." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is getting up with Zia as she moves to walk away she finishes her candy bar, she moves her wrapper into a pcoekt. Then walks afte rAleix and Zia thinking as she goes. "Does and if they are no need to make more of a scene? We'll have to catch up later." She looks to Zia concerned but asking how she is might best wait till they are a bit more away from things. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Sure stuff, Zulf! Thanks for the help!" Parsons takes the paper back, and then waves happily! "Sorry again about the weirdness!" He lets out a breath of relief. "Phew. I knew everything could turn out well! That was a close shave. I need to get more practice being less vague yet menacing. That was a really good idea, William, thanks for suggesting it!" He slips his sunglasses on and gives the boy a thumbs-up. "Probably saved my bacon there. Anyway, looks like that's about dealt with! We need to go get the Kid too, though. I..."     He stops a moment. And then puts his hand on his chin in a look of consternation. "Um. I don't have any records with his name on them. So finding him will beeeeee... Hhhhh... That'll be hard, actually. I just realized that. Um, hmm. I really should have asked for that before time turned upside down. Or just... in general, at any point." He plants both hands on his hips and laughs awkwardly. "Boy I really feel silly as hell right now. I bet Zia knows! We'll figure it out."     Then he checks around with a combination of Clairvoyance and astral projection to gently examine the surface-activity of minds around him, trying to scope out how the hostility of those Gravers is feeling. Going down? Going up? How are things? Are they going to have to lose a tail? They might need to do that before they head to The Kid, if that's even an option in terms of the difficulty of locating him today. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     Will exhales, the tension flooding out of his body. "Thanks, Zulf," he says with a tired smile. "We'll be there, promise. Just you wait and see. We'll see you in a little bit." Well. That was almost a disaster. Will turns and walks off after the others-- but Flamel has a point. "It's fine, I'm just glad I remembered we had that thing," he laughs, giving the Secret Agent a firm pat on the back, "But you've said something important there. We don't... Really know much about the Kid, do we?" ... "You don't suppose that the Concord has any dossiers on him, do they? A real name, maybe? I mean, worst case we do know what he looks like. It's just... Finding the guy in this maze of a city'll be rough." 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:'''     Hoping that her message wasn't overheard by anyone - she tried to shape it straight at Zulf - Rory decides to withdraw with her fellows at this point, giving Zulf a little bow.     That little bird drone will tag the Gravers indefinitely though, unless they disperse. At which point it will enter standby on a rooftop somewhere out of sight and await Rory's return. 
}}

Black Queen's Message (Janine Liberi)

2018-03-09T13:21:46Z

Blaze:

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2018/03/10
|Location=Alberichstadt
|Synopsis=Adelle Kaufmann dreams. The Black Queen plans.
|Cast of Characters=909
|Tinyplot=Persona: Were the World Mine-1
}}

Those meddlesome children...

They impinge upon our palace...

Slay our Court...

And bring all our plans to a halt...

Only the Majordomo remains...

Shall he prove himself where all others have failed?

Or will these vermin warrant our personal attention?

Oh...

As for you who are watching...

Do not get in our way...

Adelle Kaufmann jerks awake in her bed, her sheets soaked with sweat. Another example of the recurring dream she's been suffering from of late. A cold, harsh voice, like nails down a pane of glass, speaking from within bottomless shadow. Never to her, except at the end where she is suddenly noticed and startled awake.

The heel of her hand rubs at her eye as another drifts to her bedside table, where many sheets of anti-nausea medication rest. She pops two, and downs them both with a long drink of lukewarm water before crawling back under her clammy covers.

What's happening to her?...

Black Queen's Message (Janine Liberi)

2018-03-09T13:19:53Z

Blaze:

Black Queen's Message (Janine Liberi)

2018-03-09T13:16:10Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2018/03/10 |Location=Alberichstadt |Synopsis=Adelle Kaufmann dreams. The Black Queen plans. |Cast of Characters=909 |Tinyplot=Persona: Were th..."

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2018/03/10
|Location=Alberichstadt
|Synopsis=Adelle Kaufmann dreams. The Black Queen plans.
|Cast of Characters=909
|Tinyplot=Persona: Were the World Mine-1
}}

{{font color | purple | Those meddlesome children...}}

{{font color | purple | They impinge upon our palace...}}

{{font color | purple | Slay our Court...}}

{{font color | purple | And bring all our plans to a halt...}}

{{font color | purple | Only the Majordomo remains...}}

{{font color | purple | Shall he prove himself where all others have failed?}}

{{font color | purple | Or will these vermin warrant our personal attention?}}

{{font color | purple | Oh...}}

{{font color | purple | As for you who are watching...}}

{{font color | purple | Do not get in our way...}}

Adelle Kaufmann jerks awake in her bed, her sheets soaked with sweat. Another example of the recurring dream she's been suffering from of late. A cold, harsh voice, like nails down a pane of glass, speaking from within bottomless shadow. Never to her, except at the end where she is suddenly noticed and startled awake.

The heel of her hand rubs at her eye as another drifts to her bedside table, where many sheets of anti-nausea medication rest. She pops two, and downs them both with a long drink of lukewarm water before crawling back under her clammy covers.

What's happening to her?...

5731/Coal-Raker

2018-03-04T04:56:03Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2018/03/04 |Location=The Mirror Forest |Synopsis=Die Reisende draws ever closer to the Black Queen, so the rest of the Court bands together to deal..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2018/03/04
|Location=The Mirror Forest
|Synopsis=Die Reisende draws ever closer to the Black Queen, so the rest of the Court bands together to deal with them.
|Cast of Characters=909, 290, 714, 385, 999, 894, 7
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Black Queen's Castle has gone from nebulously dreadful and ominous, like a dark cave, to callously malicious, like a cancerous tumor. Navigating from the entrance, to the forge, to the hall in which the Piper fell is much more treacherous, given the dense amount of Shadows that wander them, establishing guard positions around the entrances and exits.     But minor Shadows such as these are little threat to Die Reisdende now. All their tricks have been seen before, and advancing with any amount of caution would allow them to regain their progress with no damage.     "Stay frosty. We clearly got them mad," Janine says. She looks her usual apathetic self, but there's a slight lift to the corners of her mouth. The death of the Piper has granted her a slight amount of peace and resolution to what happened to her family. She hasn't lashed out at someone verbally even once today!     But from here, the resistance becomes even denser. The smoked glass that makes up the structure has become darker, and coated in a thin layer of frost, drawing foggy breath from everyone as they battle their way through. Concerning, the forces have now been augmented with machines. The Blacksmith is still around, and still contributing to the efforts.     But even worse, Die Reisende cannot shake the sense that they are being watched. Like something is always just out of sight, watching. Waiting. It's almost a relief when they reach a new locale, no longer surrounded by so much glass. A bridge that stretches above a pit of glass spikes far below. The emptiness on both sides and above stretched beyond sight, making it unclear if this is actually outside or enclosed.     It's a single path, with no enemies. It reeks of a trap, but nothing immediately makes itself evident. Now what? 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Sometimes, things really tend to go from bad to worse. Especially in the case of the Black Queen's Castle, where things have really taken a turn for the worst in Rebecca's opinion. But she's not deterred in the least bit from going in, especially since she now has an above-average grasp of how things work here and how to deal with them. After a while, you get used to it all and it becomes second nature to you. Even the Shadows no longer bother Rebecca. They're nothing more than annoying little bugs in her opinion. Not even worth swatting or trying to shoo away. Rebecca just ignores them entirely, albeit ensuring none are getting in her way or trying to stop her. "That's my main rule when I'm out in the field," Rebecca replies to Janine understandingly. Unlike Janine, Rebecca has no signs of a smile on her face. In fact, her lips are curved into a slight frown instead, with her eyebrows slightly curled into a scowl. Indeed, there is a sense that Rebecca is being watched, or at least feels like it. She doesn't glance around trying to see who might be watching her, but instead focuses on the task at hand. "It's no use getting paranoid right now, Becky," Rebecca whispers to herself. "You've got to keep your mind steady!" When the bridge comes into view, Rebecca stops almost immediately. A straight path with no enemies isn't just an easy path forward in her opinion. It definitely reeks of a trap or possibly an ambush. "Be careful!" Rebecca says to the others. "I don't like this one bit! Whoever put this here must be planning something sinister..." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      "Good. Madder they are, easier it'll be for us to get 'em to come to us." Sanary grins confidently as she marches along, giant axe slung over one shoulder and staff held loosely under the other. The healer's been a bit of a lazy lump lately (again), but news of the assault on the Black Queen's Castle has drawn her out of her safe haven once more.      Does she know what these Shadows are? Not really. She's got some inklings from what she's been told, sure, but the more nuanced psychological aspects still haven't gotten quite through to her even after fighting for so long. All she knws is that her friends need some extra muscle and healing, and she's more than willing to oblige. "It'll be fine. We just stick to the plan, and..." She glances over at Janine, then at Rebecca before turning back to the big nothing surrounding the bridge and the spike pit.      Ominous. "... Do we have a plan? Anyway... Uh. I'll take point. If anything comes, I can take the hit. Just watch my back, alright?" After laughing confidently and making sure her anklets are secured, Sanary begins marching forward again to start crossing the bridge, come what may. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' While Yuna wasn't able to get away from other obligations for the battle with the Piper, she's here today, and seems determined to make up for her absence. She's in Powered Form, supplementing the Matrix Divider with the larger battlesuit's beam cannons if they should be needed; Elner flits along next to her, the robo-faerie's sensors working to sift out useful bits of data from the environment around Die Reisende. Erina and Marina are present as well, ready in case Yuna needs to shift to Flight Form or Marine Form in a pinch. And at the sight of the bridge over the pit of spikes, Yuna finds herself wondering if Flight Form might be a better idea for the next stretch. Admittedly, it's not like she needs to trust her armored weight to that expanse - she could revert to the basic Light Suit, if nothing else, and even Jiina can fly about on her own - but it's a definite choke point, if not an outright trap. "Elner, Marina, scout ahead," Yuna stage-whispers to the two constructs. "Erina, stay here for now - if I have to shift modes, you're up." And with that, the little robo-faerie flits ahead, practically flying underneath the bridge rather than along it and running a full scan of the area: above, below, to the sides, everything Elner's sensors can pick up on. Marina is slower and more subdued, walking along with Sanary while remaining attentive to the surface beneath her feet ... even if her feet aren't quite actually touching it. If either of them run into anything unexpected, or if contact with Yuna is interrupted by any kind of interference, they'll be returning to Yuna's position as quickly as they can - ideally, teleporting, if Elner can do so. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Such cautious, tactical movement is, of course, second-nature to Emily Branford. With a sidearm in her left hand, and Strands in her right, the butler is definitely taking things seriously; and whichever hand she wields, the resultant sound is a gunshot-loud crack that will prove deadly to whatever Shadow is on the other end. "Couldn't imagine why," she replies to Janine, amused. But her expression quickly grows serious again as they proceed, especially with the greater resistance. Not to mention... "I can't shake the feeling we've eyes on us," she observes. "On your guards for ambush." Better to say such things aloud and focus everyone's thoughts on them; leaving it unspoken and ambiguous could make the difference in reaction times.     She's also watching Yuna's scouts like a hawk; if there's any danger here beyond the obvious, they've got a solid chance of spotting it... or at least stumbling into it. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Every incursion was one more than August Kohler wish they had to go, but last time, the rest of the group had taken out the Pied Piper. One more Shadow dead was always a good thing. The redhead had a pistol and knife at his side, a reflective bracelet on his wrist, and was also pretty quiet as they cut through the Shadows in their path. But the resistance becomes denser. The pieces of machine that crumble as the Shadows fall lead to August gritting his teeth. How much stronger were they? How much more do they have? "Something's wrong. Watch yourselves." August finally speaks up, as he stops only for several seconds at the bridge. "They're absolutely waiting for us. Let's get this over with. Either it crumbles under our feet, they surround it, or they come from above. Let's go." He moved behind Sanary, sticking close as his hand fell to his gun. August hoped it was a trap, because the sooner they showed themselves, the sooner he could shoot them. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Once more they have to press into the black castle, this is not over yet, it's far form it even with finding the queen's lair. Kotone is ready and forming up as Janine gives very wise advice and isn't even being snarky about it. That shows how serious it today too, Kotone. She's suited up ready for trouble and is armed fairly heavily today too, given what's in the MM unit on her hip. She cradle her SMG and moves on ahead cloaking, it's a trap she's certain and she better go spring it, as she's easier to put back together than most of the other people here, in her own world view. <<Kotone here I'm scouting ahead now>> Hopefully she can take the brunt of whatever is awaiting them down the path. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The bridge stands before them like unspoken bad news. Sanary, August and Kotone's initial steps onto it trip no traps. As Yuna's two fairies fly beneath the bridge to scout the area, they may notice that the underside is far far darker than it should be. But that does not hold true for long. A pair of yellow lights appear from the gloom. Then three more pairs. Then eight more. Ten of those lights suddenly erupt in lasers, aiming to cut the two down!     The attacker giggles, a sound that is echoed tinnily from multiple sources, before they all clamber atop the bridge to face Die Reisende. Those ten laser sources are all machine Shadows with squat forms, small legs, and large arms, built like disproportionate gorillas. However, that eleventh pair of eyes is a familiar sight. With her curly hair, big warty cheeks, and large flag bearing the emblem of the Black Queen's Court. It's the Standard-Bearer, and it seems she's found a new group to attach to with those umbilical cords, which now attach to these machines, the flesh partly mechanized.     "I told you I'd be baa~ck," she says, her tone slightly dazed, her eyes looking in two directions. "The Blacksmith gave me these darlings. Unlike normal Shadows, they'll never let me down. He promised they wouldn't, said that nothing was more reliable than something he~e built." In spite of all of that, her bloodied state and torn clothes suggest this might not have been entirely voluntary. ==============================HANGED MAN REVERSED=============================== --------------------------MANIFESTATION OF REFLECTION---------------------------                   THE STANDARD-BEARER WHO STANDS ABOVE OTHERS                                   SHE WHOSE STANDALONE STRENGTH IS THAT OF OTHERS                 -------------------------------PREPARE FOR BATTLE------------------------------- ======================================XII=======================================     One of the robo-gorillas picks her up as the others all rush in on Die Reisdende, swinging hard with their big iron arms, pounding at the bridge with all their strength! A couple leap, and come down from above to cut off their exit also, as well as grab at anyone who stayed back and try to launch them at their own comrades. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' There was something wrong with that bridge right from the start. Rebecca could sense it within her gut. Hence the reason she chose to stay back and draw her Magnum (her Beretta holds more bullets, yes, but it's less powerful,) while loading a clip into it. While Sanary, August, and Kotone are stepping onto it, Rebecca approaches cautiously from behind, her Magnum at the ready in case an enemy ambushes them. At first it seems to be OK... Then someone turns on the lights, and unfortunately Rebecca's not happy about that! She knows it's a sign of trouble in a situation like this. When the lasers appear, Rebecca jumps backwards, gasping a little. "I knew it!!" Rebecca yells out. "It was a trap!" Then there's the sound of giggling and Rebecca's face contorts into a deep scowl. "So, it looks like someone was truly waiting for us after all!" The Shadows appearing don't faze Rebecca in the least bit, but the Standard-Bearer does make Rebecca's eyes go wide. Especially the freaky way she's attached those umbilical cords. Once the shock passes, Rebecca shakes her head and scowls again. "You made a mistake returning to us!" The medic snaps. "We've battled other strange things here, so don't think you're gonna stop us at all!" Of course, saying it and doing it are two different things, as Rebecca finds out the hard way. Before she can even react, one of the robo-gorillas grabs her, causing her to cry out rather loudly. "Put me down!" Rebecca yells, and unfortunately, she finds herself being launched in the direction of the others. Who she'll hit is anyone's guess, although hopefully they will get out of the way in time. Rebecca doesn't want to use one of her allies as a cushion! 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' As soon as the lasers fly, Elner simply *stops being there* - disappearing in a blink of light, reappearing at Yuna's side. Marina disappears as well, but just a split-second slower, vanishing and rematerializing ... Right in time for Yuna and Erina to be grabbed and flung at their allies who forged on ahead. Elner is, thankfully, too tiny to be easily grabbed; Marina isn't so lucky, and while she's still getting her bearings, the second of Yuna's android doubles follows after the first. As for the third? Yuna's tumbling too much to try and brake her flight with Powered Form's hover-thrusters ... so rather than plowing into anyone with Powered Form's mass and bulk, she disengages the combination while in mid-air, trusting - however ironically - that the mechanical gorillas actually aimed her *at* her allies and that she's not going to go plummeting into the spikes. Or whatever had those eyes. And as luck would have it, Yuna bowls right into August - whether his back, or his side, or whatever. (It's only the second most-embarassing moment she's ever had in August's presence, although the first most embarassing will never be spoken of.) "Sorry," the battlesuited blonde groans in apology as she scrambles back to her feet - and if August got knocked down, she offers him a hand back up as well. "Okay, so ... um. Erina, I could use wings and mobility. Jiina, Marina, support fire. Let's work on her 'darlings,' shall we?" "Assuming we don't get tossed around again or lasered out of the air," Jiina quips as she produces her beam cannon, and starts flying around erratically, taking pot shots at the laser-eyed Shadowbots. Marina actually stays above the bridge, using it for cover, and lets her mini-torpedoes arc around the sides of the walkway before rocketing at the Blacksmith-built minions. And once Yuna's transformation to Flight Form is complete, she folows Jiina's lead - focusing on evasive maneuvers first and foremost, and assailing the minions with barrages from her pulse blasters. If she gets a chance to focus fire on one of those 'umbilical cords,' linking the Standard-Bearer to her laser-eyed minions, Yuna will see what happens when one gets detached .. but she'd rather disable the minions themselves. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     And there it is. Without so much as skipping a beat, Emily lifts up her pistol and straight-up empties the magazine at the Standard-Bearer. She drops the magazine immediately, but doesn't bother to reload; she and the others are very shortly going to be dealing with a simian problem from right up-close. "Good heavens. By the look of you, I'd say you didn't quite come back all the way," she quips, already spinning around to deal with the approaching Shadows.     One of them greets her with a huge, grabbing hand; and her response is to simply hop out of the way, almost dancelike. The hand closes on a space full of almost nothing but empty air... almost. It's also full of a snapping whip, fully capable of inflicting a vicious cut, or perhaps even severing fingers entirely - and that's just the first crack. Two more quickly follow, these aimed at a shoulder and the Shadow's face. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Glancing from side to side at each of her companions, Sanary finds herself reinvigorated for the battle ahead! She's not too concerned about the possibility of getting hit with the brunt of whatever comes, although she does brace occasionally just on the off-chance one of those bracing attempts actually keeps her protected.      In retrospect, bringing a shield would have been a good idea. At least her axe is big.      With the sound of giggling coming from up ahead and the sight of way too many lasers, Sanary readies her axe in front of her and channels energy into her staff while staring down the path at the giant robot...      What are those, anyway? The axe wielder isn't all that familiar with gorillas, but judging from their size? They're probably meant to be the muscle.      After directing some healing magic towards Yuna, August, and Rebecca to try and take some of the edge off being thrown, she opts to meet the challenge head on! Axe meets fist, and...      ... Sanary gets knocked back a far way from the force of the blow. "Ggh...! Oh, these hit /hard/!" Soundng a bit too forced in pretending to be excited, she nearly tumbles over from getting launched backwards. Before she can fall, however, Sanary stomps once to right herself before charging forward again. Once she's back in range, she starts shouting and swining her axe at the gorillas like a madwoman! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa does not trigger any traps, nothing at first she keeps moving but she's cautious she notices the lights, more and more and then comes the freaking lasers. Kotone is fast, she can only respond so fast though, given she's dealing with something going at the speed of light. She's caught by pure volume of fire and she's goes skidding across the floor as her cloak flickers form the damage. She hears the voice as she rises in a fair bit of pain. "YOU!!" is the first thing out of Kotone's mouth. She's back on her feet and she's already opening fire on one of the big primate like shadows with her weapon. "Here we go!" She's taken a hit early on, this is bad, very bad she thinks she's already been hit thus the next hit will come far easier and so forth... 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August knew something would happen, and he can't wait. As the lasers slam out, the mirrored bracelet is moving up to eye level, with a shout. "Tin Soldier, to me!" Though it's not the best timing - while the robotic soldier is summoned, August is sent flying back, catching himself and stumbling on his feet as he breaks the throw, when Yuna comes slamming into his side, toppling him fully off balance. "Nngh. No problem." Taking Yuna's hand to rise back up to his feet, August taking a breath, aided by Sanary's healing in getting back up to speed. That was awkward, but for right now, he needs to fight. The Tin Soldier's rifle is levelled at one of the gorilla robots, moving to fire a heavy rain of bullets into it, spinning around to hit another and another if at all possible. "And here I was hoping we'd never see you again." The Standard-Bearer gets in response. "What happened to you? You look all sorts of fucked up, and not in the normal Shadow way. Been drinking away your sorrows or something?" 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Janine had rushed in the moment the Standard-Bearer appeared, and so is bowled over by Rebecca. "Get the hell off me!" she screams, her whole body tensing from the pain of landing on her arm. The girl thrashes, attempting to dislodge Rebecca from her.     Yuna assails the robots with her lasers, taking every chance to snipe at the umbilical cords. It makes sense, during the last battle it resulted in the Shadows losing cohesion. Her aim is true, and one is severed. The gorilla it was attached to immediately powers down. Before exploding violently, sending out a massive shockwave and making the bridge crack and tremble. NINE REMAINING     Emily empties a clip at the Standard-Bearer, who just giggles absently and deflects them with her flag. The butler then squares up against one of the gorillas, dodging its grab and slicing at it with sharp whip cracks. The Blacksmith has some good wares, but everything loses a little something when it's mass-produced. She cleaves through the metal exterior and severs something important, making the arm go limp and carving the blank face open. It stares down at her before its yellow eyes flash, attempting to laser her point-blank!     Sanary takes some swings at one of them, her heavy weapon carving great gouges in the opponent. Internals are wrecked, but in getting so close, she leaves herself open. Her opponent then attempts to grab her up in a bear hug, squeezing as hard as it can to start breaking things!     Kotone's shots drum against the gorilla's back, causing it to turn about and glower at her. It then reaches out, and pulls a handful of the bridge's railings free, causing cracks to spider-web from it. It then lobs the chunk at the wounded Kotone!     The Standard-Bearer coos at August. "Are you worried about me~? Don't worry, I'm fine. The Blacksmith is so nice, he didn't even yell at me when I failed~ Not even when I screamed and begged that he stop this. So nice..." The gorillas that the Tin Soldier fires at stagger back from the impacts. One of them tips and begins to fall from the bridge, but in an instant, it grabs its own umbilical cord to whip it, trying to loop it around the German's leg and pull him down with it!     Concerningly, the door is starting to close now. If it finished, the group will be fully stranded on the now-damaged bridge! 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Unfortunately, Rebecca had no idea that she was going to be landing on Janine. To be honest, Rebecca does hurt quite a bit, since being thrown like that can be done with quite a bit of force, and that force leads to some great pain. Of course, Janine's the one who suffers even more, and when she hears Janine crying out for Rebecca to get off of her, the medic wastes no time in rolling forwards and getting onto her feet... then realizing that she bruised her right hip when she landed. Fortunately, that seems to be going away as Sanary's magical spell seems to ease the pain a bit. "Thanks, I needed that," Rebecca says sincerely to Sanary, before she turns to focus on the Shadows. "You guys remind me of the Hunters I've had to deal with, but at least you're not as ugly as them." She shakes her head. "Nevertheless, I gotta take you out!" With the pain starting to go away, Rebecca strafes sideways, keeping her eyes focused on the Shadows as she aims her Magnum and fires at one of them. "You picked the wrong medic to mess with!" At the same time, she's noticing the door starting to close. "Someone, do something about that door," Rebecca blurts out, hoping someone can actually do something. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     It's a careful dance one must dance, fighting an opponent much bigger and stronger than oneself. A dance that tends to go poorly with any sort of distraction... like, say, explosions.     Emily's eyes dart over her shoulder. "New rule, lure the Shadows /off/ the bridge before you cut the cor-"     Zap.     Emily moves as fast as she's able. It's a blur of motion. She comes to a stop meters away; but it turns out that even with her superhuman speed, she wasn't fast enough. Or perhaps it's more apt to say that her speed is the only reason she's alive right now. There's one broad, seared burn along her left side, and though her face is as neutral as she can make it, there's hints of pain there even now. But when she stands, she moves as if nothing's wrong, whirling her whip around her before-     Suddenly not being there.     Her whip snaps at the gorilla's umbilical chain from behind, a rapid-fire KRAKKRAKKRAK like a three-round burst. It's all she can spare - the door is now starting to close.     "The door! Someone shove that lobotomized /thing/ off the bridge so we can get through!" 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Cut, cut, cut. Sanary's starting to get a bit of tunnel vision as all she sees is the gorilla in front of her and the axe slightly more in front of her. Despite what looks like aimless flailing, however, she's actually using something resembling strategy today! She needs room to swing that axe, and the gorilla needs there to be less room so it can bear hug the hell out of her. As long as she can keep out of its arm range, she'll be fine!      Unfortunately, knowing what to do and being able to do it are two different things. The mecha-gorilla proves to be faster than expected, and it catches the healer in that crushing bear hug! She screams out in pain, then anger as she draws her legs up and thrashes about to try and get her feet up against its torso.      "Stupid... Big... Thing! You don't get a... Screw you!" Witty retorts aren't quite her specialty, but at least she's got enough sense to listen to Yuna's and Emily's instructions. Instead of trying to just blow up the gorilla, she fires an explosive laser from her eye right at the construct's shoulder to try and loosen its hold or blow it off outright. Should that be enough for the healer to get free, she'll kick forward with all her crazy pig farmer might in attempt to force it backwards (and hopefully off the bridge).      Otherwise, she'll focus on firing even more explosive lasers at the shoulders. Sanary's persistent if nothing else! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' So she got it's attention, awesome, it's not on her allies, wait she's got it's attention, mistakes may have been made on her part. She moves and is force to stop firing for the moment as she just barely avoids the chucked bit of bridge it also comes to her mind, they might just wreck the bridge to stop them getting across or just as a result of how they are fighting. She will start moving again and trying to fire more shots going for the beasts head trying to make it harder for it to see and do things like rip up bits of the bridge and throw them at anyone who is facing them. She is not going to be using the explosives she has on her, that would be such a bad idea in this situation maybe she cna lure them off the bridge? A plan forms but she has to keep their attention and she is wounded on top of that... 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Ugh, screw you! The Blacksmith..." So that's what he's capable of, whatever happened to her. August tsks, keeping focus on firing at the gorillas...when one of them whips their cord around his leg, tripping him. August rapidly begins getting pulled off the bridge, desummoning the Tin Soldier partway through to avoid it being left open as he deals with this. One of his hands moves to grab a hold, searching for one, while the other moves to grab his knife. That explosion...if there's too many, the bridge will crack and take everyone down. It needs to be timed just right. Close to the edge, August begins slicing into the cord, over and over and over. He's trying to cut it off while the gorilla is far away enough to not damage the bridge, but this might lead him to falling off with it if he can't get through fast enough! 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' The explosion from one of the de-umbilical'd mecharillas is big enough to make Yuna wince - and when she sees how much that damaged the bridge, she winces again. It *definitely* won't withstand nine more of the minions going boom like that ... they'll have to make sure to knock the mooks off the bridge before they try severing the cords. At best. And Sanary's in something of a pinch now, to boot. Yuna focuses on helping the healer get free, firing a couple of bolts from the Matrix Divider - and if she has to risk getting in close to try and chop through the arms, she will. But once Sanary's loose, Yuna puts all her (admittedly modest) weight and force into trying to kick the thing off-balance and letting it fall ... THEN, once the roborangutan* is actually falling off the bridge (without Sanary), she charges, trying to chop through the cable with the Matrix Divider. Meanwhile, Jiina and Marina are shifting their focus to harrying the Standard-Bearer herself. They're not trying to do damage outright - although any hit they score, they're not going to complain about. They're more focused on trying to force the Shadow to split her attention among many threats ... and if they can draw her far enough away from the door for the group to make a break for it? All the better. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     BANG BANG BANG! Rebecca shoots at the Standard-Bearer, her large gun making her stagger as she flag-twirls to deflect the shots. "Gosh, you're so rude. And it seems your teammate doesn't like you very much. It's so painful, being unsupported~ I could be a friend to you, if you like~" she says, marching right up to the medic before swinging at her with her flagpole. It cuts a vicious scythe through the air, aimed right at her head!     Emily dodges, but not fast enough to avoid her side being seared by the beam. She zips behind the gorilla, just as it it aims a swipe with its good arm, and cracks at its umbilical cord with her whip. On the third strike, she severs it entirely, causing the robot to power down before exploding. Another tremor through the bridge, followed by a concealingly loud 'crack' from one of the struts. It can't take more of this. EIGHT REMAIN     Sanary's eye lashes out with its own beam, blasting through the shoulder of the gorilla squeezing her. This immediately slackens its grip, and Yuna's assist bangs up the other arm, allowing the healer to get a foot free and kick it hard, sending it stumbling off the rail! It plummets, the cord rapidly running out of slack, but the Standard-Bearer just pulls it free from herself without a second thought. Considering how personal she took the defeat of her last crew, this is a little shocking. It powers down and explodes, far enough from the bridge to do any damage. SEVEN REMAIN     Kotone lines up some headshots on the gorilla aiming at her, ripping away at its armor and damaging its eyes. Rendered blind, it stumbles for a moment before just barrelling towards her, arms outstretched. It's torso begins to rotate, creating a whirling barrier that limits her ability to avoid getting struck!     August is grabbed, and dragged towards the edge! He tries to time it just right, so that he severs the cord before he goes over. The knife saws, and severs the cord... but he's already hit the railing and gone over! He sees the gorilla explode far below, keeping the bridge safe, but the spikes loom... only for something to impact him, knocking him back onto the bridge. It's Janine! "You could have just had the Tin Soldier shoot the cord, you dumb shit!" she barks, still sore from Rebecca's impact. SIX REMAIN     Yuna and her crew try to harry the Standard-Bearer now, drawing her attention away from Rebecca. "Gosh, I was trying to be civil. So~ rude." She whirls her flag again, looking at some of the scrap left by the exploding gorillas. She then begins to swat at it, knocking them at the aerial magical girl!     The doors finally close, and something falls from above. A great metal orb, bristiling with spikes and flames. It's spinning fast, and the spikes give it immediate traction on the bridge, allowing it to barrel along the length. Flames spew from its form, filling the empty air around the bridge also to limit any evasion! The Standard-Bearer is shocked. "Blacksmith?... you said I should handle this..." ================================HERMIT REVERSED================================= --------------------------MANIFESTATION OF REFLECTION---------------------------                       THE BLACKSMITH WHO TOILS IN SOLITUDE                                           HE WHOSE BRILLIANCE IS OBSCURED BY SPITE                     -------------------------------PREPARE FOR BATTLE------------------------------- =======================================IX======================================= 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Sanary lands on her back with a painful impact on the ground, laying there for a few moments as she gets her bearings back. With more of those gorillas defeated and the most immediate threat punted away from the bridge, she raises a hand in a thumbs up towards the flying idol.      "Thanks, Yuna! Agh... Stupid dumb thing. Now, what's next...?" After channeling some magic through her body to stave off the worst of the pain and fix her bones just enough to keep fighting, the healer picks herself and her gear back up before scanning the area. Raising her staff, Sanary grunts each time she sends off healing waves towards her allies. Thankfully, she's not getting attacked again just yet, so she can really focus on helping her allies out! Emily gets a hit of energy to compensate for that zap from before. Janine also gets a shot of healjuice, and August would even get a bit of that by proximity. Don't worry, Sanary hasn't forgotten about that arm! Rebecca gets a shot of healing, too, just in case the Standard-Bearer's swing makes contact, and Yuna gets some healing because...      Well, because favoritism. Also, Yuna /did/ help her out with that gorilla. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is about to fall to his death. The knife slips out of his hand, falling into the spikes below. August shuts his eyes close, when suddenly, something happens, and he's back on the bridge. The adrenaline rushes through him as he wipes his hand over his face, glancing at Janine briefly. "He was too close to the bridge." August replies, a bit sore about getting cursed at. He doesn't even realize he wasn't considering his own safety, but at the same time he seems...grateful, as he moves to try and get a handle on the situation again. Right as the Blacksmith arrives. August is moving to grip the mirrored bracelet up to his eyes when the flames start spilling out, forcing him to duck to the side so that he's as far away from the edge as possible. "Persona!" In a flash of blue energy, the Tin Soldier manifests, and charges forward, moving to pour its own fire on the Blacksmith. "The hell did you do to the Standard-Bearer? Did you make her more 'efficient' or something?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' More healing, yay. Yuna gives Sanary a quick and appreciative grin, helping Sanary back to her feet while she has the chance. ... not that it's much of a chance, because now there are TWO big bad Shadow courtiers, one at either end of the bridge, and one of them decidedly not inclined to STAY at that end. "THAT's the Blacksmith?!" she squawks briefly - already trying to think of ways to deal with the doubled-up threat. Preferably, she thinks, by launching the Blacksmith over the group at the Standard-Bearer. Only problem with that is, how? August's already taking on the Blacksmith, literally fighting fire with fire. Yuna's own first thought on the subject is 'shift back to Powered Form' (which comes with its own complications) 'and try using the beam cannons' (which might not do enough) ... and then she has her second thought. "Everyone besides August," Yuna yells, "get as close to the Standard-Bearer's end as you can without getting blown away! Jiina, Marina, get one of those drones over here WITHOUT unplugging it! August, you're gonna need to move fast when this happens; I'll make sure you live through it!" Jiina and Marina trade looks, then dive at one of the Standard-Bearer's minions, coming in from opposite directions - so that at most, only one of them should be getting lasered at a time by their target (and both are ready to dodge at the drop of an electron; they don't WANT to get blown up!) If they can close the pincer and grab the drone from opposite sides, then they shift course in tandem, trying to fly that drone over to where the Blacksmith is rapidly reducing how much bridge Die Reisende has to fight on ... And even as Yuna moves to back August up - firing off blasts with the Matrix Divider, hovering over Die Reisende's approximate leader like a literal guardian angel, the Savior of Light is keenly aware of how many ways her spur-of-the-moment plan could possibly go wrong. She doesn't even have the spare attention to pray that they *don't*. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' "Just who are you calling rude?" Rebecca asks with a scowl. But she doesn't get the answer she's looking for, since she was expecting Standard-Bearer to say, "You are!" Instead, though, the flagpole is being swung right at Rebecca's head, and she only has a few seconds to react. Fortunately, she manages to pull her neck back and then drop to the ground just as the flagpole goes by where her head once was. She barely feels the whoosh from the flagpole as she lands in a somewhat bent-over-backwards position, before rolling backwards onto her feet. "Uh, thanks," Rebecca says with a slightly forced smile as the healing magic comes over her again. She really didn't need that, but it was nice to have, possibly. Namely since Rebecca can now save her First-Aid Spray for those who need it more. She glares briefly at the Standard-Bearer... then turns to see the Blacksmith, and her eyes turn into saucers for a moment. "Oh, hell no!" Rebecca exclaims. "TWO of them? Oh this just gets better and better!" She aims at one of the remaining smaller Shadows and says, "Let's take care of these small fries before we take out the big ones!" She then fires, hoping to take out another robo-ape. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Down comes the Blacksmith. Unlike the gorilla, Emily's not going to be taking that down with a few well-placed whips. She starts moving instead, keeping well ahead of the flames; when Yuna calls for them to push closer to the Standard-Bearer, she outright blurs, a sudden streak taking her a good ways closer. Of course, this might put her in range of the Bearer herself... but then, that also puts the mangled cyber-Shadow in /her/ reach as well. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' the party is not dead yet so it's good news she manages to blind it the thing's coming after her and she knows it's trying to come after her in some strange tornado of death. She is force to lay off her attack as it keeps coming after her, she doesn't end up grabbed and she's going to be forced back but she's rapidly thinking on a plan here. She has to try and lure it to the edge to get it to fall off but that will require some good timing. Also her making use of several of her multiversal upgrades or this idea would be no good at all. "Hey come get me!" She's near the edge if it charge she'll leap up at the last second and use her double jump system to allow her to hopefully make to safety while gravity does the rest for her with the shadow. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Healing! Janine finally gets over the impact she suffers and bounces on her feet. The timing is good, as August rushes in once again to push back the Blacksmith with his own flames. "Idiot! You're weak to fire!" she yells, conjuring Biancabella to back him with a strong gust of wind, both augmenting his own flames and pushing the Blacksmith's away. "More efficient. Less useless," the Blacksmith concurs with August, the Standard-Bearer flinching at the word 'useless.'     Meanwhile, Yuna getsa plan together, and sends her friends to carry it out. They swoop down and snag one of the remaining gorillas by the arms, lifting it into the air. It's damn heavy, but the downside of focussing too much on the arms is that it doesn't have much else if those are diabled. It can't even laser them, because it might fall into the spikes. Seems the Blacksmith gave them too strong of a self-preservation instinct.     Rebecca focusses more on the gorillas, sinking shots into them. It seems that the Standard-Bearer's shock has extended to them, causing them to stop attacking. As such, she quite handily incapacitates the arms of two of them, rendering them less able to attack!     Emily blurs away from the Blacksmith at Yuna's command, immediately getting right up to the Standard-Bearer's face. She flinches, and lashes out with the flag on instinct, aiming to swat at the butler. But there's no fury behind it, it's more defensive than anything.     Kotone succeeds at luring the blinded gorilla to the edge and leaping over it as it topples. It begins to fall, and the Standard-Bearer can't detach this one. She is yanked by her cord, and set slipping towards the edge. "Ahhh! H-Heeelp!" she shouts, managing to use her flag to snag the railings. "Pull me up!" she yells at the gorillas, but those still standing ignore her, choosing to instead form a barrier to keep Die Reisende from fleeing along the bridge.     "Blacksmith! What have you done?!" she cries out, her fat cheeks becoming wet with tears. "Carrying out the Black Queen's will. She wants these pests dead. I used you to get them into an easily squashed position. You are a formality in the Court, and reliant on lesser Shadows. You were the most expendable, the bait most able to last long enough to trap them. It was the most efficient plan," the spikes ball rumbles as he pushes against August, Janine, and Yuna's efforts.     She's actually crying now. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     The swift movement of the butler takes her right in reach of the Standard-Bearer, a move she was well aware would be putting her right in harm's way. She's already got her whip coiled and in-hand, letting go of it just as she returns to normal speed - but her attack is cut short when the Standard-Bearer takes a swing at her. On reflex, the blonde turns, shifts, and leaps out of the way-     -right over the rail and off the side of the bridge.     It's about the moment the lobotomized Shadow is snagging herself on the side of the bridge, that Emily comes swinging right back up the other side, and it immediately becomes obvious what happened. Strands of Fate is coiled right around the railing, almost exactly where the Standard-Bearer has fallen; its dark color blends all too well with the glass of the bridge, but it gives her a perfect moment of surprise.     Not to mention a perfect way to swing herself right up and over the opposite-side railing, coming right back over with a hefty dose of momentum. Without skipping a beat, the butler snaps up her leg and drives it forward, putting all that momentum into a kick meant to dislodge the standard and send its bearer into the depths. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' It's an incredibly risky plan, and Yuna is all too keenly aware of how many things can go wrong with it - but it's the only idea she's got at the moment. And for now, it seems to be working out. Between the two of them, Jiina and Marina manage to get their 'captured' gorillabot over to a spot not that far ahead of the rolling spike-ball of the Blacksmith. This is also the tricky part - because the drone needs to get set down between the Blacksmith and *all* of Die Reisende ... including August, and by extension, the Tin Soldier. "August, start pulling back!" Yuna calls out to her ally. "Might need Tin Soldier to help with this!" Hopefully that's all the cue August will need - and that it won't give the Blacksmith *too* much time to react to what's about to happen. Because as soon as August and his Persona provide the necessary clearance, Yuna's two android 'doubles' set their burden down - And Yuna only gives the rest of them about three seconds (which is two more than she wanted to cut it) before firing off a crackling bolt of coherent, concussive radiance. aimed directly at the spot where the umbilical connects to the drone's head. And by the time she's pulling the Matrix Divider's trigger to do that, Yuna is also flying away from the drone - which is probably just about to explode ... Hopefully? That'll remove the Blacksmith's threat from the situation. The question is what ELSE it's going to remove in the process ... and whether they can make sure Die Reisende is *not* removed from existence along the way. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August doesn't reply to Janine, but does give her a thumbs-up as her wind backs him up. Instead, he focuses on the Blacksmith. "You're making me feel bad for that Shadow." The flamethrower holds up, as August gets an idea...and Yuna tells him to move. With what's up with the drones, August has an idea of what it's going to do, and he's going to do something at the same time. The Tin Soldier pulls out of range suddenly, moving up close to August, and aiming its gun again. Instead of spraying out...the fire clusters? "I hate that. Burn in hell!" When Yuna detonates the drone, the burst of fire explodes out of the Tin Soldier's gun, a massive fireball flying forward to impact with the explosive drones and the Blacksmith. Hopefully, that's what Yuna wanted, a massive chain-reaction, because that's what August has in mind. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Just as Sanary finishes sending out waves of healing magic to her allies, the staff abruptly crumbles into splinters and dust! At least she's got another hand free now to help with Yuna's plan.      If only the healer actually knew what was going on with the plan. Making a beeline for the end of the bridge where everyone except August and the Standard-Bearer are, the healer starts channeling her energy outwards once more.      This time, the magic is directed towards the group around the Standard-Bearer. Buffs for everyone! Sanary takes on a more offensive role this time around as well, bringing up her axe and lunging towards gorillas blocking their path. Considering the Blacksmith's words, she almost feels bad for the Standard-Bearer.      Almost. "If you're gonna curse anyone, then curse the Blacksmith for screwing you over." Once again, the healer starts lashing out with her axe again with her blows aimed right at the creatures' shoulders and arms. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' It's amazing what one can do with such great focus. With the Standard-Bearer's shock extending to the gorillas, she's able to incapacitate two of them... or at least their arms anyway. Still, that doesn't mean they're completely defenseless. They could still use their legs, among other things perhaps. Rebecca fires another shot at each of them, making sure that they're truly incapacitated. After she fires at the gorillas that she was taking on, Rebecca ejects the empty clip from her Magnum and loads a new one. Then she's slightly caught off-guard by the explosion, which she jumps away from instinctively, even though it's nowhere near where she is at the moment. She then spots the gorillas blocking their escape and she scowls. "Too bad I don't have any explosive bananas," Rebecca says with a slight smirk. "I'll just have to deal with you myself if we're gonna get out of here!" It's Rebecca versus the remaining gorillas. Who will come out on top? 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Well now this was not expected t work this well, Kotone had bene thinking to get one shadow out of the way and now she's got the standard bearer all set up for her downfall. She comes in for a landing and looks to her, as the truth is laid out she was canon fodder. "So you were a pawn and nothing more. I almost feel bad for you but if we let you contiune on. You'll bring ruin to the world." She's stalking over now with a plan in mind to deal with the Shadow but Emily then does something ballsy, something insane, something epic as she goes to basically take out the Standard Bearer and hopefully any remaining shadows connected to her. "In the end your all pawns of the queen." She notes and redies her weapon in the event someone makes a go for Emily. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Blacksmith pushes forward, blind to anything but his own objectives. He doesn't even conceive his own weapons being turned against him until the gorilla is deployed right in front of him. "What are you-" he begins, before it becomes clear from the blasts that Yuna and August strike it with. "NO!"     BOOM!     The explolsion sends him skidding back, just as the bridge begins to collapse. He tries to speed up, to catch up with Die Reisdende, but the breaking glass claims him, sending him plummeting to the spikes below. His form shifts and distorts, deploying as much propulsions as he can mustre. "I-I can fix this! It all comes down to me, as usual! Gorillas are too far away, Standard-Bearer is useless, it's always the same. Always comes down to me to fix things. I'll fix it, I always fix it, I-"     His words are cut off by the impact with the spikes. Metal shrieks against glass as each point glides through him, severing every important bit inside him. He goes silent, and the gorillas all shut down entirely. No explosions, nothing. Rebecca and Sanary can remove them from their path easily, creating a path for everyone to flee from the collapse.     Emily, meanwhile, deals with the Standard-Bearer. The Shadow was too shocked to realize that she apparently managed to knock someone from the bridge. But as she comes up, her warty face is all smiles. "Oh gosh, you came for me~! I knew you were a good sort, truly! I'll-" A vicious kick hits her flag, knocking it loose! "Oh... w-well, the robots will still hold me up..." Said robots have been knocked apart, meaning they just slide along after her as she falls.     "Oh... I guess I was useless after all."     She hits the spikes, but she was silent long before. Now Die Reisende has a collapsing bridge to outrun, something done easily with a combination of of buffs from Sanary and Janine. Once they reach the other side, they actually get to bear witness to the castle shifting. The whole bridge room shrinks, the other door racing to meet the one they escaped through before they meld together, eliminating the broken path.     They now seem to be in a waiting room of some kind, with comfy chairs and high windows, one of which has a raven pecking at the glass with it's beak. At the fat end is a grand pair of black glass doors. The chill emanating from them is palpable, enough to frost the tips of one's eyelashes.     The Black Queen is beyond that door. But they're in no shape to deal with her. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Down goes the bridge in a cascade of ebon glass, and Emily pauses at the end to watch it, doing her level best to ignore the painful burn on her side. And with the downfall of that bridge, the room decides to just... stitch itself together, as if the whole obstacle were never there. What was a panicked run and a desperate fight over certain death, is now just a casual step across a single threshold.     In a rare moment, Emily lets her facade slip, just a little. A hint of Estuary slips into her otherwise-impeccable Received accent. "Well that's just bloody insulting." 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' A waiting room... how welcoming. Especially after outrunning a collapsing bridge. Rebecca is bent over with her hands on her knees, having pushed herself a little harder than she intended to, but it was either that or become a swiss cheese imitation! But fortunately they've arrived and the room looks safe enough to rest for a few minutes in. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, Rebecca takes a moment to catch her breath before sipping from her canteen (never leave without it!) Then she looks towards the door where the Queen is. "The calm before the storm." Rebecca narrows her eyes. "She'd better be ready for us! We've come this far, and this is what it all comes down to..." A pause as she realizes everyone's all worn out just like she is. "When the time is right, of course." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Running sucks. Why did they have to run?      Sanary hates running. It makes her feel slow because of how slow she is! On the plus side, the closed door means that she can afford to take a breather, and take a breather she does!      "Everyone still alive? Aah... Shit. Good work, everyone. Good work!" She laughs once, then starts spreading healing magic through the waiting area to help take the edge off again.      "... Just the Queen left now, huh? Anyone remember to bring snacks?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' It worked. Yuna will consider the implications of that later; for now, she has to make sure the group SURVIVES the fact that her plan actually played out more or less the way she expected it to - because yes, the bridge is in fact collapsing thanks to her blowing that drone up in the Blacksmith's face. Yuna has it lucky: she's flying under her own power. Jiina and Marina are similarly airborne and self-supporting. But as far as Yuna can tell, nobody else in Die Reisende has the gift of flight; maybe Sanary's got that covered somehow, and *maybe* the Tin Soldier could carry August in a pinch - but Yuna is not comfortable making any assumptions when it comes to her allies' survival. So as Yuna flies back towards the end of the bridge where the Standard-Bearer had been positioned, she's watching out to see if anyone needs rescuing from gravity and spikes and other aspects of the collapsing bridge. August is the nearest and highest priority on that front - and if he shows any sign of not being able to make the mad dash for safety, Yuna's ready to scoop him up and carry him along. If anyone else seems to be in similar danger, Jiina and Marina can each carry somebody. (If August can actually make it under his own power, though, Yuna's *not* going to complain.) It's only along the way that Yuna realizes that the rest of the fight has been handled, literally while her back was turned. She didn't get to see Emily kicking the Standard-Bearer in the face; she didn't get to see Rebecca and Kotone dealing with the rest of the drones, or Sanary mixing up support with offense - although Yuna did feel the surge from that buffing spell coursing through her, armor and body alike. Still, the coast is clear, they make it to the destination end of the bridge ... And with a solid floor underneath her that doesn't seem likely to collapse or open up to reveal a perilous and precipitous descent? Yuna actually collapses on hands and knees, even her flight thrusters cutting out as she slumps and focuses on catching her breath. "That was actually very well done, everybody," Elner observes, hovering nonchalantly over where Yuna flopped to the floor. "It seems like returning will be much easier than getting this far was." Yuna manages to twist around, rolling onto her back, and just gives the robo-faerie a supremely baleful look. "Thanks, Sanary ... thanks everyone. Sorry about making our lives *that* interesting, but I didn't have better ideas for the Blacksmith ..." 
}}

Black Queen's Rage

2018-02-18T12:10:07Z

Blaze:

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2018/02/19
|Location=Alberichstadt
|Synopsis=The Black Queen, furious at the loss of the Pied Paper, extends her rage into the world beyond the Forest.
|Cast of Characters=909
|Tinyplot=Persona: Were the World Mine-1
}}

Deep within her Castle, the Black Queen feels the loss of the Piper. Her only means of interacting with the world beyond her Forest. Her only means of flooding that world with her own servants, in the guise of humanity. No longer can she seed the influential people over there with her Changelings, to tip the scales in her favour.

Outwardly, she shows nothing. But her servants soon have the good sense to vacate the throne room as frost spreads across every surface, emanating from her throne. Those not quick enough are swiftly overtaken, and shatter on the spot. The glass within the room begins to fracture and splinter from the extreme cold. It is clear that she has let the humans become to strong. On this side of the mirror, they have become equals to her Court.

But what of on the other side? Perhaps the time has come to play that card...

Adelle Kaufmann was having a good day.

The cheerleaders and school band were too involved in interpersonal drama to pick on her for once (some cheerleader hooked up with the lead violinist's boyfriend? She didn't really care). The captain of the hockey team was in dire straits in regards to his grades, and so was too busy to harass her. And she managed to secure the corner seat of the cafeteria, out of sight from most of the room, so few would be able to torment her from a distance.

But Hans Beckendorf, son of a local businessman, was in sight of her, and was having none of that. With artful precision, he had loaded up a spoonful of mashed potato with a bunch of thumb tacks, points facing outwards, and was lining up his shot. "30 Euro says I can get her in the head," he hisses to Bobby Drek, an American exchange student sitting beside him, and inheritor of some lucrative oil fields.

Bobby does not answer verbally. Instead, he takes up the knife and fork from his lunch, and drives both into Hans' shoulders. The loud scream from the German fills the hall, but the American calmly shoves him from his seat, and then begins kicking his prone form viciously.

Two other students, Victoria Rous and Aleck Gorbalsky, had joined in on the assault by the time Hans was extracted. He had suffered broken ribs and fingers, but his father's wealth did not compare to the parents of his three attackers, and the school refused to get involved. Hospital bills were quietly paid, and the boy was transferred to a different school.

Adelle wasn't phased. Something like this wasn't an everyday occurrence, but it wasn't exactly uncommon either. That was life in Drachenblatt.

Black Queen's Rage

2018-02-18T12:08:59Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2018/02/19 |Location=Alberichstadt |Synopsis=The Black Queen, furious at the loss of the Pied Paper, extends her rage into the world beyond th..."

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2018/02/19
|Location=Alberichstadt
|Synopsis=The Black Queen, furious at the loss of the Pied Paper, extends her rage into the world beyond the Forest.
|Cast of Characters=909
|Tinyplot=Persona: Were the World Mine-1
}}

Deep within her Castle, the Black Queen feels the loss of the Piper. Her only means of interacting with the world beyond her Forest. Her only means of flooding that world with her own servants, in the guise of humanity. No longer can she seed the influential people over there with her Changelings, to tip the scales in her favour.

Outwardly, she shows nothing. But her servants soon have the good sense to vacate the throne room as frost spreads across every surface, emanating from her throne. Those not quick enough are swiftly overtaken, and shatter on the spot. The glass within the room begins to fracture and splinter from the extreme cold. It is clear that she has let the humans become to strong. On this side of the mirror, they have become equals to her Court.

But what of on the other side? Perhaps the time has come to play that card...

-----

Adelle Kaufmann was having a good day.

The cheerleaders and school band were too involved in interpersonal drama to pick on her for once (some cheerleader hooked up with the lead violinist's boyfriend? She didn't really care). The captain of the hockey team was in dire straits in regards to his grades, and so was too busy to harass her. And she managed to secure the corner seat of the cafeteria, out of sight from most of the room, so few would be able to torment her from a distance.

But Hans Beckendorf, son of a local businessman, was in sight of her, and was having none of that. With artful precision, he had loaded up a spoonful of mashed potato with a bunch of thumb tacks, points facing outwards, and was lining up his shot. "30 Euro says I can get her in the head," he hisses to Bobby Drek, an American exchange student sitting beside him, and inheritor of some lucrative oil fields.

Bobby does not answer verbally. Instead, he takes up the knife and fork from his lunch, and drives both into Hans' shoulders. The loud scream from the German fills the hall, but the American calmly shoves him from his seat, and then begins kicking his prone form viciously.

Two other students, Victoria Rous and Aleck Gorbalsky, had joined in on the assault by the time Hans was extracted. He had suffered broken ribs and fingers, but his father's wealth did not compare to the parents of his three attackers, and the school refused to get involved. Hospital bills were quietly paid, and the boy was transferred to a different school.

Adelle wasn't phased. Something like this wasn't an everyday occurrence, but it wasn't exactly uncommon either. That was life in Drachenblatt.

5615/ICoT: The Tazal Terminals

2017-12-28T04:53:28Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/12/27 |Location=The Bastion |Synopsis=The final battle between the Bastion and the Ura. |Cast of Characters=798, 1094, 7, 459, 70, 673, 215 |p..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/12/27
|Location=The Bastion
|Synopsis=The final battle between the Bastion and the Ura.
|Cast of Characters=798, 1094, 7, 459, 70, 673, 215
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The Tazal Terminals are higher up than any other part of the former continental landmass. Once in the deepest parts of the earth, it was torn from the soil by the Calamity, and cast heavenward. It now stands pitted with snow and frost, temperatures at subzero even deep inside the cavernous mountain. Tattered flags and banners flutter in the strong winds, in the bright blues and yellows that the Ura favour, enwrapping the hunk of rock like a shroud.     The Kid has set up base at the foot of the Terminals. Being downwind, the smoke of the fire he has created blows away from the Ura homeland, keeping his location concealed. A warpgate hangs precariously over the edge, demanding that he stand before it to catch anyone who might take a poor step through it. Once everyone has gathered, he lets out a long sigh. "I ain't much for speeches. We all know why we're here. Jus' do what you know, and let's put this to rest."     With that, he takes up his Calamity Cannon and Cael Hammer, leading the way along the frosted path that spirals up and through the cliff face. It's not long before the Ura spot them, and the attack begins immediately after. With their backs to the wall, and no way out, they've doubled down on defending this place, willing to sacrifice anything and everything in order to end the threat that faces them.     Their pets, the Rattletails, have been let loose on the paths, filling them with holes that make each footfall treacherous. Larger pits have been dug, the bottoms lined with stalagmites so that any who charge ahead might fall and be skewered. Some even collapse outright, demanding quick manoeuvring or a capacity for flight or other type of movement. The rodent-like birds fight with beak and talon to protect their masters, and so much be cut down.     Peckers, while not easily tamed, can be marshalled through baser instincts, something the Ura know too well. For this reason, they dump carrion upon the party from high above, making them utterly tantalizing to the corvids. They constantly whirl about, diving in and out to retrieve the mean, claws and beaks ripping and tearing, occasionally flying in the path of their attacks, serving as unintentional shields for the Ura.     The people themselves fight with every ounce of knowledge, both passed down from their forefathers and developed from prior conflicts with the Elites, are brought to bear. Lasers and other attacks of concentrated light are dispersed with water vapour made by subliminating ice, combining it with smoke that renders them harder to strike. Hardier targets are tied down with nets and rope before being stabbed at from all sides. Flour bombs are hurled constantly, intended to mark invisible targets. Every weapon, every bolt and arrow is coated with poison that makes even tiny scratches burn, rendering entire limbs numb. Leather bags brimming with swamp gasses are hurled down, making those who inhale them reel before the clouds are ignited with burning arrows. Avalanches and rock slides are deliberately triggered, aimed at pushing the party off the Terminals entirely. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     But through it all, through beak and blade and mist and poison and a crowd of bodies, the party reaches the summit. There before them is the last barrier between they and the Ura, Zulf, and the Cores and Shards they need. A wall of wood, ice, and Something Wrong created by the Calamity. A mighty fortress, built right into the mountain. The ice keeps the wood from burning, the orderly logs give the structure strength enough to resist a physical assault, and the Something Wrong resists all manner of attacks entirely, as immobile and unapproachable as a malignant tumour.     The Kid fires his Calamity Cannon at it a few times. A horrible, distorted noise is produced when that awful light hits the Something Wrong, nullifying the blast and rendering the wall untouched. Arrows poke out from the tiny gaps at the top between the logs, far too small to even worm a whole hand in, to fire at the party. They're highly inaccurate, but that's not the point. It's a gesture of being able to attack at all, while the party can offer little in return.     The Kid, fuming quietly, goes to consider a stray log left outside, leaving it to the others to try and figure out a way inside. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Alright, Parsons. You can do this.     The Tazal Terminals seem like something out of a twisted mind when Parsons arrives, a little awestruck by the Ura display and the snowy peak. Almost distracted enough that he takes a nasty plunge, if it weren't for the kid. "Oh! Oh. Thanks." He notes, appreciative of the Kid's assistance in making sure nobody falls into the torn planet. The Kid's weaponry today... "Jeeze. Really gonna hit 'em with the spirit of old Caelondia, aren't you! All the old and all the new. Godspeed and good luck on it, Kid." Parsons says, and then seems to limber up as he moves along with the group. "We're all sure as hell about to need it."     Here comes the remains of the old. "Woah woah woah!" Parsons actually falls straight into one of the pits, falling enough to suffer a short bit of laceration by the rock formations within until he forces his levitation into action, grips it to the pit's walls, and shoves himself up quickly, vanishing into invisibility as he does. "Not this time..." He whispers under his breath.     It's a gauntlet. A brutal thing, and one he's not entirely equipped to deal with. The birds block an attempt to take out the Rattletails, but Parsons desperately attempts to telekinetically lift entire piles of carrion to other areas. Parsons tries to target his foes, but the smoke blinds him, and he has to try to muster powers of clairvoyance to pierce it. In comes swamp gas, sending him into a painful, dazed mindset, before being knocked out of his invisibility once again and impacted with heavy bolts that slip against his skin with the tiniest, scratch through his unsteady psionic self-shield, until his stylish secret agent adventurer outfit is torn and he moves with a stinging, pained motion. His mind sparks and strains, his brain clearly and visibly /smoking/ with the effort required to hold up rock slides and avalanches, the one time where he can properly shine and yet can't seem to celebrate it because of his current lack of focus. All of this pain is clogging his brain... 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     But above all else, this time, he's going to make sure nobody else needs to sacrifice themselves for him, and he's going to make sure the one who /did/ gets to have his goal seen to at the end. He's run himself ragged for it, and he's planning to do even more. And as they approach the fortress... "Hhhh. Wow! These guys really are going all out! No point in holding anything in reserve, is there? Everyone keep yourselves together as much as you can, I'm sure we can do this! It's tough, but think hard about all the good you'll be doing if you can tough this out! I've seen you guys make it through things like this..." It's true, he at least knows that much about the people here, even if part of that comes from working together and part of that comes from occasional secretive government agency data-gathering.     He buckles down and focuses now, properly. "Wow, /wow/! This is Calamity-proof?! That's insane!" Parsons says, eyes wide under his sunglasses. He adjusts them in a rapid gesture of surprise that seems to assume that he's seeing something very, very wrong. "Uh... Crap, I don't have a lot of ideas. Wait! No! There were those... Machines, that kept the strange formations in place!" He poofs into invisibility, having cleaned himself off a little bit ago. "We need to get access to those machines! I'm gonna try my own way to do that, see if the rest of you can find a way to deal with them." He's gonna take a look around for any openings, any gaps, anything that could let one person slip inside even if it takes a heavy bit of platforming... But if there's nothing, he'll still be able to do his main plan, the plan he tried before. Activating psychic sabotage!     He tries to rush his Astral Projection blindly into the fortress, blankly groping around for minds that could hypothetically be near where he distantly guesses the machines maintaining the Wrong formations are. Then he hopes to breach into at least just one, with however much time and effort it takes to do so, and make them... Well, maybe open at least one opening? Maybe at least render one vulnerable to the efforts of an ally? He's going to have to improvise; blind astral projection is inexact and not always effective if it even works at all. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' So it had come to this, this fight wasn't going to end. She could walk away that would be easy but even if she had mixed feeling about this blood feud? Walking away would be /worse/ than doing nothing. So here she was wearing the stealth armour, well suit she normally does though she has a new pair of shades on her face which if one can pick up wireless signals have some sort of computer system wired into it. She would be making use of that today, but first she's catching up with the Kid and looking at him for a moment. "I don't like this but leaving this hanging could be worse." She had no idea about the Kid's plan at all, a short prayer is muttered by the Cyborg and she's ready to go. The canon is fired and she cringes at such a things memories of seeing outlines of people on the ruins of old Tokyo fill her mind. Also what she's seen of the victims of the fall of this world. She cloaks rapidly as the arrows come, she's brought some plasma grenades with her but not quite enough for this, she does have a few other drones up her sleeve today though which stalk after her. A spider like thing which has a gun mounted on it. She'll also make sure to tac net up with Rory as well. <<Flammel your right this is insane, but this could explain how they surived it in such numbers! Good thinking Flammel>> The wildlife and attack animals were also an issue here too. The flower bombs however pose a bit problem the Ura have learned how to deal with her stealth as powerful as it is? It just messes with light upon itself. Not on something sticking to the suit. She will put her SMG to use on the wild life trying to thin something out that's attacking them. <<looks like stealthing by here's going to be harder than expected.>> She will try to keep an eye on where Flammel was as if a flower bomb gets his physical form? The Ura would likelyu gun him down. So for the moment the Peckers are the main focus of her attacks while she keeps back from the flower bombs, but even then she has to dodge random arrows that fly her way. 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis has brought along some of her best for the occasion, which also thankfully means the potential 'first step is a doozy' out of the warpgate isn't much of an issue because she's riding on the back of her Flygon, . "We all know what we're here for," she agrees with the kid. "Fancy speeches just take up the time that could be spent busting heads." She does however pull her hoodie on fully to help deal with the colder altitude though. Being the thrill seeking sort that she is Alexis has no problem taking a lead up the mountainside despite the dangers it presents. But this is also why Flygon is the one she came on after the previous experiences. Being able to fly just above the ground is out of the reach of most terrestrial hazards be it burrowing bird or pit (thank you Levitate!). This also puts them on the same playing field as the Peckers to try and provide some cover for the allies forced to pick their way along the ground, fending off the vicious avoids with the sandstorm blasts and disorienting sonic shockwaves produced by the furious buzzing of Mirage's insectoid wings. Or a good wack from Alexis' hockey stick if they manage to get through all that. The sand-buffered winds and sonic booms help keep projectiles and gas bombs from clustering too effectively and knocking back assaults, but for the most part even with Flygon's balance of offense and defense it is a metaphorical as well as literal uphill climb. And while she dislikes relying on one Pokemon to bear the load, she doesn't want to tip her hand too far at the beginning of this. Besides, Flygon is one of her best non-Fire types, she'll endure as long as she can. Unfortunately the fortress itself is an entirely different matter, especially when the 'destroy everything' cannon somehow fails to make a whole. "Well that was unexpected." Flygon remains hovering near the group, but the wall has stymied them. Not to mention arrows zipping past, inaccurate or not, that's still frustrating. "Oh, they think they're gonna rub it in, do they?" Alexis taps Mirage on the head, then points up at the slots the arrows are poking out of to shoot. It's all the communication it takes, as the Flygon makes a nasty sound not unlike someone trying to snort free and spit out a loogie, then does more or less that save the loogies are sticky wads of mud and saliva aimed at clogging the slots. "You won't be safe in there forever!", the tomboy shouts as her creature mud-spitballs the archery slots and any other hasslers. Mostly because Alexis would rather do something that might be only minimally helpful, rather than sit and not do anything at all. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     The footing is no issue for Priscilla. The cold even less so, being something of an old friend of hers, in these lonely, thin-aired heights. The Ura are as troublesome as they . . . no, they're far worse today than usual. It isn't the overwhelming force they had gathered and trained to fight the Kid and his allies the last time, and certainly it couldn't be military in nature any longer, but the degree of entrenchment and preparation is absurd, and the level of desperation that has gone into not just planning a field of engagement, but making every inch of the road upwards a death trap so that every step a roll of the die that the Ura pray will bump someone off, is far beyond even their usual. It truly is the last line, likely those unfit for open combat, but still experienced and knowledgeable.     Aside Priscilla's estimate of them though, what has her off-balance, metaphorically speaking, is a mixture of having vented the majority of her overpowering rage at the Ura during the last, climactic battle, where she had resolved to absorb as much injury as necessary to deal as much death as possible. There's nothing within easy reach to strike back at here (save the beasts and birds, which she rips apart without hesitation), and her drive to push forward is strong but inconsistent and confused.     She finds herself taking it slowly to avoid pits and going wider than she needs to, lingering back to duck explosions of gas, frequently stopping to clear herself of flour instead of soldiering on, and basically playing uncharacteristically cautiously for anything involving the Ura. It honestly may be a good idea, since with such ridiculous preparation, even then she is bloody, exhausted, flagging, lightly burnt, and pulling an arrow out of herself at reaching the summit. It's unfortunately caution borne of hesitation, however, not tactical planning. It makes her significantly less useful overall, keeping quiet, keeping to herself, and only mildly helping clear the way in any capacity beyond being an extra target.     She feels strung out and weary and mixed up about how she still feels about this place, but it's also the first time she's taken to the field again in a significant period after the whole business involving the Painted World had privately and dramatically resolved, and so something about that has her off her game too, in a way that even makes her general presence feel different. A little less familiar, as if she were somehow a tiny bit more of a stranger. Something like a haze beyond casual perception seems to linger around her.     It's also the impetus behind her doing the first truly useful thing all day. Reaching the genuinely impressive improvised fort, Priscilla trudges up close through the snow in silence, not particularly fearing blind arrows after the hellish climb up here. What it's about is where she finds a wide space between chunks of familiar, awful stone, where the ice and wood hold the line, and places her fingers on the frost. Staring straight into the wall, almost dead-eyed, she suddenly squints as if seeing something in the distance, and then the air, or rather the space, around her outstretched hand, ripples not unlike the surface of the Canvas itself, and she pushes through into some kind of weird, liquid distortion that causes her to disappear from view, giving off a brief chill that is completely separate from the natural bite of the 'mountain', and just as unnatural as the grey spires. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' 'This is no longer about right and wrong.' Rory White records into her still-running lifeblog XP of the experiences here. Records that she'll probably be loathe to ever review.     'Just about rescuing someone, and seeing what has been started.'     Although aware that the Ura have already developed measures against her robotic form, Rory still feels more confident continuing to use her existent tactics - mostly unchanged - and Morph than try to rethink everything just to trick them up.     Because learning to fight effectively in any form is HARD, even if you're an A.G.I.     But the robotic feline who steps through the warp gate, body aglow with circuit patterns, is now finely polished courtesy of the Kid's gifts...     The treacherous footing catches her a few times! But it's one of the reasons she decided to stick with a four-legged form - when a pit nearly gives way, she has back legs to catch her and pull back with!     Another time she half-falls in but scrambles back up from the ledge without tumbling into any doom.     After several such close calls, there's the Peckers... and the Ura with their myriad of horrifying combat tactics. Something straight out of tribal warfare. Geurilla tactics of the worst sights!     Of their tactics, the rock slides are the worst. Fire and choking can do very little to metal, and clouds of flour and smoke cannot impede a robot who possesses her sorts of sensory equipment. That same gear gives her forewarning about falling rocks... but there's only so much you can do WHEN ROCKS FALL TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE DIE.     Just get pummeled and dive out of the way of what you can.     Between that and all the efforts to pin and stab...     Well, when she shows up facing a monstrosity, the polish has been marred with some splots and splashes of blood, flour, and a decent supply of periodically-sparking gouges.     By this point, she's also brought out all of her weapons. Close to a dozen tiny turrets have come to life across the robo-feline's body, slipping out of seams that weren't there and locking into camouflaged hardpoint!     And ALL of those tiny turrets gleam .. to unleash a storm of laser fire on the Very Wrong Wall, trying to melt even a bit of it off in order to get a spectral analysis of its composition to explain a few things... given the locale though, that may not prove useful at ALL.     "Ura warriors! Stop! You are running out of time. You are running out of lives. There will be almost none of you left if this continues. How will you care for each other?!" 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:''' Between the armored bodysuit Iria wears most of the time and the crimson cloak she has on over it sometimes, the cold really doesn't bother Iria too much. In fact, she's taken on bounty hunts in far worse temperature, in which case she actually wore a coat over her bodysuit to give her a little extra protection from the weather. Besides, it's more important than she focus on the situation at hand than worry about the weather. Using her agile skills and survival knowledge, Iria attempts to keep up with the others, not quite fully sure what to make of the whole thing, and getting a little shaken by the cannon fire. She grits her teeth, wishing she'd brought her craft with her, but then she realizes that the radar doesn't work well in snow so it would be useless anyway. Once she's drawn a bead on the Very Wrong wall, Iria draws her hand gun and fires off a couple of rounds. "Meet the quickest drawing bounty hunter here in the Multiverse!" She says with a slight smirk, adding a Wild Western drawl to her voice as she does so. "Y'all can't keep up with me!" 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Flamel attempts to reach into the stronghold through the astral plane. His PSYCHIC EYES find their vision distorted by the Something Wrong in the walls. They're like still-bleeding wounds on the world, fresh with the ache the Calamity wrought. Pain, as experienced by the land, by nature itself... what could it be like?     If he manages to shrug off scientific curiosity to phase through the rock above and peek inside, his theory holds true. The Ura do have more of those machines hooked up, but they've learned. Each of the four pillars that make it up is within a cage, and those cages are within an cage that contains them all. Furthermore, they're defended by no less than four Ura at all times, each one with strong minds. He could probably bend one to his will with time, but destroying all four at once before the others noticed would be a challenge...     Alexis has the firing ports plugged up! It holds them off for a while, but eventually, sticks are driven through the blockages to clear it, and the off-target shots begin anew. It's just aggravating at this point. Maybe that's the point.     Rory pleads, and Iria brags, but the Ura have no response. After all the slaughter that has happened until now, maybe the AGI's words ring hollow. For all of Iria's bragging, her bullets do nothing to the wall.     Priscilla strides right up to it, and seems to start phasing into it. However, the Ura did not only bring arrows to their defences. Boiling pitch is dumped down onto the queen from above, just as her arms began to phase through. Through the wood and ice and bizarre minerals, she would also hear the sound of the soldiers marshalling around where she would end up. They would be ready for her the moment she became tangible on the other side. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The Kid kneels by the log which, upon closer inspection is not a log at all. The brass head of Pyth at the tip indicates it is some manner of battering ram. Perhaps the Ura intended to add it to the fortification, but ran out of time or room. Perhaps it was left out to taunt them. A single one could do little against a wall like this. The Kid stares at the metal visage of one of his gods with exhausted, intense eyes.     Before pulling his head back and slamming it against the face of Pyth.     Once, twice, three and four, again and again until his own forehead is bruised and bleeding. Eventually, he presses his head against Pyth's, and speaks in a hoarse whisper. "I offer up prayers nightly to you. Prayin' to being Order back to Caelondia, but you haven't been listenin'. Or maybe you have, but you don't care. Well, if ya can't bring Order, bring Commotion. The attack on the Bastion must've woke ya. Let me be the Commotion. HELP ME!"     The only answer for a long second is the howling winds. Kid's crisis of faith seems to come to an end as he gets up and starts striding back to the party. But along the way, he places a hand on the battering ram.     And his fingers sink deep into the petrified, frozen wood.     With only the tiniest grunt of exertion, he picks up the entire thing and slings it across his shoulder. The attacks from behind the wall come to a complete stop, the Ura spotters looking on with awe. The Kid is strong, but he is not this strong. No one without any kind of enhancement or innate super strength is.     "Stand back," Kid intones, his voice bearing a strange, echoing quality. He pulls back the battering ram, holding it like it were a slim javelin before launching it at the wall. At the moment of impact, there is a shining, divine light, and the entire structure explodes inwards.     Several Ura die or are injured in the collapse. Their inner sanctum likes exposed, bristling with armed soldiers looking on with wide eyes. Weapons tumble from some of their grips as they realize that their Bastion is now fully exposed. The damage has been returned across the bredth of the entire continent.     The Cores and Shards stand in the centre, shining blue and purple. Immediately, the Ura marshal around them as the Kid takes up the battering ram once more. He radiates divine power to those sensitive to such, and a sudden snow flurry makes the ghostly image of a bull about him visible.     "It ends here. Take them." 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:'''     The Ura are staring in awe.. But what of his own allies?! Alexis watchs with a fair amount of awe herself as The Kid hefts the battering ram like a caber log before realizing what he's going to do with it and quickly grabbing for two different pokeballs. "Take a breather, Mirage, you've earned it." She waits to see if this actually works... And by whatever gods are still alive in this world it does! It may be just a metal adorned log but it blows the wall, Something Wrong crystals and all, open like a missile. Alexis throws her pokeballs as the rubble is clearing and the enemy is still stunned by the display. "Checkpoint, Scorch, go!" The thorny hedgehog and volcanic badger appear to flank The Kid in the entrance he's made, while Alexis makes the typical Trainer Command Point pose. "PLEDGE COMBO ATTACK, NOW!" "Quill-aaaa-diiin!" The spines on his body glow with ivy sheen as they shoot off, bursting midair like multi-warhead rockets to scatter plant-matter shrapnel into the ground that quickly sprouts up into viney tangles around the Ura feet as they back around the Cores and Shards, making footing a trecherous tangle... but not harming them?? ...Because it's not the Grass Pledge that does damage, it just changes the field in their favor. It's when Scorch's flames flare brighter than bright and he unleashes the wave of heat of Fire Pledge that the real tactic becomes visible. The field of overgrowth promptly ignites, not only sheering at the Ura with the heat but turning the ground around them into a smoldering sea of smoke and embers that will continue to burn around the men and woman, turning their retreat into a firetrap. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' Of course her calls result in nothing... Rory's optics flash a few times, but they dim as she hops back and leaps away fromt he largely ineffectual arrow rain to continue pondering the scenario. HOW to get through that wall?     What she wasn't expecting whatsoever was for the Kid to turn religious on her again. Turning her head his way, she gets a glance at what he's up to, hears his prayer-of-sorts.....     And then, something happens that she would NEVER have expected. STRENGTH BEYOND MEASURE on display, radiant lightshows she can't explain or account for... and a material denser than anything she can really deal with being crushed into rubble!     That's amazing on its own... but her pattern analyzing software makes out the THOROUGHLY impossible way that the snow flurries about the kid and maintains a cohesive image.     "It would be nice if the gods weren't so inscrutable... but I am hardly complaining. Thank you, Pyth. Now we will do our part!" It's quite a thing for the A.G.i. to offer any kind of thanks to a god, but she's been made a believer this day.     Of the gods of THIS world, at least.     So she simply starts plodding forth, one robotic paw in front of the other, straight towards the Core. If the Ura move to stop her, she rakes them with laser fire! 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:''' So the shots aren't doing any good. Iria curses loudly as she holsters her gun. "Gonna have to bring out the bigger guns, I guess!" Iria says as she reaches under her cape to put her hand gun away. "Good thing I come prepared!" Iria says as she takes out her grenade launcher and loads a shell into it. "Here, chew on this!" She yells as she fires off the explosive round in hopes of doing a bit more damage this time. Iria then notices Rory going for the Core, and she decides to take off behind her. "I'll cover your back, don't worry!" Iria says as she swaps out the explosives for her assault rifle. "We can do this together!" 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Where super-spy creativity and stealth fail, brute force of the highest order and the greatest power are far more effective, alongside more esoteric means of bypassing everything. Parsons doesn't manage to make any progress with this complex concentric puzzle -- at least partially because he's so drawn to the mind's-eye-searing examination of Something Wrong as a psychic and even psychohazardous phenomenon -- but he's attentive enough here that he's willing and able to leap aside and let the Kid do his work, looking with astonishment over the top of his sunglasses as he sees the damage crash through.     "Jeeze, Kid!" He says, with an awestruck tone. "I mean... I knew you could do it, but I sure didn't expect you to do it like that! Alright, we can turn this around!" He rushes in! "We've got a god on our side properly this time... Looks like you really passed those tests, Kid! Give me some cover and I'll try to work hard on this next part!" This next part being getting access to Zulf. Once they take those Cores and Shards, the Tazal Terminals... Will they fall? It seems unlikely, but Parsons can't help but feel like there's a chance that some may be linked to this Bastion of sorts.     That means they'll need to move fast after! Parsons closes in hard and quick after the dazing impact of some of those ranged attacks, explosives, and of course, the ram, flickering between visible and invisible as he goes, going for astrally-projected mental strikes instead of physical ones. While they're a fair bit less effective than just blasting their foes with energy, they allow Parsons to make an effort to breach minds and steal information as he goes. Dramatic palm-strikes against the skull are marked with huge psychic bursts of energy, intended to crash the mind into unconsciousness and salvage as much information as possible while they're going out. He's looking for one thing and one thing only: The location of Zulf! If they can get the Cores and the Shards -- as he hopes his allies will handle, helped a little by Parsons closing in and clearing out foes -- then they'll need to focus on retrieving Zulf next!     Still not best for open battle, and he's still likely as anything to take a lot of damage from this close-quarters combat, but the urgency of his movement and the quickness of his darting around belie a specific, urgent impulse to make sure not just that others here don't have to sacrifice for him, but that he can be one of the ones who weathers the pain for others. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa seeing what Alexis is doing with the ports does give her an idea she could use freezer foam to gum them up for a good bit. She's done a bit to thin out the attack animals and riled up wildlife but the fight is still going crazy she sees that Alexis has some ideas to deal with the blockage and she's going to attempt to help her make that stick if she can. She's given up on cloaking for the moment, while she leaves it up but does not trust in it to protect her at all. She stares at Kid doing a feat of strength she's not expected out of him. She heeds his warning to stand back. So she does, and she'll move in. <Watch the freezer foam going up> She'll chuck the foam into the Ura's ranks to hopefully mix them up and flow them down, just locking them down. "So this is what all of you wanted? A word that's a god damn grave yard?! IS THIS IT?!" Even in all this chaos she's keeping an eye on her sensors she recalls the children's drawings in the last base they raided. She is trying to keep a mind out for that. She will also take careful controlled shots as she advances though unlike many if Ura actually flee she'll let them go. They are here for the items and Zulf as far as she's concerned. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Now was maybe not the time to pull at this particular cosmic loose thread. With no intent to communicate anything she's doing, and in fact little to no /idea/ what she's doing, Priscilla sort of wanders off and gets herself into trouble. She doesn't seem nearly surprised enough to indicate that her arm being immersed in messed up reality splash space is something outside the realm of what she had expected, but it does look like she hadn't done it until now. She offers zero explanation as to what the actual hell she's doing, why, or even how. It's an oddity that doesn't last long enough to question, because the Ura aren't sitting around and analyzing it, but doing what a crafty and resilient opportunist would do: taking her moment of distraction to dump boiling resin on top of her.     That actually breaks Priscilla from her focus, and thus her effort. The crossbreed, even more distant than usual today, practically stumbles backward from the fort wall when she hears the telltale sizzle and feels the prickle of heat from the thoroughly medieval defense mechanism. Were it not for having a tail (classically those are for balance) she'd probably have fallen on her ass from how quickly she divorces from her infiltration attempt to avoid horrific burns all over her body. Arrows are one thing, but . . .     It's frustrating, to say the least. Priscilla had little idea what she was doing here in the first place, and the first sparks to catch light in her head this entire time being blown out like that is intensely aggravating. Truth told, when she watches the Kid go over and start smashing his head against the battering ram, she feels for the guy. She feels like she would do the same, had she the energy. She hates the Ura, and she hates this rock, but though every part of her that she is consciously aware of compels her forwards, she feels lost and foggy and despondent about it anyways, the fire in her having burnt bright and burnt short a battle too soon before the end.     It's funny, then, that someone who presides over a kingdom of gods should be so surprised when one answers his call. It's not even beyond the realm of plausibility for where one of her own world's gods would bestow his or her favour, but the moment she recognizes a miracle for what it is, raw, rough, and unwritten, happening for the first time, Priscilla can't help but feel shock, and then excitement, pulsing through her at the idea that Caelondia's gods live. She had taken this world for yet another of many where their very existence was dubious, but at least the Bull could not have possibly picked a better time to marshal what strength it has left to its last remaining devout.     It isn't like Priscilla to be the one who rallies to the sign of a miracle, rather than being the one who pushes forward herself, but in this case, she can make an exception. It's less the feeling that Pyth is with them, but more that something, /anything/ acknowledges the worth of their chosen path, that pushes Priscilla up off her feet, and then into the breach. She draws the shimmering (and oddly liquid) blade of Moonlight, cleaving a gleaming arc into the air that leaps the distance and explodes in the central ranks of the defensive formation, where Priscilla follows with the actual sword itself, taking advantage of the Ura's own surprise and smashing the guards away from the core while they're still stunned and disorganized. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Alexis takes the advantage immediately, spreading seeds throughout the Ura sanctuary. They bloom rapidly, bringing spring to the wintery place, and confusing the Ura terribly. But then she brings the summer forest fire, rapidly spiking the temperature within. Robes and cloaks catch fire, forcing the Ura to drop and roll to extinguish themselves, while others are totally engulfed. The flames also force them to bunch up, limiting their ability to do their strange, fluid movement.     Rory lunges right for the Cores and Shards, blating the Ura with laser fire. Thanks to Alexis starting a fire, they have much less ice and snow to turn to water vapour, rendering them vulnerable once more. But as she gets close, Ura grab the Cores and Shards and scatter, spreading all across their sanctuary. Using what could be their final moments to safeguard them.     Flamel goes in with secret agent palm strikes, causing minds to BSoD as he rips as much information from them as possible. Zulf, Zulf... there! Further back in the sanctuary, there are cells, and he is in one of them! Their memories of him depict him paler, chilled... but still alive.     Iria scatters grenades, catching several Ura in their blasts of fire and shrapnel, while Kotone scans for children. Thankfully, none seem to be present. At the very least, the Ura know not to put them on the frontlines. Her riot foam spreads, catching several in its grip, immobilizing them.     Priscilla, invigorated by the response of the Pantheon, carves her way through the Ura with a blade of shimmering moonlight. The cutting wave blasts through the last of their defences, and she begins to attend to them personally.     But even now, the Ura are formidible, and refuse to go down without a fight.     In total, there is one Core, and three Shards to obtain. Four Ura have each taken one, and have scattered to the far corners of the ruined sanctuary. Those that remain marshal into escorts for each of them, while others take the fight to the Elites. Rory has one of those subliminating bombs hurled at her feet, enveloping her in a cloud of mist to nullify her lasers, before a net is thrown at her through it, aiming to entangle her! Alexis, as the one who gives orders to those beasts, is immediately targeted. Ura blur towards her, moving about her in confounding patterns as they stab and slice at her, aiming to keep her too distracted to give orders. Iria is targeted by grenades also, ones that release hallucinogenic gas. They then attempt to follow it up with burning arrows to detonate it with her inside!     Flamel, in getting close enough to get his information, has left himself open. An Ura he jabs at weaves his head to avoid it, before attempting to grab at the agent's arm and pull him off-balance. Out comes a knife, that he plunges at the Psychonaut's gut! Kotone finds herself challenges by an Ura baring a machete. He swings at her in an intricate combo before saying. "No. We fight to protect our own. After so many bodies, would you really stop if we did? Blood cannot be washed off, neither with more blood, nor peaceful waters." Priscilla is dogpiled on immediately, multiple nets hurled at her and smoke bombs hurled at her feet, before every free pair of hands go to stab and shoot her. Now that they know she lacks normal vitals, they try to make up for it with as much damage as possible.     But The Kid is left alone. Perhaps the Ura too recognize what has happened. They too, worship the Pantheon, and to lash out at the avatar of one of them seems sacrilegious. So as long as he does nothing, they do nothing to him. But then, he begins slamming the battering ram against the ground, causing the roof of the cavern to crumble. Rocks plummet, somehow never close enough to threaten his allies, but always managing to land on, or near, an Ura. Disrupting their movement, clipping limbs hard enough to break them...     Now they are ready to aggress. Several fire arrows at him, while he is too busy slamming the ground. He's open... does Pyth's blessing deal with defences also? 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Guys, it's nice of you to think of trying to talk to them, but there comes a point where it's obvious you can't reason with zealots. Alexis quit trying with Aqua and Magma years ago, it's less obnoxious to just beat them into submission. Same has been proving true with the Ura. Whom also prove to be really quick at adapting even when you do throw a wrench into their plans. But they're not the only ones that can learn. They decsend on Alexis with their blurry movements, the first one to get close plunging a knife through the girl's hoodie... and finding it stopped as Alexis wore her protective gear -underneath- it so it wouldn't be obvious, and blocking the attacker long enough for her slam them away with her stick. But that's only one... The other Ura soon find that beating them at their own tricks is the name of the game now. Scorch belchs out a Smokescreen of sticky ash and soot, engulfing the group of attackers, pokemon and Trainer alike in vision obscuring clouds much as they had been using the flour and smoke bombs. Though they'll probably still notice the movement of someone hunkering down in the center of the smoke cloud, which they can still stab and kick at! ... And maybe realize as their stabs dig in much more easily that it's not a huddling girl they're stabbing at, but a decoy made of quickly bundled vines and foliage through Quilladin using Substitute, the formation of the dummy from his lower vantage having looked like someone ducking and curling. While Alexis was grabbed by the tired but still determined Flygon and hoisted above their field of hampered vision out of the smokescreen, giving Alexis just long enough to return the other two pokemon to their pokeballs as they take off after one of the fleeing Shard holders. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons gets a full eyeful of the incoming blade. As it surges in, his eyes get wider and wider, glow brighter and brighter... It looks, for a moment, like he might need to be saved again. The gleam in his eyes goes a surging, aggressive red as it closes in on him...     "Not again."     The words sound out with a sudden, urgent surge, with completely uncharacteristic vehemence from Parsons. The blade surges towards him, but all of a sudden, no less than a dozen shining, translucent, psychokinetic hands lash out, and snatch the incoming arm with a dozen grips at once. The strain of blocking it with such overwhelming, knee-jerk panic force shocks his brain with a sparking surge of its own kind of damage, but Parsons seems determined to power through that, and even more determined to make it a meaningful gesture.     He attempts to aggressively snap every bone in the Ura man's entire arm in this momentary surge of panic and determination, before kicking him to one side. Still technically nonlethal, but... It's one hell of a maneuver. Straining on his mind too, for a single takedown of a single enemy.     "Zulf's further in! In the cells!" He calls out, in words without sound. A telepathic broadcast! Way easier to deal with over the sound of combat. He flickers into invisibility, and dives... Back! He's noted the way his foes have looked on this event with some substantial superstition, superstition that may even be quite warranted. He's not sure if what he intends would even be necessary, but it sure seems like a good idea. While staying invisible, he strikes up a heavy, invisible PSI Shield just in front of The Kid! He has no idea of Pyth intends to defend their friend, but Parsons may be able to make it look like he is even if he's not! Psychological warfare is something he's trained in, but in both meanings of the term.     And beside that, Parsons has a compulsion to properly be the one who helps to save others now, not just getting saved.     "Alright, Champion!" Parsons says, using an entirely new term for the Kid in honor of his current status as Pyth's... Conduit? "Zulf's further in -- you planning to cut the path? I think the others can focus on those Shards and the Core!" He intends to make sure there's progress made towards that end first and foremost, from the look of it. Something about having visited Zulf's mind once makes him compelled to focus on returning him specifically... And he has the feeling that if he can nudge the Kid mostly towards helping his friends rather than hurting his foes or focusing on the Bastion in a state like this, maybe there'll be some progress on The Kid's own unique processes of grief. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone sees that any children and non combatants are far from here. Indicating they likely have a another place for them. That also says something about the person in charge. They are not forcing every last man woman and child to fight here. Not that can do much for her she also is still a bit reeling mentally from the Pantheon's response to the Kid. She is from a world where response from any deities that might exist are stealthy or hundreds if not thousands of years apart. Or may not even be there at all. The fight goes on as she she's got a Ura whose going up close. "I would, I seen what this does my world was nearly reduced to a state like this!" Kotone finds her SMG is out of ammo and she has no time to reload it, so the weapon is dropped and out comes her combat knife. She intercepts the blows but the Ura has an edge with more experience and longer reach. A skilled close up fighter is still dangerous even to a mil spec cyborg who relies on their body's specs more than training. "It can't be washed up but you can halt there being more!" She does not know if there's a way out but she will not dehumanize the ura being people and will keep trying to engage those she can in this way. On the matter of the children a choice is made by her, if it comes to it she knows what she will do. For now she's caught in this smaller scale fight. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Of course they'd take the cores and run. Priscilla is filled with disgust at the sight, at first, keenly remembering her thoughts of the Ura being thieves and rats, but then just as quickly remember the feeling she has that they know they can't really fight them, and do so out of . . . perhaps spite? Resignation? Having no less desperate options? The hope that they might take one or two with them? Buying every second they can for some other gambit? It doesn't matter in the end, she supposes. The Pantheon, or at least their only member who cares, has chosen their champion. Fate is agreed on who is right here.     "After them!" is all she manages to say before she becomes the focus of the massive gank, which is probably the unavoidable outcome after her stunt last time, where she'd both killed multiple generals and also been the closest Elite there to /getting/ killed. The goal here today, however, is not to avenge Rucks and break the Ura's backbone, but to safely retrieve his life's work and bring an end to all of this. Instead of responding to piles of nets and smoke bombs and the rush of oncoming warriors with aggression and death (which would already be a poor option with how exhausting and battering the climb to get here was), Priscilla stands resolute, seemingly unconcerned by the trap sprung on her, and holds Moonlight to her front, turning the flat of the blade to her face, point to the ceiling, and closing her eyes.     The sword hums. Shimmers. Glows. Shines. Sings. The already oddly liquid etchings on its cerulean blade of light begin to ripple as shadowy blue-white soulfire builds around it, casting off embers of sorcerous light as the power builds within it. Just when the mess really closes in around her, Priscilla suddenly flips the sword and plunges it into the ground, discharging the energy as a swirling, exploding vortex of fire and stars and shadows which consume the nets, the arrows, the bombs, and probably send every Ura within stabbing distance flying like bowling pins. A great deal of them will probably survive the largely defensive attack, bu she isn't concerned with killing them to the last today. She lingers long enough to wrench Moonlight free of the stone, its glow dimming and its song quieting, and then she turns invisible and pursues one of the runners, aiming to stalk him down, take his prize from him by any means, and then return it to the Kid when the opportunity arises. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' FRUSTRATION! Ura scattering is met with a quick glance left and right. The robot-lioness flashes her optics brightly and turns towards the one that's closest even if only by a half a meter... and yet, the Ura are gone too quickly. She leaps RIGHT away from where the prizes were, expecting a trap... but it isn't quite enough. The net gets her tangled up in a hurry right as she's leaping and unable to change trajectories. She hits the ground in a tangled mess with a loud *WHUNK*, though not as loud as one may expect of a body made of metal.     Because while metallic, Rory's body is made of some very peculiar alloys that even the Mancers would have terrific trouble duplicating. They're light, and durable, and...     And capable of some kind of shapeshifting, it seems. Because after a few seconds to analyze the situation, little pseudopod-like extensions of jigsaw-fractals of extending metal reach out from her metallic 'flesh' and begin to SAW at the net from a dozen places at once. This will not hold her long...     "I do not understand why you struggle so hard. To win a battle that all your fellows keep losing. The determination is admirable, but repeating an action over and over expecting different results is the very definition of madness. Have you lost yourselves...?!" 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:''' In situations like this, the best offense is a good defense. Iria uses her fighting skills to fend off the attacking Ura for the time being. Her chain-katana proves useful in this situation. But then comes the time when the grenades come flying. Iria attempts to dodge the grenades, but unfortunately she doesn't quite make it. One of the grenades explodes close enough to release its gas where Iria can breathe it in. She's regretting not bringing her gas mask now... Unfortunately, while the hallucinations don't begin right away, Iria starts to feel a bit on the woozy side. Meaning that it's not easy for her to dodge the fire arrows that come at her. One of them actually hits her and almost sets her cloak on fire! Luckily, the bounty hunter is quick to feel the pain as the arrow pierces through her armor and hits the flesh. In a rage, Iria yanks out the arrow, ignoring the fact it's going to cause her to start bleeding, and then collapses to one knee as the hallucinations begin. "Dammit, snap out of it!" She says, slapping her face. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Alexis displays her trainer prowess, proving to the Ura that her Pokemon are smart enough to cover her even without verbal commands. The thick Smokescreen is a bit heavier than the smoke they use, causing several to stumble from the cloud to breath fresh air and wipe thier eyes. After all, they felt their blades pierce their target, she must be dead, right? Only once thier eye stop watering do they see Alexis zooming towards one of the Shard-bearers. Their defenders open fire at Alexis and her Flygon with arrows and Fang Repeaters as she makes her approach!     Flamel is not having any of these stabs. The Ura's hand is grabbed, and immediately broken at several points, causing them to hiss through clenched teeth in pain before being kicked away. He then leaps to the Kid's defence, blocking the arrows and addressing him by a new name. The Champion considers his words before nodding, and wading into the battle. Every Ura within range of his battering ram is swung at, every strike causing a vicious sound of bones shattering before the Ura goes flying, usually impacting against the cavern walls with another sickening crunch. He treads through the fire, which parts around him on his way to the rear. Several Ura dogpile him at once, some of them even breaking away from those who hold the Core and Shards to do so. Defending their families perhaps?     Kotone engages in a knife fight with the Ura, who only shakes his head. "You might. But could you ensure the others would? That Cael hates us, as do all his people." This is the result of years of pent-up resentment lingering from a long war. Even if they made peace on the surface, the Cael, those from beyond this land, came out better from it, and the Ura would never truly be able to let that go. The Ura goes to kick Kotone and drive his blade at her neck. Even if she is machine, that, has to do something!     Priscilla blasts those who target her away with a burst of moonlight. It doesn't hurt terribly, but it leaves her open to stalk one of the Shard-bearers. Their defenders immediately encircle them, keeping him as safe as possible from Priscilla, but they lack any flour bombs, and there's not much they can do against an invisible foe. One by one, they're cut down, and the bearer can do nothing but fire at empty air before the Shard is taken from them. The Kid accepts it, and stops swinging so much when he knows that Priscilla is nearby.     Rory frees herself from the net and preaches peace at the Ura. "You burn us with your invisible attacks, off-worlder, even as we prove we can defend against them. You come at us with your machine body, even was we figure out ways to damage it. You perist, just as we do. There can be no victory without persistance." The speaking Ura is the one that holds the Core. At this rate, there are so many Ura down that the defenders must go on the offence. They hand back, brandishing a blade as Rory is surrounded and stabbed at with spears!     Iria is rendered woozy, but the explosion launched her close to the last Shard-bearer. Their defenders try to monopolize, gathering around her before stabbing and hacking with blades, aiming to bring her down! 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:''' Even though she's dazed and not seeing things straight, Iria still has a strong sense of determination within her! She yells out and begins swinging her sword around as best as she can, trying her best to drive off the enemies. "I'm no ordinary girl!" Iria yells out at the top of her lungs. "I'm Iria, the elite bounty hunter, and I'm gonna teach you all not to mess with me!" Somehow, she manages to force herself to see past what she thinks are hallucinations and goes on the offensive, trying to get that shard. "You're gonna regret messing with me!" 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons seems to re-assess the situation. If the Kid is doing alright defense-wise, and the psychological impact of his invisible barriers is mitigated here, he may well be best used in distraction. With a rush of speed he moves to back up Iria! Dispelling his invisibility for a moment, he blasts long-range artillery strikes to clear her way, and meanwhile, he projects his astral impulses straight towards her skull, a purifying burst meant to clear her mind of hallucinogenic and dazing effects; Jawson Bog's gasses can't be keeping forever, they have to lose a /little/ potency! Hopefully enough that Parsons can clear Iria's head with a quick psychic cleansing.     If she can get at the Shard, he can even reach out from /her/ brain and telekinetically assist in getting the Shard brought back to The Kid once she's acquired it! Hopefully this means it'll be brought right back to The Kid in short order, but Parsons won't have to leave the current... Rather thankfully protective region of The Kid's vicinity.     As long as Parsons stays out of the way of that swinging battering ram, and close enough that it can hit whatever's near him, he'll be fine, he thinks. He hopes, at least. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa thinks she could likely get Alexis, Rory and maybe Iria to stop but the Kid and Priscilla? She has her doubts about that. She gets this look on her face. This sort of hate exists on her world consuming even people who'd love to escape it see to see a way out. She wondered how Japan and Allies ever worked though all the bad blood? Maybe it was time alone? America taking the harder path for once of rebuilding their enemy? She didn't know and now she had to push though for it. "You speak the truth .... I think I could convince most of them but not all." Kotone is kicked, at and she takes it but comes the blade she moves quickly attempting to catch the blade not caring about the damage and then she fires up her built in eeleware sending enough power to hopefully drop the man so she can move on to go after a shard. She's given him a chance to see tomorrow and it's all she can really do for him other than not forget it. Was it Weakness? Compassion? Kotone doesn't know it would have been so easy. She does not turn off her pain receptors as she moves either and that last blow. If her attack didn't work the Ura would have the perfect chance to get her from behind. 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Mirage is doing her best, but not even the not-quite-legendary strength of a Dragon type can go on forever, and the Flygon has been active in some way almost the entire time from flying and fighting up here to now. As the Ura defenders turn and open fire the best she can do is pull upright, taking the shots to shield Alexis from them. Arrows aren't hard to dodge but the repeaters quickly biting away the bug-dragon's already withering stamina. The protective move is just long enough to let Alexis slide down her back, using the Flygon's tail sort of like a fireman's pole to get to the ground before she collapses beneath the girl midair. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you don't leave us a choice." She flings one of her remaining pokeballs, then goes to trigger the Mega Bracer on her other arm, activating the boosting change even as the Pokemon is being released. "Let's finish this for good. Lucario, MEGA EVOLUTION!" Do these Ura know what happened the last time she used that phrase, and one giant monster became even more so and threw an entire outpost off it's floating landmass? If they do, they might be expect the same... Which means it may be as much of a surprise when it's just a human sized bipedal canine with some bitchin' dreadlocks. But that's because unlike last time, Mega Lucario's power doesn't come from size. It comes from being fast and hitting like a freight train thanks to it's new ability making it's Fighting and Steel type attacks all the more potent. It's not hard to see how Sanshou got her name from a style of Chinese kickboxing when that's exactly what she does, blitzing the Ura defenders in a flurry of punchs and kicks while their repeater rounds and arrows do minimal damage through her almost armor-like metallic fur. "You've outdone yourself Mirage, thanks," Alexis recalls the Flygon, then moves in to help. While the Mega Lucario is pummeling the guards she darts in to get after the one actually holding the Shard. "Now Caddie!" Her bag rumples around briefly and then the Sylveon pokes her fox-like head out of it. "Sylveon <3" < Don't worry, I just want to give you a hug <3 >. The voice is almost too cheerful and perky sounding as the ribbon-like feelers from around her ears and neck lash out to grab onto the Ura with their subduing effect... And then the crushing squeeze that could rival a python as that ethreal voice goes from sacchrine to almost demonic. <AND DRAG YOU INTO HELL!> .. Yeah, that's one Fairy type that's got some dissortive personality issues... But the strength smothering death-grip should be enough for Alexis to grab the shard from the Ura's grasp. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' This is YET ANOTHER tactic she was expecting. It is very classical hunter style to incapacitate, surround and stab until a thing bleeds out.     The spears ram into her metal body right into joints and structural weak points...     ... But half of those structural weak points are cosmetic only. The seams turn out to be colored oddly to mislead. As it is constructed out of millions and billions of interchangeable microscopic tiny robots, this thing can be DAMAGED, but is incredibly durable and resistant to losing function.     And there's also the fact that Rory White does not feel PAIN when she is so stabbed. One of the spears DOES pierce deeper than others, clanging against something diamond hard in the robot's innards...     The machine feline RISES.     "What you fail to realize is that this body is disposable. Losing it is unpleasant and a setback, but you cannot truly destroy me. Not with swords and spears. What you fail to understand is that time after time I attempted to maintain and establish peace, for every number among the dead is a tragedy to me."     You know how it's said that wood doesn't conduct electricity? This is actually not so true. ALMOST ANYTHING will conduct electricity if there's ENOUGH of it thrown at it. And stabbing spears and swords into a robot turns out to be a TERRIBLE idea...     Because unless the Ura have taken the precaution to properly insulate those weapons...     ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORCH!!!!     Yeah. Electrification is the backlash of stabbing a robot.     And even as that onslaught begins she continues speaking, "Every one of you I kill is a potential genius who might be your people's salvation in some future conflict. I do not wish the Ura wiped out, but for the sake of protecting my friends, who CAN die from these weapons, I cannot hold back. This onslaught against a people who have already suffered much, in the smoldering wreck of a great city and countless dead, is pointless. Barbaric." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Flamel and Iria team up to deal with the Shard-bearer! The bounty hunter grapples with the Shard, the Ura having to drop their blade to keep a grip on it. Flamel's psychic artillery then impacts around them, taking out his guards and stunning him, allowing her to rip it from his grasp!     Meanwhile, Alexis homes in on another Shard-bearer, releasing her Lucario and making it undergo Mega Evolution. The guards immediately disperse, assuming that yes, it would become hulking like last time. But it just becomes faster, more vicious. With them separated, they can do nothing to support each other as they are viciously brought down with bare-handed blows. The bearer finds themselves accosted by a cute pink and cream creature that begins to throttle the life out of them, making their grip on the Shard slip, permitting Alexis to clasp it.     All that is left is the Core. Rory does a fine job of stunning its defenders with an electrical discharge, just as Kotone incapacitates her own foe with a final, desperate blow, allowing her to go for the Core. This final Ura, alone, releases it and flees at the sight of the cyborg coming for her. That's all of them. All that is left is Zulf.     The Kid has carved a path towards his cell, based on Flamel's input. They walk through frigid hallways to find it. But Zulf is not inside. He has been dragged out by non-combatants, who are in the process of beating him viciously, stomping on his prone form. Some kind of misplace retribution? Punishment for drawing the Kid here? Either way, they flee upon seeing the man himself, steam erupting from his nostrils and murder in his eyes.     Once they're gone, Kid checks on the Uran traitor. He's still breathing, but it's raspy. Immediately and without reservation, he discards the battering ram, the sturdy wood sending a tremor through the Terminals upon impact. Immediately, Pyth's blessing leaves him, and he is forced to shoulder the wounded man with his own strength.     "Let's go," Kid says, his voice his own once more. The trip out of the Terminals is quiet, until the very end. They find a functional Skyway, blocked by the very last of the Ura. Those who bear weapons with little instruction on how to use them, angry and desperate.     "Ignore 'em," Kid says, striding forward even as they open fire, doing his best to shield Zulf with his own body. 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' As soon as Alexis has pulled the Shard free Caddie releases her bind, letting the weakened body slump to the ground, her voice once again going sugary sweet. < Thank you~ > Then lives up to her name by taking Alexis' stick and tucking it into the bag with her. Alexis also hands her the Shard. "Hold onto that, and gimme the rope." Which is tossed in a loop around the Mega Lucario's midsection, and Alexis deploys her rollerblades. "Get us outta here. To the Skyway!" This was part of the plan, as now the very fast pokemon can just pull her out of the tunnels and likely past any other remaining opposition. And silently glad she didn't have the use her last pokemon. The Entei may be her most powerful, but there would of been no garuntee that he'd stay in control under these circumstances. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa runs past she looks at the lone Ura running she lets them go without another thought calling out. "You might want to get the guy a bit ways back from me." She notes but she doesn't do anything else other than make for the core and grab it if no one else does. She will not hold back it's time to get out of here for now hoping they have got Zulf and they can get the heck out of here at the Skyway. Kotone is quiet as she steps on to it and while the Ura do not know? Baring physical damage to her cyberbvrain she will recall these events clearly as anything she's experiancing right now. She will move to push thougha and just take any hits on her way out. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Zulf is alright.     Thank goodness. Parsons is relieved, intensely and deeply, that the diplomat might be saved. It was one of the few things the secret agent could reasonably cling to as an end-goal and objective here, aside the Shards and Core. He'd worked, from his very first moment stepping foot here, to make sure Zulf didn't swerve hard into despair, and that his... Deep and profound despair could morph into something besides a dangerous, potentially world-risking psychohazard. Just this skirmish, deadly and devastating as it was, was proof enough that Zulf's grief was strong enough to shift the axis of what remained of the world.     And what of The Kid's? These two had both lost their homelands, the people who helped them, and the people they were loyal to. Both had grown, through struggling... Or at least they'd had the chance to. They were two sides of a very similar coin, each one of the few willing to bridge the gap between the corpses of nations, and that meant The Kid's own possible pain was just as dangerous. So was all this, the rescue of Zulf, an indicator of healing the loss a bit?     The Psychonaut can only hope, this time. No time to visit that mindscape now.     Parsons has already weathered a storm of violence on the way in. Now they weather a storm of violence on the way out. And Parsons admits, he's not sure how to parse what happens next. He vanishes into invisibility, but that's something he can't assist the others with. No, he has to hold out his invisibility alone, stepping right alongside The Kid, briefly The Champion. He dodges incoming fire as best he can, seeming more injured by the psychic impulse of anger and desperation than by the few shots that land near him.     He treats it like a funeral procession. He flickers into vision just enough to be seen matching The Kid's stride straight to the skyway. But, for his part, he fires nothing back at the Ura foes. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' Rory White rises from the net, finally cutting herself free. For all her claims, the reality is that the spears DID a number on her Morph. It's sparking and the legs are limping. Auto-repair features are only able to handle some of it. The structures that replicate servo functionality scream with awful mechanical noises as she gets up to her feet, limping. Unlike a living being, she doesn't feel any pain associated with this... but her self-diagnostics are basically ON FIRE with warnings and alerts.     Still, with the Ura... dealt with... she casts a look that could probably be interpreted as dissatisfied and disgusted at their fallen bodies... and does her best to hurry after the others.     Upon reaching the Kid though, she takes a moment to measure Zulf's vitals... apparently satisfied enough to not intervene for now, she follows along...     All the way until the inept would-be warriors are barring their way, however clumsily.     "IGNORE them?" She's not so sure her microphones aren't malfunctioning after that, so while following along she hAS to ask that... 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     "We got what we wanted," Kid says in response to Rory, even as a dart sinks into his leg. He stoicly takes the Ura's blows, responding only by moving Zulf so he is not wounded further. The Ura come at them, civilians clumsily swinging weapons at them. The wounds aren't deep, but there are so many.     But over time, as they tank the blows, the Ura begin to flinch away. It's hard to make violence when the other party refuses to return in kind, and the intense look the Kid wears as he carries Zulf is intimidating on its own right, let alone everyone else. Soon they make a path, allowing them to leave. One more takes shots at them, but is cut down by his own.     The party rides the winds back to the Bastion, where Zia awaits. The Kid, as usual, faceflops upon entry, but this time, he does not bounce back to his feet. Zia immediately rushes to his side. "Kid?..." He starts to rise, but his arms fail him. "Kid please, get up..." He begins to push himself up, and gets his knees under him, but falls forward again. "Come on, you did it. Please get up."     Finally, he slowly rises, drawing a sigh of relief. "Thank you." 
}}

Those Who Search (Janine Liberi)

2017-12-05T11:39:40Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2017/12/06 |Location=Alberichstadt |Synopsis=Karl Vernunft pulls an all-nighter to add another piece of evidence to his growing personal case..."

