Multiverse Crisis MUSH - User contributions [en]

Template:CharacterNoCollapseNoLogs

2015-10-04T02:20:32Z

Supporting Role: Changed protection level for "Template:CharacterNoCollapseNoLogs" ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:20, 5 October 2015 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:20, 5 October 2015 (UTC)))

Template:CharacterNoCollapse

2015-10-04T02:18:59Z

Supporting Role: Changed protection level for "Template:CharacterNoCollapse" ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:18, 5 October 2015 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:18, 5 October 2015 (UTC)))

__NOCACHE__
{| class="toccolours" style="width: 375px; float: right; margin-left:10px; margin-right:1px; margin-bottom:10px; text-align: left" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''{{{NameOnMUSH}}}''' (Scenesys ID: '''{{{Char_id}}}''')
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | <img src="{{{Img}}}" width="350">
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Quote'''
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | {{{Quote}}}
|-
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Profile'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{FullName}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Gender}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Species:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Species}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Theme:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | ({{{Chartype}}}) [[{{{Theme}}}]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Function:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Function}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Factional Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Faction:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | [[{{{Faction}}}]] ({{{Rank}}})
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Groups}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Other Information'''
|-
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Physical Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{PAge}}}
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Actual Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{AAge}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Still Aging?
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Aging}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Voice Actor:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Voice|}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Height:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Height}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Weight:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Weight}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Hair Color:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Hair}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Eye Color:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Eyes}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Theme Song:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Song|}}}
|}
{{#vardefine: charid | {{{Char_id}}}}} {{#set:Char_id={{{Char_id}}}}}
==Profile==
{{{Profile}}}
==Advantages==
===Powers===
{{{Powers}}}
===Skills===
{{{Skills}}}
===Assets===
{{{Assets}}}
===NPCs===
{{{NPCs}}}
==Disadvantages==
{{{Disadvantages}}}
==Logs==
{{Character Logs}}
==Cutscenes==
{{Character Logs|Cutscenes}}

[[Category:Characters]] [[Category:{{{Faction}}}]] [[Category:{{{Ranktype}}}]] [[Category:{{{Theme}}}]] [[Category:{{{Chartype}}}]]

Template:CharacterMinimal

2015-10-04T02:18:31Z

Supporting Role: Changed protection level for "Template:CharacterMinimal" ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:18, 5 October 2015 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:18, 5 October 2015 (UTC)))

Template:CharacterOnlyLogs

2015-10-04T02:11:40Z

Supporting Role: Changed protection level for "Template:CharacterOnlyLogs" ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:11, 5 October 2015 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:11, 5 October 2015 (UTC)))

__NOCACHE__
{| class="toccolours" style="width: 375px; float: right; margin-left:10px; margin-right:1px; margin-bottom:10px; text-align: left" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''{{{NameOnMUSH}}}''' (Scenesys ID: '''{{{Char_id}}}''')
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | <img src="{{{Img}}}" width="350">
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Quote'''
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | {{{Quote}}}
|-
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Profile'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{FullName}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Gender}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Species:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Species}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Theme:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | ({{{Chartype}}}) [[{{{Theme}}}]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Function:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Function}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Factional Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Faction:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | [[{{{Faction}}}]] ({{{Rank}}})
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Groups}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Other Information'''
|-
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Physical Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{PAge}}}
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Actual Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{AAge}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Still Aging?
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Aging}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Voice Actor:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Voice|}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Height:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Height}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Weight:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Weight}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Hair Color:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Hair}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Eye Color:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Eyes}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Theme Song:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Song|}}}
|}
{{#vardefine: charid | {{{Char_id}}}}} {{#set:Char_id={{{Char_id}}}}}
==Profile==
{{{Profile}}}
==Advantages==
===Powers===
{{{Powers}}}
===Skills===
{{{Skills}}}
===Assets===
{{{Assets}}}
===NPCs===
{{{NPCs}}}
==Disadvantages==
{{{Disadvantages}}}
==Logs==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">LOGS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{Character Logs}}</div></div>
==Cutscenes==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">CUTSCENES, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{Character Logs|Cutscenes}}</div></div>

[[Category:Characters]] [[Category:{{{Faction}}}]] [[Category:{{{Ranktype}}}]] [[Category:{{{Theme}}}]] [[Category:{{{Chartype}}}]]

Template:CharacterNoLogs

2015-10-04T02:04:40Z

Supporting Role: Changed protection level for "Template:CharacterNoLogs" ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:04, 5 October 2015 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:04, 5 October 2015 (UTC)))

__NOCACHE__
{| class="toccolours" style="width: 375px; float: right; margin-left:10px; margin-right:1px; margin-bottom:10px; text-align: left" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''{{{NameOnMUSH}}}''' (Scenesys ID: '''{{{Char_id}}}''')
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | <img src="{{{Img}}}" width="350">
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Quote'''
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | {{{Quote}}}
|-
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Profile'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{FullName}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Gender}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Species:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Species}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Theme:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | ({{{Chartype}}}) [[{{{Theme}}}]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Function:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Function}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Factional Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Faction:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | [[{{{Faction}}}]] ({{{Rank}}})
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Groups}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Other Information'''
|-
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Physical Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{PAge}}}
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Actual Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{AAge}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Still Aging?
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Aging}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Voice Actor:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Voice|}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Height:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Height}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Weight:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Weight}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Hair Color:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Hair}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Eye Color:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Eyes}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Theme Song:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Song|}}}
|}
{{#vardefine: charid | {{{Char_id}}}}} {{#set:Char_id={{{Char_id}}}}}
==Profile==
{{{Profile}}}
==Advantages==
===Powers===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">POWERS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{{Powers}}}</div></div>
===Skills===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">SKILLS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{{Skills}}}</div></div>
===Assets===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">ASSETS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{{Assets}}}</div></div>
===NPCs===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">NPCS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{{NPCs}}}</div></div>
==Disadvantages==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">DISADVANTAGES, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{{Disadvantages}}}</div></div>

[[Category:Characters]] [[Category:{{{Faction}}}]] [[Category:{{{Ranktype}}}]] [[Category:{{{Theme}}}]] [[Category:{{{Chartype}}}]]

Template:CharacterNew

2015-10-04T02:03:22Z

Supporting Role: Changed protection level for "Template:CharacterNew" ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:03, 5 October 2015 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:03, 5 October 2015 (UTC)))

__NOCACHE__
{| class="toccolours" style="width: 375px; float: right; margin-left:10px; margin-right:1px; margin-bottom:10px; text-align: left" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''{{{NameOnMUSH}}}''' (Scenesys ID: '''{{{Char_id}}}''')
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | <img src="{{{Img}}}" width="350">
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Quote'''
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" | {{{Quote}}}
|-
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Profile'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{FullName}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Gender}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Species:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Species}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Theme:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | ({{{Chartype}}}) [[{{{Theme}}}]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Function:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Function}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Factional Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Faction:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | [[{{{Faction}}}]] ({{{Rank}}})
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal;" | {{{Groups}}}
|-
! style="background:{{{Color|#0099FF}}}; border: 1px ridge; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="4" | '''Other Information'''
|-
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Physical Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{PAge}}}
! style="width: 80px; text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Actual Age:
! style="width: 107px; text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{AAge}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Still Aging?
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Aging}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Voice Actor:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Voice|}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Height:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Height}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Weight:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Weight}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Hair Color:
! style="text-align:left; border-right:1px solid; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Hair}}}
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Eye Color:
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Eyes}}}
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-size:80%;" | Theme Song:
! colspan="3" style="font-weight:normal; font-size:80%;" | {{{Song|}}}
|}
{{#vardefine: charid | {{{Char_id}}}}} {{#set:Char_id={{{Char_id}}}}}
==Profile==
{{{Profile}}}
==Advantages==
===Powers===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">POWERS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{{{Powers}}}</div></div>
===Skills===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">SKILLS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{{{Skills}}}</div></div>
===Assets===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">ASSETS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{{{Assets}}}</div></div>
===NPCs===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">NPCS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{{{NPCs}}}</div></div>
==Disadvantages==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">DISADVANTAGES, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{{{Disadvantages}}}</div></div>
==Logs==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">LOGS, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{Character Logs}}</div></div>
==Cutscenes==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:{{{Color|#0099FF}}};">CUTSCENES, CLICK TO EXPAND<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">{{Character Logs|Cutscenes}}</div></div>

[[Category:Characters]] [[Category:{{{Faction}}}]] [[Category:{{{Ranktype}}}]] [[Category:{{{Theme}}}]] [[Category:{{{Chartype}}}]]

Template:Character Logs

2015-10-04T02:02:42Z

Supporting Role: Protected "Template:Character Logs" ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:02, 5 October 2015 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 02:02, 5 October 2015 (UTC)))

<includeonly>__NOCACHE__
{{#css:
.LogTable {text-align:left; width:100%; table-layout:fixed; border-radius:5px;}
.LogTable tbody {border-radius:5px;};
.LogTable:nth-child(1) {border-top-left-radius:5px; border-top-right-radius:5px;}
.LogTable tr:nth-child(1) {border-top-left-radius:5px; border-top-right-radius:5px;}
.LogTable tr td:nth-child(1) {width: 20rem;}
.LogTable tr td:nth-child(2) {width: 15rem;}
.LogTable tr:nth-child(1) td:nth-child(1) {border-top-left-radius:5px; }
.LogTable tr:nth-child(1) td:nth-child(3) {border-top-right-radius:5px; }
.LogTable tr:nth-child(2n+1) {background-color: rgba(0,70,70,.4)}
.LogTable tr:nth-child(2n) {background-color: rgba(0,70,70,.2)}
.LogTable td {vertical-align:top; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;}
.logTable tr:nth-last-child(1) {border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px;}
.LogTable tr:nth-last-child(1) td:nth-child(1) {border-bottom-left-radius:5px;}
.LogTable tr:nth-last-child(1) td:nth-last-child(1) {border-bottom-right-radius:5px;}
.LogTable tr td:nth-child(odd) {word-wrap:break-word; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; max-height:1.5em; height:1.5em; display:block;}
.HeaderCell {padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;}
.HeaderCell:nth-child(1) {border-radius:5px 0px 0px 0px; width: 35%;}
.HeaderCell:nth-child(2) {width: 10rem;}
.HeaderCell:nth-child(3) {border-radius:0px 5px 0px 0px; width: 65%;}
.LogRow { max-height:1em;}
.LogRow:nth-child(1) {background-color: rgba(0,70,70,.5)}
.LogRow:nth-child(2n+2) {background-color: rgba(0,70,70,.2)}
.LogRow:nth-child(2n+3) {background-color: rgba(0,70,70,.3)}
.LogCell { vertical-align:top; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-height:1em;}
.LogRow:last-of-type td:nth-last-child(3) {border-radius:0px 0px 0px 5px}
.LogRow:last-of-type td:nth-last-child(1) {border-radius:0px 0px 5px 0px;}
.LogCell:nth-child(odd) { word-wrap:break-word; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; max-height:1.5em; height:1.5em; display:block;}
}}
{| class="LogTable"
! class=HeaderCell | Title
! class=HeaderCell | Date
! class=HeaderCell | Scene Summary
|- class="LogRow"
{{#ask:[[Category:{{{1|Roleplay Logs}}}]] [[Log Characters::{{{2|{{#var:charid}}}}}]]
|?Log Date
|?Log Synopsis
|format=template
|template=Log List Single
|limit=99999
|sort=Log Date
|order=descending
|link=none
|default={{!}} colspan=3 {{!}} No logs submitted yet.
}}
|}</includeonly><noinclude>
To include character logs:
<pre>{{Character Logs}}</pre>

For Cutscenes:
<pre>{{Character Logs|Cutscenes}}</pre>

For a specific character:
<pre>{{Character Logs||Char_id}}
{{Character Logs|Cutscenes|Char_id}}</pre>
</noinclude>