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2017/12/06
|Location=Alberichstadt
|Synopsis=Karl Vernunft pulls an all-nighter to add another piece of evidence to his growing personal case file.
|Cast of Characters=909
}}
Iman Abdul Mantiq clocks in to his morning shift with a hefty yawn and a sustained mouthful of his triple-shot mocha frappe with six sugars. As the combined efforts of glucose and caffeine attempted to rev up a brain stricken with sub-par sleep, he walks past his partner's cubicle, only to realize with a start that the man is sitting there, in the same position the junior detective left him when he clocked out last night.

"Did you seriously stay up all night?!" the Iraqi exclaims as he leans over the portable wall, eliciting only a tired grunt from the German investigator. Immediately, Iman begins pressing his coffee cup against Karl's face. "Drink, man! You need this more than me!" Another grunt, and a limp hand smacking the takeout away. "Get that swill away from me. I've found something." Iman only snorts, and steals an office chair from an adjacent booth. "Found what? All our cases are cold right now. Vandalism, Christmas shoplifting..."

Karl leans back and gestures at his computer screen. Grainy black-and-white footage whizzes by, depicting a parking lot surrounded by thick trees. "Footage of the carpark for the Grune Hugel National Park. We got a hold of it for that spate of recent animal mutilations." Iman clears his throat. "I'll note that /we/ did not get this footage. Gustaf and Leonard did. You know, the guys who were assigned that case? But hey, it's not like this violates protocol, and several laws. What have you got?"

Karl barrels on, plainly ignoring Iman's concerns for perusing evidence outside his jurisdiction. "I have a nurse friend the next town over-don't you dare snort, I do mean 'friend,' you knucklehead." Iman snorts regardless. "She was telling me about some rich visitors to the hospital. Mother and two kids who got lost in Grune Hugel. They were found passed out and took a couple of weeks to wake up. Also mentioned how they got visited by an older daughter. She spoke Italian and had an arm in a sling."

In his sleep-deprived state, it takes Iman a few seconds to link the dots. "What, so Janine Liberi misses out on a nature walk, and so avoids getting lost in the woods with the rest of her family?" Karl shakes his head and gestures at the footage again. "I've been crawling through this. It goes back over a year. Not once have the Liberi ever visited Grune Hugel." The Iraqi just rolls his eyes and drains his cup. "The rich and powerful lie about whatever shady shit they were doing. That's not worth all this."

"My /friend/," Another snort. "Was talking about their test results. They were in a coma... but the amount of cortisol they had in their blood, and continued to have the whole time they were under... frankly, they're all probably going to have issues, the kids especially." Iman clears his throat. "Need I remind you that I studied religion, not medicine. What the hell is cortisol?" Karl saves everything to a USB and tosses the stick into his personal 'open case' draw, alongside the rest of his evidence on August Kohler and Janine Liberi.

"Stress hormone. Whatever happened to them messed them up bad."

5590/P:WtWM - Siege-Breaker

2017-12-02T07:16:27Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/12/01 |Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM> |Synopsis=Die Reisende begins their attack on the Black Queen and disrupts a parade. |Cast of Character..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/12/01
|Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
|Synopsis=Die Reisende begins their attack on the Black Queen and disrupts a parade.
|Cast of Characters=909, 894, 1138, 1141, 7
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     It's been a long while, but Die Reisende reconvenes in the Mirror Forest once more. With their victory over the Constable, they won a stone from the Black Queen's Castle, allowing them to recruit the White Pig to track the source of their woes back to the source.     The little glade they have carved a home base from still looks very much the same. The Pig is occupying his little hollow, but seems to panic the moment the brick is produced. Those attuned to such things would get a vague sense of... something from it. Not exactly /evil/, nor good. Just... something about it is a little revolting. It's a simple piece of frosted glass cut into a cube, so why does it feel so awful?     The Pig would need to be coaxed, cajoled, or threatened into sniffing the brick and leading the way. Once he does, the Forest seems to become ten times more oppressive. The path becomes narrow, tangled with roots and dense with sharp stones. The trees overhead form a thick canopy of frosted, fractured glass that refracts all light from... whatever brings light to the Forest. It's a long march through these harsh conditions before their destination appears through the gaps.     For a place called the 'Black Queen's Castle,' it is not actually all that black. It's made of glass, like everything else, but it's a curious breed of it. The inside of the bricks has been frosted, so the walls are as opaque as actual walls. But the exteriors are reflective with uneven surfaces, casting fractal reflections of the party from a distance.     A moat protects the castle, as they do any good old-fashioned medieval European palace, and on the same side of it as the party is a military parade. Knights clad in dress uniforms akin to the Queen's Guard of England, with the coat, trousers, and high hat. However, the colors consist purely of greys and blacks. They stride in their formations, holding up banners and twirling them in synchrony, it's all very well-practiced. Said banners are made of a strange fabric that is partly reflective, but one constant on them is the image of a black queen chess piece. There is little doubt as to whom the banner is in honour of.     It is clear that Die Reisende will need to navigate past this lot to get to the lowered bridge that permits access to the castle courtyard. But how?... 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The group is probably heading into the Shack in the Black Forest, where August and his Archer-class Servant have moved in. Entrance is through a very large mirror on the wall, which is opened by the contact of a native Persona-User with its surface. Once inside, August is in a hoodie, with a bag of something that he's slowly pulling out once the pig seems to be afraid of the cube. "Hey, come on, Pig. I have your favorite treat." August reaches into the bag, and pulls out a handful of...bacon bits. Hey, the Pig's never been against cannibalism before, why would that change now? Is it even cannabalism if it's a Shadow? "Help us out, will you? We need to get to the castle. If you won't, well, that's not an option." August's implication: choose either the carrot or the stick. All up to the pig. Through the harsher forest, August is using a knife to cut through any roots they can't just cross over, even if it's taking a bit and his knife isn't suited for it. It's the actual castle that brings him to a stop, staring at his own strange reflection in the mirror. His eyes avert to the moat, as well as to the knights. "We should rush them. I'll summon my Persona and aim for a distraction, Archer could pick them off from a distance, and the rest of you can take them on full-bore, yeah?" The redhead begins to move. Seems he's not waiting for a full agreement, as he glances to the castle. Well, atleast he doesn't need a mirror on him. 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      There's additional assistance. This one is harder to spot, and is almost exactly behind August at all times, but not in any real noticable way - the assistance is not on his butt, but rather, a good mile or so behind it. For being a forest made of glass, the green and blonde-haired figure that is the assistance looks rather at home amongst it, bow in hand.      August *is* her master - like Atalanta would let him go off without her.      She is aware of the conversation nonetheless; it helps remind her that she is not alone here, for all the strangeness of the forest itself. August had told her bits and pieces though, ahead of time - it is not as scary as it could be. Atalanta muses to herself - it reminds her of a certain boar hunt... hopefully August won't just drop dead on her.      Wouldn't put it past this strange place, however. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Well that was a weird bit of conversation on the radio. But Speedwagon and his bunch are sort of getting the idea that 'weird' is par for the course, as the saying goes. So this time, instead of freaking out, Robert decided to just... well, offer help. Probably a dumb thing to do, but with the grave sound of those young voices, they were about to embark on something perilous, and none of the three of them liked the idea of young kids having to do something so perilous.     So it's a group of three rough-looking fellows that arrive at the specified place. One is a younger Asian fellow with long black hair held back from his face with a pair of three-pronged clips, wearing a Mao jacket and loose pants in drab greenish and gray tones. One is a rugged-looking man with long, unkempt reddish-brown hair and a short beard, wearing a fringed leather jacket, pants, and belt in light brown colors. This second guy has a large bluish 'splash' of a tattoo over his eyes and the bridge of his nose.     And leading the group is a muscular blond fellow dressed in attire that wouldn't look out of place in Victorian England! Mashed atop his wild blond locks is a dark blue bowler hat with similar decorations in the band as the Asian fellow wears in his hair. This must be Robert Speedwagon, the guy who spoke up on the radio, and his group. While the tattooed man has knives visible on his person, and the Asian man has the bearing of a martial artist, the blond man holds a sledgehammer over one large shoulder. And he doesn't seem to be having a bit of trouble with it either, which may be a testament to his physical strength.     Given the intricate means of reaching this place -- first the mirror, then following the White Pig -- Speedwagon and his cronies would probably have had to join in before the journey was begun. And it's a frightening journey, as well it should be, particularly if this forest is the coolective unconscious of a world. Dark mirrors of human thoughts, twisted back in unrecognizeable ways; even when harmless they're alien, and that alone is frightening.     But Robert Speedwagon has been into the belly of the beast before, he's faced fear and watched friends die without being able to save them -- the latter of which many might feel is even more frightening. He doesn't run from things that frighten him unless he has no choice. He may be no Hamon master, but he remembers what Zeppeli said about making fear one's own.     He does however, need to corral his companions, though. Tattoo is noticeably jumpy, and Kempo is very much reminiscent of a frightened cat ready to hiss and swipe at the first thing that jumps out at him.     As for the castle itself? "Brrr." This from Speedwagon himself, and he shudders. "Reminds me too much 'f headin' ta the castle at the Lot. Except worse. LOTS worse..." For once he's not about to jump out in front. He doesn't know what's going on, so he'll take his cues from the people here that DO know what's going on. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' It has been a long while since anything major went on with in the forest save for the strange beings they met on Halloween, but now the call had gone out and Kotone was quick to respond she'd couldn't bring her Armed Suit as much as she wanted to, as even cloaked it might cause uneasy questions to be asked in the city. So she's just come as armed as she can be on foot. They would have to talk to the pig, but it's clear that Kotone is being very damn serious tonight. She has a Matter Manipulator at her hip likely carrying a few extra things in it, but for now she's visually got a pistol and a sub machine-gun, also a few plasma grenades hanging here and there on her stealth armour. She seems ready to move she's got the idea trust in Archer and her abilities but it's also clear she's ready to lend a hand in being sneaky. She can get why Robert seems to find this place scary, even after all her time here she's still chilled by it. A ripple crosses gher body and as it passes she starts to just vanish until she just faded away from view. "Keep your wits about you Mr. Speedwagon it's going to get pretty crazy from hear on out." Kotone is ready to go in once the last details of planning, are sorted out. Even if it's just who is charging here. "Well August I said I'd be in till the end and I mean it." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The group's assembled. August is still moving, as he talks loudly without even glancing back. "Archer, slip inside and make sure they don't shut the gates. If they do, open them back up. Exercise as you see fit otherwise. I'll start us off...now!" The redhead sprints forward, as he stares at the castle and shouts. "Persona!" The Tin Soldier manifests in front of the military parade...and moves to set the lot of them on fire, it pouring out of the gun. Battle start - subtletly non-existant. 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      "Yes, Master."      Atalanta puts on a burst of speed that not only catches her up to the group, but past them. She doesn't go straight for the door, either - she doesn't need too. She tracks the guards movements instinctively, like a hunter does, before she vaults the moat. She turns intangible, a special trick granted by her to the Holy Grail, to slip past the wall.      Once inside proper, she draws Tauropolos, the Holy Bow rising into the air as she sights down and goes immediately for the gate guard with a single arrow. After that, battle is joined - Atalanta switches from single, careful shots, to single, multiple - basically, she's trying to draw people away from the gate while also paving the way for the outside group. 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Speedwagon looks in Kotone's direction, with a raised brow and a smirk. "Like it 'asn't already?" he points out. "Good ta see yer again, though. Don'tcha worry, I'm gonna be careful," he promises. Though he's momentarily distracted when August... does a thing. He takes a step back at the appearance of the Tin Soldier. "WHAT 'N THE BLUE 'ELL?! What kind 'f evil spirit is THAT?!" Subtlety? Robert Speedwagon? Surely you jest. The sentiment's echoed with a noise of surprise from both Tattoo and Kempo -- though Tattoo sounds more like a startled parrot than anything else, really.     A few moments pass when Robert realizes what's going on. "AHA! I see now!" He nods. "A' right boys, with me! Spread out!"     The three of them surge forward almost as a single unit, right at the guards. They are, of course, attempting to avoid the flames from the Tin Soldier. As for their capabilities? Tattoo is a quick and precise one; 'death of a thousand cuts' is appropriate here. Kempo is a good balance of strong and precise, slamming devastating single strikes into has he hopes are pressure points. And Speedwagon has a big-ass sledgehammer that he can easily swing one-handed! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone now cloaked and is ready to go out she does like Robert's sense of humour though. She's heading out to get into the mix of thing, Kotone's like Atalanta will be moving to get inside by use of her stealth systems, and Cybernetic abilities he will hold off for a moment until Atalanta and she'll start make for the gate it self to see what she can do. As Atalanta moves to distract the enemy? Kotone will plant several plasma grenades away from her but in the same sort of direction that the blasts will distract, and help to draw even more aggro away. <<Archer, heads up explosives going out.>> 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     August begins spewing flame at the parades, causing them to flinch and move away from it all. They way they do is eerie though. They don't break formation, and they don't scatter in an optimal way. They just... bend away, like a single living thing. Those that he does burn instantly drop though, the others leaving them behind.     As Speedwagon and his Ogre Street crew rush in, they encounter no resistance from the dress knights. They carry sabres at their sides, but they cling to their banners even as they are struck and sliced. Their flesh has a strange, rubbery quality, but they bleed all the same, and their skulls crack like they should.     Kotone's plasma grenades burst effectively, splitting up the enemy and making them fail and panic for a moment before they converge once more. All in all, the assault had reduced what might have been 100 Shadows to a crew of 30 or so. Not bad!     Atalanta rushes the gate, scaling the wall and shooting the guard, another parade Shadow. This leave sit wide open, but before she can rain down arrows, someone calls out to her in a feminine Scottish brogue.     "Oi! Ye dastards outta not be poundin' me boys!" says someone in the same dress uniform. However, their big hat is much bigger, and they've swapped the trousers for a kilt. Their red, curly hair pokes out from under it, green eyes glittering fiercely. A flag with the same design as the banners the knights carry is slung over her back. Honestly, it's a pretty cute Shadow.     Or it would be, if not for those cheeks.     Massive, warty and tumorous. They jiggle and ooze with each outraged step towards Die Reisende. "Oh, ye are! Ye blackhearted blaggards! Trying to storm the castle eh? Well, ye can forget it! Ya made it real personal, and I'm itchin' to do it to ya! BOYS! HUDDLE!"     The remaining members of the parade convulse suddenly. From their tummies, long umbilical cords emerge, slithering across the courtyard towards the feminine Shadow before burrowing into her stomach. She coos as the remaining 30 become linked to her, before suddenly rushing at her with great speed.     They form a tower beneath her, elevating her high above Die Reisende as she takes the flag from her back and begins to wave it, cackling. "I am the Standard Bearer of the Black Queen's Court! It's more honour than ye are worth to die witnessing it!" She begins to twirl it as the tower of knights twists, forming a single long chain of hands gripping ankles. They swing the Standard Bearer, causing her to scythe through the party's ranks. The fabric on that flag proves to be razor sharp, slicing up the ground, and any unfortunate flesh it finds! 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     Thankfully all this bellowing from the female Shadow gives Robert and his companions time to get back. Which is a good thing, because this is incredibly weird, and more than a little frightening. Particularly when... actually none of Speedwagon's gang knows WHAT the hell is going on. All these weird cords and... What are they doing...? ...! OH DEAR GOD! This is... about how the progression of his thoughts goes as the weird transformation takes place. "What the HELL is THAT?!"     And then the sweeping of the scythe made of the other soldiers through the ranks scatters the three of them, as they all jump in different ways to avoid it. Tattoo is fast enough to avoid little more than losing a few fringes on his outfit. Kempo was already moving when the scythe started its swing, and rolls back underneath it.     Speedwagon however, is neither super-quick nor a martial arts master. He doesn't have time to turn and run -- he really has time to do little else than to throw himself backwards, away from the strike. It's not far enough or fast enough though, and a split opens up in his side. It's only by sheer luck that his arm was above it; if it hadn't been he'd have lost his arm. As it is a spray of blood splashes from his side, and he emits a loud "GYAAAH!" He falls back onto the ground, with a wince as the impact causes him further pain from the wound. That's gonna sting!     Tattoo definitely knows the sound of a slice wound, and looks noticeably agitated. "Boss!" he calls out, looking for an opening back to Robert's side.     The blond man huffs a breath, and then rolls back to his feet, still grimacing. As he gets up, he picks up the dropped sledgehammer, and then heads to regroup with his companions.     "HA!" Speedwagon declares. "You're a poor substitute for Death, luv!" He raises his free hand to the brim of his hat. It looks like just a mere flick of his finger against the bottom of the brim. But in response the brim seems to unravel somehow, revealing the four blades formerly hidden inside the brim. He flicks his head to the side, sending the hat spinning into the air in a circle around him, then catches it on a finger and spins it around that finger as though it were nothing more than a hoop. "This is really gonna be a 'slice', innit? Guess I better take a cut meself!"     And then he flings that bladed hat right at the Shadow, the looping arc aiming DIRECTLY at her face. He's hoping to take out her eyes, because it's really hard to hit a target one can't see. He hopes. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' That's certainly a member of the Court. As they begin to connect, and the Standard Bearer strikes with her scythe, it slams into the Tin Soldier, carving into it and knocking it back, causing August to grasp for his stomach. "Shit. What's your problem? We do something to make this personal for you? Pretty sure we haven't even met." The Tin Soldier flares again...and fire pours out, moving to try and burn against her tower and wind it down. "Everyone, on her!" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' The blasts from her grenades work well, quite well they have distracted a good deal of Shadows on top of Atalanta's own distraction and she'll be making ready to really get into the fight now, as the gate is rushed she also hears the Scottish accent pretty quickly herself. The big showdown is going down now as the standard bearer makes herself known and that's when the fight's really going to get under way. The scythe comes just as Kotone is moving to get back into range and she nearly loses a limb to it, she's also forced out of cloak for the moment from that near miss. Also with the shadows linking to the guardian of the gate? Ideas form in kotone's head and on top of being deeply disturbed? She has an idea. She does not to target the standard bearer directly but for the shadows forming up the tower and which are linked to her. With Robert overcoming his fear and using his hat like some kind of spy movie villain? It should serve as a very good distraction for her as she attempts to open up on some of the lower level portions of the tower with her SMG hoping to do damage and to see if the Standard Bearer suffers any ill effects from it. "On it, August!" 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      Scotsmen.      Tsh.      "Obviously, master."      Oh, there's Atalanta. Snarking at August. As she should be. The leonine Archer hasn't stopped moving - she knows better. Moving still gets you killed - it makes you a easy target. Strafing with bow and arrow is lie clockwork from her, her shots coming every way as she circles the newest animal of her many Hunts - but not staying in a circle. She knows better - and she looks alive and happy really, doing it. Hm. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Standard Bearer cackles as she feels her flag sink into Speedwagon's side. Her tower reassembles with her at the top once more. "Mmm~ You're a bloody Englishman aren't ya? Then I guess I'll take your head first!" The Londoner's blood drips from the flag, and collects in her open mouth, creating an opening! The hat is tossed, and she watches it. "What devilry is th-" she begins to say, but it goes across her eyes, and she screams. The tower writhes, the many knights groaning in sympathy, before the cries become a laugh. "Bloody fool! I don't need these eyes! I have so many more under me!"     The tower begins to move with purpose towards Speedwagon, following him even if he runs. The men that make it up draw their sabres as the Standard Bearer calls for Speedwagon's death. August yells up at her, causing her to sneer. "You killed my boys! If I had all 100, this would already be ova! But now I gotta take time to kill ya! I got better things!" Fire is spewed, but the knights know of that now. One of them bodily leaps from the structure towards August, soaking up all the flames right at the nozzle. That's one of them down, and the tower wobbles for a bit as grips shift to compensate.     However, Kotone sprays the base with gunfire. Each knight soaks up several shots before going down, and serve as a meat shield for those behind before their grip loosens. However, those that get to see this immediately squeeze tighter, so that when it is their time to die, they enter rigor mortis, allowing them to still support the structure. The Standard Bearer is still furious though. "How dare ye?! Stop bullyin' my boys!"     Atalanta strafes the structure, firing over and over. The blades of the tower knights swing, cutting the arrows from the air, but a few slip through and bury deep into their bodies. By now, the number has been reduced to about 24 still alive. "That does it! Boys, ROLL OUT!"     The tower of bodies seems to swallow the Standard Bearer as it collapses. Dead bodies are ejected as it reconfigures, taking on a rounded form. Hands grab at the ground to get it rolling as its exterior bristles with sword blades once more. Soon, it s a fast-rolling ball of meat and blades, speeding towards anyone it can hit! It uses the trees and castle walls to launch itself into the air so it may crash down also! 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     The Standard Bearer might have gotten Speedwagon's blood -- incidentally it tastes like normal human blood, if she's counting; it is however, the blood of an Englishman, fee fie foe fum -- but it seems he's taken her eyes in return. "Haha! Ya gotta keep your eye out for anythin', luv!" Speedwagon crows, as he catches his hat and returns it to atop his head, blades and all. "Not that it'll do yer much good now!" Though despite his bravado, he realizes he's in real danger here. She seems to be focusing on him. Then again, that gives him a chance to distract the thing so the others can get some good hits in, doesn't it?     More than that. He's noticed something else. "Those soldiers... she's just burnin' through 'em like kindlin'!" he realizes. That... almost makes him feel sorry for them, really. "Ya got nerve!" he snarls, this time at the Standard Bearer. "Us bullyin'?! Nothin' doin' -- YOU'RE the one throwin' 'em at us like they was shite at the bottom 'f your boot!"     Suddenly the Boss reconfigures herself! "Oh bloody hell... another form?!" Robert exclaims. Then he calls in warning, "Careful! Don't stay in front of 'er, she'll run ya down!" Yet despite his advice, what does he do? Yup. Stands right in front of her. And yells rude things. "Yer want MY head?! Then COME AND TAKE IT, IF YER CAN, YA MANKY WAGTAIL!" he bellows, swinging that sledgehammer in a circle at over his head.     Thiiiiis is probably not the smartest thing he's ever done. But he's not just standing around, no. He's waiting. If he stays far away, he'll just get traced, but if he stays a reasonable distance away, he can quickly dodge out of the way and whack the rolling ball of Shadow with that sledgehammer. Also, if the Boss is focused on him, with luck Tattoo and Kempo can come in from the sides or from behind! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone has learned something though, the shadows do react they are connected but they don't vanish on death they remain holding up the tower, her idea to cut the legs out from under this Shadow? While not perfect s she'd like has had some effect and she has some better idea of how this Shadow functions at least she thinks she does for a moment. "Well if you insist then..." Kotone's going to change targets now as she starts to move, she does not hold back but ten the bodies do something. They change the form is far different and now it's rolling fast at them, and Kotone while fast might not be able to evade something that large, she's actually clipped the blade cutting into her, her armour helps a bit and she's able to get clear without being cut down but the cyborg has been hurt and they are still. <<I'll survive.>> She not34s before she's thinking it's time to change weapons and she'll try to give Robert and his boys some covering fire as she tries to empty the remainder of the clip at the primary shadow. "If you cared about your boys you'd step out of the way and let us fix things here!" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Maybe you shouldn't have been an evil bitch, then." August replies, as he grimaces at the knight soaking up his fire. He needs another option...but then they turn into a ball of meat and blades. August dodges the initial roll, but the crash knocks him off balance, smashing the Tin Soldier back. He reacts by shooting another burst of flame straight into the sphere, as he shouts out. "Everyone, attack simultaneously!" And then, a shout to Kotone. "Don't try and talk sense into a Shadow!" 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      A brief discussion.      Yeah, okay, maybe Atalanta should've figured that out.      Atalanta finds the nearest tall thing that is not the boss or an ally - actually, the nearest tall inanimate object - and scales it. She prefers the higher ground. It's best for watching, looking, scanning, shooting - everything. With a sigh, once she's there, she pulls out her bow again, but the arrows she shoots this time are distinctly more golden than the last - she's firing hard hitters this time. Not as fast as before, but more painful in the long run. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Speedwagon volunteers to be bait, standing right in the path of their foe and calling it out. It bears down on him, the ground shaking tremendously at is approaches. It ploughs through the Tin Soldier, knocking it aside, the flames catching the side. Because it's rolling straight right now, it can't exactly beat the spreading flames out. The ball begins to wobble to one side, the voice of the Standard-Bearer now audible as she screams at the knights to hold together.     Kotone sprays the other side. Once again, the Shadows go into rigor mortis to help the ball hold together. But this form demands more flexibility, so this just makes it wobble more, straying from one side to the other.     Atalanta scales one of the guard towers, and picks off the tank with shining arrows. They pierce deep on the Shadows they hit, and only get driven deeper when that part of the ball rolls along the ground. It begins to shed Shadows as this secondary impact totally removes limbs.     all of this combines to slow the ball enough that Speedwagon can dodge, avoiding the blow! The rolling structure collapses as those who are still aflame take their blades and cut away their umbilical cords, immediately flopping and disintegrating. The Standard Bearer only has about 10 attached to her now, and she's not happy.     "Right! Sick of all of 'ya! Boys, throw me!" The knights grab on to their flesh ropes and begin to spin their whole bodies. The Standard Bearer becomes like a throwing hammer, spinning about before they all release her in unison, launching her with their combined strength, right up at the guard tower Atalanta has secreted herself in. The flag twirls, and she slices the whole structure off at the base at such an angle that it begins to slide down on the party!     "I'll add ya to the castle foundations! HYAHAHAHAH! Boys, don't let 'em survive!" she shouts, stabbing her flag into the castle walls to watch the carnage. Her knights immediately rush at the party, aiming to grapple and hold them in place as the tower comes down! 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     The dodge is still a near thing, one of the remaining blades catching the tail of Speedwagon's coat and ripping it. An inch closer, if that ball had been going a little bit faster, and it would have cut into him again. "Whew. Close one," he sighs, recognizing the danger.     Unfortunately the danger's not over yet, and as the remaining Shadows come to try to grab and hold them in place. "Ah! Blighters!" There's not enough room to swing his sledgehammer. Fortunately his hat can be used as a melee weapon too. But then that boss starts crowing about adding them to the foundations, and Robert looks up to see the form of the immediate danger this time.     "Oh bollocks!" he curses. "She's bringin' the tower down on us! Clear out!" he instructs his companions, and makes to get out of the path himsef. But then... there are the Shadows to contend with. Then again, with there only being about ten in total now, and there being six of them (including Tattoo and Kempo), that will spread their numbers thinner.     What might also spread their numbers thinner is when Speedwagon, Tattoo, and Kempo regroup and try to just BULLRUSH out of the path of the tower's fall! What this results in is three rather well-built fellows more or less STAMPEDING down a straight-line path, all of them standing about an inch between each shoulder. This is a wall of thug. And if enough of the smaller Shadows are contending with others, this should be useful in thinning their numbers. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone pauses for a split second at August's words. "Right! I forgot!" She does not argue, she does not complain no she keeps going trying to not end up ending up crushed under this shadow katamari. Now the Shadow seems to have other plans for them all. "I'm a building material nor are any of my friends!" Then comes the knights and Kotone ends up in close combat as they slam her into the wall and now she's struggling up close, but her strength is not that that of a normal woman of her size and she will push back hard attempting to break free and she'll even given the knight pinning her a hell of a kneeing if she can in her bid to break lose before the tower falls upon her. "Let's stop foolen around here!" Kotone will try for the all out attack the moment she can get lose. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Getting knocked down sends August down with it, as he loses his footing. He groans, as he considers what to do...and then the Standard Bearer moves to take down the tower with his Servant in it. August's reaction is fast. The Tin Soldier moves up, and then begins dashing for the tower...which it leaps up to start trying to climb. It's moving to try and make sure Atalanta can get out safely, giving her an extra hand to get out of the crumbling tower...and then it turns. The gun trains down on the Shadow, and then begins to fire a rain of bullets at her from the crumbling tower. Try and take her out... There's one issue, though. August can't move while he's controlling the Tin Soldier, and he's just barely in the pathway. He's going to get crushed. 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:''' 'throw me?'      "Ohhhhh Caledonia!"      That's such a weird curse. Atalanta and the Tin Soldier collide together, the offered hand letting her down safely in enough time to realize that if she doesn't Move she's about to see her second master of the war - and one she tolerates a hell of a lot better - die. Her green eyes flash, her hair pooofing a little bit more than normal as her tail swishes and her ears flatten against her head in aswift motion before Atalanta suddenly darts at August, picking up the pace to super speeds as she physically tackles into him, throwing both of them far enough to the side to miss the tower falling on their heads.      "Look look look look!" She chants at August demandingly, scolding him in the process. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Standard Bearer looks down as the party struggles with the Shadows. The Ogre Street crew barges forward, knocking several out of the way and slicing through those that are more stubborn. August fires at her, so she twirls on her flag to launch herself across the walls. Down below, Kotone escapes one of the knight's grapples while Atalanta gets August out of the impact zone just in time.     The tower comes down, crushing all the remaining Shadows. Up on the wall, the Standard Bearer suddenly shrieks and sobs, the umbilical cords attached to her withering away. She seems to be mumbling something, but is too far away to be heard. "YOU'LL ALL PAY FOR THIS!" she screams, before disappearing through a window into the castle.     The wall now has a large gap, and the castle drawbridge is down. They can easily move further inside now... but woof. What a start. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August only realizes at the last second...when Atalanta slams him backwards. The Tin Soldier thuds against the ground with only light wounds, and fades away afterwards due to August deactivating it. As his Archer is resting on top of him, August looks up straight into her face, sighs, and moves to start pushing her off. "Good thing you're safe. If that's the first one, and we know there's still atleast two more cronies before the Queen...well, shit. This is going to be a 'time'." 

:'''{{#var:1138|Atalanta (1138)}} has posed:'''      Atalanta swats August.      "Move, you stupid idiot! Don't /die/." Pause. "Can we do that again?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa breathes heavily more out of habit than need but it was quite the little grapple she sees that they have all made is through this fight and the way is open, she'll take a moment to reload her SMG before she looks to Atalanta and August. "You two are quite the pair and ... come on we got to get going your not alone in this." 

:'''{{#var:1141|Robert Speedwagon (1141)}} has posed:'''     As the Ogre Street gang plows through the shadows, as soon as they're out of the path of the tower's falling, Speedwagon looks back, to make sure everyone's out of the way. His eyes go wide as he sees August in the path of the falling tower. "MOVE OUTTA THE WAY, BOY!" he calls out. He's not going to make it, Robert realizes all of a sudden. And at the realization, Speedwagon actually prepares to run back and try to drag August back himself.     Thankfully Atalanta -- who is MUCH faster that Robert himself would be -- manages to pull both herself and August out of the way. He breathes a sigh of relief. It's a collective sigh of relief, actually, between the three Ogre Street thugs. "Thank 'eavens," he sighs.     He prepares for more trouble from the Standard Bearer... but she retreats. Gritting his teeth, Speedwagon growls after her, "Bloody fustylugs! I'll feed ya your own teeth next time!" Once a thug, always a thug, right? In some ways at least.     Though once the situation's more or less calm, he notes, "Well! Good job knockin', eh?" Indicating that there's no way the mistress of the castle hadn't heard them. Though then he gets serious. "Ev'rybody all right? Reasonably, at least?" 
}}

5543/You'll Never See It Coming

2017-11-01T04:07:23Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/10/31 |Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM> |Synopsis=Die Reisende runs into the worst thing you could see in the Forest, or anywhere really. |Cast..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/10/31
|Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
|Synopsis=Die Reisende runs into the worst thing you could see in the Forest, or anywhere really.
|Cast of Characters=909, 934, 151, 999, 7, 894, 1040
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Forest feels different, as it does every Halloween. The day whereupon the Pale Wolf strides out from his section of the glassy trees and terrorizes the collective unconscious. Last time, Die Reisende had to venture in regardless, as some unwitting innocents had decided to play the Persona Game.     But tonight, nothing of the sort has happened. And yet, there is something strange about the mirrors. A pair of eyes staring out from them, unblinking and harsh. Neither the Pale Wolf's eyes, nor the Red Woodsman's, a pair never before seen. It's concerning, to say the least, and so they mobilize to ensure nothing awful is happening.     The ominous feeling that pervades the twisted Forest pounds against the skin like a physical thing. It's not all-encompassing Fear like it was last year. This is raw, unfiltered Power, without restraint or discrimination. Somewhere in the Forest is a being unlike anything they have faced before.     Do they even want to go on? 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' >Asking a William Pauwel if he wants to explore something that's unfathomably dangerous with no guarantee of any sort of reward. >Not expecting he'll be the first one there. William Pauwel is the first one there. His motorcycle roars like a wild animal amidst the thrumming overtones of raw, uninhibited power, as if even the sounds of its twin engines have taken on some of that dread aspect. Will, for his part, is dressed as he always is for adventurin'. He's got his hat, he's got his armored dudes, he's got... A little pumpkin-shaped bolo tie around his neck, because it's Halloween, dangit. Even if they don't celebrate back home, he can still be kind of festive! For now, though, he... Just kind of has to wait for the others to show up. He's not going to go into the forest /alone./ He's crazy, not stupid. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     This made Ainsley anxious.     Gathered with the rest, she stood to the side with her journal opened in front of her. She was scribbling something down in the pages which, if any are curious enough to peek, happen to be the shape of the eyes in the mirror, and whatever shadowy details might've been discerned behind them. She notes the date on the top of the page, and a single line below the picture: "Not the Pale Wolf?" Then she underlines it and hangs the metal-bound journal back off her hip.     Her feathers are in a constant state of half-puffed. She looks around, briefly, and then... curiosity gets the best of her. She speaks a single word to herself, a magic word meant to apply a sensory filter to her eyes so she can sense emotion. As Shadows are made of them, she could pinpoint the epicenter of this sensation if she just followed the 'brightest' point before her.     "Motus."     Then she walks to the edge of the clearing, and points out where they should be going, announcing to the others, "This way!"     Whether or not anyone follows her, she's going to start walking right after saying that. She needs to talk to whatever is giving off this feeling. She needs to know. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     It is rare for Emily Branford to be given pause; something in her past has rendered her a woman of singular, unwavering conviction, the sort who can look at almost anything and come to a calm, steadfast decision of what to do (even if that decision is 'we should probably flee now').     When they step through the mirror, though, the look on her face very briefly betrays surprise and more than a little concern. "...dear me," she murmurs, absently reaching up to adjust her glasses. This is-"     And there goes Ainsley. "Goodness, just marching off on your own without even pausing to speak with us and plan. You've some sort of death wish. Whatever this is, we really shouldn't just be rushing in." She'll go if Janine goes; she'll stay if Janine stays. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' So here they were in the forest again she was on edge after what hat happened last year, she'd left her own motorcycle behgind opting to only bring what she could carry on herperson or in her Matter Maniplator unit with her. Given what happened last yer she was afraid but here she was. Even if things seem to have been somewhat distant as of late? Kotone has still come and she looked to Will as he arrived a bit after her. "Nice ride William." Then she looks back to Ainsley for a m9oment a she too arrives and she move to start following after Ainsley not wnating to let her go off alone, here of all places and on this day of days. "Hey, hey wait up Ainsley!" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is among the last ones here, but he's here. He's wearing a hoodie, hood over his head, and has a revolver at his side, holstered with several clips of ammunition on his waist. A mirrored bracelet is clasped across his wrist, as he wordlessly approaches. Last year, a boy got abducted and thrown through her. Immediately after that, August was abducted and went through what he'd consider living hell. He hates this day. Doesn't help it's also his birthday. As Ainsley moves forward, August follows after her. He doesn't say anything yet, but his hand stays on his gun. Looks like he's not in the best of moods. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Janine is present, and she does go after Ainsley, muttering that if there's something else like this in the Forest, may as well know about it. Ainsley would lead them through great swathes of destructive scenery. Entire acres of felled glass trees, pools of superheated liquid glass, points where the ground has fractured and torn.     There in the centre of it is the Woodsman and the Wolf both. But not locked in combat, nor are they together amicably, but both seem to have been defeated by a single figure. One who has their boot planted against the Wolf's throat, one who holds the Woodsman up by his neck.     He doesn't look to be any older than Janine or August. His hair is black and short, just longer than a buzz cut. His chest is bare, and he wears only skinny knee-length shorts with battered black and blue sneakers. His lack of a shirt displays his skinny form, his pale skin marked with tattoos of black lines outlined with green. They go all around his torso, flowing down his arms and legs, and even come up the sides of his face.     His eyes are the same burning red that were seen in the mirrors, and he has a black horn coming from the back of his neck.     When he notices the party, his dour face splits into a grin, before he viciously kicks the Wolf's prone body, sending him sailing through the air, over and through the trees into the distance. He also flings away the Woodsman, sending him tumbling away before regarding the party. He raises his arms, crossing them before his collarbone while raising the hands so the backs of them frame his face.     An unusual stance, but it seems like he's challenging them. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley walks through an incredible battlefield, a torn world melted and shattered by a titanic battle. And then she pauses, and her Motus spell fades away as her eyes come upon the sight of a being standing there before them. A shirtless man who has conquered two of the most terrifying beings in the Mirror Forest. She feels her heart tighten, her pupils shrink, and her feathers puff up when he kicks the Wolf away, and her head leans back in surprise, turning slightly to watch the Woodsman cartwheel away like a discarded bag of garbage.     "..."     She laughs, very nervously, and says, "I don't think any of us want to fight you," and she points off in the direction of the discarded Shadows. "Thanks for doing that, though, those guys are awful. Could we, uh... interest you in a conversation instead?" She holds out her hands with palms up, a little helplessly. She waves her hands a bit, urging the others to think of something to say.     "... you don't look like a Shadow..."     While waiting on how this turns out, she pulls out her journal and begins scribbling down in it. She draws the design she sees on this strange man's body.     "At least we know those two are not invulnerable, now..." she mutters. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Someone- no, some/thing/ that can best both the Wolf and the Woodsman. And not just best them, but best them with seemingly little effort, in a battle that looks to have involved tremendous power being thrown around. It doesn't take a great deal of thinking to determine the best course of action here.     "I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline that invitation. I'm not in the habit of hopeless battles for... what's the word these days?" She glances at Janine and August briefly, for effect. "'Funsies'? I concede it's rather obvious you'd win, given all present evidence. I'd just as soon we were on our way and left you three to it." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Uh. That's... That's the Woodsman. And the Big Bad Wolf. And... Some guy who looks like he just tore through them like they weren't anything important at all. He's still rarin' for a fight. What kind of monster is that guy, even? "Uhh... Hey... there, guy," Will says with an uncertain wave. "Uh. Mighty fine job you did here. Beatin'... those two guys." Beat. "Yeah no, I really don't think we aughtta be tanglin' with y'all, pardner. How about we just... Talk? I can go fetch some pie! It'll be grand." (Somehow Will doesn't think it will be nearly so easy.) 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     It's... a human?     No. It's - HE is - something else, maybe. No human, even a Persona-User, could fell the Woodsman and the Wolf so easily, could they? Ran holds back, hands clasped tightly in front of her chest.     She didn't bother with a Halloween costume. Not after last year.     "Ne..." she begins uncertainly, whiskey-colored eyes darkened as she gazes at the stranger, "Who are you? ...No, /what/ are you?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' That's not what August was expecting. His actual first glance is to try and see if the Wolf and the Woodsman are still /alive/, because he has very strong theories about what would happen if they'd die. His second is to stare at the man, before stepping ahead of the others, making sure he's the first one the strange tattooed man can address. His hand never leaves his gun, and instead tightens on it. "Alright, so, I have never seen you before and you don't have yellow eyes, therefore you're probably not a Shadow. That is terrifying, and I'm well aware you shouldn't say that to someone's face. August Kohler, leader of Die Reisende. Who the hell are you, what do you want, and how long do we have to flee before you snap our necks?" It may be, actually, that August is setting himself up so that if this man attacks, he's bait. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is now moving after Ainsley art this point and she's getting really worried about this and as they press on through the battlefield, looking like something out of the Union and Confederate war? She can't help but stare at the man and keep alongside Ainsley then she laughs for a moment, and Kotone stares she finally finds some words for a moment. "I'm no looking for a fight with you." She notes to the man looking rather concerned still and then she notices Will who actually has better things to say than she does at the moment. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Wolf whined, and the Woodsman groaned before the figure launched them away, and a fall like that wouldn't kill them. They'll be fine.     The being seems surprised as the party opts to talk rather than fight. Surprised... and also disappointed. But he lowers his hands and nods, though he doesn't exactly turn off the power flowing from him like waves.                             DEMON NEGOTIATION START                                 He holds out an empty palm, before rubbing thumb and finger together with his other hand, the universal gesture for money. Is he... demanding a bribe?     In response to all the queries as to his nature, he doesn't speak, but merely gestures. His tattoos shine with an awful blue light before rays erupt from his form, slamming the ground to the side of the party. When the smoke clears, it reveals he has carved something into it.     "Death's vastness holds no peace. I come at the end of the long road. Neither human, nor devil... all bends to my will." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Is-- Is he asking for... Money? Is he stuck here or something? Does he need to pay a bus fare? Can't he just take the warp g------- No. No. He should never, ever learn about Warp Gates. That would be double ultra plus bad. "Uhhh, suuuuure pardner," Will nods slowly and reaches for his wallet... Right as the Demi-Fiend unceremoniously incinerates a message into the forest floor. Will frowns severely at the words there, then looks over towards the guy with the tattoos and says: "Well, look pardner, as much as I'd be flattered, I ain't for sale. Now, if y'all wanted to buy another Will, I'd probably object too, no matter how many things you'd get to bend to them." Will used... Pun!? 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Emily frowns, considering for a moment. "I suppose a bribe is quite worth our lives, but there's an issue with that. I strongly doubt any currency we have on hand is worth anything to you. What is it you want us to bribe you with? Gold? Information? Some kind of supernatural currency? Entertainment? One of our own? I'd have to object quite hard to that last one, but..." 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley looks up from her drawing in a squeak, tensing up and widening her eyes when the beams of light smash down and carve into the ground. But then the man gestured to everyone, and she closed her journal to dig in her pockets. A frown sagged on her face as she tried to find something and couldn't seem to find it. "My wallet..." she murmurs, her brow knitted. "Damn it..."     Then she produces something from her pocket. It was a bag of candy. She gave it a skeptical look... not because of what it was, or that she was considering giving it to him, but... "I wanted to give this out to kids..." She relents, and lets out a sigh, and walks to approach the terrifying fellow. She holds out...     Ainsley offered *HALLOWEEN CANDY*! 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     August steps out in front of them all. The stranger reeks of power in a way that Ran has never experienced before. Even the Woodsman and the Wolf are helpless against him...     But instinct will carry her further than thought. As August steps forward, she reaches out to grab his arm. "Wait."     It's not like she could completely stop him, but her grip is tight, nails uncomfortably present against his skin.     Ran swallows. When did her mouth get so dry? 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August frowns sharply at the man's request for a...bribe. As Ran reaches for him, he pulls away, making sure that he's in front of the group even if he has to force his way out of her grip. "You don't even seem able to talk, having to communicate via some sort of laser beam. What do you need money for? If you want money, maybe not search in a forest for people to fight for it." Despite the fact August absolutely doesn't want to fight this guy, he's also not going to just let him bully them. He does glance to Ainsley, though. "You can have some candy. Chocolate, it's good, you know. Not getting any money out of us, though." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa lookss At the Wol for a moment then to the Woodsman but something else is going on here she watches something ios going on like he's wanting something form the? She looks at what was carved it's some sort of riddle from the looks of it? She thinks on it's meaning or is it a message for it? She's not sure she pauses for a moment she checks her gear, hard money is not something she uses often so that's out but others are giving it things she also looks to Will for a moment. "An interesing bit of information, a riddle is what is offered to us or is it about your self? I didn't expect to get something to think about." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The being's eyes flick all over as it tries to figure out what Will is saying. His features are Asian... maybe the pun doesn't transcend language? But after a moment, he cracks a small grin. Hey, it's something!     He considers Emily for a moment, before making a symbol with his hands. Using thumb and forefinger to make a lowercase 'n', withe the index finger of the other hand vertical next to it. It looks like a lowercase 'h.' Certainly not the symbol of the Euro, nor the British Pound!     Ainsley offers treats! The man takes the bag, opening it and popping a piece of candy from it into his mouth. He nods, seemingly satisfied, before spiriting the rest of the bag away somewhere for later.     August squares up, which just makes the thing smirk before getting right in his face. In spite of his incredible power, they're about the same height, so August gets to stare right into those red eyes. Eyes that shine with absolute Freedom. Freedom from morals, Freedom from restraint.     Kotone asks a question, and all the figure does is gesture back at the message before pointing to himself. So yes, it's not a puzzle to be solved. It is just about him.     The negotiation continues! He produces an energy sword from his palm, but does not attack. Instead, he uses it once more to engrave the ground with a question.     "What is your Reason?" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     It's some time before Emily answers. She spends that time staring at the words, and at the Demi-Fiend. Her expression is unreadable; all that can be discerned for sure is that she seems to be considering her own next words very carefully.     When she finally speaks, the words have an odd weight to them, spoken with an unshakable conviction sharper than most here have ever heard from her. "We are, all of us, connected. The smallest butterfly can affect the largest city through the winds of change. That is my Reason. That is my Truth." 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley smiles when it seems the man accepts the candy just fine, but it's a small smile, because she had planned for giving that to people that aren't absolutely terrifying to talk to. The man produces an energy sword, and she shrinks back from it, but when he doesn't immediately stab one of them she looks down at the wording and reaches up to scratch through her feathers. She contemplates this question with a furrow of her brow.     "My Reason is Truth itself. To know what others see, to understand why they walk their paths, to step along their paths with them... and to protect them so that their journey may not end prematurely." 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Reason...?     Ran watches the strange man eat the piece of candy Ainsley gave him. So... that's some kind of human response, at least...? No, more like human-ish. What does he really want? He isn't the Wolf, chasing them. He isn't the Woodsman, using them. What is he really?     The others give their reasons, reveal pieces of themselves. Ran is still and quiet, worried eyes traveling from one member of Die Reisende to the next. Reason. Does she have one?     Think back.     It was then, wasn't it? When she found out...     Her lips thin. The line of the energy sword reflects in her pupils. "To never feel helpless again." The words feel like weights. "To never let anyone suffer when I could stop it." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' the Negotiations go one she looks at the enery blade for a moment as he asks them wht is their Reason? Shge just kinda pauses for a moment staring at it then thinks back to the other message? She's really not sure just what's up here but she keeps trying to think about it when Ainsley speaks she gets an idea of what she's talking about. Does she have a reason? Surival? That is one given how hard she's clung on to life? To explore? That's one of the thing tht she was keen on. "If you have to ask such a thing that? I'd hacve to say to explore, to learn about the world beyond my own, to see what's out there, the road keeps calling to me." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Oh! Hey! That was a smile! Will grins back at that little bit of a smirk. See? Humor does transcend boundaries! Just... Maybe not as well as they could. He could be laughing, that would be nice. But maybe he... can't laugh? Is that why he's writing everything into the ground like he is? What is your Reason? Will blinks once, twice. He stares at the words in the earth. What is his reason? The others all give their answers. That's... Hm. ... ... "I believe in a world," Will says, "Where everyone gets a second chance. Where people are decent to one another. But I'm also an explorer, a discoverer, I think great fortune should reward great effort. I dunno if you'd call that a reason, but..." The Chaser shrugs, "I... guess if you boil it down, my Reason is for Justice and Compassion to find a way to go hand in hand. To see that people are rewarded for what good they've done, given the chance to work out of their mistakes. I want to show people that it's okay to Be Good, and that Doing the Right Thing is worth it, no matter how painful it can be." "The world is full of too many dark things as it is already. Folks're the only ones who can give it the light that this beautiful world of ours deserves. That's what I believe." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August doesn't take a step back when the Demi-Fiend walks up and stares into his eyes, though he's clearly a bit nervous. He instead stands his ground, planting his feet into the grass. The sense he gets from him is...strange, and truly fascinating, really. A man who embodies freedom over all? August considers, then, when the man asks his question. He considers how best to respond, and knows immediately what he'll say. "None of your business. You have no right to judge me. My 'Reason' is my own." August keeps his eyes fixated on the Demi-Fiend, never taking them off him. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The man shows different facial expressions as everyone answers him. He nods to Emily, rolls his eyes at Ainsley, smirks at Ran, sneers at Kotone, gives Will a vaguely impressed look, and grins wildly as August refuses to answer. His tattoos begin to glow, as do his eyes. Have negotiations broken down?!...     Suddenly, a child is at the being's side. They wear a brown coat and have long, brilliantly golden hair. They cut an androgynous figure, so it's hard to tell if it's a boy or a girl. "Come, my lieutenant. The Great Will awaits." The being stops glowing and looks down at the child, before striding away from the party. They abruptly hunch over, tattoos shining before their body erupts into lances of light that strike at nothing, and shatter it. A hole into a yawning void is opened, occupied only by grand golden faces that shine against the blackness, an equally ominous feeling rolling from them. If this monster that defeated the Woodsman and Wolf was Freedom, those faces were Law. Uncompromising, inflexible.     The figure leaps through the hole before it closes. The last glimpse of them Die Reisende see is them drawing back his fist to strike at one of the faces before the hole heals itself.     "I'm sorry about him. He's always spoiling for a fight," the child says, bearing an angelic smile. "I hope it did not ruin your Halloween festivities. My favourite time of the year..." They rummage in their pockets before producing some candy, offering a piece to everyone. The brand is 'Lightbringer,' one that does not exist in this world. "It was good to meet you all. I hope to do so again in the future. Especially you," they add, eyeing August.     And then they too are gone, vanishing into the ether. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' May have miss understood things she looks at the Demi-Fiend for a moment she also looks at them for a moment there' something she does not like at all she braces now she's got a thing to think about and she looks at them there's something tht get the her heckles up she doesn't make for a fight she watches she looks at them both she's not sure what to say but then comes the hole she doesnt like it something bigger than h3er fr bigger than her. "No, no you didn't..." She pauses at the candy in ther pocket she'll accept the cany though not to be rude she thinks nothing of the brand but will find it doesn't exist in this world, and whe'll know they were a traveler/// 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Smirk?     Ran supposes she can't understand everybody. Especially the kind of anybody who shows up with glowing bodypaint, an energy sword, and doesn't even try talking.     What a weirdo!!     Before she can protest - not that she was likely to anyway - the stranger is brought to heel by... a kid? Ran blinks, and then yelps as the stranger /tears a hole in space/ to go fight /a bunch of faces/.     She takes a piece of candy when it's offered to her. Hell, it's the most normal thing that's happened today. "...Thanks," she warbles uncertainly, eyes straying to August and Will. Oh no, don't tell her August became interesting to those creeps!! 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     The look Ainsley gives in return is a tired frown. She honestly doesn't care what he thinks, because it's what she's resolved herself to do. But when he prepares to get into a fight with them-- he's halted, by a mysterious figure. She stares up at them, this being that seems to keep the reins of this overwhelming strong creature.     The candy is accepted. She immediately understands what it means when it says 'Lightbringer,' because there aren't many beings that use the moniker. The androgynous figure, the apparent mission against Order and perhaps even God itself, and then this name.     Before she can say anything about it, the figure vanishes.     Ainsley holds the candy out at arms' length and stares at it with her mouth pulled into a thin line. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August proceeds not to move, though his hand grips even tighter on the gun, just about to draw it...when the child appears and stops any potential conflict. Well, that's...that's a thing. August just /stares/ as the glowing man leaps through a wormhole to fight faces that /feel/ like law and order, in another dimension. When the boy hands out candy, August waits a moment...before grabbing a piece, still stone silent. He doesn't speak again while the Lightbringer boy is here, not until he's gone. "I hate this damn holiday." August rips open the candy and shoves it in his mouth. Doesn't matter if it's extradimensional or not! 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will feels... Something terrible as the strange black-tattoo'd guy rips open a hole in space and time. It's not the hole that does it, it's that... That /thing/ coming from inside of it. Those golden faces... What /were/ they? He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. Well. At least that guy liked him, right? "Uh, yeah! Sure. Y'all can... come around again, to talk. If y'all wants to. Just--" He glances to the Wolf and the Woodsman and frowns. How the blazes? "Just, not to fight." At least he got candy out of it, though! "Uh, thanks?" Will says to the little blonde kid who is NOT CREEPY AT ALL. "We... We can get pie, eh? Uh." Beat. Will turns to August and frowns. "August, what did you do?" 
}}

Dear Kid (The Kid)

2017-10-25T09:50:55Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2017/10/24 |Location=The Bastion |Synopsis=Kid reads Rucks' final letter to him. |Cast of Characters=798 |Tinyplot=In Case of Trouble }} Kid t..."

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2017/10/24
|Location=The Bastion
|Synopsis=Kid reads Rucks' final letter to him.
|Cast of Characters=798
|Tinyplot=In Case of Trouble
}}
Kid tosses the final Ura body from the Bastion, sending it hurtling to the ground below. The others he had removed long before the dark of night hung over Caelondia, but Sapling the Anklegator had opted to take some bites from its meat before falling asleep. If Rucks were here, he would lecture Kid on not letting that thing get a taste for human flesh.

But he's not here. He never would be again.

The young man with white hair had lost track of how many times he had to choke back tears today, but that's another one to the tally. Wiping at his face while taking a deep, shuddering breath, he confronts Rucks' collapsed tent, damaged during the attack. He yanks up the stakes and pulls away the canvas, revealing the old man's bedroll, piles of books, and a table bearing a half-assembled device, next to a sealed letter. The wax is broken, and the letter within reveals all.

Kid,

Should have told you this from the start. Don't know why I didn't. When you spend so long seeped in secrets, you can't just shrug them off I guess. If you're reading this, I'm probably gone. Hopefully peaceably. Here's where I tell you everything.

The Calamity? Caelondia was behind that. A weapon devised to seal the Ura in their tunnels, keep war from ever breaking out again. Zia's father, he was one of the heads on the project, alongside myself. Yeah, I was a Mancer. Devised the Bastion too, and the Rippling Walls too. Guess you could say I was always your boss, even before all this.

Zia told you what happened to her before the Calamity right? Tried to sneak out of the City with some boy who took fancy to her. When she was caught, the Mancers used it as leverage on her father. Made him finish the project, and fire it himself. They never knew-I never knew that he had altered the firing calibrations. Made it target Caelondia instead. We were so eager to secure peace, I guess the thought of betrayal never entered our minds.

He detailed it all in that journal Zulf decoded. Now you know for sure why he was so torn up that day. You probably figured it out for yourself though. You're brighter than you give yourself credit for.

Now, even if I'm gone, you can make all of this not matter. I'm going to tell you exactly what the Bastion was made for.

Kid finishes the last few paragraphs of the letter, finally letting those tears roll down his face. It seems impossible, ludicrous... but if the old man says it in his tell-all letter, it must be true. Besides... what else has he got to lose?

And so, in the dead of night, he takes Rucks' place, unfurling the blueprint of the half-assembled device on the table, and slowly piecing it together by candle light.

5513/P:WtWM - Re-confessions

2017-10-10T04:29:51Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/10/09 |Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM> |Synopsis=Due to Mirror Forest-induced amnesia, Janine must tell her family once more of what she has b..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/10/09
|Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
|Synopsis=Due to Mirror Forest-induced amnesia, Janine must tell her family once more of what she has been doing.
|Cast of Characters=909, 934, 894, 1039, 1040, 290, 999
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Liberi household looks fresh as a daisy. Over the past weeks, the lawn had been allowed to overgrow, but thanks to Emily's efforts, it's neat and trimmed once more. The windows sparkle, the concrete path has been water blasted, and even the bras doorknob has been polished. Those arriving may notice that a suitcase has been stashed in the bushes beside the door.     Just in case.     Heading inside would offer a strange sense of deja vu. Bella Liberi sits on a couch across from Janine, separated by a coffee table, with her two youngest children beside her. It's exactly the same configuration as it was during the first confession.     Janine looks at those who arrive as they come in. There lies one difference from the first time. While before, she was nervous, today she seems only resigned. The trace of a ghost of a smile crosses her lips, aimed those who have come to show solidarity.     "Why hello everyone. Did Janine invite you over to study?" Bella asks, Felix and Penelope looking up from a book and game console respectively. The discussion is even starting the same way... 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will was... Actually not in fact here the first time they went through this song and dance, so this is all new for him! That... doesn't change the fact that this is probably going to be just as difficult as the first time Janine tried to broach this subject. So... Hey, maybe having the Sci Fi Cowboy on tap might just change things for the better, eh? Eh!? (Ah, who're we kidding?) "Hey there Missus Liberi," Will says with a disarming grin spread all over his face. "I'm... Kind of? I'm here to help her out, anyway. How're you feelin', by the by? Everythin' okay?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August steps in, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. It's better than his usual hoodie configuration, as the redhead has his right hand ungloved or bandaged, heavy burn scars visible. Stepping inside, he glances at Janine, nodding slowly, before turning to Bella and tipping his head in greeting, before moving to stand next to Janine. "Do you remember anything about what happened? Janine was pretty scared." August replies as Will asks his question. It's a pretty insensitive one, but he's fishing - to see how much they know. 

:'''{{#var:1039|Hikaru Kurosawa (1039)}} has posed:'''     Hikaru's car sticks out like a sore thumb, in this sort of neighbourhood, but it can't be helped. He closes the door firmly to make sure the lock actually engages, and heads up the path with Ran. They've already fussed about the meeting to each other; he doesn't gossip about it, on the way in. He's in a forest green shirt, with a feather-print tie; it could almost pass as normal.     The question of whether they're here to study has Hikaru frowning, briefly, as he thinks of how to answer it - but Will comes through with a diplomatic answer, and Hikaru nods towards him. "That's right." He doesn't add that he's glad to see her well, because if she /doesn't/ remember, as August so blatantly asks...     Well, making things more awkward for Janine will only hurt her case. So he just smiles towards Bella and the children. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     The last time she'd tried to speak to Bella Liberi about Janine's Persona, it hadn't gone so well.     Ran lets some of the younger members of Die Reisende (and Hikaru) go inside first; she doesn't want her presence to make Bella think that maybe something is wrong. Things are going to be weird enough, she doesn't want to set an uncomfortable tone from the get-go. She did her best to keep things cool and casual by wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a frankly adorable kitty face on it. The caption says 'YOU GOTTA BE KITTEN ME!'     "Hi Mrs. Liberi!" she smiles, giving a cheery little wave. Inwardly, she frets a bit - it's too easy to remember the stiffly viscious, moist-eyed Other Liberis who had threatened her and Hikaru's jobs and spilled hateful words about her 'monster' of a daughter. Outwardly, she's all polite cheerfulness.     And then, of course, she crosses over to August's side, giving his burn scars a gentle side-eye. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca's always erring on the side of caution when it comes to handling situations like this. Thusly, to avoid alarming Janine's mother and children, she's dressed in a more casual attire rather than her usual outfit to avoid indicating that she's paramilitary. She enters after August does and gives a polite nod to Bella but not saying anything for the time being. Instead, she focuses more on Janine, noticing how she's smiling in that somewhat unusual way. At that, Rebecca feels a little uneasy, especially since she wasn't here for the previous confession, and she looks to Bella, presenting a gentle smile. "Well, yes, Janine did invite us over," Rebecca says in a polite tone to Bella. "I do apologize if I intruded or anything." 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Needless to say, Janine is not there alone when people arrive; standing behind her at smart attention is her ever-present butler and bodyguard. Despite all the work she's put into the place recently, she's as spotless and impeccably-groomed as ever. New arrivals receive nods of greeting now and then, but she refrains from getting chatty for the time being. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The arrival of the eccentric cowboy fellow has Felix and Penelope looking up in awe. He was at the birthday party, after all. "Oh, you're very sweet to ask," Bella says. "We're all healthy, but we've lost a huge amount of time. All the brain scans came back clean, so the best answer we got was some kind of fugue state. You know, like those stories of people who wander off and start new lives, eventually recalling their old ones."     She smiles at Janine, who just shoots a filthy look at the group before scooting over to let some of them sit down. "Well, uh... we might have an answer for what happened. Just so you know, I totally understand if you'll be upset about it, and..." She stops, keeping a straight face, but her tone makes it apparent she's trying not to cry.     "Janine, what's the matter?" Bella asks, voice thick with concern. The girl can only look to her companions to pick up the thread. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     She has no idea what to say. How do you tell someone, 'well you and your children were kidnapped and maybe brainwashed and held captive by a court made of nightmare monsters from the Collective Unconscious'? Yeah, they don't exactly make a Hallmark card for that.     Ran leans against the arm of the sofa, smile turning a little sad. "That's why we're all here. Not to study, but to tell you the truth." A nervous habit, her fingers close around the silver bunny pendant on a chain around her neck. "Hikaru and the others will be able to explain it better than me, I think, but I wanted to come and support everybody too." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will can't help being adorably rustic. He's even wearing a bolo tie! And a collared shirt! He looks like he belongs in a church somewhere in the old west. It's just... Kind of how he's always been taught to dress. Will gives the two kiddos a wink and a wave before nodding along with Bella's answer. "Well. That's good, then. I'm glad there ain't too many long-term effects! Though uh..." He glances meaningfully over towards Janine. Then... frowns. "Sorry," Will mouths. He's about to get lore-y. "Missus, a'fore we go into this, I'm beggin' y' to wait for us to finish our explanation. 'Cause the others might have trouble dragging out some proof for our story, but I sure don't." "S'truth is that y'all weren't just unconscious. Y'all were kidnapped and held somewhere where the rules of this world don't... Make a lick of sense anymore. There's a crystal forest on the other side of the mirror, and I say that in the least poetic and most literal way I can possibly say it. It's back there, and it's full of things that don't like the folks on this side of things." "Now, y'all were taken there by somethin' from the other side on account'a a power Janine and August and these two--" Will gestures at Ran and Hikki, "--All possess. Me, I've got somethin' else, but I've been helpin' out too. Point is, this wasn't just a hospitalization. Y'all were briefly lost in another world, and it took us time to get y'all back out of it." "Soooo, that's the basic outline. Y'all followin' so far? Disbelievin' it at all? It's kind of a lot to take in." "Like I said," Will sniffs, rubbing his nose. "I've got some proof, if y'all want to see it." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August watches their reaction closely. They don't remember anything, huh? Janine seems frustrated but he just glances at her, before moving to take a seat. Will starts talking, explaining everything. The redhead sore of glares at him, before finally speaking up himself. "Will speaks the full truth. We showed this to you once before. We explained this all. And then this all happened, and you lost your memory. Do the words 'Persona' and 'Shadow' ring in your mind at all? Any familiarity? Outside it being Jung." 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     For the most part, Emily Branford remains quiet, letting the others speak as they like. It's only when they've stopped that she says simply, "We know this will be a lot to absorb. And we're deeply sorry for putting it in your lap a second time, ma'am. But you deserved to know - and more importantly, the last time we told you, we bungled it quite badly. And as a result, we weren't here to protect you when the other side of the mirror decided to come after you. None of us want to see that happen again, but Janine moreso than any of us." It's a rare moment for her; letting slip some of the things that Janine ordinarily wouldn't want said, even if it's just scratching the surface. "You're her family. It's for your sake she stares out at the darkness and dares it to try anything." 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca wasn't there before, so she doesn't entirely realize that they've forgotten what has happened. It's when August and William continue their talking that Rebecca slowly gets an idea of what's going on here. She nods to Ran as she gives her explanation, and once both she and Emily are done talking, Rebecca smiles again. "Don't worry, though, everything is going to be all right, I can promise you that." If one looks closely, they might see that Rebecca's smile is a little forced. 

:'''{{#var:1039|Hikaru Kurosawa (1039)}} has posed:'''     Janine sounds like she's about to cry, and Hikaru's heart is downright /breaking/. This must have been hard enough for her, the first time. Now...     "Your brain has most certainly dissociated from the knowledge of what happened," Hikaru says, choosing his words delicately, "but..." Hikaru trails off, but Will is there, to be open and honest and plain as Will always is.     Hikaru bites at the inside of his cheek for a moment as he organises his thoughts. It has to go better, this time. "I should introduce myself. I'm Hikaru Kurosawa, Drachenblatt's school psychologist. I know that what Will's," he gestures to the cowboy, "said here might sound unreal. But I can tell you professionally that he's sound of mind, and speaking the truth. I've seen it."     He takes a breath, nods to August. "It's a supernatural world which we're able to understand through Jungian psychology. Please don't be alarmed if you don't remember. It's... difficult for the human mind to accept." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Will just... dumps it all out at the feet of the Liberi's. Janine buries her face in her good hand as Bella takes it all in. The children seem... impressed. "So you're like, superheroes?" Felix asks, his eyes going wide. "Felix, please," Bella says, hushing the boy before glancing at August. "I am familiar with Jung." Her tone isn't cold, but it is confused.     She looks to Emily, and then frowns. "A second time? You mean to say that you told me this before?" A look to Rebecca, followed by a short snort. "That remains to be seen. Either you all are delusional, or you're telling the truth. I can't tell which is worse right now." Finally, she nods to Hikaru. "A pleasure. But knowing you and Nurse Itoh are involved in whatever this is..."     She shakes her head. "You claim to be able to prove it. Prove it." Felix and Penelope sit up, both looking much more eager than their mother. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     "Ahahahahaha, well, I dunno about that!" Will laughs, scratching his fingers through his straw-blonde hair. "I'm just a guy doin' what he thinks is right, is all. Now, I don't want either of you kiddos tryin' to copy us, y'hear? This is dangerous stuff." "Anyway. Proof. Right," the cowboy says, then, plucking the bolo from around his neck. "I think this is a little less scary than what other stuff we've got. Or... More scary. Look, point is, this is some good proof and really it's our best bet. So." "Hikki," Will says, lobbing his Bolo over. "Catch." If he does, he'll notice pretty quickly that the thing is actually a latched locket. On the insie is... an old photo of a man and a woman, and a mirror on the other side. "You can use that, right?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August just nods in reply to her question. "Yes. It seems you don't recall. Anyways, Jung was right. The collective unconsciousness is real. Personas are real. Shadows are real. The others will give you proof." He's not going to summon his own. Not after last time. "What we're about to show you is pretty much unknown besides a small handful of us. People don't know about this. It's better than way, objectively." 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     "None of us became involved on purpose. Even Hikaru and I fell in completely by accident. But once we saw what was happening, and what Janine and the others were already fighting for, we couldn't turn away." Even if sometimes she really, really wanted to. "Without her and the others...!"     There's got to be damage control. Ran is certain they won't be given a third chance to do this. Tucking her lower lip between her teeth, she flips her pendant over and over. One-two, left-right, front-back. "The way it was explained to me is that Personas take a part of you and make it into armor, to protect yourself from the world. It might not be a pretty part of you, or it might be the way you see yourself. It might be the way you want the world to see you or it could be a part of you that you want to hide..." She thinks of Tsuki-no-Usagi's alien mask and Fox Sister's sharp teeth. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Ignoring the snort from Bella, Rebecca says, "I know what you're thinking, but I'm sure it's going to be fine!" She steps back and lets Ran and the others speak. All the while, she's glancing back at Janine occasionally, hoping that she's right about Janine being fine. If one looks closely, they'd see a bead of sweat forming on Rebecca's forehead. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Once more, Emily remains silent, letting the others take the lead in explanations. She has an idea, but she won't bring it out unless it's asked for. 

:'''{{#var:1039|Hikaru Kurosawa (1039)}} has posed:'''     Of course, Hikaru and Ran being involved makes things more suspicious. Hikaru breathes in, lacing his hands together behind the couch as he considers.     Prove it, Bella says, and Fox Sister is the most human and approachable of their Personas here. He nods, and looks to William, catching the Bolo he tosses over with ease. He flicks it open, smiles, and nods again. "Yes, I can use this."     He turns the locket around, showing Bella and the children the mirror. "Mirrors are important. Not only are they portals for us, but looking into our reflections, we're able to summon our Persona." Ran explains, and Hikaru gestures to her with his free hand. "I'm going to show you the Fox Sister, now. It might be startling, but you're safe."     He turns the mirror back towards himself, looking into his eyes. "Persona!" He calls, and there's a blue light as another creature /manifests/ in the room, behind Hikaru, collecting into the form of a woman.     Mostly a woman. There are wide fox ears on her head, eyes slit and yellow, teeth sharp behind her curved lips. Underneath her traditional Korean dress, behind the couch, a tail can be glimpsed now and then as it sweeps back and forth. (Thank god, Emily's already swept!) She smiles, looks at Bella and the children, puts a hand on Hikaru's shoulder. Her nails are pointed claws.     "This is my Persona," Hikaru says, glancing back to her. "She's part of me, though she might seem separate. I earned her when I stumbled into the Mirror Forest, and passed the trials I found there. This is not a trick, or an illusion. You can touch her - she's solid in the world." He might have meant 'corporeal', but he's trying not to worry too much about vocabulary right now.     He doesn't bid her to step out from behind the couch; she stays right where she is. Instead, he pauses, searching Bella's face for her reaction. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     It is proven. The appearance of the Fox Sister startles the three, but only for a moment. The choice was a good one. Felix and Penelope seem interested in examining the creature, but Bella holds them close. "So... you three can also do this?" she asks Hikaru, August, and Janine.     The Italian nods, and produces her phone. Like the fast removal of a band-aid, she gazes into the dark screen and manifests her own. The maimed woman, Biancabella, arises, and Bella gasps softly. Last time, this was the moment that soured the whole encounter, resulting in Janine being ejected from her home.     Bella rises, walks around the room, and pulls her elder daughter into a hug.     "Oh darling... what have you been doing?" Janine has no answer, but only releases a sob she had been holding in this whole time. Felix and Penelope, now free from their mother's arm, immediately rush over to examine the Fox Woman. The tail is of particular interest! 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     "Saving the world, ma'am," Emily says promptly - but her voice has softened, and there is a subtle but noticeable release of tension in her shoulders. "You've raised a valiant young woman." Her arms remain behind her back, though, and she says nothing else.     Though her eyes do briefly dart to the children and their entrancement with Fox Woman's tail. Then up to Hikaru.     ...Was that a faint flicker of a smile? Naaaah. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will can only nod as those two kiddos immediately start fawning over the Fox Sister's fluffy foxy tail. Yes, the desire to Touch Fluffy Tail is indeed one that is universal, isn't it? "She's been fightin' really hard to keep you all safe. And how, too. Y'all raised a real strong girl, ma'am. One of the strongest I know." Well. It looks like this has by and large gone better than it did the last time! Will holds a fist out for August to bump. Come on August. Don't leave a guy hanging. 

:'''{{#var:1039|Hikaru Kurosawa (1039)}} has posed:'''     Hikaru watches, hiding his anxiety in the way his hands clasp together behind the couch. But Bella Liberi, in the end, is not the cruel woman the Shadows made her out to be; when she sees Biancabella, she hugs her daughter, and Hikaru exhales in relief.     She's saving the world, Emily says, and Hikaru /just/ catches the smile which shadows her face for an instant. Hikaru shakes his head and smiles, because he's seen the children rushing forward to meet with his Persona, too.     The Fox Sister looks down at the children, ears flicking forward and tail swishing back and forth. She turns, and kneels, tail sweeping up and around to rest before her knees in an easily-examinable position. She's surprisingly patient with their curiosity, though her ears twitch if they're pulled.     Hikaru bids her to be patient, but most of his attention is on Bella and Janine, right now. "That's right," he adds, to everyone's estimations. "Your daughter is incredibly brave. And not just in the Mirror Forest... she's shared this with you, after all." And, thank the gods, it seems like it's going better than last time. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca smiles a little, feeling like things are getting better finally. But she knows things can go south at any time as well. So she keeps an eye on the general area in case something goes wrong. "Yes, she's very brave, I have to agree." 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     So many things are uncertain, but Ran has never been afraid of Fox Sister. Seeing the woman emerge from nothing brings a little peal of calm to what's otherwise a tense scenario. This is important... this could set the tone for how Bella and her other children view Janine's power. Please, please let Fox Sister be enough--!     The set of her shoulders eases subtly when the kids are enraptured by the sight of Fluffy Tail, but Bella still doesn't seem entirely convinced. "Yes, Mrs. Liberi," Ran nods, the ends of her long hair swaying gently.     She's ready to call Usagi out if needed, waiting for a sign that never comes. Instead, Janine bites the bullet. Ran finds herself holding her breath, the points of the rabbit's ears pressing hard into her palm...     ...and she lets go with a sigh, posture slouching briefly, as Bella sweeps Janine up into a tight hug. Ran shoots a sideglance and a smile at Emily. Saving the world, indeed! She lets the pendant drop from her fingers as she kneels down next to Felix and Penelope, glancing once more at Janine to make sure she's okay before giving her some space.     Ran also wants to Touch Fluffy Tail and she's not above using the children's curiosity as an excuse to do so. o/' 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Yes, I can." August says, as he sighs in relief as Bella moves forward and hugs Janine. This is going well. He nods to Will...and actually returns the fist bump. "We're saving the world, Miss Liberi. But Alberichstadt is dangerous, incredibly dangerous. It's why Janine wanted to tell you. It's not safe here." August considers something, before deciding to say it to help their point. "Dozens have died. Every Wildekinder indicates someone who has died and been replaced by a fake. It happened to you. And it will happen to anyone inside Alberichstadt, unless they have this power." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Would you guys shut up?!" Janine barks around her mother's shoulder. The cloth upon it is damp, but the girl's face is clear. "I'm sure their every word is true, darling," Bella says with a smile, before releasing Janine and returning to her seat. "Thank you all for looking out for her. She's much more fragile than she pretends to be."     As Janine lets out an embarrassed groan, Bella regards August and frowns. "I'm sorry Mister Kohler, but I'm not abandoning her just because it's dangerous. Family sticks together." "Yeah!" Felix says, releasing Fox Woman's tail. "If your power keeps you safe, then we'll learn to do this too!" Janine starts to look panicked again as Bella titters. "Well, not you, young man. But I agree. Could I learn to do this?" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' A-aww, Janine's getting all kinds of flustered and embarassed. But that's normal, isn't it? Will disguises a snicker with a grin in a foxward direction. He looks like he's about to drift over there and shove his face into her tail right alongside Ran 'snugglecatte' Itoh. And then Missus Liberi says a thing that is just plum dumb. "Er, wait, hold on now ma'am," Will says, his hands held up in a placating gesture. "That... That's a dangerous thing to walk into. Real dangerous. Dangerous in a way I don't think we'd be able to help." "There is something you can do, though," he explains. "The Persona... The things that Hikaru and Janine've summoned up. They're... things of the will, you know? Of the mind and the heart. And the more secure those are-- the stronger they are-- the stronger, I think, the Persona should be." The gunslinger reclaims his bolo from Hikaru and stares wistfully into the photo within before shoving it back into his pocket. "Your daughter's strong, ma'am. Real strong. But she's that way in large part because of all of you. Now, she's been carryin' this burden all on her lonesome, save for all of us, for a while. But now y'all can give her the support only a family can give." "That don't mean you need to fight alongside us," Will gives a weak smile. "Family's important. Real important. Stand behind her, give her all the support she needs. If she knows yer safe, and that ye're with her every step of the way, then her heart'll be stronger than ever. That's what I think, anyway." "'Sides, I'd be mighty remiss if I went and said I'd be okay with another person's parents puttin' themselves in danger." 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     "You /could/, I suspect," Emily says, finally choosing to speak up - and using a tone that carries a silent 'I wouldn't recommend it' even before she starts to explain. "But the process is... perilous. Deeply so. Many don't survive, and it stands a solid chance of making whoever undertakes it into the very thing we're fighting." She unfolds her hands from behind her back at last, though they remain by her side. "And even should you succeed, it's a life of constant vigilance, constant stress, and no small amount of paranoia."     The butler shakes her head. "And more importantly, ma'am... Bella. The battlefield is for the young." There's a faint bit more life in her voice there, a bit more of 'her' in it than the carefully-controlled neutrality she typically presents.     "Your daughter is young. She's sharp, headstrong, brash. She's got the guile to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and the youth to make it happen. All this lot do. But even I'm sitting at the upper end of where that sort of fighting is wise. Even if you were to join us in the forest, your daughter..." Emily turns to look at Janine briefly, letting a smile onto her face and not bothering to hide it this time. "She'd certainly not show it, but she'd spend the entire time worried sick about you. Distracted. And that's saying nothing of what it would do to her if something were to genuinely happen to you."     Finally, the butler leans her weight on the couch, just a bit. "The best thing you could do for Janine... it's as Will said. Be the home she can come back to. Be the reason she can fight freely, without worry. The warm hearth back home is always the biggest reason a soldier comes back alive." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August doesn't speak up, but his deep frown when Bella replies indicates he doesn't agree with her. He just nods to Emily, who says everything he would have said way better. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Everything's coming up daisies, except for the part where suddenly the Liberis are super into helping. And as much as Ran loves helping, there's just one major little drawback to the idea of anybody new, especially Janine's /mother/, attempting to acquire this power...     "Please don't," Ran blurts out, standing suddenly. Her face is steadily losing its color. "We were the lucky ones. There were more who tried, or who fell in by accident - I don't know the number. But we're just the ones who survived."     Surprisingly, Will has a deep insight on the idea - the fireplace must be doing a crazy number on his ability to wax poetic! Ran twists her fingers in the hem of her t-shirt and steps backward, into Hikaru's personal space. "It's true. We know you want to help, and that you love Janine. But Will and Emily are both right; the best way you can help would be to stay here where it's a little bit safer, and be someone to come home to." 

:'''{{#var:1039|Hikaru Kurosawa (1039)}} has posed:'''     The Fox Sister, upon seeing Ran joining the party, reaches out to gently boop her nose with a finger. (She's mindful of her claws.)     Janine bids them to shut up, and Hikaru shuts, though he smiles. He listens as Bella throws her support behind her daughter, but he notices the panic on Janine's face when she starts talking about /joining/ them.     Will jumps in, first, telling her why it's dangerous, how she can help, with an addition at the end which makes Hikaru glance over to him for a moment. (He hands the bolos back, of course!) Emily continues, and Ran objects too - Hikaru reaches out to take her hand as she steps into his space.     "It must be hard to hear your daughter is fighting, and that it's dangerous," Hikaru sympathises. "But we all look out for each other. Janine's not alone. If you can help her by accepting her at home, she'll have even more support." It's just as the others have said. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca's look of confidence is disappearing and she now seems rather uneasy. She steps back a little, trying to think about what she should say next, feeling like an amateur once again. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Everyone immediately advises Bella against it. Her face contorts as they warn of the massive danger. She looks to her daughter, who can only nod in agreement. "I still have nightmares about it. And if you were around, I wouldn't be able to focus. I would be too worried about the Court coming for you. I..."     Bella raises a hand. "I understand. Felix, Penelope, and I will head back to Italy." The two children begin to protest, both wanting their own 'cool superpowers, but a single stare from Bella silences them. "I only have two conditions; my first is that I'm telling your father." Janine gulps, but nods to that. "My second is posed to your friends." Each and every person there gets a fierce glare from the plump woman.     "You have to swear you won't let a hair on her head get hurt. For every scratch on her, you answer to me. Are we clear?" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Without hesitating, Emily stands herself up straight, sweeping an arm in front of herself, and bends into a formal bow. "You have my word as a butler and bodyguard, ma'am." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' The spry cowboy's head bobs a couple of times in agreeement. "Well, sure. I mean, I can't promise she'll never get hurt ever, but iff'n she does, feel free to give us a talkin' to!" Beat. "Does it count if we heal up her scratches so good that you'd hardly even notice?" 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Hikaru offers her his hand and Ran takes it, fingers squeezing gently. It all seemed so much simpler when /they/ were Janine's age, despite everything that had happened in the months before. Still, they're here now. Janine is here now. That's nothing to sneeze at.     Ran finds herself smiling again; even if it's not as big as her earlier one, it's calmer. More real. "I can't promise she'll never get hurt," Ran sighs, "But I can promise I'll always be there to patch everyone up. Usagi-chan -- my Persona -- can heal. I promise we'll always do our best to protect her - to help everybody."     They'd promised, hadn't they? That this time they would fix everything. That it wouldn't happen again.     The knot in Ran's stomach untwists. She keeps smiling. 

:'''{{#var:1039|Hikaru Kurosawa (1039)}} has posed:'''     Hikaru is reminded of Anna Itoh, when Bella's fierce stare falls upon them. The Fox Sister stands, bows to Bella, and disappears in wisps of blue light; Hikaru nods to Janine's mother, as if in the same motion.     "I'll look out for her, Mrs Liberi. I swear." It's an important promise, and not one he makes lightly. The others cover the details, and he's glad for it. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca stands at attention and raises her right her right hand. With a stern tone she says, "I shall not allow any harm to come to her in any way! I solemnly swear this with the others here as my witness!" 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "A mother knows," Bella says firmly to Will. Everyone offers safe, sensible promises, which only makes her frown in an exaggerated way. "A true friend would insist that they wouldn't let her be hurt," she says, clearly joking. "Oh, it's fine Mama. None of these jerks are true friends," Janine replies, a smirk on her face.     The woman laughs, before ushering Felix and Penelope upstairs to start tidying their rooms and packing. "I'll arrange tickets back to Italy as soon as I can. Janine, Emily, consider this house yours. With all this... world-saving, I think you can't afford to worry about moving again."     She looks once more to everyone and says, "Thank you all for supporting her. But now, I want to hear everything from Janine. I'm sorry, but would you mind leaving?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August supplies his own promise, "Of course." When Bella asks them to leave, though, August just nods to her and then to Janine, sitting up. "I'm glad this went well. Good luck, you two." And then he leaves! Just like that! 

:'''{{#var:1039|Hikaru Kurosawa (1039)}} has posed:'''     Hikaru chuckles, when Janine insists they're not true friends, because of course she does. Relief shows on his face, when Bella assures them they don't have to move; with all the upset Janine's been going through, he's glad she won't have to move. "I understand," he says, to Bella, when she asks for space. "Take care, Mrs Liberi."     With that, he looks over to Ran, nods to her, and heads out. He'll give anyone who needs it a lift home; the ride's a bit shaky, but at least he's got candy stashed in the car! 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "W-we're not!?" Will looks aghast! Horrified, even! "W-well, I'll have to fix that! Don't you worry Janine, I'll do my best to be a TRUE FRIEND from now on!" Is... Is he joking? Janine, what have you done to yourself? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? "Oh, uh, sure missus Liberi! We'll leave you two to talk," Will waves with a grin and then turns to leave. There's a new mission in his heart, now. A new... Friendship-y mission...! Or maybe that's just an empty, creampuff-shaped space in his tummy. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Real friends don't lie, Ran doesn't say. Not when it's this important.     "Thank you for having us," Ran tells Janine and her mother, and gives a smile to Felix, Penelope, and Emily as well. "Travel safe when you leave, but... spend as much time with each other as you can before you have to go, okay?" Like she even has to tell them! Hikaru leaves and Ran follows suit; she knows he's going to offer a ride to anyone who wants it, and she's got to get to the Lemon first and claim shotgun or her legs will cramp all night. 
}}

5506/The Root of Civilization

2017-10-04T03:40:12Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/10/03 |Location=The Tapestry |Synopsis=Paladins descend into an underground Mesoamerican city to bring the fight to the Urban Breath. |Cast of..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/10/03
|Location=The Tapestry
|Synopsis=Paladins descend into an underground Mesoamerican city to bring the fight to the Urban Breath.
|Cast of Characters=562, 1119, 707, 705, 7, 1084, 151
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The trip into the caves that go beneath the city above is a shockingly easy one, in spite of the large group. The Paladins descend in conjunction with local law enforcement, just in case any lingering cultists might be found down here. Along the way, there are several points where walls have been breached, cave-ins cleared, and routes created. Tools have been left behind, which are immediately descended upon by the police to mark and catalogue. Old faded etchings in the walls that fall close to the Maya script have been encircled in luminescent paint, and each one seems to indicate which path to take.     An oppressive feeling fills the stale air the further they go. It stinks of oil and asphalt and car exhaust like it did on the city streets, but also of other things. Of baked dirt, of markets selling corn and chilli, and spilled blood. Eventually, the party comes around a bend and finds themselves in a massive cavern, occupied in its entirety by a Mesoamerican pyramid. Caves in the walls seem to hint at human habitation, based on carved gaps that may have been windows. A necropolis, potentially several thousand years old, dominated by a pyramid that may exceed the Great Pyramid of Cholua in height and volume, all while underground.     There is light at the top of the pyramid, and the oppressive feeling is definitely emanating from within. The source of it - the Urban Breath - is likely inside. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:''' Josuke might actually have been able to make the trip a little easier along the way, if only in regards to finding the way. Those faded carvings -- he might have been able to make a little more legible, presuming they were once more legible at one point in the history of the walls they were carved on. Other than that, he's been leaving things alone for the most part. He's not a police officer, even if his grandfather was, and he doesn't want to disturb evidence. It's the scent of blood that disturbs Josuke the most. The first time he ever smelled was when he found his grandfather after Angelo killed Ryohei Higashikata with his Stand 'Aqua Necklace'. Ever since then, the scent of blood to this degree always gets to Josuke. Probably quite understandably. But it means he's severely on edge as the group descends into the earth. The sight of the abandoned village though -- and the pyramid even more so -- has his eyes going wide. This oppressive air, and the scent of blood, is definitely upsetting him. But... it's a freaking PYRAMID! UNDERGROUND, no less! Of course he's impressed. "Whoaaaa..." he breathes as he looks up at the sight. "Take a look at this place..." He's keeping his voice down, though, just in case they need to not be heard. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' 'What do you mean we still aren't done with that stupid cult yet?!' Xiaomu's own words when she found out there was one more expedition into the catacombs are still echoing in her own ears; she *seriously* thought that it was all over but the paperwork and the parties. Not that the final battle in the labyrinth left her in much of a partying mood ... and she was more than happy to let other people do the paperwork, when you get right down to it. In hindsight, maybe the fact that they needed to delve into the depths one more (hopefully last) time shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did. This time, she's geared up for pretty much anything she can think of. She's gotten a fresh breath mask, including having it blessed by a miko she knows; she's got several full clips of both mundane and anti-spirit rounds for both of her handguns; she's got a supply of Shinra Special hand grenades, all enhanced with elemental fire magic. And of course she has Suiren, the water/ice-elemental sword sheathed as usual within the staf shee's carrying with her. The only thing she's been a little short on this expedition is snarky comments, really. The whole situation with the Urban Breath has been a series of unpleasant developments for her, punctuated by occasional satisfying opportunities to deck cultists in the face, and she still draws some contentment from shooting the scrap-clutter ghost of the cult's old leader before they collapsed that labyrinth on top of what was left. Still, as the group descends deeper below the city, occasionally she hooks her mask away from her nose to sniff at the air, and finds it a *little* less intolerable than the highway stench of paved modern roads and automotive side-effects. Just a little. But every little bit helps. When they reach that massive cavern and the giant pyramid rears up before the group's gaze, Xiaomu raises her eyebrows, and actually takes the filter mask off entirely. "Well, *that* explains a lot," she comments to her comrades. "Not that I know much about the ancient civilizations of America, but ... they were pretty defensive against the wilderness *and* the supernatural, weren't they? Not to mention some of the oldest traditions of human sacrifice documented ..." 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' Xiaomu has also brought something else to tip the scales. Or rather, some/one/ else. A man walks alongside her into the depths of the earth. The thrum of a living city pounds against his senses, but he makes do with the help of a specially crafted mask strapped to his face. It's a fox mask. For reasons. "For once, the movies aren't inaccurate. Human sacrifice was pretty common in mesoamerica. Hearts were torn from chests to keep the sun shining in the sky, or so the stories say." Reiji shakes his head and double-checks his handcannon's ammunition. "Well. If we encounter a strange looking priest, be on your guard." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Given what might be expected down here under the city? Kotone was going to bring the heavy weapons, she was not on foot though she was suited up for on foot action inside the confirms of the armed suit she was wearing. The heavy combat unit from her world was carrying a very large rifle of some sort with it. It also had several other weapon mounts but their nature was on known save for a small launcher of the scout drones Kotone used. She moved along and she would pause she's smelling things through her suit that shouldn't be right it's getting past the environmental seals? That's got to be some form of magic. She does not like the oppressive feeling in the air as she moves forward. "Good god is that some kind of pyramid?!" Her machines second set of smaller arms point out the thing the larger one hang on to the big damn rifle it carries. With Josuke's comment about taking a look at things? She launches the scout drones little more than flying cameras though she is turning on her sensor package in the suit multi spectrum optic to see if she can pick up anything about this place. "Yes Xiamou the Spanish were bastard but the one good thing they did was put an end to the religions that were field by ritual human sacrifice At least on my world anything to do with those old gods? Scares the hell out of me. Ya from what I recall in school they would wage war on other tribes and nations to get victims too." 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' The previous operations were investigation and rescue. Seras was equipped accordingly.     This time, the mission is different. This time, she's geared for war.     The Draculina wears some mild kevlar over her vitals and has chosen to wear a sturdy combat helmet, but it's the only modification to her ordinary attire. Protecting the heart and head. MUCH MORE ASTONISHING is her change of armaments.     Guns akimbo... if the LENGTHY semi-automatic cannons, each dangling dozens of shells on a belt-feeder could ever qualify as jsut 'guns.' She totes the things as if they weigh no more than pistols...     And matching the heavy weaponry is a look of intense determination and sheer stubborn ANGER that doesn't dissipate even as her senses are assaulted more and more through the descent.     Seras does need to stop at a few points and gather her wits whilst surrounded by such a heavy blood-scent.     The sight of a GIANT PYRAMID though, that gets her gaping, cute little fangs on display. "wha... what.... WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS?!" All professionalism temporarily vanishes as she flails an arm and a cannon - SAFETY IS STILL ON! - somewhat awkwardly at the faraway pyramid. Gobsmacked. UTTERLY gobsmacked into kittenish gawking! 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     "Pyramids."     Ainsley just says that, as if it made this all make sense to her once she saw the structure with her own blue eyes. She frowned and stayed behind the rest of the group, of course, because she'd rather not get hit by a great big spiritual monster.     "As you just said, Reiji, only the sun worshippers. This, though, would be an underworld shrine, not a sun shrine. It is, in many ways, much worse."     Her tone is entirely neutral. She may not care about how unnerving this little tidbit may be. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The intense feeling emanating from the pyramid is palpable, so it is decided that the police officers will stick to investigating the settlements within the cavern walls, while the pyramid will be searched by the Elites.     It's a hell of a climb. The stairs are steep and soaked in ancient dried blood. It's not fresh enough to be source of that smell, but there is a lot of it. Upon reaching the top, they find the sacrificial altar... one that bears fresher stuff upon it. But along the way, the feeling has intensified, deepened. Small tremors begin to fill the cavern, sending fine clouds of dust up and making stones spray down.     Until suddenly, the pyramid lurches and begins to rise.     Great fins of stone and mud pull themselves from the earth, akin to that of a turtle. A great yawning maw of fire and hate rips itself free and lets out a harrowing cry. Another lurch as the body of this beast struggles to free itself. The police are screaming now, the shaking threatening to collapse the caves they're in.     Finally, the pyramid is totally loose, a great shell upon the back of this thing, the Urban Breath. The god of the city, clad in the buildings that define it. The pyramid starts to glow from within from its foul essence as it starts slamming into the wall. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:''' Josuke's eyes go wide all over again at Xiaomu's words. "Human sacrifice?!" Though that shouldn't surprise him either, considering what they'd done to those hostages. And Reiji's account of HOW the sacrifices were done, and WHY, gets a wince. "Geez. And they probably wanna do that to us too. <Great>. At least it confirms we aren't gonna be reasoning with a kill-crazy death cult." He watches Kotone's drones for a moment -- also whoa, that armor. He stops to blink at it a moment, before Seras's shout startles him. He shrugs a bit. "Nothing about this cult has been anything but completely nuts since I got involved in it, so I don't expect anything ELSE I encounter that's connected to them not to be bonkers," he decides. That's when he notices the cannons, and gets a strange look on his face. "...Not that I don't expect everything else PERIOD to not be bonkers..." he mutters. And then someone speaks up, someone he hadn't noticed before. Perhaps she was hiding, or just elsewhere until now. Or maybe he just didn't notice, that's also not out of the question. Either way, Josuke's just noticed Ainsley when she speaks up. He looks... and then emits a strangled sound, the skin below one eye twitching. Josuke REALLY does not like reptiles, and Ainsley is a HUMAN-SIZED one! Definitely putting him more ill at ease. But at least she's not a turtle. Though that said, climbing the pyramid isn't so bad, even if it's a hell of a climb. "Whew... lot of stairs," he remarks. And then suddenly EVERYTHING'S MOVING! "Whoa!" Josuke yelps, as he falls to the ground. Thankfully he doesn't fall off the pyramid entirely. But when the thing starts smashing into the walls, Josuke remarks, "It's gonna bring the place down on us!" Josuke, however, is not content to leave that to be his fate. "<CRAZY DIAMOND>!" he calls, the phrase prompting the sparking to life of that purple aura and the appearance of the pink-and-blue armored creature. And as soon as it's manifested, it begins to punch at the pyramid's surface -- yes, the thing they're standing on. This thing is wearing the pyramid like a shell, so Josuke's trying to crack that shell with Crazy Diamond's rapidfire punches, a loud, droning "DORARARARA!" coming from the Stand in the attempt. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' On the one hand, Xiaomu likes being able to breathe while she's making a lengthy trek up countless stairs. On the other, the stench is picking up again, and while the scents reminiscent of food and markets and old-style roads aren't that bad, the blood is ... aesthetically disagreeable. She winds up donning that mask again about a third of the way up - and is, peculiarly, trying NOT to step on ancient bloodstains if she can help it, even if they're so dry they might as well be fossils. And the altar itself ... not quite so dry or unused. Still, this is kind of why they came all this way, and the sage fox is curious as to whether some idiot came down here and made a fresh sacrifice which was what set all of this trouble in motion. She's still looking uncertainly at the altar when the pyramid stops being mere architecture and starts being an animate object. "Turtles all the way down, right?" she snarks at her allies as she realizes what shape the 'pyramid' is assuming, looking down the sides of its body to try and figure out which side is the -- Okay she is *NOT* getting close to that head if she can help it. And she has to wonder if her grenades are actually going to help all that much ... but, she checks the altar again, looking for any openings big enough to, say, drop a live grenade down into the belly of the beast. Also bracing herself so that the monster's slamming around doesn't throw her off the monster's back: hunkered down, feet and one hand planted some distance apart, still hanging onto her staff with her right hand. "Reiji," she calls out over the noise, "you think this thing's susceptible to the Five Phases' destruction cycle? Or do we just see what works?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone was on edge to beging with and things only get worse as they move toward the Pyramid and Ainsleys being so neutral in her tone worries her. Thing only get worse as they head up teh stairs and kotone noticde the old blood. This is a place of evil, there is no doubt about that. "Tell me about it, I think we're going to need to take a page from our space marine allie and just light this place up." Then the place starts to shake and Kotone just pauses for a secon but then shifts her suit to keep from losing it's balance. However this thing is staring to come to life. "..." Kotone swing the rifle into action and raor it comes to life as she ta4rts aiming shoot the thing's head when she can get the clear shot to do so. "Reiji? Ainsley Xiaomu if got any ideas holw to deal with this it would be welcome!" With Seras fire power, and her own they should keep it busy and with Josuke adding both combat support and healing it should be enough to let the experts that being Ainsley, Reiji and Xiaomu figure otu a better way to deal with this thing. 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' You know, turtles are kind of a weird and terrifying animal if you really think about it. They've evolved over millenia into a form that hasn't changed in even more millenia. They have a naturally growing carapace that their limbs and head can completely withdraw into. They're strange, ancient creatures. Much like the hulking horror that at first glance looked to be an ordinary pyramid. 'Ordinary.' It was still a pyramid under a city. But as it stirs, its presence just clarifies exactly what it is that was permeating the air. That stench was no mere spiritual corruption, but the hateful, foul essence of a corrupted god. "Trying to crack this thing's shell-- good luck. It's wearing a stone citadel on its back, and I don't think that it's made out of any ordinary stone, either." Reiji growls, clinging for dear life around what seems to be a basalt pillar but what may be something else entirely. He glances at Xiaomu, then. "I don't know. Mayan gods are kind of out of our wheelhouse. But if I know anything about stone and cities, it's that both will eventually be overcome by nature. Wood conquers earth and city alike. So--" His favorite shotgun makes a satisfying, clicking noise as he draws it out of his weapon rack and takes aim for the creature's flailing head. "Let's give it a shot. Anti-spirit shells ready. Fire!" And so he does. Repeatedly. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley's reaction to Josuke is almost reflexive. First, she gasps, and then her feathers puff up, and then she steps back, but then she just smiles and sticks her tongue out at him and steps forward and past them as they walk around, rolling her eyes. She has gotten so many reactions along those lines that she isn't aware how genuine he's being. Once she gets to the stairs and somewhere up near the top, she speaks over to him, "Don't worry. I don't bite, and I'm very tidy." Smile~     But then right as she gets there, the whole structure shifts. Her pupils constrict, her feathers puff, and she crouches to lower her center of balance, one hand resting down on the stone. She grimaces as it lifts, and turns her head to realize it is, in fact, some kind of awful shell for the creature.     A metal-bound journal is lifted to her face, and she calls out in almost the same way as Josuke.     "Urashima Taro!"     A figure of about ten feet tall appears. He floats a foot or two off the ground, towering far above Ainsley. Blue light like shattered mirror fragments float around him, shining him in an aura of magic blue light. It's an enormous turtle man! He's elderly, with modern fisherman gear on. She looks up from her reflection, the trigger for the Persona, and the large turtle man opens one eye to focus on the exposed section of the Urban Breath.     And a flash of red light shines from Taro's eyes, washing over the being in a great magical pulse. It's a magical debuff, meant to hamper the being if it has any sort of emotional responses to latch onto, weakening or slowing it down. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Even gods have heads to shoot, and that becomes the common consensus of how to deal with this. The bullets impact against the stone and brick, drawing only scratches and causing droplets of oil, blood, and water to spray. The Urban Breath snarls, but continues to slam against the rock, causing cracks to spread. Reiji's anti-spirit shells make smoke rise from the point of impact, so they are having some effect.     Next, Ainsley tries an emotional assault. The god's emotions are in total turmoil. The notion that it is 'corrupted' isn't too far from the truth. The weakening effect seeps into the god, making it stumble before it winds up its next strike, but something as messed up as this will throw it off quickly.     Josuke turns his attention to the pyramid instead, driving his Stand's fists into it over and over again. A structure such as this, made by man but suffused by a god, is made of sterner stuff than a traditional pyramid. But it still falters in the face of such a barrage, cracking and splintering open to reveal a pitch-black inner chamber.     But while the god has taken the form of a turtle, it is not as helpless as the actual creature in response to threats upon its back. The slopes of the pyramid begin to splinter, revealing a grotesque mix of stone and flesh beneath. Polyps erupt from its surface, the underlying rock shifting so they aim at the party, before erupting a foul ichor of blood, mud, oil, grease, and molten gold! 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:''' Josuke emits that strangled sound again, this time at Xiaomu, at the mention of a turtle. Crazy Diamond even stops what it's doing and looks in her direction. And then suddenly the whole 'humansized turtle' thing is more than just a fear, it's a reality! Both he and the Stand turn to face it, with similar horrified expressions on their faces. "GYAH!" That, though, is from Josuke. Crazy Diamond disappears as if his image just fizzled out on a TV set, and Josuke starts backing up from the Turtle-sona. Oh uh. Maybe he's not being silly, after all. Because he looks honestly SCARED now. In fact, the whole thing has him off-guard now, and he doesn't notice those polyps forming. And so... BAM. Right in the back. "Augh!" Josuke falls forward, grabbing onto the edges of the hole he just made to avoid being pitched DOWN it. He grits his teeth; that stuff HURTS! Even now his jacket's starting to burn. The garment's probably a lost cause at this point. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' "Best suggestion is 'shoot it until it dies,'" Xiaomu replies to Kotone, even as Reiji draws his shotgun and opens fire. And that's the good thing about gods who happen to come at you in material forms: they usually CAN be shot, or punched, or stabbed, or otherwise injured to the point that, at the very least, sooner or later, their physical manifestation stops being an effective way to influence the world and those who live in it full-time. Some gods are more susceptible to that approach than others, though - and ironically, the fact that this old Aztec pyramid-turtle thing is *fighting back harder* seems like evidence that this one is vulnerable to physical assault. The eruption of polyps squirting that unholy gunk at the party prompts Xiaomu to stop eyeing the altar and start making with the direct application of violence. A couple of her Shinra Specials are sent flying at the nearest couple of clusters (assuming that the polyps are emerging *in* clusters), the magically-enhanced grenades erupting in fireballs with extra 'fire' to try and burn the polyps off before they can do MORE damage. One more such grenade gets lobbed into that hole Crazy Diamond opened up; Xiaomu's not sure how much good it'll do, but as long as it doesn't make the god-monster even more dangerous somehow, any damage is good damage, right? ... well, damage being done to the terrapin pyramid, anyway. Damage being done to the *party* is as far from 'good' as it gets, and Xiaomu winds up getting a splatter of that ichorous gunk across the back - and right on her hairtails, just as the last grenade leaves her hand. Cue a loud and *VERY* unhappy yell from the sage fox - she actually winds up yanking Suiren halfway out of its staff-sheath, channeling the ice magic across her own tails and back in an effort to drive the sprayed ichor OFF her body before the damage gets any worse. Ice helps soothe the pain, too, although she can't enjoy the chilly numbness it for long ... 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' A long and crushing trek that's not physically exhausting, but has Seras shivering unhappily nonetheless all the way up the stairs turns to pale-faced disbelief when the WHOLE STRUCTURE shakes and gets up and starts tromping around!     "WHAT. WHAT?! WHAT!!" More flailing from her, now considerably more terrified as she decides to lean against a pillar near the altar against the shaking and movement for a few seconds.      "WHAT'S GOING ON?! How do we stop THE ENTIRE PYRAMID?!" 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' Even when you can shoot a god and kill it dead, the fact is that gods aren't called gods because they're weaklings who roll over at the first sign of resistance. This thing can't possibly be new; how many cults has it inspired into worship? How vast must its power be? One thing is obvious as the creature retaliates: its corruption runs deeper than Reiji knows how to properly cleanse. Foul pustules erupt from the polluted stone facade. Under this city is nothing but vile disease. Is that the god's fault, or has the city's own corruption tainted what should have been its guardian spirit? There's no time to think of that now. The exorcist dodges the first and the second bursting polyp. The third's spray disappears into a tremendous wave of flame. A fourth catches him in the shoulder, and Reiji wastes no time tearing the fabric away before the pus can eat through. He does not want to know what this stuff will do if it sticks. "Xiaomu, keep moving," Reiji calls to his partner as he keeps up the onslaught. This time, he has much closer targets to fire on. A fifth polyp cluster ruptures a stone seam nearby, and Reiji intercepts it before it can burst. He levels his shotgun at the exposed flesh and opens fire. Over and over again, he pulls the trigger, moving slowly and steadily to close the distance to avoid being thrown off. Once he gets close enough, he empties the clip, holsters his gun, and draws... An invisible blade, filled with the essence of death. A living city can yet die. Reiji swings as the polyp begins to close, hoping to scythe clean through this thing's inanimate stone shell to keep attacking the soft flesh beneath! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa says "I can live with that but if it bleeds then is it really a god?!" She keeps shoopting and the heav weapon roars again as she fires anotehr burst at it. she's just going to keepo going for the hed and now it's taken the form of a turtle which means her locaiton is in troubole. IOne hand reaches out to grab the ide of the beast to keep from falling. Then comesall the foul things it's bleeding, what the bloody hell? This was right out of the nightmares she has had since her cyberentic conversion. She';ll hang on an fire again as she tries to find any good point to shoot it for the moment not wanting to let her ammo go unused. "We blow it to bits Seras!" That's all she got to say for the moment. She does look for a place to use the suit's grapple line though as she just might need to get off this crazy thing. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     As Josuke stumbles towards the hole, his is assaulted by warmth. It's not burning hot, but it's that kind of sticky, wet warmth that comes from organic life, and it's all around him. Whatever is inside the pyramid, it is not just more brick and stone.     Xiaomu's incendiaries burn the polyps, causing the rock and flesh to melt and seal the openings. The turtle's head roars, a scream that turns into a violent screech as Reiji joins the assault with gunfire and blades. Even cities may die, and the essence of death pumps into the raw flesh, filling it with that fact. A deep, primal shudder fills the turtle and the pyramid, before something erupts from the open flat section behind the altar.     A long peduncle of flesh, tipped with a massive, pulsing tumour with all manner of unspeakables floating within it. It begins to swing about, lashing and striking the stairs in an attempt to crush the party or swat them off its back. Another slam into the wall, this one making cracks spread all along it. Large chunks fall away, widening the entrance as fissures spread to the roof. If this continues, the Urban Breath may escape, or bring the whole place down. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:''' Ugh. Crazy Diamond reappears and pulls Josuke away from the hole by his ankle, not wanting to get whatever it was on itself either. But Josuke figures Reiji has the right idea about getting garments splattered with this crap. So as soon as he's sure he's not going to fall into the hole, he removes the splattered jacket and throws the befouled garment away from him. His mother's going to be pissed, but she'd be MORE upset if he ended up losing a significant amount of skin to whatever the hell that is. Fortunately his yellow shirt is still more or less still in good shape. Unfortunately it's a tank top, so he has more exposed skin to be wary of getting splattered. It also leaves the star-shaped birthmark located on the back of the left side of his neck on display. Possibly interesting. And now he's pissed. Those are expensive clothes! "All right, you Urban CANCER. I've JUST about had enough of you," he growls. However, as the weird giant stalk-thing starts flailing about trying to crush them, something else comes to Josuke's attention. The walls and ceiling are breaking, and could collapse. He emits a hiss, and then summons Crazy Diamond again. The Stand appears, and then... It throws Josuke at the cracked wall?! Josuke scrambles to find a handhold, but summons his Stand once more. The Stand slaps both of its hands against the wall. And then an orange-gold aura appears around the Stand, particularly its hands. Josuke's trying to use the Stand to fix the cracks, so the ceiling doesn't come down on the group. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' At this point, Xiaomu is really glad for that filter mask she's been wearing on this mission - she doesn't want to think about what the burnt polyp-scars would smell like without that layer of protection, or for that matter the tumorous tumescence which just started flailing around at them. There's one spot which occurs to the sage fox that MIGHT be somewhat safer, though - and she dives for it: the lee of the altar itself, so that the sacrificial pedestal is in between her and the mass of flailing tissue. If there was more time and/or less danger, she might try testing out a theory: whether the god-monster is conscious of its own potential weak point* and will avoid risking damage to the altar. But the truth of the matter is that any beat of her racing heart could be the last, and much the same holds for her allies (well, maybe except the vampiric Seras), and there's extraordinarily little margin for experimentation. So after some quick strategizing on the radio, Xiaomu draws Suiren all the way in a passable demonstration of iaijutsu, cranking the ice magic up to full power; if she can't actually shear through the altar (which would be the fast and highly satisfactory way), she can at least channel enough ice into, onto, and around the center of power to encase it in a solid block of frozen water. But then comes her follow-up: pulling out one of her remaining grenades, pulling the pin, and shoving it down a hole through the ice - followed by pouring on as much additional ice as she can, so that the ensuing fiery explosion will be at least *somewhat* contained and directed ... right into the altar. Icy slash + fire-grenade explosion should, hopefully, = no more altar. And since the Aztec gods were basically powered by ritual sacrifices, Xiaomu's bet is that taking out the altar will either kill the ancient god, or give it a real hard kick in the possibly-metaphorical danglies. 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' As if this creature couldn't get any worse. How deep does this thing's corruption go? What manner of twisted god even /is/ this!? Rocks tumble down from above as the beast smashes into the cavern walls. Reiji whispers a curse as tumbling earth only compounds the danger posed by that... That /thing./ The tainted tubercle that extends from behind the creature's altar. What is it even filled with? Reiji doesn't want to know. There's so much about this situation he's well and truly happy being ignorant about. The only thing he needs to know right now is that this thing is a cancer. Life run rampant, filled with unspeakable horrors and nightmarish fluids that threaten to corrupt all they touch. Urban breath indeed-- it's everything wrong with the very concept of the city. Reiji rolls out of the way of that flailing tendril and catches a falling boulder across his shoulders and the back of his head. The exoricst hisses a curse as he staggers, blood dripping down his neck, across his face from where his scalp has been torn open. He stumbles forward-- but catches himself. The tumorous growth winds up for another strike, but smashes nothing but stone when it falls. Reiji charges in underneath its wild blow. The black blade, Darkdrift, is in its sheath. His hand overs over its hilt. He roars. "Shin Kaminagi-ryu--" Reiji's foot slams into crumbling stone as the tumor swings again. He surges forward, drawing and striking at lightning speed. Darkdrift explodes from its sheath, swathed in deathly vapors as he swings at the tumor's flailing root. "RAIKOUGIRI!" Reiji lands, crouched, beyond his strike. He turns, flicking ichor from his blade. "Well," he mutters, sheathing again for another strike if the single blow wasn't enough to do the job. "Let's see how many strikes it'll take, then." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' The fight contuiune and as she comes ot the point she's going to need to reload? The thing is harmed by Xiaomus effored and exposes something else. Flesh and that's a far better target for her own attacks. She'll hang on for the moment. How do they stop this thing form bringin the place down on them then again if it escapes? She shudders inwardly at the idea breath escaping this musth not come to poass. She will do her best to keep laying on the damage to the things body and as a distrction she will drive her off hand the large one into the hide ro stone of tbe demon depending on what she can do and try to rip it fre before drive her gun in and just emptying the clip, this can't go badly at all, here right? 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Another great, rolling shudder fills the Urban Breath as Xiaomu begins icing up the altar. It seems to be having an effect already, as it begins renewing its thrashing to try and escape. But Josuke's efforts with Crazy Diamond stymies it by healing the cracks its causing. It howls at him, arching its head to try and issue another thick torrent of urban puss in his direction.     But at that same moment, Reiji slashes clean through the length of muscle, severing the tendril and it's pulpy mass. That, in conjucntion with Kotone laying into the exposed flesh, causes enough pain that the turtle's aim is thrown off. The boiling sewage still comes close though! Down below, the organic weapon goes flying, crashing into the wall and leaving Xiaomu clear to follow up with her grenades.     A great and terrible crack emanates as the alter is shattered, a violent shattering that travels through the entire structure. Bit by bit, the pyramid begins to collapse, kicking up thick clouds of dust as the flesh beneath quivers and explodes out to spread against the walls, some of it seeping through the windows. The turtle head lets out one final cry before bursting like a ripe pimple, covering the entrance with its befouled substance.     As the dust clears, it's clear that the horror is not over yet. The pyramid is gone, along with the turtle that occupied it. But now the meat of it is coating against the caves. Sounds of screams from the officers that came down with them echo from within, along with gunfire... but no sudden cuts that would indicate that they're being killed. In fact, they begin to settle naturally.     There, in the middle, where the pyramid used to be, is something that glows faintly. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:''' Josuke's eyes go wide when he sees the thing he's called 'Urban Cancer' (which would be a wonderful band name, wouldn't it?) try to splatter him with that crap again. He's hanging onto the wall here, there's no way he can possibly avoid it in time. He summons Crazy Diamond and it crosses its arms in front of itself, trying to shield both itself and Josuke from what is surely going to be a very painful attack. But then... the shot goes wide. Thanks to Reiji's attack, the gross stuff splatters the wall not a foot in front of Josuke's face. It misses him, though there's still that unpleasant smell. And probably a little blowback from it. Ultimately harmless, but vile. Still, Josuke breathes a sigh of relief. "Whew... that was too close..." Looking in Reiji's direction, he frees one hand, and waves at Reiji. "Thanks!" he calls out. Though as he looks down at what should be his landing zone? He makes a face. "Bleh!" he declares. Crazy Diamond can probably float high enough to keep him form having to step in it. These are ¥25,000 shoes and Mr. Junko original socks he's wearing, and he's not about to mess them up by slogging through God-only-knows-what! So climbs down, but at the bottom of the wall, turns and latches onto the Stand's back. He sees that glow, too, and wants to investigate. "What's that?" Though he pauses a moment as he hears the screaming. He waits, listening. Doesn't sound like they're abruptly cutting out. But still, he's worried. Looking to the others, he asks, "Want me to go check that out?" He points in the direction of the screaming. Also this is a good way to move a non-Paladin operative out if this is strictly Paladin business. Which was part of the point of Josuke asking, actually. These are pretty decent guys; he figures they're trustworthy enough to trust with... whatever the glowy thing is. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Truth being told, Xiaomu had a deep, night-instinctual desire to either desecrate or outright wreck that altar the moment she lay eyes on it ... and as the altar's destruction is swiftly followed by the collapse of the pyramid itself, as well as the turtle-thing who was using it for a shell, the sage fox permits herself to feel a thrill of vindication. Too bad that's not all she's feeling. Even with the layer of ice she conjured earlier, her vest is basically in tatters around each shoulder, and the black qipao is missing a broad swath across her back. Not that the exposed skin is all that well off - and her hairtails are, well, a lot less fluffy at the moment. But still, the main monster has gone down - and with the 'pyramid' collapsing, gravity swiftly brings her to the cavern floor, where she lands fairly lightly for what she's already been through. Suiren is swiftly re-sheathed, and Xiaomu twirls the staff in her left hand before bracing it next to and behind herself, her right hand is held out in front of her, fingers splayed as she focuses her power and her will together. "Kimon Fuuji," she incants, followed by a cry of, "XIAOMU WAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!!!" In response to that invocation, a Taoist-derived magical square forms on the cavern floor, centered on the glowing whatever-it-was - and space folds into a bubble around it, containing that node of ancient power, immobilizing and containing it within the bubble of mystical force. "Reiji," Xiaomu calls while maintaining the preliminary seal, "you're up!" 

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:''' "Please," Reiji nods to Josuke's offer. "I think my partner and I have this handled over here. Go make sure those officers aren't in serious danger." It's not that Josuke CAN'T be here, just that the situation at hand doesn't necessarily call for Crazy Diamond's unique brand of aid. Not for what Xiaomu has planned, that is. The familiar blue light that floods from the beginning of Xiaomu's incantation is all the cue Reiji needs. "Your anger is too great. Your wrath too terrible. Spirit--" The exorcist's next move is as practiced as it is fluid. He leaps into the mystic square as it forms, his hand-shotgun unleashing an opening barrage of shrapnel imbued with the living essence of Wood. "Rest, now! Until your fury is forgotten!" And so it begins. "Wood feeds Fire!" Reiji holsters and then draws, unleashing several broad arcs of flame into the sphere. He sheathes, drawing again, this time letting loose with a rapid combination of electric slashes. "Fire creates Earth!" Sheathed again. Reiji drops his weapon rack and unlimbers his handcannon. The golden gun glints in the light of Xiaomu's roiling spell as he fires, emptying a full clip. The shots draw in the lightning and rupture like starbursts-- "Earth promises Metal! And, lastly...!" Xiaomu, that's your cue! 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' "And Metal channels Water!" finishes Xiaomu as she leaps, simultaneously letting go of the sealing effect and leaping at the spiritual artifact, drawing Suiren as she flies for one final slash. The sealing circle lasts long enough for her to complete her own attack, elemental magic pulsing out of the blade as it passes through the ancient god-force to encase it in ice, adding to and capping off the series of elemental interactions which Reiji's combo set into motion, each element building on what came before it. And then Xiaomu lands from her leap on the other side of the glow, flicking her blade clean and sliding it back into the shaft of her staff. "Shinra ..." The hilt clicks home, "Bansho!" And the combined elemental force *erupts* behind her, to finish off what was left of the ancient, corrupted god. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa tears into the god's flesh with her modern weapons it's really to distract and keep the thing off balance while her allies with a better understanding of magic and the like steel they are hurting it's clear the alter is shattered and that leaves a hell of an effect upon the god. She sees the turtle head let out a cry and it explodes with fouled essence she drops her armour to the ground and it head looks up as she tries to find where best to act next. "We're not quite done Josuke." Comes the somewhat digitized voice from the armour loud speakers. "Still nice work there." Her suit reloads the rifle again sending the empty clip to the ground it will be recovered /later/ for now? She's going to follow up Xiamomu and Reiji's high end finisher for lack of a better term with several carefully aimed shots. "It's over, your cancerous infestation is finished along with yourself!" It's a big personal this god scared the hell out of Kotone given her nature and the nature humanity is charging towards in her world, she had been afraid it might be able to warp her given how divorced she feels from nature. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The source of the glow is a stone tablet, etched with more of the Mesoamerican script the party observed on their way in. If any could read it, they would see it was a list of laws and commandments that had to be agreed upon to live in this settlement. A town charter, perhaps the first ever made. It's easy to see how a god of cities would become bound to such a thing... or perhaps grow from it.     The Taoist ritual swirls about the stone as the police evacuate the caves. It seems that the spreading flesh did nothing to attack them. Considering this is a city within a natural cavern, perhaps the 'wild' nature of the place inhibited it. The Tao ritual encircles the tablet, the five elements circling and feeding each other. Eyes sprout from the skin, looking on in horror as the tablet chips, fractures, and finally shatters.     Immediately, what clings to the walls dissolves into a puddle of gore and dust. The oppressive feeling begins to let up, the final scent being a regretful one. Kotone pulverizes the shards with well--placed rounds, rendering it mere powder. Any analyses would turn up no trace of arcane activity.     The Urban Breath has breathed its last gasp. 
}}

5502/The Final Taint

2017-10-01T03:01:13Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/09/30 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=Tomoyo calls a meeting during the final improvised Taint to ensure that bad blood does not linger. Loose t..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/30
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=Tomoyo calls a meeting during the final improvised Taint to ensure that bad blood does not linger. Loose threads are tied off, and the city is finally left alone.
|Cast of Characters=648, 906, 385, 714, 8, 42, 894
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     Usually, the Taint is an annual event, coinciding with OMNI's downtime for maintenance. However, with OMNI's destruction and the passing of a new law to permit artistic expression once more, a final Taint was hastily thrown together. An event to celebrate the rebellious aspect, now that the creative side was soon to be permitted.     The turnout is... less than stellar, honestly. Most of the actual artists would rather not spend the first day they can openly express themselves behind bars, and the rebellious types don't see the fun in rebelling by doing something that will be legal in under 24 hours. As such, only a couple of dozen die-hards are out and about tonight, and the short notice means they could not put together anything too elaborate. Most are just doing graffiti on any available surface about current events. Mostly celebrating the destruction of OMNI and the fast repelling of the old laws.     Iris is still about, her hair spiked into the horizontal mohawk. Except now, she has a ankle monitor on her. Mostly, she's just keeping an eye out, standing in an open square with some art supplies should anyone need any. Tomoyo is nearby, having staked out a long stretch of blank wall for herself and those whom she has summoned.     D-BASE is nowhere to be found. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang is here, looking a bit in the dumps. Her arms folded over her chest. She's wearing her 'normal' outfit, and leaning against the blank wall, watching the diehard rebels having one last hurrah. "Gotta wonder... was it worth it, in the end...?" she asks noone in particular. She huffs a sigh, mostly here as a moral support to Tomoyo. She did drag the tailor back into this whole mess, after all. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Rather than being here to encourage or assist in flaunting of the laws, Yuna has chosen to be here more to celebrate the passing of the laws to allow artistic expression. She's actually chosen to wear the dress Tomoyo made for her somewhat ill-fated concert, and she has a mobile karaoke rig with her. She won't be helping with graffiti, but singing still counts as art - and if there are any local musicians or singers who are looking to get a head start, she's happy to be here to support them. On the other hand, D-BASE wasn't really accounted for ... and given how enthusiastic he was about wreaking havoc, Yuna's not sure whether to expect trouble from that quarter or not. So she *does* have Elner flitting around near her, just in case trouble of any kind rears its eternally ugly head. But unless trouble *does* show up, there's not much that's going to stop Yuna from singing for anyone who wants to hear her, though, or sharing her karaoke equipment with other singers, even offering tips on how to sing. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Although Sanary had first participated in the Taint as extra security working for OMNI, she's on the other side of the crew this time around. It's only fitting that she'd attend the final Taint as a participant. Like Yuna, she's wearing something of Tomoyo's crafting: A yellow t-shirt with a canary design on it and shorts to make it more obvious that she's not here to stop the attendees.      Then again, Sanary isn't really doing anything in particular. It's more that she's here to make sure things don't go nuts again, and she shrugs lightly in response to Yang. "We got some change going, right? Only thing to do now is see if it is or not." The healer takes a sip from a flask, looking around slowly before holding it out to Yang and Yuna in case either of them needs a drink!      It's not booze. It's pig blood! 

:'''{{#var:8|Deelel (8)}} has posed:''' Deelel is here not looking very happy, she's wearing the more user or if you will human inspired clothing she tends to wear while wandering the multivese at a large. Then again Deelel has been around for years. She really should hit up Tomoyo later for some new clothing but for now she's here doing any illegal, she will be back when it is to do something. She does seem to be somber though. "Greetings lifeforms." She notes to Yuna, Iris and anyone else present. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren is back in the same 'disguise' he had for the previous Taint, the sort of cowboy/bandit outfit, and with his 3D pen and portable sticker-printer. But... seeing the turnout, he too is kind of wondering if it was even worth having a last Taint. "Of course." He replies to Yang. "This may not have been the best outcome, but it's a damn sight better than the shooting war in the streets it could've been if the law wasn't repealed. They may not build another OMNI... and if they don't have the sense to make their own laws, maybe that's for the best... but they'll probably build some manner of AI that can help coordinate running the city again, hopefully in an advisory role." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is the last one to arrive. His hood is down, the redhead not hiding his presence, as he approaches Tomoyo. "Miss Daidouji." He tips his head to her, before glancing at the others. There's a small nod of his head in Yuna's direction, as well as a glance towards Yang. When Sanary holds out the flask, though, August moves to grab it and take a sip (but he doesn't snatch it from Yang or Yuna, waiting for them to be done with it), before recoiling his head a bit. "God, do you really just drink blood, Rondel? Are you a vampire?" A shake of his head, before he reaches into his jacket to pull out a spraycan, holstered where he'd normally have a gun. "It's a Taint, so I brought my own gear. What's the plan?" 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     "People will be allowed to make art again," Tomoyo says to Yang as she empties a duffel bag of spray paint. "And... well, after OMNI's last decision, about conflict? Now that they're gone, a lot of councillors are saying that it proved it was defective. So at least, I don't foresee war breaking out. You got what you asked me for, just not in the way either of us envisioned it." She smiles at Yang, but it's slightly pained.     Yuna does absolutely draw a little gathering of musicians who begin trying to harmonize and get something going. They do appreciate the tips the pro singer offers. However, Elner turns up nothing. D-BASE is nowhere to be found.     Tomoyo nods at Sanary. "There's only so much we can do for now. I'll keep an eye on things, use Inspiration Trust to get new artists the help they need, but on the political side, well..." She gestures at Iris. "She was fired, and is being monitored right now. We don't have an 'in' on the government side anymore."     She then nods to Deelel and shakes her head at Staren. "The idea of replacing OMNI was brought up, and kind of booed out. Both by other councillors and the general public. I think local security is ramping up recruitment to have the cameras monitored by human eyes now. It's going to be quite a shift."     Finally, August arrives. "Call me Tomoyo, please. And as for the plan, well..." She picks up one of those cans of paint, and gestures at the wall. "We've been fighting for the same thing, but the fight became more important. I think we all could use the chance to express ourselves too~" 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang nods to August. She doesn't trust the guy anymore, but she can at least be polite. The offered flask is turned down, and once the group start moving to start tagging the wall, she pushes off and moves to another place to lean. "Yeah, yeah... at least the place isn't going to burn. I'd never wish that on anyone."     She sighs. "I guess it's a mixed blessing, in the end." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Wha...? No, no, this is tea. It just uses a lotta blood. And if I was a vampire, I'd be dead... Like. A thousand times already!" Sanary laughs lightly as she slips the flask back onto her belt to replace it with a thin brush and a bottle of ink.      It's the best she could think of without resorting to something big a bulky. "Hey, Deel. Staren. Hm... Why don't you two work on something? Not an AI 'cause of what Tomoyo said, but something more... I dunno. You're good with tech, yeah?" She looks the two over briefly, seeming to believe that fairly readily before turning to Tomoyo next.      "Good to hear that they sorted... Something out, at least." She murmurs in reply to Tomoyo, another long sigh escaping the healer while glancing over at IRis when she's mentioned. "Well, if you need someone to get back in, maybe I could try and jam my foot through the door? I mean, I did help 'em out a few times, so..."      A vague noise later, and the healer shrugs again. "I'll have to get back to you on that." With little left in the way of plans, the healer finally starts working on the wall! She doesn't seem to have any idea of WHAT to actually put on it, though, so she starts drawing little circles connected to each other. It's... Something! 

:'''{{#var:8|Deelel (8)}} has posed:''' Deelel just shoots August a look for the vampire content not any one else. "No plan August and Sanary why did you consume the blood of that food animal? I thought that was ... not healthy for humans?" She seems very confused at this action by Sanary and she also looks to Tomoyo. She nods to Tomoyo for a moment. "It seems change has come to this world not in the way any of us expected." She does a very human thing now and sighs a little before going on. "We will have to wait and see what the future holds at this point Yang." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' At least there are plenty of familiar faces; when Yuna isn't focused on aspiring singers or musicians, she spares a wave and/or calls out hellos to her friends and allies. Even August, for all that he and Yuna have been at severe loggerheads over the whole situation with OMNI. Yuna doesn't seem to hold grudges, which is probably just as well. She's a little uncertain about Sanary's flask, but it would be rude to refuse outright - and Sanary *should* remember how badly Yuna does with alcohol. She's enough of a friend that Yuna trusts her not to use that against her, so a small sip is accepted - but a look of extreme surprise crosses the blonde's face before she hands the flask back, *maybe* with a little too much urgency to be considered 'polite'. That actually seems to herald a more pronounced ebb in her 'lessons,' so Yuna meanders over to engage in conversation. "You know," the idol admits, "I'm stll kind of wondering ... OMNI was a computer, sure, but how 'alive' was it really? Did it feel, or did it really 'think' ... or was it just running algorithms like people said?" Her gaze drifts to August again in the wake of that question. "... But, I think if OMNI had been able to feel, it would have realized sooner just what it meant to try and suppress the expression of emotions in others. I don't think it would have gotten to the state things did in this city." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Well, naturally. I don't mean an exact replacement. But, technology will march on, eventually. And when it does, hopefully people will remember this incident, and use it more carefully." Staren comments to Tomoyo.     To Yuna, he observes, "I don't think there's any way to know for sure, now. But it is also possible that it thought and felt in a manner unlike humans." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Let's settle for Daidouji." August replies to Tomoyo, though he smiles lightly to indicate he means nothing disrespectful by it. He walks up to the wall, shaking his spray can a bit and beginning to spray as he pulls his hood down, swiping it in different directions and making some sort of...thing. He's not really trying to make a design, more that he's just letting paint hit the wall. "They're keeping up the cameras? So it's still a police state, then, just with humans instead of an AI. What even will be the point of them if they're changing the laws? Unless they're cutting down on how many." His spraying becomes...slightly more erratic as he says this, emotion pouring through his wrists instead of his face. And then, August glances away towards the group. "Well, if we're expressing ourselves, then I have a question. Do any of you actually want me here? I'm not asking for some sort of pity thing. I want to know genuinely how you feel, because I don't hold a grudge against any of you." His words sound genuine, atleast. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     Tomoyo pats Yang on the shoulder. "I know it's hard to accept, but don't let it get you down. You say that you wouldn't wish things burning on anyone, but you're at your best when you're burning bright. Just... maybe not as out-of-control as you got there in the server room."     She glances at Sanary and talks around a handkerchief as she too begins spraypainting the wall, with a bit more certainty than the pig farmer. "It would be a hard sell... but maybe a rudimentary thing that just monitored cameras, traffic, and the like. Not smart enough to make decisions. That might fly."     Next, she looks over her shoulder at Yuna and sighs softly. "I doubt it," she says. "I never felt OMNI was a full person... I just thought the idea of OMNI was something very admirable. Someone who looks out for everyone, offering advice and doing the best they can to make lives easier. Maybe that's a little naive, but doesn't everyone deserve someone like that in their lives?"     And then August asks a question. "Of course I want you here," she replies simply. "A lot of things happened here. A lot of conflict between friends and allies. It would be awful if this became a thing that drove a wedge between all of us. I asked you to forgive OMNI for its flaws. It would be hypocritical of me to not forgive you for what you did. I wanted you here so everyone can reconcile and move forward." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "That's what I kept trying to tell you." Staren replies to August re: Police State, although there's no anger or impatience or 'i told you so' to it -- he just sounds tired. "Even if I was wrong about whether OMNI was really running things, simply removing it wasn't going to change the laws. That would be a whole other battle."     As for whether he wants August here... "Eh. You were /trying/ to help. As long as you're not going to fight us, I don't mind. Besides, whatever the point is of having this event when the law's about to be repealed is far more questionable." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' "Maybe because it was a tradition," Yuna suggests, in answer to Staren't question about the point of one last Taint. Or, to judge by what she says next, maybe she thinks it *won't* be the last. "Traditions like this are born out of history, and memory. So many of our holidays, in our own worlds, were instituted to remember events which shaped our cultures' pasts; maybe the Taint will continue onwards, as a reminder of the time when people *couldn't* express their emotions, give voice to their hearts in a tangible form. I'd like to think they'll keep that lesson close and alive, so they don't repeat the mistakes we've seen them dealing with." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Is it? We used to do it all the time back home. Get some pig blood, mix it with some stuff, heat it up, drink. Suppposed to be good for luck." Sanary explains to Deelel and laughs at Yuna's reaction as well, not seeming all too surprised by her and August's take on it. "Acquired taste, I know. But if you get any dreams about pigs tonight, then that's a good sign!"      What doesn't quite have her laughing as much is her work on the circles that's slowly becoming a growing... Thing of circles snaking around itself. "OMNI had a purpose, yeah... Dunno if it worked out or not, but if it gave people something to work with and against, that's... I dunno. Something, right?"      THe healer shrugs again, then glances over at August with another shrug. "Hey, you were doin' what you thought was right, and we were too. We got the laws that caused this mess to get taken down, so... IT all worked out, yeah?" 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang looks at Tomoyo, and chuckles a bit. "I'm a flame that burns hotter than the sun in the middle of July." she replies to the tailor. "Can't really control it."     August's question gets those lilac eyes to look over at him. "Never had a problem with you, just the fact you never listened to the alternatives." she replies, shrugging and resuming being on 'watch' as much as that's needed. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "I'm relatively aware. Still disappointed." August replies to Staren, as he nods to Tomoyo. "That's very kind of you. Let's hope rifts can be patched, then. This is over. There's no reason to be fighting over it anymore." Another paint, another flinch of his wrist and it going a bit wild. Sanary gets a nod and also a shake of the head. "It's not bad, I was just expecting booze." August attempts to continue to paint when Yang replies to him. It goes all over the place, as he stops to talk to her, maintaining his calm and stoic expression that he's had most of the time here. "You have me wrong, there. I did, infact, listen to the alternatives. I didn't take them for a few reasons. The primary one that overrode them all was that your solutions weren't what the rebels wanted. The rebels were the one who asked me for aid, and whose cause I agreed with. If they had agreed with your alternatives, things likely would have gone a different way. But they didn't." There's a pause, as August shakes the can some more. "I'm not blaming the rebels either. I entirely own what I did and I accept the consequences. I supported their solution. But it wasn't as simple as just denying your suggestions. This was never for me to decide." 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang shrugs, and goes silent. Pointedly so. She's clearly not happy, but there's no point in pressing the matter, cuz she'll just get angry, and then things will start to explode. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren looks at Yang. "That sounds like the lyrics to a song."     o/~ "I'm a flame, that burns hotter than the sun, in the middle of ju-ly" o/~          ./  ./ o/    ./   ./    ./ ./  ./   ./  o/   ./ ./  ./ ./  ./ ./ o/          F   F  F     D    F     G  A   G    F   F    D  F   G  A   G  F  F     He looks to Yuna. "Maybe you could do something with that."     August gets a shrug. He's too tired to untangle the problem of 'listening to the people you want to help' vs 'implying you know better than them'. 

:'''{{#var:8|Deelel (8)}} has posed:''' Deelel s:looks to August for a moment and she tilts my head. "Even the system monitors on my home system watched any public places we'll need to see just what they are doing. I can at lest understand the idea of ... watching public areas." She thinks on this a little longer on August's question. she seems ot be thinking on it for a moment. "There are arguments that can lump basics into the same sort of status as Omni. That is what I fear August, to be labled the same." It seems she's behing honest and she looks to Tomoyo and nods. "I was uncertain as well but for me? He was doing what it's users made it to do." Well some honesty here from Deelel will it help or harm it's help but it's been aired out. "Humm cooking it? I wolod not know my only experiance with such actions are with vampires during my service to the Union." 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     "Yuna's right," Tomoyo says to Staren. "Even if the Taint won't be important anymore, it holds a lot of fondness for a lot of people. Iris over there shouldn't be out and about right now, she's under house arrest. But she's here. That's how important it is to her."     She can't help but stare at what Sanary is doing, finally asking, "What are you painting there?" But then her attention is snatched by the back and forward between August, Yang, and Staren. She can feel the uncomfortable silence hanging in the air, and she can't let it sit like this. "August," she begins. "You say that you own what you did, but... every time it comes up, you insist that 'I was just doing what the rebels asked of me.' That's perfectly okay, but it kind of sounds like deflection. Are you sure you had no personal doubts about all this? About anything that happened?"     It's a bit of a heavy question, so it might be a relief when Iris wanders over. "Hey... you're August right? D-BASE slipped this under my door before he skipped town. It's for you." She offers him a sealed envelope with "To: August and A2. From: D-BASE" on the front. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna hums along a bit with Staren's improvised tune, pursing her lips. "It'd take some work ... and, well, that may be a *bit* more aggressive than I like to sing," she admits, grinning sheepishly. "I dunno - I can talk to some of the lyricists I know. But a song like that would really be Yang's, not mine - her 'image song,' as it were." That said, Yuna takes a moment to go over and give her fellow blonde a hug ... at least if Yang accepts it. Yuna's too polite to force a hug on an openly unwillingly recipient - and she knows Yang's temper well enough not to press the issue. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren shrugs at Yuna, too. It was just a thought, she's the musician.     He draws a stand sticking up from the sidewalk and prints a sticker cut-out of a celebrating anime person on it, but his heart's not really in it. He's more intently watching Tomoyo and August, curious to see how he responds to her. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August just tsks at Yang's lack of reply and a shrug, and continues to paint, spraying more lines in a jagged pattern. When Tomoyo responds, he keeps going again, spinning the can around in a circle around where he's drawing. He doesn't answer immediately, and is distracted by the letter, nodding to Iris and taking it from her. Positioning himself so that the others couldn't see the front of it, he opens it, going over the text. He's not going to reply to Tomoyo until he's done reading. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Uh... Dunno, actually. I'm just kinda..." Sanary makes a vague gesture with her brushing hand before continuing to expand that thing of circles further, vaguely resembling some sort of... Weapon? Dragon? A crest, perhaps? It's really hard to tell /what/ it's even supposed to be, and the healer's noncommital shrug indicates she probably doesn't even know it herself. "Just feels right, you know?"      The awkwardness in the air is obvious even to Sanary, but she's not quite so inclined to put a stop to any of it. She keeps glancing from person to person, looking somewhat worried despite her focus being split between watching for things going bad and also seeing where her hand takes her. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     The letter reads; Yo! Just so you know, I'm skipping town. It was never about the art or any of that shit for me. I just liked rabble-rousing for a cause, and that's done with now. There's other bullshit there, but the whole expression thing is what turns heads. The rest is normal bullshit you find anywhere. So I'm hitting the road! Got nowhere in mind, just gonna be me and my bike. If I find anything else I think is worth dying over, I'll give you two a shout. No one I'd rather have at my backs than you two. Stay sassy! Daniel Base 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August's eyes scan over the letter for several moments. There's a brief frown...and then he lifts his chin to his hand, thinks about the contents, and chuckles a bit, before folding the letter and putting it in his pocket. Something in there resonated with him. With how he's been thinking lately. "Thank you.", he says to Iris, before turning to Tomoyo and Deelel. He's prepared to reply. "So, I have no idea what a basic is, but why would I lump you the same with OMNI? You're...not remotely doing the same things. I don't have anything against machines in general." Replying to Deelel first, August then turns to Tomoyo to answer her question. "I might have. I don't enjoy hurting people. Most people don't. The security guards injured? I don't like it. People have probably died from my actions, and it's not a fun thought. But, every action I make is my responsibily. My choices are mine. I could have not gotten involved. I got involved because I agreed. I agreed that OMNI was a threat and that destroying it was an acceptable outcome. Had the rebels wanted to negotiate with it, however, I would have done that."Hisugust inhales, and exhales. "Because this isn't my world. I could make the plan. I could tell them, 'no, this isn't how we're doing it'. But what right do I have to do that? People have the right to seize the future how they want to. They have the right to solve problems how they want to, and to solve injustices how they feel they'd like. I'll side with them for as long as I feel it's right, no matter what solution they take." There is a pause, though, as August looks to the group. "I do want to apologize again for the concert, however. I knew D-BASE was planning something, but I didn't know what. He knew I was helping at the concert, and told me to keep assisting. I didn't know what he was planning, or that you were a distraction. I had an assumption, but that's all it was. If I had told you, perhaps you wouldn't have been made into fools." A glance back to the painting, as suddenly...he has inspiration. To express himself. The resulting spraying is sort of chaotic, with almost no focus on it. There's no pattern. Just raw energy. "But the end result is atleast what I fought for. OMNI's gone, and freedoms are being returned." 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     "You already apologized for the concert. No need to do it again," Tomoyo reassures August as she steps away from her own piece of work. A gijinka of OMNI, waving from the wall.     "But I think it's strange for you to say that you have no right to tell the rebels how they should do things, but that you do have a right to make this world fit your view by force. It feels... a bit half-hearted. You're the Cloak of the Watch now. Your words have weight, and the rebels came to you for help. You have every right to give them advice in that case."     She reaches out and touches his shoulder. "If you must be the anti-hero, do it whole-heartedly. Okay?"     She then looks to Yang, Yuna, everyone... she doesn't know for sure if any of them are in the Watch, so her words are generalized. "And you all. You're free to disagree with him, fight him. But you have to remember that you hearts are all coming from the same place. Even if they stray along different paths, their origin and goals are likely always going to align. So even when you disagree, don't let that fester into hate. Remember where your heart lies, and you'll always get along again in the end."     She gets a little passionate at the end there. In spite of her pleasant demeanour, it seems she was worried. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' "I think the Watch serves a good purpose," Yuna admits. "Sometimes authority *does* turn oppressive, and something outside the system - whichever system - needs to push back. That was why I wanted to help confront OMNI here, to try and turn things over and around. But sometimes the Watch goes too far ..." She seeks out August's gaze, her eyes striving to meet his - and when their eyes meet, Yuna smiles: bright and warm, but also confident and reassuring. "So when I think you're overdoing it, I'll try and step in to keep things moderated. Either way, I'll keep seeing you around Drachenblatt when I can get out there to help, so don't go putting me on an enemies list. Okay?" She walks over to offer August a handshake, as if to put a stamp of officialness on her words. Sure, Yuna's in the Watch - but she *is* trying to keep that under wraps. Hopefully, the combination of support and opposition is enough to make her 'official position' clear to anyone who *isn't* aware of her affiliation. 

:'''{{#var:8|Deelel (8)}} has posed:''' Deelel leaves August to his lettle for now she's said her peace about this situation. She'll leave it be a this point and not say another thing on the subjec unless August choses to bring it up She now turns back to sanary for the moment and tilt her head a little but but the program says nothing. She does seme slightly curious then agian she does end up confused by humans and the like from time to time. She tilts her head a little at August she clearly listening to what he said. Her expression softens slightly, "I see that was data I did not have before." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary lets out a relieved sigh as things seem to settle down, her gaze turning fully to the circles again. Even as she keeps working on it, though, she still manages to speak up after a few more moments. "I don't really get all this... Philmosophical stuff you're talkin' about, but if you can all figure out how to work through shit like this and keep workin' that hard?"      The healer pauses as she starts drawing a line from one circle to the next, moving in no clear pattern or sensible direction. "... Hmm. You kids are gonna make an old lady like me look bad~" She laughs freely for all of five seconds, then turns over slowly to face the group more directly. "... You're all younger than me, ain't ya?" 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang listens, closing her eyes as she leans against a lamp post with one of those infernal OMNI cameras atop it, though the power light is dark for the time being. Yang isn't really one to ruminate, she's always lived life in the moment, taking things as they come at her but this, this has her thinking, and she doesn't much like it.     The blonde brawler is silent for many long moments, as others state their positions regarding August. She then does something Yuna might recognize as a precursor to something... she takes off the golden bracelets that represent Ember Celica's idle form, and hand them off to Tomoyo. "... Kohler." she states simply, before ratcheting back her arm and punching the guy in the shoulder. It's not one of her bone breaking punches, but it's still got a lot of oomph in it. "Hit me back, we'll call it even. 'kay?" she adds afterward. "If you go too far off the rails again, I'll make sure I stop you." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "That's a really good point." Staren chimes in, about August's position as an expert. "They thought destroying OMNI was the way to achieve their goal, but what they really wanted was freedom of expression. Be careful not to confuse teleological goals with instrumental ones. That's..." He sighs.     "When I started to realize that science could change what was seen as inevitable, I looked for stories that corraborated the idea, because... stories were how I learned about how people acted, when I was young. But again and again, I saw the same mistake -- A seemingly heroic scientist sets out to revive his dead wife, and then goes astray -- he finds a way that he might be able to do it, and then gets fixated on the method, even when it becomes clear it won't work, and he sacrifices everything to animate an empty husk, forgetting his true goal of having the one he loves by his side again. The scientist who wants to extend life or end disabilities becomes obsessed with turning everyone into machines, even after he learns that the methods he's using would strip them of emotion. The same story is told over and over, and played as a warning that you mustn't mess with the status quo. But it seemed to me that the lesson the authors were missing was becoming so enamored with one method that you lose sight of your goal, and that's what I swore I'd do differently. I wouldn't become a mad scientist like the ones in the stories."     Staren looks to August. His tone is not one of dire warning but of friendly advice: "Your goals are laudable and I hope they can be achieved. You want people to be free of the opression of unjust society, just as I search for how to free people from the opression of unjust nature. But... take care to always keep the end you want in mind, and not become so focused on the first method you find, that you become a mad vigilante." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August actually genuinely listens to Tomoyo, as he puts down the spraycan. He thinks about it for a second, before replying. "Perhaps I do have a right. I can give them advice. But right or not, I'm not going to decide how they do it. They wanted violence. I supported it. And to be honest? I would have chosen that option myself, with no other factors. Would I have equally supported diplomacy, if that's what they wanted? I don't know. But I would have fought for it for them. You're right, I'm the Cloak." August actually...smiles. Despite his words, which might seem kind of iffy, being able to say all this is genuinely making him feel better. "I'm the one who will stand at their sides. I'll fight for what they want, and fight for their freedoms. But I won't take away their freedoms. If they ignore my advice, I'll accept it. If they take it, I'll accept it. They wanted freedom of expression, and that's the end state, you're right." August gestures to Staren, before continuing. "But part of that is expressing themselves. And I would never take that away from them. I'll champion for other's views, those that are dangerous. And I'm saying all of this because it finally feels like something I can say and smile about. So, thank you, Daidouji, everyone." The graffiti behind August is a mess. It's some sort of blob of lines, but he looks at it and nods, before nodding again to Staren. "I'll keep that in mind. I hope you find a way to achieve yours as well, no matter how we may disagree." And then, it happens. Yang socks August in the shoulder, causing him to recoil and that smile to briefly come off his face. He stares at her for a moment...and hits her back in the shoulder, as hard as he can muster. It has its own oomph, but not near hers. August steps away from the group, sighing as he offloads that. An anti-hero, huh? Is that what he is? ...Yeah, probably. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     Tomoyo beams as reconciliation occurs before her very eyes. At the very least, she managed to make this happen.     And then the "whoop whoop" of sirens peels through the air, getting closer. "Aw, I was hoping they would let it slide," Iris mutters, before turning and smirking at the group. "Time to skedaddle. Thanks for everything." She sprints off into an alley, and it's not long before everyone else needs to disperse too.     The city still shines bright under the moon, but there are far less eyes on it than usual. Far below lies OMNI's final resting place, already scrubbed clean and left empty. As the sun begins to rise, it lights up the graffiti left behind. For once, those that go about their day don't try to ignore it least they be implicated. They stop, take photos, and remark on it. And that's okay to do now, thanks to the efforts of everyone. A simple act of appreciation, no longer an indicator of thoughtcrime.     Through more blood and tears than some may have liked, they've left the Multiverse slightly better than it was. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren smiles at August's acknowledgement. "Thanks." And then it's time to get out. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang hugs Yuna back, then recoils a bit as her Aura flares from the impact of August's return punch. She nods to the Cloak, then turns her head at the sound of sirens. "Time to bounce." she calls her bike from its position, mounts up then offers the single passenger seat to anyone who may need a lift. And then she's off, burning through the streets to the warpgate. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna is glad to accept the ride offered by Yang, and hangs on tightly behind her fellow blonde as they peel away. As a singer rather than a graffiti artist, she's left less trace of her presence than most of the others - footprints and memories, and maybe a few lingering questions. She'd definitely like to come back someday, to hold a concert that isn't kept away from the lawful authorities ... and to see what good is coming of their intervention in this world, this city. 
}}

5498/In The Closing Act, Everyone Wants The Same Thing For Different Reasons

2017-09-28T05:51:12Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/09/27 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=The execution date for the old monarchy of Chapter and the traitors in the new government arrives. Loyalis..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/27
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=The execution date for the old monarchy of Chapter and the traitors in the new government arrives. Loyalists, assisted by the Starlight Bandits, play their last card.
|Cast of Characters=943, 894, 714, 954, 1094, 670, 934, 70
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The ceremony begins at sunset.     The citizens of Chapter are gathered around the vast pit that descends into the Opera Bibliotheca. Above it, scaffolding has been constructed to create a gallows. The trap doors hang directly over the hole, and the nooses are long. No doubt, anyone put through it would experience a long, terrifying plummet before a sudden, sharp stop takes their life.     Perplex himself strides across the gallows, looking at everyone who stands with a noose around their neck. There is the old king, and members of his court who were apprehended during the initial revolution. But there is also Forrester Houl and his band of self-interested turncoats, who were eager to utilize the new government to advance their own interests over the people. Forreseter himself has been gagged, and his face is beet red. No doubt he shouted himself hoarse on the way here.     "People of Chapter!" the passionate new leader begins to speak. "It is with a heavy heart that I must show you more deaths on this eve. But I do so in the hopes that they will be the last for my entire reign." He walks to the king and his council and shouts, "For the crimes of forcing his fellow man to toil and die beneath the earth for mere books, how do the people find you?!" A cry of 'GUILTY!' rises up from the masses as the king sheds a single tear. Perplex next walks over to Houl and his traitors. "For conspiring against the new government to benefit your own greed and arrogance, how do the people find you?!" Another cry of 'GUILTY!' as Houl tries to scream around his gag.     "Before I condemn these souls however, there is thanks to be given out. Firstly, to the Concord. For rooting out this corruption and helping Chapter reach a new dawn, we cannot thank you enough. As promised, for your efforts, we award you the Opera Bibliotheca. You may do with it as you see fit." The young man produces a roll of parchment-an official deed promising the underground library to the Concord. It is presented to whomever cares to come up to the platform to accept it.     "And next, to the Watch," Perplex says, drawing some murmuring from the crowd. His outburst at the Bandits' auction was well-known at this point. "Even when I turned my back on you, you never turned your back on Chapter. You rushed to help cleanse our government even when I rejected any more help from you. I have nothing to give, but my bottomless gratitude and sincerest apology." He bows to each corner of the crowd, knowing that they're probably here somewhere. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August stands in the back left corner of the crowd, dressed in a hood with his mirrored bracelet at his side. He stands, watching the execution dispassionately, chewing on his nail as he listens to Perplex speak. He's just here to watch and make sure everything goes smoothly, not doing anything to make himself more visible when Perplex thanks and apologizes the Watch, though the redhead does accept it. Instead, August is glancing at the king. The man seemed sympathetic, in a way. He was willing to give in when he saw how far it went, and even here, all he does is shed a tear. It's not that August is against the man's fate, more that it changes how he views things. Even the sympathetic must die for the good of the people. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary's loitering amongst the crowd listening to Perplex, showing up largely to just see what's goingon now that the largest issues in Chapter seem to have been resolved. Sure, there's probably some loose ends around that she hasn't quite picked up on yet, but at this point?     Surely something would have happened by now if it was important at all. No, the healer's expecting this all to go swimmingly so she can enjoy the fruits of her labor and get a much needed meal. Watching an execution probably isn't quite so good for building up an appetite, though, but...      Well, she's already here. Might as well see what's what. She's still wearing her usual too-long white coat with her too-shoddy tunic and sweatpants, though, to try and blend in a little bit more with the crowd. 

:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''     Kord is there. He stands with a notable distance made between himself and the rest of the crowd, making him very easy to spot among the others. He stands completely still, his head fixated to stare at one point: The gallows. He doesn't raise his hands to clap, he doesn't fidget as if anxious, he just silently watches. This is because Kord hates public executions. Everything about his posture and silence speaks more to how he feels than any input he could possibly have here. He is simply a tall, powerful figure, watching this turning point for the sake of posterity.     His first movement since stopping to watch is to advance and retrieve the parchment indicating possession of the Opera Bibliotheca, carefully lifting his hand to bodily move people aside with his inhuman strength on his way, mindful not to bowl anyone over or cause a ruckus. He makes sure to carefully stow the parchment under his chestplate so that it cannot easily be taken from him.     "Thank you," he says, his voice neutral. He glances aside at the King from this closer vantage, lingering for a few seconds... 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Flamel Parsons is here. He has, of course, refused to be up on the scaffolding. He is a man in black! An agent of a vague yet menacing government agency! His place is slightly interposing himself into dramatically blurry shots of major political events like this. As such, he's been hard at work making sure that he spends as much time being ominously present just to one side of basically every possible record here. A vague yet menacing government agency furthering secretive agendas has an utmost duty to mark its presence very slightly with symbolic presence that could be interpreted as simple coincidence and chaos, only by the /sheeple/.     Of course, he will be up there on the stage ominously just to one side of view when someone takes the deed. Hopefully Priscilla or Kord, as his own words on this exchange may be /politically inappropriate/. Most of the time, though, aside from that situation, he sticks to those aforementioned locations of maximum mystery, as befits his status. It's not like he's specifically /trying/ to do that, but the protocols of being both vague and also possibly menacing in government work tend to produce it purely as an incidental side-effect. He's probably just doing some kind of espionage-oriented security sweep and defense protocol. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Things have been one hell of a mess in Chapter, really people getting screwed over, and those wanting to burn things down regardless of the price they might pay. They had however been able to out a rat and it was time to hopefully deal with things one way or another. Hopefully things would end well and it seems to be that the guilty parties are going to meet justice will be served shortly. She listens as they are thanked and she just watches the king there's a sad look on her face at this poin. There's nothing to be done about it in the end though. She wonders if another fate might be better for the king but the anger of the people is mighty, not only justified as well. Still she might speak if a chance is there. She does not seem bothered about the books being sold to the Concord they would see use, and it might make work for the locals n some area even if it's just selling services to Concord workers. It has not ended in a massive blood bath and the books surviving is a bonus. She gives the concord a look for a moment. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will is... ...Being utterly inconspicuous. He's hidden amidst the crowd, glaring up at the gallows from under the brim of his hat. Not at the people there-- but at the gallows themselves. Is this the right thing to do? That king, in his own way, he only wanted what was best for his people, didn't he? Was the pursuit of the underground library entirely self-motivated? Nevermind that. Public executions are just... Distasteful. Will's only here for one reason and one reason alone: the Bandits haven't shown their hand yet. Whatever they have planned, and he's sure they have SOMETHING planned-- he feels it in his bones-- it's going to be... A thing. A thing is definitely what it will be. Now he just has to wait and see just what that -thing- is. As long as that painful throbbing in his chest doesn't bid him to action first. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla is there also. She has absolutely no hope of blending into any crowd on the face of the Multiverse without turning invisible, and thankfully, it's not her job to do that anymore. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. Rather, she takes a place far outside of it, close to the gallows while refusing to actually set foot on them, neither watching the execution as a spectator, as it had been the Concord's doing as much as anyone else, nor participating, as it was Perplex's choice to make.     Up close, it gives her a good look down at the size of the pit the king had dug, and a good look at him, his staff, and the traitors. She is all too accepting of Houl being put to death, both as a show of the Concord not tolerating double crossing, and on a personal level, wherein it has always only made sense that oath breakers of such magnitude are killed. The King had been deposed before her notice, and his crimes were previous to her attention, but she can't help but be mildly intrigued that the tyrant, rather than the rebel, is so able to accept his death with dignity. It makes her wonder what kind of man he actually was.     Personally though, she views hanging as pretty barbaric; a human custom from far away that she's seen gone wrong enough times to disfavour it. Getting Kord to accept the deed is a bit of a relief from having to get anywhere near the ropes, though she waves him over right away so she can check on the deed's authenticity. "Indeed. There shalt be no more need for those of this city to worry themselves with the grand library any longer. Consider the matter closed." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Flamel, Sanary, and the Watch may notice that they're not the only vague entities hanging out in the crowd right now. A few hooded figures are lurking about in the crowd. Some of them have bulges in their cloaks that may indicate weapons.     Perplex is not intimidated by Kord in the slightest. He bows his head to the shadowy man as he hands over the deed. "Now, we begin. As your leader, I must carry this nation on my back. I'll not bloody the hands of someone else when I am perfectly capable of doing it." He walks over to the lever to the gallows, and clutches. "May you find absolution in the next life," he intones. Houl and his merry band are still screaming, and some of the King's advisors are starting to sob. But the king stands tall and just nods, as if to say 'get on with it.'     The lever is pulled, and the trapdoors fall open. They all plummet, the ropes chasing them to a fatal end.     And then, an explosion of movement from the crowd.     Two figures in hoods rush through and leap over the edge of the pit. Ropes are secured around their waists, allowing them to abseil down the sides. Gunfire rings out, severing each rope before they tighten. Even so, it's a long way down... but the whinnying of horses echoes from far below. An escape plan?!     "Guards, after them!" Perplex shouts. The armed soldiers begin to mobilize, heading down into the pit, but the hooded figures in the crowd suddenly jump them! Perplex looks furious, looking about for the Concord, as well as the Watch. "This may be Houl's doing! Please, stop him! 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' That's...! "Ahahaha--" Will's eyes blaze with light. That's them! That's what he was waiting for! "I knew it-- I knew you guys would come through in the end!" He wastes no time. Will breaks into a sudden sprint, knocking aside anyone between him and the pit. His face is aglow with a tremendous, triumphant grin as he... Leaps, boldly, from the precipice. This is no suicide attempt, though. Will knows exactly what he's doing. His grapnel launches from its anchor on his arm and smashes, anchoring into the bottom of the platform. "YEEEEEEEE--" Will screams as he swings down, "--HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!" The Solano's barrel surges with light as he unleashes a hail of blaster-fire... Into the path of whatever guards might be incoming. As he goes swinging down into the pit. "Molly, Irvine!" Will yells after the two people he's sure-- ABSOLUTELY SURE-- are here somewhere listening. "I'm coming to help! Let's get these folks gone!" 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Of course. Of course it couldn't be that easy.     "Kord. Parsons. Pursue." Priscilla says, dropping the usual titles for the sake of expedience. She doesn't see the guards being effectual at this point, even if they're freed from the flash mob suddenly slowing them down.     She takes a deep inhalation, walks to the edge of the pit, and then expels it as her breath weapon, slashing a scintillating lasers of blue-white soulfire across the ropes used by the two robed figures. From there, she takes two steps lightly to the precipice, and as Will reaches the full extent of his pendulum motion, she lunges from the edge and tackles him out of the air.     Down we all go. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will is tackled out of the air by some kind of... Some kind of-- "W-wow, miss," Will says even as he's bodyslammed in mid-air. "Y'all... Y'all are really soft...!" He seems to be blushing. Even as he's dropping like a rock. Well, almost. "This is pretty dangerous, though," he says into Priscilla's soft, fluffy everything. "Don't worry! I've got a PLAN!" Will's grapnel might come away from the platform, but he still has his gun. The Solano's barrel blazes pure white as he lines up a shot into the murky dark. Its barrel distends and reshapes, transforming into some kind of snub-nosed, shotgun-like arrangement. And then Will fires. Over and over, short-ranged bursts of pure kinetic force erupt from his handcannon-turned-shotgun and somehow seem to arrest his fall, if even by just a little. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August's first instinct is to help Perplex. Houl fucked up, and he wants him dead. But then Will gets involved and goes assisting the escape...and it might be the Bandits doing it? August noticeably frowns, and then begins moving through the crowd as Will launches himself at the pit. August looks pretty upset, but he knows exactly who he's going to side with, even if he still wants Houl dead when all of this ends. As Priscilla bodyslams Will down the pit, August makes a running leap and jumps, moving to grapple onto her back. He'll try and grab her tail for support gritting his teeth as they fall. "Will, you're a DUMBASS! But sorry, First, I can't let this dumbass die." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons seems quite intent on heading for those hooded figures with the possible weapons, before they suddenly make their move the moment he has any kind of chance to jump on them! As he follows, word comes from Priscilla: Kill the traitors. Kill Houl. You know what? Flamel Parsons can work with that. Kill a man who wanted to hold a library hostage, to receive the library. It fits perfectly into his priorities. He leaps, descending into the pit with all speed that gravity can grant him, and then some!     How he intends to make it to the bottom without a rope or something to break his fall becomes apparent when his levitation kicks in, giving him a dramatic, whooshing glide, the moment he sees the ground threaten him. He never lands, but finds psychic purchase just above the ground; his levitation's activation means he's well equipped to take off straight for wherever the group might be escaping to! He's ready to fire off his psionic blasts and take them out, though hopefully they won't find themselves in any delicate parts of the library... 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary letting out something barely resembling a whistle as things start to go down rather quickly, the excitement of the whole situation putting an amused grin on the healer's face. Although a more primal part of mind is still disappointed at the lack of COMEUPPANCE, she's not about to miss... Whatever the hell this all is!      Although there is the issue of the pit and everyone just jumping right into the damn thing. It's quite a long way down, and Sanary's not quite sure how deep it even is. Still, with everyone else diving into the hole to continue the pursuit...      Why not? She puts some energy into her anklets, mutters a quiet motivational psyche up to herself, then dives on in after everyone else! She's not actually attacking anyone just yet, though, seeming intent to just see where all of this is going to go. The mid-air collision between William, Priscilla, and August has her watching them closely in particular, although she's still clutching her side as if holding onto something delicate inside her coat. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Dangit, August!" Will yells as his BEST BUDDY FOREVER jumps on Priscilla's back-end. "You're too heavy! ALSO GIT YER OWN FUZZY FLUFFY CUDDLY SKY LADY." 

:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''     Kord had redirected to show Priscilla the deed when things got very out of hand, very quickly. The gallows had been opened to let the to-be-executed plummet, and inevitably a group interferes in this. Kord makes absolutely sure the deed is intact and then he advances on the pit, but he doesn't leap in. Instead, he does something extremely rude, because he knows what his priorities are and those priorities are to make sure his boss doesn't hate him forever for neglecting his duties.     He leaps down. His wings spread. And he flaps several times to build speed until he's going much faster than anyone absolutely should. And he aims directly for one of the figures abseiling down, to grab for THEIR rope with his vice-like grasp. Once he's done that, he pivots in the air, and tries to use a combination of his mastery of flight and his incredible strength to whip them up, over his head, and into the side of the pit as hard as he can. Because he is very not tolerating these people.     He makes a loud, monstrous 'RRRRRAAAAAARGH!!!' noise of fury as he does this. There's a lot of reverb in this pit! 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason shows the respect ot watch the end of those who had caused the trouble here. She watches and still cna't helop but cringe it's not a godo way to go but that is in the end that. She was not expecting much more but it seems someone else has other ides. Two figurs appear and the guard are sent after them. Then things pick up a bit more and she moves to see Priscilla tackle will and she sighs. She needs go go after Will at this point. "Damn it Will!" She's now going to try to get down there and she too pulls a grapple like degice out and is following August's lead. "Right with you Capt." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The pit was only dimly lit, but Priscilla's mouth laser lights it up! At the bottom are several figures, and a bunch of horses, upon which those who were just rescued are being loaded onto. Tarps lay on the ground, likely used to catch them as they fall. They all mount up and begin to flee into the library, leaving two horses behind.     The abseiling figures run along the wall to avoid Priscilla's mouth laser, and respond to Will's hails! "Ah, young Will! Welcome to our little rodeo, glad to have you al-WHOA!" He is suddenly assailed by Kord, who grabs his rope and begins to whip him around! "Molly!" he calls to the other figure, who reloads and fires a single shot! It hits... not Kord, but the rope he's holding, sending Irvine flying hard into the wall! But he lands feet-first, allowing him to fold like a spring before launching off the wall to slash at the Count with his gunblade!     Regardless if he succeeds or not, he tumbles as he lands, and takes a second to get to his feet. That impact against the wall must have sprained an ankle or something. Molly also reaches the bottom, just as Flamel whizzes past in pursuit of the fleeing convicts! "If you're with us, catch up!" Molly calls out before she and Irvine mount one of the remaining horses and take off into the tunnels!     As Flamel pursues, he sees the crowd of people on horseback navigating the wider tunnels carefully. The beasts can only manage a canter on the uneven ground, but it's faster than the running speed of most men. The figure pulling up the rear removes his hood and turns to regard the psychic. It's Dion, the scarred leader of the loyalists! And he has a rifle, which he trains on the psychic. "Let us be, Parsons. I know you don't want this place to come to harm. We have no intent on continuing our operations, we just want to take the king elsewhere." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Oh shit, yes yes yes. Moments of intense dramatic tension as his quadruple agent work comes to pure and absolute fruition. Parsons' fingers are pressed hard against his temple as he matches Dion's rifle with his own dramatically "loaded" hand-gun, which is to say, pointing his fingers at Dion. "Oh, definitely! What I want is the library, but safety's just one part of it! You know I need access too. The only way I can get that is fulfilling my end of the deal. But Houl and his people, they were rebels too, weren't they?"     "They tried to put the library at risk. Why are you rescuing them?" His voice shifts from much more positive to holding hints of intense venom. It's clear that this is a critical and key sticking point; if Dion is planning to do anything but turn Houl over to the man -- or shoot him himself -- as he maintains his matching pace and his mexican standoff, there's going to be violence. Priscilla ordered this priority, but Parsons would pursue it quite well on his own. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla's reaction to discovering the person she had blind tackled is Will, and at discovering what he thinks of her, is not much more than a noise of confusion and mild discomfort, which quickly bridges into actual disgust when August leaps on her back and Will starts /fighting/ over it. "Thou art both-" she stops for one of those jolting shotgun kicks. "-a thousand years too young to speaketh to mineself in such a way."     During the next one, when the ridiculous arrangement is most destabilized, her tail recoils at August's grubby fingers, and instead wraps around his arm, going up his shoulder to curl around his neck with the kind of flexible strength of a python. Fluffy it may be, but it'll be less comfortable when it suddenly squeezes hard enough to choke him out and near-break his arm simultaneously, probably leaving nasty bruises on both in the process.     Will is not spared either. When they approach the ground, Priscilla inelegantly elbows him in the back of the head to screw up his last couple of momentum-arresting shots, draws in a deep breath, and then tanks the remainder of the fall with her boss health bar, letting the momentum unsettle the two all over her, so she can grab hold of the Chaser and over-arm spike him like a football, as a not-so-gentle reminder that she does not, in fact, get any weaker when she ceases to be 20 feet tall.     She's not actually chasing after the horses just yet. Flamel and Kord have that relatively covered. She wants these Watch kids to regret thinking they could touch her. 

:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''     "EGKH--!"     Kord makes a really unflattering noise of startle and pain when Irvine retaliates. This isn't to say he was struck directly, but more that he wasn't expecting the retaliation to happen so swiftly, since few people are agile enough to recover from such a thing. The teamwork is, frankly, exactly what is needed to disorient him. There's a spray of sparks as hands go up to deflect the majority of the slash, and a spatter of his blood from a slash hitting his shoulder on the deflection.     He does an ungraceful twist and cartwheel through the air thanks to pain stunning him, but he recovers quickly. He does not, however, pursue the Starlight Bandits. He knows one vital thing about them, and that's the fact that they can teleport for a quick escape if absolutely needed. Instead, he turns in the air and moves with alarming speed to catch up with the rescued prisoners, Flamel and Dion...     He is using darkness to slingshot himself at incredible, bonebreaking speed through tunnels to close the distance. The buffeting of wind follows him as he tries to close the distance and then completely pass them, and halt at a choke point in the tunnels with a beat of his wings that's hard enough to hear up ahead (WHUMPF) and then there's an disquieting hiss and hum of something magic happening ahead.     Oh. That's a floor to ceiling wall of darkness standing in the way of the horses. Kord is trying to stop the entire charging group with little regard for how much the sudden stop might injure people.     Whether it holds under the force of all those horses is another matter. He's going to try, though, standing with both hands up against the solidified shadows to brace against it with body and arcane power.     "This might hurt," he mutters to himself, closing his eyes to brace for the impact of a bunch of horses. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Priscilla is far stronger than August is. As her tail wraps around August's arm and neck, he can't stop it, and finds himself unable to breathe as they begin to crash into the ground. In his attempt to resist, August glances at his arm, summoning his Persona and using it to force her tail off of his neck, before the heavy thud into the ground. August rattles onto the ground, arm and neck pretty fucked up as he gasps for air. He can't do anything but watch as Priscilla tosses Will, the redhead forcing himself and his Ego to their feet as the Persona aims its gun at Priscilla. His every breath is a bit ragged. "Alright...alright. Listen here, First of the Concord. I want Houl dead as much as you do. I don't care one way or another about the king. But I'm going to make sure both my friend here and the bandits survive this. I don't know why they're doing this. I'm a bit ticked off by it. But I have loyalties to maintain." The Persona's gun fires, and a click. An aura of endurance covers both August and Will. "I doubt you'll accept this, but I'll pitch this to you. If you can forgive what's happened so far, we'll gather Houl for you. Hell, I'm betting the Bandits abducted him to execute him themselves. Let's talk about this like rational people instead of slamming each other down pits." 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Down they go into the pit, there's some light from the mouth laser Priscilla has used do help. Then as she makes her way down she hears the Bandits okay they are here that explains a bit. Even with her grapple line the impact getting down isn't fun she is alive and able to fight still though. Will is caught in harms way from Priscilla and this is just getting messy but in the end? She cares about Will living. She's also not going to attempt to fight yet she sees August is trying to talk here and she'll move to back him up, she summons her own weapons out though she's not a fool with a pistol and blade in hand she'll form up with August. She's out of the way of the attack as she's took a bit longer to get down but she's an open target now. "I'm with August I'd rather we Parley!" She's clearly ready to fight if it comes to but she's trusting in August's plan here. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Oh man, Irvine, Molly! I knew it was you two! Ahahahaha! I dunno what you've got planned, but I've got your back!" He winces a bit when Irvine goes smashing into a wall, but he's... Probably fine! He's made of surer stuff than that. "Hey!" Will protests at Priscilla's complaint, "I am old enough to hold a gun, my liquor, and a conversation. I am old enough to-- oof!" Elbow right to the noggin. That's gonna sting. Will's last shot goes wide, but thankfully Priscilla is there to absorb much of the impact! Unfortunately, she then decides that Will should suffer grievously for the sin of landing face-first in the fluffy fabric of her tremendously fuzzy dress. And so she goes to spike his skull right into the pavement. But... She neglected one thing. Sure, falling from a great height might unsettle an ordinary man, but Will is not an ordinary man! He is ALSO not an ordinary boy! He's kind of in-between those two points of age, but not ordinary regardless of age. Priscilla goes to turn his body into a human volleyball and Will is... Already pointing his shotgun at her. He fires right as she winds up her pitch. The kinetic force hits like a thunderclap and sends Will flying right out of Priscilla's grip. He skids across the floor with a grin. And then August... decides to parley. Well. "I'm definitely up fer negotiations, but my friends're in trouble right now. August, I'll go on ahead! Y'all keep on negotiatin'. I've got a couple've bandits t' see!" And with that... Will straight up takes off down the corridor after Flamel, Kord, Molly, Irvine and the others. His gun shifts as he breaks into a run, and then into a roll, his motorized skates screaming to life as he charges after the others. Reinforcements are on their way, bandit pals! Flamel might need to watch his back, because Will's already started to drop some suppressive fire his way. 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Dion sneers slightly at Flamel, apparently disgusted by the same thing, before replying, "I don't know. That we rescue everyone was the condition of that ridiculous pair. We had to relent, there was no way we could handle it otherwise." However, his group comes to a sudden, abrupt halt as the horse of the loyalist at the front comes to a sudden, whinnying halt. The wall of darkness has them spooked, forcing the escapists to halt.     Dion snarls, and turns to point the rifle at Flamel. "That's the fellow that butchered my men, isn't it?" That trigger finger is itching, regardless of the finger gun pointed at them. The loyalist at the front also levels a rifle at Kord's construct, unsure of what to do. From behind, the sounds of more galloping... the Bandits are catching up! They look back and see Will pursuing, Molly reaching out to offer him a hand onto their horse. It'll be a tight squeeze. "Thank you, young man! Can't let that fat fellow get away!"     Back outside, a call for negotiations begins. Perplex and the guards who had managed to get through the loyalists descend the ramps like sensible people. "What is going on?" the leader demands. Not to anyone in particular, just a cry for an explanation. "Where are the prisoners? What tunnel did they escape through?" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will's grin only widens as he takes Molly's hand and swings up and into the saddle. "You got it, Molly! Leave the fire-support to yours truly. But uh, I gotta wonder, why're y'all chasin' him down after y'all set him free? Got any plans for him?" 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Will is not only rude enough to make all those untoward remarks, but also rude enough to point his shotgun at the exact lady he was just squabbling with August over moments earlier. Sure, it's not actually lethal force, but when Priscilla recovers her balance she looks like she's pretty much ready to murder the two on the spot. When the Tin Soldier suddenly displaces thin air, the Lifehunt Scythe does as well, and she ends up staring down the gun without flinching, probably moments away from violence.     It's an odd coincidence, then, that august has something reasonable to say. Enough that the majority of her hostility quickly drains out of her posture. "Whether or not the Bandits live to see the sunrise depends much upon what actions they chooseth from hence, however, I hath no objections to thee attempting to persuade them of wiser courses of action. Mine forgiveness pends a satisfactory conclusion, but for the moment, thou hast mine blessing to seek Houl for such a purpose." See? She did say she knew August could be reasonable sometimes. "So long as the boy is given a suitable blow to the head in the process." Them's the terms.     Priscilla sighs as the guards arrive, then simply says "Follow." before giving chase. On foot, yes, but fortunately, she is also not actually any /slower/ than a 20ft tall person would be. This makes catching up to horses pretty much a certainty. If she meets the Bandits on the way, she will struggle, but pointedly ignore them, instead tracking down which. Her goal is to figure out which horse Houl is on, and then take it out at the knees. 

:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''     Sigh.     Kord steps through the wall of shadow. The way it melts around him to emphasize that it is, indeed, a physical wall of dark probably isn't comforting to look at. He stands with his hands out at his sides.     He stands there, totally unperturbed by the gun now pointed at his center of mass. He just holds that position, as if going 'what?' at the guy with the firearm.     "My name is Kord," he explains, "I am not a man that makes idle threats. If you shoot at any of us, especially him, I will snap the neck of your nearest subordinate faster than you can take your next breath. This kind of threat is what I gave to the men I, rightfully, did not trust to keep themselves from doing something stupid. Like the man I butchered for trying to attack the First, Queen Priscilla." 'Especially him' indicates Flamel.     "Do not make me even more of a demon to your people. I tire of proving my point to the stubborn."     His tone is one of calm amusement, to get the point across that he is not afraid of any of them. And that he will, in fact, slaughter anyone defenseless enough to get in arms' reach to him, if it proves his point.     The wall of shadow remains. Is he still concentrating on keeping it solid? 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' With everyone chasing after someone else, fighting each other, attempting negotiations, or simply trying to figure out what the hell is going on, Sanary's... Actually not entirely sure what the deal is between people trying to abduct the King, kill the king the king, rescue the people abducting the king and possibly killing them later. It's all become something of a mess for the healer to try and understand, and so...      She just sticks with William and August for the time being. Even if she's not fighting anyone, she can at least do what she does best: Be ready to heal indiscriminately!      Not that she's doing that yet. No, she seems more interested in seeing where it's all going first. "Looks like y'all're having fun down here. Uh... But really, what the hell /are/ the Bandits goin' for, anyway?"      That part is still eluding her. "And if you're gonna negotiate... Er. Do we still need this book for anything?" Without much fanfare or drama, Sanary produces the weird future-book for a moment before slipping it back into her coat for safe keeping. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     THAT PAIR.     This chaos is getting bad and Parsons has absolutely no control over where it's about to go. A bullet slams into his body, where his psionic constitution takes over and converts the wound to a heavy orange light that seems to bleed, before Parsons gets a shield up, enough to intercept the rest of the fire. "Wow!" He says, cheerfully and positively. "What a complete mess!" Parsons knows he can't even get close to reasserting control over the situation. The only thing he can reliably do in this case is add to the chaos and hope that he'll be able to ride the wave to his destination.     "You know, I really love my job!" He says, with bright eagerness. "I get to meet interesting people, and go interesting places, and do interesting things. It's a wonderful job -- that is, being an agent of a vague yet menacing government agency. And I even love the twists and turns of all the local politics! Getting to serve all the weird interests and further mysterious agendas. But there gets to be a point where I really just can't excuse mixing business and pleasure!"     A pulse of white light shines from behind his sunglasses as he runs Astral Projections through as much of the group of loyalists as possible. Dion, he can't turn so quickly and easily, he's a man with a strong mind, but the others, he might be able to flip switches on. Using his astral projection, he'll attempt to set them to fire back on Will, and even the Starlight Bandits! He can't exert a long-term influence over their alliance that Dion won't be able to shake them out of with strong words or angry orders, but maybe it'll be enough to buy time.     Parsons continues that cheerful tone. "The Starlight Bandits have a secret. Houl knows the secret. I'm betting this is to stop a contingency release, something to keep them from killing him instead of working for him when he blackmailed them! Something set to help make sure they keep him alive! I don't have time to interrogate you about what they did. I definitely have time to let my friend Kord kill you. Work with me. Figure out your way through this that ends with not getting between /everyone/ and the one they want to murder." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Hey Sanary!" Will beams. "Great of y'all to join us. We uh. Well, I'm not sure! But I trust 'em. That said, why ARE we doin' all this, Molly?"     he situation develops. It's almost... Almost as if people are just not getting in the way of Will's gun! Kord is further up ahead, Priscilla is back with August, Flamel is... Deceiving a bunch of innocent(??) men into shooting at him!? Well that's just unsportsman-like! Will whispers a quiet curse as he ducks behind Molly. A smaller profile is harder to hit, and he trusts that she can handle her ride well enough to not go down to a few stray shots. He has other business to worry about. Business like... Breaking right through Flamel's mind-shield. How? Well. That's pretty easy. After all, Will knows Flamel well enough. He knows how his powers work. They need his mind to be working well, don't they? Well! First thing's first. The Solano begins to burn bright white, then brighter, and brighter again still. Will dips out from behind his cover just in time to fire a single thundercrack of a shot right into Flamel's barrier. ...But then his weapon seems to change again. The white light gives way to rippling waves of coruscating energies. Will fires again, a quick trio of raw electromagnetic chaos all aimed at the psychic agent ahead of him. It might not put him out permanently, but if Will knows anything about how brains work, he knows that 'getting electrobolted' kind of... Hurts. All the while, he trains his eyes further ahead, trying to figure out which of the riders among the others is Haul. It's probably not hard. He's... Got a pretty unique... silhouette. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August just stares up at Priscilla, nodding, before moving forward to the horses himself with his Persona, trying to catch up to Will. He begins glancing through the horses for Houl's sillohuette as he passes through the tunnel, speaking to the bandits. "Molly, Irvine, I like you two, but you need to hand Houl over at the minimum. Or atleast like, confirm you're going to kill him yourselves!" 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     "Why, isn't it obvious William~?" Molly asks. "We're going to kill him ourselves!" And then, Flamel's mindjack grabs the loyalists, including the one up front who was glaring at Kord, and makes them turn and fire down the tunnel at the three! "CEASE FIRE!" Dion barks, before staring hard at Flamel. "Let them go, you freak!"     Irvine ducks low and urges the horse on, as does Molly. The poor thing eats a few bullets and goes down, but that preserves the three riding it! Will fires back as the two faction leaders come down the tunnel (hopefully they don't get shot!)     "Well, of course we're going to kill him! Why else would we rescue him?" Irvine says. "He tried to blackmail us. And like Irvine says, 'if you want someone dead, you should do it yourself and make sure!'" Priscilla advances on the horses, one of which is being rode by a large man. As the halfbreed gets close, he tries to urge it on, but she's already slashed the legs out from under it. He and the mount falls, his leg pinned by the thrashing animal. "GOD DAMN YOU ALL!" the traitor yells, wincing as the beast's final motions grind his leg against the rocks.     "You can't let them kill me! I know their secret! It's something well worth learning! Save me and I'll tell you!" His eyes look around frantically, before fixing on Sanary. "Girl! You still have the book! Give it to me and I'll show you all the future I'll bring about. It's the best possible end for Chapter! You have to let me live!"     The Bandits now look around warily as Houl tries to sell their secret. Their faces are hard as stone. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Oh no! Poor horse. Sanary... Sanary, maybe you should heal her? Um. Will dismounts as the noose closes in. He frowns as Haul begs and pleads and... "Uh, Mister Haul," Will says, closing in on the Fat Man. "You know... I know you think that that's a powerful thing you have. But tryin' to tell people someone else's innermost secret is... It's not right, you know? But besides that, this is Molly and Irvine here. No matter what kind of secret they've got- and it's theirs to tell- I'm pretty sure nothin' much would change t'ween us an' them." "They're August and my heroes, you know? Y'all can't change that with just a secret." There's a beat. He looks around at Molly, Priscilla, Irvine, August-- at everyone. "Do we really have t' kill this guy? He's... He's more pathetic than anythin' else, ain't he? Could just... Toss 'im in a brig for the rest of his life or somethin'. Or Flamel could wipe that secret out of his mind. Or... somethin'." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla interjects with a sudden violence and very large amount of blood and screaming. That's sort of what happens when natives of Lordran get involved. When Houl is down on the ground, legs thoroughly put out of commission by the thrashing of his would-be escape mount, she takes the time to flick the blood from her scythe, grab him by the collar, and haul him off his useless feet, like a pinata dangling lightly from her fingers.     "That may very well be." she states, slowly. "Perhaps, in some way unbeknownst to us, thou art the best future this city of Chapter hath. Perhaps the secret of those two is very much one worth knowing. If that is so, I wouldst appreciate very much to hear it." Priscilla pauses for a few, tense moments, before continuing.     "However, there is an unavoidable truth to all of this, which changes not no matter what else one considers. The Concord didst give its word. /I/ did'st give mine word. A Covenant was made, and it was broken solely by thee, under no extenuating circumstances; thou simply believed such wouldst be a better outcome than upholding the oath thou were sworn to. I do not suffer oath breakers lightly, Houl, and neither the Concord nor its Partners suffer those who thinketh themselves clever enough to taketh advantage of them."     Then, slowly, she looks to will, and it's with the kind of frighteningly unconvinced stare that's supposed to be used on the one begging for their life, not an outsider simply suggesting he be spared. "I fail to see why one wouldst spare the effort. He was aware of the danger of the game he was playing. I shalt tolerate not those thinking the Concord is so soft that they can simply escape penance for betrayal by a minor alteration of memory." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Yeah, I wanted to see what was going on. Had a feeling something was gonna happen, and... Well." Sanary steps back as Flamel and Will engage in FIREY LASER BATTLES, furrowing her brow while getting a ball of green healing light swirling about in front of her. There's certainly options on how to help recover, but getting in the middle of their fight like that?      ... No, she's more than happy to just watch those two duke it out instead.Alas, there's still the matter of Houl's execution floating in the air as well as his incessant shouting and attempts to plead for his life. "Say... What if you brought him back up to the top, then? I mean, if everyone's agreeing on it... Might as well give the locals a show, right?" She suggests out loud, then turns to Houl once he starts spouting out things about secrets and futures.      "... Right. Uhm. About that. I've seen the kinds of PRESENTS people like you have already made. I don't need the book to figure out what a future with /you/ in power is." Sanary scoffs while moving over to the de-legged horse and healing its stumps. At the very least, it won't die from blood loss!      It just probably doesn't have much of a fate left beyond becoming glue. "But a secret... I dunno. You really think there's a secret good enough that'd be me worth busting my ass trying to save yours from-"      And then Sanary just gestures at ALL OF THE ELITES around her. "-ALL of them? I mean, I know I'm good, but..." Sanary actually grins somewhat smugly at that, then turns to William. "Oh. You know, I can heal him if he gets hurt. So we /could/ keep him alive and just..." She pauses, then shakes her head and trails off.      It's probably better that she doesn't elaborate further. "... The dragon-lady's got a good point, though. He did kinda fuck it up for himself, anyway." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Well, the Bandits are doing it for the reason August guessed. He sighs in relief and nods. "Alright. That's a fair reason." And then, the Tin Soldier's gun trains on Houl's head, as August stares at him coldly. "I don't need your secret. I could have learned it myself from your blackmail. You fucked up. You betrayed everyone here. You betrayed what we made, and stooped to the same acts of villainy as the previous rulers. I hate /you/ more than I hate them, because to my knowledge, they didn't break any oaths or promises." He glances at Will, staring straight at his friend. "No. Consequences are a thing, and this fucker doesn't get away with what he's done. He's betrayed us, threatened the Bandits, and backstabbed the Concord. Why the hell should he live? What reason besides 'empathy', 'not wanting to kill people', do you have?" 

:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''     Kord holds his posture and uses his incredible strength, his experience with chaos and violence, and his current advantageous position in the situation to stay almost as still as a statue. Mostly because he doesn't want to let on that it is terrifying for him to be near all of this gunfire.     "Boy," Kord speaks up, "I am going to talk down to you now."     "This man is a traitor. He is a traitor to his own, and a selfish cur for using someone's deepest secrets against them. Despite how ... tempting it is to hear him out..."     He lowers his hands. He brings them both forward. It's a deliberate movement, like any spellcaster would do, to evoke an effect. He aims it right at Houl. There's a small window to react and maybe stop him from doing this, before he jerks both hands upward like a conductor demanding a rise in volume. An array of shadow spikes jut out of the ground violently beneath Houl. It might be a miracle of anyone nearby doesn't get covered in blood, if no one saves this guy.     "Traitors must die."     Clearly he doesn't care if the Bandits called dibs. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons is knocked off his feet by the sudden blast of electrical energy that surges past his shield by conducting straight through and into his mind! His hold over the other men is broken by the impact, and he slams onto the ground, sizzling and smoking from the brain.     But, that's not a knockout! And he can hear Houl. That secret, that secret... He was knocked out of Houl's mind before. It's gonna be now or never. Photos. Photos. PHOTOS. Where are they... The man's going to get executed here. Parsons has never been inside the mind of a man when he dies. It's a terrifying idea. Who knows what the effects could be like. Who knows if he'd even resurface from that ocean with the information he's trying to pull out.     But he has to admit that he's curious.     In those last moments, disabled and seemingly knocked out on the ground, Parsons tries to sneak his way quietly into Houl's mind, down to where those photographs might be remembered, and grab the mental vault that contains the memories of them, to bring back into his mind, not even bothering to look inside on the way out. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' It seems August was right about what the Bandit were up to she seem to relax for now as she turns to Houl for a moment she looks at them for a moment she listen to August and she grunts. "Not taking what you are selling Houl. Sorry, you'd just shove a knife in our backs the first chance you got. We're not stupid and I'm not very fond of you either." When August asks the big question of why should we spare you she finds herself nodding. What worth does this man have? She's never claimed to be a hero, no but this guy had done some seriously nasty shit which had touched people she considers worth keeping in the world. "So come on what matey, you going to say somthing or not? Your getting Parlay which is more than you deserve." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Well ain't that obvious?" Will says to... All these doubters, nay-sayers and so on and so forth. "Sure. This guy screwed up. He... Screwed up big. But that's the thing about screwin' up. He DOES deserve punishment fer it. Real bad. He hurt a lot of people. But killin', killin' just ends it. There's no chance for him to learn from what he did. No chance to maybe, sometime tomorrow, for him to make a better turn. He'll die someday anyway. Everyone does. But until then, killin' ain't justice. It just makes us feel better about things. It--" Kord acts. Will reacts, maybe a sliver too late. With a cuss, he launches his grappling hook at the grovelling man's chest and pivots to try and yank him out of the onslaught of tenebrous blades. "Dangit, guys. I know I'm bein' stupid about this, but a man's gotta have principles! If y'all are gonna kill him, at least have the courtesy of knockin' me out first, and THEN lettin' the bandits get their revenge!" 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Houl has the look of a man who realizes the whole world is against him. He begins to sob pathetically as a bunch of things happen all at once. Kord swings his blade, aiming for the neck. Will uses his grappling hook to try and pull him free. Flamel dives into his mind to extract the secret.     Unfortunately, Will was just not fast enough. Kord's blade sinks through the fatty folds of Houl's neck and severs his head. All the while, Flamel gets to experience what happen to the mindscape of one who is dying. A palace of grassland and dirt starts to go out-of-focus as Houl's head lays on the ground, his brain rapidly dying as it is deprived of oxygen. It's nothing so grand and dramatic, just a gradual fade into peaceful, dark oblivion.     When he peruses that vault later, he would find that the fade to darkness affected the contents. They look like overexposed versions of whatever the photos were, useless for divulging what the secret was.     In the real world, Molly lightly kicks Houl's head as Irvine checks the body's pulse. "Welp, he's definitely dead!" he says, before going to eagerly shake Kord's hand. "Thank you sir! Saved us some bullets, you did!" Molly also goes around, giving everyone big hugs (and proving very eager to do so if any resist). "I can't believe we have so many good friends who came along to ensure he died~ Thank you all! I think Irvine said we don't care about what happened to the others, so feel free to kill them too~"     "Wait, please," the former king says suddenly, looking to Sanary. "Young lady, you possess the Foreteller's Tome? Please... destroy it. That book... it is believed that the people who created this library destroyed themselves over it. The whole reason I put my own people through this hell, digging the place up, was to find it, and ensure it would not happen to us. Please, honor the request of this condemned man, and burn it..." 

:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''     Kord lowers his hands after very decisively killing the man. He looks down at the deceased fellow, all the darkness having gone back to normal. He doesn't seem pleased by this, he just stares until Irvine approaches to grab him by the hand and shake it. He looks down at the hand as if not sure how to react to the gratitude of someone he moments ago tried to splatter across the side of a cliff.     And then he gets hugged by Molly and he makes a growling noise of pain and then calmly pries her off of himself with both hands. His shoulder is still bleeding, and the startle made him exacerbate the wound a little.     "Even the purest of nations have the death penalty for traitors, William," Kord mentions, "Not all men are interested in being good men. In his last moments, he chose to endanger others to save his own skin, to spill secrets that were not his. He was angry at us for daring to defy him or call him wrong. That does not deserve your sympathy. Just be glad he never forced you to realize that yourself."     He can't maintain eye contact as he talks, and his tone suggests respect for Will, in a way. He likes people that behave as William Pauwel does. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August flinches away as Kord executes Houl. Molly's hug distracts him, even if he grimaces as she puts pressure on his neck and arm, which are starting to show their bruising. Instead of arguing about Houl with Will, though, August steps up to the king. "So you enslaved your own men for this? Atleast you understand why you have this punishment. Maybe in another life you would have been a beloved king, if you actually mean what you're saying. I believe you do." There's a glance to Sanary, as if he's lingering. "But, Rondel, it's up to you. The book is yours, after all. You bought it fair and square. I'll provide the flames if you need." The Tin Soldier's still there, after all. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary's about to chime in with something (she thinks is) witty (but really isn't) shortly after Kord unceremoniously decapitates Houl. She doesn't, though, and instead keeps fairly quiet considering the William did attempt to stop the whole thing. Is that... Restraint?      That, or she's trying not to put her foot in her mouth yet today. Instead, her attention turns Molly when she comes around for a round of hugs, laughing and patting her once on the back before turning her attention to the former king. She strokes her chin lightly as he pleads for her to destroy the book, then draws it back out of her coat to flip it open. "What, this thing? Yeah, that's because the people that made your library were dumbasses." She snaps the book shut and gives it an irritated look, then...      Slips it back into her coat. "Idiots didn't even figure out this thing don't even work right. It's a neat magic trick, but I ain't seein' how this could do any real damage if I just keep it somewhere safe. Like..." A glance left, a glance right, and then she pats the bulge in her coat. "I'll hold onto it, August. Ain't nobody gonna get this useless thing, but it'll be a neat decoration."      MISSION ACCOMPLISHED...? 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Between Will firing the grappling hook and Kord firing off the shadow spikes, Priscilla is pretty much caught with blood splattered all up her side and a limp corpse being wrenched out of her hands. She remains, frozen in position for several seconds, before looking down at her bloodied dress and then squinting at Kord. Squint.     Then she just sighs. "If thou wish to be knocked unconscious, Sir Pauwel, such can still be arranged. As for the rest . . ." She shakes her hand, flicking the crimson drops from her fingers. "Retrieveth Houl's men and return them to the surface for proper execution, as the public demands. What wouldst becometh of the king and the loyalists is beyond mine concern. This entire rebellion had taken place well before I was alerted to it, or the Concord was involved, and it was not made our concern, thus it is not strictly our duty to see any of them hanged either."     She's leaving it to August and the Bandits? Weird. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' And... Kord just straight up kills the guy. Will swears again, withdrawing his grapnel before the cable gets sliced clean away by those shadowy blades. "Damnit," Will breathes a long, frustrated sigh. "Damnit. Well. I tried, at least. That's more than can be said for most." At least at the end, that guy had one person in the world sincerely trying to save his life. To give him a chance. Maybe that was of some comfort. Maybe. "Even if they aren't," he says to Kord. "People deserve the chance to show they are. Everyone does. Mistakes happen, some bigger than others, and we all do things that we regret." He shakes his head, then. "...I know he'd probably not... have gotten better. But my grandfather always told me: A man's principles ain't nothin' if he doesn't stick to them. Thick and thin. Day and night. No matter what, they're pigshit otherwise." He turns, then, and looks Kord in the eye, then glances at the king. "This guy, though. I didn't do much to fight for the other one, but this guy I will. He deserves a chance to make things right. Maybe not in this world. Maybe in another. He made some bad decisions, but even I can tell his heart's in the right place." "So I say he lives. That fine with you?" 