Template:Month Logs

2015-10-04T01:58:40Z

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2015-10-04T01:57:33Z

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Template:TP Logs

2015-10-04T01:56:45Z

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819/Easy Pickings

2014-10-19T17:40:28Z

Supporting Role:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/17
|Location=Southern Urbania
|Synopsis=The Mariage lay a trap for Elites
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=42, 162, 320, 381, 401, 558, 560, 578, 596, 597
|Tinyplot=Power Games
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' The research park is... silent, when people arrive. It's larger than expected, with four large buildings dominating the profile, one at each corner to mark the cardinal directions. A few smaller facilities dot the facility, which covers several city blocks. In the middle is a large, rounded dome that is now glowing with a bright yellow light, exactly identical to Fate's magical color. Various alerts are sounding, but it's kind of pointless. No sign of life is here, though various battle damage is, in the form of blasted holes and carved, sliced sections of walls. No life signs, for those capable of scanning, but numerous small energy signatures of various types. Those capable of reading such things will note that the dome is leaking high amounts of some kind of energy. Nanoha-verse will recognize it as mana, and everyone can recognize that it will reach dangerous levels very soon. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr arrives on scene. Likely the first Unionite at the area. "Dee, Area Search. Magic aspect." she commands her Device. The large twin-bladed axe chimes softly, before ejecting a sextet of dark purple orbs. They disseminate around the area, seeking out Magic or Energy based signatures.     The young woman is eying that dome warily however, and tunes back into her radio. "Anyone coming to the research area... we've got a massive Mana buildup in the central structure... I can't really tell, but it's growing to dangerous levels... no time frame on how long that'll take." 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Research stations are becoming a common place for Zwei to hit up, but that's all according to plan. It may have been advised to "go adventuring" several times by now, but that doesn't mean the adventuring can't involve places it already has a vested interest in. The transmission had indicated heavy combat, and so Asche is the unit dispatched to the battle zone, screeching over the skyline at several times the speed of sound. Angling into a steep dive, the massive Armiger's aerial combat configuration looks like something between a fighter jet and a wyvern, but it swiftly disappears as he returns to a terrestrial configuration before hitting the ground, which he does with an enormous crunch and a crater several meters across.     No life signs, but energy readings, and an extremely large power density of an unknown signature coming from the facility in the middle, expressed only as photons in any sensible way. Despite having no face, Asche doesn't seem worried about any possibility of violent detonation as he begins to stride over the open field, leaving deep scars in the ground where he walks, charging his weapons with a steady whine. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' "Okay, the premise here is simple. The ship was fitted with a cargo hot drop for smuggling runs. It'll be faster than a shuttle and get us down to planet immediately," Flint is explaining to Signum and Vita as he steps into a large metal cube, "We use this to drop cargo onto planets from low orbit and then skim off. If I'm in the cube, we should live. You could also take a shuttle if you want, but where's the adventure?" Adjusting his hat and bracing himself inside the container, it would be sealed after it was determined whether or not Signum and Vita would be joining him on this trip. Then the crate would be unceremoniously dropped out of the cargo bay and hit with a magnetic pulse to send it streaking through orbit at approximately Dangerous Miles Per Hour. The huge metal container slams into the street, reinforced by black cracks and energy running through it before it skids to a stop. A moment later the steaming container's door creaks and falls open and out steps a toussled looking Flint, "Well that was a wild ride, eh then?" He looks up at the sky above, "Still. Always wanted to give it a ridey-ride. Seemed like the time." 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     A crack of lightning splits the skies, thunder roaring a proclamation of the Confederate arrival.     Fate Testarossa is feeling much better now.     Evident in the fact that she is well enough to manage a Dimensional Transfer now, a glimmering golden circle of Mid-Childan runes spreading beneath her boots and forming as a landing platform for the Confederates that choose to arrive with her. But as soon as arrival hits, Bardiche pings with a rattling click-crackle much akin to the hissing ticks of a geiger     c#ffec8b">[SIR. MANA SATURATION IS GROWING DANGEROUS.] The stoic and faithful Device notes.     Yet Fate herself is more concerned with staring at the dome, scarlet eyes wide.     "That's..." 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Freya arrived on scene coming in from a near by portal. Alarms are sounding Freya does her best to ingore them, looking around she noticing the battle damage and the yellow glowing dome. She assumes that's not normal and she has a feeling it going to boom soon as well. She sighs a bit hoping there would some suviours, hoping to act as a healer today but it doesn't look like that going to be the case. 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' "Ah... mana poisoning?" Nanoha sounds worried, flying out of the tear in reality that Fate opened up. The little wings on her ankles shimmer, then stabilize again. "Is that what this buildup is?" She looks to Raising Heart, the ruby-headed staff in her hand. <BUILDUP IS WITHIN ACCEPTABLE LEVELS BUT INCREASING.> The staff's chime is feminine and pleasant, but cautioning. Nanoha nods and stares at the various sorts coming in, but slowly lowers to the ground and shoots off a few globes. <WIDE AREA SEARCH> 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Shirou is quick to arrive. He barely had time to strap on some basic protective armor, so he's in his normal clothes with a black vest of some kind of futuristic material from the Union armory to protect his vitals strapped over it. he's not unarmed this time either. He bears an ornate sword of carved onyx, its blade subtly glowing a hot white. runes etched along the length in some forgotten Hydaelynian script glow faintly in the presence of high concentrations of ambient magical power - so they're pretty bright here.     Those familiar with such may spot similarities to Odin's blade, Zantetsuken, but that's not really important right now is it?     He dashes straight for the central dome, where the damage seems the most severe. "What happened here?!"     Even he can feel the power building here. It's not quite the same as the prana he's used to, but even a crappy magus can feel magical energy when it's THIS concentrated! 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     SCIENCE is under attack! Of course Staren comes to check it out. He teleports in in his usual power armor (now with desc!), and his sensors confirm the mana buildup. He tries to reach out and feel it, to tell if it's possible to channel it at all -- but even if it is, there must be far too much for 'absorb it all and cast a lot of spells to burn it off' to be a viable plan.     Then Staren realizes what the lack of life signs means. "What... they killed them /all/?!" He stares towards the facility in horror for a moment. Then starts searching for wireless networks. Maybe if he can get into some kind of security system he can see what happened inside. 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     A new challenger appears! Or, an old one reappears. Six black wings spread behind her, Material-D enters through Fate's portal, frowning at the scene before her. "Hmn. How very strange. And we are not the only ones here." Asche and Freya themselves are pretty distinctive, and Hawke made quite an entrance as well. Yami shakes her head and stays in the air, as she doesn't fear mana poisoning herself, but she swoops in ahead of Fate. "We will handle the Barrier."     She'll wait just a few more moments for stragglers(IE, Staren and others who haven't posed) and then lift her staff up. 'TEMPORAL BARRIER,' The sky darkens as everything takes on a strange, muted cast, the spell shifting the research park a half-second to the left and imprinting it on imaginary space. This carries with it any significant energy sources, as well, and isolates it from external interference... in or out. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Here it goes! The Barrier goes up, and immediately there's strain on it. That reactor in the center is starting to break down the Barrier already, and if it goes critical it will be only somewhat constrained by the Barrier. Only Yami's significant magical energies are keeping it from breaking out already. From the cube, a small girl carrying a hammer, wearing a beret with a bunny decoration on it, steps out. Signum follows behind Vita, hand on her sword already. "Asche..." she says immediately to the Zwei unit, and then her eyes harden a bit at seeing Fate and Nanoha here as well. But she isn't here for conflict, at lea- <WARNING! ETERNAL RING CONTROL NODE PRESENT! SUBDUE AND ASSIMILATE!> the book at Vita's side starts to scream out those words, but the hammerer just whaps it with her hand. "Not right now!" Staren can indeed access the wireless, but the network is a huge mess right now. It's all secured and has initiated auto-delete routines as a security measure, but he can get recent video feeds that show the researchers turning on one another. Or, more precisely: a masked female figure walks into one room, and suddenly one researcher turns and summons up magical power to blast another, all the while screaming for someone to stop him. Speaking of masked female figures, now that the barrier is up, some of those energy signatures move! And several of the moving ones are emerging from the buildings nearby. All identical, masked female figures, with their arms morphing into sharp blades. It's Signum who recognizes what happened, amongst the Wolkenritter. "Mariage... laying a trap?!" 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     "Looks like it's a party. Divine Wind!" calls Zephyr, as she draws magic into the blades of her Device. <MANA FLOW SYSTEMS FLUCTUATING. SUGGEST RAPID RESOLUTION OF SITUATION.> suggests the Device. A warm, motherly tone coming from the rhomboid gemstone, tinged with caution. "Yeah, got it... lets just hope little miss cold shoulder doesn't try to take the glory for herself." she grouses, before kicking up from the floor.     Four purple 'pixie wings' erupt from her back, before she pivots and bursts forwards toward the closest Mariage, trailing purple energy from her axe head. <TEMPEST SABER.> announces Divine Wind, as Zephyr pirouettes and brings that big axe around in a full roundhouse chop. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     As the procession of Elites, starts to gather within visual range, Asche takes a few milliseconds to note each of them in turn, though he only speaks to the four he already knows. "Captain Hawke. Shirou. Staren. Signum." It's more of a statement than an invitation to say anything back, and his voice still sounds like someone pitch shifting an afterburner. Zephyr and Nanoha get the largest degree of attention, in that Asche actually turns his head to look as the glowing orbs race through his field of vision, scanning the two of them for signs of the same type of energy signature building up in the giant dome. Just for completeness, he gives Fate the once over as well.     Then the barrier happens as he arrives near one of the smaller buildings dotting the field, right before the dome. An event that significant actually causes him to stop, dedicating just about all of Zwei's processing power to analyzing the temporal/spatial anomaly that had just ocurred. Somewhere else, Weiss is pretty much motionless. "Preventing collateral damage to the surrounding area? Then this facility is already a lost cause. I will restrict my firepower only so much as is necessary to prevent annihilating the remaining civilian staff." His right wrist guard splits to reveal twin, stout looking gun barrels, suddenly spiking an enormous energy reading for anyone actively trying to detect them.     The word 'trap' and Zephyr's headlong charge make it obvious enough that the masked figures are enemies. Asche levels his arm at the nearest building Zephyr isn't already close to, aims down slightly to hit the ground in front of it, and begins rattling off a steady string of high velocity bolts of light, splitting along the entire visible colour spectrum as they streak across the field and individually detonate with the force of a quarter ton of TNT. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' "Really ladies? I seem to be running into you more and more. Don't you know, my heart belongs to another?" Flint says with a flourish of his hand as he slowly steps towards the Mariage. He might be stalling for time to let the others go on ahead of him as he slowly pulls off his gloves and flexes his hands, "Flint Hawke is a man of many loves. His heart belongs to the stars, his hand is promised to the wheel of his ship!" The Pirate Captain slowly reaches under his coat and pulls out a pair of what look to be metal blocks, "Also Signum, fine lass that she is! We're to be wed!" Wait what? Flint grins a bit and then steps towards them, twirling the two objects around his index fingers, "I'm afraid that if you can't take my no for an answer, I'm going to have to go to more..." The metal objects slide over his fingers, making them like brass knuckles. He taps his two fists together and there's a thundercrack of a power field, "Aggressive denial." He holds his hand up and waves them over, "Come ladies. Flint Hawke is man enough to handle the lot of ya and leave you tired and on the ground." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Barrier up! Staren sees the girl in red near the center, and readies his rifle. Is that the good one or the bad one?     Once the network is hacked, Staren delegates searching it and downloading every file they can find to his support AI. He frowns as he reviews the video, and informs today's allies. And then...     Time to fight! The Mariage are apparently hostile, some kind of flesh golem to be destroyed, so... he raises his laser sniper rifle and starts shooting. If a single shot isn't enough to destroy them, he switches to bursts.     He /really/ hopes each one isn't elite-level by itself.     He'll see about helping with plans for disabling the reactor or other fancy things after the immediate threat is dealt with. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' "Uh-oh!", Freya says spotting the figures and there sharp blades. "They don't look freindly at all!", she eeps and she suddenly she alot taller! Oh well, she can deal with the masked figures better when she is like this. She walks foward and tires to stop on one making it flat like a pancake. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     Fate has paled. Bardiche rattles lightly in her grasp, prompting a soft re-assuring ping from the black axe. Her composure seems shaken, and it's not by the Mariage; her gaze is lingering squarely on the domed facility. Thusly, any once-overs given Fate's way will show not the gravely and composed ice queen of norm, but a stunned child.     It takes her a second to even realize the Wolkenritter are present, and the sight of Signum makes the blonde cowboy back up. Fingers clenching around the haft of her Device in a white-knuckle grip, she somehow manages to put on a hard face of her own as she matches the flame knight's gaze. That rivalry is still burning strong in her chest, but right now she has other things on her mind.     "Nanoha." Whispered as she already starts hustling for the main building.     "I'm... Going to try..."     She trails off and just suddenly blitzes.     She's going to ignore the Mariage and try and blaze her way inside. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Oh hey it's Zwei's other unit! "Zwei!" Shirou blurts crudely, dashing over and joining up with Asche.     "Yeah. Just don't hit the central building... it's like a nuclear meltdown in there. If we can keep the Mariage off their backs, I hope they can stop it."     no time to worry about it, really. Or worry about the consequences of what fighting beings like these are going to be. They're not that strong in his opinion, but it's hard to be sure...     "Trace, on." He's already grasping at a forming illuion, wrought from golden light. An ancient black longsword of japanese legend appears in his grasp. A blade wrested from the tail of a dread eight-headed serpent by a god, granted to the sun goddess as a gift, and passed down to a fabled ruler - the Kusanagi, grasscutter sword.     Zwei might notice this weapon is a bit different from the others he's seen him project. Hard to say how, but if anything - there's a strange air around it.     After all, it is the crystallization of a legend.     The Mariage are simply dolls, so Shirou doesn't feel bad about cutting loose on them. "Out of my way!" Raising the sword of heavenly storms, he focuses some of his prana into it. Wind rages around it, and with one slash... a mighty wind tears across the lawn, right for the mariage! 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     Zwei claims to be handling the buildings, and there are plenty of fighters here. After some thought, Yami lowers herself toward the ground and the protection of the others. To Signum and Vita, she states, "Your Mistress, in another world, was used as the template to create Our body. We are a construct like yourselves in all other respects. Of course, We can walk as well. But for the others..."     The Material flips open the Book of Darkness at her side(still wearing a fake moustache... sigh), and pages through it with a telekinetic motion of the pages. 'ENERGY SHIELD,' the staff intones, and blazing light scatters from the Material all over the area, seeking out the various Elites present. It suffuses them in a glowing barrier that shields them from the mana radiating from the reactor, at least for a while.     "This will do little against the Mariage," Yami states, "And some of you no doubt need it less, but the humans amongst you have some protection from the reactor now. It will not survive detonation, We must admit." 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' Nanoha arms her Device... and Fate rushes off toward the reactor. "Ah! FATE! Wait!" Being kind of uh... still a preteen girl, at heart, she immediately races after her friend, leaving behind a streak of pink light as she bursts toward the reactor. She's way slower than Fate, however, and could be caught if someone follows. Maybe. Nanoha isn't slow, she just isn't a speedster like Fate is. But she does have a way to help her friend! <DIVINE BUSTER> Raising Heart chimes, a circle of mystical runes surrounding the tip. A massive blast streaks past the young blonde ahead of her, aiming to open up a hole in the side of the facility so Fate doesn't need to search for an entrance. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Zephyr goes straight toward a Mariage, and it's a good thing they are weak, because Zephyr's axe can slice right through one arm! The sword arm goes spinning off, bleeding black ichor, but the arm melts in midair and combusts before it even hits the ground. Undaunted despite the injury, the zombielike creature shows surprising speed in whipping its remaining arm around for a hard, powerful punch toward Zephyr's midriff. Zwei opens up at a building, which begins to collapse as the foundations are blast apart. This immediately crushes the exiting Mariage between the explosions and the collapsing building, but another one just pushes some rubble off, looking battered and half-crushed but moving, and then levels its arm at Zwei. Swift, powerful bullets begin to rattle from the projectile its arm shifts into, not really strong enough to threaten major damage but much, much more capable than an 'improvised' firearm(heh) has any right to be. Several of the drones leap toward Flint, but Signum and Vita are already there. Vita's hammer slams down, crushing one into the ground, but it's already struggling to get back up. She lifts her hammer to cause it to whine, rockets firing on the back. "Gh..." She grunts, stepping back at a sudden slash from another one. Looks like she could use the help, but she's not going to ask for it. Signum is in motion too, and has already split one down the middle, but has to parry another. They're in the thick of it, and for good reason: the Mariage are making a beeline for Vita's Book of Darkness simalcrum, so those three are collecting the brunt of the attack already, leaving Flint with two 'swordbabes' diving at him silently. Unfortunately, it looks like several are swarming toward Material-D as well. Someone had better do something about that, because they're going for HER Book of Darkness as well! Staren opens fire and blows a shoulder out, but another one just rises up behind the first. It's here that Staren will feel an invisible grasp trying to sieze his body and yank the barrel of the gun to the side, to shoot at Shirou instead. The Mariage aren't used to dealing with threats of this caliber, though, so the effect probably won't work. A few are going after Staren, but Shirou can probably hold them off if he's careful. Those slashing blades arc toward the magus a hair slower than normal... and one of them is reaching for him, attempting to lay hands on him so they can pry out some of that delicious, delicious prana. Nanoha's blast opens up a hole in the research center, but she will have to contend with the same thing Fate does: two Controllers, not one, suddenly blasting shots at the two in an anti-aircraft spread, filling the air with mass driver shots. They're not excellent shots or anything, so if the two aren't impulsive they can probably weave between. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Freya... STEPS ON ONE! The Mariage goes 'squish' in a strange, crunching motion, but the blade it carries still slices in toward the foot /deeply/ as it 'goes down.' Of more concern is that it is crushed into some black goop... which then explodes violently. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     That's the one problem with headlong charges without a plan. "OOF!" slam goes that punch into her midsection, sending the already airborne mage spinning and skipping along the ground. Her defense isn't very tight, but she's a stubborn little thing.     Momentum carries her until she manages to plant a hand, dig in a knee and launch herself upwards, landing ungracefully near to Vita and Signum. "Great... out of the frying pan..." as she grumbles, she catches a blade arm with the haft of her axe. "Alright enough playing around. Divine Wind, Drive Ignition." There's a deep thrum from her Device as it glows from within, the form shifting in the mage's grasp. <DRIVE IGNITION. MISTRAL TEMPEST SYSTEM ONLINE. MISTRAL FORM. SET.> She stares down the Mariage as her Device shifts into a one-handed, much more aggressive seeming form. A pair of little spinning propeller blade drones(Literally propeller or turbine blades) launch from the trailing edge of her Device, where the second blade used to be.     <MISTRAL SQUALL. AREA MODE.> intones the Device, causing the drones to zip out. The air itself begins to move oddly, trying to slow or disrupt the Mariage nearby, while also attempting to assist the two Knights and anyone else within 150m, give or take. The young woman then blurrs out of focus for a moment, reappearing behind her opponent and hacking into the zombie's body with a surge of mana. <BLITZ DRIVE. MISTRAL CUTTER> 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The part where the red glow is brightest sweeps back and forth along the length of Asche's slit visor as his black armour strobes with the flash of gunfire. Zephyr is flying. Her weapon seems to be using the same unfamiliar energy signature as he keeps reading from the dome up ahead, and seems to be cleaving apart enemies with ease. Document and research later. Flint intends to take on multiple enemies in melee combat once again, and will likely be exhibiting his anomalous physical abilities again. Document and research later. Freya is suddenly so large she should be collapsing under her own weight judging by her gravity signature. Document and research later.     Fate and Nanoha are also both flying, the former far faster than realistic propulsion should allow, and the latter while discharging a level of firepower that is considerably impressive for how small the only complex part of her device is. Document and research later. Shirou is openly using his weapon summoning ability and managing to eliminate targets with wind pressure of all things rather than a more efficient directed energy attack. Document and research later. Yami has just put up some sort of screen that seems to have cut out most readings of the radiation emenating from what Zwei can only presume is a reactor of some kind. Document and research later.     There are so many bizarre abilities on display here with no obvious explanation for how they work that Asche is dividing possibly a dangerous amount of attention to recording and scanning them all. An whining crack sounds out as he rail launches a pair of recon drones from a gap in his shoulder plates, hovering hundreds of meters up in the air where they begin relaying back data using the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The launch completes just in time for him to notice the mariage firing back on him, allowing him to engage his point defense system just before any bullets connect. The slugs simply stop in mid air a few feet away from him and harmlessly tumble to the ground as Asche's defensive software individually targets, entangles, and then hits the projectiles with precise amounts of counter kinetic energy.     Perhaps deciding that the level of firepower he's using isn't enough to take out the buildings while the swift moving mariage are still inside of them, the plates of his wristguard close up, only to be obscured as complex machinery rapidly phases into existence around it, as if disintegrating in reverse. The parts layer on top of one another until something like an oversized, anti-materiel rifle is attached to his arm, the barrel of which he braces with his other hand. "Stand back." Everything flashes like a split second stroke of lightning had gone off, and the next instant, one of the larger, corner buildings goes up in a towering, monolithic fireball. A solid wall of pressure explodes outwards, arriving at the same time as the catastrophic boom, and carrying a storm of dust and debris. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren doesn't shoot Shirou -- even if he did aim at Shirou and fire, there are safeties on the weapon. His arm is jerked slightly aside though. Surprised, he stops firing for a second or so, then switches to controlling his armor mentally and ignoring his body's input. This would be cumbersome for regular movement, but for aiming and shooting, it will work.     Still, he hopes someone takes down that 'Controller' before the Mariage get close to him...     For now, he takes advantage of how some of the mariage are choosing to swarm towards his allies. His shoulder missile launchers raise into position, and some of the missiles seek out those swarms that haven't surrounded people yet and detonate in massive plasma fireballs. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     That's the thing. Fate IS being impulsive. A complete deviation from the norm of her reserved and cautious self, as soon as Nanoha smashes an entry for her with that blast, she leaps in- right into the midst of the Controllers and their fire. A sudden downward jink and she throws herself to the floor with a grunt and a gasp of pain, as the dark fabric of her Barrier Jacket grows sticky and damp from the bloom of liquid crimson from her shoulder.     <<N-Nanoha. Two inside.>> She warns in a telepathic blip, but doesn't try to put them down herself. The burst of golden light emanating from her hand is more intended to sear eyes and blind as she tries to shove by, ignoring pain and injury as Bardiche sends a string of encrypted communications back home to Precia and Linith.     The response that pings back is rapid and detailed. A series of old maps and schematics-- which she forwards to Nanoha and anyone else making way into the facility. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Ow. ow. ow. That wasn't a good idea as the blade cuts deeply into her foot and the explsion on her foot does help either She winces a bit doing her best to try to ignore the pain, she defintly not going to do that again. She hops closer to the main building try to block the way from any more of the Marriage being to get inside, she rips off a peice of the roof an tosses it at one of the Marriage beings. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' Flint Hawke steps back, dodging around the dives and strikes from the Sword Babes. He hops back and then tries to parry sword strikes with his hands, energy fields crackling as they move to parry and draw back energy. He strikes back with a rather straight set of punches, trying to clear himself space. His greater concern is that Vita is being swarmed on, as is Signum. The Pirate Captain then steps back and takes off his jacket, tossing it to the ground as he flexes his hands, "Alright, time to play my card. If only two of you will pay attention to me, I'll make the others." "Raphael..." Flint says seriously, rolling up the sleeves of the white shirt he wears under it to expose his arms, "Prepare my Shift." He commands, mostly a formality since his heart knows what to do anyway, "Inscribe survival on my very being!" There's a massive PULSE that emanates from Flint as the heart beating in his chest unlocks conceptual power. Black lines pulse and run throughout his arms, like veins. They cover his entire body as Flint's systems go into overdrive. His shirt grows tight on him as he bulks up, and he flexes his hands again. Around his arms, hands, neck and face, those black veins all slowly crawl. The expanded concept of Survival now seeks to create a Fight or Flight Scenario. A conceptual beacon on the field, Flint is now actively trying to pull the aggression of everything within a good range, trying to cause it all to focus on him to maximize the benefits of his Pure. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     The screaming winds from Kusanagi aren't going to be enough. And Shirou's own body is screaming at him, as always, the instant he ends up getting in hand to hand with the Mariage. His projected weapon and real one are crossed to catch the blade with all his might and turn it away. He follows through by lunging forward with a knee to the gut and leaping back. Dual wielding does somewhat suit him, but his stance is pretty clumsy and his weapons are mismatched... that's never gonna work out for the best.     "There's way too many... ! --GH!" And who is that lanky fellow over there who's being all flirty with the... "Gah!"     One of the Mariage DOES get a grip on him, but only for a moment. He's quick to panic and thrust the onyx blade right through their skull. It's gonna be messy. probably goopy.     The weird weapon does have some properties for turning enemy life force/magical energy into his own, but given these weird Mariage - who knows what that's gonna do, if ANYTHING.     Shirou'd honestly probably rather not draw anything from these things, really. bad enough it was a skeleton, last time...     Worse, the redhead misjudged the Mariage now that they've gone hand to hand. he's being forced back by the small group that's assaulting him. He ducks, weaves, but takes grazing blow after grazing blow. It's a wonder this simple human is keeping up though, considering the enemies!     All thanks to Bedivere's training. He's been repeatedly thwacked so hard that his body's gotten used to reacting before he can really think about it. But the only net result is he's getting slowly cut to bits while parrying every blow for his vitals. Yeah, that's not going to do.     Or will it? Clank, clank, CLANG.     The more he's cut into, the less the barrage of attacks seems to be doing to him. His arms are cut up, but the wounds gleam like metal. The strikes are failing to pierce very deep into his skin. Clank, clank, clank. It's like...     "My body is made of swords," the redhead chants deeply. Immediately, Kusanagi's wavering form regains substance and he uses it for a riposte. "You're not breaking me before I can stop this explosion!"     Shirou pours determination into his agonized, bleeding body, and presses forward. Clang, clang, clang. The tide of battle's turning around. Though he's grabbed several times, he responds with a furious slash from Kusanagi and the onyx blade. Offending arms might end up altogether severed!     He's keeping them off of Staren, but damn, Shirou's looking pretty messy... 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' <PROTECTION POWERED,> Raising Heart chimes, setting up a defensive screen around Nanoha. The bullets showering her still manage to shatter it, but they give her enough time to dart aside, meaning one of them opens up a shallow graze in her side but she isn't shot down. "AH!" That causes her to stagger in midair, but she rights herself and... "Cover her, Raising Heart!" Nanoha calls, darting back and forth to try to keep out of most of the line of fire. Her real focus is on helping Fate though: <ACCEL SHOOTER> Raising Heart states. The shots aren't very strong, but the numerous little globes that burst out zip forward, blasting toward the Mariage... and intercepting incoming shots aimed at herself or Fate, like a point defense laser of her own. 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     "Tch," Yami snarls, feeling one of the Mariage close in and a slash opening up along one of her arms. She doesn't bleed, which may give some confusing readings from Asche's scans, but she does feel pain. The quick smack of the staff swats the creature away before she shoots up into the sky, Book of Darkness flipping upen. "You wish to have some of the Book of Darkness? Very well. We will give you what you desire."     "Approach from beyond, mistletoe branches, become spears of the silver moon, shoot and pierce! Petrifying spears, Mistilteinn!" The girl shouts out loudly, and her staff glows in a dark purple.     'MISTILTEINN!' The incantation comes with affirmation from the Device, a cartridge loading with a loud *whrrr-CLUNK!* This is immediately followed by spears of brilliant purple showering down, lancing toward the growing crowd of Mariage. Each spear does little damage, but has one added effect, temporary though it may be:     Petrification. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Setting up a Mistral Squall is a great idea, because it's something that the Mariage are unfamiliar with, and it disrupts the ranged weapons as well. This allows Zephyr to take advantage of their confusion and get behind one... and though the Mariage have proven pretty tough, they do need to guard. Zephyr slices one right in half, before it can react, and down it goes easily. She can probably take one or two more out before they adapt enough to fight back, too. Like the others, it melts and combusts. Vita frowns and smashes the head in of another.which also melts. "That's a weird style. Not Mid-Childan at all, but the weapon is some kind of basis on Mid-Childan design." Signum hacks another in half, moving to defend Vita. With her help, the two are pretty secure if nothing else happens. "Likely a splinter. We can ask later," she says curtly. "Or a new development." Zwei explodes a building. Several energy signatures wink out, putting an end to some of the Mariage right away. By now, some of the Controllers have recognized the heavily-armed synthetic as something of a threat, and thus several of the drones rush at once, with sharp blades on their arms humming with magic. THIS might cause a bit more of a problem for Asche, though it will likely not result in anything fatal. Unless Asche hasn't been observing that when killed, these things melt and explode, but that's unlikely. Starens missiles blast into a cluster, causing the rest to scatter out. Intelligently, apparently. There are enough controllers here that they can keep tactical for a while yet, but no more are attacking Staren due to factors. One of those factors is Flint, who is now getting the attenton of numerous ones. They swarm toward him with a pulsing rush, and this time Signum and Vita, busy with their own and somewhat affected by the aura, aren't defending him. That could be a problem... Except that Yami just petrified half of them, causing the others to slam into the wall of stoned Mariage. This puts their attack in staggered disarray, making it easier to fend off. Some of them ARE heading for the main building, but in a stroke of tactical insight, Freya has just smashed the front row and blocked off the entrance. This leaves only the ones inside to deal with! Shirou holds off the Mariage valiantly! Fortunately all the other things that were just done cause a slight reprieve, enough that he can find an opening in the ones remaining. The blade gets a small trickle of power from each, but it feels... wrong. Twisted. Fortunately he isn't getting much from them. Nanoha cover fires for Fate, keeping the Controllers occupied. With all the rest of the chaos going on, the Controllers have to pause. An opening! Finally, Fate has made it inside, injured but past the Controllers. The reactor is there, but thanks to Yami's shield she's still safe! All she has to deal with is the... dozen Mariage inside. They appear to be operating in shifts, absorbing power from the reactor and moving back to let others collect more. All are Drones, though, so she might be able to figure out a way past them and into the control center to shut down the reactor. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren fires another missile at the group heading for Asche... and then suddenly his instincts scream that /Flint/ is the enemy that he needs to destroy to be safe. Even after the warning, he swings his rifle around the point at the pure-wielder and barely stops himself from pulling the trigger. "...Damn it..."     He has to focus on something else. Why must there be so many enemies? He needs a way to attack so many targets at once...     The controllers...     ...Didn't someone say the ones with the guns are the controllers? That's right! If he can take out the controllers...     Staren takes a deep breath and forces his attention away from Flint. Find Mariage with guns. Then strike before they can realize what he's doing. He picks out one, two, three, half a dozen if there are that many in range, then raises his arms -- six smaller missiles launch out of the armor in his arms, flying high up into the air near the eadge of the barrier, then turning around to rain down on the Controllers. Unlike the plasma missiles, these are designed to ram into the target at high speed and explode inside -- dealing penetrating damage to a single target, instead of to a wide area, although adjacent Mariage might get caught in the blast too. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' Flint is being overwhelmed by Mariage, that much is clear. Even after a huge number of them are petrified, the sheer number of them is more than he can manage by himself. They're cutting under his strikes and they're getting past his dodging and defenses. They're drawing heavy cuts that shred shirt and flesh, causing black and red blood to stain down his sides as they tick up more and more damage against him with their assault. And right now that's exactly what he wants. Every cut causes a pulse in his chest. Every slice beats another angry breath. Every wound is another brick in the wall. And soon enough, the Pure has exactly what it wants: An escalated threat to respond to conceptually. And then Flint explodes in violence. His first move is a haymaker straight towards one of the mariage with enough force to shatter concrete. He ducks under another sword strike and delivers a jackhammer uppercut to try to behead one. A blade embeds in his back, right through his spine, and it should be a kill. Instead of spins around and flat-hand chops at the neck, trying to behead the Mariage with a smooth maneuver. "Aye, yes, ladies. There's enough for all of you!" He grins widely. Violence begets violence, and Flint's Pure has enough hatred and retribution for every single one of the Mariage that wants to attack him. The funnier and more aloof Flint is gone, this one is a brawler. A fighter who is meant to survive against impossible odds through sheer ferocity and denial of falling down when he should. The blade embedded in his back is pulled out and he crushes it in his hand before turning back to his fight. The Shift has proven its goal: Create a Fight or Flight in which Flight is not an option. Force Flint to fight for his life to unlock his maximum potential. His Aura is strong, but resistable with willpower. He also seems to have no personal control over it. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr zips around, moving at a speed that might put her on par with Fate in velocity, but nowhere near in grace. She just flashes around, trying to get the ones Signum and Vita don't see, either because they're currently smashing or slicing up another one... or they're ignoring them for some reason or other. She then gets nicked by a lucky shot from a Controller, wincing as blood seeps up through her Barrier Jacket. "Damn it... Burst Driver. Mistral Shooter, Cascade shift." comes the young Mage's order.     <YES! MISTRAL SHOOTER. CASCADE SHIFT. BURST DRIVER. GEAR UP.> Shooting-type motes form around the girl as she comes to rest on a Marchian platform. It's rhombus shaped, four circles linked by flowing Kanji script and lines, drawn in deep purple. The Drones also gather energy inside of the small hole at their center, angling to aim at the Controllers nearby. "SHOOT!"     Much like Nanoha's Accel Shooter, the motes angle and jink around, coming in from all sides to try and disrupt and catch any dodges in a hailing crossfire. The drones, however, fire streams of unguided projectiles, like magical machineguns as they rotate around the Area they're proje     cm"><MANA FLOW SYSTEM STABLE. USABLE MANA AT 85. ALL SYSTEMS GREEN.> That's when Flint's little effect washes over her. Zephyr winces, glancing at the pirate and almost breaks her formation. "No. Bigger fish." she reigns herself in with. As said earlier. Stubborn little thing. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     That is a lot of Mariage.     Fate can try to shoot them all but she pauses. Vesta sounds like she's a little far off. Though Fate wouldn't mind if she shows up, she's already this far ahead and this close. The magical undead are wildly attracted to large sources of mana... The controls are right there. This must be the most dangerous, stupid idea Fate has ever had.     She shifts out of her Barrier Jacket. Just an ordinary girl in a casual frilly black dress now, Bardiche pings a [???] as she orders him back into standby form.     This is excessively dangerous as she tries to walk AROUND the Mariage towards the controls, with no protection, and her Linker Core still recovering from being drained.     It's like being invisible. Right? 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' "I think that all of them out here .", she can't really do much else right now. She too big to into the building and her adrenalin is running high so she can't go back to a normal human size. She looks into the main building thought the holes in the roof to see what going on size up the situation (pardon the pun) and if she can help somehow. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr's transforming weaponry. Staren's plasma missiles. Freya's ridiculous physical strength. Emiya's swordsmanship gradually surpassing human limits. Nanoha's magical barriers and point defense fire. Yami's seemingly orbital barrage. Flint's completely inexplicable surge of power. Is this what 'Elite' means? Zwei is hungrily absorbing data almost too fast to keep up with, calculating the force behind every blow, the speed behind every reaction, and even going so far as to try and monitor the pulse and respiration of the combatants to see who's struggling and to what degree. It's all so new, and it's all so very, very interesting. Especially the fact that, though Asche can't do anything to detect Flint's conceptual manipulation, he /feels/ its effects anyways. Without thinking, the combat Armiger's left arm snaps towards him, aiming via one of the drones rather than looking, and snap shooting a raiser bolt from the wrist mounted PDW. He manages to correct it within milliseconds of firing, moving just enough that the cohesive, amplified photon bolt flies just about the captain's head rather than hitting him straight in the chest. Unfortunately, the momentary distraction gives the mariage just enough time to close with him, and within moments, magic blades are carving along his heavy armour.     His attention fully restored to the problem at hand, Asche purges the rifle mounted on his arm, and suddenly takes a frankly ridiculous leap back, launching three tonnes of metal a twenty meters into the air. It's still not far enough for him to safely fire anything but his small arms, but that doesn't seem to be the plan. The air begins to violently swirl as the Transience drive kicks in and summons another piece of his arsenal to him. His hand reaches out for something, and grasps the hilt of a sword. What appears to be (appropriately) some sort of futuristic, carbon black zweihander materializes in his grip. The five meter long blade shines bright, bloody red along the edges, which actually extend a few inches further than is visible to the naked eye. Gripping it in both hands, he brings the weapon over his shoulder in a classic 'vom tag' flourish, waits just long enough for the vicious drones to get within reach, and then sweeps it along the ground so fast that the air snaps with a miniature sonic boomb. The sheer force of the supersonic strike should hopefully hurl their bodies far, far away, where they wont explode against him. 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' Taking out the controllers...? Nanoha pants softly as she eases up on the attack. "Mn. Is that...?" An opening! The shots have paused! Nanoha knows that Fate is in there, so she's not going to blow up the building... but she can take care of those two! "Raising Heart, please!" <OF COURSE, MY MASTER. LOAD CARTRIDGE,> the Device chimes. A klunking noise of the cartridge loading sounds out, and then Raising Heart adds, <DIVINE BULLET.> A stream of high-velocity, dense energy pellets blasts toward the two Mariage as Nanoha uses her version of Precia's spell, intending to chew them to pieces where they stand and eliminate the thread. 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     Yami is also affected, though she largely shrugs off the effect of 'aggro.' Unfortunately, she's also kind of a bitch, so she doesn't fight it that hard. It just means she doesn't target Flint specifically! "Hmph. Your Mistress has so much potential. You only saw a sample of what We can do, and she has the same potential. Allow Us to show you more."     Another cartridge slams into place as Yami turns her staff down toward the cluster of Mariage mobbing Flint.     'STUN MODE ENGAGED. MAJESTY OF THE LORD,' Yersinea Kreuz announces. A billowing purple blast wave roars toward Flint and the Mariage, aiming to flatten them all with stun power.     "This is Our Book of Darkness: the Tome of the Purple Sky!" 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     There's a sudden pressure on Shirou, thanks to Flint's sudden unleashing of strange conceptual energies. It's not a proper magic, and he can't defend against it too well. On the other hand, it's not magic, so his magic defense isn't necessary to do so.     He wobbles and stumbles, but is forced to focus on the Mariage for several more blows until he's finally broken their advance and exposed a moment of opportunity. But his attention wavers, drawn in a strange panic towards Flint. Breath quickens, muscles tense, but Shirou clamps down on the half-yell he starts. Is Flint suddenly turning foe on them...?     Well, he seemed like a weird friend to begin with...     Then words said over the radio sink in and his will fully reasserts itself.     He's surrounded by such incredible magic though! All of it's so far beyond his level. Can any magus he's even remotely heard about from Kiritsugu even manage this kind of output? It's insane. He has seen several girls who couldn't be toooo much older - and some maybe younger - than he pulling this off. Wowzer.     Yeah, he's way out of his league. But he's not stopping just from that. Others having so much more power can't be helped, but his own will to fight is his own problem. It won't waver that easily!     He rushes in, slashes through a few marriage and dashes past before their explosion can catch him. But Kusanagi shatters in his grasp and Shirou flinches, wincing in pain for but a moment.     With another *sizzle-clank* and a flash of golden light, he arms himself with a different Noble Phantasm. A radiant silver and crimson longsword suitable for a knight or perhaps a king. In his hands, Mordred's stolen Clarent is used for justice! Shirou tears forwards--     "UUUUUUUAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!"     LOUDLY.     The Onyx blade isn't being used for much besides parrying. Instead, he focuses his power into Clarent. Crimson energy trails along with each blow. Though quite flimsy compared to the original wielder's skill and output, tiny amounts of prana flow through the weapon and propel it with greater force. For Shirou though, the benefits are marginal at best...     But the savage and no-holds-barred fighting style he whips out with is WAY too much for his body. With every savage swing he grunts and gasps. his poor lungs are denied breath time and again, but he's aiming to tear through whatever Mariage he can. He must buy time for the others to stop that explosion! 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Fate sheds her magic and just... walks past the Drones. It's a huge gamble, because if one turns around and regards her as a threat, it's all over. Yet... they move! Only to shuffle forward and swap on which Drone is absorbing that leaking reactor energy. One tilts her head, probably because Yami's shielding is crackling under load, but it isn't enough compared to the reactor leak to bring their full attention to bear. No Controller is there to realize Fate is walking into the control room. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     Every step of the way has Fate's heart racing as she makes her way across the chamber, scarlet eyes darting from figure to figure as she makes her way to the control center, doing her level best to not attract attention when one tilts head at her...     And then she's in.     Heart pounding in her chest, ignoring the fact that she's wearing a pretty dress in a zone with dangerously high potential mana levels, Fate halts in front of the controls.     She's shaking.     Visions, distant and blurred flit through her mind, like old memories in sepia tones. Far away and still right there; flashbacks of another little girl's memories dancing in her mind.     Standing on a balcony watching a similar domed building off in the distance. Knowing that after the day's test, mother will come home to her as promised. That she'll have a vacation and they can go on a picnic...     A bright light in the sky, spreading from the reactor and engulfing everything- getting closer, too fast to run away.     Huddling in fear with a cat in her arms.     Darkness.     Scarlet eyes flicker as she pulls herself from Alicia's memories, rattling hands suddenly darting over controls as hologram screens pop up at her side, Bardice relatiying detailed instructions from Precia on how to reinstate safety protocols. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Let us condense Staren, Flint, and Signum and Vita down to just saying that limbs are flying and the Drones are erupting from being shattered or cloven. Now that they're disorganized and the group knows how to deal with them, they're... well, they aren't going down EASY, exactly, but they're easier to fight off. Especially when Yami's spell comes down and blasts a crater into the ground around all of them, at the very least hurling some away, and outright flattening others, which just makes them melt even though it's a stun spell. Zephyr, and Staren's other shots, are slamming into the Controllers. One of them goes down, but they're tougher than the Drones. The remaining, injured one says in a strained and damaged voice, "Miscalculation..." Asche is able to handle his assailants for the time being. Without a Controller handling them, the Drones are easy to keep at bay now that their attack patterns are known. The blast causes a few to disintegrate and combust, again, and any that manage to get near are rapidly cut down. Nanoha's attack rips through the Controllers there, giving her some breathing room as well. Good! This means that everyone has some space, which may be needed in a moment. Freya also has little to do for the moment... for now. Finally, Shirou too gets a breather, managing to cut down the last nearby Drone. A few more are vaguely stirring in his direction, but they look uncoordinated. The Controllers lost several at once, so they're unable to control all the Drones on the field currently, or perhaps are too busy getting killed. And then, abruptly... The yellow glow fades, and the reactor shuts down. Unfortunately this means the Drones are starting to pay attention to Fate... but Freya can see this happening through the hole in the roof. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren takes potshots with his rifle. It takes a moment for him to realize that the Mariage are switching to simpler patterns. He smirks, puts away his rifle, activates his twin beam sabers, and then finds his gaze drawn back to Flint. He shakes his head, tries to focus on the Mariage, and prepares to fly into the horde cutting them down...     When allies announce over the radio that they're ready to level the place. Relieved, Staren's energy wings manifest (orange, like stylized's insects', for those who haven't seen them before) and he flies over towards Nanoha to watch the fireworks. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' "Look out!", Freya shouts at Fate and reaches down a grabs her pulling her out of the room throught the hole in the room. She looks at the yellow hair girl in her hand. "You allright?" 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:'''     With the fight starting to wind down and Yami throwing out a powerful stun blast, Flint is sent tumbling. He skids along the ground a bit and then starts to push himself to his feet, looking around angrily for who hit him, instinct starting to take over again after the stun. But he's able to slowly push it down, and the lines across his body recede, drawing back into his chest and eventually vanishing.     He takes a deep breath and seems to calm himself down. He walks through the carnage of the battlefield to pick up his dirty jacket and hat. His shirt is in tatters from the fight and those are kind of falling off of him. But the jacket and hat are back on.     The Aura is also gone!     He lifts a hand skyward and waves, "Oi! Vita and Signum, will one of you lovely ladies give me a lift? I can't exactly fly on my own prowess." Note to self: Install rockets in Jacket later. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Signum and Vita look at one another. They look at Flint. Sigh. "Sure sure," says the little red-clad girl, suddenly darting down and swooping in toward Flint. The tiny girl grabs at the pirate, heaving him over her shoulder and blasting upward to make a streak of red in the sky, carrying him like a sack of potatoes. Or potatos. Whichever is right this week. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     It's probably a good thing Freya had a good view into the control room. Busy as she was in shutting down the overload, Fate was somewhat too pre-occupied to pay any attention to the Mariage beginning to turn their focus on her her. As the reactor shuts down, Fate crumples to her knees, panting before a GIANT HAND reaches in and plucks her out with a small gasp.     In an instant her composure is back, and she's standing on Freya's palm, Barrier Jacket manifesting in a flash of gold light, cloak unfurling from nowhere. Turning her back so no one can see that her eyes are a little damp, she gives her reply.     "I'm fine." 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     "Shirou needs an out... Divine Wind, lets go." states Zephyr. Her Device chimes resonantly. <BLITZ DRIVE. GEAR SECOND. MISTRAL SQUALL. EMPOWERMENT MODE.> states the Device in response. The two Bits suddenly streak inwards, their energy bullets fading out. Instead they move to hover over the girl's back, the original four 'Pixie Wings' turning into two large white flame-like jets. The Bits rapidly spin on their axis, quickening until they're blurrs of motion.     Zephyr then vanishes, a sonic boom marking her departure from one end of the facility, to right behind Shirou. "Hold on to your everything." she states, giving him maybe a full second, before her arms are around his midsection and a glowing purple barrier forming around them both, the entire assembly blurrs out, aiming in the general direction of 'Away'.     <BLITZ DRIVE OFFLINE. GEAR DOWN.> 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Freya smiles at Fate or would be if she could see her. "I'm glad.", she just let Fate regain her composure, she doesn't know her all that well so she just lets her be. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     And the reactor dies. This is a huge relief to Shirou! The boy staggers, short of breath. He's been splashed by several exploding Mirage, caught in the edges despite his best efforts. He's not gotten away scott-free from this. He's covered in cuts and gashes, though strangely... NONE of them seem to be all that bad. In ffact, they're already healing... slowly, but visibly. Not much bloodloss, either. It just looks bad at a glance!     However he IS short of breath, cannot fly, and is down to a third of his prana...     "There's no end to these incidents!" He blurts irritably. How will they stop this problem at its root?     He doesn't have much time to worry about it because... HERE COMES ZEPHYR. "WHAT--" WHUMPF. He's grabbed, eyes bugging out wackily before he's forced to hooooold on tight for his very life. He lets go of Clarent, but hangs on to the onyx sword... "A little warning next time!" 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     "We call upon the unstoppable Beast, the Monster that rampages destruction. JUGGERNAUT!" Yami's announcement is loud and thunderous and of course, megalomaniacally dramatic. Yet it does come with a gathering of power, a roaring manifestation of mana that forms around the massive triangle of purple that bursts into being.     With a thunderous SCREECH the spell blooms into a massive wave, crashing down with all the power that Yami can muster right now... which is a lot. It's still in the Barrier, so no need to worry about the 'real' place. 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' "E-eh? Me too?" Nanoha looks confused for a second, and then she realizes that Material-D knows all her tricks. Well, not all of them, but the important ones. Namely, Starlight Breaker and how it works. "Oh! Right! Ready!" She shoots up into the air to join Yami and near Asche, prepping her own spell. She does this... by singing. "Gather, oh light of the stars, become the light that pierces everything!" Those are the only lyrics that can be made out, said in a drawn out and musical voice. They work in her native language, sounding pleasant and flowing. The musical singing almost seems to have backing behind it... <STARLIGHT BREAKER> Raising Heart announces, a swirling collection of pink particles coming in toward her Device. Asche can probably detect this by now: she's gathering all the ambient energy from the reactor leak toward her spell, though the excessive amount means she probably doesn't gather literally /all/ of it. It's still a huge amount more than she should be able to handle... All sent out on a blazing pink beam that cascades down toward the facility and the Mariage within. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Against all odds, Fate seems to have succeeded. That's actually more than Zwei was expecting, even given the overall exceptional combat prowess of everyone assembled. Zephyr, Nanoha, Fate, Signum, Vita and Yami have contributed so much combined data, and all of it is so self consistent, that learning about their particular world's magic is suddenly shifted to just about the priority list of activities Zwei has built over the last few days. Shirou is also a candidate for cataloguing due to his expenditure of a frankly impossible amount of energy and apparent access to an entire arsenal of magic weapons, as is most definitely Flint for the fact that his 'shift' hadn't released anything on any detectable spectrum whatsoever, and yet had empowered him to such an extreme extent that he was able to take on a horde of mariage at once. Staren is obviously an experienced combatant, and is using a level of technology that implies his world must be getting close to the singularity, which is something to monitor. Even Freya has some scientific value in the fact that she'd suddenly gained several tons of mass while still apparently being made of normal flesh and blood. Zwei is already sorting them into convenient directories under one of its core memory partitions, not sparing a single detail recorded by the scanner drones during the fight.     Business is business however. Yami had requested that Asche participate in demolishing the facility, and he has no real reason to turn her down. There's no telling what kind of futuristic materials the facility may be made of, and Yami's shields are protecting everyone from radiation anyways, so the choice of armament for this job is obvious. The sword drops, and in the same fashion as it was summoned, something reminescent of most hardcore vehicle mounted machine gun imaginable forms in his hands, all black, jutting angles, and fixed with a toroidal particle accelerator loop around the open grip. Digging in his heels and levelling the weapon straight ahead, Asche braces it against his shoulder, erects his forcefield, and begins measuring the distance of all other Elites until they have cleared the danger zone of the expected blast.     A steady, rumbling, electronic while rattles the windows of the still standing buildings, before swiftly reaching the ultrasonic range and vanishing beyond human hearing. A set of red lights mounted on the weapon spin up like the barrel assembly of a gatling gun, marking that the accelerator is at full charge. Scanning the dome structure ahead and preempetively simulating the effects of detonation, Asche sights for just under the dead center of the reactor core, and proverbially pulls the trigger. Despite the deafening bang, the actual projectile is invisible, save for where the concrete suddenly sprouts a gaping hole. A split second later, the dome suddenly emits a light exponentially more intense than the yellow glow that had emenated from it previously. The ground shatters and collapses as an invisible sphere of force rips through it, compressing the air into a visible, rippling shockwave, distorting the sight of an utterly colossal fireball shooting up into the sky as the atmosphere breaks down into raw, boiling plasma. The flash happens almost exactly concurrent with Nanoha's and Yami's spells, but the sound of the explosion is delayed a moment after the blastwave, by which point the superheated gasses have already risen into a looming, incandescent mushroom cloud. Between the two mages and that, there's probably nothing left. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Everyone is getting out, which is good. The Barrier was straining from the reactor leak, but as soon as Fate shut it down, the Barrier snapped back into position. Now, the reactor won't even be damaged... probably. Maybe The uncertainty is because when the trio of attacks thunders down, it sends a MASSIVE shockwave through the facility. Nanoha's Starlight Breaker is specifically /meant/ to punch through Barriers, too, so the effect that this causes is... kind of odd. All three hit, and in a brilliant flash and a mushroom cloud of an eruption, the facility is blasted away, and the Mariage disintegrated... largely. Perhaps some survived? But if so, they'd be crippled pretty badly and forced to retreat anyway. It's hard to say, because so much power at once causes the Barrier to shatter and splinter, and all at once everyone is back in the 'real world' above a largely undamaged facility. Energy readings show a slightly higher than normal level of mana radiation from the leakage earlier, but the reactor is shut down, the facility is intact... and all those little energy readings that were apparently Mariage are gone now. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Freya was the of pretty flashing lights and explosions from a safe distance. Better than fireworks. She sighs to herself feeling a bit jealous she can't do anything like that and she doupts she will ever be able to. Oh well it as pretty cool to see thought. She wishes she brought a camera. 
}}