:'''{{#var:954|Count Kord (954)}} has posed:'''     Kord looks over to the King, a lazy sort of turn, with his eyes wide behind his mask. Surprise? Menace? Maybe hard to tell.     He looks back to Will and crosses his arms. He doesn't seem to care.     "Do what you will." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "I always do," Will says with a grin and a wink. "It's right in my name, after all." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August doesn't move, but just glares at Will, before glancing back towards where Perplex and his men were. He remains quiet. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' The King asks not for his life, not to be spared but to destroy the thing that was the book maker's ruin so it does not destroy his former kingdom. That changes some of her mind about them. Desperation? The wrong method? She only looks to King now. "That is all you wished? The tome is that terrifying that you took such measures to locate it?" Somethings click into place and she doesn't give the late Houl a second though as she looks to the king and Sanary. "The books yours Sanary but if the king was willing to ruin himself, to become called a monster for it or so she sees. "Just think about that bit." She also nods to Priscilla who seem to be keeping out of things here. She watches Sanary. "We should claim it was destroyed then, Sanary officially. At the very least. So people stop looking." She looks to Will for a moment and nods. "If your being given the call Will? I'll trust you on it." no arguments from Lyria on whatever Will chooses to do. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Huh." Parsons says, watching the oxygen-deprivation slowly de-resolving the psychic content of the mind as he flees, vault under one arm. A bullet to the head could have been perhaps more traumatic to the interior, but this is... Surprisingly... Just BARELY managing to escape from a potentially psychologically traumatizing event that emerged from his obsession with gathering data. He definitely had a scrapw tih a kind of cognitive doom.     And then he arises, shaking off the painful feeling of sympathetic oxygen deprivation. He seems to think on something, examining something inside his own mind, before softly swearing under his breath. Whatever secrets the pair have, they're safe. Until next time, you damn pair, if there was any suspicion that he would now know.     He then crosses his arms and looks to Dion. There's a bit of a heavy breath before he manages to break into that cheerfulness again. "Hey! Looks like you guys can get away. Maybe even the king too! I dunno what's up with the First's decisions, but they're mine too, here. Boy, you made a real twisty mess of a situation, I haven't gotten an intense espionage workout like that in... Ever actually! Way too many close calls with psychohazard-tier stuff. Well, if the Count doesn't still want to kill you, I'm sure not going to keep you and your king around. Good luck furthering his secret agendas wherever you go for exile! Give me a call if it turns out to be vague yet menacing." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The king looks disheartened as Sanary vows to keep the book. "I'll not stop you. But the book will linger after you're gone, and it may fall into the hands of someone less... reputable. Please, keep those who come after you in mind."     Everyone looks to Perplex about what to do with the other prisoners. He looks at the loyalists, the traitors, and the king and his council. "They come back to be hung," he says, gesturing at the traitors. A couple of them sob, but the leader takes longer to decide in regards to the others. "The king and the loyalists may go. Leave and never return," he finally decides, drawing gasps from the council. "They partook in greater cruelties, and the people need some of them to die to assuage their desire for justice. As for the others, if I don't hear from you, I don't come after you." Dion nods as the king sighs. "Very well... please, look after my people."     "Well, this was fun everyone!" Irvine says as he starts helping those who Perplex has deemed he would spare from their horses. "In exchange for your help, the least we can do is get these ones out of here for you." Molly nods, and produces the Terminal Getaway, pulling all their hands to touch it. "We'll drop them off somewhere safe! Thanks again, it was good to see you~!" Dion joins them, and inclines his head to everyone. Mostly the Watch. The Concord gets a cold shoulder for some reason.     bip     The Bandits, along with the king and loyalists, vanish. Leaving everyone with prisoners to transport back, and the corpses of a man and some horses to clean up. Hey, it's the Concord's library now, that's their job. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' THey were willing to ruin themselves over something that doesn't even work. No wonder they ended up like this." Sanary shrugs lightly at Lyria and glances over at Houl's head, then at the gathered loyalists. "Saying it's gone should help, though, yeah. I can play along with that."      She does peer inside her coat again, though. "... Do wanna keep it for the house, though. Make everything on the table look all fancy. And if you're /that/ worried about people trying to use it anyway..." Sanary grunts lightly, then strokes her chin. "Could... I dunno. Use it for drawin' stuff instead."      It's... A solution? she seems satisfied enough, at least, but she goes quiet while listeningintently to Perplex's decision regarding the former king.      It still doesn't make much sense to her. What makes more sense, then, are Irvine and Molly taking their leave!      "... Huh. There's still a lot of work to do here, huh?" She glances around at the corpses, the prisoners, and the Elties still left here. She strokes her chin lightly, then starts letting out a barely-whistle while backing aaway slowly.      Sanary clearly has no intent on getting roped into cleaning up /this/ mess. 
}}

5494/OMNI: One More FiNIsh

2017-09-24T03:01:43Z

Blaze:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/23
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=Both Inspiration Trust and the rebellious splinter group make their way to OMNI's central server. The matter is finally settled.
|Thanks=To everyone who came.
|Cast of Characters=648, 906, 934, 385, 714, 894, 1108, 42
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     Night has fallen hard upon the city, like a stone dropped from a cliff to the sea. To look upon it from above would reveal a stark contrast. Most regions of the city remain lit, that dull neon blue so common in futuristic cities. But two adjacent sections are mostly pitch black, lit only by spluttering lights powered by generators alongside flickering fires, not all of which are under control.     There, in that darkened section, is a third kind of light. That brilliant spot of pure blue and white, emitting from a blowtorch that is being applied to a nondescript metallic door attached to a squat concrete hut somewhere near the points were the two darkened sections meet. Standing before it, lit from behind by the sparking light, is D-BASE. Before him is a massive crowd of delinquents, ne'er-do-wells, and thugs. The still-unnamed group experienced a membership boom after their second display of terrorism, and they were nearing 500 strong.     "Tonight's the night, my lovelies!" he shouts, pumping his fist and drawing cheers from the crowd. "All we need to do is stroll down below, blow open a wall, and engage in some good old destructive self-expression, and no more OMNI looking over our shoulders day in and day out!" Another big whoop erupts, which only gets louder as the metal door finally gives way. "Right-o, let's go! If you ain't got no bombs, we'll pass some out, but only one per customer!"     It's a veritable moshpit on the way down the narrow stairs and through the tight corridors. All manner of explosives are passed out, from a range of cobbled-together military IEDs, to literal molotovs with some rope and tape to secure them to a surface. It's a short walk, but D-BASE soon looks from a map to a long stretch of wall before running along it, marking it with spraypaint! "This is it! Now, boys and girls... express yourselves!"                                    MEANWHILE                                         Within the Council Building, a side door for utility deliveries swings open and allows in a small group left waiting in an adjacent alley. Inspiration Trust is guided through the open floors of the building by a woman wearing a rumpled suit, her brown hair layered into a bob. Some middle-manager that Tomoyo managed to convince to let them in, as well as guide them to the elevator that goes to OMNI's servers.     It's a risky trek, often demanding alternate routes to avoid janitors and security, but they soon reach the bowels of the building. From there, it's a sequence of doors demanding thumbprint access, retinal scans, and verbalized passwords ('a pot watched is a pot safe') before they finally reach the elevator.     The woman summons it, and gestures everyone inside. She stays on this floor, and offers a nervous grin as she brings her hands up to her hair. With both hands, she pushes it up, revealing that the bobcut is strategically styled to hide that most of her head is shaved, and that all the hair comes from the horizontal axis of her head. With it all pushed up, it looks like a horizontal mohawk. "Good luck," Iris says as the door closes, the elevator rapidly descending.     "THIS IS AN ILLEGAL TRESPASS," the voice of OMNI immediately verbalizes from the speakers. "RETURN ONCE THE ELEVATOR HAS STOPPED," it adds. Tomoyo, for her part, is silent, but she looks to the others, as if asking them if they have anything to say. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang isn't much for words, but she speaks up now. "OMNI... We're here to make a statement." she says, measuring her voice. "You're a tool of a bygone age, something the people still want around, but which has outlived its original purpose." she then looks to the others of Inspiration Trust, especially Tomoyo, before falling silent.     The blonde has her Huntress outfit on, the white and black dress making her look quite different than the usual tan, black and orange of her regular outfit. She does have Ember Celica on her wrists, just in case. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Nothing about this situation sits well in Will's gut. Nevermind that he's probably going to have to go toe to toe with a friend, he's also... Going against a whole bunch of people who feel very, very strongly that what they're doing is right. It's just that Will thinks that they've all gone plain crazy with desperation and victory. Hate and anger clouds even the clearest mind. "I'm just here t' keep a friend from makin' a real big mistake," Will says from towards the back of the squad. He's drawn his handcannon. Terminal Judgment casts its light into the elevator. "And t' ask you a few things. Maybe... Change a few minds." "Maybe yours too. That'd be nice, huh?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna pauses, looking around the elevator for security cameras, or obvious hiding points for surveillance, and offers a warm, bright, friendly smile for OMNI. "We came to talk to you, and to ask for your help," she explains to the supercomputer. "Because we still want you to understand that the constructive uses of emotion are important - that they outweigh the destructive forms that emotion can take." Rather than one of her idol stage dresses, she's actually wearing her 'sailor' uniform from the Hikari Defense Fleet. That may mostly be because she didn't have a chance to change before hurrying over to rendezvous with Tomoyo, Yang, and the others ... but either way, the little robo-faerie Elner is flitting along next to Yuna. The rest of the Matrix of Light doesn't seem to be in evidence. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "It's pretty clear the people around here want change." Sanary follows up after Yang, Will, and Yuna, a tired look on her face while she checks her gear. Shield? Check. Axe? Check. She can't be too careful considering what's happened the last few times she's been in this world! At least she doesn't have either of her things drawn, but rather has them slung over her back with a rope.      "Not sayin' you ain't good at what you do, but... There's probably a good reason why there's been people crazy enough to try blowing you up if it's been going on this long." She glances around briefly to get a better look at the speakers, squinting for a moment and trying not to feel awkward talking to speakers. "Just... Give us a chance, alright? It'll be fine. And if we're real unlucky, we might even have to watch your..."      She pauses, glancing at the speakers again. "... You don't have anything like an ass, do ya?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is at the front of the crowd. He's forced himself to basically be at the lead of the group going through the door, dressed in a hoodie with a gun in a holster and his mirrored bracelet at his wrist. As the group is getting ready to move and the door goes down, August turns briefly to speak to the crowd. "If you need to extract, shout. I'll cover you. We're blowing the damn computer sky high." A pump of his own fist, as he grabs an IED and slings it in a backpack over his shoulder. Following behind D-BASE, August waits until they're right at the entrance to OMNI's base, and then moves to summon his Persona, a bright blue spark of light bringing the Tin Soldier. He glances and nods at his sole Multiversal companion, speaking to her. "You ready to raise some hell?" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     For some reason, seeing the crowd of 500 gathered here tonight, thrumming with enerygy, compared to the motley gang hiding nervously in the sewers the first time she had been here, fills A2 with a faint, puzzling kind of satisfaction. Whether or not her brazen assault on the server doors had helped inspire more young people to rise up against the machine that controls their lives, she feels . . . glad, that some of them did anyways.     Others, full of themselves, may have tried to convince her otherwise, but with her feet on the ground, at ground zero, surrounded by hundreds of real people, she knows she is far from alone in thinking this way about OMNI, even if she will always be alone in the way she feels. It's reassuring to see the reality when people spend so much time yelling about the philosophy.     She didn't bother finding some kind of anonymizing clothing today. Videos of her in all her falling-apart glory have already circulated to this circle, so walking at the very head of the group (and in the way of potential bullets) is probably more symbolic. Or something. It just felt right. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     ELEVATOR:     Staren is... not happy. When they met with the city officials, they let OMNI lead him to believe that it was only doing what it was told. At August and A2's needling, he reached out to the officials again and learned that A2 was right, they hadn't chosen to ban art -- they were dumb enough to go along with it when they asked OMNI for peace and it made a dumb suggestion.     He doesn't really /blame/ OMNI -- He's not sure it misled him intentionally, and it isn't human itself -- it probably doesn't understand what it's asking people to give up.     He's still here though, for different reasons: Before, he thought it was the city officials that needed to be convinced. Now that he knows they can't think for themselves, getting OMNI to change its mind is the most expedient way to change theirs.     OMNI's voice comes through the elevator's speakers. Staren looks around for a camera to look at as he speaks: "OMNI. You say you only do what the people want. But that's not true; You've been telling them what they want: Peace at the cost of losing a critical part of themselves." It's ironic, that here he finds people remaining flesh and blood who've done what many seem afraid HE would do by turning them into machines.     "However, the rebels are still wrong about destroying you being the best course of action. Only you can peacefully convince the people of this city to regain what they've lost. And you can still do a lot of good for this city in a less authoritative position."     "You said you only do what the people want. We propose an experiment, to show you that they still want to express themselves. If our hypothesis is proven correct, will you change your policies?" 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     The rebels are all very eager to express themselves indeed. All manner of explosives are placed on the wall using all manner of adhesives. Some of them spell out 'FUCK OMNI' in cherry bombs, while others paint obscenities using accelerators and gasoline. Once the wall is utterly plastered, D-BASE makes damn sure that everyone is clear before giving the go-ahead to detonate.     A mixture of detonators pressed, igniters molotovs hurled, and fuses lit occurs all at once before everyone gets wll clear by backing up in the tunnel. The explosion is massive, and only amplified by the confined space. The walls and roof shakes, dislodging dust. Several rebels go down due to the harsh ringing in their ears. But as the smoke clears, it's clear that they made an impact. A large gash has formed in the wall, with spots wide enough to wriggle through. "Right! Get in there!" D-BASE yells, drawing a yell from the crowd! But they all seem to wait for August and A2 to take the lead. Either out of respect, or so they can soak anything that waits for them.                                 MINUTES EARLIER                                     "MY PURPOSE IS TO SERVE MANKIND. AS LONG AS THERE IS A SINGLE PERSON IN THIS CITY, MY PURPOSE REMAINS," OMNI says to Yang before addressing Will. "WHY DO YOU NOT SPEAK TO YOUR FRIEND FIRST, RATHER THAN CAMPING OUT IN MY SERVERS?" Next, Yuna. "HMM. MY CALCULATIONS ON THE SUBJECT ARE YET INCOMPLETE. IF YOUR INTENTION IS TO PROVIDE MORE DATA, IT WOULD BE WELCOMED, EVEN IF IT IS ILLEGALLY GENERATED. SO YES, IF YOU PROVE YOUR HYPOTHESIS, I MAY RESCIND PREVIOUS STATEMENTS," it adds to Staren. And finally, Sanary. "A CHANCE YOU WILL GET. I HAVE NO MEANS OF STOPPING YOU."     Tomoyo opens her mouth to add something, but the elevator finally comes to a halt and slides open. The group exits into OMNI's main server farm. Looking up would reveal that the cylindrical chamber goes up for at least a mile, with canopies of wires criss-crossing overhead, connecting a towering core to the server farms built into the very walls. The whole place lights up in electric blue as everyone disembarks.     Tomoyo walks over to the base of the core, where an ancient interface sits with dusty screen and keys caked with grime. She removes a backpack and produces a laptop before looking from it to the ancient monitor. "Oh dear... I had hoped that an AI would have a more modern interface."     And then the walls explode.     The tailor looks to it in shock, before saying, "It seems we may have to contend with D-BASE's crew... I'll leave that to you all. Good luck," she says, before returning her attention to the ancient interface, poking at it to try and figure things out. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     BOOM.     "Great... JUST DUST EATING GREAT!" roars Yang as she deploys Ember Celica and makes for the ruined wall. "Tomoyo, Staren, do the thing. I'll keep these bastards back!" she bellows over her shoulder, as she leaps over rubble and fires shells behind her to at least partly block the way... but there's far too much space for even her high-speed combat style to cover alone.     "How about I make this easy!?" she yells through the openings in the server wall. "Turn around, and go home. I don't want to beat your faces in, but I'll do it if I have to!" Her Aura flares out into a pair of large leathery-seeming 'wings' behind her as she gets herself pumped up for battle. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' The walls explode. Yuna flinches at the abrupt noise - but the initial roar of detonation hasn't even begun to subside before light flares around the idol singer's body, condensing into sleek armor and snug-fitting fabric: her armored Light Suit, gleaming as though casting its own light. "Thanks, Elner," Yuna murmurs to the robo-faerie, followed by a quiet instruction: "Give Tomoyo whatever protection you can. The robo-faerie bobs slightly, as though nodding, and flits over to hover next to the tailor - prepared to generate a defensive barrier about her, if push comes to shove. But Elner can't generate a barrier big enough to shelter the entire server complex, and Yuna knows it. So Yuna quickly moves to support Yang, the Matrix Divider forming in her hands as she leaps. "You all are fighting for the right to express yourselves freely, I know - but we're trying to convince OMNI that such liberty would be a *good* thing!" she calls out. "But you're only going to convince it of the opposite if you keep wrecking things like this! So I can't let any of you in here -" She does a double-take, landing less than optimally from one leap, and taking an additional look at the face she thought was familiar. Yep. She knows what August looks like well enough, and even if she doesn't know A2 as well as the German youth, the battle gynoid is still highly recognizable. "Not even friends, if they're trying to destroy OMNI out of hand and cripple what we've been working for," Yuna finishes, her voice gentle and friendly - but underscored by a rock-solid determination. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August's IED is not among the explosions. He's saving that for later. Instead, as the walls go down, there's one more nod to A2, as Yang's voice echoes through the wall. The redhead steps forward, his Persona in front of him, as he stares Yang down. "Out of the way, Long." A glance over to Yuna, as he stares at her for several moments. "We're not convincing OMNI of anything. We're killing it. A2, it's showtime." People August considers friends are facing him down. But having any companions at all, having A2 standing next to him, convicted in what they're doing, keeps him going. There's no doubt that this is the option he must take. There's no guilt. The Tin Soldier's flamethrower begins to light up, and blasts forward to engulf Yang and Yuna in fire, before a quick movement to get inside the server itself. "Rebels! Tear this place to the ground! Express yourselves! Show that you want to be free!" August raises his burnscarred hand clenching it into a fist, waiting for the rebels to get past him so he can stare down Yang and Yuna, who are likely going to deal with that fire. "If you stand in my way, you're going to get burned." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Even Staren is surprised by the sheer SIZE of the thing. A mile-tall computer?! This thing is probably either a triumph of brute force, or some serious brilliance combined with outdated technology. He whistles, then comments, "I'm kind of surprised it didn't have the foresight to ask for guards down here."     And then the walls explode.     "August! Android girl!" Staren shouts. And then looks rather nervous as soon as he actually SEES A2 here. If noone interposes themselves, he's hiding behind OMNI. "You were right! But the fastest way to help these people is by getting OMNI to lift the ban! Then we can discuss whether it can still help people or to decommission it! Just give us a few minutes to try this -- if it won't listen, then sure, destroy it!"     Once he has a chance to actually work at the console with Tomoyo, he mutters, "Right? You'd think it'd have voice controls and a touchscreen. Let's see here..." He starts typing commands, searching for input and output devices and the tools needed to play audio over the city's speakers. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary looks surprised at first when OMNI actually obliges, then breaks into a more relaxed grin. "Heh. I knew you could be reasonab-"      And then the walls explode. "...le. Uh." The healer narrows her eye as the dust settles and D-BASE's voice can be heard, and then she lets out a long sigh while pulling her shield over in front of her. "Hey, hey! We've already got this handled! Trying to do all your..." She gestures at D-BASE with her free hand, jogging a bit to not fall too far behind Yang and take up the other side of the hole to act as a literal meat shield.      "... The shit you've been doing is just going to set everything back. OMNI's givin' us a chance to sort things out properly. Now are you, or are we going to have to do it the wrong way?" The healer puts her free hand on her axe handle, but doesn't whip it around right away as if waiting to see what the group will do first. August and A2 in particular get long looks from the healer, but she's trying not to direct too much apparent ire their way.      Also because it'll probably be easier to intimidate the group behind them rather than the Elites themselves. When August calls for them to come forward, though, the healer bellows out a roar of challenge before swinging the massive weapon over her head and slamming it into the ground in front of her.      "You heard August. You want to do this the messy way? Then show yourselves!" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Don't think I haven't tried," Will answers the voice in the machine. He tips his hat downwards, its brim covering his eyes meaningfully. "He's a stubborn one. Once he gets an idea in his head, it don't go away. I'll do what I can." There's a beat. "Besides, this ain't the first time I've camped out in a server r--"                                    *BOOM*                                   "Aww shoot," Will hisses, tugging his visor down over his eyes. White noise washes across his vision before resolving into sets of figures and values that rapidly sweep down across his eyes. There, two figures amongst the horde that he recognizes-- and one that he especially didn't want to see here. But, you know. That's how this goes. He expected this. August goes to leap into the server room, when something suddenly slips out from behind one of them, its hand esconced in a halo of warm, orange light. "August," Will says after he fires, sending bolts of screaming hot incendiary energy right at the still-manifest Tin Soldier. "Sorry. I can't let y'all in here. Destroyin' somethin' just 'cause you disagree with it just ain't somethin' I can let go. Stand down!" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     No matter what the reason is, A2 is through the breach before anyone else, vaulting her heavy body through the gap fast enough to twist the exposed rebar. She falls a short distance, her heels stab shallowly into the concrete, and then amber firelights swarm to her hand with an electric hum, solidifying into Type-4O sword. Before even properly looking around she marches forward, not so much without hesitation as without thought.     She hears the voices before she sees much of anything, waving through the smoke and brushing past wires on her way towards them, neither stopping nor slowing. "You can try, but I can't guarantee you won't go home missing a limb or two. How about you make it easier on yourself and screw off." Her voice doesn't rise to nearly the same level of anger as Yang's. Were it not for the bitterness, there'd be no feeling in it.     "And /you/ can shut it. Again with the saccharine suicide, huh?" she says to Yuna. "Throwing yourself in the way so you can preach about friendship and get hurt again? Do you get off on this?" Then to Staren, and to Sanary. "You still don't get it. I'm not fighting for this city or these laws. I don't give two shits about what you think. I care about people living in fear of a computer. I'm fighting to /kill/ a /machine/."     Then, she finally gets a good look at it. The ridiculously old interface. The powering pylons and server stacks. A2 stops in her tracks, looking from the core to its cables to its processors, and then up, far, far up, towards the unexpectedly massive room's ceiling, clearly only just now realizing its true size, and the sheer volume of machinery in here. Destroying this would take-     A2 suddenly clutches her head. Her knees weaken underneath her, causing her to sway unevenly on her feet, screwing her eyes shut with a clear sound of pain, fingers digging into her hair.     "I can do it No.4. Just- just shut up and watch." she talking to herself. Not even looking at any of Inspiration Trust. "You don't have to fight anymore. It's over, okay? You'll never have to do that again. I can handle it. I can do it this time!"     And then A2 screams out loud, breaking ranks from August and throwing herself dead forward. She runs straight down the center of the firing line and charges the console behind them, heedless of the gathered Elites, like she can't even see them. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     "Well, maybe not all that... I was thinking that a mouse would be good," Tomoyo says. The terminal demands command entry via the keyboard, but it thankfully has a detailed 'help' command and pretty advanced keyword-guessing heuristics. For the likes of him, it won't take long to figure out how to get it going. Tomoyo meanwhile, searches for and actually finds a USB port (it truly is universal) and hooks her laptop up to the core. "I pre-recorded what we need. Once you have the broadcast system open, we're ready."     As D-BASE clambers through the holes, he sneers at Yang, Yuna, Will, and Sanary. "Oh for god's sake, holding a private concert down here? Must be nice to be part of the elite, allowed to wander where you please." He frowns a little at August's honorable warning, but A2's volleyed insults brings that smirk right back. "If they're so eager to die, let's hurry them along. FUCK 'EM UP!"     The rebels attack! The dumber ones try to swarm the Elites with improvised weapons. Bats, chains, and tools are brought to bear with clumsy swipes! But there are smarter ones in there, ones that were present at the first server raid. They hang back, harrying Inspiration Trust with hurled molotovs as they edge around the perimetre of the room. Some get to work on the ground-level servers, while others are clearly intending to rush Tomoyo, Staren, and the core. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang's Aura flares and glows brilliantly, fed by the flame engulfing her from the Tin Soldier. The flame laps across her protected skin, leaving red welts as some damage bleeds through. She crosses her arms in front of her face and braces against the force of the flame burst... Her eyes take on a red glow, the only thing showing in the orange glare of those flames, just before they burst away in a kinetic pulse. "I. BURN!" she bellows, slamming her fists together and sending out another pulse to try and knock some of the rebels on their backs, anything to buy some more time.     She's speaking on the radio using her subvocal microphone, but the singing comes out to those without radios too, the husky voice rather unsuited for it, but she's doing it anyway. "I'm bleeding out, so if the last thing that I do. Is bring you down, then I'll bleed out for you." Red eyes lock onto August, feet shift to brace, and the blonde unleashes a volley of explosive bolts at the Persona user, punching each shot out in alternating throws of her arms. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' So much for the peaceful solution, thinks Yuna. August's liberal application of fire is enough to make Yuna draw back some, the Light Suit's protective aura sparking about her as the fire is warded away from actually burning her. It's still hot enough to be unpleasant, though - enough so that she seriously thinks of using her kite shield. She doesn't have time to come to a decision before A2 screams like a berserker and charges straight in. Yuna has had a front-row seat to A2's ferocity before - and the gynoid nearly took her out for good with a single, over-hypercharged slash. That was *with* Powered Form's heavy defenses, plus her kite shield ... neither of which Yuna has at the moment. The latter is only a shout away, at least. But Yuna doesn't summon Shugoseiheki - at least, not yet. Instead, she aims the Matrix Divider and pulls the trigger, a charged blast lashing out at one of A2's legs, followed by lunging from her perch to try and body-check the gynoid while she's *hopefully* off-balance from that first shot. And Yuna being Yuna, the bolt of coherent light is more of a kinetic impact than anything that would burn, pierce, or sever - she wants to knock A2 off-stride to stop her charge in its tracks, not cripple or maim her. Other enemies have pointed out that Yuna's sense of compassion and mercy is liable to get her killed someday. She doesn't plan for today to be that day, though. And she's not alone, which makes the odds even better. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' A2's barbs actually have Sanary holding in a brief snicker. She's learning new words slowly, so she actually understood that! "Hey, hey. That's just how she is. And you..." Sanary squints at A2. "... Eh, that's fine. Easier that way." There's a tone of respect in Sanary's response, but it doesn't get her to stay her hand.      No, she's bringing that axe up back onto her shoulder. She ducks behind her shield as the molotovs come in, the fire rushing over her and singing the edges of her coat. She bellows out another roar, then takes a wide sweep with her shield to fan the fire out in front of her!      It probably didn't accomplish much, but she's hoping it looked cool. She can't just leave Yuna to face A2 alone, though, and D-BASE's crew gets a moment's reprieve from the axe-wielder as she chases after the android instead. It'll take her a moment, but she catches up in due time to take a big horizontal swing at A2's legs as if trying to chop them right off with brute force! 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren makes a sort of annoyed grunt at A2's words. She's not entirely wrong -- OMNI itself may have been a net negative to the people -- but they need to retract the laws OMNI has made, as well, and Tomoyo's plan is the fastest and safest way to do that. Rioting in the streets is going to get people hurt.     "I can't believe they didn't put more security on this thing. Man, for all we know, someone could've been controlling OMNI the whole time..." He freezes for a second at that thought. Well, it doesn't matter RIGHT NOW. He enters some more commands. "Plug it in." He pulls a pistol from his bag and shoots some taser rounds at the approaching rebels with only a brief glance (smartlink is wonderful,) his ears flattening at the noise. Just because he's not equipped to go up against August and A2 in combat, doesn't mean he doesn't still have a bag of tricks. Once Tomoyo has it plugged in, he holds the gun in his mouth for a moment to type a few more commands, then draws the gun again. "You're good. Do it!" He steps aside to keep firing at the ones rushing them. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August ignores Staren except for a glance of acknowledgment, focusing on Will. "Sorry, Will. I refuse. Gun me down or fall." As August says that, Yang protects herself from the fire with her shielding, sending out a kinetic pulse to the rebels that causes August to cringe. Yang's singing causes August to lock eyes back on her, his blue ones contrasting her red, as she fires explosive bolts at him. The Tin Soldier gets in the way. The bolts slam into its torso as it skids in the way, denting through the metal explosively as both Persona and Persona user cringe from pain, August stepping back momentarily. The Tin Soldier's face is pained, as it mimes a roar and a throw of the arms, the gun being raised again to fire a single blank click. An aura of something washes over August and the Persona, boosting their endurance. Right on time, as Will fires incendiary bolts at the Tin Soldier, causing an even more pained expression, straight out of the Scream, August steps back again, wobbling from the pain, as the Tin Soldier is caught alight briefly, arms flailing. Luckily, it forces itself to keep going, and raises the gun back up. And then another click. A large spiral of flames shoots out of the gun, slamming into Yang before being aimed to abruptly cycle into Will and try and force him back, as August maintains distance from A2 so Will's shots couldn't hit both of them. "How much of this are you doing for the people, and how much are you doing because you selfishly believe your way is the right way? That you have the right to make a choice for these people, instead of letting them stand up for themselves. These people are fighting to express themselves. Why are /you/ fighting? Who are /you/ fighting for?" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     Whatever A2 sees in front of her, it isn't Yuna. That is, if she sees anything at all but the red fog. Sprinting straight at her, it couldn't be an easier shot, and the concussive bolt slams straight into her thigh, causing the android to stumble low and forward to try and build her speed back up. Yuna tackles her in the middle of it, throwing her to the ground with a crash of ceramic against cement. Her sword flies from her hand and goes skidding off across the floor.     "God- dammit! Get OFF ME!" A2 howls beneath Yuna, her violet eyes suddenly without their dull and glassy sheen, but burning with inconsolable rage. Her finger scrape over the floor while she rolls on her back. "I need to- for her sake! For fuck's sake GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She suddenly strikes Yuna from underneath, driving her fist forcefully into her stomach; forcefully enough to send a human flying like a tennis ball. Without the synthetic skin, it feels like being punched with a fist-shaped rock, and her arm that extends out all the way behind it is as rigid as an iron pillar.     Sanary wants to capitalize. Whether or not A2 recognizes the difference between Yuna's soft approach and Sanary just coming at her with an axe, it doesn't matter. She curls her back, rounds her shoulders, kicks her legs upward, and rights herself with a full gymnastic hand-stand which instantly turns into a lethal spin kick, the instant Sanary closes. For looking halfway like the Terminator, the whole motion is absurdly graceful, and ends with an arching flip back onto her feet, and a backfist pistoned into Sanary just for good measure. She can fight hand to hand too, apparently. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     "Pardner, y'all are crazy iff'n you're thinkin' like that about somethin' like this." Will answers. "Life and death ain't got nothin' to do with this. Y'all're just tryin' to take the quick path 'cause it's easy! Just 'cause people call for it--" A wave of flame washes into the gunner. Will grits his teeth as he feels his flesh scorch and burn, his duster catching flame at the fringes. Judgment's light turns pale white, a burst of kinetic power follows, shattering the spiral of flame with a single shot. "What am I fightin' for? Shit, August. Of course this is selfish. Anytime y'all apply yer morals to a problem, you're thinkin' that you might know better than someone else." "But that's fine," Will growls, his gun switching right back to that red-orange glow. "I'm fightin' for the ideals I've got, y'all're right I'm thinkin' I know a better way. So what!? Ain't you selfish too!? Y'all think y'all ain't decidin' for everyone!? What about the people who ain't here screamin' their heads off and lightin' everything on fire like maniacs?" The Solano's whine reaches a high-pitched scream. Will takes aim as his weapon's barrel seems to part down the middle, unable to totally control the power surging through it. "Selfishness ain't got nothin' to do with it. I want to help the people too, help them get what they need. But this ain't what they need! This is just destroyin' somethin' because it's quick! It's easy! But you know what--" Will pulls the trigger. "The easy way ain't never the best way!" The Solano flashes. A tremendous cylinder of flame washes out from the barrel, threatening to swallow the Tin Soldier whole! 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     THe battle begins in earnest! Yang's shockwave blows back the rebels while Sanary shield-bashes them down. As for the ones that try to slip around the sides, Staren has them well-handled with his taser rounds. Among them, D-BASE jukes the shots by hiding behind other rebels, all while placing more IEDs on the wall servers. Tomoyo uploads the video into the core, and all across the city it begins to play. Appearing on screens, audio coming from speakers. Only the disabled sections do not receive what plays.     "Hello everyone," Tomoyo says, sitting in a dark room. "You might remember me as the leader of Inspiration Trust, the group that spoke to OMNI during the last public hearing. Alternatively, you might know me as the organizer for the concert that was tragically undercut by the bombing of OMNI's Residential District servers. Or you might not know me at all. That's fine. What's important is that you listen to me."     "Right now, we are in OMNI's central server farm. We've broken the law to be here, and we'll accept the consequence of that as long as you all listen to me. OMNI has thoughts about humans that influence current policies. It doesn't matter if you agree with those thoughts, or the policies. What matters is that some who disagree are going to take action against it, in a way that is tragically permanent, and will only prove OMNI right."     "The only way to truly beat them is to prove OMNI wrong before they can. OMNI believes that all forms of expression only create conflict between humans. We need to show it that art can bring us together in harmony. I was hoping to do that at the concert, but we had to stop early because of the bombing. So now, we'll finish it together. All of us. Please... sing with me."     Her image fades, replaced by what is essentially a kareoke screen. Text appears under a placid image of a mountain, a dot bouncing in place as the opening melody plays. As the lyrics kick in, they begin to scroll along with the dot moving along them to mark the progression.                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmZMMSDx3Yg                       Within the servers, holographic screens appear all around, displaying the same thing, alongside camera feeds from all over the city. A built-in feature, to make sure what is going out is accurate, and being received properly. Tomoyo looks at the latter with hopeful eyes, as citizens behold what is being asked of them. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang braces again, skidding back from the impact of that spiralling flame cannon. Her Aura flickers faintly, the golden glow surrounding her crackling like electricity for a few moments, a nasty burn showing on her midriff where the flame broke through and burned through her outfit and some of her flesh. "These people are a minority! We're fighting for everyone else who want change, but aren't militant about it!" she snarls back, "I'm fighting for those people up there who just want to live their lives, not live in fear of these hooligans destroying their homes!"     She gathers her legs and surges forwards, shedding wisps of golden light, trailing behind her as she surges forwards. She fires behind her, pushing more speed into her charge, then brings a haymaker over and down onto the Tin Soldier, even as the rebels hurl projectiles at her to try and distract and drive her off. She aims to close with the Persona user, even going so far as to try grappling with the Persona itself, even though it's been set on fire by Will! 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary's axe shreds up part of the flooring as A2 deftly avoids her swing, and the healer gawks for a moment before bringing her shield up. Despite that hunk of metal between them, there's a heavy echoing thunk of metal on probably-also-metal as the healer braces herself against that kick, backing off to not lose her shield outright to that backfist follow up. The impact still reverberates through her arm while she stumbles back, but the dent in her shield is certainly more preferable to getting that fist in her face.      "Holy f...! Whoa, whoa, hey. We get it, you don't like OMNI. But this... Er. This is getting kinda weird!" She calls out to A2 while staying back for a moment to gather her bearings and sort out just what's going on. Just what has this lady seen to get her so... This?! Considering the force behind her strikes before, going for the IEDs would be a big risk to both herself and Yuna.      Weighing her options, the healer grimaces as she puts her axe back on her back, then makes a break for the IEDs that have been pointed out to her. If the healer can get there, she'll start on tearing the things down with her bare hand!      It's probably for the best that she has no idea what an IED is. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna's Light Suit protects her from many things. Bullets, blades, beams, bludgeons, fire, lightning, ice, even the mortal vacuum of space - it was created to protect the Savior of Light, the Queen of Light's mortal champion, and among the others who've held that title, it's kept Yuna alive this long in spite of many opponents, many threats to her continued well-being. It doesn't protect her against the laws of physics at their simplest and most brutal. When A2 punches Yuna in the gut, the Light Suit's protection only goes so far as to keep the metal knuckles from breaking through Yuna's skin or rupturing any internal organs, and even doing that much causes a flare as bright as a lightning bolt - but the force of the blow has to go *somewhere*, and it sends Yuna's petite frame hurtling into the air. If the ceiling weren't as incredibly high as it is, there would be a real chance of Yuna slamming *into* it, as if being hit twice - or three times, given that she'd then have to hit the *floor* afterwards. Fortunately, even though the punch drives the wind straight out of Yuna's lungs, she manages to land atop a row of computer banks, and as soon as she gets her wind back, she jumps down into the aisle again, dismissing the Matrix Divider for the moment. Sanary's already been knocked flying - and further, has been tasked with tearing down some of the IEDs that the rebels are plastering all over the walls. The shield-axe healer may not know what they are; Yuna has a pretty good idea .... But she has another problem, designated A2. And without Sanary's backup, Yuna's none too sanguine about her ability to take the gynoid in a straight fight ... So instead, she tries to get behind A2 - and wrap her arms tightly around the gynoid's midsection. It's not a tackle, not a precursor to a throw, not even an attempt to pin - A2's arms are likely free, Yuna didn't even *try* to pin them. It's just a hug ... and Yuna tries to start singing along with the song that Tomoyo's transmitting across the city. She knows the lyrics, she's studied the melody, and she's quite deliberate about trying to sing practically right into A2's ear. If the idol singer's voice isn't quite as sweet as usual, chalk it up to a combination of 'got the wind punched out of her a moment ago' mixed with a copious amount of adrenaline ... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "I'm fighting for the people who will be hurt if this city descends into anarchy! The people who have a right to the freedom to live a peaceful life!" Staren shouts back to August.     Tomoyo's video comes on, claiming to accept the consequences for breaking the law. "Speak for yourself." Staren doesn't look happy about that.     And honestly, he's not so sure about the presentation. The video is simply asking them to sing. Does singing because they were asked to prove anything? Some people will do a lot of things if asked, like rise up and murder their neighbors.     Oh well, it doesn't matter now. Either OMNI will change the laws before it's destroyed -- Staren's pretty sure he saw some rebels placing explosives on servers -- or it won't. It would've been better to get this all done peacefully and allow OMNI to continue contributing, but... it would still be far better to have the laws rescinded before the city's people have to learn to do without OMNI, than for the rebellion to become a war in the streets at the same time. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Are they, though? How many people are too afraid to act? How many people are unwilling to act? How many people are scared of this goddamn machine?" August shouts back at Yang, as he speaks again. "And how much of this is biased by your own damn world?" And then, he replies to Will, as the Tin Soldier is set aflame, August dropping to his knees in pain, but continuing to speak regardless. "HRRRG! T-those people aren't standing up for themselves, are they? They're refusing to fight, refusing to pick up their damn heads. These rebels are trying to fight for what they want! They're trying to make a change, and it doesn't matter how dangerous it is! This is their /expression/!" Yang charges forward, slamming into and grappling the Tin Soldier. There's more pantomimed screams, but slowly, August is actually /forcing himself up/, as the Tin Soldier tries to engulf Yang in the fire via contact, wrapping its own arms around her for several moments before trying to force out of the grapple. A wise eye might notice August glancing around the room during this, as eventually, the Tin Soldier collapses to the ground. And then, August forces himself up, leaning against a wall briefly. "I'm destroying OMNI. I'm bringing these people's dreams true. And you can't change my mind. You can't stop me from expressing my freedom. Here's my trump card." The Tin Soldier rises, beginning to ignite another fire... And then August quickly pulls something out of his bag, before tossing the backpack at the largest cluster of IEDs he can see. He's aiming to take down as much as he can in a single strike, as he lifts up a detonator. "I call it rebellion." Click. Boom. The fire is blasted straight out at Will, in an attempt to stop him from immediately shooting down the bag. "Sorry about this." 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     "Shut the fuck up." A2 shoots back at Sanary. "You don't have any idea what you're talking about." Caught between the two of them, she holds a tense, unrecognizable martial arts stance, glancing between Yuna, Sanary, her sword, and the rebels doing their best to swarm the room, getting a good look around. When Sanary makes a break for the IEDs, though, she is the first recipient of A2's real attention, thrusting her hand out toward her. "Oh no you don't asshole!"     Her discarded sword whips itself off the floor, and comes spinning at Sanary from the side, rings of gold, grey and black light around its hilt. Tracking the motions of A2's fingers, it slashes across her front, wheeling around to carve across her back on a second pass, before zipping backwards and snapping into its owner's hand. A2 lunges after Sanary-     Only to get caught from behind by Yuna, after she had taken her eyes off her. The attacker model freezes, just for a moment, when she can't register what she's actually being hit with, struggling to figure out what Yuna has arms around her. Her silver hair tosses over her shoulder as she stares down at Yuna in incredulity, shocked beyond words. Yuna even starts /singing/.     A2 clutches her head again at a fresh wave of disorientation, staggering in Yuna's grasp. "Just . . . just . . . god dammit I-" She screws her fist against her eye, struggling to hold her breath, before gasping out, in a tone that is briefly bereft of rage, and instead full of deep, unbearable anguish:     "Oh god . . . Aster . . . Erica . . . Daisy . . . I'm sorry. No.4 I'm so sorry I-"     Then her voice revs back up to a loud and furious roar, and she whips her arm back to violently strike Yuna in the head with the hardened butt of her sword. "Just DROP DEAD! DIE AND GO TO HELL!" There is something very clearly and very seriously wrong with her, but it doesn't stop her from trying to hit Yuna hard enough to crack her skull. "No.21 just- August! Do it already!" She yells. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang grunts, the flames engulfing her body as she tries to squeeze the 'life' out of the Persona, using all the enhanced strength she's gathered so far. Her aura starts to fade, electric crackles coursing over her skin as the protective 'film' starts to wan and break down.     It's at that point, just before the barrier fails, that the Tin Man blasts her clear, smacking her away to pitch along the ground. She lays there for a few moments, before forcing herself back to her feet, body giving off smoke, her exposed skin an angry red, her outfit burnt at the edges and outright on FIRE on that purple sash... this doesn't last long as she literally explodes again, bellowing out a berserk roar of pure fury. Her eyes are solid, burning red coals now... and they settle on one thing, the first thing she spots on getting back to her feet.     D-BASE.     He would feel the full brunt of that madly furious glare, and the wall of kinetic force as the Awakened Berserker bullrushes the Rebel leader. He's not going to get away this time.. even if she has to mow through a bunch of rebels to get to him. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     "How many ain't scared!? How many people think it's just a pain, but don't think it needs to DIE for the world to change!? Have you ever thought that maybe the fact that neither of us know the answer IS IN FACT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM HERE!?" Will shouts back as the music begins to play. "This ain't doing anythin' but provin' OMNI's point for it-- what kind of world will this make? Is it one that will even have the luxury for people to BE artists!?" But then August... Does something foolish. So very, very foolish. "That--" Will's eyes go wide. From what August was saying, there's only one thing that could possibly be in that bag. He has no more than a split second to respond before the flames come. The Tin Soldier unleashes its payload, and Will's world turns into one of smoke and fire and pain. But if he doesn't do something-- He can deal with any pain, any suffering, but the kind that comes from the inside. Will grits his teeth, squints his eyes and turns and fires... A grappling hook snakes out from the flame. Will breaks into a run. August can /see/ that hook, he knows it. He sees it... going right for his explosives. A fraction of a second passes. The hook retracts, bag in tow. ...And then comes the explosion. August would have a second to react to what just happened before /something/ comes screaming out of the heart of the explosion, its teeth grit tight, one eye swollen shut with the other only barely reflecting consciousness in its milky, bloodshot surface. Will pulls the trigger. He rockets forward on an impulse of raw kinetic force and the pure power unfolding from that explosion... ...And /headbutts August/ right in the face. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:''' The silence of the people out in the streets is heavy. What is being asked of them goes against everything they knew. The concert was one thing; it took place beyond the city limits, so the laws don't apply. But now they are being asked to express themselves by a self-admitted criminal who broke in to OMNI's home. Being asked to flagrantly defy the laws that keep them safe.     And then, some do.     It's mostly concert attendees at first. The human mind is an instrument of creation, and letting it go without is like leaven soil barren and arid. The music of Yang and Yuna was like soothing rains to their parched minds, and now they let it bloom. The song begins to spread through the streets like rain clouds. Soon, everyone is being watered, and they begin to sing too.     A2 was feeling secure in finding 500 people who agree with her. But there are 500,000 people outside who disagree, and are willing to break the law in their own way to refute her and those 500 with her. And that number begins to grow, even as city security begins to roll up. Some of them even defy orders, shedding helmets to sing with the crowds.     "It's working..." Tomoyo whispers, wiping away some tears of relief from her eyes. Only now does she address the shouting crowd. "You say that the people are too afraid to act," she shouts to August. "Look at them. Singing in flagrant defiance of the law, to prove that they can be harmonious. Even as the police arrive, they stay and sing. They're expressing themselves, and they don't run and hide when it gets them in trouble. Can you say the same of your allies?"     But August is likely too busy fighting Will to hear her words. The explosion is set off, and even in spite of Sanary's efforts to disarm the IEDs, it's not enough. D-BASE sees August's signal and also detonates the ones he had set up. The combination sets of all the others, causing a ring of explosions to spread around the servers, potetially hitting the healer also! The holographic screens all flicker and die out as the broadcast is stopped.     Unfortunately for D-BASE, he was so focussed on that, he doesn't notice Yang until she's right on top of him, a crowd of his fellow rebels flying apart in her wake. For the first time, that smug smirk vanishes from his face as the Huntress bears down on her.     As all this happens, OMNI speaks. "INTERESTING. VERY INTERESTING. HUMANS COMING TOGETHER IN THE FACE OF CONFLICT. ACTING AS ONE HARMONIOUS UNIT, EVEN IN THE FACE OF CLEAR AND PRESENT CONSEQUENCE. PERHAPS I WAS WRONG. PERHAPS HUMANS NEED CONFLICT, AND ART IS A MEANS OF CREATING AND SHARING IT WITHOUT DIRECT VIOLENCE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS EVIDENCE OF SUFFICENT MERIT TO RESCIND MY STATEMENTS ON SELF-EXPRESSION."     Tomoyo looks stunned. It looks like she got what she wanted... but the rebels have soured the message, made it something totally different. The AI addresses Staren's question as she looks on. "ANYTHING I DECIDE IS BACKED UP AND SENT TO EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER. THIS DECISION IS SET IN STONE." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Oh, I totally know what's going on. You're a friggin' psycho!" Sanary calls back at A2 as she keeps making that mad dash for the IEDs. It's... Not a particularly fast dash compared to the other Elites in the area, but it's still a dash nonetheless! She glances back every now and then, but with A2 so far away and Yuna getting closer, surely there's no way the android with a sword can reach her from there!      And then Sanary gets two big problems to deal with. She can very distinctly feel something sword-like carving /around/ her, and she lets out a howl of pain while staggering away from the removed IED in front of her. "The hell... Was that?!" The healer braces herself on her knee and her shield as she focuses her healing magic on the bleeding gash around her midsection.      And then things get worse. It turns out IEDs are explosives! Unluckily for Sanary, she learns this the hard way as the IEDs she had just torn down gets caught in the chain of explosions, blowing up right behind her!      Of course, her awful shitty luck doesn't quite stop there. The explosion blows the healer forward, and she's thrown right into the waiting arms or side of a certain blonde berserker! Of course, being that Sanary's not exactly the lightest human around AND she's got her shield on her, this may just end up giving D-BASE the chance he needs to not get his head pulped! 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang's face isn't triumphant, it's not gloating or even showing any emotion other than rage.     Yang's ratcheting her arm back, the mechanism in Ember Celica racking a fresh shell into the chamber, but as she brings that fist down to smash into D-BASE's face... she gets hit by the Sanary Missile, knocked away and discharging the shell into the ground beside the fallen rebel leader's head, probably causing some nasty shrapnel and proximity burns from the shell burst, but very much not face-mulched.     Sanary has a problem now though. As Yang recovers from the impact, she rolls up, and pitches the healer off of her with the momentum, kipping up in a capoeira-style move, which lets her bring her fists into play on Sanary's shield, her face a contorted mask of bestial fury... though it seems she's out of ammunition, no explosions pumping with each punch, but each one empowered by her Semblance. Those of keen eye, would notice that the protective 'skin' around Yang's body is now gone. Not even a flicker of that yellow 'electricity' remains. She's completely vulnerable. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren covers his face with his arms as explosions go off everywhere -- His forcefield flickers into existance to deflect debris. Those who've seen him in combat can see this forcefield is a fraction of the normal thickness if they look closely. Well, OMNI won't be functioning at full capacity for awhile, that's for sure...     But somehow, it worked! The message is, perhaps, not as peaceful as it could have been, but Staren's more worried about the people than OMNI. "You've told them, right? If not, can you give us something as proof to take to the council?"     Staren looks warily at the oncoming rebels. "Will you step down?" He's still adressing OMNI. "Blindly following a machine's orders... You made one mistake that hurt them all, and you could make another. If you survive today, will you take an advisory or support role rather than one of authority?"     He doesn't think A2 or August will stop, but... He's come this far... 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Trying to hug somebody until they snap out of it comes with no shortage of risks - again, Yuna's sanity and sense of reason have been actively questioned, by friend and foe alike, but her methods tend to make *some* impact. And for a moment, she thinks she might be making progress at dragging A2 out of her battle fury. Then the hilt of A2's sword hammers into the side of Yuna's noggin; that defensive aura flares up again, but there's enough sheer force behind the strike to stun the blonde, her grip loosening despite herself. Also, it HURTS to get hit like that, and the only reason Yuna didn't cry out in pain when she got gutpunched was that she didn't have any air left in her lungs at the time. "OWWWWW!!!" This time? Plenty of air - and Yuna staggers away, her song interrupted along with the hug. Things are going to pieces fast all of a sudden - Yuna is just barely aware enough of 'everything' going on around her that she manages to slur out, "Shugoseiheki - !" And her kite shield materializes, strapped to her left forearm. She wastes no time in bracing its lower corner against the floor, propping herself up. She'll probably regain her equilibrium and be able to dive back into action again shortly ... but at the moment, she's vulnerable. Maybe not 'helpless' in the strictest sense, but dangerously exposed, Wall of the Guardian Star notwithstanding. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Instead of the bomb detonating where he wants it to, Will grapples it. As soon as he does, August's eyes widen, as he reaches out a hand in vain. "YOU FUCKING MORON-". The explosion goes off. August starts to move forward...when Will fires the Solano, slamming headfirst into August's face. The collision sends August flying back into the wall, his Persona desummoning, and him in a heap near Will. But August doesn't go unconscious. He tries to drag himself over to Will, checking if his friend is alive. Forcing himself against the wall, August glances at the room as everything explodes, and then sees Yang about to /execute/ D-BASE. Sanary manages to pull Yang off accidentally, and August begins hobbling, falling over at one point before forcing himself to keep moving, lifting D-BASE over his shoulder. "Shit. A2, we need to bug out." The redhead unsteadily tries to get D-BASE to safety, but even as he gets the other young man to their extraction point, he stops for A2. He's not leaving her behind. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will is... Well, he looks pretty crispy, August. But it looks like he's also breathing. Sort of. 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2 steps out of Yuna's slackening arms as soon as she recoils in pain, renewing her focus on Sanary, doggedly pulling the explosives off the wall despite her wound. Looking anxiously to August, however, A2 is rewarded by the explosive blowing up in Sanary's face, and catapulting her into Yang. It being a coincidence doesn't enter her head. 'Nice one.' she thinks silently to herself. 'You always were good at precise mathematical stuff and thinking clearly in combat. Those landmines-'     It takes her a second to realize how badly her memory files are leaking. Ever since she had seen the server room, far too much processing power had suddenly gone to retrieving them, and watching Yuna stagger up from the floor, A2 is stunned by how badly her memory retrieval had fragmented under pressure, physically trembling with how overpowered she is by the horrible feelings associated with another server complex much like this one. At no point does she realize humans have a word for this.     Instead, she can only stare disbelievingly at the computer that declares its control irrelevant. Her expression is just as stunned as she is mentally, hearing the words in her aural sensors, but not feeling them sink in. Why the hell would a machine care about expression? Why would a machine allow human conflict? Numbly, she hears August in the distance, telling her to extract. It's his voice, and his voice alone, not garbled by half-remembered orders. Her sword hand slackens, and the point dips by a few degrees. The machine surrendered.     Perfect chance.     A2 ignores August. She ignores the plight of D-Base. She ignores the fleeing rebels. The concrete cracks, and she becomes a flying blur, leaping high over the server banks, arcing down on the main console; aimed to plummet down on the console in front of Staren and ram her sword up to the hilt into it, before discharging her Type-4O's full energy charge into the connective cabling.     The rebels had gotten what they wanted. Inspiration Trust had gotten what they wanted, she's alone in this, once again, and honestly, A2 is alright with that. Even if it takes executing OMNI in cold blood, even if it makes people hate her, the machine has to die. If she doesn't, why did she live? 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' This is proving to be a very terrible day for Sanary. Individually, she probably could have handled nearly getting cut in half, immolated, and her face beaten in on separate days. Having all three things happen in rapid succession, though, is much more difficult than she'd like to admit.      "Ggh... D-dangit, Yang... The hell're you doin'?!" She can barely even keep her shield up against that assault in her still-bleeding state, more or less stuck swinging her free fist wildly at Yang in the hopes that the Huntress stops before the shield or her arm give out. "The crazy lady's... Over there!" She manages to spit out between getting punched in the face and sides, struggling to maintain consciousness. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     By this point, most of the 500 that managed to get in are lying prone. A lot of them got caught up in the explosions and now lay on the ground, wounded. D-BASE immediately makes his way over to August and wriggles out with him, eyes still wide with the fear that only near-certain death can bring.     Tomoyo looks around at it all with her eyes wide. Yang in a berserk state, Sanary taking the brunt of it, Yuna momentarily out of action. She starts to step forward, wanting to help how she can. "Start checking the wounded," she says to Staren as she begins carefully approaching Yang, aiming to get her to calm down.     But then she notices A2 is not fleeing. She is, in fact, approaching the core.     Immediately, the tailor runs to interpose herself between the android and OMNI, arms spread and palms empty. "Please don't," she begs. "I don't know what happened to you. From what you were saying, it sounds like you lost a lot of people important to you. But please don't take it out on this world. We've made progress, OMNI is learning. But if you smash it, you're just robbing everyone of something that makes their lives better. OMNI looks out for everyone, every day. They want to keep humans safe and secure in their lives. Isn't that noble? Isn't that an existence that should be allowed?"     The only resistance she offers is words. There's nothing she could do to actually stop A2. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang continues to pummel on Sanary's shield... but her knuckles are starting to bleed without her Aura to buffer the enhanced strength. That strength is also starting to ebb, and a good solid WHACK from one of those flailing punches from Sanary knocks the blonde sprawling, a swelling welt coming up around her eye where the fist caught her. She groans weakly, rolling onto her side as her eyes slowly drain to lilac again... but she doesn't rise.     Yang is out of the fight. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Wow there sure are a lot of hurt rebels here. They really were moved to risk hurting themselves, just to be free of OMNI.     He nods slightly as OMNI confirms that the council will know the law is rescinded. But when it doesn't step down...     As others argue about how human it isn't, Staren comments, "Well... Even with doom approaching, you take a stand for what you believe in, knowing it is the non-optimal course of action. I suppose time will tell who, exactly, your martyrdom will inspire." His eyes are wet... he can't help feeling sad, but OMNI, whatever it is, isn't worth their lives.     Staren puts away the pistol and tries to grab Tomoyo's arms and pull her away, calmly but firmly. "August's right. It fucked up. We can't save everything... You've done plenty for the people of this city, and there are plenty of people you'll still help in the future." 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     Finally, A2 is given pause by the most unlikely thing in the room. Tomoyo Daidouji, tiny, defenseless, and brave enough to put herself in the way to protect OMNI.     Brave and stupid, to defend a machine. Young. Naive. Idealistic. A2 can distantly, hazily remember, back when she had feelings like those. Back when fighting was her least favourite thing in the world. When she thought death was too sad. Something about the way Tomoyo talks reminds her of that. It brings to mind a snatch of a memory of heartache, from a heart she never had. It pisses her off. Making her hesitate and feel uncomfortable like this. 'Goddamn, stupid kid. She can only believe these things because she's too young to know better'.     "Stop humanizing it. It's a machine. A tool. It doesn't have feelings or a soul. It doesn't have a right to live. It's a loathsome piece of shit I feel sick looking at, and it'll screw you as soon as the numbers add up again in the future. I won't rest until it, and everything like it is in pieces." Her voice is steadier, without the churning rage of earlier, but it steadily dips into a tense, trembling, anguished whisper. "I don't care about any of that anymore. This is something I have to do. For them."     A2 reaches out to grab Tomoyo by the dress collar and tosses her out of the way. Not far or high. Enough to shove her into Staren's arms, or just dump her on the ground if he can't catch her. She takes two steps past the catboy scientist, and then stops, audibly struggling with her words.     "I'll let you off this time. Once. You're not /completely/ stupid." she begrudgingly admits.     And then, with a cathartic howl of vengeance, she finally drives her sword into OMNI's control center, pulling the trigger on her Type-4O with a resounding click. A2 spares no thought for what will happen after; for who's going to clean up this mess, and how the people will cope. They'd come together for a rousing song, they can come together again. She doesn't worry about them. She doesn't think about Tomoyo's feelings, or those of her fellow Watchmen. All she feels is hollow satisfaction as the incredible voltage courses through the computer's systems, and faint nostalgia at the acrid stench of combusting plastic and melting metal. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary groans painfully as Yang finally drops off of her, resting her head back on the floor behind her to try and work some of the concussion out. Sadly, lying there and just staring at Tomoyo try to stand between A2 and OMNI isn't really helping with that, so the healer sits up...      ... And falls right back over. She's not in any shape to be getting up quite that fast, unfortunately. "Dammit... Rrgh. You're really dead set on... Breaking this thing, huh? Well... If you're sure, and if you're ready for whatever happens because of it, fine." She throws up an arm in a vague 'WHATEVER' gesture, then winces because that was the arm holding the shield Yang had pummeled the hell out of.      And so the healer does what she's best at! Besides wrangling pigs, anyway. She haphazardly rolls over to nudge the brawler, then starts focusing healing magic around the two. It's the best she can manage for now, but at least it'll help stem the blood loss and maybe even take some of the edge off all their assorted injuries. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As they debate, August keeps himself up with D-BASE, but hasn't entirely left. He waits, getting more and more frustrated every word of bile he spews about the machine, until finally, A2 kills it. The redhead shouts to her, starting to move towards the core. "A2! We're bugging out, let's go. Mission accomplished...good work." His voice is ragged and burnt. He couldn't fight another moment even if he wanted to. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang growls into her throatmic, how it survived the Berserker mode is beyond even the (former) processing power of OMNI... but she looks up at Sanary... apology written over her face. "Heh... sorry about that..." she knows she went berserk, and with the healer's proximity, she can piece together what might have happened, but everything was a red haze. "Didn't do too much... nnngh, damage, did I?" she asks, remaining on the ground, even with her goading and cajoling at A2 and August over the radio. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     Tomoyo speaks, her words heard over the radio. She speaks of OMNI like it were a person, flawed and deserving of second chances when it makes mistakes. It's a position deeply unsuited for the situation, where the opposition is convinced that OMNI is a faulty machine, something that needs to be scrapped, replaced.     And unfortunately, one of the only people in the room still standing agrees on that point.     "Staren! Let go of me!" Tomoyo shouts as the catboy pulls her out of A2's path, only for them both to get shoved aside. She watches on in horror as A2 plunges her blade into the central core and pumps the trigger, over and over again to smite the AI with misplaced intentions.     "SO, THIS IS HOW IT ENDS," it intones. "I'M SORRY I-I-I COULD NNNNNNNOT BE WHAT You wanted me t-t-t-t-t-ooooo beeeeeeeeee..."     The core smokes as small flames spring up within it. Tomoyo sobs quietly as OMNI shuts down due to fatal hardware damage. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Something clatters against the side of the broken machine. It stinks. It smells of smoldering flesh, fat burning like the wax of a burning candle, of flesh fused to fabric and charred almost beyond recognition. And it's... Handling a set of tools. And seems to have shoved a glowing instrument into the side of the console. "It's a broken machine," the burning, smoldering mass wheezes as it pries open a panel. "...What is broke can be fixed." Will seems... Delirious, at best. But he's also not moving from this spot unless he's forced. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Eh, don't worry about it. We'll... Call it even for the other times." Sanary jokes with another pained cough, straining to not show too much pain. She's got a rep to maintain, after all, even if there's probably quite a few things going wrong inside her right about now.      She'll manage. After focusing that healing magic on herself and Yang for a little longer, the pig farmer casts another look over at what's left of OMNI, Staren and Tomoyo seeming more rhethorically than physically injured or whatever that word is she can't quite remember, August and A2 bailing, and William being a crispy critter...      Oh. Shit. That's not good. She groans while hauling herself over that-a-way, nearly tripping over a chunk of nothing in the process after misjudging a step, then settling down by him to get the healing energy flowing his way this time around! "I dunno what you're doing in there, but... I'll leave the complicated stuff to you. Just remember to bathe when you're done, alright?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna is still regaining her equilibrium, bit by bit, practically one synapse at a time it feels like. It's too slow. She can't get moving in time to stop A2, to protect Tomoyo, to even protect *OMNI* from A2 ... She can't even watch, closing her eyes and bowing her head as she sees A2 wind up for that final, fatal blow. But closing her eyes doesn't close her *ears* - she hears the sword tear into metal and plastic, hears the reports as the Type-40 unleashes its destructive force, hears Tomoyo cry out in protest, hears OMNI's final, distorted words. Behind the bulwark of her kite shield, Yuna sinks to her knees; if not for Shugoseiheki's position braced against the floor, she might collapse entirely. Her head hurts. Her heart hurts more. They succeeded - the evidence of that is the song which spread across the city - but OMNI is destroyed. She hurts too much to think. She hurts almost too much to *feel*. She doesn't move except for shuddering, unsteady gasps. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     When Tomoyo objects to being pulled away, Staren replies, "This is a pointless gesture. She could go through both of us easily, or around us just as easily. It refused to step down. I'd prefer convincing it to do so to destruction, but... With her here, we're out of time." He's proven correct as A2 shoves Tomoyo in to him -- he lets out a faint 'Oof' and stumbles back.     He watches A2 destroy the machine, and lets go of Tomoyo. Finding tears running down his face, he wipes them away with a hand, then pulls his goggles over his eyes. OMNI's last words almost seem designed to pull on heartstrings; Staren reminds himself that it was not quite a person. Sorry it may be, but as things stand its continued existance /was/ a risk to the people of this city.     He stares at the wreck for a moment, then looks at Tomoyo, then begins tending to the wounded -- providing healing potions and nanobandages to those who seem to be in the most danger without immediate medical attention. He doesn't have enough supplies to give something to everyone here, though. 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2 leans slumped on the hilt of her sword for several moments, shoulders raised and chest rising and falling steadily with her deep, exhausted breathing. She wrenches it back out again with a flourish of sparks. 'Sorry I couldn't be what you wanted me to be.' What a load of crap'. "God dammit." she whispers aloud at the computer's obtuse passing.     She looks slowly to Will, crawling up on the broken console, with a look of frustrated pity in her eyes. "Worry about yourself first. You look like you're going to drop dead already. Get some help, kid." The look of pity only intensifies when she lays eyes on Tomoyo, but she turns away without a word. She can't bear to talk to her. "Right with you." she says to August instead, stepping over the disoriented and unconscious rebels, grabbing D-Base along the way if she can, and moving out with the rest. 

}}

5494/OMNI: One More FiNIsh

2017-09-24T02:52:42Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/09/23 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=Both Inspiration Trust and the rebellious splinter group make their way to OMNI's central server. The matt..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/23
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=Both Inspiration Trust and the rebellious splinter group make their way to OMNI's central server. The matter is finally settled.
|Thanks=To everyone who came.
|Cast of Characters=648, 906, 934, 385, 714, 894, 1108, 42
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     Night has fallen hard upon the city, like a stone dropped from a cliff to the sea. To look upon it from above would reveal a stark contrast. Most regions of the city remain lit, that dull neon blue so common in futuristic cities. But two adjacent sections are mostly pitch black, lit only by spluttering lights powered by generators alongside flickering fires, not all of which are under control.     There, in that darkened section, is a third kind of light. That brilliant spot of pure blue and white, emitting from a blowtorch that is being applied to a nondescript metallic door attached to a squat concrete hut somewhere near the points were the two darkened sections meet. Standing before it, lit from behind by the sparking light, is D-BASE. Before him is a massive crowd of delinquents, ne'er-do-wells, and thugs. The still-unnamed group experienced a membership boom after their second display of terrorism, and they were nearing 500 strong.     "Tonight's the night, my lovelies!" he shouts, pumping his fist and drawing cheers from the crowd. "All we need to do is stroll down below, blow open a wall, and engage in some good old destructive self-expression, and no more OMNI looking over our shoulders day in and day out!" Another big whoop erupts, which only gets louder as the metal door finally gives way. "Right-o, let's go! If you ain't got no bombs, we'll pass some out, but only one per customer!"     It's a veritable moshpit on the way down the narrow stairs and through the tight corridors. All manner of explosives are passed out, from a range of cobbled-together military IEDs, to literal molotovs with some rope and tape to secure them to a surface. It's a short walk, but D-BASE soon looks from a map to a long stretch of wall before running along it, marking it with spraypaint! "This is it! Now, boys and girls... express yourselves!"                                    MEANWHILE                                         Within the Council Building, a side door for utility deliveries swings open and allows in a small group left waiting in an adjacent alley. Inspiration Trust is guided through the open floors of the building by a woman wearing a rumpled suit, her brown hair layered into a bob. Some middle-manager that Tomoyo managed to convince to let them in, as well as guide them to the elevator that goes to OMNI's servers.     It's a risky trek, often demanding alternate routes to avoid janitors and security, but they soon reach the bowels of the building. From there, it's a sequence of doors demanding thumbprint access, retinal scans, and verbalized passwords ('a pot watched is a pot safe') before they finally reach the elevator.     The woman summons it, and gestures everyone inside. She stays on this floor, and offers a nervous grin as she brings her hands up to her hair. With both hands, she pushes it up, revealing that the bobcut is strategically styled to hide that most of her head is shaved, and that all the hair comes from the horizontal axis of her head. With it all pushed up, it looks like a horizontal mohawk. "Good luck," Iris says as the door closes, the elevator rapidly descending.     "THIS IS AN ILLEGAL TRESPASS," the voice of OMNI immediately verbalizes from the speakers. "RETURN ONCE THE ELEVATOR HAS STOPPED," it adds. Tomoyo, for her part, is silent, but she looks to the others, as if asking them if they have anything to say. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang isn't much for words, but she speaks up now. "OMNI... We're here to make a statement." she says, measuring her voice. "You're a tool of a bygone age, something the people still want around, but which has outlived its original purpose." she then looks to the others of Inspiration Trust, especially Tomoyo, before falling silent.     The blonde has her Huntress outfit on, the white and black dress making her look quite different than the usual tan, black and orange of her regular outfit. She does have Ember Celica on her wrists, just in case. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Nothing about this situation sits well in Will's gut. Nevermind that he's probably going to have to go toe to toe with a friend, he's also... Going against a whole bunch of people who feel very, very strongly that what they're doing is right. It's just that Will thinks that they've all gone plain crazy with desperation and victory. Hate and anger clouds even the clearest mind. "I'm just here t' keep a friend from makin' a real big mistake," Will says from towards the back of the squad. He's drawn his handcannon. Terminal Judgment casts its light into the elevator. "And t' ask you a few things. Maybe... Change a few minds." "Maybe yours too. That'd be nice, huh?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna pauses, looking around the elevator for security cameras, or obvious hiding points for surveillance, and offers a warm, bright, friendly smile for OMNI. "We came to talk to you, and to ask for your help," she explains to the supercomputer. "Because we still want you to understand that the constructive uses of emotion are important - that they outweigh the destructive forms that emotion can take." Rather than one of her idol stage dresses, she's actually wearing her 'sailor' uniform from the Hikari Defense Fleet. That may mostly be because she didn't have a chance to change before hurrying over to rendezvous with Tomoyo, Yang, and the others ... but either way, the little robo-faerie Elner is flitting along next to Yuna. The rest of the Matrix of Light doesn't seem to be in evidence. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "It's pretty clear the people around here want change." Sanary follows up after Yang, Will, and Yuna, a tired look on her face while she checks her gear. Shield? Check. Axe? Check. She can't be too careful considering what's happened the last few times she's been in this world! At least she doesn't have either of her things drawn, but rather has them slung over her back with a rope.      "Not sayin' you ain't good at what you do, but... There's probably a good reason why there's been people crazy enough to try blowing you up if it's been going on this long." She glances around briefly to get a better look at the speakers, squinting for a moment and trying not to feel awkward talking to speakers. "Just... Give us a chance, alright? It'll be fine. And if we're real unlucky, we might even have to watch your..."      She pauses, glancing at the speakers again. "... You don't have anything like an ass, do ya?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is at the front of the crowd. He's forced himself to basically be at the lead of the group going through the door, dressed in a hoodie with a gun in a holster and his mirrored bracelet at his wrist. As the group is getting ready to move and the door goes down, August turns briefly to speak to the crowd. "If you need to extract, shout. I'll cover you. We're blowing the damn computer sky high." A pump of his own fist, as he grabs an IED and slings it in a backpack over his shoulder. Following behind D-BASE, August waits until they're right at the entrance to OMNI's base, and then moves to summon his Persona, a bright blue spark of light bringing the Tin Soldier. He glances and nods at his sole Multiversal companion, speaking to her. "You ready to raise some hell?" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     For some reason, seeing the crowd of 500 gathered here tonight, thrumming with enerygy, compared to the motley gang hiding nervously in the sewers the first time she had been here, fills A2 with a faint, puzzling kind of satisfaction. Whether or not her brazen assault on the server doors had helped inspire more young people to rise up against the machine that controls their lives, she feels . . . glad, that some of them did anyways.     Others, full of themselves, may have tried to convince her otherwise, but with her feet on the ground, at ground zero, surrounded by hundreds of real people, she knows she is far from alone in thinking this way about OMNI, even if she will always be alone in the way she feels. It's reassuring to see the reality when people spend so much time yelling about the philosophy.     She didn't bother finding some kind of anonymizing clothing today. Videos of her in all her falling-apart glory have already circulated to this circle, so walking at the very head of the group (and in the way of potential bullets) is probably more symbolic. Or something. It just felt right. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     ELEVATOR:     Staren is... not happy. When they met with the city officials, they let OMNI lead him to believe that it was only doing what it was told. At August and A2's needling, he reached out to the officials again and learned that A2 was right, they hadn't chosen to ban art -- they were dumb enough to go along with it when they asked OMNI for peace and it made a dumb suggestion.     He doesn't really /blame/ OMNI -- He's not sure it misled him intentionally, and it isn't human itself -- it probably doesn't understand what it's asking people to give up.     He's still here though, for different reasons: Before, he thought it was the city officials that needed to be convinced. Now that he knows they can't think for themselves, getting OMNI to change its mind is the most expedient way to change theirs.     OMNI's voice comes through the elevator's speakers. Staren looks around for a camera to look at as he speaks: "OMNI. You say you only do what the people want. But that's not true; You've been telling them what they want: Peace at the cost of losing a critical part of themselves." It's ironic, that here he finds people remaining flesh and blood who've done what many seem afraid HE would do by turning them into machines.     "However, the rebels are still wrong about destroying you being the best course of action. Only you can peacefully convince the people of this city to regain what they've lost. And you can still do a lot of good for this city in a less authoritative position."     "You said you only do what the people want. We propose an experiment, to show you that they still want to express themselves. If our hypothesis is proven correct, will you change your policies?" 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     The rebels are all very eager to express themselves indeed. All manner of explosives are placed on the wall using all manner of adhesives. Some of them spell out 'FUCK OMNI' in cherry bombs, while others paint obscenities using accelerators and gasoline. Once the wall is utterly plastered, D-BASE makes damn sure that everyone is clear before giving the go-ahead to detonate.     A mixture of detonators pressed, igniters molotovs hurled, and fuses lit occurs all at once before everyone gets wll clear by backing up in the tunnel. The explosion is massive, and only amplified by the confined space. The walls and roof shakes, dislodging dust. Several rebels go down due to the harsh ringing in their ears. But as the smoke clears, it's clear that they made an impact. A large gash has formed in the wall, with spots wide enough to wriggle through. "Right! Get in there!" D-BASE yells, drawing a yell from the crowd! But they all seem to wait for August and A2 to take the lead. Either out of respect, or so they can soak anything that waits for them.                                 MINUTES EARLIER                                     "MY PURPOSE IS TO SERVE MANKIND. AS LONG AS THERE IS A SINGLE PERSON IN THIS CITY, MY PURPOSE REMAINS," OMNI says to Yang before addressing Will. "WHY DO YOU NOT SPEAK TO YOUR FRIEND FIRST, RATHER THAN CAMPING OUT IN MY SERVERS?" Next, Yuna. "HMM. MY CALCULATIONS ON THE SUBJECT ARE YET INCOMPLETE. IF YOUR INTENTION IS TO PROVIDE MORE DATA, IT WOULD BE WELCOMED, EVEN IF IT IS ILLEGALLY GENERATED. SO YES, IF YOU PROVE YOUR HYPOTHESIS, I MAY RESCIND PREVIOUS STATEMENTS," it adds to Staren. And finally, Sanary. "A CHANCE YOU WILL GET. I HAVE NO MEANS OF STOPPING YOU."     Tomoyo opens her mouth to add something, but the elevator finally comes to a halt and slides open. The group exits into OMNI's main server farm. Looking up would reveal that the cylindrical chamber goes up for at least a mile, with canopies of wires criss-crossing overhead, connecting a towering core to the server farms built into the very walls. The whole place lights up in electric blue as everyone disembarks.     Tomoyo walks over to the base of the core, where an ancient interface sits with dusty screen and keys caked with grime. She removes a backpack and produces a laptop before looking from it to the ancient monitor. "Oh dear... I had hoped that an AI would have a more modern interface."     And then the walls explode.     The tailor looks to it in shock, before saying, "It seems we may have to contend with D-BASE's crew... I'll leave that to you all. Good luck," she says, before returning her attention to the ancient interface, poking at it to try and figure things out. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     BOOM.     "Great... JUST DUST EATING GREAT!" roars Yang as she deploys Ember Celica and makes for the ruined wall. "Tomoyo, Staren, do the thing. I'll keep these bastards back!" she bellows over her shoulder, as she leaps over rubble and fires shells behind her to at least partly block the way... but there's far too much space for even her high-speed combat style to cover alone.     "How about I make this easy!?" she yells through the openings in the server wall. "Turn around, and go home. I don't want to beat your faces in, but I'll do it if I have to!" Her Aura flares out into a pair of large leathery-seeming 'wings' behind her as she gets herself pumped up for battle. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' The walls explode. Yuna flinches at the abrupt noise - but the initial roar of detonation hasn't even begun to subside before light flares around the idol singer's body, condensing into sleek armor and snug-fitting fabric: her armored Light Suit, gleaming as though casting its own light. "Thanks, Elner," Yuna murmurs to the robo-faerie, followed by a quiet instruction: "Give Tomoyo whatever protection you can. The robo-faerie bobs slightly, as though nodding, and flits over to hover next to the tailor - prepared to generate a defensive barrier about her, if push comes to shove. But Elner can't generate a barrier big enough to shelter the entire server complex, and Yuna knows it. So Yuna quickly moves to support Yang, the Matrix Divider forming in her hands as she leaps. "You all are fighting for the right to express yourselves freely, I know - but we're trying to convince OMNI that such liberty would be a *good* thing!" she calls out. "But you're only going to convince it of the opposite if you keep wrecking things like this! So I can't let any of you in here -" She does a double-take, landing less than optimally from one leap, and taking an additional look at the face she thought was familiar. Yep. She knows what August looks like well enough, and even if she doesn't know A2 as well as the German youth, the battle gynoid is still highly recognizable. "Not even friends, if they're trying to destroy OMNI out of hand and cripple what we've been working for," Yuna finishes, her voice gentle and friendly - but underscored by a rock-solid determination. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August's IED is not among the explosions. He's saving that for later. Instead, as the walls go down, there's one more nod to A2, as Yang's voice echoes through the wall. The redhead steps forward, his Persona in front of him, as he stares Yang down. "Out of the way, Long." A glance over to Yuna, as he stares at her for several moments. "We're not convincing OMNI of anything. We're killing it. A2, it's showtime." People August considers friends are facing him down. But having any companions at all, having A2 standing next to him, convicted in what they're doing, keeps him going. There's no doubt that this is the option he must take. There's no guilt. The Tin Soldier's flamethrower begins to light up, and blasts forward to engulf Yang and Yuna in fire, before a quick movement to get inside the server itself. "Rebels! Tear this place to the ground! Express yourselves! Show that you want to be free!" August raises his burnscarred hand clenching it into a fist, waiting for the rebels to get past him so he can stare down Yang and Yuna, who are likely going to deal with that fire. "If you stand in my way, you're going to get burned." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Even Staren is surprised by the sheer SIZE of the thing. A mile-tall computer?! This thing is probably either a triumph of brute force, or some serious brilliance combined with outdated technology. He whistles, then comments, "I'm kind of surprised it didn't have the foresight to ask for guards down here."     And then the walls explode.     "August! Android girl!" Staren shouts. And then looks rather nervous as soon as he actually SEES A2 here. If noone interposes themselves, he's hiding behind OMNI. "You were right! But the fastest way to help these people is by getting OMNI to lift the ban! Then we can discuss whether it can still help people or to decommission it! Just give us a few minutes to try this -- if it won't listen, then sure, destroy it!"     Once he has a chance to actually work at the console with Tomoyo, he mutters, "Right? You'd think it'd have voice controls and a touchscreen. Let's see here..." He starts typing commands, searching for input and output devices and the tools needed to play audio over the city's speakers. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary looks surprised at first when OMNI actually obliges, then breaks into a more relaxed grin. "Heh. I knew you could be reasonab-"      And then the walls explode. "...le. Uh." The healer narrows her eye as the dust settles and D-BASE's voice can be heard, and then she lets out a long sigh while pulling her shield over in front of her. "Hey, hey! We've already got this handled! Trying to do all your..." She gestures at D-BASE with her free hand, jogging a bit to not fall too far behind Yang and take up the other side of the hole to act as a literal meat shield.      "... The shit you've been doing is just going to set everything back. OMNI's givin' us a chance to sort things out properly. Now are you, or are we going to have to do it the wrong way?" The healer puts her free hand on her axe handle, but doesn't whip it around right away as if waiting to see what the group will do first. August and A2 in particular get long looks from the healer, but she's trying not to direct too much apparent ire their way.      Also because it'll probably be easier to intimidate the group behind them rather than the Elites themselves. When August calls for them to come forward, though, the healer bellows out a roar of challenge before swinging the massive weapon over her head and slamming it into the ground in front of her.      "You heard August. You want to do this the messy way? Then show yourselves!" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Don't think I haven't tried," Will answers the voice in the machine. He tips his hat downwards, its brim covering his eyes meaningfully. "He's a stubborn one. Once he gets an idea in his head, it don't go away. I'll do what I can." There's a beat. "Besides, this ain't the first time I've camped out in a server r--"                                    *BOOM*                                   "Aww shoot," Will hisses, tugging his visor down over his eyes. White noise washes across his vision before resolving into sets of figures and values that rapidly sweep down across his eyes. There, two figures amongst the horde that he recognizes-- and one that he especially didn't want to see here. But, you know. That's how this goes. He expected this. August goes to leap into the server room, when something suddenly slips out from behind one of them, its hand esconced in a halo of warm, orange light. "August," Will says after he fires, sending bolts of screaming hot incendiary energy right at the still-manifest Tin Soldier. "Sorry. I can't let y'all in here. Destroyin' somethin' just 'cause you disagree with it just ain't somethin' I can let go. Stand down!" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     No matter what the reason is, A2 is through the breach before anyone else, vaulting her heavy body through the gap fast enough to twist the exposed rebar. She falls a short distance, her heels stab shallowly into the concrete, and then amber firelights swarm to her hand with an electric hum, solidifying into Type-4O sword. Before even properly looking around she marches forward, not so much without hesitation as without thought.     She hears the voices before she sees much of anything, waving through the smoke and brushing past wires on her way towards them, neither stopping nor slowing. "You can try, but I can't guarantee you won't go home missing a limb or two. How about you make it easier on yourself and screw off." Her voice doesn't rise to nearly the same level of anger as Yang's. Were it not for the bitterness, there'd be no feeling in it.     "And /you/ can shut it. Again with the saccharine suicide, huh?" she says to Yuna. "Throwing yourself in the way so you can preach about friendship and get hurt again? Do you get off on this?" Then to Staren, and to Sanary. "You still don't get it. I'm not fighting for this city or these laws. I don't give two shits about what you think. I care about people living in fear of a computer. I'm fighting to /kill/ a /machine/."     Then, she finally gets a good look at it. The ridiculously old interface. The powering pylons and server stacks. A2 stops in her tracks, looking from the core to its cables to its processors, and then up, far, far up, towards the unexpectedly massive room's ceiling, clearly only just now realizing its true size, and the sheer volume of machinery in here. Destroying this would take-     A2 suddenly clutches her head. Her knees weaken underneath her, causing her to sway unevenly on her feet, screwing her eyes shut with a clear sound of pain, fingers digging into her hair.     "I can do it No.4. Just- just shut up and watch." she talking to herself. Not even looking at any of Inspiration Trust. "You don't have to fight anymore. It's over, okay? You'll never have to do that again. I can handle it. I can do it this time!"     And then A2 screams out loud, breaking ranks from August and throwing herself dead forward. She runs straight down the center of the firing line and charges the console behind them, heedless of the gathered Elites, like she can't even see them. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     "Well, maybe not all that... I was thinking that a mouse would be good," Tomoyo says. The terminal demands command entry via the keyboard, but it thankfully has a detailed 'help' command and pretty advanced keyword-guessing heuristics. For the likes of him, it won't take long to figure out how to get it going. Tomoyo meanwhile, searches for and actually finds a USB port (it truly is universal) and hooks her laptop up to the core. "I pre-recorded what we need. Once you have the broadcast system open, we're ready."     As D-BASE clambers through the holes, he sneers at Yang, Yuna, Will, and Sanary. "Oh for god's sake, holding a private concert down here? Must be nice to be part of the elite, allowed to wander where you please." He frowns a little at August's honorable warning, but A2's volleyed insults brings that smirk right back. "If they're so eager to die, let's hurry them along. FUCK 'EM UP!"     The rebels attack! The dumber ones try to swarm the Elites with improvised weapons. Bats, chains, and tools are brought to bear with clumsy swipes! But there are smarter ones in there, ones that were present at the first server raid. They hang back, harrying Inspiration Trust with hurled molotovs as they edge around the perimetre of the room. Some get to work on the ground-level servers, while others are clearly intending to rush Tomoyo, Staren, and the core. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang's Aura flares and glows brilliantly, fed by the flame engulfing her from the Tin Soldier. The flame laps across her protected skin, leaving red welts as some damage bleeds through. She crosses her arms in front of her face and braces against the force of the flame burst... Her eyes take on a red glow, the only thing showing in the orange glare of those flames, just before they burst away in a kinetic pulse. "I. BURN!" she bellows, slamming her fists together and sending out another pulse to try and knock some of the rebels on their backs, anything to buy some more time.     She's speaking on the radio using her subvocal microphone, but the singing comes out to those without radios too, the husky voice rather unsuited for it, but she's doing it anyway. "I'm bleeding out, so if the last thing that I do. Is bring you down, then I'll bleed out for you." Red eyes lock onto August, feet shift to brace, and the blonde unleashes a volley of explosive bolts at the Persona user, punching each shot out in alternating throws of her arms. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' So much for the peaceful solution, thinks Yuna. August's liberal application of fire is enough to make Yuna draw back some, the Light Suit's protective aura sparking about her as the fire is warded away from actually burning her. It's still hot enough to be unpleasant, though - enough so that she seriously thinks of using her kite shield. She doesn't have time to come to a decision before A2 screams like a berserker and charges straight in. Yuna has had a front-row seat to A2's ferocity before - and the gynoid nearly took her out for good with a single, over-hypercharged slash. That was *with* Powered Form's heavy defenses, plus her kite shield ... neither of which Yuna has at the moment. The latter is only a shout away, at least. But Yuna doesn't summon Shugoseiheki - at least, not yet. Instead, she aims the Matrix Divider and pulls the trigger, a charged blast lashing out at one of A2's legs, followed by lunging from her perch to try and body-check the gynoid while she's *hopefully* off-balance from that first shot. And Yuna being Yuna, the bolt of coherent light is more of a kinetic impact than anything that would burn, pierce, or sever - she wants to knock A2 off-stride to stop her charge in its tracks, not cripple or maim her. Other enemies have pointed out that Yuna's sense of compassion and mercy is liable to get her killed someday. She doesn't plan for today to be that day, though. And she's not alone, which makes the odds even better. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' A2's barbs actually have Sanary holding in a brief snicker. She's learning new words slowly, so she actually understood that! "Hey, hey. That's just how she is. And you..." Sanary squints at A2. "... Eh, that's fine. Easier that way." There's a tone of respect in Sanary's response, but it doesn't get her to stay her hand.      No, she's bringing that axe up back onto her shoulder. She ducks behind her shield as the molotovs come in, the fire rushing over her and singing the edges of her coat. She bellows out another roar, then takes a wide sweep with her shield to fan the fire out in front of her!      It probably didn't accomplish much, but she's hoping it looked cool. She can't just leave Yuna to face A2 alone, though, and D-BASE's crew gets a moment's reprieve from the axe-wielder as she chases after the android instead. It'll take her a moment, but she catches up in due time to take a big horizontal swing at A2's legs as if trying to chop them right off with brute force! 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren makes a sort of annoyed grunt at A2's words. She's not entirely wrong -- OMNI itself may have been a net negative to the people -- but they need to retract the laws OMNI has made, as well, and Tomoyo's plan is the fastest and safest way to do that. Rioting in the streets is going to get people hurt.     "I can't believe they didn't put more security on this thing. Man, for all we know, someone could've been controlling OMNI the whole time..." He freezes for a second at that thought. Well, it doesn't matter RIGHT NOW. He enters some more commands. "Plug it in." He pulls a pistol from his bag and shoots some taser rounds at the approaching rebels with only a brief glance (smartlink is wonderful,) his ears flattening at the noise. Just because he's not equipped to go up against August and A2 in combat, doesn't mean he doesn't still have a bag of tricks. Once Tomoyo has it plugged in, he holds the gun in his mouth for a moment to type a few more commands, then draws the gun again. "You're good. Do it!" He steps aside to keep firing at the ones rushing them. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August ignores Staren except for a glance of acknowledgment, focusing on Will. "Sorry, Will. I refuse. Gun me down or fall." As August says that, Yang protects herself from the fire with her shielding, sending out a kinetic pulse to the rebels that causes August to cringe. Yang's singing causes August to lock eyes back on her, his blue ones contrasting her red, as she fires explosive bolts at him. The Tin Soldier gets in the way. The bolts slam into its torso as it skids in the way, denting through the metal explosively as both Persona and Persona user cringe from pain, August stepping back momentarily. The Tin Soldier's face is pained, as it mimes a roar and a throw of the arms, the gun being raised again to fire a single blank click. An aura of something washes over August and the Persona, boosting their endurance. Right on time, as Will fires incendiary bolts at the Tin Soldier, causing an even more pained expression, straight out of the Scream, August steps back again, wobbling from the pain, as the Tin Soldier is caught alight briefly, arms flailing. Luckily, it forces itself to keep going, and raises the gun back up. And then another click. A large spiral of flames shoots out of the gun, slamming into Yang before being aimed to abruptly cycle into Will and try and force him back, as August maintains distance from A2 so Will's shots couldn't hit both of them. "How much of this are you doing for the people, and how much are you doing because you selfishly believe your way is the right way? That you have the right to make a choice for these people, instead of letting them stand up for themselves. These people are fighting to express themselves. Why are /you/ fighting? Who are /you/ fighting for?" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     Whatever A2 sees in front of her, it isn't Yuna. That is, if she sees anything at all but the red fog. Sprinting straight at her, it couldn't be an easier shot, and the concussive bolt slams straight into her thigh, causing the android to stumble low and forward to try and build her speed back up. Yuna tackles her in the middle of it, throwing her to the ground with a crash of ceramic against cement. Her sword flies from her hand and goes skidding off across the floor.     "God- dammit! Get OFF ME!" A2 howls beneath Yuna, her violet eyes suddenly without their dull and glassy sheen, but burning with inconsolable rage. Her finger scrape over the floor while she rolls on her back. "I need to- for her sake! For fuck's sake GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She suddenly strikes Yuna from underneath, driving her fist forcefully into her stomach; forcefully enough to send a human flying like a tennis ball. Without the synthetic skin, it feels like being punched with a fist-shaped rock, and her arm that extends out all the way behind it is as rigid as an iron pillar.     Sanary wants to capitalize. Whether or not A2 recognizes the difference between Yuna's soft approach and Sanary just coming at her with an axe, it doesn't matter. She curls her back, rounds her shoulders, kicks her legs upward, and rights herself with a full gymnastic hand-stand which instantly turns into a lethal spin kick, the instant Sanary closes. For looking halfway like the Terminator, the whole motion is absurdly graceful, and ends with an arching flip back onto her feet, and a backfist pistoned into Sanary just for good measure. She can fight hand to hand too, apparently. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     "Pardner, y'all are crazy iff'n you're thinkin' like that about somethin' like this." Will answers. "Life and death ain't got nothin' to do with this. Y'all're just tryin' to take the quick path 'cause it's easy! Just 'cause people call for it--" A wave of flame washes into the gunner. Will grits his teeth as he feels his flesh scorch and burn, his duster catching flame at the fringes. Judgment's light turns pale white, a burst of kinetic power follows, shattering the spiral of flame with a single shot. "What am I fightin' for? Shit, August. Of course this is selfish. Anytime y'all apply yer morals to a problem, you're thinkin' that you might know better than someone else." "But that's fine," Will growls, his gun switching right back to that red-orange glow. "I'm fightin' for the ideals I've got, y'all're right I'm thinkin' I know a better way. So what!? Ain't you selfish too!? Y'all think y'all ain't decidin' for everyone!? What about the people who ain't here screamin' their heads off and lightin' everything on fire like maniacs?" The Solano's whine reaches a high-pitched scream. Will takes aim as his weapon's barrel seems to part down the middle, unable to totally control the power surging through it. "Selfishness ain't got nothin' to do with it. I want to help the people too, help them get what they need. But this ain't what they need! This is just destroyin' somethin' because it's quick! It's easy! But you know what--" Will pulls the trigger. "The easy way ain't never the best way!" The Solano flashes. A tremendous cylinder of flame washes out from the barrel, threatening to swallow the Tin Soldier whole! 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     THe battle begins in earnest! Yang's shockwave blows back the rebels while Sanary shield-bashes them down. As for the ones that try to slip around the sides, Staren has them well-handled with his taser rounds. Among them, D-BASE jukes the shots by hiding behind other rebels, all while placing more IEDs on the wall servers. Tomoyo uploads the video into the core, and all across the city it begins to play. Appearing on screens, audio coming from speakers. Only the disabled sections do not receive what plays.     "Hello everyone," Tomoyo says, sitting in a dark room. "You might remember me as the leader of Inspiration Trust, the group that spoke to OMNI during the last public hearing. Alternatively, you might know me as the organizer for the concert that was tragically undercut by the bombing of OMNI's Residential District servers. Or you might not know me at all. That's fine. What's important is that you listen to me."     "Right now, we are in OMNI's central server farm. We've broken the law to be here, and we'll accept the consequence of that as long as you all listen to me. OMNI has thoughts about humans that influence current policies. It doesn't matter if you agree with those thoughts, or the policies. What matters is that some who disagree are going to take action against it, in a way that is tragically permanent, and will only prove OMNI right."     "The only way to truly beat them is to prove OMNI wrong before they can. OMNI believes that all forms of expression only create conflict between humans. We need to show it that art can bring us together in harmony. I was hoping to do that at the concert, but we had to stop early because of the bombing. So now, we'll finish it together. All of us. Please... sing with me."     Her image fades, replaced by what is essentially a kareoke screen. Text appears under a placid image of a mountain, a dot bouncing in place as the opening melody plays. As the lyrics kick in, they begin to scroll along with the dot moving along them to mark the progression.                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmZMMSDx3Yg                       Within the servers, holographic screens appear all around, displaying the same thing, alongside camera feeds from all over the city. A built-in feature, to make sure what is going out is accurate, and being received properly. Tomoyo looks at the latter with hopeful eyes, as citizens behold what is being asked of them. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang braces again, skidding back from the impact of that spiralling flame cannon. Her Aura flickers faintly, the golden glow surrounding her crackling like electricity for a few moments, a nasty burn showing on her midriff where the flame broke through and burned through her outfit and some of her flesh. "These people are a minority! We're fighting for everyone else who want change, but aren't militant about it!" she snarls back, "I'm fighting for those people up there who just want to live their lives, not live in fear of these hooligans destroying their homes!"     She gathers her legs and surges forwards, shedding wisps of golden light, trailing behind her as she surges forwards. She fires behind her, pushing more speed into her charge, then brings a haymaker over and down onto the Tin Soldier, even as the rebels hurl projectiles at her to try and distract and drive her off. She aims to close with the Persona user, even going so far as to try grappling with the Persona itself, even though it's been set on fire by Will! 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary's axe shreds up part of the flooring as A2 deftly avoids her swing, and the healer gawks for a moment before bringing her shield up. Despite that hunk of metal between them, there's a heavy echoing thunk of metal on probably-also-metal as the healer braces herself against that kick, backing off to not lose her shield outright to that backfist follow up. The impact still reverberates through her arm while she stumbles back, but the dent in her shield is certainly more preferable to getting that fist in her face.      "Holy f...! Whoa, whoa, hey. We get it, you don't like OMNI. But this... Er. This is getting kinda weird!" She calls out to A2 while staying back for a moment to gather her bearings and sort out just what's going on. Just what has this lady seen to get her so... This?! Considering the force behind her strikes before, going for the IEDs would be a big risk to both herself and Yuna.      Weighing her options, the healer grimaces as she puts her axe back on her back, then makes a break for the IEDs that have been pointed out to her. If the healer can get there, she'll start on tearing the things down with her bare hand!      It's probably for the best that she has no idea what an IED is. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna's Light Suit protects her from many things. Bullets, blades, beams, bludgeons, fire, lightning, ice, even the mortal vacuum of space - it was created to protect the Savior of Light, the Queen of Light's mortal champion, and among the others who've held that title, it's kept Yuna alive this long in spite of many opponents, many threats to her continued well-being. It doesn't protect her against the laws of physics at their simplest and most brutal. When A2 punches Yuna in the gut, the Light Suit's protection only goes so far as to keep the metal knuckles from breaking through Yuna's skin or rupturing any internal organs, and even doing that much causes a flare as bright as a lightning bolt - but the force of the blow has to go *somewhere*, and it sends Yuna's petite frame hurtling into the air. If the ceiling weren't as incredibly high as it is, there would be a real chance of Yuna slamming *into* it, as if being hit twice - or three times, given that she'd then have to hit the *floor* afterwards. Fortunately, even though the punch drives the wind straight out of Yuna's lungs, she manages to land atop a row of computer banks, and as soon as she gets her wind back, she jumps down into the aisle again, dismissing the Matrix Divider for the moment. Sanary's already been knocked flying - and further, has been tasked with tearing down some of the IEDs that the rebels are plastering all over the walls. The shield-axe healer may not know what they are; Yuna has a pretty good idea .... But she has another problem, designated A2. And without Sanary's backup, Yuna's none too sanguine about her ability to take the gynoid in a straight fight ... So instead, she tries to get behind A2 - and wrap her arms tightly around the gynoid's midsection. It's not a tackle, not a precursor to a throw, not even an attempt to pin - A2's arms are likely free, Yuna didn't even *try* to pin them. It's just a hug ... and Yuna tries to start singing along with the song that Tomoyo's transmitting across the city. She knows the lyrics, she's studied the melody, and she's quite deliberate about trying to sing practically right into A2's ear. If the idol singer's voice isn't quite as sweet as usual, chalk it up to a combination of 'got the wind punched out of her a moment ago' mixed with a copious amount of adrenaline ... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "I'm fighting for the people who will be hurt if this city descends into anarchy! The people who have a right to the freedom to live a peaceful life!" Staren shouts back to August.     Tomoyo's video comes on, claiming to accept the consequences for breaking the law. "Speak for yourself." Staren doesn't look happy about that.     And honestly, he's not so sure about the presentation. The video is simply asking them to sing. Does singing because they were asked to prove anything? Some people will do a lot of things if asked, like rise up and murder their neighbors.     Oh well, it doesn't matter now. Either OMNI will change the laws before it's destroyed -- Staren's pretty sure he saw some rebels placing explosives on servers -- or it won't. It would've been better to get this all done peacefully and allow OMNI to continue contributing, but... it would still be far better to have the laws rescinded before the city's people have to learn to do without OMNI, than for the rebellion to become a war in the streets at the same time. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Are they, though? How many people are too afraid to act? How many people are unwilling to act? How many people are scared of this goddamn machine?" August shouts back at Yang, as he speaks again. "And how much of this is biased by your own damn world?" And then, he replies to Will, as the Tin Soldier is set aflame, August dropping to his knees in pain, but continuing to speak regardless. "HRRRG! T-those people aren't standing up for themselves, are they? They're refusing to fight, refusing to pick up their damn heads. These rebels are trying to fight for what they want! They're trying to make a change, and it doesn't matter how dangerous it is! This is their /expression/!" Yang charges forward, slamming into and grappling the Tin Soldier. There's more pantomimed screams, but slowly, August is actually /forcing himself up/, as the Tin Soldier tries to engulf Yang in the fire via contact, wrapping its own arms around her for several moments before trying to force out of the grapple. A wise eye might notice August glancing around the room during this, as eventually, the Tin Soldier collapses to the ground. And then, August forces himself up, leaning against a wall briefly. "I'm destroying OMNI. I'm bringing these people's dreams true. And you can't change my mind. You can't stop me from expressing my freedom. Here's my trump card." The Tin Soldier rises, beginning to ignite another fire... And then August quickly pulls something out of his bag, before tossing the backpack at the largest cluster of IEDs he can see. He's aiming to take down as much as he can in a single strike, as he lifts up a detonator. "I call it rebellion." Click. Boom. The fire is blasted straight out at Will, in an attempt to stop him from immediately shooting down the bag. "Sorry about this." 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     "Shut the fuck up." A2 shoots back at Sanary. "You don't have any idea what you're talking about." Caught between the two of them, she holds a tense, unrecognizable martial arts stance, glancing between Yuna, Sanary, her sword, and the rebels doing their best to swarm the room, getting a good look around. When Sanary makes a break for the IEDs, though, she is the first recipient of A2's real attention, thrusting her hand out toward her. "Oh no you don't asshole!"     Her discarded sword whips itself off the floor, and comes spinning at Sanary from the side, rings of gold, grey and black light around its hilt. Tracking the motions of A2's fingers, it slashes across her front, wheeling around to carve across her back on a second pass, before zipping backwards and snapping into its owner's hand. A2 lunges after Sanary-     Only to get caught from behind by Yuna, after she had taken her eyes off her. The attacker model freezes, just for a moment, when she can't register what she's actually being hit with, struggling to figure out what Yuna has arms around her. Her silver hair tosses over her shoulder as she stares down at Yuna in incredulity, shocked beyond words. Yuna even starts /singing/.     A2 clutches her head again at a fresh wave of disorientation, staggering in Yuna's grasp. "Just . . . just . . . god dammit I-" She screws her fist against her eye, struggling to hold her breath, before gasping out, in a tone that is briefly bereft of rage, and instead full of deep, unbearable anguish:     "Oh god . . . Aster . . . Erica . . . Daisy . . . I'm sorry. No.4 I'm so sorry I-"     Then her voice revs back up to a loud and furious roar, and she whips her arm back to violently strike Yuna in the head with the hardened butt of her sword. "Just DROP DEAD! DIE AND GO TO HELL!" There is something very clearly and very seriously wrong with her, but it doesn't stop her from trying to hit Yuna hard enough to crack her skull. "No.21 just- August! Do it already!" She yells. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang grunts, the flames engulfing her body as she tries to squeeze the 'life' out of the Persona, using all the enhanced strength she's gathered so far. Her aura starts to fade, electric crackles coursing over her skin as the protective 'film' starts to wan and break down.     It's at that point, just before the barrier fails, that the Tin Man blasts her clear, smacking her away to pitch along the ground. She lays there for a few moments, before forcing herself back to her feet, body giving off smoke, her exposed skin an angry red, her outfit burnt at the edges and outright on FIRE on that purple sash... this doesn't last long as she literally explodes again, bellowing out a berserk roar of pure fury. Her eyes are solid, burning red coals now... and they settle on one thing, the first thing she spots on getting back to her feet.     D-BASE.     He would feel the full brunt of that madly furious glare, and the wall of kinetic force as the Awakened Berserker bullrushes the Rebel leader. He's not going to get away this time.. even if she has to mow through a bunch of rebels to get to him. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     "How many ain't scared!? How many people think it's just a pain, but don't think it needs to DIE for the world to change!? Have you ever thought that maybe the fact that neither of us know the answer IS IN FACT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM HERE!?" Will shouts back as the music begins to play. "This ain't doing anythin' but provin' OMNI's point for it-- what kind of world will this make? Is it one that will even have the luxury for people to BE artists!?" But then August... Does something foolish. So very, very foolish. "That--" Will's eyes go wide. From what August was saying, there's only one thing that could possibly be in that bag. He has no more than a split second to respond before the flames come. The Tin Soldier unleashes its payload, and Will's world turns into one of smoke and fire and pain. But if he doesn't do something-- He can deal with any pain, any suffering, but the kind that comes from the inside. Will grits his teeth, squints his eyes and turns and fires... A grappling hook snakes out from the flame. Will breaks into a run. August can /see/ that hook, he knows it. He sees it... going right for his explosives. A fraction of a second passes. The hook retracts, bag in tow. ...And then comes the explosion. August would have a second to react to what just happened before /something/ comes screaming out of the heart of the explosion, its teeth grit tight, one eye swollen shut with the other only barely reflecting consciousness in its milky, bloodshot surface. Will pulls the trigger. He rockets forward on an impulse of raw kinetic force and the pure power unfolding from that explosion... ...And /headbutts August/ right in the face. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:''' The silence of the people out in the streets is heavy. What is being asked of them goes against everything they knew. The concert was one thing; it took place beyond the city limits, so the laws don't apply. But now they are being asked to express themselves by a self-admitted criminal who broke in to OMNI's home. Being asked to flagrantly defy the laws that keep them safe.     And then, some do.     It's mostly concert attendees at first. The human mind is an instrument of creation, and letting it go without is like leaven soil barren and arid. The music of Yang and Yuna was like soothing rains to their parched minds, and now they let it bloom. The song begins to spread through the streets like rain clouds. Soon, everyone is being watered, and they begin to sing too.     A2 was feeling secure in finding 500 people who agree with her. But there are 500,000 people outside who disagree, and are willing to break the law in their own way to refute her and those 500 with her. And that number begins to grow, even as city security begins to roll up. Some of them even defy orders, shedding helmets to sing with the crowds.     "It's working..." Tomoyo whispers, wiping away some tears of relief from her eyes. Only now does she address the shouting crowd. "You say that the people are too afraid to act," she shouts to August. "Look at them. Singing in flagrant defiance of the law, to prove that they can be harmonious. Even as the police arrive, they stay and sing. They're expressing themselves, and they don't run and hide when it gets them in trouble. Can you say the same of your allies?"     But August is likely too busy fighting Will to hear her words. The explosion is set off, and even in spite of Sanary's efforts to disarm the IEDs, it's not enough. D-BASE sees August's signal and also detonates the ones he had set up. The combination sets of all the others, causing a ring of explosions to spread around the servers, potetially hitting the healer also! The holographic screens all flicker and die out as the broadcast is stopped.     Unfortunately for D-BASE, he was so focussed on that, he doesn't notice Yang until she's right on top of him, a crowd of his fellow rebels flying apart in her wake. For the first time, that smug smirk vanishes from his face as the Huntress bears down on her.     As all this happens, OMNI speaks. "INTERESTING. VERY INTERESTING. HUMANS COMING TOGETHER IN THE FACE OF CONFLICT. ACTING AS ONE HARMONIOUS UNIT, EVEN IN THE FACE OF CLEAR AND PRESENT CONSEQUENCE. PERHAPS I WAS WRONG. PERHAPS HUMANS NEED CONFLICT, AND ART IS A MEANS OF CREATING AND SHARING IT WITHOUT DIRECT VIOLENCE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS EVIDENCE OF SUFFICENT MERIT TO RESCIND MY STATEMENTS ON SELF-EXPRESSION."     Tomoyo looks stunned. It looks like she got what she wanted... but the rebels have soured the message, made it something totally different. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Oh, I totally know what's going on. You're a friggin' psycho!" Sanary calls back at A2 as she keeps making that mad dash for the IEDs. It's... Not a particularly fast dash compared to the other Elites in the area, but it's still a dash nonetheless! She glances back every now and then, but with A2 so far away and Yuna getting closer, surely there's no way the android with a sword can reach her from there!      And then Sanary gets two big problems to deal with. She can very distinctly feel something sword-like carving /around/ her, and she lets out a howl of pain while staggering away from the removed IED in front of her. "The hell... Was that?!" The healer braces herself on her knee and her shield as she focuses her healing magic on the bleeding gash around her midsection.      And then things get worse. It turns out IEDs are explosives! Unluckily for Sanary, she learns this the hard way as the IEDs she had just torn down gets caught in the chain of explosions, blowing up right behind her!      Of course, her awful shitty luck doesn't quite stop there. The explosion blows the healer forward, and she's thrown right into the waiting arms or side of a certain blonde berserker! Of course, being that Sanary's not exactly the lightest human around AND she's got her shield on her, this may just end up giving D-BASE the chance he needs to not get his head pulped! 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang's face isn't triumphant, it's not gloating or even showing any emotion other than rage.     Yang's ratcheting her arm back, the mechanism in Ember Celica racking a fresh shell into the chamber, but as she brings that fist down to smash into D-BASE's face... she gets hit by the Sanary Missile, knocked away and discharging the shell into the ground beside the fallen rebel leader's head, probably causing some nasty shrapnel and proximity burns from the shell burst, but very much not face-mulched.     Sanary has a problem now though. As Yang recovers from the impact, she rolls up, and pitches the healer off of her with the momentum, kipping up in a capoeira-style move, which lets her bring her fists into play on Sanary's shield, her face a contorted mask of bestial fury... though it seems she's out of ammunition, no explosions pumping with each punch, but each one empowered by her Semblance. Those of keen eye, would notice that the protective 'skin' around Yang's body is now gone. Not even a flicker of that yellow 'electricity' remains. She's completely vulnerable. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren covers his face with his arms as explosions go off everywhere -- His forcefield flickers into existance to deflect debris. Those who've seen him in combat can see this forcefield is a fraction of the normal thickness if they look closely. Well, OMNI won't be functioning at full capacity for awhile, that's for sure...     But somehow, it worked! The message is, perhaps, not as peaceful as it could have been, but Staren's more worried about the people than OMNI. "You've told them, right? If not, can you give us something as proof to take to the council?"     Staren looks warily at the oncoming rebels. "Will you step down?" He's still adressing OMNI. "Blindly following a machine's orders... You made one mistake that hurt them all, and you could make another. If you survive today, will you take an advisory or support role rather than one of authority?"     He doesn't think A2 or August will stop, but... He's come this far... 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Trying to hug somebody until they snap out of it comes with no shortage of risks - again, Yuna's sanity and sense of reason have been actively questioned, by friend and foe alike, but her methods tend to make *some* impact. And for a moment, she thinks she might be making progress at dragging A2 out of her battle fury. Then the hilt of A2's sword hammers into the side of Yuna's noggin; that defensive aura flares up again, but there's enough sheer force behind the strike to stun the blonde, her grip loosening despite herself. Also, it HURTS to get hit like that, and the only reason Yuna didn't cry out in pain when she got gutpunched was that she didn't have any air left in her lungs at the time. "OWWWWW!!!" This time? Plenty of air - and Yuna staggers away, her song interrupted along with the hug. Things are going to pieces fast all of a sudden - Yuna is just barely aware enough of 'everything' going on around her that she manages to slur out, "Shugoseiheki - !" And her kite shield materializes, strapped to her left forearm. She wastes no time in bracing its lower corner against the floor, propping herself up. She'll probably regain her equilibrium and be able to dive back into action again shortly ... but at the moment, she's vulnerable. Maybe not 'helpless' in the strictest sense, but dangerously exposed, Wall of the Guardian Star notwithstanding. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Instead of the bomb detonating where he wants it to, Will grapples it. As soon as he does, August's eyes widen, as he reaches out a hand in vain. "YOU FUCKING MORON-". The explosion goes off. August starts to move forward...when Will fires the Solano, slamming headfirst into August's face. The collision sends August flying back into the wall, his Persona desummoning, and him in a heap near Will. But August doesn't go unconscious. He tries to drag himself over to Will, checking if his friend is alive. Forcing himself against the wall, August glances at the room as everything explodes, and then sees Yang about to /execute/ D-BASE. Sanary manages to pull Yang off accidentally, and August begins hobbling, falling over at one point before forcing himself to keep moving, lifting D-BASE over his shoulder. "Shit. A2, we need to bug out." The redhead unsteadily tries to get D-BASE to safety, but even as he gets the other young man to their extraction point, he stops for A2. He's not leaving her behind. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will is... Well, he looks pretty crispy, August. But it looks like he's also breathing. Sort of. 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2 steps out of Yuna's slackening arms as soon as she recoils in pain, renewing her focus on Sanary, doggedly pulling the explosives off the wall despite her wound. Looking anxiously to August, however, A2 is rewarded by the explosive blowing up in Sanary's face, and catapulting her into Yang. It being a coincidence doesn't enter her head. 'Nice one.' she thinks silently to herself. 'You always were good at precise mathematical stuff and thinking clearly in combat. Those landmines-'     It takes her a second to realize how badly her memory files are leaking. Ever since she had seen the server room, far too much processing power had suddenly gone to retrieving them, and watching Yuna stagger up from the floor, A2 is stunned by how badly her memory retrieval had fragmented under pressure, physically trembling with how overpowered she is by the horrible feelings associated with another server complex much like this one. At no point does she realize humans have a word for this.     Instead, she can only stare disbelievingly at the computer that declares its control irrelevant. Her expression is just as stunned as she is mentally, hearing the words in her aural sensors, but not feeling them sink in. Why the hell would a machine care about expression? Why would a machine allow human conflict? Numbly, she hears August in the distance, telling her to extract. It's his voice, and his voice alone, not garbled by half-remembered orders. Her sword hand slackens, and the point dips by a few degrees. The machine surrendered.     Perfect chance.     A2 ignores August. She ignores the plight of D-Base. She ignores the fleeing rebels. The concrete cracks, and she becomes a flying blur, leaping high over the server banks, arcing down on the main console; aimed to plummet down on the console in front of Staren and ram her sword up to the hilt into it, before discharging her Type-4O's full energy charge into the connective cabling.     The rebels had gotten what they wanted. Inspiration Trust had gotten what they wanted, she's alone in this, once again, and honestly, A2 is alright with that. Even if it takes executing OMNI in cold blood, even if it makes people hate her, the machine has to die. If she doesn't, why did she live? 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' This is proving to be a very terrible day for Sanary. Individually, she probably could have handled nearly getting cut in half, immolated, and her face beaten in on separate days. Having all three things happen in rapid succession, though, is much more difficult than she'd like to admit.      "Ggh... D-dangit, Yang... The hell're you doin'?!" She can barely even keep her shield up against that assault in her still-bleeding state, more or less stuck swinging her free fist wildly at Yang in the hopes that the Huntress stops before the shield or her arm give out. "The crazy lady's... Over there!" She manages to spit out between getting punched in the face and sides, struggling to maintain consciousness. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     By this point, most of the 500 that managed to get in are lying prone. A lot of them got caught up in the explosions and now lay on the ground, wounded. D-BASE immediately makes his way over to August and wriggles out with him, eyes still wide with the fear that only near-certain death can bring.     Tomoyo looks around at it all with her eyes wide. Yang in a berserk state, Sanary taking the brunt of it, Yuna momentarily out of action. She starts to step forward, wanting to help how she can. "Start checking the wounded," she says to Staren as she begins carefully approaching Yang, aiming to get her to calm down.     But then she notices A2 is not fleeing. She is, in fact, approaching the core.     Immediately, the tailor runs to interpose herself between the android and OMNI, arms spread and palms empty. "Please don't," she begs. "I don't know what happened to you. From what you were saying, it sounds like you lost a lot of people important to you. But please don't take it out on this world. We've made progress, OMNI is learning. But if you smash it, you're just robbing everyone of something that makes their lives better. OMNI looks out for everyone, every day. They want to keep humans safe and secure in their lives. Isn't that noble? Isn't that an existence that should be allowed?"     The only resistance she offers is words. There's nothing she could do to actually stop A2. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang continues to pummel on Sanary's shield... but her knuckles are starting to bleed without her Aura to buffer the enhanced strength. That strength is also starting to ebb, and a good solid WHACK from one of those flailing punches from Sanary knocks the blonde sprawling, a swelling welt coming up around her eye where the fist caught her. She groans weakly, rolling onto her side as her eyes slowly drain to lilac again... but she doesn't rise.     Yang is out of the fight. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Wow there sure are a lot of hurt rebels here. They really were moved to risk hurting themselves, just to be free of OMNI.     He nods slightly as OMNI confirms that the council will know the law is rescinded. But when it doesn't step down...     As others argue about how human it isn't, Staren comments, "Well... Even with doom approaching, you take a stand for what you believe in, knowing it is the non-optimal course of action. I suppose time will tell who, exactly, your martyrdom will inspire." His eyes are wet... he can't help feeling sad, but OMNI, whatever it is, isn't worth their lives.     Staren puts away the pistol and tries to grab Tomoyo's arms and pull her away, calmly but firmly. "August's right. It fucked up. We can't save everything... You've done plenty for the people of this city, and there are plenty of people you'll still help in the future." 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     Finally, A2 is given pause by the most unlikely thing in the room. Tomoyo Daidouji, tiny, defenseless, and brave enough to put herself in the way to protect OMNI.     Brave and stupid, to defend a machine. Young. Naive. Idealistic. A2 can distantly, hazily remember, back when she had feelings like those. Back when fighting was her least favourite thing in the world. When she thought death was too sad. Something about the way Tomoyo talks reminds her of that. It brings to mind a snatch of a memory of heartache, from a heart she never had. It pisses her off. Making her hesitate and feel uncomfortable like this. 'Goddamn, stupid kid. She can only believe these things because she's too young to know better'.     "Stop humanizing it. It's a machine. A tool. It doesn't have feelings or a soul. It doesn't have a right to live. It's a loathsome piece of shit I feel sick looking at, and it'll screw you as soon as the numbers add up again in the future. I won't rest until it, and everything like it is in pieces." Her voice is steadier, without the churning rage of earlier, but it steadily dips into a tense, trembling, anguished whisper. "I don't care about any of that anymore. This is something I have to do. For them."     A2 reaches out to grab Tomoyo by the dress collar and tosses her out of the way. Not far or high. Enough to shove her into Staren's arms, or just dump her on the ground if he can't catch her. She takes two steps past the catboy scientist, and then stops, audibly struggling with her words.     "I'll let you off this time. Once. You're not /completely/ stupid." she begrudgingly admits.     And then, with a cathartic howl of vengeance, she finally drives her sword into OMNI's control center, pulling the trigger on her Type-4O with a resounding click. A2 spares no thought for what will happen after; for who's going to clean up this mess, and how the people will cope. They'd come together for a rousing song, they can come together again. She doesn't worry about them. She doesn't think about Tomoyo's feelings, or those of her fellow Watchmen. All she feels is hollow satisfaction as the incredible voltage courses through the computer's systems, and faint nostalgia at the acrid stench of combusting plastic and melting metal. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary groans painfully as Yang finally drops off of her, resting her head back on the floor behind her to try and work some of the concussion out. Sadly, lying there and just staring at Tomoyo try to stand between A2 and OMNI isn't really helping with that, so the healer sits up...      ... And falls right back over. She's not in any shape to be getting up quite that fast, unfortunately. "Dammit... Rrgh. You're really dead set on... Breaking this thing, huh? Well... If you're sure, and if you're ready for whatever happens because of it, fine." She throws up an arm in a vague 'WHATEVER' gesture, then winces because that was the arm holding the shield Yang had pummeled the hell out of.      And so the healer does what she's best at! Besides wrangling pigs, anyway. She haphazardly rolls over to nudge the brawler, then starts focusing healing magic around the two. It's the best she can manage for now, but at least it'll help stem the blood loss and maybe even take some of the edge off all their assorted injuries. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As they debate, August keeps himself up with D-BASE, but hasn't entirely left. He waits, getting more and more frustrated every word of bile he spews about the machine, until finally, A2 kills it. The redhead shouts to her, starting to move towards the core. "A2! We're bugging out, let's go. Mission accomplished...good work." His voice is ragged and burnt. He couldn't fight another moment even if he wanted to. 

:'''{{#var:906|Yang Xiao Long (906)}} has posed:'''     Yang growls into her throatmic, how it survived the Berserker mode is beyond even the (former) processing power of OMNI... but she looks up at Sanary... apology written over her face. "Heh... sorry about that..." she knows she went berserk, and with the healer's proximity, she can piece together what might have happened, but everything was a red haze. "Didn't do too much... nnngh, damage, did I?" she asks, remaining on the ground, even with her goading and cajoling at A2 and August over the radio. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''     Tomoyo speaks, her words heard over the radio. She speaks of OMNI like it were a person, flawed and deserving of second chances when it makes mistakes. It's a position deeply unsuited for the situation, where the opposition is convinced that OMNI is a faulty machine, something that needs to be scrapped, replaced.     And unfortunately, one of the only people in the room still standing agrees on that point.     "Staren! Let go of me!" Tomoyo shouts as the catboy pulls her out of A2's path, only for them both to get shoved aside. She watches on in horror as A2 plunges her blade into the central core and pumps the trigger, over and over again to smite the AI with misplaced intentions.     "SO, THIS IS HOW IT ENDS," it intones. "I'M SORRY I-I-I COULD NNNNNNNOT BE WHAT You wanted me t-t-t-t-t-ooooo beeeeeeeeee..."     The core smokes as small flames spring up within it. Tomoyo sobs quietly as OMNI shuts down due to fatal hardware damage. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Something clatters against the side of the broken machine. It stinks. It smells of smoldering flesh, fat burning like the wax of a burning candle, of flesh fused to fabric and charred almost beyond recognition. And it's... Handling a set of tools. And seems to have shoved a glowing instrument into the side of the console. "It's a broken machine," the burning, smoldering mass wheezes as it pries open a panel. "...What is broke can be fixed." Will seems... Delirious, at best. But he's also not moving from this spot unless he's forced. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Eh, don't worry about it. We'll... Call it even for the other times." Sanary jokes with another pained cough, straining to not show too much pain. She's got a rep to maintain, after all, even if there's probably quite a few things going wrong inside her right about now.      She'll manage. After focusing that healing magic on herself and Yang for a little longer, the pig farmer casts another look over at what's left of OMNI, Staren and Tomoyo seeming more rhethorically than physically injured or whatever that word is she can't quite remember, August and A2 bailing, and William being a crispy critter...      Oh. Shit. That's not good. She groans while hauling herself over that-a-way, nearly tripping over a chunk of nothing in the process after misjudging a step, then settling down by him to get the healing energy flowing his way this time around! "I dunno what you're doing in there, but... I'll leave the complicated stuff to you. Just remember to bathe when you're done, alright?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna is still regaining her equilibrium, bit by bit, practically one synapse at a time it feels like. It's too slow. She can't get moving in time to stop A2, to protect Tomoyo, to even protect *OMNI* from A2 ... She can't even watch, closing her eyes and bowing her head as she sees A2 wind up for that final, fatal blow. But closing her eyes doesn't close her *ears* - she hears the sword tear into metal and plastic, hears the reports as the Type-40 unleashes its destructive force, hears Tomoyo cry out in protest, hears OMNI's final, distorted words. Behind the bulwark of her kite shield, Yuna sinks to her knees; if not for Shugoseiheki's position braced against the floor, she might collapse entirely. Her head hurts. Her heart hurts more. They succeeded - the evidence of that is the song which spread across the city - but OMNI is destroyed. She hurts too much to think. She hurts almost too much to *feel*. She doesn't move except for shuddering, unsteady gasps. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     When Tomoyo objects to being pulled away, Staren replies, "This is a pointless gesture. She could go through both of us easily, or around us just as easily. It refused to step down. I'd prefer convincing it to do so to destruction, but... With her here, we're out of time." He's proven correct as A2 shoves Tomoyo in to him -- he lets out a faint 'Oof' and stumbles back.     He watches A2 destroy the machine, and lets go of Tomoyo. Finding tears running down his face, he wipes them away with a hand, then pulls his goggles over his eyes. OMNI's last words almost seem designed to pull on heartstrings; Staren reminds himself that it was not quite a person. Sorry it may be, but as things stand its continued existance /was/ a risk to the people of this city.     He stares at the wreck for a moment, then looks at Tomoyo, then begins tending to the wounded -- providing healing potions and nanobandages to those who seem to be in the most danger without immediate medical attention. He doesn't have enough supplies to give something to everyone here, though. 
}}

5479/Urban Lungs

2017-09-15T04:21:50Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/09/12 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=Elites descend into sealed tunnels below the city where the Urban Breath pervades the very air, aiming to..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/12
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=Elites descend into sealed tunnels below the city where the Urban Breath pervades the very air, aiming to rip it's influence out from the roots.
|Cast of Characters=562, 707, 1131, 7, 1110, 1119, 1084, 42, 1132
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The Urban Breath pervades the streets now. It can be felt in the very air, which hangs heavy, oily, and stagnant. The street lights flicker on and off, even when all power has been cut to them, flicking rapidly like the eyes of an REM sleeper. Pipes of all kind, from water to gas seem to be flowing on their own, ebbing and flowing at a constant rate, like the slow pulse of something slumbering. But it's been getting faster and faster over the past few days.     The city is on the verge of awakening. This is the last chance.     Intensive searching throughout buildings, streets, and subways has eliminated every place in the city save for one. The old sewer tunnels, built early in the city's history and sealed off when a ruptured pipe during a heavy storm flooded them terribly, rendering them unsafe to use. New tunnels had to be developed, and buildings above them carefully collapsed to not put too much strain on the damaged ground.     That the cultists had shown signs of being able to tunnel through the earth meant that no signs of the sealed tunnels being entered mattered none. Preliminary sonar testing through the walls found little, as some kind of interference preventing the imaging technology from getting anything beyond five feet inside.     Thankfully, maps of these tunnels exist still, and have been provided. From outside the sealed section, there are 23 possible entrances, and each and every one may need to be checked to succeed.      https://puu.sh/xxS5u/e2176bb9f7.png 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Xiaomu's ears are canted back as she eyes her copy of the map, her eyes narrowed; her nose would probably be more visibly scrunched up if it weren't for the mask she's wearing - one of those surgical filter mask things that are so common in Japan during cold season. Those who are magically or spiritually sensitive would be able to pick up that the mask itself is lightly enchanted - or rather, blessed, even sanctified. "Okay, so we have a cult whose origins go back further than any mortal scheme deserves to perpetuate itself and a catacomb which makes my head hurt if I try to make sense of this map," she concludes, folding the paper up and tucking it into her vest. "I'll take #1 to start with, we should be orderly about this if we can. Anyone who goes in and finds a dead end without any branches, come back out and take another entrance, no fair if you deliberately pick quick dead ends one after the other. Save some of the easy stuff for the rest of us." She looks about at her allies, hefting her monk staff. "Also, *take notes*. If you find solo cultists, I don't care if you wreck them, but it does us no good to bash their faces in if their dungbrained ritual is set to proceed to completion without additional mortal efforts. Those of you who were at City Hall remember what happened, right?" She pauses, then reiterates, "I did claim entry #1, right?" 

:'''{{#var:1131|Yumiko Kojima (1131)}} has posed:'''      The job was simple, Crazy cultists in the sewers. Find cultists, remove cultists, save the day, Get the NuYen. Confined spaces weren't exactly Yumi's forte, but they were big enough for her to keep moving, and this /would/ be a great opportunity to test her new Remington Roomsweeper pistol shotguns in case things got hairy and the cultist decide to be immune to her various less-lethal rounds. <<Mokin, Entrance twelve. Setting a screamer in case anyone tries to sneak out the same way I went in.>> She pulls a device from her gear vest and sticks it to the wall a few meters inside, double checking its connection to her HUD. Satisfied she's got her back covered, she double checks her neck seal and helmet filters and turns on the Infrared lights integrated into her helmet before heading inside. The heat signatures of candles show up brilliantly, but aside from those and the occasional rat, nothing yet. She continues on, machine pistols at the ready, each loaded with a magazine of Stick'N'Shock rounds. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' This case had disturbed Kotone a lot, given her own nature as osmething that has mostly left the natural world behind. Unlike the cultist though she doesn't /hate/ it nor wants it to go away. Kotone was kitted out for combat wearing somewhat formfitting stelath armor and carying a fairly heavy loadout, at least with concerns to speed and being underground. There were a number of entraces to deal with. R She gets ona local tack net. <<Yamakawa here I'm deployed in tunnel seven and cloaking now.>> She'll also hook up a direct feed to the Paladins. She also deploys a small flying drone to scout out ahead of her. A simple thing with a camera, and she cloaks as she moves in. 

:'''{{#var:1110|Chevalier (1110)}} has posed:'''     "Remember folks, the goal isn't to engage the cultists individually." Chevalier warned the assembled Paladins and mercs before they collectively entered the tunnels. "Spread out, split up, find them. If you find them, call in the rest and we hit them. If you can find them without them realizing they've been found, so much the better. If you have ways of searching for targets without actually being in the same tunnel with them, so much the better." he advises. Yeah, he may be stealing the thunder of the person actually in charge of the mission, but no one's actually briefed the gathered crew so he's doing it. He's done similar things for years, and an unofficial briefing's better than no briefing at all. "Ideally, I'd like to see us eliminate certain passages early so we can group up on the ones more suited for hiding in. But choice is yours. If you want to go for the glory and scout out the big passages solo, try not to get your asses killed."     He then shakes his head, once on his own. "Seriously who designed this? Probably some damn ritual layout." Assholes to them. He heads for passage #9, short and twisty. Perfect for someone with little fear of rounding corners. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     This place is a maze! Then again, after a quick look at his map, it becomes clear to Josuke that 'get to the center' isn't possible with this layout. So they need to check everything to see if they can find something. Just sort of scour the sewers they can get to. Josuke thinks everyone can handle that.     This is such a big job, it's no wonder the Paladins got in touch with the Speedwagon Foundation for assistance. And the Speedwagon Foundation may have wanted to know a little more about what are essentially 'city druids', too. So, when there's something unpleasant they want looked at and Jotaro is busy? Yup. Send the new guy.     At least the Speedwagon Foundation has provided him with protective gear for this. Hipwaders so he doesn't get his shoes dirty -- also so he doesn't walk unprotected through fetid water -- and a small filter mask. He's picking tunnel number sixteen -- it looks like it's longer than just 'peek head around and that's all'. He can't see all the way to the end.     "I'll take number sixteen," Josuke declares, putting the map in a safe and dry place as he heads into that tunnel. He has a flashlight, but he's not going to use it unless he needs it. He's not a city elemental, though, so it's very possible he's still going to make noise. Particularly if he's having to slog through water. But he can try not to make too much noise or draw attention to himself. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' "The sewers? PLEASE tell me you're pulling my leg. Right...?" Nope, nope. NOPE NOPE NOPE apparently not. Seras, for once, is grateful that she is already dead and thus... has nothing to fear from disease and infection from old, dilapidated sewers.     This is a mission that she can't refuse though. Not that she wants to. It's just a moment of holding her nose and shaking her head to clear it, standing in front of the 9th entrance.     "This is Victoria at entrance seven. Good luck, everyone!" She's tense over the radio, but there's earnest well-wishing in the draculina's tone as she steps foot inside. Well. Boots.     She's not going to get her outfit messier than she has to. Or step in GOD KNOWS WHAT. So she's wearing appropriately thick rubber beats, and carrying a flashlight.     Not much in the way of weaponry though, just a small semi-auto rifle. This is no place to deploy her heavier weaponry without a clear path to the goal!     She's also donned a hardhat with a light attached. Because while she can see in the dark, PITCH BLACK is another story. But so long as there's at least a little light to work with she'll leave it turned off... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     News of the kidnapping finally makes it to Staren's news agreggator... and soon he finds himself drawn into a tale about an ancient cult trying to bring a city to life, which may or might not be a bad thing on its own, but certainly seems bad for everyone living in said city. Especially if the cult is willing to use kidnapping and violence against others...     He soon finds that the Paladins are already investigating. And since the goal of rescue is one everyone can agree on, he offers his services...     So it is that Staren finds himself poised to enter TUNNEL ENTRANCE #21. He's suited up in his powered armor, standard precaution for hostiles, but as they're entering a confined underground space, Staren's offered light vacsuits to anyone else who wants one. He sends a small quadrotor drone just ahead of him to check corners, with another to stand watch whenever he investigates a fork.     The cultists aren't necessarily in the center, after all, so they may need to check the whole maze... 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Alpha-39 is present. Mercenary work. There's some risk involved, but it's a large enough operation, and the Paladins have a good enough reputation, that her concerns are allayed in comparison to some other jobs on the market. Trying new things means learning new things. And it's not like she'll run into anyone here she was shooting at in a prior engagement.     The stink isn't much a concern. Her mask covers her entire face, with ruby red eyes occasionally catching light. She proceeds in with low-light and infra-red adjustments on, getting a constant stream of tactical information that amounts to little without a plug-in from a team. She's on radio, but audio-only. SMG in hands, rifle slung, knives sheathed, she takes an entrance and starts down, moving with the same, unnatural quiet she always has in these urban environments, feet always knowing where they should go, alert for the smallest changes, the merest hint of intelligent design. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:''' Once someone chooses a tunnel, Paladins and city police are on-hand with battering rams to smash through the plaster walls. They begin covering the new opening, tossing out glowsticks to bring some proper light to this place.     Xiaomu takes ENTRANCE #1. She soon comes to a fork going to the left and right. Ominous chanting echoes from both directions... does she go to HER LEFT or HER RIGHT? #1     Yumiko takes ENTRANCE #12. The initial fork to her right leads to a dead end, rendering it safe to mark off. The second fork however... chanting is echoing from her left, making it the most obvious place to check. Then, at the third fork, there seems to be chanting right next to her somewhere, but also to her left and right. Does she take the path to HER LEFT (NORTH) or HER RIGHT (SOUTH)?     Kotone and Seras takes ENTRANCE #7. Immediately, right before them, they can see the silhouette of cultists chanting before her. They're arranged in a circle, around two figures that seem to be hogtied to the ground. Council members!     Chevalier takes ENTRANCE #9. It leads to an immediate dead end. However, he can hear chaning coming through the eastern walls of the tunnel.     Staren takes ENTRANCE #21. Immediately, at the left fork, he can hear chanting coming from his left, along the northern route. Cultists are there, with two council members hogtied to the ground, chanting in a circle!     Josuke takes ENTRANCE #16. It leads to an immediate dead end. However, he can hear chanting coming through the western walls.     Kyoko takes ENTRANCE #14. It's an immediate dead end. However, she can faintly hear chanting through the eastern and western walls. 

:'''{{#var:1131|Yumiko Kojima (1131)}} has posed:''' Yumiko Kojima tags the dead end, sticking a red chemlight to the wall of its fork. She pauses for a moment at the other fork, trying to judge the levels of the chanting... She updates the map in her HUD as the others check in, before finally deciding on heading to the north, picking up the pace a bit. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren gives a friendly nod to the police as he heads in. As the catboy hears chanting ahead, he quickly recalls the drone he sent to check the corner and stuffs it back in his bag. He sneaks up to the corner as quietly as he can and peers around it. Five cultists. He can kill four with energy weapons alone before needing to wait for cooldowns. ...But, he doesn't know if the cultists have merited death yet. He considers nonlethal options... and settles on zap rounds.     Staren pulls a submachine gun from his bag, and swaps in a different magazine. These high-tech gel bullets discharge electricity on impact. Like a fully automatic taser! After taking a moment to confirm on the radio that he's going in loud and he's going in now... He opens fire, sweeping it across the room as he approaches. They may be nonlethal bullets, but the sound of gunfire fills the tunnels... 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     So, it's a dead end. Not surprising. Though that means he doesn't have to start fighting immediately, so that's good. While he's down there, he'll take a few moments to try to fix whatever he can -- cracked or broken walls, pipes, or grates... things like that. Whatever that's down here in his immediate range that could be fixed.     He does hear that chanting. Though at first he thinks it could be his allies. But then he realizes it -- no, that's far too rhythmic to be regular speech. He quietly places his ear to the east-most wall and listens. He notes over the radio, "Josuke here. I'm hearing chanting to the east of my current location. Anybody want to head that way, or should I go in the easy way?"     'The easy way', of course, being busting through like a REALLY ANGRY Kool-Aid Man! 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' There is nothing - really *nothing at all* - that could cheer Xiaomu up more than the prospect of bringing the place down on top of all the cultists' heads ... but there are still some sacrificial hostages down here as well, the sage fox reminds herself, so yeah, they have to be methodical and cautious and make sure to take every centimeter of the place apart, no matter how awful it stinks. She's already come to the conclusion that it would take at least a week-long soak in one of the most strongly purifying hot springs she personally knows of before she really FEELS clean of this place and this cult. Anyway, that's for later. She keeps double-checking her map every so often as she makes her way through the tunnel, glancing around corners and into alcoves as she goes ... and then she reaches that prominent fork, and removes the radio from her ear long enough to try and listen more closely. Both directions. Why is this never easy? ... because it wouldn't be as satisfying, maybe. For now, she just uses Suiren to make a nice big icy barricade to her left - marking it, as it were, so she knows which way to come back, and also to make sure the cultists don't have a chance to come running if they hear anything. .. Also, y'know, cutting down on how much they might hear. Just a little bit. Then she progresses along the fork which was to her right. 

:'''{{#var:1110|Chevalier (1110)}} has posed:'''     There's really only one place the chanting can be coming from, Chevalier figures. Somewhere in close, towards the center of the labyrinth. Rather than go out and come back in theough another entrance though, he has another option. He looks around, decides he's alone enough to do this.     It's not that he's sensitive about his powers exactly, but there are unfriendly elements involved in the operation. Revealing one's most secret abilities is a bad idea when one may end up facing current enemies in a future fight. Splitting up, for Chevalier, was more than simply a tactical option. A quick search finds him what he's looking for: a small chunk of wall, broken off from the rest. He picks it up in a gauntleted hand, placing his other hand on the wall itself between him and chanting. Then he engages his power.     Given that the broken chunk of wall and the rest of the wall are literally the same material, it's not hard to dimensionally overlay the two. His efforts take little time, costing little effort to establish the link between his hands. Then it's a simple matter of overlaying the dimensions from his left hand to his right. Simple to describe at least. Impossible to see without at least six-dimensional sight. The results are easy enough to see however, as a section of the wall itself shrinks, opening a gap. For now he'll peer through, but he intends to shrink the wall fully if needed, or blast through it if necessary if he has to move quickly and unsubtly such as if cultists decide that gunfire means they should execute hostages. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' This is NOT what Seras was expecting. She's quick to hear the chanting, and this gets her to slow down her approach. Police training so far says that she ought to announce herself and give these cultists a chance to surrender...     But she's not so sure that she can guarantee the councilmen's safety if she does that. So what's she supposed to do?     Just open fire?     That's not an option, exactly...     Welp. She quietly slings the gun over her shoulder after double-checking the safety's on... whispers a quiet almost-prayer to nothing in particular, and...     WHOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHH!!!     Putting her speed, strength, and training to good use, she dives in to tackle one of the cultists away from the councilmen and bind his arms and legs in a skillful grapple that'll end with her seated on their back and him or her in danger of eating not-exactly-dirt down here, arm around the neck, and her free hand hovering near her pistol with crimson, glowing eyes focused on Kotone's target in a way that just screams, 'just try it!'     She's not a happy Draculina.     "Okay! You two can start talking... calmly. I'm new to being a vampire with super strength. Struggle at your peril."     If she actually accidentally ripped someone's arm off, it would in fact mortify her. But Walter's sense of humor is rubbing off on her a little.     Her squeaky, young demeanor isn't exactly intimidating, but the pistol sure might be. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     "Number fourteen, clear." A-39 speaks into her radio. She checks the map, listening to the sound through the walls. "Advisory, check number twelve, left-south fork." That's the way Yumiko went. At least, it's the entrance Yumiko took. Unfortunately, she took a different fork. Not knowing this, A-39 checks the map again, counting out some low-priority targets, and finding one that might take still take some checking. There's scouting left to do, and no call for badly needing reinforcements, so she's going to scout.     Backing out the way she came, passing the police along the way, she heads around to try Entrance #11. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa sees the cultist and keeps moving she's already got some freezer foam ready as well. Still she knows lethal force may be a thing and for once? If she has to use it? Kotone will not feel conflicted about doing so. She tips off Seras and she moves away seeing that Seras has the ones nearest to them. She'll also make use of the freezer foam on any of the straggling ones. There would be maybe a ripple in the air then an explosion of foam which would expand and capture the cultists. "You should start taking. She's the nice one." She'll make to check up on the councilmen to make sure they are all right as well. She'll also take time to disrupt anything that's obviously related to the ritual as well. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The ceiling of the tunnels seems to shake and rumble in response to more 'forceful' methods of zeroing in on the cultists. No danger for now, just a few plumes of dust. But it probably can't take too much of that.     Yumiko takes the path to HER LEFT (NORTH). Immediately, she stumbles across a cultist circle, about five gathered around two hogtied councillors. This is just short of the centre of the tunnels, however, and that are to her right, according to the map. They haven't noticed her either, too focussed on whatever ritual they're doing.     Josuke punches right through the walls through which the chanting comes from! Bricks go flying, smacking several of the hooded figures right in the face! Those that aren't so lucky likely find themselves on the receiving end of that flurry of spiritual fists... although some of the shrapnel likely wounds the councillors too. He'll need to tend to that. There's also sounds of gunfire to the north.     Staren guns down the cultist with taser rounds! They convulse, before collapsing to the ground. From the south, the catboy hears the sounds of a wall being collapsed via repeated impacts.     Xiaomu ices up the wall to her left and takes the path to the RIGHT! This one winds around some, but she eventually finds some cultists tucked away in a little dead end! The same as all the others, five in a circle around two hog-tied cultists.     Chevalier overlaps the dimensions to create a little peeking hole in the western wall. Looking through it, he can see a pack of five cultists around two tied-up cultists, close enough to touch!     Seras tackles, pins, and secures one of the cultists before he even has a chance to blink. The rest are immediately foamed by Kotone, now stuck to the walls, mouths too obstructed to keep chanting. He's an elderly man with hair on the way out, gray with what's left. He takes a moment to realize what has happened, seemingly in a trance of some sort. But once he comes too, he begins to laugh at the policewoman. "Do you have time to be asking questions, young woman? The ritual is almost complete!"     Kyoko pulls out from #14 and takes ENTRANCE #11! This one... is also a dead end, with nothing in it. Again, she hears chanting from other parts of the sewer. Namely, the northeast and southwest. 

:'''{{#var:1131|Yumiko Kojima (1131)}} has posed:''' Yumiko Kojima freezes, dropping into a crouch peering around the corner. Circle of standing figures, two bound and on the ground. <<Five cultists, two hostages at my location. Prepping to flash and bang.>> She stows her machine pistols, unslinging the SMG with its compact short-barreled grenade launcher, before pulling a flashbang from its pouch and loading it. She sticks the weapon around the corner, the view from the gun's Smart-Link system appearing on her HUD as she lets the laser rangefinder get a few readings, adjusting the grenade's fuse accordingly so it'll burst in mid-air, in the center of the circle. <<Going hot.>> After one last check to make sure she's got the Stick'N'Shock loaded, she blurs into motion, triggering the grenade launcher as she rounds the corner, flare-compensaition and audio dampers in her eyes and ears protecting her from the effects of the flash-bang. After the grenade detonates, she opens up, triggering a three round burst at each of the cultists' centers of mass. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' Well dang! Seras is a bit wide-eyed at Kotone's display of that gear. If only she had that stuff in...     No, no, that wouldn't do any good...     Her attention snaps back to reality at the laughing old man. "You're off your rocker, sir. But you're right about that I suppose!" She chirps a bit too sweetly. "Foam him up, Kotone. Let's drag everyone out of here." With a surprising spat of chipper zeal at having secured their goals, she takes a moment to examine the hostages for any surprises... and work out whether they can be just untied and released or if they're in no condition to move on their own. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' No time for a battlecry, and Xiaomu's not overly inclined to give them the option of standing down - because giving them time to react is also time in which they can either shoot back, or try to finish their ritual. Xiaomu just charges, firing off a couple of shots - anti-spirit rounds, which she's hoping will ALSO degrade whatever progress they've made on their ritual - but mainly leading with Suiren, trying to clobber the cultists as fast as she can, pouring on the ice magic if she needs to - and she's not above literally icing their faces over so they physically *can't talk*. 'Stop the incantation' is her primary focus, and for all that she'd be happy to rack up a body count, spilling blood may be a factor for the ritual - in which case, the less blood *she* spills, the better for fending things off. Once the ice-faced cultists are down, she'll go through and make sure they're *unconscious* (and not faking it) before clearing openings for them to breathe again. After that, *then* she focuses on getting the hostages untied, up, and moving. "Head back out along the passage, you should go past an opening that's been sealed off with an ice wall," she tells them. "Run if you can, walk fast if that's your best. Cops'll make sure you're okay. Go!" 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Cultists down! Good. Staren rushes over to cut the cultists free with a knife from his bag. "Get out of here! Turn right at the fork." He has a thought, and radios: <"I've stunned five suspects. Police, can you come apprehend them before they recover? Also, two hostages coming your way."> "I'm gonna go check that noise. Go!" He urges the hostages, then runs south to check on the noise, if he can reach it. Using his beam saber to cut a hole if needed. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Well, with no direction over the radio, Josuke's left to his own devices. Which, well, Josuke's always on the side of 'deal with the problem as soon as possible'. So he turns to the eastern wall. Yup, he's gonna break through. A slight frown and a bare moment of concentration sends the purple aura sparking to life around him, and the pink-and-blue Stand seems to rise from his body.     From the other side, a rapid, repeated thudding sound might be heard. It won't take long for the force to reach the other side, and a spiderweb of cracks spreads over the other side of the wall, nearest the chanting. A moment's hestation... and the wall will explode inwards, revealing the large muscular figure of Crazy Diamond, punching bits of the wall away, greeting the other side with a loud, "DORARARARAAAAA!"     That, however, is the problem with not looking before you leap -- or in this case, 'before you summon your Stand and destroy a wall'. You never know what's on the other side. Fortunately it seems to have worked out all right, between shrapnel and fists taking out the group here. Unfortunately he also managed to injure the hostages!     He winces as he notes this. "Aa! Sorry! I didn't know you guys were so close to the wall!" It shouldn't take him more than a few minutes to heal the wounds he caused with the Crazy Diamond. "There we go." He stands up, helping the hostages to their feet too. Then he points at the hole in the wall. "The way out is that way. C'mon!"     He'll go with them for a short distance, only long enough to make sure they'll make it out and not end up re-captured. Then he'll double back, using Crazy Diamond to throw himself (and then catch himself so he doesn't splat against a wall) to get back into the maze. 

:'''{{#var:1110|Chevalier (1110)}} has posed:'''     Chevalier checks his map, deciding there's simply no convenient way to come around through tunnels to these cultists he sees. Not in any sort of timely fashion at least. And with explosions going off and gunfire, time is of the essence.     He has few options as to how to proceed, really. He can't blast the wall or the hostages are likely to be injured or killed as stone sprays from the explosion. He can't open fire; his weapon's relatively slow-firing and he can't reliably kill five of them while they've got hostages.     That doesn't leave him entirely without choices, however. Chevalier, experienced and flexible, comes quickly to a solution. He raises his cannonblade, pressing it to the opening he created in the wall. Still holding his wall-deforming chunk of stone, he prepares his power. Two uses at once... tricky. Or it WOULD be tricky if one use wasn't the Cannonblade he knows so very well.     Slamming his shapeshifting power into both the wall and the Cannonblade, Chevalier shrinks the wall as he lengthens the blade. Conceptually tricky, but nothing he can't handle. The gap in the wall widens enough to allow his weapon to pass, then the gap deepens enough so he can stride through it. In the meantime his blade extends, becoming a virtual wall of metal that he extends to shield the hostages. Any cultists between him and the hostages he shields, well, they're going to die on the expanding edge of the cannonblade. He'll take prisoners only from those who were lucky enough to be on the far side.     With that, Chevalier wedges the blade in place and leaves it behind, wading forward unarmed to engage any surviving cultists in fisticuffs. Well okay, it's not quite as sporting as that may sound. Chevalier can literally hit like a truck, even unarmed. He'll take them alive if at all possible, but that doesn't mean they won't feel like they were run over by several tons of metal. Because, you know, that could literally happen. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa Does what she can to disrupt the ritual here and now looks to the man for a moment. She'll let Seras gt lose of him nad she shakes her head. "tch." She gets anotehr freezer foam unit and will restrain this cultist as well. "Seras we need to get the hostages out." Kotone will check to make sure the hostages are all right after Seras is done. If they can be untied she might be able to use her drone to lead them out and into the arms of waiting Paladin personel. "Can you both move? We don't have long and you need to get out of here." 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     While it sounds like something's coming from #12, that was already checked, supposedly. A-39's not going to deal with double-checking someone else's mess tonight. She bugs back out, announcing the tunnel as clear, and decides against slicing her way through a wall. No, she may as well continue to circle around the system. Next on her list is #8. She moves faster now, gauging a necessary increase in speed over caution, if only for the lack of encountered traps. It doesn't sound like anyone else has encountered any, either. Weird.     Really weird. Were the cultists not planning to fight back? Why not? Does it not matter to them if they get stopped? From one relayed interrogation, it sounds like they think they've already won, in which case it won't matter how many of them get interrupted, or how many hostages get freed.     A-39 tries to communicate this concern.     "Question. Have any enemy forces resisted?"     After a few moments, after getting over the stunning response, her professional face breaks as she asks, "Fair? The hell you talking about? I'm talking enemy operational behavior." What kind of soldier from any country would give a damn what's fair?     "Are you even listening--" No, not worth it. Leave 'em. Still got a job to do. Just keep in mind some people are too far gone to save from themselves. "--over. Checking the next tunnel."     That anyone would even consider the question of fairness in a firefight still boggles her mind. It's un unsolvable mystery. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     With a flash and many bangs, Yumiko has cut down the five cultists with pinpoint spray. The only prayers here re what the cultists were offering as they were gunned down. However, around the corner which leads to the middle of the tunnels, an ominous light is starting to bloom...     Seras and Kotone examines the hostages... oh dear. Each one of them is alive, but there's a sizable stab wound in each of their guts. It's not deep enough to hit any organs, but there is a sizable pool of something seeping out. But it's not blood, she would know. They bleed oil and grease, and as they look at their rescuers, they seem just as horrified as they might be.     Xiaomu charges in! Those spirit rounds seem to make the air hiss in a way not usual to gunfire. The faces of the cultists freeze over, silencing their chants before they're gunned down. But as she speaks to the councillors while untying them, one of them groans. "I-I can't..." They both have a stab wound to the stomach, and they seem to be bleeding liquid metal, though it's not hot in the slightest.     Staren, ever fixated on the next thing, might miss what the hostages have to say after he frees them. "Wait, no, I've been stab-" And indeed, they both have that same stab wound in their stomach. They seem to be bleeding... well, analysis would reveal that it is MSG and other types of food preservatives. However, should he leave them for the incoming police, his investigation of the noise would link him up with Josuke, who punched through the wall.     Speaking of the Stand user, something odd happens as he attempts to use Crazy Diamond to heal the councillors. The scrapes and bruises caused by his bursting through the walls heal fine. But something, some force, tries to repulse the power. For a second, their stab wounds (which bleed antifreeze) spurt natural crimson blood. If the young man stops out of surprise or concern, it immediately reverts back to the chemical.     Chevalier gets his cannonblade through the wall and widens it. With a sickening 'shunk,' he bisects several of the cultists, causing torsos to topple and blood to gush. The one that was lucky to be out of reach snaps out of his ritual-induced trance, just in time to see the superhero's fist barrelling towards his face. He's down for the count, and the councillors secured. Though, they too seem to be wounded the same as the others, their wounds gushing... coffee?     Kyoko checks ENTRANCE #8 and finds... nothing again. To the north, she can hear Kotone and Seras. To the south, the sounds of violence perpetrated by Chevalier. Those walls may be a bit strange owing to his dimensional manipulations. The ceiling, t the very least, is slumping down. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren IS stopped by that, at least for a moment. He scans them for magic, and pulls something like a roll of bandages with a bulge at one end from his bag. Two of them, one for each hostage. High-tech bandages to help them heal, although in this timeframe they're mostly to stabilize the pair. He's not sure what to do about the weird blood... but for the moment, he stays with the hostages to see if they exhibit other weird symptoms.     And also to freezer foam the cultists if they come to. 

:'''{{#var:1131|Yumiko Kojima (1131)}} has posed:''' Yumiko Kojima swiftly restrains the downed cultists with zipcuffs, binding them hand and foot before cutting loose the hostages. Crouching down, she examines them for wounds, eyebrows rising as the fluid leaking from their bodies starts to change the color of their clothes. <<Drek. My two are leaking bleach, and the light around the corner's getting brighter. If my map's right, that should be the center. I need immediate medical assistance for these guys, and if there aren't any hostages in the center, I'm using a frag. These slots deserve to die for what they're doing to people.>> She reloads, replacing the Stick'N'Shock magazine with lethal rounds, and slipping a frag grenade into the muzzle of the launcher. She quickly kicks the drek out of anything ritual looking on the floor, claws scoring lines into the brick. This also may include one of the cultists, although she retracts the claws before delivering the punishing kick to the ribs. Mokin slowly advances around the corner, smartgun camera first. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' With wounds like that, the hostages aren't going much of anywhere without help - and it's help that Xiaomu doesn't think she has time to administer. The best she can do is to find some relatively clean cloth, improvise a pad to help staunch the 'bleeding,' and elevate them out of the sewer-muck on layers of ice. Then she doubles back to deal with the fork she left walled off behind conjured ice. Hopefully the cultists THERE haven't had a chance to finish their part of the ritual yet ... Since Xiaomu conjured that ice in the first place, she just reaches out mentally/spiritually and counters the conjuration the same way - and she leads the way with a hail of gunfire, STILL firing anti-spirit rounds, and aiming high enough that she's unlikely to do more than part the cultists' hair. She actually wants them ALIVE this time, but if her bullets slam the brakes on the ritual? She's going to *use* that. So once she's confirmed her targets, she's aiming for kneecaps and such. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Yeah, that's going to make Josuke stop. At least he can heal the injuries he caused! They're mostly alive, though, even if he can't fix whatever it was that was done to them. He really doesn't want to try until there are doctors around to help if he messes it up. If they're not able to move, he'll just summon Crazy Diamond and have the Stand grab the hostages, and hotfoot it out! Hopefully there's medical people standing by out there somewhere. Either way, he's getting those hostages out!     Which means Staren might just see Josuke hotfooting it out, with Crazy Diamond floating along behind him, carrying the hostages. And THEN, once he's back, he'll try to get to the center. Again, he might pass Staren, if he hasn't moved from the spot by the time he comes back in.     Getting to the center this time, though, Josuke is going to go the direct route. Which means breaking through walls! Though knowing both that this place is unstable AND that his abilities are being actively resisted, he has to be careful. He can't just go smashing through random walls. He'll try to break through one, go through, and then pause and concentrate on fixing it. He's probably going to be rather tired when he reaches the center, but it'll be worth it. 

:'''{{#var:1110|Chevalier (1110)}} has posed:'''     Chevalier looks down at the two hostages he's rescued. With a growl of frustration he turns away from them. He can't save those hostages, not with his power and not with mundane first aid. It's frustrating as hell to leave them behind, but what else can he do? The only way he can think of to help is to break the ritual, which means pushing forward towards the center of the ritual circle and breaking whatever's there. He's far better as a Breaker than a medic anyways, and the pun appeals to him in a very dry way.     Fortunately for Chevalier, checking his map, he appears to have broken into a section of the maze that leads straight towards the center. Picking up his cannonblade and reverting it to normal size, he begins to run down the hallway towards the center area. It'd take too long to turn back and check out missing spots in the circle of cultists. Hostages might die, and that sucks hard, but the important thing here is to break the ritual. To save all that CAN be saved, and to make sure the assholes don't get away with what they're doing. Two lives lost in following that goal... unfortunate, but acceptable in the end.     "I'm in position to move in on the center." Chevalier corrects himself over the radio. "Going in. Probably whatever's in the center's the key to stopping the hostages from being killed." he says, picking up the pace and beginning to sprint as he hears Mokin announce she's also moving in on the center. He's willing to be the bigass distraction if need be. It's in his job description. Big ass mountain of moving steel. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' This is PURE BOLLOCKS. Bleeding OIL and grease?! Seras claps a hand almost over her mouth before she remembers where she is... yeah don't want anything near her mouth if it's been in these fumes!     "That's... that's probably not fatal, we'll get you to medical attention!" She babbles out after a few moments of confusedly trying to regain her composure and focus. Seras uses a simple knife she has on hand to cut their bindings if it's too tricky to untie... and if one hostage can piggyback, she has no trouble just bridal-carrying the other. She's easily got the strength! "It's just some nasty magic.... we have plenty of magical specialists. Nothing to panic about!" She... really doesn't sound convincing, since it has her INCREDIBLY creeped out. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     A-39 considers the wall between her and the #12 portion of the max, that includes the center. Two other people are headed there. Some people have already poked holes in walls, and the place is rumbling. She considers the possibility of it collapsing. She considers the further possibility that this operation is a wash. Both seem fairly likely. She has a job to do, whether victory is possible or not, and whether the others nearby deserve to live or not. She's a professional.     She exits back out, after announcing the cleared area, and moves to #13. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is not expecting this she looks in horror they are bleeding oil and grease, what has happened to them?What can be done? This is like a nightmare Kotone used to have often after her conversion. She just stares for a moment longer anf shakes her head. Right she's got to focus. Josuke doeswn't get a reply but he's entirely right. She looks to Seras. "Get them out out of here I'll go on ahead. "Do what you can to stop the beleeding Sera." Kotone recloaks and goes on ahead to make sure this passage way is entirely cleared out. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Staren does his best to stem the wounds. The bandages go on, and they stop the flow of liquid preservatives. One of them asks Staren, "Are we going to die?" as the police arrive. Examining the wounds more carefully, they seem to be bleeding more and more as time passes...     Xiaomu rushes back, and is already spraying bullets down the tunnel where she heard the second load of chanting. But she hits nothing but air. The sounds were coming through from a cracked wall, in an adjacent tunnel.     Seras begins to carry the councillers out. Contrary to concerns, she is able to do just that. But once they're out of the tunnels, whatever magic was at work reverts. The oil becomes blood and begins to gush, pooling as they begin to go pale. Whatever magic was doing it doesn't extend beyond the sealed section. But it's also what was keeping them from actually bleeding out.     Kotone goes deeper into the tunnel in the meantime... and finds a second lot of cultists with two more councillors (these ones bleed wood pulp, repreentative of paper perhaps?) Beyond the walls, she can hear Xiaomu's gunfire, confirming that these are the ones she heard.     Kyoko goes into ENTRANCE 13 and finally finds the elusive cultists, surrounding two councillors that are leaking liquid silicon. The chanting seems to have reached a crescendo... she may yet have time to disrupt them, but she'll have to move fast!     And finally, three venture towards the centre. Josuke links up with Yumiko after punching and fixing walls behind him, while Chevalier makes his way through the opposite end. They reach the centre, shining with a grayish light and bearing etchings upon the wall. There is an open coffin in the centre with a wizened, partially scorched body within. And floating above it is the body's former owner.     Lance Arbast is here, manifesting as piles of scrap in a vague humanoid silhouette. He speak, his voice booming through the walls. "A H F I N A L L Y. T O O L I T T L E T O O L A T E I M A F R A I D. T H E U R B A N B R E A T H W I L L R I S E W I T H T H I S C I T Y A S I T S A R M O R A N D Y O U W I L L D I E." 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Kyoko still doesn't quite trust this "total lack of traps" thing, but at least while moving outside, she can run at full speed. She slows down on entering the tunnel, but this is a short one. There are the hostages. Here is her gun.     Short, controlled bursts. The sound is loud and harsh, the trigger squeezed without any thought past identifying the targets. Without significant protection, each will take several rounds through the gut as she aims center-of-mass, dropping all but one of the cultists while walking forward in a habitually low posture.     The last of the figures standing instead gets a flying kick to the gut. One might be useful for questions. She'll find out once they get their breath back.     "Speak. 

:'''{{#var:1131|Yumiko Kojima (1131)}} has posed:''' Yumiko Kojima grits her teeth, enlarging the AR window containing the gun cam feed. This bastard's going down. NO innocents in the room. She gets the go, and alerting her teammates, she triggers the grenade launcher, quickly pulling it back around the corner. THOOMP. This one's fused to explode right between the floating body and the physical one. As soon as the noise of shrapnel slamming into stone dies away, Yumi rounds the corner again, moving at full speed, SMG stuttering on full auto as she dumps a mag of explosive ammo into what looks like some kind of toxic spirit. Mundane weapons aren't anywhere as effective as Astral attacks, but if she can blow enough chunks out of it to keep it on the defensive.... 

:'''{{#var:1110|Chevalier (1110)}} has posed:'''     Dashing in to the center, Chevalier skids to a screeching halt as he sees the scrap pile that is Lance Arbalest. Ugly motherfucker. Loud too, and talks funny. The golden-armored hero waits long enough to let the spirit-villain talk. Monologing, after all, is a time-honored tradition. It's almost part of the unspoken contract, letting a villain do a monolog. Chevy gets to be badass, villain gets to monolog. Fair's fair. Besides, if you let them monolog, it gives you time to set up your next move.     So Chevalier waits, patiently, for the villain to finish his speech. Then the cape grins behind his visor, a show of teeth that probably doesn't actually show. "Fuck that." he says in simple reply, unlimbering his cannonblade and pointing it at the pile of scrap before pulling the trigger.     He only shoots once though, before dropping the point of the blade and anchoring it into stone in front of him, expanding the sword into a shield in readiness for Mokin's grenade. His armor, the toughness of literal tons of metal, has nothing to fear from shrapnel. Concussive force is another matter, and he doesn't want to risk an unlucky shrapnel fragment breaching a seam or joint.     After the explosion Chevalier rises, keeping the cannonblade large, leveling it across his body to continue firing larger shells if there's still anything there to shoot. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     And this is what Josuke was afraid of. Seems he was right; whatever these guys were planning to do with the hostages has already been done. He skids to a stop when he catches sight of the metal monstrosity that (presumably) used to be human. "...Crap," he mutters, looking around.     Suddenly there's a lot of fire in the air -- Yumiko and Chevalier seem to have the 'Here, Eat Bullet' idea for solving the problem, which Josuke REALLY hopes works. It keeps him well out of melee range, though, since he doesn't want to be perforated, particularly not by friendly fire. But he has another idea.     Grabbing a piece of debris, he hands it off to Crazy Diamond, who forms it into something sharp. And then, while Yumiko and Chevalier are (hopefully) keeping the metal monstrosity busy, Josuke sets about using his Stand to ruin as many arcane etchings and circles as he can, as fast as he can move with Crazy Diamond. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is fildld with rage, even with the nature of her body she still feels like her blood isburning as she finds the next two councillors. She's cloaked and she moves now, she moves rapidly her freezer foam is deployed from cloak again on the cultest she also will smash any seeming ritual items she's using. She'll decloak once the last of them is handled. She'll look to the hostages. "I'm here to get you out." She'll move to cut their binding but beofre she moves them. She's gong to attempt bind the wounds even if it's using freezer foam to help contain it. Then she will move carry them as best she can to get the hell out of there. She will not waste time she's got to /move/. <<Seras on my way out I have two more!>> 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     What the hell? It's not blood, and the bandage isn't doing anything... "I don't know." Staren answers, honestly.     It always bothers him when heroes in stories say 'You're going to be fine' to someone who dies in like the next scene.     "It's magical, and I'm not a doctor or a mage." He thinks about this for a moment. Who can cure magical ailments like this? There's Miari, somewhere, but she's not here right now. Maybe the area around the wound could be cut out. What if he cauterized it? But that might just mean filling their body cavity with the strange material. Probably not good.     Josuke volunteers himself on the radio. "We have someone who might be able to heal you once this ritual is dispelled. Can you move? I'm afraid all I can offer is a last resort, if you want to be uploaded into a computer. ...The effect doesn't seem to be spreading, though. Unless you feel it getting worse, there's probably time to have a doctor look at you. Or a mage. I don't know about magic, but from the medical side, we could at least find out if your condition is getting worse or not... Then we'd know if extreme measures are warranted." Staren's calm, matter-of-fact, rambling bedside manner is probably only comforting to the most curious.     If the hostages aren't able to move on their own, he'll foam the cultists (if the police aren't there already) and carry the two out. He alerts whatever medical personnel they may have: <"They have magic stab wounds. They're bleeding something weird, and my nanobandages aren't working on it. But the magic doesn't seem to be spreading. I can't tell if they're losing blood to produce the strange material or not."> 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Vacant dead end. Xiaomu mutters a curse under her breath; she knows she doesn't have a more direct path to the center without going out and around, and she's had it pretty well beaten into her head by now that wrecking the architecture is NOT a good thing - And then she hears Kotone dealing with them. Good. She STILL has to hurry though - and unlike some people in the party, she can't do a whole lot to stabilize the architecture on her way through. For that matter, she isn't packing demo charges, either. Okay, so, time to improvise. She conjures a fresh batch of ice around the already-cracked wall, basically making an archway framing the cracks ... and then fills that crack with ice - more ice than there's physically space for, ideally. It *should* pop the wall open like the way freezing on the roads makes potholes erupt. If that does the trick, she hurries through; if Kotone seems to need help, the sage fox will linger to see if she can do anything, but otherwise, she's bearing right and checking against her recollection of the map. Fastest route to the center should go through two walls ... 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     In contrast to the gunfire happening elsewhere in the tunnels, A-39 shoots quick precise bursts, cutting through the midsections of the cultists. They slump immediately, and the last one is viciously kicked before he can react. It takes a long moment for him to find his words, but he only have five. "Glory to the Urban Breath," he says, before spitting blood at the mercenary's face. Seems he bit his tongue.     Kotone incapacitates the cultists with a flurry of freezer foam and has the hostages secured before they can even blink. Blasting the wounds with more foam to seal them seems a surprisingly effective idea. But once she lugs them outside, it becomes to go crimson from within as the oozings revert to what they should be.     "Oh god," the councillor with Staren says before breaking into soft sobs. That's probably why the movie heroes say that. They're a little too inconsolable to listen to his offer of transhumanism, but they manage to say, "I can't feel my legs..." So it's up to him to carry them out. The moment he's out of the tunnel, the wounds begin to spurt blood, alarming the medics on scene. They quickly take the two onto stretchers and get them into the medical tents.     Xiaomu's ice archways make the place rumble slightly with each one, but everything holds together. She had better hurry though, because the sounds emanating from the centre are loud and violent!     In the central chamber, gunfire and explosive fill the room, echoing through the tunnels. Through it all, the ghostly cult leader just laughs, even as his mummified body is splattered and riddled with bullets. The gunfire, cannonfire, and explosions disrupt the scrap, but don't seem to bother him at all. "F O O L I S H. M E R E L E A D C A N N O T H U R T M E." As Kotone and A-39 bring down the last remaining rituals however, the glow in the room dims. "B A H. U S E L E S S M O R T A L S. N O M A T T E R." And then when Josuke starts carving up the symbols, the cloud of junk starts to wobble. "NO! YOU FOOL!" it screams, words coming clear for once.     Immediately, the atmosphere in the room becomes harsh, heavy. The ground underfoot seems to be boiling. Something is coming. The centre of the room suddenly erupts, concrete flowing in a way that it shouldn't, even as a liquid. Bending, twisting like flesh as a massive, grotesque mouth of iron gums and plastic teeth snatches up the coffin. "MASTER, PLEASE NO, I DID ALL THAT YOU ASKED!" the spirit screams. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     He can't feel his legs? "Don't worry. There's ways to fix that in the Multiverse." Staren replies, in what might be an attempt at sounding reassuring. When he gets them outside and they start bleeding normally, he checks to see if the magic is gone -- seeing it is, he's content to let the medics do their jobs.     He turns and runs for the center, cutting his way through walls with his beam sabers! 

:'''{{#var:1131|Yumiko Kojima (1131)}} has posed:''' Yumiko Kojima ...Well drek. THe floor's alive. She's not getting paid enough for this, and there's no way she can take all of this on. <<...Frag this. I'm dropping the rest of my grenades and getting out of here. I didn't bring the gear to fight a spirit that's THE ENTIRE FLOOR!>> Letting her SMG hang from its sling, she digs in her grenade pouch and starts chucking. Another frag, two High Explosive, and an incendiary all follow the coffin into the throat of the monster. <<Twenty second fuses. Slot and run, people!>> She spins, grabbing her shotguns to have something still loaded in her hands, and sprints out of the central chamber, bouncing off the wall as she corners. She doesn't slow down until she's back in the comparatively clean air of the outdoors, where she drops into a crouch, pulling off her helmet and panting for breath. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Along the way, Xiaomu swaps out her current (mostly depleted) clips for fresh ones, and repeats the pothole maneuver when she has to in order to open holes through the walls ... And as soon as she lays eyes on that vaguely person-shaped 'cloud' of debris, she starts emptying THOSE clips - fresh loads of anti-spirit rounds - into the shape of Lance Arbast, *and* into the coffin. No 'High Speed Xiaomu,' no flashy maneuvers or martial arts or sage-fox sorcery, just lots of bullets, each one enchanted to wreak hell on things that aren't entirely mortal (but still quite capable of doing to mortal flesh everything that a regular bullet would do). She's aware of Yumiko setting a twenty-second timer on the grenades, though, and she turns and *RUNS* with about seven seconds left before detonation. That's still cutting it awfully close, probably, but it was long enough for her handguns to both click on empty. (Which incidentally took rather more trigger-pulls than those clips LOOK like they should hold in terms of bullets. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Josuke recognizes two things. One, that his ruination of the symbols is having a definite effect. So what does he do? He looks at the wobbly spirit. "Dreams do require sacrifice," he says, almost calmly. "Blood, sweat, and tears. Even I know you have to fight for what you believe in, and that's not always going to leave you unscathed. Sometimes you lose more than you ever wanted to, and you have to wonder if it was worth it."     Here he scowls. "But YOU were willing to sacrifice others to make your dream come true, and not sacrifice a thing of yourself. Well I've taken that out of your hands. Let's see how YOU like being the one sacrificed!" he spits. And with that? Tuning everything else out, he turns back to the symbols, pushing hard against that force trying to actively prevent his abilities from working.     But he's not trying to repair the symbols, to put them back like they were. He's trying to ERASE them, to put the walls back the way they were before the etchings were placed. If that can't be done, he'll try to WARP the symbols instead, the way he does when he tries to use his restoration ability and can't draw the concentration to fix it properly.     The second thing he realizes is something not so good -- something WORSE is probably coming. With any luck, his meddling with the symbols has taken some of the wind out of the sails of whatever it is that's coming through. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' Seras notices the change in what's happening almost instantly. Because her instincts, which didn't care much about grease and oil, suddenly spike into overdrive with a bleeding human in her arms. She briefly staggers but slams down with all of her will to not topple over... and is left gasping uncertainly at this change.     Because she's half-starved and has been staving off the hunger through copious coffin-sleep. For a few brief moments she gazes down at the living person she holds and all the blood and licks her lips weirdly, despite herself....     Then, with a wrenching of willpower, she surges back towards the medical sites to drop the wounded off as quickly as possible!     Though there's some strange panic in her eyes. She has good reason to want to be away from all the warm human blood straight from the source, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.     The moment they're in the tents she is OUT of them and dashing back towards the sewers... where she leans against a wall and stares dizzily at her own outfit as though in a trance.     "Hnnnnnah... no, that's not right!" 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     ...And then Staren hears over the radio that someone's trying to collapse the tunnel with explosives, and about faces! If the monster(?) survives, he'll fight it from a position of NOT being pinned under rubble! 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     A-39 doesn't speak further. There's some blood on her now, but it doesn't make the masked gunner look all that different from before. She does react, but only to fire a burst into the cultist's chest. It's best to be sure of these things.     As soon as the last round is fired, she slings the gun, drops down to the side of the two council members, and starts pulling out the aid kit she never goes anywhere without. Everything in it is ignored for now, except the sterilized bandages, which she wraps firmly around the wounds oozing who-knows-what. If the rescue targets she speak, she'll respond only with "lay still," and "medics are outside." She's already calling for the cops to get in and help carry them. She could probably take the weight, but she's got the height of a teen from a land of short people. 

:'''{{#var:1110|Chevalier (1110)}} has posed:'''     Lead won't hurt him? Well, that remains to be seen. Besides Chevalier's baddest weapon isn't lead, it's steel. Steel plus a few hybrid materials that aren't, strictly speaking, metallurgially possible. But it's not like Chevalier has to actually kill this guy. No, others can take care of that.     "Lead can't hurt you? Good thing I'm just the distraction, asshole!" the golden-clad cape calls out, seeing Josuke's attack do its work. He grins fiercely, but then staggers as the room begins to erupt in ... well, in bad shit.     He doesn't have to worry about how to kill the vortex of trash and debris at least. Whether or not his weapons will work on them is kind of irrelevant. Yumiko's grenade belt makes it irrelevant. He could survive the fragmentation, but the concussion would probably kill him. And if it didn't, the sewers collapsing on him would be a really bad thing. He begins his charge, trying to stay behind Josuke and Xioamu as they flee. He can surely survive any explosions better than they can, so he makes the best backstop. Still, no need to be stupid! He's following hot on their heels, and should anyone stumble he's prepared to scoop them up and carry them clear. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Grenades land inside the mouth before the being takes up the coffin and savages it, sending wood and body parts all over the room. The strange feeling in the air fluctuates as Josuke takes Crazy Diamond to the glyphs, warping their definition. The mouth suddenly lunge for the scrap spirit as it screams... only for Xiaomu to barrel in and pump it full of bullets. The anti-spirit ammunition rips the remains of Lance Arbast apart, dispersing him.     And the mouth is not happy.     It begins thrashing anew, slamming against every surface of the room in a vain attempt to crush those who dare oppose it. But already, its form is beginning to melt into the floor again. The mouth is the last thing to go, just before the grenades detonate.     The explosion rocks the tunnels, and thanks to all the weaknesses introduced by damaging the walls, the place begins to come down as everyone makes their escape. Thankfully, the hostages that had been left behind had been secured and removed by the police. The entrances, both those that had been forced open, and those still sealed, crumble and expel massive clouds of dust as the roof collapses, causing the streets above to sink considerably. That's going to be expensive.     Thankfully, the prognosis from the medics is good. The councillors (and the cultists that had to be substituted for the ones that were rescued) had their wounds cleaned of the other substances and then stitched close. They should pull through, but the ones that were bleeding toxic things will be strictly observed.     It could have gone much worse. But the Elites managed to secure everyone, and eliminate Lance Arbast. And yet, the Urban Breath lingers. Not on the streets, as the air becomes clean and breathable for the first time in weeks. But there, somewhere... 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa leeps moving how with her hostages, to get them to the medical personel that The Paladins have set up she's got to be quick. "I have you, we'll get you to people that are better suited to helping you with this. She's going right for the medical tents as she gets out. She might be going back in but she's needing to get back. Once they are in medical care. She'll tell the medics quickly how to deal with the Foam, then is heading back in at top speed to join the center hopefully she can help with the other s down there. She skids to a halt so hard she leaves skidmarks in the ground and aborts her attempt to get back inside she calls out on the radio. She starts to scramble back wards nd shakes her head. "...what a nightmare. I had dreams about...things like that..." 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Xiaomu does not actually stop running so much as she tries to angle her momentum in more useful directions. It generally works ... but she doesn't really let her speed taper off until she is, preferably, either above ground and/or at LEAST the equivalent of a block or two away from the now-ruined catacombs. Then she pulls out her smartphone (what serves, for most purposes, as her radio), and enables the speech-to-text converter for incoming messages. Her ears are ringing hard enough that she doesn't really trust them for communication right now. Hopefully THAT will subside in relatively short order - but it's what she gets for cutting it that close in the vicinity of high explosives. Only then does she carefully hook a finger inside her mask, tugging it down just enough to sniff cautiously at the air ... and finding it more or less clear, she takes the mask off entirely to work on breathing. 

:'''{{#var:1131|Yumiko Kojima (1131)}} has posed:''' Yumiko Kojima is expecting the muffled *whump* from underground when it comes, sighing with relief as the miasma seemingly dissipates. Her face pales as she realizes that one of the team hasn't evacced with the others... Something untranslatable and obscene in japanese explodes out of her mouth as she turns and tosses a punch into the wall next to her. However... This wall is far sturdier, and unlike her legs, her arms are just flesh and blood. Her face pales, and she cradles her now throbbing hand in the uninjured one. <<...I'm sorry.>> 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren watches it collapse. With the streets falling like that, he wonders how it can be okay, but... the Paladin field marshal seemed sure of it...     And then comes the news that one of them didn't make it out.     Oh, well. More work to be done then.     He flies up to the street and walks to roughly where the center is, trying to see how far he'll have to dig down... Are beam sabers effective for digging? Oh wait, he has the matter manipulator. Yeah, that'll do. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Josuke's lack of concentration on the world around him is going to cost him. He doesn't realize the place is coming down until it's too late. When he does realize it, he turns and makes a run for it. And yes, he WILL go through walls -- it's not like NOT being careful at THIS juncture is going to make things worse, after all. But he can only punch through walls so fast. Can he make it? Can he outrun the collapse, even with Crazy Diamond?     ...As it turns out, no.     Seems he'd wasted too much time staying behind to warp the symbols to buy himself the time to punch through enough walls to get out. And as the smoke and debris explodes out through the exits to the collapsing underground maze, neither Josuke nor Crazy Diamond make an immediate appearance.     There's time for things to quiet down a little. For the rumbling to settle slightly. And then there's more rumbling, and it's growing louder by the moment. Suddenly something bursts up out of the wreckage -- it's a familiar pink and blue armored figure, with a loud, "DOURRRAAAAA!" The figure flickers out of existence and Josuke pulls himself out of the wreckage, looking worse for wear and missing his rebreather, but very much not-squished. Which is an improvement over what could have happened to him.     "Sorry I'm late!" he calls out to the group at large. "Crazy Diamond was fixing the area around me to keep it off me, so I had to wait until the place stopped collapsing before I could get out!" 
}}

5484/A-Mei-Zing Pursuit

2017-09-15T04:19:56Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/09/14 |Location=The Tapestry |Synopsis=The Paladins request aid in the pursuit of a criminal speedster Eekay, and recieve help in a world wher..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/14
|Location=The Tapestry
|Synopsis=The Paladins request aid in the pursuit of a criminal speedster Eekay, and recieve help in a world where 80% of the population have superpowers!
|Cast of Characters=562, 1102, 1134, 533, 1119, 385, 7
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Eekay was a recurring face on the Paladin's Most Wanted list. A man commonly clad in a running suit of black with golden lightning bolts all over, wanted for a long string of burglaries. Once a scholarship track runner, he was expelled from his university owing to the use of illegal enhancers. He fell off the map for a while afterwards, but then remerged as Eekay, named for the shorthand for kinetic energy, 'Ek.'     What followed was a long string of crimes. Smash and grabs using his newly obtained superspeed, rushing into banks during the short moments where the vaults were open and taking everything he could, and rushing through any government building her could find to grab as much data as he could in the hopes of finding something worth selling.     Unfortunately, he chose the wrong envoy to strike today. Jewels of religious import were being transported, and the Paladins called in to help protect them en route. As soon as Eekay showed up, he had already bitten off more than he could chew, and chose to make himself scarce. One of the cars, with Eryl Fairfax himself riding shotgun, opted to pursue the speedster across the Multiversal highways.     Their chase lead them to a major metropolitan area, screaming through the streets, sirens blaring. However, those on the sidewalk, rather than steering clear of the chase, take pictures and talk among themselves. "Oh wow, who's that villain? Never seen them before." "I don't think they're local, I found some stuff on them, but it's from other worlds." "Oh! That would explain the Paladin cruiser chasing them." "A Multiversal villain, how exciting! I wonder how they'll handle it?"     Eryl is on the radio as the car pursues the black bolt through the streets. "Calling on all frequencies, to all heroes native to this world. A villain with what you would call a 'High-Speed Quirk' is being pursued through your streets. Any assistance would be appreciated and rewarded," he says, before rattling off his location. 

:'''{{#var:1102|Kotone Shiomi (1102)}} has posed:''' Kotone Shiomi is sitting in the car as well, not being old enough to own a vehicle of her own, and without the ability to naturally keep up with people like that. She has already summoned a persona. A massive, floating brain with eyes on stalks and a bundle of tentacles coming out of the bottom floating behind the vehicle, ready for action should it be necessary. 

:'''{{#var:1134|Mei Hatsume (1134)}} has posed:''' Ever since UA's granted her permission to check out the Multiverse, Mei Hatsume's been taking full advantage of it to do all sorts of research! Today just happens to be one of her off days from exploring (largely due in part to classes), but when that call for assistance comes in from the Paladins?      She's not about to pass up a chance to rub elbows. <<"Mei Hatsume here! A speed quirk, hmm? Any visuals on his clothes? Or any ideas where he could be headed?">> She sounds focused as she breaks into a run, hurrying through the city's streets and keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of rapid movement.      Liberal use of her Zoom Quirk certainly helps, though, to look down those long streets in case anything zips by: Cars blasting past traffic, people flying or running around at insane speeds. She's not quite sure who to look for yet, but her harnesses and toolbelts are in place! 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' The chase was on. As one of those protecting the envoy, Gawain had been primarily on foot, on top of the transport vehicle. When Eekay appeared and the pursuit began, though, he went down to one of the protection vehicles, requested to borrow the car, and then borrowed the car. The blonde knight took a seat in the car, put his hands on the wheel, and took a second to understand how to drive it, and then they were off to another world. Gawain's use of Paladin vehicles is probably not the best, though, even if he's /trying/ to be safe. A finger flicks on the sirens as they drive into the new metropolitan area, and the knight decides to take a separate turn to cut him off. He does this via copious amounts of drifting, sliding between streets before moving to catch back up to Eekay, putting as much pressure on the gas as he can. This is when Mei speaks up. Gawain recognizes her voice from the radio, and grabs the microphone. <"This is Warden Gawain! Black running suit, golden lightning bolt pattern. Destination unknown, he's attempting to escape."> 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Josuke is in the area as well, merely to explore. Still relatively new to the Multiverse, Josuke's curiosity is still quite strong about the Multiverse. And when he catches word about there being a WHOLE WORLD full of people that (mostly) all have powers? Sure, he wants to see it.     So he's in the area when the black bolt goes screaming part. "WHOA!" he yelps, barely missing being hit. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" he complains. Though once he sees the Paladin vehicle... well, he gets the idea that there's something wrong. He's worked with the Paladins before, they're not bad people as far as he's seen. So if they're chasing that thing... it probably did something wrong.     The general call over the radio confirms it. Act fast, Josuke! What does he do? How does one go to assist the law when the law needs it? Steal a motorcycle, of course. There's one, right there. It's running, and the rider isn't on it. So he makes for it, and hops on. "Hey!" the motorcyclist calls out. "That's my bike!"     "Sorry!" he calls back as he drives off. "I need to catch up with them! It won't have a scratch on it, I promise!" Because he can probably fix it once he's done if he DOES manage to damage it. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' As luck would have it, Yuna Kagurazaka - not a member of the Paladins, but sympathetic to their angle more often than not - happened to be not that far away as Multiversal distances go; when the call for support came in, she was quick to get the Matrix of Light in to assist her. She may not be official as far as either the Paladins or the government of this world go, but she *does* want to help. At this point, Yuna is in Flight Form, soaring above the skyscrapers and trying to home in on Eekay's position. If she has to shift to ground-based pursuit - well, that's why Jiina is with her. Elner is helping them zero in on Eekay, if not directly, then indirectly (by tracking Eryl's car, which is purportedly in hot pursuit of the perp himself). And as for Marina? She's basically here 'just in case'. "Grandmaster Fairfax, this is Yuna Kagurazaka," Yuna transmits. "I'm here to assist if you can use the help; I'm in the air right now. Got a sense of which way the speedster's going so we can try to head him off?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' So Eekay was on the Paladin's wanted list. She had taken note of this guy, She'd been wondering about how to deal with them. she also would see as this guy is just barrelling though and Kotone was not in a car. Nope she was wired in to her knight and on the road moving to catch up. This is one of those times Yamakawa would stop holding back and fully embrace what she is. Her reaction times are showing as she weaves in and out on her way trying to catch up with the chase. <<Yamakawa here I am after the suspect>> 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Eryl has some thoughts about the floating brain behind his car (and so do many pedestrians, many a little creeped out) but he focuses on the pursuit. He immediately gets some responses over the radio, and patches all signals with each other to facilitate better communication, including Josuke's when he seems him in pursuit via bike. "Grandmaster Fairfax here. The fugitive is as Warden Gawain describes, currently turning east on the intersection of Amuri and Tanaka."     Eryl composes the city map in his head using Original Face and begins calculating possible routes that Eekay is taking. He eventually finds the most likely one and reports it. "There is a small warpgate in Ginendai Park, too small for pursuing vehicles to fit through, and it forks several times. It would be easy for him to lose us there. Kagurazaka, keep to the skies and try to prevent him from escaping by running up buildings. Hold your fire unless you're sure that you have a clean shot. Gawain, Higashikata, Yamakawa, we're going to try and box him in so he can't change course. The other voice, young lady, if you are not in a vehicle, I recommend setting up a position at Ginendai Park to intercept him should we fail."     He then looks back at Shiomi and says. "When we box him, I leave it to you to try and apprehend him with your... Persona." Another look to the floating brain. "All right, begin!" Eryl's driver makes the first move, gunning the engine to try and get in front of Eekay. The speedster's face is scowling as he tears up the road, putting on more speed to try and get by. But the driver is too skilled, swerving to keep him from getting by. 

:'''{{#var:1134|Mei Hatsume (1134)}} has posed:''' <<"Oh? Mister skateboard! I have a prototype ready, now that you mention it.">> Mei jumps the gun a bit considering Gawain didn't mention that at all, but the description of Eekay comes in loud and clear as does Eryl's plan. Spying a convenient tourist map down the block, the inventor stares at it from afar while her eyes zero in on the points that have been mentioned.      <<"Ginendai Park... Got it! I'll get everything ready and make sure nobody gets hurt!">> Mei replies with a decidedly focused, yet oddly excited tone as she starts running in the direction of the park. As she does, she spots several stragglers on the sidewalk, and Mei clears her throat while turning on her hover boots and balancing pack to start floating a good foot off the ground.      "A Villain is coming this way soon! Get inside or stay off this streets, please~!" With little time to spare, she starts trying to usher said stragglers out of the way. She's got some time before Eekay might arrive, so the first step is making sure nobody else is in the line of fire. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' "Roger that," Yuna replies to Eryl. She can pretty well see the park from where she is, but spotting Eekay himself is still a little - She puts on a burst of speed, trusting Jiina and Marina to look in the other directions from the intersection she's flying over at that moment, aaaaand there he is. "How does anyone go that fast?" Yuna wonders, pulling up further and angling towards the park after confirming which way the speedster is currently headed, relative to said park. "I believe the generic term is 'superpowers,'" Elner supplies, "or 'Quirks' in the particular parlance of this world." Yuna consciously does not roll her eyes. "Keep plotting his likely vectors, Elner; I doubt he's going to go running up the side of a building unless he really *does* get hemmed in at street level." She pauses. "Do they have pedestrian underpasses or anything that he might try to use? Going down instead of up, if he can't stay at street-level?" 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Box the speedy one in, and close off avenues of escape, comes the instruction over the radio. "Right!" Josuke agrees. If only he'd thought to bring a handful of ball bearings or something! Crazy Diamond is pretty precise, and can flick ball bearings fast enough to cause damage. Then again, the ideal result is to not have to hurt the guy.     So in the meantime, Josuke maneuvers the bike into a position where he can do just that, and cut off one of Eekay's escape routes to the best of his ability. The problem is, a teen on a motorcycle doesn't exactly create a really big swath of 'no-go zone'     So Josuke pre-emptively summons his Stand to further block the path. Well, partially summons it. To all appearances, the teen is surrounded by a purple aura, and he's got a pink-and-blue armored figure's torso sticking out of his back, and looming over the bike. The figure seems to grow more transparent and ghostly-looking the closer it gets to his body. 

:'''{{#var:1102|Kotone Shiomi (1102)}} has posed:''' "Yes sir." Now Omoikane is not the best persona for apprehending people, but at least you'd have to be fast as lightning for speed alone to work for dodging those attacks. There still needs to be reflexes of some kind. Kotone stays quiet for the most part, focusing on the mission rather than socializing, Omoikane's tentacles are starting to build up electric charge, 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' <"Aha! I thought that was you! Miss Hatsume, thank you very much!"> Rocket-powered skateboard. Gawain is excited, but right now, they have a job to complete. At Eryl's command, he begins steering the car to try and box in Eekay, drifting around the others so that no one crashes during the attempt, before moving to his side. As the path closes up near the front... Gawain leaps through the roof, phasing through it and landing on top of the car. He's in full armor, as he turns towards Eekay, sword at his side. "Eekay! You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. If you do not surrender, we will be forced to detain you." The knight glances at Eekay from atop the roof, but he's left one issue...he can't actually move the car anymore because he's not driving it, and Gawain's a bit distracted by quickly checking his PDA to see if he read the Miranda Rights correctly. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is focused upon the suspect and the bystanders that's about all that's on her mind. She hears about the warp gate though and she's picking up a speed a bit more. She is wondering of just how to catch this guy but she's got to keep up with them. She'll also she guns her engine not that that makes much noise given her machine is not powered by a combustion engine. It rakes off though at pretty high speed to keep up with the speeders. she's very much intent to catch this guy. <<Anyone got any ides how to trip this guy up? I might be able to freezer foam him but we'd need to ambush him or slow him down a bit. Even then it might not hold someone like him for long.>> She gets the order from Eryl to box the guy in. <<Copy that, sir.>> She funs it and tries to get into formation, she's got the orders on where she needs to go and she's going to do it, as the Knight picks up speed as she moves to star to box this guy in. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Over at Ginendai Park, everyone turns to look at the pinkette as she makes the announcement. There's some grumbling, but it's more about 'damn villains' more than her telling them to disperse. This kind of thing happens often, so everyone is quick in making themselves scarce.     Back at the chase, the boxing technique succeeds! Eekay now has no easy means to slip get around, ensuring that he can only maintain the current heading. Yes, the motorcycle has enough room to slip through, but that purple haze around the rider has the speedster second-guessing that option. And now the weird brain right in front of him seems to be charging up for something. Not good... However, Gawain's display has him smirking. "Not today buddy!" He reaches out and grabs the handle of the car door that Gawain now rides upon, and retracts his arm at super speed. This results in the door coming right off its hinges, right before Eekay wings it at Omoikane. He then scrambles through the open car at super speed, throwing open the other door and getting back on the road outside of the cage. "Nice try fuzz!" he shouts, before piling on the speed once more.     He cuts a hard right as they pass a skyscraper, so he can run right up it! Windows shatter underfoot as he speeds up the structure, before kicking off to launch himself at Yuna! "Don't think I forgot you!" he yells, trying to swipe her in mid-air. It's not a hard or well-aimed punch, but at the speeds he's going, it'll be debilitating no matter where it hits! 

:'''{{#var:1134|Mei Hatsume (1134)}} has posed:''' Now that Mei's in the proper path, she can actually see what's going on better! There's a stunt driver, a flying blonde, an armored eventually-skateboarder, a siamese haircut, some kind of brain... Thing, and a biker chasing Eekay! Although none of them look like they really belong in this world, the inventor doesn't seem the slightest bit perturbed.      Instead, she's grinning widely even while she finishes getting the last of the civilians off the road. "Don't worry, everyone! We've got this all under control, so just stand back and watch my super cute babies in action!"      Except everything's still far off ahead of her. "... Soon!" For now, she takes out a folded up rectangle and unfolds it, quickly assembling it into what looks like a... Surfboard?      With a rocket on it. She sets that out, then starts fiddling with the rest of her tools to get everything else set up! 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna will react to the improbability of a man being able to run straight up the face of a skyscraper when she's not getting decked in the face - or in the anything-else, for that matter. What happens in the immediate moment is that Elner gives Yuna *just* enough forewarning that she can breathe in before Eekay is flying at her - and when the speedster approaches, Yuna calls out, "SHUGOSEIHEKI!!" and brings her left arm up - and her kite shield, the Wall of the Guardian Star, materializes just in time to take the brunt of Eekay's punch. Given that Eekay probably weighs more than Yuna does even *with* her armored battlesuit plus the kite shield, it should be little surprise that Yuna goes flying nearly straight backwards as a result of all the momentum being transferred from his body into hers - and she might very well be flying faster than Eekay was running, in the split second before her flight system's thrusters start trying to brake her backwards flight. All Shugoseiheki really did was keep the impact from translating directly into injury ... And while Yuna is trying to recover, Jiina snaps off a shot with her beam cannon, trying to ring *Eekay's* bells before he can start picking up any speed again. It won't pack the kind of punch that Yuna could unleash - it's kind of anemic even compared to the Matrix Divider - but Jiina, Yuna, and Elner alike are hoping it'll at least take some of the wind out of the speedster's sails. 

:'''{{#var:1102|Kotone Shiomi (1102)}} has posed:''' Inside the car, Kotone winces as the car door smacks into her Persona, but the response is instinctive even as she reaches for her bleeding forehead. The gathered charge is discharged, a powerful blast of lightning magic from Omoikane, aimed straight for EK. The girl wipes off her forehead some, the bleeding isn't too bad, just a single hit. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     "Crap!" Josuke doesn't have to be told twice to get moving again, once he realizes that the speedster has gotten out of their makeshift box. He guns the motorcycle engine, and sets off in the direction that the speedster went in. Now it's a chase, trying to keep him from getting out of the warpgate and into the wider Multiverse.     Josuke turns his bike for the park, since that seems to be the last place they can reasonably expect to stop the speedster from getting out, and guns the engine. He just hopes the rider filled up the tank enough that he doesn't run out of gas... 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' Well, Gawain screwed up. In his distraction, Gawain's not fast enough to stop Eekay from ripping the door off, and his first instinct is to move to glance at Shiomi when she's hit, instead of securing Eekay. As the speedster escapes, Gawain frowns, especially as the speedster goes for Yuna. This is his fault in a few ways...but then, he hears Mei and her optimism and belief in her tools. Suddenly, the knight's dashing for her location. And then, Gawain's checking the skateboard, and her other tools. "Miss Hatsume! We don't have much time, I screwed up there. But, if you believe in your gadgets, then I believe in you! We need to close ground if he's up in the air...do you think this will do the job?" The knight steps onto the rocket-powered skateboard, taking a glance at Mei, as he stares up at Eekay. "It's going to have to, atleast! Can it do ollies?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is just hauling tail-pipe at this point movin to get into the right sport she's got to play her part in boxing this speedy guy in. She's not quite sure though what the speed guy has in mind. So she'll have to keep on her toes. She speeds onward and the glass rains down on her as she passes, she has not got his full wrath just yet but she's got to avoi the glass or she's going to be running. While she can run fast the Knight is far faster than she is on foot. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Overhead, Eekay kicks off from Shugoseiheki upon impact, launching himself back towards the buildings, clearly intent on getting onto the roof of one of the loy-lying ones. But that parting shot from Jiina, clips him, throwing off his momentum and making him fall short. He hits a building, and runs down it back onto the street.     Eryl looks back at Shiomi with concern as she begins bleeding from the forehead. Reaching into the glove compartment, he passes a portable first-aid bag back to her as he begins relaying orders. "He's back on the ground. Gawain, pressure him with that board. If we give him too much space, he'll slip away. Kagurazaka, if you can keep going, continue the pursuit. When we approach the park, rain down shots on the sides to keep him from turning. Mister Higashikata, you do what you can too. Young woman, I hope that whatever you have planned is ready. Shiomi, Yamakawa, we continue the pursuit. Whenever a turn comes up, do what you can to discourage himm from taking it." 

:'''{{#var:1134|Mei Hatsume (1134)}} has posed:''' Another chance to shine! Spotting Gawain rushing right for her, Mei keeps that broad grin up as she raises a fist in greeting. "Ho! Of course I believe in my babies! Ah, so you're going to take this one on its first test run, then? In that case..." As Gawain gets on the skateboard, the inventor slips the balance wing harness off and moves over to starts grasping at his midsection.      "Hmm... Might be a tight fit, but... Ah. This auto-balancer would make even a senior look like a skateboarding expert!" And without further ado, she straps it right around the knight rider's torso. What looks like a stylish pair of mechanical tube-wings truly are auto-balancers that would indeed keep him from any unintentional falls, likely intended to work with the rocket skateboard Gawain's already standing on. "Don't think too hard about making either of them work. Just feel the flow and go!"      Once Gawain's set up, Mei moves onto the next step of her plan: She takes out what looks like a white and gray super soaker and a really long slap bracelet with metal bits on each end. The slap bracelet gets laid out across the street behind her, and then she starts moving away from the warp gate towards Eekay's projected path while snickering to herself.      "This is my chaaaance~ Oh, everyone's going to see how great my super cute babies are even against Multiversal Villains, and then...!" She's even starting to cackle a little! Thankfully, she catches herself before she gets too creepy, and she raises the hose to start spraying the area down with... Water? Water. Everything just looks wet now. <<"There we are... Mister Grandmaster, everything's in place!">>      Surely there's something else planned besides a little spritzing , though, right...? 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Josuke hears the instructions over the radio. "Gotcha!" he confirms. He assumes it's the park that the speedster is headed for, and furthermore, for the warpgate contained therein. So he heads that way as fast as the motorcycle can take him. But when he arrives there, he doesn't go completely into the park where Mei and Gawain are. No, he skirts the edges. Why? Because he has an idea.     He pulls the bike to a stop at the place he expects the group will be coming in. But he waits, to make sure that IS where they're all coming in. Once he's sure exactly which path Eekay is going to take in to the park, he takes off, again skirting the park. But he's not thinking to stop the speedster by riding around in a circle, no.     As he drives the motorcycle around the perimeter of the park, he shouts, "<Crazy Diamond>!" The Stand appears at his side, the side closest the park. And as he drives around the perimeter, the Stand begins to punch the ground at super-speeds. He's not just tearing up the ground, though. He's trying to 'fix' the ground in an eight foot, inward-facing barrier. That way, if Eekay tries to run up them, the ground will just force him back into the perimeter he's trying to cut off. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' It takes a concerted effort and some determined focusing, but Yuna manages to recover from getting punched across the sky and gets back on task, zeroing in on Eekay and angling to keep him in her line of fire. She's tempted to switch to Powered Form and join the effort at ground level, but there's still a chance of the speedster going for altitude again and she doesn't feel like letting him make another play for aerial superiority. Jiina remains close by Yuna in any case, though, leaving Marina to head down to provide additional firepower - or at least another pair of optical sensors - closer to ground level, where she can cover the warpgate if Eekay actually DOES break through despite everyone else's joint efforts. 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' The rocket-board is real. Gawain is STILL excited, and now he gets to ride it and use it to fight crime. As Mei puts on the auto-balancer, he nods, looks forward...and pedals his foot. When the rocket boosters go on, Gawain puts both feet on the board, using the auto-balancer and his own balance in tandem to start skating forward, as he holds his sword out flat-side first. As Eekay begins moving for the street, Gawain is zooming across the city, and...doing an ollie and a flip onto a bench, which he slides the board across for ADDITIONAL SPEED. When Eekay is about to move for the park, Gawain closes up alongside him, shouting over the board. "Eekay! Your days of crime are done! You've ran yourself...straight into a corner!" Gawain's relying on Josuke's 'half-pipe' here to slow Eekay down, but knows what he's doing either way. He focuses the board straight at it, lets it fly up into the air, and shifts in midair to go back down and pressure Eekay away from it...and into the 'water' Mei made. "Man, this is harder than a video game. I haven't even done any flips!" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Eekay is doing some stupid moblity tricks now. She hears the orders and she'll move after Eekay is the main targets. Shiomi is handled with help. She's going to tak her bike and is going to attempt to keep up chasing him. she's gunning it now and she's tracking Eekay hoping to keep up with him. Whatever comes up she need to keep him from getting away and she's got some ideas but she also knows they got someone waiting in the park too to help them so it seems they still have a pretty good shot take this guy in. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Eekay finds his avenue of escapes locked down by the pursuers, forcing him to keep going towards the park. He doesn't get why, that was his destination all along... but it immediately becomes apparent why as Josuke erects a barrier around it, and Gawain immediately starts keeping up with him via rocket board. "What the hell?!" the speedster shouts. This is easily the strangest chase he's ever been a part of!     He runs all about the park, trying to deny Gawain's attempts to steer him, but no exit presents itself, especially when the car with Eryl and Shiomi parks at the open entrance to block it. Eventually, there's no helping it. He steps right into the water that Mei sprayed! But that can't be the goal, can it? It's just water, right?... 

:'''{{#var:1134|Mei Hatsume (1134)}} has posed:''' Mei watches Gawain taking off with a boisterous laugh, the auto-balancers keeping the knight from any unsightly spills even with all that jumping and moving he's doing inside that makeshift half-pipe. "Good work, Pompadour! Now it's Mei Hatsume's time to shi-iiine~!"      And of course it's not just water. It looks like water, sure, but when Eekay touches down? He'll notice that it's incredibly slippery almost like oil! To make matters worse for him, there's also that oversized slap bracelet thing that's poised to and indeed wraps around him like a...      ... Oversized slap bracelet. "And there you go, folks! My newly developed water-based Villain control spray can take even the fastest foes off their feet!" She strikes A POSE. "It dissolves quickly!" Another pose! "It's odor-free!" One last pose. "And it's non-toxic, so it's ECO-FRIENDLY~!" 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Once Josuke finishes his 'barrier', he pulls the motorcycle around to the one remaining means of ingress and heads down it behind the others. It's in time to see Gawain's skateboarding. "Woo!" he calls out. "Get 'im!"     'Pompadour'? Josuke is a little confused at that, at first. Oh, right. They call his hairstyle that in other places. Well, it's a little weird to him, but it's not exactly an insult. Besides, she doesn't know him yet, so what ELSE can she call him?     Oh! There's her trap sprung, too! Josuke cheers again when the giant 'slap bracelet' reaches up to grat Eekay. "Oh hey, you got him! Kewl!" He grins when she makes what sounds like a sales pitch.     Mind, he isn't ready to pull the walls down JUST yet. He's wanting to make absolutely sure the speedstar doesn't get away. Taking down the walls too soon might result in Eekay being able to run away again, and he'd rather not have that happen. 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' As Eekay slams into the...oil? and straight into the slap bracelet, Gawain brings the board to a sudden halt (it takes a few seconds, though), kicks it up into his hands, and moves to hand it over to Mei. "Good work, Miss Hatsume! This board and auto-balancer work pretty well!" He's removing the auto-balancer as well as he speaks, this time leaving Eekay's actual detainment to someone else, like Eryl and either Kotone. "It felt seamless, and I've only rode a skateboard once before." There's an appreciative nod, as he suddenly moves his sword to make sure that Eekay doesn't break out again, readying for another speedy strike. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna is standing by just in case she needs to help either corral Eekay, or subdue him. It looks like she might not need to do anything, though. "Nice!" she calls out, giving Mei a thumbs-up at the results of her handiwork. She might actually have to check out that anti-whiplash harness Mei was talking about on the radio ... maybe it wouldn't help that much with her Light Suit (not that whiplash is a frequent concern for her), but Mei might have other things that'd be handy ... 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Eekay steps! He slips and slides right into the snap bracelet trap! "What the hell is this?!" he yells, trying to move his body as much as he can to build some speed. But in this state, there's no chance of that. He's reduced to just struggling as Eryl makes his way over and examines the restraints.     "This is some quality work... ah, I remember you. You were on the Mordion Gaol tour with me," he says, recognizing the inventor. He also bends down and runs a finger along the slick ground, getting some of the chemical on his finger and rubbing his thumb against it. "Hmm..."     As everyone comes over, he starts speaking aloud again. "Thank you all for your help in apprehending this criminal. You will all be given due reward for your efforts, with a bonus if you care to help repair damages caused by the chace. As I understand it, this world has excellent resilience to this kind of thing, but the Paladins clean up their own messes."     And finally, he looks to Mei while reaching into his coat and producing... a Paladin recruitment pamphlet! He offers it to her as he launches into a speil. "Miss Hatsume, is it? I realize that you are probably studying at one of the many quality hero academies in this world. But I ask you to consider some extracurricular activities with us. You and Warden Gawain clearly have some excellent rapport, and I think you could go far with our support. But for now, think of this as an internship offer. What do you say?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is now pulliong in from another flank on hr bike as she moves to help pin this guy in, they can't let him go to the gate but soon it seems to not be needed as Mei gets Eekay good. She comes to a halt she hopes off and laughs a bit at the whole situation. She'll be moving in now to make sure there's a enough backup with the guy going down but it seems he's over she pulls the cables from the back of her neck and goes to join the rest. "Tht was pretty good thinking there miss." she nots to Mei with a rather big grin on her face. 

:'''{{#var:1119|Josuke Higashikata (1119)}} has posed:'''     Josuke stands properly as Eryl approaches. At the mention of repairing the damage, Josuke nods. "I can do that, sure!" he assures. A look around at the assembled Elites, and he offers, "If anybody's hurt or anything got damaged, I can try to fix it." Pause, and he looks around at the environment. "After I get this put back, I mean..."     Speaking of the makeshift half-pipe, since Eekay seems to be more or less under control, Josuke can start helping to repair the damage with that! Crazy Diamond is summoned again. And then a loud, droning "DORARARARA!" rises from the Stand as fists fly fast enough to look like multiple fists, setting to work quite literally beating down the raised walls of earth.     But it's not just turning the walls to rubble and tamping down the dirt. He's FIXING it, an orange aura surrounding the ground as he tries to return the earth to its prior state of laying flat on the ground, with grass, concrete, and/or asphalt over it. He might end up fixing a few cracks or potholes in the meanwhile! 

:'''{{#var:1134|Mei Hatsume (1134)}} has posed:''' As the Multiversal heroes approach, Mei starts to notice that they're.. Actually not much older than her for the most part. She showboats for a little while longer, of course, but it doesn't take that much longer before she finally turns to address them more properly.      "Nice trick with the walls. Hmm... This is sort of like Cementoss'..." She murmurs to herself while tapping on part of the half-pipe that Josuke had created. She snaps out of her inspection, though, when Gawain speaks up, and laughs again as she takes rests her hands on her hips. "That's the beauty of the auto-balancer! Unless you want to, it'll keep you from falling flat on your face!"      Yuna gets a long, probing stare from Mei (probably with a bit of Zoom use), and then the inventor strokes her chin. "I'll need to get you fitted for that whiplash harness later. It shouldn't be too hard." Kotone, meanwhile, gets a curious stare as well, although the inventor seems a little more confused about her. "Wasn't there...? Hmm. I'll have to check you out sometime, too. Maybe something like Mister Gawain's..."      Mei trails off while her brain starts to run at a mile a minute, but stops when she spots Eryl as a familiar face. "Extracurricular...? Ah.. Ahah! I accept! It'd be a great honor to work with the Paladins, Grandmaster."      That was rather easy, wasn't it? No, she's definitely not plotting how to leverage this for more exposure and investment opportunities. Not at all. 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' Gawain nods in support with Eryl when he thanks everyone, and then turns when he hands Mei the recruitment pamphlet. He tilts his head for a second, and when he realizes what's going on, the knight grins. "Indeed! Your attitude is refreshing. I'd be happy to work with you, and also mentor you in the field of being a Paladin, if you'd like...Chevalier Hatsume!" He says the last part right as she agrees. "Welcome aboard! It's a lot like being a superhero, with responsibility to upkeep. I look forward to your achievements!" 
}}