819/Easy Pickings

2014-10-19T17:40:00Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/10/17 |Location=Southern Urbania |Synopsis=The Mariage lay a trap for Elites |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=42, 162, 320, 381, 401, 558, 560, 57..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/17
|Location=Southern Urbania
|Synopsis=The Mariage lay a trap for Elites
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=42, 162, 320, 381, 401, 558, 560, 578, 596, 597
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' The research park is... silent, when people arrive. It's larger than expected, with four large buildings dominating the profile, one at each corner to mark the cardinal directions. A few smaller facilities dot the facility, which covers several city blocks. In the middle is a large, rounded dome that is now glowing with a bright yellow light, exactly identical to Fate's magical color. Various alerts are sounding, but it's kind of pointless. No sign of life is here, though various battle damage is, in the form of blasted holes and carved, sliced sections of walls. No life signs, for those capable of scanning, but numerous small energy signatures of various types. Those capable of reading such things will note that the dome is leaking high amounts of some kind of energy. Nanoha-verse will recognize it as mana, and everyone can recognize that it will reach dangerous levels very soon. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr arrives on scene. Likely the first Unionite at the area. "Dee, Area Search. Magic aspect." she commands her Device. The large twin-bladed axe chimes softly, before ejecting a sextet of dark purple orbs. They disseminate around the area, seeking out Magic or Energy based signatures.     The young woman is eying that dome warily however, and tunes back into her radio. "Anyone coming to the research area... we've got a massive Mana buildup in the central structure... I can't really tell, but it's growing to dangerous levels... no time frame on how long that'll take." 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Research stations are becoming a common place for Zwei to hit up, but that's all according to plan. It may have been advised to "go adventuring" several times by now, but that doesn't mean the adventuring can't involve places it already has a vested interest in. The transmission had indicated heavy combat, and so Asche is the unit dispatched to the battle zone, screeching over the skyline at several times the speed of sound. Angling into a steep dive, the massive Armiger's aerial combat configuration looks like something between a fighter jet and a wyvern, but it swiftly disappears as he returns to a terrestrial configuration before hitting the ground, which he does with an enormous crunch and a crater several meters across.     No life signs, but energy readings, and an extremely large power density of an unknown signature coming from the facility in the middle, expressed only as photons in any sensible way. Despite having no face, Asche doesn't seem worried about any possibility of violent detonation as he begins to stride over the open field, leaving deep scars in the ground where he walks, charging his weapons with a steady whine. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' "Okay, the premise here is simple. The ship was fitted with a cargo hot drop for smuggling runs. It'll be faster than a shuttle and get us down to planet immediately," Flint is explaining to Signum and Vita as he steps into a large metal cube, "We use this to drop cargo onto planets from low orbit and then skim off. If I'm in the cube, we should live. You could also take a shuttle if you want, but where's the adventure?" Adjusting his hat and bracing himself inside the container, it would be sealed after it was determined whether or not Signum and Vita would be joining him on this trip. Then the crate would be unceremoniously dropped out of the cargo bay and hit with a magnetic pulse to send it streaking through orbit at approximately Dangerous Miles Per Hour. The huge metal container slams into the street, reinforced by black cracks and energy running through it before it skids to a stop. A moment later the steaming container's door creaks and falls open and out steps a toussled looking Flint, "Well that was a wild ride, eh then?" He looks up at the sky above, "Still. Always wanted to give it a ridey-ride. Seemed like the time." 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     A crack of lightning splits the skies, thunder roaring a proclamation of the Confederate arrival.     Fate Testarossa is feeling much better now.     Evident in the fact that she is well enough to manage a Dimensional Transfer now, a glimmering golden circle of Mid-Childan runes spreading beneath her boots and forming as a landing platform for the Confederates that choose to arrive with her. But as soon as arrival hits, Bardiche pings with a rattling click-crackle much akin to the hissing ticks of a geiger     c#ffec8b">[SIR. MANA SATURATION IS GROWING DANGEROUS.] The stoic and faithful Device notes.     Yet Fate herself is more concerned with staring at the dome, scarlet eyes wide.     "That's..." 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Freya arrived on scene coming in from a near by portal. Alarms are sounding Freya does her best to ingore them, looking around she noticing the battle damage and the yellow glowing dome. She assumes that's not normal and she has a feeling it going to boom soon as well. She sighs a bit hoping there would some suviours, hoping to act as a healer today but it doesn't look like that going to be the case. 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' "Ah... mana poisoning?" Nanoha sounds worried, flying out of the tear in reality that Fate opened up. The little wings on her ankles shimmer, then stabilize again. "Is that what this buildup is?" She looks to Raising Heart, the ruby-headed staff in her hand. <BUILDUP IS WITHIN ACCEPTABLE LEVELS BUT INCREASING.> The staff's chime is feminine and pleasant, but cautioning. Nanoha nods and stares at the various sorts coming in, but slowly lowers to the ground and shoots off a few globes. <WIDE AREA SEARCH> 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Shirou is quick to arrive. He barely had time to strap on some basic protective armor, so he's in his normal clothes with a black vest of some kind of futuristic material from the Union armory to protect his vitals strapped over it. he's not unarmed this time either. He bears an ornate sword of carved onyx, its blade subtly glowing a hot white. runes etched along the length in some forgotten Hydaelynian script glow faintly in the presence of high concentrations of ambient magical power - so they're pretty bright here.     Those familiar with such may spot similarities to Odin's blade, Zantetsuken, but that's not really important right now is it?     He dashes straight for the central dome, where the damage seems the most severe. "What happened here?!"     Even he can feel the power building here. It's not quite the same as the prana he's used to, but even a crappy magus can feel magical energy when it's THIS concentrated! 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     SCIENCE is under attack! Of course Staren comes to check it out. He teleports in in his usual power armor (now with desc!), and his sensors confirm the mana buildup. He tries to reach out and feel it, to tell if it's possible to channel it at all -- but even if it is, there must be far too much for 'absorb it all and cast a lot of spells to burn it off' to be a viable plan.     Then Staren realizes what the lack of life signs means. "What... they killed them /all/?!" He stares towards the facility in horror for a moment. Then starts searching for wireless networks. Maybe if he can get into some kind of security system he can see what happened inside. 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     A new challenger appears! Or, an old one reappears. Six black wings spread behind her, Material-D enters through Fate's portal, frowning at the scene before her. "Hmn. How very strange. And we are not the only ones here." Asche and Freya themselves are pretty distinctive, and Hawke made quite an entrance as well. Yami shakes her head and stays in the air, as she doesn't fear mana poisoning herself, but she swoops in ahead of Fate. "We will handle the Barrier."     She'll wait just a few more moments for stragglers(IE, Staren and others who haven't posed) and then lift her staff up. 'TEMPORAL BARRIER,' The sky darkens as everything takes on a strange, muted cast, the spell shifting the research park a half-second to the left and imprinting it on imaginary space. This carries with it any significant energy sources, as well, and isolates it from external interference... in or out. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Here it goes! The Barrier goes up, and immediately there's strain on it. That reactor in the center is starting to break down the Barrier already, and if it goes critical it will be only somewhat constrained by the Barrier. Only Yami's significant magical energies are keeping it from breaking out already. From the cube, a small girl carrying a hammer, wearing a beret with a bunny decoration on it, steps out. Signum follows behind Vita, hand on her sword already. "Asche..." she says immediately to the Zwei unit, and then her eyes harden a bit at seeing Fate and Nanoha here as well. But she isn't here for conflict, at lea- <WARNING! ETERNAL RING CONTROL NODE PRESENT! SUBDUE AND ASSIMILATE!> the book at Vita's side starts to scream out those words, but the hammerer just whaps it with her hand. "Not right now!" Staren can indeed access the wireless, but the network is a huge mess right now. It's all secured and has initiated auto-delete routines as a security measure, but he can get recent video feeds that show the researchers turning on one another. Or, more precisely: a masked female figure walks into one room, and suddenly one researcher turns and summons up magical power to blast another, all the while screaming for someone to stop him. Speaking of masked female figures, now that the barrier is up, some of those energy signatures move! And several of the moving ones are emerging from the buildings nearby. All identical, masked female figures, with their arms morphing into sharp blades. It's Signum who recognizes what happened, amongst the Wolkenritter. "Mariage... laying a trap?!" 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     "Looks like it's a party. Divine Wind!" calls Zephyr, as she draws magic into the blades of her Device. <MANA FLOW SYSTEMS FLUCTUATING. SUGGEST RAPID RESOLUTION OF SITUATION.> suggests the Device. A warm, motherly tone coming from the rhomboid gemstone, tinged with caution. "Yeah, got it... lets just hope little miss cold shoulder doesn't try to take the glory for herself." she grouses, before kicking up from the floor.     Four purple 'pixie wings' erupt from her back, before she pivots and bursts forwards toward the closest Mariage, trailing purple energy from her axe head. <TEMPEST SABER.> announces Divine Wind, as Zephyr pirouettes and brings that big axe around in a full roundhouse chop. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     As the procession of Elites, starts to gather within visual range, Asche takes a few milliseconds to note each of them in turn, though he only speaks to the four he already knows. "Captain Hawke. Shirou. Staren. Signum." It's more of a statement than an invitation to say anything back, and his voice still sounds like someone pitch shifting an afterburner. Zephyr and Nanoha get the largest degree of attention, in that Asche actually turns his head to look as the glowing orbs race through his field of vision, scanning the two of them for signs of the same type of energy signature building up in the giant dome. Just for completeness, he gives Fate the once over as well.     Then the barrier happens as he arrives near one of the smaller buildings dotting the field, right before the dome. An event that significant actually causes him to stop, dedicating just about all of Zwei's processing power to analyzing the temporal/spatial anomaly that had just ocurred. Somewhere else, Weiss is pretty much motionless. "Preventing collateral damage to the surrounding area? Then this facility is already a lost cause. I will restrict my firepower only so much as is necessary to prevent annihilating the remaining civilian staff." His right wrist guard splits to reveal twin, stout looking gun barrels, suddenly spiking an enormous energy reading for anyone actively trying to detect them.     The word 'trap' and Zephyr's headlong charge make it obvious enough that the masked figures are enemies. Asche levels his arm at the nearest building Zephyr isn't already close to, aims down slightly to hit the ground in front of it, and begins rattling off a steady string of high velocity bolts of light, splitting along the entire visible colour spectrum as they streak across the field and individually detonate with the force of a quarter ton of TNT. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' "Really ladies? I seem to be running into you more and more. Don't you know, my heart belongs to another?" Flint says with a flourish of his hand as he slowly steps towards the Mariage. He might be stalling for time to let the others go on ahead of him as he slowly pulls off his gloves and flexes his hands, "Flint Hawke is a man of many loves. His heart belongs to the stars, his hand is promised to the wheel of his ship!" The Pirate Captain slowly reaches under his coat and pulls out a pair of what look to be metal blocks, "Also Signum, fine lass that she is! We're to be wed!" Wait what? Flint grins a bit and then steps towards them, twirling the two objects around his index fingers, "I'm afraid that if you can't take my no for an answer, I'm going to have to go to more..." The metal objects slide over his fingers, making them like brass knuckles. He taps his two fists together and there's a thundercrack of a power field, "Aggressive denial." He holds his hand up and waves them over, "Come ladies. Flint Hawke is man enough to handle the lot of ya and leave you tired and on the ground." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Barrier up! Staren sees the girl in red near the center, and readies his rifle. Is that the good one or the bad one?     Once the network is hacked, Staren delegates searching it and downloading every file they can find to his support AI. He frowns as he reviews the video, and informs today's allies. And then...     Time to fight! The Mariage are apparently hostile, some kind of flesh golem to be destroyed, so... he raises his laser sniper rifle and starts shooting. If a single shot isn't enough to destroy them, he switches to bursts.     He /really/ hopes each one isn't elite-level by itself.     He'll see about helping with plans for disabling the reactor or other fancy things after the immediate threat is dealt with. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' "Uh-oh!", Freya says spotting the figures and there sharp blades. "They don't look freindly at all!", she eeps and she suddenly she alot taller! Oh well, she can deal with the masked figures better when she is like this. She walks foward and tires to stop on one making it flat like a pancake. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     Fate has paled. Bardiche rattles lightly in her grasp, prompting a soft re-assuring ping from the black axe. Her composure seems shaken, and it's not by the Mariage; her gaze is lingering squarely on the domed facility. Thusly, any once-overs given Fate's way will show not the gravely and composed ice queen of norm, but a stunned child.     It takes her a second to even realize the Wolkenritter are present, and the sight of Signum makes the blonde cowboy back up. Fingers clenching around the haft of her Device in a white-knuckle grip, she somehow manages to put on a hard face of her own as she matches the flame knight's gaze. That rivalry is still burning strong in her chest, but right now she has other things on her mind.     "Nanoha." Whispered as she already starts hustling for the main building.     "I'm... Going to try..."     She trails off and just suddenly blitzes.     She's going to ignore the Mariage and try and blaze her way inside. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Oh hey it's Zwei's other unit! "Zwei!" Shirou blurts crudely, dashing over and joining up with Asche.     "Yeah. Just don't hit the central building... it's like a nuclear meltdown in there. If we can keep the Mariage off their backs, I hope they can stop it."     no time to worry about it, really. Or worry about the consequences of what fighting beings like these are going to be. They're not that strong in his opinion, but it's hard to be sure...     "Trace, on." He's already grasping at a forming illuion, wrought from golden light. An ancient black longsword of japanese legend appears in his grasp. A blade wrested from the tail of a dread eight-headed serpent by a god, granted to the sun goddess as a gift, and passed down to a fabled ruler - the Kusanagi, grasscutter sword.     Zwei might notice this weapon is a bit different from the others he's seen him project. Hard to say how, but if anything - there's a strange air around it.     After all, it is the crystallization of a legend.     The Mariage are simply dolls, so Shirou doesn't feel bad about cutting loose on them. "Out of my way!" Raising the sword of heavenly storms, he focuses some of his prana into it. Wind rages around it, and with one slash... a mighty wind tears across the lawn, right for the mariage! 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     Zwei claims to be handling the buildings, and there are plenty of fighters here. After some thought, Yami lowers herself toward the ground and the protection of the others. To Signum and Vita, she states, "Your Mistress, in another world, was used as the template to create Our body. We are a construct like yourselves in all other respects. Of course, We can walk as well. But for the others..."     The Material flips open the Book of Darkness at her side(still wearing a fake moustache... sigh), and pages through it with a telekinetic motion of the pages. 'ENERGY SHIELD,' the staff intones, and blazing light scatters from the Material all over the area, seeking out the various Elites present. It suffuses them in a glowing barrier that shields them from the mana radiating from the reactor, at least for a while.     "This will do little against the Mariage," Yami states, "And some of you no doubt need it less, but the humans amongst you have some protection from the reactor now. It will not survive detonation, We must admit." 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' Nanoha arms her Device... and Fate rushes off toward the reactor. "Ah! FATE! Wait!" Being kind of uh... still a preteen girl, at heart, she immediately races after her friend, leaving behind a streak of pink light as she bursts toward the reactor. She's way slower than Fate, however, and could be caught if someone follows. Maybe. Nanoha isn't slow, she just isn't a speedster like Fate is. But she does have a way to help her friend! <DIVINE BUSTER> Raising Heart chimes, a circle of mystical runes surrounding the tip. A massive blast streaks past the young blonde ahead of her, aiming to open up a hole in the side of the facility so Fate doesn't need to search for an entrance. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Zephyr goes straight toward a Mariage, and it's a good thing they are weak, because Zephyr's axe can slice right through one arm! The sword arm goes spinning off, bleeding black ichor, but the arm melts in midair and combusts before it even hits the ground. Undaunted despite the injury, the zombielike creature shows surprising speed in whipping its remaining arm around for a hard, powerful punch toward Zephyr's midriff. Zwei opens up at a building, which begins to collapse as the foundations are blast apart. This immediately crushes the exiting Mariage between the explosions and the collapsing building, but another one just pushes some rubble off, looking battered and half-crushed but moving, and then levels its arm at Zwei. Swift, powerful bullets begin to rattle from the projectile its arm shifts into, not really strong enough to threaten major damage but much, much more capable than an 'improvised' firearm(heh) has any right to be. Several of the drones leap toward Flint, but Signum and Vita are already there. Vita's hammer slams down, crushing one into the ground, but it's already struggling to get back up. She lifts her hammer to cause it to whine, rockets firing on the back. "Gh..." She grunts, stepping back at a sudden slash from another one. Looks like she could use the help, but she's not going to ask for it. Signum is in motion too, and has already split one down the middle, but has to parry another. They're in the thick of it, and for good reason: the Mariage are making a beeline for Vita's Book of Darkness simalcrum, so those three are collecting the brunt of the attack already, leaving Flint with two 'swordbabes' diving at him silently. Unfortunately, it looks like several are swarming toward Material-D as well. Someone had better do something about that, because they're going for HER Book of Darkness as well! Staren opens fire and blows a shoulder out, but another one just rises up behind the first. It's here that Staren will feel an invisible grasp trying to sieze his body and yank the barrel of the gun to the side, to shoot at Shirou instead. The Mariage aren't used to dealing with threats of this caliber, though, so the effect probably won't work. A few are going after Staren, but Shirou can probably hold them off if he's careful. Those slashing blades arc toward the magus a hair slower than normal... and one of them is reaching for him, attempting to lay hands on him so they can pry out some of that delicious, delicious prana. Nanoha's blast opens up a hole in the research center, but she will have to contend with the same thing Fate does: two Controllers, not one, suddenly blasting shots at the two in an anti-aircraft spread, filling the air with mass driver shots. They're not excellent shots or anything, so if the two aren't impulsive they can probably weave between. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Freya... STEPS ON ONE! The Mariage goes 'squish' in a strange, crunching motion, but the blade it carries still slices in toward the foot /deeply/ as it 'goes down.' Of more concern is that it is crushed into some black goop... which then explodes violently. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     That's the one problem with headlong charges without a plan. "OOF!" slam goes that punch into her midsection, sending the already airborne mage spinning and skipping along the ground. Her defense isn't very tight, but she's a stubborn little thing.     Momentum carries her until she manages to plant a hand, dig in a knee and launch herself upwards, landing ungracefully near to Vita and Signum. "Great... out of the frying pan..." as she grumbles, she catches a blade arm with the haft of her axe. "Alright enough playing around. Divine Wind, Drive Ignition." There's a deep thrum from her Device as it glows from within, the form shifting in the mage's grasp. <DRIVE IGNITION. MISTRAL TEMPEST SYSTEM ONLINE. MISTRAL FORM. SET.> She stares down the Mariage as her Device shifts into a one-handed, much more aggressive seeming form. A pair of little spinning propeller blade drones(Literally propeller or turbine blades) launch from the trailing edge of her Device, where the second blade used to be.     <MISTRAL SQUALL. AREA MODE.> intones the Device, causing the drones to zip out. The air itself begins to move oddly, trying to slow or disrupt the Mariage nearby, while also attempting to assist the two Knights and anyone else within 150m, give or take. The young woman then blurrs out of focus for a moment, reappearing behind her opponent and hacking into the zombie's body with a surge of mana. <BLITZ DRIVE. MISTRAL CUTTER> 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The part where the red glow is brightest sweeps back and forth along the length of Asche's slit visor as his black armour strobes with the flash of gunfire. Zephyr is flying. Her weapon seems to be using the same unfamiliar energy signature as he keeps reading from the dome up ahead, and seems to be cleaving apart enemies with ease. Document and research later. Flint intends to take on multiple enemies in melee combat once again, and will likely be exhibiting his anomalous physical abilities again. Document and research later. Freya is suddenly so large she should be collapsing under her own weight judging by her gravity signature. Document and research later.     Fate and Nanoha are also both flying, the former far faster than realistic propulsion should allow, and the latter while discharging a level of firepower that is considerably impressive for how small the only complex part of her device is. Document and research later. Shirou is openly using his weapon summoning ability and managing to eliminate targets with wind pressure of all things rather than a more efficient directed energy attack. Document and research later. Yami has just put up some sort of screen that seems to have cut out most readings of the radiation emenating from what Zwei can only presume is a reactor of some kind. Document and research later.     There are so many bizarre abilities on display here with no obvious explanation for how they work that Asche is dividing possibly a dangerous amount of attention to recording and scanning them all. An whining crack sounds out as he rail launches a pair of recon drones from a gap in his shoulder plates, hovering hundreds of meters up in the air where they begin relaying back data using the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The launch completes just in time for him to notice the mariage firing back on him, allowing him to engage his point defense system just before any bullets connect. The slugs simply stop in mid air a few feet away from him and harmlessly tumble to the ground as Asche's defensive software individually targets, entangles, and then hits the projectiles with precise amounts of counter kinetic energy.     Perhaps deciding that the level of firepower he's using isn't enough to take out the buildings while the swift moving mariage are still inside of them, the plates of his wristguard close up, only to be obscured as complex machinery rapidly phases into existence around it, as if disintegrating in reverse. The parts layer on top of one another until something like an oversized, anti-materiel rifle is attached to his arm, the barrel of which he braces with his other hand. "Stand back." Everything flashes like a split second stroke of lightning had gone off, and the next instant, one of the larger, corner buildings goes up in a towering, monolithic fireball. A solid wall of pressure explodes outwards, arriving at the same time as the catastrophic boom, and carrying a storm of dust and debris. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren doesn't shoot Shirou -- even if he did aim at Shirou and fire, there are safeties on the weapon. His arm is jerked slightly aside though. Surprised, he stops firing for a second or so, then switches to controlling his armor mentally and ignoring his body's input. This would be cumbersome for regular movement, but for aiming and shooting, it will work.     Still, he hopes someone takes down that 'Controller' before the Mariage get close to him...     For now, he takes advantage of how some of the mariage are choosing to swarm towards his allies. His shoulder missile launchers raise into position, and some of the missiles seek out those swarms that haven't surrounded people yet and detonate in massive plasma fireballs. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     That's the thing. Fate IS being impulsive. A complete deviation from the norm of her reserved and cautious self, as soon as Nanoha smashes an entry for her with that blast, she leaps in- right into the midst of the Controllers and their fire. A sudden downward jink and she throws herself to the floor with a grunt and a gasp of pain, as the dark fabric of her Barrier Jacket grows sticky and damp from the bloom of liquid crimson from her shoulder.     <<N-Nanoha. Two inside.>> She warns in a telepathic blip, but doesn't try to put them down herself. The burst of golden light emanating from her hand is more intended to sear eyes and blind as she tries to shove by, ignoring pain and injury as Bardiche sends a string of encrypted communications back home to Precia and Linith.     The response that pings back is rapid and detailed. A series of old maps and schematics-- which she forwards to Nanoha and anyone else making way into the facility. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Ow. ow. ow. That wasn't a good idea as the blade cuts deeply into her foot and the explsion on her foot does help either She winces a bit doing her best to try to ignore the pain, she defintly not going to do that again. She hops closer to the main building try to block the way from any more of the Marriage being to get inside, she rips off a peice of the roof an tosses it at one of the Marriage beings. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' Flint Hawke steps back, dodging around the dives and strikes from the Sword Babes. He hops back and then tries to parry sword strikes with his hands, energy fields crackling as they move to parry and draw back energy. He strikes back with a rather straight set of punches, trying to clear himself space. His greater concern is that Vita is being swarmed on, as is Signum. The Pirate Captain then steps back and takes off his jacket, tossing it to the ground as he flexes his hands, "Alright, time to play my card. If only two of you will pay attention to me, I'll make the others." "Raphael..." Flint says seriously, rolling up the sleeves of the white shirt he wears under it to expose his arms, "Prepare my Shift." He commands, mostly a formality since his heart knows what to do anyway, "Inscribe survival on my very being!" There's a massive PULSE that emanates from Flint as the heart beating in his chest unlocks conceptual power. Black lines pulse and run throughout his arms, like veins. They cover his entire body as Flint's systems go into overdrive. His shirt grows tight on him as he bulks up, and he flexes his hands again. Around his arms, hands, neck and face, those black veins all slowly crawl. The expanded concept of Survival now seeks to create a Fight or Flight Scenario. A conceptual beacon on the field, Flint is now actively trying to pull the aggression of everything within a good range, trying to cause it all to focus on him to maximize the benefits of his Pure. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     The screaming winds from Kusanagi aren't going to be enough. And Shirou's own body is screaming at him, as always, the instant he ends up getting in hand to hand with the Mariage. His projected weapon and real one are crossed to catch the blade with all his might and turn it away. He follows through by lunging forward with a knee to the gut and leaping back. Dual wielding does somewhat suit him, but his stance is pretty clumsy and his weapons are mismatched... that's never gonna work out for the best.     "There's way too many... ! --GH!" And who is that lanky fellow over there who's being all flirty with the... "Gah!"     One of the Mariage DOES get a grip on him, but only for a moment. He's quick to panic and thrust the onyx blade right through their skull. It's gonna be messy. probably goopy.     The weird weapon does have some properties for turning enemy life force/magical energy into his own, but given these weird Mariage - who knows what that's gonna do, if ANYTHING.     Shirou'd honestly probably rather not draw anything from these things, really. bad enough it was a skeleton, last time...     Worse, the redhead misjudged the Mariage now that they've gone hand to hand. he's being forced back by the small group that's assaulting him. He ducks, weaves, but takes grazing blow after grazing blow. It's a wonder this simple human is keeping up though, considering the enemies!     All thanks to Bedivere's training. He's been repeatedly thwacked so hard that his body's gotten used to reacting before he can really think about it. But the only net result is he's getting slowly cut to bits while parrying every blow for his vitals. Yeah, that's not going to do.     Or will it? Clank, clank, CLANG.     The more he's cut into, the less the barrage of attacks seems to be doing to him. His arms are cut up, but the wounds gleam like metal. The strikes are failing to pierce very deep into his skin. Clank, clank, clank. It's like...     "My body is made of swords," the redhead chants deeply. Immediately, Kusanagi's wavering form regains substance and he uses it for a riposte. "You're not breaking me before I can stop this explosion!"     Shirou pours determination into his agonized, bleeding body, and presses forward. Clang, clang, clang. The tide of battle's turning around. Though he's grabbed several times, he responds with a furious slash from Kusanagi and the onyx blade. Offending arms might end up altogether severed!     He's keeping them off of Staren, but damn, Shirou's looking pretty messy... 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' <PROTECTION POWERED,> Raising Heart chimes, setting up a defensive screen around Nanoha. The bullets showering her still manage to shatter it, but they give her enough time to dart aside, meaning one of them opens up a shallow graze in her side but she isn't shot down. "AH!" That causes her to stagger in midair, but she rights herself and... "Cover her, Raising Heart!" Nanoha calls, darting back and forth to try to keep out of most of the line of fire. Her real focus is on helping Fate though: <ACCEL SHOOTER> Raising Heart states. The shots aren't very strong, but the numerous little globes that burst out zip forward, blasting toward the Mariage... and intercepting incoming shots aimed at herself or Fate, like a point defense laser of her own. 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     "Tch," Yami snarls, feeling one of the Mariage close in and a slash opening up along one of her arms. She doesn't bleed, which may give some confusing readings from Asche's scans, but she does feel pain. The quick smack of the staff swats the creature away before she shoots up into the sky, Book of Darkness flipping upen. "You wish to have some of the Book of Darkness? Very well. We will give you what you desire."     "Approach from beyond, mistletoe branches, become spears of the silver moon, shoot and pierce! Petrifying spears, Mistilteinn!" The girl shouts out loudly, and her staff glows in a dark purple.     'MISTILTEINN!' The incantation comes with affirmation from the Device, a cartridge loading with a loud *whrrr-CLUNK!* This is immediately followed by spears of brilliant purple showering down, lancing toward the growing crowd of Mariage. Each spear does little damage, but has one added effect, temporary though it may be:     Petrification. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Setting up a Mistral Squall is a great idea, because it's something that the Mariage are unfamiliar with, and it disrupts the ranged weapons as well. This allows Zephyr to take advantage of their confusion and get behind one... and though the Mariage have proven pretty tough, they do need to guard. Zephyr slices one right in half, before it can react, and down it goes easily. She can probably take one or two more out before they adapt enough to fight back, too. Like the others, it melts and combusts. Vita frowns and smashes the head in of another.which also melts. "That's a weird style. Not Mid-Childan at all, but the weapon is some kind of basis on Mid-Childan design." Signum hacks another in half, moving to defend Vita. With her help, the two are pretty secure if nothing else happens. "Likely a splinter. We can ask later," she says curtly. "Or a new development." Zwei explodes a building. Several energy signatures wink out, putting an end to some of the Mariage right away. By now, some of the Controllers have recognized the heavily-armed synthetic as something of a threat, and thus several of the drones rush at once, with sharp blades on their arms humming with magic. THIS might cause a bit more of a problem for Asche, though it will likely not result in anything fatal. Unless Asche hasn't been observing that when killed, these things melt and explode, but that's unlikely. Starens missiles blast into a cluster, causing the rest to scatter out. Intelligently, apparently. There are enough controllers here that they can keep tactical for a while yet, but no more are attacking Staren due to factors. One of those factors is Flint, who is now getting the attenton of numerous ones. They swarm toward him with a pulsing rush, and this time Signum and Vita, busy with their own and somewhat affected by the aura, aren't defending him. That could be a problem... Except that Yami just petrified half of them, causing the others to slam into the wall of stoned Mariage. This puts their attack in staggered disarray, making it easier to fend off. Some of them ARE heading for the main building, but in a stroke of tactical insight, Freya has just smashed the front row and blocked off the entrance. This leaves only the ones inside to deal with! Shirou holds off the Mariage valiantly! Fortunately all the other things that were just done cause a slight reprieve, enough that he can find an opening in the ones remaining. The blade gets a small trickle of power from each, but it feels... wrong. Twisted. Fortunately he isn't getting much from them. Nanoha cover fires for Fate, keeping the Controllers occupied. With all the rest of the chaos going on, the Controllers have to pause. An opening! Finally, Fate has made it inside, injured but past the Controllers. The reactor is there, but thanks to Yami's shield she's still safe! All she has to deal with is the... dozen Mariage inside. They appear to be operating in shifts, absorbing power from the reactor and moving back to let others collect more. All are Drones, though, so she might be able to figure out a way past them and into the control center to shut down the reactor. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren fires another missile at the group heading for Asche... and then suddenly his instincts scream that /Flint/ is the enemy that he needs to destroy to be safe. Even after the warning, he swings his rifle around the point at the pure-wielder and barely stops himself from pulling the trigger. "...Damn it..."     He has to focus on something else. Why must there be so many enemies? He needs a way to attack so many targets at once...     The controllers...     ...Didn't someone say the ones with the guns are the controllers? That's right! If he can take out the controllers...     Staren takes a deep breath and forces his attention away from Flint. Find Mariage with guns. Then strike before they can realize what he's doing. He picks out one, two, three, half a dozen if there are that many in range, then raises his arms -- six smaller missiles launch out of the armor in his arms, flying high up into the air near the eadge of the barrier, then turning around to rain down on the Controllers. Unlike the plasma missiles, these are designed to ram into the target at high speed and explode inside -- dealing penetrating damage to a single target, instead of to a wide area, although adjacent Mariage might get caught in the blast too. 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:''' Flint is being overwhelmed by Mariage, that much is clear. Even after a huge number of them are petrified, the sheer number of them is more than he can manage by himself. They're cutting under his strikes and they're getting past his dodging and defenses. They're drawing heavy cuts that shred shirt and flesh, causing black and red blood to stain down his sides as they tick up more and more damage against him with their assault. And right now that's exactly what he wants. Every cut causes a pulse in his chest. Every slice beats another angry breath. Every wound is another brick in the wall. And soon enough, the Pure has exactly what it wants: An escalated threat to respond to conceptually. And then Flint explodes in violence. His first move is a haymaker straight towards one of the mariage with enough force to shatter concrete. He ducks under another sword strike and delivers a jackhammer uppercut to try to behead one. A blade embeds in his back, right through his spine, and it should be a kill. Instead of spins around and flat-hand chops at the neck, trying to behead the Mariage with a smooth maneuver. "Aye, yes, ladies. There's enough for all of you!" He grins widely. Violence begets violence, and Flint's Pure has enough hatred and retribution for every single one of the Mariage that wants to attack him. The funnier and more aloof Flint is gone, this one is a brawler. A fighter who is meant to survive against impossible odds through sheer ferocity and denial of falling down when he should. The blade embedded in his back is pulled out and he crushes it in his hand before turning back to his fight. The Shift has proven its goal: Create a Fight or Flight in which Flight is not an option. Force Flint to fight for his life to unlock his maximum potential. His Aura is strong, but resistable with willpower. He also seems to have no personal control over it. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr zips around, moving at a speed that might put her on par with Fate in velocity, but nowhere near in grace. She just flashes around, trying to get the ones Signum and Vita don't see, either because they're currently smashing or slicing up another one... or they're ignoring them for some reason or other. She then gets nicked by a lucky shot from a Controller, wincing as blood seeps up through her Barrier Jacket. "Damn it... Burst Driver. Mistral Shooter, Cascade shift." comes the young Mage's order.     <YES! MISTRAL SHOOTER. CASCADE SHIFT. BURST DRIVER. GEAR UP.> Shooting-type motes form around the girl as she comes to rest on a Marchian platform. It's rhombus shaped, four circles linked by flowing Kanji script and lines, drawn in deep purple. The Drones also gather energy inside of the small hole at their center, angling to aim at the Controllers nearby. "SHOOT!"     Much like Nanoha's Accel Shooter, the motes angle and jink around, coming in from all sides to try and disrupt and catch any dodges in a hailing crossfire. The drones, however, fire streams of unguided projectiles, like magical machineguns as they rotate around the Area they're proje     cm"><MANA FLOW SYSTEM STABLE. USABLE MANA AT 85. ALL SYSTEMS GREEN.> That's when Flint's little effect washes over her. Zephyr winces, glancing at the pirate and almost breaks her formation. "No. Bigger fish." she reigns herself in with. As said earlier. Stubborn little thing. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     That is a lot of Mariage.     Fate can try to shoot them all but she pauses. Vesta sounds like she's a little far off. Though Fate wouldn't mind if she shows up, she's already this far ahead and this close. The magical undead are wildly attracted to large sources of mana... The controls are right there. This must be the most dangerous, stupid idea Fate has ever had.     She shifts out of her Barrier Jacket. Just an ordinary girl in a casual frilly black dress now, Bardiche pings a [???] as she orders him back into standby form.     This is excessively dangerous as she tries to walk AROUND the Mariage towards the controls, with no protection, and her Linker Core still recovering from being drained.     It's like being invisible. Right? 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' "I think that all of them out here .", she can't really do much else right now. She too big to into the building and her adrenalin is running high so she can't go back to a normal human size. She looks into the main building thought the holes in the roof to see what going on size up the situation (pardon the pun) and if she can help somehow. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr's transforming weaponry. Staren's plasma missiles. Freya's ridiculous physical strength. Emiya's swordsmanship gradually surpassing human limits. Nanoha's magical barriers and point defense fire. Yami's seemingly orbital barrage. Flint's completely inexplicable surge of power. Is this what 'Elite' means? Zwei is hungrily absorbing data almost too fast to keep up with, calculating the force behind every blow, the speed behind every reaction, and even going so far as to try and monitor the pulse and respiration of the combatants to see who's struggling and to what degree. It's all so new, and it's all so very, very interesting. Especially the fact that, though Asche can't do anything to detect Flint's conceptual manipulation, he /feels/ its effects anyways. Without thinking, the combat Armiger's left arm snaps towards him, aiming via one of the drones rather than looking, and snap shooting a raiser bolt from the wrist mounted PDW. He manages to correct it within milliseconds of firing, moving just enough that the cohesive, amplified photon bolt flies just about the captain's head rather than hitting him straight in the chest. Unfortunately, the momentary distraction gives the mariage just enough time to close with him, and within moments, magic blades are carving along his heavy armour.     His attention fully restored to the problem at hand, Asche purges the rifle mounted on his arm, and suddenly takes a frankly ridiculous leap back, launching three tonnes of metal a twenty meters into the air. It's still not far enough for him to safely fire anything but his small arms, but that doesn't seem to be the plan. The air begins to violently swirl as the Transience drive kicks in and summons another piece of his arsenal to him. His hand reaches out for something, and grasps the hilt of a sword. What appears to be (appropriately) some sort of futuristic, carbon black zweihander materializes in his grip. The five meter long blade shines bright, bloody red along the edges, which actually extend a few inches further than is visible to the naked eye. Gripping it in both hands, he brings the weapon over his shoulder in a classic 'vom tag' flourish, waits just long enough for the vicious drones to get within reach, and then sweeps it along the ground so fast that the air snaps with a miniature sonic boomb. The sheer force of the supersonic strike should hopefully hurl their bodies far, far away, where they wont explode against him. 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' Taking out the controllers...? Nanoha pants softly as she eases up on the attack. "Mn. Is that...?" An opening! The shots have paused! Nanoha knows that Fate is in there, so she's not going to blow up the building... but she can take care of those two! "Raising Heart, please!" <OF COURSE, MY MASTER. LOAD CARTRIDGE,> the Device chimes. A klunking noise of the cartridge loading sounds out, and then Raising Heart adds, <DIVINE BULLET.> A stream of high-velocity, dense energy pellets blasts toward the two Mariage as Nanoha uses her version of Precia's spell, intending to chew them to pieces where they stand and eliminate the thread. 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     Yami is also affected, though she largely shrugs off the effect of 'aggro.' Unfortunately, she's also kind of a bitch, so she doesn't fight it that hard. It just means she doesn't target Flint specifically! "Hmph. Your Mistress has so much potential. You only saw a sample of what We can do, and she has the same potential. Allow Us to show you more."     Another cartridge slams into place as Yami turns her staff down toward the cluster of Mariage mobbing Flint.     'STUN MODE ENGAGED. MAJESTY OF THE LORD,' Yersinea Kreuz announces. A billowing purple blast wave roars toward Flint and the Mariage, aiming to flatten them all with stun power.     "This is Our Book of Darkness: the Tome of the Purple Sky!" 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     There's a sudden pressure on Shirou, thanks to Flint's sudden unleashing of strange conceptual energies. It's not a proper magic, and he can't defend against it too well. On the other hand, it's not magic, so his magic defense isn't necessary to do so.     He wobbles and stumbles, but is forced to focus on the Mariage for several more blows until he's finally broken their advance and exposed a moment of opportunity. But his attention wavers, drawn in a strange panic towards Flint. Breath quickens, muscles tense, but Shirou clamps down on the half-yell he starts. Is Flint suddenly turning foe on them...?     Well, he seemed like a weird friend to begin with...     Then words said over the radio sink in and his will fully reasserts itself.     He's surrounded by such incredible magic though! All of it's so far beyond his level. Can any magus he's even remotely heard about from Kiritsugu even manage this kind of output? It's insane. He has seen several girls who couldn't be toooo much older - and some maybe younger - than he pulling this off. Wowzer.     Yeah, he's way out of his league. But he's not stopping just from that. Others having so much more power can't be helped, but his own will to fight is his own problem. It won't waver that easily!     He rushes in, slashes through a few marriage and dashes past before their explosion can catch him. But Kusanagi shatters in his grasp and Shirou flinches, wincing in pain for but a moment.     With another *sizzle-clank* and a flash of golden light, he arms himself with a different Noble Phantasm. A radiant silver and crimson longsword suitable for a knight or perhaps a king. In his hands, Mordred's stolen Clarent is used for justice! Shirou tears forwards--     "UUUUUUUAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!"     LOUDLY.     The Onyx blade isn't being used for much besides parrying. Instead, he focuses his power into Clarent. Crimson energy trails along with each blow. Though quite flimsy compared to the original wielder's skill and output, tiny amounts of prana flow through the weapon and propel it with greater force. For Shirou though, the benefits are marginal at best...     But the savage and no-holds-barred fighting style he whips out with is WAY too much for his body. With every savage swing he grunts and gasps. his poor lungs are denied breath time and again, but he's aiming to tear through whatever Mariage he can. He must buy time for the others to stop that explosion! 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Fate sheds her magic and just... walks past the Drones. It's a huge gamble, because if one turns around and regards her as a threat, it's all over. Yet... they move! Only to shuffle forward and swap on which Drone is absorbing that leaking reactor energy. One tilts her head, probably because Yami's shielding is crackling under load, but it isn't enough compared to the reactor leak to bring their full attention to bear. No Controller is there to realize Fate is walking into the control room. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     Every step of the way has Fate's heart racing as she makes her way across the chamber, scarlet eyes darting from figure to figure as she makes her way to the control center, doing her level best to not attract attention when one tilts head at her...     And then she's in.     Heart pounding in her chest, ignoring the fact that she's wearing a pretty dress in a zone with dangerously high potential mana levels, Fate halts in front of the controls.     She's shaking.     Visions, distant and blurred flit through her mind, like old memories in sepia tones. Far away and still right there; flashbacks of another little girl's memories dancing in her mind.     Standing on a balcony watching a similar domed building off in the distance. Knowing that after the day's test, mother will come home to her as promised. That she'll have a vacation and they can go on a picnic...     A bright light in the sky, spreading from the reactor and engulfing everything- getting closer, too fast to run away.     Huddling in fear with a cat in her arms.     Darkness.     Scarlet eyes flicker as she pulls herself from Alicia's memories, rattling hands suddenly darting over controls as hologram screens pop up at her side, Bardice relatiying detailed instructions from Precia on how to reinstate safety protocols. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Let us condense Staren, Flint, and Signum and Vita down to just saying that limbs are flying and the Drones are erupting from being shattered or cloven. Now that they're disorganized and the group knows how to deal with them, they're... well, they aren't going down EASY, exactly, but they're easier to fight off. Especially when Yami's spell comes down and blasts a crater into the ground around all of them, at the very least hurling some away, and outright flattening others, which just makes them melt even though it's a stun spell. Zephyr, and Staren's other shots, are slamming into the Controllers. One of them goes down, but they're tougher than the Drones. The remaining, injured one says in a strained and damaged voice, "Miscalculation..." Asche is able to handle his assailants for the time being. Without a Controller handling them, the Drones are easy to keep at bay now that their attack patterns are known. The blast causes a few to disintegrate and combust, again, and any that manage to get near are rapidly cut down. Nanoha's attack rips through the Controllers there, giving her some breathing room as well. Good! This means that everyone has some space, which may be needed in a moment. Freya also has little to do for the moment... for now. Finally, Shirou too gets a breather, managing to cut down the last nearby Drone. A few more are vaguely stirring in his direction, but they look uncoordinated. The Controllers lost several at once, so they're unable to control all the Drones on the field currently, or perhaps are too busy getting killed. And then, abruptly... The yellow glow fades, and the reactor shuts down. Unfortunately this means the Drones are starting to pay attention to Fate... but Freya can see this happening through the hole in the roof. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren takes potshots with his rifle. It takes a moment for him to realize that the Mariage are switching to simpler patterns. He smirks, puts away his rifle, activates his twin beam sabers, and then finds his gaze drawn back to Flint. He shakes his head, tries to focus on the Mariage, and prepares to fly into the horde cutting them down...     When allies announce over the radio that they're ready to level the place. Relieved, Staren's energy wings manifest (orange, like stylized's insects', for those who haven't seen them before) and he flies over towards Nanoha to watch the fireworks. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' "Look out!", Freya shouts at Fate and reaches down a grabs her pulling her out of the room throught the hole in the room. She looks at the yellow hair girl in her hand. "You allright?" 

:'''{{#var:320|Flint Hawke (320)}} has posed:'''     With the fight starting to wind down and Yami throwing out a powerful stun blast, Flint is sent tumbling. He skids along the ground a bit and then starts to push himself to his feet, looking around angrily for who hit him, instinct starting to take over again after the stun. But he's able to slowly push it down, and the lines across his body recede, drawing back into his chest and eventually vanishing.     He takes a deep breath and seems to calm himself down. He walks through the carnage of the battlefield to pick up his dirty jacket and hat. His shirt is in tatters from the fight and those are kind of falling off of him. But the jacket and hat are back on.     The Aura is also gone!     He lifts a hand skyward and waves, "Oi! Vita and Signum, will one of you lovely ladies give me a lift? I can't exactly fly on my own prowess." Note to self: Install rockets in Jacket later. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Signum and Vita look at one another. They look at Flint. Sigh. "Sure sure," says the little red-clad girl, suddenly darting down and swooping in toward Flint. The tiny girl grabs at the pirate, heaving him over her shoulder and blasting upward to make a streak of red in the sky, carrying him like a sack of potatoes. Or potatos. Whichever is right this week. 

:'''{{#var:401|Testarossa Fate (401)}} has posed:'''     It's probably a good thing Freya had a good view into the control room. Busy as she was in shutting down the overload, Fate was somewhat too pre-occupied to pay any attention to the Mariage beginning to turn their focus on her her. As the reactor shuts down, Fate crumples to her knees, panting before a GIANT HAND reaches in and plucks her out with a small gasp.     In an instant her composure is back, and she's standing on Freya's palm, Barrier Jacket manifesting in a flash of gold light, cloak unfurling from nowhere. Turning her back so no one can see that her eyes are a little damp, she gives her reply.     "I'm fine." 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     "Shirou needs an out... Divine Wind, lets go." states Zephyr. Her Device chimes resonantly. <BLITZ DRIVE. GEAR SECOND. MISTRAL SQUALL. EMPOWERMENT MODE.> states the Device in response. The two Bits suddenly streak inwards, their energy bullets fading out. Instead they move to hover over the girl's back, the original four 'Pixie Wings' turning into two large white flame-like jets. The Bits rapidly spin on their axis, quickening until they're blurrs of motion.     Zephyr then vanishes, a sonic boom marking her departure from one end of the facility, to right behind Shirou. "Hold on to your everything." she states, giving him maybe a full second, before her arms are around his midsection and a glowing purple barrier forming around them both, the entire assembly blurrs out, aiming in the general direction of 'Away'.     <BLITZ DRIVE OFFLINE. GEAR DOWN.> 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Freya smiles at Fate or would be if she could see her. "I'm glad.", she just let Fate regain her composure, she doesn't know her all that well so she just lets her be. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     And the reactor dies. This is a huge relief to Shirou! The boy staggers, short of breath. He's been splashed by several exploding Mirage, caught in the edges despite his best efforts. He's not gotten away scott-free from this. He's covered in cuts and gashes, though strangely... NONE of them seem to be all that bad. In ffact, they're already healing... slowly, but visibly. Not much bloodloss, either. It just looks bad at a glance!     However he IS short of breath, cannot fly, and is down to a third of his prana...     "There's no end to these incidents!" He blurts irritably. How will they stop this problem at its root?     He doesn't have much time to worry about it because... HERE COMES ZEPHYR. "WHAT--" WHUMPF. He's grabbed, eyes bugging out wackily before he's forced to hooooold on tight for his very life. He lets go of Clarent, but hangs on to the onyx sword... "A little warning next time!" 

:'''{{#var:597|Material-D (597)}} has posed:'''     "We call upon the unstoppable Beast, the Monster that rampages destruction. JUGGERNAUT!" Yami's announcement is loud and thunderous and of course, megalomaniacally dramatic. Yet it does come with a gathering of power, a roaring manifestation of mana that forms around the massive triangle of purple that bursts into being.     With a thunderous SCREECH the spell blooms into a massive wave, crashing down with all the power that Yami can muster right now... which is a lot. It's still in the Barrier, so no need to worry about the 'real' place. 

:'''{{#var:381|Takamachi Nanoha (381)}} has posed:''' "E-eh? Me too?" Nanoha looks confused for a second, and then she realizes that Material-D knows all her tricks. Well, not all of them, but the important ones. Namely, Starlight Breaker and how it works. "Oh! Right! Ready!" She shoots up into the air to join Yami and near Asche, prepping her own spell. She does this... by singing. "Gather, oh light of the stars, become the light that pierces everything!" Those are the only lyrics that can be made out, said in a drawn out and musical voice. They work in her native language, sounding pleasant and flowing. The musical singing almost seems to have backing behind it... <STARLIGHT BREAKER> Raising Heart announces, a swirling collection of pink particles coming in toward her Device. Asche can probably detect this by now: she's gathering all the ambient energy from the reactor leak toward her spell, though the excessive amount means she probably doesn't gather literally /all/ of it. It's still a huge amount more than she should be able to handle... All sent out on a blazing pink beam that cascades down toward the facility and the Mariage within. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Against all odds, Fate seems to have succeeded. That's actually more than Zwei was expecting, even given the overall exceptional combat prowess of everyone assembled. Zephyr, Nanoha, Fate, Signum, Vita and Yami have contributed so much combined data, and all of it is so self consistent, that learning about their particular world's magic is suddenly shifted to just about the priority list of activities Zwei has built over the last few days. Shirou is also a candidate for cataloguing due to his expenditure of a frankly impossible amount of energy and apparent access to an entire arsenal of magic weapons, as is most definitely Flint for the fact that his 'shift' hadn't released anything on any detectable spectrum whatsoever, and yet had empowered him to such an extreme extent that he was able to take on a horde of mariage at once. Staren is obviously an experienced combatant, and is using a level of technology that implies his world must be getting close to the singularity, which is something to monitor. Even Freya has some scientific value in the fact that she'd suddenly gained several tons of mass while still apparently being made of normal flesh and blood. Zwei is already sorting them into convenient directories under one of its core memory partitions, not sparing a single detail recorded by the scanner drones during the fight.     Business is business however. Yami had requested that Asche participate in demolishing the facility, and he has no real reason to turn her down. There's no telling what kind of futuristic materials the facility may be made of, and Yami's shields are protecting everyone from radiation anyways, so the choice of armament for this job is obvious. The sword drops, and in the same fashion as it was summoned, something reminescent of most hardcore vehicle mounted machine gun imaginable forms in his hands, all black, jutting angles, and fixed with a toroidal particle accelerator loop around the open grip. Digging in his heels and levelling the weapon straight ahead, Asche braces it against his shoulder, erects his forcefield, and begins measuring the distance of all other Elites until they have cleared the danger zone of the expected blast.     A steady, rumbling, electronic while rattles the windows of the still standing buildings, before swiftly reaching the ultrasonic range and vanishing beyond human hearing. A set of red lights mounted on the weapon spin up like the barrel assembly of a gatling gun, marking that the accelerator is at full charge. Scanning the dome structure ahead and preempetively simulating the effects of detonation, Asche sights for just under the dead center of the reactor core, and proverbially pulls the trigger. Despite the deafening bang, the actual projectile is invisible, save for where the concrete suddenly sprouts a gaping hole. A split second later, the dome suddenly emits a light exponentially more intense than the yellow glow that had emenated from it previously. The ground shatters and collapses as an invisible sphere of force rips through it, compressing the air into a visible, rippling shockwave, distorting the sight of an utterly colossal fireball shooting up into the sky as the atmosphere breaks down into raw, boiling plasma. The flash happens almost exactly concurrent with Nanoha's and Yami's spells, but the sound of the explosion is delayed a moment after the blastwave, by which point the superheated gasses have already risen into a looming, incandescent mushroom cloud. Between the two mages and that, there's probably nothing left. 

:'''{{#var:558|Yagami Hayate (558)}} has posed:''' Everyone is getting out, which is good. The Barrier was straining from the reactor leak, but as soon as Fate shut it down, the Barrier snapped back into position. Now, the reactor won't even be damaged... probably. Maybe The uncertainty is because when the trio of attacks thunders down, it sends a MASSIVE shockwave through the facility. Nanoha's Starlight Breaker is specifically /meant/ to punch through Barriers, too, so the effect that this causes is... kind of odd. All three hit, and in a brilliant flash and a mushroom cloud of an eruption, the facility is blasted away, and the Mariage disintegrated... largely. Perhaps some survived? But if so, they'd be crippled pretty badly and forced to retreat anyway. It's hard to say, because so much power at once causes the Barrier to shatter and splinter, and all at once everyone is back in the 'real world' above a largely undamaged facility. Energy readings show a slightly higher than normal level of mana radiation from the leakage earlier, but the reactor is shut down, the facility is intact... and all those little energy readings that were apparently Mariage are gone now. 

:'''{{#var:578|Freya (578)}} has posed:''' Freya was the of pretty flashing lights and explosions from a safe distance. Better than fireworks. She sighs to herself feeling a bit jealous she can't do anything like that and she doupts she will ever be able to. Oh well it as pretty cool to see thought. She wishes she brought a camera. 

}}

646/Heavy Burdens

2014-09-22T20:25:49Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/09/21 |Location=The Homeworld |Synopsis=Ariel visits Burden for a more relaxed chat. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=40, 219, 347, 383 |Tinyplot..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/09/21
|Location=The Homeworld
|Synopsis=Ariel visits Burden for a more relaxed chat.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=40, 219, 347, 383
|Tinyplot=When They Return
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Dr. Burden's home is as chaotic as ever. When you walk through the innocent-looking door, you come out in a place that seems to be bits and pieces of other places, a floating amalgam of other times. Office spaces, parking lots, school rooms, sections of people's houses, all sorts of things like that are drifting around. The door is some form of spatial warp that links to Dr. Burden's home high above the Homeworld, where he wanders around these drifting pieces of reality.     Tonight, he's camped out, cooking something over a fire in what looks like the back half of a convenience store. You can get to him easily if you traverse the side of a small theater. The man himself is simple, excessively so. His body is clearly human, but devoid of literally any features. All there is to see is humanoid whiteness, with a pair of dark circles marking the eyes. But as soon as he realizes he has visitors, there's a quick flicker, and the man's altered his form to something more personable: A heavily-tanned, aging man with graying silver hair, wearing a practical outfit that seems like a mix between the uniform of a scientist and the uniform of a blacksmith, themed with blue colors. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "Hello, Doctor!" Ariel is cheerful enough as she calls from the nearby theatre. Hopping over a few moments later, she shakes herself off and lets Diea tumble freely back again, wearing just the Abstractum today. "I hope you don't mind the visit. I just had some things to talk about and um... figured you might not want to worry about the usual arguments and stuff coming up. So I brought a few friends you might not have really met." Well, he's probably met Eleanor, but maybe not well. She flashes a smile. "I ah... don't know if you remember me. I'm Ariel, and this is Harmonious Diea. We're usually pretty quiet when you're around, I know." She'll let the others give their own intro. 

:'''{{#var:40|Eleanor Lamb (40)}} has posed:'''     Miss Lamb shuffles in with Miss Ariel, looking slightly apprehensive about this whole affair, really. She's met the man on multiple occasions, she was there when the fellow unvield her... her crowd of Not-Splicers in the homeworld, but she's still never really gotten a chance to talk. So, that's why she's here with the Princess, coming to talk. She grips lightly at Utopia, and float-jumps her way through the mess.     The meeting with the Doctor is... interesting. That transformation is always abrupt but natural, like it's supposed to be like that. Elle raises her hand and Utopia in greeting, and murmurs. "It's nice to meet you properly like this, sir. I never did get a chance to make that counseling session I tried to set up with you so long ago." 