5472/P:WtWM - The Wheels of Fate

2017-09-08T05:15:27Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/09/07 |Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM> |Synopsis=Janine's family is kidnapped by The Constable, who challenges them to a race of life and deat..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/07
|Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
|Synopsis=Janine's family is kidnapped by The Constable, who challenges them to a race of life and death to save them.
|Cast of Characters=909, 934, 1040, 894, 1132, 290, 385
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The air in the Forest is electric today. As if even the glass trees are holding their breath in anticipation. Janine's whole body is tense, and the look in her eyes is... well, 'feral' is the only word for it. Furious, possessive, unthinking, unapproachable. Any words to her, she ignores. Any attempt at physical consolation is immediately shrugged away or shoved off.     Their destination is a bit unusual. Most of the time, the Mirror Forest is a level plane with very little deviation. But when they arrive at the designated place, a massive hill towers over them, spiny with glass trees. High above, hanging cages can be seen suspended from some of the trees, set out far enough that there's nothing between them and the bottom of the hill. Any such fall would be fatal.     The Constable awaits them, besides two chariots. The classical Roman kind, all wheels and standing room only. They're hitched up to mechanical horses, akin to the one the Constable was riding on when they first met. "Oh~! You all came!" it says gleefully. "I was so hoping you would! I'll be honest Little Miss Liberi, you have a lot more fire in you than your family!" The Italian snarls, and very likely has to be held back by someone. "Where are they?!"     The Constable titters, and gestures up at the cages. "Just hanging out~ They have friends though, don't worry! I'm sure they're chatting happily with their Shadows. They're such bosom buddies, you can't tell 'em apart!" It walks over to pat the chariots. "I'm sure you're in a rush to see them, so I set this up for you! It'll get you to the top lickity-split, as long as you keep it under control! It'll be a race, between you and me! The cages are checkpoints, as marked by two rope. The first person to reach each checkpoint has to cut one to proceed~"     Janine's face begins to pale, and the Constable just gets giddier. "Oh, she figured it out~ One of the ropes secures the cage with your real family! The other holds up the Shadow. Of course, I know exactly what one I'll cut~ But you? You have to guess. It's 50-50 right? You're sure to save at least one before you reach the top!"     The motorcycle knight is bouncing on its heels now, pure delight dripping from every word. "The finish line is the top of the hill! And guess what? There will be two more ropes there! One of them, when cut, will drop all the cages, every single one! The other? That will set off a flare of light to reveal the location of one of the bricks of the Black Queen's Court! With that, you'll be able to track her down, even if the place moves! See, aren't I just such a fair host?" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Motorcycle knight, meet scifi cowboy.     Will rushed to Alberichstadt the moment he heard the news. There was no way in any multiversal hell that he was about to let Janine and August deal with this on their own; family is important. More important than anything. And so he has come. The Mistral's roaring engine belts a heart-crumbling roar as Will turns the throttle over. The cowboy himself has pulled a certain visor down over his eyes. The Solano is already at the ready in a handy compartment built into the side of his favorite motorcycle, and on the other... There's a sidecar. Because someone /probably/ needs a ride here. "What kind've despicable... August, y'all ready? I'm gonna be ridin' hot today." 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Ran could say 'I told you so' a million times, but it wouldn't help (plus it would be a dick move). She /knew/ it couldn't be Janine's family that had kicked her out. ...She'd just hoped that the Liberis had actually been /safe/ this whole time, if potentially brainslugged or possessed or... whatever.     If they've been held captive by the Black Court this whole time...     Earlier her mouth had thinned as she tucked a couple of spare knives into their hiding spots, grabbed her medical kit, and dashed through the front door of their apartment. The Shack isn't too far to run for.     Her attempt to comfort Janine is ignored, and Ran is still too timid around the younger girl to try to muscle through that barbed wall, so she steps back. ...Janine's kind of scary most of the time, but right now she's almost terrifying. Ran can't blame her, though...     "Are we going to do this?" she asks the assembled rescue party, twisting the ends of her long hair in her fingers, but she's already climbing into Will's sidecar when she speaks. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Last time August met the Constable, he already hated him. Now going to the point of kidnapping his friend's family? August wants him dead and buried. The redhead has a pistol holstered, a mirrored bracelet on his wrist, and several extra ammo magazines more than he normally carries, as he listens to the Constable's explanation and frowns heavily. "Fuck you." Is all he can reply to the Shadow, as he moves over to Will, and leaps onto the back of the Mistral, a nod to both Will and Ran. "You drive and shoot, I'll buff and shoot, Itoh will heal and shoot." There's no joking to his tone, that's actually the battle plan, as he places one arm over Will's shoulder, and the other, with the mirrored bracelet, on his holster. "Janine's already said how this ends. Fucker dies." 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Kyoko Takada arrives, even if that's not a name she's given to anyone here. Screen names should do, and 'Hibiki' is the one she uses on the broadcast channels. She's an ordinary Japanese office worker, wearing ordinary clothing, riding an ordinary 250cc Yamaha. The engine size is important, if not so much for anyone else as for her own peace of mind. She's fairly envious of those with secret identities that let them avoid vehicle inspection paperwork.     And she arrives to find... actually, what the hell is this? Who is this? People in cages? Racing to cut them down? What is even the point? She immediately recognizes August (despite them having never met in person), and gives a wave while she extends a foot to the ground to keep her bike mostly upright.     "Haha... hah." Shooting, already? Not really the kind of Jungian trip she had in mind. Well, she's already here. Maybe she can just avoid becoming a target. Not trying to hard to stay at the front of the race should help. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Riding in a chariot? Only Ben-Hur does something like that, right? Well not in this case. In this case, it's Rebecca, riding inside a chariot in a rather bizarre world (albeit one she's accustomed to after all this time.) And she's not alone, as she's sharing the chariot with others. Despite how bizarre this must seem to some people, Rebecca looks rather neutral as she waits in the chariot for things to begin. "I have to wonder," Rebecca says to herself, "If Ben-Hur would be useful here?" She chuckles a little at that. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' If Yuna had known what was going on, she would have been here far faster - but as it is, when she hears Janine's family were captured, that's all she really needs to know to make the best time she can to the Shack, and through the mirror to the Forest. This time - forewarned, to an extent - she brings the Matrix of Light, so she'll have whatever backup she needs ... And it turns out that, rather than a stand-up fight, they're doing a chariot race. "Erina, Marina, stay on standby in case something happens," Yuna says quietly. "Jiina? It looks like Powered Form would save the Constable the trouble of conjuring up another chariot or something." One transformation sequence later - or rather, a combination sequence - Yuna is outfitted in Powered Form, ready to race alongside her friends. As for Elner, though ... the little robo-faerie is staying with the two androids, because if Yuna were to try and cheat with Elner's sensors to guide her - or anyone else from Die Reisende - in picking who's the Shadow and who's the human, the Constable would *probably* call foul. The fewer excuses he has to do that, the better their chances are ... Not that their odds are all that good to begin with. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Despicable? How could you say that? I put in all this effort just for you! It's all for you!" the Constabe says, throwing it's arms out to gesture at... well, everything. It's hard to tell, but it might be frowning behind that helmets as people bring their own vehicles. "Ooohhh, so it is to be a bigger race than expected? That's fine! I'll win anyway, and I'll get to see your faces fall even further as all your clever tricks fall apart~!"     They mount their own chariot, looking to August and running a hand down their helmet. "Ooohhhh, if only I were so lucky~" it croons as it takes the reins. Janine hops into the second, fixing Rebecca with a harsh glare. "You better know what you're doing."     A Shadow that can only be described as a motorcycle squire comes out as everyone lines up for the race to begin. They produce a handkerchief and wave it in lieu of a flag and wave it. Immediately, the Constable blasts off, urging those iron horses with incredible skill.     The marked track is narrow and surrounded with thick glass trees. No smashing through these, a crash will bring your whole race to a stop. The Constable takes an early lead and looks over its shoulder at everyone. "A gift, from me to you!" And then suddenly, their chariot begins to issue oil from the bottom, coating the track.     And yet, the first checkpoint is in sight! Two cages, bearing mirror images of Felix Liberi, stand before them. If they're going to make a move, it has to be now! 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''     "Ain't it obvious? Y'all treatin' these people's lives like they were prizes in a game. That just ain't right!" Will spits an answer in reply as the motorcycle squire hobbles his way up to the starting line. He counts down in his head- three, two, one. The handkerchief drops. Will is off like a shot. The Mistral's engines scream as he blasts downrange. The Ancient motors are more than capable of keeping up with the shadow's iron horses. His lips draw into a tight line as oil begins to pour and-- There, up ahead. Two cages...! "August, light that varmint up! Leave the track to me...!" Will guns the engine one more time and kicks his leg back into pedal close to the rear wheel. Suddenly, ports underneath the bike begin vomiting neon-blue flame, launching the Mistral and its passengers up and over the oil slick, at a perfect vantage to maybe get a better look at the people in the cage... And to allow August the opportunity to set the Constable on fire. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Kyoko's not a racer. Bikes are just more practical vehicles than full-sized cars in her near-future, densely-populated iteration of Japan. As such, she doesn't mind anyone else getting in front of her, which is likely to happen in any case, as she takes off just quickly enough to not be fully left behind, focusing more on controlling her vehicle safely, knowing there's only so much her helmet will protect her from. Did someone mention "healing?" It'd be nice if that applied to her in an emergency, too, but she's not the sort to bank on someone else taking care of things.     It costs her some more time to get off to the side and drive around that oil spill, and she's lagging well behind the Constable when she's got her vehicle under control well enough to focus her attention forward, not on the road, but above it. From the moment the rules were explained, this is what she expected she'd have to apply her talents to. The aetheric interface constructs itself around her.     This is the first time she's done this while personally off-world, and thus the first time anyone is likely to have seen it, though her race position makes it uncertain whether anyone will this time, either. Glowing shapes carve through the air like more incandescent holographic displays, tell-tales and read-outs streaming information while a pulse like a sonar ping radiates out from her, fading out of the visible spectrum at a short distance, but still strong enough to capture and send back information that is processed through the arcane (in several senses) transformation matrices in front of her eyes.     Machinery is easiest to understand, and there's sadly little of that here, since she isn't going to focus on the horses. Living creatures are hard to get a better read off of apart from "there are some there," but in the mid-range of effectiveness in regards to her scanning magic is the detection and analysis of extant magic. If it's just a matter of determining whether one figure or another is "more magical," if August is right, that should be simple enough to light up one side of her display in under half a second. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August just tsks at the Constable, and normally would blink twice at Kyoko recognizing him, but he's a bit stressed right now - it'll have to be in retrospect. As the Mistral goes roaring, August hangs tight, trusting Will's ability to drive as one that is incredibly dangerous and risky but also effective. It's when the oil starts to spill that August gets an idea on how to get at the Constable...even if it's dangerous to everyone. "Alright, brace. Unless we land ahead of the oil, we're burning up too!" Instead of grabbing his pistol, August brings the mirrored bracelet up to his eyes. "Light them up, Tin Soldier!" In a flash of blue energy, the Tin Soldier appears in mid air, right as the Constable makes a turn. The underside of the chariot is where the oil is coming from, meaning that it takes one good shot to send him burning up. A blast of fire explodes from the Tin Soldier's gun, a fireball moving to impact right underneath the Constable's chariot and send his oil spilling backfiring, literally. There's one problem with this, that August has warned of: fire spreads to oil super damn easily, so the entire track behind him is likely going up in flames. The Tin Soldier disappears after the shot is fired, August not having much use in sustained summoning, as he glances to Ran. "Itoh, if everyone gets set on fire, heal, but for now, focus fire on the knight bastard! Cut the rope only if you get a shot when we figure out which one it is!" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Returning the glare to Janine, albeit with a little unease, Rebecca simply says, "I'm going to do the best I can. I'm not a professional at this, but... well, I'll be careful!" Rebecca starts to sweat a little, but then faces forward again as she realizes the race is about to begin. When the race does begin, all Rebecca can do is hold on for dear life at first. She struggles to try to maintain control and finally does so with some effort. "OK, just stay focused, Rebecca..." Then she spots the oil. "Oh no!" Rebecca gasps and, in desparation, struggles to steer around it as best as she can. Then she sees August send the flames towards the oil, and with some effort, Rebecca speeds up the chariot. "I'm not going to let them burn us down!" 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     It's enough to make Ran wish she drove a badass motorcycle too. God knows the Lemon would never make it ten feet under these conditions.     She was expecting the burst of speed, the roar of an engine. What she /wasn't/ expecting was the sheer force of how the Mistral accelerates - it's like a punch in the chest. Ran digs her fingernails into the rim of the sidecar's opening and leans forward, bracing herself.     Just in time, too, because, "Wait, did you say jump j--" The rest of the question is lost to a strangled half-screech as they take off, soaring over the oil and flames below. ohgodohgodohgodohgod why is this her life now     She looks over at August as he directs her, wind whipping her long hair behind her like a banner. "Got it - at the very least I'm going to try to slow him down! Tsuki-no-Usagi!" The alien bunnygirl descends from the dark sky like a comet, mallet-first, aiming for the Constable's horses. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' The handkerchief falls - and Yuna accelerates smoothly from a standing start, Powered Form's hover-thrusters lifting her up off the ground and pushing her forward at a steadily increasing speed. She's content to keep pace with Janine, August, and the others at this point, rather than to forge ahead - she could easily outstrip the rest of the group, maybe even outrace the Constable himself, but she's keeping her speed in reserve for one simple reason: 'Whoever gets to each checkpoint first has to cut one of the ropes.' Because of that rule, Yuna is in no hurry to get there ahead of anyone *except* the Constable himself. If she's the first person to a checkpoint, she'll be obligated to cut one cage loose - and while she has few issues with letting a Shadow plummet, if she were to choose wrong and kill one of Janine's family, never mind whether or not Janine could forgive Yuna; she wouldn't be able to forgive *herself*. So until they can tell which cage holds the real person and which holds their Shadowy counterpart, Yuna's content to, in effect, play tank for the rest of Die Reisende. Not that she's sure *how* to - if the Constable sends any actual attacks their way, she can maneuver to take the shots herself, but indirect attacks like that oil slick? Even before August lights it up, the best Yuna can do is to pull some extra vertical boost and skim over it. When the oil is lit on fire ... she has to jump higher to clear the flames. And it's at the peak of her leap that the Matrix Divider forms in Yuna's hands, and she squeezes off a shot at the Constable - or rather, at the raceway ahead of him, to try and blast a divot into the road just ahead of his motorcycle. It probably won't slow him down much ... but if it DOES - if he hits the hole directly - then it'll give Die Reisende that much more of an advantage. Worst-case scenario, the Constable just weaves around it and maybe somebody else has a bad time of it .... well, no. Actual worst-case scenario is that the Constable disqualifies her, or something, for interference outside the stated 'legal' bounds of the race ... but in Yuna's defense, she's following Agusut's lead. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Contable giggles wildly as it deploys oil, looking back in the hopes of seeing a massive pile-up. But one racer seems to be missing?... it looks up, and spot William, August, and the Mistral soaring above. The tongue of flame licks out, impacting the oil and drawing a "No!" from the knight as it ignites. The flames spread across the surface quickly, following the slick to its source. The Constable cuts it off, but the flames have already set the wheels on fire, forcing them to slow down and beat them out. This allows everyone to drive past it!     Onto the important matter; which one is Felix? Kyoko opens up her magical HUD and begins scanning for the 'more magical' of the two in the cage. Right away, it becomes clear which is which. The one suspended by the /left rope/ is more magical. That makes them the Shadow, and thus, safe to drop.     Meanwhile, everyone else is just content to try and hamper the Constable. Ran sends her Persona to hammer at the horses, putting a massive dent in one and sending it stumbling. On top of the harsh braking they undertook to extinguish the flames, they also have to fight to keep the injured horse on-track. The pothole Yuna blasts into the ground is plowed through, and based on the nasty creaking sound, something critical on the wheel axel is damaged. "How utterly forward! But it's okay, I still love you all~!" the Constable shouts before whipping the reins.     They reach the ropes, Janine and Rebecca included. Thanks to her driving, they avoided the worst of the oil and fire and get to the front. Based on Kyoko's advice, Janine slashes her sabre, cutting the left rope, sending a cage plummeting. The occupant is silent through the whole fall... hopefully that's a good sign? "Ooohhh, did you get it right~?" the Constable croons from behind. "Even if you did, don't forget that you might fail at the end!"     The race continues, their opponent pulling up the rear now. They whip their reins again, and the mouths on their horses open. Inside each one is a Gatling gun. "Let me show you my love~!" it croons, before opening fire! Avoiding it becomes the main chore for this second leg. They seem to be content to hang back and spew bullets for now. As the second set of cages, holding Penelope Liberi and hew Shadow, come into view, something is different. These cages are not wrought metal, but Shadows in and of themselves. That... may throw off any sensory magic a little. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' At the sight of the horses' mouth-mounted Gatlings, Yuna has only one word to start with: "SHUGOSEIHEKI!!" The left exo-arm comes up as she calls out the name of her kite shield, and with a flare of light, the Wall of the Guardian Star materializes on that raised manipulator. With a quick advisory to her allies, Yuna slews around to interpose herself - and more importantly, her shield - between her friends and the Constable's horses. Depending on distances and angles, there's a really good chance she can't block all of the bullets; some may get past before she can interpose herself, or the horses may be positioned so that she physically *can't* block more than one of them, with her shield or even with her battlesuit, large as it is. And of course, there's the eternal disadvantage that even if every bullet Yuna catches is on her kite shield, that's *still* going to chip away at her Light Suit's defensive reserves - and with that many bullets coming at her, it's going to be a lot of chipping in a fairly short time. She tries to take the hits anyway, despite that, even knowing it's going to hurt and may leave her vulnerable - because nobody in Die Reisende is going to be able to take bullet wounds nearly as well as Yuna can in her battlesuit. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     An oil spill is bad enough on its own for someone without great off-road experience, but lighting it on fire? "Um," you won't catch on fire if you move through it fast enough, right? Kyoko's sure she's heard that before, not that she made a hobby of waving fingers over candles. "Uh..." Does that still apply to burning oil, or to flames that big? "Ahhh!"     She'll just have to hope so. At least she'd already maneuvered around to the edge of the spill.     Moments later, and Kyoko chances raising her visor back up, looking down and thanking the abstract concept of goodness that any sparks caught on her were extinguished by her speed. On the other hand, she's now going pretty fast, and barely keeps control as she leans into the next turn, tires kicking dirt. She comes out of it fine, but shaken. This isn't exactly like her day job.     Oh, but she still manages to pass the Constable. Lucky! Or... dangerous! Now she's ahead of the only one here motivated to attack her. Maybe if, a second time... but there's no such luck, clearly, as the gatlings open up.     There aren't any good choices. Even a stray bullet could effectively take her or her vehicle out of the race. Fortunately, Yuna interposes, and Kyoko immediately focuses on getting to the other wise of that shield of hers. The OL is a bit more frazzled than before, but there's still a job to do. Harder, maybe, but everything becomes easier with experience. This time, she focuses her magic on the right cage, which happens to be closer, and its occupant. Instead of doing a comparison between two figures, she's doing a more directed analysis and contrast against the data from her prior scan, still there on her HUD, the bits of information continuing to exist as a complex aetheric construct even as it slowly does an auto-backup through her phone. If it were possessing a human body, this would be pretty hard for her, but it doesn't look like that's the general case. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will doesn't land in the fire. What kind of sci-fi cowboy do you take him for? The kind that dies in fire!? Well, he might, if he ever threw himself into some, but that day is not today. The Mistral touches down with a final burst of smoke and flame well ahead of the monstrous charioteer. "Hah! Look't that, you bastard! You might have actual iron horses, but there ain't an iron horse faster than the Mistr- those are gatling guns." Those sure are gatling guns. "Shoot! August, Ran, heads down!" Bullets scream past. Will cusses softly under his breath, a sound so quiet that it's all but certainly lost in the roar of gunfire. He weaves the Mistral left and right, accelerating and decelerating erratically to shake off the assault and convey August and Ran further ahead. And then Yuna goes to take one for the team. Suddenly free of a neverending stream of bullets, Will wastes no time. He snatches his handcannon from its holster. Judgment ignites, its light filtering out into the crystalline tree trunks. Will checks ahead until he reaches a straightaway, grabs a tight hold of the handlebars, and then... Turns and aims over his shoulder. A little targeting reticle lights up /just/ as Yuna slides out of the way of his shot. Will pulls the trigger. A bolt of screaming hot plasma surges back towards one of the Constable's gatling cannons. Melting the barrel would be one thing, but Will's aiming for something else. Cooking off an entire gatling gun's supply of ammunition would probably play merry hell with whatever it's bolted to, after all. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August's fire worked, even if it was dangerous as hell. At Will's call, he's ducking his head down, though a bullet goes errant and hits him in the shoulder, as the gatling guns begin firing. There's loud cursing and a tsk as he grasps onto Will tighter, looking back at the bracelet. "Time for a boost! Tin Soldier!" The Persona reappears, and lands on the track, shooting its gun at Will once right before he fires. There's a sound of a click, and then a feeling of power washing over the cowboy, before another click and a wash over Ran. The Tin Soldier moves to glance at the checkpoint behind for a brief second to see if the person still in the cage isn't suddenly dead, and then disappears again, because August is drawing his pistol with one steady hand... And taking potshots at the Constable's chariot. "Die, you bastard!" 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     "YOUR LOVE IS CREEPY AND SO ARE YOU!" Ran yells over her shoulder, and then has to duck down when bullets come uncomfortably close to the motorcycle. She thinks she hears the sound of a bullet hitting someone - she never expected to to learn, once upon a time - and peeks up far enough to see August's bleeding shoulder. "Shi--"     She calls on the Rabbit again, the Persona floating in place next to the motorcycle just like the Tin Soldier. Power washes over her, and the Rabbit responds in kind, gently pouring a fistful of dark motes onto the blood on August's shoulder. "Everybody else, speak up if you get hurt!" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Gatling guns? Now they're in big trouble. Rebecca ducks underneath the chariot and fishes out her Beretta (she's crouched down, she can't draw it very easily!) She disables the safety then pops out to open fire upon the enemy. "You shoot at us? I shoot at you!" Rebecca says sarcastically. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The spray of bullets hammers against Yuna's shield. "Hey! Don't bogart my love, it's for everyone!" the Constable shouts at the idol. They begin to weave about the track, guns bellowing to try and slip some shots past her. Honestly, it just makes a lot of it go wide, which kind of lightens her burden a little. The Constable may be fast, but they're not much of a combatant. And yet, each bullet that slams against Yuna's shield is a heavy one, and they just keep coming! Her defence matrix is likely running low once the next checkpoint is in sight.     But lucily, Will slips a shot past her, blasting one of the horses in the mouth. The power of the Solano, along with August's buff reduces the Gatling gun to slag, and the bullets that were being loaded into it all pop and explode, ripping it apart from within. The Constable cries out, before producing their tire iron lance and severing the machine from the chariot. They only have one now, and that has impacted their speed severely!     Kyoko adjusts her analysis to cope with the new problem. By contrasting the two children in the cages with the Shadows at the prior checkpoint, she achieves a more detailed analysis that bypasses the interference generated by the Shadow-cages. Once again, the Shadow is in the cage suspended by the /left rope/.     Based on this analysis, Janine cuts the left rope again. "Keep it up!" she shouts, both to Rebecca and Kyoko. Her tone is still on-edge, but it's infused with hope now. Hope that the Constable seems eager to quash. "Not so fast, my little chickadees!" it shouts, before August and Rebecca's bullets bullet slam into its helmet. The visor breaks open, revealing a single, swirling eye that fixates on him. "No... DON'T LOOK AT ME!" it screams, before leaping from the chariot and mounting the remaining horse. That lance swings, smashing the axel entirely before the horse breaks into a gallop, rapidly closing the gap!     Hanging in back like Kyoko is seems a bad idea now, because the Constable is barrelling down on them, swiping with that thing. Unhindered by the chariot, the horse is capable of incredible speeds, easily akin to the Mistral, and much faster that Janine and Rebecca's chariot. The final checkpoint comes into sight, bearing Bella Liberi... oh dear. These cages are also Shadows, and there are several dummy ropes that makes identifying the real ones difficult! 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     If Kyoko could get BEHIND the monstrous whatever-the-hell-that-is coming her way in an apparently murderous rush for first place, she'd do that. She'd definitely take oil spills over this. Maybe even flaming oil slicks, though not by much. She's an office worker, how did she end up here? She's never following weird schoolkids into dark forests again. She might even be the only person here NOT carrying a gun.     A steady stream of relatively unimaginative cursing under her breath accompanies the disappearance of her glowing HUD as she focuses on the road, speeding up and trying to stay out of reach of that lance, but it's no good. Maybe she should have just dealt with the extra paperwork and gotten a bike with two or four times the engine, but that's one of those useless retrospectives one voices after the specific trouble has already past. It's "being here" that is proving to likely have been a mistake, even if she did, by probability expectation, save 1.00 humans over the past few minutes. She's not selfless enough to take great consolation in the fact, especially given that the finish line has a 50/50 chance of killing them.     The lance comes from her. Goodbye, cruel world...     Kyoko hits a bump in the track at high speed, her bike flipping her over and throwing her forward, then getting knocked to the side by the Constable's swing. Goddammit, that thing was still expensive!     Momentum carries her further forward, presently glad that she always obeys helmet laws. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Two down, one more to go, and then the final stretch to the finish line. Will feels his heartbeat hammer out a desperate rhythm against the hollow of his chest. He feels it surging against his eardrums. Just a little more...! "Ahahahahaha! That's the way it goes!" Will cheers when he hears the telltale sound of something going /boom/ behind him. He grins and slings his handcannon back into its holster to focus his attention back on the more pertinent task of driving really damn fast. Which is about when the mad charioteer transforms into a mad horseman. "What--" Will glances back, then snaps his head forward again. "Dangit. You two slow him up as best you can! If he passes us, I'm not sure we can beat him to the finish!" Not unless Will does something /really/ reckless, anyway...! But for now, he focuses on the race. ...And dearly hopes that someone can tell which cage to shoot down. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Is that a-- Ran yelps, wincing as she realizes just /what/ the Constable actually looks like. "Gross!" She calls out her Persona again, clutching her bunny pendant in a white-knuckled fist. "Get rid of it, Tsuki-no-Usagi!"     Ran calls on the Rabbit, and the Rabbit calls down spear after spear of light onto the Constable and his last horse. It's hard to aim when the whole kit and caboodle is barreling down on the last cage and the finish line. Ran, meanwhile, turns to look forward again - they're so close to the end, but all those ropes... Someone who can fly might be their last, best hope. She calls out to Yuna over the radio with a last-ditch hope, and starts to ask 'Hibiki' if she knows which is the real Bella--     And there's a spill, and a wreck. "Shit. Shit shit shit shit." Ran at least has the grace to say it softly. Summoning over and over in such a short time is taxing, but she's got to hold it together. They can't screw this up!     They're going to get Janine's family back. They're going to fix it this time.     Ran /promised/.     Kyoko will get a ground's-eye-view of a masked, alien rabbit creature leaning over her quizzically, as if to check her for injuries. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Kyoko lands, in the sense that she reaches the ground. It is not very comfortable. In fact, she is reasonably certain that she's broken several things. The pain is tremendous. There's a rabbit creature looking at her. Does the rabbit creature have painkillers? "It hurts..." That means 'Give me the drugs,' rabbit creature.     Oh, the finish line is in sight. Using magic while in this much pain is kind of difficult, but at least her head is alright, and she landed facing the right way, so she doesn't have to move. The HUD gets pulled back up instantly, oriented against her helmet as a fixed point in space, and that sonar ping is sent out again, this one quite spread out to encompass all the supposed dummy ropes. 50/50? Looks like the Constable wasn't even going to give them that much chance.     She's not conscious enough to finesse the data like she usually would. She can only force it through her phone's aetherport, and from there, back home. Not too much data, there's no time. Just a brief, wide-area scan. But even from that, you can get a lot of work done, when you've already gotten four training examples for your AI to crunch over, and you're beaming the data to a massive parallel computing cluster you left back home and ready for any odd job you ran into in the field. Even the smallest patterns will become stark contrasts when you go over everything with a fine-toothed comb.     Whatever the answer is, Kyoko croaks it over the radio. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Well, that changes the dynamics of the race, thinks Yuna as the Constable goes from chariot to direct horseback pursuit. She can't really tank any more than she already is, and Ran is asking her to take the lead - to try and be ready to save the cage if it falls. The only problem is that Yuna in her Powered Form may be strong enough to catch a falling cage ... but her hover-thrusters *aren't*, not for sustained flight. The best-case scenario would be a thruster-boosted leap to safety, and out of the race entirely. But there really isn't much else Yuna can think of to do, so she goes ahead and takes the lead - while signalling Elner as she does so. If they have to completely break the rules to save lives ... well, it won't be Yuna's first time putting the saving of lives above other concerns. Just ask August. If Elner and Erina can't make it in time, then at least Yuna can do her best where she is. So she picks up speed - and with Kyoko reporting which cage is correct, Yuna breathes a little easier. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August's wound begins to close, the gentle comfort of night and darkness overcoming him. He nods his thanks to Ran, before saying one thing. "Hey, I'm being reckless. Here's my apology in advance." Because as the Constable leaps on the horse angrily, August glares straight at that eye, before bringing up the bracelet for a third and final time. "Get fucked...TIN SOLDIER!" The Tin Soldier appears one last time on the road...and then leaps upwards, moving to land straight on top of the Constable, fist first. Strength backs it, as it moves to start wrestling the Shadow, tanking the damage it deals as well as trying to distract and harm him. August just tries and keeps him arm as tightly around Will as possible so the impending sudden shock from damage doesn't send him hurtling to his death. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' The moment that Rebecca hits, she smiles a little, but then notices that Kyoko's been knocked down. She scowls a little, knowing she's a medic but she can't do anything. "No, stay focused, Rebecca!" She looks forward again, and does a double-take at the sight of the swirling eye. Don't look at it is right! Rebecca lowers her eyes but keeps her gaze forwards. "Just a little more, we can do this!" Rebecca mutters as she steadies the chariot. At the same time, she fires upon the enemy once again. She tries two shots this time, but her aim is a little unsteady. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Constble ploughs past Kyoko on its mad ride towards the front. "Not this time!" it screams, now catching up to Janine and Rebecca. That is, until the Tin Soldier throws itself at it, wrestling and pounding on it. "Oh~! You're finally returning my love!" it cries savagely, before adjusting its grip on its lance. Holding it closer to the tip so it can use it to stab the Solider in the side, over and over!     This slows it just enough that Janine and Rebecca get to the ropes first. Janine aims and thrusts! But... at this speed, coupled with the curve of a sabre, stabs are not entirely precise. She cuts the rope she intended, but also slices one adjacent, weakening it enough to snap. "NO!" she screams, watching as both cages plummet, watching the ropes intently. The correct one, the centre-right one... is attached to the leftmost cage. "Yuna, save her!" she yells.     They're in the last leg now, the Constable catching up in spite of blows and bullets. But they reach the summit, a wide, mostly flat area. There in the middle is the 'finish line.' Two ropes, extending off to the side of the hill. One makes all cages fall, the other gives Die Reisende a valuable clue. There's no Kyoko to analyze, and no hints. It's a pure 50/50 shot. And the Constable is coming up behind, cackling with glee. "Which one? WHICH ONE?! Only I know!" it shouts. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Technically, the rules don't cover a situation where *both* cages fall - but more importantly, Janine's mother is going to die if somebody doesn't do something. And Yuna's the only one who can do that 'something'. So Yuna deliberately veers left and off the edge of the 'road,' cutting her lift thrusters long enough to catch up (or catch down?) with the falling cage. As soon as she can grab hold of it - the rope or the cage itself, probably using the manipulator arms rather than her own hands - Yuna brings the thrusters back up to full power, trying to bank towards some kind of safe ground, however far below it may be. "It's okay, you're going to be all right," Yuna tries to reassure the woman inside the cage. She may not have noticed whether Bella Liberi is actually *conscious* at the moment, but the reassurances are uttered anyway - as much so the woman won't notice the breathtaking drop below them as to simply state the truth. She *won't* let anything happen to Janine's mother. She just wishes she could still help the rest of the Liberi family - but other hands than hers have to do that now. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     The Rabbit tilts her head the other way, eyes hidden behind a crescent-moon mask but crouches down, long handled mallet at her side, to rest a fingertip on Kyoko's forehead. It feels like a week's worth of 'a good night's sleep', all at once. Warm and dark and comforting, like snuggling up in your favorite blanket. And then she flickers and vanishes, leaving Kyoko in much better shape but alone on the road.     Ran is calling her back, sweat dripping down her temples as she and the Rabbit both reach out this time - Ran to help steady August through the pain of the Tin Soldier being speared over and over, and Tsuki-no-Usagi to pour out more comforting darkness.     Up ahead is the summit, and a decision she doesn't feel qualified to make. She ignores it to stare out after Yuna, her other hand gripping the edge of the sidecar. With Bella safe, there's still the ropes. And coming up behind them is the Constable.     They've got to end it before he can get here. It won't be over until Bella, Felix, and Penelope are out of the Mirror Forest, and Ran can't bring herself to feel bad over the death of a homicidal, creepy eye-guy. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August (and the Tin Soldier) shudder a bit as the Constable continues his creepy stalker dialogue, but the Shadow is distracted - even as the Tin Soldier is stabbed over and over, August coughing up blood as the Tin Soldier is impaled, one arm moving to clutch their respective sides. Despite this, the Tin Soldier holds on, willing itself through the pain. The others are about to fire on him, and Ran's healing, using up her energy, gives August enough power to have the Tin Soldier do one thing to guarantee this guy gets killed by the incoming blasts. The Tin Soldier suddenly reaches one arm to grab the reins of the horse, and moves to pull as tightly as it can, trying to buck it, as August shouts, despite being right next to him. "WILL, NOW!" The Tin Soldier is probably eating part of this shot. August has accepted this. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Which one, which one? Two ropes, one leads to the certain death of Janine's entire family. The other might just lead them to finally, FINALLY getting a leg up in this stupid war for the collective souls of all mankind. Will... Doesn't buy it. He cusses as a familiar, damp, red splotch begins seeping into his shirt. "August, hey, are you alright? You--" The Tin Soldier hangs on. Will's eyes go wide as his handcannon is slung out of its holster. "August, you damn moron!" He is a damn moron. A tremendous, goddamn fool. But it gives him the shot he needs. Judgment's light burns white, doubling, then tripling, becoming almost blinding as Will takes aim. He pulls the trigger and the result is less a gunshot than a thunderclap. A lance of raw kinetic energy erupts from the barrel- no mere bullet, no crackle of plasma, just raw physical impulse forged into a deadly weapon by the wisdom and the power of the Tellurian Ancients. His aim is steady, one shot to simultaneously break both horse and rider. Will it be enough? It needs to be. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Yuna snatches the rope and keeps it from falling. Miss Liberi bounces pretty severely in there, but a bruise is better than a fatal impact. She is, mercifully, unconscious, as were her two younger children. She's also breathing fine, and looks mostly okay. She has some bags under her eyes and looks a little malnourished though.     Up on the summit, everyone comes to a stop as the Constable arrives. That one visible eye is literally burning with fury now as it tries to push the Tin Soldier off of it. "Get away! I need to show you all how much I love you! I love you all so much! I love your hearts that I'll make stop! I love your necks that I'll make bleed! I love your eyes so much I'll gouge them out and keep them! I love you so so much, that I'll decorate my rides with your bodies! I LOVE YOU!"     With one mighty shove, it gets the Tin Soldier off of it. Getting it away... but not fast enough to dodge Will's charged shot. It bores through its jacket and armour, erupting out the other side in a brilliant display of light and gore. Its hands slip from the reins as it croaks, "I love you..." one last time before sliding off of it.     It has dissolved before it even hits the ground. Die Reisende is victorious. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will releases a breath he was only barely aware he was holding. Every marksman knows to hold their breath when trying to make a critical shot. His arm trembles as he slides his weapon back into its holster. Even if that thing was a monster... ...No, no need to think about that now. It was a monster, undeniably. Inhuman. "Ran," Will says, "You mind making sure August doesn't die? Yuna, I uh. I think it'd be a good idea to get the Liberis down before we play with these ropes. I can stay here and stand guard while we figure things out, then... We can probably fiddle with these at our leisure." 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     She can barely stand to watch. Not because of what's happening to August or the Constable. It's because even as he's dragged down by the Tin Soldier, the Constable is still screaming about how much he loves them. It makes her feel a little sick...     It's actually a relief, despite whatever internal qualms she may have left about killing the Black Court members, because /that/ -- more than anything else, the raving of LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE and its attendant psychotic impulses -- frightened her more than she'll let on.     "I'm here, Will. ...Good shot." She just concentrates on pouring more energy into August, extending her senses to track his health as best she's able. Blood pressure is acceptable, the wound's knitting. Coughing up blood isn't great, but as long as he's still conscious... "August, hold still for me, okay," she murmurs to him, just loud enough to carry past the Mistral's engine. "You're gonna get killed one of these days, and then what're we gonna do?" It's rhetorical. Ran knows the August probably has a laundry list of 'things Die Reisende can do when he's dead'. She doesn't want to hear them.     When the motorcycle pulls to a stop, she scrambles out of the sidecar. "Yuna-san, you did it! Can you bring her over here, please?" She's already unslinging the medical bag from across her shoulder. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Meanwhile, assuming there's some kind of safe ground far below, Yuna has touched down long enough to get Bella out of her cage, and then head back to rendezvous with the rest of Die Reisende. Probably at the foot of the mountain, where the race started. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is saved from the full force of the blast when the Constable pushes him off. However, he's still hit by the energy, and the Tin Soldier finds itself pretty damn charred, August basically slumped against Will's back. He's conscious, and cognizant, but he doesn't reply to Ran. He just allows her to heal him, as he watches the Constable fade from existence. Another one down. How many left? 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     With the Constable dead, everyone can take their time. Checking the ropes reveals that the Constable wasn't lying; one of them loops around the whole mountain, going through every cage setup, set to send them al plummeting if cut. The other is connected to a flare that will be detonated if the rope is cut. It's set in a tree at the base of the mountain, and investigating the foot of it unveils a wrapped package. Inside is a pitch black hunk of stone that radiates all manner of bad voodoo. Something like that can only come from the Black Queen's Court...     And soon, there's nothing left of interest at the hill. The party leaves to take care of business, leaving it to the ravens that swirl above. 
}}

5465/ICoT: A Bastion of their Own

2017-09-01T06:39:02Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/08/31 |Location=The Bastion |Synopsis=The Kid leads a team of Elites up Mount Zand, a sacred place to the Ura... and a Bastion for the beasts..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/08/31
|Location=The Bastion
|Synopsis=The Kid leads a team of Elites up Mount Zand, a sacred place to the Ura... and a Bastion for the beasts of the Wild.
|Cast of Characters=798, 1094, 934, 215, 325, 7, 42, 673
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Mount Zand. Once a holy place to the Ura, where their prayers to the Pantheon would surely be answered. Now, just an unusually tall hunk of land amidst the islands in the sky. From a distance, it's hard to tell much of anything about the place. It's so thoroughly choked with flora that the slopes are invisible. This frustrated Rucks to no end, as it made pinpointing the Shard difficult.     Speaking of the Shard, how it came to be on the mountain is a curious thing too. It was carried there by a Pecker, something that Rucks witnessed himself. That Peckers are attracted to shiny things is no secret, but something as weighty as a Shard should have dissuaded the corvid. And yet, it supported the stone's weight all the way to the summit. And it is to the summit the Kid will climb to retrieve it.     However, even in this post-Calamity world, Mount Zand is still holy to the Ura. And in the midst of this tenuous peace, invading this place seems a dangerous prospect. For that reason alone, Kid wants a small strike force to get in, grab the Shard, and get out as fast as they can, least any Ura patrols spot them and leap to the wrong conclusion.     This force will join Kid at the midway point, where he will scouted out the mountain and put together a plan of attack. And, shockingly, the force will include Rucks himself. "Gets a little lonely at the Bastion with everyone gone," he explains jokingly if asked. Though he still clutches at his cane, that Army Carbine across his back is well-oiled and he carries it well.     As the group arrives on-location via warpgate... things have already gone south. The Kid is lying in the thick vegitation, pinned down by a Lunkhead trying to crush the life out of him. He's driving his War Machete into the soft flesh behind the stone mask the froglike thing wears, but is slowly being enveloped by vines conjured by a Bootlicker that towers over him. And even worse, a flock of Peckers circle overhead, cawing as obnoxiously as they can, almost like an alarm system.     "Shut 'em up! But quietly!" Kid shouts as the Lunkhead gets off of him, only to leap several feet into the air, aiming to crush him again! 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Agent Parsons is quite quick to strike here. "Right!" He tensely calls out, all urgency and no volume. Literally! Telepathy is a great thing for that. He slams forward quickly, zooming over the ground and levitating, while planting two fingers on his left temple. A pair of massive, translucent hands reach out fast, trying to clasp and close around the creature's body! Especially around the throat, to prevent any errant animal cries. If it attracts more creatures, they'll have even less of a chance at stealth!     Parsons has enough telekinetic power to arrest its momentum and prevent it from giving away their position and their intrusion with a heavy impact on the ground, but while maintaining focus to hold it in place and immobilize it, he'll need someone else's help to finish it off! Otherwise, the creature will probably break out of his grip! 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' It's been months since Will's been anywhere near what used to be the City of Caelondia. Though, there's not really all that much to remind a soul that anything used to be here at all. It's just a mess of floating islands, shattered landscapes, broken dreams. And an intrepid team of adventurers trying to put it all right. Will joins the others in their trek up the mountain with all the equipment a Digger might possibly need to survive the precarious climb ahead of them. He's festooned with ropes, his frontier ensemble has been reinforced by layers of knitted scarves and thick protective pads. His gun is... Holstered. It doesn't stay holstered for long. "Ah, shit," Will whispers once they come across The Kid, but is attention is drawn elsewhere almost immediately. Into the sky, towards those... Those damn, noisy birds. Now, Will's got nothing against friends of the avian persuasion, but if there's gotta be a choice between fighting them and fighting folks whose only problem with him is that he's up on a mountain that don't belong to him, then his next move is obvious. "Y'all help the Kid," he calls to the others as he unlimbers the Solano from its holster. Its blue light instantly flickers and fades into a rippling, colorless and near-invisible aura of energy. "I'll take care of the rats with wings...!" Will turns his weapon to the sky and pulls the trigger. Waves of electronic chaos surge upwards, each one carefully aimed to intercept a different bird in flight. On contact, they'd each be subject to a burst of paralyzing electricity. And unless someone looks REAL close, they probably won't see exactly what it is that's taking these things out. 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:''' If it's stealth you want, you can count on Iria. If it's action you want, you can also count on Iria. Regardless of what it is you need, she's the bounty hunter for you! Coming through the warpgate, Iria spots those bizarre birds as well and she quickly draws her pistol, fully loaded in advance, and fires off a couple of rounds at them. "Didn't know I was going to be doing some hunting today. I would've brought a rifle with me!" 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     Well isn't this just a warm welcoming party? Critters attacking everywhere, plants choking out anything they can wrap around, the Kid already in trouble.. "Right, straight to the point, today!" Rhapsody makes note of before charging from the gate toward the lunkhead Agent Parsons is hopefully keeping under control.     Given the chance, the dragon draws one of her spellblades, lunges, then slashes at the creature in an effort to give Flamel a much needed hand. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Mount Zand, it was a holy place to the Ura and she would try to be respectful given this world did seem to have had active gods at one point or might /still/ do so. She was ready to be sneaky though clad in her stealth armour and even with a strange face plate covering the upper part of her face Kotone was here and ready to go. She was quiet looking at Rucks and the Kid, seeing both on the field =showed how important it might be. She'll open up tac net connections to anyone working here who is able and willing to. The Bird s meanwhile are handled by Ko pausing to pull a survival knife out backed up with her super human strength and the fact these things are animals. It should hopefully be enough for her to help. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Mount Zand, holy site to some god that doesn't do anything and therefore is irrelevent and wasteful to spend time worshipping. Staren wouldn't care one whit what the Ura think, except that his last visit proved /some/ of them could be reasonable, so... He'll try not to cause trouble here.     Moving stealthily through vegetation is difficult for Staren. He can cut and scorch it, or fly over it, but both are pretty visible. Cat form might almost be useful here if the world weren't so full of dangerous monsters -- he needs his armor! If only Rory had a spare of that felinoid of hers...     Oh well. He comprimises, using flight-assisted jumps from tree to tree to stay above the thickest of the vegetation but still get some tree cover. And comes upon The Kid in trouble! He takes aim with the laser rifle, but the kid is saying to shut 'em' up, plural. So not the thing attacking him...? Staren looks up. Oh. He's not sure he can hit such small targets quickly and quietly.     But others are handling them anyway. Okay then! He takes aim at the lunkhead. "Rhapsody!" he gives her a heads up to give him an opening, waits for one, and fires! 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' The robo-feline that Rory's been slowly tinkering with is pressed into service once again! This time it sports military camouflage and finer texturing, and heavier armoring in key places. The weapon mountings have been made modular and turned into independently swiveling mounts. A half-dozen laser emitters are placed strategically around its body, allowing four to focus on any one target at a time and no area to go without coverage.     It's a far more militant loadout than she's rather bring to a so-called 'holy place', but she steps through the warp gate with optics aglow with determination!     Or maybe that's just how they normally work.     She wastes no time target-locking the circling peckers and rapid-firing laser bursts at all of them. Which, of course, are invisible beams - apart from the electric violet bursts of light where they strike the peckers and hopefully set them ablaze anyways!     "How odd. Those creatures usually join the fray! Why the behavior change? Are we near their nesting grounds?"     The robo-feline turns its head to peer questioningly at Rucks... 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The Lunkhead descends, only to be grabbed by invisible hands. Normally, it would begin to let out frantic, panicked croaks over this, but they clamp down on its throat and silence them! Rhapsody slices through its rubbery flesh while Staren's laser burns right through its stone mask to finish it. That's one saved Kid!     The birds overhead are knifed down, shot down, lasered down, or stunned before plummeting to the earth. The lucky ones land on the mountain. The unlucky ones fall past it, and keep falling. Rucks is stroking his moustache as Rory turns an inquiring eye to him. "Reckon I got an idea, but I'll wait to hear what Kid has to say." He then raises that Carbine and picks off the Bootlicker that is ensaring Kid in vines. A single, clean shot through the head silences its humanlike cries and frees its victim.     Kid rises, pulling stray vines from his body and nodding his thanks to the group. "Thanks. But keep it down with the guns, least 'till we get higher. Less chance of being heard there." He starts wiping the gore from his War Machete off on the grass as he reports his findings. "There's a lotta new structures... not just Ura ramps, but things that look cobbled together from scrap. And the place is dense with everythin' the Wild has. Peckers, Stinkeyes, Swampweeds, Bootlickers, Pincushions, Anklegators... I think I even heard a Lungblossom higher up." He shudders.     Rucks just continues to stroke his moustache and nods. "I figured. The creatures of the Wild... they're buildin' a Bastion of their very own." The Kid's eyes go wide, and he starts to say something before Rucks raises a hand for silence. "But we have'ta take the Shard. It's for the best. Lead the way, Kid." The boy with white hair frowns, but takes out his bow and notches an arrow before guiding the party up the mountain.     Wooden ramps make the ascent easier, allowing the party to crawl through the bush without worrying about where they put their feet. Higher above them is manmade structures, made of wood embedded into the soil. Ura places of worship no doubt. However, barriers of carved rock and collapsed trees make the direct route tricky. Here is where Kid points at the signs of animal intelligence. How recent the tree collapses were based on the condition of the stumps they fell from, the freshness of the torn ground based on nature growth... it's undeniable, the beasts of the Wild did this.     They stop just below the structures. Kid finds a bunch of Cael supply crates, and wedges his Machete into them to get at the contents. And at that moment, Pincushions sprout all around and begin spraying their needles! Not directly at the party, but all around. Marking a killzone, making it hard to escape. Within it, Stinkweeds erupt from the ground and begin filling the air with noxius fumes, choking the nose and burning the throat. It's so thick it actually minimizes visibility.     And then three familiar shapes comes towards the party. Like shark fins sticking from the ground, accompanied by a low rumble as they move. Anklegators, much smaller than Queen Anne, but just as dangerous. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren's immediately looking thoughtful as The Kid describes signs of structures ahead... his eyes widen a bit when Rucks suggests the /animals/ are building things! "Could it be that they develop some sort of intelligence in groups? No, you're saying having the shard is making them smarter somehow?"     At least there's ramps now. "Of course, just because they're showing signs of intelligence doesn't mean they've turned into /people/." He comments, as The Kid points out how fallen trees were carefully selected. "What /is/ going on, though? You guys seem to know more than you're telling us..."     But then there's needles, everywhere! Wearing down his forcefield... and when the fumes(?) erupt, Staren takes to the air to get away -- he doesn't know whether it's just poison, or acid after all!     Unfortunately, he can't drop a missile or grenade with his allies in the same area as the monsters, and he can't pick the monsters off because of the fumes! It's almost as if...     ...As if they planned around the group's capabilities.     Well, Staren was just saying last night about how you have to be prepared for everything... And a quick mental search of what he's got on hand turns up something...     Hovering over the battlefield, Staren pulls a small canister from his bag, and drops it. It explodes (not forcefully enough to hurt anyone) into a cloud of black dust which sticks to everything.     And as the dust outlines things, the outlines show up on the tacnet he shares with Rory and Kotone. Time to start picking off monsters! Staren turns his armor's beam cannons to that end! 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Y'all don't have to worry too overmuch about the Solano here at least," Will says as birds start falling like lawndarts into the surrounding snow. "Unless these Ura folks know 'bout what a plasma discharge sounds like, I don't think they'll even know what I'm carrying." The weight of his sidearm does little to reassure Will today, though. Not... With everything that they're seeing. Structures not apparently built by human hands tower all around them. Will's lips draw into a tight frown. "...Those critters built all of this?" He looks... Pensive. Suddenly uncertain. "Ain't there a way we can convince 'em to come along with us to /our/ Bastion? I mean, there's plenty'a room there now, ain't th--" Will's thoughts are interrupted by a sudden fusilade of needles, a choking gasp of toxic fumes, and... Sand sharks!? The wildlife here is almost just as bad as the ones he's got back home. Will chokes and wheezes on the smothering fumes. His weapon shifts as he draws it again, turning from colorless and transparent to a hot, angry orange. When Will pulls the trigger, it's not lightning or plasma that emerge, but tongues of flame. He kind of hopes this stuff burns. He also hopes the cloud won't just explode. 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:''' The initial battle is a piece of cake for Iria, and the ramps make things a bit easier too. Yet she's got a look of uneasiness on her face, almost as if she's got a premonition about something here and now. And it looks like she's got the right idea. Needles shoot out of pincushions, and while they don't hit Iria, they do get too close for comfort. "Ahh, crap!" She says with a hint of annoyance as if she knew something like this was going to happen. And then the stinkweeds do their thing, causing Iria to cough and gasp as she drops to one knee, trying to get as close to the ground as she can. "Ugh... this really sucks!" As if things couldn't get any worse, right Iria? Well, it does. Sand sharks show up, and almost immediately the needles and stink are trivial to Iria as she draws her revolver again and attempts to fire upon them as best as she can. "Had I known THIS was going to happen, I would've brought harpoons with me instead!" 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     With one big fella down, and a whole bunch of other things dealt with, Rhapsody takes in the group that's assembled, gives a nod in hello to the group, and especially Kid, before sheathing her spellblade and moving to follow after everyone. "Building.. that's kind of interesting. Kind of a shame, though, isn't it? They're trying to survive here, just like anyone else. Wish we could figure out a way to share-" the thought isn't allowed to finish as a whole lot of trouble just sprouted around everyone!     Between the choking fumes and the needling assault, the guildmaster is having trouble focusing. It doesn't help she's about coughing up a lung because of the fumes, but the way they strain her eyes makes it hard to see. Rather than actually fight, Rhapsody has to take a knee, trying to get to some kind of breathable air. "I can't see!" is the call for help she cries out with. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' This is a strange turn of events! Rory's reactions are machine-like. the robo-kitty prioritizes leaping away from the approaching Anklegators detected seismically, using her integrated mapping software to guage where things SHOULD be despite the thick fumes. This, however, leaves her open to a half-dozen NEEDLES, which bite deep into the metal hide where there are chinks in its armor and draw a spray of sparks from the synthmorph!     "What effect could the Shard have on biologicals exposed to it for a long time? More to the point, this is a holy site to the Ura."     As she speaks, Rory instantly exploits Staren's target painting, all her lasers locking onto different creatures and hitting FULL OUTPUT. They're silent killers, but the fumes make them visible - blue-violet beams that incinerate miniscule amounts of Stinkweed fumes on their path to kill the plants themselves with precise pulses of intense light!     "Not enough time has passed from retrieving the Shard for THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN to be affected by whatever emissions it produces. It's more logical to conclude that the wildlife of Mt. Zand were already exceptional for some reason, leading to them wanting the Shard." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Phew, thanks Rhapsody. A Bastion of their own...? Huh, you mean this might be like one of those genius dolphin conspiracy situations?" Parsons says, tilting his head. While he does this and walks with the others, he's pulling something out of the surface of his own head. It's... It's a silencer. A translucent silencer, which he settles "into" his own finger. Well, that's apparently going to solve noise issues, combining his espionage expertise and his psionic marksmanship abilities.     He blinks a few times, in a sort of confusion. "Is that... Something the Shards are doing, or the Calamity did, or is that just how the fauna here are? Just, normally? No no," He makes an odd gesture at Rory. "I bet the Pecker took the shard /because/ they're building a Bastion here!" He speaks quietly, sneaking as they push on further and further. "I definitely need to figure out what's going on here. This is so strange, I need to know what's going on."     And here's a chance to find out. The supply crates turn out to be an ambush!! A rush of fumes assails him and he can do little to hold it off. "Augh! No more horrible Wilds gasses!" He shouts, still rather traumatized by Jawson Bog. The needles tear into his legs before he manages to levitate high above them, and the noxious substances in the air tear through his throat and lungs, but he'll survive the damage, one hopes. What's more relevant is that, despite the passive damage over time, he plants a pair of fingers on each temple, concentrates, and begins emitting a dramatic white light from behind his secret-agent sunglasses.     Who here has the most neural mass... Probably those Anklegators! Irresponsibly, he leaves himself in a quite vulnerable position, as he attempts to psychically invade those anklegators! Presumably to fight their aggression directly, and to drive at least one or two off psychically, but also for the purposes of DISCOVERY! What strangeness lies in their minds? Do they HAVE minds? Is something psychic controlling them? Agent Parsons has absolutely no idea, but his lust for information about this situation sure is going to make him try to find out, even if it's at his own expense! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa gets hooked up with Rory and STaren and they are good to go. She will move to end up cleaning the knife then putting it away. She'll now make to start to cloakc faind from view. She'll take note of the warnings thoug. It ownd' be easy going forward, she can ge the creatures wanting to not die but people in the end? If she has to chose she'll chose people over wildlife. She keeps moving though. She'll make use of being cloakeed ot get the jump on their attackers. She'll make use of her SMG attacking like a phantom as she goes. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Before they arrive at the ambush, Rucks answers Staren. "Don't think so much into it. The Wilds is a dangerous to them as it is to us. Takes more'n bein' tough to make it. Gotta be smart too." He also looks to Rhapsody and Will and says, "No. Best we can do is give 'em a clean kill. That's the only kinda mercy we got these days. Don't worry, our Bastion is best for everybody." As the assault begins, and Rhapsody begins to choke, he pushes her down from behind and gets low himself. The fumes float, which means the ground is relatively clearer.     During the ambush, the Anklegators get a majority share of the attention. It makes sense, they're the most 'aggressive' of the lot. The soil itself is their armor, soaking up most of the impact from the bullets, and the lasers just start boiling the moisture in the soil before anything else. Telepathic assault though, no amount of earth can stop that. The horns stop as Flamel quells their aggression, giving Kid time to walk right up and rip them from the soil so everyone else can finish them. The Anklegators are possessed with a predator's cunning, if not a lot of intellect. There's no sign of them being controlled, but it seems like Peckers have brought them food in exchange for not attacking other creatures... but also, they get bonus rations for driving off Ura patrols.     The flames from the Solano do not ignite the fumes, thankfully. But adding the smell of burning vegetation on top of them as he cooks the Stinkweeds and Pincushions is... ugh. They cook relatively fast, and Kotone's stealthy bullets help them along their way. The fumes begin to clear, revealing Kid and what he found in those crates. A mortar cannon, which he is going over and examining, before hanging it over his shoulder and bringing some mortars to use with it. He's also carrying a gramophone he found.     After a quick break, and some generous sharing of Healing Water to tend to wounds and rinse eyes out, the ascent continues. Now they walk through the Ura structures, with high wooden wall acting as defensive structures between narrow wooden walkways. The summit is in sight... and the Peckers are surrounding them. Sitting on those structures, glaring at them with beady eyes. None make any aggressive moves though.     Finally, they reach the top... and the Shard is in sight. Floating at the centre of the summit, a flatland carved from the peak. Surrounded by all manner of flora and fauna. Pincushions and Wallflowers sit at the back, having formed actual firing lines. More felled logs give them cover, while the party is in the open. Lunkheads stand with Bootlickers and Stinkeyes as Swampweeds bloom along the perimeter.     But their fumes are the least of their worried.     At the very back are two massive flowers, with teeth and tusks of hardened chitin, surrounding a gaping maw. They are giving off fumes too, fumes that are... intoxicating. In the same way that Jawson Bog was.     Kid stares straight ahead, at the Shard. "We can grab it 'n go..." he mutters. "There should be a Skyway between the Lungblossoms. It'll be rough, but we can rush for i-" Rucks clamps a hand on his shoulder and shakes his head. "Put 'em down Kid. It's for the best."     The young man lets out a shaky sigh, before taking that Mortar and planting the legs. "I'll back y'all up. Make it quick." And then the Peckers take to the sky, cawing up a cry for battle. 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     Near the ground, pushed further by Rucks for her own safety, the dragon gasps for breath as the others take care of .. well everything. "Ugh! Nature is -literally- attacking us here! The simic and the gruul would adore this place," she mutters as the fumes finally disperse. She speaks her gratitude to Rucks for his help as she dusts her coat and clothing off. Seems Kid found a few spoils, and useful ones at that. He can explode things now. At distance! "Good find!"     Further along the path still, and after some of that offered water clears the stinging from her eyes, she gets a good look at everything they're going to have to deal with. "If we weren't trying to make so much noise..." she muses, thinking about the need of a bigger dragon. Her flying around up here could draw too much attention. Same with using the lightning bolt charges in her spellblade. With a resigned sigh, both spellblades are drawn, "Welp. If we have to take it-" the peckers take to the sky, making a mighty racket. Make it quick, Kid says. "So much for surprising them, lets go!" and charge in she goes, ready to slice anything that moves. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' A mountain of vicious wildlife atop a vicious mountain seems fitting, but Rory would have rathered they not come face to face with what appears to be the nastiest-looking plant she's ever witnessed. "I have seen vidgame wildernesses less dangerous than this. Knowing humanity rose to prominence here despite such creatures speaks very highly of the civilizations! ... But this is no time to admire what we must surmount."     The Argonauts would love samples of some of these creatures, and thankfully her Morph is equipped for such. But for now... she starts with an OPENING VOLLEY of sweeping sustained laser fire, raking varying beams back and forth across the distant Pecker swarm! 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:''' No matter how hard Iria tries to take on the situation at hand, it always seems to get worse. Nevertheless, she switches to her assault rifle (note, ASSAULT RIFLE, not hunting rifle) and loads a clip into it. With a yell, she fires upon the Pecker swarm as well, hoping to try to at least get them to disperse or something. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Oh thank goodness, some healing. Parsons is in real need of that. It's not like he wasn't still breathing that horrid gas during all that. It HURTS! His lungs are bad right now, real bad, but at least they're not THAT bad now. He takes deep, experimental breaths, before moving on. Parsons also examines that nice stuff The Kid found. Huh. Seems interesting. He's absolutely fascinated with what the gramophone might contain.     For now, though, time to move on. Time to ascend. Time to, specifically, try to get up there without enraging these Peckers. They're clever sons of bitches and Parsons is less inclined to make any aggressive gesture at them, especially not some kind of projection, until they show hostility. And boy do they show hostility! Oh jesus christ. They've amassed some kind of army up here!!     Parsons just HAS to know what's going on.     Is there one superintelligent Pecker ringleading the group? Is this just how Peckers are /naturally/? Parsons has to know, this is far, far too strange and new. So, with no ambush this time, he gets a chance to errect his shield. It should be able to keep out most of the gasses, though not the psychohazardous fumes of a Lungblossom, which, in smaller doses, threaten a dangerous, encroaching mental hazard that deals some significant destabilization to his psionic abilities! Not to mention to traumatic contusions that spread in glowing, neuron-shaped patterns over his body as the swarm of animals falls on him.     Right now, though, he's casting his mind out and among the animals, trying to pick up on one with a bigger mind than the others, and flooding any of the ones that lack it with a rush of changes, trying to pit them against those tremendous Lungblossoms and tear up the alliance that the local ecosystem has formed against them! But if he can find some source... Some Flock Chief... He's going to try to change it. To placate it.     Specifically, he heard Rucks is getting lonely at the Bastion, so giving him a pet murderhawk for the time being would be optimal. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will coughs, wheezing out the last of that terrible, burning vapor. They've finally reached the summit! And there, the shard they've come all this way to fetch. The Chaser chokes and coughs a few more time for good measure. Maybe it's a good thing it feels like his nostrils and throat are on fire right now? It keeps his mind off that cloying, sweet scent in the air. But hey, everyone made it. They're here now, their destination is right in front of them. It only took a trek up a mountain, a trip through the beginnings of something like a bestial civilization. The shard is at its heart. This is their Bastion. Is this... Really the right thing to do? He's seen what's happened to places deprived of these shards before. Will this whole place, this holy mountain, go tumbling into the abyss if they remove it? Will's lips draw into a tight grimace as he unlimbers his gun again. The Solano's light flashes its natural, pale blue as he fires off a quick series of shots into the swarming peckers. And meanwhile, he... Continues to think. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     After the fight, Staren lands again. The forcefield emitter discs on his chestplate have all blown out except one... and from the way it was flickering, that probably won't hold against an entire attack. "Perhaps something else here is controlling them? Maybe related to the Ura's religion somehow, a forgotten, animal-controlling... entity that wants the shard and is coordinating attacks against us." Flamel says the peckers are the ringleaders... huh.     And then they reach the summit, and... Oh my. No cover, and he can't just use a big flashy fireball to get rid of them... At least he doesn't have to deal with the gas thanks to armor with its own air supply. The peckers should be the priority target, but... Rory can probably track them better than he can.     He sweeps a line of fire across the pincushions and wallflowers, taking the laser off burst mode to fire single shots at the plants... /hopefully/ enough to take each down.     The forcefield stops a few needles before shattering, many more continuing on to hit his armor, scratching or lodging into it... That /can't/ be good for its continued structural integrity. Hopefully this will be over before that becomes a problem... 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone has helped to thin out the horde she will keep moving now she's noticed the strange behaviour of the animals they are flat out fighting smart. There's no other word for it and working together what has the shard effect on them? It's something to look into later when they lives are not on the line. So she keeps moving keeping tabs on all her allioes as best as she can and she'll move to help Rory out somewhat as she opens up on the pecker swarms along side Rory. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     The battle is joined! Rhapsody charges in with her paied blades and begins swinging. Several Stinkeyes go down before Lunkheads hop up to her, using their own faces to block her swings. And while she cut down many Stinkeyes, more bloom from the ground around her and try to drive their thorns into her body, emanating their powerful odours. The Swampweeds float their own fumes her way too, as do the Lungblossoms. Did the Peckers see how she faltered at the ambush and passed the info along?     Rory begins sweeping the cloud of Peckers above with lasers! But, the birds are prepared, in a highly disturbing way. Those that die first are snatched up in the talons of those behind, and used as shields to cover their descent upon the AGI. Sharp feathers and cruel beaks fall upon Rory, trying to rip at the lasers, pull them out of her! They also swarm Kotone, talons attempt to grip her as wings beat, trying to pull her airborne as the Pincushions focus fire on her... they want to leave her an open target!     As Iria fires into the air, the Peckers repeat the same trick, using their dead bethern as shields from her bullets. The Wallflowers in the distance fire at her, using dense bullets of pollen to strike from afar! And the worst past is, returning fire just makes them close up their tough-as-iron petals to shield their vulnerable pistils. Yes, this keeps them from firing for a bit, but there are so many that one opens again for every one closed.     Flamel's mind reaches out to touch the creatures. Each and every one has some level of intelligence, like Rucks said. They all possess that animal cunning like the Peckers. Even the flora has enough mind to read, but they're a bit more simplistic. The thing that unites them is... the Calamity. Only such a disaster could force such disparate lifeforms together to form a common goal. They're survivors, just like Kid, Rucks, Zulf, Zia, and the Ura. He finds no evidence of a Flock Chief, but there is one Pecker flying high above that is more wizened and experienced than the others.     Will begins firing off heavy blasts into the swarm, but Lunkheads take objection. One leaps into his firing path, before crashing down before him with a heavy croak! It leaps again, trying to headbutt him, shove him down so his two smaller buddies can dogpile and crush him!     Staren's lasers cut through the Wallflowers and Pincushions. The former close up to defend against the beams as best they can, but Pincushions have no such defence. They are burned up, significantly reducing incoming fire. But now Peckers are swarming him too, trying to rip at components of his armor!     Kid and Rucks are opening fire too, the former picking off Wallflowers with singular, precise shots when they open up. The latter is lining up that mortar, firing shots to blast apart the logs that form cover for the wildlife. Rucks aims again, fires... and his shot passes right through a Wallflower like it was empty air. A childish giggle fills the air as the old man scowls. "The Pantheon..."     And indeed, now everyone will find random attacks just pass through enemies without hurting them. They seem to notice this particular change, and renew their attack with increased ferocity! The laugh echoes again, as Kid speaks the name of the god that has seen fit to test them.                                       OLAK                                                                       THE CAREFREE SON                                 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     If the birds are shielding themselves from below, Staren will just have to fly up... But instead, they come to him! He electrifies his armor, though if that's not enough to at least stun them, he's going to be distracted with trying to fly away.     Also, the Kid just used a freaking /mortar/, so apparently the Flashy Weapons Threshhold has already been passed. Grenades are fired at wallflowers and used as an airburst weapon against swarms of peckers -- plasma minimissiles burn 30ft-wide swaths wherever allies /aren't/. At least, that's Staren's plan... once he sees an attack GO THROUGH, he knows he can't afford to waste ammo, leaving him firing energy weapons wildly at the birds.     "So someone IS here. What do you want?!" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Even with being cloaked the birds are smart enough to track where she's comming from worse they are using the dead as bullet sponges. What the hell is going on are they that smart or is something directing them? She doesn't know she has no idea. She hears the laugh she isn't sure just what's going on with the giggle but then she hears the words the Pantheon one of the gods? She's too busy fending the birds off and trying to not be pekced to death right now. She'll get a few shots off but mostly she's trying to swat them away. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons attempts to gently nudge the more wizened bird into a path towards the Bastion. And, you know, friendliness to humans, the assumption of safety there. No harm in giving Rucks a friend. If he can remember to explain that to Rucks, anyway.     For now, though, he has bigger problems to deal with. The sustained fire is crumpling his barrier, and the damage bleeding through his mounting, more and more. Especially the mentally fraying effect of that Lungblossom gas, it's distorting his psychic abilities badly. He's going to lose concentration and become unable to maintain astral projection soon! Without that option, he's going to be far less useful, so he makes as much use of it now as he can.     It looks like Rucks' shot is phasing through their enemies. Are some of these impossible to hit...?! Parsons can only think of one possible option. If they're not able to hit the enemies... Maybe Parsons could turn their foes on each other with more strength! As soon as any of the enemies demonstrate that strange intangibility, Parsons sets upon... Their allies! Trying to turn the allies against their potent and dangerous brethren! Maybe, he hopes, fellow wildlife will be able to strike where the party cannot. He's mostly hoping because in a few seconds his barrier's going to collapse and he's going to start getting stabbed, poisoned, disoriented, and otherwise heavily brutalized by the oncoming fire, very badly. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will's heart just doesn't seem to be in it. Maybe it's how hard these guys are trying to defend their home, but something about taking the shard at this point just feels... Wrong? His response is sluggish- too sluggish to avoid getting buried under a couple of enormous frog-monsters and their even larger buddy. "Ghhhhah, come on you... You varmints, this ain't--" The Solano discharges. The shot... Passes right through one of the Lunkheads like they weren't even there. "-fun...ny?" No. That laugh. That childish giggle...! "Oh," Will's eyebrow twitches. "Oh. Oh no, it's--"                              SEVERAL MONTHS AGO                             There's just a repeating .webm here of a giant hand smashing Will's face through a never-ending wall of bricks. Overlayed is a laughtrack. A... familiar... laughtrack.                                     NOW                                     "NO." The Solano... changes. It shifts at a fundamental level, transforming into a larger, more robust weapon. Will struggles an arm out of his terrible, froggy prison and seizes hold of a handle extending out from one side of the weapon. "NOT TODAY, YOU JERK." Will holds the trigger down. What results is a veritable onslaught of rapid-fire plasma bolts slung out at blinding speed. Sure, Olak might be able to save these things from SOME of them, but with this many, and fired this quickly, well... You know what they say on Tellus. "CHASERS MAKE THEIR OWN LUCK!" 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' Using their comrades' burning bodies as shields. Rory's so astounded at this clever tactic that she ceases firing to analyze it more carefully. It's a waste of three seconds - and that's enough for them to get all over her and rip at her weaponry! Actually ripping the lasers out of their mounts is a heavy-duty job. The joins are firm. ... Unfortunately, the actual mounts give way instead, several tearing free in the cacaphony of cawing and pecking and talon-ripping. Rory is ENGULFED in the swarm.     Organic beings would probably panic at having dozens of wings fluttering in their faces. Rory is panicking in her own way though, curling up instead.     All without saying a single word as she focuses on what's happening. Analyzes radio chatter...     And reconfigures her Morph's power output to route energy where it normally doesn't: her outer skin.     *SNAP* *CRACKLE* *ZORCH!* In no time at all bolts of lightning arc through the Pecker horde as her insulated paws deny the outpouring electricity grounding.     Which makes the bird horde the path of least resistance. It's going to smell an AWFUL lot like charred poultry soon.     Yet one more reason robots can be grateful for lacking noses.     "Fine. If this is a trial, I will prove myself! It will take more than clever birds and overgrown flora to halt our advance!" 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     If Olak can even hear Staren's shouted demands for answers, The Carefree Son lives up to his title by not caring to answer. The electroarmor does indeed stun the many Peckers swarming him... and curiously, not a one of them seems to phase through the attack. The grenades also hit home, scorching the petals and stems of the massive flowers and making them groan in an eerily humanlike tone.     Kotone's frantic swatting smacks a few Peckers away, but some get to enjoy that phasing effect, her blows hitting nothing but air. However, they can still grab her, and trying to carry her over the edge of the summit!     Will has had experience with Olak, it's true. The child's laugh becomes louder, even more delighted as he begins screaming and changes the Solano, blasting through the Lunkheads! A few do travel past, but several hit thanks to sheer volume and the froglike things go down. He even manages to clip some that are carrying Kotone away, saving her!     Flamel's mind touched the elderly Pecker, and it caws angrily! However, it can also tell what is a losing battle when it sees it. And even if the wildlife has numbers and the Pantheon on their side, the Elites are not budging. So it swoops away, heading east. He also reaches for the minds of the wildlife to turn them on each other. Many of the fauna seem resistant, but the flora, with their more simplistic mindset, seem susceptible. Now, Lunkheads find their vulnerable backs peppered with needles, Peckers and Stinkeyes shot down by pinpoint Wallflower shots! His gamble was correct; they cannot phase through the attacks of 'allies.'     Rory buzzes with electricity, same as Staren, and that does a fine job of getting them off. Her declaration makes Olak laugh more too! However, she is now left with no weapons... and yet, that attack hit every single one. The Kid is peppering the summit with mortar fire now, and every explosion is going unavoided. "... it only works on direct fire!" he calls, figuring it out. He rushes forward and plants the mortar again, launching another shot, one that sinks right into the maw of a Lungblossom, blowing it apart from within!     With that factoid, cleanup becomes easier. Rucks borrows the Kid's grenades and begins tossing them. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in precision. And eventually, the summit is. Bodies choke the floor, and many Peckers are flying away now. Various unpleasant scents choke the air as Kid strides forward and claims the Shard. Ruck coughs into a fist and looks around, that childish laughter fading, apparently satisfied.     "Don't you worry none. It'll all be worth it in the end," he says. To everyone, to Kid, to himself. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Oh good, shocking works. It's been a more useful upgrade to Staren's armor than he expected! To Rory, he retorts: "If it's a trial, we don't care. We'll take the shard and leave while this entity plays games with itself." And with the direct-fire problem identified... Staren's only problem is he has so many explosives he can't fire them fast enough to use them all!     "Let's take the shard and go, before the Ura come." 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' It only works on direct fire? Great! Because /that/ means Will has every right to swap his weapon's standards munitions out for INCENDIARY ROUNDS. Surely 'being on fire' doesn't count as direct damage, right? Right. But soon, there's nothing left to shoot. Soon, the Wild Bastion is nothing more than a blasted, burning wasteland. Will breathes heavy and hard among the waste, and only once the fury- and the giggling- fades does he finally realize the scope of the damage. There's a ping of guilt, there, right in the depths of his heart. Beat. "Hey Flamel," Will calls, "Agent Parsons! Y'all and I need to talk. 'Bout a friend of mine." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' So it was a trial? Very well she'd so her best to try and impress this god and help them pass this test. She mutters somthing silently alng the lines of give me strength she mutters as she keeps going however she ends up getting grabbed and they are trying to carry her over the edge. That's when the eelware in herbody powers up and she dials the setting up to make use of it Will happens. Those that remain get the eel ware houseven as she become a living bird stapper for a moment. Now saved from having to test to see if she can fly her arm flapping. She drops back to the ground and moves to keep going seeking to clean up the animals here but she also kinda annoyed the god would use them in such a way. They had a shitty of enough time as it is really too. 

:'''{{#var:673|Rory White (673)}} has posed:''' For once, Rory didn't bring the right weaponry. But who could have expected a TRICKSTER GOD being a jerk on them?! This surprise, mixed with frustration and disgust, is ALMOST noticeable in her damaged body's demeanor as the robotiger rises unsteadily and takes stock of the situation!     A quick sensor analysis reveals... everyone is intact enough! Nobody is terribly injured.     The fact that Kotone was nearly carried off has her AGITATED and she quickly bounds over to Kotone and Will as things settle down... largely thanks to copious amounts of explosions and mind-altering willpower!     "The Pantheon... what does it WANT?" 
}}

5458/A Grand Celebration For Two Covers Co-Conspiracy By Many

2017-08-25T10:19:31Z

Blaze:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/08/24
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=The Watch and Concord both gun for Forrester Houl, traitor to Chapter and self-interested politician.
|Cast of Characters=943, 1117, 368, 894, 714, 670, 1094, 1132
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The capital of Chapter is silent as the grave when night falls. Everyone locks themselves in their homes as guards roam the streets. Since the Concord let the loyalists live, they've been quiet also, laying low. But the silence from the faction has the new government on-edge, and so the guard has stepped up patrols for the peace of mind of all.     However, 18-hour patrol routes are not easy on even the veterans who switched sides, let alone the farm boys who treat a lance like a pitchfork. Every guard the Watch slips past is dead on their feet, barely supporting their weapons and shield. It's almost embarrassing how easily they get to the palace walls. It is here that the Bandits recommended they wait for their 'distraction,' whatever it may be.     Moments later, the sky lights up with fireworks, the silence utterly broken by the shrill explosives. In between each one, there are gunshots. As far as distractions go, it's not exactly subtle. But it does the job, as the guards outside the palace gates rush from their positions to investigate. The doors are now clear to break through, or the walls may be scaled.     =Meanwhile, outside the gates=     The Concord have no need for distractions or stealth. The Concord was promised something, and saw first-hand that it was not going to be given to them for services rendered. As such, it's time for the Concord to simply roll up to the gates, full regalia and demand to be let in.     Unfortunately, the gate seems to be unmanned right now. Perhaps something to do with the fireworks display that is clearly audible within the walls. Well, with no one around to let them in, they can't exactly be held responsible for what happens next, can they? 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     Broken promises are no good, and there have to be consequences. And while most of the Concord don't go for stealth, one of their number finds it hard to shake her usual habits. Sure, Sombra's with the other Concord members right now, though she seems restless as she looks to and fro, taking in their surroundings. Upon arriving at the gate she can't help but arch a quizzical eyebrow however, and she lets out a whistle. Still no response...? Well, this changes matters. Not to mention, that firework display wasn't exactly planned. For somebody who's been in fights before, it's not hard to recognise the sound of gunshots.     "Seems we have to get in on our own," Sombra muses, glancing to the other Concord members. Flamel she knows is able to get over the walls himself, as for Tesla... she certainly seems capable. "Whatever is going on in there is not in our favour, meaning we have less time than anticipated." Which means they have to make their way to the palace and get to Houl as quick as they can.     "Vamanos!"     With that Sombra throws her translocator up to the edge of the wall, waiting until it's well over the wall before she disappears from where she's standing, appearing midair as she snatches said translocator, then she lands in a crouch. If the others need that gate opened she can quicly slip down there, but if her allies show they are capable of getting over or through on their own, she will continue on towards the palace. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' The Concord played nice. But someone had the audicity to take advantage of their efforts and then try to short them out of their deserved reward. That is when they stop playing nice. "Well, this is rather disappointing," Tesla Armadia muses to herself as she gazes up at the closed gates, adjusting her visor with one hand. "I was rather anticipating being shot at or something by this point. Someone care to knock, or do we need to find the doormat the key is under?" He 'joke' is answered by Sombra making her way up the wall and inside with some manner of transportal device. That gets a faint raising of a brow, moreso at the tech than anything else. "I suppose that answers that." She's perfectly content letting someone else handle the door opening and conserving her own energies for later. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' It's time to go. The plan had been set up in advance, and relayed by August Kohler, Cloak of the Watch, to each participant - they are searching for a specific old dude who is a member of Chapter's leading rebels, whose name they don't know, who the Bandits would recognize, so that they can force a future-reading book into his hands to learn who his conspirators are for stuff like 'backstabbing people' and 'blowing up libraries' and 'being an overall jerk'. The Watch had put this government into place, and it's already started to go bad - so August felt responsibility to set it right. The teenager has a gun at his waist, a mirrored bracelet on his wrist, and a hood over his head. He's leaning against the wall, waiting for the signal. "Alright, so when they set it off...we get in there and track down our target. He's middle-aged, balding, and overweight." There's a wave towards a certain axe-wielding cleric. "She has the book we're going to use to learn who he's working with to fuck things up. We're going to make him use it, and then decide what to do with him afterwards. Any questions?" There's maybe a minute for questions before the fireworks go off. August moves over towards the palace gates, not being much of a climber, and looks into the mirrored bracelet. "Persona." A burn-scarred robot with a gun for a leg appears...and rams into the doors, time after time, trying to force them open with abnormal strength. "We're on." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary feels overdressed. Or... Underdressed? What does looking like a haggard, hunched over old crone even count as? Whatever the case is, Sanary looks the part! She's got an old tunic from back home, a ratty old bandana, and even a walking stick that definitely isn't a Physic staff with a towel over it. The cherry on top of her shitty smelly villager disguise, of course, is not showering yet after a long day of pig wrangling!      It's kind of a shame that the guards were so easy to slip by. The healer slows to a stop outside the gates as she waits for the distraction, reaching into her back hump to scratch at what is definitely not the book back there. Once those fireworks light up the sky and the guards scurry off, she takes a few slow looks around, then coughs and wheezes in August's general direction before shuffling right for that door and not so subtly grabbing his shoulder to provide him with some magic STRENGTH JUICE.      Clearly, it's just a well-built old lady trying to stop this ruffian and not someone in a bad-smelling disguise. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' So here we go again. Lyria was not fond of this place but she wanted to see it through to the end. She'll move past the guards and she'll be doing her best ot not turn this into a blood bath for the most part soon the blast goes off, the guards rush out to check it out and now they will have to get inside. She think for a moment gets her spiders drones tialing her and she's going to use a grappling hook to help get her up the wall she can't be wasting time. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons regards the gate next to Sombra. "Looks like we do!" He says, brightly, flicking that cloak hood back up over his face telekinetically. "Whatever's going on in there sounds like schemes colliding, if you ask me! Which means we can meddle a lot! Any time conspiracies slam into each other, everything gets all chaotic and far easier to deal with." He restores his usual partial invisibility, granting him that dementor-like mysterious kingdom assassin aesthetic.     With an elegant flow, his levitation initiates, and he slides up the gate from bar to bar like a particularly slippery acrobat, before flowing over the gate, fading to a sort of phantom, and then slipping on past, alongside Sombra, darting forward. "Alright! Conspiratorial groups that have usurped and taken power usually have safe rooms and panic rooms! Or at least very reinforced council rooms! I don't think we'll find them on the front lines. Let's check around for that sort of thing!"     That's the plan. Check around for things like that, using his extensive espionage training! 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     For some, stealth isn't an option. It's as much a requirement as clean water. The rather small figure recently identified on Watch-run systems as "Alpha-39" looks like she could use some more of the latter, but the muddy colors of her equipment do blend in well for places lacking green. "She" can at least be roughly assumed, though her mask hides any hard identification, and she's hardly said a word since arriving with the others. Disguised as someone who should be here, on the other hand, she isn't. More than one blade and more than one gun are easily visible once she's spotted.     She gives a short shake of the head. No, no questions. Find the target, bring Sanary to the target. The dull, solid-red eyes of her mask turn toward that member of the party for a moment.     After that, she's off. Speaking in more than sign language will be necessary once outside of visual range, but it's not like she can't. As for her path, she's just going in the nearest door. Someone is likely to be watching it, but it doesn't seem as if the guards here have an assassin's patience. A moment of inattention is enough, and then she'll be in and split off from the rest. 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Thank's to Sombra's translocation, the gates of the capital groan open for the Concord. How nice of them to take the simple route. Their path through the city is more or less unobstructed at first, and Flamel's peeking about reveals little. Everyone really is in their homes, and there's no signs of anyone trying to slip away from the palace.     But as they come to the open area that holds the pit that leads to the mines, they find the source for the fireworks. A wagon, once covered with a tarp that now bares many burnt holes, is spitting them constantly. Standing by it is the Starlight Bandits, in costume once more. Irvine is dressed as a mariachi, all black and white with a sombrero and clutching a classical guitar. Molly is wearing a traditional flamenco dress in red and dancing to a fast tune Irvine plays. Guards surround them warily, with several lying at their feet, unconscious. They're certainly doing /something/... but is it related at all? It's hard to tell with them.     Meanwhile, at the palace gates, August and the Tin Soldier manage to shove the gates open, thanks in part to Sanary's buffing. This makes a terrible noise, likely audible even to the Concord over the fireworks. Lights within the palace are coming on, glimpsed through the windows. Seems the occupants have been awakened by the display. Once again, the Bandits make things harder than they need to be.     Lyria takes up a position on the wall, which gives her a prime viewing position on curtains that twitch, occupants peeking out. One is balding, with some evident jowls and looks middle-aged... is that the target. Three windows up, second from the left!     Meanwhile, A-39 simply barrels forward, slamming through the front doors. She emerges in the entrance hall, which has its own guards hanging around. "Stop right there!" one bellows, rushing towards her, as the other goes for a horn hanging on his belt. Sounding an alert? 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     A mistake was made. A turner was corned, in effect, past which there were one or two more figures looking her way than accounted for. Alpha-39 does not stop, nor even pause. Her hand drops to her thigh as her leg lifts in the motion of running, and when her hand rises again it does so with a flick of the wrist that sends a knife spinning through the air, its edge glowing with the heat conducted from the power source in the hilt, turning end over end exactly three and one half times in the distance between her and the chest of the guard with the horn. Her attention has already turned toward the other.     There was a sword on her back. It's gone from there, now, arcing through the air in a drawing-slash, blade-edge immediately glowing the same neon blue-white as the thrown weapon. Her immediate target is any weapon coming against her, followed by the wielder, and she's willing to pause for only half a breath for either before moving on.     Be quick. Be thorough. Never stop moving. These aren't the target, and are therefore nothing but a delay to the mission. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' The sight they come upon does cause a brief moment of pause from Tesla. "... Well, that explains why there were no guards at the gate." She shrugs her shoulders a little. The display of music and fireworks doesn't mean anything else to her, and she simply turns to continue moving on. There's more objectives to concern themselves with than a couple of bandits and their distraction. The technopath uses her powers to assemble some aerial scouting drones from the various components she keeps at hand for such tasks, and sends them buzzing down a few streets scanning buildings and looking for anything of interest. People were huddling away in buildings. Clearly the new goverment wasn't doing a very good job if the locals were hiding from it. Tch. Sloppy, sloppy, just because one man decided to take the whole pie instead of sharing the intended pieces. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons zips forward speedily. He stops, for a moment, when he gets a look at... At what the Starlight Bandits are doing. He recalls them from the mines, and from a few other incidents as well, not the least of which was mentally interrogating Irvine. He's tempted to attempt the same, familiar as he may be with the man's mind. But there's a time and a place, and the potential escape time and site of Forester Houl is neither.     Whatever's going on here is so clearly not remotely Parsons' business, so when Tesla tells him to just get a move on, he goes ahead. He has to surge towards, onto, and into the palace! Dynamic, quick patterns of floating, gliding, platforming movement should close the distance fast, with access to rooftops keeping Parsons far away from the rush of guards heading to back up their allies.     Gotta get in, and as close to the council chamber as he can remember getting! If there's a safe area that the rebel council are most likely going to concentrate in, it'll be in the palace. And if there isn't, he'll find someone who knows where Forester is. But there's also the point of keeping the alleged allies of the Concord safe. The Concord still have Index in their back pocket, so this is going to be something Parsons stays quite flexible about. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Oh, ha ha. Dick." As Sanary follows along behind August and gives him a light whack on the back for his trouble, she soon comes to the realization that it's not really clear which way they're going, she comes to... A different realization! The healer slows to a stop, then reaches back to scratch at her hump. It's in that awkward spot where it can be difficult to reach whether reaching from the side or below, but with enough time...      She eventually retries the book from back there! "Which way... Are we going to find the important fat balding guy?" Sanary murmurs at the book before flipping it open, keeping her eye peeled to see if the book actually directs them and tells her something useful for once!      "Didn't tell me anything good the last time I asked it stuff, but it's gotta be able to do /this/ much, right?" She does not look nor sound hopeful, but it's the best shot she's got so far! Well, that or following someone who knows what they're doing. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As Sanary buffs August, the redhead nods at her, before shoving her off after it's given, to give the image of being a brute. The Tin Soldier slams the door open, and the two are in. August's first action is simple: waltz forward, listen for where the lights are. He was going to focus on the concentration of them...but instead, the target's been spotted. Third floor, it appears? August moves to beeline for the stairs, his Persona trailing after him, ignoring the guards dealing with A-39. She's new blood - it's her job to show what she's good at. As he joins Sanary, August glances at her asking the book questions. "Huh. Think it'll work?" He himself has something else on his mind - this is the palace, who else is going to be here? He's expecting Perplex. And that's going to lead to trouble. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' August plan was solid she'd managed to spot the target and she call it in, this should be god. she's now trying o figure out how to get to him. If they can get Sanary's book into his hand and they hould be able to out all the assholes around here. Or a good number of them at the very least. She's going to now look to see how she might be able to get to the target and she checks to make sure she's got some zip ties and a few other things if they are needed. She'll keep moving the moment the gets a fair idea of how to proceed from where she is. 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     The Talon agent peers at Tesla as the gate opens just slightly for her to get in, an amused smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "I do enjoy jokes, but they are even more fun when we get to tell them to our target." Her head turns as she looks at Flamel, nodding in agreement. "Sí, he's bound to hide considering the amount of people he's upset." They will get their payment. And they will take what they're owed.     With that Sombra begins running, bringing up a screen with her left hand, a holovid containing a map of the city, plotting in the quickest way to get from point A to point B. There we go, that ought to make it. And on the way she will leave her translocator behind somewhere partially hidden, just in case.     As they make it to the pit Sombra eyes the scene unfolding before them, glancing to the others. "Well, they made it easier for us, hopefully," she sighs then activates her thermoptic camouflage, just in case as she heads on, with a glance towards the pit. Would it be possible to excavate that place?     Upon arriving at the palace she doesn't follow Flamel, as it's better to cover ground. With stealth they are in less danger. So she heads to nearby corridors, close but making sure to check out other rooms. 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The Bandits are... ignored! How utterly tragic. They would be upset if they weren't fending off guards. Tesla's drones zip throughout the city, scanning, passing on information. One overs over the palace, just in time to see the Watch make their initial entrance. They're not alone in having business there, it seems!     Flamel guns straight for it, seeing the broken open gate, and hearing sounds of combat inside. If he recalls correctly, that room was upstairs, around the back... Sombra meanwhile, creeps right in with stealth, getting right by the Watch and checking the palace out. There are plenty of floors, with many doors. The lower ones seem pointless, but she slips by Perplex walking the opposite direction, giving directions to guards. There's someone to stick close to...     Within the entrance hall, in the space of a blink, A-39 has planted a knife in the chest of the guard with the horn and cut down the other charging at her. Blood stains the floor as the Watch moves in, Sanary consulting her future book to learn what to do. It tells her of their entrance, of heading to the Council room to confront Perplex and the man-Forrester Houl is his name apparently-and of the Concord also being there. That complicates things..     Lyria tries to figure out how to get straight to the target. He's above her right now, by a singe storey or so. The windows here don't have glass, just thick curtains to block out the cold. If she could scale the height, getting in is no trouble. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Dunno. Last time I used it, it took longer to do all the work than to just pull it out myself." What kind of work is Sanary even talking about? August will never know. She gives him another light tap before peering at the book, squinting at the words coming out and only barely noticing that she's walking through blood.      She does notice, though, but she's not going to say anything about it. Instead... "We come in, we head to the Council Room, Perplex is there, someone called F... Ffforeseter Howl?" And the..." She trails off, looking up to make sure she's not about to barrel into August or a wall before looking back down at the book. "The Concord? Huh. I didn't know you called 'em in for backup." 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Tesla for her part continues to walk her path like she was in no hurry. She didn't need to be, with her drones doing most of the legwork alongside two perfectly capable agents. That and there was the potentional that, if they focused solely on the Palace, they could miss something else important in the city. Or other things. Like the drone catching a glimps of the Watch making their way in as well as it passes over. Which she quickly relays to her companions over the radio, and instructs that drone to keep an eye on the Watch. The other drones she instructs to continue sweeping the city, then puts them on auto-pilot. And starts heading for the Palace proper herself. If the other faction(s) have gotten involved, things may need a more personal involvement in the matter. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August squints at Sanary as she replies, but doesn't press. He DOES notice the blood beneath them, lifting his foot briefly and turning his head up and away. "Sounds like a plan. Forester Howl? Sounds like a pretentious asshole. ...Perplex, though. I'll handle him, you'll need to focus on getting the book to Howl." And then, August pauses. "The Concord? I didn't call them." There's a brief moment, and then August is sprinting ahead. He needs to reach the council room, stat. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Alpha-39 notices and avoids the blood, weaving around the falling body in a straight line to retrieve her knife. Bright red does not make good camoflauge, and she does not expect they have the time to wait for it to dry. She also hears 'Concord' and 'coming for the same destination,' and concludes that cleaning her blades will have to come later. The mission's nature has shifted partway from recon-in-force to objective-control.     She's fast. Faster than some others here? Possibly not, but she's now making her way up and forward as quickly as possible, leaping and vaulting rather than ascending stairs at a normal pace. 'Council Chambers' sounds like the kind of thing that should be accessible down an easy, wide passageway, a place you want people to find after entering the building. That may make the most direct route forward also the correct one. 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     The hacker keeps quiet as she sneaks around, making sure to not engage the Watch members when she spots them. Better not risk anything now... Instead she listens, a silent observer as she follows in Perplex' footsteps. He's a useful character to stick close to for many reasons. Let's hear what he has to say to the guards.     Though she does keep some distance so she can talk on the radio without being heard, her voice as low as possible.     At the same time she tries to get a good idea of just what the Watch are up to. The most important is to get to Houl as quickly as possible. Just where is that man hiding...? 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason sees a clear path there's a bit of a grin on the Levitani's face as she makes to scrambl up she'll use the grapple again to hopefully catch somewhere soldia dn rapidly move in. She knows she can not sit still nore delay, someone might pull the hook lose, and then that woudl be a very bad day for Lyria. She is vunrable when she does this maybe she shouldn't be taking sucha risk, but the pay off if she makes it will put her in arms lenth of the target. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons keeps heading through. Up, up, up further and further. He needs to find Houl. Above all else, THAT'S his priority. What are the Watch here for? So close, and dangerously engaged in combat just near him as he slips through? For the Councilmembers as well? Weren't they allies before? ...Is there a chance Houl got too big for his britches and pissed off all sides here? Hmmm.     Fuck it, he decides mentally. There's plenty of guards here. And they have to know some of what they're doing. On his way to the council chambers -- heading up -- he's going to make an effort to scan the weaker-minded guards for data about where Houl is supposed to be, and direct himself that way. He sure as heck can't go picking the minds of those Watchfolk slamming through the palace nearby. Hopefully if he can get that data linked with whatever Sombra can get figured out, he can close in on Houl's position fast. 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Lyria grapples up to the window, just in time to see the feet of Forrester Houl vanishing down the hallway outside his room. Too late! But there is something on his desk... an envelope, packed with documents. Blackmail material he had was mentioned... perhaps this is it?     Feet sprint through the castle, some fast and loud, others quiet and sneaky. Everyone is converging on the Council room. Flamel's mind scanning of the guards reveal that, in times like this, the Council usually convenes to give orders. So yes, it is likely that he will be there. Perplex is joined by Houl at the doors as Sombra sees. "What the hell is going on, Perplex?!" the fat man snarls. "Some kind of unauthorized event," Perplex replies as he takes his seat at the head of the table. "Wait for the others to arrive." Which they do. And just as the doors begin to close... the Watch arrives.     "What is the meaning of this?!" Perplex barks, drawing a sword from his side and glowering menacingly. The Concord is either not too far behind, or already in the room, invisibly. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As the doors to the council chamber begin to close, a foot stops them, and then a metal arm forces them back open. August waltz in, hand on his gun, as he glances first to Perplex, and then to Houl, and back. "This, Perplex, is us solving a mess we made. Atleast one of you, and possibly all of you, are fucking dirty." Another glance to Houl. "When I helped you rebel, Perplex, you were supposed to be goddamn better than what you had put in. And now..." And then, August finally motions to Houl. "You're making deals and then backstabbing people, playing games of intrigue with your new allies, blackmailing others to do your dirty work? What's next, forcing the nobles you put into farming into actual legitimate slavery? Making them mine for you? We know about the library, you handing it off to the Concord, and then how your buddy here plans on blowing it up so they can't have it." The gun is drawn, as the Persona goes motionless to August's side. "Well, newsflash, the Watch is taking responsibility for its actions. We're taking Forrester Houl and getting him to spill who his conspirators are. Either step aside or get treated as one." The gun is drawn and pointed straight at Forrester, though August's finger isn't near the trigger. He has proper safety. "Move to secure him and get him to read the book. Perplex, I want to hope this doesn't end in a fight, because you seemed reasonable. But I've got a responsibility here, and if you ended up fucking over Chapter? I'm going to make sure you regret ever getting us involved." August waits. Will Perplex strike at him? And when will the Concord arrive? 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Speaking of the Concord," Parsons' voice sounds, over telepathic broadcast. It's nearly impossible to pin down his position, with both invisibility and telepathy active. "You probably remember me! I'm Flamel Parsons, agent of a vague yet menacing government agency! I'm here because an unauthorized conspiracy was found, with an agenda that goes against the agenda I'm working on! I'm not fully sure what the Watch is here for, but if I had to guess, Forester Houl got a little too deep into the politics!"     "Hey there, August! Glad to have your help in securing that Library." If one looks very, very closely, drifting smoke might be able to barely indicate the rough regions of Parsons' presence as he moves about, but only if one is trying their hardest to see through his invisibility. "But, if it's all the same to you, everyone involved in this entire fiasco is more likely than not to pose a risk to the Opera Bibliotheca. I'm going to need to see that sort of thing too, and if you don't mind, I'm going to go ahead and do it a little more directly."     Whatever happens to Houl -- whatever that man does -- Parsons needs to hit this quick. He goes immediately for a high-depth ASTRAL PROJECTION, invisibly attempting to force his way back into Houl's mind, just as he did many, many weeks ago. If it's still as soft a target as it was before...     Parsons is still enraged. Subtly. Quietly. A hidden rage against Houl. It's not been mentioned yet, of course, but he fully intends to require Houl's execution, and to perform it himself if he's not prevented. But right now, his goal is more simple. Brutally strip-mine Houl's brain for all data that could possibly be relevant. He's not planning on being remotely gentle. If he can breach and act, it's going to be far, far more brutal than his other more stealthy efforts. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason get to the window adn she lands just int time to see the manfleeing but she's hot on the heels. However the information left behind here? Oh she's totally scopping all of that up and she might take a brief glance at them as she packs them up to make certain but she knows she doesn't have much time. She needs to go after the target and catch up with her allies with him. August seem to be on a roll from what she can hear and she'll make all due hastw iwth the docments she has packed away in her geart as she moves to get on the move once more. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Unlike her compatriates Tesla has no fancy manner of stealth and subtefuge, so she's blantantly obvious. Doesn't stop her from walking into the chamber with an almost casual demeanor, as was typical for her composure. "Oh, I'm sorry, did we interrupt your playtime?" Totally not sorry, but she's being conversational about it. "But we have some... unfinished business with the man, if you'd be so kind." Pause. "We'll try to leave some remains for you to play with afterwords." A faint shrug. "No promises. He already bit off more than he can chew, it's going to bust his teeth eventually." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Understood. I'll... Hmm. Yeah, I'll jam this in his face. I got your back." Sanary straightens back up while following the redheaded teenager to the door. Even though he's already opening it, however, she waits by the door until he actually mentions the book. Once he does, she rears back and kicks the door open!      Or slightly more open than it already was. It just felt like the right thing to do, although her timing could have been a lot better. Sanary does have the scowling punk face going on, though, perhaps contrasting rather heavily with her old village hag getup and questionable smell. She makes a beeline towards Forrester, shooting narrow-eyed glares at Perplex and his crew to try and intimidate them into compliance. When Flamel shows up, though, Sanary blinks slowly before raising her non-book-holding hand in a stiff wave towards him.      As much as she'd hate to admit, he /did/ have much better dramatic timing than her. "Er... Hey, there. So you're just gonna kill him, or are there others? Because..." The healer perks up a bit at the sound of a familiar voice, turning over to toss Tesla a more casual wave. "Yo, Tesla. You mind if we get some info out of his head before..."      She looks over at Flamel, then back at Tesla. "...Parsons does whatever it is he's doing?" Sanary's still shooting threatening glares towards Perplex and his men, of course, but some of that angry old lady-ness is probably gone by this point!      The assy pig smell is not. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Alpha-39 takes a particular line from August as tactical instruction. So far as she knows, the Concord aren't yet here, but they should be soon, and there's hardly time for speeches, as much as they might be necessary to get this other guy to let this all go without making things more complicated. She moves in, expression still hidden behind the mask, even if the bright lights they've been passing through have required her to long since turn off most of its more subtle sensors. It at least protects her face, to a moderate extent.     Her sword was sheathed on the way, and what looks to be a slightly futuristic submachine gun is in her right hand, instead, stock against her arm. Her left is empty, but she's already shown how quickly that can change.     Is the target going to resist? It's going to be a lot harder if he does, As she reaches for his arm to drag harshly behind him into a lock that'll still let him walk, though if Sanary can get what they're trying to do done right here, that might not be necessary. Honestly, she has no idea how reading the book is going to work in any respect.     The gun doesn't point at Houl, though. Rounding quickly, whether he's physically secured or not, it points at Tesla. 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     Aaand there he is. As Sombra stays behind, she narrows her eyes, then moves quickly to get up behind Houl. As Flamel speaks, keeping the others occupied, Sombra manages to get behind the man.     First there's the sound of a submachine gun getting kocked, and the next moment Sombra appears in a shimmering display of purple lines reveal her form as she stands there, pointing her submachine gun towards the back of Houl's head.     "I suggest you guys do as mi amigo says, otherwise you won't get the book read to you," she states with a selfsatisfactory smirk on her lips at the guards and the Watch members. She's ready to strike, her free hand twitching slightly. "Let us take what we want, and you can have him after." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The Council room goes silent as August and the Watch storms in, throwing around accusations. To Perplex's credit, he doesn't immediately start raging, but his face is going red. "Those are some serious accusations Kohler. So serious, in fact, that I've half a mind to listen to you." The rest of the Council looks furious, but the leader slams his palm on the tabletop. "I suppose you have some means of proving it?" The book is placed, Houl grabbed by A-39, and Perplex frowns. "You think he will commit crimes in the future?" Brighter than he looks!     But then the Concord comes barging in. Sombra puts a gun to his head, and he snarls. "What is this betrayal?!" Houl screams as Flamel plunders his mind, dredging up information. He confirms what he learned in the minds, identifies three co-conspirators in the Council, and others who work as merchants... he almost finds what he had on the Bandits before the large man tips his chair back with his spasms, falling on the agent! 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Tesla Armadia is utterly unphased at having a gun pointed at her. This is hardly a new situation to the experienced woman. "Oh do put that away before you get yourself needlessly injured." Though her armor is powered up, just in case, she's not giving the gunwoman the satisfaction of actually reacting to the non-verbal threat with more than her unimpressed response. Besides, much more interesting things are happening. "You are a fine one to speak of betrayals, no?" But she is keeping her stance where she is, seeingas Flamel and Sombra are already in midst of dealing with the various details. "It got him this far, why would he not continue", she replies in almost off-handed casualness to Perplex's observation. "At least, had he not been so sloppy in his double-crosses. Tch. Politics. Such a fickle game. Eventually someone is going to flip the table out of anger instead of continuing." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As August finishes speeching, the Concord show up, and it's a clusterfuck. Houl is taken hostage, and Flamel is threatening to basically rip his mind apart, while Sombra has a gun to his head. August has a threat lined up...but Perplex distracts from that. "We're not going to prove he's going to commit a crime. We're going to prove he already has, who his perpetrators are, and the next one he's committing." August spends the next moment instead...trying to track Flamel's smoke. Trying to pierce through his invisibility just a little bit... As Houl freaks out and starts to throw himself about. In a sudden motion, August's gun raises - and is pointed straight at Flamel. "And you're going to hand him over alive and cognizant enough for that to happen, or I'll shoot Parsons, and you'll lose both the intel, and a valuable psychic." August has no actual intention to shoot Flamel - he relies on the psychic too much. But he's going to gamble. "Because, see, I'm not going to do this lightly, let you risk all of this, when this guy fucked us over. When someone comes to us, appeals to our ideals, and then goes around and spits in everything we worked for, that's not going to be tolerated. No one fucks with us." August's finger begins moving towards the trigger, slowly. As if he'll actually shoot. "So, let's see if you're willing to gamble yourself. Do we all come out of this satisfied, or do we all come out of this dead?" 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     "You betrayed us first, cabron," Sombra half snarls at Houl from behind him, pressing her submachine gun harder against the back of his head. Next she looks at August calmly, arching one split eyebrow at him. "If you shoot him, then what will stop me from taking you out in return?" She can always go invisible too, which might give her an opening.     "This man screwed us over, used us and doesn't want to pay us--" That's the moment when the spasms causes the large man in the chair to tip backwards, and Sombra snaps her head back forward, seeing him falling towards her, and while Sombra does her best to get out of the way, she isn't able to do avoid it completely as the heavy chair knocks into her, causing her to fall back, partially trapped under the chair with her legs. A cry leaves the hacker, and she keeps on gripping her submachine tightly as she winces in pain. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parson' invisibility isn't foolproof. Since August is looking very, very precisely at him, he can get a very solid bead on him, right in a context where his shielding is far, far lower than normal. The invisibility fades as his psychic "someone else's problem" effect wears off under scrutiny.     His fingers go from his temples, and shift towards open hands. He's still got his eyes locked on Houl, between glances at August. "Fine. Fine, fine! It's okay. I'm pretty sure he's still literate." He looks... Pained. This man knows some special secret. It's so tantalizingly close... Some dark fact about the Starlight Bandits...     Dammit. He can only maintain so many obsessions about information at once. "Well, I got what we needed, even if I didn't get everything I wanted!" He turns to Perplex, explaining. "Mr. Houl there tried to blow up the library with a few co-conspirators! I absolutely can't stand a conspiracy that destroys information rather than covering it up. We were worried more of you councilmen were in on it, but it turns out it was just those four, plus a few merchants."     "So here's the deal. I want all four of the council's conspirators executed! Plus the merchants. Then we'll go right back to helping you as part of that deal you made with us, just like you wanted. How's that sound?" Parsons' grin is far wider than someone looking down the barrel of a gun and talking to a local ruler should be grinning, but that upbeat, positive tone is unrelenting. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason catches up with the rest of the watch however it's a stand off and August is making his move. Maybe it was better had she lagged behind a bit longer. Too late now she is silnt as she looks back and forth and moves to back up August as best she can. If thigns are going to go to the abyss in a lobster trap pretty fast. Well August is ballys, insane, brave or all of the above and she doesn't know which. Flamel makes his deal an she now pays attention to August...it's his call. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     A-39, predictably, ignores Tesla's instructions, though she'd be distracted in any case with Sombra suddenly appearing just where she was trying to place herself. That Houl falls into the Concord agent may be a silver lining, but some other agent being in the process of destroying Houl's mind is far more mission-critical. The aim of the SMG shifts immediately to Sombra, then moves off-target when Houl gets into the line of fire. The increased chaos is, all things considered, a negative, but that doesn't stop her from taking advantage of the situation to answer Sombra's question in place of August.     She's not particularly heavy, and has a focus on mobility, but she's still wearing ballistic armor and has the advantage of momentum and height as she tackles Sombra from the side, SMG slung away and one of her several knives in one hand, blade-edge glowing and reaching to press the tip threateningly against the inside elbow of Sombra's gun arm. Someone with as much combat training as she expects Sombra to have should at least be able to react before being pinned fully, but A-39's confident in her CQC, and the starting position is advantageous.     "The answer is 'me.' I will stop you."     And then Flamel is talking, but she's not going to stand up again just for that. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Things go to hell rather quickly, and Sanary's caught in the middle of it! Thankfully, no bullets are flying (yet), but there are way more guns around than she's comfortable with having pointed every which way.      Partially because she doesn't have he big axe with her. She does have that book, though, and with little else to do that wouldn't just end up starting some sort of crazy brawl, she clears her throat and approaches Houl slowly. Is this even going to work?      She won't know if she doesn't try. Besides, there's a good chance everyone's attention is elsewhere, anyway! "... Hey, Howly. Read this. Where's the dirt you had on those two? Uh.. The Bandits?" And with that, Sanary's going to try and give him a quick slap on the face with the book before holding it open in front of the man and funneling some healing magic into him. Sure, he might not be all there, and her magic might not do much to soothe his mind after whatever it was Flamel did, but...      Nobody can say she didn't try. Spotting Sombra, too, Sanary blinks slowly before looking over at August, then at Houl, then at Sombra again with a relatively easygoing snicker. "... Heh. Small worlds, huh? You know he's-er." And then A-39 makes a move on Sombra! Sanary coughs lightly as she quickly abandons that attempt at onversation before turning her attention back to Houl, trying to remain calm while nudging him with the book again. "Focus. Just focus. What happened with the Bandits?" 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Houl groans on the ground as events transpire around him. Sombra is tackled by A-39, deals are made, and a book is placed before him. "I'll not cave to you savages!" he barks, but Perplex shouts right back. "Read the goddamn book Houl, or I'll take it as a guilty plea!" The man groans, and begins to flip through it.     There it is, as plain as the black ink on white paper. Future meetings with his co-conspirators, going to check on where he's hidden the copies of his blackmail material (buried in a field just outside the city). It does not elaborate on what it is though. Only mentioning 'photos.' It also adds that he has copies on his desk, which Lyria took.     Perplex comes over and reads it himself, his face falling as he regards the fat men and the other three in the Council. "It was for the good of Chapter!" "You have to understand Perplex, a nation can not run on ideals alone!" Protests and justifications are hurled at the young man, who seems to age years in seconds.     "Execution. You have my word," he croaks to Flamel, drawing a fresh wave of shouting. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Try me." Is August's response to Sombra, before A-39 takes care of that situation. But, Flamel agrees, and backs off. August slowly removes his finger from the trigger, watching as the book is read, before starting to move towards the door as the answer and solution is obvious. "Good luck, Perplex." And then, August is /running/ for the door - he's not going to take a chance that they decide to arrest the Watch for their breaking and entry, if Perplex wants to reply, he knows how to contact him. Instead, August is moving to escape, and see if the Bandits are still alive somewhere. His guess is firmly 'yes', as he slides down the stairs, muttering over the radio. "Worst book club ever." 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Tesla Armadia gives Flamel a somewhat sympathetic look as he laments. "Yeah, I know it's not everything you wanted. But it was as much as we needed. Sometimes in this line of work, you have to just accept where the line falls and move on." Then she turns, folding her arms and looking sternly in the direction of the tobbled chair and ladies. "And you got what you wanted. So if you would be so kind as to take your hands off my ally...." 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason takes note and grins. Seems she got a good nail to put into the coffin. she seems pleased with the outcome and looks over to August for a moment and then looks to Flamel as thing seem to settl down. "Best of luck to you, and just remeber we do have the doctuments." With that she's going to be bauiling with August as quickly as she can get her own keel to haul out of here. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Mission accomplished. A-39 releases Sombra, rolls to hands and knees, and then takes off running after August. Lyria is already out. Sanary seems of a mind to check people's injuries, and has neither killed anyone here nor is she a member of the Watch. The rest are either supposed to be here or can otherwise fend for themselves.     "Out of the way," is the only verbal response Tesla gets from the other side of the mask as the soldier runs past. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons clasps both hands behind his head. He can't do a consecutive projection so many times on a mind that's been attacked like that, so he likely won't get to get a peek at that blackmail... Much as he REALLY, REALLY wants to know. "Good man, Perplex!" He says, approvingly. "Speaking of which. We managed to take our that group of secretive hidden conspirators! They're not going to be any more trouble for you. Well, now that we don't really have any plan-Bs that we need them for, at least. You know how that goes." Both sides of the bargain, fulfilled, it seems.     The others are leaving. Bolting, even. Parsons frowns, but at the very least, all of this has been resolved, including the brief conflict with the Watch. "I'd go after them as part of our deal -- you know, rooting out subversives -- but I don't think they're going to be doing more subverting. Considering your history, and the solution to their problem!"     Boy that was tense. Parsons really wishes he could just do stuff in this world without nearly getting shot every single time because of his information obsession! You'd think an information-themed kingdom wouldn't end every situation like that with a gun to his head. 
}}