:'''{{#var:383|Laine (383)}} has posed:'''     Laine is in wolf form, and she hops next to Ariel with a wagging tail. She doesn't seem like the prying type though, as she only gives a rough growl in greeting. <<Laine and Soaring Silver.>> Then the wolf just sort of curls up next to Ariel protectively, apparently taking on the task of bodyguard of the young unicorn today. <<Hello.>> 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     He's made the swap as soon as he heard the girls coming in. A friendly wave and a smile is given to her. "Hi there, Miss. Don't mind at all. Greetin's to ya both. and good to see a fresh face. No need to worry about my memory. I'm old, not senile." He chuckles a bit and makes a few solemn nods to Eleanor afterwards. "I don't mind it, Miss. You're busy folk and this old man's a bit of a relic. I'm not gonna hold that against you."     There's a bit of a smile at the wolf and the collar she has. "Now isn't that a sight. Not seen someone like that with an Abstractum this cycle around. Nice to meet you both." He starts getting out the stew he was cooking, ladeling it into a bowel. "You folks hungry?" 

:'''{{#var:40|Eleanor Lamb (40)}} has posed:'''     Elle smiles quietly, and nods. "I'd love some stew, actually. Or, the concept of congealed nutritious material, in any case." A brilliant grin, and the young lady pulls up a... uh. Convienence store. It's a milk crate. As good a seat as any.     "And I certainly wouldn't think you senile, Doctor." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "Maybe a little," Ariel answers politely. She isn't all that hungry, but she is curious what kind of stew he'd make. "I just wasn't sure we were ever properly introduced. It's always been so busy when you're around. One reason I wanted to talk quietly. I just wanted..." Ariel pauses, her ears twitching a few times. "I wanted to talk about some serious things in a way that wasn't, you know. Judging. I wanted to talk about what you were thinking when you created the Abstractum. If there's stuff you'd rather not answer in there just say so." 

:'''{{#var:383|Laine (383)}} has posed:'''     Hmm. Lapping at stew with tongue would be rude, so Laine should shift. Since she has no idea of human manners, even now, she just sits and thumps her tail waiting for some stew! <<Laine guarding Ariel! Is good girl.>> She means Ariel is a good girl, but it might not come across that way.     Laine tilts her head at what Ariel has to say though. Her ear perks up, and she keeps her eyes on Ariel, not Burden. It's an unnaturally intense stare. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Nah, no concept-food here. Genuine Roussean recipe." A wry smile comes from the old man as he hands the warm bowel off to Elle, then to Ariel and Laine, if she wants one! Speaking of Ariel, a response to her as well. "Don't worry, Miss. I've seen enough folks come and go that I can't fault you for not wasting the time you've got to talk to a man like me. If I can answer your questions, I'll do my best to." And there's another little, good-humored smile to Laine. "Don't you worry, Miss. With my own Abstractum gone, I stand a better chance of being killed by Miss Ariel here than doing anything to hurt her, with that cloak on her. Promise I'll be nice, though." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Settling in with the stew, Ariel murmurs a thanks, and then appears to stop and think of what to say. As if she hadn't considered it long and hard. "I'm sorry if it's a little... hard to talk about, but I noticed how you seemed to act during the Node Configuration. And... I've been thinking about my own Node, and Samael, and what I know of what's happened in previous cycles. And being what I am... I just have to know a few things." She takes a deep breath. "I just want to confirm something. The... the Node Reconfiguration. The measures that the Homeworld is taking. All of these extreme things... they weren't what you originally planned were they? You created the Abstractum and now the whole war has turned into something you didn't expect, hasn't it? Which makes me wonder if their original purpose wasn't something different from what we think." 

:'''{{#var:40|Eleanor Lamb (40)}} has posed:'''     "Oh! Well, that's pleasant." Eleanor takes up the stew bowl and plucks up a plastic spoon and takes a bie of... admiteddly pretty good stew. Though that's hard to do wrong. She looks up at Burden, and then gets to business. "Though, I have to ask if /you/ would have showed up for an examination at that point."     Elle takes another bite as Ariel starts her questioning. She's got a follow up to that once Answers are Delivered. 

:'''{{#var:383|Laine (383)}} has posed:'''     Laine pauses in mid-lick of the stew. Oh yeah, she'll try it. But Ariel's question, more than anything, has her pausing and looking at the unicorn girl again. Then she turns her head, peering at Burden with a cautious sniff. She hasn't really tried to use any of her supernatural senses on him yet, but it does make her curious if he has any particular 'alignment' she can sense. Not in the good/evil way, but in her world's terms. Order vs Chaos, Creation vs. Stagnation. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Dr. Burden makes some alright stew. Nothing special or fancy. Genuine Roussean spices are a unique taste, a particularly southern kind of flavor, but a more gentle, friendly kind. It's good to eat.     He sighs and hangs his head over the bowl a bit, solemnly. "...No war is ever what anyone expected." He says, after a long pause. "I built them to do what they had to. To make the Great Weapon. And they did. Wasn't up to me, the how or the what, only the why. Least, not entirely."     There's a heavy sigh. "The first one I ever made... Well the process that made her, I'd say, was one I made without knowing what I was getting into. Everything after... I don't like it. I wish there was another way. But the Networks and the Homeworld, they're doing what they're doing for the reasons I wanted 'em to. No question about that."     There's a bit of a good-natured smile to Eleanor. "Can't rightly say I know for sure. But, who knows? Probably." Laine, meanwhile, finds that Dr. Burden smells like creation, order, and a generalized inclination, in some capacity, to protect and cultivate the world, whatever of that her keen snout might pick up. 

:'''{{#var:40|Eleanor Lamb (40)}} has posed:'''     Elle sighs at the bits about war, before pointing vaguely in the direction of the chambers they had come from towards the Homeworld. "And the previous cycles, I can only assume there were... many. How many were there before you created this System, or were you able to start the cycle yourself?"     Another bite of stew. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel nods slowly, but it's Eleanor that asks the real question. "That's... that's what I'm wondering. Were the Abstractum created because of the threat of Them... or were They drawn here because you created the Abstractum?" There's nothing accusing in her voice, actually. It more has the tone of someone asking in order to lead up to something else. Burden, being a scientist, should recognize that. 

:'''{{#var:383|Laine (383)}} has posed:'''     Laine doesn't have much to add here except to snort softly and go back to her stew. The only thing she says is a soft rumbled, <<Ariel has wanting for self?>> 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "...It's a little egotistical of me, callin' the cycle where I made the Abstractum the 'First Cycle'. It wasn't. They've been killin' realities long before me or my world.It's not the Abstractum that bring Them around. It's you. It's people. They only show up when people do. And then, they take those people out with 'em." Burden says, between solemn bites. He's got the posture of a man who's trying to explain a dog's death to a child, or something like that. Lot of rough facts he doesn't like thinking about.     "Been going for a long time before the Cycles. Never had a Cycle where They crashed the party before civilization started up. Even had a Cycle where no Abstractum got made, the one time. No dice." He shakes his head. "You sound like you've got somethin' you wanna ask me about, Miss. What're you thinking?" 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel scratches behind one ear. "Um... I see." Well, one theory shot down, but good to know that! "And yes... yes I do. If you... if you could have made them differently, somehow, so they wouldn't do the things you don't like... would you? And how would you do it? It's important to me, and... I won't think any less of you no matter what the answer." She pauses and taps her forefingers together. "Sorry if this is a little uncomfortable, but you created something big, and how it ended up... I have reasons." 

:'''{{#var:40|Eleanor Lamb (40)}} has posed:'''     A nod from the Sister, and she murmurs. "I suppose it was worth a shot on that one, but... if there was a cycle where you didn't distribute Abstractum... ah, where... where did you surf past the Ending? Do you just come along on the ride with Them?"     Ellie takes another bite of stew. That's a much more personal question than she would have expected out of Ariel. 

:'''{{#var:383|Laine (383)}} has posed:'''     Laine's ears perk, twitch, and suddenly lay flat. She growls, but the growl fades swiftly. She looks at Ariel curiously again before apparently realizing why she's asking this. <<Is for Ariel?>> 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Dr. Burden taps the edge of his bowl with a bit of agitation. "I built the Homeworld to give absolute priority to protectin' whatever reality manages to get drummed up between Them returning. Everything it does, it's all for saving whatever it can. And even then, it's... Failed, more times than I think your reality's version of math is any good for countin'."     There's a light bit of uncomfortable fidgeting. "Would I have done it different? Maybe. If /every/ cycle is doomed to fail no matter what, I'd rather not have done anything. But if there's any chance... No. More cycles dying 'cause of some new priorities? No."     Eleanor's question is a less heavy subject. "Homeworld couldn't get a fix on the way the local sapient life worked on a few of the cycles. It still managed to exist... Didn't defend 'em for long when They came around, of course. The Homeworld reconstructs every Cycle, though, and I came along with it." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel reaches over and pets Laine's head. "It's not really for me. It's for Doctor Burden." She smiles to Burden then, while scritching the wolf. "I'm actually glad you feel that way. I... I don't like what the Homeworld is doing. I think it's wrong. And I think you're wrong, too, in thinking it's necessary." The little unicorn looks over at Eleanor's question, which is a good one, then back to Burden. "But what I really want to know, then, is why you made the first Abstractum. Was it just a science experiment? A weapon? Or something more?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     It's a little hard to see Burden's eyes now, so one can't really see what expression he's trying to make. He seems to start saying several things in sequence, and none of them are what he wants to say. Eventually he struggles through it and says, "It was complicated. And, the reasons were only anything that was ever important to this... To this stupid old man. It's not anything worth it t'know. Just some old fool's private reasons. Got all... Got all lost, muddled up, caught up in some big war. Something more important."     He shakes his head. "I don't like Them, but, some things They buried, they're better off staying buried. I promise I'd tell you, if knowing would do you any good." 

:'''{{#var:383|Laine (383)}} has posed:'''     <<Is always important,>> Laine interjects suddenly. She doesn't press for an answer, though. She's mainly here to back up Ariel, after all. <<Laine world shaped by desires. Wanting... important.>> 

:'''{{#var:40|Eleanor Lamb (40)}} has posed:'''     Eleanor hrumphs. "Mine was created by old men thinking they didn't need the government to stomp all over them, so they stomped all over each other. No one choice is the right one, ever." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "It matters," Ariel agrees. "And it doesn't matter! Because you really can't control anything once you give it a will of its own. I think you know that. And I think you're guilty that your children have to be tools of war. And I think you think of them that way because I saw how you looked at your own Abstractum." She takes a deep breath. "But I also think maybe I shouldn't talk about this more. I don't want to trouble you, I just want to understand better. I want to understand Them. Samael. Why everything happened and how we can stop it without turning into monsters." She takes a deep breath and settles in with her stew. "I have a lot I want to ask you. About Samael and other things. But um... not tonight. Tonight... can you just tell me what she was like?" For a moment it might seem like she's asking about Samael, but then she clarifies, "Your Abstractum." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Not important for me. Not anymore." He makes a heavy, weary noise. "Used to be. Was a little angry for a while, that everything got taken over by the war. But... Well. It's all past. Decided to accept things for how they are. Everyone who didn't died eventually. And most who did too."     There's a genuinely sorrowful sort of look he has, for a while. "Kept me humble. Better with words than I'll ever be. Made sure I could always see what I was doing wrong by showing it to me from the outside. Helped me calm down about losing what I wanted first." A sort of a plaintive, helpless shrug. "They're what you need, whatever that is. Not much more I can say than that she was what yours are for you." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel nods slowly, then gives a small smile to Burden. "I think I've asked enough awkward questions for tonight. It's told me a lot more than I thought it might, too. Doctor... I can't tell if you're a good man right now, but I think if you remember her and you wanted to be, you could be a good man. Thank you for just talking to me." After a little thought, she adds, "We'll figure out a way to stop this. If not me... then one of the others. We just need to try harder, because right now I don't think we're ready." 

:'''{{#var:383|Laine (383)}} has posed:'''     Laine gives Ariel a puzzled look at that, but she doesn't pursue it. To Burden, she finally speaks up... by sitting down, wearing a hat now as she's in girl form. "Ariel is good." The way she says that has a peculiar emphasis. "Others very strong. Will find the way. Burden want packmate again?" 

:'''{{#var:40|Eleanor Lamb (40)}} has posed:'''     Eleanor grips at her bowl a little harder, before sliding over to plant it near a sink or something. "If anyone can break the Cycle. It's us. I'm certain that we've got a shot. Especially with the people who are taking part now. All we need is time..."     She leaves off at the end of that. That reason is probably obvious. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     There's a genuine sort of smile there. "I'm trying, Miss." He says. "For whatever it's worth. I'd like to be a good man by the end of all this. Or at least have tried." There's a bit of a helpless sort of shrug. "But I don't mind talkin'. Come around whenever you like. And I appreciate that you're tryin'. I know it sounds little condescending, what with how so many other people tries before, but..." The smile softens. "Well, I know you mean it, best you can."     He shakes his head at Laine, briefly and quickly. "I wish she hadn't died. But I don't wish she was back. Wouldn't be right." He says, with a firm sort of voice that says it's an absolute sort of thing.     And a quick nod to Eleanor. "I know. If anyone can do it, it's you kind folks. Last chance the Homeworld's got, after all. I'll put my trust in you to do it." He goes back to fussing with his fire, assuming things are mostly wrapped up. 

}}

Power Games

2014-09-19T17:39:42Z

Supporting Role:

{{TPPage
|Summary=A mysterious enemy has begun draining the magical power of mages, harvesting their energies for some unknown purpose. At the same time, a struggling crippled girl tries to make a life with four mysterious new family members that weren't there months before. It's a story that many in the Multiverse have heard before... or is it?
|Scale=Major
|Plot_id=-1
|Runner=558
|Contacts=
|Theme=Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha-5
|Audience=Everyone
|Genre=Magical Sci-Fi/Horror
|Events=The plot began with the attack on [[Takamachi Nanoha]]'s mother being revealed. An investigation by both factions, Union and Confederate,pointed toward the culprit being Signum of the Wolkenritter. This indicated that the ancient artifact known as the Book of Darkness had become active on Takamachi Nanoha's world. Over the next few days more indications of attacks draining magical power began to appear, but often with the victims vanishing or dying, which did not match Wolkenritter behavior from alternate worlds.

This discrepancy was made doubly evident when the Wolkenritter attempted to drain [[Lila]] and instead fought the Anticross from [[Project C]]. During the battle they took great pains to avoid causing permanent harm, but did manage to drain two Anticross with the help of [[Material-L]]. Any deaths were denied by the Wolkenritter.

A distress beacon from the same world later revealed another enemy draining power from mages. This enemy used lethal methods and appeared as a cluster of zombie like creatures who melt and explode on defeat.
|Info=
|State=Current
}}

432/WMAT AF Vervi vs. Ariel

2014-08-17T19:54:42Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/08/17 |Location=Papaya Island - Stadium |Synopsis=The WMAT Bracket A finals are here! Ariel, the magical construct, fights Vervi the technolog..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/08/17
|Location=Papaya Island - Stadium
|Synopsis=The WMAT Bracket A finals are here! Ariel, the magical construct, fights Vervi the technological construct in a battle for supremacy of the adorables! Things don't quite go as planned.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=37, 106, 135, 168, 192, 219, 231, 395, 545
|Tinyplot=WMAT
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' The stadium! Ariel has fought here before, and it was pretty unnerving. All those people! And the finals, too! It's going to make her even more nervous, especially right after the disturbing thing she just saw. But... she is here for something to prove as well now! "Right!" The unicorn girl nods, wearing a cloak and tunic as a sort of adventurer's gear. Her hood is down, and the humanoid unicorn's horn glows briefly as she claps her hands. "Let's do this, Miss Vervi! Ah... and good luck!" Mixed signals, a little bit? 

:'''{{#var:37|Serori (37)}} has posed:'''     Serori is in the stands wherever Amalthea isn't. Previous matches have taught her this valuable lesson. Do not sit near Amalthea. Do not look at Amalthea. Watch the fight, and cheer, but do not cheer where Amalthea can hear you.     For once, she's not got food in her way. She's come to focus on the competition -- to see what it is Vervi and Ariel can do when the heat's on. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     Yuri Stinson is here and he's totally shooting fireworks into the air. Well, not fireworks so much as flares from a flaregun, but the principal is the same! The Supernal Exalt traipses around the edges of the Arena, "What an exciting match! Two great competitors that both are trying their hardest. Two polite young ladies that want just as much to have fun and be good sports as they do to win. This won't be the most high-powered match in this tournament, but it is definitely a clash of two amazing sports." 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Vervi has fought in this arena before, as well! Though her response to the roaring crowd was something less like nervous anxiety and more like showy cheer. It must be a shinki thing, they are somewhat designed with the idea of being show-fighters.     The tiny robot girl swoops into the arena in full armor, trailing twin contrails of glowing blue behind her that form a smooth arc with her movements. Approaching the square arena floor itself, she banks and circles the ring, raising her empty hand to wave to the crowd throughout the entire circuit.     Once she's back where she had first entered the ring, the shinki swings her legs forward and adjusts the angles of her engines, bringing herself to a hover. Her beam rifle is raised, then swung downward at an angle, trailing glowing blue mist.     "Okay, miss Ariel!" She nods briefly as well, "And good luck to you, too!"     The closest thing to a handshake, given the size difference, must be pleasentries. 

:'''{{#var:545|Lila (545)}} has posed:'''     Lila is in the stands, in a new dress and looking much better. She still has circles under her eyes, but just getting a good drink and food has done wonders for her. And... she has a voice. A very shrill, loud voice.     "GO GET HER, MOM!" 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Amalthea is here. Serori was right to choose to sit somewhere far away from her. For the unicorn is settled in her seat, tofu dog in one hand, a big gulp of beer in the other.     Her eye is glowing and her very body is radiating a menacing fighting aura.     It is rainbow colored.     And to think she's only just watching.     Waiting...     From the distance ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE STADIUM...     That glower seems to linger on the Saiyain.     C-could she have seen Serori from that far away?     Nah couldn't be.     One loppy ear flit-twitches as Lila uses the M-word so soon.     It deflates her aura entirely as she chokes on her beer. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' MOM? Well, Ariel did say she adopted Lila. Now she has to deal with it. "Eheheh..." Ariel shrugs and gives a little wave to Vervi, returning the semi-salute! "Right! Here we go!" She gets into a fighting pose then and there, tucking her Magius Wings back and prepping them for battle as well! But she doesn't use them, or any other punching or the like. Not from the start. The unicorn girl focuses, concentrating hard... then whips out two fingers and makes a gesture, sweeping downward. Abruptly, the air around Vervi will blur a little as it's compressed by the gravity trap beneath the Shinki, trying to overload her flight and stress systems with enhanced gravity. 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Vervi straightens where she floats, eyes scanning across the stands. She does recognize several faces and quickly understands the number of friends that her opponent has made. Rotating in place, she scans some more, searching for at least one very specific face. By the time she's rotated back to face Ariel, though the smile stays on her fac,e Vervi's earpods droop slightly, "Ah... Y-yeah."     A sudden attack from below starts pulling her down. With a squeak of surprise, Vervi increases her thrust to ascend back to her previous altitude, stressing her airframe. A fighter who can attack indirectly is something she'll have to be wary of! A second burst of thrust hurls Vervi out of the gravity trap and into the air, ascending in a smooth blue arc, accented by a rolling motion. Numerous ports open up on her armor, jettisoning small objects. Four of those adopt an orange glow and follow her while the rest--shaped differently--suddenly erupt with thrust out the back end and arc down upon Ariel. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     Yuri is by the side of the ring with a mic in his hands now, "Oh and the battle kicks off! Vervi is scanning the stands for any sign of someone, and seems very disappointed. The poor girl barely notices the opening attack from Ariel pulling her down. She looks startled at this and quickly moves to compensate! She wants to come in with a volley of her missiles, opening with a peppering of explosives." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel can guess who Vervi is looking for... and she does feel sorry for her, but also happens to have a good idea of WHERE Nathan is. But right now she has to try to block those missiles! The wings on her back whip around to try to block... but not at the right angle, resulting in explosions that batter the girl and send her tumbling back with a startled squeak! She actually flips over, rolls, then comes up on one knee with one hand on the ground. "A-ah... don't worry, Miss Vervi, he's doing something important to save lots of lives, I think. In Aunt Priscilla's home. I'm sure if he could Uncle Hall would be here cheering for you. You know how much he cares about you." It's an attempt to... er. Encourage her opponent. Maybe not the best idea. A flash of light bursts from her hand then, and from the ground below a crackling arc of electricity lashes out. It's not very strong though... Ariel's still a little new at using her powers in that manner. 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     For someone so small it's about comparable to being struck by lightning. Especially when one is comprised largely of metal. There's a crackling and a popping sound when one of her primary fuses blows, hurling smoke out a vent on the back of one of Vervi's engines and she falters. She wants to scream but instead holds it in, grip tightening on her rifle's stock.     He said he'd be here!     Shaking her head, trailing black smoke mixed in with the glowing blue of her own exhaust, Vervi banks sharply, reaching under one wing with her free hand. There's a click, and when she brings it back forward, her under-wing gunpod has affixed to her forearm. Aimed downward as she circles Ariel at a respectable distance, Vervi opens fire with a stream of high caliber (for her) ammunition, spewing brass shell casings out the back as she flies. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "What an incredibly nice girl! Ariel takes time out of the match to encourage and bolster her opponent's spirits, easily telling the sadness in the other girl's figurative heart. What amazing sportsmanship that we have here! But not to seem TOO soft, she also blasts Vervi with electricity."     Yuri winces, watching Vervi get struck by electricity, "Ouch, and that zap looks like it hit Vervi a little bit too hard to react to Ariel. But the thought counts! Just like those smatterings of bullets will hopefully counter her towards victory!" 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Two of the bullets connect. Ariel was faster this time, more prepared, her wings curling around to act as a shield against the stream of projectiles and deflect them at odd angles, kicking up stone chips around her. When the wings whip back to reveal her, she's clutching her shoulder, but her own chitin and toughness has absorbed most of the shock of what got through. On top of the burns though... Ariel does see Vervi's upset, so she decides maaaaybe she shouldn't try to cheer her up. It might make things worse. "Ah... sorry!" Why is she apologizing? Well, she's fumbling a little now, remembering at the last moment to keep moving with a darting dash to the side. Her hand comes up and casts another crackling bolt, this time directly, but it's poorly-focused and disippates some before it hits. If she's lucky she hit square on. 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     All Vervi can do now is look good for the recordings. She accepts that much, at least, rolling in flight and accellerating with a burst of thrust that causes the hastily-aimed lightning bolt to fly through where she had been rather than where she is. Even her trailing Option drones zip out of the way, flanking her to avoid the bolt rather than following immediately behind.     She pauses herself mid-roll and swings up her beam rifle, the barrel splitting open. At the shinki's current velocity, the billowing blue smoke from within is blown back, adding a third trail of that color behind her and exposing the rifle's glowing inner core between the cannon's protective casings. This weapon is lifted, then thrust downward at an angle, directed straight at Ariel while Vervi circles.     Her smile is gone, her face neutral now and lit by the bright blue of the beam that lances from her weapon's muzzle, sustained for several seconds until the rifle's barrel closes once again. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "While it doesn't look like she did much damage, she certainly caught Ariel off guard with that maneuver! And both of these girls seem very kind-hearted, despite the quietness of Vervi in contrast to her more talkative opponent who is apologizing for feeling like she hit the Shinki a bit too hard!" Yuri narrates, holding his mic, ""Ariel blasts back with more lightning and Vervi weaves herself out of the way nimbly, moving to roll and then come in with some laser fire from her rifle." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Uh oh. Ariel is moving, but she can tell something else is on its way regardless. The girl quickly holds up a hand to deploy a shimmering barrier... and that's what keeps her from getting hurt even worse. The beam burns right through the shield, but it gives her time enough to brace and let it lance across her arm... which crackles with energy. A deep scoring burn cuts right across her arm, giving rise to a short cry of pain... but it's not nearly as deep as it should be. In another moment, Ariel huffs and starts to charge forward, dashing in several steps before jerking to the side, returning some of the absorbed energy that weakened the lase by blasting it toward Vervi in a brief, crackling and more focused bolt of electrical and mana power. "Ah... you're so small I um..." 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Vervi squeezes her eyes shut when she's electrocuted again, flightpath faltering. Something blows in her already damaged engine and the glowing blue contrail is suddenly blotted out by black smoke. Armor crackling, she cracks her eyes open. Flexing her arms, the girl pulls out of her dive and accellerates again, banking sharply.     "Small..? I got this far..." she mutters, "..I won't give up..!" Ports flip open across her armor, "Not now..." The sharp bank becomes a swift roll, jettisoning another mass of missiles in her wake, "...Not ever!"     The flare of thrust from this latest salvo reveals it's somewhat larger than her initial volley, all arcing around in smooth curves and zeroing in on Ariel's body joints rather than her center of mass, targeted in clusters. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "Things are really getting intense here. Ariel is moving quickly to try to deal with this laser attack, but still takes some damage from it. She focuses in and fires back a bolt of that same shocking attack, but more concentrated. Still, her soft nature seems to be holding her back from going all out," Yuri notes, watching the fight carefully, "Vervi seems determined and serious, but I'm beginning to wonder if she might be in her head too much. I hope she doesn't miss the forest for the trees and lose out on enjoying a good fight in her rush to win! Still, she fires back with several salvos of missiles." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' The mass of missiles is a little too confusing for Ariel to bring her wings to bear... at all effectively. She lets out a short, shrill cry as she vanishes in an explosion... well, several explosions. This is going to leave her scorched, battered, and leaking a little silver fluid when the smoke clears. "W-well, yeah. I'm having a hard time figuring out how to fight you." Evidently it wasn't meant in any negative manner, Ariel is just botching her socials tonight. She's also leaping though, jumping straight up, then rebounding in midair to launch herself toward Vervi. One of those dark, paper wings swipes out, attempting to smack the options and Vervi aside hard enough to smash them into the rock. She knows how tough Shinki can be, so there's no need for her to hold back too much. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Amalthea's BATTLE AURA has returned between slugging gulps of her beer and scarfing another tofu dog she has acquired.     She emphatically rises to her feet, sending glitter -EVERYWHERE-.     "ARIEL REMEMBER! THE FLYSWATTER TECHNIQUE! USE THE FLYSWATTER TECHNIQUE!"     The one she tried teaching Ariel specifically to eliminate pesky fae. 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Struck in midair, Vervi rolls from the impact, losing altitude perilously fast. She recovers herself before she hits the arena floor, however, and zips across the red tiles in a weaving fashion, scarce inches from touching the stone-covered arena floor. Glancing back over her shoulder, through the billowing smoke from her damaged engine, her expression is shown to be suddenly much more intense and focused.     Those eyes dart across Ariel's figure, picking out weaknesses in her defenses. She uses her wings as shields, but has trouble maneuvering them at certain angles. The missile salvo showed her that much. The monitor's eyes narrow and she banks into an ascending arc. The beam rifle disappears in a flicker of light from the Slipway and she reaches back, collecting her second gunpod. The bank deepens, the shinki's ascent canceling out until, quite suddenly, Vervi is diving straight for her artificial foe.     Raising the initial gunpod, Vervi opens fire with another spray of bullets while she approaches, strafing Ariel with gunfire. This is a feint meant to get the pony girl's guard up, however. Vervi's actual goal is to zip right past Ariel, still rolling, and fire into an unprotected spot point-blank with her second gunpod--which is not a machine gun. Instead of bullets, it fires a dense cone of energy and shrapnel, ejecting two smoking red cartridges out the back immediately after. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "Ariel is focusing in on this fight. She doesn't quite know how to deal with the incoming screen of ballistics and takes a bunch of pretty hard hits for it. That did look like it stung. She's still trying to get her opponent to relax and enjoy herself a bit, though, it seems. She goes to try to ground the Shinki with a shot from one of her wings." Yuri says in a now-hushed tone, watching the match.     "Vervi is still only speaking when she has to, silent and focused on her fight. She is definitely playing to win here tonight and wants to bring as much as she can to the field. She might be trying to weapon-swap to keep a much larger opponent on guard and make herself less predictable. It looks like her next attack is a high-speed shotgun blast." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' The wings come up, but that's a mistake this time. Those wings need to be tuned to take various attacks, and a shotgun blast is different from a beam or high-velocity projectile. The blast hits... and tears through, shredding one of her wings. It doesn't seem to HURT Ariel, physically, but it does deprive her of that wing and shield, and some of the blast bucks against her arm to make her flinch, popping it back into place. Steam vents from her shoulder, steam that condenses with flakes of silver to say there's some kind of internal injury there. Ariel has nothing to say but a heavy sigh this time, her tail flicking before she ducks aside now, moving to spin about, charge Vervi, and... fling glitter into the air before her. Shiny, reflective glitter. Which she then pulses with a jolt of electricity to make a sudden crackling cloud of lightning, trying to keep Vervi occcupied while the damaged wing regrows. "You're being way too serious about this..." 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Banking away sharply as she usually does is Vervi's mistake. It carries her right into the electrified mist and, from within, there is a shriek of surprise and pain. When the shinki emerges, she's tumbling, hitting the arena floor with a clattering and sliding to a halt where she remains for a moment, shuddering.     As she picks herself up, her damaged engine emits a burst of flames and black smoke. The blue thrust returns, then putters out completely as she stands, "You don't understand. All I have is Master."     Her remaining engine flares to life, battered wings angling to carry her aloft once again, though slower than before. Forming up on either side are her Options--missing one from the formation due to the lightning storm she'd just flown through. Floating up to about eye level, she pushes her hands out to either side, panels opening on her armor once more, "He's not here and I don't have everyone cheering for me, so I have to try my hardest!"     Another swarm of missiles erupt from her launchers. This time, they're accompanied by similar salvos fired from her Options, all launched outward and then converging on her larger foe from multiple directions. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "Ariel, bless her heart, is still trying to get Vervi to open up her heart through the magic of martial combat! It's just like one of those animes as she makes a heartfelt plea, telling Vervi that she is taking it too seriously. Trying to get the small robot girl to relax a bit, while still keeping up her lightning-based offensive," Yuri says into his microphone.     "And Vervi is slowly opening up. She's fighting for her Master, who couldn't make it today, so she's fighting all the harder. Can Ariel make her understand that more than victory, her Master would want her to enjoy having made it this far?" Yuri Whispers into his microphone, "For what is a victory if we do not enjoy the journey? What would the tournament be if she fought so hard she couldn't appreciate her final match? Truly sadness. Equally sadness for Ariel are those swarms of missiles coming at her." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Missiles everywhere... and Ariel's wing isn't finished regenerating! The little unicorn is vulnerable, and though she leaps away and tries to block, one side of her is utterly exposed. The explosions rattle her and slam HER into the ground, rolling a few times before she skids to... all fours, bleeding now and with definite scuffs and darker marks of bruises. Chitin doesn't bruise like flesh, so it looks a little weird. The singular wing folds in, and the battered unicorn peers at Vervi. Then she stops still and says, "Unless my opponent wants me to resume and finish, I forfeit." 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     If Lila calling Ariel 'mom' killed Amalthea's BATTLE AURA... ... This kills it faster.     For a beat, a perplexed look flits across the older unicorn's face. But. She doesn't take it poorly.     Amalthea leans back in her seat arms folding across her chest.     She is smiling. 