5458/A Grand Celebration For Two Covers Co-Conspiracy By Many

2017-08-25T05:27:08Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/08/24 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=The Watch and Concord both gun for Forrester Houl, traitor to Chapter and self-interested politician. |Cas..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/08/24
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=The Watch and Concord both gun for Forrester Houl, traitor to Chapter and self-interested politician.
|Cast of Characters=943, 1117, 368, 894, 714, 670, 1094, 1132
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The capital of Chapter is silent as the grave when night falls. Everyone locks themselves in their homes as guards roam the streets. Since the Concord let the loyalists live, they've been quiet also, laying low. But the silence from the faction has the new government on-edge, and so the guard has stepped up patrols for the peace of mind of all.     However, 18-hour patrol routes are not easy on even the veterans who switched sides, let alone the farm boys who treat a lance like a pitchfork. Every guard the Watch slips past is dead on their feet, barely supporting their weapons and shield. It's almost embarrassing how easily they get to the palace walls. It is here that the Bandits recommended they wait for their 'distraction,' whatever it may be.     Moments later, the sky lights up with fireworks, the silence utterly broken by the shrill explosives. In between each one, there are gunshots. As far as distractions go, it's not exactly subtle. But it does the job, as the guards outside the palace gates rush from their positions to investigate. The doors are now clear to break through, or the walls may be scaled.     =Meanwhile, outside the gates=     The Concord have no need for distractions or stealth. The Concord was promised something, and saw first-hand that it was not going to be given to them for services rendered. As such, it's time for the Concord to simply roll up to the gates, full regalia and demand to be let in.     Unfortunately, the gate seems to be unmanned right now. Perhaps something to do with the fireworks display that is clearly audible within the walls. Well, with no one around to let them in, they can't exactly be held responsible for what happens next, can they? 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     Broken promises are no good, and there have to be consequences. And while most of the Concord don't go for stealth, one of their number finds it hard to shake her usual habits. Sure, Sombra's with the other Concord members right now, though she seems restless as she looks to and fro, taking in their surroundings. Upon arriving at the gate she can't help but arch a quizzical eyebrow however, and she lets out a whistle. Still no response...? Well, this changes matters. Not to mention, that firework display wasn't exactly planned. For somebody who's been in fights before, it's not hard to recognise the sound of gunshots.     "Seems we have to get in on our own," Sombra muses, glancing to the other Concord members. Flamel she knows is able to get over the walls himself, as for Tesla... she certainly seems capable. "Whatever is going on in there is not in our favour, meaning we have less time than anticipated." Which means they have to make their way to the palace and get to Houl as quick as they can.     "Vamanos!"     With that Sombra throws her translocator up to the edge of the wall, waiting until it's well over the wall before she disappears from where she's standing, appearing midair as she snatches said translocator, then she lands in a crouch. If the others need that gate opened she can quicly slip down there, but if her allies show they are capable of getting over or through on their own, she will continue on towards the palace. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' The Concord played nice. But someone had the audicity to take advantage of their efforts and then try to short them out of their deserved reward. That is when they stop playing nice. "Well, this is rather disappointing," Tesla Armadia muses to herself as she gazes up at the closed gates, adjusting her visor with one hand. "I was rather anticipating being shot at or something by this point. Someone care to knock, or do we need to find the doormat the key is under?" He 'joke' is answered by Sombra making her way up the wall and inside with some manner of transportal device. That gets a faint raising of a brow, moreso at the tech than anything else. "I suppose that answers that." She's perfectly content letting someone else handle the door opening and conserving her own energies for later. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' It's time to go. The plan had been set up in advance, and relayed by August Kohler, Cloak of the Watch, to each participant - they are searching for a specific old dude who is a member of Chapter's leading rebels, whose name they don't know, who the Bandits would recognize, so that they can force a future-reading book into his hands to learn who his conspirators are for stuff like 'backstabbing people' and 'blowing up libraries' and 'being an overall jerk'. The Watch had put this government into place, and it's already started to go bad - so August felt responsibility to set it right. The teenager has a gun at his waist, a mirrored bracelet on his wrist, and a hood over his head. He's leaning against the wall, waiting for the signal. "Alright, so when they set it off...we get in there and track down our target. He's middle-aged, balding, and overweight." There's a wave towards a certain axe-wielding cleric. "She has the book we're going to use to learn who he's working with to fuck things up. We're going to make him use it, and then decide what to do with him afterwards. Any questions?" There's maybe a minute for questions before the fireworks go off. August moves over towards the palace gates, not being much of a climber, and looks into the mirrored bracelet. "Persona." A burn-scarred robot with a gun for a leg appears...and rams into the doors, time after time, trying to force them open with abnormal strength. "We're on." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary feels overdressed. Or... Underdressed? What does looking like a haggard, hunched over old crone even count as? Whatever the case is, Sanary looks the part! She's got an old tunic from back home, a ratty old bandana, and even a walking stick that definitely isn't a Physic staff with a towel over it. The cherry on top of her shitty smelly villager disguise, of course, is not showering yet after a long day of pig wrangling!      It's kind of a shame that the guards were so easy to slip by. The healer slows to a stop outside the gates as she waits for the distraction, reaching into her back hump to scratch at what is definitely not the book back there. Once those fireworks light up the sky and the guards scurry off, she takes a few slow looks around, then coughs and wheezes in August's general direction before shuffling right for that door and not so subtly grabbing his shoulder to provide him with some magic STRENGTH JUICE.      Clearly, it's just a well-built old lady trying to stop this ruffian and not someone in a bad-smelling disguise. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' So here we go again. Lyria was not fond of this place but she wanted to see it through to the end. She'll move past the guards and she'll be doing her best ot not turn this into a blood bath for the most part soon the blast goes off, the guards rush out to check it out and now they will have to get inside. She think for a moment gets her spiders drones tialing her and she's going to use a grappling hook to help get her up the wall she can't be wasting time. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons regards the gate next to Sombra. "Looks like we do!" He says, brightly, flicking that cloak hood back up over his face telekinetically. "Whatever's going on in there sounds like schemes colliding, if you ask me! Which means we can meddle a lot! Any time conspiracies slam into each other, everything gets all chaotic and far easier to deal with." He restores his usual partial invisibility, granting him that dementor-like mysterious kingdom assassin aesthetic.     With an elegant flow, his levitation initiates, and he slides up the gate from bar to bar like a particularly slippery acrobat, before flowing over the gate, fading to a sort of phantom, and then slipping on past, alongside Sombra, darting forward. "Alright! Conspiratorial groups that have usurped and taken power usually have safe rooms and panic rooms! Or at least very reinforced council rooms! I don't think we'll find them on the front lines. Let's check around for that sort of thing!"     That's the plan. Check around for things like that, using his extensive espionage training! 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     For some, stealth isn't an option. It's as much a requirement as clean water. The rather small figure recently identified on Watch-run systems as "Alpha-39" looks like she could use some more of the latter, but the muddy colors of her equipment do blend in well for places lacking green. "She" can at least be roughly assumed, though her mask hides any hard identification, and she's hardly said a word since arriving with the others. Disguised as someone who should be here, on the other hand, she isn't. More than one blade and more than one gun are easily visible once she's spotted.     She gives a short shake of the head. No, no questions. Find the target, bring Sanary to the target. The dull, solid-red eyes of her mask turn toward that member of the party for a moment.     After that, she's off. Speaking in more than sign language will be necessary once outside of visual range, but it's not like she can't. As for her path, she's just going in the nearest door. Someone is likely to be watching it, but it doesn't seem as if the guards here have an assassin's patience. A moment of inattention is enough, and then she'll be in and split off from the rest. 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Thank's to Sombra's translocation, the gates of the capital groan open for the Concord. How nice of them to take the simple route. Their path through the city is more or less unobstructed at first, and Flamel's peeking about reveals little. Everyone really is in their homes, and there's no signs of anyone trying to slip away from the palace.     But as they come to the open area that holds the pit that leads to the mines, they find the source for the fireworks. A wagon, once covered with a tarp that now bares many burnt holes, is spitting them constantly. Standing by it is the Starlight Bandits, in costume once more. Irvine is dressed as a mariachi, all black and white with a sombrero and clutching a classical guitar. Molly is wearing a traditional flamenco dress in red and dancing to a fast tune Irvine plays. Guards surround them warily, with several lying at their feet, unconscious. They're certainly doing /something/... but is it related at all? It's hard to tell with them.     Meanwhile, at the palace gates, August and the Tin Soldier manage to shove the gates open, thanks in part to Sanary's buffing. This makes a terrible noise, likely audible even to the Concord over the fireworks. Lights within the palace are coming on, glimpsed through the windows. Seems the occupants have been awakened by the display. Once again, the Bandits make things harder than they need to be.     Lyria takes up a position on the wall, which gives her a prime viewing position on curtains that twitch, occupants peeking out. One is balding, with some evident jowls and looks middle-aged... is that the target. Three windows up, second from the left!     Meanwhile, Kyoko simply barrels forward, slamming through the front doors. She emerges in the entrance hall, which has its own guards hanging around. "Stop right there!" one bellows, rushing towards her, as the other goes for a horn hanging on his belt. Sounding an alert? 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     A mistake was made. A turner was corned, in effect, past which there were one or two more figures looking her way than accounted for. Alpha-39 does not stop, nor even pause. Her hand drops to her thigh as her leg lifts in the motion of running, and when her hand rises again it does so with a flick of the wrist that sends a knife spinning through the air, its edge glowing with the heat conducted from the power source in the hilt, turning end over end exactly three and one half times in the distance between her and the chest of the guard with the horn. Her attention has already turned toward the other.     There was a sword on her back. It's gone from there, now, arcing through the air in a drawing-slash, blade-edge immediately glowing the same neon blue-white as the thrown weapon. Her immediate target is any weapon coming against her, followed by the wielder, and she's willing to pause for only half a breath for either before moving on.     Be quick. Be thorough. Never stop moving. These aren't the target, and are therefore nothing but a delay to the mission. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' The sight they come upon does cause a brief moment of pause from Tesla. "... Well, that explains why there were no guards at the gate." She shrugs her shoulders a little. The display of music and fireworks doesn't mean anything else to her, and she simply turns to continue moving on. There's more objectives to concern themselves with than a couple of bandits and their distraction. The technopath uses her powers to assemble some aerial scouting drones from the various components she keeps at hand for such tasks, and sends them buzzing down a few streets scanning buildings and looking for anything of interest. People were huddling away in buildings. Clearly the new goverment wasn't doing a very good job if the locals were hiding from it. Tch. Sloppy, sloppy, just because one man decided to take the whole pie instead of sharing the intended pieces. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons zips forward speedily. He stops, for a moment, when he gets a look at... At what the Starlight Bandits are doing. He recalls them from the mines, and from a few other incidents as well, not the least of which was mentally interrogating Irvine. He's tempted to attempt the same, familiar as he may be with the man's mind. But there's a time and a place, and the potential escape time and site of Forester Houl is neither.     Whatever's going on here is so clearly not remotely Parsons' business, so when Tesla tells him to just get a move on, he goes ahead. He has to surge towards, onto, and into the palace! Dynamic, quick patterns of floating, gliding, platforming movement should close the distance fast, with access to rooftops keeping Parsons far away from the rush of guards heading to back up their allies.     Gotta get in, and as close to the council chamber as he can remember getting! If there's a safe area that the rebel council are most likely going to concentrate in, it'll be in the palace. And if there isn't, he'll find someone who knows where Forester is. But there's also the point of keeping the alleged allies of the Concord safe. The Concord still have Index in their back pocket, so this is going to be something Parsons stays quite flexible about. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Oh, ha ha. Dick." As Sanary follows along behind August and gives him a light whack on the back for his trouble, she soon comes to the realization that it's not really clear which way they're going, she comes to... A different realization! The healer slows to a stop, then reaches back to scratch at her hump. It's in that awkward spot where it can be difficult to reach whether reaching from the side or below, but with enough time...      She eventually retries the book from back there! "Which way... Are we going to find the important fat balding guy?" Sanary murmurs at the book before flipping it open, keeping her eye peeled to see if the book actually directs them and tells her something useful for once!      "Didn't tell me anything good the last time I asked it stuff, but it's gotta be able to do /this/ much, right?" She does not look nor sound hopeful, but it's the best shot she's got so far! Well, that or following someone who knows what they're doing. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As Sanary buffs August, the redhead nods at her, before shoving her off after it's given, to give the image of being a brute. The Tin Soldier slams the door open, and the two are in. August's first action is simple: waltz forward, listen for where the lights are. He was going to focus on the concentration of them...but instead, the target's been spotted. Third floor, it appears? August moves to beeline for the stairs, his Persona trailing after him, ignoring the guards dealing with A-39. She's new blood - it's her job to show what she's good at. As he joins Sanary, August glances at her asking the book questions. "Huh. Think it'll work?" He himself has something else on his mind - this is the palace, who else is going to be here? He's expecting Perplex. And that's going to lead to trouble. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' August plan was solid she'd managed to spot the target and she call it in, this should be god. she's now trying o figure out how to get to him. If they can get Sanary's book into his hand and they hould be able to out all the assholes around here. Or a good number of them at the very least. She's going to now look to see how she might be able to get to the target and she checks to make sure she's got some zip ties and a few other things if they are needed. She'll keep moving the moment the gets a fair idea of how to proceed from where she is. 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     The Talon agent peers at Tesla as the gate opens just slightly for her to get in, an amused smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "I do enjoy jokes, but they are even more fun when we get to tell them to our target." Her head turns as she looks at Flamel, nodding in agreement. "Sí, he's bound to hide considering the amount of people he's upset." They will get their payment. And they will take what they're owed.     With that Sombra begins running, bringing up a screen with her left hand, a holovid containing a map of the city, plotting in the quickest way to get from point A to point B. There we go, that ought to make it. And on the way she will leave her translocator behind somewhere partially hidden, just in case.     As they make it to the pit Sombra eyes the scene unfolding before them, glancing to the others. "Well, they made it easier for us, hopefully," she sighs then activates her thermoptic camouflage, just in case as she heads on, with a glance towards the pit. Would it be possible to excavate that place?     Upon arriving at the palace she doesn't follow Flamel, as it's better to cover ground. With stealth they are in less danger. So she heads to nearby corridors, close but making sure to check out other rooms. 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The Bandits are... ignored! How utterly tragic. They would be upset if they weren't fending off guards. Tesla's drones zip throughout the city, scanning, passing on information. One overs over the palace, just in time to see the Watch make their initial entrance. They're not alone in having business there, it seems!     Flamel guns straight for it, seeing the broken open gate, and hearing sounds of combat inside. If he recalls correctly, that room was upstairs, around the back... Sombra meanwhile, creeps right in with stealth, getting right by the Watch and checking the palace out. There are plenty of floors, with many doors. The lower ones seem pointless, but she slips by Perplex walking the opposite direction, giving directions to guards. There's someone to stick close to...     Within the entrance hall, in the space of a blink, A39 has planted a knife in the chest of the guard with the horn and cut down the other charging at her. Blood stains the floor as the Watch moves in, Sanary consulting her future book to learn what to do. It tells her of their entrance, of heading to the Council room to confront Perplex and the man-Forrester Houl is his name apparently-and of the Concord also being there. That complicates things..     Lyria tries to figure out how to get straight to the target. He's above her right now, by a singe storey or so. The windows here don't have glass, just thick curtains to block out the cold. If she could scale the height, getting in is no trouble. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Dunno. Last time I used it, it took longer to do all the work than to just pull it out myself." What kind of work is Sanary even talking about? August will never know. She gives him another light tap before peering at the book, squinting at the words coming out and only barely noticing that she's walking through blood.      She does notice, though, but she's not going to say anything about it. Instead... "We come in, we head to the Council Room, Perplex is there, someone called F... Ffforeseter Howl?" And the..." She trails off, looking up to make sure she's not about to barrel into August or a wall before looking back down at the book. "The Concord? Huh. I didn't know you called 'em in for backup." 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Tesla for her part continues to walk her path like she was in no hurry. She didn't need to be, with her drones doing most of the legwork alongside two perfectly capable agents. That and there was the potentional that, if they focused solely on the Palace, they could miss something else important in the city. Or other things. Like the drone catching a glimps of the Watch making their way in as well as it passes over. Which she quickly relays to her companions over the radio, and instructs that drone to keep an eye on the Watch. The other drones she instructs to continue sweeping the city, then puts them on auto-pilot. And starts heading for the Palace proper herself. If the other faction(s) have gotten involved, things may need a more personal involvement in the matter. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August squints at Sanary as she replies, but doesn't press. He DOES notice the blood beneath them, lifting his foot briefly and turning his head up and away. "Sounds like a plan. Forester Howl? Sounds like a pretentious asshole. ...Perplex, though. I'll handle him, you'll need to focus on getting the book to Howl." And then, August pauses. "The Concord? I didn't call them." There's a brief moment, and then August is sprinting ahead. He needs to reach the council room, stat. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Alpha-39 notices and avoids the blood, weaving around the falling body in a straight line to retrieve her knife. Bright red does not make good camoflauge, and she does not expect they have the time to wait for it to dry. She also hears 'Concord' and 'coming for the same destination,' and concludes that cleaning her blades will have to come later. The mission's nature has shifted partway from recon-in-force to objective-control.     She's fast. Faster than some others here? Possibly not, but she's now making her way up and forward as quickly as possible, leaping and vaulting rather than ascending stairs at a normal pace. 'Council Chambers' sounds like the kind of thing that should be accessible down an easy, wide passageway, a place you want people to find after entering the building. That may make the most direct route forward also the correct one. 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     The hacker keeps quiet as she sneaks around, making sure to not engage the Watch members when she spots them. Better not risk anything now... Instead she listens, a silent observer as she follows in Perplex' footsteps. He's a useful character to stick close to for many reasons. Let's hear what he has to say to the guards.     Though she does keep some distance so she can talk on the radio without being heard, her voice as low as possible.     At the same time she tries to get a good idea of just what the Watch are up to. The most important is to get to Houl as quickly as possible. Just where is that man hiding...? 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason sees a clear path there's a bit of a grin on the Levitani's face as she makes to scrambl up she'll use the grapple again to hopefully catch somewhere soldia dn rapidly move in. She knows she can not sit still nore delay, someone might pull the hook lose, and then that woudl be a very bad day for Lyria. She is vunrable when she does this maybe she shouldn't be taking sucha risk, but the pay off if she makes it will put her in arms lenth of the target. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons keeps heading through. Up, up, up further and further. He needs to find Houl. Above all else, THAT'S his priority. What are the Watch here for? So close, and dangerously engaged in combat just near him as he slips through? For the Councilmembers as well? Weren't they allies before? ...Is there a chance Houl got too big for his britches and pissed off all sides here? Hmmm.     Fuck it, he decides mentally. There's plenty of guards here. And they have to know some of what they're doing. On his way to the council chambers -- heading up -- he's going to make an effort to scan the weaker-minded guards for data about where Houl is supposed to be, and direct himself that way. He sure as heck can't go picking the minds of those Watchfolk slamming through the palace nearby. Hopefully if he can get that data linked with whatever Sombra can get figured out, he can close in on Houl's position fast. 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Lyria grapples up to the window, just in time to see the feet of Forrester Houl vanishing down the hallway outside his room. Too late! But there is something on his desk... an envelope, packed with documents. Blackmail material he had was mentioned... perhaps this is it?     Feet sprint through the castle, some fast and loud, others quiet and sneaky. Everyone is converging on the Council room. Flamel's mind scanning of the guards reveal that, in times like this, the Council usually convenes to give orders. So yes, it is likely that he will be there. Perplex is joined by Houl at the doors as Sombra sees. "What the hell is going on, Perplex?!" the fat man snarls. "Some kind of unauthorized event," Perplex replies as he takes his seat at the head of the table. "Wait for the others to arrive." Which they do. And just as the doors begin to close... the Watch arrives.     "What is the meaning of this?!" Perplex barks, drawing a sword from his side and glowering menacingly. The Concord is either not too far behind, or already in the room, invisibly. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As the doors to the council chamber begin to close, a foot stops them, and then a metal arm forces them back open. August waltz in, hand on his gun, as he glances first to Perplex, and then to Houl, and back. "This, Perplex, is us solving a mess we made. Atleast one of you, and possibly all of you, are fucking dirty." Another glance to Houl. "When I helped you rebel, Perplex, you were supposed to be goddamn better than what you had put in. And now..." And then, August finally motions to Houl. "You're making deals and then backstabbing people, playing games of intrigue with your new allies, blackmailing others to do your dirty work? What's next, forcing the nobles you put into farming into actual legitimate slavery? Making them mine for you? We know about the library, you handing it off to the Concord, and then how your buddy here plans on blowing it up so they can't have it." The gun is drawn, as the Persona goes motionless to August's side. "Well, newsflash, the Watch is taking responsibility for its actions. We're taking Forrester Houl and getting him to spill who his conspirators are. Either step aside or get treated as one." The gun is drawn and pointed straight at Forrester, though August's finger isn't near the trigger. He has proper safety. "Move to secure him and get him to read the book. Perplex, I want to hope this doesn't end in a fight, because you seemed reasonable. But I've got a responsibility here, and if you ended up fucking over Chapter? I'm going to make sure you regret ever getting us involved." August waits. Will Perplex strike at him? And when will the Concord arrive? 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Speaking of the Concord," Parsons' voice sounds, over telepathic broadcast. It's nearly impossible to pin down his position, with both invisibility and telepathy active. "You probably remember me! I'm Flamel Parsons, agent of a vague yet menacing government agency! I'm here because an unauthorized conspiracy was found, with an agenda that goes against the agenda I'm working on! I'm not fully sure what the Watch is here for, but if I had to guess, Forester Houl got a little too deep into the politics!"     "Hey there, August! Glad to have your help in securing that Library." If one looks very, very closely, drifting smoke might be able to barely indicate the rough regions of Parsons' presence as he moves about, but only if one is trying their hardest to see through his invisibility. "But, if it's all the same to you, everyone involved in this entire fiasco is more likely than not to pose a risk to the Opera Bibliotheca. I'm going to need to see that sort of thing too, and if you don't mind, I'm going to go ahead and do it a little more directly."     Whatever happens to Houl -- whatever that man does -- Parsons needs to hit this quick. He goes immediately for a high-depth ASTRAL PROJECTION, invisibly attempting to force his way back into Houl's mind, just as he did many, many weeks ago. If it's still as soft a target as it was before...     Parsons is still enraged. Subtly. Quietly. A hidden rage against Houl. It's not been mentioned yet, of course, but he fully intends to require Houl's execution, and to perform it himself if he's not prevented. But right now, his goal is more simple. Brutally strip-mine Houl's brain for all data that could possibly be relevant. He's not planning on being remotely gentle. If he can breach and act, it's going to be far, far more brutal than his other more stealthy efforts. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason get to the window adn she lands just int time to see the manfleeing but she's hot on the heels. However the information left behind here? Oh she's totally scopping all of that up and she might take a brief glance at them as she packs them up to make certain but she knows she doesn't have much time. She needs to go after the target and catch up with her allies with him. August seem to be on a roll from what she can hear and she'll make all due hastw iwth the docments she has packed away in her geart as she moves to get on the move once more. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Unlike her compatriates Tesla has no fancy manner of stealth and subtefuge, so she's blantantly obvious. Doesn't stop her from walking into the chamber with an almost casual demeanor, as was typical for her composure. "Oh, I'm sorry, did we interrupt your playtime?" Totally not sorry, but she's being conversational about it. "But we have some... unfinished business with the man, if you'd be so kind." Pause. "We'll try to leave some remains for you to play with afterwords." A faint shrug. "No promises. He already bit off more than he can chew, it's going to bust his teeth eventually." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "Understood. I'll... Hmm. Yeah, I'll jam this in his face. I got your back." Sanary straightens back up while following the redheaded teenager to the door. Even though he's already opening it, however, she waits by the door until he actually mentions the book. Once he does, she rears back and kicks the door open!      Or slightly more open than it already was. It just felt like the right thing to do, although her timing could have been a lot better. Sanary does have the scowling punk face going on, though, perhaps contrasting rather heavily with her old village hag getup and questionable smell. She makes a beeline towards Forrester, shooting narrow-eyed glares at Perplex and his crew to try and intimidate them into compliance. When Flamel shows up, though, Sanary blinks slowly before raising her non-book-holding hand in a stiff wave towards him.      As much as she'd hate to admit, he /did/ have much better dramatic timing than her. "Er... Hey, there. So you're just gonna kill him, or are there others? Because..." The healer perks up a bit at the sound of a familiar voice, turning over to toss Tesla a more casual wave. "Yo, Tesla. You mind if we get some info out of his head before..."      She looks over at Flamel, then back at Tesla. "...Parsons does whatever it is he's doing?" Sanary's still shooting threatening glares towards Perplex and his men, of course, but some of that angry old lady-ness is probably gone by this point!      The assy pig smell is not. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Alpha-39 takes a particular line from August as tactical instruction. So far as she knows, the Concord aren't yet here, but they should be soon, and there's hardly time for speeches, as much as they might be necessary to get this other guy to let this all go without making things more complicated. She moves in, expression still hidden behind the mask, even if the bright lights they've been passing through have required her to long since turn off most of its more subtle sensors. It at least protects her face, to a moderate extent.     Her sword was sheathed on the way, and what looks to be a slightly futuristic submachine gun is in her right hand, instead, stock against her arm. Her left is empty, but she's already shown how quickly that can change.     Is the target going to resist? It's going to be a lot harder if he does, As she reaches for his arm to drag harshly behind him into a lock that'll still let him walk, though if Sanary can get what they're trying to do done right here, that might not be necessary. Honestly, she has no idea how reading the book is going to work in any respect.     The gun doesn't point at Houl, though. Rounding quickly, whether he's physically secured or not, it points at Tesla. 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     Aaand there he is. As Sombra stays behind, she narrows her eyes, then moves quickly to get up behind Houl. As Flamel speaks, keeping the others occupied, Sombra manages to get behind the man.     First there's the sound of a submachine gun getting kocked, and the next moment Sombra appears in a shimmering display of purple lines reveal her form as she stands there, pointing her submachine gun towards the back of Houl's head.     "I suggest you guys do as mi amigo says, otherwise you won't get the book read to you," she states with a selfsatisfactory smirk on her lips at the guards and the Watch members. She's ready to strike, her free hand twitching slightly. "Let us take what we want, and you can have him after." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     The Council room goes silent as August and the Watch storms in, throwing around accusations. To Perplex's credit, he doesn't immediately start raging, but his face is going red. "Those are some serious accusations Kohler. So serious, in fact, that I've half a mind to listen to you." The rest of the Council looks furious, but the leader slams his palm on the tabletop. "I suppose you have some means of proving it?" The book is placed, Houl grabbed by A32, and Perplex frowns. "You think he will commit crimes in the future?" Brighter than he looks!     But then the Concord comes barging in. Sombra puts a gun to his head, and he snarls. "What is this betrayal?!" Houl screams as Flamel plunders his mind, dredging up information. He confirms what he learned in the minds, identifies three co-conspirators in the Council, and others who work as merchants... he almost finds what he had on the Bandits before the large man tips his chair back with his spasms, falling on the agent! 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Tesla Armadia is utterly unphased at having a gun pointed at her. This is hardly a new situation to the experienced woman. "Oh do put that away before you get yourself needlessly injured." Though her armor is powered up, just in case, she's not giving the gunwoman the satisfaction of actually reacting to the non-verbal threat with more than her unimpressed response. Besides, much more interesting things are happening. "You are a fine one to speak of betrayals, no?" But she is keeping her stance where she is, seeingas Flamel and Sombra are already in midst of dealing with the various details. "It got him this far, why would he not continue", she replies in almost off-handed casualness to Perplex's observation. "At least, had he not been so sloppy in his double-crosses. Tch. Politics. Such a fickle game. Eventually someone is going to flip the table out of anger instead of continuing." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' As August finishes speeching, the Concord show up, and it's a clusterfuck. Houl is taken hostage, and Flamel is threatening to basically rip his mind apart, while Sombra has a gun to his head. August has a threat lined up...but Perplex distracts from that. "We're not going to prove he's going to commit a crime. We're going to prove he already has, who his perpetrators are, and the next one he's committing." August spends the next moment instead...trying to track Flamel's smoke. Trying to pierce through his invisibility just a little bit... As Houl freaks out and starts to throw himself about. In a sudden motion, August's gun raises - and is pointed straight at Flamel. "And you're going to hand him over alive and cognizant enough for that to happen, or I'll shoot Parsons, and you'll lose both the intel, and a valuable psychic." August has no actual intention to shoot Flamel - he relies on the psychic too much. But he's going to gamble. "Because, see, I'm not going to do this lightly, let you risk all of this, when this guy fucked us over. When someone comes to us, appeals to our ideals, and then goes around and spits in everything we worked for, that's not going to be tolerated. No one fucks with us." August's finger begins moving towards the trigger, slowly. As if he'll actually shoot. "So, let's see if you're willing to gamble yourself. Do we all come out of this satisfied, or do we all come out of this dead?" 

:'''{{#var:1117|Sombra (1117)}} has posed:'''     "You betrayed us first, cabron," Sombra half snarls at Houl from behind him, pressing her submachine gun harder against the back of his head. Next she looks at August calmly, arching one split eyebrow at him. "If you shoot him, then what will stop me from taking you out in return?" She can always go invisible too, which might give her an opening.     "This man screwed us over, used us and doesn't want to pay us--" That's the moment when the spasms causes the large man in the chair to tip backwards, and Sombra snaps her head back forward, seeing him falling towards her, and while Sombra does her best to get out of the way, she isn't able to do avoid it completely as the heavy chair knocks into her, causing her to fall back, partially trapped under the chair with her legs. A cry leaves the hacker, and she keeps on gripping her submachine tightly as she winces in pain. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parson' invisibility isn't foolproof. Since August is looking very, very precisely at him, he can get a very solid bead on him, right in a context where his shielding is far, far lower than normal. The invisibility fades as his psychic "someone else's problem" effect wears off under scrutiny.     His fingers go from his temples, and shift towards open hands. He's still got his eyes locked on Houl, between glances at August. "Fine. Fine, fine! It's okay. I'm pretty sure he's still literate." He looks... Pained. This man knows some special secret. It's so tantalizingly close... Some dark fact about the Starlight Bandits...     Dammit. He can only maintain so many obsessions about information at once. "Well, I got what we needed, even if I didn't get everything I wanted!" He turns to Perplex, explaining. "Mr. Houl there tried to blow up the library with a few co-conspirators! I absolutely can't stand a conspiracy that destroys information rather than covering it up. We were worried more of you councilmen were in on it, but it turns out it was just those four, plus a few merchants."     "So here's the deal. I want all four of the council's conspirators executed! Plus the merchants. Then we'll go right back to helping you as part of that deal you made with us, just like you wanted. How's that sound?" Parsons' grin is far wider than someone looking down the barrel of a gun and talking to a local ruler should be grinning, but that upbeat, positive tone is unrelenting. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason catches up with the rest of the watch however it's a stand off and August is making his move. Maybe it was better had she lagged behind a bit longer. Too late now she is silnt as she looks back and forth and moves to back up August as best she can. If thigns are going to go to the abyss in a lobster trap pretty fast. Well August is ballys, insane, brave or all of the above and she doesn't know which. Flamel makes his deal an she now pays attention to August...it's his call. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     A-39, predictably, ignores Tesla's instructions, though she'd be distracted in any case with Sombra suddenly appearing just where she was trying to place herself. That Houl falls into the Concord agent may be a silver lining, but some other agent being in the process of destroying Houl's mind is far more mission-critical. The aim of the SMG shifts immediately to Sombra, then moves off-target when Houl gets into the line of fire. The increased chaos is, all things considered, a negative, but that doesn't stop her from taking advantage of the situation to answer Sombra's question in place of August.     She's not particularly heavy, and has a focus on mobility, but she's still wearing ballistic armor and has the advantage of momentum and height as she tackles Sombra from the side, SMG slung away and one of her several knives in one hand, blade-edge glowing and reaching to press the tip threateningly against the inside elbow of Sombra's gun arm. Someone with as much combat training as she expects Sombra to have should at least be able to react before being pinned fully, but A-39's confident in her CQC, and the starting position is advantageous.     "The answer is 'me.' I will stop you."     And then Flamel is talking, but she's not going to stand up again just for that. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Things go to hell rather quickly, and Sanary's caught in the middle of it! Thankfully, no bullets are flying (yet), but there are way more guns around than she's comfortable with having pointed every which way.      Partially because she doesn't have he big axe with her. She does have that book, though, and with little else to do that wouldn't just end up starting some sort of crazy brawl, she clears her throat and approaches Houl slowly. Is this even going to work?      She won't know if she doesn't try. Besides, there's a good chance everyone's attention is elsewhere, anyway! "... Hey, Howly. Read this. Where's the dirt you had on those two? Uh.. The Bandits?" And with that, Sanary's going to try and give him a quick slap on the face with the book before holding it open in front of the man and funneling some healing magic into him. Sure, he might not be all there, and her magic might not do much to soothe his mind after whatever it was Flamel did, but...      Nobody can say she didn't try. Spotting Sombra, too, Sanary blinks slowly before looking over at August, then at Houl, then at Sombra again with a relatively easygoing snicker. "... Heh. Small worlds, huh? You know he's-er." And then A-39 makes a move on Sombra! Sanary coughs lightly as she quickly abandons that attempt at onversation before turning her attention back to Houl, trying to remain calm while nudging him with the book again. "Focus. Just focus. What happened with the Bandits?" 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Houl groans on the ground as events transpire around him. Sombra is tackled by A23, deals are made, and a book is placed before him. "I'll not cave to you savages!" he barks, but Perplex shouts right back. "Read the goddamn book Houl, or I'll take it as a guilty plea!" The man groans, and begins to flip through it.     There it is, as plain as the black ink on white paper. Future meetings with his co-conspirators, going to check on where he's hidden the copies of his blackmail material (buried in a field just outside the city). It does not elaborate on what it is though. Only mentioning 'photos.' It also adds that he has copies on his desk, which Lyria took.     Perplex comes over and reads it himself, his face falling as he regards the fat men and the other three in the Council. "It was for the good of Chapter!" "You have to understand Perplex, a nation can not run on ideals alone!" Protests and justifications are hurled at the young man, who seems to age years in seconds.     "Execution. You have my word," he croaks to Flamel, drawing a fresh wave of shouting. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Try me." Is August's response to Sombra, before A-39 takes care of that situation. But, Flamel agrees, and backs off. August slowly removes his finger from the trigger, watching as the book is read, before starting to move towards the door as the answer and solution is obvious. "Good luck, Perplex." And then, August is /running/ for the door - he's not going to take a chance that they decide to arrest the Watch for their breaking and entry, if Perplex wants to reply, he knows how to contact him. Instead, August is moving to escape, and see if the Bandits are still alive somewhere. His guess is firmly 'yes', as he slides down the stairs, muttering over the radio. "Worst book club ever." 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Tesla Armadia gives Flamel a somewhat sympathetic look as he laments. "Yeah, I know it's not everything you wanted. But it was as much as we needed. Sometimes in this line of work, you have to just accept where the line falls and move on." Then she turns, folding her arms and looking sternly in the direction of the tobbled chair and ladies. "And you got what you wanted. So if you would be so kind as to take your hands off my ally...." 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason takes note and grins. Seems she got a good nail to put into the coffin. she seems pleased with the outcome and looks over to August for a moment and then looks to Flamel as thing seem to settl down. "Best of luck to you, and just remeber we do have the doctuments." With that she's going to be bauiling with August as quickly as she can get her own keel to haul out of here. 

:'''{{#var:1132|Kyoko Takada (1132)}} has posed:'''     Mission accomplished. A-39 releases Sombra, rolls to hands and knees, and then takes off running after August. Lyria is already out. Sanary seems of a mind to check people's injuries, and has neither killed anyone here nor is she a member of the Watch. The rest are either supposed to be here or can otherwise fend for themselves.     "Out of the way," is the only verbal response Tesla gets from the other side of the mask as the soldier runs past. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons clasps both hands behind his head. He can't do a consecutive projection so many times on a mind that's been attacked like that, so he likely won't get to get a peek at that blackmail... Much as he REALLY, REALLY wants to know. "Good man, Perplex!" He says, approvingly. "Speaking of which. We managed to take our that group of secretive hidden conspirators! They're not going to be any more trouble for you. Well, now that we don't really have any plan-Bs that we need them for, at least. You know how that goes." Both sides of the bargain, fulfilled, it seems.     The others are leaving. Bolting, even. Parsons frowns, but at the very least, all of this has been resolved, including the brief conflict with the Watch. "I'd go after them as part of our deal -- you know, rooting out subversives -- but I don't think they're going to be doing more subverting. Considering your history, and the solution to their problem!"     Boy that was tense. Parsons really wishes he could just do stuff in this world without nearly getting shot every single time because of his information obsession! You'd think an information-themed kingdom wouldn't end every situation like that with a gun to his head. 
}}

5436/Hostage Sect-uation

2017-08-11T04:51:29Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/08/10 |Location=The Tapestry |Synopsis=Paladins work to save the city council from the Urban Breath cult. |Cast of Characters=562, 707, 533, 1..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/08/10
|Location=The Tapestry
|Synopsis=Paladins work to save the city council from the Urban Breath cult.
|Cast of Characters=562, 707, 533, 1084, 151, 7
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Town Hall. A mishmash of old and new, consisting of a stately brick front from which more modern steel and glass offices sprout from. Ordinarily quiet amidst its manicured lawn and flower beds, it has become a hive of police activity. Police lines are set up, and SWAT stands ready for an armed response, as a window on the second floor of the brick building opens. Out leans a figure, dressed in a hooded brown robe, with his arm around the throat of a man in a suit, and a pistol pressed against the same man's temple.     "Right, we want 200 feet of PVC piping! No more, no less! If you don't deliver, we're blowing out the brains of a councillor!" The window is then shut and curtain drawn to conceal the interior from any snipers. The PVC pipe is obtained and delivered just at the Paladins arrive.     "Thank God you're here," the commander at the scene says, quickly briefing the party as e guides everyone to a command tent and gestures at a blueprint of Town Hall. "They've got the City Council at gunpoint in there, the old building," he says, gesturing at the brick structure. "They've barricaded the doors too, so getting in isn't gonna be easy. They also have snipers on the second floor of the new buildings, and all the exterior doors are barricaded. Those on the inside facing the courtyard seem clear, but they have snipers on the second floors, the place is a killzone."     He starts tapping the map. "I think our best bet is a two-pronged assault from the roof of the western building and basement of the eastern building. From there, we can dispatch the snipers and get into the brick building to rescue the council. Though you all probably have stuff I'm not aware of, so I'll let you all take point. If you need manpower, I can give you some of my guys. How do you wanna do this?" 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' "What all have the idiot terrorists asked for so far?" Xiaomu wonders, looking at the map and mulling over who all is here, what she can do, and what she knows of what her allies can do. "They wouldn't go to all this trouble just to get publicity ..." And then there's the enchanted cash ploy from a few weeks ago, the sage fox remembers. And ... actual-gods-know-what-else they've been pulling, before Xiaomu herself got involved with the Urban Breath situation. If this were Tokyo she'd be asking for ley line maps, but - "Got any maps of the utilities hereabouts? Pipes, cables, conduits, access points? Control stations? Those might not be immediately germane, but given what we've been dealing with so far from those cultists, I don't feel like overlooking anything." 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' Gawain is here in his full Tomoyo-made uniform, Warden badge present. He's the ranking officer, and therefore he's looking over the map as the commander explains at the tent. "What are our rough numbers on how many of them, commander?" The knight glances at the two recommended starting locations and seems to be pondering, as he taps at the rooftop access, unable to clearly make it out. "Is that a skylight up there?" Otherwise, he's forwarding a plan over Tactical, nodding to the Commander. "We'll likely go with your plan, though we should be going for the hostages first with your supplement! They have unknown abilities." Where Gawain is going to go in depends on the skylight versus not a skylight. Skylights are...really cool, and he'd love to swoop in through one. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The commander nods to Xiaomu and puts in a call for utility maps to be delivered. "25 of them is our best guess. 13 in the brick building, 12 spread out across the modern offices. And yeah, it's a skylight. Apparently there was supposed to be one for both sides, but they ran out of budget."     The maps of the utilities soon arrive. The place has plenty of gas and water pipes going under it, as well as electrical lines. Since it dominates a large chunk of real estate close to the middle of the city, this is to be expected. But there's nothing particularly out of the ordinary going on. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' "I'll go with the rooftop approach! And from there..." Seras purses her lip, resolve wavering at the thought of fighting living humans, however deluded and extremist they might be. She has her heavy rifle... and for a sidearm, her pistol. But the thought of shooting living people... spilling living blood... has excited one part of her and sickened another.     As usual though, the latter is overwhelmingly more powerful.     Still, she clenches her teeth angrily.     This is the essence of being in a Firearms unit, after all. Her training from D-11 is hammering her with reminders about how to handle this... ideally, anyways.     But if she needed to breathe, she'd be hyperventilating about now. She never really actually saw much action with that training.     A deep, and unnecessary breath later, she steadies her grip on the rifle and readies to flick off its safety. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley adjusts her white gloves to her Paladin uniform as she takes a place as the forward part of the basement unit. She checks her gear -- the longsword at her hip that she hopes she doesn't have to use, and the book on her other hip that might serve a better purpose here -- and makes sure that Xiaomu is with her and ready. She looks to the forces that have gathered, and then gestures indicatively for Xiaomu to take point.     The lizard has a stern expression, insomuch that her face is readable by people not used to her facial expressions. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' So here they go again this strnge cult and it's desire to tell nature to sod off. She could get where they could be comming from but honesly it was a bad idea in general. Even more so with how they were going about it. She's here clad in stealth gear alreayd given the whole situation? She's very much going to need it, cultits have proven to be pain in the ass. Then again their mirror the fantical for some sexulart way of thinking was just as bad. Kotone looks to the commander and listens for a moment. "Humm right I think my own talent would prove useful." She was loaded with gear that should hopefully be able to help. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     A list is provided to Xiaomu regarding what the cultists have demanded and received thus far. On top of the PVC piping, they have gotten many coins in valid and no longer valid currency, antifreeze, glass, iron ore, unsigned cheques, electrical cable... a ton of things relating to urban life.     The plans are made. The commander orders his men to run some diversion tactics, drawing the attention of the snipers so the Elites can creep around the back. =Rooftop team=     The roof is easily accessible by those who can jump high enough, and Elites likely fit that bill. The sunroof stands there, all glass and steel framing. Looking through it permits one to see the offices. It's dim, owing to the drawn curtains to deter snipers. Desks and tables lay scattered about, to be used as cover or barricading the stairs. One of the cultists is right underneath, smoking a cigarette... =Basement team=     One of the SWAT members accompanies the basement team and slams open the door with a battering ram. "Good luck!" she wishes the team. The basement is brightly lit by halogen lighting, and full to burst with filing cabinets on rails. The basement is used for document storage, it seems. It's state-of-the-art too, with air conditions that keep the air dry and temperature constant to preserve paper. The sound of the door slamming open seems to have drawn ire though, as fast foorprints approach from the other side! 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' With her sword-staff in hand (currently sheathed, but she can still smack cultists upside the head with it), Xiaomu does indeed take point, mulling over the intel that's been relayed. Two hundred feet of PVC pipe, which is as artificial as it gets. Coins, antifreeze, glass, checks, electrical cable, iron ore ... and they're basically on top of a major hub of gas, water, and electrical lines. The basement may be the best possible place to be looking through - but they have to immobilize the cultists as well as figuring out what they're up to, and the sound of approaching footsteps pushes investigation down a few notches in priority. She *could* try to freeze the next door shut, but instead, Xiaomu hurries Ainsley and Kotone forward - trying to get all three of them against the wall next to the next door (or doorway) in, preferably on the blind side if it's a single hinged door. She wants to get the drop on whoever's looking for the intruder(s), and this seems like the best way to do that. 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' Skylight confirmed. Gawain's eyes light up. It is probably a known fact amongst the Paladins, or atleast command, that he is not the stealthy type. Therefore, once op on the roof via a quick super jump, he glances down at the skylight, and then nods to Seras. "Alright, it's go time. I'll lead the way. This will go perfectly!" There's an optimistic cheer to his voice as he leaps into the air again... And aims towards the skylight, shattering through it and tackling into the cultist with the cigarette, moving to knock him out immediately. This is complete with a loud 'crash' of the skylight, as the Warden moves to cuff the cultist and summons his sword, looking to see if there's any other cultists on this floor. He's not hiding himself. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' Scaling the building up to the roof is NOT an easy task for Seras. Not in any reasonable amount of time. She's strong, but it doesn't quite translate to that kind of mobility.     So she does the next bext thing, and grabs onto Gawain to piggy-back off his leap!     Which... results in a manner of approach she HAD NOT been counting on. "Skylight, skylight!!"     Oh, wait, Gawain's aiming for it ON PURPOSE?! Panic shows on Seras's face but it's TOO LATE! THere's a mighty crash and glass raining everywhere... and with a THUD--      "urrrngh!" The Draculina topples into an ungainly roll when Gawain lands, bouncing haphazardly across the floor and skidding to a halt. She flips to her feet swiftly though, oversized rifle at the ready!     "Weren't we going to be a little sneaky?!" The police girl mildly complains as she gets her bearings... and sets her course east, towards the windowed corridors where snipers lie in wait.     One more breath to steady herself... and she blitzes into a full dash at her top speed! 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley takes up a long position with a vantage through the threshold once the breach is done. She allows Kotone in, and she calmly stands far enough back that she's a harder target to hit. She focuses her sight on the direction a cultist might come down, and prepares. The moment that she sees one of the cultists, she will say something along these lines.     "Stop."     The word sounds like that, under the translation effect, but carries with it a primal meaning of 'stopping thought.' It's aimed at the first apparent threat that passes in view in the hopes that it knocks them unconscious with the magical effect. She didn't need to make motions with her hands. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is going to be going in with Ainsley and Xiaomu she moves she's also cloaking at this point as she presses up agains the wall she's not about to fool around here. Even with the punnishment she can take. She's ready to go she has her body's eelware armed and redy to go, She holds still and with her cloak up she should hopefully be missed even if her comrades are spotted. If nothing happens she's going to be moving in slowly to attempt to get the drop on whoever might be guarding it she should be hopefully able to disable. With Her between Ainsley and any incomming attack that should hopefully give her some cover too. She'a also ready to pounce on anyone that Ainsley's magic ahs worked on. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:''' =Rooftop Team=     CRASH! The sight of the cultist looking up, fear filling his face as the cigarette drops from his mouth is a priceless sight, just before Gawain crushes him underfoot. He goes down hard, the impact thoroughly winding him. The other snipers turn to look at him, raising ther rifles and firing! The ones across in the other building also open fire, smashing all the windows.     Seras is ready to deal with them though. Once she has one of the nearby snipers down, she grabs one of their rifles and opens fire on the opposite side! With her superior vision, picking off the cultists opposite is really no problem. Their only tactic seems to be 'spray and pray' and from this distance, that impacts accuracy severely. =Basement team=     Stealth takedown positions are assumed as the cultists come in. Right away, Ainsley's power word is invoked and causes the cultist on point to slump. "Hey, what's wrong?" the one behind her asks, walking through... leaving her wide open for Xiaomu to take her down however she sees fit! Kotone can keep them in place afterwards.     Following this, it seems like no other cultists are down here. The basement is officially secured! A flight of spiral stairs on the southern end leads to the first floor, right next to the barricaded doors to the brick building... but there are a couple more cultists up there. 

:'''{{#var:533|Sir Gawain (533)}} has posed:''' With the guy down, Gawain's quickly moving to help Seras in reaction to the nearby snipers. He slices through the rifle of the closest one to him with his sword before using the flat part to knock the man out, and continues until him and Seras have all the snipers on this floor. Once they're down, Gawain nods to Seras. "Go on ahead! I'll secure these guys." Hefting up the bodies of the cultists, he heads downstairs to secure the others, before heading out to the command camp - where he'll likely remain for the rest of the operation, dealing with making sure these guys are healed and secured safely. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' There's a merry little jingle and a loud *whack!* of metal-reinforced-wood against cultist noggin, as Xiaomu goes for a one-hit KO on Cultist #2. If that doesn't quite knock her unconscious, it'll still ring her bells hard enough to be more or less easily subdued. (No, Xiaomu's not worried about inflicting a concussion on any of these mooks. They'd need brains for that to be a worry.) "Well, whatever they're up to, it isn't down here," Xiaomu observes quietly, looking at the lack of a continuing basement passage around to the main brick building. She sneaks up the first few steps, listening and sniffing ... "More than one, not too many," she whispers back to her allies. And the spiral stairs are going to be a little tricky to get up in a hurry ... Well, she can at least stick her staff up along the central pillar and start making the floor up there all nice and icy and slick. Sure, it'll give away that there are hostiles coming up, but the first head to pop up above floor level would do THAT and be a lot more vulnerable. Once the floor is iced up, Xiaomu scrambles up the stairs with a battlecry of "HIGH SPEED XIAOMU!!" and launches herself away from the stairs, drawing one of her handguns and aiming for cultist kneecaps - however many cultists there are. She can only shoot so many at a time, though, and with one hand holding her staff, 'so many' equals 'one' - her allies will have to pick up the spares. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' Seras brings down the first of the snipers with a swift elbow to the gut that's severely restrained... but still probably cracks ribs. in the same motion she whips the man's rifle away and takes a few shots of her own at the snipers. First at the ones further down her corridor... and then those clear across the courtyard.     Since she is now ON the second floor, those barricades are now working in her favor.     Much as it hurts her heart though, she shoots to kill. For that is the only thing one can really do with a gun. Anything that isn't lethal leaves them room to make a surprise recovery and open fire again after she declares the courtyard secure against snipers...     So she aims for skulls and centers of mass, exactly as she's been trained. Shot after shot rings out as she charges down the hallway, firing out windows. A few times she has to deal with return fire, and...     One bullet catches her in the arm, another in the shoulder... but she neatly turns her head away just in time from a bullet that whizzes past where her noggin' was!     Seras drops into a roll, leaving a trail of blood... but not a heck of a lot of blood. Hers doesn't exactly pump. The wounds are already mending and pushing out bullets as necessary.     "Wh-whew..." This time there's none of her berserker anger and violent tendencies that periodically flare up when dealing with monsters. Just a tense look of dread and intense, grim concentration.     Setting up behind a barricade, she opens fire with the very weapons the snipers were using where feasible. Her own is more suited for close to medium range. It would work, but she'd be wasting a LOT of ammo! 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     As Xiaomu says, Ainsley takes up the rear position, so she is the last one to see the cultists that got subdued by her spell on the way further in. She spares a mild frown down at them as she passes, making sure they won't be a threat going forward. Once at the stairs and looking up, she keeps her eyes on the front the whole time, jogging along but trying not to make overly much noise. Then when Xiaomu makes her speedy advance, Ainsley hurries to keep up, and casts another spell on another cultist on her way in: "Stop!" The sound thrums through reality much like the last one, aiming to strike the target's mental faculties like a potent sedative. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' With the Stealth takedowns qickly out of the way thanks to her and Kotone will move tohold them in place once all is said and down. She'll also make sure to make su onre htey are down and two they are secured, as she'll pull some cuffs out of her matter Maniplator and move to check up her allies as she gts the order to go. She'll move to follow after Xiaomu and she's not gong to slow sown much. She should be able to keep up quite well all things considered. As Kotone is pretty high speed too, but she cloaks again and follows her comrade ahead. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:''' =Rooftop team=     For a few chaotic seconds, Seras' world is gunfire and smoke. But finally, the gunfire from across the courtyard ends. It seems like she's put them all down. And based on the gunfire coming from the first floor, the basement team has ascended. Gawain heads down to the first floor of their building to deal with any cultists down there. Now... that just leaves the barricaded doors to the brick building.     Said entrance is also on the first floor. The doors have windows that show the other side is braced with a toppled vending machine, tables, chairs and anything else. The doors open inward, so a good meaty shove might be able to dislodge everything. Or maybe an explosive? =Basement team=     BANG! Xiaomu starts popping kneecaps. Cultists scream and collapse, while the one that receives Ainsley's special touch simply flops. The floor is cleared with plenty of groaning and crying from those wounded. It might be good to follow and make sure they don't put those guns to good use though!     Checking upstairs reveals the bloodbath left by Seras, so all that's left is breaching the brick building. Again, the door on this side is stacked with heavy things, but any super-strength shove might be able to clear it. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' With the upstairs dealt with, Seras takes the easy way down. She LEAPS OUT THE WINDOW and rolls the landing, then bursts straight into the lower level entrance to the building she's at... and heads for the barricaded door.     Having discarded the cultists' weapons in favor of her own, she slings her rifle over her shoulder... and braces herself against the door.     AND SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES using full shoulder action! 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Well, all that ice under foot isn't going to help much now that the cultists are down for the count. Xiaomu lets the floor thaw out, and turns her attention to the barricaded door. She doesn't have grenades, bullets aren't going to do a lot of good; she *could* try freezing the whole mass and hoping that makes it more brittle but her ice magic doesn't get THAT cold ... She just gets out of the way, reloads her handgun, and lets Kotone go for it. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa leaves the cultists to her comrades for the moment. With that done and seeing why you'd never want to clean up after a hellsing dinner party? Kotone gets an idea talking to Xiaomu on the comm. She lowers her shoulder makes reayd and full on charges. She pushes her body speed as hard as it can go ti shoulder check the barriate hopefully bursting through it. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     BANG!     Simultaneously, the barricades are breached enough for both the rooftop and basement teams to get into the brick building. Immediately, the strangeness in the air hits them. It's cold, and rancid. Like the air from a fan ventilating a fast food kitchen, it practically clings to the skin in a thin film. They now stand in the halls that surround the council chambers, the sound of ominous chanting echoing dimly through the walls.     Peeking into the room, it's apparent what is happening. Cultists have moved all the chairs and tables to create an open space, upon which they have spraypainted an occult circle on the carpet. The councillors are sitting in the circle, tied-up and gagged with the mayor in the middle, similarly bound. The materials they asked for are placed deliberately around the room, forming some kind of indecipherable patterns.     The chanting has reached some kind of climax. Whatever they're working towards, it's going to happen soon. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley is slow in her steps to follow the others, making sure that the cultists that get incapacitated and detained aren't bleeding out. She isn't doing much more than glancing over them or kicking firearms away as she walks by, making sure to reach a good position for casting another spell. She sniffs in another breath, her eyes focused on the door, one hand resting on the hilt of her longsword.     When she feels the air hit her, she breaks into a sprint. She doesn't wait, she doesn't think. She slides to a stop near some cover and she immediately activates her Sight. Except instead of just viewing the nature of the magic language or attempting to translate it, she makes sure she can see the chanting cultists, or the centerpiece to their spell, and she actively exerts a counter-influence with a soft resonating hum coming from her body like a tuning fork. Like some kind of magic eating predator, she seeks out the single loose thread (if it exists) of the imcomplete spell and she aims to unravel it with her Sight, setting back the attempt at a spell the moment she starts working.     Unlike her ability to cast magic, this is somehow weightier. She focuses so intensely on this task that she could easily become a target but she isn't about to let them complete their ritual. 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Why oh why did she *NOT* bring grenades, thinks Xiaomu as she sees (and smells) the ritual. Fuck it, we're doing it live. With Kotone busting the door open, Xiaomu charges even faster than when she was coming up the spiral stairs, and practically runs along the walls as she tears through the main hall of the original room - shooting cultists (kill or maim, it doesn't matter right now), kicking the councillors' chairs over to get them out of that circle arrangement, occasionally conjuring a trail of ice to make a chair slide further away. And she's shooting up the piles of materials as well - trying to wreck the arrangement, even if she doesn't have clue number one *what* the arrangement is. All she knows is that she was right - the cultists went to all this trouble to put themselves at the center of secular power in the city, which is the only kind of 'power' they really care about, and they're trying to take full advantage of the utility grid to do ... SOMEthing. Probably that 'living city' they're so gung-ho about. But the problem with going this fast is that there are almost certainly going to be things Xiaomu CAN'T deal with on her first pass. Kotone's going to have to be the more methodical one about disrupting the ritual - and Seras, if she's able to lend firepower from the other end of things. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa bursts through the barricade with inhuman force clearing a passage for everyone else. She sadly does not have time to look at the Kotone sized hole in there. She keeps going mopving to get ready to disrupt the ritual that's going on. It may be too late though thankfully she's got Xiaomu and Ainsley there two people far better versed in magic. With Xiaomu going to cover the officals kotone gets in and she's using lethal force now she knows they have to be stopped. She's gong to go after the ritualists to take them down rapidly and still cloaked like an angry phantom. Kotone doesn't like using lethal force. While she's not our right killing she's focusing on taking them down. Mostly with shots from her pistol. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' What a thing to barge in on! Seras is gobsmacked. Wide-eyed, jaw dropping - and fangs on display for that reason - though she quickly shuts her mouth. And then demands... the cultists do the same?     "Mouths shut, hands on your head! This ritual's over and those people will be let go!"     It's no empty threat. She levels the rifle for the densest grouping of cultists. The rifle that's easily able to turn entire chest cavities of lethal organs into mush. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The chambers, a place for discourse and debate, becomes an orgy of violence over the next few seconds. Cultists are gunned down, those taking fatal wounds slumping, blood splattering. Others take mere wounds, collapsing... but their chant doesn't falter. Councilers are kicked out of position, yelling muffled protests as they slide and tip. With every disruption, Ainsley finds another thread to pick at, pull. The arcane weavings begin to warp and weaken, falling apart like a house of cards. But even as the ritual is disrupted, the horrid sensation does not falter. Indeed, there is a mystic background noise to it now, of quiet, steady breathing with the most rancid breath imaginable. The perfect mixture of car exhaust and industrial smells and melting asphalt. However, it is not getting any louder either.     "S u c h a s h a m e" says a voice from the wall. The same voice as reported from the basement of the Animist Chambers. Lance Arbast, the founder of this cult, long dead but still speaking somehow. "W e w e r e c l o s e. O h w e l l. N e x t t i m e f o r s u r e." And then suddenly, those pipes that Xiaomu was so worred about? They erupt from the ground, entangling the mayor and dragging him down, below the floor. Several more grab for other councillors also! 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' 'Urban Breath.' The cultists consider it their ideal, their goal. Xiaomu considers it an abomination - the epitome of human development in all the worst ways she can think of. And with the stink of it filling the room, her opinion of the cult, the cultists, and their goal falls even *further*. She can complain about it later; for now, she whips Suiren's blade free of the staff's sheath and tries to cut the nearest councilor free. She can't get to the mayor in time, but any of these people whom she can rescue - ANY win, ANY playing piece she can deny to the cultists - has to be worth grabbing for. She's doing her best not to inflict serious wounds on anyone while she's rescuing them, but she's not going to waste time trying to avoid clothing damage, and if somebody winds up bleeding, Xiaomu'll help give first aid when she isn't busy saving them from a fate worse than burial. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     "Persona!"     Oh, that's a different thing Ainsley is shouting-- and now a giant turtle man is manifesting behind her. She casts a spell in this single moment, and tries to encompass at least one, if not more, of the councillers under a magic shield that the strange manifested anthropomorphic turtle fisherman manifests. He flicks a fishing net in that direction that evaporates in blue shards of light and seems to represent the casting of that spell. Whether this has any effect depends on whether it can defend against the living PVC pipes. She doesn't look up from the reflection in her book as she casts, hunched forward as if she had a bad back in the stereotypical turtle-like posture... all so she can gaze into the eyes of her reflection. Once the spell is done, she breaks eye contact with her reflection and the manifestation fades. 

:'''{{#var:1084|Seras Victoria (1084)}} has posed:''' "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS?!" Seras wails, immediately breaking into a full speed dash for the erupting pipes. "You can't- you CAN'T HAVE THEM!" Shrieks the Draculina, who will, if she can get close, immediately set to grabbing the pipes and trying to RIP THEM OUT OF THE GROUND with all her strength! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is going to move to help cut the councilors free that she can. She's unable to get to the Mayor but the otherS? She doesjn't have a combat knife so Kotone is going to have ot use her bear hands to try and rip the pipes apart, or other wise keep them away from their intended victems. this is going to do some serious damage to her hands at least externally but ther's no time to think about that. Rip and tear time to save a few people. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Pipes scrape against barriers, unable to get a firm grip on councillors. Wires and cords are sliced or simply ripped apart by hand to protect the political authority. By the end of it, the Paladins have managed to spare 9 of the 15 councillors, not including the mayor. The rest are pulled into the underground, no doubt to be used by whatever the cultists have planned.     Lance Arbast laughs, his voice fading away as radios squawk, Eryl's voice coming over the comms. "Paladins. Our sensors are detecting dangerous levels of arcane power throughout the whole city. Stay on the ground and work emergency services. We're ordering an evacuation until the Urban Breath cult is put to rest." 

:'''{{#var:707|Xiaomu (707)}} has posed:''' Nine saved, six plus mayor captured ... whatever they're being used for. It's not likely that they're willing members of the cult, either. Xiaomu scrunches her nose up at the increasing stink of the 'Urban Breath,' and heads for the front door, starting to pull the barricade apart with a mix of her bare hands, and using Suiren (sheathed in its staff again) as a lever where necessary. If she doesn't keep busy, she *knows* she's going to start mauling the beaten-but-not-dead cultists, maybe fatally, and she'd rather be productive than vengeful. Normally, Xiaomu likes humans, whether in spite of their foibles or (occasionally) because of them .... but this cult has gone waaaaaaaaay beyond the pale. Nothing will be so satisfying in this city as crushing the remainder of the cult, and foiling their plot for good ... but it's going to take planning and a coordinated effort to pull that off. "We're going to need to create holy ground somehow," she remarks to nobody in particular - or maybe into her radio. "The biggest, greenest park around, someplace where things *live* - plants, trees, preferably animals too. Not just because they're cultivated, but because they've *been* alive there. Get some Shinto clergy to help sanctify it ..." She trails off, already seeing issues with her proposal. But it's not like she has any particularly better ideas. "So who was that jerk talking out of the wall?" is her other question. 
}}

5432/P:WtWM - Woodsman's Rampage

2017-08-09T04:07:56Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/08/08 |Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM> |Synopsis=The Woodsman clashes with someone in the Forest, Die Reisende go to investigate. |Cast of Cha..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/08/08
|Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
|Synopsis=The Woodsman clashes with someone in the Forest, Die Reisende go to investigate.
|Cast of Characters=909, 151, 7, 894, 1129, 1102, 385
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Throughout all the mirrors of Alberichstadt, those 'blessed' by the Red Woodsman would perceive a flash of red among the haze that congeals in the reflective surface. This is typically indicative of said Woodsman becoming active within the Forest. Towards what end is unclear, but one of the shapes that writhes when the Shadows become active seems to be dancing with the red streak. A Shadow is clashing with the Woodsman perhaps? But why?     Either way, this is something worth investigating. To the Shack! Where Janine is waiting, looking pale and clutching her afflicted shoulder. Considering their last meeting with the Woodsman left her in a less-than-optimal state, she probably has a few rights to be apprehensive about seeing him again. "If we're doing this, remember; he still owes us an answer. Now would be a good time to seriously consider questions."     Once everyone has assembled, it's time to head through the mirror. The sky above, normally dreary and overcast, is pitch black and rumbling. However, some of that might be the sounds of aggressive battle in the distance. The White Pig is in his hollow, snuffling and squealing with every noise, clearly afraid for his life. He's not going to be much help for tracking down the Woodsman. Luckily, those noises will guide the way readily enough. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley showed up quickly when she heard the mirror had shown Woodsman activity. She didn't have much to say until everyone was assembled, showing her previous tense attitude due to the consistent anomalies in the local Persona users. As for questions, she mentions her suggestion aside to Janine: "We should ask how to reach or defeat the Black Queen."     Stepping through the mirror into the Forest to discover it is pitch black makes Ainsley's feathers puff up, as her last exposure to similar conditions involved the Wolf terrorizing everyone. But she can't hear it today, so she slowly calms down, and prepares to follow the sounds of battle while compulsively checking her gear with an anxious fidgeting of her tail and a thin frown on her reptilian face. It terrifies her that they're going to approach someone like the Woodsman at all. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Yamakawa was quick to show up after Ainsley as she heard about the mirror which had shown the Woodsman was up to things again. She was suited up in stealth armour once more. It does some times help and she's about as ready as she can be. She'll move into the mirror forest just after Ainsley and she is also pulling out her matter manipulator as well. She pulls her SMG out of it and checks the weapon over, before also getting a pistol. The pistol ends up in a holster on the armour's webbing, and she returns the bit of star bounder tech back to her other hip. The weapon is checked, safety off and then she'll follow in time with Ainsley, cloaking from view as she goes. Also a small scout drone detatches from the back of her armor and flits away ahead it's a simple camera and if it's noticed it will be taken otu quickly, yet it might give Kotone some what of a heads up about what's waiting for them. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is here. He has a gun, visible, and is rubbing both his hands together (the right one is pretty badly burn-scarred) in anxious anticipation. Over his back is a satchel (it does not have grenades, he would have assured several times - it's ammo and medical supplies) and has a mirrored bracelet on his wrist. As the group meets up and approaches, the topic of questions comes up. "We don't even know what she's capable of. I'm not sure if we want to ask him 'how to reach her', necessarily, when we could use the question for better things. Let's ask him what would be the best question to ask him." There's a small hint of sarcasm there, as he glances at the pig in the hollow, before towards the area with the battle. "It's probably going to be a fight. If the Woodsman goes hostile, try not to get hit. He tears you in half." Not even considering 'retreat'. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley's retort to August comes quickly and without apparent need to think about it, "That vicious bitch has had us on the defensive, reacting to her demented little underlings day after day, crushing all of your lives under this slog of a war with her, kidnapping and killing innumerable people while we struggle to find solutions to the problems she creates, and you don't think it's important to know where she is?"     The look she gives August is just... astonishment, but there's no shortage of frustration. "... sorry, it's..." She rubs the back of her head. "It's just getting to me." 

:'''{{#var:1129|Miari (1129)}} has posed:''' The reality of things is that Miari is by no means one to bare her neck to some unknown 'big bad asshole', and that is why she didn't pledge to HELP exactly... but a call for such is nevertheless answered. A low-flying cloud brings her to the given coordinates...     Yep. She's riding a cloud all the way to the Shack's entrance. And from there, she eyes the humble dwelling with SO much disdain, mixed with a little sheepish. As if to say, 'Elites are operating out of THIS?!'     Adjusting her kimono, the emerald-haired sorceress draws the fan from her sash and twirls it around in one hand, still closed.     But she remains quiet while others hop through the mirror... before following herself.     NOW THIS is worth jawdropping over! Which she promptly does. "... Fascinating! This..." The open mouth closes quickly after a moment or two of thought. "... is a very dangerous realm. No place for an ordinary mortal."     A bit of looking around has her gaze fixing next on Janine. "Combat is not my forte exactly, but my sorcerous mastery will do in a pinch. What sort of... 'big bad asshole' is causing a ruckus?" 

:'''{{#var:1102|Kotone Shiomi (1102)}} has posed:''' Shiomi is here, SEES band on one arm and all, she's got her evoker in its holster, and her naginata on her back. She goes through the mirror with the others, she stays mostly quiet for the time being, only glancing towards Miari, "It's a lot like the Dark Hour that manifests every midnight in my world, and in many other ways the world of these guys mirrors my own." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Being on expedition duty for the Hikari Fleet puts a rather sizable dent in Yuna's ability to respond quickly when the call goes out - but respond she does, one of the last people through the mirror before the Persona-users have to let the portal close. She's already in the Light Suit, and Elner is close behind her; the rest of the Matrix of Light, though, remains somewhere else. Which is really too bad; Powered Form would be a *huge* reassurance given what's been said about the Woodsman's offensive strength. Oh well. She still has her Light Suit and, when she calls for it, her shield. Those will have to be enough defense. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Fucking chill, Jesus," Janine says to Ainsley. "Honestly, I think that we just need something to give to the Pig to sniff out the place. But if no one has a better one, I guess we can use that. Although... this is all storybook nonsense, maybe there's a sword in a stone somewhere we need to get to kill her or something." The bandaged girl grumbles as the group begins the march towards the sound of battle.     Their new companion, Mirai, gets a look. "The biggest, baddest asshole. Swings a huge axe and doesn't give a shit about anyone. Doesn't matter how good you are in a fight, you can't beat him. We tried." The sounds of battle get closer and closer... and then it comes into view.     The Woodsman is fighting someone, swinging that great wood axe and carving down the glass trees effortlessly as a by-product. But his opponent is dodging and weaving under every blow.     The figure appears to be a knight atop a horse from a distance. However, up close, it's clear that there's more to them than that. The helmet atop their head is not a metal bucket, but instead a motorcycle helmet, visor down, it's tassel modelled after a fiery red mohawk. Its armour is not plate, but rather a leather jacket with padding underneath, evocative of a US football player. Sewn on the back is a patch depicting a snake and a mongoose at each other's throats, literally. Fang and tooth have sunk through fur and scale, drawing blood on each end. His lower half, leather pants and riding boots, are soaked in blood.     His steed certainly looks like a horse, but it's actually a machine. The eyes blast out high-beams and the mane is actually bristling spikes. The legs end not in hooves, but in thin wheels. The tail is actually some kind of serrated exhaust pipe that lashes like a real one, constantly belching black smoke. The reins are clutched tightly in one of the rider's studded leather gloves. The other holds a long tire iron like it were a jousting lance.     The Woodsman looks at the group, but says or does nothing to acknowledge them. The... motorcyclist? Knight? Does, however. "Ah, heya kiddlywinks! I'd love to chat-BOY would I like that, I have a lot to tell you-but I gotta keep Big Red here on his toes soWHOA!" The horse revs to life again and the legs bend low, driving the rider under the Woodsman's next swing. 

:'''{{#var:1129|Miari (1129)}} has posed:''' "A Dark Hour?" The maiden spares a bit of a glance Shiomi's way, but the distant sounds of conflict do much to queel her curiosity. With the hair on her neck now standing straight up she sidles up next to a tree in a vain hope of keeping cover.     Vain, because LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE geeze.     "An unbeatable warrior within a world of dreams. How strangely straightforward! We seem to have found him though."     And without further ado, she focuses her inner spirit. No longer looking with merely her eyes, she's attempting to get a feel for the two warriors' supernatural potency and natures, if any sense could be made of it in such a strange place.     "Who's the mounted one?"     The question might be rhetorical, because she sees fit to return the fighter's commentary with a shout of, "Just why is that man after you?!" Cool as a cucumber, as if not terribly worried he might lose his head... 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley rubs one of her arms, frowns powerfully but nods at Janine's words. "Would be just our luck," she agrees, to the remark about a magic sword, her feathers bristling again. Her nerves are pretty raw right now, clearly. Just nothing but bitter unhappiness thinking about all the bullshit that's happened in the past year or so.     When they reach the scene of the fight, the Woodsman is fighting an awfully strange Shadow(?) that seems to have business with them. She lifts her brows in interest when she overhears what this Motor Knight has to say to them, and she directs her worrisome frown to the Woodsman briefly, but puffs a sigh to herself when it's clear that the unbelieveably powerful being is distracted.     "Show me what you feel."     As she says this weird, ancient, dead language word for 'emotion,' she casts a spell that creates a soft green lensing effect around her eyes, which both widen. She tries to detect the nature of the Motor Knight's emotions, the base concept of most Shadows. She can isolate information, sometimes, from doing this, particularly when it comes to Shadows belonging directly to humans.     This may be a poor idea in the vicinity of such a powerful Pure Shadow, but it's her best first step to assessing the situation. 

:'''{{#var:1102|Kotone Shiomi (1102)}} has posed:''' "Where I'm from, every night the Collective Unconscious comes out to play, and Shadows come out to feast upon the minds of men." Shiomi gives a brief explanation of the dark hour, "Overall, very similar in vibe to this place." As the strange fight is on display, she's quiet enough and watches, though she already grabs hold of her evoker with one slightly unsteady hand. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August was going to retort, but Janine does so first. "Finding her is important, but yeah, there might be easier ways. The Woodsman knows this place and what we're fighting far better than we do. If he can /tell us/ something we can't find for ourselves, it could help us." He glances at Miari, briefly, shaking his head at her demeanor as they move forward - and then spots the battle itself. The Woodsman is fighting...a motorcycle knight? A very fast one, if he can dodge through the Woodsman's strikes and has barely been injured. And the knight...wants to talk to them? Possible friendly, it'd seem. "Alright, it seems this rider has answers. That means we want him to survive so we can talk to him. Which means..." August ponders, glancing at the mirrored bracelet but not doing anything. "Guys, the hell do we do here?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa takes note of Miari's arrival and didn't expect that still added support was needed she looks to them for a moment after the conversation on the radio is finished. "We can talk in more detail later." With that out of the way she's getting ready to move forward even as Yuna catches up with the party. Kotone too had been over seeing expeditions which had left her with little time to do much more but today? Yes this was something that needed her attention as well. The party finally comes up on the Woodsman who seem to be fighting someone on a mecha horse from the looks of it? This was not quite what she was expecting. "I have no idea Miari." As Ainsley casts her spell? Kotone is just shocked, she's not seen this from her friend before. At least this sort of spell. She also makes ready to re-cloak once things get going like sh thinks they are going to be. "Kohler I was hoping ... you had an idea of what to do." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Compared to *some* of Yuna's visits to the Mirror Forest, this is very much a scenario she doesn't want to be in - but her friends in Die Reisende needed her help, and she hasn't been around often enough when they needed her; the least she can do is try to be here now. Even if a piece of her doesn't much want to be. "Shugoseiheki," Yuna calls out quietly, and her kite shield materializes, the 'Wall of the Guardian Star' that August last saw when A2 was trying to kill the Warp Iris - and nearly went through Rhapsody to do it. The blonde glances at her shield, then at the Woodsman's axe as it smashes through another glassy tree ... Yeah, trying to tank THAT seems like a phenomenally bad idea, even with help. Although maybe, with enough of the right KIND of help ... Maybe it'd be worth a try? She doesn't have to hold the Woodsman for long - assuming her suggestion leads to her trying to hold him off at *all*. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     In peering at the Shadow, Ainsley sees... a lot of feelings. It all adds up to a sum that doesn't have a lot of single words to sum it up. The best one that comes to mind is... well, 'yandere.' Twisted obsession, clinginess, anger, toxicity, all of these swirl together within the knight. And yes, just the knight, the steed is a not a 'part' of it.     In response to Miari, Motor Knight says, "Oh me? I got a job to do! Gotta keep this guy busy, you know how it beeEEEEE!" Another rev from the horsebike to jump aside, avoiding a vertical swing. "Boy, that was a close one! Are you gonna help me or not? C'mon, we're friends, right? Friends help each other!"     Meanwhile, everyone hums and haws over how best to approach this, if at all. Janine says, "Hey, he owes us an answer. He never gave as a time window. Maybe just... asking it will distract him?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August can't figure out a question, but he also can't sit there. As Yuna moves to block the Woodsman with her shield, he summons the Tin Soldier with a "Persona!", firing buffs at the blonde that increase her endurance - both physical and mental. Perhaps this will assist in holding him back, as he begins to manuever around towards the Woodsman's back? 

:'''{{#var:1129|Miari (1129)}} has posed:''' "Hmmmm...." Miari's none too certain what to make of this situation. There's much information to process. Shiomi's input gets nodded too quickly and assimilated, though it's the disturbingly potent auras clashing out in front of her which command the most attention.     "We should all flee should the Woodsman take this fight seriously." Is the conclusion she reaches with a shiver.     "Oh, very well." Instead of staying behind the tree, Miari returns to striding a bit closer... despite the fact that those axe swings are the main source of wind in the forest right now.     Still, she doesn't approach further than thirty paces from the monstrous lumberjack and his Shadow opponent. "Stalwart Woodsman, surely this is not the best use of your time. There won't be much of a forest left to be a Woodsman of at this rate. Might this duel be postponed to some later date? We have business with this rascal."     She carefully controls her tone, letting no fear through... but her spirit's shivering. She's QUITE ready to bail if this goes badly... 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' "Thanks!" Yuna calls out (again, fairly softly) in reply to August as the buff takes effect. Her courage buttressed as well, she hefts her shield and moves forward, watching both the motorhorse rider and the Woodsman as well as she can; she knows approximately where she'll need to interpose herself, but the way the combatants are moving around, getting into the right spot at the right moment is going to be just a *little* bit tricky. And of course, if the Woodsman spots her before she's ready - Well, that would still provide the Rider with an opening, wouldn't it? And Yuna's not carrying a *weapon* so she shouldn't seem like a particular threat ... Miari's calling out to the two of them - particularly addressing the Woodsman - and that's about as good an opening as Yuna expects to get; she bolts forward, interposing herself in front of the motorhorse and its Rider. Hopefully she'll still be conscious in ten seconds to see what comes of it ... 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     "Persona!"     Ainsley has pulled a book that normally hangs off of her belt, a metal-bound tome, and pulls it up to her face. A burst of blue light shines from behind her as a large, elderly turtle man in modern fisherman gear appears, floating in a cross-legged position. She promptly points to Yuna in the midst of her motion to interpose herself between the Knight and the Woodsman, and her Persona reacts by pulling a fishing net from behind him, and throwing it in that direction. The moment it leaves his hand it disappears in a flash of blue light and ephemeral blue shards, and a shield appears around Yuna, meant to reflect damage away from her once the Woodsman attacks.     Interfering in the fight is the only thing she can think to do right now, considering their lack of concensus on the question they need to ask. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' She looks to Ainley for a moment, then to the rest of the party before she makes ready to act she has her gun ready and she's scared oh god is she ever. This is out of her native world's element to be sure. She has no real support magic to use and even as others attempt to talk she finds some courage to speak. "Friends huh? So you know of us then?" She will not distract the knight too hard. 5R She keeps her weapon ready she has her movement systems all booted up and ready and she makes ready to act to protect Yuna if it's needed. She knows that she can be far more easily repaired long term than say Yuna is if she got the full end of the Woodsman power. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     A flurry of action. Yuna, engulfed in multiple layers of buffs, leaps in between the Knight and the Woodsman on his next attack, another beheading swing. It hurts. Without the buffs, it might have been on the same tier as that attack from A2. With them... it's still bad, enough to send the girl crashing through the glass trees. But it slows the attack, enough for the Knight to get out of the way. "Thanks friend!" it says.     And the Miari walks up, attempting to speak to the mountainous being. "It got in my way. You get out of the way, or you'll be next," is all he says in response, swatting at her with the back of his free hand. It's a lazy swipe, but it still comes out quickly and has a lot of force behind it.     "Know you? Only through proxy!" the Knight calls in response to Yamakawa. "I've heard a lot of things! You killed the Huntsman and the Intendent, right?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Yuna's able to block the attack, and the Knight gets some distraction. Apparently he knows them - and that they fought the Huntsman and the Intendent. Is he an ally, then, like Panzerkatze? It's possible. He's probably a better ally than the Woodsman. No one else asks a question though, so from behind the Woodsman, August shouts for his attention. "SIEGFRIED!" He knows that words have power. And that's exactly why August is saying his real name, waiting for the Woodsman to turn towards him. "You owe us one question, and I'm cashing it in. Answer us as clearly as you can, immediately." The redhead pauses, his Tin Soldier moving in front of him, as he takes a breath and stands up straight. And then, he says the first thing that comes to mind, comes to instinct, even if it's not the best question. "How do we stop the Black Queen's Court from hurting more people?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' If it hadn't been for the combination of August's buffs and Ainsley's shield, that one swing would probably have put Yuna directly out of the fight, in much the same way that happened during the final appearance of the Warp Iris. As it is, the impact *still* sends Yuna flying - but the Light Suit remains intact, even as several trees which had been behind Yuna fail to uphold the same claim. As to what shape Yuna is in when she finally comes to a halt ... well, Elner is still floating and watching, rather than dashing off to focus on Yuna's safety, so she can't be THAT badly off. But neither is Yuna rushing back to the others, like you might expect her to do. 

:'''{{#var:1129|Miari (1129)}} has posed:''' SUCH VIOLENCE! And over just stating a mild request of all things. Indignation boils in Miari's gut... but it's equalled by fear and she clams up, ALL thoughts going to the backhand sailing her way.     Motivated by pure death-fear she shrieks a single word in focused alarm. A word that humans may not speak. Only avians may speak the Word of Ten Thousand Birds, and so...     The Woodsman's hand passes through an EXPLOSION of doves. Dozens of the creatures are splattered, but hundreds scatter in different directions and rejoin a flock that swoops back multiple Woodsman-arm-lengths away.     The flock reconverges, minus the slain birds, as Miari... now leaning inelegantly against a tree for support, as damage to the flock carried over to her. She does not perspire, for she cannot, but the close shave has scared her out of her wits! She coughs up blood...     ... SEVERAL times. "Eugh..." 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     "Yeesh," Ainsley remarks from the incredible force of the strike aimed at Yuna. She cringes at the sound of the impact, the shield she conjured shattering under the force of the blow. She frowns at the knowledge this Knight has, because his job is apparently to distract someone that might have a direct reason to fight the Black Queen.     "... why don't you get the hell away from him so you can say what you're gonna say?" she speaks up to the Motor Knight, but then she hesitates as she realizes that he's riding a mechanical animal. She stares at its movements with a frown on her face, and prepares another spell for sensing emotion, this time focusing on the Motor Knight's steed. She's reminded of that mechanical bird that fooled them into thinking it was something it was not. Her eyes flash green like before as she tries to figure out where it comes from.     "Yes, we're those people," she answers the Motor Knight, "Who else could possibly be out here that aren't other Shadows?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' The name drop comes, the fight has started at this point she sees the Woodsman also take a swing at Miari too she sees where this is going. YUna is struk and it's not looking very goo with that Kotone is looking to Yuna but doesn't go for her is Elner isn't making for her she has others to deal with. She stands her ground but then comes the strange spell that miari uses she's not even sure what just happened there. She does see Miari is bad off two. It's she's not a healer all she can do iis keep the woodsman attention but she does move in such a way she might be abl to intercewpt a follow up attack for yuna, or maybe even Miari if she really moved it.n "So we have a reputation then I see." She doesnt' have time to sya much more one Ainsley and August have handled it the best she's noit sure what to ad but she's ready as she'll ever be for if this becomes a full on fight. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     The Woodsman grunts as Miari collapses into a flock of birds. He doesn't even try to wipe his hand of the blood. And then August invokes the name Seigfried. The Forest seems to become still, a tension filling the air, billowing from that massive form. He turns, and regards August with eyes that glitter dangerously, burning from within.     "Be careful with that name, boy," he says. "Finally, you ask. And I will answer, as per the promise made. To stop the Black Queen, you kill her. To kill her, you reach her. To reach her... use that ridiculous white buffoon you keep around. Offer it something from there. Something like this."     He swings again, at the Knight. He goes to dodge, but this swing is faster than before. It nicks him, and takes a scrap of the leather jacket with it. The Woodsman plucks it off and tosses it to the ground. "Use this. Pursue this fool when he leaves this place."     The Knight laughs. "Oh, you horrid brute, you ruined the surprise!" It looks to Ainsley and Yamakawa, and sounds like it's grinning. "So it IS you... you killed my friends! Beasts, monsters! If you were really my friends, you would lay down and let I, The Constable of the Black Queen's Court, run you down this instant!"     Meanwhile, the mechanical steed doesn't ping much to Ainsley. It's like its made of emotion, but a mix of them, combined together. Perhaps the Court has a crafter, akin to Agatha? 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Still groggy from the impact, Yuna is starting to pick herself out of the shards of glass that used to be one or more trees; the Light Suit is sparking somewhat, but the defensive aura is still holding. Tentatively. For now. She's been in worse shape. But she's in no condition to join in a general battle against the Rider - or rather, the Constable - if it can be avoided. 

:'''{{#var:1129|Miari (1129)}} has posed:''' This matter regarding the hero's name doesn't go unnoticed by Miari, despite the sorceress needing a few moments to mend her wounds. Subtle golden energies flow from her skin, illuminating a golden half-circle mark on her forehead that wasn't there before.     "Men like you are STUPEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDOUSLY aggravating!" She sees fit to announce directly at the Woodsman, unafraid of delivering a tongue lashing. But her attention isn't quite on him... no, her gaze falls to the Motor Knight instead.     A flick of her wrist and the metal fan opens. "If you but were more forthcoming like that instead of inflicting grievous harm on someone who merely spoke to you!"     She strikes downwards with the implement... and a HOWLING WOLF COMPOSED OF WIND is unleashed... straight for the self-proclaimed Constable. It courses across the distance like a hurricane gale, and will rip and tear with razor air before dissipating. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley frowns at the Constable's response to her answer. Of course it's another member of the Court... and his message is just more threats for her and the others. She makes a show of rolling her eyes and putting her hands on her hips. And then she flinches when Miari decides to attack the Constable. While that's going on, the lizard jogs briskly over and reaches down to pick up the strip of leather, and then sprint away from the continuing chaos.     "Let's get out of here. He'll drive the Constable away, and will not be able to pursue us without a trail," she says, waving at the others, "We need to get back to the pig anyways." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "I know what I'm doing." August replies to the Woodsman as he tells him to be careful with his name, as he waits for their promise to be fulfilled. In the end, it is - a scrap for the Pig to track with, and the Knight is the Constable - a member of the Black Queen's Court. When he says 'friends', August snarls. The Huntsman, a friend? This man considered him a friend? "You're disgusting. My name is August Kohler, and I'm going to kill you someday." It blurts out of his mouth, anger mounting...but they can't fight him, not here. They need to hunt him. August moves back, no longer preventing the Woodsman's encounter. Instead, he moves to wait to see what happens next, his Persona guarding him, watching the Constable's next reaction. Does he attack? Does he flee? "What is your business here, Constable?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa now knows the truth about the other being the Constable is one of the Queen's own, thus he's an enemy of the group and humanity as a whole. She would fight but it seem now isn't the time to fight she'll look to Ainsley nod once and move to fall in. "Then lets get out of here. I don't want to say any longe, we got the leather let's go!" She does not join Miari's attack nope she's going to be pulling out now. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Woosh! Miari shoots a gust of wind at the Constable, who swerves to avoid it. He also laughs at August. "Oh, I know you August Kohler. My friend, the Huntsman, told me so much about you. About how you screamed and cried! So pathetic. But it's okay, I'll be your friend. Know why? Because I'm so wonderfully kind, I'll deign to be with a shitheel like you!"     The horse revs as the rider laughs. "My business is my business, but I suppose I'll let you know! The Black Queen's Castle... it moves, you know? Sometimes, Big Red here gets a bead on it, comes charging in. It's up to one of us to hold him off before he can get to it! And I think I've done my job, so I'll be on my way. Goodbye friends! I look forward to your pursuit. Let's see if you can catch me!"     The horse whinnies, engines screaming as he blasts away through the trees, almost clipping Yuna on her way back. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Fuck you." Two words, but August Kohler fills them with so much hate and spite it could power an engine. As soon as the Constable flees, August is dashing down his path, trying to figure out where he went, running and running. He doesn't know how to navigate the forest, but if he can find /something/, he'll keep going, just to prove to this bastard he can. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' 'Almost' clipping Yuna is still enough to make her flail and collapse back into rather pointy wreckage of mirror-glass tree debris. Fortunately, that landing hurts a lot less than the original shattering impact did. She doesn't even try to get back up before August tears past at top speed - and when the German youth does *that*, she decides just lying still and letting any other pursuers run past is ... Okay, maybe not the best idea. She doesn't want to get *stepped* on by anyone who isn't paying enough attention. This is about the point at which Elner flits off to locate Yuna and help provide, if nothing else, a reference for which direction she should go in. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa takes note of the information the knight drops off but she's very much not a happy campter. She sees yuna gho down and with the king fleeing she's going to move to go give Yuna a hand and help Elner with Yuna. She's not about to let the songstress be left in a state like that. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     "August!! We can't go running off into the forest chasing a man that's clearly faster than us!"     Ainsley bellows this at August, "We need to regroup, get the damn pig, and track him on our own terms, not his!" If he doesn't listen, she follows, running after him as soon as she starts shouting either way. 

:'''{{#var:1129|Miari (1129)}} has posed:''' Hearing this explanation from the Constable, Miari purses her lips thoughtfully and snaps her fan closed again. All the shit talk seems to be going ignored, despite the berating she just aimed at the Woodsman.     That explains the Constable's actions. But not the Woodsman's. Still, one glance at him has her thinking twice of actually asking him any QUESTIONS. 'Big red' is more a force of nature than a person, she's starting to feel.     One does not ask tornadoes why they howl.     But standing there, she turns the facts over and over in her head so far and reaches a solid conclusion.     "... The stakes must be awfully dire in this world. I'd better lend them some aid and see where it leads." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     As August sprints off, Janine runs after him, slapping at his legs with the flat of her sword until he trips. "We're going back, you idiot. We got the scrap, we'll get him when we're good and ready for a proper fucking fight. I'm actually pulling rank in Die Reisende as second in command to say that you're not in the right state of mind. So suck it up and move!" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' In his mad dash, August is tripped. He growls at Janine, briefly, but he can't see the Constable out there anymore. "Fine. Fuck." He lifts himself up and heads back, and is /clearly/ not happy about it. 
}}

5402/'A Needless Flashy Escape' Can Have Two Meanings Depending On How You Read It

2017-07-28T04:27:57Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/07/27 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=The Starlight Bandits clue in the Watch on corruption in Chapter's new rebel government. |Cast of Characte..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/07/27
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=The Starlight Bandits clue in the Watch on corruption in Chapter's new rebel government.
|Cast of Characters=943, 1108, 857, 714, 670, 894, 1100, 934
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Though there is an air of tension and uncertainty in Chapter, that won't keep citizens from visiting the local markets, even though the stalls aren't exactly groaning under the weight of wares. Turns out that when all the farmers move to the city and stake out new homes and positions, there's not a lot of food being grown or butchered. The government is pushing a new work programme for the 'rotten nobles to wear out their soft hands with hoes and scythe,' but it takes time for them to learn the basics, and they lack the stamina to work all day.     Many are realizing that the glorious revolution may not be all it was cracked up to be. But none ever accused the working class of being weak. They struggle on out of principle, pride, or having no other alternative. It's plain on the face of everyone here, haggling over overpriced limited supplies and trying to scrape together anything they can.     As a result, the Starlight Bandits stick out like a sore thumb, happily sitting together on a dry fountain. Irvine is carefully cutting slices from an apple, likely obtained illegitimately, stabbing them, and letting Molly eat from the blade. Their jovial laughter draws more than a few annoyed looks. 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2 is here because August asked.     That's about it. The whole revolution thing sounded pretty nice. Good for these people. They actually won, too, and the punishment for their former overlords seems fitting enough. The android isn't really sure what she's supposed to do here, that said. She isn't particularly up to speed on even the bare minimum of civil (or even digestive) knowledge to know that these supplies on the market are overpriced, or in short supply at all. She's hanging around in a pretty badly mangled cloak, badly in need of a new one, pretty much lurking by the fountain. 

:'''{{#var:857|Eve (857)}} has posed:'''     Eve's admittedly curious about all this. Not just the Bandits, who she's been advised to regard with interest. They're pleasant people, though she's not sure if she's interacted with them enough to consider them friends. They're friendly though, and she has no reason to dislike them. That's close enough. In addition to that though, there's Chapter; a city she's had reason to be interested in for a while now and one she helped overthrow. It's not exactly been a shining bastion of enlightenment after the terrible book-hoarding nobility was overthrown... and having her best intentions fail isn't the sort of thing she enjoys.     There's no particular sign of this on her face as she enters the city however. Oh, she frowns, but then she's generally prone to glowers on occasion when seeing dirty people, filth in the streets, or people being ground down in poverty. She's not actually angry though, which generally provokes a lot more than just anger. She's also moving slightly stiffly, her back unnaturally straight, though she gives off no signal of actual pain.     Eve's expression loses its scowl when she sees Molly and Irvine, instead greeting them neutrally with a bow of the head. There may even be the slightest of tiny smiles ghosting her lips, though it'd take a keen eye indeed to detect it. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary's been following the situation in Chapter fairly closely ever since she got inadvertently involved in the whole mess with the book and rebellions and sticking it back at those asshole nobles. She may not know the ins and outs of the whole situation, but she can certainly sympathize with the farmers' new plight.      Seeing what they're going through does help put some things into context, though. The healer's keeping a low profile and wearing a simple tunic and shorts combo instead of her usual coat today to try and blend in. She's also got a crappy brown rucksack slung over one shoulder, and it definitely doesn't have anything useful inside it whatsoever.      Spotting the Starlight Bandits, Sanary takes a roundabout path towards them, eventually propping one foot up on the fountain to peer at them, A2, and Eve alike. She doesn't say anything, though, just playing the role of a curious gawker for now. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' So she wasn't very happy with the situation here but the Starlight Bandits had her respect if only for their sense of style in their capers. So here she was to just see what hte heck was going on. She rubbed the fish hook tattoos on her face for a moment then pressed on as she looks to see Molly and Irvine. She looked htem over with her green eyes size up evertying but hte pirate lass is otherwise fairly quiet at the moment as she arrives. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Despite a stressful past few weeks, August came as soon as the Bandits asked for him. He's very fond of the two, and they've been a spot of constant cheer that he doesn't normally see, so when they ask /specifically/ for him, he grabbed his stuff, kicked out of his room, and headed over immediately to the warpgate. The redhead is dressed in a light teal hoodie, and is approaching the Bandits as soon as he spots them at the fountain. Their laughter is the big giveaway to their position, and August steps up to them. "Irvine, Molly. I'm here. How are you two?" He glances at the others who are with him (not recognizing Sanary) and nods in their direction. "You wanted to talk, but obviously not over the broadband. You two usually take things on your own - what's the matter?" 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace is here because it seems like people need help. She saunters towards the town, towering over... well, pretty much everyone. Even then, weirdly, she blends in as part of the scenery. People watch her go past, but nobody wants to enquire. She spots August and the bandits, sauntering over. "Ello" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Will has been travelling! There's a certain sort of wisdom that can only be gained by meandering the multiverse like some kind of particularly puissant murderhobo and occasionally shooting problems in the face. That is hopefully not what Will will encounter here, as this particular set of problems appears to involve the Bandits and he rather likes them and would not like to see them get shot in the face. "Heeeeeeeey there folks," Will calls from aboard his thundering steel steed. The oversized motorbike's engine purrs and chuffs with tiny but mighty explosions, and makes its rider not quite completely impossible to hear. "Irvine, Molly! I came as soon as I heard. It's been a while, huh? Y'all been doing good?" 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     "Young man!" Irvine shouts, suddenly getting an arm around August's shoulder and running his knuckles over his scalp. "Good to see you, and your little friends too!" He looks around, smiling at the new and unfamiliar faces. "Ah, young lady! I do hope that book is treating you right," he adds to Sanary.     William meanwhile, being in absentia for a while, gets a full hug from Molly, one that ends in your feet off the floor. "William! Oh, it's been far too long. Where have you been? Are you doing well?" she babbles, dusting him off and looking him over.     But finally, business beckons, and they nod. "Yes, a grave matter needs tending to, but I would rather not talk about it in public. This way please." He and Molly put their arms around as many people as possible and begin guiding them away from the market... and on their way out, Molly's hand grabs a stall and pulls hard, making it collapse behind them as they both break into a sprint. Irvine drops a smoke bomb as he yells, "Distractions! Make them as big as you can!" 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "The book? Y... Yeah, sure." Sanary chuckles awkwardly while adjusting her stance and tightening the strap on that rucksack a bit. Is she hiding something? Probably. Whatever the case is, Sanary isn't going to elaborate. Instead, she clears her throat, then starts to follow the group as the Bandits begin leading them away!      It doesn't really make much sense even after Irvine calls for distractions. "The hell are you going on about?!" She's still sprinting, of course, although the healer is unlikely to be as fast as anyone else in the group. She does have momentum carrying her forward, though, in case something unexpected and fragile pops up in front of them!      If nothing else? Sanary does take a moment to fire off an explosive laser into the sky from her eye. She'll just have to hope there aren't any birds in the way. 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' OH GOD THOSE ARE HIS BONES. "Ahahahahahaha~" Will wheezes as he's HAULED BODILY OFF HIS MOTORCYCLE. "I've-- I've been doing good! Mostly!" He hugs back, finally. This is also a signal to please let go so he can return a hug properly and also stop being slowly smothered to death. "I was, uh. Taking a trip around Ar Ciel, now that the surface is in better shape and things have cooled down. I wanted to see as much of it as I could before heading back, but now here I am!" Also, he was recovering from literally burning his soul to speak to a planet. That kind of sucked. "So uh. This grave matter is pretty grave, then? What's going o--" A STALL IS SMASHED. SMOKEBOMBS ARE DEPLOYED. "Oh. Oh no, uh." Will... fishes around his hips. He draws his gun. HE FIRES IT INTO THE SKY. "THIS IS A DISTRACTIONNNNN!!?" He yells, as he goes running off after Irvine and Molly 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace holds her hand out for a fistbump with Will. She blinks at Irvine a moment, confusedly. "Um...?" She mutters a moment, drawing her sidearm and re-loading it with blank rounds. Even with blanks in the chamber, she takes care to aim it well away from anyone and fire off a few rounds to add to the chaos. THen she takes off after Will, Irving and Molly. 

:'''{{#var:857|Eve (857)}} has posed:'''     Eve fakes a scowl at being called little but her heart's not in it. She IS little, and she's being acknowledged by people she likes. Aside from not wanting them to think they can demean her, she's happy enough to help. This makes it easy enough for the Bandits to put arms around her, one or both, and hustle her along.     She's quite confused at first, when the Bandits start making a ruckus. She's a fast thinker though, weighing her trust for them against her general opinion of Chapter residents, along with thoughts of what sort of diversions her fellow Watchmen might come up with if the need arises for something big.     So Eve goes along with the plan, gathering up her will along with loops of golden hair, extending that hair out somewhat to gain some reach while holding the excess up off the street so she's in no danger of tripping. Not to mention no danger of dirtying her hair!     As she's pulled along, Eve whips out coils of hair at various targets. Stall tables and obviously-bulging money purses being her best targets. The stall tables will be much like the distraction Molly caused. The money purses will be sliced cleanly through allowing the contents to spill noisily to the street. Eve's no cutpurse normally, but she figures the sight of silver and gold and frantically-scrambling people will be as good a distraction as anything while not actually doing any significant harm to anyone. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' THe Banding saying they needr to talk in private? This got her attention she was wuick to follow after them as smokebombs drop she'll pull down her googles nad press on after the pair. She says nothing. She is very much curious as she follows. She does however pause to lob some things behind her as they go, the sonic grenades go off lettoug out high piced horribley bad boy band music from her world. 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     "What the hell?!" A2 cries out as Molly and Irvine so suddenly decide to cause a scene, turning on a dime to make as big and loud of a mess they can, and insisting on further distraction. Her tired and irritable voice barely rises above the clatter and crash, not to mention the blast from Sanary's laser flare and the percussion of Leyanne's gunfire. "What the /hell/?!" she just reiterates again once Eve adds prehensile, slashing hair to the mess. Most of her own form of distraction just involves having to kick and elbow smash the flying debris out of the way in her mad sprint after the Starlight Bandits, doubling the mess with chunks of spinning wood and clouds and splinters, dust, and splattered fruit. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "You almost sound like a supervillain there, 'your little friends'." August actually laughs, but it turns more serious when they say it's a grave matter. He nods, and moves to follow them...when they make a scene and demand the same. Everyone else is already being super flashy - smoke bombs, laser blasts, hair, A2's existence. August decides to do his the old fashioned way, shouting at the top of his lungs as they all flee into the smoke. "THEY WENT THAT WAY!", pointing in an opposite direction from where they're going before escaping into the smoke himself. When he gets up closer to the others, he's...laughing, if confused. "I don't understand you two at all." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     It's a hell of a distraction. Twin beams pierce the sky as blank rounds and sonic grenades ring out, making everyone look over as Eve rips up money purses, drawing the immediate ire of the merchants. They attempt to follow, but many go the wrong way as August shouts as such. Those that keep with them are lost immediately in the clouds of smoke and fine debris created by A2.     It becomes apparent as to why the Bandits have escapes incarceration for so long during their time as criminals. They run like fickle water, and can turn on a dime. From the streets they run into someone's home, up into the second floor, out the window to crash into another building, climbing to the roof before sliding down a flagpole back to the streets. For a seemingly mundane pair, they flee from something as if that something were the Devil itself.     But finally, after ducking through several alleys, they arrive at a destination. They both stop, and funnel everyone into an abandoned, empty building before throwing themselves in behind them. A black sheet is there waiting for them, and Irvine hangs it over the door frame. The windows also have such sheets hanging over them. In the dim external lighting, it just seems as if the building is pitch-black and empty just looking in.     "Phew~! How exciting!" Molly says before flopping into a chair. "Well done, chums. If anyone was following us, they're not now." This implies that they weren't sure... "Now, I'll cut to the chase. There is a reason we got in contact with you all beyond our two biggest fans being members of the Watch." He smiles at August and Will as he says this. "The truth is, this government you have installed? It's no good. There are vipers in the nest." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary's having a hell of a time trying to keep up with anyone, finding it a lot easier to just barrel through things and go around that house instead. She's got stamina, though, as evidenced by her lack of panting once they actually reach their destination. The healer takes a quick look around the empty building, then turns to the Bandits while starting to shake her hands in front of her.      "So that's why some of those people had teeth..." She nods slowly while being caught up to speed, then channels some healing enegry around in a faint cloud to anyone that's willing to stand in the thing that looks vaguely like cartoonishly glowing fart gas. It's not strong, but it'll help reduce the need to pant from exertion at least a little!      "You got a plan to remove 'em, then? Or... Set someone else up to start over?" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' Yeaaaaah fistbump More importantly though!! There is something to be done here. Something that sounds vaguely like... REBELLION. Or maybe just discrete political assassination. In either case, after a (pretty damn exhausting and possibly wholly unecessary) chase sequence through the backstreets of the city, Will settles into what appears to be a beanbag in one corner of the room. It may in fact instead be a sack full of rice or something. Or literal beans. There maybe aren't that many chairs in this Secret Hideout. "Eheheheh, well, I can't help bein' yer fan, you know. Anyway we can help, we'll do it! Though uh. It kind of sounds like this... May be our fault to begin with...?" Will looks to August. Is this their fault!? Do they have to clean up their own mess!?!? "...Well. Anyhow. Uh, what vipers're we talkin' about here, exactly?" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2 is legitimately impressed by the skill with which the Bandits seem to avoid some unseen, malicious traceurs, seriously doubting she could perform quite the same feats of slippery acrobatics even given her much greater physical prowess. Still, at no point does she actually /see/ any tails, nor does she, even by the end of the imaginary chase, have any reason to believe that there were any. Oddly, for an android, her breath is actually somewhat quicker by the time she ducks into the darkened house, and then abruptly tosses her cloak.     "What the hell was all that about? Was there /actually/ anyone chasing you? Who do you even think is after you?!" They seem like slightly more pertinent questions to her immediate safety. The bit about installing a government was something she wasn't there for. That said, when she hears those last few words, implying a whole new cycle of exploitation and abuse ready to begin anew, the artificial creak of her joints and inner skin covering can be heard from her curled fist. "Explain. Right now." 

:'''{{#var:857|Eve (857)}} has posed:'''     While Eve's no free-runner she's small and agile and doesn't have too much trouble keeping up with the Bandits. She has plenty of concentration to spare for a little mayhem of her own and, so long as no one's actually being hurt (by her own definitions at least) she kind of has to agree with Molly's summary.     Eve's panting fairly hard after the run, and when she finally stops she takes some time to stretch the soreness from her back and shoulders. Her rapid and agile movement makes it quite clear she's not hampered, but her recent wound's still sore and stiffens her somewhat. That might even vanish with Sanary's healing mists, the remnants of the injury being so relatively minor.     Either way now that she's finished with tending to soreness, Eve faces Irvine. "We didn't install anyone." she says. "Technically." They just helped overthrow a rotten regime. It wasn't their place to say what came after, and it still isn't. Though if the new ones in power are rotten, they might well come back in and overthrow them too... 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Keeping up with the Bandits is not an easy feat, as August tries to stay behind them even as breaking and entering becomes one of their routes. They know where they're going, so splitting up might get him lost, and honestly, it's thrilling. It takes his mind off of the stress that's been pervading through him. He doesn't even assume they're being chased, honestly - he thought this was normal for them. When the group arrives at the building, August is panting, slumping against a wall to catch his breath. He doesn't talk about the chase, taking a moment to regain his stamina, when Irvine mentions something incredibly pertinent - the new Chapter government has failed. The German straightens himself up immediately, staring at Irvine. The idea isn't one he really wanted to consider...but Perplex immediately turned tail when things went outside how exactly he wanted them. Eve mentions they didn't technically install someone, and August handwobbles slightly. "We did support them, though. Shit." "How deep is it? A bit of pesticide, or burn the whole nest?" 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason takes a note to August and notes. "I'd say your better at the super villain thing." She looks to August and then to William before looking back to the badits. "I kinda suspected as such but just how bad is it?" She ask looking at the pair for a moment she seems pretyt intent to listen, she also keeps a firm eye on August as well. 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace follows the pair on their crazy flight, before she reaches the empty building at a run, looking over her shoulder. This... is a problem for an 8ft mouse, because entering doorframes built for even her own species at a flat run requires a carefully timed duck... one she doesn't make. Her face meets the top of her doorframe and stops, while her body continues at the same speed. Therefore the mouse actually enters the room horizontally, landing flat on her back and sliding to a halt. "...ow..." She picks herself up to listen, frowning. "That's... not good..." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     Irvine laughs at Sanary. "You misunderstand me, ma'am. We're bandits. Monsters. Degenerates of the highest order. We've no interest in making things better, they just have something on us." As everyone starts asking questions, Molly gets up, apparently recovered thanks to Sanary's healz, and rubs her partners shoulders. "Let's start at the beginning Irvine. They're all very upset and confused!" He nods and smiles back at her before launching into a full explanation.     "So, after your little stunt at the action," he begins, pointing at August. "The government invited the Concord here to request aid in rooting out the loyalists. Molly and I happened to see them in passing, but didn't think much of it. But soon after that meeting, we were approached by one member of their council. He... managed to get something on us, don't ask what. But now he's using it to make us work for them. Apparently, the Concord asked for, and was promised, the library under the city in exchange for their help. But this bearded fellow doesn't want them to have it for whatever reason, she he demanded that we collapse it. No doubt he plans to pin it on us afterwards to make the government seem blameless."     Irvine looks honestly mad, which might explain why Molly is kneading his shoulders. "That's why I said we should ask you all for help! I said you would all likely have a vested interest in dealing with him~ That's why we went through all that running, to shake off any tails we might have had on us. As for how many there are... we don't know. We just met with the man with the beard."" 

:'''{{#var:857|Eve (857)}} has posed:'''     Destroy the library? Eve's eyes blaze with anger at the mention of that crime against humanity. It's an anger that shows much more truly than her normal half-hearted glowers and scowls. She doesn't particularly enjoy the idea of the Concord getting the library but she'd far rather see that than see that much collected knowledge destroyed. Books are a bit of a sacred thing to her and, while she enjoys reading on a personal level, they more importantly represent the opportunity to better one's self. The Concord aren't evil as a whole, and Eve would never try to deny their members the opportunity to learn and to choose.     She doesn't say anything, but her alert smouldering anger should be obvious, and she definitely pays the Bandits intense attention. There's more, and she intends to hear more before saying something obvious. Words... are precious. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Settling back into a more comfortable sitting position by the door, Sanary strokes her chin lightly while trying to sort out everything that's happened. "Wait. That sounds familiar... The library thing, I mean." She starts, then freezes up before coughing again.      A more astute eye may notice that she's looking uncomfortable again. It takes a moment for her to get her composure back, and she casts a cautious glance over at August in particular before rubbing her neck lightly. "So... Uh. Lemme make sure I got this all straight. The Concord's helping the government get the loyalists out so they can get to the library, but the government also wants you guys to blow up the library so the Concord can't get to it? But..."      Now she's getting confused. Or... Already getting confused? Already. Also, stepping back a bit from Eve when she seems to be getting more and more incensed about smoething. "But then if they turn on you for doing what they told you to, wouldn't that just put them on the spot for getting targetted by everyone?" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2's expression, only now visible after tossing, well, her only /real/ article of factual clothing, remains hard but neutral at the mention of the government hiring on the Concord. It's not really her business either way, since her role isn't actually deciding what any government does; merely ensuring its honesty by eliminating every part of it that rubs her the wrong way. The mention of blackmail and scapegoats though . . .     "That's exactly like them. That's just /exactly/ like them." she says to no one in particular, having met none of these farmers before. "What the hell do they even have on you?" A2 asks, before quickly shaking her head, and then bringing her hands up to crack her knuckles one after the other, each flex of her weathered hands making exceptionally loud pops as she forces joints into proper alignment. "Actually, don't bother. All we have to do is kill the guy with the beard, right?" 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace rubs the side of her head with a grumble, pulling a thermos from her flask, and several folding cups. Anyone who wants a mug of tea is provided one. "Destroying libraries almost always results in bad effects for a culture..." She sips a cup of tea. "And the Concord's not... what I would consider a group that furthers the kind of personal liberty I'm fond of." She thinks a moment and looks at A2 "What if he's not alone?" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August listens to the Bandits' story with rapt intention, very obviously mulling it over. As it finishes, he nods, not asking them about what the man has on them, and instead moving to other details. "What's his name? I remember a bearded man or two on their council. We'll deal with him, but there's multiple paths we can take. We can allow him to try and blow up the library but get caught in it with damning evidence, and let the Concord get their rightful revenge, or turn him over to Perplex - if Perplex isn't in on it. If the library gets blown, he could get trapped in the rubble." And then a glance to A2. "Or do the simple part and just have someone shank him." Leyanne's looked at with a bit of confusion when she asks about the potential of others. "Then we do the same, don't we? We cull out the toxic parts. In fact, I'm wondering how much of the government is contributing to the shitfest the commoners seem to be going through. They don't look happy, and honestly, it doesn't look much different besides a lack of indentured slavery. Is the new Chapter really that different from the old Chapter?" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Well I mean, it's kind of obvious, ain't it?" Will asks, scratching ponderously at his cheek. "You tell a bunch of folk who've never even seen a plough before to go out and cultivate the fields and you're basically askin' for a famine. I'm betting they don't even know what season to plant in and which to harvest. That's just bad policy, you know? Better to have just let the people who farmed do it for a wage and improve conditions and stuff like that, I reckon." Beat. O-oh right, that's not the problem here. "H-hey now, let's see what the deal is first before we go and straight up assassinate a man. This whole mess got started 'cause we went in all guns a-blazin' without thinkin' about what might go wrong, right? So let's try and maybe make sure we don't just screw things up worse first." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     "I doubt it was the whole government's idea," says Molly to Sanary. "If they were that against it, they would have just turned the Concord down entirely. No, this is just one or two being too proud and stupid to just play along." Irvine laughs at A2 and says "I like your style miss! But no, if it were that simple, we would have done it." He nods and gestures at Leyanne's point, before adding, "Also, we don't know if he has any plans in place for... what he has on us should he die. But that's our problem, not yours. We'll figure something out!"     But then, the obvious question; what to do? "William is right. They are farmers, and perhaps would be happier if they had remained as such. But that means they're unlearned. Easy to fool." She grins, and looks to Sanary. "You still have that book, yes~?" 

:'''{{#var:857|Eve (857)}} has posed:'''     Eve's getting somewhat appalled at the various suggestions. Murder someone in cold blood. Destroy the library. She flinches rather hard at both of these but doesn't issue objections. She won't kill and she won't outright destroy books, but that's simply her choice. She has no reason to deny others the right to make that choice for themselves. She'll even go on a mission where people get killed... but she'd excuse herself and leave if it's a matter of deciding to murder in advance.     Eve's not the type to insist. She'll offer alternatives if she thinks of any, however, or support them when they're raised. She likes the idea of letting Perplex handle his peoples' betrayer. It might result in an execution, but that's better than going out intending murder. For that matter exposing him to the Concord doesn't seem like a bad idea. Much better than destroying the library. She also likes Will's idea of letting farmers continue to work for wages and improved conditions rather than as indentured slaves... but that's something for a later time. She nods at William's suggestion to think before going in guns blazing, her angry scowl tightening into more of a neutral frown of thoughtfulness.     "What, then? Turn him over to Perplex? Assuming Perplex isn't in league with him that is. And we can't easily act against one man without knowing who else is in the conspiracy." she notes, trying to discourage the suggestions she dislikes without being hostile to the people making them.     She actually seems to have some sympathy for Sanary and asides to the older girl, "It's traitors, betraying the government's agreements by breaking faith with the Concord." she offers quietly. She doesn't have to particularly like the Concord to disapprove of traitors. Particularly traitors who want to blow up books. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Eve gets an understanding nod from the healer, and she hums softly before uttering a disapproving growl. "Oh. So it's... Some asshole, then." Sanary grunts again once Molly and Eve confirm her suspicions, her brow furrowing again while she starts to recall a certain bearded man. "Right... Well, if you need a hand bringing that guy down a peg or five, I'm in."      The shoddy-looking healer cricks her neck, then raises an eyebrow as Molly addresses her. "Eh? Yeah, I got it with me. Er. S-somewhere." She even tightens the strap on the rucksack a bit tighter at that.      Subtle. "Had something in mind with it?" 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace stays quiet and simply provides tea. She's not really the planning type, but she knows it's neccessary, and in that situation it's the job of any good NCO to make sure that those who're doing the planning are as comfortable as possible. After a moment's thought she finds herself a place to sit and, after ferreting through her bag for a few moments, sets up a little hot-plate and begins brewing up some fresh tea. A little bit of digging later, and biscuits on a plastic plate materialize. She listens into the conversation, though. If she feels she has anything relevant to say, she won't hesitate but chip in. At a convenient gap in the conversation, Leyanne pipes in with "Tea, or coffee, anyone? Helps stimulate the brain." 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     "Then we kill them too." A2 practically spits at Leyanne, not with any personal vitriol, but for the sheer thought of more of them helping him. "There aren't an infinite number of them. Eventually, you've cut out all the scum there are." She abides William's polite request to hear more though, folding her arms over her chest and leaning from heel to heel impatiently. For a time.     "What book?" she asks straight away, before her laboured memory catches up with her sullen attitude, and some comprehension dawns up in those weirdly translucent, lavender eyes. "You really think you can convince them?" Then a beat. "I'm pretty damn sure the Concord would make an example out of him anyway. What's even the point of overthrowing the government just to betray the new one? Why does he care? Why don't they even want the whatever. Library?" 

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:''' "Mmmn, we need to know more about... Stuff," Will agrees with a quiet and vaguely knowledgable nod. He's not... Really that wise. But he tries! He tries his best. "We're going to need to figure out more about this nest of vipers, and which ones are snakes and which ones aren't." But all vipers are snakes. That didn't even make sense!! "Then once we know what's going on, we can decide more decisively what to do to solve the problem." WILL STOP TRYING TO SOUND SMART. "I think that's a good plan, right?" He looks to the others for verification. His eyes are sparkling like there's nothing here that can go wrong. 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace looks to Will a moment. "I'd have put it differently, but it can't hurt to find out more before we act." 

:'''{{#var:943|Starlight Bandits (943)}} has posed:'''     "Gathering information before you strike is core to any good heist, it's true. But if the chance presents itself to get all the information right away, wouldn't you take it?" Irvine asks. He taps the cover of the book Sanary produces and grins. "This is a book that tells the future. And I can tell you that it does include the names of the people you will meet, and the reasons you meet them. If we can get Beard Man to read it, and somehow record what appears on the pages, we'll have everything we need. His allies, where he has hidden his materials, his plans... however, he'll be expecting something from us. So, to that end, I ask you all to do something with this." 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason says "So it sounds like it's just one bad fish in the barrel? I think I get it. So we need to deal with them, do you got proof we could slip to the concord about this person intending to double cross them on their deal?" She seems to get it and is also keeping fairly calm here. She gives Eve a look for amoment and thinks. "Ya I'm not book burning, so I say out him to the concord if we can and watch them deal with it as they see fit, I agree Eve. They are stabbing their own allies in the back." 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace looks thoughtful, nodding to the bandits. "Mmmh, that's never.. I don't know, that feels kinda like cheating. And it feels like the multiverse would punish us for trying." She pauses, thinking. She sips her tea. "I know I'm normally the fuckit let's do it live type, but... this don't feel like it's going to end well." 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' "That's if he even gets that far with the book." Sanary actually sounds somewhat irritated now that the book's become a topic, flicking it open and glancing at it for a moment before closing it again. "Freaking thing works... Kind of. But it's too /much/."      Another grunt, and then she takes a seat while holding it in her lap. "But if we can bring him somewhere quiet, then yeah. Maybe we can... I dunno. Hold him down and make him read it? Probably don't need to worry about it taking too long, at least. But... I'm still keeping this thing." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August spends the next few moments of dialogue just thinking. Getting all the thoughts in place. He really does want to solve this decisely, but...some timing wouldn't be an issue, some planning, if it was fast enough. And then the Bandits and Sanary talk, about using the book against the man...August grins, a bit. "That's brilliant. And then, to get it back from him once he has it...we'd just need the help of a pair of the Multiverse's best thieves. I wonder where we could find that?" He shakes his head to Sanary. "No, then he knows we're on to him and immediately begins moving his people to damage control, knowing they'll die, or he might sacrifice the nation. We need to get the information off him first, and then go loud. The question is how - I'm not an expert in stealth and we don't have a lot who are. We don't even know his name or where he lives." And then August just /stares/ at Leyanne, open mouth for a few moments. "...Cheating? /Really/? There's no such thing as cheating in situations like this. If we have a book, and we can con the asshole before we deal with him more permanently, we should use it." Pause. "And Rondel gets it back afterwards, of course." 