:'''{{#var:135|Al Azif (135)}} has posed:'''     "WHAAAT?!" Al is in chibi form, the tiny girl jumping up and down in the stands atop an inverted cup. "No no! You're supposed to hit back harder! What have we been training for?"     Grumpily the girl sits down on her cup, fuming. "I don't understand Master at /all/." 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Obscured by smoke for several seconds, Vervi remains where she was when she opened fire, revealed as the smoke dissipates to still be holding her arms out in the initial pose she'd struck. The look on her face, however, has changed from determination to shock and surprise. She even looks a little hurt.     "...You're just going to give up..?" Lowering her arms to her sides, the shinki floats closer, flanked by her Options, "But why? You came so far. I don't think you want to quit now." Eyes closing, she raises her hands to clasp together in front of her chestpiece, "We both fought hard for the ones we care about. I think Master would be sad if I gave up. Even if he's not here to see me, I still want to fight for him."     Eyes opening, Vervi's nearly on the verge of tears, "Did you really come so far just to give up?" 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     Yuri Stinson finally steps foot into the ring from his position on the outside. It's a dramatic action that seems to echo across the arena and stadium a single bootfall signalling a halt to all things for the Master of Ceremonies is present. He walks towards the center of the ring purposefully, "Ladies and gentlemen, what you are witnessing here is truly worthy of note. Ariel, who was willing to concede this match rather than let Vervi become so engrossed in her obsession to win, has finally managed to break through to the tiny combatant."     He sweeps a hand sideways and the entire Arena goes PITCH BLACK. With a snap of his fingers, two spotlights turn on on, one framing Ariel and the other framing Vervi. Yuri himself is completely vanished in the blackness, "Here, in this arena, Ariel has made Vervi understand. It is not that you win... and it is not that you lose. It is that every battle is an experience. A meeting. A relationship. Every battle that two people fight forges a bond that they can never separate from. A fleeting instant in time where they saw eachother in the purest possible sense. Where they knew eachother not by the trappings of a society or by the masks we wear to speak. But as two, raw beings locked in a struggle, communicating nothing but their desire to move forward."     He can be heard pacing the arena as he talks, "Ariel, whose heart opened, willing to forsake victory for the sake of Vervi's dreams. Vervi, stunned by the realization that perhaps she did not appreciate the moments of the fight, begs Ariel not to give up."     All the lights come up at once, igniting into technicolor strobes that flit across the arena before it all settles out and Yuri walks towards them both, "So. Will you two continue your match, or will this be the end?" 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' The appeal gets Ariel to smile. "I just needed to know you wanted not just the victory, but to see it to the end like that." Her ears splay. "All right... I'll finish this fight with everything I have. Please get ready!" She doesn't want to seem lke she's using that plea to her advantage! "I'm going to continue now." She'll thus wait for Vervi to look ready to resume, and for Yuri to step aside, before moving again. And when she does... she's moving fast. On all fours now, her speed is boosted, and the thundering leap carries her up high. Her horn angles down to release a much more focused stream of crackling mystical lightning, restarting the battle with a crackling *THOOM* that lances through the stone, regardless of if it hits Vervi. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Amalthea sips her beer and places a hand atop Al Azif's head. "You picked her as a Master, you're going to have to get used to the fact that this is what my daughter does."     Her tongue sticks right out.     It's black, for the record.     Oop, there's that BATTLE AURA again.     "NOW GET BACK TO FIGHTING OR I'LL BE VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE -/BOTH/- OF YOU." 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     "It's not winning!" Vervi barks out, "It never was!" Her remaining engine roars to life and hurls her backwards from where that lightning bolt strikes, electricity crackling over her armor but mostly dispersed at this sudden range. A second burst of thrust brings her to a halt and she thrusts out her free hand. The beam rifle materializes in her grip.     "Master would be disappointed if I accepted that! Not just in me, but in you, right? He's your uncle, after all." Her eyes close, still teary, but there's a small smile on her face, "But just because I don't care if I win or lose..doesn't mean I won't do my best, because Master wouldn't want me to fight any other way!"     Her eyes snap open in the same instant her beam rifle's barrel separates, its core obscured by glimmering blue fog hissing from its interior. There's a pause and then it fires that searing lance of blue light, sustained in a beam that she sweeps in a swift but narrow arc. Around her, Vervi's three remaining Options also open fire with the same beam, each one turning in a different direction. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     And just like that, Yuri has dashed out of the ring. Athletics stat. Learn it.     His mic is back up to his mouth, "And we're back into the second half. What a tense first half and the second only promises to be better. After giving her opponent time to get back into position and prepare, Ariel comes out of the gate swinging! And Vervi seems like an entirely different girl. They're swapping attacks now, but you can feel the difference in these two now. This is the fight it should have been all along." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' The fight is on in earnest, and Ariel is getting pretty serious about it too! She slams into the arena on all fours, skidding around with her horn still glowing. The beam is charging up, so she knows she needs something to stop energy. Which means... "Elder Sign," she incants, lowering her horn toward the Shinki. The beams lance out... and strike a shimmering barrier of white energy, formed in a twisted star shape. Energy crackles along it, but does not penetrate the ultimate defense. "It's the finals! I guess we don't need to hold anything back!" Such a defense can only be held for moments, though. The timing was just right. It fades swiftly, leaving Ariel thundering through to kick off the ground and shift back to humanoid form in midair, thrusting her hand forward for a sudden burst of mana and lightning to explode toward the options and Vervietta Shinki. 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     The shield is a surprise, but one that Vervi adjusts to quickly. She sweeps her free hand to one side, scattering her Options into a wider formation. This does make her stationary for a split second, and though she tries to accellerate again, it's not enough on a single engine to evade a thrust like that. Her reflexes take over, placing the shield on the back of her rifle in a defensive position to protect her body and face.     One of her tailfins snaps off, however, and part of the damaged engine housing sears off with it in a shower of sparks.     Trailing smoke from the shield and her damaged engine housing, the shinki ascends in a swift arc, rolling overhead with a laugh, "I wouldn't want it any other way~!" She flips in midair and thrusts out her free hand, with the gunpod still mounted to her wrist. This immediately opens fire with a spray of rounds, brass casings pouring out the back. In their locked positions, her Options also open fire with similar shot, all coming from multiple directions, "All we can do is our best! Even if I lose, I lose knowing I tried my hardest and didn't give up! And that is how I want to make Master proud!" 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "OH MAN." Says Yuri, slipping back into his goofy announcer mode, "Ariel Invokes the strongest of projectile defenses, as anyone in the community will tell you: EX Green Fist. The regular green fist, not that good, but once you get the bars to throw the EX version it just has amazing frame advantage and is just a great punish on projectiles, as veterans will tell you. So many options for comboing from that, too. If Ariel were a bit faster, I feel like she could have turned that into a 720, or at least an SPD. It's just a great move. You don't normally see it from someone her size, so that's just splendid." Yuri is leaned over the side of the arena, calling this match directly into the mic as he watches.     "Vervi takes that hit HARD, but doesn't give the link to Ariel, causing her to drop combo potential and that is gonna be a wasted bar of special. Still good damage on the board. Vervi on the other hand is going to move into zoning tactics here. She wants to play footsies, because that's where she's best. Keep the opponent at mid-long range, keep them out of melee, and she will just keep throwing that projectile spam out, trying to deny Ariel any chance to close in." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel turtles, or attempts to, with her arms tucking inward and her wings curling around. The shells just brutally tear through the wings, slamming several into her chitin to make loud, disturbing cracks, both the sounds and the seeping wounds that start to spread over her chest and arms. She staggers back a few times, amidst drifting papers, and sways briefly. The damage is really starting to take its toll, as seen by the limp. "Ah... I guess not..." she breathes, dropping to one knee. She needs a moment to recover... and she decides to gain that by sacrificing the torn wings, which blast apart with a flutter of paper. Paper that swirls, changes direction, and slices inward with unnatural sharpness and hardness to the pages, trying to slice through armor and floating options in a flurry of shearing attacks while Ariel assesses her damage. 

:'''{{#var:545|Lila (545)}} has posed:'''     Lila has a soda. Through the whole 'forfeit' and the stirring speech, she'd slowly started to pay more attention. Now she is staring HARD at Ariel, still trying to slurp her soda through the straw despite it being long empty. That's an intense look. 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Once again, flying backwards this time, Vervi brings up her laser rifle to protect her body and face with its mass and its shield while she becomes surrounded by razor-edged shreds of paper. They cut like steel, slicing through unprotected housings and ripping both of her wings off. Her remaining engine gutters out with a flash of flame and black smoke, and the muzzle of her rifle is severed off cleanly, exposing the core, which explodes when ruptured.     Her flight pack ruined, Vervi descends until she hits the arena floor with a clattering sound, bouncing and then sliding to a stop as a smoldering heap of parts. Hauling herself up, Vervi's armor slides off her battered, scorched body, sizzling in a heap around her feet. Only her headpiece, scratched, remains. Breathing out a low, soft breath filled with steam from what may be a ruptured coolant system, she raises her arms overhead.     There's a flash of prismatic light from the Slipway as Vervi produces new weapons from within it, mounted to either arm at the wrist. Normally, these are called in mounted to her flight pack's wings at the bases, so on her regular body they look quite oversized. These are raised, braced, as the elements lining the twin barrels' interiors glowing an intense crackling blue.     With a *WH-WHUMP* of displaced air, Vervi's gauss cannons fire twin 9mm slugs at supersonic velocity. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     And Amalthea casts a sidelong glance at Lila from the corner of her eye. Wordless, subtle, and deep. Like she's constantly keeping the girl in the edge of her gaze while she, herself, starts inching closer and closer towards the edge of her seat as the fight progresses.     And then Vervi blasts those gauss cannons.     "J-jesus christ." 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "Ariel is coming in strong. She wants to attack with paper! Those pages flutter around her and then come in to try to shear through Vervi's defenses and cut down the robotic opponent!" Yuri shouts, leaning in some more, "Vervi definitely takes some nasty hits, too, losing a rifle and taking some severe external damage. But she wants to come swinging with a big attack of her own. She brings out a gauss cannon and sends two big slugs right at Ariel." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "Uh..." Ariel is still trying to recover her mobility, so... she's frantically thinking up some defense. Her body is venting silvery steam even now, and she's forcibly putting her limiters back in place from where they're slipping again. Darn Hazel. All told, she doesn't want to risk trying the Elder Sign again, as that may burn out too much of her body, and she's gotten too many injured joints to move fast enough. Both slugs slam right into her chest, just below the shoulders, and send out sprays of silver fluid while knocking her on her back. The unicorn girl rolls a few times, then staggers up with an unsteady look. She can't actually get to her feet fully, but with a click of her eyelids her topaz eyes refocus again. "O-ow..." She doesn't have much left to give. Her hand rests on the stone below, sending a surge through it. Not electricity, this time, but of another spell... flipping the gravity for an instant to try to lift one of the cracked stones behind Vervi and slam it down on the Shinki. It should embed her hard enough to disable, without having any chance of damaging the CMS. If she succeeds. 

:'''{{#var:192|Vervi (192)}} has posed:'''     Vervi lifts her gauss cannons, wobbling unsteadily from the weight and the lack of counterbalance her armor usually provides. The huge weapons disappear into the Slipway so she can move again, taking a quick step forward and out of the heap of wreckage left by her destroyed armor. She pushes a hand out, gesturing to her remaining Options, but the command never comes.     The first thing she spots is the shadow spreading from behind her. Whirling in place, the shinki stares up at a GIANT ROCK. There's a squeak of surprise. She turns, leaps and promptly gets smashed.     Like a bug that didn't quite get squished, Vervi's shot out from the crack between the arena floor and the stone she was squashed with, clattering to a halt and completely lifeless. The CMS is intact--they're sturdy--but the impact combined with all that mounting damage may just have knocked it loose and immobilized the shinki completely. Even her eyes are lifeless.     That'll be fine once her vital components can be re-seated! Really. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "Ariel takes a massive hit, but manages to barely stay in the game after it. The hit knocks her to the ground and you can really see the damage from that move showing. But she doesn't want to give it up yet, and she places a hand on the ground and..." Yuri pauses tensely, "And yes, Vervi is flipped upside down and has that huge stone dropped on her. She is down for the count and Ariel is the winner of the WMAT Bracket A!" 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "Yaaay," Ariel mumbles weakly. She WOULD have more enthusiasm, but she's kind of woozy. The unicorn girl scoops up Vervi - carefully - and then shuffles over to place her somewhere safe. Then Ariel sort of just... falls over. "Mom? Wake me up in three weeks. I think I need new parts." Which is kind of an exaggeration because Ariel is mostly organic, but hey, that doesn't stop Lest, does it? 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     Lest is eating popcorn. Not a taco, but popcorn. When Ariel actually /wins/ though, she looks startled enough to stop and set it aside. "She's growing even faster than I'd thought," the Atlantean notes, standing up to pick her way down the stands. "Excuse me... excuse me. I do need to see to her medical needs. I never imagined she'd make it all the way this year..." 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Though Amalthea has but one eye it is trained upon the match, the unicorn edges closer and closer to the edge of her seat until she is standing. Ariel took a horrible injury but... To Amalthea it is almost as though time slows down. Pupil dilates, and her breath is held, the elder unicorn's face runs through a myriad of expressions. Horror, excitement. Tension. Every piston and gear within her body locks, watching her child give that final last ounce of her strength.     And she realizes: IT'S HAPPENING.     And then there are just no words. Just a lot of squealing, and rainbows and glitter -EVERYWHERE-. 

:'''{{#var:106|Yuri Stinson (106)}} has posed:'''     "Congratulations to both competitors, their close friends, and family. An excellent match to capstone the Bracket A Championships. Ariel, I hope to see you back next year. You may not go on the way, but your heart prevailed this time. Vervi, since I know she will see this recording when she wakes up, fought valiantly and..." Yuri turns and looks right at the camera, essence flaring up a bit, "... whomever she was looking for should be deeply apologetic for not showing up."     And then Yuri bows, "I've been Yuri Stinson, The Dark Hero. Your Master of Ceremonies for the night. I have a chess match with Ligier, so I will see you all later." And then he vanishes in a puff of smoke. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Where's Nathan been?     Wherever he's been, he's here all of a sudden. Mixed in with the crowd? In a private booth nobody could see him in? Only just now arrived? Maybe it's not clear. What's clear is that now he's descended from above with a flare of artificial wings, landing heavily and skidding to a stop right where Vervi's landed.     Nathan quickly and very, very gently scoops her up, even though shee's been deactivated, keeping her body softly cradled in his palm. "You did very well, Vervi." He says, simply, in spite of her deactivation. "I'm proud of you." Maybe he was supernaturally summoned by Yuri? Who knows. He immediately sets about making sure the CMS is okay, and he gives a quick and appreciative nod to Ariel as well. "Vervi certainly made you earn this." He says, eithr having seen what happened or simply seeing the look of her.     He'll probably head out to give Vervi all the personal repair she needs in just a little while, though, yep. 

}}

431/A Lonely Lost Girl

2014-08-17T19:39:14Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/08/17 |Location=Arkham city |Synopsis=Ariel and Al Azif investigate a crime scene and find... a young girl in need of a home? |Thanks= |Cast o..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/08/17
|Location=Arkham city
|Synopsis=Ariel and Al Azif investigate a crime scene and find... a young girl in need of a home?
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=135, 219, 545
|Tinyplot=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:545|Lila (545)}} has posed:'''     ARKHAM CITY!     It's evening, and there's been an unusual flare up of magical energy! It's almost like a page monster! The mystical flare vanished almost immediately... and the slumlike region it came from is showing no sign of a page monster.     Anyone investigating will hear the sound of bullets though. Submachine guns that rattle off shots, only to be cut short by violent and disturbing screams. It's the sort of sound that makes the residents slam their doors and windows shut. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' It was the magical signature that brought Ariel to the city and has her trudging about, cloaked and looking for the source. "Hmm... probably not a page monster, or maybe one that doesn't make a lot of noise. Still better check out the commotion. Maybe it's a stealth spell!" Could be, right? When the screams sound out though, she dashes, speeding down the alleyways at such a speed that the dumpsters rattle and the newspapers are left adrift in emptiness, long after she's gone. 

:'''{{#var:135|Al Azif (135)}} has posed:'''     "Be careful, Ariel!" Al warns, holding tightly to the girl's shoulder. The Magius Form should give Ariel plenty of speed. She clings and squints, then muses, "Yeah, even a stealth one like the Mirror would probably make a bigger splash than this. Might be something else. Could be a trap! We should get ready to call Demonbane."     Somewhere, Ruri Hadou rubs her temples. Winfield appears, "Something wrong, Mistress?"     "Mm, just had this sudden feeling..." 

:'''{{#var:545|Lila (545)}} has posed:'''     Rounding a corner reveals the right place! It... has to be. Looks like Black Lodge goons were here, about a half dozen, and they were shooting at something. They aren't now, as most have been torn to bits. Blood is everywhere, and the bodies are... not really in any condition to be retrieved. It's pretty obvious where they were shooting, because one area of the wall is NOT riddled with bullets. A pair of smoking footprints is on the ground, hissing softly from the light drizzle of rain starting. Whatever was there is gone now, but... the thing they were protecting is not gone.     Huddled against the wall, in a torn and ragged blanket, is a small figure, breathing heavily. As Ariel and Al come around, she peeks out of the blanket, eyes blinking a few times. A glimpse of one arm, scratched and torn with what looks like the impression of a manacle upon it, can be seen before she tugs the blanket more tightly around her.     Of course Ariel and Al being what they are, BOTH of them can sense something very WRONG about the girl, a vague darkness hovering about her. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ew. Ariel looks a little disturbed at the carnage, but she's quickly become aware that the girl is there. Black Lodge is bad, right? But the girl... hm. "Al... do you feel that?" She steps forward hesitantly, then drops to one knee and holds her hand out anyway. Dark feeling or not, a girl in need is a girl in need... right? "Hi... don't worry, we won't hurt you," she coos. "Are you hurt? Did you see something bad? If you're being chased, we can help. What's your name?" 

:'''{{#var:135|Al Azif (135)}} has posed:'''     Al nods slightly, "Yeah... I feel it. Be careful, Ariel. I don't think she's-" Quite what she seems. And then Ariel just... up and offers her hand of friendship and protection.     Facepalm.     Sigh. "Sometimes I forget that the reason you're such a great Master is also your biggest flaw, kiddo." 

:'''{{#var:545|Lila (545)}} has posed:'''     The girl stares for a few moments, shivering. She's not dressed for the rain under that blanket! Still... the unadulterated kindness IS something that fascinates her. "Um... I don't know." That seems to be the answer to ALL the questions, though.     The girl stares at the hand, then peers at Al before reaching out and taking the hand carefully. Ariel's touch will feel... well, for Ariel it feels unnaturally icy cold. For the girl, it probably almost burns.     She holds it anyway, struggling to get up. "I don't think you can keep me safe," she says bluntly. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel just beams, taking the hand tightly and rising as well. She starts walking with a little smile on her face, tucking her wings back to look more like they're part of the cloak. "I'm a unicorn. Saving people is what I do. Now come on... it'll be a lot easier to keep you safe at home than here." She ponders. "You don't know your name? Well... how about Live-In Lost Adolescent. That seems to fit! We'll call you Lila." 

:'''{{#var:135|Al Azif (135)}} has posed:'''     Al sighs, huddling under the hood. "Your mother is going to blame me for this, I just know it. Picking up random strays off the street. We don't have enough tacos for this!" 

}}

296/NODE: Kingdom of Wright - The Wright Stuff

2014-07-28T16:29:19Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/07/27 |Location=The Homeworld |Synopsis=Ariel and her friends make their way into Ariel's Node to confront Hazel. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/07/27
|Location=The Homeworld
|Synopsis=Ariel and her friends make their way into Ariel's Node to confront Hazel.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=2, 151, 156, 219, 231, 253, 331, 347, 395
|Tinyplot=When They Return
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     When Ariel opens the door - she's the only one who can - it opens up into a long hallway, something that looks like the interior of a large castle, but instead of stone, everything seems rendered in crystal, polished to a mirror shine. Oddly, though the mirror doesn't seem to reflect the group that walks through itself, but an entirely empty hallway, as if there was one running parallel to the group. The walk through the hallway should take approximately a minute, or something like that.     The area past the big door is actually leading outside; it looks like they're emerging from the side of a large, central castle-like spire structure. It couldn't possibly have held the full length of that hallway, though, it's more a tower than it is a castle and one could go around its full circumference in the minute it took to walk down the hallway. Surrounding it seems to be an idyllic sort of town of a roughly medieval nature, bearing similarity to the kind of village you'd expect a small castle to surround itself with.     Or maybe renaissance era? There's a lot of construction going on! With much more modern construction methods. Speaking of construction, the people doing that are quite visible, as well as a number of others. The people of the village are strange. They're all artificial things of a variety of sorts, modelled after humanoid forms for animals of all sorts, both real and mythical. The Crystal humanoids aren't around in great numbers today, though the Stone ones are still hard at work on a building that has progressed quickly since Ariel's last visit under the direction of a small pair of the. The origami-styled Paper merchants are mostly still active in their market stalls, and the Brass guards are around more properly now that there isn't an Ashen at the borders, but they're all friendly and reasonable.     All of the Crafted here are covered in strange, magical runes and markings that glow softly. They seem to be what power the entities. Looks pretty peaceful! Besides the fact that there remains an OMINOUS-LOOKING VOLCANIC STRUCTURE off in the nearby mountains that can be seen from here, where the only clouds in the brightly-lit sky swirl. That's not what you guys are here for, you guys are here for Hazel. Thankfully, you have Ellestaria, whose magical scanning can locate the target. She's over closer to the paper districts, where some of the group met Vellum before. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "There are still so many questions about this place," Ariel remarks as she heads for the paper districts. "Like... when did they get these new construction techniques? How long have they been working?" Sigh. The unicorn continues walking for the target, fidgeting nervously. She's dressed in 'adventurer's gear,' which mostly consists of loose but well-fit blousy shirt and a light skirt. Normally she doesn't wear clothes, but it's a sign of how nervous she is that she's done something to match the cloak form of Harmonious Diea. She is also technically armed for the first time, but the Mizzium dagger is tucked away at her side as more of a tool or afterthought than something she looks ready to use. It's not in a great position to draw for combat. She'll wave at some of the merchants, and again give a quick scan to see if there's anything she can buy of interest, but it's all kind of just something to keep her from worrying about the actual meeting, when she'll have to focus. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "Did you remember to pick up your textbooks? Did you get a train and bus pass? Did you get your meal card or are you going to pack meals and just buy snacks whenever you don't have time?" With August fast approaching, Psyber is taking his Sunday to harry Homura with questions about her upcoming classes, "Do you need to buy a messenger bag or a backpack? Notebooks or are you using a tablet or laptop? Remember not to attack your classmates."     Mostly, aside from this, he's just hanging at the back of the group. He's going to be taking up a fairly passive role unless actively needed and requested by Ariel. This is her show and he's just a tagalong. 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     Ellestaria is the one tracking Hazel, so that's just what she does. here in public she's not really showing her softer side as much, so she just makes some vague comments, "Perhaps something to ask them about." She does think that the place could use more exploration, after all.     More importantly, "Do you have a plan, really? You made some pretty bold declarations, last time." 

:'''{{#var:2|Homura Akemi (2)}} has posed:'''     Homura has come wearing her more, for a lack of better term, JRPG-esque outfit, which blends in pretty well here! Her magical girl clothes would work fine too but she doesn't like being transformed without reason. She is obviously unarmed! Unlike Ariel. That's... really odd, no matter how she thinks about it.     "Yes. No. Pack and buy. Hammerspace. All three. I don't attack classmates, I just defend myself," she casually answers Psyber-- more or less in a single string of answers, apparently quite calm.     "Have you been able to piece together the information from Samael and the Fragment into something helpful to deal with Hazel yet?" is what she directs at Ariel. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     One hand sets right on Ariel's shoulder. The familiar weight of the hevay gauntlet and gentle touch beneath it should be more than enough to tell the small unicorn exactly who it is, but if she needs to look back at any time...     Amalthea is there. Amalthe is right behind her. The old, one-eyed, unicorn is flashing a re-assuring grin at her daughter. Questions or not, just like a parent sitting in the audience at their child's first school play, Amalthea flashes her daughter a big thumbs up. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     In a similar manner to Psyber, Ainsley seems to be a background object for this trip. Mostly she seems to be admiring the odd sights, as she's never visited this Node and finds distractions everywhere she looks. She is not, in fact, speaking to anyone, seeming too shy to bother the various Crafted beings that populate this Node. She smiles at how busy it all seems, and how functional and normal some aspects are in contrast to their bizarre compositions.     She tries to maintain a close proximity to Psyber or Amalthea, though, tagging along in case she's needed for anything. Like some of the others, she's aware of the importance of the main User's place in the Node's events, so she's staying out of the way.     Once or twice she pulls a notebook out to scribble down notes about the Node's sights, mostly so she can make proper illustrations and a blurb for her journal later. 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     It's pretty obvious that Ariel is nervous. Himei can tell! She has her own reassurances. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to ask them. Just do what comes naturally to you, Ariel. You're going to be fine." Himei herself is dressed in her casuals today, and she is armed but kind of hanging back. She considers herself the 'all hell breaks loose' insurance. If something suddenly needs fought, she'll be there.     And also she might slip in a few encouraging words. Maybe. Amalthea and Ellestaria have raised a good kid, and she really can't find much to complain about with Ariel even if she seems dangerously naive. 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Fiora seems to have tagged along without much pre-preparation - she's in her God Tiers and unless prompted, will just stick around in them. She sort of breezily tags along, though when the apprehension gets going, she chimes in with her own insights.     "Don't worry too much. The outcome is what you get for trying. The big thing here is that you're trying, and have every resource to succeed. People around you trying to help, clear goals, ideas on how to accomplish them, all that jazz. I just heard things were going down but... You know, honestly?" Fiora muses, smiling.     "I'm pretty sure you've got a better handle on all this than most. I'll just hang out in the background, and root from the sidelines."     She thumbs her nose. "Not that you need my words of encouragement. You've got everyone else's!" She jokes, chortling to herself. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     There's not a lot of advancement being made in the merchant sector, they're usually using about the same stuff really. Not too much worth buying. It makes it a lot harder to occupy one's time. This is gonna be uncomfortable. Until it's time to head on out, anyway.     Hazel is as she always was. She's clearly one of the Crafted, as shown by her animation glyphs, but formed out of a material entirely unlike the others. Like Ariel's Node Seed, she's quite literally a stuffed animal, ragged and worn cloth over stuffing, shaped in the friendly and slightly cute appearance similar to a dog. This makes what she's carrying even more vaguely disturbing. One of the strange, twisted, horrible Ashen monsters - this one was some kind of combination of a snake and a hornet - was slain. That's slung over one shoulder, infrequently dripping some disgusting soggy ash where it was injured, the rest of its elongated body dragging behind her.     It was slain a fair distance away, probably down the road judging by the trail of Ash Hazel's leaving behind. How she reacts to being approached is gonna depend entirely on how Ariel wants the group to handle approaching her. How do you want to handle something like that? 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber tends to be unorthodox at times, in that his encouragement is in his silence at this moment. He doesn't think Ariel is the type of person to have a bad idea, so instead of saying anything to encourage her, he's just not saying anything. It's his weird and hard to read method of belief in people.     Either way, he's mostly quiet while trailing along. He is still smoking, a crumpled back of cigarettes produced from his pocket while the last one is pulled from the pack. He tosses it to the side or into the nearest trashcan he can pass, before lighting it and putting it in his mouth.     He's still doing the quiet thing. He's not even bugging Homura about her classes any more. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Seeing that sight is... a little perturbing for Ariel. When Fiora radios offering a veil, the little unicorn seriously considers it. After some thinking, she discards the idea and just straightens up. "Hey... some of you hang back just in case this goes bad?" Anyone who wants to hide can thus... hide. Ariel isn't, though. She straightens up and waves, after trotting some distance, but she doesn't yell so much as quietly call out. "Hazel? Are you all right? What's going on?" There are other questions she'd like to ask, but... might be too fast. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley had, at the point they all tracked down Hazel, pulled out her notebook and had been continuously writing in it as she walks without pause. She doesn't seem to have any trouble multi-tasking this and walking, though she does stop and look up when everyone else stops, regarding Ariel with some worry and uncertainty. She feels a sensation of unease, remembering her own terror on facing the Conquistador.     She nods once at the suggestion to hang back and returns to note-taking, turning to find a place to sit down and seem harmless and out of the way. She's good at that, since she's four feet tall and scrawny. And she's wearing glasses. 

:'''{{#var:2|Homura Akemi (2)}} has posed:'''     "Sure," Homura tells Ariel, before she takes a few steps back and presumably allows Fiora to mask her presence (along with whoever else is getting stealth'd). She doesn't want to intrude on what is obviously Ariel's personal drive-- though she wonders if Hazel will be able to sense them anyway. (The implication being people get stealth'd before they reach Hazel, anyway, or else it will look really bad for Ariel.) 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Amalthea's hand leaves Ariel's shoulder. And with a few slower trailing steps, she lets her daughter on ahead now. The implication is still there. She's behind Ariel yes, but clearly letting her daughter have all the autonomy she could possibly need.     Her slowing pace puts her in line with Himei. That big smiling doofus grin is gone, replaced by a mild look of apprhension. They grow up so fast, don't they?     "I never thought that in just two years she'd be up to... Stuff like this."     She will not protest stealthing, if need be. For now anyway. 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     Like the others, she won't protest stealthing, and Ellestaria is also hanging back. "Remember, Ariel... if you're tempted to think how I'd react... it doesn't matter. Do what you think is right." That was a struggle for her to say, really. Ellestaria sighs, glancing at Amalthea, then murmurs, "Mnemosyne, I'm going to be going on full monitoring mode. Let's hope the others can handle anything else." 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Fiora, upon asking if people want to be put into 'sneak mode' and being prompted with a 'yes', doesn't so much shadow-cloak everyone (that doesn't opt out) as half punch everyone out of reality. Everyone in 'sneak mode' would become partially see-through, and give off a thin aura of black smoke marking them most definitely outside of notice. Thankfully, they can all still see each other! They're just...     Spooky smokey ghost people. And voided out from just about every sense under the sun, and probably existance-checks and causality if need-be.     "Try to keep your voices down, but you can still speak mostly-normally." Fiora advises. "As long as you don't try to snap the effect or do something patently obvious, it'll hold." 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     Unlike the others Himei isn't really here to just 'watch' but to take care of problems. She murmurs softly, "If this is a test, I kind of wonder which way it's supposed to test her." She still isn't sure if that's how Nodes work. Is this supposed to be something to help Ariel? Or is it just... a 'story?' 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     The problem Hazel presents to this world is more readily apparent as she continues walking. As she does, the animation glyphs of the Crafted around her glitch and flicker, the little girl's own self-modifications pushing out a constant stream of hostile magic that cause major problems for the Crafted around her. None of the visitors will feel anything wrong, but the locals are suffering a lot from her influence. It makes her completely invisible to them, though!     She drops the corpse onto the ground with a wet "fwump" when she sees the one visitor who makes herself visible. "Ariel~!" Hazel calls out in an upbeat tone. "I was just gonna come meet you! I told you I wanted to talk again, so we're gonna do that." A wide grin from the stuffed dog-girl to the engineered unicorn-girl. It lasts a little long. "I've been wanting to teach you something for a while!" Hazel's own cloak flutters out a bit as she speaks, plopping herself down on the thorax of the snake-hornet creature, shoving one of its wings to one side.     "C'mon, take a seat!" The snake-thing's corpse is long and sturdy enough that Hazel apparently expects Ariel to use it as a bench. Hazel's odd backpack gets shifted to her lap and she starts rummaging around in it. She also seems to not give really care about anything else Ariel might want, Hazel wants Ariel's attention now and seems to expect to get it.     She is unaware of the group following Ariel, presumably unable to pierce the Voidy Thing. Within, the Abstractums of the group (besides Hecate) all have varying degrees of unease, but Mnemosyne and Ironclad Oath are, without a doubt, the most. Mnemosyne's cold uptight mannerisms are only barely containing the extreme concern as it says, "Monitoring. I will alert you to anything I can find of note." Ironclad Oath rumbles deeply with self-enforced calmness, but clearly doesn't like hanging back this much. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' She wants Ariel to sit down ON the corpse? Ariel tries to be polite, she really does... those time she slips up it is usually due to youthful enthusiasm or ignorance. She has her limits, though! "Um... I'll just sit right here, if it's okay with you." It's a good thing she doesn't have a typical digestive system or her stomach would have turned! The bioborg unicorn instead settles down, looking up at Hazel, and tries to find her smile again. At least Hazel does have Ariel's attention, as planned. "Oh? I was looking for you, too. I had some stuff I needed to talk to you about... and some questions. Curious about a few things. Like um... why you're dragging a dead Ashen through town." She looks meaningfully at the corpse, then up to Hazel. "Did you know they're after you by the way? The Ashen I mean. They all head for you, why is that?" 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     To Himei, Psyber says, "I think it tests how you solve the problems it presents you." He theorizes to the magical girl, "Not just if you can solve them, but the methods you choose," He shrugs a bit, letting void obscure him from observation without much fuss, "It punishes foolish actions, trying to brute force the entire problem will be a taxation, but I also think it means to prove that you can't out think every situation. It's a fragment of a life. You invest yourself in the life you build here, and by living out that life, you create an identity. That identity echoes back into Them and starts to unravel their existence. Killing the undefined with the defined."     "It's all just my theory, though." 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     Ellestaria keeps her voice low and explains to the others, "For those who haven't been following Ariel's actions here, we learned last time that it was possible to 'fix' Hazel by repairing her glyphs." Ellestaria keeps her eyes on her daughter and the Pure while she explains, her voice very level. "But... Ariel believes those glitched glyphs may be why Hazel has a more independent existence."     Another moment and Lest finishes with a sigh. "She also stated she would rather see someone die than lose that independence, but I am not sure she has the fortitude to go through with such a thing." 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     Himei nods slowly at the explanation, then rubs her chin. "I guess that makes sense. I've thought about making my Node, but..." She trails off, and abruptly swaps topics to what Lest is talking about. "Yeah, I can see why she would think that." Himei knew this already, she's just saying it now since she had a chance to think about it. "Going to be honest, as much as it would be easier, I kind of like it if Ariel doesn't have that 'fortitude,' Lest." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Hazel frowns, but the frown is brief and flickers right back to a smile. "Well yeah! Ugh. Did you find out about that?" She makes a lengthy, frustrated noise, during which her Pure's power flutters and fluctuates, the cloak suddenly flaring out for a moment. She's clearly a bit angry about it, for some reason! "Whatever!" She says, suddenly right back to friendly positivity. "That's fine. Who knows why they head for me? It's not like I've ever done anything to them that didn't need doin'."     It looks like she's either not involved in the death of the Ashen Mind, or she's explicitly denying it. Could be either way. "As for why I'm dragging this thing around, it's because I came up with a new thing I wanna do, so I'm gonna do it!" She continues rummaging until she seems to find what she was looking for, but doesn't pull it out yet.     Ariel will get a glimpse of the Sailor Nothing doll, showing that, at the very least, Hazel has kept it. It's in very good condition, technically better than Hazel herself.     "Now I've got some questions for you too! So since I answered yours, you answer mine." What an assumption there. She then grabs Ariel's arm, not with any hostility, but with a somewhat forceful assumption that she can just go ahead and do what she wants. She seems to be examining it up and down, glancing between it and Ariel's own arm repeatedly. "I can smell magic on you. In you! A bunch more than these idiot." She jerks a thumb to one of the passing Crafted, who doubles over with a glitch-induced migraine almost to illustrate the point. "What's that going through? Spellcircuits? Orichalcum? Unikeratin?" She's back to grabbing at Ariel. "I need to know if I'm gonna teach you this right." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Ariel chose to confront her Nemesis alone.     (!) Arien's Legacy has changed a result of this decision.     You chose to allow Ariel to confront her Nemesis alone.     (!) Your Legacies have changed as a result of this decision. 

:'''{{#var:2|Homura Akemi (2)}} has posed:'''     "It's better if she didn't go down that path," Homura answers to Himei and Ellestaria, idly. "At the same time, she may be one of those rare people with the ability to avoid it. The fact her Node is hand-tailored for her... probably helps."     She shrugs, returning her glance to Ariel and Hazel.     "Almost makes me jealous."     There's no malice or sarcasm intended, it's sincere. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber reaches into his jacket to take out a flask, unscrewing the top and taking a drink from it while he watches Ariel talk to Hazel. He muses, "I'd pretty much give anything to prevent Ariel from ever becoming that kind of person," He notes in response to Himei, a distant tone to his voice before he places the flask back in his jacket.     A long draw is taken from the cigarette in his hand. He frowns faintly. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     White Rose is not uncomfortable very often, but it is uncomfortable now. "I don't want Ariel to have to kill Hazel." It says, firmly. "If it comes down to that, someone else needs to do it. That girl's two years old, she needs a story where she can fix everything properly or a story where at least she doesn't have to go through something like that. The kinda heroism that's good for a girl her age!" 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Update - We're all still here, and Clementine can suck it, because Ha Ha Ha Cheater Void Magic.     Fiora sort of reclines in the air, resting against a vertical hecate like it was the back of a chair, closing her eyes and relaxing. "I'm pretty sure that this'll turn out swimmingly. In fact, we're all being model citizens and parents and such. We're letting Ariel do whatever she wants, and we are literally waiting in the wings to help her out." Fiora muses, before cracking an eye at White Rose.     "Don't worry. I'm sure we've got more than enough firepower and magic between us to not just make Hazel die, but disappear permanently and without note. Don't worry about that." 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "Of course I found out about it," Ariel replies quietly. "They're hurting people and I wanted to know why. I guess you don't know why, huh?" She's not sure she believes that, entirely, but for now she's not going to press the issue. Startled, Ariel doesn't /stop/ Hazel from grabbing her arm like that, but she does give a quick look back. Realizing her error, she shifts the look to the staggering constructs with a grimace. "Um... is there any way you can hang around town without hurting them like that? Maybe I could help you find a way to do that. Or figure out a way to get the Ashen to leave you alone..." Ariel then tugs at her arm. "Please don't grab like that, it startled me. It's um... orichalcum, yeah. I don't really use it for magic much, though. My power comes from something else." 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley closes her notebook and observes this interaction between Ariel and Hazel. The observation is used as fuel to inform her future decisions. She has confidence in Hazel -- she knows that a bunch of allies are nearby in case things go south, a sort of 'guardian angel' squad -- and so she doesn't seem uncomfortable with what she's watching. She's coming to understand the nature of the Abstractum and the Pure Wielders a bit better.     The exchanges between the Abstractum and their Users get her attention, and she seems very sad all of a sudden, as if regretting something.     The look she gives Fiora at her comment about 'erasing Hazel from existence' is something of confusion and disbelief. "Disappearing without a trace is a tragedy in itself," she notes to Fiora, in a soft voice as per the spooky ghost conditions. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Observing. Amalthea's going to have to settle for that. For now. "Thanks, Oath." Muttered in a hushed whisper. But then the unicorn grunts. She's visibly on edge, clenching her fingers, but doesn't break stealth. "Ariel will do everything she can to keep that from happening. ... Much as I'm loathe to let her be on her own, I trust she'll make the right decisions." Mused to Psyber and Himei.     That lone eye flits Fiora's way though, "I will have you know I am a totally model parent."     Snort. 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     "It would be easier if she had that fortitude," Ellestaria clarifies. "That does not mean that I want her to take that easy path." The Atlantean looks back a the others just for an instant. "Make no mistake, I am proud of what Ariel has become. Or rather, what she is becoming."     Back to watching. "We're letting her do what she wants because I think Ariel needs this." 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     Himei closes her eyes. "I agree with Rose. I think... when she said that earlier she was just trying to let us know how serious she was." She shrugs. "She's a kid. An intelligent, capable one but still just a kid. Pretty sure she's still working out how to express herself. Besides, she's also one of the most talented Abstractum users we have. I think there's something there." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Yeah. I mean I gues I can turn off the cloaking glyph enchantment." Hazel shrugs. "But then people will see me! That'd be dumb. They'll make a big ruckus and I won't be able to do stuff I wanna do." She makes a dismissive gesture. She's also consicuously not answering the question about "why".     Ariel's really reasonable request to not be handled without asking gets her a look like she just said something absurd. "Eh." Hazel says, dismissively, and just continues on. "The Abstractum you got, some powersource, what else?" She lets Ariel pull away, though. Mostly because Hazel's working on something else now. She's pulled out something strange - it looks like a sized-up pushpin with an odd black orb on the end - and slams it with one hand into the neck of the corpse she's sitting on, the black spike plunging deep into the Ashen flesh.     "Is it a Heart, like mine? Little core in there, churning out all kinds of power?" She forcefully digs the strange thing further into the corpse. "You're gonna be great to teach this to, but that'd make you perfect." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber doesn't have much to do beyond silently judge the distance between himself and Hazel and run over the list of ways he could kill her if this went south. But he doesn't really think he could do terribly much.     Instead, he just shifts his footing a bit and looks to Fiora. He doesn't doubt she could unravel an existance. And it's a good contingency. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' "Are you sure they'd make a ruckus?" Ariel almost explains further, but she realizes she's getting lead along in this conversation and pauses, answering some of the other things while she considers her own. Though first she has to wrinkle her nose. "I know you don't like the Ashen, but aren't you being a little rough with it?" Plus it's pretty disturbing, but that doesn't stop Ariel from reaching out verbally anyway. "I don't like the idea of killing, even them." But on to more important things. "Is... this a gift? Because... I do have a Heart, but where I get my power is kind of hard to explain. I'm not sure you can understand it quite yet. But I want you to because I think I can give you an even better gift if you can." 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Fiora is just sort of casually floating-resting now, legs crossed, sitting on nothing and resting her back on the upright form of Hecate. The bristle-part with the eye was above the crown of her head, slightly obscured with her red hair.     "This is pretty much serene. Funny, really. Every other node we're shooting and stabbing and doing all sorts of crazy stuff. Here, I'm just an accessory to a decent conversation. A coiled spring, I suppose, but it's all working out. Hopefully things'll just go perfect, we'll all high-five, call it a day, and rake in the kudos, easy answers, and good vibes."     "Also, Ariel can hear us. It's just, nobody else can." 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     "I agree with Ainsley, that would be a last resort." Ellestaria grimaces after she says that. "She's struggling. I'm not sure who is winning here. Though I hate to think this is some sort of battle..." The Atlantean shakes her head briefly, then says further to Fiora.     "Ariel is not a big fan of violence, but more to the point I think she's trying a different approach," Lest explains. "She has a plan, but most of all... I think she just isn't thinking of this the way we do." 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     Himei shrugs, "Honestly, I'll be glad if Ariel handles this by herself. My life has been mostly violence for way too long. She's kind of a better Magical Girl than I am." The supposed Magical Girl scratches her head. "What gift is Ariel talking about though? I don't know her as well as the rest of you, I'm a little lost." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "But it goes THROUGH there, doesn't it? That's what Hearts do, the power doesn't come from them but it's where it goes through, it's where it COLLECTS and it BUILDS UP! And then it all comes out!" She's kinda getting a little erratic here, her wide, intense gesticulations becoming more energetic as she speaks. But then she becomes oddly calm, for just a few sentences. "Do you wanna know something about hearts? A looong time ago I found this out from someone. 'The Heart is the strongest part of us. Our flaws are just what happens when everything else can't keep up.' The guy was stupid! Deserved what happened to him in the end. But a stopped clock's right twice a day, and he was right about that!"     "It hurts and it's risky to keep up with your Heart. So we let things go a liiiittle less. Always just a little bit less, so the rest of us can keep up!" She then, forcefully, grabs at Ariel's shoulders (Harmonious Diea becomes incredibly tense, and makes a soft, protectively concerned noise), on her feet for just a moment as she advances harshly to Ariel herself whether or not the girl lets her grab those shoulders. "But we don't HAVE to DO THAT! If we tune up, if we go a little past what we're comfortable with, if we see something we WANT and we decide we're just not going to keep things TURNED DOWN so that we're SAFE... If we just don't care about how UNCOMFORTABLE it is and how it HURTS, and just do the thing we WANT to do and NEED to do, there's so much you can do!"     "Don't you think so? That way, we can put all our freedoms of choice and potential to work! And REALLY do something! You just have to... To change yourself a bit, to keep up! You have to let all of that move THROUGH you, let it BURN out all the weak bits, and you have to replace them!" Her head cocks to the side a bit and her tone is, for a moment, less crazed. "It helps if you turn off all the safeties around it too."     Hazel's glyphs flare a sickly yellow, then a deep, dark purple, then a harsh cyan, as her cloak flutters and takes on ethereal elements of those colors. She stands up now, turning, and kicks the corpse in a frustrated gesture before pushing the awful spike in further, grinding it with one heel. "Wake UP, I'm TRYING to TEACH here and I need some HELP TEACHING! What are you, stupid? Get up, you sleepy jerk!" She says, aggressively. The creature's head was stabbed through multiple times, so it's unlikely to wake up.     So, of course, it does, the horrible spike emitting a soft hum as the creature itself makes a low buzz and a snakelike hiss, its multifaceted and multi-lidded eyes blinking open, staring at Ariel. Those attuned to such matters will detect rising magical energy within the corpse as it goes through the beginning of some reanimation processes. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber shifts in his footing, "I'm not sure if she wants to reveal it yet to people," Psyber says to Himei seriously, "It's a pretty bold plan, though."     To Lest, Psyber gives a shrug, "Different approaches sometimes work, or perspectives others don't have," He muses to her, as much to himself, "The one everyone thinks is evil just needs someone to extend a hand towards them. To not feel alone. To feel understood."     He then immediately shrugs and dismisses it with a wave of his hand, "But the risk in that is that some people are beyond help. It will be to Ariel to decide which Hazel is."     When Hazel's glyphs flare and she starts shouting at the creature under heel, he immediately turns his attention that way, narrowing his eyes. A hand brushes back his coat and falls to a holster at his outer right thigh. Eyes flare red as he senses the creature reanimating. 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     "And I'm not thinking at all." Fiora replies quite cheerily to Ellestaria's statement. "Thinking for me just gets me worked up, angry, and all around sour grapes usually. I start asking 'why', and then I go from 'why' to 'why don't I know' or 'that's not an answer' and then I get sour, and it's pretty much universally a bad idea. So, while this is fascinating, I'm just... Trying to take it easy. Aaand oh look, everything's going to shit. I think I will..." Fiora begins, before uncrossing, and then recrossing her legs the other way, crossing her arms as well.     "Wait until Ariel is in danger, at any rate. I mean, this really is getting kind of interesting! I wonder what that pushpin device does?" She smiles with one eye half-open. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Mnemosyne makes a tense hissing noise. "Ellestaria. I am extremely hopeful that you are not detecting what I am." It says, coldly.     Adjudicator speaks grimly. "Psyber. It is not normally our place to bring our judgement into someone else's court like this. However, if Hazel is about to attack Ariel, you need to make it our place." The sword rapidly mechanically folds into its rifle form.     Ironclad Oath grunts. "Ariel is intelligent, and she can handle taking care of herself. But I will not risk her on that. Amalthea, be prepared to defend."     Hecate makes a chipper, upbeat noise. "Looks sort of like a Pure to me. Never seen one like that before though! Now wouldn't that be strange..." 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     The truth is, Hazel is setting off alarms for Amalthea. The overly emphatic and rapid shift to what seems to be agitated excitement over the topic of the Heart is one that has Amalthea's rapt attention.     Oath doesn't need to tell her to be ready, her gauntlet is already inching towards the hilt of her sword as she grips the strap of her shield. Her body language takes an immediate shift. Like a beast with hackles up. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     As a being grown to be as restrained as possible, Ainsley feels a kinship with the idea of just letting loose... but then she also knows the dangers of doing so, the pain she causes in others and the pain it brings to herself.     A frown shows on her face, and an intensity wells up in her, like she could spring from her spot to help Ariel at any second. Whatever it is about this that's bothering her, it's doing it enough to give her this air of potential violence, all of it focused toward Hazel's position. She did come here to observe, and that's what is holding her back, and she knows that sometimes people have to do things on their own...     "Nom... I don't know what to do," she says, her tension palpable in her voice in the form of worry. Lots and lots of worry.     On a practical level, it means she's stiffened, her eyes are wider, she's frowning and her tail flicks more rapidly. Her tongue even flicks out once or twice, a vestigal reptillian instinct that shows her agitation. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Wait. Wait what? All that talk is already making Ariel's topaz eyes widen dramatically with worry, but she doesn't have a chance to really reply before... the monstrous Ashen lurches to life. Or fascimile of life. That is actually punching Ariel pretty hard, so her reassurances over the radio are tinged with nervousness and uncertainty. But she doesn't move, and she clasps Diea lightly. "It's all right, Diea. I don't think Hazel wants to hurt me. If she did, she could have done it a long time ago. Isn't that right?" She still twitches a little, and if she had the anatomy she'd be 'gulping' right now, in the audible fashion. "Hazel, what did you do? Is it... intelligent, now? Free-willed?" These are important for her to know! Also important are some of the things unsaid. "I think something is wrong there. Limiters, safeties... they're there for a reason. And if I let mine go... I'm afraid of what will happen to you. Because I don't think you can handle what I have yet. I hope you can soon though... because it sounds like you need it." It sounds like Ariel's found her confidence again, because she takes a deep breath and bolsters herself to finish her little speech. "And what does your Heart want, then? Do you know what mine wants? Because I'm here talking to you because I want something too." She looks at the Ashen and clutches Diea tighter. "You shouldn't make life casually. It can have some terrible consequences if you aren't ready. I've already seen that." 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     "I see it, Mnemosyne," Ellestaria replies to her Abstractum. "Ariel has it under control for now. Look... just see what she did and try to help me break down and analyze that. Is the spike the focal point? The Heart as it were of the new creature?"     Lest starts to do some quick mental calculations, then bites her lip. "Everyone, I think Ariel is safe but we should be ready for problems. And... Ariel, remember that we're in the middle of the town. If something goes wrong, it could be disastrous." 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     It is utterly unsurprising to Himei. She herself mutters, "She's doing what I never could. I'm going to hope it works for her." Hope... she's good at that. Slightly louder(but still quiet), she adds, "Actually there's a good point. White Rose... I'll probably want you in wing form for this. We're going to be doing things differently if things go south. I have an idea." 

:'''{{#var:2|Homura Akemi (2)}} has posed:'''     Homura has been watching! Quietly, mostly.     There's not really a reason to get guns out when others are already waiting to spring into action, so instead she's quite content to observe. Once Hazel reveals she has, somehow, reanimated an Ashen, she does tense a bit, though.     "What if it's a Pure? Every single Node we've been in, we never got to tackle the head-Pure from the start. There were always lesser Pures working for them, and that's who we had unpleasant run-ins with. I wonder if this is how Hazel makes hers."     Or maybe Hazel's not the head-Pure of the Node.     Or maybe this Node breaks the pattern.     They don't really have enough info to say for sure. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber spins the sniper rifle in his hands, looking around carefully and then responding to Homura, "Maybe it's because the other Nodes weren't designed like Ariel's." Psyber brings the rifle up to his eye, carefully scoping Hazel as he slowly lowers into a crouch. With six Strike drivers, he doesn't think he can drop a Pure in one hit. But he DOES think he could do some BIG DAMAGE.     "My Node used me as a template, and it deals with division, technology and spirituality, divisiveness. My own issues. My Pure works from the shadows, he's an insecurity in the world," Psyber has a really strong theory about how Nodes unfold themselves now, "Ariel's was the first thing she ever made. She was MEANT to confront her issue. Maybe she can't solve it right away, but it was always meant to be about this."     "Adjudicator, load a morality paradigm. The one based on local laws." He says this softly. 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Fiora just sighs. "Well, that would be pretty horrible for me. I'd hate to re-live all my wonderful failures. I've already lived them. It's why they're my failures. If we're using the loose definition of 'me', just to keep things moving." She notes, to Psyber's musings. "But my Pure is both friend and enemy. Heinrich Sturm, that is. Nice guy, really. Helpful, too. But he's probably an intersitital pure. Not the main one. I don't know who my main pure is. One big... mystery." Fiora pauses a few seconds. "Oh bugger all, this sucks." She pouts lightly, huffing and tightening the cross on her arms. 

:'''{{#var:2|Homura Akemi (2)}} has posed:'''     To Fiora, Homura idly guesses: "If I had to guess, your head Pure is that female narrator. She seems to be after "the cast" so to speak, and used plural pronouns when referring to the actions of... really, you called him Heinrich Sturm?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Intelligent! Eh, maybe? It's like a bug, or, I dunno, a dog. It's an animal!" Hazel digs the spike in a little further with one foot. "And free-willed? Hehehe, oh, no way." The shifting, chitinous exoskeleton on the Ashen creature churns around as the whole long, undead body begins to move.     "Get UP I said!" And, all of a sudden, the creature's body begins to rear up, curled slightly around behind Hazel. And now, Hazel clasps her hands together in front of her. "Those limiters and safeties. They're there for a reason, sure!" The cloak suddenly, abruptly begins to gush with more wind and power though. "The limits and rules he put on MY HEART were there for STUPID reasons! If you WANT something, why should have you go around all these RULES and LIMITS and all these dumb things holinding you BACK!? You just find something you WANT, and you let your Heart GO for it!"     "Let's look at this thing! This thing doesn't have a real Heart, so I can't say it's the best way of showing you what you need to see." She taps it with the back of her hand. "But it does want! It wants whatever I tell it to want. If I tell it to go wreck Vellum's house, that's what it'll want! And it won't put any limits on its heart. It's weak enough that that'll turn it to a crisp in an hour or two, but who knows what it'd do before that?"     She leans in close. "But you want that to not happen, right? Isn't that a thing you WANT?" The dog-girl makes clawing, eager motions with her hands. "And damn the animal, why not just TAKE a thing you want, right? This isn't a hard decision, even! It's not like you know the guy well, and it's not like this thing's been alive long, right? So it's easy!"     She turns around, keeping herself leaned in. If Ariel doesn't pull away, they're gonna wind up cheek-to-cheek. Hazel's kind of a creeper. "Now, listen. I've dialed this thing's power juuuust right. You could shut down the whole animating glyph system by doing a magic drain, but only if you turn your power up. And I mean THAT power." She jabs Ariel's chest over the heart a bit roughly. "The others, sure, you could dig into those. You could try fighting it with your Abstractum or things like that. But that won't teach you what you need to know. And it might not kill this quick enough, who knows?"     "I'm not saying you have to do much! All you have to do is break Mom's rules and squash a little bug while you do it. That's all the rules I'd ask you to break, for what YOU want!" Hazel pulls back, but then is right back to leaning in, grinning with the possessive, controlling, eager expression of a child who's about to unwrap a huge christmas present. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley gets up from her seat and glares toward the creature. She hesitates when she realizes she may just jeopardize her ability to remain hidden if she uses Conceptual Sight -- she was spotted before when she did that, why would it be any different now? She is visibly fighting the urge to rush to help Ariel only because nothing violent has happened yet. The lizard girl's wide eyes water a little behind the empathetic stress.     She couldn't be more enraptured by the unfolding story if she was right there next to Ariel. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Morality Paradigm: Law's Grasp." Adjudicator speaks, softly. The rifle hums softly, but loud enough that it would be heard if not for Fiora. The muzzle smokes softly with barely-restrained power.     "Gotcha, boss!" Himei's Abstractum is quick and reliable on demand, changing to its wing shape immediately, forming vined wings with rose-petal feathers at Himei's back.     "Do what you are best at." Nom says. "Observe. This challenge, for Ariel, is a matter of understanding Hazel. Try to find whatever insight you can."     Mnemosyne says, "Mmm." And immediately sets about work with no delay. The sharp mental clarity that comes with its interfacing with Lest's mind confirm much of what Hazel is saying; the thing is being flooded with magic at a quantity that's just over Ariel's normal capacity to absorb, though it probably can't actually USE all of it. The device jammed into its neck gives off a magical signature similar in structure to Ariel's Crystal Heart, but mixed heavily with the same magical signature Lest will find in the Pure around Hazel's neck.     Hecate says, "Oooh, now this is interesting. I don't think the Pure Users will like what they see here if they find out she's doing something like /this/..." Now what the hell does THAT mean? 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     "There," Ellestaria says quietly. "There is where Hazel made her mistake. And I think Ariel knows what I mean." She pauses, squinting at the readings she's getting. "Hecate... are you telling us that this isn't something Pures normally do?" 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel squirms, the way Hazel is getting all grabby finally setting her off enough to make a grab for Hazel's arm and yank it aside, a brief struggle that's more like two children arguing over which side of the car is theirs than a true fight. It also lasts only a moment before Ariel makes a frustrated sound. "I want that to not happen... but I also want that to not die. That's where we're different. And you're wrong about my rules, you don't understand the rules. And I'm sorry for that." She turns around to face the beast. "I don't want ANY of them to die. Not even your new pet. You shouldn't make things just to die... that's one of the few things that make me angry. You want to know what Mom's number one rule was?" Ariel raises her hand and summons up her view of the World, trying to spot the intricate magical patterns that make up reality here. "My ONE rule above all others is to do what my Heart says is right. Diea... it's been a while, I hope we can still do this. I need to know about those glyphs. I... think I might need to Shift." Step One: Stop it from rampaging. Step Two: Bleed off that excess energy. Step Three: Regulate the energy it has so that it can live a normal lifespan. 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     "All right, White Rose," Himei says quietly. "This is Ariel's Node, so we're going to be handling things the way she'd want. Sorry, that means we /probably/ won't be beating in any faces. Can you hook up with Mnemosyne?"     Himei glances to Lest, then asks, "Lest, as soon as that thing starts moving, presuming Ariel can't stop it, give me its likely trajectory. White Rose and I are going to get anyone we can out of the way. I think we have enough firepower here that we can spare me doing that." 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     "Sorry, only mistake I'm seeing is her getting closer to our daughter than I am comfortable with."     The creak and hiss of tense joints and gears, muffled thanks to Fiora, speaks volumes for Amalthea's rousing desire tointerject herself, and separate Hazel from her daughter. Through violence if absolutely necessary, when the stitched starts getting excessive. She almost does it, too.     It's Ariel that stops her. She gets one step forward- maybe two- and the third falters. She halts.     There is still tension in every ounce of her body, but holds herself back, letting Ariel take the first steps of her choice.     Of course she's still ready to pounce like a lion, though. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber snarls a bit, "Shit. I can't use a morality paradigm without fucking up her plan. Jude, new plan. Unload paradigm, load us up for raw power." Psyber slams a Himei cartridge into his rifle, followed by a Homura cartridge. Mostly for raw power boost for his next move after this. He also takes a ring out of his jacket and slots it into his Adjudicator, tapping it against Himei's and Homura's to activate their three-person Combo Frame.     "Fiora, keep me stealthed," Psyber says, phrasing it more like a suggestion than an order. Why becomes apparent a moment later when Psyber jumps upwards and spins in the air with his rifles. There's an attempted stacatto of shots, meant to sound more like explosions than gunshots.     But respecting Ariel's philosophy, Psyber is not attacking the Creature or Hazel. Instead, he's shooting at pillars, support beams for awnings, non-critical walls. The EFFECT that he's aiming for is to use his massive rifle to make it look like /ARIEL/ had planned for this contingency and set off a series of small detonations to seal the area off with rubble.     Also he's trying to seal the area off with rubble to prevent a rampage. 