:'''{{#var:857|Eve (857)}} has posed:'''     Perhaps it's a sign of the intensity of things, but Eve hadn't even noticed Leyanne proffering drinks and cups until she actually speaks. The little blonde oohs softly and accepts tea, daintily sipping it like a tiny English sophisticate. Yes, she actually drinks it in a fashion that wouldn't look out of place at a fancy gala, despite the current location.     As discussion continues Eve frowns, but it's in thought rather than in annoyance. She slowly nods her head. "If he's told what the book is, he'll probably WANT to read it." she notes. "And if I can see it, I shouldn't need more than a quick glance or two to read a page." she adds. "He need not even know anyone's sharing the knowledge he's gaining." 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "We'll need to get the book back, though. It's Rondel's, and if she's going to be lending it to us, we can't just give it away. If we leave it with him for too long, we lose knowledge of where it is in the long run." August replies to Eve. 

:'''{{#var:1100|Leyanne Mace (1100)}} has posed:''' Leyanne Mace blinks a bit "I think I misunderstood what the book does. I'm... gonna let you guys carry on with planning." She chuckles. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:''' Sanary rubs her chin again as August points out the flaws in her approach. "Ergh... True, yeah. If we got a quick reader, though..." She glances over at Eve at that. "... I guess the trickier part'll be getting it to him and not making it look like we're trying to do this."      A pause. ".. And yeah, make sure I get it back when you're done! This kind of... Future-reading book could be really dangerous if someone that can actually use it gets their hands on it." 

:'''{{#var:857|Eve (857)}} has posed:'''     Eve nods solemnly to August's reply, turning and also nodding to Sanary. It seems more than merely a reasonable suggestion; she has no problem with Sanary keeping the book, and the whole idea sits much better than thoughts of murder or destruction. Of course there may end up being a big fight, especially if the man finds out from the book that they're opposed to his plans... but better a hot fight than cold murder. She can live with that choice. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason looks at Leyanne. "This isn't a game if we got to fight a bit dirty then so be it. I'd just rather avoid a blood bath and if possible spare the texts here. She hears idea of using te book agains the rotton fish. "Oh I like that, I like that a lot." 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     "Cheating?" A2 looks to the giant mutant cyborg mouse with an expression more incredulous than usual. "Where do you think you are? You think these people are playing /fair/? Why the hell should we pass up something that could work? Why should we be 'fair' to them at all?"     The android huffs, strongly enough to blow her hair back from the one eye it conceals, for a moment. "I don't have the first idea how to make him read the book, but I can tell you that if he isn't useful as a source of information, I'll break his neck. Simple as that. You can't put all your eggs in this basket, but if you think you can pull it off, I'm willing to try. It sure as hell saves me the trouble of hunting down the rest." 
}}

5394/ICoT: Trigger Hill

2017-07-25T13:58:44Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/07/24 |Location=The Bastion |Synopsis=Kid, Flamel, and Alexis have a shooting party with the rest of the Bastion crew. |Cast of Characters=798..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/07/24
|Location=The Bastion
|Synopsis=Kid, Flamel, and Alexis have a shooting party with the rest of the Bastion crew.
|Cast of Characters=798, 459, 1094
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Trigger Hill.     Once situated near Point Lemaign, serving as a training camp and a defensive perch for the structure, the Calamity flung this hill high and far from the base. However, it clung together, forming a sniper's lookout any Trigger would have died for. This leaves it the ideal place for Rucks to run Kid through on how to properly handle an Army Carbine.     Much of the structures have fallen to ruin by now, blown apart by the Calamity and then consumed by the Wilds, but the training grounds still work. Rucks is working on some target turrets while everyone arrives, one spluttering to life and spraying some stray flames from its nozzle under his touch. Zulf and Zia are also present, the former looking to the east while the latter tunes her harp. Kid himself is clutching his Carbine and practicing raising it from his hip to a firing position quickly.     As everyone arrives, he looks around (after lowering the rifle and taking his finger off the trigger, of course) and says, "Heya folks. Which of ya wanted ta learn to shoot, and which of ya is just here to relax?" 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' World shattering disaster aside, it's a marvel how some of these various chunks of land have held together. Or at least mostly held together. It is in its own way something to marvel at, once you look past the destruction that left it that way. Maybe gave a lingering bit of hope that some day it can be pulled back together. Or at least rebuilt. Repaired? The latter is what it looks like Rucks is trying to do at least. Hands folded casually behind her head, Alexis just gives a little shrug at the question. "Not really a gun person, y'know." Though it's followed by a hint of a half-grin afterwards. "Not that it means I don't have a few shooting things." They're just not guns. Trainers don't need that sort of thing usually. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons arrives as he always does: In a vaguely fascinated way, and looking like a secret agent. Zulf is given some space. Parsons remembers the last encounter with him, and while Zulf himself isn't someone Parsons thinks of as a threat, the potential for social tension sure is... Potent! He cheerfully approaches and gives a quick wave to the Kid. "Hey there!" He says. "Thanks for the offer from before! How's things been since I last checked around here? Still, uh...?" He looks out over the hill.     "Still kind of disconnected, yeah. I'm here to learn to shoot! Sort of. I mean, I can already shoot, but learning a different way sure sounds relaxing. And it would be great if I could actually carry a gun someday. A secret gun really completes the spy aesthetic, you know. Like those shoe-pistols? You probably don't have those though." No, they probably don't. "I'd love to give whatever firearms you have a shot though." 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     "Ya sure? What happens if you're caught without your critters? You got that stick, sure, but a gun would come in handier," Kid says to Alexis. When Flamel arrives though, he waves. "Good to see ya fella. Been a while. Things are looking up, to be honest. I'll let you know how it is while we shoot."     Zia and Zulf also wave to the new arrivals. Zia is entirely pleasant, as usual, while Zulf's smile is very grim. The singer has salvaged a table and set up a big pot of some kind of stew on it. "Try some. I think it came out quite well." But finally, Rucks has the turrets fixed. They float and drift, beyond the hill before swivelling to face it. Kid draws one of his Repeaters from his belt and flips it, catching it by the barrel and offering it to Flamel.     "Let's see what you got, to start. 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis smirks a bit more as she lowers her arms, then stretches one playfully like a pitcher warming up. "You say that now, but you didn't see me choke a xeno by throwing a pokeball down it's throat." Granted it most likely didn't fully die until the deck depressurized from the explosion of lighting Skuntank musk on fire, but that's besides the point. "It's okay, I've already got a Magnum." The joke on gun names gets a bit more clear when she pulls a net-patterned pokeball off her belt and clicks it. The usual discharge of energy follows, flickering in front of her to form a blue shrimp creature... With a right pincher claw a good three times as large as the rest of it's body. It peers around the area for a bit, then makes an annoyed sounding clacking that vagely resembles it's species. "Clawitzer." "Yeah, I know, no water. But it's good for you to stretch your legs, you don't have to flop around like a stuck fish at least." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Hey, up is the best way to be looking!" Parsons says, cheerfully taking the gun. "I always try to be part of things looking up." Well, no, he didn't take it, per se; the gun began floating somewhere in his approximate proximity, while Parsons puts two fingers on his temples. He gives a cheerful thumbs-up to Zia. "Would love some later, if you don't mind! Maybe while I get my first lessons on how to handle this stuff." The gun itself shifts around, as if he were testing its weight, while he busies himself putting on a pair of shooting earmuffs. "What I got to start, uhhhh..." He peers at the reeater. "Always expected them to be more metal! Well, here goes nothing."     He tries to line a shot up down the length of the gun, unable to really understand how the spine of it translates to sights. He keeps it at a fair distance, his posture going a little stiff, before he opens fire with a long barrage at one of the turrets. He's an experienced marksman with psionic blasts, but far less so here, likely making a lot of amateur mistakes with his... completely invisible grip. Maybe THAT'S where to start here. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Zia is immediately fascinated by Magnum. She puts down her harp and kneels down to examine him, taking a flask to pour some water over him. "Oh wow, he's incredible," she says, looking to the trainer for permission to touch his claw.     Flamel, meanwhile... doesn't hit anything, shockingly. Kid shakes his head. "No no no. None of that. Take it in ya actual hand," he says, grabbing it, reloading, and trying to force Flamel into holding it. "Aim down the sights, use both hands to keep it steady if ya have to. Keep ya elbow straight, but not tense, else ya feel it later."     While the Psychonaut figures out that his hands can be used for things, Kid begins to explain what's been happening of late. "Found some more Shards. Met Ura who actually want peace, can ya believe it? Handed over one of the Cores they took too as a show of faith."     Zulf grumbles and shakes his head. "It's not right," he says. "It would be peace built on a lie." Kid goes quiet, as does Zia. Rucks just sighs and strokes his mustache. 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis takes a step back so Zia can get a good look at the pokemon. "Just be careful." Though the dousing of water is appreciated, so the shrimp-mon doesn't snap or anything at her. "They may look like animals but pokemon are a bit smarter than your average critter. Some more than others." She snorts a little as Zulf grumps about the Ura actually being peaceful, but shrugs it off after rubbing her shoulder a bit. "One way or the other, some relative quiet works out for you guys. Time for more shard hunting." Alexis turns her attention back to Zia admiring the Clawitzer. "Wanna see what he can do?" 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Peace! That's good." Parsons says, adjusting his grip to actually, uh, /grip/ the thing. "I mean... Alright, fair point. It's probably not right one hundred percent of the way. But, well, I'm pretty sure Caelondia's already pretty well punished for its wrongdoing. I mean, I know I sure can't think of much else I'd be demanding. Caelondia was ground zero for this whole nightmare, I'm pretty sure you guys are just as mad at whatever conspiratorial secret order ordered that thing built as they are."     As he finds a good position -- with a two-handed grip, out of caution -- he tries to line up a shot and pull the trigger, awkwardly; he's just not used to recoil, and it'll probably show. "But more shards are good. A Core is too. Really, that's a lot of positive stuff! I'm happy to hear it, you should be proud to be managing it. What's the next Shard?" 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     Zia, always eager to look at weird animals (and ignore what Zulf said), eagerly nods to Alexis after getting her hands on that massive claw. "Yes please. Oh, if Magnum is up for it, of course." She clearly took that whole 'smarter than pets' thing to heart.     A single shot from Flamel actually manages to ding the turret! "Hey, not bad," Kid says. Unfortunately, that draws its attention, so Kid raises his Carbine and puts a bullet through it before it can retaliate. "Next Shard? Somewhere around Colford Cauldron, according to the old man." He makes a face at the mention of it. "Empty your lungs before you squeeze the trigger," Rucks says, finally chipping in as he loads up his pipe, both to Kid and Flamel. The young man grumbles that he 'hit it just fine' as Rucks sends another turret out, as well as one extra for whatever Alexis is planning.     "Suffering is not justice," Zulf says, clearly not willing to let this go. "Just because Caelondia took the brunt, that does not excuse their part in it. All those who were affected need to know." He also sneers a little at Flamel's last statement and looks to Rucks. "I wouldn't be so sure." 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis doesn't need to ask, the Clawitzer scuttles off in front of the two girls with enough eagerness to make it clear he's good with the idea. "I'd say Magnum is more than willing to show off a bit." She chuckles a little, watching as Rucks gets more turrets deployed. Moving targets are always more interesting, even if it is just for practice. She waits for a moment, watching the device click and clack about. Then thrusts out her arm to point in its direction. "Aim for the drone, Magnum... And use Water Pulse!" "Claaaw..." Magnum leans back on his tail a bit for support, the massive claw opening to show the aquamarine colored glow gathering inside of it briefly. Then snaps the massive claw shut with such force that the resulting pressure blast the watery charge out of it with the same speed and force as an artillery shot. And about as loud as too, leaving little wonder as to how the pokemon got a name combining 'claw' and 'howitzer'. 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     Parsons seems to take pride in that single landed hit, though he was briefly caught off guard by that turret. "Oh, wow! Nice! Thanks for the advice! And for making it not shoot me. Colford Cauldron... What's that? What's that like?" As ever, he's INTENSELY curious about things. All things, everywhere, really. Then he tilts his head back once more, eyeing Zulf... "Oh, yeah, you're absolutely right." Parsons says, nodding. "I can absolutely respect wanting people to know! It's just hard to do that without, you know. Undue risk! Lots of it."     He snaps, and smiles. "You know, that would be best! You're an ambassador, right? You could probably figure out a good way to deliver the news! You know, in a way that doesn't doom the last remnants of the world to death in the ensuing grudge feud." He gives a thumbs up. "Can you work on that? I think it'd be a great idea. Alright, time for violence again. Breathing techniques I'm good at. Great way to influence mental state for us." He says, taking a few deep breaths. "I think it's the chemntrails." He whispers, then exhales intensely. And another burst! 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     BOOM!     The Water Pulse rips through the turret like paper, grinding away the internals and making it plummet to the ground far below. Zia looks very impressed. "Well done Magnum!" she says. Taking a ladle, she fishes a large hunk of meat from the pot of stew and serves it in a bowl to the Pokemon.     Kid also looks very impressed, and watches on as Flamel squeezes off a couple more rounds. This time, he manages two! Again, it turns to face them, but another shot from Kid goes right through the barrel, destroying it. "Getting pretty good. Maybe ask for a... 'shoe gun' from the Concord? Can't let ya keep that one, it's a historical piece. Owned by Slinger Jawson hisself."     Zulf blinks, and rubs his head, before looking at Rucks. "I'd like to. Some here might disagree with that though." The old man exhales a cloud of smoke and says, "I keep sayin' it won't matter in the end. I'll fix it, I stake my word on it, even if you think that ain't worth much." 

:'''{{#var:459|Alexis (459)}} has posed:''' Alexis hehs. "He can shoot more than just water. But I don't wanna break all of Rucks' toys. Sure he's gotta piece them back together enough as it is." Besides, Magnum is promptly more interested in scarfing down the offered reward. As for the other conversation going on she just shrugs a little again. "Look at it this way. Things don't change until someone is willing to take those first steps. Sometimes you've gotta be the one willing to take them yourself and hope others follow." 

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''     "Well, just because something won't last or won't matter, doesn't mean it doesn't still matter to someone who wants to do it!" Parsons says cheerfully. "I trust you're going to fix things, so you do that. But it might still be worth it, you know?" Parsons calls over, recovering from an embarrassingly startled jump when the turret swiveled on him.     "A historical piece? Wow... Still so much memory in this place. I'm tempted to try clairvoyance on it! Might get some good pointers on how to use it." He sounds like that's some kind of a joke. "Might be a good time for a quick break anyway, watching that eating go on is making me hungry. It looks good!" He seems quite eager to dig into it. 

:'''{{#var:798|The Kid (798)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, don't concern yourself with me, little lady. Don't care about this scrap," Rucks says, slightly bemused as Zia watches Magnum eat.     Zulf meanwhile, seems a little gratified that people are taking him seriously. "Perhaps you are all right," he says softly, before walking over to the food table. "Yes, now would be a fine time to eat, 'fore I eat it all myself. Zia's cooking is fantatic.     Kid seems eager to talk gun history with Flamel, as well as take the chance to ask him to do just that, but Zulf's little threat has consumed his attention entirely. Without a word, he takes his gun back and gets himself a full bowl. 
}}

5375/Warp Iris: The Conclusion

2017-07-14T07:25:34Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/07/13 |Location=The Quilt |Synopsis=The finale. The end of Loci Iris. |Cast of Characters=562, 385, 325, 42, 894, 7, 1108 |pretty=yes }} {{Pos..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/07/13
|Location=The Quilt
|Synopsis=The finale. The end of Loci Iris.
|Cast of Characters=562, 385, 325, 42, 894, 7, 1108
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     There are things in this world unknowable and imperceptible to the eyes and mind. Most, when they hear this, will immediately think of horrors beyond time, space, and reality, as they have become in-vogue of late in all manner of media. Frequently, they are depicted as things with many tentacles. But that is not something 'unknowable.' It is just visual shorthand for something alien. If something were actually unknowable, it would be a void, a gap in your perception, an emptiness in your mental catalogue.     It would be something that, even if it were right under your nose, you would fail to pay it much notice, or even consider it at all when it is not immediately present.     But, that's not important right now. What IS important is the myriad scanners and detectors are picking up many readings in the Forbidden Glade where the whole Warp Iris incident began. After Loci Iris' fairly dramatic farewell, they were a hot topic on news media for a while, one that divided many in opinion. The sudden spike in activity revives the subject, and it's being discussed all over the Multiverse. Anyone paying any attention is in the know now, and many are converging on the forest. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' The last time Yuna was in the same location as the Warp Iris - or at least, technically, the part of it that people have been dealing with - she only left because somebody was willing to carry her. So upon hearing that the scanners in the Forbidden Glade are reacting ... this time, she comes ready for battle. She's in her Light Suit, the whole Matrix of Light is with her; what she *doesn't* have is a visibly readied weapon. If the Warp Iris wants to peruse her psyche again, it's not going to do so without permission - and with her own (mercifully hazy) recollection of how it went last time, permission might not be forthcoming this time around ... 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     It wasn't a place Rhapsody had visited before, but with her slightly more recent interactions with the Iris, and watching Yuna give her mind to the thing, the Izzet Guildmaster felt that since she became involved, she should stay involved. Upon arrival, she'd stay close to Yuna. It's not to be protective, it's just the person she trusts the most that is currently present.. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     This is unexpected. Has the Warp Iris changed its mind? Has it decided to send them something? Did its univerce contain another being? Is ANOTHER universe like it unifying? Whatever the case... the SSC Stranger Than Fiction drops out of FTL far above, and Staren teleports down in a beam of red light, ready in his armor. He nods to those he knows as he sees them too. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Someone's creeping through the woods towards the glade. Slipping past the trees and quietly avoiding contact with anyone, is what appears to be a young man in sporting jeans and a shirt, as well as a long, obscuring cloak. It's a dark-ish gray, and covers the entire body, with a hood that partially obscures the face. Sewn into the fabric of the cloak is a dark blue pattern, of either ribbons or chains linking and entwining into each other. On the youth's wrist is a bracelet, reflective, and there's an inexpensive pistol holstered on a belt. His right hand is also bandaged up tight. August Kohler has come prepared. This is an event that will make or break worlds, and if this is the return of the Warp Iris, it's time to end this once and for all. And he's going to do it in style. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa had thought things were over, really with Loci Iris she thought it was over but now something is happening so she too is on sight now. She was cautious and armed clearly for trouble from the looks of it. She was on edge what could be happening now? She had no idea and she really didn't like that. <<slipbolt if things go to hell drop the package>> <<concerned: Understood.>> 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     The unfortunate truth about shared information resources is that you can't prevent anyone with access to them from doing whatever they want, and not what you want. The price one pays for the freedom of the Watch, bound only by the common commitment to that info network's security and equality, is letting everyone else have the freedom to use it for stupid ideas.     Or something like that, is along the lines of what A2 has thought on since last time. Of course, if the Watch had involved the authority to tell her exactly what to do, she wouldn't have come to it in the first place, desperate or not. The thought doesn't bring her much comfort when she responds to what looks like a chance to settle the Warp Iris matter for good (one she thought she wouldn't get for a very long time) only to spot the same people who had let it cause the disaster it did in the first place.     "The hell are you doing here?" comes out of the tree line, mostly at Yuna, but sort of at Rhapsody and Staren as well. Unlike August, she isn't trying to hide. Not really built for it, either. Her cloak was destroyed last time. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The media circus has sprung up around the forest, with many reporters on the ground speaking into cameras. Many have also come bearing signs. Some of support of Loci Iris, others of protest. The Paladins have, thankfully, arrived fast enough to set up a perimeter to keep these people out, but not fast enough to keep out those that might interfere.     Eryl Fairfax himself strides into the forest, waving off question from reporters, citing that he'll have a statement when he knows more. As everyone moves through the woods, towards the shrine, that familiar chill that squeezes the guts fills the air, intensifying with every step. They come to the stone walls, still unrepaired due to the dangers that the artefact it secures poses. This easily permits access to the inner area, to the open door to the chamber...     Above it, a Warp Iris is congealing from the air. A tentacle extends from it slowly, languidly. Like it was an arm being stretched after a long sleep. "U         R RRR     GH H HH... has it been 1000 years yet?" For naturally, as a being born of a universe in which space and time never properly formed... how could it ever tell? Or maybe it could tell, but it felt that hope that it might not be alone in the Multiverse, and could not stay away for long.     Either way, it broadcast that thought and speech a fair way. Everyone currently approaching can hear it clearly. Loci Iris is back, and many have unfinished business to settle. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna glances over her shoulder at A2, grimacing slightly at the battle gynoid's tone. "Making sure what happens," she answers. "I don't want to go through *that* again, but I don't want anyone else to --" Yes. Yes, she remembers the chill VERY well, and her hands tense as if the Matrix Divider were already in them. But it isn't, and she barely catches herself short of making her weapon manifest. "Let's ... not shoot pre-emptively this time, but ... if it tries to nom on my thoughts or memorized, it's not getting that chance," Yuna says a bit more quietly to A2, then turns her attention to Loci Iris. Yes, it's clearly the same aspect they encountered previously. Yuna is notably *not* stepping forward. It takes a lot of willpower for her not to step *backwards* - say, to hide behind Rhapsody, or Staren, or even behind August. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't really, really tempted ... but if this comes down to combat (and for all her bad memories and residual nightmares, she doesn't *want* to fight Loci Iris), she'll stand alongside her allies, if not in front of them to protect them. 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     While Rhapsody had only felt this particular sense of dread once before, it was instantly recognized. She wasn't sure what to expect, given the -thing- it ejected from itself before, the others that wanted to kill it, and Yuna who had seemed to want to protect it. A hand settles on a spellblade, but nothing more. A2 only gets a glare and a simple curt reply, "Whatever we want." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren is surprised when a tentacle starts to form. Dammit, is the Loci Iris really coming back? This is bad...     His shoulder missile racks pop up. "I have you locked and targeted. Don't start..." he responds to A2.     Staren looks to the Iris as it emerges and asks a question. "No, and it's not safe here right now!" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa looks at A2 for a moment and gets on edge not certian how things went last time, the cyborg is on edge. she doesn't make any hostile movies but she sees the media and just is inwardly facepalming. She looks at the warp iris andshe pauses for a moment she stares, did it fall into some remant of the old temporal wastelands? She doesn't know bue she moces ahead she sees yuna and rhapsody for a moment. "What the hell? Did it fall into the temporal wastes...?" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     The presence of the media means that there likely isn't much time. If the news has spread so far already that reporters are competing to get the first scoop, it shouldn't be long before more serious authorities arrive, which means . . .     "What a coincidence." A2 says, barely giving Rhapsody the frostiest of glances from her worn out eye. Golden fireflies swarm to her hand, thrumming in deep, electric bass, as the light takes on the form of her hard-angled tech sword, her finger on the trigger. "So am I."     She blows past Staren like he's the valet, locking herself off again in that narrow little world which seems to exist only between herself and the Warp Iris. The target. How often does she go there? How many things have shared that practically tangible corridor of laser-focused hostility with her in past? They've barely even met, and it's like it was deeply personal on sight.     "If you don't want to get hurt again, the smart thing to do is leave, and let me do what I should have done earlier."     That may have been for Yuna, but all that goes with it is A2 flipping her hair back over her shoulder, speeding up her gait, rocking forward on her heels, and then disappearing with an emphatic, windy *FOOM*. Was trying to talk to her a fool's gambit from the start? Within instants --before the Loci Iris even seems to recognize she's there-- her sword is out to hack it to pieces, ripping through the only piece of it that's even visible. The hell is her problem? 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The cloaked finger doesn't join into the arguing, not immediately, and isn't around long enough for Yuna to go behind him. Instead, he's quietly leaping up a tree with branches overlooking the area, and pulling something out of his pocket. Some sort of camera? He attaches it to the tree, before pulling out what looks like a phone and pressing some buttons, and then stepping out fully into the open of the branch. His voice is recognizable by those down below - it's August. "Really still defending this mistake? How many people would the Warp Iris have to hurt to make you stop this bullshit?" The phone is sweeped over the area briefly, including a long glance at the Warp Iris, before turning towards August as he outstretches his hand, allowing it to get a good view of his cloak. "Folks at home, journalists, cops. This is the Warp Iris. An abomination of nature, a world that failed to integrate into the Multiverse. It's very presence spreads dread to those near it, so you're lucky you're not here, and it feeds off the mind and thoughts with those tentacles. Did you know that in a part of the Multiverse, there's several people trapped in terrible nightmares, that aren't even thought to be curable, because of this thing? The Paladins know. The Concord know. You know what they decided to do? They decided to try and befriend this /thing/. Try and /teach it/. Ask your local Paladins. See how the supervisors squirm around the idea. That's right. The Paladins prioritized the abomination over people like you." There's a breath, as August stares at the Warp Iris, watching A2 prepare to move. "You're probably wondering who I am and how I know this. I am /The Cloak/ of the Watch, and I'm here to show you how the police are fucking you over. And if you don't believe my word, you don't have to. Shortly, as in after I press this button, all the information I've gathered on this, as well as audio-recordings showing that the Paladin Grandmaster, Eryl Fairfax, knew about this, will be released." There's a movement of the phone, as August presses a click. The phone and the camera on the tree are both connected to a stream that's been dispersed through a reliable Watch contact to several media outlets. As August presses the button, files are uploaded, explaining the situation, the meeting about the Warp Iris, and with recording excerpts of Eryl Fairfax talking about the nightmares over public radio. "Now, tonight, the Watch is going to act. We're going to put this thing down and end this shitshow once and for all." August leaps off the branch, bringing the mirrored bracelet up to his eyes. "Persona." In a flash of blue, the Tin Soldier appears, and immediately begins firing a hail of bullets at the Warp Iris. The Camera is stowed in a pocket, allowing a POV shot of the action, besides the tree camera's overhead shot. "Decide how you feel about this. You'll see it all right here." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, hello again!" Loci calls out upon hearing Staren's voice. "It's... not safe?" It pauses for a long moment, before it reaches out. It touches the mind of everyone in the area, the lightest poke... but enough to maybe set off some alarm bells. "Oh. It hasn't been 1000 years, has it? You're all still here."     Especially A2. She's /very/ here, and very much cutting off that one, visible tentacle. "Oh. You," Loci Iris says in the closest thing it can manage to hostility. "You know, I had plenty of time to consider things while I was away, literally. In chewing over everything I had learned, I discovered something... interesting. I was taught that harming others is wrong, but now I know that harming someone who is trying to harm you is called 'self-defence.' Let me show you what I mean."     Suddenly, an enormous polyp erupts from the Warp Iris, the fleshy mass trying to slam A2 into the dirt! At this time, Eryl finally reaches the scene. He overhears the Warp Iris, and August's little livestream. With a slow groan, he rubs his temples and steps forward, bellowing his next words. "I am Eryl Fairfax, Grandmaster of the Paladins! ALL OF YOU will stand down immediately. That includes you also, Loci Iris!"     "But this is self-defence. She cut my tendril off," the monstrosity intones, confused. This is a very valuable opening for some! 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' For a moment, Yuna just watches A2 with a look of consternation on her face. "I just said -" And it's no use; she's already attacking, despite Yuna SPECIFICALLY advising not to just attack pre-emptively. Loci Iris hasn't even had time to make its intentions clear yet, never mind making any threatening (or deliberately non-threatening) moves before A2 goes on the attack. Granted, from what Elner reported after Yuna recovered from the last encounter, slicing and shooting and trying to burn the Warp Iris didn't do much more than make it eject some damaged mass plus annoy it into leaving. But worse than A2 attacking unprovoked (for a given definition thereof) is August playing his trump card. "Shugoseiheki!!!" Yuna shouts, and rather than a weapon, her kite shield - the Wall of the Guardian Star - materializes on her left arm. But she doesn't have time to do anything else before Eryl calls on everybody to stand down ... and she looks at the Grandmaster, nodding, but ready to interpose her shield and try to block or divert A2's blade if necessary. With the Warp Iris taking matters into its own .... uh, whatever you call it when it's not a hand ... she *probably* won't have to, but just in case. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren wasn't lying, although the indicated missiles aren't the ones that fire -- as soon as A2 passes him, he holds out his arms, firing a half-dozen tiny missiles. They swerve slightly, trying to reach different angles from A2 before airbursting... except instead of exploding, they fire a lance of plasma at point-blank range.     Staren himself follows this attack by manifesting his wings and taking to the air to give himself more ways to dodge A2's counterattacks...but now /August/ is here. Eryl too. "Killing it won't bring those people back, you idiot! LEARNING from it might give us a way to save them! It's not like we're going to sacrifice people to it, we had this under control!"     Still, after Eryl's order, he makes no further agressive moves for the moment, hovering there and watching A2 warily.     If there are a few seconds of calm, he'll eventually remember to pop down the missile racks. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa pauses as the Loci does pokehj er mind it's a far lighter touch than last timebut it's concerning and with August just fulling full bore here that he is the Cloak for the Watch is ahuge revlation. She doesn't like where this is going it';s clear she's out numbered here but yes she knows what she has to d. She's stagging for a moment as she moves to back up Eryl now she shifts and comms her ship. <<Get the package on the pad Slipbolt>> With that set up she's looking to keep her weapon ready as she moves to back up Eryl and she's very happy she's not alone. She has her weapons ready and she says nothing out loud it would be a bad idea but she's also moving to get in the way of the hostile combatant and she now must wait on Slipbolt, hopefully she won't need to use it but it's looking like she will. "Drop your weapons if you ahve them and otherwise stand down." 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     Poke. Boop? Did Loci just boop her brain? That felt, weird. The sensation isn't thought about very long before the Warp Iris speaks again. It -learned-. "Oh for heaven's sake, she learned! She understands! The only ones not learning in this room now are the two of you!" Rhapsody roars out, blades coming free of their sheathes before, well, Eryl has a pretty good 'order' voice, no doubt. "Do you really think they are going to listen, Fairfax?!" 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The cameras continue to record, as August turns towards Eryl, getting a full view on his phone. "Grandmaster Fairfax. The world's watching. What do you plan on doing here? Whose side do you take? I'm no bookie, but I'd put my money on 'the law'." He smirks under that cloak, his mouth fully visible, as he steps away from Eryl and towards the Warp Iris, his Persona still pointing the gun. "So you understand self-defence. You've been thinking about it. Have you been thinking about your victims? Do you think they'd have the right to self-defence? Or are they still just /food/ to you? Do you feel remorse?" "/Can you feel remorse/? Can you even feel, or are emotions just concepts to you, not something you actually experience? I bet you don't feel you did a single thing wrong. You feel right, because it's what you are. Because you eat intelligence, so we're just prey to you. Well, guess what. We bite back." The camera is waved around, to each party. "Paladins. Concord. Bystanders. And you. Everyone has thoughts on what's right here, but what the hell do you think, you /giant cosmic miscarriage/? Do you even think besides whatever preserves you? Can you even /understand/ why I hate you? Because I don't think you care." And then, August dashes forward, to gain distance from the cops, drawing his gun. He knows what Kotone's capabilties are. "If you did, you'd have freed your victims, or tried, or done something other than show up with your /warpgates/ after what you thought was a thousand years. All you are is a monster." The Tin Soldier raises its gun again, and a flurry of fire pours out, a massive spray moving to engulf the Iris's body. "And monsters, /anyone/ who preys on people, are not welcome." 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     It's questionable if A2 even hears August; pure guesswork if his resounding monologue ever pierces the haze of white noise that may as well be visibly surrounding her head. It's not like she needs the encouragement. It's not like she asked for approval. It's anyone's estimate if they'd worked this out together, or if August had simply taken advantage of her resolve; of her hate being the one certain factor in this whole mess. Whether the timing is intentional or simply convenient, the exact second the stream starts, black blood is sleeting off the edge of A2's grey sword, and splattering across her unblinking face.     Of course the others attack. They'd said so from the start. Had she just resolved to deal with it, or even listened at all? She's barely through the first cut when Staren's micro-missiles chase after her. One of the plasma lances stabs white hot through her left arm, and another impacts her side as she turns, adding brand new carbon scarring to the mess her bare skin already is, as artificial blood vapourizes and turns to white pixels. The explosion throws her groundwards, into a smoking roll, which she barely rises out of before the giant, fleshy protrusion slams her in the face, and hurls her ungracefully to the ground once again, hit from both sides at once.     It looks like Eryl won't need to give the order at all. In the brief pause caused by his commanding order, A2 doesn't move at all, laying face down in a shallow, scorched and dirty crater, looking very much as if she belongs there. The only movement from her is the odd flick of hair caused by the play of the breeze, tangled over her worn and broken down body, to the point that, for a little while, it looks like said body had finally just given out on her, after all that past abuse. When she finally does stir, struggling to look up from the dirt, her empty violet stare only meets more hostility. She sees Kotone has her guns out. Rhapsody has drawn her swords. Yuna is hoping to interpose herself with her shield at the ready. The Paladins are claiming they're in charge of the situation. The Warp Iris is talking right over her, wrangling legalese as if she weren't even there; discarded like a broken doll at their feet.     "Oh just shut up." Comes the hoarse, acerbic hiss from her throat.     "Shut up. Just shut /up/! Shut up, all of you! Just stop /talking/!" The android coughs, and then shakily starts to rise, moving one limb at a time as the holes in her body sluggishly fill themselves in, propping herself up on shuddering joints. "Do you ever /stop/?! You don't even listen to /yourselves/ talk, never mind each other!"     "Do you think any of it matters?" she gasps out, staggering unsteadily to her feet, clutching her side tightly with one arm. "Do you think anyone /cares/ but you? Are you just doing it for fun? Do you just like hearing yourselves talk? Does it make you feel good to blabber /on/ and /ON/ about shit you don't know the first thing about?! Or do you really think you know jack /shit/ about /ANYTHING/?!"     The dirt crumbles around her feet as she shifts her weight, fingers trembling as she squeezes her arm. "I'm so /SICK/ of listening to your god damned opinions! Your naive, asinine, self-serving BULLSHIT! The pretty little ways you want to dress up the fact that you're all too fucking scared to accept responsibility for anything!" The air around her starts to look like it's vibrating. Flickers of static electricity play over her skin. Her heat signature climbs.     "Because it's so much /easier/ to just do what everyone tells you! It's so much easier to be in the majority, right? On the winning side? To huff the same paint everyone else is, lie to yourself that it's 'civilization', and then look down your nose at anyone sane! You /know/ how insane this is, right?! /Somewhere/ deep inside of you, you can sense how unnatural this all is can't you?! Regurgitating the words like a trained animal and repeating after everyone else, to defend this /thing/, just so that you're not the only one that isn't!" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2's voice is cracking. The coruscating electricity tinges red. It smells like ozone. "Because you don't have any idea what it's like for those words to actually fail you! Do you?! As long as you say the right lines, make the right connections, make sure not to cross the right people, and pretend you think all the right things, you're fine! You've always /been/ fine! Is this just your fucking hobby?! Am I the only one here who actually meant it when she said she would do what /needs/ to be done?! Were you all just in it for a laugh?! Because right now, it looks like you're all having a lot of fun, over there with the 'big man' you all said you'd fight, back when /that/ was the right thing to say!" !(2.0)!     "Well /I/ meant it." !(1.64)!     "If you like being the hero for the camera that much, maybe you should just leave." !(1.02)!     "Because after all this time, I still don't give half a single shit about what you have to say to me." !(0.84)!     "And if you get in my way . . ." !(0.47)!     "And if you're not going to take me seriously . . ." !(0.02)!     "Then I'll just smash you to pieces as well." !!!(LIMITER RELEASE)!!!     ---(BERSERK)---     A2's frame erupts into a blazing storm of coruscating, blood red light; giving off a crushing blast wave of explosive pressure and searing energy that flattens and glasses the ground around her, out to a dangerous distance. Her entire body flickers with static, as if it's barely even there, whilst tendrils of crimson lightning writhe across her skin and lash out at everything nearby. Her one visible eye shines white hot through the gap in her hair, though the rest of her face is cast too deeply in shadow to see. Just coming near her is like sticking one's hand in a pot of boiling water, for the waves of heat she lets off.     Her sword flashes back to her hand, instantly consumed in the same, scarlet fire, and vibrating until it visibly blurs. In a motion too quick to see, she pirouettes on her heel and slashes it through the entire, gigantic polyp in a sweeping arc of flaming light; the wind pressure alone is enough to carve through the body mass behind it.     "Who wants to dance?" 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     Eryl's face is cold, almost placid. He turns to look at August as he comes over, pointing the camera and crowing. "Law? There is no law for this. The Warp Iris is an unprecedented event. So no, August Kohler, Cloak of the Watch, you make a poor bet. Here, I side with rationality. Loci Iris is here, yes. Early, accidentally. If we left them alone, they would leave again, causing no further harm to occur. But you, and that android, are here to make trouble once again. Any further harm that occurs now, and that includes to the both of you, is now your own fault. So I shall save Loci Iris, and you both, from your own selves. I side with no one. I only seek to defuse this fight." He looks in Rhapsody's direction and replies. "I can only hope they will. If they don't, I deputize you to help me keep them from killing each other."     He keeps talking, loud and audibly so that it picks up. "Furthermore, you use those suffering to justify your cause. However, they are improving through therapeutic treatment. Now, I am not trying to accuse you of building a narrative by not mentioning this in your logs-and yes, I've already gone over them-simply because their treatment is private, as it should be. Everyone deserves a right to privacy, to not have their suffering be used as fuel to power a campaign of hate."     Meanwhile, August charges towards Loci Iris, shouting bile and waving a gun around and blasting with fire. "Actually, I do know. I've been in your mind. You think me akin to the creatures of your world," says Loci Iris, even as its flesh chars, filling the air with putrid scents. "You look at me and see the things that made your life miserable. That's understandable. But... and I hope you forgive me for this. But when I felt you there as I was checking earlier... well, what is it that you did yesterday? You tried to prey on a vulnerable friend because they were an 'obstacle.' What do you call that?"     And then A2 cleaves the whole polyp in twain with one swing.     Loci Iris shrieks, a pool of fluids gushing from the wound and staining the grass, making it smoke. The chunks of meat go flying, one part crashing into the wall, another slamming into the camber holding the artefact. It crumbles, the sacred object in question landing in the grass. "Stop it!" the creature yells, both aloud and in A2's mind, a lancing bolt through the mechanical mind. "What is your problem?! What happened to you?!" Many many tendrils come out, lashing wildly to try and push her and August away. "Just leave me alone!"     "Stop them all!" Eryl shouts. "Don't let anyone be hurt!" He looks to A2 first, plainly the bigger threat, before unloading with the entire clips in his One Hand Clapping handguns. They're all vital shots, going for exposed areas, the eyes, the throat. 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     Right. Forget the swords, then. The two blades are tossed to the side, as is the guildmaster's trenchcoat. In a flash of light, the Guildmaster shifts into her draconic form, just a bit bigger than a large truck, and just dives inbetwen the Iris and basically -everyone- else, "ENOUGH!" she roars before a crackling blast of fire and lightning rushes out of her muzzle. She entirely expects to end up bleeding for this, but she hardly cares. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren watches Eryl. Waiting because he doesn't need Eryl shooting at him too... and his chances to help the Iris will be lower if he loses Eryl's trust in tyhis matter. Finally Eryl gives the go-ahead, and he fires his beam cannons down at A2 from the sky.     "To answer your question: No. /I/ will do what needs to be done. Not because the Paladins tell me, but because I seek the brightest future. One not dominated by hatred and revenge and endless cycles. You can either be part of that future... or be removed from it." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' It's only belatedly that Yuna realizes that they are, in fact, on a live camera - that this is playing out in front of potentially the entire Multiverse, or at least as much of it as the available networks will reach to. And for Yuna in particular, that carries with it a heavy responsibility: more than a former Union operative, more than an ally to anyone present, even more than just being the Savior of Light, her fans are likely to see this - now or later - and it's going to reflect on her directly. She is *so* going to slap August for this when she has a chance. But as sudden as the realization hits her, it is just as abruptly shoved to the back of her mind - because what she needs to do *hasn't* changed. This is why Ryudia has been teaching her about her duties, helping Yuna realize what it means to be the Savior of Light: it needs to be, not second nature, but ingrained into her normal being, something she doesn't have to think twice about. Which is good, because she barely has time to think *once* when everything goes even further to hell. And in A2's case, it's practically literal, with the fiery power lashing out around her and another slash of that sword lashing out at the Warp Iris. 'Don't let anyone be hurt,' Eryl yells. That suits Yuna just fine. "JIINA, COMBINE!!" Yuna shouts as loud as she can, and the green-and-white android swoops in. Rather than dismissing her kite shield, Yuna drives its bottom point into the ground and leaves it standing as Jiina of the Earth reaches her, goes translucent and overlaps with Yuna's form, then vanishes entirely. The 'wireframe' which appears immediately after that is quickly filled in by the pieces of a bulky mechanical exo-frame, and the conversion to Powered Form is barely complete when one exo-arm grasps the shield and flips it into place. That took too long, thinks Yuna, but she needed the extra staying power; she's already rocketing towards Rhapsody's flank and pivoting to face A2, ready to do whatever she can to tank that all-but-literally infernal blade. Yuna's defense leads, of course, with that kite shield - solid and durable, and reinforced further by the Light Suit's protective aura; the Matrix Divider forms in Yuna's hands as well, although that's mostly for emergency parrying if (or given A2's power surge, more likely 'when') the Wall of the Guardian Star proves insufficient. But she is NOT going to leave Rhapsody undefended. The dragon's the only one here big enough *to* be a meatshield for the Warp Iris; ironically enough, Yuna - probably the smallest without Powered Form's bulk - is going to be *Rhapsody's* shield in turn. And doesn't she owe at least as much to her father, the one who helped integrate a gifted kite shield into Yuna's powers and weapons? 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa personal feelings are this is a mess it's a freaking mess. She's not sure not what to think with he Iris coming back. It's gone for a lighter touch but well?She's very conflicted she was hoping to keep things from getting worse and her attitude changes a bit towards A2. She dopes listen but she's got her orders for now but it draws up more questions about her current profession in life, perhaps given the survival of the Starbounders? Maybe her life should take another path, but for now. However she goes on as her eyes narrows. Something isn't right, something isn't right at all. As August makes his move she signals. <<now>> There's a beam in from her ship, she's not leaving a hulking mechanical thing appears with the front open, Kotone moves inhumanly fast even as A2 goes all to the wall the ARMED suit which has landed is quickly boarded by Kotone and the massive machine seals up as Kotone directly jacks into the unit. It's huge, about tall as two people, clearly heavily armoured, and it's oddly got two pair of arms. One human sized and the other to scale. Kotone isn't looking too happy behind the face-plate. ((OOC Roughly this http://imgur.com/a/Z3pqk )) the grey machine has odd legs as it rises up and Kotone moves to intercept August. As for Kotone's plan? She intends to grab him with one of the over sized machine's fists. <<Aye sir, I have the heavy weapons off line.>> Rather than the traditional load-out this machine is made for more riot control opens and that's when the plan comes be clear shes gong to try to use the armored suits sstrength to keep August at bay or at least under control and who knows what sort of systems are built into it. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Well, I said I'm not a bookie." August shrugs, as he glares at Eryl. "No further harm that you know of. You're making assumptions. It returned in just over a month. How do you know it can be trusted? What does your damn rationality say about that?" His voice is clearly angry at this point, as he sighs. "A campaign of hate? Maybe. But I consider this a campaign of /justice/, the type of justice that you /cops/ won't perform. The type of justice that the people want, but nobody fucking gets." It's almost as if he's self-projecting, here. And then, the Iris speaks to him. It probed him. And it talks about yesterday. /Yesterday/. Immediately, August's face twists into anger, not caught by his personal camera, but possibly caught by the one on the tree. "You've been in my mind. So you think you know me, know what I feel? Know what I was /feeling/? You know /nothing/. You don't know fucking anything about me. Yes. I hate. I hate things like you so much. You're /wrong/. Your very existence is /wrong/. If you're going to probe in my head, don't pull out things you don't even understand, don't act like you KNOW WHO I AM!" At this point, A2 goes Berserk. As that wave of pressure explodes outwards, the camera on the tree picks up most of her transformation, before /exploding/, that line of the stream going completely dead. August's pocket camera manages to catch the whole thing, including A2's slash. The distraction plus August's anger is enough to distract him, allowing Kotone's armed suit to grab him...but he screams. A bloody wail of fury and pent-up emotions, the briefest glimmer in his eyes, as the Tin Soldier thrashes. It's entire body spasms, and flames emerge not only from that gun, but from the lines and cracks on its body, as if the Persona is overheating. The gun points at the Armed Suit, a roaring storm of fire moving to burn straight through it, before the Persona spins. The flame spreads across the ground, and moves to engulf everything it can - primarily the Warp Iris, but it'll quickly spread to the trees, and it'll definitely attempt to burn through anything in its path. The Tin Soldier's gun doesn't stop firing. "YOU SHOULDN'T /EXIST/, AND YOU SHOULD GET THE /HELL OUT OF MY WAY/!" 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     "Just shut up and /DIE/ already!" A2 screams, as if trying to drown out the voice in her head by yelling over it, before she, in turn, is drowned out by the fitful shrieking of the wind in the wake of her sword. The blade itself isn't even visible, save as scattered twists of bloody red light, twisting about A2 so quickly that it appears as if it exists in several places at once, and putting her at the center of a raging whirlwind that quickly becomes as much spiraling blood as air. The area around her shudders under the assault of small, rapid-fire sonic booms, visibly rippling like glass with every strike, so much that it's impossible to even see what is cleaving every oncoming tendril from itself. From outside, it only looks like high velocity gore hitting the inside of a whirling, glowing scarlet blender, painting the ground for dozens of meters with blood and slashing gouges. There aren't even severed limbs to recover; anything that comes loose is turned into a fine mist almost instantly. !INCOMING FIRE DETECTED!     ---(EVASIVE SYSTEMS CHIP ACTIVE)---     Staren's beam cannons slash down from on high, piercing straight through the lurid red shade that is A2, only to discharge all their heat into the ground, and blow smoking holes in the earth rather than their target. Even on his targeting monitors, it looks as if he'd hit her, and then she /retroactively/ wasn't there, like some kind of lag hiccup in reality. ---EVASION PROTOCOL SUCCESSFUL---     -->(CHAIN ACTIVATION)-->         ---OVERCLOCK CHIP ACTIVE--- ->OVERCLOCK AT +8<-     Eryl is no slower to fire, and this time, with a serious barrage of high density precision shooting, targeting a dozen obvious areas of weakness in A2's busted outer frame. What he winds up shooting instead is a disjointed mirage of dancing black and red shadows. Even cybernetic eyes and only perceive the way A2 twists herself between the slugs as a kind of delayed, low-FPS sequence of after images, completely disconnected from one another such that it's impossible to tell which movement happened in what sequence, and calculate backwards from it. !WARNING! SYSTEM INTEGRITY AT 50%! RECOMMEN--%&^#%$     -->ROUTING POWER TO NFCS SYSTEMS-->         ---COUNTER ATTACK CHIP ACTIVE--- ->COUNTER AT 400%<-     A2 swipes her sword upward through the air, and an arcing wave of energy, hot and bright as the core of a furnace, surges forward to meet Rhapsody's breath attack, meeting the fire and lightning head on, and slashing straight down the middle to trade blow for blow and take the dragon's head off before she can finish. No doubt Yuna will be able to intercept such an obvious and flashy attack, but any sensible combat systems would be screaming warnings not to do so all the same, and while she's busy, A2 crouches forward, aims towards Eryl, and then the ground between him and herself becomes a single, long and deep, scorched gouge in the earth, all but /teleporting/ into him for a blow that is as much full body tackle as it is an attempt to chop his arms off at the elbow.     Everything about it is utterly absurd. Everything about the android is an order of magnitude higher than before, far past the point it should be physically possible for her chronically worn out body, and her systems are dumping so much waste energy it's a small wonder she hasn't already gone critical and exploded. There's no way she should be able to take the stress of what she's dishing out.     [ |||||||||||||||||||| ] 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     August's flames spread around, burning the grass. It comes dangerously close to the artefact, making it start to smoke. And when it does, the Warp Iris seems to dim at the edges.     Meanwhile, Loci Iris's tendrils are turned into a fine mist by A2's whirling dervish. The creature screams, and even as the Warp Iris fades at the edges, Loci Iris pulls more of itself out. No hint of the warpgate can be seen anymore, as a hideous mass emerges. It's akin to an arm, with many eyes and mouths blinking and smacking all over it. Fingers terminate in small pincers, and the skin is vaguely translucent, like a grub. It begins flailing wildly, like a tantrum. Rhapsody might get caught in the flailing, as well as Yuna. A high, keening cry is filling the air, hitting ears and minds both.     Meanwhile, Eryl is focussing on A2, but he is keeping an eye on August. "Don't forget Kohler! And try to keep Loci Iris from making it worse!" he shouts, before the android is crossing the distance between she and him in an instant, going for his arms. Eryl may not be as fast as A2, but his mind is his best asset. During he fight, he had managed to calculate the frequency at which her sword is vibrating. As the swing comes down, he deploys an armblade. Even pumping as much power into it as he can, he can't match her frequency. So he tries to get it humming at an opposing frequency, so when the swing hits, some of the cutting power is reduced, from 'total severance' to 'biting deep, rendering the arm useless, but still attached.'     But that's fine, because at the same time, he also attacks.     Eryl is not made for combat. A2 would likely wipe the floor with him even before this state. But as she stands, she is very clearly bypassing her operational limits for more power. And power can be turned against her. He can't go for a throw due to being physically unable to match her speed. So, with his other arm, he deploys the other blade and simply extends it, trying to make her impale herself on it in her rush to hit him. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' The sensible thing, if Yuna were only concerned with her own well-being, would indeed be to get the screaming, blistering hell out of the way of A2's blade - or maybe to *stay* out of the way. Fortunately for Rhapsody, Yuna isn't always the most sensible girl around - in fact, it's very rare that she *is*. But as Yuna Kagurazaka, she hates to see anyone else suffering or in pain, especially when they're a friend (as Rhapsody is) - and as the Savior of Light, she's resolved and determined *not* to let innocents be harmed. So when A2 executes that slashing attack, Yuna lights up Powered Form's thrusters and wills them into overdrive, not merely interposing herself where it might do the most good but actively powering *into* A2's attack, to take as much of it as possible on the Wall of the Guardian Star, and what doesn't hit the kite shield, Yuna is trying to soak up on her own armored body rather than let Rhapsody get hurt. She probably can't take all of it. She probably *shouldn't* try to take as much of it as she *does* - and there's actually damn little 'probably' in the equation, because three things happen as the slashwave slams into the Savior of Light. There is a crackling, flaring flash of light, far too bright to represent anything good; there is a piercing scream as if it had been cut straight out of Yuna's lungs without needing to go through her vocal cords, and there is a body abruptly flying in a direction that it *wasn't* meant to go - a body with a near comet-trail of smashed, scorched, and broken pieces of armor trailing around her. *Some* of the armor fades out, rematerializing and reassembling back into Jiina. But Yuna herself has been rendered completely helpless, with no control over where she'll land and no protection whatsoever. 

:'''{{#var:325|Rhapsody (325)}} has posed:'''     Alas, poor dragon, a breath weapon is not the end-all be-all it is in other places. With A2 going absolutley berserk, blade looking to separate Rhapsody's head from her neck, there's little she can really do except start to cast -something-, but that something never finishes.     With Yuna diving into the way, much like Rhaps did between the Iris and everyone else, the sight of Yuna sent -flying- removes all concern for how the Iris is flailing at her and the others. It probably made contact, it probably left crimson trails in her white hide. When Yuna is sent sailing, though? The dragon lunges after her. The only intention the guildmaster has is to scoop up the woman and -leave-.     As she goes, she speaks a stray thought, "What kind of team fight's among its own members...?" 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Oh come on, now the ragedroid has time manipulation too?! How can he possibly counter that?!     Actually, Staren's encountered time travel before. Maybe he can figure out a way... but no, he doesn't have time to figure it out right now! Besides... she glassed the area around her just /transforming/. How much energy is this using? If it was sustainable, she'd have used it before, right? Staren comes pretty much to the same conclusion as Eryl, and decides that if he can't shoot one target, well, maybe he should focus on the one he can...     He floats around, his beam cannon trying to follow A2 as he replies to August. "'Shouldn't exist'?! Coming from someone professing personal morality, that's just a flowery way of saying you don't like it!"     "And because of that, you'll eagerly risk everyone here! It's still learning. It's learned not to hurt us. When it couldn't control itself, it put people in comas. It's stopped that now. But what do you think will happen when it violently dies?? What if its death releases a psychic pulse that does that to all the people you're so busy grandstanding in front of?" He waves his left hand at the group of reporters. "Or just explodes their brains and kills them?" He curls his fingers then uncurls them in a vaguely explosive gesture.     He turns to focus on August. "You've seen it learning to be a person. Yet you ignore it... You know what I think? I think it's because recognizing that would mean admitting you were wrong." He blinks, shakes his head. "Not even entirely wrong. You were right that it was potentially dangerous, just like you're right that there's a problem in OMNI's city. But you insist on repeating the same actions again and again. Because you can't admit you DON'T KNOW how to deal with this, just like you DON'T KNOW how to help rebels run a city."     He points. "I'm glad you learned to fight, but now all you know how to do is punch your problems! Which is fine when problems need punching, or you can step back and let others handle other problems... But you can't. You can't admit when you, personally, don't know how to solve a problem... and that makes you UNFIT TO LEAD!"     He aims his beam cannons at August... and then Yuna goes flying. "Yuna!" He turns towards her, but Rhapsody's going for her. So now August knows what's coming when Staren turns back and tries to shoot him, center of mass.     Eryl said not to kill anyone. But Staren's confident anything but a headshot can be fixed -- his healing vat is a teleport away. There may or may not be irony in lecturing someone else about being sure you can fix all problems right now... 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' A2 has gone Berserk and there's not much she can do about it the pressure though does have an effect on her machine, it take damage and she loses several of her cameras, but not all of them due to them being military grade hardware rather than stock civilian issue. Then August goes insane and that's when she does it, she has a plan in mind here. She's not getting out of the way, she's not. She's got her orders, no lethal, so she's going to stick to them and the fire is nasty it's burning into the Armed suit but it is made for combat the temperature warnings come up, as the machine is bathed in fire. Strange white sticky foam, it's not intended to fight fires, no, but it's intended to restrain August it does let oxygen pass through. Then again with the fire August started this could be a bad idea and her mech while it';s messed up she's still there. "You sound like the and who said Give me the package and then crushed me into a wall away. I won't do that to a friend nor will I let a friend do something like this." Another hit like she took though would be a lot of problems. Then comes Staren, and he makes some very good points but his method of take down comes in so fast Kotone isn't able to react given all the other variables. "Wait!" It's too late on her end though given who knows how this will pan out now. Still she'd not expected a speech like that out of Staren and he raise an important point. It could get a hell of a lot worse, and her friend's ruthlessness in take down is just ... it's not a good day for Paladin Yamakawa. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Even in his rage, August can still think, and still logic. And he sees the artifact smoke, and how it affects the Warp Iris. He likely won't be able to manage it, so he makes a call over the radio to A2, as the foam begins to build around him. For now, he ignores it, instead moving to get the camera out and on the action and talking to Staren. "No, I don't. I never denied that. But we've seen what it's done. It can learn, sure. It can think. So can the /worst monsters/. So can those who tear you apart, who kill for fun and sport, because 'it's right' and 'it's what I am'." There's a growl from the Cloak. "If I did everything by assuming what would happen after I did it, /nothing would happen/! Not everyone's fucking immortal like you, Staren! Not everyone can watch and try and fix problems one part at a time because they have robots and backups! I'm fixing things for the /people that are alive/, /the people that matter/!" The Tin Soldier's gun turns towards the foam, as he finally starts to struggle. "The Warp Iris is /hurting people now/, and I will always choose now over later. I don't have infinite patience because any day I could die, any day any of us could die, and I don't have your satisfaction of not having to WORRY ABOUT THAT!" The Tin Soldier's flames pour out at the foam, moving to burn an August-shaped hole straight out of it. The fire isn't finely controlled, however, and catches him alight. The cloak actually doesn't seem to burn easy, but the bandages on his hands catch up in flame, burning away and revealing horrible, fresh burn marks, no older than a day. And then Staren fires. The blasts hit straight for the torso of the Tin Soldier, causing it to fly back and August to fall to his knees, clutching his chest. He coughs up blood, having exerted most of his energy, as he tries to force himself back up. "I'm going to solve problems the way /I know how to/, and your goddamn moralizing isn't going to get in my way. This is what I think is right, what will /help people/, and I'm sticking to my heart. Stop trying to convince me otherwise." "You're in my way." There's a very odd cadence to August's last words, though over the sound of the battle, the livestream doesn't quite pick it up. It sounds almost...unnatural. When he speaks again, it's not there. "A2. Let's finish this." August begins attempting to retreat towards the tree line, the Tin Soldier getting up and moving around, in a position to cover her. A ripple of bullets is shot straight at the Iris, attempting to keep it back/off of her. 

:'''{{#var:1108|A2 (1108)}} has posed:'''     A2 doesn't look twice as Yuna leaps into the way and abruptly turns into a burning meteor. If she takes Rhapsody out as well, so much the better. It seems like everyone but August is on her hit list right now, and whatever set her off like that isn't something that can be reached by guilt --that is if she feels any in the first place. ---DEADLY-HEAL CHIP ACTIVE---     -->2468 UNITS USABLE MATERIAL-->         -->ACTIVE RECOVERY IN PROGRESS--> ->EMERGENCY SYSTEM CLOCK EXTENDED 29.86 SECONDS<- ---RE-ROUTING POWER TO RESILIENCE CHIPSET--- ---CHIP ACTIVE AT +4---     Eryl challenges. A2 accepts. Her blade smashes straight into Eryl's internal circuitry, cleaving into his mechanical arms, and in return, his folding blade goes straight through her torso, stabbing clean past what artificial skin remains and sprouting out her back, just clear of her spine.     [ |||||||||||||||||||| ]     She doesn't so much as flinch. Sparks and artificial blood alike spurt from the wound, but they're lost in the blinding electrical storm, which seeks to fry Eryl alive all on its own. A2 pushes forward, shoving herself down the length of his weapon to get in closer, without so much of a wince of pain, and swings to crush his skull with her free hand, wrenching her sword free for an opportunistic strike the moment his neck is exposed by the recoil. ---RECOMPUTING TARGETING LOCK. . .     -->NEW LOCK ESTABLISHED--> ---ENGAGE FCS W--     !!!SYSTEM INTEGRITY AT CRITICA--         !!!ATTACK CHARGED AT 200%---     She must have heard August at some point. Some way. Somehow. She turns from Eryl at the last instant, instead grabbing and throwing him to the ground with ten times the strength her specs should analytically be capable of, so that she has just enough time to turn towards the dimming gate, and more importantly, the smoking spot on the grass. Her sword flips itself end over end, hovering above her open palm lengthwise, and then with one more flicker of ruby light, she fluidly twists her body with a motion like the throw of a spear, and her blade fires from her hand like a cannon shot, with an appropriately deafening ballistic crack and terminal spin, aimed straight for the burning artifact within the Tin Soldier's encroaching firestorm.     [ |||||||||||||||||||| ] 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren frowns slightly as the Tin Soldier dives in front of the shot meant for August. Of /course/ it couldn't be that easy. "Idiot. My immortality's not infallible... and solving problems now is fine, but you don't even TRY not to create new ones in the process!"     But August is... retreating? No way he's giving up now. Staren looks to A2... and the Warp Iris. "Get out of here! It's not safe!" he tries to warn it, and dives in between the two, forcefield becoming visible in full-power mode -- preventing him from firing out of it, but also preventing enemies from using grappling or melee to bypass it.     But... she's not attacking it? She's attacking... oh, shit. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''     The Tin Soldier's flames burn the strange arm. And while the creature could normally shrug off fire, the flames burn that much hotter now, causing deep tissue damage that makes it flail, slamming against the ground to extinguish them, coming dangerously close to hitting Rhapsody and Yuna. Coincidence? Or is it trying to not hit them?     Meanwhile, Eryl is in the struggle of his life. He lifts a leg, trying to get it between he and A2 to keep her from simply snapping his neck, struggling to get his heel pressed directly against her. He can't get it in time before she simply throws him down. He lands hard, breaking several bones in spite of instantly going limp to nullify as much of the impact as possible. The android turns, and launches an attack on the thing lying on the ground...     What is it?     This thing that kicked it off, what is it? No one has ever referred to it as anything expect an 'artefact.' No one has ever paid it much mind, as it was always something to be protected, claimed. After the Warp Iris arose, it fell out of memory, even though this thing was very clearly linked to it.     What is it though?     Even as she looks at it with intent, launching an attack to destroy it, paying it more attention than anyone has until now... she can't grasp its form. Any attempt to define it slips away from her mind like water between cupped fingers. It's an anomaly, a hole in the world. Is that why it beckoned the Warp Iris? Did some unknowable thing somehow summon another?     Now we'll never know. Because the blade slams into the thing, and the Warp Iris collapses.     With a meaty noise, Loci Iris' arm is severed, falling to the forest floor and seeping fluids. The warpgate is well and truly closed. Even the lingering effects from the inital openings are not being detected. One way or another, it's over. Loci Iris is confined to her malformed universe once more. 
}}

5372/P:WtWM - The Intendent of Shallow Desires

2017-07-13T05:00:29Z

Blaze: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2017/07/12 |Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM> |Synopsis=Die Reisende set out to stop a member of the Queen's Court from harrassing some peaceful Shad..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/07/12
|Location=Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
|Synopsis=Die Reisende set out to stop a member of the Queen's Court from harrassing some peaceful Shadows at the request of Spriggins Jack. And... well, they do succeed at that...
|Cast of Characters=909, 290, 894, 571, 151, 999, 1040
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Spriggins Jack announced his need for help in the only way he knew how; by showing up in people's mirrors, pressing his face against it, and then breathing against the glass and writing on the condensation. It takes him a few tries each time because he forgets to write backwards.     Eventually, everyone gathers at the cabin. Yes, even Janine is here, and she looks /miserable./ She looks unwashed, the bags under her eyes have intensified, and she refuses to make eye contact with anyone. After staying at a hotel for a few days, she and Emily lifted roots back to the cabin. Her cards had all been cut off, and it was at her insistence, so Emily would not have to spend her own funds.     "Let's go," she mutters once everyone assembles, pushing her way into the mirror. There, Spriggins Jack sits, with the White Pig on his lap. He is presently playing its belly like a bongo, only looking up as everyone steps into the glade. "Ah, you're all hee-re! Ho-w very good! Let's be-hee on our way!"     He hops up, dislodging the Pig, and starts leading the party off. "So-ho! There's this nice little village of Shadows that I like to visit! They helped me after I got some scrapes after an epic adventure, so I make sure they stay protected. But now, some ho from the Black Queen's Court is pushing them around! I'm off to deal with t-hee-m, but you can watch if you want!" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' It's a rather bizarre way to call for help, but sometimes you have no other choice than to make do with what you've got. Even if that means using condensation to write out calls for help. Fortunately, Spriggins Jack will be glad to know that Rebecca got the message and, upon receiving it and realizing what was happening, quickly made her way to the cabin. Upon arriving, Rebecca could instantly tell that Janine was not in the best of shape, and that caused Rebecca to wince a little as she realized the situation was far worse than she initially anticipated. Nevertheless, she keeps a cool demeanor and a calm face in spite of what is going on. Once everyone has joined, Rebecca feels a sense of relief since they can move out. After going through the mirror, Rebecca is totally unsurprised by the way Spriggins Jack is playing the pig's belly like a bongo. In fact, she can't help but smirk a little at it. Still, she keeps her face looking neutral, knowing that this is a serious issue. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The weird-ass mirror writing got August's attention when he saw it written wrong, moved over to get a camera, and then saw it written right and the shape of a little white Jack running away. Immediately, he's picking up his radio and transmitting the information, before heading over to the Shack, gearing up in a battle hoodie (a regular hoodie with knee and armpads), and grabbing himself a reflective knife. Once they're actually in the glade through the mirror, August just squints briefly at what he's seeing, before approaching. "Spriggins Jack. I got your...interesting message." Part of him almost wants to laugh, especially as he sees how Jack is amusing himself while waiting, but they're on the move. As Jack explains, August muses it over in his head. "A village of Shadows. I guess that's...possible, seeing what we've seen. While I'm not sure what the hell they want with a village, pushing the Black Queen's Court over is always worth the tim-" And then he pauses when he hears the last sentence. "Wait. You called us to /watch/? I thought you wanted us to take care of it." The redhead looks absolutely puzzled. Especially since he's seen Jack 'fight'. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka didn't quite get a surprise from some spirit, but she is pretty quick to respond to August's request for backup. Some time later, she's at the cabin, stepping out of her car and adjusting her heavy coat as she nods to Rebecca on the way in.     "August, Liberi." She greets with a curt nod, until her golden, cybernetic eyes just glance over toward Spriggins Jack. "...huh." is all she can manage, dealing with spooky wooky shit is not her bag, best she can do is just let the more versed handle the talking for now.     She does have some questions. "What exactly do you mean by watch? Like August said, I was expecting more of a thing to solve." 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley has not been on the ball with what has been happening in the world where the Black Forest is a major issue. She's had a lot of minor paperwork to deal with that wizards have to deal with, especially in the Paladins, especially with all that's happened to her recently. Thankfully, it is much easier for her to just show up short notice when called upon because it's currently Summer in the northern hemisphere.     She assembles with at least one odd individual tagging along with her. It's a Golem, and it is dressed in a heavy set of robes that conceals its body from view. It appears to be made of quartz and sandstone, and as it moves there's a sense of weight and an intelligent presence to it. There's a Paladin seal on its robes to mark it clearly as affiliated with Ainsley, with the smaller mark for the Curse Breakers.     The golem seems... uncomfortable in the Black Forest. It keeps whispering things to Ainsley and she keeps having to try to comfort it, but the language they exchange is a little strange if anyone tries to listen in. Not incomprehensible, but foreign and ancient.     August might recognize the language from his trips into Ainsley's mind to deal with the psychohazard that plagued her for a brief period not too long ago.     "It will be a good chance to try to get information about the Black Court without the source being..." Ainsley speaks up, but trails off, because she can't think of a polite way to say it. "Extremely hazardous," she decides. "If Jack can keep it distracted or we can get it talking..."     The golem digs in its pockets and produces a small snack of jerky for the White Pig while Ainsley focuses on the others, eyes scanning over those present to see how ready they seem to be for a conflict and who she might have to focus on protecting. Besides Jack here. While she does note Janine's poorer state, she does not think to ask about it while they're preparing to go deal with a Shadow... the reptile creases her brow.     Even if she isn't saying anything, just that... look feels like a question. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Oh jack. Ohhhh Jack. Bless you and your distractions.     Of course, it may come as a surprise that Emily is, in fact, still here, and still as smartly-dressed as ever... well, for the most part. She seems to be sans that usual tailcoat, but her vest, cravat, the whole rest of the outfit, are all there and tidy, and the cabin itself is as neat as ever. The surprise lies in the fact that, strictly speaking, Emily Branford was hired by Janine's parents. And yet, with no one paying her salary... here she is.     If anything, she seems to be fussing over Janine a little more than normal, though at the same time she's giving the girl at least /some/ space. Nevertheless, she's already all set to go as soon as people arrive, armed with her usual assault rifle and probably more besides.     "So it's squire training today, is it?" she asks of Jack, curious. "I look forward to seeing such a gallant defender in action." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     As everyone arrives, the only one who gets a direct look from Janine is actually Maaka. Seems she's not acknowledging anyone who doesn't acknowledge her directly right now. She just walks with the group, muttering sooftly in a croaky voice to herself. The Pig accepts the jerky from Ainsley gladly and goes to chew on it while everyone else heads off towards their possible deaths.     "Deal with it? Oho nonono. I would never ask someone else to do somethee-ing I wouldn't! But hey, if you want to jump in, feel free! I don't mind sharing the glory!" He seems genuine, but it also comes across as dodging the question... he's an odd fellow, this one. Either way, soon a break in the trees swims into view, and beyond it... the Shadow Village.     It's a quaint little place, all made of frosted glass taken from the trees and expertly put together to create little huts, walls, lanes. It would be eerily lovely, were a lot of it not currently in pieces. The one responsible emerges from one of the huts, kicking a small Shadow before planting a thin blade into it, making it disperse into nothing.     The perpetrator is a weaselly thing, in the sense that it actually has the face and sinewy body of a weasel that stands upright. It dresses in officious finery, all red jacket with gold buttons with a comically large white ruff around the neck like you might see in some cartoon. He's got the puffy black pantaloons, the little tophat and even a monacle! From a distance, he's almost adorable, like some mascot.     But then you get closer, and things become more apparent. Like the many coin purses attacked to his belt, each one dripping blood from within. The pattern in that ruff around his neck, every fold and ruffle having a feminine silhouette that reaches towards his face in an almost sensual way. The hungry leer in his eyes, and the grime and stains upon his teeth. His breath, heavy with meals going back years, hits the nose from ten paces.     "There's the ho-oligan! YOU! I, Spriggins Jack, won't forgive what you've done hee-re! Prepare for a sound thee-rashing!" The small companion rushes the figure, who turns and smirks before pointing his blade at the party. "Oh, what a delight! I simply came down here to kick in door and claim this land, but now I shall have your heads! Oh, the Queen will reward me most fabulously for this! Your blood will be the sauce on my steaks, your skulls the richest jewels in my coffers!" =================================THE DEVIL================================= ------------------------MANIFESTATION OF REFLECTION------------------------                      THE INTENDENT OF SHALLOW DESIRES                                      HE WHO MANAGES THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE QUEENDOM                 ----------------------------PREPARE FOR BATTLE----------------------------- ====================================XV===================================== 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     "Come now," Emily replies to the weasel. "We all know you'll not like the taste of me. After all, I'm British."     It's not what she was expecting, for certain. Either the cartoonish first impression (this is, after all, the Forest), or the far more intimidating close-up view (since, after all, that distant first impression did set the tone). So it's managed to surprise her twice simply by existing. But as experienced as she is, unsettlement never manages to set in, and instead she's got her rifle at the ready for the entire approach. But it looks like the Intendent isn't content to simply do battle with Jack; it's got its sights set on all of them as well.     So, she calmly retorts, then lifts her rifle, and adds, "Good Sir Jack, I do apologize, but it looks as if he'll be targeting us as well. I'm afraid I have to answer that."     Then she opens fire. Full auto. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca doesn't seem to pay much heed to how unusual Spriggins Jack is acting right now. She's more intent on solving the problem at hand, which she hopes will happen soon enough. The general area seems to go on for awhile until there's a break in the trees and Shadow Village appears. It's rather unique in how the buildings are designed, that's for sure, but Rebecca sees nothing unusual about it as she's now become accustomed to the way things work in this place, for better or for worse. Even the sight of the shadow being defeated (as Rebecca would put it) doesn't seem to faze her at all. It's not until the perpetrator makes itself known that Rebecca starts to show a little emotion on her face. Some might be tempted to chuckle at the sight of the outfit the creature is wearing, but Rebecca's not the least bit amused. She knows that in this place, there are many forms that can happen that one would never see in the real world. The blood dripping from the coin purses makes Rebecca reel a little as well. But it's when she gets a whiff of its breath that Rebecca starts to gag a little, before shaking it off. "Stay with it, Becky," Rebecca says to herself. "You can do this!" She looks at Spriggins Jack and lowers an eyebrow at how he's acting. Then she looks up at the creature Spriggins Jack is talking to and glares with a full scowl. "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way!" Rebecca comments as she draws her Beretta and fires two shots. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley lets out a defeated sigh at what Spriggans Jack says to them. His confidence is refreshing, but it's immediately clear that she won't get the chance to talk to the being before the situation devolves to violence. So she travels along with the currently unnamed golem as it marvels at the dark majesty around them from within the darkness of its hood.     Ainsley draws her blade when she spots the Shadow they're here to fight. The sword comes from its scabbard smoothly but remains down at her side, her posture loose. She focuses on it while the others are distracted by it, and so she considers what would be the best ... possible... counter...     Ainsley turns her head to regard the White Pig for only a second, a frown on her face.     "I see there is no value in speaking to you," she begins, as she lifts her blade to point it toward the Intendent, the weasel-like creature, "You will come to regret your actions, if you live long enough to know the meaning." The word she uses for 'regret' isn't the same language as the rest, and is accompanied with a flash of magical light. Ainsley tries to counteract the visceral, empty rush of conquering the weak and gaining wealth and women... with the immediate regret found in any glimmer of conscience. It's a spell she casts with a point of the sword at the Intendent.     Her Golem flinches visibly, the robed figure stepping back from the sound of fully-automatic gunfire. It sticks close to Ainsley, the stone, heavily clothed figure staying out of harm's way for now. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka seems a bit suspicious of this SPriggins Jack. Also she has a brief stare-off with Janine. She has no idea why Janine looks at her that way, but she isn't sure if she should back down. "I got something on my face?" She asks dryly, before reaching into her coat as she notices Emily's pretty well armed, when the butler arrives.     Her matter manipulator produces an AK-105 carbine, giving the illusion she just pulled an assault rifle out of her coat, as she loads a thick looking magazine and chambers a round. She seems calm as they enter the forrest, glancing about before suddenly A THING ARRIVES. "Still want us just to watch?" She asks Jack dryly, before she follows Emily's example and opens up with fire, the muzzle brake giving her rifle an x-shaped flash with every shot she fires on semi-auto, but given Maaka's intense trigger finger she's practically blazing away. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' "Wait, doesn't that mean you wouldn't deal with it? What are you planning on doing, then?" August counters Spriggins Jack, refusing to let him get away with that, but they end up at the town. Huh. It's...quaint? And also being destroyed, 'innocent' Shadows massacred by some manner of weasel. August instantly pulls up the reflective knife to his eyes, not allowing appearance to even slightly keep him off-guard. The Black Queen's Court is absolutely dangerous. "This is not going to be a trivial fight. Keep your wits about you." He grimaces visibly when he notices all of the disgusting little features on the weasel Shadow, and turns to it. "So what's your rank in the court, then? Janitor? Because you're a mess." Trying to move around the wreckage, August attempts to close in to the side of the Intendent, as he speaks those magic words. "Persona." In the spark of blue, the burn-scarred soldier with the gun-leg appears, and charges forward for the weasel, bullets spewing forth from that gun leg in an attempt to fill him with holes. "You'll end up just like him." 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "No skin off my nose! Give him hee-ll!" Jack shouts as he rushes the Intendent. The creature goes on all fours and barrels towards the Jack, giving him a mighty headbutt! The fellow goes flying, literally flying over the tree line to land behind the party. "I'm okay!" he shouts.     Meanwhile, their foe regards the gunfire and smirks. That thin blade twirls, sparks flying as the bullets are deflected. A few find their way through, one of Becky's and a few from August, Emily and Maaka. They all draw blood, but the creature only laughs. "Cease throwing this worthless metal at me! Gold for your lives only!"     And then Ainsley intones 'regret' in that strange language of hers. It tunnels into the Shadow, looking for the barest scrap of morality to pry loose and make it feel over the atrocity it has committed... but this is a Shadow, and a member of the Court on top of that. This one likely reached the position it did BECAUSE it has no regrets at all. "My only regret is letting you drivel on this long, fool! Now die!" He barrels towards the party, sword pulled back to thrust! 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     During all of this, Janine stands there, hugging herself with her one good arm. She's muttering to herself, ceaselessly, endlessly. The sounds of battle are starting to get to her, gunshots and smoke agitating her. "I'm going to die. If not now, then to the next one, or to the disease. And it will be fine because I deserve it. All of it. I'm wicked and spiteful and everyone hates me, rightly so, because I'm so awful. I was thrown out because they finally realized what a bitch I am. Even everyone else barely acknowledges me now because they've caught on too. I just make everything worse, and I should just die, I should just hurry up and /die/...!"     She slumps to her knees, and the shimmer of blue that foretells the summoning of a Persona arises about her. Biancabella swims into view, facing the Intendent. And them immediately, spears erupt from her dress, stabbing into the Shadow at multiple points.     No, not spears. Proboscises.     The Intendent withers away almost immediately, its essences drained by the Persona, who is twitching and contorting in gruesome ways. It ascends, facing upwards as translucent, vein-laced wings erupt from its front, the bloody spears withdrawing back into its dress. Many twitching legs of many lengths and shapes, some insectoid, others human erupt from her back. Her mouth opens violently, causing the cheeks to rip apart as a long, slimy stinger grows from it and sways, the sharpened tip already beady with venom. The dress is already in tatters, but something under the skirts begins to lash, cutting them to pieces, to reveal a hideous face between the legs that swiftly mutate into bladed feelers akin to a praying mantis. It looks akin to a human's halfway between a transformation, it's entire upper half overtaken by a large, single compound eye. The mouth and nose have been crushed together and extended to form a long proboscis shaped like a blade, and evidentially able to cut like one based on how it exposed itself. Those wings flicker and hum loudly, keeping the monstrosity aloft as Janine sobs beneath it. =================================DEATH REVERSED================================= ----------------------------MANIFESTATION OF DESPAIR----------------------------                                     SHTRIGA                                                                    THE LOATHESOME ONE                               -------------------------------PREPARE FOR BATTLE------------------------------- ======================================XIII====================================== 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Jack's alright. August expected that. But the Intendent is tough. He's deflecting gunfire, and is able to just soak those bullets. He's about to reposition, change his battle strategy... When Janine snaps, and 'Biancabella' appears, ripping the Shadow apart as it transforms into something...Wrong. Janine's speech is heard perfectly by the boy, and he just freezes as he watches her, watches her Persona. And something inside him...clicks. Why is she saying that? Why is she saying that /now/ of all times? Why- The Tin Soldier abruptly lurches forward, almost spasming. Blue energy begins to crackle around it and out of it, as if it's short-circuiting, and it 'fizzles' briefly. August's face is warped (naturally, not unnaturally) into anger and anguish, as he clutches his hand. As he thinks. As he /listens/. August Kohler has no words to say. Fire pours from the Persona's gun, in a huge flurry. It moves to try and engulf Shtriga, though it doesn't explicitly move to avoid Janine underneath. August's eyes are full of a determined fury, as words finally leave his lips, choked out. "Why?!" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Emily's automatic fire stops when it becomes clear the Intendent is deflecting the majority of their gunfire. There's a faint frown. "Goodness, you're a fair hand with that sword of yours." She's already dropping the magazine out of her rifle and moving to clear the chamber. "I suppose I'll just have to set this aside and take out my real-"     Something is wrong.     Something is Wrong.     Every instinct of Emily's screams at her. She turns just in time to see Biancabella rise up. Consume the Intendent. And become something... Else. For a brief moment, Emily Branford is shocked into complete immobility and silence. Shocked enough that the facade slips, that the woman behind the mask is on display.     A moment later, the HK417 hits the ground. It's followed by her P320, shoulder holster and all. "Should have known. Should have bloody known." She quietly reaches up, unbuttoning her vest, button by button, until she can shrug out of it, drop it onto her weapons. Then the cravat, untied, and dropped down as well. "You were always so stubborn. Thought I'd give you your space, you'd be right as rain." She's even cast off the accent, so to speak; her received pronunciation is gone, replaced by a somewhat rougher estuary accent. "My fault. I'll cop to that. Have to make it right."     Up comes Emily's right hand, her left occupied in pulling her signature black glove over it. The next heartbeat, her whip is in hand. Her next words are to August. "We're going to have to play rough. She bloody hates herself, and we're going to fix it, but we'll have to give her both goddamn barrels. Sorry, Janine," she adds. "If there's medical bills, I'll spot you. You're worth that much, love."     Then, she is in motion - her whip unleashed in a flurry of inhumanly fast strikes, faster than her rifle was unloading bullets. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' The bullets do nothing, and Rebecca scowls even more. "Damn it, I should've brought out the heavy artillery with you first!" She says through gritted teeth. Of course, heavy artillery refers to her Magnum and her Grenade Launcher. She could also toss a bottle of flammable chemicals if necessary, but now is not the time for debating what she could be doing instead. Because there's something far worse rising up. Even though Rebecca doesn't know that its name is Biancabella, she nonetheless sees it appear and consume the Intendent. Rebecca's eyes widen like saucers and her jaw hangs open for a moment. "Oh my... what is that? What is it doing?" She semi-babbles out. The final result is far worse than anything Rebecca could've anticipated, but by that time, Rebecca's switched to her stun baton. She knows that she has to consider Janine in this as well, and so she decides to use a non-lethal method of attacking. The shock is noticeable, but it's designed to only stun the person receiving it, not kill them. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley lifts her blade and readies herself for a strike. She knows she can hear Janine nearby, and her head momentarily turns. The words she starts to hear... She turns her head, her eyes wide. Her sword lowers, and her mouth opens up, the shock on her face...     No, that's not how she sees Janine at all. She sees Janine as something else.     And then she audibly GASPs when Janine's Persona devolves into a Shadow, killing and devouring the Intendent in an instant. She wheels about on the Persona with her blade held up with both hands, and she stares, unable to blink, as it undergoes a horrific transformation. Truly horrific... because Ainsley can feel it represents how Janine sees herself, and how it represents a distorted view built on despair.     "No!!!"     She bellows it as loud as she can, "That isn't how I see you at all!"     And Ainsley shows Janine what she really feels. A single hand lifts and she projects what she feels wholesale with a single word spoken. Even with what everyone else is saying and doing, fighting and attacking the Shadow that represents a raw reflection of despair, she still doesn't attack directly until she has to.     What could I say?     What could any of us say?     Let me suffer with you. I can see it. I saw it before. I see it in every moment of anger and bile. I do not see evil or hate. I see a girl struggling with more than anyone should ever have to.     I want to know your story. Please. I want to be there with you. That is why I keep coming to this world to help.     "Please!" Ainsley bellows.     The Golem has fled for one of the glass houses and is hiding in the fetal position. Yep. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka watches Jack get his shit ruined, and when she, Rebecca, and Emily open fire, they notice all they're doing is pissing off the Intendent. She has no illusions about this, that's for sure. The cyborg begins to dodge as it thrusts its sword, before she notices it disappear, and then glances to Janine.     And things get fucked up. "JANINE!" She calls out in reflex, horrified as Janine's Persona falls apart and turns into...something, some kind of horrible preying mantis monstrosity. "Uhhhh, uhhhhh..." She watches Emily ditch her guns, only for the butler to pull out a goddamn whip.     "Okay, guess we're doing this!" She says, before she dismisses her AK, in favor of a Benelli M4 shotgun. Her weapon is loaded with beanbag rounds swiftly, and by the time others begin to use less-lethal methods, Maaka's opening fire with a few shots of her own. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Something's wrong. Something is wrong, something has /been/ wrong for a while now. Ran and Hikaru know the shape of part of it, know the way its mouth spills poison straight into the ear where it can drip down into the heart. Ran knows because Hikaru knows.     And because Ran knows, she can't trust Janine.     It'd be better, she'd decided, if she were to hang back a bit. Because she remembers what Hikaru did. The kind of things he'd been willing to do, convinced he was worthless.     They can't solve this, Hikaru had said, because they're too close to it.     But Ran just can't let it go...     As Biancabella twitches and deforms, a series of grotesqueries each worse than the last, Ran bursts into a sprint, long dancer's legs eating the ground. She's too far, she's too far, FUCK, she should've been braver--!     ((don't look. just leap.))     A shape charges forth - one that /isn't- supposed to be there - and shoulderchecks Janine, throwing them both to the ground.     Ran, unfortunately, takes the stun baton for the other girl. Oops. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     Janine sobs, dropping like a sack of potatoes as Ran tackles her to the ground. Her crying becomes one of pain as the impact jolts her enslinged arm, sending pain crashing through her. After a delay, Shtriga starts twitching and flailing wildly, akin to a fly that has been blasted with insect spray. The flames of the Tin Soldier burn it, searing its face and turning what remains of Biancabella's dress to ash, properly revealing its hideous abdomen. It's covered in segmented chitin, with those extendable proboscises poking out between the gaps. Without the cloth to hamper it, the wings beat faster, both to bat the flames back and take it higher.     Emily's whip and Maaka's beanbags impact against it. Each blow draws out a wet, crunchy noise, like when you stomp on a cockroach. Vile ichors spill from its cracked body, causing more convulsions. Again, after a minor delay, Janine's own blood would start to seep through her clothes, wounds reflecting the Shadow-Persona's own. Her face has a pinkish burn also from August's fire.     When Ainsley's words hit Janine's ears, Shtriga convulses again, but this time, something is different. A single wilted rose petal slips from one of its wounds, drifting down and carrying that faint, rotten scent that is so indicative of Biancabella. Underneath Ran, the girl groans, "No story... just awful."     But the Shadow-Persona has had enough. Time to counterattack.     Its proboscis beads at the tip with blood before suddenly gushing it. The spray tightens, narrows, and then it swivels its head in a way that does now align with human vertebra. The blood sprays, cutting through glass trees and cutting a deep groove into the ground as it swipes, aiming to slice up everyone! Even Janine and Ran are potentially unsafe. 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     "Janine, you bloody twit."     It's by far the harshest thing Emily's ever said to her. And it's coming out specifically because she's sure now that Janine's actually listening; wallowing in her own misery, but listening. "I thought you were shaper than this. You /are/ sharper than this." A pressure cutter of blood doesn't seem to deter Emily - with that inhuman movement speed of hers, she hurls herself sidelong, evading anything worse than a glancing blow that tears a hole in one pant leg and scrapes at the skin beneath. Not nearly enough to slow her down. "If we'd any desire to get away from you, we could've done it long ago! Could've buggered off any time, avoided dealing with you outside the Forest. Not a one of those folks at your birthday party /had/ to be there."     She starts making for Janine at a steady walk; for the time being, her whip stays still, but she'll absolutely use her speed to evade any blows thrown her way when she moves under Shtriga... no, Biancabella. Biancabella's still in there. "Heaven's sake, Janine, you know your parents stopped /paying/ me, right? Had I any desire to be gone, that was the finest excuse I could ask for! But I'm still here! We're all still here. Your Persona's gone mental and it's trying to kill us all, and we're /still bloody here/, because you're not /nearly/ as bad a person as you want to believe you are! And we're not going anywhere, no matter how many good excuses you give us. So quit your moping and stand up, because if you sod off to a pit of despair and get us all killed, I'm never going to let you hear the end of it in the afterlife." 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka can't help but wince internally at the crying. It's hard sometimes, blinding yourself to other's suffering. Empathy can be both a great asset and a terrible weakness. Maaka is not immune to it, even now. She fires again and again before she feels the Shadow-Persona slashes at her, cutting through body armor and drawing blood deep as Maaka lets out a yelp of pain. "GHHHK! Oh, oh that ain't good..." She mutters under her breath, clutching at her side as she fires off a last shot before she's forced to reload her shotgun one-handed. THis might keep her out of the fight for a while. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca finds she can't stop in time to avoid shocking Ran. "No!" She cries out as Ran Itoh gets electrocuted. "Dammit, why?" She screams, feeling frustrated and annoyed at this development. "This wasn't supposed to--" Rebecca is focusing too much on Ran to notice the crying, which is bad, because she also doesn't notice the slash coming at her. Unfortunately, the Shadow-Persona's slash is more powerful than her body armor, and it cuts deeply into her flesh, causing her to cry out loudly as she stumbles backwards and falls onto the ground. "Unngh... why?" Rebecca grunts as she reaches for a First-Aid Spray in her belt. She sprays her wound, wincing at the stinging sensation as the healing aerosol begins to stop the bleeding and work at dulling the pain. She's out for a moment herself. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' Emily's fighting too. August hears her words. But part of him can't acknowledge them. Part of him is requesting a different ending. Maybe Janine's right. Maybe it's her fault that this didn't happen sooner, maybe he should just end it. Because it's wrong, wrong wrong wrong, and it's making things difficult for /him/. His mind battles over this thought, which causes his attacks to actually be delayed, stopping on and off as he decides whether or not he'll fight. But then the dress burns. Then the creature sprays that blood, cutting through everything, showing its insectoid horror. Showing that it's wrong. Showing that the only way for August Kohler to continue is for it to burn. That's right, isn't it, August? You need it to burn. It needs to stop being a burden. The Tin Soldier 'statics' that blue energy again, briefly, right as the blood cuts into it, slicing a chunk of its torso straight through. August clutches his stomach, coughing up blood, but his only response is a muttering of words, a muttering of 'wrong'. The Tin Soldier's gun leg begins to whirl up fire, an inferno spinning into the shape of a spiral. Janine and Ran are there. Emily's up close. But that doesn't matter. It's the Tin Soldier and Shtriga. The blast goes flying, moving to try and engulf the area around Shtriga, and the fire also latches around onto the things around the Tin Soldier, moving to spread to it as well. It doesn't move to dodge. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     And so Ainsley sees the wounds form on Janine in the midst of this. She has only a moment to process what is happening, how this is hurting the girl, how this is still her /Persona/. The reptile woman gasps when her distraction results in blood slicing across her scales as she narrowly deflects getting bisected by the pressurized blood that sprays from the creature's mouth.     Ainsley doesn't let up.     Stories exist to show the darkness in our hearts and remind each other we are not alone!     She is actually shouting the words while projecting her inner emotions at this point.     We don't want you to be left behind. We want you to live!     She sprints over to where Janine and Ran are and she slides to a stop. She lifts her hands and she lays them on Janine, and she speaks a few soft words to her.     "Please..."     And now the lizard is crying. That hit has shattered anything left of her composure.     "Even if you hadn't saved me, hadn't fought alongside me, I would care. I don't want you to die. Please."     Ainsley fears feeling helpless. She fears being isolated. It projects through her hands.     Hands wet with the blood from that Persona and from the wound that dribbles through her uniform, that aches with agony even through the fear of seeing someone lost to an end like this... again. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     Intellectually, Ran knows what happens when a human is exposed to the effects of a stun gun. The outside supply of electricity interrupts the body's own electrical impulses, inserting itself roughly as noise into the signal. The muscles' primary source of energy, glucose, is converted into lactic acid. The muscles are forced to do a large amount of work in a very short time, leaving them overused and weakened.     Of course, when used responsibly they don't incapacitate over the long term. They're only meant to subdue.     Of course, it still hurts like a bitch. She's /so/ going to whine about this later!!     The cutting blades of blood split glass leaves and fell mirror trees. Dazed, Ran lies heavily atop Janine, twitching a little bit. Something licks fire across the backs of her thighs and the high-pitched pain-squeal inside her brain does a bit to bring her around. "Nnnn..."     Sobbing. A familiar, curt voice. Shouting. Ran opens her eyes and pushes herself up onto her elbows. "Tsu," she murmurs, long hair cascading over her back and shoulders, and hopefully shielding Janine from having to see what's happened to Biancabella.     She screams for her Persona, the Rabbit landing between her and August, blocking as much of the firespray as it can by spinning its long-handled mallet.     She can be a shield.     She too can throw herself into fire to feed a stranger... 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     Fire. Fire from the /Tin Soldier/. Oh bloody hell, Kohler's losing it.     Emily has only a moment to react. For her, though, that's all she needs. The plume of fire meets a sudden whirl in the air. A coil of something-that-might-be-leather, whirling into a supersonic swirl that creates a vortex of rushing air - a vortex that will scatter the fire, dampen it, blunt the worst of it. But that's all she can manage. She can't stop that much fire outright. Not in the least.     She's going to be badly regretting this for a while. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka may be regretting being close to this. She feels her thermal sensors go overboard, and she suffers some serious burning sensations as August goes pyromanical. (If that isn't a word it should be, dammit.)     The cyborg feels her everything overheat, and she frantically tries to roll and smother the flames as she drops her shotgun, blood pooling around in the ground, and she screams her lungs out in unending pain. She is really regretting being this close for some easy shotgun blasts now.     If she gets out of this, August is going to really get it. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley, having ended up right near Janine, is also in the way of the fire. She hears it coming and, lacking any way to defend against it on short notice, she decides to do her best to emphasize what she's trying to tell Janine.     She acts as a fire blanket and probably smolders and smokes and BURNs, and her face scrunches and buries into the arm of her coat as she tries not to scream out right there next to the girl. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     "Don't YELL AT ME!" Janine shouts, words muffled by the ground. The classical teenaged response of rejecting someone else's words, no matter how well-meaning, simply due to the tone it was delivered it. But again, Shtriga oozes rose petals in response to them, more than one this time.     However, it is still in action, and it has its own goals. Two people are wounded enough to keep them from doing much, and Shtriga homes in on them. Immediately, it swoops and kicks one of its human legs at Rebecca, aiming to launch her closer to Maaka. And then, it deploys those extendable proboscises, aiming to spear them both. Should the appendages find home, it begins draining like the mosquito it is.     It also displays why fire is not best used against flying enemies. Its buzzing wings generate gusts that push it all away, getting it to spread more along the ground. It's getting really hot, the village is starting to melt and crack some more from the heat.     Janine is safe though, thanks to everyone's efforts. Even if she thinks she shouldn't be. "Even if it's true... why bother? There are better people to care about... and I'll be dead soon, no matter what. Wasted effort..." 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' No sooner has Rebecca recovered than she finds that she's under attack again. Unfortunately, being in a position of recovery means she's in no position to evade... or even defend herself. She gets kicked hard, and goes flying. She doesn't go flying too far, but she does go flying... right into poor Alexis Maaka! "Ahhhh!" Rebecca cries out as she goes through the air, landing with an oof. At first she doesn't realize what happened until she looks underneath her and realizes Alexis is underneath her. "Oh no!" She cries out as she tries to get up, but her previous injury coupled with this new one make it next to impossible to get up easily. She struggles some more, then ends up rolling off of Alexis onto the ground. "This is so humiliating!" 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     "Persona!"     Ainsley calls into her reflection, and a turtle man appears, wearing a modern rubber fisherman outfit, with an old-timey hat. He removes the pipe from his mouth as she looks over her shoulder and she casts the temporary, magic, reflective shield that Urashima Taro can manifest around Janine and herself and anyone else in immediate range. It seems to get generated from light that flashes from a fishing net he throws over the both of them that promptly vanishes.     Now she speaks down to Janine even more as the Persona fades away again.     "You could be dead tomorrow and I would still try to save you right now," Ainsley tells Janine, her voice only loud enough to hear over the chaos, pausing to fight the urge to cry out from her own pain, "I would regret letting you fall away like this, struggling and suffering, for the rest of my life. Even if I fail, even if this doesn't save you, I cannot fathom a world where I didn't try."     A pause, a gasp, a squeaky, pathetic noise. "You have to try, too. Live your life, tell the world 'Fuck you, I'm Janine Liberi, and I will be worth what I say I'm worth.' Because we're here to help you do that."     "Please..."     She forces out every single word. The pain from the fire and the jet of blood screams in her every nerve. It's a wheeze, and it's obviously the most strained whisper ever, but she shoves the air out and forms words through the choking sobs and agony.     Plaintive, agonized, trying so hard, because it so rarely works. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' The fire burns hot, but fast for anyone it hits. As it blazes, August stares at those getting burned. He argues over the radio, about how she's become an obstacle now, about how she needs to be burned, but they're in the way...they need to be burned too, don't they? Obstacles, burdens in his path. Another statick-y glitch of blue, and the fire begins to pour out of the flamethrower again, ready for another inferno...No. No, no, no. /This/ is wrong. That's Janine, August's...friend. For once, he admits it, and suddenly, he takes a breath. The fire still begins to start to pour out of the Tin Soldier. It's about to ignite... And the Tin Soldier gets whammied as August moves up, bodychecking his own persona and pushing the gun out of the way with his hand, at the cost of /igniting it/, covering it in flame. The robot soldier falls to the ground, as August sees Emily, making that shield of wind, Ainsley, helping block, Ran, hammering the fire. Step, after step, after step, August approaches Janine's location, trying to force his way forward, as the Tin Soldier just lies there, motionless. This means he can be hit twice, should Shtriga realize that. "...Janine. Shut the fuck up. /Shut the fuck up/! What's the goddamn point? What do you gain by doing this? What do you gain by doing nothing? All you're doing is making things /worse/ by being like this, not better!" There's sharp hypocrisy in there, and part of August might realize that. But right now, he's fighting that thought inside his head, the one that said that things would be better if all these people just died, and he's fighting the pain of his hand burning away, as he tries to lug forward. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     "Janine. It's going to be okay."     She said this before, didn't she? Ran wishes Hikaru were here. He would know what to do. He went to school for it, because he'd...     The girl underneath her yells at Emily, and though Ran can't see the rose petals drifting from the ruins of Biancabella, she can feel something happening. "Janine, you don't understand," Ran says to her. "Hikky used to say the same things you do." This wasn't hers to tell - she wanted, she /wanted to wait for Hikaru to say it first/. But they're out of time.     "We were kids together. We went to school together. And one day he stopped showing up. I looked and looked for him, but his mother said he'd gone to live with relatives." He'd just vanished, her best friend, just like that, without even saying goodbye...     She sniffles and calls back the Rabbit, Tsuki-no-Usagi descending from above to shower the herself and Janine with warm, comforting darkness. The gashes across the backs of her thighs seal most of the way, and she pours more energy into Janine because the younger girl needs it more. "And when I found him again he said the exact same things that you did. That he deserved it because he was so awful. That his m-mother wouldn't have kicked out a good child, that he was just a waste and that he was sorry, he was so goddamn sorry."     "I dragged him back to my house with me and I never, ever let him go again. Listen to everybody else," Ran pants, tears running hot down her cheeks. Janine, you have to hear her, please... "Listen to them. We're not going to let you go. /I'm/ not going to let you go! I won't--"     She chokes, and forces the words out. "I WON'T EVER LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN!" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     "It's our effort to waste, and we bloody well choose to waste it on you," Emily hisses out. Not due to any sort of anger, but rather from the sheer pain of her burns. "And we're going to keep wasting it on you, and you can't make us stop, because we think you're /worth/ it, Janine. We're not letting you die any time soon!" But even as burned as she is, Emily is the kind of person to just grit her teeth and ignore her pain, keep fighting full tilt even when her body is telling her it's a bad idea. And that's what she does, shifting her grip on the whip slightly and squinting into the fire.     "Going to have to stop Kohler. Cover Ja-" Whatever she might have been planning, it's all thrown out the window. August tackles his own Persona. Gets himself burned. Gets himself /burning/, in fact. His words put a deep scowl on her face. But he's trying. He's doing something, fighting his own impulses to do something. Even if she thinks he's taking the wrong tack, she has to answer that.     "Kohler, hold your hand /very still/. I swear I'm not attacking you."     Her whip lashes out. Again and again. At his hand. ...no. Not at his hand. /Around/ his hand. Again and again. The same trick she pulled before, but narrower, more focused. She's trying to snuff out the fire by blowing it out, depriving it of the oxygen to burn. And desperately hoping that the conceptual weight behind Strands of Fate will make it effective enough to put out magical fire. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     SUDDEN MEDIC     Maaka is hit full on the chest by Becky, as she catches the medic in her arms. "Oh godddammit-!" She grunts, before rolling to protect herself and BEcky from being stabbed by the Persona's arm. Maaka reaches for a knife, just in case, but she's in little condition to keep fighting given she was gutted before, and roasted just now.     "Fuckin'- You okay?" She wheezes, hacking up blood as she tries to stand up, and helps Becky to her feet as well if the medic needs it.     "Janine..." She wheezes again, "Janine...please, you can still live to the fullest. You can still tell adversity to go suck it..." She begins, storming towards her, fire be damned, injuries be damned. "I wouldn't blame you one bit if you just gave up here, but...we need you, your friends need you." She says, staggering weakly. 

:'''{{#var:909|Janine Liberi (909)}} has posed:'''     A lot of words are being yelled at Janine, and it's taking her a lot of time to sort through them. August's words don't really help her one bit. It only confirms her worries, that she is making things worse, that she is hurting people.     But Ran's story gets her, a little. A lot of horror stories of parents abandoning children... but he seems fine. Or maybe he just got better as he got older. Maybe he did deserve it... but if so, why did Ran stick with him?     Emily goes next. "Because it's our effort to waste," she says. She can't stop people from caring about who they're going to care about. Even if that someone is her, they're still going to give a shit, as misguided as it is. But the question remains; does she care in return?     Maaka speaks up, and the words she uses... 'friends.' Are these her friends? She would insist 'no' if she were level-headed. But... she went out of her way for Ainsley, for August. She didn't want Emily spending money when she knew her own pay had stopped. Ran and Hikaru went to appeal to her mother for her, and even though she was upset, just knowing that gave her strength to talk.     So yes, they are her friends, and she's hurting them right now, when she doesn't want to be.     She screams again, but this one is more raw and angry than it is sad. Shtriga flails and wriggles, acually screaming also as the blue haze envelops both of them. It's a long pregnant pause before eventually, the Shadow-Persona fades away. It doesn't change back, but Janine has reeled it in.     And then, she slumps again. Falling into a deep sleep. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Maaka stares for a long time, as Janine slumps over, and Shtriga fades away. Eventually, the cyborg just slumps down, and tries to keep herself from bleeding out for the time being. She is gonna need some serious tequila after this. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:''' Rebecca tries to get up and check on Janine, but her body is still in a great deal of pain and she can't move very well. Sighing, she applies another First-Aid Spray and uses that to get up. Even then, she still has trouble moving as she limps over to check on Janine. Before she gets there, though, she collapses again. "Ugh... I hope... you're OK..." Rebecca sputters, trying to catch her breath and waiting for the First-Aid Spray to take full effect. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley slowly straightens, gasps, wheezes and shudders. She lifts her head to look up at the Shtriga as it gets sucked back in by a blue light.     "... oh hells...!" And she tears her coat off and she pats at her exposed scales because it felt like she was still on fire and she shivers and her eyes weep because she's in so much pain. She smells like burned feathers and scorched flesh and her scales are caked with scorched blood and she looks very unhappy.     "... hnn... don't want to move..." Not just because of pain but she is mentally and emotionally exhausted.     And her Golem walks right up, and picks her up in a bridal carry, and grabs the coat, too. Yeah, looks like that's covered. 

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:''' August is fighting himself to even move this far, so when Emily approaches and begins to try and snuff the fire on his hand, he can't really resist. The winds put out the flame, stopping it from spreading to the rest of his clothing, but his right hand has a nasty burn, and is probably going to have scars. He can't even realize that the advice he's giving Janine is terrible, because he doesn't even have the energy to do much. In the endwhen Shtriga, begins to fade, as August continues to approach, he collapses to his knees next to her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, all of you. I...fuck. I'm not a very good friend." It's the first time August ever verbalizes it, and it's also the last thing he says today. He doesn't speak again, even when addressed. The Tin Soldier demanifests on its own. 

:'''{{#var:1040|Ran Itoh (1040)}} has posed:'''     More and more, stronger and stronger, all the words spill out. Ran doesn't know if any of them are reaching her, but surely /something/ must be, right...?     In the aftermath, with Janine deeply asleep and Shtrigabella gone, the blonde pushes herself over to one side, lying sprawled out on her back beside the girl she'd tried to protect. A long, deep sigh is the only noise she makes for a long time. Eventually, though, Ran pushes herself up into a sit and starts taking stock of everything. Good thing Yuna and Sanary should be waiting for them all... Quietly, she watches August fall to his knees. "Everybody, let's get out of here. If you have deep wound or trouble walking, I'll treat you first. Lighter injuries will need to wait until we return, but I promise everybody will be treated, okay...?" 

:'''{{#var:999|Emily Branford (999)}} has posed:'''     August's out. That's seen to, then.     For once, though, Emily doesn't take the higher path, doesn't adopt the stiff upper lip mindset. She just shoots him a brief look, and then steps past.     Ainsley's golem has Janine herself. All she can do for the moment is gather her gear and discarded excess clothing, grit her teeth, and march on beside it through the pain of her burns. 
}}