:'''{{#var:2|Homura Akemi (2)}} has posed:'''     Homura idly puts one of her two Combo Frames on, by which we mean she slides on the extra ring (or would there be two extra rings for two people?) on, and then taps it against Psyber and Himei's Abstractums.     That is more or less the extent of what she does.     Ariel hasn't asked for help, so.     She'll probably just do what Himei's doing, stop time and go get a couple civilians out of harm's way if it comes down to it. 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Fiora doesn't so much as try to move, or shift, or do anything related to Psyber. Because she doesn't really need to. With advanced warning, all she needs is to reinforce his 'lack of presence' to accomidate his actions.     She reaches her hand out, and wrenches hard on one thing, one concept, one... crystalline fact.     The Notion of Action by Another Person.     She tears at this idea, both physically and metaphysically, and crushes it in her hand. No.     There was no external actors.     There was nothing else going on.     The surroundings happened exactly as all of your senses would tell you. Nobody else was here, right?     Right. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Harmonious Diea speaks quickly. "SHIFT ABSTRACTION."     Ariel Shifts. Brilliant lights shine around her as the multicolored lines of light blaze up her body! Harmonious Diea engages its Chroma Drive on-call, rapidly dedicating to Blue, blazing vividly as the cloak becomes the fantasy-inspired costume. The magical girl outfit forms over Ariel, hiding her more casual clothes for a moment under the sudden presence of frills and bows.     "Oh hohoho no, you do NOT get to CHEAT!!" Hazel says, grinning widely. "Fine, you want to try it THIS way? Well, I'll show you a DIFFERENT kind of LESSON!!" She's been forced back by the sudden rush of energy that came with the Shift, skidding on her feet as she does, but is still gracefully keeping on them. She puts one arm up and grins as Ariel begins attempting to rewrite the animation and bleed off the excess power.     With one downward motion, her own Pure changes, and brilliant yellow lines mark her body. The cloak expands out, swirling over her in an intense flash, and then, like Ariel, she's wearing a magical girl outfit. Unlike Ariel's, it's marked with darker tones where Ariel's are lighter, and has several elements torn and ragged. Is this a Shift? It very well might be. She puts her own hand up... And rushes to Ariel.     "If YOU'RE going to try to STOP this THING the DIRECT way... Then I'M going to TEACH YOU how THIS works!" A huge mass of brilliant, crackling magic gushes over Hazel's hand as she rushes to the occupied Ariel and tries to slam it onto the back of her neck. Ariel won't feel any pain beyond a sudden, startling jolt, but she will feel... Something not unlike an injection. While Ariel rewrites the Glyphs to attempt to force them to regulate the energy of the creature, Hazel tries to forcibly apply an unusual glyph to Ariel.     While Ariel is not a glyph-based Crafted, she is an artificial magical creature of another sort. And so Hazel, an expert in the forcible subversion, hacking, modification, and overclocking of such things, attempts to forcibly inscribe a glyph into Ariel's orichalcum matrix that starts at the neck and moves all the way down to her Heart. It doesn't attack the Heart, but every restrictor, inhibitor, regulator, and limit on the Crystal Heart. It's actually not that tough to resist the attack and for Ariel to keep her regulations more intact. But it'll be even tougher to reject the permanence - of a sort, at least - of the inscription itself, which threatens to inject itself into Ariel's body like a virus, the same way she seeks to permanently alter the massive snake-hornet-beast.     And alongside it, the inscription has a more temporary element it's trying to do. It's trying to guide Ariel's rewriting of the Glyphs to make it more effective against the creature. But Ariel can't take that help without the rest of the baleful influence of that inscription.     As for what the snake-hornet-beast does, we'll discuss that in a moment. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley finds herself at a complete loss.     She doesn't know in what way her insight could help with this situation whatsoever. She's frozen in place, watching an event unfold, because she knows she can't help or something in her is telling her she shouldn't.     If she could go pale, she would be. What is there to see in this that she can help with, she wonders? Too much doubt clouds her mind, but she tries anyways.     Observe, Nom said. Insight. Look at Hazel. What is there to know? The lizard girl tries to use Conceptual Sight to gaze at Hazel's concept and learn something, anything. A word comes to mind, and that word is Heart. What is actually different here, about Hazel and her Heart? What can she tell Ariel, to help her now?     To everyone else, the ghostly translucent form of Ainsley appears to be on the edge. She /does not/ like just being an observer. All her signs of agitation have gotten much worse. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Combo Frame active." White Rose, Clairvoyant Rush, and Adjudicator all speak at once in unison as their forms blaze with a sudden rush of red fire. A three-Red Combo Frame blasts titanic amounts of Resonance between them, causing a huge rush in abilities in the Strife Drives.     The snake-hornet screams into action when Hazel suddenly calls out, "You! Go! House at the end of the road! Burn everything!" Though some of its power is being drawn off, it still has enough to rush forward at high speed.     And then several explosions that Psyber Very Distinctly Didn't Cause, and in fact, there is the palpable feeling that he never fired his shots in the first place, but rather that Something Happened. What Psyber did seems logical, but there's a complete disconnection of his massive gunshots from the resultant explosions that send some nearby structures tumbling to the ground, blocking up the streets, and pinning the massive snake-thing.     Huge buglike wings flare out widely, flapping, trying to ascend and get around it, as well as dislodge the rubble currently pinning it. Better do whatever you're gonna soon! This thing is trying to get away and down the street, and it's FAST! 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     After annihilating the notion of Other People Around, masking Ainsley's efforts is way less hard. Then again, Fiora may have done a pretty bad Oopsie-Daisy (the NEXT LEVEL of messup) by just excising concepts from a world, but, thankfully, it would return as long as she wasn't enforcing its removal.     A distant part of her, the analytical one, was musing on the idea that perhaps /that/ was how Them were created. By casually manipulating the fabric of reality to suit your needs.     Oh well. The baby was tossed out with that bathwater. We didn't want that baby anyway. It was ugly. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel is concentrating, working on picking apart the Glyphs on the snake. She isn't a glyph-master, but Sorcery lets her see the Structure of things, things with lots of Capital Letters. It's something of a brute force attempt for this sort of thing, but it's the best she has... she's just trying to be clever in the combination of powers, not the finesse of any single one. And then Hazel /hits/ her. Ariel isn't paying attention there, so it's easy to strike the unicorn girl. She staggers a step, ribboned dress fluttering a bit, then she feels that weaseling inscription trying to work into her matrix, trying to free her regulators. Her concentration almost slips, but she refocuses, trying to remember every little trick Al has taught her. So in a strained voice, she speaks to Hazel, "Ah... sorry, Hazel. You shouldn't have done that. I... can't fight that off and do what needs done." It's an easy choice! Sure, it's just an animal, but it can't help what it is. She can help it. So she will, and she accepts the help, twisting her view of reality and altering probatilities, reaching out to attempt to rewrite the monstrosity into something more benign. Making its new purpose to 'regulate and correct glyph damage' like what Hazel does to those things around her, and to recharge them with any excess magic. Bleeding off the extra power by fixing the other Crafted, that's the idea... and making a sentinel that will make it harder for Hazel to move about the city undetected. But blowing the limiters doesn't have quite the effect Hazel might think. A bright blaze of holy light bursts out from Ariel's horn, first, and a pulse of magic from within. Much more immediately worrying is the fact that her orichalcum matrix goes a bit wild and releases much of her spare magical power in the form of a thunderous *KRACK-BOOOM* of electrical lightning bursting from her joints, blasting in a small but loud /explosion/ around her. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Linked. We're in Tandem Paradigm." White Rose doesn't have anything silly or heroic to say right now, Ariel's in trouble! It's... Actually entirely serious and competent right now. The wings flutter and then blast Himei forward with a HUGE rush of mobility that comes from Homura's and Psyber's tremendous Resonance Capacity. There's still people in the streets, but a hover-dashing Himei - now with highly tuned reflexes - will be able to maneuver through them and get people out of the way of all that rubble. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley looks for the Heart of Hazel. She has one, sure! It's very clearly churning out a high volume of emotional power, just like how Ariel's turns love into an electrical explosion a few moments later. However, the nature of the Heart seems intensely, powerfully negative. Where, as Ainsley might be aware, Ariel has a Heart formed of crystal, she'll find that Hazel has a Heart of similar nature, but formed out of ash. 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     Ellestaria winces, and she jerks as if about to run down there to help Ariel. But... Himei is right, and they'll need to protect the people. It's what Ariel would want. "Ah, sorry Fiora," she says to the exclamation behind her. It's sincere enough, that's easy to tell because she actually SAID it. The Tandem Paradigm to White Rose links up and she immediately starts doing calculations for path of most likely progress, and who and what is in danger.     Then, just to make it a little more helpful, she designates them by priority. Weakest/most fragile creations are highest priority, followed by tougher crafted beings, and lastly structures by complexity and rarity. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     In the aftermath of the explosion and his own concepts being edited and cropped to fit in with a reality where he did nothing at all, Psyber spins in the air and twirls the rifle once more, "Form shift! Gauntlet."     The rifle folds back into a gauntlet that covers Psyber's entire arm, the half-angel moving to fall down towards the snake-thing on the ground. While normally Psyber would take this moment to finish it off, he's not right now. Instead, as it tries to get up and get away, Psyber plants his hand on it and allocates all six Strike Drivers into one simple task:     Pinning that creature down so Ariel can work. 

:'''{{#var:331|Himei (331)}} has posed:'''     "Excuse me. Pardon me. Just a moment," Himei is saying rapidly. She mentally makes a note to thank Homura, Psyber, and Ellestaria for the boosts she's getting, because even with her normal wings at full power she can't match this speed at all.     She is, of course, using her speed and power to swoop in and hurriedly move any of the townspeople out of the way to safety. Just dart in and lift or cajole to the side, with a bit of a buffer if she can. 

:'''{{#var:2|Homura Akemi (2)}} has posed:'''     "Claire... do you think you can apply your rewind effect to the buildings?" Homura asks of her ring, evidently having something vaguely akin to a plan. Something that shouldn't interfere with other ongoing things too much, and would reduce collateral a little bit.     She'll reach out with her power herself-- but the closest she can do to help is to attempt to slow time around a few of the buildings the beasts tromps through before it 'mysteriously gets caught in the rubbles'.     She doesn't expect OUTSTANDING success, but if she can stop a house or three from getting wrecked and clear that much rubble out of the way, it'll be that. Plus it's nice to see what Claire's limits are.     Just to be safe though, she's going to slot Vruasa's level 1 Cartridge in. More affinity for time-stuff probably can't hurt. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Hazel is blasted back, charred and scarred by the sudden point-blank explosion, even as she laughs. The limp, flopping form of the girl slams into the ground, skids, bounces back up, and blasts right through a merchant's stand, cackling wildly as she goes. She didn't expect that. She does not, however, seem to actually care. She stands up, quickly swapping colors - apparently another mirroring of Ariel - to a deep and intense purple in order to bring herself into her equivalent of a Red mode, so she can actually move without collapsing in pain.     "And there you have it! I'll leave you to attend to that trash." She gestures to her pet snake-hornet. "But now, you see, if you ever need REAL power, if you need REAL force, you know where to GET IT!" She grins widely, her Glyph enhancing Ariel's work to maximum capacity, making it massively more effective and efficient. That's on top of Ariel's already major and substantial skills as they are, when enhanced by a Shifted Blue state.     While she technically got what she wanted - giving Ariel the easy temptation to break the rules of her body to get what she wants - the truth of what she misunderstood should now be readily apparent. And she yells out, as she goes up the wall to the roof, "And if you decide you need a little help~ with using that power for things that aren't explosions!" She halts at the edge, imitates a phone next to her ear, and mouthes, "Call me."     One has to assume that Hazel didn't really understand what happened. Honestly, that could even be /more/ dangerous. Someone can try to stop her if they want, but it might not be smart to engage the endboss early, who knows. 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Himei would find that it's probably pretty easy to hustle the civilians along. That nobody can see her is immaterial, as her words, her hurried impulses, and all of that is translated into the striking sense that these people should be moving 'on their own', and so... They do.     TL;DR - Himei is still in Stealth Mode, but everything she does, still goes through! Weirdly.     MOVE ALONG CITIZENS NOTHING TO SEE HERE, JUST THE STRONG IMPULSE OF 'HERE IS NOT GOOD NOW, DOWN THERE IS' 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley squints at what she's seeing, the idea of a creature powered by negativity being a bit much for her. She's a reader, but the conceptually different way that Hazel works is hard for her to really get. Since she remains concealed, she manages to say some things over the radio. The first statement is a little odd and mystical-sounding, as per her magical roots: "Hazel has a Heart of Ash, filled with a darkness that contrasts your heart, Ariel. She's powered by negativity, it fuels her being." She sounds daydreamy when that comes out of her mouth.     She realizes how weird it sounds, and shyly adds, "I'm sorry. It is very hard for me to describe what I'm looking at." Then she sniffs in and steels herself. What else can she do to help?     "You are on the right track, Ariel. I believe in you." She has that effect that a helpless friend does. She just hopes that Ariel takes those words to heart. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Himei and Ellestaria, with the former as rescuer and latter as supporting navigator, definitely Had Nothing To Do with the convenience by which the entire local civilian population were, in fact, not crushed under huge volumes of rubble. Thankfully, Lest's critical assistance keeps Himei from missing several near-hidden sorts who were crouched down or passed out behind things due to Hazel's awful cloaking technology. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Psyber's rifle mechanically folds over his hands, and when he plants his hand down, all five fingers and the back of the hand itself begin to emit a massive gushing rocket-thruster-like rush of red fire, granting Psyber additional force by which he can hold the target down. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Psyber!" Clairvoyant Rush squeaks out urgently, speaking for the first time. "Help!"     "Busy, ring, what do you need?" Jude calls back, distractedly.     "The cloak's cartridge! Psyber, please let me borrow for just a moment!" The ring is humming with building power... 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     While holding down the massive beast, Psyber reaches into the pocket of his jacket where he keeps cartridges. He pulls one out and tosses it to Homura and Claire. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Homura's efforts to push her energy into a temporal rewind causes one or two of the more critical buildings to actually rewind! Now that the creature's pinned, we don't need those collapsing. The more critical ones suddenly right themselves, but Claire, desperately urging herself to push through this, isn't able to finish the job and the third building's remains are just sort of flickering and twitching.     But if Homura installs Ariel's cartridge, then Clairvoyant Rush's deep red fire suddenly takes on an erratically purple hue, and the rewind process begins in earnest, reassembling the structures in the best order of priority that Claire can figure. "I-I'm sorry, Miss Akemi, I can't do this on my own, I'm not typed right... I was trying, but..." The ring trails off nervously and with an embarrassed sort of tone. 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Without much ado, once Hazel had gotten out of visual range, Fiora let her fists unclench, and the smoke surrounding people (and the 2spooky4u ghost effect) dissipates like... well, smoke in a stiff breeze. People would return to feeling VERY MUCH EXISTING and also being noticed and stuff.     Then she would slowly ease the Notion of Other People's Actions back into the conceptual wild, where it would romp, free. Easing because she didn't want to just tip her hand that hey, you know, BING 'wow people may have been there!'.     Her skin has taken on a grey hue, glowing a soft ur-white... Well, really, that she was becoming so dark that the lack of that darkness around her seemed all the brighter.     Standing up, she takes a deep breath before exhaling. "Ugh. Next time... Let's try to keep the crazy stuff to a minimum. Subtle I can handle, but brazen actions really do require me to patch it with raw power, and unless I go all dark and spooky, I don't have terribly much to throw around." She explains.     Then she looks at the snake, then at the back of her hand, then shrugs. "Nope. Don't have the juice." She smirks, before heading over to Ariel. "Holding up okay?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     With Hazel's strange guidance, and Ariel's own natural cleverness amplified by Harmonious Diea's Blue-typed Shift, Ariel is able to re-engineer the glyphs animating the snake-hornet thing such that the strange spike-thing no longer enforces Hazel's will on the creature, and the odd orb is slowly drawn into it. The glyphs concerning its pseudo-Heart's energy regulation are shifted as well; Harmonious Diea enhances this, and temporarily rewrites them to vent all excess energy into healing the wounds the creature sustained, before it works with Ariel to ensure the thing now has a new purpose.     This new purpose takes, unsteadily, but in relatively short order the thing's entire animating structure has been set into a harmless state. The massive, exoskeleton-clad bug-snake thing stops struggling under Psyber's grip, going calm.     As soon as Psyber lets it up, it shakes itself off and rears up slightly. The strange wasp-reptile thing looks around, tilting its head at Ariel before suddenly rushing down!!! And giving her a friendly nuzzle, instead of doing anything dangerous. It then moves over to where Himei and Ellestaria have rescued several of the bystanders, and, pressing its head to them in a strangely pet-like affectionate gesture, seems to restore more stability to the glyphs that Hazel had such a negative effect on.     Speaking of Glyphs and Hazel, Ariel's neck, since she didn't resist the application, is now be marked with one from Hazel, shining just barely, softly, visible through the cloak. Though it continues to attack those limiters, Ariel should be able to resist that effect fairly effectively, preventing her from suffering another explosion. Though who knows what she might succumb to if she needs excess power, or to operate any of these so-called enhancements Hazel is trying to offer. 

:'''{{#var:219|Ariel (219)}} has posed:''' Ariel lets her Shift fade and sighs... then giggles as the snake-hornet nuzzles her. She gives it a light pat, and a wan smile. "I'm glad you're happy." And she is! Sure, it isn't really free-willed, but it wasn't before either. And this way maybe it will grow into it or something. Which leaves her with... the glyph. "Ahh... mom is gonna kill me." She tightens up her control and rubs at her neck, wincing, then turns around to go meet up with everyone else. "Thanks, everyone. Especially you, Fiora. And Ainsley... I... think I know how to approach it now. This is gonna be harder than I thought." She looks at Amalthea and Ellestaria and shrugs. "Sorry. I had to make a choice." 

:'''{{#var:231|Ellestaria (231)}} has posed:'''     In a rare display of emotion, Ellestaria drops down and wraps her arms around Ariel. "No, I'm not mad. You made the decision you thought was right. We'll get that thing looked at later... for now, I think you made a difficult choice. I can't say if it was the right choice... but I know you believed in it." 

:'''{{#var:156|Fiora O'Brien (156)}} has posed:'''     Fiora gives a little two-finger salute, smiling. "Well, if you need a whole bunch of people to conveniently be invisible and for all their actions to be written off as coincidence, look no further." The witch offers honestly, before shrugging.     "I'm glad you got a chance to be the primary actor. And if I can help out, that's great." She offers a bit airily, before, you know, MOM HUGS and stuff. Then she sort of blips out of existance in the shutterframe of a blink.     Zoop, gone. Like she was ~never there~ 

}}

Shopping (Hope's Light)

2014-06-19T01:43:10Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2013/10/30 |Location=None |Synopsis=Hope does Christmas shopping for her adoptive family. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=288 |Tinyplot=None }} "..."

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2013/10/30
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|Synopsis=Hope does Christmas shopping for her adoptive family.
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|Cast of Characters=288
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"Hello, welcome to MacroMart Superstore! What can we help you with?"

"Um, yes... I'm looking for some gifts for my mom and grandma..."

"I see, I see! Well then, let's start with your grandmother. Does she have any hobbies? Knitting perhaps?"

"Uhh... she watches a lot of anime and collects stuffed animals?"

"Really now? Anime?"

"Yes'm. She also collects swords, do you have any nice swords?"

"Er... no... but we do have an anime section..."

"Nothing with giant robots. She doesn't like giant robots."

"Right, right. Look, how about your mother? Does she collect anything?"

"Knives. Do you have knives? Something unique."

"Let's not focus on knives or swords. Does she collect anything else? Have any hobbies? What are her hobbies?"

"Killing whores."

End of an Age (3/3)

2014-06-19T01:40:21Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2013/04/20 |Location=Malfeas, Earth-776 |Synopsis=Hope reflects on her new friends and decides how to reshape her world. |Thanks= |Cast of Cha..."

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I am no one.

My Name is not important, for the time is here. The world is winding down, everything is ending. Corruption, destruction, consumption surround me, while my friends, my family defy it. Desperation and Hope combine to do the impossible, and for a moment I see the Triat laid out before me, I feel the roar of the unbound Wyrm cleansing the world. I see Creation torn apart by the attempt to restore it.

I touch the Infinite.

I could end it here. Make it undone, wipe the slate clean, and let the Triat make a new universe. Billions would die, but they would be at peace. They would die without torment, to become one with their maker. So much misery and pain, who could blame me? It would be easy, much easier than rebuilding everything from the ground up. Easier than trusting that a flawed humanity would not repeat the mistakes of the past. Far too risky. Far simpler to let everything start over, making the world as perfect as it was meant to be.

Memories flash before me again. People I have known. Met. Befriended.

The Eternal Warrior. "...I admit that I still don't understand most of it. But from what I do understand... more than simply doing it, it's important that we do it /right/. That we find the solution with the most positive effect on what comes after. When something is inevitable, you can at least decide whether its consequences are better or worse."

The Repentant Mother. "We know it's scary. A lot of weight on your shoulders. We promised we would watch you. So we will follow you wherever, to do whatever. Mother taught us what it means to be a hero, that doing what's right isn't always the easiest thing to do. But it has to be done. We will help you any way we can. And we will be a hero for you."

The Stoic Guardian. "It... would be nice, if no one had to die. I've never actually been so idealistic as to think it a real possibility. It was never, honestly, something I was even trying for. I'd probably have died long before my world's unification, if I had. That's the sort of place I lived in. Laine... helped us. I wanted to repay that. Though I think... that may have... been an excuse."

The Broken Bird. "Sometimes you can't save everyone, and sometimes you have to make ugly choices. All that's important is that you do your best, and maybe things will work out from there."

The Budding Heroine. "There's a time to laugh, a time to tease. Always keep a little of that with you, that's what I try to do. But then, one day... you have to face the job that only you can do. You can keep running, keep laughing... or you can stand and fight, so you and all the ones you care about can laugh together.

The Loyal Hunter. "We've come this far, no sense finishing the job half-assed."

I understand now. My purpose here, the catalyst to guide the awakening. The one who must choose the fate of the Tellurian. To save myself as I am and destroy the world, remaking it anew, a perfect world without evil...

Or to sacrifice what I am into the Triat, as a template for the reshaping of reality itself, and grant this world another chance.

Creation is flawed.

And in that flaw, it is perfect.

I am no one. I am unique. I am powerless. I can do anything.

I am Mortal.

The Spark inside me ignites. The Triat comes into balance for a perfect moment.

One word comes to mind.

Trust.

I Choose.

The Fifth Age Ends.

End of an Age (2/3)

2014-06-19T01:38:40Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2013/04/20 |Location=Malfeas, Earth-776 |Synopsis=Hope remembers her rescue by the Union. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=288 |Tinyplot=End of an..."

{{Cutscene Header
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|Synopsis=Hope remembers her rescue by the Union.
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I am Hope's Living Light.

The Change comes upon me, in the midst of horror and battle. Strangers come, newcomers from beyond the world I know. I see evil and corruption in some, yet honor and regret. I see purity. I see hatred. I see desperation. I see nobility. Most of all, I see Sacrifice, as one dies for me, and charges a child torn apart by sin to protect me.

They say I am special. That I am the one who could save or doom the world. They protect me, yet treat me as a child. They show me innocence and sorrow. They show me anger and heat. They show me the simple pleasures of life, washing away the pains. They show me duty, to friends and family and people.

They show me Fear. They show me Idealism. They show me Anger and Dissonance married with Purpose. They show me Determination. They show me Acceptance. They show me the bonds of Family.

They show me Love.

It fascinates me.

End of an Age (1/3)

2014-06-19T01:36:46Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2013/04/20 |Location=Malfeas, Earth-776 |Synopsis=Hope remembers her childhood in the midst of the end of the world. |Thanks= |Cast of Charact..."

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|Synopsis=Hope remembers her childhood in the midst of the end of the world.
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|Tinyplot=End of an Age
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I am the Perfect Metis.

They raise me as a Garou, tell me I am special. Different. I am Metis, and must be kept away from the world, for they will see a monster. I must be kept away from my Tribe, for I am an abomination. I must be hidden, for many will seek to claim me, for death or for life.

They say I am important, that I am prophesied to save the world. They teach me of the Garou, of my people. Of our pure purpose, our hubris, our sins, our victories. They do not know I can sense the pain of the Triat within me, the madness of the Weaver, the sickening bile of the Wyrm, the pain and frailty of the Wyld. They do not know I can see their self-justification.

I know I have a purpose, though they have yet to give me a name. I know, for I feel it looming in my future, a wall past which I cannot see. Undefined, powerful.

It frightens me.

Mother, Father... help me.

Lingering Thoughts (Ariel)

2014-06-19T01:18:30Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2014/02/15 |Location=None |Synopsis=Ariel debates on sharing information about her Abstractum. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=219 |Tinyplot=When..."

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|Synopsis=Ariel debates on sharing information about her Abstractum.
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|Tinyplot=When They Return
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The tick-tak of typing fingers fills the darkening room, Ariel's keyboarding skills refined quickly by constant use. Neither of her parents were as familiar with technology like this as she was... or at least, that's what she assumed. Maybe they were just being nice.

Whatever.

The little unicorn finishes up the document, then sits back to stare at the screen. "Well, Diea. It looks like I've really gotten into a mess," she mumbles. Her hand goes to her forehead, rubbing just underneath the shimmering horn. "I knew I'd end up in something bigger than playing with the fire butterflies some day, but I always hoped it would be later."

She knew the answer without waiting for one. Ariel couldn't choose when something like this would happen. It still... bothered her. Seeing the war fought with these wonderful creations... beings of their own, with wills. Like her. Beings, being used as weapons. As tools. Her mother's purpose floats through her mind... her Aunt's construction.

It bothered her.

And now she has doubts. Doubts about sharing this information with the other side, the Confederates that she was at war with. She wanted to trust them, to know that it was all right, that they'd band together... but she'd seen what Fuki did to Janeway's. She'd seen the look of bloodlust on Crimson Sea's face, thrilled and ready to kill even in the simulation.

Could she really trust everyone to do the right thing?

Eyes close, and her finger lingers over the Send button. Her answer isn't long in coming. "If I start making these decisions... then I'm doing the same thing, aren't I? I'm becoming the divide."

The key clicks under her index and middle fingers, sending another vital set of information across the Multiverse.

Distant Wishes (Ariel)

2014-06-19T01:12:10Z

Supporting Role: Created page with "{{Cutscene Header |Date of Scene=2012/07/28 |Location=None |Synopsis=Ariel reflects on her mother's mission to kill Viridian Sunrise |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=219 |Tinyplot..."

{{Cutscene Header
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|Synopsis=Ariel reflects on her mother's mission to kill Viridian Sunrise
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|Tinyplot=Long Live the King
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The bright cobalt star high above was pretty enough, in its own way... but a constant reminder of how chaotic Ariel's life had become in the few short weeks since her 'birth' had occured.

The construct was on the slope of the mountain now, standing there with her eyes to the sky, one hand shielding her brilliant topaz eyes. The jewels were unlikely to be damaged by the sight of that bright star, but they were not immune to glare.

Birds chirp around Ariel, one of them settling on her shoulder. Her horn still tingled, she realizes as she gives a tiny stroke under the beak. That attempt at a Wish had drained her, and she still felt a little ache from the failed flutter and spark that it had given her. Hopefully, that tiny little bit of magic she could push into it would be enough.

Still now word from her mechanical mother, was there?

Ariel closes her eyes and slumps, feeling that alien sensation of artificial tears trickling down her cheeks. This body... it was all new. She didn't know what sort of person her soul had really been, originally. Oh, she heard stories, had read, but she didn't really remember any of it. She did know one thing, though.

Her mother, her family, was away... for her sake. For Momma Lest's sake. Trying to kill the most powerful being in the Multiverse in a mission that would likely have her not coming home at all. To kill one of the very people she regarded as responsible for her birth.

What was she supposed to think about that?

Her eyes open again, lifting to that glaring cobalt star. In a whisper, she says the only thing she can in this situation.

"Come home soon, Mother."